Arch Daily |
- Living Unit / OFIS Architects
- Whisky Bar / jbmn architectes
- Qingdao Cruise Terminal / CCDI - Mozhao Studio & Jing Studio
- The Open House / MODO Designs
- University of Sydney Business School / Woods Bagot
- TSC Anyong Fresh Lab / CYS.ASDO
- Clifton Hill House 2 / ITN Architects
- AIA Announces Winners of the 2017 Small Project Awards
- Cherry Hospital / Perkins+Will
- New Images Revealed of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's U.S. Olympic Museum as Project Breaks Ground
- Îlot 19, La Défense-Nanterre / Farshid Moussavi Architecture
- House Jonker / Thomas Gouws Architects
- Indications Suggest That Hundreds of Residential Towers in England Are Clad in Potentially Combustible "Reynobond PE"
- The 58-Year Evolution of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum
- La Diana / RÄS Studio
- Spotlight: Alejandro Aravena
- Life Before and After Architecture
- La Maison Etirée / Barres & Coquet
| Posted: 22 Jun 2017 08:00 PM PDT  © Janez Martincic
 © Janez Martincic From the architect. The research for the Cabin was initiated by OFIS, C+C, C28 and AKT along with contractor Permiz to develop Self-contained wooden shell, which can be flexible and adaptable on different locations, climate conditions and terrains.  Section They can be used as holiday cabins, hide away, tree houses or short-time habitations for research, tourism or shelter; their small size allows easy and different transport possibilities.  © Janez Martincic The basic unit can contain habitation for 2 people with double bed, wardrobe, table with chairs and possibility to install bathroom, and kitchenette. If needed 2 or more cabins can be combined together creating a larger habitation that could inhabit 4-6 people. They can be combined vertically (like here in Parco Sempione) or horizontally.  © Janez Martincic  Diagram  © Janez Martincic The structure are timber frames that are reinforced by plywood boards on both sides. The cabin can be fixed on the ground either by steel anchors or removable concrete cubes.  © Janez Martincic The material promotes use of wood – natural, ecological and human friendly material. The façade and interior treatment can be changeable and flexible, so the unit in its material and finishing can be used in various site context. The living units exhibited on Milan Design Week are available on Sale.  Structure  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jun 2017 07:00 PM PDT  © Yann Deret
 © Yann Deret From the architect. The new bar takes place in the basement, previously unused, of the restaurant "La Maison du Sake" located rue Tiquetonne in Paris. The project proposes to occupy the small rooms by creating five thematic pieces, where you can consume the precious liquid: whiskey salon, japanese salon, tashinomi, bottle keep. Each space is characterized by its ceiling, which highlights the natural stone of the existing construction, supplemented by a minimalist and discreet furnishing, made in raw medium, metal and oak.  © Yann Deret  Bar Plans  © Yann Deret  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Qingdao Cruise Terminal / CCDI - Mozhao Studio & Jing Studio Posted: 22 Jun 2017 03:00 PM PDT  Courtesy of CCDI
 Courtesy of CCDI From the architect. Citizens of Qingdao have a strong sense of belonging to the sea, and this sense of belonging can be seen in every part of the public activities in this coastal city. Pier 6, where the cruise Terminal located, is surrounded by blue water and has the inherent advantage of developing a recreational park that combined with yacht rental services. With the complementary commercial functions and landscape, permanent and temporary exhibitions at the arrival and departure hall, the multi-functionality of the cruise terminal ensures that liveliness and richness of this coastal city can be sustained.  Courtesy of CCDI Considering Qingdao's prevailing northwest wind in winter, and the superior landscape conditions at the site's south bay, this project includes a degrading terrace towards the South under the large structural span of steel, forming a major outdoor public platform. At the North façade on the third floor, there are a few outdoor sightseeing platforms for sea viewing, at the same time, providing partial interactive connections between the North and South sides. Similar to decks on the boat, these platforms provide space for relaxation and activities. For this project, inspiration of the architectural form came from the "sail", which is famous in Qingdao, The city of Sailing, as well as rows of pitched roof from Qingdao's historical architecture. To further express the mechanical beauty, the steel structure is exposed on the exterior without curtain walls, so that the structural form becomes the most powerful language of the façade. The interior sprung roof reveals the main structure as possible as it can, so that passengers are still able to read the structural logic and mechanical beauty of the architecture.  Exploded Axonometric  Courtesy of CCDI Interior and light The arrival and departure hall on the first floor provides checking-in and luggage services. After that, through vertical lifts and walkways, passengers will arrive on the second-floor Foyer and wait for departure. The customer service is also located on the second floor. Its skylights, through the combination of aluminum board and glass, have transformed the inclined surface of the roof into stepped ramp, which has not only solved the problem of floodwater containment, but also introduced soft light with the modular rhythm of light and shadow. Meanwhile, the public hall of the cruise terminal can also hold temporary exhibitions and so on public activities.  Courtesy of CCDI The combination of different programs makes the cruise terminal become a daily leisure place for the public. At night when artificial lights bright up the indoor space, the transparent glass curtain wall will transform the entire architecture into a lantern illuminating the surrounding public plaza and green space.  Courtesy of CCDI  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jun 2017 01:00 PM PDT  © Radhika Pandit
 © Radhika Pandit From the architect. This weekend house is meant as a gathering and retreat place for a Gujarati family which is located in a posh western locality of the Ahmedabad. The design brief given by the owner was to develop the place more like a small resort.  © Radhika Pandit Keeping this essential brief in mind, the house is designed as two blocks separated by open to sky space. The idea was to allow natural elements flow into the blocks and engage the users with these elements and thereby connect them to nature.  Floor Plan The front block has the living, dining and verandah space which are more public in nature and are interpreted by glass pavilion. The rear block houses the private bedroom spaces and kitchen and hence more stark and introverted in expression. The sense of openness and flow prevails, to have inviting resort like feel.  © Radhika Pandit The glass pavilion is shield by the harsh sun through a deep verandah in south, an entry vestibule slab in east and through a wood screen in west. The pool located in south west part causes cool breeze to flow into the living and bedroom spaces.  Sections The house is intended to be informal in nature eliminating false ceiling in internal spaces and keeping exposed RCC slabs. The flooring in living and bedroom spaces is river washed Indian granite while all toilet has natural granite, slate and marble. The external walls have Indian granite cladding in certain portions and stone granule plaster. The internal walls explore direct paint without putty to have characteristic rustic look. The concern of using the waste is also explored in couple of toilets where granite waste is used to create random patterns.  © Radhika Pandit  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| University of Sydney Business School / Woods Bagot Posted: 22 Jun 2017 01:00 PM PDT  © Trevor Mein
 © Trevor Mein From the architect. In a strategic move to consolidate its facilities across nine buildings on the Camperdown/Darlington campuses, Woods Bagot designed the flagship home for the new University of Sydney Business School. Catering to over 6,000 students, the project includes three 550-seat lecture theatres, eight 100-seat study rooms, 40 seminar rooms, a learning hub and 1,500 sqm of informal learning space.  © Trevor Mein One of the main objectives of the Business School was to reshape the conventional higher education triptych of teaching, learning and research. Drawing on this goal, the vision for the project was to create a 21st century learning environment that fosters productive interactions with the business community while responding to the needs of students.  © Trevor Mein The functional floor plates provide a spectrum of learning environments positioned around a centrally-located social spine, encouraging collaboration and visual accessibility. Providing transparency and a sense of dynamism from the street to informal learning environments, the building is activated via the use of exposed stairs which link the various floors.  1st Floor Plan The design offers an architectural solution in the form of a series of boxes clustered around social, collaborative, 'sticky' spaces. The clustered buildings interconnect with canopies and atrium spaces to provide a diversity of spaces for teaching and learning. The 'social glue' spaces provide transparency from the street to the informal internal learning environments and external learning spaces. Stair linkages aid in activating the building promoting pedestrian movement between floors.  © Trevor Mein The architectural vernacular and fine grain of the building draws inspiration from the historic and textural character of the neighbouring terraces and university quadrangle. The exterior skin draws inspiration from the historic and textural character of the neighbouring Darlington terraces and the university quad. The double-skin façade system is intelligently designed to react to both the interior and exterior building adjacencies, with density and rotation of blades responding to desirable sightlines, privacy concerns and daylight penetration to study areas. In a contemporary reinterpretation of historic local sandstone, the stratification of terracotta baguettes integrates the architecture firmly within the campus aesthetic.  3rd Floor Plan The building celebrates the presence of the existing Sydney Blue Gum on the site by establishing the hardwood tree as a central feature around which the building wraps. This strong entry statement also acts as a bold visual and physical link reaching out to the community and main campus. Secondary entries throughout the site provide permeability to the campus and amenities.  © Trevor Mein Set back 11m from the property line, the design retained significant native trees creating a sense of 'buildings in the park'. An integrated landscape concept was devised to supplement and connect the spectrum of learning and social spaces created by the architecture, incorporating ecological sustainable development and water-conscious landscaping. The spatial and material resolution of the landscape design maximises accessibility and ease of movement while contributing positively to public domain.  © Trevor Mein Presenting a new iteration of a university community, the design has facilitated a creative, collegial and collaborative learning and research environment for the next generation of global business leaders.  © Trevor Mein  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| TSC Anyong Fresh Lab / CYS.ASDO Posted: 22 Jun 2017 12:00 PM PDT  © K. M. Lee
 © K. M. Lee From the architect. Su'ao is an urban township by the sea in Yilan County, Taiwan, and famous for its fresh sea products and the nearby harbor. This project was begun with a new technology, CAS (Cells Alive System) introduced by our client, TSC Anyong biotechnology and was hoping to build a tourism factory in Su'ao, rely on its geological advantage. The idea is to emphasize the interaction between the factory and customer, and optimize the relation between factory and the surrounding environment.  © K. M. Lee Our architectural design approach is to allow the building blends into environment like how chameleon change its skin coloration based on temperature, light intensity, physical condition, and many other reasons. Therefore, we created geometrically perforated metal panel systems in three green colors and numerous sizes of holes rearranged into a large piece of exterior skin around the overall steel frame structure. Also, by pushing one side of the metal screen towards center and with rhombus structure frame on the back, each panel system looks like stacking up on top of another. By doing so, these panel systems offer different types of astonishing feature and expression on the skin surface according to seasonal variations and changes of weather.  Diagram The factory produced various fishery products, mainly frozen fish in CAS technology (quick freezing) method, fish processed goods such as fish balls and fish oil. Most of these products will deliver to local markets and restaurants outside the factory. Moreover, we also provide our own market and restaurants in the building, so the market will be selling our processed goods, and many of the restaurants dishes are made from our products as well. The waste and residue from fishery production will be recycled to the green house on the upper floor to grow vegetable, and our vegetable will be returned to the market and restaurants to serve as one of our production.  © K. M. Lee  Section  © K. M. Lee We have Processing I and Processing II on the first and second floor, central kitchen on the basement, and green house on the third floor. By arranged each main functioning space intricately, we allow to have the production processes go all the way from the basement to the top floor, and our visitors can directly view how their purchase is been made. Unlike traditional factory, we broke down conventional layout, relocate and place each processing area separately but improve its circulation with other program, and most important is our visitor will be able to interact with each program simultaneously.  © K. M. Lee After placing the factory's program, the negative space become a large public space for visitor to interact with each processing area. The visitor will immediately attract by the sunlight penetration through the high ceiling at the top with enormous rhombus structure skylight when they enter the space. The great amounts of sunlight with mimicked garden lighting in the wide open lobby area bring the whole space an outdoor atmosphere. While the visitors experience the public space floor by floor, the bridges located on each floors and the escalators intricately throughout whole space performs and indicates the idea of factory production complexity. In addition, the mix match combinations of monochrome flooring tiles and wooden wall panels' arrangement correspond to the "texture" from the environment and the exterior façade.  Diagram Apart from the self-sufficiency between factory production and markets consumption, enhance sustainable development was one of the big idea. We aim to build a self-sufficient community in this building by growing its own food, produce its own energy, and turn its waste system to a loop regenerative system. By installing solar panel system and rainwater collection in traditional way, we decided to integrate them into one piece of structure on the rooftop. Therefore, we hold up the solar panel system off the ground instead of just attach them on the surface, and installed the rainwater collection system on the back side of the solar panel system. Therefore, under the solar panel system become an interesting space, and visitor will be able to tour around the rooftop and see how this building functions environmental friendly.  © K. M. Lee  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Clifton Hill House 2 / ITN Architects Posted: 22 Jun 2017 10:00 AM PDT  © Aidan Halloran
 © Aidan Halloran From the architect. Taking advantage of a larger than usual inner city site, the clients wanted a garden focussed dwelling with accommodation for a growing family. The semi circular courtyard was introduced to help living spaces flow together, while providing some separation. The garden will eventually dominate all views – creating an urban oasis.  © Aidan Halloran  Ground Level Plan  © Aidan Halloran What was salvageable of the existing house, was retained and refurbished, with new living spaces, master bedroom and study added as a separate structure- joined by a glazed bridge.  © Aidan Halloran The simple geometric shapes reference early modern architecture of Melbourne, such as Roy Grounds.  North/South Elevation  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AIA Announces Winners of the 2017 Small Project Awards Posted: 22 Jun 2017 09:30 AM PDT  © Jesse Kuroiwa The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 11 recipients of the 2017 Small Project Awards. This is the 14th edition of the program, which was established to recognize "small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work and to promote excellence in small-project design." This year the winners have been placed into three categories:
This year's winners include a wide variety of program types and sites. Continue after the break for the list and descriptions of the projects. Category 1La Cage aux Folles / Warren Techentin Architecture  © Stephen Linsley Installed in the courtyard gallery of Materials & Applications, this project is an experimental bent steel tube structure that explores the craft of pipe bending, joining form, computational procedures, and fabrication processes into a complex structure that assumes various postures and porosities through looping and layering. La Cage aux Folles actively engages the neighborhood by opening the courtyard to the sidewalk as a pocket park, albeit a small one. In this way, the design team wanted the project to lay within the traditions of both landscape architecture and urbanism. Its engagement with the street provided a space for both unscripted use and curated performances. La Cage aux Folles has become a social condenser for the neighborhood and host to many activities during its run, including a three-person dance performance and a video animation of hummingbirds mid-flight—in slow motion—projected through multiple scrims. Colorado Outward Bound Micro Cabins / University of Colorado, College of Architecture and Planning, Colorado Building Workshop  © Jesse Kuroiwa Located in a lodgepole forest 10,000 feet above sea level, these 21 unique cabins are an exploration in micro housing and prefabrication. The initial 14 cabins were designed as seasonal housing for temporary staff. To satisfy lodging and storage, the cabins were conceived as two elements: 'box' and 'frame.' The 'frame' acts as storage for the educator's gear while also housing the 'box.' The second set of seven cabins were designed as year-round housing for permanent staff. The initial concept was reduced to just the 'box' through the implementation of structurally insulated panels. Cedar clad porches are carved from the 'box' creating private spaces. The hot-rolled steel rainscreen blends with the trees, minimizing visual impact. Prefabricated birch plywood brings warmth to the interiors and connects to the surrounding environment. Each set of cabins was completedin three weeks of on-site construction by 28 graduate students. Sunset Pavilion / Tomecek Studio Architecture  Courtesy of Tomecek Studio Architecture Standing atop and overlooking the park entry—framing panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains—the Sunset Pavilion marks the intersection of multiple paths along a regional trail system. Along with eight additional structures, the pavilion celebrates the simplicity of construction of natural materials. The prefabricated steel structure cantilevers from grade, shielding visitors from the harsh Colorado sun. Acting as a lens, the pavilion's details emphasize the phenomenal qualities of the sun's path. Perforations along the overhead plane track the sun's movement during the autumnal and vernal equinox. The steel plate and gabion walls below frame the distant view of the mountains while editing out the roadway and development in the foreground. The fluid shape of the concrete bench within invites visitors to sit, climb, recline, and view the landscape, allowing the pavilion to reference the emotional landscape present while placing it within the larger geographic context. Category 2Lightbox / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson  © Nic Lehoux Designed as a home and studio for a photographer and his young family, this project is located on a densely forested site on a peninsula that extends south from British Columbia across the border to Point Roberts. A south-facing two-story glass cage for living captures the sun and view as it celebrates the interplay of light and shadow in the forest. To the north, stairs are contained in a thin, black-stained wooden box with narrow apertures. The home was made decidedly modest, in size and means, with a building skin utilizing simple materials in a straightforward yet innovative configuration. The result is a structure crafted from affordable and common materials, such as exposed wood beams that form the structural frame and directly support a prefabricated aluminum window system of standard glazing units, uniformly sized to reduce the complexity and overall cost. Laura's Place / ARCHITECTURE BUILDING CULTURE  © Jay Elliot Laura's Place is a supportive transitional housing facility for pregnant or parenting women who have graduated from an in-patient treatment facility. It offers mothers who have successfully completed their treatment programs a communal home where they can take their next step in the recovery process. Laura's Place serves an average of 16 women and 16 children every year. The fundamental role of this expansion project was one of reflecting, supporting, and transforming the cultural context of the residents. This was done in a number of ways, from the overall site planning to the design of the new transitional housing units. The emphasis was to create a safe, supportive, and propelling transitional home for the mothers and their children. Critical to the project's success was the collaborative effort, in part pro bono, by the entire project team and project partners. Little House / mw|works  © Andrew Pogue The project is nestled into a lush second-growth forest on a north-facing bluff overlooking Hood Canal. Built over an existing foundation, the new building is just over 20 square feet. Early discussions focused on a compact, modern structure that was simple and efficient. Visitors approach the site from the south, where a thin canopy marks the entry and frames views of the canal. The more transparent north and west elevations pull the landscape and distant view into the space. Oxidized black cedar and blackened cement infill panels clad the exterior while lightly painted panels and soft pine plywood warm and brighten the interior. On a sunny western corner, a large patio reaches into the landscape—a jumping off point to trails wandering down to the water's edge. The resulting project hopes to capture the essence of the modern cabin, small in size but much larger than its boundaries. Prospect House / Max Levy Architect  © Casey Dunn Prospect House is a wedding and event space standing in a twenty-acre field of rolling native prairie. It can accommodate celebrations in numerous configurations indoors, outdoors, and on a huge screened-in porch. Above the main hall is a large wind vane. Its mast extends down into the room and supports a 12-foot diameter ring that can be decorated. The ring turns with the breezes, connecting festivities inside with the world outside. This is modernism reflecting an old-fashioned approach: boards, white paint, and corrugated sheet metal, generously open to almost any function, reframing peoples' awareness of simple things. Gemma Observatory / Anmahian Winton Architects  © Anmahian Winton Architects & Client This private astronomical observatory is located in the mountains of central New Hampshire on a site characterized by gray granite outcroppings. Gemma's siting, form, and materials are rooted in the practical requirements of minimizing building movement and dissipating heat gain, and in symbolic relationships to both celestial and environmental landmarks. The design rejects a traditional dome in favor of a synthesized architectural form, providing more usable space and emphasizing the observatory's aesthetic relationship to its stark geographic context. Patterned zinc cladding integrates the site's irregular topography with the building's geometry. Its dimension, color, and patina evoke a material relationship to the austere environment. A helical stair leads from the cantilevered entry canopy to a fissure in the cladding that opens onto the exterior observation deck. Continuing, it arrives at the primary viewing platform inside the faceted turret, whose corner window frames Polaris when locked in the southern cardinal position. Category 3Funny Girl Farm Produce Barn / Szostak Design, Inc.  © Jim Sink Photography Designed as an open-work shed for produce handling, this 4,300-square-foot barn reflects its agrarian function in its economy of form and materials. The barn shelters a large open workspace and equipment storage area, flanked by a linear bar of enclosed utility spaces. A limited palette of wood and steel articulates the barn's clearly defined plan. These materials were chosen for durability, to withstand the elements and heavy use. The enclosing screen walls and sloping roof are designed to be responsive to site and climate, and to provide shelter from sun and water while also harnessing wind to provide ventilation. The shed's simple structure plainly represents its utilitarian function; its refined materials palette and architectural detailing elevate the design. Lady Bird Loo / Mell Lawrence Architects  © Whit Preston The Lady Bird Loo is located near Austin's wild and busy downtown, in a stretch of hike-and-bike trails paralleling the river that bisects the city. The clients needed two single restrooms, low maintenance and vandal-resistant with great ventilation and a sense of safety for the occupant. The design team wanted spirited shelters scaled to the well treed riverside park space, with each having its own personality. The interiors give a sense of momentary pause and respite; they are safe and airy with great light and views of trees and sky. Requiring no special finishes or maintenance, the project is built entirely of steel and concrete left raw and unfinished. Changing sunlight animates the whole experience; it amplifies details and narrow edges, reemphasizes the faceted forms, darts light-slivers through intentional gaps between material, and creates useful shade and fun shadow patterns. De Maria Pavilion / Gluckman Tang Architects  © Nikolas Koenig The De Maria Pavilion is part of an informal art walk that links several contemporary sculptures on an estate. Set within a walled 1920s "kitchen garden," the design inverts the typical formal garden by reintroducing indigenous plantings: cedars, bayberry, white oaks and grasses. The board-formed, concrete interior frames works by Walter De Maria, day-lit by a large skylight and window-wall. Light levels are modulated by light-diffusing glazing and motorized shades mounted above Alaskan Yellow Cedar rafters. The facades of the pavilion reference the surrounding wall and dark granite of Large Grey Sphere, a 32-ton outdoor sculpture. Composed of 24-inch bricks, the east and west faces are set in a random bond pattern with alternating courses corbeled to create emphatic horizontal shadow lines. At the north and south, the brick is split and set in a header-only bond, creating a coarse texture that is a counterpoint to the polished surfaces of the art within. Learn more about this year's award winners, here. News and project descriptions via AIA
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| Cherry Hospital / Perkins+Will Posted: 22 Jun 2017 08:00 AM PDT  © Mark Herboth
 © Mark Herboth From the architect. Cherry Hospital addresses the challenge of designing a behavioral health facility that provides psychiatric patients with dignity in a space that is both safe and therapeutic. It is set in the heart of the rural coastal plains of Eastern North Carolina. Treatment at the hospital focuses on mental health therapy that enables patients to recognize and cope with the routine of daily life—for these patients, mimicking common daily activities like commuting to work or visiting a park can be a significant challenge. The design of Cherry Hospital addresses this by accentuating transitions between programmatic components through the use of material, scale, daylight, and modulation of spatial conditions.  Site Plan Massing of the 403,000SF behavioral health hospital draws from vernacular precedents to organize the repetitive program and break down the scale of the structure. Additionally, this approach yields a formal composition akin to daily icons and textures seen throughout the region – the cadence of the region's agrarian countryside, images of tobacco barns as objects within a landscape, and the meter of furrows in the field all parallel the regular and repetitive elements of the project.  © Mark Herboth  Uses Diagrams  © Mark Herboth The formal strategy of the building program follows the narrative of a small-town "main street" as a means to further root the hospital in the culture of its inhabitants. Patient rooms are related to residential neighborhoods, treatment areas to civic buildings, recreational program to shops along Main Street, and courtyards to city and neighborhood parks. Varied courtyard designs provide a counterpoint to the repetitive architecture and are woven into the building fabric. The landscapes aid way-finding by providing a unique sense of place within the large building. Together, these strategies aid in transitioning patients back into a routine of daily life by providing environments that support notions of home, work, and community.  © Mark Herboth  Courtyards Plans  © Mark Herboth  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| New Images Revealed of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's U.S. Olympic Museum as Project Breaks Ground Posted: 22 Jun 2017 07:15 AM PDT  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro The Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame (USOM) has broken ground in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the 60,000-square-foot building will be dedicated to the celebration and education of "the Olympic and Paralympic athlete and the unique human spirit that creates Olympians," displaying the artifacts, media, technology and stories of American athletes and the historical power of the Olympic Games.  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro When complete, the USOM will join a multitude of Olympic facilities in Colorado Springs – which has been nicknamed "Olympic City USA" – including the home of the United States Olympic Committee, the flagship Olympic Training Center and more than 20 Olympic sport National National Governing Bodies (NGBs).  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro DS+R's design takes inspiration from the body and movement of 'the athlete', resulting in a spiraling circulation path that loops through a twisting volume and around a central atrium. A large window at the peak of the path will open up to panoramic views of Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains.  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro "The design idealizes athletic motion by organizing its programs – galleries, auditorium, and administrative spaces – twisting and stretching centrifugally around an atrium space," explain DS+R on their website. "Visitors arrive at the ground level of the atrium, and then ascend to the top of the building quickly and gradually spiral down through a sequence of loft galleries, moving back-and-forth from the introspective atrium to the building's perimeter and views to the city and the mountains. The museum and the landscape are designed to form a new public plaza, nestling a distant view of Pikes Peak and an intersecting axis bridging downtown across the train tracks to the America the Beautiful Park to the west."  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro New renderings released with the announcement show the large public plaza activated with a glazed restaurant pavilion, sloping gardens and terraces, as well as paths for cycling in the summer and a possible skating rink in the winter. A sculptural bridge will span over the adjacent railway to connect the complex to the 12-hectare America the Beautiful Park to the west. With construction now underway, completion of the project is slated for 2019. News via USOM.  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro  Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro
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| Îlot 19, La Défense-Nanterre / Farshid Moussavi Architecture Posted: 22 Jun 2017 06:00 AM PDT  © Stephen Gill
 Courtesy of Farshid Moussavi Architecture Site The La Défense-Nanterre building is the first residential development in La Défense in 30 years. It is part of Jardins de l'Arche - an urban project initiated by EPADESA to invigorate the space immediately west of La Grande Arche. To its south, it fronts the Axe historique (historical axis) that cuts through Paris and defines a grand open space through the city between the Louvre Museum and La Défense. Beyond the Promenade de l'Arche, it overlooks Puteaux cemetery, and to the north, it borders Neuilly cemetery. To the east, it borders a new arena. Its exceptional location makes it the very first to be seen when standing on the Axe Historique on the steps of La Grande Arche looking west, and provides it with open views of the city from three of its sides. Architecture: Unique and affordable  © Stephen Gill The architecture of the Îlot 19 residential building is designed to be inseparable from its radical approach to a mixed-tenure residential building. Defying the idea that affordable housing must look simple and inexpensive, its massing, circulation system, structure and materials offer its residents a building which is both unique and highly crafted, whilst providing them with an empowering living experience regardless of their affluence.  Site plan Massing: Social and Environmental Sustainability The residential units are arranged within a 12m-deep linear slab growing to a deeper 3-storey plinth between the level of the new public space (the promenade) and the Neuilly cemetery. Commercial spaces and student housings are located in the lower levels to animate the esplanade of the Jardins de l'Arche. The levels above provide 91 double-aspect apartments on levels 1-9 (72 of which are affordable, and 9 of which are 'social housing' apartments reserved for the inhabitants of Nanterre), and 1 level of maisonette penthouses. The building therefore embraces the social cohesion of the pre-Hausmannian building typology that combined the bourgeoisie, civil servants, low-wage employees and students in one single building.  © Stephen Gill Within the shallow slab, the apartments - irrespective of their tenure type - are arranged laterally, with each two accessed by an elevator and stair core. In the absence of a long access corridor, the building is imbued with social sustainability as residents with different habits and desires can cohabit a single building without disturbing one another. Moreover, the lateral arrangement provides the building with environmental sustainability as the resulting double-aspect apartments benefit from plenty of natural light and views of the exterior urban context at both ends, as well as natural cross ventilation.  Typical Floors On the southern exposure, the floors are tapered by 2-degrees in alternate directions to bring an oblique view of the Axe Historique into the exterior spaces. This also generates a stepped section for the building, and as a result of this, the private outdoor spaces on alternate floors become differentiated into either protruding or recessed. The protruding open spaces are clad with aluminium sliding shutters for privacy and shade to function as loggias, and the recessed open spaces, which are shaded by the floor above, are left open to function as balconies. The stepped section of the building therefore reduces the amount of material needed for shading the residential units and makes the building more environmentally sustainable.  Courtesy of Farshid Moussavi Architecture Private Exterior Spaces and Cladding: Inclusivity Private outdoor spaces at each end of the apartments are provided throughout the building, irrespective of the tenure type, and range in size, shape and orientation from one end of the building to the other, owing to the tapered shape of the floors - thus giving prospective residents more options to choose from.  © Stephen Gill The building takes an equally inclusive approach to the cladding of this mixed-tenure residential building. All apartments and student rooms are clad with full height glazing and sliding aluminium shutters. Consequently, a student room is given the same exact 'interface' with the exterior urban realm as one of the simplex apartments or penthouses, making the recognition of different categories of affordability impossible from the urban realm they share in common.  Different Outdoor Spaces Structure and Building Materiality: User Empowerment In order to empower residents to reconfigure their interiors at their own pace as and when their requirements change, the structure of the building is located along the party wall between neighbours, the vertical cores and the façade: leaving the apartment interiors free of any load bearing structure. The apartment interiors are already different, as their first owners have decided to subdivide them differently.  Courtesy of Farshid Moussavi Architecture To avoid burdening residents with maintenance costs, the building exterior is assembled with anodized aluminium, glass, concrete and hardwood flooring - all of which are materials that require very little maintenance over time.  North - South Section  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House Jonker / Thomas Gouws Architects Posted: 22 Jun 2017 04:00 AM PDT  © David Ross
 © David Ross From the architect. The house designed for the Jonker family is located in a golf estate, east of Pretoria, South Africa. Built on one of the last open stands in an established part of the estate, it is next to a green belt surrounding the golf coarse, but is separated from it by a street. The odd-shaped site had a grove of existing soetdoring (accacia karroo) trees close to the street. This natural feature was retained and dictated the siting of the buildings; it was utilized to create a privacy barrier between house and street also but also to draw the natural landscape opposite the street into the site.  © David Ross The owners wanted a minimalist home that would provide separate functional areas for the family members' activities. The program is split up into the distinct functional zones of the main house, the garage/service building and the outbuilding. The main house contains the family living spaces and bedrooms, while the outbuilding is a home office space on the ground floor and a guest bedroom space on the first floor.  © David Ross The outbuilding with its independent functions is placed closest to the street, nestled in the grove of trees, leaving the largest and more private location on the site for the main house. The site is entered on the southern side and one is drawn past the linear graphic façade of the garage/service building to a planting of fever trees and the entrance courtyard of the main house.  Ground Floor Plan From the outside, a concrete lintel walkway defines the entrance route with the swimming pool on the northern side utilized as visual focal point in the entrance procession. A cantilevering concrete slab from the garage/service building provides protection, reducing the scale and assisting in a comfortable transition between exterior and interior. The main house consists of three volumes and one enters the house into the first open and transparent volume of the living and entertainment spaces. Its open plan configuration allows effortless interaction while varying ceiling height defines the separate functions. The northern façade consisting of multi-panel sliding doors allows various degrees of physical interaction with the garden and outdoor living spaces.  © David Ross The second, more solid volume is placed orthogonally to the west of the living spaces. It shields and defines the living space, southern entrance courtyard and northern outdoor living space. This more private zone houses the main bedroom and young daughter's bedroom. Conceived as a withdrawn space, it is more intimately scaled.  © David Ross The third volume on the first floor level is the two older boys' retreat and contains their bedrooms and a large playroom / living area. It spatially connects with the ground floor through the double volume. The double volume also acts as light shaft filling the ground floor living spaces with natural light. The natural light and privacy is controlled on the northern and southern façades with slatted timber shutters.  Sections The northern garden was designed as series of functional manicured spaces inserted into a natural landscape of indigenous grass and tree species.  © David Ross  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jun 2017 03:30 AM PDT  Grenfell Tower at 05.48 local time on the day of the indicent. Image © Selim Halulu "As a precaution," the British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons today, "the [UK] Government has arranged to test cladding in all relevant tower blocks." This initial investigation ordered by the British Government following the devastating fire and loss of life at Grenfell House in London on June 14, have returned initial results which show that "three samples," according to the BBC, "are 'combustible'." Further results are expected to be made public over the course of the next 48 hours. The Prime Minister also declared that:
The implications for landlords and clients, architects, engineers, and contractors following these results are potentially far-reaching. The type of cladding used—Reynobond PE ("PE" indicating polyethylene)—"passed all building regulation checks by Haringey Council," the BBC has been told. As a result, the UK Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are now coordinating facilities and a process to permit 100 samples per day, requested and sent from residential towers around the country which have aluminium composite material on their façades, to be tested. A spokesperson for Downing Street, following the Prime Minister's Commons statement, has said:
According to the manufacturer, Arconic Architectural Products, Reynobond PE "features a polyethylene core that adds strength and rigidity to the coil-coated aluminum panels." This "maximizes its flexibility and formability, while maintaining a lightweight for easy installation." Another version of the material, Reynobond FR—which was not used on Grenfell House—"adds an extra layer of protection." It is "manufactured just like Reynobond PE, but with a fire-retardant mineral core that guarantees higher resistance to fire. These panels meet or exceed national model building code requirements without exception." News via BBC.
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| The 58-Year Evolution of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum Posted: 22 Jun 2017 02:30 AM PDT  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1959, with the original yellow-brown painted facade. Image © Robert E. Mates This article originally appeared on guggenheim.org/blogs under the title "Wright's Living Organism: The Evolution of the Guggenheim Museum," and is used with permission. Standing on the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum construction site in 1957, architect Frank Lloyd Wright proclaimed, "It is all one thing, all an integral, not part upon part. This is the principle I've always worked toward." The "principle" that Wright referred to is the design ideology that he developed over the course of his seventy-year career: organic architecture. At its core, that principle was an aspiration for spatial continuity, in which every element of a building would be conceived not as a discretely designed module, but as a constituent of the whole. Although not Wright's intention per se, it is fitting that the building he conceived of as a living organism has evolved over time. The overall integrity and character-defining spiral form have remained unchanged, but there have been a series of additions and renovations necessitated by the growth and modernization of the institution.  View from Fifth Avenue of the original driveway and entrance to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1959. Image © William H. Short The grand ramp within the Guggenheim Museum is often compared to a street winding up the rotunda, but when the museum opened, traffic literally drove through the building: entering on Fifth Avenue, continuing on a sweeping curved driveway, and exiting onto 89th street. Wright was infatuated with automobiles, believing that the choice and control that an automobile provides to individuals embodies democracy. After receiving the commission for the Guggenheim Museum in 1943 from Hilla Rebay (the museum's founding director, 1939 – 1949), Wright pushed for a site in Riverdale Park in the Bronx. Unconcerned with the remote nature of the site, he was convinced that automobile and even helicopter travel would become universal after the war. He wrote to Rebay, "The sidewalk crowd means less than nothing to our enterprise." After refocusing on a site within Manhattan's grid, Wright's early sketches of the museum resolutely included a driveway and parking spaces; there were even cars in his 1945 model. In the end, the parking spaces were substituted with an outdoor sculpture park, but the driveway was fully functional until 1975. At that time, both driveway and park were enclosed, creating the space for essential museum functions: a bookstore, restaurant, and service entrance. The driveway had cut underneath what was initially conceived of as an administrative building, which Wright dubbed the "Monitor." In the earliest schemes, this structure housed apartments for founder Solomon R. Guggenheim and Rebay. On December 10, 1958, Wright described the Monitor as, "A feature intended for the use of the operating personnel of the museum and for the amenities of people who man it day by day and operate it, as well as for the trustees of the museum themselves and their friends. A place, therefore, for social occasions and propaganda."  View of the workspace on level 3 of the Monitor, ca. 1960. Image © Robert E. Mates  View from Level 4 of the Monitor of the original workspaces, ca. 1960. Image © Robert E. Mates A boardroom for the trustees and a library, along with offices and other workspaces, are all detailed in the 1958 construction drawing set. These documents show the spaces furnished with custom tables and chairs that were designed to hug the curves of the building. Ultimately, that furniture was never built, and standard rectangular desks were awkwardly positioned in the space. Just four years after the building opened, in 1963, the second floor of the monitor was converted into a gallery space, now known as the Thannhauser Gallery. The rest of the Monitor was modified over time, and today the structure houses a gift shop on the ground floor, and gallery spaces on Levels 2 and 4. The latest transformation, as of the summer of 2016: Level 3 is now completely dedicated to the museum's cafe.  Workspace in the Monitor ca. 1960. Image © Robert E. Mates One of the most conspicuous changes to the building is widely unknown: the evolution of the exterior paint color. When the museum opened on October 21, 1959, the exterior was closer in color to the terrazzo floors within: a warm yellow-brown. Wright enthusiasts will find this hue reminiscent of his other concrete structures, including the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma (1956) and the terraces of Fallingwater (1939).  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1959, with the original yellow-brown painted facade. Image © Robert E. Mates The thought process behind selecting the buff paint for the facade fell within the principles of organic architecture—deliberately aligning the exterior facade with the terrazzo floors within gave an impression of a single, smooth continuous space. In fact, to underscore the continuity of the building, Wright intended that every surface be a consistent color. When James Johnson Sweeney (the museum's director from 1952 – 1960) insisted that the interior gallery walls be painted white, Wright wrote in protest to Harry Guggenheim, Solomon's nephew:
Wright lost that battle, but the selection of the exterior paint color was his choice alone to make. That said, the building was only the original buff for five years. A series of paint jobs over the subsequent decades slowly transformed the museum into what most think of as an off-white building (it's actually light gray, specifically Tnemec BF72 Platinum). In 2007, after a thorough analysis that involved uncovering up to 12 layers of paint over the concrete form, the New York City Landmarks Commission designated in perpetuity a single paint color. They decided on cool, light gray, the color that is most commonly associated with the building, as opposed to dramatically reinstating Wright's buff. Over the years, as the building has been renovated and expanded, Wright's intention has been consulted and challenged. His design for the museum developed over 16 years, from its commission in 1943 until the building opened in 1959. Changes were even made during the three-years construction period. Wright's vision is relative to context and circumstance, and the historical significance of the structure has developed over time. Acknowledging the legitimacy of the layered, flexible authenticity of the Guggenheim Museum recognizes the structure as a living organism. © 2017 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jun 2017 02:00 AM PDT  © Adrià Goula
 © Adrià Goula From the architect. La Diana is the exercise of linking visually, volumetrically and functionally two independent and alienated entities: a commercial space on the ground floor and an apartment on the first floor. The architectural strategy was based on drilling the existing slab to create a large enough opening that would activate the relationship in section between the two floors, and in which the stairs are placed. This stairway is fragmented into two parts to offer a more human scale on the ground floor thanks to a 2,20 m high metal platform that acts as an intermediate landing and simultaneously segments the living area and the kitchen.  © Adrià Goula The intimacy issue given by the "groundfloorness" was approached by generating a semi-exterior patio that would act as a filter between the street and the interior.  © Adrià Goula  Perspective  © Adrià Goula On the first floor, the night areas are organized around the void of the double space. The partitions are solved with equipped walls that include storage, room doors and upper glass panels that allow natural light from the façades into the inners of the house.  © Adrià Goula The materiality is responding to the will to recover and/or emphasize the original condition of traditional architecture. A piece of natural terracotta is placed as the pavement and the walls are stripped to expose the original brickwork with all its imperfections and textures. On the first floor, a concrete strip draws the perimeter of the outer walls and solves the intersection with the ceiling. Again, this strip divides the wall into two heights, adding domesticity to the space, making architecture react to the human scale.  © Adrià Goula  © Adrià Goula  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jun 2017 01:00 AM PDT  Innovation Center UC - Anacleto Angelini. Image © Nico Saieh As founder of the "Do Tank" firm ELEMENTAL, Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena (born on June 22, 1967) is perhaps the most socially-engaged architect to receive the Pritzker Prize. Far from the usual aesthetically driven approach, Aravena explains that "We don't think of ourselves as artists. Architects like to build things that are unique. But if something is unique it can't be repeated, so in terms of it serving many people in many places, the value is close to zero." [1] For Aravena, the architect's primary goal is to improve people's way of life by assessing both social needs and human desires, as well as political, economic and environmental issues.  © Andrea Avezzù  Villa Verde Housing. Image © Suyin Chia Born in Santiago de Chile, Alejandro Aravena graduated from the Universidad Católica de Chile in 1992. While teaching at Harvard University between 2000 and 2005, he met engineer Andres Iacobelli, with whom he founded ELEMENTAL on the premise to develop social housing in Chile. From 2010 to 2015, he was a Pritzker Prize Jury member, after which he was selected as the Pritzker Prize Laureate in 2016.  Constitución Cultural Center. Image © Felipe Diaz Contardo At his Quinta Monroy social housing project, Aravena implemented for the first time one of his signature ideas: the concept of "incremental housing." Given a minuscule budget, instead of designing row houses or small detached houses he proposed to build "half a good house" for the same cost. ELEMENTAL provided a basic house with the necessary sanitary equipment and two rooms for an overall floor space of 40 square meters. With this frame, families took over to build the rest of the house after saving enough money, and progressively changed their homes from low-end social housing to a more desirable unit.  Las Cruces Lookout Point. Image © Iwan Baan Aravena further developed incremental housing when designing projects like Lo Barnechea, Monterrey and Villa Verde. The latter was built after the 2010 Earthquake and tsunami that destroyed the city of Constitución. For Aravena, "there is nothing worse than answering well the wrong question," which is why he involved all inhabitants in the design process. In doing so, he learned about the need to protect housing not only from tsunamis, but also from recurring floods. Residents highlighted the need for public spaces, and for access to the Maule river. Aravena balanced urgent social needs with individual desires by placing a forest and public walkway between the river and the housing units—an effective design solution that also turned out to be the cheapest.  Innovation Center UC - Anacleto Angelini. Image © ELEMENTAL l Nina Vidic Beyond social housing, Aravena has developed buildings for universities and municipalities, where he demonstrated his ability to interpret a context and to understand what resources are available. At the Innovation Centre UC, Aravena questioned the need for office buildings to feature glass skins on their facades. He turned this usual typology inside out, designing massive external walls to prevent from overheating, with an open atrium at the core of the building which allows natural light to penetrate into the space. Cross ventilation was possible by opening exterior windows, and the open internal structure created visual connections among employees at different floors.  Mathematical school. Image © Tadeuz Jalocha In 2016, Aravena curated the Venice Biennale "Reporting the Front," where he asked practitioners to report from projects that successfully investigate new fields of action—housing shortage, migration, urban slums, waste and natural disasters among others. The exhibition questions each of these social, economic, and environmental issues individually, but also collectively as Aravena highlights that "architecture is called to respond to more than one dimension at a time, integrating a variety of fields instead of choosing one or another." Aravena insists that these complex issues can only be addressed by synthesizing information into one clear design strategy. "If there is any power in design, that's the power of synthesis," says Aravena, but "scarcity of means requires from the architect an abundance of meaning. The power of architecture is the power of synthesis, to say what you want in two words instead of three, to achieve a solution in as few moves as possible." [2]  The "Reporting From the Front" exhibition. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu Overall, Aravena shows how the quality of a design does not necessarily depend on costs but on the design's intrinsic meaning. A focus on the resouces available can ensure sustainability, as Aravena proved when designing forms that respond to the potentials of nature, common sense and self-construction.  Las Cruces Lookout Point. Image © Iwan Baan See a selection of Aravena's buildings featured on ArchDaily via the thumbnails below, and further coverage of him at the links below those: Alejandro Aravena Wins 2016 Pritzker Prize Alejandro Aravena's Pritzker Prize Acceptance Speech Alejandro Aravena Wins 2017 Gothenburg Prize for Sustainable Development AD Interviews: Alejandro Aravena TED Talk: My Architectural Philosophy? Bring the Community Into the Process / Alejandro Aravena It's Elementary (Not): On the Architecture of Alejandro Aravena Critical Round-Up: Did Aravena's 2016 Venice Biennale Achieve its Lofty Goals? Alejandro Aravena Is Profiled by Michael Kimmelman for T Magazine Alejandro Aravena on Design, Venice and Why He Paused His Career to Open a Bar ELEMENTAL Releases Plans of 4 Housing Projects for Open-Source Use Why Aravena's Open Source Project is a Huge Step Toward Better, Cheaper Housing for Everyone Three Years in Villa Verde, ELEMENTAL's Incremental Housing Project in Constitución, Chile Video: Alejandro Aravena on PRES Constitución and Rebuilding After Disaster New York Times Names Alejandro Aravena Among 28 "Creative Geniuses" of 2016 Surface Magazine Examines Alejandro Aravena's "Architecture of Improvement" References:
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| Life Before and After Architecture Posted: 21 Jun 2017 11:00 PM PDT  Courtesy of The Leewardists Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. David Bowie was right when he sang it – life's full of so much uncertainty, variables, and excitement that half the battle is riding the wave and adapting as best as one can. Some adjustments are self-directed and others are forced upon us, but regardless of this, change allows us to reminisce, regret and reflect on what once was. Being an architect comes with its own set of significant life changes (and that's in addition to that major wardrobe overhaul) which more often than not, can't be helped. Gone are days of relaxation, relationships and rendezvous, now replaced by multitasking, models and meetings. But no matter how busy you are, a moment of self-reflection never hurt anyone. So switch off that second monitor, grab a coffee, and sit back, as we take a look at how your life has changed, for better or for worse, since that fateful day you stumbled upon architecture.  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists  Courtesy of The Leewardists Centuries of civilizations built on structures designed by architects and yet, their voice is lost among the countless stories of rulers and armies and sometimes wondrous monsters. The Leewardists are rewriting the contemporary history of our civilization through the voice of this elusive being, The Architect. For more of The Architect Comic Series follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or visit their website.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| La Maison Etirée / Barres & Coquet Posted: 21 Jun 2017 10:00 PM PDT  © Aurélien Aumond
 © Aurélien Aumond From the architect. The house is designed around wood boxes placed alongside the slope of the construction plot. They serve as a structure for the living place but also for the surroundings, allowing views on distant landscapes. From their installation and capacity, the boxes integrates all the housing functions and allows a large modularity of the spaces thanks to modular dividing walls.  Ground Floor Plan Regarding the interior, fabrics and materials have been carefully chosen to balance with the minimalism and raw materials of the main structure.  © Aurélien Aumond  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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