Arch Daily |
- Villa CG / Powerhouse Company
- Walmer Yard / Peter Salter
- Villa Dodia / NUDES
- iHouse Dormitory / Studio SUMO
- Tilt Roof House / BCHO Architects
- KM Kindergarten and Nursery / HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro
- Victorian Residence / Architecton
- The World's Most Instagrammed Cities and Architecture of 2016
- XOCO 325 / DDG
- Call for Submissions: 2016 Holiday Card Challenge
- Secondary School / Dietrich | Untertrifaller Architekten
- Wendell Burnette Architects Designs “Mirage” Hotel for Saudi Arabia’s 1st UNESCO Site
- Ancient Farm Renovation / Studiomas architetti
- 7 Challenges That Prevent Architectural Originality, and How To Overcome Them
- Les Closiaux / Dominique Coulon & associés
- The Economic and Social Power of Walkable Cities
- Glass Box Project / Studio 304 Architecture
| Posted: 05 Dec 2016 09:00 PM PST  © Ossip van Duivenbode
 © Ossip van Duivenbode From the architect. Villa CG is a family home in the eastern Dutch city of Enschede, close to the German border. The villa is located at the Museumlaan, a new, particularly special avenue reserved for designs by architects of national and international standing including Erick van Egeraat. The clients, a couple with two children, commissioned Powerhouse Company in 2013 to design 'the most beautiful house on the street' within a strict budget.  © Ossip van Duivenbode Villa CG is a two-storey home characterized by horizontality. Our design takes its cues from the surrounding low hedge to create a house that is about balance and equilibrium, symmetry and grace.  © Ossip van Duivenbode From the street, the house presents itself as a simple cube, clad in an unusually long, thin brick and divided vertically by a wide cantilevered first floor slab. The front elevation is designed to be private and closed, with only a single opening for the entrance. The slab shallows the height of the building, its severity and roots it into the flatness of the context.  © Ossip van Duivenbode  Sketches  © Ossip van Duivenbode At ground level, the underside of the slab is glazed at either end of the core to form two window bays containing the kitchen/dining room and study/guestroom. The glazing wraps around the back to give views over every aspect of the garden from the house. Inside, the exterior darkness of the bricks combine beautifully with American walnut veneer fittings. The first floor, however, is the reverse – closed on three sides for an efficient use of openings.  © Ossip van Duivenbode The materials used in Villa CG are timeless and of a very high quality. The long, slim bricks give the cube a delicate and elegant level of detail. The color of the brick was selected very carefully in combination with the wood veneer of the interior. This, in combination with the translucent door that separates the entrance hall from the living room, the sand colored Earthcote wall cladding, light grey polyurethane floor and a variety of woods make the house appear dynamic yet harmonious.  © Ossip van Duivenbode This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2016 07:00 PM PST  © Hélène Binet
 © Hélène Binet Walmer Yard is the first residential scheme in Britain by Peter Salter, the internationally acclaimed teacher and architectural designer. Seven years in the making, four finely crafted houses built around a shared courtyard in Notting Hill are now being shown to the architectural press.  Detail The houses reflect Salter's unique approach to the design of spaces for living. The structure, volumes and materials are employed to create a series of rooms and circulation spaces that are precisely tuned to domestic use, private peace and sensory experience.  © Hélène Binet The scheme offers an alternative ambition for contemporary domestic architecture: it uses a combination of new, old and non-standard materials selected for fitness for purpose rather than ease of construction, convenience or cost. The design and construction has as a result involved painstaking experimentation in materials and techniques, exacting craftsmanship and successful compliance with regulations for non-standard approaches.  © Hélène Binet Cast from in situ poured concrete, structured around rectangular and elliptical stairwells, each house fits within an interlocking plan around an acoustically adjusted timber-lined courtyard removed from the street. The floors are a single unrestricted span supported by the stairwells, creating flexibility and extending space and circulation as well as allowing the play of light deep into the rooms across smoothly moulded concrete ceilings.  Sketch Each of the interior rooms and the connections between them are designed to be experienced from within; the complex interplay of structural form and material textures, light and shadow, colour and sound are the result of decades of teaching by Salter and his team at the Architectural Association and other leading architectural institutions in Britain.  © Hélène Binet The houses were commissioned by developer Crispin Kelly to demonstrate the potential of Salter's drawing, design and engineering skills. Having worked with Alison and Peter Smithson in the 1970s, Salter built his reputation as a teacher at the Architectural Association and since 2006, as Professor of Architectural Design at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University. He has taught many of the leading architects practising in the world today.  Sketch It is the crafted appearance of in-situ concrete, a reflection of its handmade form and manipulation that prompted its use at Walmer Yard. It carries the imprint of a bespoke craftsmanship; its scale of construction in tune with the other material elements that form the interior of the houses. In-situ concrete offers a sense of permanence to the architecture of the room; its density and massiveness of fabric providing quietness and a stillness for sleep.  © Hélène Binet Concrete belies its 20 year indemnity on workmanship and material. Its degree of permanence, through age, offsets the embodied energy used in its making. Ground and granulated blast furnace slag, a byproduct of the iron and steel industry commonly known as GGBS, is used as the finest of fine to replace 38% of the cement content of the concrete matrix, to further offset embodied energy.  © Hélène Binet The concrete structure, a mixture of frame and spandrel panels, forms a table-like construction over the underground garage. The tabletop slabs are highly reinforced, to transfer loadings across the floors to the elliptical staircase drums on the periphery of the site.  © Hélène Binet Close living between dwellings requires quietness and privacy. The concrete walls surrounding the periphery of the courtyard provide a buffer against the airborne sound of the room and contribute to the acoustic renders, rigid insulation and timber louvres that dispel sound from the external central space. This tuned fabric between room and courtyard is a technical space – it presents surfaces and enclosure to the rooms, whether those rooms are inside or out. The concrete spandrel of the bedroom is cast to receive a low level window, from which to view from the bed the early sunshine or morning light. Sitting on the bed, the procrastinating early riser is offered another window. The spandrel wall is divided by construction joints, grooves that separate head height, concrete cast in a phenolic- faced formwork, with that of the lower wall casting using birch-faced formwork. The differences between formwork surface are startling, with the smoothness of the phenolic construction reflecting light to the extent that it appears almost white, set against the birch faced-forms in which the imprinted grain collects shadow - a soft darkness. The phenolic cast wall overhead connects to the soffit of the slab above, making a visual reconnection with its smoothness and reflectivity. By lining the soffit formwork with a wide roll of linoleum, the soffit is cast with minimal joints and is smooth, in some places even shiny. This soffit connects to a ceiling-high window that enables light to illuminate and pan across the ceiling, penetrating the room to a depth of 2.00 m. The concrete spandrels contribute to a patchwork of material finishes to the rooms that work together as textures, complementing chopped straw clay renders and the exposed welding of the carbonized steel bathrooms. The use of phenolic and birch-faced plywood becomes a vocabulary that is used throughout the project. It anticipates the graduated light quality that occurs as occupants move from shadow to light. Walls at ground level are constructed as double skin concrete, using different forms for internal and external surfaces.  © Hélène Binet Just as the interiors are governed by a rule system of concrete finish, so too other concrete surfaces carry a hierarchy of finishes to enable architectural decision-making, judgment and reading. The concrete retaining walls of the basement level media rooms and car park follow the striation of day joints with triangular fillets of protruding concrete, which later got struck back to form a series of stepped datums revealing an exposed pebble matrix, almost like the remnants of a shoreline. The recognition of this surface plots the edge of the site and the party wall.  Floor Plan Upper Ground Perhaps the most complex surfaces of all are the board-marked concrete walls that describe important elevations. This arrangement of board marking can be seen on the front elevation to Walmer Road and its return as a solid balustrade up the stepped ramp to the courtyard beyond. Because of the difficulty in connecting the sections of boardwork of random strip design, each length of formwork was built complete and shipped to site ready for placement. One timber form approx. 9m. in length weighed 7 tonnes and was lifted by crane into place. Following trial castings, the formwork was faced with strips of wire-brushed redwood. The redwood varied in section between 40mm and 70mm high and was chosen for its graining. A design of inset and protruding redwood strip was decided upon, whereby each protruded run of concrete was set 5mm beyond a hypothetical face; similarly, inset runs of concrete were set back 15mm from the face. The finished concrete board marking produced particular light striations and variations across it surface. The protruding concrete produced shelves of white daylight and the recessed elements deep shadow - an amazing ensemble of striation, almost a fixed geology or a sea washed eroded cliff. In-situ concrete wall panels were cast at each front door to signify entrance. These fluted elements were regarded as door cases similar to the fluted and reeded timber door cases of Georgian houses. Each concrete flute perfectly describes the finger.  © Hélène Binet The floor slabs were screeded with a small brown Thames river gravel and large black Scottish river pebbles. These were ground back to form a terrazzo finish and a threshold to the timber floors beyond. In other places, concrete floor surfaces were struck with a 'three stone' floor design similar to that of a lime-bedded Japanese floor. As with all in-situ concrete work, aggregate bridging and other anomalies become "par for the course". Such imperfections required a strategy, a judgement: to leave or to treat. What was clear was not to cover it up! The majority of aggregate bridging was left as an indentification of process. Others were framed and scabbled back . Scabbling became the preferred option, as it offered an alternative and unpredicted surface. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:00 PM PST  © Sameer Chawda
 © Sameer Chawda The project is sited in Lonavala, a picturesque hill station approximately a 1.5 hour drive from Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra, India.  © Sameer Chawda  Diagrams  © Sameer Chawda The Site is flanked by a picturesque hill side terrain on the northern face and also a large natural water catchment area which is used for hydro power generation by a service provider.  Axonometric The design strategy was to increase the indoor/outdoor interface "design elements" and reduce the indoor "eclosed" experience to a "minimal", thereby urging the residents to enjoy and experience the fresh air, scenery and vistas. A column free interior space facing the picturesque hill side was designed so as to soak in the picturesque hill side terrain even during the monsoons.  © Sameer Chawda The program houses a Living, Dining, Kitchen, Sleep facilities with ancillary services primarily for a weekend getaway. The open to sky spaces such as "decks", "terraces" and "balconies" are used for passive recreation and form the primary architectural program of the project. The architectural main frame is "pinched" at zero point facing north and zooms outward towards the southern hemisphere. The "Deck" emerges from the "zer-point" condition to nest into the body of the programmatic components. The "Deck" in a way transports the users and "sails" through stunning landscapes.  © Sameer Chawda This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| iHouse Dormitory / Studio SUMO Posted: 05 Dec 2016 02:00 PM PST  © Kawasami Kobayashi Photograph Office
 © Kawasami Kobayashi Photograph Office From the architect. As Japan copes with a declining population, universities are trying to attract an increasingly international student body for both long and short term stays. This dormitory and International Center for approximately 140 international students efficiently houses, educates, and integrates a population that is both culturally and economically diverse through a collection of shared public spaces and rooms that range from singles and doubles with private baths, to rooms sleeping four with shared bathing facilities.  © Kawasami Kobayashi Photograph Office These shared rooms allow JIU to offer accommodations for as little as $80/month and are particularly geared towards students of modest means from emerging Asian and Eastern European countries. The building is sited along the main access road to the university on the edge of an expanse of rice fields. It is comprised of a 9-meter wide dormitory bar that hovers over the International Center that projects out to engage the landscape.  © Kawasami Kobayashi Photograph Office  Floor Plans  © Kawasami Kobayashi Photograph Office The International Center is comprised of a gallery, archive room, and event space in memory of the late Prince Takamado who helped broker the Japan/Korea partnership that hosted the 2002 World Cup. JIU maintains a close relationship with the Takamado family. One enters the building off the campus road through a void in the bar that separates the two programs on the ground level. A louvered surface interspersed with projecting balconies masks exterior walkways that serve the dormitory rooms facing out over the rice fields beyond. Multiple sliding glass doors open onto the walkways, recalling the 'engawa' space of traditional Japanese houses. The provision of shared spaces, the walkway, and balcony system expand the compressed living space into the outdoors.  © Kudoh Photography Ltd.  Diagram  © Kawasami Kobayashi Photograph Office Product Description. The most conspicuous material is the aluminum louver the makes up the south façade. We used horizontal louvers with three different dimensions. They are attached each with the maximum cantilever from the vertical support to create a woven pattern to comprise a unified façade to the public, and shaded walkways with a dynamic play of light for the inhabitants.  © Kawasami Kobayashi Photograph Office This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Tilt Roof House / BCHO Architects Posted: 05 Dec 2016 12:00 PM PST  © Sergio Pirrone
 © Sergio Pirrone From the architect. The subterranean Tilt Roof House is set amid peaceful mountains and rice fields an hour east of Seoul in Korea. The house shows our understanding and consideration of "Ki", which is the traditional term for the universal energy that permeates through everything.  © Sergio Pirrone  Section  © Sergio Pirrone Tilt Roof House tries to respect the natural energy flow of the existing mountains and celebrates a primal relationship between experiential qualities of the surrounding nature and a building. By taking advantage of the steep slope around the site, the house blends with the topography and is partially embedded into the ground, while minimizing the excavation of the earth. The roof is tilted to follow the slope of the hill while disappearing into the ground. It is built with careful consideration of construction efficiency and the surrounding nature without disrupting the energy flow. Mass composition of this house is a result of the adaptation of the existing topography line from the north and the parallel line of the adjacent street in the main access area.  © Sergio Pirrone  Section  © Sergio Pirrone The house also utilizes the sloped roof-top as a terrace. It is punctuated by three square boxes: two recessed boxes and one courtyard box. The two partially recessed squares not only serve as outdoor furniture but also distinguish different programs, such as the master bedroom and kitchen underneath the terrace. The central courtyard allows natural light penetration and makes the interior space more desirable and breathable. The heavy pour-in-place concrete and the pressure treated black-stained pine wood exterior is in contrast to the warm and ambient light created by the bright yellow birch plywood interior. The curvature of the interior wall along the central courtyard softens the pointed corners created by the triangular shape from the living room to the reading area. During the summer time, wind blows from south to north, inducing air circulation from the courtyard, where the kitchen is located creating cross-ventilation.  © Sergio Pirrone  1st Floor Plan  © Sergio Pirrone This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| KM Kindergarten and Nursery / HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro Posted: 05 Dec 2016 11:00 AM PST  © Ryuji Inoue / Studio Bauhaus
 © Ryuji Inoue / Studio Bauhaus From the architect. The project which is an old decrepit kindergarten located at Izumi city in the south of Osaka.  © Ryuji Inoue / Studio Bauhaus Izumi is a city which take the textile as the main industry from long time ago. But now as the work transfer to the overseas where has cheap labor, the local industry recession is today's situation. About this planning, we set two topics.  © Ryuji Inoue / Studio Bauhaus  Floor Plans  © Ryuji Inoue / Studio Bauhaus One is, By daily activities to solve kids' lake of exercise which caused by inadequate site. Another is, for teaching kids about the local history, put in the element of textile which representative the local industry. Concretely, for increasing the amount of exercise in the inadequate site, made an environment that kids can run around, and undulating ground.  © Ryuji Inoue / Studio Bauhaus The building is surround the middle yard, and ramp which people can climb from first flower to roof is be built. By this plan, kids can bend to a squat and climb to the roof, and then run around get down from stairs to the middle yard. And all these activities make kids' amount of exercise has been greatly improved. About the local industry, as one of the mine idea of the design, by using fabric to make the sign and paste carpet on the wall for letting kids play on it, to actualize that the building materials can be touched softly, and also can let kids feel the material texture.  © Ryuji Inoue / Studio Bauhaus This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Victorian Residence / Architecton Posted: 05 Dec 2016 09:00 AM PST  © Jack Lovel
From the architect. Middle Park is home to some of the best preserved and aged architecture in the city of Melbourne, and this extension to a three bedroom private residence builds upon this reputation. A material palette of stone, concrete and metal integrates an interplay of languages that will stand the test of time.  © Jack Lovel  Ground Floor Plan  © Jack Lovel Whilst the street frontage remains untouched, the rear addition enhances the historical context of the Victorian terrace character with a contemporary counterpart, sympathetic to its surroundings and secret from the busy main road.  © Jack Lovel This hovering hidden gem delineates an alfresco area affixed to an open planned living space, affirming the theme of integration, and creating a pastiche of past and present that is perpetually worthy of its time and place.  © Jack Lovel  Section  © Jack Lovel This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The World's Most Instagrammed Cities and Architecture of 2016 Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:00 AM PST  In 2016, Instagram grew from popular picture viewing app to essential social media tool with over 300 million active users and 95 million photos and videos per day. A digital journal of sorts, the platform is now the best way to let your friends and followers know where you are, what you're doing or what inspires you. Our own instagram page, curated by our founder and Editor-in-Chief David Basulto, is a travel feed of fantastic architecture from around the world. But which places and buildings were Instagram users' favorites this year? Check out the list of most geotagged cities, locations, museums and hotels below! The Most Geotagged Cities of 2016 New York City The Most Instagrammed Locations of 20161. Disney Theme Parks (Global) 2. Universal Studios Theme Parks (Global) 3. Central Park (New York City) 4. Times Square (New York City) 7. Las Vegas Strip (Las Vegas) 8. Santa Monica Pier (Los Angeles) 9. Brooklyn Bridge (New York City) 10. VDNKh (Moscow) The Most Instagrammed Hotels of 2016 Las Vegas MGM Grand used under CC BY-SA 1.0 <a href='http://https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/'>https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/</a> 1. MGM Grand Las Vegas 2. W New York - Times Square 3. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas 4. Atlantis The Palm, Dubai 5. Caesars Palace (Las Vegas) 6. Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino 7. Fontainebleau Miami Beach 8. Wynn Las Vegas 9. Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel (Official) 10. The Venetian Macao, Macau The Most Instagrammed Museums of 2016 The Louvre in Paris 1. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France 2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 3. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York 4. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles 6. World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial (aka National September 11 Memorial & Museum), New York 7. American Museum of Natural History, New York 8. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 10. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago News via CNN. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2016 07:00 AM PST .jpg?1478751826 "© Bruce Damonte") © Bruce Damonte
 © Bruce Damonte From the architect. Nestled in the heart of SoHo, XOCO 325 is a luxury condominium that sits on the site of a former chocolate factory. The ground-up new development has been designed, developed and constructed by DDG and elegantly references SoHo's celebrated cast-iron loft buildings, while while forging a balance between classic and contemporary design. The striking cast-aluminum façade, which seems to float in front of the glass curtain wall, is a modern interpretation of the district's historic cast-iron loft buildings.  © Robert Granoff The impressive design extends beyond the façade into the lobby, where residents are greeted with an elevated design experience. The lobby is outfitted with a bluestone floor and a custom chandelier. Sculptural wallsare richly textured with board-formed concrete and complement in-situ cast-concrete furnishings.  © Robert Granoff Each of the one-to four-bedroom residences offers impressive detailing such as custom plasterwork and radiant heated flooring. In an effort to create a smooth transition between the building's bold exterior architecture and warm inviting interiors, the residences offer ceiling heights starting from 10 feet, and open layouts that accentuate a luxury lifestyle.  © Robert Granoff  2nd Floor Plan  © Robert Granoff A truly unique feature at XOCO325 is a private courtyard garden that features a naturally lit, sculptural concrete fitness studio. In addition to a private garden, the building offer additional amenities, including a 24/7 concierge / doorman, a bike room and private storage.  © Robert Granoff Product Description. One of the most central and unique materials used in the construction of XOCO 325 is cast aluminum. Taking its inspiration from the Soho Cast Iron Historic District in which it is located, the building is cloaked in a custom cast aluminum façade that seems to float over a hanging glass wall. The striking design was slowly conceived of through DDG's extensive survey and research of the neighborhood – in which it found 250 cast iron loft buildings. XOCO 325's façade derived from the designers' fascination with the historic buildings' "kit of parts" industrialization and its reliance upon componentry and patterns. To celebrate this style of architecture, yet modernize it for the 21st century, DDG opted to replicate the bay spacing found in the area, use cast aluminum as it is lighter and more affordable, and hang the custom structure over a massive glass wall, in order to maintain a sense of privacy for residents.  © Bruce Damonte This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Call for Submissions: 2016 Holiday Card Challenge Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:00 AM PST
It's that time of year again! At ArchDaily we clearly appreciate holiday cards with an architectural spin, and we want to see your card designs. Whether that involves a Paul Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, an ornament detail or even a gingerbread Villa Savoye, here's a chance to submit your own architectural holiday card to be hung above ArchDaily's digital mantle. We thoroughly enjoy the creativity of our readers and look forward to viewing your submissions! Competition Guidelines:
How to share a link to your submission: Any submissions that do not conform to the guidelines will not be considered. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Secondary School / Dietrich | Untertrifaller Architekten Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:00 AM PST  © Bruno Klomfar
 © Bruno Klomfar The new secondary school of Klaus was built to replace the existing school, and designed with energy efficiency and budget in mind. After a record construction time of only 18 months (upon nominating the winner of the competition), classes began at the school, which consumes less than 15 kWh/m² total energy per year and fulfils Vorarlberg passive-house guidelines.  © Bruno Klomfar The building has a long front facade which houses the library and atrium and orients to the street. The class clusters and associated rooms are located in a wing that branches off to the north, creating an exterior courtyard area to the northeast. This wing is oriented so that classrooms are separated on the east façade from group and administration rooms on the west by a central three story corridor, which is crossed by individual foot bridges that access each classroom. The building achieved construction costs of only three percent above that of a conventional construction project, and reduced energy costs by seventy percent compared to the old school building, while still maintaining an attention to detail.  © Bruno Klomfar  Floor Plan 01 In the second construction phase, a sports facility was added to replace the existing sports building. The two-story sports hall and the three-story multi-purpose area (which provides rooms for day care, clubs, and events) can be reached from the school building by walking under the elevated library, allowing for protection from the elements.  © Bruno Klomfar  Floor Plan 02 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Wendell Burnette Architects Designs “Mirage” Hotel for Saudi Arabia’s 1st UNESCO Site Posted: 05 Dec 2016 04:00 AM PST .jpg?1480955128 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects Wendell Burnette Architects has released images of their design for Saudi Arabia's 1st UNESCO World Heritage Site, the MADA'IN SALEH or HEGRA south of Petra; which has recently been approved by The Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage. .jpg?1480955043 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects Project Description via Wendell Burnette Architects Our hotel concept for the MADA'IN SALEH UNESCO World Heritage Site is designed as a mirage within the south edge of the Jabal Ithlib (Mountain of Standing Stones). From afar, our design intends to recede, to disappear into an isolated group of smaller standing stones as an anonymous base constructed of light silica stone from the sand plain in a simple geometry - quiet and humble and unknown to the roads approaching the Jabal Ithlib and the ancient city of Hegra. .jpg?1480955163 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects From any direction on foot, on camelback, on horseback or by carriage - no glass, no reflections, only a low stepped sandstone base - even at night, one may only discern the warm glow of a group of campfires around some island rocks. .jpg?1480955112 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects Within this low base plinth we find a solitary stationary stone camp around a magical Rock Garden, filled with voices, the sounds of Lute, the Rabada and the smells of burning Al Samar Wood, Oud Incense, and outdoor cooking. In the spring night, the entire camp is perfumed with the smell of a thousand Al Ula Citrus blossums. In the morning, the camp wakes up to the sound of Nabataean well water filling the stone channels, which feed the grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes and as starlight gives way to the sun - stone-paved streets softly echo with the sounds of sandal covered feet, the rustle of fabric dress and hushed conversation making their way to early morning prayer or a light breakfast. .jpg?1480955095 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects .jpg?1480955061 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects At the heart of the stone camp we find the smaller standing stones – a Rock Garden, which provide a focus for the public life of the camp, a stepped town square from where one can see out in all directions; through and between the solitary stones to the Jabal Ithlib north and most prominently the mysterious Standing Stones that form the ever-changing west ridge. .jpg?1480955407 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects .jpg?1480955462 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects .jpg?1480955512 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects From the public rooms surrounding the town square expansive views fan out over the stone tabula rasa base toward the Wadi of Al-Hijr southeast and the distant jagged peaks that form the canyon valleys at Al Ula southwest; all the while revealing nothing of the scale of the camp below and behind the Rock Garden or the private languid life within. One arrives in this remote desert camp from a large wooden gate between two large stones where we are welcomed into a formal Acacia Grove forming a large shaded arrival court. .jpg?1480955145 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects Emanating from the heart of the town square are ramps, stepped plazas, a long corniche or promenade and self-shaded streets or Siq's; which all lead ones eyes and feet out onto the vast sand plain, the Jabal Ithlib and the Mada'in Saleh … maybe on camel and / or horseback. Along the way, one also discovers an unexpected desert oasis threaded throughout the walls of the village camp - Citrus Courts of every variety, deep water wells, water channels, shallow reflecting pools w/ fountains. .jpg?1480955197 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects .jpg?1480955182 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects With a bronze key one unlocks a smaller wooden gate to your own private camp / courtyard or estraha replete with the sound and smell of precious life-giving water, abundant shade, and in the Spring season - bees, wildflowers - and always day and night a framed solitary view of infamous Arabian Deserta. News via Wendell Burnette Architects. .jpg?1480954917 "model images by Bill Timmerman") model images by Bill Timmerman .jpg?1480955235 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects") Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ancient Farm Renovation / Studiomas architetti Posted: 05 Dec 2016 03:00 AM PST  © Marco Zanta
 © Marco Zanta From the architect. In the countryside between Parma and Reggio Emilia there are several ancient farms, now abandoned or in ruins. All of them have the same features, so that it is possible to recognize a building type: a compact block on three levels hosting the farmer's residence, completed by a stretched volume hosting the cattle at the ground floor and the hay at the first floor. The cattleshed has three naves divided by brick columns supporting a vaulted brick ceiling, the barn consists in a big hall opened to the South, with pillars supporting oak trusses and a brick roof; both they are screened from the sun by a deep and high portico with brick paving.  © Marco Zanta  Isometric  © Marco Zanta The project consist in a conservative restoration of the cattleshed volume and in a renovation of the dwelling spaces. All the existing brick and stone walls, all the brick floors and roofs have been maintened, or, if damaged, they have been dismantled, restored piece by piece and reassembled; the same work has been done for the oak beams, the doors, the iron railings, the stairs and all the elements that it was possible to recover. Therefore in this way a project can preserve the witnesses of a long tale.  © Marco Zanta  Section  © Marco Zanta Since the house is located in an active earthquake zone, the structure has been reinforced with steel prosthesis, hidden into the walls, the wood beams and the roofs.  © Marco Zanta This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 7 Challenges That Prevent Architectural Originality, and How To Overcome Them Posted: 05 Dec 2016 01:30 AM PST  © Ariana Zilliacus. Original work using images by <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/448774/heydar-aliyev-center-zaha-hadid-architects'>Iwan Baan</a>, <a href='http://snohetta.com/project/42-norwegian-national-opera-and-ballet'>Jens Passoth</a>, <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/384289/serpentine-pavilion-sou-fujimoto'>Daniel Portilla</a> and <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/339893/bigs-waste-to-energy-plant-breaks-ground-breaks-schemas'>BIG</a> "Originality is dead" is not an uncommon phrase to hear in our modern, information packed era of Big Data and easy access to source material. If you take a look at Google's Ngram Viewer, the use of the word "originality" appears to have waned; it is now roughly as common as it was at in 1800, with its peak use occurring just before 1900. So what was going on around that peak time? In 1893, the first moving pictures were played; in 1989, the first escalator was installed; in 1899, aspirin was invented; and 1901 saw the first wireless transmission sent from England to Canada. [1] At that time, the development of various forms of technology was allowing and encouraging people to explore and fulfill ideas that could only have been dreamed of in the past. But without this injection of new tools, it's difficult to compete with 200,000 years of new ideas; so to help you do so, here are seven aspects of our modern world that make it difficult to come up with original ideas, and ways you can combat them. 1. The Social Sharing EffectWith the constant media feed that now occupies our multiple screens, it's pretty much impossible not to see the same things your coworkers or classmates see; and equally impossible not to subconsciously incorporate someone else's idea into your own. The problem is that if everyone does this, it becomes hard to avoid similarities between projects and presentations. Taking the extra effort to look for sources that are relevant but not fed on en masse could not only potentially open your eyes to something completely unexpected, but will also work to separate your ideas from the crowd. True originality may be an impossible phenomenon, but this is nothing to be ashamed of. We take previous ideas and experiences, learn from them, and make them better by combining them with something new. You just have to learn to look for original sources.  © Ariana Zilliacus. Original work using images by <a href='http://www.visitdenmark.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleries_ratio/public/vdk_images/Attractions-Activities-interest-accommodation-people-geo/Geography-places/The-regions/Vest-jylland/facebook-fan-photo-ringkobing_by_anne_sophie_zolna_gautrelet.jpg?itok=ye_UZpG0'>Anne Sophie Zolna Gautrelet</a>, <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/211943/starbucks-coffee-kengo-kuma-associates'>Masao Nishikawa</a>, <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/444857/timber-structure-archery-hall-and-boxing-club-ft-architects'>Shigeo Ogawa</a> and <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/484981/sunnyhills-at-minami-aoyama-kengo-kuma-and-associates'>Daici Ano</a> 2. New Technological ChallengesNew technology that is evolving at an exceptional rate can be intimidating – many of the things you learn will soon be outdated. Yet it's important for some to take the challenge to step out of his or her comfort zone and into this sometimes-ungraspable field of new architectural technology. Using the new techniques that are constantly popping up, and more importantly, combining these new techniques with age-old tools, is a way to explore largely uncovered ground. Before the Industrial Revolution for example, architecture had remained largely unchanged for years. Then came the age of steel and mass production, and from it emerged the Eiffel Tower and the New York skyline. Of course now building high is no longer a novelty; originality only lasts for so long.  © Ariana Zilliacus. Original work using images by <a href='https://sickline.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/the-gherkin/'>Hufton + Crow</a>, <a href='http://ibuku.com/keyprojects/green-school/'>Ibuku</a> and Ariana Zilliacus 3. Geographical LimitationsStaying within one's home country throughout one's education and maybe even professional life, can be a very comfortable, safe option to take. The effect that this has on your originality, though, is less than comforting; fortunately, exchange between cultures is becoming a more common design approach around the world, allowing us to learn from one another. The essence of this is exemplified in projects such as this one by Ingvartsen Architects. Combining ideas and problem solving from a wide breadth of experiences can give birth to design solutions that would have been impossible in the past with less efficient transportation and communication systems. Taking advantage of the resources we have for a wide cultural and geographical understanding can help to fight the generic glass buildings that make up "Notopia."  © Ariana Zilliacus 4. Material LimitationsDespite the specific contextual parameters that come with encoding and programming building design, architecture created in this way has somehow managed to all blend into a single idea of what parametric buildings can be. The originality that catapulted Zaha Hadid Architects, among others, to fame, is perhaps losing its futuristic appeal to the point of being overdone. Mixing up methods and materials used for different steps in a design process could add a breath of fresh air; instead of using technology to come up with form and sticking to the use of traditional materials, try form finding with old building techniques and experiment with the material components.  © Ariana Zilliacus. Original work using image by <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/422470/ad-classics-the-guggenheim-museum-bilbao-frank-gehry'> Flickr user RonG8888</a> 5. Becoming Attached to Ideas"Kill your darlings" is something every person along the architecture journey has heard before. It's hard not to get attached to a design you've been working over in your mind, practically lived in and convinced yourself is the best way to go. Unfortunately, innovation rarely comes out of that one great idea. Many of the most successful people in history have had many failures along the way before succeeding. Thomas Edison for example, invented the light bulb, the phonograph and the carbon transmitter needed for telephones within 5 years; what's less talked about are the over 100 patents he filed for now-forgotten inventions. [2] Generating more ideas will statistically give you a higher chance for getting it just right. The struggle between quality and quantity, especially when pressed by time and money, is possibly one of the biggest barriers stopping architects from achieving originality. One possible way to try to overcome this is to, for example, take part in competitions on a regular basis. This will allow for a large quantity of ideas to be generated, slowly building up experience that can be used as a resource to come up with original designs in the future.  © Ariana Zilliacus 6. Industry SpecializationSpecialization in modern society is another factor playing against originality. In the past there were "Renaissance Men" like Leonardo da Vinci, who essentially knew a lot about a lot, in part because there was less information to acquire but also because up until recently, it was ordinary to fully follow an idea through into production. In other words, one didn't require very much external knowledge to come up with something new and unique. In current times, specialization has ensured that for every new creation, there are multiple industries with different sets of relevant knowledge. So what do you do? Study until the age of 75, covering a degree in architecture, engineering, ecology and design? Alternatively you could extend your social circle to include people who are already knowledgeable in these fields; people who feel the same way about construction and design as you do, such that idea generation and communication is as unrestricted as possible. Finding a good team can lead you a long way.  © Ariana Zilliacus. Original work using images by <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/363164/parkroyal-on-pickering-woha-2'>Patrick Bingham-Hall</a> and Ariana Zilliacus 7. Image CultureOur modern image-based culture has turned the process of architectural design into one of the creation of beautiful objects. The danger of this is that architects can work towards creating that beautiful object instead of prioritizing the requirements of the design itself, resulting in a very open-ended design process. Let's not forget that restrictions foster creativity – so create restrictions for yourself. Writing down a set of values that you hold as an architect, a set of values that your buildings should achieve, can force you to uphold requirements in decision-making situations that your architecture must comply with. Creating something that is so closely tied to your values as an architect and a human being will undoubtedly help you work towards creating something as individual as yourself. References:
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| Les Closiaux / Dominique Coulon & associés Posted: 05 Dec 2016 01:00 AM PST  © Eugeni Pons
 © Eugeni Pons From the architect. The building is located in a 1950s residential area in the Paris suburbs. The large sports hall is positioned at the far end of the site, giving the street a degree of amplitude and generating a public space which reinforces the building's status as a community facility. The volume of the accommodation is in keeping with the houses in the neighbourhood. The fragmentation of the programmes produces a displacement between the two volumes, offering glimpses of the central part of the site and opening up views towards the gardens.  Diagram This dispersion of volumes is contradicted by a continuous canopy which breaks up the perspective by obliquely distorting and twisting the vanishing lines. As it unfolds, it creates an invisible balance between the various points of tension the length of the canopy.  © Eugeni Pons The displacement of the volumes expands the space and sets up contradictory vanishing lines. This open, dynamic shape alters the perception of limits and loosens the usual relationships between street and site. Architecture ceases to be a border between public and private spaces – the building allows glimpses of what is usually concealed.  © Eugeni Pons  Ground Floor  © Eugeni Pons A completely transparent gallery offers views from the street of the outline of the changing rooms. The contrasts produced by the matte, shiny and transparent surfaces accentuate the impression of an abstraction of space.  © Eugeni Pons The large hall has natural lighting on the upper part of all four sides, with opalescent glass diffusing a uniformly soft light. The ceiling appears to be in a state of levitation, and the structure is absorbed to the point of disappearance by the double thickness of the glass. The lower part of the hall comprises spaced vertical slats; one side of the slats is grey. The hollows house the technical services and the black-coloured acoustic treatment. These gaps reinforce the impression of depth and lend thickness to the whole.  © Eugeni Pons The grey concrete, the glass, and the shiny and matte surfaces are varied over the different spaces, creating a timeless atmosphere.  Section This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Economic and Social Power of Walkable Cities Posted: 05 Dec 2016 12:00 AM PST  New York, USA. Image © Flickr User: Jeffrey Zeldman. Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Over the last few years, the way Americans move around has changed remarkably, especially among young people. Previously the automobile was people’s preferred, if not the only, option. Now they are choosing to walk, bike, or use public transport according to recent studies. This difference in preferred transportation methods has generated many benefits not only for residents but also for cities, in both economic and social terms.
A study conducted in 2014 by Smart Growth America, dedicated to improving communities, in conjunction with the George Washington University School of Business and the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, of 30 metropolitan areas were classified according to how walkable they are and how this influences their commercial development, talent attraction, or the educational level of people who are in those places and the economic performance of the sector. The study found the three most pedestrian cities to be Washington DC (1st), New York (2nd) and Boston (3rd), while on the opposite end of the spectrum were Tampa (28th), Phoenix (29th) and Orlando (30th). However, aside from each city’s position on the list, the investigation was able to obtain other data that until now had not been related to walkability. For example, that walkable cities have a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 38% higher than those which are not and which in turn attracts people with a higher educational level, becoming more socially equitable. This same study was carried out again this year and its results have just been published. This time the first part is based on the fact that "for the first time in 60 years, walkable urban places (WalkUPs) in all 30 of the largest metropolitan areas are gaining market share over their drivable sub-urban competition." Within the 30 metropolitan areas, 619 WalkUPs were evaluated, but represent, on average, 1% of the entire surface of a city. The population of the 30 zones represents 46% of the population of the United States, equivalent to 145 of 314 million inhabitants and at the same time generates 54% of the national GDP. In each of these 30 places, they calculated the percentage of areas in the WalkUPs that are made up of businesses, offices and rental properties to compare it with the area they occupy in the metropolitan area. According to this methodology, the results for this year show that New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle are the most walkable. But how does this relate to the economic performance of the area and the educational level of those who pass through there? As stated in the study, these indicators are linked "in some way." Land use and economy wise, research showed that walkable urban development appears to revitalize downtown areas and urbanize the suburbs, however, the greatest benefits are found in the former. On the other hand, the more walkable areas are socially more equitable because they have low transportation costs and greater access to job offers that compensate for higher housing costs. The results can be seen in the following tables:  Click on the image to enlarge. Image © Source: Study "Foot Traffic Ahead 2016".  Click on the image to enlarge. Image © Source: Study "Foot Traffic Ahead 2016".  Click on the image to enlarge. Image © Source: Study "Foot Traffic Ahead 2016". The "Foot Traffic Ahead 2016" study can be downloaded here. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Glass Box Project / Studio 304 Architecture Posted: 04 Dec 2016 09:00 PM PST  © Jason Taylor Photography
 © Jason Taylor Photography A glass box extension allows light to the interior of the property and provides views over the adjacent park from the ground floor living spaces. Shaded from the sun by the orientation of the existing house, this new frameless glazed element takes advantage of the unique view from this end of terrace property.  © Jason Taylor Photography  Section  © Jason Taylor Photography The project includes a basement excavation to the existing cellar and an acoustically isolated music room. At ground floor level the bespoke joinery features window seats and opaque windows to effectively bring the light provided into the centre of the property.  © Jason Taylor Photography The joinery featured in the kitchen / dining area was designed to benefit from the volume of light allowed into the living spaces. A restrained palette of ceramic tiles, spray lacquered mdf and dark stained oak were used to create a practical space with clean lines, but also a space with depth and warmth. A darker ceramic tile from the same family as the light grey floor tile was used to finish the kitchen splashback and storage recesses, while all of the recesses were clad with dark oak to accentuate the depth. Both the enlarged window seat and opaque window to the basement are also lined with dark oak, their frames hidden within the joinery in a similar vein to the structural steel supporting the larger glass box.  © Jason Taylor Photography  © Jason Taylor Photography This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
.jpg?1480954917 "model images by Bill Timmerman")
.jpg?1480955095 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects")
.jpg?1480955043 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects")
.jpg?1480955462 "Courtesy of Wendell Burnette Architects")
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