Arch Daily |
- W Hotel “Bank” Building / Office Winhov
- After "Are We Human?" – Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley Discuss the Istanbul Manifesto
- Garður Landhouse / Studio Granda
- Casa Acreditar Porto / Atelier do cardoso arquitectos
- Multi-Place / EKAR
- Hangzhou New World Business Center 'E' Block / The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University
- The March Hare / L'EAU design
- 580 George Street Lobby Upgrade / fjmt
- This 3D-Printer Uses Holograms for Super-Fast Printing
- Homeaway / Studio North
- Louis Kahn's Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad Photographed by Laurian Ghinitoiu
- La Part des Anges / BUPA Architectures
- MVRDV + Austin-Smith:Lord Selected to Reinvigorate Downtown Glasgow
- High Meadow Dwellings at Fallingwater / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
- OMA's Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten Selected to Design MPavilion 2017
- 11 Vernacular Building Techniques That Are Disappearing
- 2 Houses in Puertecillo / 2DM
- RAAAF is Breaking Habits With a Vision of a Home Without Chairs
- Wedding Oasis: Call for Entries
- skinnySCAR / Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman
| W Hotel “Bank” Building / Office Winhov Posted: 20 Feb 2017 09:00 PM PST  © Stefan Müller
 © Stefan Müller From the architect. The restoration and transformation for the former Kas Bank building will rejuvenate this national monument converting it into a five-star W hotel. The building, ori- ginally designed by F.W.M. Poggenbeek in 1908 was expended in phases until 1932. The building follows the classical typology of bank buildings with vaults on the ground floor and basement, a monumental bank hall on the first floor and offices above. The building is one of the first concrete constructions in the Nether- lands and is finished with a sandstone facade.  © Stefan Müller  Section  © Stefan Müller The new design respects the building monumental character, enhances it and transforms it into a public building. The 'Bank' building will house a spa, a desti- nation bar and luxurious restaurant. Along the Spuis- traat it includes a 'creative incubator' for Dutch talent to showcase their fashion, art and design work. The upper floors house 66 guestrooms and suites as ex- tension of the W hotel opposite located in the former Government Office for Transactions and Telephony.  Isometric Program The historical elements of the building, such as the fa- çade, the vaults, the public hall and the staircases are carefully restored. The added components are dis- tinguished by contemporary materials and restrained detailing, making them reconizable but harmonizing with the existing building.  © Stefan Müller This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| After "Are We Human?" – Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley Discuss the Istanbul Manifesto Posted: 20 Feb 2017 08:00 PM PST  Universal Space Program, Voyager — Humanity in Interstellar Space. 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial (2016) – Alt. Image © Sahir Ugur Eren With Are We Human—the exhibition of the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial, which ran for one month at the end of 2016—curators Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley were researching the fundamental notion of 'design'. Their historic, cultural and conceptual exploration attempted to unravel the various programs and ambitions behind a (mainly) market driven inventiveness, which is presented as progress. This pushed the notion of design and the biennale as a format beyond their established definitions.  This interview was first published by Volume in their 50th issue, Beyond Beyond, the editorial of which is available to read here. You can also find a full list of the partipants in the event here and read ArchDaily's interview with the curators prior to its opening. Arjen Oosterman: What precisely has been your ambition with this insane show, knowing that a general audience will understand maybe 10% of the intelligence and ideas behind the installations and the show at large? Beatriz Colomina: Why is it insane? Even if I have nothing against the insane! The insanity is the scale. Mark Wigley: It is very ambitious. BC: Ambition is good, even though it's full of risk. MW: The concept of the show is that design has gone viral and is now in fact organizing much of contemporary life. But much contemporary life is not good so our concept of good design is no longer good. If we really want to reboot the conversation about design and start again it requires a trigger, and so the idea of the exhibition is to act as a fuse for a whole new conversation. We've often said that we would feel happy with the exhibition if we could see that four or five years later quite different ideas are being generated which could be traced back to lighting this fuse.  3rd Istanbul Design Biennial (2016) – Galata Greek School. Image © Sahir Ugur Eren BC: The idea of good design first emerged as a product of the Industrial Revolution – the creation of a new kind of human that works from 8am until 5pm that travels from the place in which they live to the place in which they work. We are now living through another incredible transformation in the way that we live, communicate with one another, make love – but at the same time we're working with an outdated concept of design that belongs to a time in which objects were being produced by machines for the first time. We think that this is no longer valid; that the idea of good design is no longer sufficient for our time. Actually, we think the public gets 90% of the show. They don't just look at it, they are eating it. It is more traumatic for designers. It's a very specific definition of 'good' and of 'design'. MW: One of the primary modes by which this now ubiquitous concept was incubated was through exhibitions, beginning with London's Great Exhibition of 1852. In that sense we are using an almost classical model here in Istanbul – that one uses exhibitions to attract attention to the gestation of an idea and, as with the Great Exhibition, it's an intellectual work carried out within the genre of a popular show. The Great Exhibition was an exhibition of and for the people and yet there was also a huge negotiation between designers, industry and government. There really was a coalition to formulate the concept of design! In this exhibition there is a very necessary deconstruction taking place in order to unravel the notion design and its agency. A key statement is that "the actual ambition of design is to create a better human," which is a very compelling idea, reversing the relationship between object and its user or producer. Yet this also suggests, or perhaps even implies, an evolution: today we're very different animals compared to what we were two millennia ago, let alone 20,000 years ago. But if I read a Roman writer like Catullus, I meet a contemporary; that man could have been my neighbor! He is not an alien or a primitive, he is in fact struggling with the same emotions and existential issues that I am. MW: That's a great observation and something that we're particularly interested in too. The human being that redesigns itself is clearly, on the one hand, an extremely contemporary phenomenon. Look at Beatriz's research on how social media now transforms the human, for example. But that degree of transformation isn't different from when Beatriz describes the effect of the first pair of shoes – the utter strangeness of them, the way shoes produced a new human. The human being is always a question mark and design is the way we engage with that question. So in that sense this is definitely a show against 'the new'. The tradition of the design biennale is to market new products; the idea that yesterday was in the laboratory, now it is in the showroom, and tomorrow you can buy it in the shop. We're saying: "No! This exhibition will be a historical show" and that it's truly fascinating to look at how things began. To give one crucial example: the whole idea of the post-human was clearly articulated in England in the face of industrialization through thinkers like Mary Shelley, Samuel Butler, and so on. Modern design, therefore, comes from the post-human – it was a response to the horrifying thought that humans were being treated like machines in the industrial world, and that machines were a new form of life. Already in the 1850s, Samuel Butler was suggesting that these machines might no longer need us. The notion that the superhuman, or the cyborg, is a contemporary idea is ridiculous.  Curatorial Team, The Invention of the Human. 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial (2016) – Alt. Image © Sahir Ugur Eren BC: It really has been around for a very long time – you can argue that prosthetics start with humanity. The moment that you have a stick, or an axe… MW: There isn't such a thing as small augmentation. Buckminster Fuller argued that words were the first tool, the first extension of the body. But he went further by saying that the body itself is the prosthetic addition to the mind. The mind only fantasizes that the body is a part of it. Everything about us has been added. You have mentioned that you don't necessarily want to take a moral position with this show but it could be argued that many of the installations on display do. MW: We're saying that there has to be an ethical moment for design to evaluate its own responsibilities, but what we do not say in the exhibitions is how. David Benjamin's installation says, for instance, that the invention of a genetically modified mosquito to prevent the spread of the Zika virus in Brazil needs ethical consideration. When you can design an insect, you need a wide-ranging interdisciplinary discourse to discuss what might be deemed ethical or not. And this is one of the reasons why the proportion of designers in the show is not particularly high. Design is no longer in the hand of designers.  Curatorial Team, Design in 2 Seconds – Curatorial Intervention. 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial (2016) – Alt. Image © Sahir Ugur Eren BC: Ruha Benjamin, who is teaching African-American studies at Princeton University, is often part of a group of people who are in discussion with Washington about the ethics of genetics. And this group are always composed of lawmakers, politicians, and scientists – but representatives from the Humanities were never invited, even though they are fundamental to the discourse. She calls for another kind of conversation, an urgent ongoing debate involving the humanities. MW: We are not saying that designers should start being ethical – we are arguing that design must be a crucial part of the ethical conversation that has now become urgent, simply because of the way that we're treating one another. If it's more about how design becomes a crucial part of any ethical debate and what are the repercussions for design itself? We argue that the traditional function of design is much more about denial, erasure and serving an anesthetic function than about engagement. Design has not been a way of addressing questions but a prophylactic layer. There is no point telling designers to be ethical because they already think they are. Rather it is a matter of looking for alternative modes of design as engaging rather than denying.  m-a-u-s-e-r, Köçek Dance Floor. 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial (2016) – Alt. Image © Sahir Ugur Eren And is 'life without objects' representative of such a position? BC: Superstudio is very prophetic in a way... MW: …and absolutely relevant. Interestingly, Neyran Turan, one of the brilliant young Turkish architects in the show, produced an almost pure Archizoom / Superstudio project – and she is not disconnected in a utopia; she recognizes in that period exactly these sorts of questions. Let's talk about the very notion of design itself. In English design can be a very confusing word – there isn't the kind of differentiation that there is in Dutch and German, for example, from architecture. BC: Yes, because design is a wholly English term that originated in this very debate in the nineteenth-century. In fact, if you read it in Italian – disegno – it means 'drawing' as an act and a thought, drawing as thinking and vice versa. When I arrived in the United States to the School of Architecture at Columbia University, and I heard about 'design studios', I was confused and thought the school was also teaching industrial design. You simply do not use the word 'design' for architecture in Spanish. This misunderstanding is a problem and that's why it is now up for reevaluation. Design is an English word that came up from a very particular condition and now it is taking hold of the world: politicians talk about design thinking, schools of business use the word to describe whole new departments. The most powerful company in the world (Apple) has based its success on design; even companies that have nothing to do with design have Chief Design Officers these days with the same status as Chief Financial Officer. Today, everything is designed and so called design-thinking applied to anything because it is considered inherently good.  Pedro Alonso, Hugo Palmarola, Archaeology of Things Larger than Earth. 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial (2016) – Alt. Image © Sahir Ugur Eren MW: We have worked on a really detailed study of the word design and, indeed, it transpired that it is the current use is absolutely British. We found the moment in which it was invented, and why. It came into being out of the country's jealousy toward Prussia and France in the early decades of the 19th Century. The English were very confused by the fact that they were the world's foremost industrial power but did not have the ability to shape the objects in the way that the French and the Germans (Prussians) were doing, so they sent a government delegation to study and to try to understand why Europeans appeared to have this ability. BC: It was especially puzzling because it related to mass industrialization – a phenomenon that was invented by the British themselves. The reason was that the French and Prussians had government backing; they had schools, museums, associations and the like. So the British decided to implement that model and before long Germany were sending people to Great Britain to try to understand the English way! MW: It was born out of jealousy, then – which is always a strong motivational force. As the English invented the word 'design', the concept is explicitly engaged with industrialization. But what does all of this mean? It means that design was invented to deal with the trauma of industrialization; it was primarily about the extraordinary shock of the rapid transformation of the machine, of the human body, of the economy, and the associated forms of conflict and wars. The British created a colonial empire of people brutally assigned varying degrees of humanity, so the question was how to make this elaborately formed zoo survive in a world of machines – which do not have hereditary titles or a class system. This is the reason why the word has been so successful, because there has been an inoculation of denial to deal with a very strange world. The conception of design as disegno, in the 15th and 16th Centuries, is almost completely the opposite, having been born from a sort of exaggerated or wishful confidence in the human ability to faithfully represent the invisible order of God – to make objects that are more beautiful than the planet itself. So once the birth and mission of the generic concept of design is clarified, we insist that it makes sense to reboot the word in the face of today's trauma – trauma that has moved on to a completely different scale when the planet itself has become a human artifact. This is the motivating force behind the entire exhibition: we need to redesign design, and that is a genuinely collaborative project.  3rd Istanbul Design Biennial (2016) – Galata Greek School. Image © Sahir Ugur Eren BC: It is to redefine the human and to redefine humanity. MW: So this biennale is not so focused on the role of the designer and the products designed by him or her, but more about asking what design could be right now? Speaking as teachers, it is unclear if there are any schools of architecture in the world that are really interested in the current state of the human being, even though the people in the departments in every school of architecture are adamant that they are the only loyal representative of the human being. What you'll usually see in drawings are young white men, aged between twenty and thirty, on skateboards accompanied by models – and this reveals a deep cynicism, because even though you might occasionally see someone is black, disabled, sick, restrained, lost, confused, bored, dead, or having a bad day these rare glimpses are always positioned in relation to the supposedly humanizing effects of design, underlining the idea that people are so lucky to live in the Architect's design. We argue that while architecture says that it is always about the human and that it cares about people, it is profoundly uninterested in the human. Imagine bringing the human in as a client, because then the architect's question would be "What the hell are you?" It's actually pretty promising for design, because the human actually turns out to be the weirdest thing there is. Some of the questions were proposed by Shumi Bose, who was also present during the interview.  Publication: "Are We Human?"
 Are We Human? Notes on an Archaeology of Design
 Are We Human? The Design of the Species - 2 seconds, 2 days, 2 years, 200 years, 200,000 years Complete Collection of Participants and Projects for the 2016 Istanbul Design Biennial Revealed This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Garður Landhouse / Studio Granda Posted: 20 Feb 2017 07:00 PM PST  © Rui Ferreira
 © Rui Ferreira From the architect. Garður is a large parcel of land on the east bank of the Ytri Rangá river. It's a harsh landscape with scarce vegetation the result of ash-fall from the volcano Hekla. Thanks to the client's vision and commitment, the denudation is being reversed by a remarkable reforestation program entailing the planting and tending of indigenous saplings to bind and shelter the barren surface. The Landhouse is located at the heart of this project, tucked under one of the many rolling dunes that characterise the topography.  © Rui Ferreira  Plan  © Rui Ferreira The living space and kitchen are centrally located beneath an in-situ concrete arch and are flanked by bedrooms, bathroom and entrance hall snuggled into sturdy buttresses. The north and south walls are fully glazed framing Hekla and embracing sunshine respectively. The concrete floor is polished to a terrazzo finish to reveal the basalt aggregate and shell fragments that tone with the solid oak carpentry of internal walls and fitments. Before long, kindling for the wood-burning stove should be in plentiful supply.  Sections Elevations The house may be small but scale in this environment is virtually infinite. Substantial earthwork berms key the house into the larger landscape, shelter the external spaces from inclement weather and culminate as a warm turf blanket, wrapped over the roof.  © Rui Ferreira This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Casa Acreditar Porto / Atelier do cardoso arquitectos Posted: 20 Feb 2017 06:00 PM PST  © João Morgado
 © João Morgado From the architect. Casa Acreditar do Porto is a very peculiar project, with a very specific program, for a universe of very special users. The House is designed for 16 children and adolescents with cancer who, during the period of treatments to be done at the Porto IPO, need a House to stay with their families. As such, the main objective of this project was to create a building, a living space with the maximum of comfort, that could help to overcome the longing, creating a familiar environment in a coexistence of friendship and solidarity.  © João Morgado Another concern that prevailed in the requirements of the project was the cost containment theme, we are dealing with a project whose total financing results from donations and patronage. For this reason, we have delineated from a very early stage a strategy that went through the choice of Portuguese materials and brands that allowed us, from an early stage, to establish a relation of project involvement by all its stakeholders and that later resulted in an important Donations to the work. In addition to these issues we were also asked to take into account the issue of strength and durability of the materials chosen since the users of this building has a great turnover.  © João Morgado In formal terms the idea corresponds to a parallelepiped, to which we subtract sections, creating voids that are reflected in the ground as patios. Patios that allow establishing an important relation interior / exterior. These voids mark several important moments, as is the case of the main entrance, the children's patio, or the entrance patio.  © João Morgado The organization of the program had as main premise the typology of the users of the building, that is, the definition of specific areas for exclusive use of families and areas that are intended for volunteers.  © João Morgado The program is organized in four floors, the main access being the ground floor. On the ground floor is developed the program for volunteers and visitors who can occasionally access certain spaces. This floor also houses a meeting and training room, which can function independently in relation to the building.  Floor Plan The house itself occupies the upper floors. In the first floor we implemented the program of common use, the living rooms, kitchen, laundry, with the respective patios and storage areas.  © João Morgado On the two upper floors are the bedrooms, eight per floor. The second floor is intended for younger children, with a multipurpose activity room and the third and last floor reserved for youngsters, thus allowing them greater autonomy and privacy, as they are further away from areas of common use.  © João Morgado This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 20 Feb 2017 02:00 PM PST  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo
 © Chalermwat Wongchompoo From the architect. How could I transform the middle of pollution, noise and messy context to be a home?  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo The Complex Conditions  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo  Model  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo Reveal, Conceal and Airy — The Multiple Patterned Concrete Screen Blocks  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo According to clients' need which was to separate their residential space from one another, the architects added this garden to be a relaxing linkage between two detached residential spaces. The garden's walls composed of easy-to-find glass blocks allowed sunlight to shine through creating dynamic shadow effects from the movements behind themselves as well as an airy-like sensation. In terms of concealing their own privacy from the prying eyes as well as dust and noise pollution, concrete screen blocks (from the local factory) became the best solution for the facade. Composing the multiple patterned concrete screen blocks together screened the pollution yet allowed air flow smoothly; meanwhile, created privacy for people inside without feeling cramped. Align with the garden design, the lighting from the interior could pass through the combination of the concrete screen blocks meaningfully casting countless shadow effects on the architecture.  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo Product Description. In terms of concealing their own privacy from the prying eyes as well as dust and noise pollution, concrete screen blocks (from the local factory) became the best solution for the facade. Composing the multiple patterned concrete screen blocks together screened the pollution yet allowed air flow smoothly; meanwhile, created privacy for people inside without feeling cramped. Align with the garden design, the lighting from the interior could pass through the combination of the concrete screen blocks meaningfully casting countless shadow effects on the architecture.  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo  © Chalermwat Wongchompoo This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 20 Feb 2017 12:00 PM PST  © Yong Zhang
 © Yong Zhang From the architect. With the transformation of historic industrial building as the core, Hangzhou New World Business Center integrates entertainment, commercial recreation, headquarters business and other functions and will become the largest volume of urban complex in Hangzhou once it is completed.  © Yong Zhang The project is located in the north block(E block) of Hangzhou New World project. The north side of the building is near to the urban arterial road Shixiang viaduct; In the west side and south side, it is the creek road; southward, the New World core block can be seen; in the southeast, it and the headquarters of New World Group are separated by the river.  © Yong Zhang This plan makes the two "L" type plane echo each other, expanded from above to below with the form of set-back garden. The two "L" combine into one in the height of 5 levels, and it is likes high mountain and deep valley as a whole, enclosed but not integrated. It not only hinders the disadvantageous influences of Shixiang viaduct to the block of New Wold, but also makes the south headquarter and north of core block have a broad view, decreasing the oppressing sensation of the environment.  © Yong Zhang  Masterplan  © Yong Zhang From the view of Shixiang viaduct, the unique model breaks the single and straight enclosing in the north side, and also makes us impressed.  © Yong Zhang The design adopts the bar window and dark enamelled glass to wrap the main body of building from the outside, and inside, it applies light glass curtain wall and interspersing model, to strengthen the sculptural sense of the whole building.  © Yong Zhang In order to echo terrace landscape along the river and create comfortable work environment, the design adopts winding and stacking stereoscopic landscape and vertical greening design, to make the whole building become the extended parts of the original landscape. In addition, the set-back model similar to the terrace euphemistically runs through the north and south of the building, to make all of the inner used space can enjoy the all-around green stereoscopic landscape.  Elevation This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 20 Feb 2017 11:00 AM PST  © Kim Yongkwan
 © Kim Yongkwan From the architect. The March Hare in Alice in Wonderland is a multifaceted character who guides the tale, inviting Alice on a curious induction to a world of adventure. Through the stimulation of Alice's imagination, the March Hare subverts the landscapes of daily life, and the new world begins to deviate from everything Alice holds as familiar. Cheongdam march Rabbit was inspired by the March Hare.  Diagram Located in the busy alley of Cheongdam-dong in Seoul, this building not only needs to respond with sensitivity to its surrounding environment but also establish itself as an unfamiliar landscape in order to envigorate the street itself. In addition, the building, as a neighborhood living facility, has to cope with the potential changes to its internal program, such as offices, retail shops, cafes, and as a residential quarter. For that purpose, a reduction of the common area, including the elevator, the staircase, and a public bathroom has been proposed and the maximization of the rental area will enable sufficient operation of all the building's required functions. Although the building seems to by vertically stacked floor-by-floor when it is seen at its care, its overall volume appears to be the combination of fragmented space. A spare space at the rear of the building has been planned to be used as a new core when more than two floors are rented together.  © Kim Yongkwan  © Kim Yongkwan This small building will play a complex role, much like the March Hare, in order to invent new narratives for the city center, rather than existing under one finished and fixed function.  © Kim Yongkwan This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 580 George Street Lobby Upgrade / fjmt Posted: 20 Feb 2017 09:00 AM PST  © Brett Boardman
 © Brett Boardman In one of the busiest intersections for both foot-traffic and commuters, we have sought to reinterpret the typical Sydney street awning to one that is dynamic and responsive to its urban context. The design captures the imagination and reflects the identity of a forward thinking client; while incorporating contemporary design and finishes that complement the art deco style of the commercial tower.  © Brett Boardman With this project we have sought to create a transformative space; a space of transition between the city street and interior workplace that through form light and material can uplift and inspire.  Ground Floor Plan It is an organic architecture assembled from a series of folded aluminium diamonds that wrap the exiting building and the street into a new interlocking space. The distinctions between sculptural artwork and architectural elements of colonnade, awning and facade are blurred to create a new dynamic identity.  © Brett Boardman The distinction between the street and lobby are also blurred and connected through the folding diamond surfaces. These gently curving planes reflect both natural daylight and warm integrated lighting with each diamond of brushed aluminium is unique in its profile and dimensions, creating an ever-changing tone to the interior of the lobby and exterior public domain.  Section To achieve the design vision, the complex panelised surface required a rule-based, systematic approach through design and construction, as each diamond-shaped panel is unique in its form. The awning is suspended from the existing building so that it appears weightless.  © Brett Boardman Product Description. We selected ALUCOBOND® PLUS brushed aluminium, a rigid, yet flexible facade material for the diamond shaped panels, each unique in their form, for it's reflective characteristics which respond to site conditions and complements the design concept of shadow and light.  © Brett Boardman This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| This 3D-Printer Uses Holograms for Super-Fast Printing Posted: 20 Feb 2017 08:15 AM PST  One established 3D-printing technique is using laser to cure light-activated plastic, building up layers one at a time in a time-consuming process. But now tech start-up Daqri has discovered a way of speeding up that process: by using a 3-dimensional hologram. The printer works by projecting a 3D light field into a dish of the light sensitive monomer "goo." The plastic quickly hardens, allowing it to be extracted using a screen. The whole process takes just 5 seconds, compared to the several minutes than would be required by an ordinary 3D printer. In addition to its increased speed, the printer also creates monocoque objects that don't suffer from the weaknesses found in the "grain" between layers of 3-D objects. The process would also eliminate the need for supporting structures currently required to create some 3D objects. Since the technology is still being developed, there remain some limitations: the machine can currently only create shallow forms – since polymerization of the plastic releases energy, thicker objects may be prone to deformation from melting. Daqri has also begun testing the hologram-producing chip for visual use. One current prototype is capable for rendering a single image on a windshield at 720p HD. News via MIT Technology Review. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 20 Feb 2017 07:00 AM PST  Courtesy of Studio North
 Courtesy of Studio North From the architect. Overlooking downtown Calgary from the inner-city community of Albert Park, this quaint mid-century bungalow is an experiment in enhanced residential density. The Home Away uses a number of space-saving strategies to adapt the existing house to the client's busy lifestyle so that friends, family, and work colleagues can comfortably stay and visit for short periods of time, depending on their ever-changing schedules. The main floor, basement, and garage have been sensitively redesigned and are in the process of being renovated to create three discrete and compact dwellings that share a common greenhouse space and courtyard.  Diagram  Axonometric View  Section The solarium addition to the south of the house was designed as an all seasons greenhouse that provides a shared indoor/outdoor gathering space, uniting all three dwellings. A terraced deck, with integrated garden planters and seating presents an array of potential configurations for relaxing and entertaining. The garden, designed in collaboration with local permaculturalists, is intended to thrive with minimal maintenance to suit the shifting schedule of the client. Taking advantage of the southern exposure, the translucent polycarbonate cladding allows soft, diffuse light to flood the space and give life to the garden. The diagonally braced lattice structure, designed to mimic a network of branches, creates a geometric dappling of shadows. The space is centered around a fireplace built into the entryway of the solarium, creating a small entry "hut" of charred cedar, following the Japanese technique of Shou Sugi Ban.  Courtesy of Studio North  Courtesy of Studio North  Courtesy of Studio North This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Louis Kahn's Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad Photographed by Laurian Ghinitoiu Posted: 20 Feb 2017 06:00 AM PST .jpg?1487613531 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu In celebration of the life of Louis Kahn, who would have celebrated his birthday on this day, photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu has visited the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad – one of the architect's seminal projects, which was only completed after his death in 1974. .jpg?1487613800 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu In 1961, a visionary group of industrialists collaborated with the Harvard Business School to create a new educational institute focused on the advancement of specific professions to advance India's industry. Balkrishna Doshi believed that Kahn would be able to envision a new, modern school for India's best and brightest. Kahn's chose not to singularly focus on the classroom as the center of academic thought but rather as the formal setting for the beginning of learning; the hallways and Kahn's Plaza became new hubs for learning and discourse. .jpg?1487613520 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613643 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613948 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613937 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613958 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613767 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613891 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613858 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613581 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613570 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613537 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613816 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613868 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613654 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613727 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613705 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613696 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613824 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613671 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu .jpg?1487613759 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| La Part des Anges / BUPA Architectures Posted: 20 Feb 2017 05:00 AM PST  © Denis Lacharme
 © Denis Lacharme From the architect. Close to "Rives d'Arcins", the project rests next to "Geneste" domain boundaries and its Natura 2000 wet bocage. This housing operation is the starting point of the of this district urban development.  First Floor Plan This project is named "La Part des Anges". It is intended as a colorful sculpture offering a landscape changing over its course. The signal tower located at the center of the parcel, around which void and filled areas alternate, participates in the will to create a strong gesture, a signal, aimed at energizing a developing sector. The project consists of 4 blocks located around the 15 story tower.  © Denis Lacharme The whole project offers both a social and programmatic blend. 154 housing units are divided into five blocks, housing offices and dwellings with different typologies (from T2 to T5) and different types of home ownership. Each accommodation features large terraces with generous views of the outside. Likewise, the project offices display large openings to the outside.  © Denis Lacharme The whole building is made of thermedia concrete, allowing more efficient insulation and decreased weight of the building, compared to a conventional concrete. On the facade, a perforated skin lace envelops the different blocks and confers privacy and sun protection to each unit. On the first two levels, a mesh designed by Jofo artist shelters the parking lots, lifting the volumes off the ground and creating a link with the street. The park, bordered by the harmonious structures of the buildings, unwinds its curves between the buildings. This park offers a space of relaxation punctuated by visual breakthroughs. The heart of the ilot is embellished by metal sculptures of Jofo artist.  Facade This project was noticed, competed for the Golden Pyramids, and won the Regional Grand Prix and the Innovation Award as part of the Silver Pyramids.  © Denis Lacharme This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| MVRDV + Austin-Smith:Lord Selected to Reinvigorate Downtown Glasgow Posted: 20 Feb 2017 04:15 AM PST our_city_centre_map.jpg?1487608906 "(Y)our City Center Map. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our City Center Map. Image Courtesy of MVRDV The Glasgow City Council has selected a multidisciplinary team lead by MVRDV and Glasgow-based Austin-Smith:Lord to transform downtown Glasgow into a "more livable, attractive, competitive and sustainable center." Titled (Y)our City Center, the strategy calls for a regeneration of the 400 hectare city center that would reorganize circulation and infrastructure while providing new residential options to support Scotland's economic center. our_vibrant_Broomielaw.jpg?1487608889 "(Y)our Vibrant Broomielaw. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our Vibrant Broomielaw. Image Courtesy of MVRDV As home to many of Scotland's major economic institutions, downtown Glasgow serves the needs of 135,000 people on a daily basis, offering a mix of leisure, culture, shopping and entertainment experiences. But despite recent efforts to bolster the city's tourism and financial sectors, major urban challenges remain: inefficient use of public space, divisive infrastructure, automobile-dominated streetscapes, lack of green space, large numbers of vacant buildings, shortage of residential inhabitants and environmental issues resulting from high emissions are just some of issues plaguing Scotland's largest city. The scheme orchestrated by MVRDV and Austin-Smith:Lord Architects will address these issues by working with native Glaswegians to create an urban plan that caters to all residents' needs. our_great_streets_and_spaces.jpg?1487609037 "(Y)our Great Streets and Spaces. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our Great Streets and Spaces. Image Courtesy of MVRDV "It is time for Glasgow to move forward with its ambition for a lively city centre that is also an attractive place to live, green, and importantly, one that has more Glaswegians residents living there,'' said MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas. "We are excited to work together with Glasgow City Council and the city, in a dialogue with communities to realise this vision of a bigger, bolder and stronger city of the future. We all want the centre re-populated, more pedestrian and cycle friendly, also the riverfront on the Clyde Banks made more attractive for all.'' our_urbanised_M8.jpg?1487608947 "(Y)our Urbanized M8. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our Urbanized M8. Image Courtesy of MVRDV The plan encompasses major changes to downtown infrastructure, breaking down the challenging conditions found on all four edges of the city center. A reimagined urban motorway and road system will allow for better circulation from highway to city, while the underused, inaccessible riverside will be revitalized for public use. These strategies will allow the downtown to reconnect to adjacent neighborhoods and to take advantage of dead zones for green spaces and leisure activities. New pedestrian and cycle routes will connect new residents to these experiences. our_great_buildings.jpg?1487609017 "(Y)our Great Buildings. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our Great Buildings. Image Courtesy of MVRDV our_river_park_projects.jpg?1487608968 "(Y)our River Park Projects. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our River Park Projects. Image Courtesy of MVRDV "The (Y)our City Centre strategy is a hands-on, layered approach with a series of projects that range in scale, that will collectively contribute to the 'upgrade' of the city, to boost the liveliness, attractiveness and competitiveness of the city in a larger (inter)national context, allowing for a gradual development by many stakeholders,'' said Jeroen Zuidgeest, MVRDV partner and architect. our_temporary_projects.jpg?1487608991 "(Y)our Temporary Projects. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our Temporary Projects. Image Courtesy of MVRDV Led by MVRDV and Austin-Smith:Lord, the multidisciplinary team includes Arup, Urban Tide, Doug Wheeler Associates, Ryden, WAVEparticle, Gardiner and Theobald, Gerry Grams local communities and stakeholders. Urban research is supported by strategic design firm Space Syntax. our_updated_mobility.jpg?1487608926 "(Y)our Updated Mobility. Image Courtesy of MVRDV") (Y)our Updated Mobility. Image Courtesy of MVRDV To learn more about MVRDV's approach to the project, read Winy Maas's critical essay Reinventing Glasgow: what the Dear Green Place can learn from Rotterdam, recently published in the Scotland Herald. News via MVRDV. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| High Meadow Dwellings at Fallingwater / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Posted: 20 Feb 2017 03:00 AM PST  © Nic Lehoux
 © Nic Lehoux Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has designed four new dwellings at High Meadow, the new home base for Fallingwater Institute's summer residency programs in architecture, art and design. Fallingwater Institute will begin its second season of increased operation this spring.  © Nic Lehoux  Site Plan  © Nic Lehoux Located on a historic farm adjacent to Frank Lloyd Wright's renowned Fallingwater residence, High Meadow's original 1960s cabin, with only four bedrooms, lacked square footage needed to meet the Institute's growing demands. After exploring a variety of design options over several years, a decision was made to enlarge the footprint of the existing house, doubling the property's capacity with four new dwellings.  © Nic Lehoux "The building's main entry welcomes visitors into a central screened porch, which joins the new architecture to an existing cabin and serves as the outdoor gathering and dining space," says Bill James, project architect from the firm's Pittsburgh office. "A horizontal screen, made of Norway Spruce harvested and milled on site, extends from the main cabin and continues along the walkway leading to the dwellings."  Axonometric Described as modest wood portals with framed views of the surrounding hilltops, the dwellings rest above ground on a network of nimble steel columns, imparting minimal disturbance to the site. Each small abode contains a desk, closet storage, full bathroom and two twin beds. Materials and finishes are deliberately minimalistic and durable, lending a sparse elegance to the space.  © Nic Lehoux High Meadow received the 2016 AIA Pennsylvania Silver Medal, the highest honor given by the Institute's Pennsylvania chapter. The jury noted: "The scale and materiality of the building is in great contrast to the beautiful background. The graceful addition to the existing structure successfully provides new public and private amenities."  Courtesy of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson In addition to High Meadow, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is responsible for several other notable projects completed for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, including the 2006 adaptive reuse of the Barn at Fallingwater, originally built in 1870. Entrusted to the Conservancy in a 1963 grant that also included the Fallingwater residence, the Barn was transformed to provide a variety of gathering spaces for exhibitions, lectures, classes and events. The project received an AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten award for sustainable excellence in 2005.  © Nic Lehoux This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| OMA's Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten Selected to Design MPavilion 2017 Posted: 20 Feb 2017 01:35 AM PST  OMA's Prada Transformer, erected in 2009 adjacent to Gyeonghui Palace in Seoul, Korea. Image © OMA The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has selected Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA for the design of Melbourne's 2017 MPavilion. The announcement comes after this weekend's closing of the 2016 MPavilion, designed by Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, which welcomed more than 94,000 visitors to over 287 free events in its 139 day run. Now in its 4th year, the MPavilion program invites architects who have yet to completed a project in Australia to design and construct their first structure in the country. "Rem Koolhaas is one of the world's most provocative and influential architects, commented Naomi Milgrom AO, Chair of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation who commissioned OMA to design MPavilion 2017. "His contribution to the cultural landscape as an urban thinker together with OMA's multi-disciplinary approach to architecture reflects MPavilion's desire to inspire debate about the role of design in building equitable and creative cities." The 2017 MPavilion will be OMA's first completed project in Australia, though not its first commission – the firm is set to begin construction on Perth's New Museum, set to be completed in 2020. Commenting on their commission for MPavilion 2017, Rem Koolhaas, Founder and David Gianotten, Managing Partner of OMA said: "The Naomi Milgrom Foundation's MPavilion is now a project of international significance and we look forward to contributing to the architectural legacy it has engendered. We are excited by the brief of designing a cultural heart for the city - a space of public engagement that will spark creativity and discussion, and that will act as a theatre for ideas. The 2017 MPavilion will be opened to the public on October 3, 2017. A design will be released later this year. News via Naomi Milgrom Foundation. Bijoy Jain's 2016 MPavilion Opens in Melbourne This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 11 Vernacular Building Techniques That Are Disappearing Posted: 20 Feb 2017 01:30 AM PST  "Vernacular architecture can be said to be 'the architectural language of the people' with its ethnic, regional and local 'dialects,'" writes Paul Oliver, author of The Encyclopaedia of Vernacular Architecture of The World'. Unfortunately, there has been a growing disregard for traditional architectural language around the world due to modern building technology quickly spreading a "loss of identity and cultural vibrancy" through what the Architectural Review recently described as "a global pandemic of generic buildings." People have come to see steel, concrete and glass as architecture of high quality, whereas a lot of vernacular methods including adobe, reed or peat moss are often associated with underdevelopment. Ironically, these local methods are far more sustainable and contextually aware than much contemporary architecture seen today, despite ongoing talks and debates about the importance of sustainability. As a result of these trends, a tremendous amount of architectural and cultural knowledge is being lost. 1. Living Root Bridges, Meghalaya, India © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/34501870@N00/7344205654'>Flickr user Ashwin Kumar</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> Found in what is possibly the wettest human-inhabited place on earth, during monsoon season in Meghalaya the rivers grow to become far more violent and powerful than in the dry season. To cross, the Khasi tribes that lived in the region would build bamboo bridges, however they were not strong enough to last the monsoon. Around 180 years ago they experimented with a new technique, pulling the roots of a rubber tree across a river the slowly grew into a bridge that is now capable of sustaining the weight of 50 people. The living root bridges of Meghalaya take around 25-30 years to grow, and they only grow stronger with time. There are a few living bridges that have had enough time to grow into fully functioning structures, but over the last 25 years this practice has begun to die out. Waiting decades for a bridge to form is far too long in our modern day world, especially when a steel or concrete alternative can be constructed in a fraction of that time—although they certainly aren't as magical. 2. Gurunsi, Burkina Faso © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/carsten_tb/8145214540'>Flickr user carsten_tb</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/'>CC BY-NC-ND</a> In Gurunsi the art of rock painting is still very much alive—it has just been transferred from caves to buildings. The mud huts are constructed, then covered in mud, cow dung, soil, pulverised rock, clay and chalk to produce elaborate geometric patterns on the facades of the houses. Gurunsi women redecorate the buildings every 4-5 years with these murals, which often consist of motifs associated with specific meanings such as cultivated fields, rolled grass or the pattern of a man's woven shirt. Each building is different, reflecting the personal taste of the inhabitants, resulting in a village that is rich with a variety of artistic and cultural expression. 3. Beehive Houses of Harran, Turkey © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarah_c_murray/4846710439'>Flickr user sarah_c_murray</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> In the town of Harran in Southern Turkey, houses shaped a little like beehives were once a popular housing structure, constructed out of adobe, brick and stone found in the area. The domed shape can be built quickly, making it a very practical construction for the nomadic population to set up that is still resistant to heat and cold, unlike a common tent for example. Ventilation holes on the sides provide cooling air-circulation through cross-ventilation, and on top of the dome one acts as a chimney. Their domed shapes also mean that there is a low surface-to-volume ratio, meaning that there is very little heat loss during the cold winter months. Due to the transition of their nomadic culture into a more settled one, the beehive houses are no longer used as homes but more as storage spaces or barns. This declining importance and value of the buildings in their society mean that they are no longer restored, resulting in a collection of houses in a poor state. New housing units around the city lack also lack a contextual relationship with the beehive houses, as knowledge of their construction techniques diminishes. 4. Seaweed Roofs on Læsø, Denmark © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/2849255440'>Flickr user seier</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> On the island of Læsø in northern Denmark there is a longstanding tradition for seaweed roofs, made using eelgrass. A successful salt industry on the island meant that most of the trees were used to power kilns for salt refinement, leaving residents with little to construct their homes. As a result, they used driftwood from shipwrecks and eelgrass from the ocean that were able to withstand decay for hundreds of years, thanks to the fact that they were impregnated with saltwater. Unfortunately a fungal disease wiped out over 200 of the existing buildings in the 1930s, leaving only 19. There is an ongoing attempt to conserve the remaining buildings, however with 300 kilograms of eelgrass required for every 1 square meter of roofing, restoring the vernacular buildings on Læsø is not the simplest of tasks. The reforestation of the the island has also contributed to the decay of the roofs; surrounding trees now protect them from the salt laden winds that once covered the eelgrass, allowing plants to take root in the seaweed that then begins to rot. Fortunately Danish citizens have not given up, and continue the effort to restore any buildings they can, even building the first seaweed roof from scratch in over a century. 5. Ma'dan Reed Houses, Iraq © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/30943793762'>Flickr user davidstanleytravel</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> The Ma'dan people, or Marsh Arabs as they are sometimes known, inhabit the marshlands at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. Around the marshes grow a substantial amount of reeds that the Ma'dan use to build with; wrapping them in bundles to create columns, arches and walls, a reed house can be erected in just 3 days. Sometimes they float on "islands" called "tuhul," and other times they are moved depending on the rising and falling water levels, re-erected in less than one day. These homes, though extremely simple in their material and construction, can last up to 25 years with proper care. Unfortunately, during the rule of Saddam Hussein the Marsh Arabs were persecuted for housing people the government regarded as terrorists or enemies of the state. The marshes were drained to the point where much of the Ma'dan population had no choice but to move in order to find adequate food, diminishing their population of half a million down to around 1,600 at the turn of the century. Over a decade later and after the fall of the regime, the dams were broken, restoring the marshes to around 50% of their original size and opening up an opportunity for the regrowth of the Ma'dan culture. 6. Goahti, Arctic Region © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/trondheim_byarkiv/23052086720'>Flickr user trondheim_bjarkiv</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Sami people cover areas in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland, as well as the Russian Kola Peninsula. Many traditionally hunt and fish for their livelihood, but they are best known for their semi-nomadic reindeer herding, even though only around 10% of the current Sami population is involved in the practice today. Goahti constructions have been a central part of this lifestyle, used as a transportable shelter for longer journeys. Domesticated reindeer were used to drag the larger curved poles needed for the structure, which were then covered in peat moss for better thermal insulation. In favour of efficiency, this practice has been thoroughly reduced, due to the inconvenience of transporting the large curved poles. Instead, Sami people often opt for the well-known lavvu tent structures on their travels. Goahtis have also been used as more permanent dwellings and shelters for livestock, up until around the Second World War. Nowadays, Sami people tend to live in ordinary homes, just like the ones found around the rest of the Nordic Regions. 7. Chibotte, France © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrispark1957/4858624932/'>Flickr user chrispark1957</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-NC-SA 2.0</a> Built by wine-makers in Haute-Loire, France, the chibotte is a dry-stone hut that was used as a temporary, seasonal dwelling in fields or vineyards. Owners of a vineyard would typically live in their chibotte on Sundays or during the summer, up until around the 1920s when the huts began to be replaced with more comfortable pavilions. Due to the volcanic plateaus of the Velay region in the Haute-Loire, chibottes were usually constructed using volcanic rock such as basalt that was removed from the earth when planting a vineyard. The vaults were constructed with a technique that included two layers: an inner arch whose rocks were angled outwards, and an outer arch whose rocks were angled inwards, hence supporting each other. 8. Ab-anbar, Iran © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AbAnbarNain2.jpg'>Wikimedia user Zereshk</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Literally "water storage" in Persian, the ab-anbar used to be the cistern systems that supplied water to Iranian cities. The underground reservoirs sometimes descended as far as 20 meters below ground level, protected by a dome that prevented evaporation and any contamination of the water. They were constructed using bricks that contained a mortar called "sarooj," considered to be impermeable to water. Badgir, or wind-catchers, channelled air down into the cistern to cool the water and prevent condensation on the inside of the dome. In a desert, a structure as important as this one was incredibly valuable, often integrated into other highly-regarded structures such as mosques. With the introduction of pipelines however, the ab-anbars have started on their road to extinction. They are now, for the most part, just tourist attractions. 9. Malay Houses, Malaysia and Singapore © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/tukangkebun/5641136234'>Flickr user tukangkebun</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/'>CC BY-ND</a> Vernacular architecture in the Southeast Asian regions is usually, as with most vernacular building, built from local materials—in this case, wood. Unfortunately wood rots easily in the humid tropical climate, making it necessary to repair buildings on a regular basis. To deal with the humidity and heat, traditional Malay Houses were designed to be porous, allowing for cross ventilation through the building to cool it down. Large overhanging roofs allow for open windows in rain and sun, both of which occur on nearly a daily basis. Building on stilts was another way to increase airflow and prevent damage to the house in the event of heavy downpours. However, this knowledge of passive cooling systems seems to have been lost in the midst of urbanization, being replaced by air conditioners that are attached to buildings that were not well designed for the Southeast Asian climate. 10. Cliff of Bandiagara, Mali © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/53871588@N05/6252916565'>Flickr user TREEAID</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Also known as the Land of the Dogons, 289 villages of earthen buildings cover sandstone plateaus, escarpments and plains in the landscape of Mali. The Dogon adapted to the hostile environment, that in turn became a form of defense against any potential attackers since the 15th Century. Despite the centuries-old building knowledge of an unforgiving environment, socio-economic and environmental factors have driven parts of the Dogon population toward more urban surroundings. Not only does this mean a reduced production of more vernacular architecture and a loss of knowledge, but also a "contaminated" resource, as the Land of the Dogons began to come into contact with tourists and other value systems. In order to preserve the existing sites, the Cliff of Bandiagara was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989. 11. Mugsum Mud Huts, Cameroon © J. and M.F. Ostorero 2003 <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maison_obus.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a> licensed under < a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Geometrically arranged reeds are covered in mud to produce the domestic mud huts of the Mugsum people. The huts are built in the form of a catenary arch, withstanding the maximum load with minimum material. In order to construct the complete 9-meter-tall arch, as well as to maintain it, the geometry of the facade creates practical footholds, in addition to their aesthetic qualities. Similarly to the Harran constructions in Turkey, the Mugsum huts also have a hole in the ceiling, acting as a chimney as well as an escape hatch in the event of a flood. Before the discovery of cement constructions, Mugsum mud huts were the most popular buildings due to their low cost and high efficiency. Sadly this has changed, and the mud huts are now seen as "outdated," resulting in a steep decline in the construction method. Sources
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| Posted: 20 Feb 2017 01:00 AM PST  Courtesy of 2DM
 Courtesy of 2DM From the architect. The commission consisted of two waterfront houses, on a narrow piece of land, compressed by the sea and a cliff. Thus, the question arises immediately: how not to fall into the evident blatancy of the view to the sea, having it in front like an unavoidable scene with no mediating between sight and sea?. The answer is to measure. A volume is then proposed that revolves in itself to receive the sea as a surprise, as a violent blow of sight, and a different perspective each and every time, as a sight that cannot be anticipated.  Courtesy of 2DM We can say that it is a work that achieves, not an immense, unique sea, but several, that of the northern rockery, Punta Puertecillo to the south, and so on. In this way, the two volumes that contain and tighten the volume appear: the sea and the cliff.  Courtesy of 2DM  Ground Floor Plan  Courtesy of 2DM  Second Floor Plan  Courtesy of 2DM  Third Floor Plan  Courtesy of 2DM This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| RAAAF is Breaking Habits With a Vision of a Home Without Chairs Posted: 19 Feb 2017 10:00 PM PST
Dutch studio Rietveld-Architecture-Art-Affordances (RAAAF) has unveiled its latest installation 'Breaking Habits' at the Mondriaan Fund for Visual Arts in Amsterdam. Breaking Habits envisages a domestic environment without chairs and couches, exploring a model of diagonal living through a system of flexible carpets.  © Johannes Schwartz Medical research has shown that sitting for prolonged periods of time is unhealthy. Breaking Habits therefore, aims to depart from our entrenched model of the living room by eliminating chairs and couches. Set inside a Dutch canal house, the exhibit hosts rolls of flexible carpet-like material suspended by metal cables. The user is half-floating, with the 'magic carpet' adapting and supporting the body. Different diagonals throughout the room encourage a more active lifestyle by changing position over time.
Breaking Habits is the latest chapter in RAAAF's explorations of spatial dynamics. The exhibit has its roots in a collaborative effort between RAAAF and visual artist Barbara Visser entitled 'The End of Sitting', creating a chair-free workplace. News via: RAAAF. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Wedding Oasis: Call for Entries Posted: 19 Feb 2017 09:00 PM PST  YAC – Young Architects Competitions – and Corradi s.r.l. announce Wedding Oasis, an architectural competition aiming at the design of outdoor living structures to enhance the high potential of historical sites like the Castello of Rosciano (Central Italy). The international jury is made of outstanding personalities such as, among the others, David Chipperfield Architects and Will Alsop. A total amount of € 20,000 in cash prize will be awarded to the winner proposals. If there is a universal experience able to connect people of all cultures, times and traditions, that experience is love. The wedding can be considered as a civil or religious ceremony. In any case, it is the natural celebration of love, the kind of love that, through the centuries, has always been connected to the renewal of mankind. For this reason, the wedding day is a day of joy and celebration for a union that aims at being faithful and unbreakable. Consequently, it is the most celebrated moment of a couple's life. In Italy, one of the most beautiful sites that is chosen as the best location for the wedding by lovers from all over the world is, without any doubt, Castello di Rosciano (Rosciano castle). This Etruscan fortress, thanks to its thousand-year history and timeless charm, is a fabulous site. In this beautiful frame, every year a hundred couples promise love and tenderness starting their new life as husband and wife within the walls of the manor.  The castle is composed of walls, courtyards and romantic and cozy spaces overlooking the marvelous valley of Assisi and one of the most extraordinary countryside of Italy. This remarkable site didn't go unnoticed by the company Corradi- leader in the design of living outdoor. According to it, the castle is the ideal location for new architectural solutions with a deep relation with nature: extensions, pavilions and new architectural elements able to enhance such a sublime location as the perfect context for the most exclusive and splendid weddings. How to enhance, through a contemporary intervention, such beautiful and meaningful ancient building? Which are the best architectural elements to be used in one of the most demanding and universally celebrated moment? On these fascinating questions the company Corradi lays the foundation for Wedding Oasis, inviting all the designers to let this charming and romantic site inspire them. By doing so, they will have the opportunity to be involved in the most memorable day of the lives of thousands of couples. Moreover, through architectural elements suited for a fairy-tale location, they will have the chance to confirm the leadership of one of the most desirable wedding locations in the world.  Jury
Prizes
Calendar 20/02/2017 "early bird" registration – start More information on : www.youngarchitectscompetitions.com Download the information related to this competition here.
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| skinnySCAR / Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman Posted: 19 Feb 2017 09:00 PM PST  Courtesy of Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman
.jpg?1487297615 "© Ossip van Duivenbode") © Ossip van Duivenbode The skinnySCAR project shows how forgotten empty spaces in the city can be used. Each city has neglected spaces that can be upgraded to complete the urban fabric, while creating possibilities for new forms of urban living for the adventurous ones. As young architects, Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman saw the potential and challenge of a narrow gap with extreme proportions in an old Rotterdam neighborhood. In 2012 they started the process to buy the plot that was not for sale, and recently finished the entire interior themselves.  Courtesy of Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman  Axonometric  Courtesy of Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman The extreme proportions of the plot, only 3.4 meters wide and 20 meters deep, result in a stacked open typology while it was a constructional challenge. Being this narrow and long in relation to the height, a massive foundation and load bearing structure were needed. Hence an elegant solution of two parallel reinforced concrete slabs was introduced in the interior of the house. This way the openings in the facades were not limited by the constructive constraints. In order to create tranquil living spaces, the architects have clustered all supporting functions that a dwelling needs, as well as these concrete slabs and installations, in two vertical volumes in the center of the house. These volumes are detached from the side walls to emphasize the 13 meter deep interior and create unexpected vistas in all directions between the different spaces. The staircase is designed in such way that it enhances these spacial qualities. The architectural concepts stresses a natural division of living spaces that merge together without harsh boundaries, where the spaces are always connected horizontally and vertically. By placing the volumes and staircase near the center of the house, intimate living spaces appear towards the public street and collective courtyard garden. The living spaces are moderate in size and feel intimate, without feeling to oppressive due to the architectural vistas and fluidity of spaces.  Ground Floor Plan  Floor Plan 01  Floor Plan 02 The organization of living spaces reflects their use throughout the day. On the ground floor is a spacious entrance area and an open kitchen, connected to the collective courtyard garden through high folding doors. The living room and library, mainly used in the evenings, are on the first floor and look out over the lush garden and public street. A void in the living room connects the living spaces on the ground floor and first level, and is used as a hammock with views over the garden and sky. The deep bay window of the library extends over the public street and is dimensioned to be used as a place to sit and read, and detailed in such a way to frame the urban fabric. The most private part of the house, the bedrooms and bathroom, are positioned on the top floor. A skylight above the bathtub gives views over passing clouds and birds, and brings natural day light into the darker zone of the house.  Courtesy of Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman  Courtesy of Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman The materials that are used in the interior are simple and natural. They bring warmth to the interior without dominating the perception. The two vertical volumes are clad in pine plywood that the architect couple could construct themselves, and the rough in site cast concrete floors are not finished on the ceiling side in order to reveal the construction method. Rust stains on the concrete ceiling are a remembrance of the wet season in which they were cast. .jpg?1487297765 "© Vincent van Dordrecht") © Vincent van Dordrecht The black masonry facades are adapted to their orientation: it opens up to the garden with a two storey high glass front and panoramic windows, while it remains more private towards the public street. The Brazilian masonry bond functions as a veil that plays with light and shadows of the sun's rays. They only show the hidden windows towards the street at night when the rooms light up. The bay windows with a minimum of details connect the interior towards the public life, where the inhabitants can sit and watch people passing by. The street facade is detailed and materialized in such a way, that it builds on the surrounding urban fabric of the late 19th/early 20th century. The modern house has its own identity with modern details, but still highlights the history of the small gap in the urban context. The project transforms a conventional and traditional way of living and is fitted to their inhabitants as a custom-made suit. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
.jpg?1487613696 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1487613705 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1487613547 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1487613680 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
our_vibrant_Broomielaw.jpg?1487608889 "(Y)our Vibrant Broomielaw. Image Courtesy of MVRDV")
our_river_park_projects.jpg?1487608968 "(Y)our River Park Projects. Image Courtesy of MVRDV")
our_great_streets_and_spaces.jpg?1487609037 "(Y)our Great Streets and Spaces. Image Courtesy of MVRDV")
our_great_buildings.jpg?1487609017 "(Y)our Great Buildings. Image Courtesy of MVRDV")
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