Arch Daily |
- House in Melgaço / Nuno Brandão Costa
- Forest Temple / Marco Casagrande
- Nearly Zero Energy Building of the Gui'an Innovation Park / SUP Atelier
- T House / IDIN Architects
- Dabao Primary School and Community Cultural Centre / Project Mingde and PAN Foundation
- PATCH House / ESEcolectivo Arquitectos
- Designs Unveiled for New Australian Embassy in Washington DC
- University of Chicago Campus North Residential Commons / Studio Gang
- BIG & Heatherwick Studio to Design New London HQ for Google
- Casa Estudio / Intersticial Arquitectura
- BIG Transitlager in Switzerland Photographed by Laurian Ghinitoiu
- Joolz Headquarters / Space Encounters
- How to Design School Restrooms for Increased Comfort, Safety and Gender-Inclusivity
- Hancher Auditorium / Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
- RB Systems Proposes Cutting-Edge Hyperloop Station
- GTM Cenografia Uses Shipping Containers in Rio Olympic Pop-up Store for Nike
| House in Melgaço / Nuno Brandão Costa Posted: 15 Nov 2016 07:00 PM PST  © André Cepeda
 © André Cepeda From the architect. The house to be extended, a very small rural stone building, formerly inhabited by a family of 11 members, fits into the rough terrain of a large plot of land in Melgaço, in the interior of Minho, in Northern Portugal.  The powerful landscape and the character of the existing ruin suggested an extension to the house like a timeless construction, with no defined boundaries, but limited by the local materials.  © André Cepeda The extension to the house, which accommodates the lounge and three bedrooms, is an underground body which lets in natural light through the opening of a courtyard to the east, cut out from the land, and the west extension of the original façade: a granite wall made of stones from another local building since demolished.  Ground Floor The small house contains the dining and cooking areas on two floors, connected by an interior staircase against the north façade.  © André Cepeda To complete domestic life, three small bodies are built which are independent of the main construction in terms of volume: To the east, a concrete canopy for car parking and protection and to store firewood, and a glazed body for a small kitchen garden, and to the west a swimming pool, enclosed by a dressed stone wall to accommodate the tank.  © André Cepeda The house has two distinct sides in shape and function: To the east, the organic arrangement of the bodies and walls built into the terrain, and their routine function, confer a homely informality on the construction.  1st Floor Plan To the west, the relationship between the façades and the swimming pool tank creates an organic setting which eludes the period of each building and stabilises the relationship between the house and the landscape.  © André Cepeda  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Forest Temple / Marco Casagrande Posted: 15 Nov 2016 06:00 PM PST  © Lina Pilibaviciute
 © Juozas Masiulis Forest Temple is a result of the Constructive Shamanism workshop in Lithuania, 2016. A multi-disciplinary tribe of artists, artisans, architects, writers, photographers, yogis and children of forest gathered in the ancient lands of Vytautas V Landsbergis to perform architectural rituals connecting the modern man with nature.  © Lidija Kaleninikovaite  Sketch  © Gabriele Stravinskaite Living in tents and teepees and eating from the nature, the tribe started to do a circular meditative movement to connect a handful of pine trees with natural linen rope. The result is insect architecture, a man-made semi-transparent cocoon swinging together with the trees. Architecture is the art of reality. There is no other reality than nature.  © Juozas Masiulis  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Nearly Zero Energy Building of the Gui'an Innovation Park / SUP Atelier Posted: 15 Nov 2016 02:00 PM PST  © Xia Zhi
 © Xia Zhi From the architect. Project statement THE-Studio is both a practical demonstration case which deeply integrates sustainable design strategies with ecological technologies, and an experimental platform for sustainable architecture based on the Moderate Zone in southwest China, aiming to examine whether the detailed design methods and building technologies can truly suit to the local conditions of climate, culture and even economy.  © Xia Zhi Oriented to the specific project positioning, the design team has developed the multi-system integrated design strategy from the very early design phase to minimize the negative impacts to local ecological system while maximizing the indoor comfort and energy efficiency.  © Xia Zhi Multi-system integration The multi-system integration includes three levels: the paralleled construction systems, the integration of vernacular culture with sustainable technology and the BIM platform.  Diagram. Site Section Four building systems are implemented in parallel to accelerate whole construction process thus reducing negative interference to the site. Timber frameworks are employed in the large-space exhibition hall, while the prefab light-steel modules are used to shape functional space at both sides. All these structural components and joints are produced off-site and swiftly assembled on site, leading to a significant saving of time and energy. Sustainable service systems (air through tunnel, biomass heating, PVT system, rainwater collecting, control and monitoring, etc.) are mostly plugged into the cavity of façades, which can save installation time, increase indoor flexibility and provide potential space for additional equipment in future experiments. The modular double-skin façade system is a unique integration of vernacular rattan-weaving craftsmanship with industrial prefabrication technology, highly expressing site-specific characteristics while promoting local traditional industry and economy. BIM is also adopted as integrating platform throughout building's whole life span, especially for coordination of construction, operation and maintenance phases.  © Xia Zhi Passive design methods The passive design methods responding to local climatic factors of natural wind, solar radiation and daylight are further contrived by the design team.  Diagram  Diagram. Double-glazed façade system  Diagram Firstly, the large-space central exhibition hall with extra-raised ventilating skylights can truly act as a venting chimney to promote both wind and thermal pressure ventilations while providing adequate and colorful light for the interior.Secondly, the double-skin façades consisting of double-glazed façade at the first floor and the rattan-weaving double skin at the second floor are typical climate responsive design. The double-glazed façade can adapt to the seasonal and daily changes of the outdoor environment, through different operative modes of vents and windows to reach the expected thermal and ventilation performance. Four module patterns for the rattan-weaving double skin are also developed and arranged according to local solar radiation and wind pressure on each façade through software simulation, aiming to comprehensively integrate environmental performance, structural stability and material durability together.Thirdly, the building also adopts the underground air through tunnel as the passive air-conditioning system, which can largely reduce the energy consumption particularly in summer and winter. Its vertical venting ducts are further integrated in the air cavity of double-skin façade and distributed into the major working places, providing fresh air while creating indoor comfort. Fourthly, the building highly encourages usage of renewable materials such as timber, steel and wheat-straw board and promote the employment of vernacular materials and craftsmanship such as traditional rattan-weaving, blue-stone floor pavage and rubble wall masonry, which can both decrease the carbon footprint during whole life span and create a unique architectural self-expression.  © Xia Zhi  Detail  Diagram. Four patterns of rattan-weaving unit After the building was completed, a series of field measuring and monitoring for thermal, humid, ventilation and luminous environments are carried out and further analyzed. The outcomes verify that detailed design methods and building technologies of THE-Studio at the early design phases were both effective and appropriate during the construction and operation processes, which can be the references to the similar sustainable buildings in the Moderate Zone of southwest China.  © Xia Zhi  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 15 Nov 2016 12:00 PM PST  © Spaceshift Studio
 © Spaceshift Studio T House is the vacation house closed by Chao Samran beach. The house is to serve for the big family vacations. The owner has total four siblings and each has own family with two kids, they are altogether more than ten lives if they spend the time here together on their leisure. The main function of this house is for a party, dining and resting. The architects designed under the thinking of sharing space. While everyone is doing their own activity in any corner, each can be seen and talk to each other as if they are at the same space.  © Spaceshift Studio  Diagrams  © Spaceshift Studio The design begins with layout enclosed space of three master bedrooms, and happens to be the common area at the center which open view to the sea and to non-heat direction at the North. The bedrooms also act as shading that block sunlight from South and West to the main common area. One bedroom on ground floor serve the continuity of living space and also convenient for the elders not to hiking to upstairs. The wall of the three bedrooms are designed enable for fully opened in which the entire area of the house become a single space where the activity flows throughout the house both upper and lower. The materials applied for the bedrooms are wood which lying continuously from inside to outside. On the exterior view, the bedrooms are apparently standing out as three wooden boxes, and they are divided only by the glass which is to control the air flow.  © Spaceshift Studio  Sections  © Spaceshift Studio The interior considered on the owner's functions and lifestyles. The dining table is adaptable for multiple uses. The bed rooms serve for many persons staying simultaneously. The rope net at the stairs is for the kids to play around.  © Spaceshift Studio  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Dabao Primary School and Community Cultural Centre / Project Mingde and PAN Foundation Posted: 15 Nov 2016 11:00 AM PST  © TM Studio
 © TM Studio From the architect. Dabao village is remotely situated within the mountain range of Guangxi province in China. The settlement provides home to around 110 families of an ethnic minority group called the 'Yaos'. The group has its own distinctive dialect and culture. Yao people are often identified by their unique colourful traditional costumes.  © Clapper Production The Dabao project aims at providing the Yaos with a new primary school and a cultural centre. Dabao villagers were invited to actively participate in the initial planning of the project, and involved in construction until project completion.  © Clapper Production The school building is situated within the paddy fields on the mountains of Dabao. The project is designed to merge the building harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. Maintaining a balance between the building and the surrounding environment is a prime consideration for the architectural design of this project.  Upper Ground Level Plan The design concept is structured around the use of layers of walls in addressing the challenges originated from the steep topography of the site. A long bamboo façade along the southern site boundary not only acts as a protective barrier from the road outside, it also regulates the transmission of noise and daylight whilst ensuring privacy of occupants at the same time. The intelligent use of different diameters and lengths of bamboo tubes responds adequately to the different light requirements of the rooms for their respective functions.  © Clapper Production The main level of the building includes two classrooms, each for 30 students, a library, a staff room, a kitchen, and a storage space. An outdoor playground area with a basketball court is located on the second level whereas the roof of the building is accessible for the children to play and for villagers to rest and enjoy the spectacular panoramic landscape. Besides functioning as a primary school, the center also serves as a cultural space for events, festivals and various celebrations of the Yaos.  © Clapper Production  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| PATCH House / ESEcolectivo Arquitectos Posted: 15 Nov 2016 09:00 AM PST  © Lorena Darquea
 © Lorena Darquea From the architect. Don't throw anything away. That was the first request the client made for her new house in Guayllabamba, Ecuador. Patchwork and quilting are not only her work, but also her philosophy of life, so she tries to recycle everything she can. The second request was to find solutions for the house on one single level. This would allow comfortable access for her and her mother, who would also be her neighbor in an already existing house just a few steps away from hers.  © Lorena Darquea These two requests would become the basis of the design. All decisions were made with the intention of not throwing anything away and taking advantage of all the materials we had on hand.  Exploded Axonometric To begin, a single-level floor plan involved clearing out a large amount of earth. This earth was then used to build the mud walls that became the main structure of the house. In addition, almost all the windows, doors, and cabinets were recycled from the client's previous home. Everything was recycled as a patchwork design. Materials that would seemingly be considered useless or not worthy were made to work by means of different systems. The windows were joined together and adapted to the wooden columns and mud walls; restored doors were hung from the concrete beams; restored and rebuilt cabinets were adapted to fit in new spaces, and old gates and fences were used to enclose the new garden.  © Lorena Darquea The three-meter tall mud walls are arranged in a "C" shape for structural rigidity, which is basic when constructing with rammed earth. The "C" walls shelter the private spaces of the house, which are then closed off with the recycled windows and doors. On one side of the house are the quilting studio, the main bedroom, and the laundry/pet room. These areas allow the owner to withdraw into her own private space even when the house is full of people. This entire side of the house opens out to a private garden through a collage of recycled windows. On the opposite side of the house, three guestrooms are laid out as small yet complete spaces in which to rest.  © Lorena Darquea  Ground Floor  © Lorena Darquea The large open living space is located between the two private side wings, and constitutes the central and most important space in the house. This area draws one towards the outside view and recreational zone where family activities are closely related to nature. The inside walls of the house are painted white so that the patchwork wall hangings can stand out.  © Lorena Darquea The roof consists of a system of wooden beams, tensioned trusses and a thin concrete slab. Several skylights provide proper lighting for the guestrooms and the corridor leading to the owner's private quarters.  © Lorena Darquea The outdoor area consists of a large avocado and custard apple orchard. The exterior finish of the house is minimal, where the mud walls retain their original aspect, flanked by the recycled windows.  © Lorena Darquea  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Designs Unveiled for New Australian Embassy in Washington DC Posted: 15 Nov 2016 08:10 AM PST  Morning View North of Entrance from Massachusetts Ave. Image Courtesy of Bates Smart Australian office Bates Smart has unveiled their design for the new Australian Embassy to the United States to be located in the diplomatic heart of Washington, D.C. Developed in partnership with local firm KCCT, the new building will provide the embassy with a contemporary workspace with views to the White House.  View North of Atrium Hub spaces. Image Courtesy of Bates Smart Bates Smart's design draws inspiration from the Australian landscape, allowing the building to become a symbol for their home country. "The environmentally sensitive design embodies the spirit of Australia through direct references to the distinctive Australian landscape: its bright and clear natural light and open skies, its warm materiality and its vast scale," said the architects in a press release. "The use of these associations will create a civic building and symbol of Australia that is both enduring and welcoming."  Morning view West of Eastern Elevation from 16th Street. Image Courtesy of Bates Smart Offices and flexible working areas encircle a large glass atrium, which provides the building with an abundance of natural light. On the ground floor, a large open public space leads guests into the building and to a series of exhibition gallery and event spaces for ceremonial and public functions.  View North East from Entry to Breakout Space. Image Courtesy of Bates Smart The building has been designed to meet the highest possible global environment standards, employing a thermally efficient façade system, a green roof with an extensive photovoltaic array and the latest building services technologies, as well as through the expansive use of natural light. The new building will replace the existing Australian Embassy, which was designed by Bates Smart's Sir Osbourne McCutcheon in 1964.  View South from Office floor down to entry. Image Courtesy of Bates Smart "It is with great pride that we have the opportunity to replace this building with the next generation of Bates Smart design," said Kristen Whittle, Director of Bates Smart. "The design of the new Embassy has been inspired by the unique and beguiling beauty of the Australian landscape. The project has a refined and rich materiality which will make it stand out in Washington." News via Bates Smart.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| University of Chicago Campus North Residential Commons / Studio Gang Posted: 15 Nov 2016 07:00 AM PST  © Steve Hall | Hedrich Blessing
 © Tom Harris Photography From the architect. The Campus North Residential Commons offers the kinds of social spaces and experiences that enhance campus and academic life for today's undergraduates. The full block site is intended as a new portal to campus and is designed to encourage interactions and exchange between students while also opening up the university to the greater Hyde Park community.  © Tom Harris Photography  © Tom Harris Photography Campus North offers a mix of student residences, dining options, amenities, retail, and outdoor green spaces. Extending the campus footprint to the north, the location and placement of the structures create a new "front door" for the University, opening up to the greater Hyde Park neighborhood and strengthening pedestrian connections between the campus and nearby communities.  © Tom Harris Photography The design situates four slender bar buildings in an urban fabric of plazas, gardens, walkways, and courtyards that together form inviting, public and semi-private outdoor spaces for students and neighbors. The building is scaled to its context, with the highest structure completing the urban edge of busy 55th Street, while nearby structures are more attuned to the residential neighborhood along University Avenue. Pre-cast concrete panels are used to clad the building, a contemporary facade informed by the University's neo-Gothic tradition.  © Tom Harris Photography  1st Level Plan  © Tom Harris Photography Enhancing the University's House system, which encourages interaction and collaboration between students of different years to support social and academic success, the buildings are organized around House hubs, three-story communal spaces that are designed to feel comfortable and homey. Each hub offers distinct spaces for studying, movie watching, cooking, and playing in small groups or individually, while also enabling all House members to assemble together to discuss household chores and energy use and to plan group activities or study sessions.  © Steve Hall | Hedrich Blessing The Houses share additional communal spaces such as the top-floor Reading Room, which offers panoramic views of the city, campus, and Lake Michigan.  © Tom Harris Photography  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| BIG & Heatherwick Studio to Design New London HQ for Google Posted: 15 Nov 2016 06:20 AM PST  Heatherwick Studio's design for the new Coal Drops Yard shopping area at King's Cross. Image © ForbesMassie BIG and Heatherwick Studio have been selected as the architects for the new Google Headquarters at their King's Cross campus in London. The ten story, 650,000 square foot building will be the first wholly owned and designed Google facility to built outside of the United States, and is part of a campus expansion plan that will eventually contain offices for 7,000 employees. The team was awarded the commission after an original scheme by AHMM architects was put on hold in November 2013. Images of the new designs have yet to be released. "From the beginning, the project to give Google a new home in King's Cross has been extraordinary," said Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick in a joint statement. "Rather than impose a universal style on Google's buildings in the UK and the USA, we have tried to create an interestingness that fits the scale and the community of King's Cross. The Silicon Valley startup garage meets the London train sheds in a building that couples clarity with eccentricity and anchors innovation with heritage." The BIG/Heatherwick-designed building will be the last completed of three new campus buildings, joining the recently finished 6 Pancras Square, designed by AHMM, and a second 280,000 square foot, 10-story building by Mossessian Architecture that is currently under construction and slated to open in 2018.  BIG & Heatherwick Studio's design for the "Googleplex" in Mountain View, California. Image © Google / BIG / Heatherwick Studio Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, said "Here in the UK, it's clear to me that computer science has a great future with the talent, educational institutions, and passion for innovation we see all around us. We are committed to the UK and excited to continue our investment in our new King's Cross campus." Google is planning on investing more than a total of £1billion on the project, including the new building and the cost of hiring thousands of new staff members. The building will sit within the larger 27 hectare King's Cross redevelopment masterplan, which comprises more than 50 buildings and 1,900 homes, including the new Coal Drops Yards shopping area, also designed by Heatherwick Studio. The London HQ will be the second project by BIG and Heatherwick Studios for Google, after their design for the U.S. Google Headquarters (dubbed the "Googleplex") in Mountain View, California. News via BIG, Architect's Journal.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Casa Estudio / Intersticial Arquitectura Posted: 15 Nov 2016 05:00 AM PST  © Diego Cosme
 © Diego Cosme From the architect. Casa Estudio is an urban regeneration project that brings a deteriorating house originally built in the 80s back to life, located in a micro industrial area of the city.  Axonometric The understanding of pre-existing conditions led to a subtle intervention of the space with a system of patios and honesty in the construction methods.  © Diego Cosme The main challenge of the exercise was to do more with less: to solve an architectural scheme that extends a studio space on the ground floor, which separates from a new apartment on the first floor, and to maximize the living space, inside and outside. The aesthetics and form of the project rely on function and the use of apparent materials.  © Diego Cosme  © Diego Cosme The usage of a series of patios allowed the house to be naturally ventilated and illuminated. Lining the walls with clay, a regional material that carries strength and contrast, renovated the space like lungs for contemplation.  © Diego Cosme Given the effort to abide by a certain budget the materials are completely exposed, naked. This urged the quality of manpower to be extremely high, due to the fact that the brick, slab, and beam and vault that were used stayed as final finishes. This represented great education for the team on regional construction methods. Vernacular textures were also used, found in the nearby area of the city. Such was the case of “junquillo”, a type of palm with a knotted stem, great strength and at the same time flexibility due to its height, found in Bucarelli, a region in the Sierra Gorda Queretana.  © Diego Cosme The project understands and respects its context, but it also accepts its limitations. Casa Estudio remembers its worthy past and responds to the necessities of those who inhabit it to make it a live-work space.  © Diego Cosme  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| BIG Transitlager in Switzerland Photographed by Laurian Ghinitoiu Posted: 15 Nov 2016 04:00 AM PST  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu In this latest photoset, photographer Laurian Ghinitiou gives us a first look at BIG's Transitlager, a new mixed-use arts complex located within and around an existing warehouse building in Basel, Switzerland. Now nearing completion, the renovation and expansion is characterized by its reaction to the existing geometries of the nearby industrial infrastructure, taking the form of two distinct buildings, one placed on top of the other. The complex will contain a series of multifunctional floors for art, commerce, working and living in becoming the center of the new arts district of Dreispitz. Check out the full series, below.  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu  Basel Transitlager / BIG. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu See more of Laurian Ghinitiou's work on ArchDaily here, and check out his website for more photography. BIG transforms Transitlager in Switzerland  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Joolz Headquarters / Space Encounters Posted: 15 Nov 2016 03:00 AM PST  © Jordi Huisman
 Courtesy of Space Encounters From the architect. Space Encounters won the pitch to design and construct the new Joolz headquarters in a former machine factory building in Amsterdam-Noord. The designer and manufacturer of ergonomic pushchairs is a fast-growing Dutch company from Amsterdam which aims to do things differently. Joolz has a strong ideological agenda when it comes to responsible entrepreneurship. Key to the new building should be their core value: positive design.  © Jordi Huisman  Ground Floor  © Jordi Huisman The new office measures 1.600 m2 and is located in the developmental area of Amsterdam-Noord and consists of a spacious industrial hall and a generic office building. It's obvious where the quality and character resides, but unfortunately, the office blocks the hall from view from passersby. The first step to nullify this disbalance in quality is taken by removing all the walls on the ground floor, making the hall visible from the street. Subsequently large openings are made in the office buildings facade, further removing all associations of mediocrity.  Section The new glazing is placed under an angle to -in line with the brands beliefs – improve transparency. But the main intervention are three lavish gardens filled with trees, plants, birds and fish. Extruded from three of the existing roof lights, they echo the scale and logic of what was already there. Next to express the Joolz ideology by providing a pleasant backdrop for the daily routines, these large glazed gardens also improve the internal climate and provide employees with some more exotic choices to pick as their work location for the day.  © Charlotte Odijk  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How to Design School Restrooms for Increased Comfort, Safety and Gender-Inclusivity Posted: 15 Nov 2016 01:30 AM PST  Northwood Elementary School in the Mercer Island School District. Image © Benjamin Benschneider This article was originally published by Metropolis Magazine as "Why Architects Must Rethink Restroom Design in Schools." "Gang style" bathrooms, in which rows of stalls are installed opposite rows of wash basins and designated only for males or for females, have been de rigueur in educational facilities for the last hundred years. They involve predictable plumbing, mechanical exhaust, and fixture costs. Short doors and divider walls allow for the passive monitoring of behavior. Relinquishing this traditional bathroom model is daunting, since individual toilet rooms can significantly increase costs through additional plumbing, ductwork, ventilation, partitions, doors and hardware. These designs many times require additional space, trigger further ADA compliance, and invalidate some USGBC LEED points. Moreover, school districts typically have limited budgets, established facilities, and deep-rooted social practices. Which is why the initiative shown by Grant High School in the Portland Public School District has been so extraordinary. In 2013, the school had 10 students who openly identified as transgender. To help combat the real possibility that they would drop out due to a perceived lack of safety, administrators designated four student bathrooms and two staff bathrooms—each individual rooms with a toilet, sink and mirror—as gender-inclusive. The bathrooms were immediately popular with all students at Grant HS, transgender or not, who enjoyed the privacy afforded by these enclosed facilities. With a major renovation of the 1920s-era school on the horizon, the District realized that providing equitable toilet facilities for all 1700 students would be essential. Architecture firm Mahlum's design solution for Grant HS centered around replacing all existing "gang-style" bathrooms with individual toilet rooms with full doors opening to a shared space for wash basins and drinking fountains. Urinals will not be installed. Two entrance and exit points eliminate the feeling of going into a "dead-end" room, increasing safety and security. Signed with a simple pictorial representation of a toilet, not the ubiquitous "his" (pants), "hers" (skirt), or "their" (both), the toilet room is open for use by all. When the renovation is complete in 2019, Grant HS will become the first in the District—and one of the few in the nation—to house one hundred percent inclusive bathrooms.  Mahlum's design solution for Grant High School in the Portland Public School District. Image courtesy of <a href='http://www.mahlum.com/'>Mahlum</a> For the new Northwood Elementary School in the Mercer Island School District, the same architectural team also abandoned gang style bathrooms, instead placing individual toilet rooms in many places on each floor. This solution boosts program flexibility and reduces time lost to toilet transitions. Since the District intends to keep the bathrooms unlocked and available to all students, the solution maximizes restroom equity, which is especially helpful for young students just learning to navigate social customs and keen to fit in with their peers. Higher education institutions may more easily implement equitable bathroom designs because users are older, more diverse, and tend toward open-mindedness. For a new residence hall currently under construction at University of Oregon, Mahlum held student listening sessions, which revealed a strong desire for gender-inclusive living units with private bathrooms, as well as visibly inclusive public restrooms at the ground level and in common areas. However, residence facilities are still typically grouped by gender per floor or per community, and although suite-style bathrooms serving smaller clusters of students potentially mitigate gender-segregated restrooms, they can cost more. Like school districts, college and university administrators fear that enhanced design solutions will escalate costs, consume space, and drive up room rates.  Inclusive restroom design at the University of Oregon. Image courtesy of <a href='http://www.mahlum.com/'>Mahlum</a> The desire to create more equitable restroom design can also be stymied by building codes that have not yet caught up to changing opinions. Local jurisdictions have limited legal authority to enact code changes, so they usually have no other recourse but to uphold strict compliance. As society calls for more equitable bathroom design, the design and construction industry must demand large-scale code changes to allow "alternate paths" that comply with the intent of code and, moreover, serve the public good. While the transgender movement may be currently illuminating the issue, toilet privacy affects a much broader group, including families with young children, adult caregivers, and people that are mobility-challenged or have health issues. Enhancing equity through privacy is a basic human right that primary, secondary and higher education institutions can uphold through thoughtful design solutions. By rethinking bathroom design in retrofits or new facilities, what was once an afterthought for architects can become a way to not just promote self-esteem, health and well-being, but improve safety and security. As architects struggle with understanding what communities need and how to meet and overcome antiquated code regulations, we must quickly find a design vocabulary, inclusive of iconography and code guidelines, to reflect best practices. And most of all, we must place equity and human dignity at the center of these conversations. JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox AIA LEED AP, Associate Principal is the Design Lead for the education studio at Mahlum. JoAnn crafts nationally recognized buildings that prioritize student learning and support student life, rooted in a multi-platform, collaborative engagement process. Kurt Haapala AIA LEED AP, Partner, is an industry leader in the planning and design of student life and housing facilities, and has helped build Mahlum's higher education housing studio into a nationally recognized practice.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Hancher Auditorium / Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects Posted: 15 Nov 2016 01:00 AM PST  © Goldberg/Esto
 © Goldberg/Esto Hancher  © Goldberg/Esto Overall Planning/Massing  Site Plan There are two ADA accessible, pubic entrances at the south east and south-west corners of the building. The loading dock and loading court off of Park road was designed to accommodate large turning radii required by semi-trucks. Three berths/truck-docks load into the scene dock/transfer area, which is directly adjacent to the main stage. The dressing rooms, the production offices, crew rooms are all designed for maximum efficiency and convenient stage relationships.  © Goldberg/Esto Exterior Materials  © Goldberg/Esto Lobby  © Goldberg/Esto Hall  © Goldberg/Esto  Section  © Goldberg/Esto Rehearsal Room  © Goldberg/Esto Product Description. The exterior stainless steel panel system was custom manufactured by AWS, Architectural Wall Systems, of Iowa. This rain screen panel system is made of 18"x60" 2mm thick stainless steel panels. The panels utilize a non-directional brushed finish that diffuses the light and reflection. They are installed in a staggered pattern and are non-sequential, allowing individual panels to be changed at any time. Architecturally, this results in a taught and subtly textured skin that sublimely reflects the ever-changing sky, sunlight, and landscape.  © Goldberg/Esto  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| RB Systems Proposes Cutting-Edge Hyperloop Station Posted: 15 Nov 2016 12:00 AM PST  © RB Systems Earlier this year, Hyperloop One announced a list of design partners that included Aecom, Arup, and Bjarke Ingels Group. Now, RB Systems—which was a finalist in the SpaceX Hyperloop One Pod Competition—has released a speculative design vision for a Hyperloop station and passenger pod. The spatial and programmatic concepts are largely experimental, as there are no precedents for this futuristic building typology.  © RB Systems Due to the rapid projected turnover rate of a 1 pod per minute, the design demands a high degree of automation, a carefully considered sequence of spaces, and a well-developed circulation plan for the pods to perform their many operations in a short time. Rustem Baishev of RB Systems proposes solving this challenge with a difference in levels: once a pod enters the station, it is carried on tracks to a platform, after which passengers and luggage unload; finally, an elevator lifts the pod to an upper level, where it is prepared for departure. All these maneuvers would be operated by an automatic dispatching system. A concrete rail shift inside the station will help to streamline this sequence and serves to dictate the station's overall layout.  © RB Systems  © RB Systems The interior of the station is intended to celebrate and generate excitement for the new technology. The space is, therefore, expansive, brightly colored, and filled with light, while adopting space-age aesthetics. A user-friendly wayfinding system includes easily visible timetables, spacious waiting halls, and a transparent service block. The proposed structural system is an experimental space-truss assembled from fiberglass; PV cells are molded into the glass assembly to block excess solar heat.  © RB Systems Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX first proposed Hyperloop, a tubular transit system that relies on magnetic levitation technology to transport passengers at over 700 mph, in 2013. The specific machinery and safety strategies to be implemented in RB Systems' proposal remain to be resolved.  © RB Systems News via: RB Systems  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| GTM Cenografia Uses Shipping Containers in Rio Olympic Pop-up Store for Nike Posted: 14 Nov 2016 10:00 PM PST At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Studio GTM Cenografia developed a temporary installation for Nike. The space, inspired by containers and industrial sheds, occupies a total area of 600 square meters and was built in a metallic structure and wrapped in galvanized trapezoidal tiles. The cube used in the project is an installation from Brazilian artist and designer Muti Randolph, one of the pioneers of digital illustration in Brazil. Our friends from ArchDaily Brasil talked with the architect Daltro Mendonça (GTM Cenografia) to find out more details on material choices and the execution of the project.  Courtesy of Nike What were the main materials you used in the project? Daltro Mendonça (DM): Metal beams, galvanized trapezoidal tiles, corrugated metal sheets, interior floors and surrounding structures out of wood, concrete pottery and vinyl plates.  Courtesy of Nike What were your main sources of inspiration when choosing the materials used in the project? DM: The customer’s desire to have a more industrial, clean feel, to make people think of the world of ports and shipping containers, we went for using a lot of metal, as a structure, in the finish or even furniture.  Courtesy of Nike How did decisions related to materials influence the concept of the project? DM: The details and finishings that we used because of the choice of material, ended up contributing to the desired design. For example, the choice to also use galvanized trapezoidal tiles in the interior of the space.  Courtesy of Nike What advantages did the materials you used offer the construction of the project? DM: Since we were looking at a project that was going to take almost 3 months to plan and work out all the details, 20 days to manufacture and another 15 days to put all together, the prefabrication and modulation that these materials offered were essential to be able to execute and complete the work within the initially determined time frame.  Courtesy of Nike Did any of the project’s challenges involve the choice of these materials? DM: No, just the opposite. They helped to achieve the necessary speed for this type of work. Did you ever consider any other possible materials for the project? DM: No, from the conception stage on, we had already decided on metal for the structures and the closures, which in addition to modulation and assembly, helped define the proposed aesthetic.  Courtesy of Nike How did you research the right suppliers and builders for the materials used in the Nike project? DM: We didn’t need to. Since they were simple, daily use materials, a research phase wasn’t necessary. We only needed structure samples and closures to define the finishings.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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