subota, 18. veljače 2017.

Arch Daily

ArchDaily

Arch Daily


Student Accommodation at King's Cross / Stanton Williams

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 09:00 PM PST

© Hufton+Crow © Hufton+Crow
  • Developer: King's Cross Central Limited Partnership
  • Development Manager: Argent (King's Cross) Ltd
  • Structural Engineer: AKT II
  • M&E Engineer: Grontmij
  • Cost Consultant & Employer's Agent: Davis Langdon
  • Landscape Architect: Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture
  • Acoustics: Arup
© Hufton+Crow © Hufton+Crow

From the architect. Designed by Stanton Williams, the Victoria Hall student residential building at King's Cross provides 198 bedrooms, predominantly for use by graduate students attending the Aga Khan University - Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) and the Institute for Ismaili Studies (IIS). The scheme has been developed by the King's Cross Central Limited Partnership on behalf of the Aga Khan Development Network, for whom it is the first of a planned series of buildings at the King's Cross site.

© Hufton+Crow © Hufton+Crow
© Hufton+Crow © Hufton+Crow

The design for this new residential building draws reference from the solidity of the adobe architecture of the Middle East and aims to provide a stimulating and collegiate environment for its students in the urban setting of King's Cross. 

© Hufton+Crow © Hufton+Crow

The building has been conceived as a form carved from a single block, creating two 12-storey 'bookend' wings above a ground floor plinth, flanking a central south-facing eight storey element set back from the street.  

Section Section

The primary building volume is expressed as a textured brick surface, with all recessed areas in contrasting lighter tones. In order to maintain the visual solidity of the form, light enters the building through both windows and hit and miss brickwork animating the interior living spaces with dappled light.

© Hufton+Crow © Hufton+Crow

Central to the building's character are the two courtyard gardens on the first and eighth floors that have been designed with reference to Islamic gardens found in the Andalusia region of the south of Spain, and the courtyard gardens of Morocco. Lush planting, water features and high quality stonework form the generous open communal spaces that allow residents opportunities for recreation and social interaction. 

© Hufton+Crow © Hufton+Crow

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House Vlijmen / Jan Couwenberg Architectuur

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 06:00 PM PST

© Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer

© Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer

© Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer

From the architect. In the village of Vlijmen this house was designed for an elderly couple, who wanted to keep on living in this house as long as possible. Therefore, most of the program is located on ground level, on the first floor only a spare bed- and bathroom are being made. The program of the ground floor can be seen as a compact box. This box is being perforated with voids, giving rythm and scale to the flat box. In the voids a small patio, carport, wooden Western Red Cedar parts, or windows were made. By making this rhythm the house gets  an extra layer between in- and outside.

Diagram Diagram

On top of the first ground box a small first floor was realized, featuring a pent roof starting from the top of the box. In a gentle slope the roof lifts up the entrence facade, facing a little forest and the morning sun. The morning sun penetrates the house in the open plan kitchen, where a void to the first floor also marks the heart of the house. In the ground floor plan one clear line defines the sequence of different spaces.

© Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer

The main material used is a brown brick, with a strong horizontal seam. The wooden WRC parts are placed in a vertical manner; in time they will get a grey finish being left untreated.

© Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer
Foor Plan Foor Plan
© Claudia den Boer © Claudia den Boer

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751 Creative Industrial Office Design / hyperSity office

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 02:00 PM PST

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office © hyperSity office © hyperSity office

  • Architects: hyperSity office
  • Location: Chaoyang district, Beijing, China
  • Design Team: Yang Shi, Guoling Zhang
  • Area: 150.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: hyperSity office
© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

The office of 751D·park is located in the northeast of Beijing, which is transformed from adeclined gas plant built in 1954. The factory is one of the 175 focal state-owned industrial projectsimplemented in the socialist First Five-Year Schema.There was over 1/3gas supply delivered from this factory at that time. In the turn of the 21th Century, it became the agglomeration of creative industry in Beijing.

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

In an area of about 150 square meters, the new office is on the third level of a three-storey brick building, connected the footbridge system and the boiler area. Given the heritage protection policy that strictly prevents alterations of architectural appearance, the design maintains the general feature of the factory plant with new railings, doors and windows. It also adds additional two shear walls in the building center to enhance the structural stability of the old building.

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

The lighting is exclusively made, which echoes the design of working table in irregular linear form. The sculpture-like table and lighting not only create zones within the flexibly working area, but also provide a coherent order and lively cooperated environment. 

Axonometric Axonometric
Plan Plan

To create more flexibility of the office space, the original partition wall was demolished so the entire space becomes a continuous one. The working area of the office director and pantry area are functionally separated through the division of new added shear walls. The north and south sides were designed as open working area, meeting room, bar, and the lounging area. 

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

The southern part of the office is horizontally divided into a conference room and an upper-level small tatami area.The staircases in-between not only have storage function, and also allow the setting of a smalltheater, which provide leisure activities beyond working hours. Couple of seating areas is designed next to the bar. They are usually used for casual chat, and occasionally can be transformed into working table.

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

In addition to the new design elements, the history of the old industrial buildings has integrated into the renovation of the new office. The original large instrument box was transformed into the locker room and storage space after repairmen and repainting. The terrazzo floor below the instrument box was retained and polished. The center bookshelf accommodates a large number of historical documentsand archives. The retaining blackboard and chalk writing recall the old memories implanted from the age of socialist production era.   

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

The extensive use of straw board greatly helps reducing cost and promotes the low-carbon and renewable material, as the entire project was completed in a very low budget. Complementing the minimal materiality, the application of straw board has also created a set of playful custom made furniture, lighting and spatial division, which is an exploration of the wide array of means for both designing and fabricating space.

© hyperSity office © hyperSity office

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TP House / Sawadeesign Studio

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 12:00 PM PST

© Quang Tran  © Quang Tran

© Quang Tran  © Quang Tran  © Quang Tran  © Quang Tran

  • Architects: Sawadeesign Studio
  • Location: Tuy Phong District, Binh Thuan, Vietnam
  • Architects In Charge: Đoàn Sĩ Nguyên, Huỳnh Huy Tiến, Lê Đình Mạnh, Nguyễn Ngọc Minh Quang
  • Area: 96.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2017
  • Photographs: Quang Tran
© Quang Tran  © Quang Tran

From the architect. The Vietnam South Central Coastal area has long been shaped by one-storey houses, which are simple but glamorous. We are not an exception.

© Quang Tran  © Quang Tran

The agreement to renovate an ancestral house from the 1960s was a huge challenge for the design team. Trusted by the homeowner, we have come up with a bold idea, which is not only to preserve the traditional speciality, but also to harmoniously combine it with the modern features into the construction. In order to pursue that target, we have reorganized the inner spaces, as well as simplified the house function. Generally, the house is divided following the rule of thirds (1:3), segregating tradition and modernity. 

In the worship space, the homeowner wants to make use of the old interior. 

© Quang Tran  © Quang Tran

The living space is separated by using the furniture, combining with an inner garden and a big skylight, which enhances the provision of natural light and plays a big role in creating of a comfortable living space.

First Floor Plan First Floor Plan

We have also considered experimenting the facade solution, which may bring something new but not too different from the surrounding neighborhood.

© Quang Tran  © Quang Tran

TP House represents a perfect combination of the traditional and local architecture with the modern one, familiar but not so popular.

© Quang Tran  © Quang Tran

Product Description. For the spinning windows system, main door and some other decorative details on the facade, we have considered using the local Pyinkado wood as the most possible material. This type of wood can be easily found at any local carpenter's shops and has long been applied in house construction. Moreover, with flexibility and water-proofing, Pyinkado wood has proved its durability through years and become a speciality of local houses.

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P-House / Sycamore

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 11:00 AM PST

© Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici

© Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici

  • Architects: Sycamore
  • Location: Viale dei Parioli, Roma, Italy
  • Architect In Charge: Raniero Botti
  • Area: 295.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2015
  • Photographs: Luigi Filetici
  • Collaborators: Letizia Licastro, Marco Dondolini, Pietro DI Grezia
© Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici

From the architect. The renovation of an apartment is always a fascinating challenge, then when we get our hands on a penthouse at the one of the most beautiful and representative streets of Rome, a penthouse from which there is even the view of the Dome of S . Peter, thus the work becomes passion.

© Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici

The pre-existence: a penthouse on two levels. central element of the project becomes the lift which with its crystal walls, becomes the main receptor of light from the top. The architectural totem is set in the heart of the apartment and is formed lightly around it, without touching it, the steel staircase.

© Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici

The interior spaces are overlooked from a pitched roof in any environment, they become dynamic volumes and the Interior Design takes a unique plasticity.

Sixth Floor Sixth Floor

The white color on the background magnifies and multiplies articulated and enclosed spaces by a terrace that surrounds the whole apartment. Few color accents on a nearly monochromatic palette, dotted with punctual light, to emphasize the primary functions, dinner, preparation and conviviality.

© Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici

The large outdoor terrace becomes the scene's representation of itself and the beauties around. The "pergotenda" structure is illuminated in its bearing elements, emphasizing the retractable awnings lightness  between them including, giving rhythm to the space during the day and night.

© Luigi Filetici  © Luigi Filetici

Product Description. The choice of materials and finishes was weighted by the desire to build an almost monochromatic space: Floor in shiny white ceramic in large format Ariostea, Absolute white.

In each space, we find this White finish, except in the kitchen, where the same material was chosen with a "textured" Onyx finish, to identify the different function, however choice also tense to heat a dominated environment by the important  technical kitchen with many details in steel with the Arclinea company.

The same kitchen in the most convivial space, the dining table, welcomes a "live" wood material.

The lighting is the mistress in every corner. The spider web with suspended wires, the Vibia's Wireflow, characterizes the living area, the same company with Skan, identifies the dining area.

All the passageways are characterized by a ceiling light beams, the Minimal60 from Xal company, simple, linear elements with dimmer devices for modulating the light at different times of the day.

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Tod Williams + Billie Tsien Win 2017 LongHouse Award, Discuss Design Ideas for Obama Presidential Library

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 09:05 AM PST

The Barnes Foundation / Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Image © The Barnes Foundation The Barnes Foundation / Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Image © The Barnes Foundation

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien have been selected of the recipients of the 2017 LongHouse Award for their "for their outstanding body of work in architecture."

At Wednesday evening's ceremony, the husband-wife team opened up about the conceptual ideas driving their yet-to-be-revealed design for the Obama Presidential Library. In a lively discussion with Vanity Fair architecture critic Paul Goldberger, the architects revealed the nature of their working relationship with the President and First Lady, and how their upcoming library may draw from what TWBT learned in designing the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien in discussion with Paul Goldberger. Image © Sean Zanni, Patrick McMullan Company Tod Williams and Billie Tsien in discussion with Paul Goldberger. Image © Sean Zanni, Patrick McMullan Company

Completed in 2012, the Barnes Foundation on Benjamin Franklin Parkway was designed as the new home of the world-class art collection that previously occupied a beaux-arts villa in the nearby Merion, Pennsylvania. Speaking about the logic behind the design of the Barnes, Williams explained how the Obama Presidential Library may be inspired by similar motivations:

"In the Barnes in Merion, you were either in the building or in the garden. We decided to bring these two together... What we did, in a way, is what we might do for the presidential library: we took the agency of the idea of the garden and combined it with the building so the building didn't exist by itself."

"The library is not only Barack Obama, it's Michelle Obama – two amazing people, and people who have very different and powerful separate views. So plurality is critical to solving all architectural problems. It can never been done by a single thing, it has to be using the agency of other elements, in particular the garden."

The "Gallery in a Garden" at The Barnes Foundation. Image © The Barnes Foundation The "Gallery in a Garden" at The Barnes Foundation. Image © The Barnes Foundation

Responding to a question about the architects' relationship with the Obamas (described by Goldberger as 'sympatico'), Williams drew parallels between the two couples:

"I think he realized nothing could really be done without her, that's the extraordinary thing, it's a true relationship. And that's why we put together the idea of architecture in the garden, because these are as different as Billie and I are, or as Barack and Michelle are. I think it's a pretty easy relationship because of his respect for her, and her respect for him."

"I think the interesting thing was, what we talk about is for a set of principles and ideas rather than specific buildings, and then the buildings became an expression of the principles, so in that way it is much more fluid as a process of designing something because first you agree on the principles."

The 2017 LongHouse Award Ceremony, held at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects . Image © Sean Zanni, Patrick McMullan Company The 2017 LongHouse Award Ceremony, held at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects . Image © Sean Zanni, Patrick McMullan Company

Well-known for their elegant architecture that centers around the idea of permanence, Williams and Tsien recounted how the Obamas suggested the building take on a strong presence of its own:

"He said it was too unflashy," explained Tsien. "He looked at what we did and he said, 'I said you could be sort of quiet, but I think you're a little too quiet.'

The 2017 LongHouse Award. Image © Sean Zanni, Patrick McMullan Company The 2017 LongHouse Award. Image © Sean Zanni, Patrick McMullan Company

Housing the presidential archives, a museum and the headquarters for the Obama Foundation, The Obama Presidential Library will be located in the Jackson Park neighborhood of Chicago's South side, and is expected to be completed by 2021.

Now in their 26th season, The LongHouse Reserve is a 16-acre museum and garden in East Hampton founded by internationally acclaimed textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen with the goal of expanding the imagination and appeal of art to visitors of all ages and every level of appreciation. Learn more about the institution, here.

News via LongHouse Reserve.

Barack Obama Presidential Center Selects Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

Obamas Select South Chicago Site for Presidential Library

The Barnes Foundation / Tod Williams + Billie Tsien

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Jeu de curseurs / Wild Architecture

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 09:00 AM PST

© Jérôme Ricolleau             © Jérôme Ricolleau

© Jérôme Ricolleau             © Jérôme Ricolleau             © Jérôme Ricolleau             © Jérôme Ricolleau

© Jérôme Ricolleau             © Jérôme Ricolleau

The establishment of the project "ESAT Henri Robin" (an organization which provides car through employment) results from the following considerations:
-Lenghtwise establishment in a North/South way, identical to the nearby sites
-Reinterpretation of the warehouse's typology : long buildings with two identical roof sides

© Jérôme Ricolleau             © Jérôme Ricolleau

Visitors and staff enter the office center through a landscape strip and a sheltered forecourt. A plant-covered courtyard connects the different workshops and ensures private areas to the users. On the North-West part of the site, a technical courtyard insures the receipt of merchandise. Working on a lengthwise basis, we set up a slider logic in which each hub owes a building appropriate to these spatial issues. 

Floor Plan Floor Plan

The principal of material distinguishes the gables from the other frontages of each building – we have a wood cladding system ahead of colored panels on the bottom part. The upper part of the frontage is made of polycarbonate in order to provide a diffuse light. The lateral frontages present more neutral material : a natural aluminum corrugated cladding. 

© Jérôme Ricolleau             © Jérôme Ricolleau

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Fernando Abbott 866 / Arquitetura Nacional

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 07:00 AM PST

© Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi

© Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi

  • Architects: Arquitetura Nacional
  • Location: Rua Fernando Abbott, 866 - Cristo Redentor, Porto Alegre - RS, 91040-360, Brazil
  • Architect In Charge: Arquitetura Nacional
  • Area: 2115.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Marcelo Donadussi
  • Structural Project: Carpeggiani Projetos Estruturais
  • Mep Project: Asolon Engenharia Projeto Elétrico: Proinst
  • Incorporation: CSR Incorporadora
© Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi

From the architect. The building is located in ​​the city of Porto Alegre. The traditional neighborhood is going through a transition process - the old houses are given way to small and medium sized buildings. The site is located on a corner with a very interesting view of the city and the airport. However, being at a high altitude level, it is strongly influenced by the municipality laws

© Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi

The privileged view - at the back of the lot - was the starting point for the layout of the apartments: as a project premise, all units should view the sunset. As there was no possibility of fitting two apartments linearly per floor (facing the view) it was decided to also use duplex apartments. Therefore, in every two floors, two apartments are linear and one is duplex.

© Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi

The concept of the project seeks the individuality of each housing unit through the idea of ​​stacked houses, which is very evident in the volume - each apartment is easily identified on 3 facades. The different typologies of apartments reflect the different ways of living of the users: the duplex apartments have 89m² and have social and intimate areas well separated, while the linear apartments have 87m² and seek a greater integration between the two programs. The duplex apartment on the ground floor has a very generous patio and the penthouse apartment occupies the whole floor.

Section Section

By emphasize the volumes of the apartments the concrete structure creates a frame around each volume, where the windows are displayed randomly on the side facades. In the back facade, facing the view, the windows are opened to the maximum. The common areas of the building (halls, stairs and elevators) are located in the front of the building (facing the main street), increasing the privacy of the apartments.

© Marcelo Donadussi © Marcelo Donadussi

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Changing Climate, Changing Cities: The New York Times Launches Series on the Urban Effects of Climate Change

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 06:10 AM PST

Mexico City is home to more than 20 million people. Image © Flickr user kc_aplosweb. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 Mexico City is home to more than 20 million people. Image © Flickr user kc_aplosweb. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Contrary to some beliefs, climate change is not simply some unidentifiable threat perpetually on the horizon, but a phenomenon that has already had real impact on real world places. To illustrate the effects of our changing environment, the New York Times has launched a new multi-media series called "Changing Climate, Changing Cities," written by architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, that aims to expose how climate change is "challenging the world's urban centers.

The first installment takes a look Mexico City, where environmental issues that have already wreaked havoc for centuries, such as water shortage and ground subsidence, are beginning to see their effects multiplied by the city's changing climate. The piece explains the root of these problems, and their effect of an already fragile infrastructure and social fabric.

Check out the full interactive in English here, and in Spanish here.

News via The New York Times.

Michael Kimmelman and The NYT Release Multimedia Presentation on Why "Sound Matters"

Why 2015's Most Important Design In Architecture Isn't A Building, But A New York Times Article

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Yin-Yang House / Brooks + Scarpa Architects

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 05:00 AM PST

© John Linden © John Linden

© John Linden © John Linden © John Linden © John Linden

  • General Contractor: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA – Lead Designer, Principal-in-Charge Ching Luk, Senior Designer, Emily Hodgdon,
  • Structural Engineer: Charles Tan
  • Solar Panels: M & M Solar
© John Linden © John Linden

The Yin-Yang House is a single-family home in a quiet Venice, CA neighborhood.  The design objective was to create a space for a large and growing family with several children, which would create a calm, relaxed and organized environment that emphasizes public family space.   The home is also meant to serve as a place to entertain and a welcoming space for teenagers as they seek social space with friends. 

© John Linden © John Linden

The home is organized around a series of courtyards and other outdoor spaces that integrate with the interior of the house. Facing the street the house appears to be solid.  However, behind the steel entry door is a courtyard, which reveals the indoor-outdoor nature of the house behind the solid exterior.  From the entry courtyard, the entire space to the rear garden wall can be seen; the first clue of the home's spatial connection between inside and out.  These spaces are designed for entertainment, and the 50 foot sliding glass door to the living room enhances the harmonic relationship of the main room, allowing the owners to host many guests without the feeling of being overburdened.

Courtesy of  Brooks + Scarpa 
 Courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa 


The tensions of the house's exterior are subtly underscored by a 12-inch steel band that hews close to, but sometimes rises above or falls below the floor line of the second floor – a continuous loop moving inside and out like a pen that is never lifted from the page, but reinforces the intent to spatially weave together as a single space the indoors with the outside space.

© John Linden © John Linden

Scale manipulation also plays a formal role in the design of the structure. From the back, the house appears to be a single-story volume. The large master bedroom window and the outdoor steps are scaled to support this illusion. It is only when the steps are animated with people that one realizes the true scale of the house is two stories.

Courtesy of  Brooks + Scarpa 
 Courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa 


The kitchen is the heart of the house, with an open working area that allows the owner, an accomplished chef, to chat with friends while cooking.  Bedrooms are intentionally designed to be very small and simple, to provide larger public spaces, emphasizing the family over individual domains. The breakfast room looks across an outdoor courtyard to the guest room/kids playroom, establishing a visual connection while defining the separation of uses. The children can play outdoors while under adult supervision from the dining area or the office, or do homework in the office while adults occupy the adjacent outdoor or indoor space.

© John Linden © John Linden

Many of the materials used, including the bamboo interior, composite stone and tile countertops and bathroom finishes are recycled, and reinforce the environmental DNA of the house, which also has a green roof. Blown-in cellulose insulation, radiant heating and a host of other sustainable features aids in the performance of the building's heating and cooling. 

Courtesy of  Brooks + Scarpa 
 Courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa 


The active systems in the home include a 12 KW solar photovoltaic panel system, the largest such residential system available on the market. The solar panels also provide shade from the sun, preventing the house from becoming overheated. The owners have been in the home have yet to receive a power bill.

© John Linden © John Linden

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80 at 80 Exhibition to Celebrate the Architectural Career of Sir Peter Cook

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 04:00 AM PST

Courtesy of Bartlett School of Architecture Courtesy of Bartlett School of Architecture

The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, is celebrating the opening of its new building at 22 Gordon Street with an exhibition of work by visionary architect Sir Peter Cook. Running from 23 February to 10 March 2017, the exhibition marks Sir Peter's 80th year with a celebration of 80 of his inspired and pioneering projects.

Plug-in City / Archigram. Image © Peter Cook Plug-in City / Archigram. Image © Peter Cook

As a founder member of the group Archigram in the 1960s, Peter envisioned new possibilities for architecture. From his Archigram days through to his work today at CRAB studio (the Cook-Robotham Architecture Bureau), Peter has always paralleled design with teaching. His work spans experimental projects such as the seminal Plug-In City through to the famous blue buildings of Graz and Bournemouth. His drawings and projects are in the Permanent Collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Deutsches Architektur Museum, the Centre Pompidou and FRAC in Orléans. As Chair of The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, from 1990 to 2005, Peter has attracted staff and students from across the world and succeeded in transforming The Bartlett into a leading centre for creative design.

The exhibition will be the largest and most comprehensive of Sir Peter's current exhibitions, which have taken place in Berlin, Cologne and Munich. It covers five themes:

  • Architecture and Vegetation

  • Radical City Structures

  • Colour and Invention

  • Line before Colour

  • Satellite Ideas

There will also be a curated programme of archive film and video that extends back to the 1960s.

Opening times

23 February to 10 March 2017, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Closed Sundays.

This exhibition is supported by ABB, James Latham Timber and thestudentprint.club

Press release via The Bartlett School of Architecture.

Peter Cook on How Drawing Enables Architects to Learn, Communicate and Experiment

Spotlight: Peter Cook

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Islington Maisonette / Larissa Johnston Architects

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 03:00 AM PST

©  Rory Gardiner        © Rory Gardiner

©  Rory Gardiner        ©  Rory Gardiner        ©  Rory Gardiner        ©  Rory Gardiner

  • Structural Engineer: Rodrigues Associates
  • Party Wall Surveyor: Watkinson & Cosgrave
  • Approved Inspector: BRCS
  • Contractor: TZ Building
  • Interior Styling: Emma Lynne Archer
©  Rory Gardiner        © Rory Gardiner

Located in a conservation area in Islington, this Victorian maisonette has been reconfigured and extended, to convert a previously dark, segmented property into a light, spacious and modern family home.

©  Rory Gardiner        © Rory Gardiner

One of the key issues with the property previously, was that the living spaces lacked any connection with the rear external courtyard which felt detached and unusable. Consequently the bedrooms have been relocated from the lower to the upper level, and the kitchen, living and dining areas are moved to the lower floor to enjoy a direct relationship with the courtyard garden. The property has been extended to the rear with large glazed sliding doors and a continuous floor surface ensuring a seamless relationship between internal and external space. 

©  Rory Gardiner        © Rory Gardiner

The lower level is made open plan to maximise the sense of spaciousness. To achieve clean lines, all of the new supporting steelwork is fully concealed within the thickness of the building fabric. Inserted within the large open plan space is a compact and efficient plywood 'box' which incorporates a fitted kitchen, staircase, storage, and a desk with adjacent shelving. A utility room and cloakroom are neatly tucked beneath the stairs.  The 'box' also serves to conceal the lowered floor level of the study area /half landing, which could not be raised due to the configuration of the property above. This allows for a continuous high ceiling soffit throughout the main space.

Lower Ground Floor Plan Before Lower Ground Floor Plan Before
Lower Ground Floor Plan After Lower Ground Floor Plan After

Natural materials comprising timber, plywood, stainless steel, polished concrete and white plaster are used throughout. The restrained nature of the material palette complements the simplicity of the spaces. 

©  Rory Gardiner        © Rory Gardiner

The white rendered facade of the extension provides continuity with the internal white plaster. It also responds to the existing context of adjacent houses which have retained their original white rendered base below the brickwork.

©  Rory Gardiner        © Rory Gardiner

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Jenny Sabin Studio Selected as Winner of the MoMA PS1 2017 Young Architects Program

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 02:00 AM PST

Jenny Sabin Studio. Lumen. 2017 (rendering). Winner of the Young Architects Program 2017, MoMA PS1, New York. Image Courtesy of Jenny Sabin Studio Jenny Sabin Studio. Lumen. 2017 (rendering). Winner of the Young Architects Program 2017, MoMA PS1, New York. Image Courtesy of Jenny Sabin Studio

Lumen by Jenny Sabin Studio has been named the winner of The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1's annual Young Architects Program. Opening on June 27 in the MoMA PS1 courtyard, this year's construction is an immersive design that evolves over the course of a day, providing a cooling respite from the midday sun and a responsive glowing light after sundown. Drawn from among five finalists, Jenny Sabin Studio's Lumen will serve as a temporary urban landscape for the 20th season of Warm Up, MoMA PS1's pioneering outdoor music series. Lumen will remain on view through the summer.

Now in its 18th edition, the Young Architects Program at The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 has offered emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and present innovative projects, challenging each year's winners to develop creative designs for a temporary, outdoor installation that provides shade, seating, and water. The architects must also work within guidelines that address environmental issues, including sustainability and recycling.

Made of responsive tubular structures in a lightweight knitted fabric, Lumen features a canopy of recycled, photo-luminescent, and solar active textiles that absorb, collect, and deliver light. A misting system responds to visitors' proximity, activating fabric stalactites that produce a refreshing micro-climate. Socially and environmentally responsive, Lumen's multisensory environment is inspired by collective levity, play, and interaction as the structure and materials transform throughout the day and night, adapting to the densities of bodies, heat, and sunlight.

"The Young Architects Program remains one of the most significant opportunities for architects and designers from across the country and world to build radical yet transformative ideas. This year's finalists are no exception; their projects illustrate a diversity of approaches and refreshing ideas for architecture today," said Sean Anderson, Associate Curator in MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design. "Jenny Sabin's catalytic immersive environment, Lumen, captured the jury's attention for imaginatively merging public and private spaces. With innovative construction and design processes borne from a critical merging of technology and nature to precise attention to detail at every scale, Lumen will no doubt engage visitors from day to night in a series of graduated environments and experiences."

Jenny Sabin Studio. Lumen. 2017 (rendering). Winner of the Young Architects Program 2017, MoMA PS1, New York. Image Courtesy of Jenny Sabin Studio Jenny Sabin Studio. Lumen. 2017 (rendering). Winner of the Young Architects Program 2017, MoMA PS1, New York. Image Courtesy of Jenny Sabin Studio

Klaus Biesenbach, MoMA PS1 Director and MoMA Chief Curator at Large adds, "In its 18th iteration, this annual competition offered jointly by the Architecture and Design Department at MoMA and MoMA PS1 continues to take risks and encourage experimentation among architects. Jenny Sabin's Lumen is a socially and environmentally responsive structure that spans practices and disciplines in its exploratory approach to new materials. Held in tension within the walls of MoMA PS1's courtyard, Lumen turns visitors into participants who interact with its responsiveness to temperature, sunlight, and movement."

The other finalists for this year's MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program were Bureau Spectacular (Jimenez Lai and Joanna Grant), Ania Jaworska, Office of III (Sean Canty, Ryan Golenberg and Stephanie Lin), and SCHAUM/SHIEH (Rosalyne Shieh and Troy Schaum). An exhibition of the five finalists' proposed projects will be on view at The Museum of Modern Art over the summer, organized by Sean Anderson, Associate Curator, with Arièle Dionne-Krosnick, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.

Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported the Young Architects Program since 2007. In 2016, MoMA PS1 and The Museum of Modern Art were thrilled to announce that this lead sponsorship had been extended for three years, enabling the Young Architects Program to thrive and excite audiences through summer 2018.

About Jenny Sabin Studio

Jenny Sabin Studio is an architectural design firm that investigates the intersections of architecture and science, biology, and mathematics. The principal, Jenny E. Sabin, is the Arthur L. and Isabel B. Wiesenberger Assistant Professor in the area of Design and Emerging Technologies and the newly-appointed Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Architecture at Cornell University. She is also the Director of the Sabin Design Lab at Cornell AAP, a trans-disciplinary design research lab with specialization in computational design, data visualization, and digital fabrication. Sabin's awards include the AIA Henry Adams first prize medal, the Arthur Spayd Brooke gold medal, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, a USA Knight Fellowship in Architecture, the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects and a national IVY Innovator in design. Sabin has exhibited nationally and internationally including in the 9th ArchiLab at FRAC Centre, Orleans, France and Beauty, the 5th Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial in New York City. Upcoming exhibitions include Imprimer Le Monde at the Pompidou Centre, Paris, France.

Selection Process

To choose an architectural firm for the 2017 Young Architects Program, deans of architecture schools and the editors of architecture publications nominate around 50 firms comprised of recent architectural school graduates, junior faculty, and established architects experimenting with new styles or techniques. These finalists are asked to submit portfolios of their work for review by a panel including Glenn D. Lowry, Director of The Museum of Modern Art; Kathy Halbreich, Associate Director at The Museum of Modern Art; Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator at Large at the Museum of Modern Art; Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, The Museum of Modern Art; Martino Stierli, Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art; Sean Anderson, Associate Curator of Architecture at The Museum of Modern Art.

Design Team

Project lead and manager: Dillon Pranger
Design & Representation: Jingyang Liu Leo, Diego Blanco, Mark Lien
Robotic Fabrication: Andrew Moorman and Andres Gutierrez
Virtual Reality: Christopher Morse
Content Coordination: Jordan Berta
Model Assistance: Jasmine Liu
Video: Cole Skaggs
Engineering Design: Clayton Binkley, Arup
Lighting Design: Jeffrey Nash
Knit Fabrication: Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT
Misting Systems: Mist Cooling Inc. with special thanks to Larry Geohring

History

This year marks the 20th summer that MoMA PS1 has hosted an architectural installation and music series in its outdoor space, though it is only the 18th year of the Young Architects Program, which began in 2000. The inaugural project was an architecturally based 1998 installation by the Austrian artist collective Gelatin. In 1999, Philip Johnson's DJ Pavilion celebrated the historic affiliation of MoMA PS1 and MoMA. The previous winners of the Young Architects Program are SHoP/Sharples Holden Pasquarelli (2000), ROY (2001), William E. Massie (2002), Tom Wiscombe / EMERGENT (2003), nARCHITECTS (2004), Xefirotarch (2005), OBRA (2006), Ball-Nogues (2007), WORKac (2008), MOS (2009), Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu (2010), Interboro Partners (2011), HWKN (2012), CODA (2013), The Living (2014),  Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation (2015), and Escobedo Soliz Studio (2016).

To learn more, check out our exclusive interview with Jenny Sabin:

 

ArchiLab, Naturalizing Architecture: The Architects

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The Simplicity of Iranian Architecture's Complex Geometry

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 01:30 AM PST

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

Iran's geography consists largely of a central desert plateau, surrounded by mountain ranges. Due to the country being mostly covered by earth, sand, and rock, Iranian architecture makes fantastic use of brick or adobe elements. Most of the buildings seen in larger cities such as Tehran and Isfahan are constructed using similar brick-laying methods as can been seen in other parts of the world, but certain constructions, usually ones that date further back, contain incredible geometrical treasures. And it doesn't stop there - old Iranian architecture often contains a layer of tiles over the brick constructions that can create just as mesmerizing geometrical wonders. The art of creating complexity by using many incredibly simple elements is one that has been mastered in Iran. In an architectural world where construction has become hidden by layers of plaster and plywood, we could learn a lot from the beauty of Iran's structural geometry, where skin and structure are (almost always) one and the same.

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

Brick/Adobe

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

The common brick is something we are all quite familiar with; fired clay in the shape of a rectangular cuboid. Adobe, which most people are less familiar with, is the name for a compressed mixture of sand, silt, clay, water, and sometimes straw, to form the shape of an extruded square that is often seen in Iranian architecture. Different combinations are used to create different forms such as arches or ornamentation. Sometimes the adobe or brick is covered in plaster as protection, creating the impression of a single carved form.

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus
© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus
© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus
© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

Tiles

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

Most commonly seen in mosques, the brick or adobe domes, arches and decorative entrances are occasionally covered in brightly colored tiles. The tiles, like the clay elements, are small individual pieces that come together to form a complex, organic geometry. From afar they appear to be one continuous facade, but up close one can easily see the gaps in between each crooked tile.

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus
© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

Wood

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

Before architects began installing glass, windows and doors were often made up of beautiful geometric wooden webs, constructed of hundreds of small, wooden sticks, cut to fit together perfectly - another example of the skilled ways in which Iranian craftsmen took a simple element, multiplied it and arranged it in order to create something incredibly intricate.

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus
© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

Carvings

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

At Persepolis, a site estimated to be over 2500 years old, exists another example of the complexity achieved by building up a series of elementary components. Along the stone walls of the ruins are carvings of people, soldiers, kings, queens, and animals all very nearly perfect in relation to one another. The ability to carve the exact same solider over 10 times in a row without using a template or an automatic machine was achieved by carving them out step by step, just like building a wall brick by brick. One craftsman carved out the general form, another defined it, a third carved out the details, and a fourth focused on the beard and hair.

Contemporary architecture

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

At the architecture school in the desert city of Yazd, students have explored contemporary ways of combining simple elements with a goal of creating a final structure that is geometrically advanced. Examples include textiles, string, and wires, using the design concepts of traditional Iranian handicraft to produce something just as exciting within modern architecture.

© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus
© Ariana Zilliacus © Ariana Zilliacus

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Tourist Access Adaptation to the Domes of The Cathedral of Malaga / Marina Uno Arquitectos

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 01:00 AM PST

© Imagen Subliminal © Imagen Subliminal

©  Lluis Casals ©  Lluis Casals ©  Lluis Casals © Imagen Subliminal

  • Architects: Marina Uno Arquitectos
  • Location: Calle Molina Lario, 9, 29015 Málaga, España
  • Architect In Charge: Gabriel Ruiz Cabrero, Juan Manuel Sánchez La Chica, Adolfo de la Torre Prieto
  • Area: 247.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2014
  • Photographs: Imagen Subliminal, Lluis Casals
  • Techincal Architect: Pablo Cassesnoves Campodarve
©  Lluis Casals © Lluis Casals

The result of the building process in which Malaga’s cathedral has been immersed in since 1524 is that even though it possesses a notable architectural unity, it is lacking a clearly defined style. Over these—practically—five hundred years, there have been periods of considerable advance in its construction, like the 16th century, during which the fortress-like apse was built with airs of the Renaissance, and the 18th century, in which the choir nave and the main facade were materialized with the looks of a Baroque palace. The cathedral’s governing body insistence on maintaining the unity of the temple, made the 18th century architects realize a project that, even though it belongs to its day, is laid out upon previously built parts.

©  Lluis Casals © Lluis Casals

Towards the end of the 18th century, due to a lack of funds, all work was stopped. Two sacristies, the southern tower and the roofs were never built.

© Imagen Subliminal © Imagen Subliminal

The unfinished situation of Malaga’s cathedral, with its lack of a roof covering which leaves the outer surfaces of the vaults visible from the outside, has generated a space that is a kind of elevated plaza above the city. This space is situated forty meters above the ground floor and offers visitors a three hundred and sixty degree perspective above the city. With the goal of making it easier to reach this space, the current project is carried out to improve of certain itineraries, including the adaptation of the ascent to this privileged place, upgrading security and lighting conditions, in accordance to the activity that is to take place.

©  Lluis Casals © Lluis Casals

But the design is not merely a way of making this privileged space accessible, it also becomes a true promenade architecturale, an artistic itinerary. The tour provides an ascent through stairways of diverse geometries and extraordinary masonry work, strolls on the terraces over the chapels and views to the interior of the temple from above. Multiple romos covered by stone vaults mark the ascent, serving as resting spaces along the itinerary as well as possible  exhibition areas.

Axonometric Axonometric
Axonometric Axonometric

The itinerary through these spaces and the contemplation of the views from the upper levels of the cathedral’s vaults not only allows to grasp the entire building and its historical evolution, but it also helps to understand the city that has grown at its feet.

Basically, the intervention has three parts: a system of railings that avert the risk of falling has been placed; a series of platforms and stairs to overcome the existing drops have been built to generate contemplation and resting spaces, and a lighting system has been installed that allows night tours.

Floor Plan Floor Plan
Axonometric Axonometric

In contrast with the overwhelming presence of masonry work, we have used materials such as wood and metal for this installation. Even though they have a degree of presence within the space, they can be disassembled. Each and every one of the elements added by this intervention has been anchored into the joints of the masonry work so that, if deemed necessary, everything can be removed without leaving a trace.

©  Lluis Casals © Lluis Casals

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New Type of Marble Protection Derived From Human Teeth and Bones

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 12:00 AM PST

Courtesy of Pixabay User Falco License Public Domain Courtesy of Pixabay User Falco License Public Domain

Researchers at Princeton University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have discovered that hydroxyapatite, the primary compound found in human teeth and bones, can be used to help preserve the condition of marble, which is prone to cracking and deteriorating as a result of the effects of pollution and the weather.

"In spite of being apparently very durable, marble is actually sensitive to several deterioration processes," said visiting postdoctoral researcher Enrico Sassoni, who is also leading the investigation. "Environmental temperature variations cause the opening of cracks inside marble, and rain causes dissolution of the carved surface."

© Giampietro Meneghelli © Giampietro Meneghelli

Being composed of the mineral calcite, marble naturally reacts with a phosphate salt water solution to create the hydroxyapatite. The water enters and strengthens the stone by sealing cracks from within, without affecting its color or reflectivity.

Hydroxyapatite is also non-toxic and easy to apply, adding to its advantages as a new sealant for marble. It also takes effect within 24 hours of application.

Princeton's research team is additionally testing whether the compound is strengthened with the addition of alcohol and electric currents. With the help of sculpture restorers, a preliminary test of the hydroxyapatite's performance is planned for the sculptures at the Palace of Versailles.

News via: Princeton University and H/T Curbed

Marble Quarrying Looks Even More Awesome Than You Imagined

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How Architects Realized the Curving, Twisted, Slanted Walls in Toyo Ito's Mexican Museum

Posted: 16 Feb 2017 10:00 PM PST

© Patrick Lopez Jaimes / Danstek © Patrick Lopez Jaimes / Danstek

This article is part of our 'Innovative Materials' series where we ask architects about the creative process behind choosing the materials they use in their work.

The Museo Internacional del Barroco (International Baroque Museum) by Toyo Ito is located 7km from Puebla, Mexico. The place is noted for its easy access, not only for cars, but also for being connected to a network of bike paths and public transport. In this interview we spoke with Alejandro Bribiesca Ortega and Miriam Carrada.

What were the main materials used for this project?

AB / MC: Undoubtedly the most important material in the project was concrete, as it made it possible to bring Toyo Ito’s design to life, including its curved and twisted walls up to 15 meters high that lean up to 17° in places.

Courtesy of Toyo Ito Courtesy of Toyo Ito

The construction system, specially designed for the MIB, used precast concrete walls and slabs that, in addition to being the structure of the building itself, give the final finishing. The slabs, composed of precast gray concrete tablets 7 cm thick, use recycled PET spheres to make them lighter; While the panels that make up the walls are formed by two plates of white concrete between 15 and 21 meters high and 36 cm thick that, once placed in place, were cast with gray concrete to form monolithic sandwich walls.

Courtesy of Miriam Carrada Legaria Courtesy of Miriam Carrada Legaria

What were the major sources of inspiration and influence in selecting the materials?

AB / MC: Whatever material we used had to correspond to the design of the building and make a single, solid unit. In other words, the curved and complex shape had to be made in such a way that the architectural elements were minimized as much as possible to create exhibition spaces of large clearings and express two of the basic concepts of design: fluidity and natural light and shading, respecting the height and angle of the components.

Courtesy of Takayuki Ohara Martínez Courtesy of Takayuki Ohara Martínez

To do that, we looked for a material that let us make the structure of the building and, simultaneously, gave the final finishing. The system we used allowed to do that and at the same time bring down costs by using less white concrete in the structure.

Describe how the decisions made on which materials to use played a role within the concept design.

AB / MC: During the design process, many formal possibilities and spatial configurations were explored in order to arrive at a proposal that, according to the design team, best suited the needs of the project. The idea of ​​possible materials, in this case concrete, emerged throughout this process in which, by means of scale models and drawings, the shape was defined. The curves, twists and angles in components that were very tall and thin needed a resistant, malleable material that could be bought in Mexico.

Courtesy of Takayuki Ohara Martínez Courtesy of Takayuki Ohara Martínez

What advantages did these materials offer during construction?

AB / MC: The use of prefabricated concrete elements offered many advantages over an on-site casting system. By using sandwich we reduced the amount of shite concrete we needed by 70% and we were able to reduce the amount of centering by 50% by modulating the shape and using molds on site. Also the system allowed to optimize resources, to have better quality control during construction and assembly and to follow the project’s progress closely. But certainly the most important advantage was shortening the construction time of the structure to only 27 weeks.

Courtesy of Takayuki Ohara Martínez Courtesy of Takayuki Ohara Martínez

Did you face any challenges due to the materials you’d selected?

AB / MC: While constructing the MIB with prefabricated concrete elements brought many advantages, it was also a challenge throughout the entire process, since this construction system had not been used in the country before. The first challenge was to industrialize the shape, so we needed to make a 3D model of the building and used it to accurately modulate the 55 walls to get the greatest number of equal panels without affecting the original design. From that model we got the different types of panels and their shapes, including all the gaps, spans, and installation steps since once they were manufactured, the panels could not be altered.

Courtesy of Toyo Ito Courtesy of Toyo Ito

According to the design and modulation, the building was to consist of 701 panels that were between 15 and 21 meters in length and 36 centimeters thick and classified into three types: straight sandwich, curved-sandwich and solid curved mass of white concrete. We needed enough panels so that the four mounting fronts working simultaneously on the site were continuously covered.  We did that through a rigorous manufacturing program based on the use of 65 different molds specially designed for this project that let us make each piece in just 3 days.

Courtesy of Toyo Ito Courtesy of Toyo Ito

Putting the panels of walls and slabs together to make one monolithic structure was perhaps the most complex process and required many tests before doing  any work on site. Once the topographic equipment was used to place the panels into their exact positions, casting had to be done in such a way as to guarantee the sandwich panels resisted the pressure from the concrete while covering all the spaces in the interior, because at such great height and between such dense steel we couldn't vibrate the concrete (to settle it into place). The solution was to make 2 to 5 meters partial castings with a thin, almost liquid self-compacting concrete that is easily distributed within the structure.

Was any other possible material considered for the project? And if so, how would the design have changed?

Courtesy of Toyo Ito Courtesy of Toyo Ito

AB / MC: Once the design was defined and the offer given in Mexico, we only thought about using concrete thanks to  its strength, timelessness and malleability. Although the MIB was conceptualized to be build using concrete casts on site, changing the system didn’t seriously affect the design. Some adjustments were made like standardizing the curves and the dimensions of apertures in order to facilitate the mass production of the prefabricated panels.

How did you research and choose suppliers or contractors for the materials used in the project?

AB / MC:  Prior to construction, the MIB team explored different construction solutions available in Mexico. During that process of research and analysis the company we ended up contacting, Danstek, backed by Fapresa , stood out. They specialized in the construction of prefabricated concrete and showed great interest in the project and made a mock-up of one of the panels while demonstrating its production capacity to meet the project’s demands within the required time and most importantly, emphasized their willingness to collaborate with the team to design the best construction solution for the building.

© Patrick Lopez Jaimes / Danstek © Patrick Lopez Jaimes / Danstek

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Total Space: Considering Dutch Structuralism Today

Posted: 16 Feb 2017 09:30 PM PST

Piet Blom, the Speelhuis Theatre and Cube Houses, c. 1974. Blom drew the roofs of the theatre with some of the surrounding 188 houses. The star-shaped void for admitting daylight is created by omitting one cube. Image © Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Blom, P. / Archive (BLOM), inv. nr. BLOM137 Piet Blom, the Speelhuis Theatre and Cube Houses, c. 1974. Blom drew the roofs of the theatre with some of the surrounding 188 houses. The star-shaped void for admitting daylight is created by omitting one cube. Image © Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Blom, P. / Archive (BLOM), inv. nr. BLOM137

In this article, Dirk van den Heuvel links (Dutch) Structuralism to current day developments – more specifically in the digital realm. The following essay was first published by Volume in their 50th issue, Beyond Beyond, the editorial of which is available to read here.

Throughout his life the Dutch architect Jaap Bakema (1914-1981) sought to convey to his students and colleagues the notion of what he called 'total space', 'total life', and 'total urbanization'. In his view, architectural design had to help in making people aware of the larger environment to which they belong and in which they operate. Architecture could not be uncoupled from urbanism, it was related to the deeper structure of society. His conceptualization of architecture was programme and process based and it put social and visual relationships at the centre, which betrays his adherence to Structuralism as voiced in the Dutch journal Forum of which he was an editor together with Van Eyck and Hertzberger, and to the Team 10 discourse, of which he himself was one of the leading voices. At the same time, Bakema would expand on the legacy of the Dutch De Stijl movement and Dutch Functionalism. In particular his concept of space and spatial continuity is derived from De Stijl. His diagrammatic approach to architectural design and programmatic organization, as well as the elementary architectural language of his projects were elaborations of the Dutch Functionalist tradition.

Particular to Bakema's approach, and his friends of Dutch Forum and Team 10, was the way these theoretical notions were articulated architecturally as an interrelated system of transitional spaces, elements, filters et cetera, from the doorstep to the street to the larger city and the landscape. For Bakema cum suis, such a socio-spatial system of relays and switches would allow for the citizens to navigate the post-war realities of a new emergent consumerism and state-controlled planning by individual option. However, within the context of the welfare state, that established a redistributive bureaucracy of resources, industrial production and wealth accumulation, the 'total' aspect of the new environmental thinking all too often yielded egalitarianism and free-choice to apparently 'totalitarian' planning practices of pre-programmed encounters and choices. It wasn't until the 1970s when the seemingly endless expansion of this economic system broke down and a new regime based on the so-called free-market ideology replaced the old redistributive system.

Office of Van den Broek and Bakema. Siemens headquarters in Munich, 1971. Breakdown of the functional program. Image © Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Architectenbureau Van den Broek en Bakema / Archive (BROX), inv. nr. BROXf1772. Office of Van den Broek and Bakema. Siemens headquarters in Munich, 1971. Breakdown of the functional program. Image © Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Architectenbureau Van den Broek en Bakema / Archive (BROX), inv. nr. BROXf1772.

Megastructure

'Growth and Change', 'Habitat', 'Ascending Dimensions' and the 'Aesthetics of Number' were all key terms that Bakema linked to a political programme for a social-democratic, egalitarian and open society as embodied by the Western European welfare state system. Other words of the period that were most characteristic of the avant-garde circles in which Bakema moved, included the by-now familiar ones of 'network', 'patterns', 'environment', 'metabolism' or 'ecological urbanism'. While the welfare state system has withered under the rise of neo-liberal politics, many of these historical terms from the 1950s and 60s are still current in describing the transformations of our urban lifestyles and environments under the influence of new digital information technologies. Most notably, in his recent book The Stack, On Software and Sovereignty digital design theorist Benjamin Bratton uses one of the foremost architectural concepts of the 1960s when he speaks of an 'accidental megastucture' to explain the conglomerate of ICT-infrastructures that created a new 'global' reality.

The new freedoms accommodated by the new technologies together with global, inter-state judicial arrangements are experienced as quite ambigious, to say the least. As is well-known these arrangements enable by-passing and undermining state-control through outsourcing and tax evasion. The new social freedoms as designed by the global platforms of Facebook and the like currently meet similar distrust since the platforms have transformed themselves into not only aggregates of private data but also production machines for new private data to be traded as merchandise. So, just as the all-inclusive, public welfare state system of good intentions created its own paranoia, today the ubiquity of the new private technologies of security, ease and comfort paradoxically brings about a constant nervousness without any prospect of relief or relaxation. In the late 1990s, during the first hype around the new possibilities as enabled by internet technologies, some voices already warned for 'ideological smoothness' in architecture and planning (Michael Hays, for instance), yet all sorts of neo-Deleuzean concepts - horizontal, rhizomatic, swarm-based - were recycled as to promote a new libertarian freedom away from state control systems. Interestingly enough, Bratton's concept of the accidental megastructure of the ICT-technologies as a 'stack' acknowledges the new vertical hierarchies at play, that are nested within each other as interrelational fields or grids of cloud points.

Office of Van den Broek and Bakema. Siemens headquarters in Munich, 1971. Different layers of the 'spacebox' model. Image © Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Architectenbureau Van den Broek en Bakema / Archive (BROX), inv. nr. BROXf1772. Office of Van den Broek and Bakema. Siemens headquarters in Munich, 1971. Different layers of the 'spacebox' model. Image © Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Architectenbureau Van den Broek en Bakema / Archive (BROX), inv. nr. BROXf1772.

Visualizations

What might be the specific things to observe and what can we learn when comparing the historical discourse with the developments of today? Especially in relation to architecture and urban planning? 'Total urbanization' under redistributive welfare state regimes has moved to the next level of the 'global city' (Saskia Sassen) or the 'endless city' (Ricky Burdett) of global networks and migration flows, of people, goods, money and information. From the point of architecture and planning it is crucial to note that it is not only an issue of sheer accommodation, but first and foremost of the production of new spaces indeed, a process which feeds off our cities, communities and regions, e.g. the industries of real estate and tourism. Architecture and planning are definitely not in control here, they are sidelined by the new eco-systems that produce their own regimes, flows, fall-out and environments. These eco-systems are not quite as harmonious as the very term might suggest. Eco-systems are entropic systems: while one dies and the other is emergent, they live off each other.  

Richard Vijgen, Architecture of Radio, 2015. Image © Juuke Schoorl Richard Vijgen, Architecture of Radio, 2015. Image © Juuke Schoorl

Hence, the emerging new spatial configurations are not just about free interaction, exchange and events through polycentric, labyrinthian networks as so many theorized rather optimistically in the 1950s and 60s (Archigram, Constant, Yona Friedman). Next to the new mobility and interconnectivity, they indeed also create new hierarchies and may sustain enclaves, off-the-grid, et cetera. After all, digital switches also imply the options of switching off and logging out, a condition of disconnection, cloaking devices and opacity, something visual artist Femke Herregraven has coined 'geographies of avoidance'.

Diagram of The Stack, 2015. Image © Benjamin Bratton and Metahaven Diagram of The Stack, 2015. Image © Benjamin Bratton and Metahaven

Unsurprisingly then, a critical role for architecture and urban planning is not so easy to delineate in this ongoing development. As design disciplines they are instrumental in helping to support and bring into the world this 'accidental megastructure'. Yet, their impact seems to be much more profound on the level of theory and language: architecture and urban planning contribute the models, concepts and metaphors (for instance the one of megastructure), by which it becomes possible to (re)think, visualize and imagine the ubiquitous conglomerate of ICT-infrastructures and their impact. The question of visualizing contemporary 'totalizing' regimes of technology and space is most urgent from the point of view of democratic, open societies. Such visualization would enable a reframing of the 'polis' and the so-called 'body politic', be it a nation, a city or otherwise, as to understand where we are and how to inhabit and traverse the spaces of digital communication.

"Total Space" "Total Space"

Total Space is an ongoing research project of the Jaap Bakema Study Centre (JBSC), that'll produce program and public presentation at Het Nieuwe Instituut (formerly the NAi) in the coming years. It takes a closer look at the international dimensions of structuralism and cross-disciplinary exchange between the fields of architecture, planning, systems theory and anthropology. It also aims to connect the recent history of the 20th century with speculations on the future of our lifestyles in the 21st Century city.

The JBSC is a research center, founded by Het Nieuwe Instituut and Delft University of Technology, headed by Dirk van den Heuvel, and based in Rotterdam at Het Nieuwe Instituut.

'An Installation In Four Acts' - Exploring Structuralism At Rotterdam's Nieuwe Instituut

AD Classics: AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage / Van Eyck

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