Arch Daily |
- Haus B in Beinstein / Birk Heilmeyer und Frenzel Gesellschaft von Architekten
- Heatherwick Studio and Foster+Partners' Bund Finance Centre in Shanghai Photographed by Laurian Ghinitoiu
- Jaizkibel Student Dormitory / Otxotorena Arquitectos
- Spotlight: Frank Lloyd Wright
- Exhibition House / Innauer-Matt Architekten
- Inteltion Office / Onion
- Cut in Koganecho / PERSIMMON HILLS architects
- Yeonhui-dong Gangnyeonjae / Lee.haan.architects
- KLANG & CO. Asian Food Depot / PNEU Architects
- Hiroshi Sambuichi: Architecture Begins with "Water, Air and Sun"
- Bandeiras House / ARKITITO Arquitetura
- LTL Architects' Timber Intervention Wins Competition for Telluride Arts Center in Colorado
- House 2 - Counter City / ALICE
- Napoli Afragola Station - Phase 1 / Zaha Hadid Architects
- Iguana House / Obra Blanca
- Spotlight: Charles Rennie Mackintosh
- How Zurich's Understated Night Lighting Strategy Enhances Local Identity
- Two Residential Buildings, a Boarding School and an Activity Centre / bunq architectes
- If the AutoCAD Unexpected Error was "Honest"
- Freespace: Grafton's 2018 Venice Biennale to Celebrate Generosity, Thoughtfulness, and a Desire to Engage
| Haus B in Beinstein / Birk Heilmeyer und Frenzel Gesellschaft von Architekten Posted: 07 Jun 2017 10:00 PM PDT  © Brigida Gonzalez
 © Brigida Gonzalez From the architect. The detached house is situated on the northern edge of the new residential area "An den Remstal-Quellen". On the basis of a new land-use plan, the former company grounds have been converted to a residential area just outside the city of Stuttgart. This provided our clients, a young family, with the opportunity to build their own home. The rented flat in Stuttgart's valley basin with public transport connection was thus traded for a one-family house with electric car.  © Brigida Gonzalez Two major requirements determined the design process: on the one hand, the restrictive land-use plan; and on the other hand, the available budget of construction costs of net 300.000 EUR. Altogether the plot comprises 197 m², with dimensions of 11.15 to 17.65 metres. Since space is tight, the development plan allows for the house to be built at the northern boundary. To the west, the building has to correspond to the defined building line, and the third floor must be stepped back by 2 metres. The entire building volume has been consistently designed within this footprint. The building is structured into two main areas. The functional spaces and the access area comprising staircase, HVAG room, bathroom and storage facility face the north boundary. All bedrooms and common rooms are facing south.  Section On the west side is the building's entrance, accentuated by a cut-out in the building volume. Standing in the hall, the occupant's view is directed through the stairs to the first floor. The two-storey high staircase reaching from the first to the second floor forms the light-flooded heart of the private rooms. It provides access to the bathroom, the masters bedroom and the children's rooms. The terrace that faces west extends the living room area and enhances its spatial quality.  © Brigida Gonzalez From the outside, the dark corrugated metal façade underlines the building's substance, whilst the industrial material is reminiscent of the former factory grounds. The building's energy consumption has been optimised by a controlled ventilation and heat recovery system. Furthermore, it features a photovoltaic system installed on the roof. Aside from supplying the residence, it provides sufficient electricity for the electric car to commute to the city centre…  © Brigida Gonzalez  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2017 09:00 PM PDT Located in central Shanghai, this multifunctional arts and culture complex is part of the Bund Finance Centre – a joint project between London-based practices Heatherwick Studio and Foster+Partners. Sitting between the old town and the new financial district, this new space combines exhibition and events spaces with a performance venue inspired, according to the architects, "by the open stages of traditional Chinese theatres." Of most visual interest is the building's mechanical "moving veil," captured here by photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu.  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  © Laurian Ghinitoiu  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jaizkibel Student Dormitory / Otxotorena Arquitectos Posted: 07 Jun 2017 08:00 PM PDT  © Rubén Pérez Bescós
 © Rubén Pérez Bescós From the architect. The work entails the rehabilitation and refurbishment of an existing construction, recently aimed at teaching functions, and its enlargement to host a new residential site as student dormitory.  © Rubén Pérez Bescós The building dates back to the early twentieth century. It has a privileged location and magnificent views; It is part of a stylistic line affiliated with the Regionalist historicism of that era, dominated by eclecticism. It emphasizes on the quality of its interior space, the ambition of its decorative finishes and the presence of its exterior appearance. As well as the way it is affirmed in the landscape, with a very marked silhouette in the image of the city from the beach.  © Rubén Pérez Bescós  Upper Floor Plans  © Rubén Pérez Bescós It was originally a single-family palace. And develops an elaborate language, of notable dedication in the delimitation and coronation of the cloths, with profusion of moldings and adornment. Its interior design revolves around the prominence of a wide and impressive double-height vestibular space. It results from the emptying of the volume of the central part and is topped with a large horizontal window of measured but effective luminosity.  © Rubén Pérez Bescós The top floor overlooks this space across its perimeter, through a long balcony. The main access is located on its perpendicular axis; And it stands before a rhetorical marble staircase that bridges the height between these two floors and occupies the bottom of the axis of the composition.  © Rubén Pérez Bescós The plot is quite close to the ends of the volume, except for its north side, where the access road runs, parallel to the main facade; Beyond it, the terrain falls abruptly with a strong green slope that looks towards the bay.  Lower Floor Plans The project involves the rehabilitation of the existing wall and the introduction of a new body built, horizontal and lying down: with its back against the ground. A wide-open terrace is obtained to the floor-level views of the ground floor.  © Rubén Pérez Bescós The new complex completely conserves all the common spaces and the valuable elements of the decoration. The outer bay of the upper floors is intended for study rooms and accommodation, excluding some rooms; The basement accommodates different technical rooms, apart from the link with the new volume. It presents a linear structure of functional nature: it has three floors, and completes the program until it reaches a number of around fifty dormitories for students, all individual. The requirement of the orientation, given the rainfall, leads to opt for a glass curtain wall in its enclosure.  © Rubén Pérez Bescós  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2017 07:30 PM PDT  Fallingwater House. Image © Western Pennsylvania Conservancy In 1991, the American Institute of Architects called him, quite simply, "the greatest American architect of all time." Over his lifetime, Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) completed more than 500 architectural works; many of them are considered masterpieces. Thanks to the wide dissemination of his designs and his many years spent teaching at the school he founded, few architects in history can claim to have inspired more young people into joining the architecture profession.  Image <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frank_Lloyd_Wright_portrait.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a>. Photograph by Al Ravenna in the public domain. Wright is particularly interesting because of the unique period in history which he occupied: as a disciple of Louis Sullivan ("form follows function") in the late 19th century, his work forms something of a bridge between the traditional architecture of that era and the modernists which began to appear in the early 20th century. Some of his later work is formally modernist, yet still retains a sensibility rooted in that earlier period.  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/132084522@N05/17207156426'>Flickr user Sam valadi</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a>  Taliesin West. Image © <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TaliesinWest2010.JPG'>Wikimedia user AndrewHorne</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY 3.0</a> In many of his works, Wright sought to define a quintessentially American architectural style. This was perhaps expressed most clearly through his houses: in his early career, Wright was often identified with the "Prairie Style," with buildings such as his Robie House featuring horizontal lines and long, low roofs which reflected the landscape of his country. Later, this ideal evolved to become the basis of his Usonian Houses--"Usonian" being a mostly-forgotten moniker coined by writer James Duff Law in 1903 to distinguish people of the USA from the other Americans of Canada and Latin America. In these designs Wright kept the low, horizontal lines of the Prairie Style, but integrated modernist features such as flat roofs and open-plan spaces.  Frederick C. Robie House. Image © Nat Hansen  Marin Civic Center. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/joevare/3506611084'>Flickr user joevare</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/'>CC BY-ND 2.0</a> Wright's designs were also driven by the desire to nurture the lives of their occupants. He referred to his architecture as "organic"--in complete harmony with itself and its surroundings, as if it had developed as naturally as a tree--but without necessarily resorting to formal imitation. This approach can be seen in his famous Fallingwater house, where balconies mimic the stratified rock of the waterfall below, and also in his research tower for SC Johnson, where the internal floors are cantilevered off the building's central trunk. His love of nature and the American landscape was also visible in the urban planning vision of Broadacre City, his proposal for sprawling, pastural landscape of incredibly low population density.  Wingspread. Image © Galen Frysinger  Ennis House. Image © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ennis_House_front_view_2005.jpg'>Wikimedia user Mike Dillon</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> For many people, Wright is the quintessential vision of the architect: he presented himself as a lone genius, fastidious down to the smallest details of his design, and his personality was often rather brash. But there is no denying his vision--and the timelessness of his designs continues to reveal just how strong that vision was.  SC Johnson Wax Research Tower. Image © SC Johnson  Fallingwater House. Image © Western Pennsylvania Conservancy See all of Frank Lloyd Wright's classics featured on ArchDaily via the thumbnails below, and more coverage of his work through the links beneath those: Frank Lloyd Wright Explains Why He Was Labeled "Arrogant" in this 1957 Interview Walk Inside: Google Cultural Institute Puts New York's Guggenheim On The Map Go on a Virtual Tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin East How Serendipity Helped Make 22-Year-Old Pedro E Guerrero FLW's Favorite Photographer At Crystal Bridges Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright's Bachman-Wilson House Reframes Architecture as Art Frank Lloyd Wright and Fay Jones on the Web: The Value of Online Exhibitions When Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier Had a Public Argument in The New York Times How 3D Printing is Saving a Frank Lloyd Wright Treasure Frank Lloyd Wright Archives relocate to New York Ten Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage List Frank Lloyd Wright's Textile Houses Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater: Keepsake or Liability? See Frank Lloyd Wright's Missing Works Recreated in Photorealistic Renders 9 Times Architects Transformed Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum Gallery: Frank Lloyd Wright's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum by Laurian Ghinitoiu MoMA Announces a Major Retrospective to Commemorate Frank Lloyd Wright's 150th Birthday See How Frank Lloyd Wright's "Tree of Life" Stained Glass Windows are Assembled  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Exhibition House / Innauer-Matt Architekten Posted: 07 Jun 2017 07:00 PM PDT  © Dakro Todorovic
 © Dakro Todorovic From the architect. Our exhibition house for timber construction company Kaspar Greber and its cooperating timber trading partners transcends classic product presentation by means of samples and leaflets. Potential clients and visitors can experience the product and its construction first hand, by touching, smelling, feeling it. Our take on the region's classic gable roof refers to the company's core competence, house building.  © Dakro Todorovic The company's in-house solid wood product "Nadelstreif/Pinstripe" is represented in both the construction and the pavilion interior. The characteristics of the various surfaces and varieties of wood (spruce, fir, oak) can speak for themselves while dividing the exhibition space inside the pavilion into different presentation areas. The raw, untreated natural wood creates a relaxed atmosphere, showcasing the positive effects of this construction material at its best.  © Dakro Todorovic The solid wood structures of walls and ceilings are represented proportionally and can be seen close-up at the openings. Doors and windows are round and invite visitors to take a closer look. The protruding wooden dowels in the cut-out openings demonstrate the stiction-based construction. Moreover, the wall, ceiling and floor connections can be seen true to scale.  © Dakro Todorovic  Section  © Dakro Todorovic The temporary exhibition pavilion is a tangible tool for marketing and showcasing wood constructing, craftsmanship and architecture. Apart from being presented at fairs and exhibitions, the movable building is available for festive events such as weddings or corporate dinners in scenic places in the region. An exceptional, transportable brand ambassador that goes a long way.  © Dakro Todorovic  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2017 03:00 PM PDT  © W Workspace
 © W Workspace From the architect. The Inteltion Office is a 170 square meters renovation project designed for the IT consultant company named Inteltion. The company has 60 employees who normally work at the clients' offices in order to take care of the computer systems. They are present at the Inteltion Office especially when they are waiting for a new client or a new project. That is to say, it is not necessary to design a desk for the individual staff. Each staff works with a laptop computer. Mobility is a characteristic of the Inteltion Company.  © W Workspace Why does an IT consultant company want a design office? The objective of this renovation is to build a space to organise meetings with the clients, to interview new employees of the company and, above all, to have the room for socialisation. This is why the Inteltion Company founder asked for Onion's design service.  © W Workspace In terms of design, the problem of office syndrome is Onion's concern. Spending hours working in the same bodily posture is unhealthy either with a computer or a pencil. Onion's proposal is the design for good health, promoted by the office for the employees.  Exercise Layout Onion started the project by observing the stretching exercises at public parks in Bangkok. To Onion, stretching modes of the elderly is more desirable than particular exercise equipments. The tools should be simple, easy to build and playful.  © W Workspace The arrangement of stretching tools is the design of Inteltion Office. These tools are organised by areas, ranging from easy to difficult exercises, namely "finger walk", "arm wheel", "spinning chairs" and most difficult of all "monkey bars".  © W Workspace A continuous iron tube is the dominant feature of the space. It functions as handrails at the office entry, seating and table structures in the middle of the room and exercise bars at the rear of the office. Onion makes use of the existing water and electricity pipes as the ornaments of the office ceiling by painting all of these old and new pipes in white colour.  © W Workspace At Inteltion Office, the objects to exercise with also include the spherical cabinet handles. They are placed a bit higher than normal for the purpose of bodily stretching. The meeting table can be transformed into a table tennis table, above which is the ping-pong balls container lamp. Next to it is a wall of ping-pong balls for the players to count the scores. When tired, employees can take a nap on the raised platform full of pillows, right above the movable file cabinets.  © W Workspace Othello Game is the relaxing mode of the office manager. Onion enlarged the Othello magnets and placed them on the iron wall of the manager's room.  © W Workspace  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Cut in Koganecho / PERSIMMON HILLS architects Posted: 07 Jun 2017 01:00 PM PDT  © Kenta Hasegawa
 © Kenta Hasegawa From the architect. This project involved redesigning the former illegal sex shop (common name is "Chonnoma") to the artist in residence as part of "Koganecho Bazaar 2016".  © Kenta Hasegawa "Koganecho Bazaar" is an art festival held every year since 2008, in Koganecho area of Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. Therefore, Koganecho has art everywhere, the town itself is the exhibition space. We thought to cut into the long and narrow space of the existing building and to create oblique facade with depth from frontal road. CUT is continuous with the town, and it becomes an exhibition space where people going around are pulled in by having a different axis from the surrounding building.  Courtesy of PERSIMMON HILLS architects We converted from negative situation with activity hidden from town by spatial form of "Chonnoma" to positive situation with activity opened to town by CUT.  © Kenta Hasegawa  Section  © Kenta Hasegawa  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Yeonhui-dong Gangnyeonjae / Lee.haan.architects Posted: 07 Jun 2017 12:00 PM PDT  © Joonhwan Yoon
 © Joonhwan Yoon From the architect. Since the late 1960s, Yeonhui-dong has been one of the representative residential areas in Seoul for the middle-income class. Looking into the townscape around the site reveals several common characteristics, one of which is the location of the parking lot below the slope on which the house is perched so that a beholder standing at the front road comes to see the high wall taller than one story.  © Joonhwan Yoon The site is located at the corner of crossroads sloping gently towards the south. At the crossroads are a well site ― which is said to have been used by Hui-bin Jang, a royal concubine to become a queen consort in the mid-Joseon period ― and to the southwest, a small park which may well serve as a signpost for the neighborhood.  © Joonhwan Yoon Therefore, we wanted to let the client feel less sense of stuffiness when entering the house at the crossroads which was originally emptied but now filled with this project, by using a different way of placing the house unlike the way used for the neighboring houses.  Sections Locating the parking lot below the slope, placing a linear first-floor mass in the north-south direction on top of the parking platform, and perching another linear mass on the second floor in the east-west direction, we made the house in a T-shaped form open towards the south-western park. Around the corner of crossroads, the front door is located with piloti structure through which one can approach the vestibule and the courtyard.  © Joonhwan Yoon The emptied piloti space serves as a buffer space through which one enters the house from outside, opening the view from the inner courtyard to the south-western park and even towards the northen townscape. From the parking lot, one can also walk up to the house in a sheltered condition, while the courtyard is always well-ventilated and opening the landscape of the crossroads.  © Joonhwan Yoon On the second floor, we created an outdoor empty space rather than fill up and increase the inner space. This outdoor space hollowed through the mass enables one to tread on the soil and plant flowers, introducing daylight up to the inner corridor and stairs. Some of the outdoor space is floored with stones on which a family party can occur with the dishes cooked in the adjacent supplementary kitchen.  © Joonhwan Yoon To the north of the site, the main room is located in a sunken level. The small mid-leveled courtyard in front of the main room intermediates the neighborhood road and the inner courtyard, so that the main room seems like an independent annex. There is no additional room above the level, so that the walkers-by on the neighborhood road can feel less sense of imposition from the mass.  © Joonhwan Yoon  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| KLANG & CO. Asian Food Depot / PNEU Architects Posted: 07 Jun 2017 10:00 AM PDT  © Jack Lovel
 © Jack Lovel From the architect. The Klang & Co. conceptual design pivots around a desire to combine the tactility of the experience of dining with the contextual quality of Malaysia Klang Depot, which is the provenance of the restaurant culture. The design draws inspiration from Heston's dish 'Sound of the sea', the dish composes the sound of sea wave audible through magnifying the echoes within the sea shell and the olfactory experience of smelling the sea water, Heston aims to heighten the senses associated with dining in order to enhance the innate quality of the ingredients.  Plan Our design deploys elements which invoke sensual responses and contextual association, the crane structure overhead adds visual potency to the dining environment, it reflects the industrial oil processing which is essential to Klang's economic boom, the artificial identity of the crane is counterpoised by the suspended tables, translucent screen wall which signify sea bubble and the sea; and level of bright glimpse effect throughout the spatial arrangement, embodied the illumination atmosphere of the Klang depot's night life . Deliberately designed elements permeate the restaurant to embellish the overall setting just as sea lives dwell in the sea.  © Jack Lovel The restaurant layout celebrates the coastal industrial process of on and offloading cargo containers, a parallel can be drawn with the on and offloading of pre-packaged food, just like modern craft no longer limits itself to handmade goods and is continuously expanding its possibilities through machine processing, the craftsmanship of takeaway food can inherit authenticity and quality without compromising the effectiveness of its distribution.  © Jack Lovel  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Hiroshi Sambuichi: Architecture Begins with "Water, Air and Sun" Posted: 07 Jun 2017 08:20 AM PDT
In this video from the Louisiana Channel, Japanese architect Hiroshi Sambuichi explains his approach to design through observation and reverence for the natural conditions of an existing site, as seen in his recently completed installation, 'The Water', currently on display at the Cisterns Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. In designing the "shrine-like" installation, Sambuichi reopened the ground above the cistern for the first time in 150 years, allowing the sun and water to meet in a tranquil embrace. Accessed via a 120-meter-long corridor, the experience is that of a journey through light and atmosphere that connects visitors to the specific qualities of the place. Several mirrors reflect light through the space, while a camera obscura projects an image of the Frederiksberg Palace onto the cistern walls as a reminder of the site's wider context. "The relation between islands, water, sun and plants is something very important for me. And because we have the sun and water here the Cisterns have an expression which is a perfect fit for me." Known as a top experimentalist of the relationship between architecture and nature, Hiroshi Sambuichi's work draws from both personal and scientific investigations, a process that allows his buildings to maintain a balance between poeticism and science. Previous works by Sambuichi include the Rokko-Shidare Observatory, the Inujima Seirensho Art Museum, and Naoshima Hall. Video via Louisiana Channel. Learn more about the installation, here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Bandeiras House / ARKITITO Arquitetura Posted: 07 Jun 2017 08:00 AM PDT  © Vivi Spaco
 © Vivi Spaco From the architect. The house is located in the heart of Vila Madalena, known as a bohemian district with great concentration area of artists and designers studios and homes. The intention of the project was to take part of this hectic lifestyle though allowing some privacy and family events and activities that would take place there. For this reason the design solution was conceived locating the construction to the back of the plot, leaving as much space possible to the front and only yard.  Ground Floor Plan  First Floor Plan The plot has a moderate acclivity of 1,5 metres which was taken as an advantage to landscape and external paths design. The light aesthetic of the construction was a result of the slim metallic structure system and precast concrete slabs which enabled wide openings of 8 meters long in the main façade, reaching the entire plot width. Because of limited budget and the short time allowed for the construction cement blocks wall were chosen to be left uncovered.  © Vivi Spaco The main front façade is oriented to the northwest which means high solar exposure during the afternoon. In order to maintain the thermal comfort indoors the architect located the aluminium frames 1,5 meters behind the façade, leaving a shading area that works as a terrace.  © Vivi Spaco In addition to the wide glass wall of the main façade there is a glass roof above the staircase to the back of the plot providing that natural lighting that permeates the 2 stories of the house. Through the staircase there is also access to the rooftop terrace which offers a vast and beautiful view of the district and a leafy cemetery area as well as sunset appreciation that making it a special place to enjoy late afternoons.  © Vivi Spaco  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| LTL Architects' Timber Intervention Wins Competition for Telluride Arts Center in Colorado Posted: 07 Jun 2017 06:00 AM PDT  Courtesy of Telluride Arts LTL Architects (Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis) has been selected as the winner of the Telluride Transfer Warehouse competition, beating out finalist entries from NADAAA and Gluckman Tang. The competition sought schemes for the adaptive reuse and transformation of the National Historic Landmark-listed warehouse in Telluride, Colorado into "an architectural and cultural landmark that provides contemporary, public art space that deepens and expands the cultural life of Telluride."  Courtesy of Telluride Arts After the collapse of its roof in 1979, the warehouse has sat vacant. During this nearly 40 year period, a large tree grew to fill the structural void. LTL's proposal references this tree, setting a sculptural timber form into the existing sandstone perimeter walls, leaving an open atrium at its east entry that includes a large tree and a retractable roof.  Courtesy of Telluride Arts  Courtesy of Telluride Arts "This sensitivity to the recent history of the building, combined with a warm, welcoming, intuitive design that uses a sustainably harvested wood material, won the favor of the community," explains Telluride Arts. "The design is both contemporary and warm, with a wooden ark-type structure inserted into the interior of the stone walls that provides appealing spaces throughout the building, including a roof top deck, an underground event space, galleries, and an entry courtyard that opens into the building at the first floor level. Steven Gluckstern, a local proponent of the project and selection committee member, aptly describes the structure as a 'cultural ark for our community'."  Courtesy of Telluride Arts  Courtesy of Telluride Arts  Courtesy of Telluride Arts The intervention will pay respects to the historic structure through its architectural elements, including a steel staircase bridging the old and the new, and by pulling the new timber structure to meet the original window openings. The 6,000-square-foot building will be organized into into four main zones: "The Great Hall," "The Stables," "The Loft" and "The Cellar." Programmatic spaces within these areas include a "Kunsthalle" for exhibitions, a digital screening room, flexible gallery and event spaces, a museum-style bar/cafe, offices and a variety of support spaces.  Courtesy of Telluride Arts Construction is scheduled to begin 2018. Learn more about the Telluride Transfer Warehouse project and see the runner-up entries, here. News via Telluride Arts. H/T Architect's Newspaper.
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| House 2 - Counter City / ALICE Posted: 07 Jun 2017 06:00 AM PDT  © Anna Positano
 © Anna Positano HOUSE 2 - COUNTER CITY is a 240 square metre public architectural installation situated next to the Toni-Areal in Zurich. The project is based on an experimental format for collaborative design and construction conceived by ALICE (Atelier de la Conception de l'Espace) — a laboratory of EPFL led by Dieter Dietz.  © Anna Positano Erected in less than 10 days, the project involved 200 first-year students, who prefabricated all the built elements of the installation in Lausanne and transported them across Switzerland in six shipping containers to Zurich, where they unloaded and re-assembled them as a full-size ephemeral structure. Devoted to social and cultural events, the public installation is not a homogenous architecture, but rather, the result of various different contributions. Each offers an approach to spatial appropriation by many voices, in a dialogical process that questions the quality of public life in view of growing cities around the globe. In reference to Richard Sennett's recent book "Together", strong emphasis is given to the notion of collectivity and the negotiation of space of social difference. The project works as a pedagogical tool that materializes these topics in the design- build process, and in its physical and spatial parameters.  © Anna Positano The previous year's experiment, HOUSE 1, was the configuration of an archetypal house collectively built as an in-vitro condition: an on-campus installation in Lausanne, by students for students. The rooms of HOUSE 1 were engaged primarily in forming a series of interior relations: HOUSE 2 has evolved from this premise, turning outwards, setting itself in relation to the city, and becoming a common place of activity and urban participation.  © Anna Positano  Axonometric 1  © Anna Positano In order to foster civic engagement, ALICE, in close collaboration with the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), has jointly programmed a series of events for summer 2017 to take place in the context of the installation, between May 31st and June 15th. These include guided tours, theatre and music performances, a sound installation, symposia, student critiques and exhibitions, and an open-air cinema. To quote Dieter Dietz, "through these activities, HOUSE 2 expands the practice of collaboration into the public sphere of the city. As a forum installation, it provides a space for active exchange, debate and discussion involving the entire community."  © Anna Positano From Zurich West, HOUSE 2 will travel on to Lausanne, where it will take on a new form and new programme during the summer of 2017. In autumn, the structure will be disassembled and the wood preserved to be reconfigured into HOUSE 3 for 2018.  © Anna Positano  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Napoli Afragola Station - Phase 1 / Zaha Hadid Architects Posted: 07 Jun 2017 05:00 AM PDT  © Jacopo Splimbergo
 © Jacopo Splimbergo From the architect. The first phase of Napoli Afragola Station – the new gateway to the south of Italy – has been inaugurated by prime minister Paolo Gentiloni. The new rail station at Napoli Afragola is designed as one of southern Italy's key interchange stations serving four high speed inter-city lines, three inter-regional lines and a local commuter line.  Site Plan In addition to the planned high speed rail services connecting Bari and Reggio Calabria with the north of Italy and Europe, by 2022 new rail infrastructure will create an important hub at Napoli Afragola serving the entire Campania region by integrating the southern expansion of Italy's high-speed rail network with the Napoli Cancello line and the Circumvesuviana commuter railway extension.  Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects Located at this major intersection within southern Italy's rail network, Napoli Afragola connects the 15 million residents of Campania, Puglia, Molise, Calabria and Sicily in southern Italy with the national rail network in the north and the rest of Europe. It also enables goods and passengers from Europe and northern Italy to access the southern ports of Gioia Tauro, Taranto, Bari, Brindisi, Palermo and Augusta. To meet future demand for rail travel throughout the region (which has increased by 50% in the past decade) the Napoli Afragola station is within the new north/south rail corridor in the east of the greater Napoli metropolitan area that will be wholly integrated with local and regional rail services.  © Jacopo Splimbergo Once all lines are operational, 32,700 passengers are expected to use the station each day (4,800 each morning and evening rush-hour) with a total of 84 express trains using the lines. 28 high-speed trains serving each direction will stop at Napoli Afragola every day, providing an express service in each direction every 30 minutes (40 minutes outside peak times), with approximately 700 passengers planned to alight or board from each platform. A further 200 regional and local train services will stop at Napoli Afragola, creating a key interchange within the national, regional and local rail networks. Public train services will begin on 11 June. Initially with 18 high speed trains in each direction serving 10,000 passengers per day, services will increase to 28 trains in each direction as new infrastructure and further phases of the station come on line.  Section Located 12km north of Naples, Afragola station is also planned to serve its local communities of Acerra, Afragola, Caivano, Casalnuovo di Napoli, and Casoria that vary in population from 10,000 to 50,000 residents. Afragola will be an intermodal hub, relieving congestion in the city centre and will not replace the existing Napoli Centrale terminus. Designed as an urbanised public bridge connecting the communities on either side of the railway, the station is defined by the circulation routes of passengers, minimising distances for those embarking and alighting at Napoli Afragola as well those passengers connecting to different train services.  © Jacopo Splimbergo The design enlarges the public walkway over the eight railway tracks to such a degree that this walkway becomes the station's main passenger concourse – a bridge housing all the services and facilities for departing, arriving and connecting passengers, with direct access to all platforms below. The paths of passengers have also determined the geometry of the spaces within. Large entrances at both ends of the station welcome and guide visitors up to the elevated public zones lined with shops and other amenities. Visitors from either side of the station meet in a central atrium above overlooked by cafes and restaurants. This central atrium above the railway tracks is a much-needed new public space for Afragola and the main concourse where rail passengers descend to the platforms.  Section The station has been constructed as a reinforced concrete base that supports an elevated concourse of steel ribs clad in Corian with a glazed roof. The concrete used within the station is a specific composition that provides optimum performance, with curved structural concrete elements built using technologies initially developed during the construction of the MAXXI Museum in Rome: wooden formwork replaced by prefabricated steel units, and double-curves realised with formwork created from CNC milled polystyrene models.  © Jacopo Splimbergo Designed as an extrusion of a trapezoid along a 450m curved path, the elevated concourse is made of 200 differently shaped steel ribs that are clad in Corian with a glazed roof. The main concourse of the station is oriented to benefit the building's ecological sustainability. Integrated solar panels in the roof, combined with natural light and ventilation as well as ground source cooling/heating systems will enable the station to minimise energy consumption.  Section  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2017 04:07 AM PDT  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica
 © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica From the architect. Casa Iguana can be synthesized in three independent volumes connected by a bridge. The space generated in between is delimited by three lattice facades made out of thin clay bricks arranged in the same way in which a tower of cards is raised, evoking the cornices on walls and balconies used in some of the traditional constructions of the region.  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica  Floor plans  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica On the ground floor, the single family house has a public and service program organized within the limits of the three volumes. On the first floor, on the other hand, we find an exclusively private program, distributing one bedroom in each volume.  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica The house is supported over a concrete skirting board, a monolithic extension of the foundation that emerges from the earth; like the roots of a tree, reflection of its structural basis.  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica Light plays an important role when it works in conjunction with the lattice walls. A game of light and shadow runs through the spaces, materializing the passage of time.  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica  Sections  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica The naturally exposed materials give the house their color and texture inside and outside. The concrete elements and the exposed beam/vault block ceiling system get balanced by the warm feeling of the clay bricks on walls and floors; the external perimeter of each volume is covered with a flattened made by a mixture of white cement and chucum resin. They are all of easy maintenance and enough presence to dignify the work over time.  © Adrian Llaguno / Documentacion Arquitectonica  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Spotlight: Charles Rennie Mackintosh Posted: 07 Jun 2017 03:30 AM PDT  Glasgow School of Art. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecadman/47731591'>Flickr user stevecadman</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> As one of the leading minds of art-nouveau in the UK, Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) left a lasting impression in art and architecture. With a surprisingly brief architectural career, Mackintosh managed to stand out at the international level in art and design with his personal style known as the "Mackintosh Rose" motif. Born in Glasgow in 1868, Mackintosh is known for his play between hard angles and soft curves, heavy material and sculpted light. Though he was most well-known for the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art, Charles Rennie Mackintosh left a legacy of architecture-as-art that transcends the Glasgow school and exemplifies trans-disciplinary architecture.  Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Image <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles-Rennie-Mackintosh.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a> (public domain) Born and raised in Glasgow, Mackintosh was the second winner ever of the Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship, established to encourage students to study the fundamentals of classical architecture. He began his architectural career at the Scottish firm Honeyman and Keppie, where he later became a partner. In his time with the firm, Mackintosh developed his style which would be later associated with early modernism, art-nouveau, and Japonisme, the Western integration of Japanese art forms.  "The Wassail" by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/3802874247/'>Flickr user dalbera</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a>  Windy Hill, perspective drawing in ink, 1900, by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Image © Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh's design was a result of multiple influences prominent in Scotland at the end of the nineteenth century. Glasgow was one of the main production centers of the Industrial Revolution, and brought with it many modernist ideas of efficiency and utility. At around the same time, Japan had softened its mandate of isolationism. Charles Rennie Mackintosh was inspired by the ideas of Japanese design brought by eastern engineers and sailors to Glasgow. As Mackintosh designed the Glasgow School of Art, he stood at the confluence of these two influences: modernism with its functional and practical goals, and eastern mindsets that led him to believe architecture was meant to be calming and organic.  Scotland Street Shool, 1904-6, by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecadman/197406196'>Flickr user stevecadman</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a>  Queen's Cross Church, Glasgow designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Image © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queens_Cross_Church07a.jpg'>Wikimedia user dave souza</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> While Mackintosh spent the majority of his architectural career on the design and development of the Glasgow School of Art, he also designed other prominent buildings in the UK. Works such as the Queen's Cross Church and the Scotland Street School reflect an industriousness which he integrated into artistic form. Mackintosh used these works as means to craft his own style: referred to as the Mackintosh Rose motif, he would play hard angles against soft curves, while adorning space with light and shadow rather than elaborate ornament or monumental expressions.  Design for a house for an art lover, 1901. Image © RIBA Library After roughly fifteen years of professional architectural practice, Mackintosh then focused the majority of his adult life on exploring unbuilt ideas and painting with his wife and friends. Mackintosh's "House for an Art Lover" examines the collaboration between art and architecture.  "The Fort" by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Image <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mackintosh,_The_Fort.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a> (public domain) The majority of Mackintosh's architectural practice was supported by his wife Margaret Macdonald with whom he had studied at the Glasgow School of Art. Her mind was often responsible for the artistic flourish that became so integral to the aforementioned Mackintosh Rose motif. In his time as a professional architect, Mackintosh worked with his wife to design buildings ranging in use from residential, to commercial and religious.  Stained Glass by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/cjroarty/1107819098'Flickr user cjroarty</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> Of all his works though, the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art is considered by many as one of the most substantial artistic works in the UK, completed in two parts—the first in 1899 and the second in 1909. When fire struck the Mackintosh Building in 2014, firefighters were able to save enough of the building to legitimize a restoration initiative. The School of Art is one of Mackintosh's many works in which he emphasized the sculpting of light and experience through the framing of space, with materials such as stone, steel and stained glass.  Glasgow School of Art Library. Image © Gordon Hawes <a href='http://the-mac-photo-archive.net/'>via The Mac Photographic Archive</a> Learn more about the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art since the fire of 2014, here: Video: Reflections on the Diverse Work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh Fire Breaks Out at Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh's Iconic Library at Glasgow School of Art Destroyed in Fire Page\Park Wins Competition to Rebuild Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art Full-Scale Prototype to be Erected as Part of Glasgow School of Art Restoration Project  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How Zurich's Understated Night Lighting Strategy Enhances Local Identity Posted: 07 Jun 2017 02:30 AM PDT  Utoquai waterfront illumination, Zürich. Photo by Juliet Haller. Image © Opticalight While many cities strive for a spectacular appearance at night, Zurich follows a modest strategy for nocturnal illumination. Numerous urban centers in the world are oversaturated in the evening, with individual buildings calling for attention through bright light, harsh contrasts, or colorful façade lighting. In contrast, the Zurich master plan for lighting has focused on an overall image of sensitive light levels with white light. But this nocturnal presence far from simple design, and is instead based on detailed urban studies and precise, customized projections, where technology is discretely hidden in favor of authentic culture.  Night view of Rudolf Brun Bridge. Photo by Georg Aerni. Image © Stadt Zürich When the sun sets at Lake Zurich, a well-balanced nocturnal skyline appears. The equal presence of selected buildings shows clearly that harmony is the defining principle of this illuminated city. Well-adjusted light levels for the multifaceted public, corporate, and sacred elements create a human scale that is deeply linked to the local cultural identity. Often a competition for the brightest and most extravagant icons gives a city an impression of strength and power. However, this would definitely interfere with Zurich's alpine site and heritage. Instead, the city's urban designers have enforced a respectful dialog of buildings during the night. In terms of brightness, direction, and color, the façade lighting evokes associations to the harmony and highly-sensitive contrasts seen in the work of Renaissance artist Botticelli. By comparison, the extreme modeling with grazing light beams seen in many other cities are more like dramatic transformations of harsh Chiaroscuro paintings, reminiscent of the work of Caravaggio. Taking a path of understatement with modest illumination is neither an expression of indifference for regional tradition nor for tourism. It's instead a self-conscious cultivation of a unique style, which breaks with the global trend for sensational communication. Hence, the buildings achieve a much more sensitive quality than they would with the use of universal floodlights, where power, glare and light pollution are typical. Zurich's sensitive presence at night would not have been possible without a comprehensive masterplan for urban lighting which included an awareness of large-scale and regional identity.  Waterfront illumination of Stadthausquai with Fraumünster Church and St. Peter Church, Zürich. Photo by Benno Tobler. Image © Stadt Zürich The idea of urban master plans for lighting emerged in the 1960s with William M.C. Lam's publication "Lighting of Cities." But the implementation of such abstract concepts requires a long-term commitment, working with all of a city's diverse stakeholders and financial challenges. The city of Lyon became a leading example, successfully turning such an idea into reality after introducing its concept in 1989. Consequently, urban designers from Zurich traveled to Lyon for inspiration. They created a 10-year plan called "Plan Lumière Zurich," which was launched in 2004. Alongside organizational issues and definitions of respective zones, the plan includes essential visual guidelines, which have influenced the current nocturnal image of Zurich. One of the most important aspects is that the design concept has focused on the illuminated space, and not on staging luminaires. Using the "less is more" notion has led to an emphasis of darkness, where instead of prescribing more light, the city favored different light. This approach also came with some positive side effects: the plan is respectful of environmental issues, and avoids light pollution and glare for pedestrians. Another strength of the Zurich masterplan lies in the emphasis of multifaceted qualities and identities.  Lighting of Münsterbrücke, bridge, Zürich. Photo by Juliet Haller. Image © Stadt Zürich In order to achieve these goals in illuminated spaces, the Zurich design team has identified representative architecture for the night. Accentuating landmarks like bridges, the city hall, and churches has discreetly enhanced the city's coherence and identity. Similarly, highlighting the entire stretch of the distinctive Limmat river would not seem appropriate for a "less is more" strategy. It would cause too much visual noise due to all the water reflections. Therefore the lighting focuses on bridges and individual buildings, but not the entire riverfront facade. Only the bridges' side elements and sometimes their undersides receive light, emphasizing an intense spatial impression and creating dynamic water reflections. But their adjacent riverside walls are kept dark to intensify the contrast between the water and the bridge reflections. In a similar way the Lake Zurich waterfront plays with reserved lighting: Individual historical facades are illuminated as a background for the unilluminated trees which appear as silhouettes. Due to the white light used for all buildings, the inner city is united in a neutral color. Additionally, the avoidance of theatrical effects like grazing light with narrow beams has helped to create a calm luminous atmosphere with soft impressions of entire facades. Refined projection technology for several historical landmarks has also made it possible to illuminate only architectural surfaces, but no other areas.  Façade lighting with projection at Zurich Opera House at Sechseläutenplatz. Photo by Juliet Haller. Image © Stadt Zürich The Zurich Opera House reveals the strength of this sophisticated facade projection technique excellently. The light levels grant the cultural institution a pleasant presence in the busy square, without drawing disproportionate attention to the opera. Thanks to the precise projections the pedestrians do not perceive any glare, because the light transmission at the base of the building has been minimized, with a soft graduation in brightness as you descend down to eye level. Even the concert visitors looking outside benefit from high visual comfort, due to the fact that the projection mask excludes the illumination from entering the windows. The mask has clear cut-offs between façade and windows. The designers also applied the same masking strategy to the roofline and the large sculptures in the corners, thus avoiding any spill light and light pollution. Whereas luminaires are often aimed perpendicular to the façade – causing a flat impression with missing vertical shadow lines - the arrangement of the projectors at the Zurich Opera House is based on a diagonal layout. This trick creates more intense vertical shadow lines to emphasize the modeling of the historical façade. In order to cover the complete building, the lighting specialists from Opticalight used four projectors for the main building. The tower above the stage received four additional projectors to enhance the perception for a more distant view. For the pedestrians in front of the building the portico is clearly highlighted as an entrance façade with a higher brightness.  Position of projectors for Zurich Opera House. Image © Opticalight The unobtrusive night image of Zurich, which seduces citizens and tourists with minimalism, is a pleasant counterpoint to cities which strive for spectacular light concepts and branding. Zurich plays skillfully with the Swiss way of understatement. Their design team has rejected the temptations of concentrating on single buildings, extreme grazing light for exaggerated modeling on façades or using color and brightness to dominate the urban nightlife. Instead, Zurich has composed its urban light master plan with a vision that connects the entire ensemble of buildings and emanates an awareness of local identity.  Illumination of Lindenhof wall, Zürich. Photo by Juliet Haller. Image © Stadt Zürich Light matters, a monthly column on light and space, is written by Dr. Thomas Schielke. Based in Germany, he is fascinated by architectural lighting and works as an editor for the lighting company ERCO. He has published numerous articles and co-authored the books "Light Perspectives" and "SuperLux". For more information check www.erco.com, www.arclighting.de or follow him @arcspaces.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Two Residential Buildings, a Boarding School and an Activity Centre / bunq architectes Posted: 07 Jun 2017 02:00 AM PDT  © David Gagnebin-de Bons
 © David Gagnebin-de Bons From the architect. The Lavigny Institution cares for people suffering from epilepsy or brain injuries requiring neurological rehabilitation treatment. It also receives children aged 4 to 18 with learning and developmental disorders.  © David Gagnebin-de Bons An architectural competition was announced to develop a new quarter on the grounds of an old farm. The neighbourhood should include mixed use accommodation, partly rented and partly for residents of the institution. Furthermore, a boarding school and an activity centre for children at the institution were planned. A large garden forms the centre of the new complex. It connects the different buildings, offering a communal open space. On a broader scale, it can also host the institution's public events.  © David Gagnebin-de Bons Two residential buildings form the northern side of the garden. The apartments have two orientations. The living rooms form the building front and lead to a loggia that opens out into the communal garden. Eight single-room apartments are reserved for residents of the institution. The boarding school is situated on the east side of the garden. The bedrooms and living rooms are arranged in a "windmill type" configuration over the first floor. This floor plan allows the division of the storey into two halves for groups of eight children respectively. On the ground floor, there are two separate apartments and the dining room.  Site Plan On the west side of the site, the farmhouse is being renovated and refurbished to accommodate an activity centre connected to the school. A restaurant and a multifunctional hall occupy the central area of the building, while the eastern wing contains assembly rooms and administrative offices. A balcony and a staircase, which provides access to the apartment on the first floor, shape the facade on the garden side. Workshops and classrooms are situated in the new west wing facing the Place du Marronnier.  © David Gagnebin-de Bons The great tile-covered volumes pick up on the formal language and the structural system of the rural buildings in the region. Randomly distributed tiles of differing lengths compose a uniform pattern covering the facades and the roof. The timber load-bearing structure of the façades facing the garden is visible. It supports the roof and the apartment balconies. The dense sequence of supports forms a filter between the private rooms and the public area.  Section  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| If the AutoCAD Unexpected Error was "Honest" Posted: 07 Jun 2017 01:00 AM PDT  Courtesy of The Leewardists Modern technology; when it works, it's brilliant. Even the cell phone, primarily a communication device, can now transform our face into a dog or let us throw angry birds at pigs. Computers really do separate us from the animals. But it's not all fun and games, particularly for architects. Whilst the new kids on the block such as BIM and virtual reality are hurtling the profession into the 21st century, AutoCAD will always be the dear old friend we could never let go of. And that presents a problem - because AutoCAD is more than capable of letting go of us. It's never through a heartfelt letter, or an endearing text, but through a cold, abrupt, soul-destroying message. AutoCAD knows it can leave us unexpectedly, it knows we will come crawling back, but at least now, you know what it really means when it says goodbye.  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 |
| Posted: 06 Jun 2017 11:30 PM PDT  © Andrea Avezzu. Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, Directors of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale – "Freespace". Image Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia At a meeting convened today at the Biennale's headquarters at Ca' Giustinian in Venice, Italy, Grafton Architects—Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara—revealed the theme and outline for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, which they have titled Freespace. According to the Directors, the forthcoming Biennale will celebrate "generosity and thoughtfulness," and "a desire to engage."
Freespace will "reveal diversity, specificity, and continuity in architecture. Together," they proposed, "we can reveal the capacity of architecture to connect with history, time, place, and people. These qualities sustain the fundamental capacity of architecture to nurture and support a meaningful impact between people and place." In their closing statement, Farrell and McNamara chose to quote an Ancient Greek proverb: a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.  © Giulio Squillacciotti. Arsenale, Venice. Image Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
Speaking in January of this year the President of La Biennale, Paolo Baratta, argued that 2016's exhibition "curated by Alejandro Aravena [Reporting From the Front] offered visitors a critical overview of the worldwide evolution of architecture, and underlined how important it is that a qualified demand on the part of individuals and communities be met by an equally effective response." He suggested that "along these lines," Farrell and McNamara's Biennale "will continue to address the same theme but from the point of view of the quality of the public and private space, of urban space, of the territory and of the landscape as the main ends of architecture."
 © Andrea Avezzu. Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, Directors of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale – "Freespace". Image Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia Grafton Architects in BriefFarrell and McNamara are both powerful thinkers, considered conversationalists and unobtrusively groundbreaking designers. Their portfolio of built works comprises large-scale higher education projects and single dwellings, housing and exhibition installations. Their most well-known projects include the Engineering and Technology University in Lima, Peru (realised in collaboration with Shell Arquitectos and opened in 2016) and the Universita Luigi Bocconi School of Economics in Milan, Italy. The architects have been involved in the Venice Architecture Biennale three times previously, exhibiting their work in 2002 and 2016, and being awarded the Silver Lion in 2012 for their Lima project. The practice is currently working on the London School of Economics' Paul Marshall Building in London, the Institut Mines Telecom in Paris, the University of Economics in Toulouse, and a new city library for their home base of Dublin. The 16th International Architecture Exhibition (La Biennale di Venezia) will be inaugurated on May 26, 2018, and will conclude on November 25 – running for the same six month-long period that began with Rem Koolhaas' Biennale—Elements and Absorbing Modernity—in 2014.
 © Andrea Avezzu. Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, Directors of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale – "Freespace". Image Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia Curatorial StatementFreespace describes a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture's agenda, focusing on the quality of space itself. Freespace focuses on architecture's ability to provide free and additional spatial gifts to those who use it and on its ability to address the unspoken wishes of strangers. Freespace celebrates architecture's capacity to find additional and unexpected generosity in each project - even within the most private, defensive, exclusive or commercially restricted conditions. Freespace provides the opportunity to emphasise nature's free gifts of light - sunlight and moonlight, air, gravity, materials - natural and man-made resources. Freespace encourages reviewing ways of thinking, new ways of seeing the world, of inventing solutions where architecture provides for the well being and dignity of each citizen of this fragile planet. Freespace can be a space for opportunity, a democratic space, un-programmed and free for uses not yet conceived. There is an exchange between people and buildings that happens, even if not intended or designed, so buildings themselves find ways of sharing and engaging with people over time, long after the architect has left the scene. Architecture has an active as well as a passive life. Freespace encompasses freedom to imagine, the free space of time and memory, binding past, present and future together, building on inherited cultural layers, weaving the archaic with the contemporary. With the theme of Freespace, the Biennale Architettura 2018 will present for public scrutiny examples, proposals, elements - built or unbuilt - of work that exemplifies essential qualities of architecture which include the modulation, richness and materiality of surface; the orchestration and sequencing of movement, revealing the embodied power and beauty of architecture. The exhibition will have a spatial, physical presence of a scale and quality, which will impact on the visitor, communicating architecture's complex spatial nature. The exhibition invites emotional and intellectual engagement of the many who come to the Biennale in order to understand architecture more fully, to stimulate discussion on core architectural values and to celebrate architecture's proven and enduring contribution to humanity. When Jørn Utzon thinks about a concrete and tiled seat at the entrance of Can Lis, Majorca, it is moulded perfectly to the human body for comfort and pleasure. Spatially, it is a 'word' of greeting, of welcome. Angelo Mangiarotti 'says' the same thing at the entrance to 24 Via Quadronno, Milan where a gently sloping path, with a seat at the entrance threshold 'holds' you and welcomes you home from the city. Lina Bo Bardi raised the museum of modern art in Sao Paolo in order to make a 'belvedere' for the citizens to overlook the city. The Medici Palace in Florence represents power and wealth but the stone seat which forms part of the solid façade almost turns the building inside out. The solid wall becomes the enclosing wall of the public space. What is solid seems outward looking and generous. We believe that everyone has the right to benefit from architecture. The role of architecture is to give shelter to our bodies and to lift our spirits. A beautiful wall forming a street edge gives pleasure to the passer-by, even if they never go inside. So too does a glimpse into a courtyard through an archway; or a place to lean against in the shade or a recess which offers protection from the wind and rain. We are interested in going beyond the visual, emphasizing the role of architecture in the choreography of daily life. We see the earth as Client. This brings with it long-lasting responsibilities. Architecture is the play of light, sun, shade, moon, air, wind, gravity in ways that reveal the mysteries of the world. All of these resources are free. It is examples of generosity and thoughtfulness in architecture throughout the world that will be celebrated in the 16th International Architecture Exhibition. We believe these qualities sustain the fundamental capacity of architecture to nurture and support meaningful contact between people and place. We focus our attention on these qualities because we consider that intrinsic to them are optimism and continuity. Architecture that embodies these qualities and does so with generosity and a desire for exchange is what we call Freespace. We invite all participants and every national pavilion to bring to Venice their Freespace, so together we may reveal the diversity, specificity and continuity in architecture based on people, place, time, history, to sustain the culture and relevance of architecture on this dynamic planet.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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