Arch Daily |
- CASA MKAC / UAU collectiv
- Krøyer Square / Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects + COBE
- House E / EXHIBIT Arhitectura
- Cave House in Loess Plateau / hyperSity Architects
- Rock & Branch / Hyunjoon Yoo Architects
- Courtyard near West Sea / META - Project
- Missouri State University, O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center / CannonDesign
- State Supreme Court Upholds Architecture's Legal Right to be Ugly
- Innovative Companies Hotel In Anglet / Guiraud-Manenc
- OMA's £110 million Arts Center in Manchester Receives Planning Approval
- Atlantic / Bates Masi Architects
- The Eiffel Tower to Undergo 15-Year, €300 Million Renovation Project
- Ru Paré Community / BETA office for architecture and the city + Elisabeth Boersma
- Being an Architect: Then Versus Now
- Playa Man / The Scarcity and Creativity Studio
| Posted: 16 Jan 2017 09:00 PM PST  © Philippe van Gelooven
 © Philippe van Gelooven From the architect. With a particular predilection for the modernist style, Massimo Pignanelli found the perfect house for his young family in Hasselt. The single-family house right outside the city centre of Hasselt was built in the early sixties in a structure of concrete beams and columns filled with non-bearing wall elements. This constructive principle grants the house a sleek, sober and balanced look. The balanced architectural concept needed to be refreshed to contemporary standards, though. The characteristic construction was kept during the renovation which transformed both the existing property and the new spaces together into a consistent whole.  © Philippe van Gelooven  Site Plan  © Philippe van Gelooven Following the program of demands, an extension was created to the building which is fully in function of multipurpose rooms for the young family and the demand for a practice area. The embedding of the house in the surrounding green is emphasised because the extension is immersed in the landscape. The large patio here forms the connecting element towards the garden and ensures that new and old are disconnected. Together with the vide in the entrance hall, an airy house is created with a lot of light and view of the surrounding green. The green character of the environment with a unique view therefore provided the incentive to organise the living area on the upper floor. The versatile character of the practice area in the basement is also done full justice because of the vide as a connection with the garden.  © Philippe van Gelooven  © Philippe van Gelooven The original and iconic vertical sectioning was respected by designing the extension under the level of the existing concrete framework of the upper floor. Inside the framework an ingenious filling is realised with alternating slanted, deeper and flush planes. Round lines subtly appear in the façade and later also in the various details in-house. The whitewashed brick outer walls combined with black windows and doors create tranquillity and accentuate timelessness. The combination of carrara statuario marble, white concrete floors and white walls continues the calm atmosphere inside throughout the house. The contrasting black marmo nero marquino creates a sober look. The characteristic house got an upgrade, as it were, to modern comfort and this of course with respect for the original concept.  © Philippe van Gelooven  1st Floor Plan  © Philippe van Gelooven  2nd Floor Plan  © Philippe van Gelooven  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Krøyer Square / Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects + COBE Posted: 16 Jan 2017 07:00 PM PST  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
 © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST From the architect. Krøyers Plads is a five-story housing project with a significant location in the centre of the Copenhagen harbour area designed by Danish architects Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects and COBE. The award-winning and Nordic Eco-labelled project is now finished. The project is based on a hyper-democratic and contextual approach where folded roofs and architectural heaviness create a dialogue between old and new, and a modern, empathetic interpretation of the architectural uniqueness of the old Copenhagen warehouses.  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST Krøyers Plads is a significant location in the centre of the Copenhagen harbour area. The site constituted a gap in the continuous rows of old warehouses that sit perpendicular to the harbour and was an architectural and political battle eld in Copenhagen for more than a decade. When the nal building design for this beautiful historical site was developed by Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects and COBE, many architectural proposals had already been rejected by local organizations and politicians for various reasons.  Site Plan With a prime location in the Copenhagen harbour, opposite the Royal  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST A hyper-democratic approach  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST "The neighbours were for instance invited to help define the height of the buildings and to help select the materials – both crucial for the way the new Krøyers Plads relates to its surroundings. Instead of inventing a new building typology, Krøyers Plads became a reinvention of the one already found adjacent to the site – the industrial warehouse," says Dan Stubbergaard, Founder and Creative Director at COBE.  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST The design is based on a hyper-democratic approach. An architectural storytelling that through a dialogue with the local community strives to create a meaningful and comprehensive in ll. The approach was to translate all signi cant characteristics of the old warehouses, such as the harbour facing gables, the heavy expression, building height and materiality, into modern design parameters that meet both functional and climatic demands.  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST The design by Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects and COBE was begun in 2011. In 2013, construction started and now the modern housing project is finished and the new owners have moved in.  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST  Elevation  © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 16 Jan 2017 06:00 PM PST  © Cosmin Dragomir
 © Cosmin Dragomir From the architect. The fronts of Hermann Oberth street were gradually densified in the last 60 years. A prevailing house residential district in the '50s, densely built, on small sites with narrow spaces between the buildings, the area was remodeled during the communist with the introduction of the blocks of flats. Nowadays, this narrow street is the border between the row of houses and the compact alignment of the blocks of flats. The client, owner of one of the houses mentioned above, wanted a larger, continuous living space, bathed in sunlight with large glazed surfaces.  © Cosmin Dragomir One of the first challenges was harvesting the sunlight amid a neighborhood consisting of blocks of flats.  © Cosmin Dragomir  Plan  © Cosmin Dragomir Our answer was a translucent house placed over the existing house.The translucent shell is punctured by transparency towards the favorable views of the area.  © Cosmin Dragomir The structure of this lightweight extension does not overlap with the structure of the old house creating, in fact, its own genuine structural framework.  © Cosmin Dragomir  Section  © Cosmin Dragomir The proximity of the neighboring houses was a very inciting topic for us. The new house commits to dialogue with the closely neighboring blind walls. Opposing a noble, translucent wall, to a neighboring, indifferent blind wall generates a positive communication between the two.  © Cosmin Dragomir Leaving aside theory, the inner free living space of the addition mesmerized the owners gives in contrast to old house underneath.  © Cosmin Dragomir  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Cave House in Loess Plateau / hyperSity Architects Posted: 16 Jan 2017 02:00 PM PST 
 From the architect. This house is a renovation project of "wow home" TV series, for the client Ye Liangchen, a Internet star, who lives in the Loess Plateau of Shanxi Province. The original house is one of typical traditional cave courtyard in the village, in disrepair, and almost collapsed condition.  Site Photo  Site Photo It included a main cave as the living space in the north, and three rigid side caves as the bedroom space in the eastern part. In an area of about more than 50 square meters and the depth is 11 meters without a kitchen and toilet, the space of main cave was extremely dark and damp.  Given the traditional cave has the advantage of warmness in winter and coolness in summer, the design strategy follows tectonic of vernacular cave dwellings, but ensures that that each room is well ventilated and lighted. The design strategy is to preserve the northern cave houses, and to transform the run-down southwest wing caves into couple of independent spaces oriented to the south, which contain a kitchen, bedrooms, storage room, a dining room and a toilet.  Diagram  Axon The preserved main cave is divided into two separated functions, the inner space as grandma's bedroom, while the outer space as living room for family gathering. Taking into consideration the sunlight and ventilation in the cave, a circular glass light well sized in 1.5-meter diameter is devised in the middle of the cave. The main entrance of main cave is transformed into a wooden grid façade and glass curtain wall, which introduces plenty of sunshine. In front of the cave entrance is a new semi curved canopy, which prevents the strong wind from the northwestern Mongolia.    Besides the improvement of living conditions, the prototype of walled structure compound is applied in the new design with more dynamic courtyard sequences. Courtyards introduce the nature to the house. The architect intends to maximize the outdoor space visually and psychologically. Hence, 5 scattered courtyard landscapes are created within the compound, and connected through a zigzag path similar to the Chinese garden to create a tranquil atmosphere and infinite spatial experience. These areas also enable fresh air and daylight to enter every single house.   The architect is committed to the integration of new building and local environment. The new houses are strictly controlled within the red line and the original building height. In the aspect of the selection of materials, the new building adopts the technology of traditional rammed earth, which composed of the mixed clay and sands from the top of surrounding mountains. By doing so, this building appear unique texture and color, whereas the effects of rammed earth in other places would appear various because of different origins of the clays. The application of rammed earth not only reflects the local building traditions, but also brings in the strength and permanence of stone with the warmth and simplicity of wood. It also profoundly helps reduce the budget of project.  Re use the previous furniture for interior space so that people can feel familiar from the old life.  Rural people deserve a modern life and ample modern facilities. However, rural areas should not be the lower versions of the city, and should not be the followers of the city. Instead, it should maintain the intimated relations to the sky and the land.   This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Rock & Branch / Hyunjoon Yoo Architects Posted: 16 Jan 2017 12:00 PM PST  © Youngchae Park
 © Youngchae Park Rock & Branch Janitor's Shelter for Boramae Park A Tail of The Hill The building has such unique program and location. This facility is served as a place where the park janitors rest, wash and store cleaning tools at the same time. Boramae Park has small and large hills within the park. The site is located at the endpoint of one of those hills. The fan shaped area, which is about two-thirds of the site, is in contact with the road and the rest one-third touches the end of the hill. In fact, the site is in-between the last tail of the hill and the road. With the site given, the park required a shelter for the janitors and the storage for the equipment.  © Youngchae Park  © Youngchae Park The rock and the branch First, the initial design concept was to minimize the shape of the site, which results an arc-shaped mass along the road providing a shelter for the janitors. Then, the arc-shaped mass has been elevated from the ground in order to allow the flow of the hill into the inner courtyard of the building. The floating mass is supported by the several storage rooms rather than the columns. Since these storage rooms are the continuation of the land and should portray the rocks on the mountain, they are finished with black exposed concrete and are scattered randomly on the ground. The floating mass, a shelter for janitors, is treated with exposed concrete and layered with the vertical wooden louvers. The width of the wooden louvers are especially thin as the entire building illustrates an image of the rock - storage rooms on the ground - and the branch - floating shelter - in the mountain.  © Youngchae Park  Second Floor Plan  © Youngchae Park An interactive elevation The main elevation of the building is about two-thirds of curved surface and one-third of straight line. As the road passes around this elevation, people who walks around the building would experience a visual variation with the wooden louvers arrayed throughout the curved surface. A slightly wide spacing of the louvers allows the observer a visual alteration depending on his or her viewpoint - the exposed concrete surface is much revealed from the front view and it is gradually concealed as the viewpoint changes. By walking around the site, the observer could capture the sequence of elevation in which the finishing material alters between the concrete and the wood. The four pine trees While arranging the building on the site, preserving the existing four pine trees has been emerged as a critical issue. In order to minimize any harmful work to the nature, the building has been set back a few meters from the site boundary and doing so, one of the storage buildings has been digged into the hill. The hill then naturally continues to the terrace above the storage, which further connects to the courtyard. Consequently, the four pine trees has become the key elevation of the building, which enable a gentle flow from the outside hills to the inner courtyard.  Diagram  Diagram  Diagram  Diagram An open path The site is situated where the promenade starts. Furthermore, various circulations through the park is crossing around the site. In order to preserve the circulation flow, the main shelter has been built on pilotis whereas a few storages are dispersed on the ground floor. In doing so, the pedestrian path is fully reserved and also the generous open area below the facility could be used as a public space for special occasion.  © Youngchae Park  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Courtyard near West Sea / META - Project Posted: 16 Jan 2017 11:00 AM PST  © Su Chen, Chun Fang
 © Su Chen, Chun Fang Unlike the introverted quality of the traditional courtyard house, the owner of this site asked for a variety of mix-use program, including tea house, dinning, party space, office, meeting, as well as dwelling and entertainment. The contemporary and sometime "public" program opened up the courtyard to become "extraverted", so as to induce more human interactions.  Before . Image © Su Chen, Chun Fang These required us to break the general understanding of the courtyard as an enclosed typology by introducing the experience of "meandering in the hutongs" into the courtyard, and the interventional approach was derived from the unfolding spatial narrative of hutong life.  Diagram 1 The cautions with which specific renovation measurements are made demonstrate circumspection. First, we converted the narrow corridor squeezed between two rows of brick building to a mode that is compatible with the hutong-courtyard typology by demolishing the temporary structure to the east and in the middle, so as to introduce cross-sectional changes along the 60-meter long site.  © Su Chen, Chun Fang Then by adding 3 different types of "loggia" at the hinge of the expanded spaces, we redefined the layers in the longitudinal depth, thus reconstructed a "three-step-courtyard" in the spatial sense.  © Su Chen, Chun Fang Here the "three-step-courtyard" is not an imitation of the traditional symmetrical courtyard pattern in the hutongs, but a contemporary reinterpretation of the multi-layer courtyard space and its possible variation along the depth, andhow it will shift the movement of steps and sense of space. The owner's life - all the mixed programs, were sorted and divided by 3 courtyards full of vegetation, making the daily routine of walking in and out the site a continuous spatial experience full of rhythm.  Detail  © Su Chen, Chun Fang  Detail In the process of renovation, one might find some interesting spatial model, but in the end, it all has to integrate with the life it carries.  © Su Chen, Chun Fang Further beyond, what interested us in the renovation is how design strategy can appropriately reduce the amount of construction: using existing footprint to make small-scale buildings, using wood, brick, tile…all these local materials, using local craftsmanship but through new tectonic method, to respond to the problem in everyday scale and at the local level, so the users' lives can unfold in it naturally.  Plans Intervention in the hutongs therefore needs to be based on the true understanding of life and culture, the "Aura" of a thing as Walter Benjamin pointed out, instead of rigid protection to its physical appearance.  © Su Chen, Chun Fang  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Missouri State University, O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center / CannonDesign Posted: 16 Jan 2017 09:00 AM PST  © Gayle Babcock
 © Gayle Babcock The O'Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center is a new teaching and learning facility serving as the third of a trio of buildings that make up the College of Health and Human Services at Missouri State University. Through its careful siting and unique physical presence, the new building creates a micro-campus for the college within the university's broader campus context. Its bold, angular form cantilevers over the building's chamfered corner entry, acknowledging its companion buildings and inviting in the students who circulate between them.  Diagram  Public Space Diagram Programmatically, the center is comprised of undergraduate and graduate curricula in occupational therapy, nursing, nurse anesthesia and physician assistant studies, with each requiring tailored classrooms, specialized skills labs and simulation labs, faculty offices and support spaces. The building cuts back its southwest corner to create a second entry plaza for a ground level outpatient clinic serving the local community. Housed in an otherwise purely academic building, the clinic is designed to be not only a fully functioning healthcare facility but also provide real-world experience for students.  © Gayle Babcock  Section  © Gayle Babcock Collaborative spaces for students flow throughout the building, creating an interior "street" in the social sense and continuously connecting all levels by a faceted, undulating wood ceiling. The lobby itself contains a variety of options for student collaboration, from café tables outside the center's main lecture hall to seating pods for small group interaction. Spreading vertically from the lobby and flowing across level two, additional seating pods, a tech bar and group study rooms adjoin the more formal learning spaces. The street culminates at the third level in a student lounge with dramatic views back to the main campus and an outdoor courtyard terrace that doubles as both respite and didactic learning space for occupational therapy instruction. Collectively, this variety of collaborative environments connect teaching and simulation labs, and also form community space that brings students from diverse programs together for inter-disciplinary learning.  © Peaks View LLC Materially, the building reinterprets the campus' palette of limestone and cast concrete with a fiber cement rainscreen. This material choice helps define the dual character of the building's expression – it is at once a light structure, barely touching down on the campus, and simultaneously a chiseled mass. In either interpretation, it is a significant addition to the campus's growing array of contemporary architecture.  © Peaks View LLC Product Description. Swiss Pearl was selected as the exterior cladding material, as its planar characteristics coupled with a concealed mounting system resulted in the visual emphasis remaining on the chiseled building form.  © Gayle Babcock  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| State Supreme Court Upholds Architecture's Legal Right to be Ugly Posted: 16 Jan 2017 08:00 AM PST  © Pixabay user Skeeze. Licensed under CC0 Public Domain The Supreme Court of Vermont has ruled that architecture is legally allowed to be ugly. The judgement was made in response to lawsuits filed by Vermont residents against several planned solar developments, claiming that the "unsightliness" of the panels was damaging to their property values. But the court found that ugliness alone does not qualify as nuisance under state law, citing a long-standing rule barring private lawsuits based solely on aesthetic criticism. "Property values are affected by many factors; a decrease in market value does not mean there is a nuisance, any more than an increase means there is not," argued the court in their statement. Prosecutors had previously argued that the nuisance law was wide-reaching enough to cover the claim, noting the state's tradition of valuing "scenic resources" in policies including strict anti-billboard laws. News via WCAX.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Innovative Companies Hotel In Anglet / Guiraud-Manenc Posted: 16 Jan 2017 07:00 AM PST  © Vincent Monthiers
 © Vincent Monthiers From the architect. Located on the Landes de Juzan campus in Anglet, the Activity Generator proposed by the Côte-Basque-Adour Agglomeration is a place where innovative young companies can be found, encouraging interdisciplinary cross-fertilization between academic research and industrial knowledge.  © Vincent Monthiers This business hotel is set in an urban wasteland, open on a wood and a protected estey in the heart of the Basque coast Adour. The building is a reflection of the dialogue between this landscaped site and the program.  Site Plan To answer the environmental challenges of the program: dual certification and the BEPOS objective, the idea is to make architecture the vector of these performances, playing with the assets of the context and appealing to the common sense of the users.  © Vincent Monthiers Creating an interior landscape built in echo to the natural landscape, the building is manifested in its implementation by making perceptible the structural forces, the innervating networks and the envelope of the building as architectural elements in full participating in the Identity of the place. The atmospheres are qualified by precise assemblages of raw and durable materials such as concrete, wood and metal, providing a sensitive touch at the spaces.  © Vincent Monthiers The architecture of the generator is revealed with subtlety in order to create, at the heart of the effervescence of the agglomeration, a privileged environment, calm and conducive to work, a way to inhabit this place. The limits between the exterior and the interior are intentionally blurred in order to benefit from the vitality of the environment, with the concern to integrate in the heart of the building the presence of natural light and its variations.  © Vincent Monthiers In the West side, in an urban connection, the experimental hall exposes itself in a panorama on Mirambeau street, by a large horizontal incise, as a signal announcing the research and development work housed in the generator.  © Vincent Monthiers To the east, echoing the landscape of the Estey, the facade of the offices opens generously on nature. External walkways let you enjoy the softness of the site and encourage informal meetings by extending outside the workspaces. At the heart of the generator, the bioclimatic atrium brings together these workspaces as a forum open to debates of ideas.  Section It also gathers the vertical and horizontal circulations treated in rhythmical route, revealing the activities, letting enjoy natural light and offering framing on the trees landscape. Each one is no longer the inhabitant of a floor, an office, but a place of work in which are shared knowledge, tools, dedicated spaces and services. Evolutive, the building is designed to shape, adapt to the demand, suspended to future societal, technical and energy evolutions. Leaning on the structure as a pivot, the envelope is an interchangeable and recyclable skin. The interior is designed as flexible and reversible, it remains ductile to the uses. The generator will live at the tempo of the young companies that will invest it, appropriating it and making it evolve.  © Vincent Monthiers Product Description: -A structural logic inseparable from architecture: The innovative companies hotel is based on three interacting strata that make up its structural architecture. The telluric grip: The cascading earthworks anchor the building in the site. The reinforced concrete structures partition the plateaus of the terraces and initiate the verticalities, in an atmosphere of mineral landscape.  © Vincent Monthiers The structure adapted to spaces: The main structure in reinforced concrete is designed without the fall of a beam, by a principle of posts / slabs "mushroom" favoring the modularity of the partitioning. Exposed in raw way, sails and concrete floors participate in the passive design of the building by their large capacity of inertia. The structure and framework of the technichal hall (volume without intermediate support point) are composed of glued laminated pine douglas elements and metal connectors.  © Vincent Monthiers An efficient envelope: This structure is protected by a technical wrap adapted to the uses and orientations. This wrap of glued laminated timber casing douglas pine presents various qualities according to the needs: opaque, transparent, translucent, waterproof, porous, filtering, insulating ... The facades of the offices are designed on a modular principle in plug on the regular weaving of the structure. This system is designed to allow a simple and quick modification of the façades while guaranteeing air and water waterprooffing and sound and thermal insulation. The glazed parts are all accessible on one level or by external gallery for easy maintenance and without nacelle or special equipment. Similarly the roofs all have direct access from the floors.  © Vincent Monthiers  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| OMA's £110 million Arts Center in Manchester Receives Planning Approval Posted: 16 Jan 2017 06:00 AM PST  Courtesy of Factory Manchester OMA's first major public building in the UK has been granted planning approval. Known as "Factory," the groundbreaking new cultural center will serve as a the new home of the Manchester International Festival (MIF) and as a year-round concert and arts venue.  Courtesy of Factory Manchester OMA was selected for the project following an international competition in 2015, beating out proposals from firms including Rafael Viñoly Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Zaha Hadid Architects and Mecanoo. The project is being led by partners Ellen van Loon and Rem Koolhaas.  Courtesy of Factory Manchester  Courtesy of Factory Manchester "Much of my professional life has been spent undoing limitations of the traditional typologies," said van Loon. "From classical opera and ballet to large scale performances and experimental productions, Factory in Manchester provides the perfect opportunity to create the ultimate versatile space in which art, theatre and music come together: a platform for a new cultural scene."  Courtesy of Factory Manchester  Courtesy of Factory Manchester  Courtesy of Factory Manchester The £110 million venue will be located in the new St. John's neighborhood of Manchester on the site of the former Granada TV Studios, and will be developed in partnership with developer Allied London. Economic impact of the project is estimated to create almost 1,500 full-time jobs and add £1.1 billion to the city's economy in a 10-year period.  Courtesy of Factory Manchester  Courtesy of Factory Manchester Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring of 2017. News via OMA. OMA Selected to Design Manchester's 'Factory', Their First Public Project in the UK  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Atlantic / Bates Masi Architects Posted: 16 Jan 2017 05:00 AM PST  © Bates Masi Architects
 © Bates Masi Architects From the architect. Across the street from the property, in the low dunes near the Atlantic Ocean, a historic Life Saving Station serves as a cherished reminder of the maritime, military and architectural history of this coastal landscape. Built over a century ago, the station is part of a network of structures used to provide rescue and relief for shipwrecked sailors, and it was from this station that a guard once discovered Nazi invaders coming ashore during World War II. Designed with lookout towers, weather-protected cupolas and elevated decks, the stations offered many views for the crews to survey the horizon through all seasons. Inside, large, open storage rooms often featured boats, oars and other useful items hung from exposed beams for easy access. Taking cues from this structure, the design of the new residence strikes a dialogue with the landmark to enrich the experience of the new home and celebrate the local history.  © Bates Masi Architects The principal strategy for the home stems from the utilitarian practice of hanging boats and other items from the station's wooden post and beam structure. In a modern reinterpretation, the residence features an exposed steel structure which defines the main living spaces and forms a framework onto which other functions can be hung: the main stair is strung from beams above, and the rods used to support each tread serve as guardrail for the stair; a wood burning stove sits on a suspended steel shelf; light fixtures are fastened to the flanges using standard beam clamps; a swinging chair hangs from the cantilevered living area above.  © Bates Masi Architects On the exterior, a system of bronze bars was developed to hang the thick cedar siding boards in place without fastening through the wood, allowing the boards to expand and contract naturally with changes of temperature and humidity. Like the weathered cedar shingles on the Station across the street, each material—cedar, bronze, and weathering steel—was chosen for its proven durability in the coastal climate. As each material weathers over time, the appearance of the siding will record the cycles of rain, sun, freeze and thaw: cedar will lighten from the sun; bronze bars will patina to dark brown and eventually turn green; weathering steel will develop a deep rusted texture on the surface which protects it from further corrosion by the salty air. The weathering steel around the base of the building marks the height the home was raised above the flood plain. To minimize the impact of the footprint on the sensitive ecological environment, the main living area is stacked above the bedrooms, and, like the lookout towers of the stations, an even higher roof deck provides elevated views of ocean.  © Bates Masi Architects By taking cues from the historic lifesaving station, the home responds to the environmental and historical context. In so doing, it honors the local heritage and enriches the present day experience.  © Bates Masi Architects  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Eiffel Tower to Undergo 15-Year, €300 Million Renovation Project Posted: 16 Jan 2017 04:00 AM PST  © Pixabay user Unsplash. Licensed under CC0 Public Domain The Eiffel Tower is set to undergo a massive renovation project: a 15-year, €300 Million endeavor that will preserve the attraction for decades to come. Built 128 years ago as a temporary structure for 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris, the tower has since grown into a global icon, attracting nearly 7 million visitors per year and serving as an important symbol of French unity during times of both celebration and tragedy.  © Pixabay user nuno_lopez. Licensed under CC0 Public Domain The project will encompass a full structural analysis, replacement of the tower's lighting systems and an overhaul of the tower's elevators, which still use some of Eiffel's original workings. Additional improvements will include a modernization of security technology and an enhanced visitor experience to reduce wait times and shelter tourist from harsh weather conditions. "There could be one or more places for the public to wait that are sheltered. Today, they are queueing in the rain and snow, and that's not the best welcome for our foreign tourists," said Jean-François Martins, the deputy mayor of Paris. The announcement was made as Paris bids for the 2024 Olympic Games and the Universal Exhibition in 2025. The project will break down into a €20 million per year investment, a 45% increase from the €13.7 million already spent each year on maintenance. The tower is fully repainted every seven years, a process which requires 66 tons of paint and 20 months to complete. The last major renovation to the tower took place just 3 years ago, when the first floor reopened following two years of work. Previous to that, the last large-scale renovation occurred in 1986. The project proposal will be presented to the Paris council for approval at the end of January. News via The Guardian. AD Classics: Eiffel Tower / Gustave Eiffel  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ru Paré Community / BETA office for architecture and the city + Elisabeth Boersma Posted: 16 Jan 2017 03:00 AM PST  © Marc Faasse
 © Marc Faasse In the early 2000s, the Ru Paré School was emblematic of the social problems facing the Amsterdam borough of Slotervaart. The Ru Paré is now the neighborhood's living room and accommodates an extraordinary social experiment.
A New kid on the Block In response to austerity measures in the Dutch economy, a social entrepreneur developed a model for solidarity in challenging neighborhoods. Inhabitants are offered tax advice, computing or language classes in return for community service; at the building level receding funding is supplemented with profitable start-ups.  © Marc Faasse By the end of 2013 BETA and Elisabeth Boersma were asked to test this concept in a former school. A series of events was organized which not only led to useful input for the building's transformation, it also led to the establishment of a neighborhood enterprise. The KlusLAB would later take up renovation work both in the school and the surrounding neighborhood, stimulating the local economy.  Render Section A so-called urban-mining project was initiated with students of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. A catalogue of materials from housing corporation Eigen Haard's nearby demolition project was drawn up. Demolition company Oranje would secure the materials, after which the KlusLAB would install them in the Ru Paré. This supply chain served to reduce waste and building costs.  © Marc Faasse Turning A Liability into an Opportunity With its many classrooms surrounding a generous hallway, the school was great at accommodating different organizations. The school's gymnasium was a different story altogether. Comprising more than 10% of the building's floor area, this space represented a significant liability for the project's fragile cash flow. It could serve as a foyer, but its position far away from the original entrance cancels this advantage. Relocating the entrance to the gymnasium proved to be a bold, cost-efficient and spatially convincing move in recoding the building.  © Marc Faasse A Concentrated Intervention with Effect Several ambitions were realized with this pirouette. The cash flow was reinforced by generating more small scale units with a greater marketability. By employing the economically less viable, but spatially extraordinary gymnasium as a foyer, accessibility and visibility were increased whilst forming an attractive public interior. Simultaneously on the sunny side of the building, the sunny schoolyard could now be reinvented, transforming from an undefined transit space into a functioning public courtyard.  Plan 3 A New Face For The Neighborhood Spatial interventions are concentrated to maximize their effect. A mezzanine with five thematic greenhouses was introduced, offering complementary space to both the foyer and the traditional classrooms. The previously introverted gymnasium is opened up by installing full-height overhead doors. With the flick of a switch the former gymnasium can be transformed from a generous foyer to an airy public interior. This rich spatial experience extends outwards onto the adjacent balcony overlooking the immediate surroundings.  © Marc Faasse Product Description. The garage style sectional overhead doors amplify the spatial relationship between the newfound foyer space (the former gymnasium) and the public garden (the former schoolyard). In the summer, the interior of the gymnasium transforms into an airy public interior with the flick of a switch. During the winter, all internal activity is communicated to the neighborhood.  © Marc Faasse  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Being an Architect: Then Versus Now Posted: 16 Jan 2017 01:30 AM PST  © Sharon Lam Architecture, as a profession and discipline, has come a long way since Vitruvius. It continues to evolve alongside culture and technology, reflecting new developments and shifting values in society. Some changes are conscious and originate within the field of architecture itself, made as acts of disciplinary or professional progress; others changes are uncontrollable, arising from architecture's role in the wider world that is also changing. Below are just some of the changes that have taken place in recent decades: 1. Drawing vs. Software © Sharon Lam, using images via Wikimedia user <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grasshopper_MainWindow.png'>David Rutten</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Whether you like it or not, drawing boards have given way to computer screens, with CAD and parametric software now common architectural tools. However, the age old adage of being able to impress a client with a freehand sketch still stands true. 2. Lone Genius vs. Teamwork © Sharon Lam The historic image of the architect was a lone genius, whipping up sculptural forms instantaneously from their minds. Today, architects are more often seen working collaboratively and to great success, such as the Turner Prize-winning group Assemble, or Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, who finally won an AIA Gold Medal in 2015 after a rule change that allowed the prize to be awarded to pairs. 3. Learning Classical Design Rules vs. Learning to Design Creatively © Sharon Lam Rules of symmetry, proportion and types of column only make appearances in architecture school these days in relation to history. Long gone are the days of strict design ordinances and in their place is an era of open, creative problem solving. 4. A Lot of Old White Men vs. Slightly Less Old White Men © Sharon Lam, using images via Flickr user <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/27608953@N06/3200164455'>Susleriel</a>, Wikimedia user <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kazuyo_Sejima_mg_5000.jpg'>Rama</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, and © United Press International Though architectural history has been dominated by old white men, this is slowly changing. Women and people of color are starting to be recognized in architecture—recently the AIA Gold Medal went to its first black recipient. However, gender pay gaps and other imbalances mean that there is still progress to be made. 5. Media-less vs. Media-ness © Sharon Lam, using an <a href='http://www.archdaily.com/788076/tate-modern-switch-house-herzog-and-de-meuron/57430f3fe58eced183000027-tate-modern-switch-house-herzog-and-de-meuron-photo'>image by Iwan Baan</a> As media in society has become increasingly prominent, so too has its relationship with architecture. Because our understanding and treatment of architecture is tied to its representation, this is a change that is both complex and important. 6. Exclusivity vs. Inclusivity © Sharon Lam, using image via screenshot from <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPFcZ-Ux4Lg&t=73s'>YouTube</a> and <a href='https://www.ted.com/talks/david_byrne_how_architecture_helped_music_evolve' >TED</a> Increasing media exposure has also increased the inclusivity of architectural appreciation, with TV shows like Grand Designs, podcasts like 99% Invisible, and websites (like this one!) making architecture accessible to many more people than just those who work or study in the field. 7. Sufficiency vs. Sustainability © Sharon Lam Consideration of a building's environmental impact has become a much more active driver of design in recent years, becoming the entire ethos of a firm in some cases. This is both due to greater awareness of increasingly pressing environmental concerns, as well as advances in technology making sustainability easier to implement. 8. Local vs. Global © Sharon Lam Unlike many historic building styles, it can be difficult to tell the location of new buildings through their design alone. Collaboration across cultures and international competitions and commissions now allow for design to transcend geographic boundaries—Foster + Partners alone have 15 different offices working on projects across 40 countries.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Playa Man / The Scarcity and Creativity Studio Posted: 16 Jan 2017 01:00 AM PST  Courtesy of The Scarcity and Creativity Studio
 Courtesy of The Scarcity and Creativity Studio The Municipality of San Cristobal, Galapagos, asked The Scarcity and Creativity Studio to build a shade shelter with showers as part of the municipal project to refurbish and build new facilities in the main beach of Baquerizo Moreno Port. The project was designed and build in a period of slightly more than two weeks. The reasons for the short design/build period are explained below.  Courtesy of The Scarcity and Creativity Studio Having arrived is Galapagos to find that the project we were prepared to build had to be cancelled (see: http://scs.aho.no/the%20wall.htm), the SCS team had financing, four weeks in Galapagos, and no project. We then approached several local institutions with a view to obtaining a commission to design and build a project. Four possible projects emerged from this initiative: 1. A bridge over a causeway in a new park the Municipality of San Cristobal was building. 2. A building for yoga training in the highlands 3. A police tower to catch cattle thieves. 4. A shade shelter in Playa Man.  Floor Plan  Elevation The SCS studio decided to opt for the shade shelter project in Playa Man. As time was now at a premium, SCS organised a three days internal architectural competition, starting with individual projects, choosing the ideas with most potential to develop further, until the final project was chosen. As we had purchased the bamboo for the previously cancelled project this mad to be the main building material. The project was built in two weeks, many of the details previously developed for the cancelled Scouts Centre project were used. The project provides shade to users of Playa Man as well as providing three open air showers.  Courtesy of The Scarcity and Creativity Studio  Courtesy of The Scarcity and Creativity Studio  Courtesy of The Scarcity and Creativity Studio Bamboo grows locally and it is ready to be used in construction after only four years. However in Galapagos it is considered a 'poor persons' building material and thus seldom used. The SCS team was pleasantly surprised at how many locals praised the use of bamboo and hope that the Playa Man project will have some influence in the reconsideration of this strong and sustainable building material.  Courtesy of The Scarcity and Creativity Studio  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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