petak, 14. travnja 2017.

Arch Daily

Arch Daily


Creche Casa de Magalhães / Carvalho Araújo

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:00 PM PDT

© NUDO © NUDO
  • Architects: Carvalho Araújo
  • Location: Pereira de Araújo, nº128, R. Domingos Tarroso, 4990-444 Pte. de Lima, Portugal
  • Area: 625.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2010
  • Photographs: NUDO
  • Team: José Manuel Carvalho Araújo, Joel Moniz, Sandra Ferreira, Ana Vilar, Francisco Vacas, José João Santos, Leandro Silva, Liliana Cardoso
  • Client: C. M. de Ponte de Lima
© NUDO © NUDO

From the architect. The ‘Casa de Magalhães Nursery School’ is located near the ‘Casa de Magalhães Home for the Elderly’, sharing some functionalities like public access, parking and a few services. The nursery school building arises from a volume displacement that is subtracted from the home for the elderly base building, allowing the creation of a courtyard and, at the same time, the new building for the children. 

© NUDO © NUDO

Although both buildings take different languages, they share the same DNA, the same “skin”, which results in some common principles like privacy, security, intimacy and comfort. 

© NUDO © NUDO
Planta Planta
© NUDO © NUDO

The initial volumetry of the set brings us to the cyclic process of life itself, as a metaphor of the aging process; from small to big, from simple to complex.

© NUDO © NUDO

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E20 Private Residence / STEIMLE ARCHITEKTEN BDA

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 07:00 PM PDT

© Brigida González © Brigida González
© Brigida González © Brigida González

From the architect. The striking residence, a monolith designed of insulating concrete is located on a quiet street with little traffic in the village of Pliezhausen, a good 30 km south of Stuttgart.

© Brigida González © Brigida González
© Brigida González © Brigida González
Floor Plan Level 00 Floor Plan Level 00
© Brigida González © Brigida González
Floor Plan Level 01 Floor Plan Level 01

Facing the street, the new building presents only a few openings cut deeply into the solid concrete shell. While the crystal-shaped house still relates to the existing built context due to its parallel elongated sides, it contrasts distinctly with the neighboring buildings by virtue of the tapered ends formed by its shorter sides. It is this oblique arrangement of the facades that enables the building to open out to the surrounding outdoor spaces and to offer its inhabitants unexpectedly expansive views in the distance. A conventional gable roof and the gently rising terrain reinforce the angular, sculptural effect of the house, which is designed on a hexagonal ground plan.

Upon entering the house through its entrance cut deep into the concrete mass, you first reach the garden room. From here, a single-flight stair leads up to the residential level. The quite narrow and high entrance area morphs into a space that opens upward but is clearly bounded by the multiple folds of the roof form: as you move through the house, constriction and expansion, enclosure and openness enter into an exciting, constantly shifting dialogue. The window openings set horizontally into the 50 cm thick concrete shell create a framed view of the surrounding, gently undulating landscape. All the rooms of the house correlate with its crystalline form: the trapezoidal layout of the walls yields a diversity of new spatial relationships that have a special character induced by the upward-sloping ceiling surfaces. The individual rooms for the children and the parents lie directly adjacent to the living space and, as opposing parallelograms, divide the open floor plan into zones for the kitchen and the dining area. The result is a sensuous, atmospherically dense place of dwelling.

© Brigida González © Brigida González
Section Section
© Brigida González © Brigida González

In its minimalism and robustness, the insulating concrete is a monochrome, massive shell that defines the essence of the house both inside and outside. Outside, thanks to the rough-sawn wooden board formwork, the concrete has the appearance of a solid, lively textured, and protective enclosure. Inside, the folded concrete surfaces are smooth by design and contrast with the warm hues of the solid oak fixtures.

© Brigida González © Brigida González

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Multifunctional Gallery Space in Tehran / Kaaf Foudation

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 03:00 PM PDT

© Deed Studio   © Deed Studio
  • Architects: Kaaf Foudation
  • Location: Evin, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
  • Area: 225.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Deed Studio
  • Construction Manager: Sadra Keyhani
  • Build Team: Hossain zanganeh, Ahmad Shansevari, Seifollah Nasiri, Vazir Sekandari
  • Manufacturer: Nickavaran
© Deed Studio   © Deed Studio

From the architect. In Evin, the old up-town village in the Tehran metropolitan area the new construction of Kaaf-Foundation: Kaaf Exhibition Space has been newly settled down. The 225 m2 construction has been situated in one of the oldest and most charming gardens of north of Tehran which has been survived from the massive building construction boom in the district during the last decades. The project fights against the shrinkage and vanishing of the inner-city villages of Tehran. 

© Deed Studio   © Deed Studio

This is a less pronounced aspect of the Tehran city that the new districts have sprawled over a number of ancient villages that were located in the region before two hundred years ago when the city became the capital of the country. These villages in recent years have been almost dissolved in the neighboring urban tissues, the shrinkage has happened during past three decades after the sudden population increase. One of the so called villages is the Evin village. It has been historically housing the gardens and the winter residences of Tehran's old-town at the time of Qajars Dynasty. At the time the core city was wall surrounded and situated at the warmer southern lands. 

Plan Plan

Kaaf Exhibition space is located in the Evin village with a sightseeing of the Alborz Mountains at the north of Tehran but also under a dominant look of the Evin prison. The site is special because of its several more than 100 years old oriental plane trees. The Construction is purposed as a multifunctional exhibition space for the foundation dedicated to curating the contemporary national and international works of art and architecture.

© Deed Studio   © Deed Studio

Architecture

The building's architecture is result of specific principles that has been taken into consideration during the construction process. These principles have affected the projects personality and architecture. The building stands out in city's contemporary architecture because of its simple and optimal usage of Rustic Materials. The intention to build with the employment of the ordinary and existing near-hand and recycled materials has given a local and simplistic spirit to the building that makes it have a different approach than some overly designed contemporary constructions in the city. The rough material choice and simple construction process has produced natural materiality and sincere textures for the walls and the ground.

© Deed Studio   © Deed Studio

Arrangement 

The building's volume is symmetrically shaped over a square grid with entrances at the middle of each of the four sides. Main square is composed of twenty five smaller ones (five division along each axis). Small square's sides measure three modules of wooden stripe.  This formation also makes references to the traditional Persian structures used in gardens: the Kushk. In a Kushk the plan is mainly organized based upon the odd divisions of a square and has specific symmetrical organization according to each segment.

Axonometric Axonometric

Exhibit

While resembling to a Kushk in the plan, the building approaches more specific conditions as an unprecedented exhibition space. The space goes further than the idea of a clinical isolated white cube for exhibiting the work of art; by being presented in brut and rustic material and with the strong permeability and the openings to the garden. The presence of the garden can be sensed through the openings place by place in the walls and though the up-lifts in the roof, were two ruptures domesticate the sightseeing of the trees. Further than this, two trees that has been previously located at the construction site has been remained unmoved not to violate their presence therefore they are represented inside the gallery. This approach makes the building to present itself not only as a place to see but a space to settle and see the outside, what is a fundamental function in a Kushk.

© Deed Studio   © Deed Studio

The interior panels size and design follow the same material and geometrical principles of the building and makes the project materialization of a unitary idea. The project can be considered as a place that tries to introduce a new  space for showcase of art, a contemporary oriental and specific space with looking into traditional principals. Something that might not fall into the object oriented spaces of exhibition that isolate the act of expecting, but to celebrate the idea of living and spectating also being oriented towards the nature. 

Section Section

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Ishatvam 9 / Sanjay Puri Architects

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 01:00 PM PDT

© Dinesh Mehta               © Dinesh Mehta
  • Client: Rohit Modi
  • Structural Consultant: Sarjan Consultants
© Dinesh Mehta               © Dinesh Mehta

From the architect. Situated in Ranchi, a city in East India, Ishatvam 9 is a residential building on a small plot of 1800 sqm. Most of the plot frontage along the main road is occupied by an existing petrol pump leaving just a driveway for access with a square shaped space beyond which is buildable upon. 

© Dinesh Mehta               © Dinesh Mehta

Most of this city has existed with low rise development over the last few decades. However, the last few years have witnessed rapid urbanization and in response to this the governing rules which earlier allowed buildings of only 15m height and a buildable area equivalent to the plot size have been changed to allow 50m height as well as a buildable area 3 times the plot size.

Even Floor Plan Even Floor Plan
Odd Floor Plan Odd Floor Plan

These changed rules necessitated building a 15 storeyed building. Most of the city's inhabitants have been used to living in individual houses with private gardens and open spaces. As a result of this, the few high rise residential buildings that have been constructed in this city still remain partially unoccupied due to the lack of private open spaces in them.

© Dinesh Mehta               © Dinesh Mehta

As a response to this need, the apartments have been designed to occupy a complete floor opening out on all sides with each room extending into twenty feet high, double height decks. Each of the internal spaces thus extends and into private sheltered open spaces.

© Dinesh Mehta               © Dinesh Mehta

Temperatures in Ranchi vary from 31ºC average in the summer months and 12ºC in the winter months. The extended decks for each room shelter the internal spaces from the excessive heat in the summer while becoming landscaped outdoor extensions to the rooms.

© Dinesh Mehta               © Dinesh Mehta

The apartments are designed with minimal internal circulation spaces with a large living dining area located centrally from which all the rooms are accessed. This layout is done in response to the social habits of the people in the city where 3 generations are generally living together in the same house. The living room becomes the focal place within the house allowing for increased interaction between the various family members. Most of the existing development around the plot being low rise, each apartment has views of the openness of the surroundings in each direction. 

© Dinesh Mehta               © Dinesh Mehta

Ishatvam 9 is designed in response to the social needs of the residents of the city of its location providing each apartment with 20% open area as extensions to the internal spaces, maximizing on natural light and air with cross ventilation to every room in the house, creating an urban high rise tower that will allow its users the openness of the low rise structures that they have been used to living in. 

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Call for Entries: Hong Kong Young Architects & Designers Competition

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 12:30 PM PDT

Courtesy of West Kowloon Cultural District Courtesy of West Kowloon Cultural District

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) announces the launch of its very first Hong Kong Young Architects & Designers Competition. Envisaged to provide a platform for emerging architects and designers to showcase their creativity and potential, as well as gain valuable experience, the competition invites young professionals to participate in an innovative challenge to design a Temporary Pavilion, to be built inside the Nursery Park at the West Kowloon Cultural District.  

The competition is open to all residents (whether residing in Hong Kong, the Mainland or elsewhere), who are studying or have graduated in the fields of Architecture, Design or a related discipline in the last 10 years. Applicants have an exclusive chance to see their ideas on paper turned into reality with the support of the WKCDA. The winning entry will be awarded a prize of HK$250,000 and will see their design built on the West Kowloon Cultural District site, There will also be two commendation prizes with a value of HKD $100,000 each.

Judging of the entries to the competition will take place in two stages: (1) a panel of 10 local and international experts will judge the submitted designs on their originality, innovation and suitability, shortlisting three entries for further development with the help of the WKCDA; (2) one of the three shortlisted designs will then be selected for completion as the Temporary Pavilion. Particular attention will be given to aspects of the design that will help reduce the environmental impact through innovation in the use of materials, the incorporation of green features, and considerations of recyclability.  A total of HK$5 million has been set aside by the WKCDA to cover all relevant construction costs.

To judge the competition, the WKCDA has put together a panel of highly respected judges from Hong Kong and abroad: Mr Aric CHEN, M+ Lead Curator of Design & Architecture; Mr Marvin CHEN, President of Hong Kong Institute of Architects; Prof. Nelson CHEN, Director of School of Architecture, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Mr James CORNER, Founder and Director of James Corner Field Operations, New York; Mr Sou FUJIMOTO of Sou Fujimoto Architects, Tokyo; Mr Thomas HEATHERWICK, Founder of Heatherwick Studio, London; The Hon Victor LO Chung-wing, M+ Board Chairman; Prof. Nasrine SERAJI, Head of Department of Architecture, University of Hong Kong; Mr Chris VAN DUIJN, Partner-in-charge of OMA Asia (Hong Kong) Ltd; and Ms Marisa YIU, Co-founder / Executive Director of Design Trust, Hong Kong.

"We are pleased to announce the launch of our very first Hong Kong Young Architects & Designers Competition which we hope will encourage and nurture Hong Kong talent, as well as further demonstrate the West Kowloon Cultural District's commitment to showcasing creativity," said Mr Duncan Pescod, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA. "We envisage that this competition will become an annual event providing a crucial platform for innovative temporary architecture as part of the cultural offering in the District, while raising the profile and visibility of Hong Kong's creative standing, locally, regionally and internationally. We hope that over time, this competition will take its place alongside the many highly successful Pavilion Competitions held in cities like London, Melbourne and New York."

The Temporary Pavilion, scheduled to open in the first half of 2018 in the Nursery Park, will offer spectacular harbour views and act as an informal public space where members of the community can relax and where talks, workshops, small events and performances can be held.

Organized by WKCDA, the Hong Kong Young Architects & Designers Competition is supported by The Hong Kong Institute of Architects, The Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects, Federation of Hong Kong Designers Association, Hong Kong Design Centre, Construction Industry Council, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Department of Architecture, Chu Hai College of Higher Education and Hong Kong Design Institute.

For more details and initial applicant registration, please go to www.westkowloon.hk/pavilioncompetition.

Competition Schedule

 Date  Event
 12 April 2017  Registration opens on line
 5 June 2017  Closing date for competition enquiries
 26 June 2017  Closing date for submission of Stage 1 Conceptual Entries
 July 2017  Announcement of shortlisted participants
 July - August 2017  Stage 2 Schematic Design
 September 2017  Announcement of Winning Entry
 December 2017  Construction Starts

Note:  Subject to the actual winning design selected, and in particular its status under relevant statutory requirements, the above program may have to be adjusted.

Submission Method

 Date  12:00 noon on 5 June 2017 (Monday) to 12:00 noon on 26 June 2017 (Monday) (Hong Kong Time)
 Method  Must submit entries BY HAND
 Address  c/o West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
 Units 608-613, Level 6, Core C, Cyberport 3,
 100 Cyberport Road,
 Hong Kong

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Energy Efficient Bamboo House / Studio Cardenas Conscious Design

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 12:00 PM PDT

© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune
  • Local Regulations, Mock Ups, Construction Supervision: Kangye Architecture and Interior Design Institute, Shanghai
  • Feng Shui Consultant: Vincent Fang
  • Main Contractor: Kangye Construction & Decoration Co., Ltd. Shanghai
© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune

From the architect. The project deals with the opportunity to design an Energy Efficient Experimental House in Baoxi for LIB (Longquan International Bamboo Commune), in the context of the new policies for sustainable growth of China.

Diagram Diagram

Our proposal explores the potentiality of minimize carbon emissions, protection and natural ecological development through the use of the natural elements available in the area, such as sun, water, plants, wind and natural materials to achieve a high standard innovative house for the Chinese context.

© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune

The topics that we considered for the design of the House are the following:

Bamboo, is a very special natural element present in Baoxi area which we use as structural element for the house as well as for the interiors;

First Floor Plan First Floor Plan

Ground water cooling, underground water is an interesting natural resource available on site. Use underground water in a very simple manner to create a cooling system and also use for toilets wherenon-drinking water is acceptable;

© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune

Feng shui, to learn and apply the most significant concepts of this antique Chinese tradition to the house design;

Section Section

Modularity and Industrialization, to create modular elements with the scope of creating an innovative industrialized bamboo construction system.

© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune

For the structure of the House we explored new ways of building using bamboo as a construction material. Sustainability for us is not only the use of natural materials such as bamboo but to design appropriate construction solutions:

© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune

Designing dry-mounted connections not to weaken bamboo through perforation nor fill it in with concrete, and also to allow the replacement of bamboo poles if needed;

Diagram Diagram

Designing aluminum connections light and easy to assemble in order that the construction can be done  by local workers;

Using same length of bamboo poles to achieve standardization and best quality control;

© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune

Use the same length of bamboo culms to achieve standardization and better quality control;

.Combining bamboo (vegetable steel) and steel to create an industrialized construction system;

Diagram Diagram

- the application of a precise geometry (golden ratio) to achieve the standardization of the pieces, the best quality control and a harmonious aesthetic impact.

Elevation Elevation

Using the underground water is for the house the most interesting and sustainable solution, using a geothermal heat pump, which cools as well as heats the house. It's incredibly efficient compared with the usual cooling and heating systems — at least 25% more efficient, and often much more. By digging into the earth the temperature is stable no matter what the season, no matter what the temperature above ground. By taking advantage of this more constant, even temperature, we can heat or cool the house. It is estimated that these systems use 15% less of the amount of energy a traditional chiller plant would use.

All pieces of the house will be modular as much as possible envisioning an industrialized production.

© LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune © LIB – Longquan International Bamboo Commune

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House in House / Steffen Welsch Architects

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 10:00 AM PDT

© Shannon McGrath © Shannon McGrath
© Shannon McGrath © Shannon McGrath

From the architect. Our designs go beyond the image: we explore ideas of 'quiet architecture', informed by Austrian architect Hermann Czech's interpretation of 'Architecture as background'. Our buildings may go unnoticed at first sight, but reveal themselves gradually and become appreciated over time.

© Shannon McGrath © Shannon McGrath
Plan Plan
© Shannon McGrath © Shannon McGrath

Our House in House follows a paradigm that individual - as structure and as inhabitant - is part of and reflects something bigger. This idea is manifest in this house through its integration into the street, to the plan layout, building form and the architectural detail. The built outcome of the design process may appear coincidental, even banal, but it is the result of a sequence of carefully considered design decisions.

© Shannon McGrath © Shannon McGrath

We developed the idea of 'the house in the house' through the spatial planning of the site, creating an array of spaces arranged along a central spine.

© Shannon McGrath © Shannon McGrath

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Chicago Architecture Biennial Reveals List of 6 Community Anchor Sites to Encourage City Exploration

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 09:00 AM PDT

© Iwan Baan © Iwan Baan

The Chicago Architecture Biennial has announced partnerships with six Chicago museums and institutions that will serve as "community anchor" sites during the event's run from September 16, 2017–January 7, 2018. This selection of sites will play host to events, exhibitions and other programming surrounding the festival, in hopes of encouraging Biennial attendees to explore other parts of the city and experience a few of Chicago's historic museums.

"There is no better place than the City of Chicago to come together, share ideas, and focus on the future of architecture and design," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "The 2017 Chicago Architectural Biennial will build on the success of the inaugural2015 event and feature Community Anchor sites in neighborhoods across the city. We are proud to share Chicago's world-class architecture with visitors from across the country and around the world this fall."

The selected sites include:

  • The Beverly Arts Center
  • DePaul Art Museum
  • DuSable Museum of African American History
  • Hyde Park Art Center
  • The National Museum of Mexican Art
  • The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture

The six institutions have each received a $200,000 grant to support the development and curation of the special programs that will be on display through the Biennial's run. Each site will feature unique programming, ranging from installations to historic tours and more. A few of the events have already been announced by the Biennial, with more to come:

The 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial is being led by Los Angeles architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee. Under the theme of "Make New History," more than 100 architects and artists from countries around the world will contribute installations and events for the 4-month-long festival.

News via DePaul Art Museum. H/T Curbed.

Chicago Architecture Biennial to Exhibit 16 Tribune Tower Redesigns

The Chicago Architecture Biennial has announced the first exhibit that will on display during the event's second edition from September 16 to January 7, 2018 - a contemporary reboot of one of architecture's most well-known competitions, the Chicago Tribune tower design contest.

Chicago Architecture Biennial Announces List of 2017 Participants

The Chicago Architecture Biennial has announced the list of participants invited to contribute to the event's second edition, which will be held from September 16 to January 7, 2018 in Chicago.

Johnston Marklee Named Artistic Directors of the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial

The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) has announced that Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, of the Los Angeles-based firm Johnston Marklee, have been named Artistic Directors for the 2017 event. Following a successful inaugural run in 2015, the second edition of the biennial will take place from September 16 - December 31, 2017.

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Private House in Forte Dei Marmi / FABBRICANOVE Architetti

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:00 AM PDT

© Filippo Romano               © Filippo Romano
  • Architects: FABBRICANOVE Architetti
  • Location: 55042 Forte dei Marmi, Province of Lucca, Italy
  • Architects In Charge: Enzo Fontana, Giovanni Bartolozzi
  • Area: 550.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2015
  • Photographs: Filippo Romano
  • Collaborators: Renata Laudati, Daniele Capolicchio, Francesco Capriotti
  • Structural Engineering: Studio Baroni, Enrico Baroni, Paolo Baroni (Firenze, Italy)
  • Installations: SEPI, Mariano Santi, Torgiano (Perugia, Italy)
  • Contractor: Società Cattolica di Reggio Emilia (Italy)
  • Press Office: Francesca Oddo architectural press officer
© Filippo Romano               © Filippo Romano

From the architect. The House in Forte dei Marmi, realized by FABBRICANOVE, is the result of precise attention to the relation between the natural landscape and the built environment. And yet, attention to the clearness, the simplicity, the liveness of the domestic spaces, the constant, direct and equal interaction with the artisans, in particular with carpenters, the definition of the details that contribute to the uniform and homogeneous perception of the intervention. Exactly this last point is what builds the real soul of the dwelling, thought as a sartorial work, searching for a formula that allows the identification of the whole project as one unique piece. 

© Filippo Romano               © Filippo Romano

The villa, inside or outside, privileges clear linear solutions, offering a comprehensible reading of its spaces. The building presents two overlapped volumes: one with a square plan, on the ground floor, with flat walkable roofing, the other one is rectangular in plan, on the first floor, with single pitched roof. The dark volume, jutting with a rectangular plan, is placed on the top of the bright volume with a square plan: the first one hosts the master bedroom, the second one includes the night zone reserved for guests, the kitchen, and the living room. On the ground floor, the villa is open towards the garden and to the south-west it hosts a patio protected by a pergola. The interior spaces has been conceived very carefully and this contributes to render the intervention in an elegant and precious way corresponding to a language that is not daring or lavish, but synchronized with delicate choices, soft in the preferred tonality and refined in the choice of materials and their further treatment.

© Filippo Romano               © Filippo Romano

The villa declares diverse chromatic materials and components that are in harmony between each other, according to a complex drawing that brings back a warm Mediterranean atmosphere that can be accurately comprehended and enriched by the natural light. All the windows are wooden with natural finish, the same for the shutters to which a white lacquer finish has been added. The volume with square plan presents a plaster finish with ivory colour, ''trying to solve in the best way the contact with the ground and the relation with the pavement, bright travertine plates have been provided'', tells FABBRICANOVE. The volume with rectangular plan, elevated and sticking out, is clad with ceramic panels ''of a colour that tends to resemble the greyish shades of the Apuane Apls nearby'', they explained.

© Filippo Romano               © Filippo Romano

All the furniture are artisan and realized according to the drawings of FABBRICANOVE. For example the storage/library furniture on the ground floor in teak wood, to which the white steel staircase is supported and hence it becomes an unique object from both structural and visual point of view: some of the kick plates of the staircase coincide with the white profiles upon which the library is assembled.

© Filippo Romano               © Filippo Romano

The attention to the detail derives from a tight relation between designers and artisans, carpenters in particular, who appear as equal protagonists in a mutual contest that creates unique and original solutions. 

© Filippo Romano               © Filippo Romano

The volume of the first floor, with its loggia, is instead clad externally with ceramic panels ''Laminam'' of a colour that tends to resemble the greyish shades of the nearby Alps. This cladding, characterized by a thickness of a few millimetres, allows the pose of panels with big dimensions: an aimed choice that allows the distinction of the volume of the first floor, characterized as an upper placed volume.

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Easter Eggs for Architects (And Architecture Lovers)

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 07:00 AM PDT

Year after year we are never disappointed by the witty, creative, and inspiring designs of ArchDaily readers from across the globe. From over 700 submissions, here are the most egg-celent!

Gif submitted by Karol Kremski

Felipe Colin Jr. Felipe Colin Jr.
Adenirson Sandres Olivier Adenirson Sandres Olivier
Mina Mokhtarian Mina Mokhtarian
Javier Mariño Javier Mariño
Pedro Pablo Hernández Pedro Pablo Hernández
Diego Castañeda Garzón Diego Castañeda Garzón
Juan Luis Lopez Juan Luis Lopez

Gif submitted by Anagnostopoulou Sofia

Rafaela Dalmolin Rafaela Dalmolin
Hrnn Lugo Hrnn Lugo
Rubén Vázquez Rubén Vázquez
Andrei Português Rosa - MOTE 85 arquitetos Andrei Português Rosa - MOTE 85 arquitetos

Gif submitted by K&K ARCHITECTS

Leonardo Araujo Chagas R. da Silva Leonardo Araujo Chagas R. da Silva
Patricia Venegas Serra Patricia Venegas Serra
Cícero Kroeff Cícero Kroeff
Jeet Bakhai Jeet Bakhai
Gerard McCurry Gerard McCurry
Ahmed Nabil Hegazy Ahmed Nabil Hegazy
Anto Fredric Anto Fredric

Gif submitted by hamidreza majnooni

chinitsme chinitsme
Kiron Mahmud Kiron Mahmud
Abbas Riazi Abbas Riazi
Abbas Riazi Abbas Riazi
jafar aljabi jafar aljabi

Gif submitted by Adenirson Sandres Olivier

Silvia Azizaj Silvia Azizaj
Farhan Riaz Farhan Riaz
Luis Garcia Luis Garcia
Silvia Prestos dos Santos Silvia Prestos dos Santos
Jessica Ibañez Jessica Ibañez
Daniela Rentería Franco Daniela Rentería Franco

Gif submitted by WU CHIN HUEI

Fanni Aliz Florian Fanni Aliz Florian
Berke Ozkay Ozkok Berke Ozkay Ozkok
Patricia Puello Patricia Puello
Leonardo Araujo Chagas R. da Silva Leonardo Araujo Chagas R. da Silva
Merylene Chitharai Merylene Chitharai

Gif submitted by Salmo AlBatal

Ajay S.M. Ajay S.M.
anonymous anonymous
Archi-graph Archi-graph
Catherine Sark Catherine Sark
Ashita Parekh Ashita Parekh

Gif submitted by Beatriz Gobate Marques

Illia Attarpour & Anita Sepehry Illia Attarpour & Anita Sepehry
Sameer Z Sameer Z
Lavanya Bhatnagar Lavanya Bhatnagar
Catherine Sark Catherine Sark
Fransiska Tirtoadisurja Fransiska Tirtoadisurja

Gif submitted by Tomoki Takei

Valeria Frolova Valeria Frolova
Simone Vioglio Simone Vioglio
Valeria Frolova Valeria Frolova
Igor Vukičević Igor Vukičević
Lance Monfort Lance Monfort

Gif submitted by Daniel Nardini

Valeria Frolova Valeria Frolova
Ali Eslami Ali Eslami

Gif submitted by Thiago Buccieri Santana

Hyunje Joo Hyunje Joo
Tania Udaondo Bernau Tania Udaondo Bernau
Khairov Khairov
eleasha iyawa eleasha iyawa

Gif submitted by Vanessa Rocha

Marek Jakubowski Marek Jakubowski
Ashita Parekh Ashita Parekh
Lucrezia Biasutti Lucrezia Biasutti
suhani suhani
Wendy O Wendy O

Gif submitted by soniya stephen

Chara Mantopoulou Chara Mantopoulou
Gauvain Dauchy Gauvain Dauchy
Sam Nguyen Sam Nguyen
Ricardo Sarabia Hernández Ricardo Sarabia Hernández
Maryna Klymchuk Maryna Klymchuk
Andrei Gheorghe Andrei Gheorghe
Giovanni Campari Giovanni Campari
Gabriel Acosta Berbeo Gabriel Acosta Berbeo
Isis Detomi Teixeira Isis Detomi Teixeira
Wellida Coelho Wellida Coelho
João Vitor Sarturi João Vitor Sarturi

Gif submitted by Juan Pablo Del Re - Julieta Zingarelli

Gif submitted by  Yulia Bogdan

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AIA Names the Best Housing Projects of 2017

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 06:15 AM PDT

Pennsylvania Farmhouse; Lakewood, Pennsylvania / Cutler Anderson Architects. Image © David Sundberg Pennsylvania Farmhouse; Lakewood, Pennsylvania / Cutler Anderson Architects. Image © David Sundberg

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named the fourteen projects selected as recipients of the 2017 Housing Awards. Now in its 17th year, the AIA's Housing Awards program was established to recognize "the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life." Projects are awarded in four categories: One/Two Family Custom Housing, One/Two Family Production Housing, Multifamily Housing and Special Housing. 

The 2017 AIA Housing Award recipients include: 

One/Two Family Custom Housing

Blue Lake Retreat; Marble Falls, Texas / Lake|Flato Architects

Blue Lake Retreat; Marble Falls, Texas / Lake|Flato Architects. Image © Andrew Pogue Blue Lake Retreat; Marble Falls, Texas / Lake|Flato Architects. Image © Andrew Pogue

The Graphic House; Fayetteville, Arkansas / Marlon Blackwell Architects

The Graphic House; Fayetteville, Arkansas / Marlon Blackwell Architects. Image © Timothy Hursley The Graphic House; Fayetteville, Arkansas / Marlon Blackwell Architects. Image © Timothy Hursley

Los Altos Residence; Los Altos, California / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Los Altos Residence; Los Altos, California / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Image © Nic Lehoux Los Altos Residence; Los Altos, California / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Image © Nic Lehoux

Pennsylvania Farmhouse; Lakewood, Pennsylvania / Cutler Anderson Architects

Pennsylvania Farmhouse; Lakewood, Pennsylvania / Cutler Anderson Architects. Image © David Sundberg Pennsylvania Farmhouse; Lakewood, Pennsylvania / Cutler Anderson Architects. Image © David Sundberg

Sawmill; Tehachapi, California / Olson Kundig

Sawmill; Tehachapi, California / Olson Kundig. Image © Kevin Scott/Olson Kundig Sawmill; Tehachapi, California / Olson Kundig. Image © Kevin Scott/Olson Kundig

One/Two Family Production Housing

Cully Grove; Portland, Oregon / Green Gables Design and Restoration

Cully Grove; Portland, Oregon / Green Gables Design and Restoration. Image © Brian Foulkes Cully Grove; Portland, Oregon / Green Gables Design and Restoration. Image © Brian Foulkes

Roxbury E+; Boston, Mass. / ISA - Interface Studio Architects and Urbanica

Roxbury E+; Boston, Mass. / ISA - Interface Studio Architects and Urbanica. Image © Sam Orberter Roxbury E+; Boston, Mass. / ISA - Interface Studio Architects and Urbanica. Image © Sam Orberter

Stellar Residences and Townhomes at Northstar; Truckee, California / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Stellar Residences and Townhomes at Northstar; Truckee, California / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Image © Nic Lehoux Stellar Residences and Townhomes at Northstar; Truckee, California / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Image © Nic Lehoux

Multifamily Housing

Hunters View Housing Blocks 5&6; San Francisco / Paulett Taggart Architects

Hunters View Housing Blocks 5&6; San Francisco / Paulett Taggart Architects. Image © Bruce Damonte Photography Hunters View Housing Blocks 5&6; San Francisco / Paulett Taggart Architects. Image © Bruce Damonte Photography

Powerhouse; Philadelphia / ISA - Interface Studio Architects

Powerhouse; Philadelphia / ISA - Interface Studio Architects. Image © Sam Orberter Powerhouse; Philadelphia / ISA - Interface Studio Architects. Image © Sam Orberter

VIA 57 WEST; New York City / BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group
Associate Architect: SLCEArchitects, LLP 

VIA 57 WEST; New York City / BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group. Image © Nic Lehoux VIA 57 WEST; New York City / BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group. Image © Nic Lehoux

Specialized Housing

Heartland Family Works; Omaha, Nebraska / Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, Inc.

Heartland Family Works; Omaha, Nebraska / Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, Inc.. Image © Dana Damewood Heartland Family Works; Omaha, Nebraska / Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, Inc.. Image © Dana Damewood

The Lofts at Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri / William Rawn Associates
Associate Architect: Tao + Lee Associates

The Lofts at Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri / William Rawn Associates. Image © Tom Paule Photography The Lofts at Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri / William Rawn Associates. Image © Tom Paule Photography

The Six; Los Angeles / Brooks + Scarpa

The Six; Los Angeles / Brooks + Scarpa. Image © Tara Wucjik The Six; Los Angeles / Brooks + Scarpa. Image © Tara Wucjik

The jury for the 2017 AIA Housing Awards included:

  • Katherine Williams, AIA, (Chair) Fifth Generation Holdings
  • Joe Digrado, AIA, Danielian Associates
  • Blake Held, AIA, Blake H. Held Architect, PLLC
  • Charles Mudede, The Stranger (Journalist)
  • David Perkes, AIA, Mississippi State University GCCDS

Learn more about this year's award, here.

News via AIA.

AIA Names 10 Best US Houses of 2016

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected ten recipients for the 2016 Housing Awards. The AIA 's Housing Awards program, now in its 16th year, was established to recognize "the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life."

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2222 Jackson / ODA New York

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 06:00 AM PDT

© Miguel de Guzmán © Miguel de Guzmán
  • Architects: ODA New York
  • Location: 2222 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101, United States
  • Architects In Charge: Eran Chen, Christian Bailey, Ryoko Okada, Elizabeth Snow, Kris Levine, Karen Evans, Carolina Moscoso, Keith Burns
  • Area: 168000.0 ft2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Miguel de Guzmán, Bojune Kwon, Pavel Bendov
  • Owner: Gershon Equities
  • Structural Engineer: GACE Consulting Engineers
  • Mep Engineer: MG Engineering
  • Exterior Wall Consultant: Gilsan Murray Steficek
© Miguel de Guzmán © Miguel de Guzmán

From the architect. Just steps from MoMA PS1 in white hot Long Island City Queens, ODA New York is upending the real estate market with an 11-story, 175-unit rental project to rival the best of luxury condo living. 

© Miguel de Guzmán © Miguel de Guzmán

Distinguished by its sculptural, almost pixelated, poured concrete exterior, 2222 Jackson is both an easy material compliment to neighboring PS1, and an exemplar of its designer's larger mission: Adept at working within—rather than against—zoning constraints, ODA has once again focused on innovating architectural morphology in the interest of improving not only its residents' everyday experience, but their general quality of life. 

Sections Sections

Inventive use of individual modules forms the foundation for 2222 Jackson, yielding its distinctive silhouette. Jackson was conceived, first and foremost, as a simple, modular grid comprising a sequence of bays, each twelve feet wide. Studio apartments are 32 feet in length and occupy the width of one bay, while the one, two, and three bedroom units are each 25 feet long and capture two, three, and four bays respectively.

© Miguel de Guzmán © Miguel de Guzmán

Typifying ODA's modus operandi, wherein form never precedes function, this strategic modular approach has implications well beyond simple aesthetics. Given the greater length relative to other units, each studio apartment projects seven feet past Jackson's façade line, producing two significant benefits: mid-facade "corner" windows and a terrace for the apartment above. 

© Bojune Kwon © Bojune Kwon

The ultimate result is a substantial increase in available outdoor space (30% more than the original footprint would have allowed) distributed over a powerful composition of 50 terraces scattered along the exterior—a three-dimensional cascade of life and activity. 

© Pavel Bendov © Pavel Bendov

By playing with the massing in this way, ODA rejects what would otherwise be a generic rental box, instead producing a new template for working within common zoning constraints: an axonometric structure with a uniquely articulated façade accommodating substantial outdoor areas (highly coveted though often conventionally impractical amenities in many urban environments). The firm's straightforward, modular design also allows for vastly increased flexibility and adaptability in layout, while simultaneously facilitating a simplified, streamlined, and highly efficient construction process. 

© Miguel de Guzmán © Miguel de Guzmán

Inside 2222 Jackson, the exterior material palette is mirrored in large swaths of exposed concrete suffusing the triple-height lobby. And throughout the building, ODA's installed a multitude of high-end appointments and amenities: An amenity club—complete with airy, sky-lit indoor pool and adjacent landscaped terrace; residents' lounge; and state-of-the-art fitness center—graces a third floor mezzanine. And an expansive rooftop deck provides sweeping views of Manhattan. 

© Miguel de Guzmán © Miguel de Guzmán

Units themselves are congruently well appointed: Each unit features expansive windows, white oak flooring, custom stone countertops, and high-end appliances. Residents also have enviable access to onsite valet parking, as well as washers/dryers on every floor. 

© Pavel Bendov © Pavel Bendov

"We are always looking for opportunities to redefine some very fundamental aspects of what we've come to accept in urban living, and 2222 Jackson was our first project with which we began to explore the concept of a 'vertical village.'  By designing a playful façade with projected bays, we were able not only to bring a flood of natural light to mid-façade "corner" units, but also to provide outdoor spaces, both very precious commodities not commonly available in the urban rental market."                             - Eran Chen, Founder and Executive Director of ODA New York

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Nomadic Bookstore in Milan / AA Museum Lab & Lars Müller Publishers

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 05:30 AM PDT

© Laurian Ghinitoiu © Laurian Ghinitoiu
  • Architects: AA Museum Lab
  • Location: Piazza S. Marco, 2, 20121 Milano, Italy
  • Tutors: Giulia Foscari, Harikleia Karamali (Architectural Association)
  • Client: Lars Müller
  • Project Year: 2017
  • Photographs: Laurian Ghinitoiu, Courtesy of AA Museum Lab
Model. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab Model. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab
© Laurian Ghinitoiu © Laurian Ghinitoiu

From the architect. Conceived as an itinerant urban structure, the hovering LED-lit roof of the pavilion projects into the city ever changing provocative titles of Lars Müller's books and shelters the publications within a soft interior-scape. Inside the pavilion, the predominant use of fine cork with diamond-pointed ashlar ceiling details, allows for a uniform exhibition book display and provides an acoustically subdued environment within hustle of the urban Milanese context. Intended as a prototype, in future incarnations the pavilion will transform itself at night by seamlessly morphing into a closed volume through the use of a pneumatic system.

Model. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab Model. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab
Drawing. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab Drawing. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab
Drawing. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab Drawing. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab
Pavilion under construction. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab Pavilion under construction. Image Courtesy of AA Museum Lab

Designed by the students of the AA Museum Lab, a Diploma unit of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, the project is intended as a manifesto of the relevance of books in the context of the expansion of the digital. Located in the heart of the Brera Design District in Milan, in Piazza San Marco, the Nomadic Bookstore presents a selection of Lars Müller Publisher's books on Design, Architecture, Photography, Art and Society. The pavilion design was selected by an international jury from the competition entries of all eleven students of the AA Museum Lab.

© Laurian Ghinitoiu © Laurian Ghinitoiu
© Laurian Ghinitoiu © Laurian Ghinitoiu
© Laurian Ghinitoiu © Laurian Ghinitoiu
© Laurian Ghinitoiu © Laurian Ghinitoiu
© Laurian Ghinitoiu © Laurian Ghinitoiu

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Ciudadela 29 de Julio Park / El Equipo Mazzanti + AEV Arquitectos

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 04:00 AM PDT

© Rodrigo Dávila © Rodrigo Dávila
  • Other Participants: Juan Carlos Zapata, Natalia Canal, Juan Gil, Fredy Pantoja, Nicolás Rosales (supervisión), Carlos Medellín, Juliana Zambrano, Trinidad Guzmán, María Sol Echeverry
© Andrés Valbuena © Andrés Valbuena

From the architect. Ciudadela 29 de Julio Park is part of a 9 centralities network within the Rehabilitation and Public Space Plan of Rio Manzanares waterfront in Santa Marta, Colombia. It looks forward to the hydrologic system of the city as well of its visualization and accessibility. Santa Marta has grown forming a lot of neighborhoods, most of them defined by invisible limits which has transcended in the belonging sense from the inhabitants. The project has been planned as a series of leisure and recreational spaces were the existence of physical and social limits are cloudy and the space can turn visible, clear and behaves as a central axis of the city, working as a sequence of central places for the community activities and meeting.

© Rodrigo Dávila © Rodrigo Dávila
Arborization Plan Arborization Plan
© Rodrigo Dávila © Rodrigo Dávila

Each park acts depending of the needs of each area through 6 strategies:

1. Define boundaries, define a public space

2. Establish a reference point or a center for the area.

3. Customize the spaces using different materials

4. Generate shadow spaces

5. Merge the natural, social and artificial landscape 

6. Define game areas.

© Rodrigo Dávila © Rodrigo Dávila

Ciudadela 29 de Julio Park has a synthetic soccer court with stands, a kid's park, adult public gym, a multipurpose canopy, several gardens and free areas. The project wants to achieve that the game and the act of playing become a mechanism for social inclusion, having places for different ages in the same place. The canopy acts as an artifact that generates different atmospheres and events. It is the trigger for public space; underneath of it the community can have many activities like concerts, games, meetings, workshops and dances. 

© Rodrigo Dávila © Rodrigo Dávila

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8 Lessons On Succeeding as a Firm, From the Business Mind Behind BIG

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 02:30 AM PDT

CEO and Partner Sheela Maini Søgaard in the studio at BIG. Image © Magnus Møller CEO and Partner Sheela Maini Søgaard in the studio at BIG. Image © Magnus Møller

This article by Sheela Maini Søgaard, partner and CEO of BIG, was originally published by DesignIntelligence as "BIG Lessons: Eight Key Points That We Focus(ed) on in Our Growth Process."

When I joined BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group in 2008, we had one office, one partner, and 45 employees. Eight years later we have 12 partners and more than 400 employees in Copenhagen, New York, and London. As we continue to expand our reach, projects, and staff I have awarded myself the luxury of looking back and distilling what has made a difference so far. These are my top eight lessons for having secured the successful growth of BIG over the past eight years.

Lesson 1: Design and Business, Hand-in-Hand

In Formula One racing, it's easy to focus too much on the car and driver because that is what we see during the race. But the pit crews, equipment and other behind-the-scenes support systems are just as important if you want to win.

Architecture is the most visible part of our organization, but we are focused on business operations too. Business is not in opposition to design. A well-managed business environment will support the delivery of design. During our growth we have learned that it is not only reasonable but also necessary to think analytically about our organization. If I could go back and change one thing, I would have hired more of the right operations people earlier on. Every single one of them has brought home their salary several times over. The better support and infrastructure we offer through operations, the more our designers can focus on what they do best.

Lesson 2: Focus on Financial Health

I was recruited to BIG to take on responsibility for the financial challenges that any growing firm will eventually face. Coming from another industry, I first had to acquaint myself with the architecture profession. I found the traditional billing structure focused on workload in the design process. Fees were attached to where the hours were spent in phases like construction documentation rather than where the value was created. This model does not work very well for a design architect who is traditionally asked to engage heavily in the earlier phases then handing over to the executive architect in the later phases.

To rethink the traditional fee approach and to gain our fair share of the value we were creating for our clients, we began to focus on documenting proof of our value creation. We are able to show clients that our projects provide more value per square foot sold, more program to any given site, and better value for the users; all of which helps us achieve a greater share of that value which we assist in unlocking, i.e., better design fees.

We have found that managing and controlling each project from start to finish is key to ensuring that our fees then also generate a profit. We use software that allows us to plan the required resources for any work stream. Also, the discipline we show in checking up on every single project regularly throughout the year allows us to prevent any project from running over budget on resource expenditure without our express knowledge and approval. The purpose is not to penalize the teams (the results of these meetings do not impact their bonuses, for example), but to talk them through the financial and practical side of the project so they can understand what is in wait and plan accordingly. Our staff no longer wonder where the money is being spent because the process is transparent.

I don't think that any partner, design leader or project manager questions the need for financial control of the projects and, in fact, they all understand and speak to it as a natural part of their work.

Finally, as part of securing financial viability, we do stand firm on being paid. We cannot work for free and we think it is only fair that our contractual terms be adhered to just as we expect to deliver according to contract. This may seem a basic point but I've been surprised at how often in the past we've had to have serious discussions with clients about paying us inside a reasonable time frame and paying us in full. We continue to be uncompromising in expecting full payment for full delivery.

Lesson 3: In Marketing, Quantity Can Lead to Quality

When we began to think about BIG as a brand that we can strengthen and build, we focused on how to raise awareness of the firm and to talk about our approach.

In the years I've been at BIG we have applied to hundreds of competitions. As the market recognition of BIG has expanded, we have garnered more direct commissions and rely less on competitions. But the competitions have been important in becoming known to clients and the industry.

Exhibitions and lectures have been important as well. We do between seven and 16 exhibitions a year and we apply for a stream of awards. Bjarke and others from BIG have given nearly 600 lectures in the last eight years. In the beginning, we went anywhere where the hosts would pay for the flight. Our goal was to meet potential clients, but we found that the experience has given us so much more.

The firm has now produced 16 publications. We have an intentional and targeted approach to coverage and publicity through our press and communications departments.

As long as we continue to create stories from the way we genuinely approach design, our marketing will be organically derived rather than contrived. Once you have originality and integrity in your communication it is simply a question of finding the right tools and outlets.

Lesson 4: Tenacity, Tenacity, Tenacity

Of all the qualities you need in people—from staff to leaders—tenacity is the most crucial to moving forward. Talent and leadership are important, but a tenacious team will perform miracles. Bjarke is the definition of tenacity, and the first partners at BIG embody this same characteristic. Whatever you asked them to do, together they would accomplish.

We added four partners in 2015. All of them have been with BIG for a while and each of them shares that quality of never going home until the job is done.

Every person at BIG wants to do a good job. Some of them don't always do a good job, but they all want to. Sharing information with them and being straightforward about the challenges in their performance makes them try harder, makes them more focused, and allows them to grow.

Lesson 5: Less = More (Focus)

More is not necessarily more when it comes to offices. Three years ago we had offices in Europe, North America, and Asia, and plans for adding one more every two years. Our plan changed when we realized we could do work all over the world from a limited number of locations and the quality of our work and lives were better.

With greater focus we can contain our culture and way of working; we can spread Bjarke and other key people across more projects when they occur in fewer offices. We also realized that we couldn't run an office without dedicating ourselves to spending a lot of time there; and after having spent significant portions of your life running through airports to catch the next flight, you learn that it's better to be home.

Lesson 6: Culture Is Paramount

As an employee I cared about where I worked, who I worked for, and the quality of the atmosphere. As a leader in an industry where everything is about human capital, I see culture as the most important factor in BIG's success.

We've tried to create the company we ourselves want to work in every day. That means we don't talk about how much fun we have: we simply do it. We speak to people like we want them to speak to us. We treat every person as if he or she might be the next Bjarke Ingels, because it's possible.

In the beginning our offices were open because that's all we could afford. Over time the design of our workplaces came to reflect not only our design sensibility, but also our Scandinavian heritage and values: transparency, openness, and flat hierarchy. Our partners work directly in the teams and sit in the open. They are accessible to any employee, which can sometimes be challenging for them, but it works well for the teams.

The lack of focus on hierarchy helps build meritocracy. Everyone must design and produce, including leaders. In our firm, your title or position does not entitle you to squelch the voice of anyone else on the team. The entire team is present in meetings with the client or Bjarke, which has allowed us to develop talent quickly—people who joined BIG only a few years ago can lead projects knowing what Bjarke and the other design partners think.

We never shy away from conflict because it is the lifeblood of compromise. We search for the conflict and throw ourselves into it. Sometimes it takes longer to reach the compromise but in the end it is worth the work.

Flexibility and adaptability are the final key. Rules only stay rules until we find that they don't work anymore. Nothing is too sacred to change if change is better.

Lesson 7: There Is No Steady Arc to Growth

Growth—whether maturation of the firm, or increases in revenue or employees—is never even or predictable. It happens in leaps.

Our growth has been driven by projects. First was 8 House, which was the largest residential project in Denmark at the time. It took us from a design office to a "grownup" architectural firm. In 2010, VIA on West 57th Street brought us to the United States, where we established our first office outside Europe. Our most recent leap came from the high rise projects, including 2 World Trade Center—our first super-tall. It has taken us into a new realm: new staff, types of profiles, and ways of thinking about how we work.

Lesson 8: Nothing Is Fixed

Whenever anyone recounts the story of their growth it sounds as though there is a fixed beginning and ending, which has never been the case for us.

Nothing in our history has been strictly linear. We often don't know exactly where we are going until we get there. We have an idea about what we need to do, and then we listen, gather insight, and collaborate to end up in the right destination. Sometimes, we set a lot of ships to sail and one of them makes it.

During our period of rapid growth, we realized that no one has it all figured out. We developed most of the policies that we have today when we needed them, because if you try to prepare for everything you will probably never go on the trip. Some things you have to figure out along the way.

Sheela Maini Søgaard is a partner and CEO of BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. Prior to joining the firm in 2008, she held management positions within food and medical devices industries and she was a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

The Business of Design Success: How did BIG Get So... Big?

Read a previous interview with Sheela Maini Søgaard here.

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Vertical House / Miró Rivera Architects

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 02:00 AM PDT

© Paul Finkel © Paul Finkel
  • Architects: Miró Rivera Architects
  • Location: Dallas, TX, United States
  • Architects In Charge: Juan Miró, FAIA; Miguel Rivera, FAIA; Ken Jones, AIA
  • Area: 8017.0 ft2
  • Project Year: 2013
  • Photographs: Paul Finkel, Courtesy of Miró Rivera Architects
© Paul Finkel © Paul Finkel

From the architect. Located on one of the few lots in Dallas elevated enough to enjoy a view of the downtown skyline, the five-story Vertical House rises dramatically above the treetops to capture views of the surrounding gardens and the skyline beyond. Characterized by clean lines, sheer glass walls, and sculptural sun shades, this sharply-detailed house offers an intriguing counterpoint to the tropical ambiance of its forest-like setting.

© Paul Finkel © Paul Finkel

The client, an avid collector of exotic plants, wanted a house that would not only maximize views of the site, but also maintain privacy from neighboring properties. In response, the house was conceived as two interlocking, contrasting volumes: one half is transparent and oriented toward views of the gardens, while the other half is solid and geared toward providing privacy to the spaces within. Each floor contains a specific portion of the program, with more public spaces situated on the transparent side of the structure, and vice versa.

© Paul Finkel © Paul Finkel

Starting at the lowest level, two 60-foot-tall exterior screen walls surge upward on both sides of the house. The verticality of the screen walls—combined with the structure's compact footprint—accentuates the home's slenderness and height. Comprised of 6x2 hollow tube steel sections spaced six inches on center, the screens provide the primary structural support for the floor plates, which consist of conventionally-spaced wide flanges framed by steel channels on all sides. A series of ¾" steel plates transfers the load from each floor to the external screen wall, which is offset from the structure in order to achieve a floating effect from within. On one side, floor-to-ceiling butt-glazed windows create the impression of a taut, transparent volume flanked by a delicate trellis, with the vertical steel tubes doubling as solar shading to the eastern and western exposures. On the opposite side, large blocks of locally-quarried roughback Leuders limestone create a contrasting effect, providing shade and privacy. Smaller, inset windows reinforce the sense of weight and enclosure, while giving penetrations a pronounced shadow line.

Section Section

The first floor of the residence is partially burrowed into the site and accessed via a spiraling driveway carved into the limestone bedrock. Commencing at the street, where a metal gate set into bastions clad in Leuders limestone hangs from a short pedestrian bridge, the dramatic approach along the driveway allows for an almost subterranean experience of the landscaped canopy above. The driveway terminates in a small auto court, and the first floor of the house contains a carport (with one side formed by the screen wall), storage/utility rooms, and powder room.

© Paul Finkel © Paul Finkel

The main entrance to the house is located on the second floor (at natural grade). Visitors to the house park in a separate auto court and follow a footpath through gardens featuring both native and exotic flora before crossing over the excavated auto court via an exposed steel footbridge with glass handrails. A cantilevered balcony—its underside finished in warm Ipe wood—projects from the master bedroom on the third floor to define the entryway. A guest bedroom on this level takes advantage of the floor-to-ceiling windows, while a laundry room and bathroom are nestled into the more opaque half. Worth noting is the shower, which includes an exterior door that opens directly into a small aviary enclosed by a thin mesh canopy overhead.

Courtesy of Miró Rivera Architects Courtesy of Miró Rivera Architects

Moving vertically through the house from the entrance, every major space is immediately accessible from the glass-enclosed stairwell (reflecting one of the client's key requirements). Views of the landscape and skyline beyond become ever more impressive as the ground below falls away, and a palpable sense of suspension takes hold. The third floor hosts the master suite, while on the fourth floor the living room seems to hang in midair—a sensation reinforced by a fireplace made of thin plate steel that appears to hover in front of the windows. The subdued material palette throughout the interior consists of white walls and polished concrete floors (ground down slightly to expose the aggregate), with a continuous accent wall of bookmatched Carrara marble that runs the height of the stair connecting all the floors.

© Paul Finkel © Paul Finkel

The progression terminates at an inviting open-air roof terrace, which offers breathtaking 360-degree views. A mechanical skylight provides access from inside, and the terrace is shaded from the afternoon sun by an extension of the screen wall, which turns 90 degrees to form an airy pergola. Captured rainwater from the roof supplements irrigation for the surrounding landscaping.

Courtesy of Miró Rivera Architects Courtesy of Miró Rivera Architects

A pool house located on the north side of the property, with a dedicated entrance and auto court, contains a gym and guest accommodations. A tubular steel trellis echoes the design of the main house, in this case taking the form of a long, lowslung canopy that cantilevers over a private patio at one end, and turns down to enclose a carport at the other. The pool house opens up to a 65-foot long lap pool via floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows. Lush vegetation spills over the heavy limestone block walls that surround the pool and deck, providing a secluded space for exercise and recreation.

© Paul Finkel © Paul Finkel

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52 Types of Wood and the Trees They Come From

Posted: 13 Apr 2017 01:00 AM PDT

How much do you know about different kinds of wood that might be used in your architectural projects?  

In the words of the infographic's creator, Alan Bernau Jr. of AlansFactoryOutlet.com, "Let's take a moment to admire the huge biodiversity of the earth's many kinds of trees, including fruit trees, conifers, rare species, and common types of trees you can find in many places throughout the world."

52 Types of Wood and the Trees They Come From - AlansFactoryOutlet.com - Infographic
Developed by AlansFactoryOutlet.com

Wood / Bamboo | ArchDaily

Wood / Bamboo products for architects | ArchDaily

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Norman Foster Foundation’s Madrid Headquarters to Inaugurate with Global Forum in June

Posted: 12 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT

Masdar Institure. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners Masdar Institure. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners

The Norman Foster Foundation has announced plans for its new Madrid-based headquarters to be opened in June this year, whose inauguration will be marked by the first session of the global forum Future is Now, addressing future social, economic and design concerns architecture will face. With the intersection of art, technology, and design, the Foundation facilitates multifaceted thinking and discourse among architects and designers. The opening of its new headquarters is a vital step in "establishing a world-class archive and inaugurating an international program of research, education, and interdisciplinary projects."

According to the Foundation, "the decision to establish the Foundation as an independent entity, separate from the architectural practice of Foster + Partners, grew out of the perceived need for a permanent physical space that could house the Archive and study center, receive students and graduates, and present programs and projects."

Droneport in Rwanda. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners Droneport in Rwanda. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners

Established in 2015, the Foundation's renowned Archive is the focal point of the new facility in Madrid, boasting an inventory of over 74,000 drawings, models, photographs, sketchbooks, and assorted objects, revolving around Norman Foster's life, work, and ideologies. With information from the 1950s onwards, the Archive offers a plethora of reference points for scholarly research and education and is also publicly accessible online.

Hearst Tower. Image © Chuck Coi Hearst Tower. Image © Chuck Coi

The headquarters will be based at a former residential palace in Madrid, its historic building complimenting a new single story glass pavilion that will occupy the courtyard, designed by the Norman Foster Studio within the Foundation. Featuring a seemingly floating glass fiber roof, the pavilion will stage events and display a collection of influential objects and references.

The birth of the Foundation grows out of the aspiration to help new generations to be better prepared to anticipate the future, especially in times of profound global uncertainty, and in particular to assist those professionals who are concerned with the built environment, said Norman Foster. Behind all this is our belief in the value of architecture, infrastructure, and urbanism to make a difference for the collective good.

Maggie's Cancer Centre in Manchester. Image © Nigel Young Maggie's Cancer Centre in Manchester. Image © Nigel Young

To mark the establishment of its new home, the Foundation will also host Future is Now, its first global forum of three sessions on the topics of "Cities", "Technology and Design", and "Infrastructure." Beginning with a keynote by Norman Foster, each session will include a keynote, an interview, and a moderated panel discussion, all of which will be live streamed on the Foundation's website, here. Notable speakers will include 2016's Pritzker Prize winner and Venice Biennale director Alejandro Aravena, and Apple's Chief Design Officer, Jonathan Ive.

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. Image © Tim Caynes Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. Image © Tim Caynes

Future is Now is the first of a series of research-driven and educational initiatives conducted by the Foundation, in collaboration with a range of institutions worldwide, such as MIT, the École Polythechnique Fédérale in Lausanne and the University of Cambridge. These will be overseen by the newly appointed Director Maria Nicanor, an architectural historian, and curator whose previous associations include the V&A Museum in London, and New York's Guggenheim Museum.

More information about the Norman Foster Foundation, as well as the schedule for its inaugural global forum, can be found on its website, here.

News via: Norman Foster Foundation.

RIBA's New National Architecture Centre Will Celebrate Liverpool's Architectural History

Liverpool will soon be home to the Royal Institute of British Architect's (RIBA) new national centre for architecture, RIBA North, which will be a new focal point for visitors to learn about architecture, as well as the culture and history behind Liverpool's built environment.

Norman Foster Explains How Drones in Rwanda Could Lead the Way for New Cities

Back in September, Foster + Partners released details of their designs for a droneport in Rwanda, a humanitarian initiative that seeks to jumpstart and navigate the infrastructural challenges of emerging economies. In this video, Foster and others involved in the project explain the process of realizing the droneports, giving further details on its inclusion in this year's Venice Biennale -with engaging new architectural visualizations to boot.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca 49 / Appleton & Domingos

Posted: 12 Apr 2017 10:00 PM PDT

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG
  • Structure: A2P Consult, Estudos e Projectos Lda
  • Special Installation : Termifrio
  • Fire Safety: ETU
  • Landscape Design: Nélia Martins e João Junqueira
  • Constructor: Construtora UDRA
  • Supervision: Outdoor
  • Client: Fundo de Investimento Imobiliário Fechado Imoimperial
© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

From the architect. In March 2014, when its rehabilitation works were almost finished, this building burned down. It was a fine bourgeois apartment building from the beginning of the 20th century, with some large flats over 330sqm and 4m high ceilings.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

The original interior was a wooden structure with the typical interior decoration program of that period in Lisbon: pine wood floors, painted stucco walls, molded stucco ceilings, tiled walls in the stairs and high quality wood and art nouveau stained glass windows.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

The fire destroyed almost everything but the façades and the ground floor, which was already reinforced with a thick concrete slab preventing eventual fire to pass from the parking to the other floors. The stone pavement of the main entrance, where a double symmetrical stair existed, also survived the fire. The steel structure of the terraces (not yet assembled on site) and the old wooden doors and shutters were preserved as they were stored outside the building.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

Because structural reinforcement on the ground floor was already done under the position of the ancient walls, it turned out to be a "footprint" which had to be used in the upper new partition walls.  In that way, the new plan incorporates the old plan.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

As in the original building, the project laid out an apartment per floor, using the groundfloor for car parking. The floor plans are similar, except for the upper floor which is the occupation of the attic and therefore has different exterior windows and gets a more "lofty" feel to it. The 1st and 2nd floors each enjoy a private garden on the rear façade while the others enjoy a terrace.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

The new project had to be very pragmatic, using the most common and inexpensive materials available in the market, and reusing everything possible. It was also decided that all surviving elements should be maintained because of their cultural value but also because of their inherent value.

Section Section

The old doors preserved from the fire were reused as cladding for the entrance walls of the building and the old stone pavement was maintained as memorial of the pre-existing interior.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

Concrete structure, the most affordable structural system availabre, was the solution chosen and it was decided that it should be assumed on the main entrance, stairs, apartments' social areas and rear façade terraces.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

The stairs were designed with a peripheral hammered concrete wall which contrasts with the soft, comfortable texture of the wooden steps and guard.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

Inside the apartments the living and dining rooms have their ceilings in cast concrete with a diagonal wooden clapboards texture mirroring the floor design.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

In a simpler design, clapboards are also imprinted in terrace and entrance hall ceilings.

The walls at the center core of the apartments, are surfaced with wood panels colored with white velaturas that preserve its texture. Full height sliding doors articulate the working, living, cooking and dining rooms.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

For the large terraces, diamond shaped cement tiles were designed reinventing the old floors of the building. On bathrooms and kitchens, the Lisbon current "beige" stone "Lioz" was used.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

The huge art nouveau windows on the main façade were redesigned with a very slender steel frame.

The main goal of the project was to preserve the bourgeois and luxurious character of the former apartment building while updating it in a contemporary way through the sensible and sober use of scale, design and materiality.

© Fernando Guerra | FG + SG © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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