Arch Daily |
- Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine / MLB Architects
- Cities Need Change: The Durability of Jane Jacob's Legacy
- Chapter Living Kings Cross / Tigg + Coll Architects
- House for Weekends / SBM studio
- SINICA Eco Pavilion / Emerge Architects
- Miryang Pool Villa / Moon Hoon
- Footscray Apartment / BoardGrove Architects
- Ridge Vista / o2 Architecture
- Challenge Your Spatial Perception Skills with This New Game
- Plein Ciel / MGAU
- Arkitema Architects Designs Hill-Shaped Visitors Center for Mols Bjerge National Park
- PM House / FGO/Arquitectura
- Evil vs. Impressive: How do Scale and Lighting Affect Perception of Architecture?
- Grandstand Stadium / ROSETTI
- How the NMAAHC Carves Out a "Space of Resistance" on the National Mall
- Milan Gallery Annex / Kipnis Arquitetos Associados + Fernando Millan
- This Spectacular Aerial Video Shows the Whole LA River Before its Transformation
| Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine / MLB Architects Posted: 04 Jan 2017 09:00 PM PST  © Wieland Gleich
 © Wieland Gleich The client for this project was SU's Facilities Management,with the end user being SU's Faculty of Medicine. The brief called for two 450 seater auditoriums, with break out areas. The budget was tight, the program fast-tracked and siting crucial.  © Wieland Gleich This building had to be located close to the existing Teaching Hub, while not affecting campus parking & landscaping. Of the three potential sites identified, this one was selected for its ability to comply with the above prerequisites, while offering more.  © Wieland Gleich By 'docking' into the Teaching Hub, with auditoriums straddling the axis, the opportunity arose to create a new iconic entrance. This also reinforced the axis, linking the Student Union to the Teaching Hub, bringing it indoors, transforming the row of trees into columns.  Ground Floor Plan Scale & Massing were important urban design considerations. A low profile was maintained, so to not block a visual connection to the Teaching Hub building behind it. Even so, ± 4,5m internal ceiling heights were maintained appropriately-scaled to internal public space.  © Wieland Gleich The Tygerberg campus lacked a focal outdoor space, as in UCT's Jameson steps. These new entrance steps were thus designed to establish symbolic interface. The platforms out of which steps were carved, also serve as seats, while also having planters for trees.  © Wieland Gleich The low profile also gave the building good human scale. Straddling the 2 auditoriums over an axis,created the opportunity for a looser composition of solids. These were fronted by a biomorphic break out area, its asymmetry held together by the axis cutting through it.  © Wieland Gleich The West-facing, glazed 'fish bowl', break-out area presented its own difficulties, which in turn, triggered design solutions. Firstly was the need for precise sun control measures. Secondly the quest to also capture good outward views to the campus gardens.  © Wieland Gleich A layer of vertical sun control fins was thus added to the West elevation, manufactured from Hulabond sandwich panels, perforated with stylized DNA patterns. The patterns & signage were designed in collaboration with renowned graphic designer, Robin Lancaster.  © Wieland Gleich Considerable effort went into auditorium design - size, shape, raking, seating, finishes, lighting & services. The faceted plan was found to be efficient for sight-lines, acoustics & distance from lecturer, while strict lines of geometry where imposed on services, for visual order.  © Wieland Gleich A complex arrangement of communication, climate control, power, lighting, audio visual, acoustic & fire detection services were incorporated. The consultant team was managed by a high level of coordination, to achieve functionally efficient, visually uncluttered interiors.  © Wieland Gleich Product Description. The most significant material used in the project is that of the Hulabond aluminum screens. Part of the client's vision was to have break-way spaces from the main auditorium that would have a visual connection with the campus surroundings. Due to the orientation of the new building with relation to the old, a clear, unshaded Western façade was not possible. In response to this climatic barrier, the architects decided to introduce vertical sunscreens that were pivoted in such a way that the sun would be blocked out, and the view only partially obscured.  © Wieland Gleich Using aluminum made sense for various reasons. The product is light weight which made the manufacturing of these large fins easy. Being in a coastal area the corrosive properties and durability of the material is also advantages. From an aesthetic point of view, aluminum has a clean and contemporary appearance and could be punctured with a DNA pattern to let in additional filtered light.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Cities Need Change: The Durability of Jane Jacob's Legacy Posted: 04 Jan 2017 08:00 PM PST In an exclusive half-hour episode focusing on the life and legacy of Jane Jacobs, "one of the most influential urban thinkers and city activists of our time." Featuring interviews with a carefully selected range of city planners, historians and activists, alongside recordings of Jacobs herself, this special episode of Monocle 24's The Urbanist examines why Jacobs was—and remains—so influential when considering the contemporary city.  Opinion: Why Our Cities Need Less Jane Jacobs  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Chapter Living Kings Cross / Tigg + Coll Architects Posted: 04 Jan 2017 07:00 PM PST  © Andy Matthews
 © Andy Matthews From the architect. TCA were appointed to reimagine 20,000 sq ft of extensive common spaces that exist within and throughout the Chapter Kings Cross site for Greystar. The project delivers a more inclusive reception space and arrivals hall, new communal study and social areas, a new gym, screening room and ancillary facilities.  © Andy Matthews The design for the refurbishment was conceived from the contextual history and local character of the area, drawing on the Industrial heritage and language of the iconic Kings Cross Station. The main arrival hall has been stripped back to reveal the original concrete and steel structure, layered with premium finishes and furniture including ceramic wall tiles, wall paneling and mosaic flooring. Bespoke joinery is central to the design of the scheme, including carriage-style booth seating and study benches, and a curved solid oak station-style bench that runs through the arrivals hall leading to the main lift core to the student rooms, which dramatically increases the sense of arrival to the property.  Isometric A key move employed by Tigg + Coll for Chapter was to move the reception desk and security barriers back into the space, creating a larger public lounge space to facilitate social interactions and meeting with students friends, family and visitors, drawing the public realm into the building.  © Andy Matthews Existing mezzanines that were previously hidden from view were opened up and exposed to the main reception, creating new visual connections, increased daylight and sense of space, though the use of steel-framed glazed partitions, with steel cross-bracing and expanded mesh panels.  © Andy Matthews Bespoke metalwork, textured glass and cantilevered feature light fittings are suspended above the gaming area, creating a dramatic platform for social gatherings and events. Residents can access the common areas across all Chapter residences.  © Andy Matthews The upper floor café was reconfigured into a communal study area with an open kitchen for students to prepare refreshments. A range of spaces were provided for group and solo study, with a quiet study room designed for more focused working.  © Andy Matthews The gym was relocated from the dark depths of the tower into the mezzanine above the Study lounge, enjoying increased day lighting and views through full-height crittall-style glazing. A new steel and timber staircase with perforated mesh balustrades was designed to link the spaces, supported off a large steel truss, allowing for the stair to be extended up to the roof space during later phases of expansion.  © Andy Matthews Product Description. Bespoke metalwork and joinery are central to the design of the scheme, as they best convey the industrial railway heritage of the local area that the project references. Joinery includes carriage-style booth seating and study benches, and a curved solid oak station-style bench that runs through the arrivals hall leading to the main lift core to the student rooms, which dramatically increases the sense of arrival to the property. Bespoke metalwork is used to frame the existing mezzanines that were previously hidden from view, which we opened up and exposed to the main reception, creating new visual connections, increased daylight and sense of space, though the use of steel-framed glazed partitions, with steel cross-bracing and expanded mesh panels. Bespoke metalwork, textured glass and cantilevered feature light fittings are also suspended above the gaming area, creating a dramatic platform for social gatherings and events.  © Andy Matthews  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House for Weekends / SBM studio Posted: 04 Jan 2017 06:00 PM PST  © Ivan Avdeenko
 © Ivan Avdeenko The town house for weekends is situated in a picturesque suburbia of a big city. Main condition of the owner was the ability to see the lake, reduce charges for heating and minimize cleaning process of the house and nearby territory. We made a project of one floor house with flat roof, which is hanging above the ravine near the house.  © Ivan Avdeenko  Floor Plan  © Ivan Avdeenko There are only two view windows from the side of the lake, one of which moves to the special 'pocket' between the fireplaces. The rest of the windows are small, the walls are made of thermo bricks, the face of the house is clad in clincher brick, which is more than 150 years old, and thermo ash tree. There would be no need to take any care of such face of the house.  © Ivan Avdeenko Floor lamps on the terrace are structural support for the roof above the terrace. The interiors are decorated using only Ukrainian furniture and pieces of art. The chandelier 'Kalina' is our own design.  © Ivan Avdeenko  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| SINICA Eco Pavilion / Emerge Architects Posted: 04 Jan 2017 02:00 PM PST  Courtesy of Emerge Architects
 Courtesy of Emerge Architects The site of this project located in the landscape and ecology restoration area of SINICA. Inspiration of design from the very first comes out with the discussion and communication between landscape and exhibition consultants. By the interdisciplinary integration and crossing through the boundary between professions, which represented the unlimited brainstorming and the dialogue of fusion.  Axonometric In order to preserve the existing old trees, the shape of new mass defined by gap among trees and transformed into an organic plan, so that the new pavilion will be intimately surrounded by trees. Assisting the perceptional experience with plants in the interior atrium, which not only quietly brings in the greenery of landscape, but also extends the vision. The touchable trees have also become a vivid exhibition of nature.  Courtesy of Emerge Architects  Floor Plan  Courtesy of Emerge Architects By changing the transparency continuously of wall to create a continuity, ambiguous spatial perception of in and out when roaming. The exhibiting starts from outdoor, creating dialogues between ecological landscape and exhibits, vacancy and reality, internal and external overlapped on the glass wall and came up an ambiguous perception. Therefore, the distinction between architecture, landscape and exhibition has been blurred in the project.  Courtesy of Emerge Architects Such pocket spaces like exhibition area, lobby, frontier, interpreting area and screening room, … etc. composed a fluidly continuous space which is individual but also assembled  Section  Section Indoor is still indoor, outdoor is still outdoor, however, the boundary between them has been blurred in the spiritual perception and aspiration.  Courtesy of Emerge Architects  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Miryang Pool Villa / Moon Hoon Posted: 04 Jan 2017 12:00 PM PST  © Facestudio
 © Facestudio From the architect. Entering my office one morning, a young, lively client in hip-hop fashion proceeded to talk about the Roll House of MOONBALSSO in Miryang. His point was that the building seemed very unique as well as practical. Nevertheless, explaining that he has a favourite form, he showed me a residence with a pool designed by a German architect. I was concerned that he was strongly prejudiced in favor of a specific style that had captivated his heart. After viewing several design presentations, we finally found that the client had very limited tastes biased towards his favourite design. As everything has its end, we finally achieved internal integrity and balance in the design, after spending a lot of time and effort with the client, and eventually coming to an agreement.  © Facestudio   © Facestudio Located between Miryang and Ulsan, the gently sloping sunny site commands a magnificent view of rounded mountains at its front, and adjacent fruit trees decorate the boundary of narrow ramp on the left side. The irregular shape of the site, though equal in size, resulted in various layouts for the pool and outdoor space. As the privacy of each unit was a priority, the Miryang Pool Villa was made of one duplex unit and three one-story units.  © Facestudio  © Facestudio The height and shape of the boundary walls combined with the building have been designed to play the role of confining the outdoor space and framing the superb view. I hope that the Miryang Pool Villa, a place which freely boasts of its splendor and contrasts in pink hues, will not fade too soon, like that of blooming pink flowers among green leaves.  © Facestudio  First Floor Plan  © Facestudio  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Footscray Apartment / BoardGrove Architects Posted: 04 Jan 2017 11:00 AM PST  © Haydn Cattach
 © Haydn Cattach From the architect. This apartment in Melbourne Australia was renovated to maximise access of natural light whilst opening up the circulation between spaces to create multiple openings and routes between each compartment, increasing the flexibility of each room.  Existing Floor Plan  Renovated Floor Plan As the living, dining and cooking spaces were open plan the design aimed to avoid having a stereotype functional kitchen as the backdrop to the living space. Instead the aim was to create a more ambiguous cooking area that appeared as a collection of art like objects, with the functional cooking equipment concealed within the sculptural elements.  © Haydn Cattach Three objects were developed, a solid corian bench, a large metal arched door, raised off the floor and placed flat against the wall and a complimentary arched reveal. Between these three they hold the sink, oven, cook-top and fridge.  © Haydn Cattach The palette of materials was chosen to compliment and soften the tones of the existing concrete floor and walls, adding warmth to the space.  © Haydn Cattach Although very modest in scale it raises questions about an everyday domestic space we are all familiar with: the kitchen. It challenges our expectations and it takes a risk– stepping out of the ordinary and trying something different. It throws normality to the wind, reconfiguring something that we all know so well into a new expression.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2017 09:00 AM PST  © Lance Gerber
 © Lance Gerber From the architect. Located in Palm Springs, Ca, this home seeks to integrate the existing landscape and dramatic mountain scenery with indoor/outdoor living. The existing 1950's home was tucked away on a quiet cul-de-sac and demanded privacy. The mechanical systems were starting to fail and the finished grade at pool and deck were above the home's finished floor, rendering the home at risk for potential flooding that could occur under heavy rain. Replacing the unserviceable home became more logical than trying to rehabilitate it. Focus then shifted to working around the existing landscape which included a koi pond that was maintained and fenced off during the construction process. Regrettably, a mature Italian Stone Pine tree had to be cut down as its roots were invasive and too close to the new foundation location; it has graciously been repurposed as table bases used throughout the site (observe main table in Lanai and small tables at pavilion).  © Lance Gerber Upon passing the split-face, concrete block feature wall and entering the home, a forthright composition of clean and durable materials is revealed as a backdrop to the client's highly refined tactile finishes. Clerestory windows were used throughout the main living area to capture mountain views, while maintaining the desired privacy from the street. Passive design strategies are apparent in the space with generous south-facing glazing, operable windows throughout that allow for cross ventilation, and deep overhangs providing abundant shade during summer months while allowing desired warmth into the home during cooler winter months.  © Lance Gerber  Site Plan  © Lance Gerber The client requested a great room program, but with a visual separation from the kitchen. The challenge to integrate an enclosed working kitchen within the large open space, was achieved by a lower ceiling volume wrapping the kitchen and separating it from the dining room while keeping it open to the abundant backyard views. In targeting to have a seamless indoor/outdoor living experience, spaces often revolved around outdoor spaces as is the case with the great room, office, and master bedroom hinging off of the lanai. Keeping true to the site topography, the master bedroom takes advantage of existing site conditions by sitting 18 inches higher than lower finished floor. The master bedroom is accessed through the office "bridge".  © Lance Gerber A palette of authentic and durable materials give the home a robustness contrasted by graceful finishes. The preserved landscape provided the finished design with an immediate mature feel not often experienced in a newly constructed home.  © Lance Gerber  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Challenge Your Spatial Perception Skills with This New Game Posted: 04 Jan 2017 08:25 AM PST Looking for a challenging new diversion that will keep your architectural mind humming? A new puzzle game from developers Dusty Road, Empty, may just fit the bill. The object of the game is simple: to remove all the furniture from a series of brightly colored rooms. To do this, players must rotate the room in 3 dimensions, matching objects of the same color together. The game requires spatial reasoning and planning – remove the objects in the wrong order, and there may be no possible path to removing them all.  via Empty The game is currently available for download from the developer website for Android, Windows, MacOS and Linux at a pay-what-you-want price. Check it out for yourself, here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2017 07:00 AM PST  © Michel Denancé
 © Michel Denancé From the architect. The city of Clichy la Garenne has committed to an ambitious urban reconstruction project that highlights an exceptional location at the entrance to the city, south of the town. The construction of 47 homes by SEMERCLI falls within this context. The real challenge was to introduce new buildings made of contemporary architecture, more dense. The new building must thus preserve the unique spirit of these neighborhoods, linked to the history of the "faubourgs". The final goal was to create a ten-story building which had the least possible impact at street level. This apparent contradiction was, for us, the basis of the project: a building in two pieces including a lower piece, which becomes part of the continuity of the street, and a second piece of the building, which is separated and rises up in height, slightly set back.  Diagram The lower part of the building belongs to the universe of the street, the continuities, and the pedestrians. There is a relationship between it and the existing buildings. The taller building rises and distinguishes itself from the traditional framework of the city. This way of rising into the sky multiplies the façades with views, and preserves the vision of the open sky as much as possible for the pedestrians and inhabitants on the south side of the street. Some apartments are located in two small wings built around the backyard.  © Michel Denancé The organization of the volumes allows the quantitative specifications to be met and permits not to sacrify what we consider to be essential to the interior quality of an apartment, that is: apartments have different orientations, kitchens benefit from direct natural light, and living areas are maximized and functional.  © Takuji Shimmura The site creates an interlacing of gardens, patios and passages on the ground floor. This organization anticipates the richness of volumes found in the building. The hallway is generous and bright: stretching between the street and the interior garden like the storage area for strollers, spacious and functional.  © Takuji Shimmura  Floor Plan  © Michel Denancé The façades are insulated on the exterior, and are treated either with lime plaster or a metal cladding. The windows and joinery are in aluminum, with an anodized finishing. The color of the plaster is in keeping with the colors of the existing buildings on the street. The cladding is very light, in order to reflect the sunlight and brighten the center of the block. The volumes are simple in order to develop a certain constructive and technical rationality. The openings are very wide in order to maximize the penetration of natural light and highlight the visual exchange with the exterior.  © Takuji Shimmura  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Arkitema Architects Designs Hill-Shaped Visitors Center for Mols Bjerge National Park Posted: 04 Jan 2017 06:00 AM PST  North Perspective. Image Courtesy of Arkitema Architects Arkitema Architects has unveiled their winning proposal for a new visitors center at Mols Bjerge National Park in Denmark. To be located adjacent to the historic Kalø Castle Ruins, the design draws inspiration from the surrounding landscape, taking the form of a softly sloping hill.  West Perspective. Image Courtesy of Arkitema Architects "We did not design a building in the usual sense. We designed an integrated part of the landscape," said Poul Schülein, partner at Arkitema Architects. "We have mirrored the hilly surroundings and we are thrilled to continue working with this exciting project."  Interior Perspective. Image Courtesy of Arkitema Architects The new center has been designed to accommodate the approximately 150,000 tourists that visit the Kalø Castle Ruins each year in a welcoming structure constructed of wood and brick that integrates into the National Park scenery. Within the hill-shaped form, two levels will provide an exhibition area, a gathering space for tourists, families and class trips, and a restaurant offering panoramic views of the Kalø Castle Ruins.  North Elevation. Image Courtesy of Arkitema Architects  East Elevation. Image Courtesy of Arkitema Architects The two levels will be connected by a large, accessible staircase that will serve as an additional meeting point. The stair will continue out of the building to provide outdoor seating options.  Interior Perspective. Image Courtesy of Arkitema Architects The new building will be located just 500 meters from another Arkitema project, the House of Hunting, and represents the second recent visitor's center commission for the firm, following being awarded the design of the Hammershus Visitors Center in 2013.  Section. Image Courtesy of Arkitema Architects The building is expected to open to the public in 2019. News via Arkitema Architects.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2017 05:00 AM PST  © Gloria Medina
 © Gloria Medina Located in the Golf Club La Ceiba in the Yucatan peninsula. The project is erected within a lot with abundant vegetation, which is why the architecture was adapted to the terrain; most of the trees were respected and were relocated to provide shadow to open spaces. As well vegetation was taken advantage to generate cool breezes that allow a natural way to ventilate each space.  © Gloria Medina The project is developed starting from the needs of an adult couple, which is why it is only one level, with access and amenities appropriate for every need along with easy access and circulation between all areas. The project is divided into three stages (garage, service area and residential area), all of which are connected by a network of ramps and steps through gardens and moving walls.  Floor Plan With views to the outside from any part of the house, each space is given its own identity, with unique perspectives and without being exposed to the street or the golf course. This gives the residents total privacy, utilizing moving walls and a landscape design inspired by the regional forest.  © Gloria Medina The project is developed with three longitudinal axises as starting points, by hiding the windows within walls a more open floor plan is generated, unifying the Living Room/Dining Room/Terrace/Kitchen.  © Gloria Medina Such axises communicate with the living quarters, located to one side of the pool, passing through the fourth area, guest quarters/Den, serving as a transition, by utilizing the paths in the landscape design into the private living quarters, all of which have views of a private garden, functioning as a meditation space.  © Gloria Medina With a low maintenance selection of materials and vegetation palette (concrete, steel and wood), clean and inviting spaces are created. Hand in hand with the landscape design, a state of tranquility and peace is created in the spaces, for the greater welfare of the users.  © Gloria Medina Playing with simple geometry, completely open to the exterior, the natural environment is incorporated into each space by means of translucent elements, which are capable of providing ample and natural light to the spaces, inviting us once again to coexist with nature.  © Gloria Medina  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Evil vs. Impressive: How do Scale and Lighting Affect Perception of Architecture? Posted: 04 Jan 2017 04:30 AM PST  When it comes to viral architecture, readers love a sense of the theatrical. This trend has led to a new internet obsession: 'evil' buildings that look like they could be the home of a supervillain or nefarious corporation. Compiled on sites such as BoredPanda and Reddit, lists of 'Evil Buildings' tend to feature structures that feel sterile to non-architects, photographed in dramatic lighting or surrounded in fog. Projects by Zaha Hadid Architects, Frank Gehry and Ole Scheeren are among those represented. But what exactly makes these buildings feel evil? This phenomenon represents an age-old quandary in architecture: how to make laypersons feel more comfortable with architectural styles they may be uncomfortable with. This issue is most commonly seen in the differences in public and architect opinions on Brutalist buildings, which even publicly elected officials have decried as ""aesthetically worthless" and "ugly." Check out BoredPanda's list of 'Evil Buildings' here. Is it possible for a building to be 'evil', or is it simply a product of photography? How should architects react to the way their buildings are perceived?  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2017 03:00 AM PST  © Rafael Gamo
 © Rafael Gamo From the architect. Completed this fall, the 125,000 square foot, 8,125-seat Grandstand Stadium is an innovative, lightweight structure that anchors the southwest corner of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) National Tennis Center in New York City. Since 2010, ROSSETTI and the USTA have collaborated on redesigning the 46-acre campus for the future of tennis, and expect to complete the final phase for the 2018 US Open.  Diagram Relocated from the crowded northeast corner of the campus, the new Grandstand Stadium nestles into the natural setting of Flushing Meadows Corona Park; the trees along the campus edge inspire its unique exterior skin pattern that metaphorically evokes the illusion of peering through the foliage of leaves.  © Rafael Gamo Teflon-coated fiberglass membrane, or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)") fabric, the hexadecagon (16-sided) facade is composed of 486 panels, over 26,000 square feet, that were designed using Computational Solver software. The complex geometry of the panels is synthesized while taking advantage of the material play on opacity and translucency, offering glimpses into and out of the stadium.  © Rafael Gamo  Section Detail  © Rafael Gamo From the ground, fans are drawn into the Grandstand Stadium from multiple staircases alongside the structure. Along the upper walkway, visitors enjoy expansive views of the campus and park, including the new Allée, which connects to the historic World's Fair Unisphere. Its strategic design allows people to move freely along the perimeter of the stadium while staying underneath the translucent canopy overhead.  Walkway Level Plan The fan experience includes a lower bowl recessed into the earth, to maintain scalability, which creates the ultimate tennis experience that highlights the player-fan relationship. New concessions, a picnic area and plazas surround the Grandstand Stadium and provide fans with a comfortable, laid-back atmosphere as an alternative to the hustle and bustle of the rest of the campus.  © Rafael Gamo  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How the NMAAHC Carves Out a "Space of Resistance" on the National Mall Posted: 04 Jan 2017 01:30 AM PST  © Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC This article, originally titled "The Space of Resistance," was originally published on Lance Hosey's Huffington Post blog. It is part of a four-part series about the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The city can be a powerful form of political myth, and Washington, DC, is the premier example. Political myths dramatize historical events for ideological purposes, in order to strengthen the authority of the status quo. For example, America's Founding Fathers often are portrayed as motivated only by a virtuous desire for universal freedom and equality, a simplistic depiction that ignores the complex socioeconomic forces behind the Revolution. The National Mall, its buildings, and its monuments, are America's foundation myth writ large in stone and space. Manfredo Tafuri called the image of the District of Columbia "a timeless, indisputable, completely 'positive' Olympus" whose creation "presupposed great optimism and was thoroughly opposed to any polemical doubt." In this sense, the city as political myth is ripe for protest, and the National Mall has been the site of many of the most important protests in American history. Most often, these events consist only of people gathering for demonstration. Sometimes, however, they involve building.  Inspirations for the architecture. LEFT: Yoruban wood sculpture of a Nigerian three-tiered headdress. CENTER: Ornamental ironwork on a New Orleans facade. RIGHT: Dancer with uplifted arms celebrating Pinkster, an African-based holiday. Image © NMAAHC Sixteen years ago, I coined the phrase "protest construction" to refer to structures erected as a means of calling attention to a social or political grievance. An example is Resurrection City, a temporary encampment on the National Mall as part of the Poor People's Campaign in 1968. Protest construction typically is temporary and informal, and often it is unauthorized. The new National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a rare example of permanent, formal architecture with many of the traits of protest construction. The museum is surrounded by neoclassical architecture, and the administrators contend that "the building's architecture follows classical Greco-Roman form in its use of a base and shaft, topped by a capital." Yet, the viewer's first impression of the building is that it's different. For one thing, most of the iconic structures on the Mall consist of large expanses of white or beige stone, and the NMAAHC's bronze-colored metal tracery is an elegant but dramatic departure. David Adjaye, who led the design, describes its intent as "a dark presence on the Mall." As I recounted in an earlier article, much of the stone of the Mall's most recognized buildings, including the Smithsonian "Castle," was quarried by slaves, and rejecting that material for the new museum resists that legacy. Max Bond, who served on the design team prior to his death in 2009, was known for selecting building materials associated with African American labor unions, a strategy I once described as "material justice." It also works in reverse—by avoiding materials with difficult associations. The building's latticework is inspired in part by the ironwork of Black laborers in the Deep South, but it also conjures up images of basket weaving traditions.  © Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC The museum's form accomplishes the improbable task of being rich in references but seemingly completely new. The three-tiered "corona" echoes West Africa headdresses, a celebratory image of honor, but the term also refers to the top layer of a classical cornice. Historian George Hersey has shown that the corona has a dual meaning in classical architecture, evoking both subordination ("in Rome when a prisoner was taken he or she was said to be sub corona") and liberation ("a pair of eagle's wings"), so the museum's corona could refer to captivity and freedom at the same time. The NMAAHC's exhibit on the building acknowledges inspiration in Adinkra symbols meaning both independence (Fawohodie) and slavery (Epa). The serrated profile of the corona also is reminiscent of the practice of slaves marking burial sites with broken pottery, symbolizing the release of the spirit from the body. Nearly two-thirds of the museum, including the entire history exhibit, is subterranean, and the overall form has the sense of emerging from below, unearthing something buried. Reviewers have made much of the corona's angles matching (though upside down) the capstone of the Washington Monument, whose view is framed throughout the interior. To explain the form of a whole building through its relationship with a finial detail of another seems over-inflated, and it's an odd tribute to a slave-owner. What's going on here? In one sense, this gesture simply acknowledges the African (Egyptian) origins of the monument's form, the obelisk. But the word obelisk literally means "Baal's shaft" or "Baal's organ of reproduction," Baal being an ancient honorific for "lord." An obelisk is a phallus, a fitting image for "the father of the country" but also a traditional symbol of power. By inverting it, the museum both acknowledges and undermines that image.  LEFT: "Porch" entrance detached from the building. CENTER: Framed view of the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, and Robert E. Lee's home. RIGHT: The angles of the facade mirror the capstone of the Washington Monument. Image © Lance Hosey The main entrance, on the Mall side, is marked by an enormous freestanding canopy the museum calls "a welcoming porch, which has architectural roots in Africa and throughout the African Diaspora, especially the American South and Caribbean." Accounts of plantation life in the Antebellum South suggest that even hostile relationships became easier to endure "in the civil atmosphere offered by the shade of a prominent porch." Yet, the porch, often the most visible part of the "Big House" on a plantation, also was a symbol of prestige, and the museum's "porch" is detached from the building, as if to resist that particular history. Historian John Michael Vlach writes that on plantations slaves developed a unique sense of space and place: "Black territorial definitions were often made in subtle or clandestine ways and probably went unrecognized by most slaveowners," and "the simple act of occupying a space was tantamount to appropriating it."  © Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC While it marks the main entrance, the museum's "porch" faces the Mall, away from Constitution Avenue. The National Mall is alternately called "America's Front Yard" and "America's Backyard." Is this a front porch or a back porch? From a distance, the building is virtually identical on all fours sides, so it doesn't have an obvious front or back. This uncertainty seems related to Adjaye's comment that "the African-American community is absolutely integral to understanding the American identity but somehow has been always in the back room."  President Obama speaking at the NMAAHC opening ceremony, September 24, 2016. Image © Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC At the museum's opening, President Obama remarked, "This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don't merely coexist but inform each other." In its exhibits and its architecture, the museum is a joyous celebration but also space of resistance. Projected on the wall of the museum's culture exhibit are the words of author bell hooks: "People resist by telling their story." Other museums on the Mall have had to address conflicted histories in their subjects, but none has done so with such grace. This article is part of a four-part series by Lance Hosey on the NMAAHC. Click the following links to read about how the museum reveals the complicated political history of Washington, DC, what the museum reveals about architectural criticism, and how the museum embraced sustainability.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Milan Gallery Annex / Kipnis Arquitetos Associados + Fernando Millan Posted: 04 Jan 2017 01:00 AM PST  © Pedro Vannucchi
 © Pedro Vannucchi From the architect. The Milan Gallery Annex emerged from the need for a new exhibition space for the Millan Gallery. Located in the neighborhood Vila Madalena, in São Paulo, it is 50 meters from the original site, built in 1994.  © Pedro Vannucchi  © Pedro Vannucchi The development of the project took place around the (re) affirmation that a dialogue between the architecture of the exhibition space and the artwork should be estimulated. Although concerned with visual interferences (noises) at the moment of "reading" the artwork, we understand that there is no space neutrality; architecture has its role.  © Pedro Vannucchi The pre-existing building was partially used; the linear shed located in the background was preserved and complemented by a second room with characteristics totally different from the old workshop. This room, with double internal height, connects to the shed by a corridor perpendicular to the sidewalk that goes to the end of the plot. It is from this axis that the facilities of the building were distributed: reception/administration; toilets; kitchen; deck, and an apartment for the visiting artist. This was organized in a third block, 02 floors high, where the air conditioning equipment and water tanks were also placed.  © Pedro Vannucchi Circulation, which happens along this axis, creates surprises for those who enter, allowing different routes through the gallery.  Ground Floor Plan  Section An apartment designed for the "visiting artist" can be accessed by a staircase located in the entrance hall, with no need to enter the gallery, allowing autonomy of its use during the periods of operation of the exhibition area.  © Pedro Vannucchi The lighting solution is an integral part of the spaces. It integrates natural and artificial light, bringing uniformity to the interior and versatility for exhibits. The structural system adopted is formed by metallic ports, which structure the new areas and reinforce the shed. All environments are therefore prepared to receive artworks of various weights and dimensions.  © Pedro Vannucchi Six large doors were installed on the facade of the building, which when open, break the boundaries between the building and the outside area. The existing frontal recess was also transformed into an exhibition space, intensifying the relationship between the building and its surroundings, integrating the movement of the sidewalk with that of the gallery. An invitation for the pedestrian to visit the place.  © Pedro Vannucchi Throughout the 400 m² built, environments were created that, with such formal diversity that they provide the dialogue between architecture and artwork.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| This Spectacular Aerial Video Shows the Whole LA River Before its Transformation Posted: 04 Jan 2017 12:30 AM PST At its best, architecture has the power to confront the world's most urgent social and environmental issues. The Los Angeles River sits at the center of many of these issues, thanks to the long-overdue plans to convert it from a concrete canal back into a social space and an ecological corridor; and thanks to its position as a symbol of the drought in California. In this serene video by filmmaker Chang Kim, the full length of the river is put on display, exploring a resource that is the topic of much debate in the Los Angeles area. The film comes at an important time in the river's history as several architects are in the process of lending their talents to revitalizing the river. In 2015, LA officials named Frank Gehry the leader of a pro bono effort to construct a 51-mile master plan for the area, including the development of public areas, bridges, and walking and cycling paths. Additionally, the city selected Gruen Associates to lead a team with Oyler Wu and Mia Lehrer + Associates to design a 12-mile greenway along the river. In many ways, Chang's film may be a key historical document, immortalizing the condition of the river before its transformation.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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