srijeda, 12. srpnja 2017.

Arch Daily

ArchDaily

Arch Daily


Fire Station in Houten / SAMYN and PARTNERS

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 08:00 PM PDT

© Christian Richters © Christian Richters
  • Structural Engineering: SAMYN and PARTNERS, SETESCO s.a., de Bondt Rijssen BV
  • Mechanical And Electrical Engineering: DHV AIB bv
  • Energy And Environmental Engineering: ECOFYS
  • Main Contractor: NIJHUIS UTRECHT
  • Contractor Services: INSTALLATIEBEDRIJF ANDRIESSEN
  • Contractor Exterior Glazing: C. VORSSELMANS NV
  • Contractor Sectional Doors: BG DEUR BENELUX
  • Contractor Installation Photovoltaic Cells: STROOMWERK
  • Contractor Kitchen: G3K
  • Client: GEMEENTE HOUTEN
  • Project: DHV AIB bv
  • Client Photovoltaic Roof : N.V. regionale energiemaatschappij Utrecht Remu
© Christian Richters © Christian Richters

From the architect. The municipal authority in Houten (Netherlands) commissioned the Samyn and Partners practice to build a small fire station on a site surrounded by lots of green space. The municipality of Houten has a hybrid fire fighting force : four professional firefighters, and around sixty volunteers. The building agenda set a requirement that there should be space to accommodate six fire engines.

© Christian Richters © Christian Richters

The theme in drawing up the design is the radical divi- sion of the roof structure from the internal organization. It represents the idea of the shelter, the independence of the shell from the building itself. The building's interior is in keeping with the client's requirements.

© Christian Richters © Christian Richters

The choice of a parabolic form for the roof is the result of the search for elegance of form, and also brings about an optimization of the structure. The fast method of construction was a further significant factor favoring this choice at the fundamental design stage.

© Christian Richters © Christian Richters
Sections Sections
© Christian Richters © Christian Richters

There is a two-way split of the interior. The south side has been conceived as a completely transparent space in which just glass has been used. Here, the firefighting equipment is kept in what resembles a large shop win- dow. This barely heated hall is intended to serve as a climatic buffer zone, both in winter and in summer. All the other functions have been gathered together in the northern half of the building, a construction built of load bearing brickwork. From the open corridors, there is a view onto the fire engines.

© Christian Richters © Christian Richters

The ground floor houses showers, changing rooms and the sanitary provisions as well as storage rooms for mechanical equipment. A conference room and a cafeteria for the firefighters are situated on the first floor. The office spaces are located on the second floor with storage rooms for technical equipment on top.

Ground Floor Plan Ground Floor Plan

In this socially problematic area of the city, it was asked to the 2200 five to seven years old schoolboys and schoolgirls of the 22 schools of the city to represent the epic of the firemen on DIN A3 - size panels.

Courtesy of Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS. Courtesy of Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS.

The 2200 panels, changing color as a flame from dark blue at the bottom over green an yellow to orange at the top, were laid out on the main brick wall of the Fire Station, renamed "house of the firemen". It resulted into a magnificent hieroglyph-like composition protected by the glazed façade. The project gathered all the families of Houten, so that an emotional link was woven between the population and the building. In this way, the "house" is protected from the vandalism it was like- ly to suffer before that, in each family, a little brother or a little sister's piece of artwork was integrated in the work.

Sketch Sketch

The glazed façade incorporates large overhead gates designed to allow the firefighting force to make a quick operational exit. The building's length runs in an east- west direction which allows the southern façade to incorporate photovoltaic cells. The fire station's overall form appears as a modern variant on the traditional theme of the shed.

© Christian Richters © Christian Richters

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A•lava / Aalto University Wood Program

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 07:00 PM PDT

© Marc Goodwin © Marc Goodwin
  • Student Design Team: Alba Aguilar (MX), Emilia Almqvist Jansson (SW), Mathias Björkman (FI), Caio Cintra (BR), Rodrigo Giorgi (BR), Riccardo Guerri (IT), Noora Kassinen (FI), Loreto Mancilla Bahamonde (CL), Elsa Mendoza (MX), Guido Mitidieri (IT), Teodor Nilson (SW), Tatsuro Sakata (JP), Andrea Settimi (IT), Heidi Silvennoinen (FI), Hannah Smith (CA), Kire Stavrov (MK), Jianlin Sun (CA), Kenji Takahashi (JP), Paul Texereau (FR), Sonja Äärilä (FI)
  • Tutors: Pekka Heikkinen (FI), Philip Tidwell (US), Willem van Bolderen (NL)
  • Engineer: Antti Haikala (FI)
© Marc Goodwin © Marc Goodwin

From the architect. Designed and constructed by a team of 20 students from the Aalto University's Wood Program, the pavilion provides a sheltered stage for Annantalo, an art center for young people and families in the center of Helsinki, Finland. The stage is build as a semi-permanent building and will accommodate various art events from the school during the summers for the next five years.

© Marc Goodwin © Marc Goodwin

 The stage is based on a square shape plan to provide a flexible and democratic space suitable for many types of presentations. The flexibility of the space intends to be a tools for the teachers and students of the school in there creative process. The design provides a main stage for artists and a 60 people audience, with the possibility to extend the show outside and host a larger event.

© Marc Goodwin © Marc Goodwin

A variation of triangular shapes that determine the walls and openings of the stage also serve as structural elements of the project. The geometry of the roof follows the same principles, raising up to emphasize the location of the stage by means of a set of beams forming a parabolic structure.

© Marc Goodwin © Marc Goodwin

The walls and deck structures were prefabricated from solid spruce wood in the program's workshop in Otaniemi and assembled on site. The glulam beams were factory made and assembled on site in one day. Plywood sheets for the covering were CNC cut to adjust to the geometry and assembled on site the same day.

Detail Detail
Detail Detail

Each step of the project has been documented lovingly online through the official website (a-lava.com) as students tracked the many steps of building a quality design at full scale.

© Philip Tidwell © Philip Tidwell

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DASA House / Snow AIDe

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 05:00 PM PDT

© Joonhwan Yoon © Joonhwan Yoon
  • Architects: Snow AIDe
  • Location: Munsan-ri, Dasa-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, South Korea
  • Team: Hohyun Park, Hyunjoo Kim
  • Area: 214.53 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Joonhwan Yoon
© Joonhwan Yoon © Joonhwan Yoon

From the architect. A small town near Nakdong River is a place where the client spent his youth. He wanted to come back to his hometown and spend rest of his life in his new house. The site was the deepest place in town and a good place to overlook the town. There was a limitation of using site due to planned future road on the back of bamboo woods. To maximize green space, the house was placed following the shape of the boundary on the town side. The overall shape of the house is ascending from the entrance to the upper floor like a ridge.

© Joonhwan Yoon © Joonhwan Yoon

Since the client walks with difficulty by accident, most of his activities are need to be possible on one level. Circulation and space arrangement should be simple. The ground level is planned to be used by the client couple, and the upper floor level is for He has a son and a daughter.

Program Diagram Program Diagram
Space Diagram Space Diagram

The main entrance is located one floor up from the street level. The porch covered by a big black roof is leading to the narrow corridor. Space followed by the curved wall is expanding in its volume dramatically at living space. From the living space, space is splitting to master zone, fitness area, and upper floor. While walking up on the steel staircase, bamboo woods appear through the windows.

© Joonhwan Yoon © Joonhwan Yoon

Resting at the bathtub is an important ritual for the client. The pine tree, which is seen through the square window at master bath is showing the changes of season. Horizontal windows in the upper floor rooms are showing framed view of the mountain and the bamboo woods.

© Joonhwan Yoon © Joonhwan Yoon
© Joonhwan Yoon © Joonhwan Yoon

This house is about balance and contrast. One side facing the town is rigid and dark. The other side facing nature is soft and bright. Dark metallic brick and black zinc were used for Town faced façade. Bright limestone was used for curved façade which is face to bamboo woods. Inner space burst out from the entrance to living room. The volume of the space expands dramatically.

© Joonhwan Yoon © Joonhwan Yoon

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DP Group Headquarters / SO

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 03:00 PM PDT

© Soopakorn Srisakul © Soopakorn Srisakul
  • Architects: SO
  • Location: Soi Phatthanakan 31/1, Khwaeng Suan Luang, Khet Suan Luang, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10250, Thailand
  • Lead Architect: Narong Othavorn
  • Area: 1500.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul, Ketsiree Wongwan
  • Assistant Architect: Jirapong Amornsak
  • Interior Designer: Intukarn Chimwaroon, Nipat Charoenpala
  • Client: DP Group
  • Structure And Facade: Petromech co.,ltd
  • Architecture And Interior: Bomo Zone co.,ltd
© Ketsiree Wongwan © Ketsiree Wongwan

From the architect. The new headquarter for DP Group is a renovated 4 storeys building where the owner wanted to give a rebirth with natural aspects, in order to have it in return to their staffs. The glass courts with garden filled with natural light were introduced to give the new connection between floors and to revise the flow of all the working space. Some of the floor plate including the huge lifeless balcony were erased to insert those glass courts, skylights and tree to be the new staples of each space and let the working area happening around them.

© Ketsiree Wongwan © Ketsiree Wongwan

The balcony and building's frontal are embraced by the new expanded metal facade for sun shading and also to capture the potential of a sheltered open space.

© Ketsiree Wongwan © Ketsiree Wongwan

DP Group is actually a family business with a sense of warm working atmosphere. The owner's penthouse is placed on the top floor, and the executives' working duplex is at the very back of the building with it own stair and glass court for their privacy, almost like a family home office well connected to each other and looking after the whole company closely.

© Ketsiree Wongwan © Ketsiree Wongwan
Void Connection Diagram Void Connection Diagram
© Ketsiree Wongwan © Ketsiree Wongwan

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Runner Camp Flagship Store / PRISM DESIGN + OFFICE COASTLINE

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 01:00 PM PDT

© Alessandro Wang © Alessandro Wang
© Alessandro Wang © Alessandro Wang

From the architect. This projects is Collaboration Design by PRISM DESIGN and OFFICE COASTLINE, It is a design concept called Urban Athletics from a desire to run healthy and stylishly throughout the city of Shanghai.

As a design aspect, express as a large staircase in the space as if to go through lightly and refreshingly the difference in height of the Upper Highs in Pudong area from Puxi area of Shanghai the scenery. And get inspired from general industrial materials in the town as a material we are adopting it.

© Alessandro Wang © Alessandro Wang

Adopted gratings metal used at drains as the main unit, fusing UNIT, which is required for Boutique. And we use general industrial materials such as sound absorbing material, heat insulating material, concrete.

© Alessandro Wang © Alessandro Wang

As for the management side, with the 1-2F double layer stacking cut out, 1F is a store and shoes consulting experience area, 2F is a runner's platform such as GYM training function specialized for running, large space interactive exercise using LED display, shower room · locker etc.

1st Floor Plan 1st Floor Plan
2nd Floor Plan 2nd Floor Plan

Urban workers run with the Sunrise and run with the sunset. That scene is Orange which is a brand color.

They recommend start, a new lifestyle that is healthy and stylish in the Shanghai city.

© Alessandro Wang © Alessandro Wang

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Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Hivision Center / Junglim Architecture

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 12:00 PM PDT

© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan
  • Architects: Junglim Architecture
  • Location: Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
  • Lead Architects: Lim Jinwoo
  • Area: 25400.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Yoon Junhwan
© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan

From the architect. To replace demolish the small, old build a new training center will be better suited to the purpose of training. It was launched with the following goals:

1. Take advantage of the superior natural environment of Gonjiam.

© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan

2. Overcome the limited size of the actual site available for building within the boundaries of the site.

© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan

3. Address the problem of visual interference with the existing training center accommodation building and the cramped nature of the landscape.

© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan
© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan

4. Improve the recognizability of the facade of the training center that has been reduced by the existing trees (metasequoia).

© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan

The main goal of the project was to create a single place in harmony with the surroundings while reflecting the above four issues. In other words, the project aimed to avoid "exaggerated forms" and "showy interiors" which are usually found in other training centers, and create a place in which trainees can communicate with one another in a forest by encompassing the surrounding forest.

© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan
Plan / Section Plan / Section
© Yoon Junhwan © Yoon Junhwan

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Paris and Los Angeles Selected as 2024 and 2028 Olympic Hosts

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 10:25 AM PDT

Paris 2024, LA 2024 Paris 2024, LA 2024

Paris and Los Angeles will become the next Olympic host cities, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted unanimously to approve a plan simultaneously awarding the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games to the competing cities.

Which city will host each year, however, is still on the table – the two bid cities and the IOC will have until a September 13 conference in Lima to reach an agreement. If they cannot agree, solely the 2024 Olympics will be awarded, though this outcome seems unlikely after recent collaborations by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Champs-Élysées - Cycling. Image via Paris 2024 Champs-Élysées - Cycling. Image via Paris 2024

"We welcome the executive board's decision to recognize two excellent bids from two of the world's greatest cities," said Garcetti prior to the vote. "We look forward to working together maybe not in competition but collaboration with Paris.

"LA is ready to throw these Olympics in two months, if we were asked, or two decades if it came to that. LA is ready because the infrastructure, the love and the vision to make sure it's something that serves this movement and serves the people of our city."

Main Stadium - Future home of the NFL's LA Rams. Image Courtesy of LA 2024 Main Stadium - Future home of the NFL's LA Rams. Image Courtesy of LA 2024

In a report issued last week, the IOC found both bids to be "outstanding" and more than capable of delivering a successful Games. Both cities' campaigns promoted the use of existing facilities as opposed to large-scale new construction, after arenas and developments built for the Games in both Athens and Rio have since been left abandoned and caused economic stresses for their respective countries.

Learn more about Los Angeles' bid here, and Paris' bid here.

News via New York Times.

See the Proposed Sites of LA's 2024 Olympic Bid

As the race for the 2024 Olympics bid has been narrowed down to just two cities, the LA 2024 committee has revealed the latest plans for its bid. While the central appeal of Los Angeles would be its existing sports and transportation infrastructure (a key concern following the economic struggles of many recent host cities), the city would still see a comprehensive update of venues and several new structures.

ANSKA Unveils Floating Platform Design for Paris Olympics

ANSKA has unveiled Spots, a series of temporary floating platforms to host micro-events for the Paris Olympic Games of 2024. Intended as an alternative to classic river typologies like barges or heavy structures, Spots are modular systems that can easily be assembled or disassembled, allowing them to become durable programmatic solutions.

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Morgan Phoa Library and Residence / Zoltan E. Pali + Studio Pali Fekete architects

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 10:00 AM PDT

© Roland Halbe © Roland Halbe
  • Project Manager: Siddhartha Majumdar
© John Linden © John Linden

From the architect. Located in the Los Feliz area of greater Los Angeles, this project was a rare opportunity to restore and build onto a historically designated property originally designed by Wallace Neff in the 1920s.

© Roland Halbe © Roland Halbe

Work included the interior renovation of the family room, restoring the ceiling archways and demolishing its north facing wall for a new entry way. A carefully designed palette of hardscape introduced a balanced outdoor area, and a pool addition, lined with tiles from the historic Jackling House, designed by George Washington Smith and once owned by Steve Jobs, gave reason to further enjoy the southern California climate.

© Roland Halbe © Roland Halbe

A new two-story building, consisting of a garage on its first level and a private library on the second level, includes storage, a reading area and a powder room. The building addition's most distinct feature is its metal screen façade. The screens open like shutters for clear views of the property, and when shut, allows for privacy, sun shading and environmental control.

Plans / Section Plans / Section

The screen panels are made of bronze anodized aluminum – water jet cut for a precise and patterned variable apertures, referencing the original home's precast concrete window grilles. Although this is a contemporary design for the historic site, the building's form and exterior materials match the historic home.

© John Linden © John Linden

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Call for Entries: 2018 Skyscraper Competition

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 08:15 AM PDT

eVolo Magazine is pleased to invite architects, students, engineers, designers, and artists from around the globe to take part in the 2018 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition is one of the world's most prestigious awards for high-rise architecture. It recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. It is a forum that examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and the city.

The participants should take into consideration the advances in technology, the exploration of sustainable systems, and the establishment of new urban and architectural methods to solve economic, social, and cultural problems of the contemporary city including the scarcity of natural resources and infrastructure and the exponential increase of inhabitants, pollution, economic division, and unplanned urban sprawl.

The competition is an investigation on the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of a dynamic and adaptive vertical community. It is also a response to the exploration and adaptation of new habitats and territories based on a dynamic equilibrium between man and nature – a new kind of responsive and adaptive design capable of intelligent growth through the self-regulation of its own systems.

There are no restrictions in regards to site, program or size. The objective is to provide maximum freedom to the participants to engage the project without constraints in the most creative way. What is a skyscraper in the 21st century? What are the historical, contextual, social, urban, and environmental responsibilities of these mega-structures?

eVolo Magazine is committed to continue stimulating the imagination of designers around the world – thinkers that initiate a new architectural discourse of economic, environmental, intellectual, and perceptual responsibility that could ultimately modify what we understand as a contemporary skyscraper, its impact on urban planning and on the improvement of our way of life.

SCHEDULE
July 10, 2017 – Competition announcement and registration opens.
November 14, 2017 – Early registration deadline
January 23, 2018 – Late registration deadline
February 6, 2018 – Project submission deadline (23:59 hours US Eastern Time)
April 10, 2018 – Winners' announcement

JURY
Vishaan Chakrabarti [principal PAU]
Moon Hoon [principal Moon Hoon]
Eric Höweler [principal Höweler + Yoon]
Chris Precht [principal PENDA]
James Ramsey [principal Raad Studio]
Dayong Sun [principal PENDA]

AWARDS
1st place – US $5000
2nd place – US $2000
3rd place – US $1000

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Look! Look! Look! / Studio Morison

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 08:00 AM PDT

© Ivan Morison © Ivan Morison
  • Architects: Studio Morison
  • Location: Berrington Hall, Leominster, Herefordshire, United Kingdom
  • Lead Architect: Ivan Morison

  • Area: 100.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2017
  • Photographs: Ivan Morison, Marsha Arnold
  • Fabrication And Installation: Studio Morison

  • Metal Work: Leominster engineering
  • Structural Engineers: Artura Design and Engineering Limited
  • Cnc: WUP Doodle
© Ivan Morison © Ivan Morison

From the architect. Look! Look! Look! sees a striking sculptural pavilion created by internationally renowned artists Heather and Ivan Morison take centre stage at the National Trust's historic Berrington Hall in Herefordshire.

Structure Specifications Structure Specifications

The dusty pink structure inhabits the walled garden at the Georgian mansion, highlighting the importance of this piece of 'living history' as the final masterpiece by iconic Georgian landscape designer Capability Brown. The artists were inspired by the popularity of garden buildings or 'eye-catchers' such as these in the Georgian era. The folded form of the structure echoes the geometric shapes found in the interior design of the mansion, and it also bears more than a passing resemblance to a pineapple - inspired by eighteenth- century traditions of importing exotic fruit, particularly pineapples which are thought to have been once grown at Berrington.

© Ivan Morison © Ivan Morison

The artists spent more than a year researching Berrington's Georgian history and the significance of the walled garden which would have been used as a symbol of the family's wealth, cultivation and contemporariness. The resulting work tries to reconnect with some of the fundamental ideas, themes and activities that were present in the Georgian garden, to trace them out to wider Georgian life, and specifically back to Berrington Hall and the National Trust's collection.

Design Details Design Details

The artists first designed the structure in paper using origami, then worked with structural engineers, Artura, to bring the designs to life. The pavilion is built using a sunked metal foundation frame, held with screw anchors, with a timber structure over-laid with a special woven fabric which can withstand all weathers – in a pink colour chosen from a traditionally Georgian palette.

© Ivan Morison © Ivan Morison

The structure was broken down into 90 frames; each made up of an intricate jigsaw of cnc'd timber pieces, constructed at the artists' studios. The fabric was pulled over and fixed to each rhomboid and then assembled on site in the walled garden. The wooden cobbled floor is made from timber which is cut, brunt and then oiled to make it weather- resistant.

Foundation Frame Assembly Details Foundation Frame Assembly Details

The final piece looks strong and sculptural from far away, but takes on a translucent appearance from inside. The artists have also created bespoke, sculptural furniture housed inside the pavilion which echoes the geometric form of the structure.

© Ivan Morison © Ivan Morison

Both beautiful and functional, Look! Look! Look! is open to the public until December 2019 and will house a programme of events and activities including music and yoga. The project also marks the start of Berrington's plans to raise funds to research and restore its walled garden back to its Georgian origins.

Look! Look! Look! Is part of Trust New Art – the National Trust's programme of projects are developed in partnership with Arts Council England, making new works by established and emerging artists available in unique and historic settings.

© Marsha Arnold © Marsha Arnold

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Bauhaus Houses, Eritrea's Capital and Ahmedabad's Walled City Among 20 Cultural Sites Added to UNESCO's World Heritage List

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 07:00 AM PDT

Jama Masjid, Ahmadabad. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jama_Masjid,_Ahmedabad_01.jpg'>Wikimedia user Bernard Gagnon</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 2.5</a> Jama Masjid, Ahmadabad. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jama_Masjid,_Ahmedabad_01.jpg'>Wikimedia user Bernard Gagnon</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 2.5</a>

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, currently holding its forty-first annual session in the Polish city of Krakow, inscribed twenty new cultural sites on its World Heritage List, including the historic city of Ahmedabad in India, archaeological sites in Cambodia and Brazil, and a "cultural landscape" in South Africa. The Committee also added extensions to two sites already on the list: Strasbourg in France, and the Bauhaus in Germany. On the other hand, the historic center of Vienna was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger as the Committee examined the state of conservation of one-hundred-and-fifty-four of its listed sites.

Teen Darwaza, one of the walled city's gates. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teen-Darwaza.jpg'>Wikimedia user Nichalp</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 2.5</a> Teen Darwaza, one of the walled city's gates. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teen-Darwaza.jpg'>Wikimedia user Nichalp</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 2.5</a>

The walled city of Ahmedabad, India's 28th cultural addition to the list, is strongly tied to India's independence movement; the city's Sabarmati Ashram was home to Gandhi from 1917 to 1930 before he left to undertake the Salt March, a major act of civil disobedience against the British Raj. Founded in the fifteenth century as the capital of the Gujarat Sultanate, the city later earned the title, "Manchester of India," due to its burgeoning textile industry. This varied history has left Ahmedabad with a rich architectural heritage: fort walls and gates, mosques, tombs, Hindu and Jain temples, and modern mills. The urban fabric, however, is the city's most unique element: traditional houses (pols) are densely packed along gated traditional streets (puras) with characteristic features such as bird feeders and public wells.

Jaali at Sidi Saiyyad Mosque. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jali_at_Sidi_Saiyyed_Mosque_02.jpg'>Wikimedia user Bernard Gagnon</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 2.5</a> Jaali at Sidi Saiyyad Mosque. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jali_at_Sidi_Saiyyed_Mosque_02.jpg'>Wikimedia user Bernard Gagnon</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 2.5</a>

Also included on the list was the Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site. Located in the former harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the structure provides the most important physical trace of the arrival of African slaves on the South American continent. An estimated 900,000 enslaved Africans landed on the stone wharf which contains floor paving in the characteristic pé de moleque style.

Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cais_do_Valongo_e_da_Imperatriz.jpg'>Wikimedia user Halley Pacheco de Oliveira</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cais_do_Valongo_e_da_Imperatriz.jpg'>Wikimedia user Halley Pacheco de Oliveira</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

The Committee also added the city of Asmara to the list. The Eritrean capital was initially developed as a military outpost for the Italian colonial power before it underwent various phases of planning between 1893 and 1941. This large scale construction program saw the application of the Italian rationalist idiom of the time to the city's governmental edifices, churches, mosques, and synagogues. Today, Asmara stands as an exceptional example of early modernist urbanism and its application in an African context.

Asmara. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asmara_(8351468351).jpg'>Wikimedia user David Stanley</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en'>CC BY 2.0</a> Asmara. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asmara_(8351468351).jpg'>Wikimedia user David Stanley</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en'>CC BY 2.0</a>

An important site which received inscription is the Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine in southern Poland. While the majority of the site is underground, the surface remnants of the mine's nineteenth-century steam water management system are of particular importance – they testify to the continuous efforts made over three centuries to drain undesirable water from the mines to supply towns and industries.

Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine. Image© <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/polandmfa/8231434027/in/photolist-dxofyk-dxof8t-dxofCX-gShjMH-o3Ri8H-a2fT2K-9Y1Ekt-6WLC5j-a2iJ1o-a2g2di-9Y1Dp6-a2fSfa-a2fMXe-a2fJG2-a2iUvf-a2fNz4-a2g3eK-a2fQqP-a2g444-a2fKVM-a2ign3-dxtGhJ-dxofZr-dxtGzo-dxtGdQ-dxtFLh-dxtGnd-a2iZsQ-a2iBVE-9Y1EPD-a2fKmH-9Y1D4B-o5VJyp-a2fLX6-o43tas-9Y4wxq-9Y1RHH-9Y4Amq-9Y1Gpz-a2iAVG-a2fZba-9Y1QVc-9Y4BoQ-9Y4DXW-9Y1HAR-a2feFn-a2inqN-a2fjzR-a2fsAr-a2fqk4'>Flickr user PolandMFA</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/'>CC BY-ND 2.0</a> Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine. Image© <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/polandmfa/8231434027/in/photolist-dxofyk-dxof8t-dxofCX-gShjMH-o3Ri8H-a2fT2K-9Y1Ekt-6WLC5j-a2iJ1o-a2g2di-9Y1Dp6-a2fSfa-a2fMXe-a2fJG2-a2iUvf-a2fNz4-a2g3eK-a2fQqP-a2g444-a2fKVM-a2ign3-dxtGhJ-dxofZr-dxtGzo-dxtGdQ-dxtFLh-dxtGnd-a2iZsQ-a2iBVE-9Y1EPD-a2fKmH-9Y1D4B-o5VJyp-a2fLX6-o43tas-9Y4wxq-9Y1RHH-9Y4Amq-9Y1Gpz-a2iAVG-a2fZba-9Y1QVc-9Y4BoQ-9Y4DXW-9Y1HAR-a2feFn-a2inqN-a2fjzR-a2fsAr-a2fqk4'>Flickr user PolandMFA</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/'>CC BY-ND 2.0</a>

Other examples of cultural sites that made it to the list include the island of Okinoshima in Japan, which provides a chronological record of the tradition of worship of a sacred island, and the international settlement of Kulangsu in China, where the urban fabric showcases the result of cultural fusion that emerged out of early-twentieth-century Sino-foreign exchanges.

The Kulangsu International Settlement. Image<a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tcitp_d823_kulangsu_settlement_and_amoy_in_the_background.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a> (public domain) The Kulangsu International Settlement. Image<a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tcitp_d823_kulangsu_settlement_and_amoy_in_the_background.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a> (public domain)

Furthermore, the Committee extended the bounds of the Bauhaus site in Germany, home to the movement which revolutionized architectural thinking and practice in the twentieth century. Originally comprising the groups of buildings and monuments located in Weimar and Dessau built under the direction of Walter Gropius, the site now includes the Houses with Balcony Access in Dessau–three-story brick blocks for low-income students–and the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau built under the direction of Gropius' successor, Hannes Meyer.

Student Halls at the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau . Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bernau_bei_Berlin_ADGB_Schule_Wohntrakte_vorne.jpg'>Wikimedia user Dabbelju</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Student Halls at the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau . Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bernau_bei_Berlin_ADGB_Schule_Wohntrakte_vorne.jpg'>Wikimedia user Dabbelju</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

The List of World Heritage in Danger, designed to inform the international community of the present conditions of heritage sites, and to encourage corrective action, received two additions; Georgia's Gelati Monastery was removed. The Historic Center of the Austrian capital of Vienna received inscription on the list due to the threat it faces from high-rise projects that fail to comply with the Committee's decisions. The medieval Mamluk town of Hebron / Al Khalil in Palestine, a new addition to the World Heritage List, was simultaneously added to the endangered list. The town's distinctive housing typology of room arrangement according to a tree-shaped system, which has persisted through its Ottoman occupation, faces several threats today.

The historic centre of Vienna. Image© <a href='http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/114397'>UNESCO author Francesco Bandarin</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO</a> The historic centre of Vienna. Image© <a href='http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/114397'>UNESCO author Francesco Bandarin</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO</a>

Below we list the twenty new additions to the World Heritage List:

  1.        Hebron / Al Khalil Old town (Palestine)
  2.        Mbanza Kongo, vestiges of the capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo (Angola)
  3.        Asmara: a Modernist City of Africa (Eritrea)
  4.        ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape (Republic of South Africa)
  5.        Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura (Cambodia)
  6.        Kulangsu: A historic international settlement (China)
  7.        Historic City of Ahmadabad (India)
  8.        Historic City of Yazd (Islamic Republic of Iran)
  9.        Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata (Japan)
  10.    Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra–Western Stato da Mar (Croatia, Italy, Montenegro)
  11.    Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap (Denmark)
  12.    Taputapuātea (France)
  13.    Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura (Germany)
  14.    Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and its Underground Water Management System (Poland)
  15.    Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk (Russian Federation)
  16.    Aphrodisias (Turkey)
  17.    The English Lake District (United Kingdom)
  18.    Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site (Brazil)
  19.    Strasbourg: from Grande-île to Neustadt, a European urban scene [extension of the property "Strasbourg – Grande Ile"] (France)
  20.    The Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau [Extension of the property "The Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau"] (Germany)

News via UNESCO

See the 17 Le Corbusier Projects Named as UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (commonly referred to as UNESCO) has named 17 projects in 7 countries by revolutionary Modernist architect Le Corbusier to their list of World Heritage Sites. Given to places of special cultural or physical significance, the designation will help to protect and preserve the buildings for future generations.

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Residential Building in St Sulpice / Lacroix Chessex

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 06:00 AM PDT

© Toniatuh Ambrosetti © Toniatuh Ambrosetti
  • Collaborators: Grégoire Martin, Ludovic Durand, Ana Sá, Celia Laserna, Sofia Gaspar, Andrea Pellacani
© Toniatuh Ambrosetti © Toniatuh Ambrosetti

From the architect. This residential building is the third project executed by Lacroix Chessex on Bochet street in St Sulpice village (Switzerland), between House Guignet and Villa Sabbatini. The building is composed of six residential appartments in co-ownership and can be thought of an addition of two single houses - two parallelepiped rectangles with their ridges - out of which a clover with straight edges would have been cut. One leaflet faces the north on the road side, where the entrance is situated, the other two face the south-east and the south-west.

© Joël Tettamanti © Joël Tettamanti

Each three floors is divided into two parts from the north to the south and is composed of two appartments of 4.5 rooms (3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen opened on the living room, 1 veranda and 1 balcony). The spaces are accommodated in symmetry with the staircase situated in the center. Each appartment includes a wooden veranda on the South which allows the outdoor spaces to literally enter into the interior ones. The balconies have been conceived similarly at the south (on the south side) whereas the bedrooms are all oriented towards the west and the east. The main entrance, the kitchen, the dining and living rooms create all together a wide and complexe range of perspectives, with openings up to 180 degrees and with two floors in height for the appartments of the second floor.

© Toniatuh Ambrosetti © Toniatuh Ambrosetti
Second Floor Plan Second Floor Plan
© Toniatuh Ambrosetti © Toniatuh Ambrosetti

The various materials used for these appartments give a rather rough but warm atmosphere and invite for a longer stay: the wood in the bedroom floors, a stone floor in the living spaces, a concrete ceiling and white walls.

© Toniatuh Ambrosetti © Toniatuh Ambrosetti

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Ling Institute / Isay Weinfeld

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 04:00 AM PDT

© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti
  • Architects: Isay Weinfeld
  • Location: Porto Alegre - RS, Brasil
  • Area: 3291.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2014
  • Project Manager: Monica Cappa Santoni
  • Design Team: Sebastian Murr, Alexandre Nobre, Cristiano Kato, Carolina Miranda, Danilo Zamboni, Lucas Jimeno
  • Collaborators : Domingos Pascali, Marcelo Alvarenga
  • General Contractor: Capitânia
  • Structural Engineering: Benedictis Engenharia
  • Foundation Engineering: Milititsky Consultoria Geotécnica
  • Electrical And Plumbing Engineering: CM Engenharia
  • Air Conditioning: Engemestra Engenharia Mecânica
  • Bar / Kitchen Facilities: Marcelo Jacobi
  • Acoustic Consultant: Atelier Sul Acústica E Arquitetura
© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti

From the architect. Ling Institute building, located at a corner in the neighborhood of Três Figueiras, in Porto Alegre, is a volume that, seen from the street, is low and slightly raised from the soil, as an object hovering amidst the garden.

© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti

The main façade, to the southeast, is practically solid – the one opening is the entry door, accessible through a winding ramp that rises above the garden. In contrast, the southwest façade is lighter and more transparent, with vertical fins to control the lighting from the inside.

© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti

From the entrance and moving forward, visitors go along a succession of galleries. They give access, at different points, to the reception, the store, the café and a small area for exhibitions, before getting to the auditorium lobby.

© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti

Each section along that gallery opens differently to the exterior, devised as to control the incoming light, according to its intended use. Thus, the first stretch receives screened lighting, through the vertical fins/glass panes mounted on the façade – the reception and store are in this section.

Site Plan Site Plan

Moving on, the café is to the right. Here, there is an alternation between a solid wall and a glass pane extending from floor to ceiling, with doors that open onto an open-air terrace. Finally, on the right again, there is the exhibition area and the auditorium vestibule, flooded by abundant natural lighting from the top.

© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti

Finishes along the circulation/gallery are neutral, with white walls and ceilings and grey cement flooring. In opposition, the supporting areas, housed in open recesses along that circulation (store, café, auditorium hall and staircase), boast wood-paneled walls.

Taking a different route, to the right of the main entrance, is the access to classrooms, meeting rooms, toilets and the stairs to the lower level.

© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti

The lower level houses the event hall, show kitchen for classes, tasting room and administrative area. The kitchen was designed to hold cooking classes, but also serves to support events. It is connected to a tasting room – with a twelve-seat dining table – integrated in its turn to the side garden. The event hall allows for the organization of presentations, musical performances and various social activities. Wrapped in glass on two of its sides, it opens onto the back and side gardens.

The prevailing finishes throughout this level are white walls and ceilings and hardwood flooring, except for the kitchen and tasting room, where the floors were covered in ceramic tiles. The building also features a second basement with parking, storage rooms, technical areas and staff locker rooms.

© Leonardo finotti © Leonardo finotti

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Decades After the Rise of CAD, Architecture Is Going “Paperless”—For Real This Time

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 02:30 AM PDT

A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio

If you visit an architecture office today, you may sense a slight change. The days of bulky desktops, ergonomic mouse pads and tower-high stacks of drawing sets are slowly giving way to digital pencils, tablets, and tons of architects' hand-drawings—both physical and digital. Architects across the globe are clearing their desks, literally, and utilizing emerging touchscreen tools and software for designing, sharing and collaborating. It seems possible that, for the first time in years, the architecture profession could revisit Bernard Tschumi's "paperless" studio which formed a key part of his tenure as dean of Columbia University's GSAPP in the mid-1990s. However, this time, "paperless" starts with a pencil, instead of a click.

A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio

While Columbia University's "Paperless" studios of the early to mid 90s kicked off the shift toward computer aided designing and drafting, they were initially about questioning how architects think through the tools they are using for representation—ie drawing in all its forms. Students experimented with programs far and wide throughout all phases of the design process and that exploration has not slowed in the decades since, vastly expanding the number and type of programs architects use with fluency every day. However, there was one unexplored holdout in our digital design arsenal, and it just may be one of architecture's most beloved and fundamental tools: canary yellow trace paper. How do you sketch over a computer model? How can you mark up PDFs of construction drawings with both precision and ease; how much do you miss just sketching through a problem, and actually having something to show for it? 

Developments in touchscreen technologies have opened up a new world of possibilities for architects and designers, and they continue to unfold. With the touchscreen and a good digital pencil, architects can now add sketching, drafting, hand-drawn commenting and mark-ups to their digital workflow—and yes, even bring our good friend trace paper into the mix. Software made for architectural drawing means that scales, rulers, furniture, entourage, notation stencils, and a wide range of pens are at your disposal at all times.

A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio

Sean Gallagher, director of sustainable design at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is one of the architects leading this charge and testing its limits. Tools like Morpholio Trace, the iPad Pro, and Apple Pencil are literally changing the way Sean works on a daily basis, and he's not alone. According to Sean, the simple fact is that the touchscreen software available today offers better precision and greater range than in the past, making it possible, once and for all, to clear his desk.

Sean's love affair with the touchscreen began back in 2012. He realized that with the iPad he could instantly place photos and screenshots into a virtual notebook. "I'm a visual person, and can't think through an idea without collaging together sketches and images," he says. "It's a process I did manually for decades with my sketchbook." Now, he not only uses the iPad as a sketchbook but as his everything tool—enabling him to get rid of all other computers on his desk. "It has given me back the space to think, so now all I see in front of me is my library, sketch models and drawings; not keyboards, monitors, and mounds of paper."

Sean Gallagher's desk at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Image Courtesy of Morpholio Sean Gallagher's desk at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Image Courtesy of Morpholio

In the concept phase, Sean uses Morpholio Trace to sketch through ideas freely and with a full set of pens, pencils, brushes and markers at his fingertips, no matter where the idea strikes him. In the schematic design phase, those sketches start to take on scale as he goes back and forth with his team, fluidly drawing on top of models and diagrams. In Design Development, he finds himself constantly sketching details and marking up drawings with a red pen. Once the construction documents are issued, it is easy to continue markups as well as sketch on top of site photos to issue "SKs" and full job reports. While any team still relies on an array of software to bring a job to fruition, Sean's role, like many, is about communicating ideas, and that can now be done digitally.

Several companies—Adobe, Autodesk, Concepts, and Morpholio—are making apps specifically for architects that make sketching on glass more or less similar to sketching with paper. The key difference is the ability to wield the computational advantages of greater precision, endless editability, duplicating, multiplying, layering, and so on, making the experience wildly more powerful than with paper. "It changed the static nature of my sketches, the process became less linear and more fluid, and I became more comfortable with sketching through ideas. The touchscreen interface has strengthened my love for sketching through ideas, and has really improved my craft." The moment when Sean used the Apple Pencil for the first time on the larger iPad Pro touchscreen, he knew there was no going back and began reconsidering his daily workflow.

A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio A view of Sean Gallagher's work as seen in Morpholio's Trace App. Image Courtesy of Morpholio

Since the widespread adoption of computer techniques such as CAD and BIM, the computer has come under fire for what many perceive as a tendency to alter the design process to its own ends; software is seen as a filter which restricts and shapes the architectural ideas available to architects. But contrary to popular wisdom, in a 2013 symposium at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Tschumi argued that in his own Paperless Studios, "the computer did not generate a new language, it simply accelerated the existing concerns of a talented group of people." Perhaps, having finally replicated and improved architecture's most intuitive processes, the second coming of paperless architecture is at last living up to the dreams of its predecessor.

If you would like to try Morpholio Trace, you can find it here.

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Multi-Sport Pavilion and Classroom Complex / Alberto Campo Baeza

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 02:00 AM PDT

© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas
  • Architects: Alberto Campo Baeza
  • Location: Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
  • Collaborator Architects: Ignacio Aguirre López, Alejandro Cervilla García, María Pérez de Camino, Tommaso Campiotti, Miguel Ciria Hernández, Elena Jiménez Sánchez, Imanol Iparraguirre, María Moura
  • Area: 9000.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2017
  • Photographs: Javier Callejas
  • Structure: Andrés Rubio Morán
  • Installations: Úrculo Ingenieros
  • Quantity Surveyor: Francisco Melchor Gallego
  • Glass Facade Consultant: José Pablo Calvo
  • Project Manager: Francisco Navarro, María Lamela, Francisco Armesto
  • Constructor: Clásica Urbana; Jesús Díaz Poblaciones, Francisco Martínez Reche, Jorge Garriga, Mónica Grau
© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas

From the architect. Designed for the campus of the Francisco de Vitoria University in Pozuelo (Madrid), the building houses a sports center and classroom complex. It includes the use of sports halls, multi-purpose rooms, a gymnasium, swimming pool, physiotherapy, etc. The sports complex can also be used as a large multi-purpose area and meeting hall, facilitating a range of university activities.

© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas
Lower Plan Lower Plan
© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas

The design of the building is restrained and volumetrically adapted to the general layout of the campus in terms of maximum height and alignment. And it is intended to clearly differentiate the sports and teaching areas in terms of volume and façade material. The fundamental element of the project is a large translucent box of light, 60x50x12m, filtered and controlled, entering into a spatial relationship with the main square of the campus.

© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas
Section Section
© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas

Two clean, well-defined boxes are joined together by a low-rise building whose roof becomes an inter-connecting patio. 

© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas
Details Details

The sports pavilion is designed with lightness in mind, in GRC glass fiber reinforced concrete, unlike the more closed classroom complex and low interconnecting building. In the volume of the sports complex the orientation of the various sides are valued differently, so that the facades of the southern dihedral, more exposed to sunlight, are enclosed in a prefabricated panel of GRC glass fiber reinforced concrete, while those of the northern dihedral are in translucent glass. The southwestern facade features a low strip of transparent glass highlighting the link with the main square of the campus. And this mechanism of transparency is repeated on the north eastern facade facing the upper patio. Thus a visual relationship is created between the square and the sports complex, while the southwestern façade of the classroom complex becomes a backdrop to the complex as a whole.

© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas

The structure of the pavilion is in steel: a grid of pillars and beams on the facades and trusses to resolve the great roof span. All painted in white. The remainder of the structure is in reinforced concrete, with the unique feature of wide angled beams over the basement swimming-pool area.

© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas

The result is a building of great sobriety and formal restraint. 

© Javier Callejas © Javier Callejas

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7 Abandoned and Deteriorating Latin American Architectural Classics

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 01:00 AM PDT

© Luiz Seo © Luiz Seo

How many lives does a great work of architecture have? The first begins when it is built and inhabited, judged based on the quality of life it provides for its residents. The second comes generations later when it becomes historically significant and perhaps its original function no longer suits the demands of society. The value of such buildings is that they inform us about the past and for that reason their conservation is necessary.

However, in Latin America, there are countless cases of buildings of great architectural value that are in tragic states of neglect and deterioration. Seven such examples are:

1. Los Manantiales by Félix Candela
Mexico City, Mexico

Los Manatiales was built in 1957 in Xochimilco. It is a place of great cultural significance for Mexico City because of its pre-Hispanic origins. Its architect, Félix Candela, proposed a design that could be integrated with the gardens, in that it had a structure similar to a lotus flower. The usable space was designed at the intersection of 4 hyperbolic paraboloids that resemble the flower´s petals. 

The building is currently used as a restaurant and as dance space with live music, however, both the interior and exterior have seen better days. The effects of the humidity and time are visible in the falling paint and missing tiles, which either vary or haven´t been replaced. 

2. Parador Ariston by Marcel Breuer
Mar de Plata, Argentina

Located in the La Serena neighborhood of Mar de Plata, Argentina, the Parador Ariston was built by the Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer in 1948. It was intended as a space for social gatherings, dances, and cocktails. The main space is elevated one level with curvy walls, which were inspired by a clover, allowing maximum glazing and sunlight.

Sadly, the building is in ruins and total neglect, despite various citizen initiatives to restore it. The walls are covered in graffiti and the windows are nailed with wood. It is unlikely that these conditions will improve as the building lacks heritage protection by local authorities.

3. Casa Robles Castillo by Luis Barragán
Guadalajara, Mexico

<a href='http://www.mural.com/aplicacioneslibre/articulo/default.aspx?id=910079&md5=9f7a891c529cc53ec77c6bf300f4b404&ta=0dfdbac11765226904c16cb9ad1b2efe'>via Mural</a>. Image via Mural <a href='http://www.mural.com/aplicacioneslibre/articulo/default.aspx?id=910079&md5=9f7a891c529cc53ec77c6bf300f4b404&ta=0dfdbac11765226904c16cb9ad1b2efe'>via Mural</a>. Image via Mural

In 1926 the doctor Adolfo Robles León commissioned young Luis Barragán to build his first house. The result was Casa Robles Castillo the American colony of Guadalajara. 

In recent times, the house has been rented for varying commercial uses, among those it has been a restaurant and bar, a Subway franchise, and currently is a Texan style taco restaurant. In the time that passed between tenants, the house was neglected and tagged with graffiti. While the suitability of its most recent use is often debated, it is without a doubt better than abandonment.

4. Edificio Copelec by Juan Borchers, Jesús Bermejo, and Isidro Suárez 
Chillán, Chile

© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edificio_de_la_Copelec_sala_atenci%C3%B3n.JPG'>Wikimedia user AlBustos</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a>. Image via Wikipedia © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edificio_de_la_Copelec_sala_atenci%C3%B3n.JPG'>Wikimedia user AlBustos</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a>. Image via Wikipedia

Declared a Historic Monument in 2007, the Copelec building in Chillán is considered one of the most important works of its time. The building by Juan Borchers, Jesús Bermejo, and Isidro Suárez, is of brutalist design and was planned as an office building for Borchers in 1962. As one of the few works by Borchers (1910- 1975), it is, along with Casa Meneses, one of his most emblematic works. 

Although in 2013 rumors emerged stating that the building was to be restored and converted into a cultural center, it remains in its existing use as an office, warehouse and bike storage for its owner, Chillán´s Electrical Cooperative.

5. Club de Yates Santa Paula by Vilanova Artigas
São Paulo, Brazil

© Luiz Seo © Luiz Seo

Built in 1961, this building has a rectangular cover of tripartite slabs with eight pillars symmetrically arranged on both sides, directly supported by the foundations and stone walls. The higher level has continuity with the height of the road and the lower level occupies 2/3 of the covered area and is situated at the height of the lake.

While the building has great value as modern Brazilian architecture, its deterioration and mistreatment began when it stopped being used.

6. Ladera de la Misericordia by Lina Bo Bardi 
Pelourinho, Brazil

Ladera de la Misericordia. Image © Flickr Adalberto Vilela Ladera de la Misericordia. Image © Flickr Adalberto Vilela

Lina Bo Bardi was one of the most important and expressive architects in Brazilian architecture in the twentieth century. The building, Ladera de la Misericordia, was built in 1987. Consisting of two mortar cylinders that hosted a restaurant with a large tree growing in its center, light flooding the space through its open roof. 

The building is an important example of the harmonious union between colonial architecture and the modernist movement. However, the current owner of the building, the Gregório de Mattos Foundation, have neglected it, leaving it with rubble and broken shutters. 

7. The Greenhouse in Quinta Normal Park
Santiago, Chile

Invernadero Quinta Normal. Image via Plataforma Urbana Invernadero Quinta Normal. Image via Plataforma Urbana

The Greenhouse in Quinta Normal Park is a National Monument in Santiago with over 150 years of history. According to estimations it was built in 1866 and installed in the park in 1890 as a plant observatory. However, since 1995 it has had no designated use and remains abandoned. 

Despite announcements in 2014 with regard to its restoration, it wasn´t until April 2016 when the National Monuments Board approved the initiative proposed by the Santiago Municipality. The restoration project will begin this year.

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The History of One of the Best Theaters in the World: Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:00 PM PDT

via CC0 Public Domain via CC0 Public Domain

Considered as one of best buildings for opera in the world, the Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires is internationally renowned for its acoustics and its heritage value, showcasing the Italian and French influence on cultural architecture in Argentina. It is situated in a privileged location of the city´s downtown, between the streets Cerrito, Viamonte, Tucumán, and Libertad.

Inaugurated on the 25th of May in 1908, it had a significant impact and is considered one of the most emblematic historical monuments of the country.

via © Wikipedia User: RoRo Licensed under Public Domain via © Wikipedia User: RoRo Licensed under Public Domain

The Colón operated in two different buildings: it was first located in front of Plaza de Mayo between the years 1857 to 1888, it was then moved in front of Plaza Lavalle, where one of the city´s most important railway stations was located.

via © Wikipedia User: Chronus Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via © Wikipedia User: Chronus Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The Italian architect, Francesco Tamburini, completed the initial designs for the current theater in 1980. However, after his death in 1981, the plans were modified and construction began under his partner, architect Víctor Meano. Four years prior to the theatre´s inauguration, Meano was murdered and the completion of the project was taken over by the Belgian architect Jules Dormal. 

via Flickr User: Roger Schultz CC BY 2.0 via Flickr User: Roger Schultz CC BY 2.0

In 1989, the Colón Theatre was declared a “Historic National Monument” and between the years of 2006 to 2010 the building underwent a process of extensive conservation maintenance and technological modernization, which was carried out by Argentinean heritage specialists and technicians.

via © Wikipedia User: HalloweenHJB Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via © Wikipedia User: HalloweenHJB Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The building showcases an eclectic style from the beginning of the twentieth century. It has a total surface area of 58,000 meters squared. The main room is shaped in the form of an Italian horseshoe: its small diameter measures 29.25 meters, and its large diameter reaches 32.65 meters with a high of 28 meters. It has a capacity of 2,478 seats and can fit up to 3,000 including those standing.

via Flickr User: Roger Schultz CC BY 2.0 via Flickr User: Roger Schultz CC BY 2.0

Originally, the French artist Marcel Jambon painted the dome of the main room, but its subsequent deterioration around the 1930’s resulted that it was left for decades without decorative painting. In December of 1965, Raúl Soldi was hired to restore the dome, which was completed by March of 1966. 

via © Wikipedia User: Roberto Fiadone Licensed under Public Domain via © Wikipedia User: Roberto Fiadone Licensed under Public Domain

In the center of the dome, a bronze chandelier hangs with a total weight of over a ton and a diameter of 7 meters. Within the dome, there is a space that allows musicians to generate different sound effects.

via © Wikipedia User: Loco085 Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via © Wikipedia User: Loco085 Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The Colón Theatre has specialized production workshops that are able to prepare all the necessary elements for staging a show, meaning that the majority of the curtains, stage designs and costumes are made in the same building.

via Flickr user: Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires CC BY 2.0 via Flickr user: Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires CC BY 2.0

For a theater of these characteristics, acoustic quality is an important virtue. The quality of the acoustics in the Colón Theatre is owed to the technical knowledge applied in the form of a horseshoe. As it causes a proper reflection of sound it becomes an echo chamber.

via Flickr user: Beatrice Murch CC BY 2.0 via Flickr user: Beatrice Murch CC BY 2.0

Additionally, the architectural proportions of the room and the quality of the materials – the distribution of the wood, the tapestries, the curtain and the carpets- maintain an equilibrium that contributes to the favorable acoustic conditioning.

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1 komentar:

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