Arch Daily |
- National Library of Lithuania / 2XJ
- N1 Housing / Studio Simovic
- Maison d'Artiste: An Unfinished Icon by De Stijl
- Around the Corner Grain / Eureka + MARU。architecture
- Toodyay Shack / Paul Wakelam Architect - A Workshop
- WOXSEN / Designhaaus Solutions
- Buena Vista / Shaun Lockyer Architects
- AIA Selects Top 10 Most Sustainable Projects of 2017
- GC House / YourArchitectLondon
- Éric Lapierre Appointed as Chief Curator of 2019 Lisbon Architecture Triennale
- Quiubox / Boano Prišmontas
- Drone Video Captures Apple Campus 2 as Employees Begin Move-In
- Visualizations of the Most Used AutoCAD, Revit, and 3dsMax Commands
- La Pajarera Lodge Shangri-La / SAA arquitectura + territorio
- What Will Thomas Heatherwick's "Vessel" At Hudson Yards Really Add to New York?
- Mattos House / FGMF Arquitetos
- Gothic Construction Techniques Inspire ETH Zurich's Lightweight Concrete Floor Slabs
- 18 Cool Examples of Architecture for Kids
- London Spa / Richard Bell Architecture
- Neo-Bankside Residents Launch Legal Bid Against Herzog & de Meuron's Tate Modern Extension
| National Library of Lithuania / 2XJ Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:00 PM PDT  © Leonas Garbačauskas
 © Leonas Garbačauskas From the architect. The new interior design for the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania was created in the context of the renovation of the building which was originally constructed in 1963.  © Leonas Garbačauskas  Second Floor Plan  © Leonas Garbačauskas  Section  © Leonas Garbačauskas Many elements including interior spaces, plan structure, interior elements and finishing materials are protected by strict heritage regulations. Therefore the interior spaces essentially were left intact, many interior elements and materials were restored or recreated. Many new functions were introduced within the existing spaces on the six floors of the building. New functional zones include few hundred working spaces for visitors, spaces for co-working, coffee shops, conference room, gallery, recording studio, cinema room, arts incubator, daycare centre and more. A lot of attention was dedicated to the aesthetic solutions highlighting the relation between "the old" and "the new". The aim was to make a clear distinction rather than moderating between the two. A modern homogeneous structure of black furniture and other interior elements was created, which forms a new identity for the library. The modular furniture system is minimalist in style, pretentious forms were avoided. Some of the elements were as large as 6 meter in height corresponding to the large scale of interior spaces.  © Leonas Garbačauskas  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2017 07:00 PM PDT  © Relja Ivanic
 © Relja Ivanic From the architect. The N1 Housing in Nemanjina 1 Street in Kragujevac (Serbia) is situated in the city core itself, on a narrow lot which is representative of a chaotic urban environment inherited from the past.  © Relja Ivanic The project was created without direct regard to the narrowest context of the street, because the context itself had vanished in time, in a sense that entails the relation of the structure to the street, the city, the passersby, and ,ultimately, to the users. The context of secular, single-family architecture, lacking distinct characteristics of style, and with an undefined relation to urbanity, has become a burden, leaving no other choice but to be negated, while, on the other hand, the objects with certain architectural aesthetic from period between 20th and 30th of twentieth century that were meant for somewhat wealthier users, still remain as a wistful reminiscence of the past. A part of the street is also taken up by a multi-family building built within the previous 10 years, which is a representative example of construction for market use.  © Relja Ivanic  First Floor Plan  © Relja Ivanic The N1 Housing was initially designed with an open ground floor for greenery and parking space, but, as the bureaucratic limitations got in the way, the property was 'sunk', maintaining all the imagined morphological characteristics on the lot with a street front length of approximately 7 meters. In such a way, the project design had moved the entrance in building, as well as the parking space, to a formally basement floor. The greenery was compensated with a landscape garden, that one of the ground floor apartments has an exit to, as well as with two rooftop gardens intended for two duplexes.  © Relja Ivanic Due to the shape of the building, which is defined as a row housing or townhouse, it communicates to the street only via the street façade. To protect the façade from further deformations and interventions by its users which is very common practice in recent time, the treatment was such that it has no terraces, and the ventilated façade, HPL material of which became the material used for solving the apartment shading as well, resulted in a precise and 'non-contextual' façade.  © Relja Ivanic The backyard façade, on the other hand, was treated in such a way that it has become unobtrusive compared to the chaotic interior of the urban block, and its shape does not suggest a multi-family residence.  © Relja Ivanic Discrete contextualism among interwar architectural buildings (from 1920-1930) which was only considered as a valid environmental scope, is not eye-catching at first sight, and is reflected in the neat fenestration and restaured entrance door of a single-family house that used to be previously located on the lot.  © Relja Ivanic In a typological sense, the building consists of 2 two-bedroom apartments and 2 duplex apartments-penthouses, with green rooftops that provide a view of the city core.  Section Special attention is given to the construction which was a rainforced concrete with a span from one to the other lateral edge of the plot that amounts from 7-7,5m because of the trapezoidal base of the plot. This provided the future users with an oportunity to organize their residential units as they wish, having complete freedom, with no constructional limitations in terms of columns or load-bearing walls within the apartments.  © Relja Ivanic  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Maison d'Artiste: An Unfinished Icon by De Stijl Posted: 19 Apr 2017 06:00 PM PDT  Cover Maison D'Artiste Description via Amazon. Though it was never built, the design for the legendary artist's house Maison d'Artiste is one of the key works of the Dutch avant-garde movement De Stijl. Created in 1923 by painter Theo van Doesburg and architect Cornelis van Eesteren for De Stijl's first group exhibition, the Maison d'Artiste was intended to encapsulate what De Stijl aspired to: a new everyday environment achieved through the harmonious fusion of painting and architecture. The scale model presented De Stijl's ideal space for life and work, with a gym, a music room and a studio, as well as living spaces like guest rooms and bathrooms. Maison d'Artiste: An Unfinished Icon by De Stijl explores the revolutionary cultural importance of the design, its significance for the history of De Stijl and its place in a history of the unbuilt architecture of the 20th century.   
 Maison d'Artiste: An Unfinished Icon by De Stijl  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Around the Corner Grain / Eureka + MARU。architecture Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:00 PM PDT  © Ookura Hideki
 © Ookura Hideki A landscape of livings woven together A project of a 7 unit apartment on a corner of a suburban residential district.The project aims to create a landscape of diverse livings appearing from each external space placed randomly throughout the apartment.  © Ookura Hideki  Site Plan + 1st Floor Regional environments shaped as a three-dimension composition of living spaces A balancing-toy-like-steel structure enables larger masses on the upper floors to stretch out,leaving a pilotis continuous from the street.Creation of public space for the residential district is sought by fully expanding the advantage of the two-sided site.To make up for the mass lost by opening the ground floor,the building is made partially taller.Therefore,a way out through the strict height regulation had to be found.We came up with the idea of calculating the mass by'sky factor'(the ration lf the viewable sky),to heighten the building without blocking sun light or wind from the surrounding.This consequently created avariously discontinuous form of building,i.e. the irregular skyline,the open air balcony on the top,the pilotis at the corner.In contrast with the sky-reflecting metal façade,each of these external spaces is painted red with occational L wind system,the regional system was spatially and environmentally taken in to the architecture itself.  © Ookura Hideki L-type fin makes wind environment to inside L-type fin projected toward passage makes meaning of crossing through exterior space to architecture and blows wind from passage to inside of room.Also,we verify CFD simulation to see wind path inside of room,and adjust to set valcony and sliding window.  © Ookura Hideki  Diagram  © Ookura Hideki An innovative 'common'that generates an'anonymity'of space The pilotis,balconies and staircases traverse both spaces for the residents and for visitors and passersby.The complexity of the staircases intersecting and joining three-dimensionally,and the bases inserted int the pilotis experimentally create ambiguity of private and public spaces and anonymity of open spaces.Self-consciousness of one's territory becomes faint,creating temporary,if not permanent,'common'spaces that belong to everyone while not belonging to anyone.  © Ookura Hideki  Diagram  © Ookura Hideki Architecture as a phenomena of collective behavior Details such as the handrails of the balconies,the eaves of the upper decks,and the landings of the staircases are designed as places where the residents' lifestyles materialize themselves.In addition,the open spaces are designed for the possibility of stalls or cafes to be opened.The interaction with the environment by the residents,continuously change the state of living spaces.By overlaying the collection of these living spaces on the whole building,a unique landscape at the crossroads of a residential district with public space flourishing itself over thime was sought.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Toodyay Shack / Paul Wakelam Architect - A Workshop Posted: 19 Apr 2017 01:00 PM PDT  © Luke Carter Wilton
 © Luke Carter Wilton From the architect. The Toodyay Shack occupies a town site on the flood plains of the Avon River, an hour east from the city Perth in Western Australia. Views of the surrounding Toodyay hills penetrate into the upper and lower levels of the shack. The arrival onto timber decks surrounds the shack and eventually turns into a folly jetty. The threshold of what is inside to outside is continually played out with doors disappearing past their brick thresholds. The Toodyay Shack is a fusion of memory and design come together to create this climatic regressive building with its brick monolith base and tent inspired roof structure over, that bends to the subtle surrounding landscape.  © Luke Carter Wilton The Toodyay Shack sits on a re-viewed and re-configured 1/2 acre town site. The memory of the house is also re-viewed and re-configured. The climatic regression house plays with thresholds of what is internal and what is external. Sailing a boat and going camping metaphors are completely accurate in the way the house is activated and used depending the weather. The actualization of this manipulation that includes orientating house to climate is a brick cave with a timber fly roof.  © Luke Carter Wilton  Floor Plans  © Luke Carter Wilton Doors open up and you discover a wet room and bathhouse with fly roof over as ceiling and outside allowed to breathe with these internal spaces. The alternative is access to external stairs up to an external covered space with access to the three rooms off this communal area.  © Luke Carter Wilton The tower, study and tea room, allow different perspectives of the landscape and proximity of the river and flood plain with the roof giving the sense of shelter and enclosure, even though there are no walls. The body is continually being turned to open up to the hills beyond. At the lower level you arrive through a door with no thresholds and into a multi functioning room of cooking/eating/resting/reading/listening with two large externally sliding doors that slide past their thresholds. The house moves pushes out against the lands contours while the climate run with the contours.  © Luke Carter Wilton  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| WOXSEN / Designhaaus Solutions Posted: 19 Apr 2017 12:00 PM PDT  © Ricken Desai
 © Ricken Desai From the architect. Situated in a serene location on the Hyderabad-Mumbai National Highway, Woxsen School of business is an ambitious project sprawling an area of almost 200 acres. With an aim to be in the league of extraordinary business schools globally by 2020 Woxsen attempts to extend beyond the set of educational standards and reanimate the concepts of entrepreneurship, pedagogy and sustainability. Equally keen on creating a strong identity for the institution they felt that it should reflect their own creative approach to the curriculum and their teaching style.  © Ricken Desai The project stretches its domain to barrier free environment, self-sustainability & green design. It envisages on minimizing the carbon footprint and providing its residents with a green adobe which facilitates a participative environment and enriches the learning and living experience. The architecture of the campus is minimalistic yet bold with exposed concrete as the prima facie material. The result is solid geometries and playful open spaces amalgamating with the landscaped terrain and architecturally promoting the need for pursuit of excellence.  Site Plan The modular approach followed through the campus design, including services, enables us in taking decisions as per the campus occupancy without any compromises. The services planned are in accordance with the site topography, which minimizes overhead costs. The campus ensures a 100% barrier free environment. Breakout green zones provide natural outdoors for socializing and act as comfort zones between buildings congruous with sunlight and ventilation.  © Ricken Desai The admin block formed the bulk of the design program. It had to act as the focal point for all activities and also create the aspirational identity for the visitor. It stands out with a triple height atrium space, which acts as a gathering space for any kind of formal/informal events. The oval cut with major to minor axis ratio of the ellipse is 1:1.6 (the golden ratio), which are splendid identities. The expansive skylight adds to the grandeur of the space with the low-e glasses maintaining high solar performance. The long and linear approach to the building flanked by water body and manicured lawn evokes a welcome feeling and provides a softer foreground to the exposed concrete and glass façade. The bright furniture makes the internal spaces playful yet sublime. The exposed HVAC ducts extend the design intent of being honest and truthful with the structure and services.  © Ricken Desai The program extends on the east with the faculty rooms and lecture theatre blocks juxtaposed with structural grid system of interconnected spaces such as verandahs, open corridors, terraces and courts at various levels establishing a link with the outdoors. The lecture theatre is unique in being oval shaped in plan with appropriate raked seating arrangement, which ensures complete focus and attention of students and teachers alike. The monolithic exposed concrete look is continued as a unifying element.  Plan The student's accommodation has been planned at a comfortable distance from the main building. Students are encouraged to walk or cycle. At the center of the students housing is the activity center with am entities like restaurant, gymnasium, swimming pool, spa and salon.  © Ricken Desai The campus keeps growing in phases with an intent of creating spaces, which evokes fond memories centered on the idea of place, teaching and growing experiences, which are integral to the notion of an institution.  © Ricken Desai  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Buena Vista / Shaun Lockyer Architects Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:00 AM PDT  © Scott Burrows Photography
 © Scott Burrows Photography From the architect. Buena Vista is a small, economical but provocative family home sitting high on a ridge in inner-city Brisbane. This is house is about the abstraction of an economically built "brick & tin" house in a suburban context which looks to challenge local vernacular and the domestic paradigm.  © Scott Burrows Photography Conceptual Framework  © Scott Burrows Photography  Floor Plan  © Scott Burrows Photography The clients wanted a robust, industrial inspired home that suited their longer term needs. They were focused on building an engaging home that addressed their own specific lifestyle and not a "generic" interpretation of market expectation. A strong focus on study and reading gives rise to the "pod" on the western edge of the house that also contains the "quiet space" in the form of a city viewing mezzanine. The outcome is an economical, challenging, quality, well-built home that also offers a sense of joy about how simple materials might be used in a different way.  © Scott Burrows Photography The use of brick and tin is what defines this house and is both an obvious response to context (as this is what whole suburb is made of) while simultaneously subversive in its application (with regards to the format and reinterpretation). This choice of material repackages the local vernacular so as to address our client's brief but also a broader architectural dialogue. The house attempts to reinterpret the vernacular in a sustainable, relevant and engaging way while avoiding referential mimicry that is all too often demanded from the local planning schemes.  © Scott Burrows Photography The concept from the outset was to conceive of a "single story" house with all of the core spaces at the first level (living and sleeping). By "lifting" the house created a substantial "free area" in the under croft which accommodates the outdoor living and car workshop (part of the brief). A mezzanine loft in the roof space of the study area affords respite and city views for the owners. The car workshop has also been designed in such a way that it can be repurposed for a future living room scenario offering longer term flexibility.  © Scott Burrows Photography This is a simple house but one that is crafted by a group of people that cared at every level. By aligning brick layers, sheet metal workers, joiners, sub-contractors and the clients, standard components were somehow "made special". Equally, the involvement of the engineers from the outset allowed us to plan the structural strategy to employ standard components and limit the use of steel (which saved dollars). The landscape, when completed and will add the necessary softness and shadow that the concept anticipates. We really wanted to demonstrate how a great outcome can achieved with a big agenda on economy.  Section This project is our greatest success with regards to cost. This house is effectively a brick veneer, slab on ground, trussed roof house with aluminium domestic windows. This strategy meant that we created the financial bandwidth within the budget to selectively embellish elements of the design to deliver a quality and bespoke outcome with parts that are otherwise standard in principal. At just over $2300/m2 this is the most economical house we have ever built against our office average of $3360/m2 (meaning that it cost 32% less). The house was also built on time without any cost variation!  © Scott Burrows Photography  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AIA Selects Top 10 Most Sustainable Projects of 2017 Posted: 19 Apr 2017 09:05 AM PDT  Stanford University Central Energy Facility; Stanford, California / ZGF Architects LLP. Image © Matthew Anderson The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have named the recipients of the 2017 Top Ten Awards, celebrating buildings that best exemplify the integration of great design, great performance and sustainable design excellence. Now in its 21st year, the COTE Top Ten Awards program was established to honor projects that protect and enhance the environment through an integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology. New for this year, COTE significantly revised their sustainable design criteria to include topics including: impact on health, wellness and economy. In the past, projects were selected largely based on predicted performance, rather than using measured data from occupied buildings. Since 2014, former Top Ten Award recipients have been invited to submit post-occupancy data and narratives to be recognized with a single COTE "Top Ten Plus" award each year. Starting this year, these tracks have been merged – the 'Plus' designation will now denote projects with "exemplary performance data and post occupancy lessons." Learn more about these changes here. Top Ten PlusBrock Environmental Center; Virginia Beach, Virginia / SmithGroupJJR  Brock Environmental Center; Virginia Beach, Virginia / SmithGroupJJR. Image © Prakash Patel Photography The Brock Environmental Center is a hub for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Hampton Roads office, supporting their education, advocacy and restoration initiatives. The Center is designed to express CBF's mission of collaboration to protect one of the nation's most valuable and threatened natural resources – the Chesapeake Bay. CBF aspired to manifest true sustainability, creating a landmark that transcends notions of "doing less harm" towards a reality where architecture can create a positive, regenerative impact on both the environment and society. The Center surpasses LEED achieving zero-net-CO2 emissions, zero waste, and Living Building Challenge certification from the International Living Future Institute. Top TenBristol Community College John J. Sbrega Health and Science Building; Fall River Massachusetts / Sasaki  Bristol Community College John J. Sbrega Health and Science Building; Fall River Massachusetts / Sasaki. Image © Edward Caruso Photography Bristol set ambitious goals of making its new science building not only elegant and inviting, but also a model of sustainability. The 50,000-square-foot building sets the standard as the first ZNE academic science building in the Northeast. Providing hands-on learning opportunities and care to underserved populations, its program accommodates instructional labs and support space for field biology, biotech, microbiology, and chemistry; nursing simulation labs; clinical laboratory science and medical assisting labs; dental hygiene labs; and a teaching clinic. Taking a holistic approach to the design and construction of the Sbrega Health and Science Building, the team uncovered innovative ways to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, increase efficiency, and dramatically reduce demand. Chatham University Eden Hall Campus; Richland Township, Pennsylvania / Mithun  Chatham University Eden Hall Campus; Richland Township, Pennsylvania / Mithun. Image © Bruce Damonte After receiving the donation of 388-acre Eden Hall Farm north of Pittsburgh, Chatham University conceived an audacious goal to create the world's first net-positive campus. Home of the Falk School of Sustainability, Eden Hall Campus generates more energy than it uses, is a water resource, produces food, recycles nutrients, and supports habitat and healthy soils while developing the next generation of environmental stewards. Linked buildings, landscapes and infrastructure support an active and experiential research environment. New building forms, outdoor gathering spaces and integrated artwork complement and interpret natural site systems, while making cutting-edge sustainable strategies transparent and explicit. Discovery Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools; Arlington, Virginia / VMDO Architects  Discovery Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools; Arlington, Virginia / VMDO Architects. Image © Alan Karchmer; Lincoln Barbour & VMDO Architects Discovery Elementary School is the largest zero-energy school in the US. The challenge was to integrate a 98,000 SF building into a residential neighborhood while keeping the entire PV array on the roof. By terracing the mass into a south facing hill, the project met local goals for scale, community goals for preservation of flat, open space for recreation, and global goals for ideal orientation for solar generation. Discovery offers a positive example of a solution to the global crisis of climate change – and along the way emboldens students with the expectation that they are creative participants in those solutions. Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage & Spring Street Salt Shed; New York City / Dattner Architects and WXY architecture + urban design  Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage & Spring Street Salt Shed; New York City / Dattner Architects and WXY architecture + urban design. Image © Albert Vecerka/Esto The Garage and Salt Shed celebrate the role of civic infrastructure by integrating innovative architectural design with sustainability and a sensitivity to the urban context. The building is wrapped in a custom perforated double-skin façade that reduces solar gain while allowing daylight and views in personnel areas. The 1.5 acre extensive green roof reduces heat-island effect, promotes biodiversity, and filters waste steam condensate and rainwater allowing it to be reused for truck wash. The projects are also benchmarks for NYC's Active Design program, which promotes the health and fitness of occupants through building design. Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University; Washington, D.C. / Payette and Ayers Saint Gross  Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University; Washington, D.C. / Payette and Ayers Saint Gross. Image © Robert Benson Photography The Milken Institute School of Public Health at GWU embeds core public health values — movement, light/air, greenery, connection to place, social interaction, community engagement — in a highly unconventional, LEED Platinum building on an urban campus in the heart of the nation's capital. Research offices, classrooms and study areas are clustered around an array of multi-floor void spaces that open the building's dense core to daylight and views. An irresistible, sky-lit stair ascends all eight levels, encouraging physical activity. The pod-like classrooms are set in from the perimeter so informal study and social interaction space can overlook the bustling traffic circle. Ng Teng Fong General Hospital & Jurong Community Hospital; Singapore / HOK, USA; CPG, Singapore; Studio 505, Australia  Ng Teng Fong General Hospital & Jurong Community Hospital; Singapore / HOK, USA; CPG, Singapore; Studio 505, Australia. Image © Rory Daniel & CPG Consultants The Green Mark Platinum NTFGH is part of Singapore's first medical campus to combine continuing care from outpatient to post-acute care. Based on passive principles, the performance-based design supports resource efficiency, health, and well-being. Seventy percent of the facility is naturally ventilated, representing 82% of inpatient beds. Unlike its Singaporean peers, NTFGH provides every patient with an adjacent operable window, offering daylight and views. An oasis in a dense city, NTFGH incorporates parks, green roofs and vertical plantings throughout the campus. The building uses 38% less energy than a typical Singaporean hospital and 69% less than a typical U.S. hospital. NOAA Daniel K. Inouye Regional Center; Honolulu / HOK with Ferraro Choi & WSP  NOAA Daniel K. Inouye Regional Center; Honolulu / HOK with Ferraro Choi & WSP. Image © Alan Karchmer Located on a national historic landmark site on Oahu's Ford Island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Inouye Regional Center features the adaptive reuse of two World War II-era airplane hangars linked by a new steel and glass building. The hangars inspired beautifully simple design solutions for how the center uses air, water and light. The LEED Gold complex accommodates 800 people in a research and office facility that integrates NOAA's mission of "science, service and stewardship" with Hawaii's cultural traditions and ecology. The interior environment, which is based on principles of campus design, creates a central gathering place. R.W. Kern Center; Amherst, Massachusetts / Bruner/Cott & Associates  R.W. Kern Center; Amherst, Massachusetts / Bruner/Cott & Associates. Image © Robert Benson Photography Hampshire College's R.W. Kern Center is a 17,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility designed to meet the Living Building Challenge. As the gateway to campus, Kern includes classrooms, offices, a café, and gallery space. The building is self-sustaining— generating its own energy, capturing its own water, and processing its own waste. The Kern Center is the result of an inclusive and integrated design process and wholehearted commitment to the environmental mission by the whole team. The project demonstrates Hampshire's dedication to the highest level of sustainability and stewardship, and to the college's mission of critical inquiry, active leadership and hands-on learning. Stanford University Central Energy Facility; Stanford, California / ZGF Architects LLP  Stanford University Central Energy Facility; Stanford, California / ZGF Architects LLP. Image © Tim Griffith At the heart of Stanford University's transformational, campus-wide energy system is a new, technologically advanced central energy facility. The system replaces a 100% fossil-fuel-based cogeneration plant with primarily electrical power—65% of which comes from renewable sources—and a first-of-its-kind heat recovery system, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and fossil fuel and water use. The facility comprises a net-positive-energy administrative building, a heat recovery chiller plant, a cooling and heating plant, a service yard, and a new campus-wide main electrical substation. Designed to sensitively integrate into the surrounding campus, the architectural expression is one of lightness, transparency and sustainability to express the facility's purpose. In additional recent news, the AIA released a statement urging urged policymakers to keep carbon neutral goals for the built environment. Read the full statement here. News and project descriptions via AIA.
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| GC House / YourArchitectLondon Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:00 AM PDT  © Adrián Vázquez
 © Adrián Vázquez From the architect. Natural light was at the heart of this project. Born out of the need to expand a Victorian property for a growing family, the core ambition was to create a flexible living space that reflected a new approach to contemporary design, characterized by light and simplicity.  © Adrián Vázquez Minimal sightlines and subtle textures generate a sense of relaxation and harmony, whilst glass and douglas fir run throughout the home to create a series of interconnected spaces that inspire social and flexible living. A glass staircase links all floors, allowing light to flow effortlessly through the property, with views up through the home to create a sense of space and continuity.  © Adrián Vázquez  © Adrián Vázquez The project involved a complete renovation of a Victorian terraced house in West London, and included a kitchen extension, loft and basement conversion. The design built within the façade of a Victorian home, and sought to modernize it whilst remaining respectful to the existing exterior and setting, creating a flexible living space filled with light within the surrounds of a period property.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Éric Lapierre Appointed as Chief Curator of 2019 Lisbon Architecture Triennale Posted: 19 Apr 2017 06:30 AM PDT  The Palace of Sinel de Cordes in Lisbon (headquarters of the Triennale). Image © Abinadi Meza The Trienal de Lisboa have today announced that a team of nine, led by Parisian architect Éric Lapierre, has been appointed as the curatorial team of the 5th edition of Lisbon Architecture Triennale which will be held from October to December 2019. Lapierre, who runs the Masters in Architecture & Experience at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture in Marne-la-Vallée, Paris, will collaborate with philosopher Sébastien Marot, who is also a critic in architecture and landscape design. Other members of the curatorial team include Ambra Fabi, Giovanni Piovene, Mariabruna Fabrizi, Fosco Lucarelli, Laurent Esmilaire, Tristan Chadney, and Vasco Pinelo de Melo. A grand total of 48 proposals were submitted to the organization, comprising 155 participants from 16 countries. Theme of the TriennaleThe curatorial statement suggests an event which will address iconism, history, and architectural theory.
The curatorial proposal aims to "try overcoming these typical dead ends of post-truth architecture" by positing that "high architecture has always been based on a specific rationality." This rationale, Lapierre argues, "is what allows buildings to communicate clear as well as obscure but always understandable meanings through the poetics of architecture."
 About the Chief CuratorÉric Lapierre is architect and theoretician of architecture. He is the founder and principal of Éric Lapierre Experience (ELEx), a Paris-based organization that coordinates both his activities as a builder and as a writer. He teaches design and theory of architecture at École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture in Marne-la-Vallée (Paris), and in École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He has been guest teacher at Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, Université de Montréal (UdM), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), and KU Leuven in Ghent. Among other books, he has edited Identification d'une ville – Architectures de Paris (2002); Guide d'architecture de Paris 1900-2008 (2008); Le Point du Jour A Concrete Architecture (2011), Architecture Of The Real (2004); and Se la forma scompare, la sua radice è eterna (2017). Lapierre will be exhibiting at the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennale.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2017 06:00 AM PDT
 Illustration From the architect. The name Quiubox is a combination of the Colombian expression "¿Quiubo?", meaning "what's up", "hello, what is happening", and a "box", referring to a small scale architectural object, a container of knowledge and activities.  © Boano Prišmontas  Master Plan  © Boano Prišmontas Quiubox is a nomadic workshop, a project designed for the Afro-Colombian communities living in the coastal areas surrounding Cartagena.The project aims to tackle inequality by building bridges between professionals and ethnic communities in the Colombian Caribbean.  Section The Caribbean territory is beautiful and fragile. Vast portions of the coast are constantly facing floods due to the rising level of the sea. Afro-colombian communities often live in disadvantaged areas, lacking of a vision and methods to face these tough new challenges. The local population usually builds houses directly on the sea shore, meaning that in the following years a huge number of dwellings will need to be relocated to safer areas.  © Boano Prišmontas Quiubox sees these challenges as an opportunity to work closely with the local population and actively involve them in the development of a strategy. Under a common shed roof, a workshop co-exists with a public gathering space. Here people can meet and learn through the processes of making. Quiubox will teach new ways to build, repair boats, produce local furniture. The aim is to develop and strengthen the sense of community and at the same time offer a vision to tackle the issues caused from climate change.  Diagrams Quiubox sits on a floating platform to be able to move along the coast, from island to island, in the mangroves, and in the river communities. We estimate more than 40 villages can be reached and lots of knowledge can be shared.  © Boano Prišmontas Quiubox is a modular structure constructed out of CNC-machined plywood panels. The sheets are cut in the most efficient way avoiding material wastage. The modular structure is intended to be replicable and easy to assemble. Each module is built using dry joints that slot together without the aid of any additional fixing. In this way, Quiubox establishes a strong and permanent link between its shape and its inherent physical properties. The aesthetic look is dictated by this method of construction.  Elevation The facade typology combines the aesthetic of a typical factory with shed roofs, with the round opening of a boat and the arches of a lodge. This hybrid mix expresses all the functions and the ideas behind the Quiubox concept.  © Boano Prišmontas Quiubox is an architectural object which comprises under a common roof a workshop and a public space. The roof is designed to host a series of photovoltaic panels that can be used to power the tools of the workshop and provide electricity to the building. The public space inside can therefore be utilized not just as a sitting area, but also as a place for charging devices and connecting to the world through wireless internet. Moreover, the design of Quiubox will incorporate water collection and cleaning strategies that will provide local communities with portable water. All of these features are integrated in the design and at the same time clearly visible for educational purposes.  Illustration This project aims to have a CNC workshop as its centerpiece. The advanced machinery will become a generator for the growth and the empowerment of the community, opening doors to a broad variety of local small-scale projects. The workshop will be used to build new houses, produce pieces to repair local informal settlements, as well as produce boats to re-introduce the fishing tradition in the area. Plywood is a versatile, lightweight yet strong material. It is easy to find, sustainable and reasonably affordable. The local community not only will gain new skills, but they will be actively involved in the crafting of their own future.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Drone Video Captures Apple Campus 2 as Employees Begin Move-In Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:00 AM PDT With employees beginning to move into Apple's Campus 2 this month, the Foster + Partners-designed main building is down to its finishing touches, as shown in this drone video captured by aerial videographer Matthew Roberts. Also nearing completion are the solar-panel-covered parking garage and the F&D facility, with the Steve Jobs Theater expected to follow sometime this summer. Landscaping, including the central pond and unprecedentedly ambitious tree planting plan (reported to have caused a shortage of nursery trees in the San Francisco area), are also moving full-steam ahead. Find more of ArchDaily's coverage of Apple Campus 2 below:
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| Visualizations of the Most Used AutoCAD, Revit, and 3dsMax Commands Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:05 AM PDT  The 'Customer Involvement Program' of Autodesk's research department has, over the years, compiled a database of over 60 million individual commands created by anonymized users. Each reveals shortcut paths and thought flows among its customer base. The team have visualized the product usage (here described as the Command Usage Arc project) by ordering known and new commands from the most-frequently-used to the least-frequently. Revealed as a sequence of infographics, the results demonstrate how people work – and how they often deviate from prescribed usage.  Command arcs for the top 5 most frequently used AutoCAD commands. Image via AutoDesk Research The size of the text and length of the bar are proportional to how frequently the command is used. We recommend that you open the PDFs on a large, or zoomable, screen. Click on the links to open them in a new window. AutoCAD Command Arc Diagram AutoCAD Arc Diagram Autodesk Inventor Command Arc Diagram Inventor Arc Diagram Autodesk Revit Command Arc Diagram Revit Arc Diagram Autodesk 3dsMax Command Arc Diagram 3dsMax Arc Diagram  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| La Pajarera Lodge Shangri-La / SAA arquitectura + territorio Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:00 AM PDT  © Sergio Araneda
 © Sergio Araneda From the architect. The roost is a family-run cabin lodge located in the Andean foothills near San Fernando, in Chile’s central mountain range.  © Sergio Araneda The presence of rivers and large canopies of peumo, quillay and oak forest constitute a natural environment with large ecological and landscape value, making this spot an important place for spotting birds such as the Burrowing parrot.  Section Details The architectural concept defines the site location as the primary strategy on which the layout is based. One story is laid out along the southern-facing side of a hill that slopes steeply toward the river. This gives off a view toward the valley, with the north to the rear.  © Sergio Araneda The bedrooms are projected toward the south and incorporate the primary vistas, while the sanitary services are toward the north and the hillside, leaving an interior hallway which features a horizontal skylight in the roof that faces north, bringing natural light to all the rooms.  © Sergio Araneda  Floor Plan  © Sergio Araneda The more common areas are integrated within one space that links the sloped ground and geographical expanse of the valley.  © Sergio Araneda The exterior of the house features 3 landscape-related spaces. The southern, elevated hallway hangs toward the river and mountain valley. The eastern-facing access deck looks toward the large Andean rock formations, with the deck/overlook open to the entire surroundings and open sky.  © Sergio Araneda Construction was undertaken by local labor using basic, low-cost materials. The structure is comprised of a metallic base on which the cabin is raised in standard-dimension pinewood for the structure and exterior siding, with laminated plywood sheeting used for the interior veneer and finishing.  © Sergio Araneda  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| What Will Thomas Heatherwick's "Vessel" At Hudson Yards Really Add to New York? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 02:30 AM PDT  The 150-foot-tall steel structure has been compared to a bedbug, a beehive, and a döner kebab. Its base is 50 feet wide and its upper span measures 150 feet. Image Courtesy of Forbes Massie, Heatherwick Studio This article was originally published by The Architect's Newspaper as "What do New Yorkers get when privately-funded public art goes big?" When Thomas Heatherwick—the nimble London-based designer known for work that defies easy categorization—unveiled his design for a new public landmark called Vessel at Hudson Yards to a crowd of reporters and New York City power players in September, questions abounded. What is it? What will it do to the neighborhood? And what does it say that Stephen Ross, the president and CEO of Related Companies, the primary developer of Hudson Yards, is financing the entire $250 million piece by himself? It's natural that Ross chose Heatherwick Studio to design his centerpiece, because the office's creations stun. For the UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, it extruded 60,000 clear acrylic tubes from a center space to create a fuzzy, crystalline object whose apparent fragility is as mesmerizing as it is clever. As the studio moves toward ever-larger and ever-more-public commissions, the people who will live with its work will need to seriously consider what it will mean for their neighborhoods and cities. Interactive public art is plentiful, but there are no pieces with the built-in interactivity of Vessel. In Chicago, tourists snap selfies with Anish Kapoor's parabolic Cloud Gate (the Bean), while at New York's Astor Place visitors can now once again give Bernard Rosenthal's Alamo (the Cube) a spin. Vessel is supposed to be to Hudson Yards what the Christmas tree is to Rockefeller Center, but on display all year round. Related said it's a "new kind of public landmark," while The New York Times called it "a stairway to nowhere." Heatherwick referred to it as a "device." Critics have been unable, or unwilling, to name it. There's power in naming, so let's call Vessel what it is—it is architecture. It fulfills the most basic criteria for the category: The piece serves a purpose and acts as an apparatus for the reorientation of the body in relationship to both the ground and the city.  Hudson Yards. Image © Kohn Pedersen Fox Vessel's 2,400 steps will anchor the largest private development in the U.S., lifting visitors above Hudson Yards' 14 acres of parks and plazas. The elevations will give New Yorkers and tourists—siphoned off a to-be-constructed High Line spur—a place to view each other and all the stalagmitic towers of Hudson Yards. When complete, the 16-story structure will be the tallest freestanding observation platform in the city, at least until Staten Island's New York Wheel starts rolling. Formally, the piece is inspired by Indian stepwells, but according to Heatherwick, it's a monument "to us." Like Pier 55, the architect's park on mushroom stilts on the lower west side, Vessel has instant visual currency—critics have compared it to a snakeskin teacup, honeycombs, bedbugs, and a döner kebab. For its creator, it's a bespoke response to the globalized taste that plants boring glass curtain-wall towers in Shanghai and London and plops blue chip art on corporate plazas in Los Angeles and Chicago. Vessel is the antidote that nurtures a spirit of togetherness: "Buildings are getting bigger and bigger—that mega-scale, it's something new," Heatherwick told AN at the unveiling. "But 2,000 years ago, humans were mostly the same size we are now. The human scale stays true." Like its creator, who the press has affectionately compared to Willy Wonka, Vessel is so earnest: Its intricate symmetry and aesthetics divorce the grand stair from a signal of power and prestige, while its ostensibly public nature decouples the ordinary stair from its floor-to-floor workaday obligation. Underneath its sincerity, though, Vessel harbors serious contradictions. Heatherwick said it "has no commercial objective," which is hard to buy when the structure is the ultimate native advertising: It will sit smack in the middle of a five-acre park in the eastern yard designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz, a jewel in a glittery crown. It puts Ross's taste and design acumen on display for public admiration. As a gathering space, it's intended to integrate the raw development—which sits on a crust of artificial land over its namesake rail yards—into the rich fabric of New York City.
A proper design narrative, rolled out by the mayor and a multiracial dance troupe from Alvin Ailey, paves the way for public acceptance and mental integration before the idea is built out. Who could argue with Heatherwick's kumbaya, a campaign for one New York? In a city where even the ultra-rich hustle in and out of the subway, Vessel elevates the time-honored art of the schlep to civic priority—sort of. Heatherwick said it has no prescribed meaning, and that it is up to the public to decide—a vote for radical spatial practice if there ever was one. There's tremendous satisfaction, too, in hauling up a long set of set of stairs, our urban mountainsides. The whole-body high from ascending a tough trail, or emerging from the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street subway station, humbles screaming quads before God, gravity, and smart engineers. Heatherwick's gift to the city of New York, defines a citizen-subject as one who can walk—a lot. In a promotional video for Hudson Yards, Heatherwick says "it's extremely interactive, but properly," slapping his torso and thighs, "using your physicality." On the surface, there's a positive correlation between the healthy metropolis—a public ideal that New York embraces—and the fit citizen—a personal ideal. But we're still far from health equity.  Visitors will be able to climb 154 flights of stairs for a mile's walk and survey the surrounding development from 80 landings. Image Courtesy of Forbes Massie, Heatherwick Studio Sure, the piece will be ADA-compliant; curving elevators will sweep the wheelchair users, arthritic citizens, moms and dads with strollers, tired people, the very unathletic, and the time-crunched up to the top. For those of us fit enough to make it up even some of those steps, the terraces will form a bronzed steel beehive with neat new perspectives on the city. Flânerie never goes out of style, and in 2018 when Vessel opens, people will be watching other people on screens, too, documenting the fun on Instagram in a flurry of #Heatherwicks. Millennial employees of VaynerMedia, a Hudson Yards tenant, might use the thing as a StairMaster, and I predict there will be a Buzzfeed article on how to keep in shape with the new outdoor fitness structure. For his part, Heatherwick hopes that Vessel can be used for live performance, a dynamic and ostensibly more public forum than a Broadway theater or DS+R's slick corporate Shed adjacent to Heatherwick's piece. (So corporate, in fact, that "Culture" was removed from the name.) However, even though initial renderings usually oversell the final product, Heatherwick's visions are particularly egregious. Although the structure is being assembled right now, the renderings raise troubling questions about the gap between the not-architecture-but-still-architecture's intended and probable uses. As his Shanghai Expo pavilion, his redesigned Routemaster bus for London, and his 2012 Olympic cauldron demonstrate, Heatherwick is a master detailer and global designer adept at translating compelling human themes to local contexts. The Vessel model, which Ross reportedly kept under lock and key in his office, has been ready for months. Why then, at the public unveiling in September, were so many details missing? Consider the crowds. Heatherwick's piece is supposed to take the success of the High Line and spin it vertically. Though pioneering, the High Line has received justified criticism for its crowding and lack of surprises, but at least it gets you, slowly, from place to place (and, as art critic Jerry Saltz observed, it keeps tourists out of Chelsea's galleries). If on nice days the High Line backs up, how will crowds be managed on a structure that only has egresses at its base? Heatherwick insists Vessel will be free to visit, but how besides timed and ticketed entry will the structure accommodate everyone?  A five-acre garden, designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz and planted with all native flora, will provide a stage for Heatherwick Studio's Vessel, a privately-funded public work of architecture at Hudson Yards. Image © Nelson Byrd Woltz If it's as popular as its creators believe, Vessel will attract not only people but also those other New Yorkers: The pigeons. The structure seems ready-made for roosting, and I can't imagine how hard it will be to properly enjoy Vessel while dodging dove turds. And in cold weather, I hope Ross will be more sedulous about de-icing the platforms than the neighbors on every block who make pedestrian booby traps out of sidewalks in front of their buildings. As one climbs up Vessel, the railings stay just above waist height all the way up to the structure's top, but when you build high, folks will jump. After a student leapt into the soaring central atrium of NYU's Bobst Library seven years ago, the school installed metal fencing—on top of the Plexiglas barriers it had put in years earlier in response to other suicides. Philip Johnson and Richard Foster didn't see the death in the design that the public's morbid ideation uncovered, but Ross and Heatherwick seem not to have learned from Bobst, or from the city's bridges and iconic tall buildings. If barriers are installed, how will they affect the views, Vessel's main selling point?  Courtesy of Forbes Massie, Heatherwick Studio Critics have compared Vessel to the Eiffel Tower, but Paris's landmark is very much of its era, and meaning-making in our time has moved beyond tit-for-tat semiotics. New York has the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, and any number of other symbols with which to broadcast its image. Plus, we're on Instagram: Times Square is the world's most-tagged location, more featured than the number-two tagged Eiffel Tower. There is already an essential New York space on a billion screens. At this hour, there's truly no point in reviving the perennial debate about the vacuousness of privately-owned-and-operated public space. The structure, surrounded on all sides by condos that start at $2 million, a Neiman Marcus, and a Thomas Keller restaurant, is a footnote in a city where politicians and developers plan expensive malls but call them transit hubs; where amateur urban planners like multimillionaire couple Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, patrons of Heatherwick's Pier 55, shape public priorities; and impressive but empty fortresses for billionaires jostle each other for space in the sky. In its size and ambition, Vessel feels significant in some way, but in contrast to the High Line's renegotiation of the urban park, Vessel feels like a Gilded Age geegaw foisted on the city by a "benevolent" rich guy. Want more from The Architect's Newspaper? Like their Facebook page here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Mattos House / FGMF Arquitetos Posted: 19 Apr 2017 02:00 AM PDT  © Rafaela Netto
 © Rafaela Netto From the architect. Design a house for a young family was the project’s main point. The steep-sloped site had a unique view to one of São Paulo’s main arterial roads. To use said site to our advantage in the creation of the house’s spaces, the attention to the circulation flows and the leisure area seemed to us like some of the most important questions to be addressed from the very beginning. After further analysis of the site and the spatial organisation of the house, we decided to propose a level-oriented occupation. The first level contains the garage, the main access and a garden. The private areas are in this level, but the visitor can walks down a set of stairs, that follows the main hall, in order to access the second level. This second level houses the service areas, the gourmet kitchen and the dining room, accesses another garden level, and bears a double-height ceiling that links it to the home theatre and the above hallways. The last level also received higher ceilings and contains the living room, completely open to the view and an external plateau containing a solarium and the swimming pool.  © Rafaela Netto The house is supported by a mixed-logic structural design in which a bare concrete wall, on the leftmost side of the house, connects the many levels and organises the main stairway that links them all. The rest of the house’s structure is composed of a lightweight steel-framing, allowing for larger-than-average glazed areas.  Planta - Térreo  Planta - Pavimento Inferior One of the main approaches was the structural and enclosure designs: the contrast between the intimate area’s heavy monolithic volume above and the social area’s light, glazed volume sectioned by the plateaux always seemed to us like a typical paulista school architecture solution, adequate to the location and the project’s necessities. Counterpart to that solution is the mentioned concrete wall that, depending on the visitor’s viewpoint, works to unite the different levels, as well as the facade, walls, structure and flooring.  © Rafaela Netto We approached the relationship between the inside and the outside areas with exceptional care, working with the differences in ceiling height in order to further denote their differences and respect the architectural design. The aesthetic adopted when working the interiors was also very important to us – the house, with an essentially Brazilian-modern design bore a heavy emphasis in the contrast between solids and voids and weight and weightlessness, but it also seemed very important to us the seeking of a furniture setting that respected and emblazoned the paulista modernism past while maintaining a more contemporary approach to the design logic. For such, we also used of both modernist and classic pieces, such as Earnes’ Plywood Chair and Saarinen’s Womb couch, as well as contemporary Brazillian designs such as those of Jader Almeida, Marcus Silveira, Felipe Protti, Natasha Shlobach and Estúdio Bola.  © Rafaela Netto The spatiality, almost minimalist in nature, was defined by glass panes, dark coating of the upper block and concrete on the walls and floors, which were all referenced by the choice of furniture. The finishing touch was perhaps the large lighting fixture hanging above on the dining room’s double-height ceilings. Composed by 36 individual pieces and designed in a joint effort by our office and the Prole studio. It can be seen from many different angles, including the living room, the dining room, the hallway that accesses the bedrooms and home theatre, working as another element that further integrates and links these different levels.  © Rafaela Netto  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Gothic Construction Techniques Inspire ETH Zurich's Lightweight Concrete Floor Slabs Posted: 19 Apr 2017 01:00 AM PDT  © ETH Zurich / Peter Rüegg. With the intention of maximizing available space and avoiding steep construction costs, researchers from ETH Zurich's Department of Architecture have devised a concrete floor slab that with a thickness of a mere 2cm, remains load bearing and simultaneously sustainable. Inspired by the construction of Catalan vaults, this new floor system swaps reinforced steel bars for narrow vertical ribs, thus significantly reducing the weight of construction and ensuring stability to counter uneven distributions on its surface. As opposed to traditional concrete floors that are evidently flat, these slabs are designed to arch to support major loads, reminiscent of the vaulted ceilings found in Gothic cathedrals. Without the need for steel reinforcing and with less concrete, the production of CO2 is minimized and the resulting 2cm floors are 70% lighter than their typical concrete counterparts.  via Block Research Group In terms of inspiration, "we based our design on historical construction principles and techniques that have since been forgotten," explains Philippe Block, Associate Professor of Architecture and Structure and Deputy Director of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) in Digital Fabrication. The researchers explored numerous structural techniques across architectural styles, finally settling on the use of reinforcing vertical ribs, as used commonly in the construction of Catalan vaults in the late 19th century. This method was first introduced in the US by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, and in the case of ETH's floor slabs, the ribs help create a flat surface and counter the asymmetric loading it experiences.  via Block Research Group By using digital tools and computer software to determine ideal rib arrangements, viable distribution of loading forces led to a convergence of thin lines about a corner. Steel ties connect these points while absorbing horizontal forces, thereby emulating the flying buttresses that stabilize a cathedral's vaults. According to stress tests, the concrete and rib combination can support asymmetric loads of up to 4.2 tons, greatly exceeding the requirements dictated by the Swiss building code.
 via Block Research Group Having formulated this lightweight slab, ETH's research team will have the opportunity to implement their practice at Dübendorf's NEST research building, with the addition of a two-story penthouse to the existing roof. Consisting of four 5mx5m modular prefabricated units to be installed onsite, the hollow space between ribs can accommodate ventilation, heating and cooling ducts to conserve space. As of late, production costs were fairly high, since the elements had to be cast in double-sided molds to perfection. However, these costs were significantly reduced by 3D printing the various necessary elements and substituting concrete for sand and a binding agent, still comfortably withstanding 1.2 tons of load. News via: ETH Zurich.
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| 18 Cool Examples of Architecture for Kids Posted: 18 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Designing for kids is certainly not child's play. Whilst the design process is undertaken by adults, the end users are often children, such is the case in kindergarten, schools, and parks. Architects have a responsibility, therefore, to ensure that the built environment offers children the chance to play, explore, and learn in physical space, even in a digital age. With that in mind, here are 18 cool spaces designed especially for children – environments which may perhaps inspire the Fosters, Hadids, and Le Corbusiers of tomorrow. The Youth Wing for Art Education Entrance Courtyard / Ifat Finkelman + Deborah Warschawski © Amit Geron Brutalist Playground / Assemble © Tristan Fewings / Getty Images for RIBA The Family Playground / HAO Design © Hey!Cheese OB Kindergarten and Nursery / HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro © Studio Bauhaus, Ryuji Inoue Play Landscape be-MINE / Carve + OMGEVING Courtesy of Carve Drapers Field / Kinnear Landscape Architects © Adrian Taylor Children's Bicentennial Park / ELEMENTAL © Cristobal Palma Täby Torg / Polyform © Wichmann + Bendtsen The Courtyard of Our Dreams / Lukas Fúster © Federico Cairoli Five Fields Play Structure / Matter Design + FR|SCH Courtesy of Matter Design + FR|SCH The Lego Play Pond / HAO Design © Hey!Cheese Frederiksvej Kindergarten / COBE © Rasmus Hjortshøj Clover House / MAD Architects © Koji Fujii / Nacasa & Partners Inc. Sleep and Play / Ruetemple © Ruetemple Giraffe Childcare Center / Hondelatte Laporte Architectes © Philippe Ruault Farming Kindergarten / Vo Trong Nghia Architects © Hiroyuki Oki Ama'r Children's Culture House / Dorte Mandrup © Torben Eskerod Village in the Schoolyard / MUTOPIA
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| London Spa / Richard Bell Architecture Posted: 18 Apr 2017 10:00 PM PDT  © Hélène Binet
 © Hélène Binet From the architect. A private spa, a hidden sanctuary - a space for reflection. In this recent project by Richard Bell Architecture, as beautifully photographed by Hélène Binet, the light is celebrated and the darkness indulged. A huge volume is illuminated from one end and enclosed by ten thousand handmade bricks, each bearing the thumbprint of its maker. As the light tracks over the rough surface of the bricks, it picks out a shifting landscape of ridges and valleys in miniature. This coarse textured brick is in striking contrast to the glass-like blackness of the pools. The expansive stillness of the water's surface reflects the space and gives a doubling effect to the volume.  © Hélène Binet This spa and wellness area is an extension to a house in central London. The site offered little above ground space as the openness of the gardens was important to maintain. It is for this reason that a large subterranean volume was created. The volume incorporates pools, a sauna, a steam room, a gym, deluge showers and changing rooms.  Section / Floor Plan The grey of the bricks is complemented by the visual warmth of an open boarded cherry wood ceiling that conceals a multitude of services and the substantial structure that holds up the gardens above in one uninterrupted span.  © Hélène Binet There is playfulness in the architecture too. A water station is fed from a four-meter long spout that hangs from the ceiling and elongated towel hooks punctuate the brickwork, appearing as discreet dots made evident by their long shadows.  © Hélène Binet The raking light, the shadowy spaces, the reflections and the materiality combine in this spa to create a space with a quiet intensity and a gentle drama.  © Hélène Binet  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Neo-Bankside Residents Launch Legal Bid Against Herzog & de Meuron's Tate Modern Extension Posted: 18 Apr 2017 09:00 PM PDT  The proximity of the two projects. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu Residents of London's Neo Bankside residential building—a luxury complex of apartments designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners—have launched a legal bid against the Tate Modern to close one side of a public viewing platform, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and completed in 2016, which overlooks their properties. As reported by the Architects' Journal, "the applicants say that their human rights are being breached due to 'near constant surveillance' from visitors to the neighbouring attraction." The claim goes as far to argue that visitors to the Southbank gallery "constantly view their flats through binoculars, and post photographs and film of their homes on social media sites."  Tate Modern Switch House (left) and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partner's Neo Bankside (right). Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu In the past, Neo Bankside itself has been the subject of intense controversy. In 2015, when the project was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, a group known as Architects for Social Housing (ASH) gained attention after stating its intention to hold a protest at the award ceremony. Their anger was directed at the fact that the project, which they posited had "not only broken every planning requirement for social housing in Southwark" but has, in so doing, "set a very dangerous precedent for the mechanics of social cleansing in London." Calls for the public viewing platform to be sealed off—or "for a screen to be built at the residents' expense along the viewing platform"—have been so far rejected. News via Architects' Journal.
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