petak, 28. srpnja 2017.

Arch Daily

Arch Daily


Knockraha / T O B Architect

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 08:00 PM PDT

© Oliver Smith © Oliver Smith
  • Architects: T O B Architect
  • Location: Knockraha, Co. Cork, Ireland
  • Lead Architects: Thomas O'Brien
  • Area: 52.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2017
  • Photographs: Oliver Smith
© Oliver Smith © Oliver Smith

From the architect. The starting point for this project is a problematic suburban type house without merit, that has been dropped on a green field site without consideration of its context.

© Oliver Smith © Oliver Smith

The extension seeks to address this by totally refurbishing the ground floor of the house and extending it in length to create a series of enfilade rooms.

Floor Plan Floor Plan

The extension then turns right to create an external sheltered patio and a garden shed beyond, so that the site is divided by an L shaped configuration. The external elevation of this is given to the road as a long elevation like a traditional Irish farmyard. The 'inside' of the L is offered to the southwest and the more favorable aspect and view over the surrounding farmland.

© Oliver Smith © Oliver Smith

The extension is constructed of concrete block with expressed rough concrete beams onto which a larch roof structure is tied. A continuous roof light runs the length of the extension roof, which is finished in blue colored zinc.

© Oliver Smith © Oliver Smith
Section Section
© Oliver Smith © Oliver Smith

I wanted to make the project lighthearted; the roof is deliberately odd, walls are allowed to extend out at the corners to form spaces for leaning or planting things, the wet areas are tiled in fossilized Irish limestone, and the color yellow is used extensively to reflect the Australian clients sunnier origins.

© Oliver Smith © Oliver Smith

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Ezra Lemarpe Medical Rehabilitation Center / Weinstein Vaadia Architects

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 07:00 PM PDT

© Amit Geron © Amit Geron
  • Client: Ezra Lemarpe
© Amit Geron © Amit Geron

From the architect. The Sderot Medical Rehabilitation Center is located in the south of Israel, near its' border with the Gaza Strip.  The center was designed to provide medical guidance and rehabilitation to the population of the Negev region and in particular of the Gaza perimeter.

© Amit Geron © Amit Geron

The Israeli Institute of Medical Assistance, Ezra Lamrp, is a non-profit organization which main activity is to give free medical treatment. The building will house a therapeutic pool, an occupational therapy unit, a physiotherapy unit, a diagnostic unit and a consulting unit.

© Amit Geron © Amit Geron
Ground Floor Plan Ground Floor Plan
© Amit Geron © Amit Geron

Due to the unstable security state in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks, the goal was to design a safe building which will allow ongoing activity even when it is being bombed. The challenge was to design a bomb proof building which meets strict security requirements but at the same time creates a pleasant and convenient therapeutic environment by allowing the penetration of natural light, colors of vegetation and the sky, thus opposing the stress and claustrophobia that characterize the daily routine of running for shelter when being bombed.

© Amit Geron © Amit Geron

The result is a building with a secret. At first sight, the exterior of the building appears as one sealed unit, but when one enters its' interior, a network of internal courtyards, gateways and various halls are discovered, washed in the desert light thanks uniquely designed openings and a variety of old trees which grew on site for many years, that blend in with the building as one organic system.

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Namdeamun Office Building / Mecanoo

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 05:00 PM PDT

© Kyungsub Shin © Kyungsub Shin
  • Architects: Mecanoo
  • Location: Seoul, South Korea
  • Area: 5900.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2017
  • Photographs: Kyungsub Shin
  • Client : Heungkuk Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
  • Facade Consultant: Excfirm
© Kyungsub Shin © Kyungsub Shin

From the architect. Located next to the ancient southern gate to the city of Seoul, the Namdeamun Market is the oldest and largest market in South Korea. Since its beginnings as a government managed marketplace in 1414, it has become an important 24-hour destination for trade and a popular tourist attraction.

© Kyungsub Shin © Kyungsub Shin

The market's history and regional traditions informed the design for a contemporary office building, connecting past and present. Maximising the land allocation, the slim 14-floor building sits elegantly on a corner plot opposite the market.

© Kyungsub Shin © Kyungsub Shin

Its restrained monochromatic appearance acts as a counterbalance to the colourful frenzy of the market's nonstop activity. The role of the facades frames extends beyond decoration. It continuously creates different atmospheres, filtering incoming light and making shadows across the interior spaces.

Axonometric Axonometric

The relationship between the building and its surroundings reflects the passing of time, changing from day to night. During the day the facade material reflects the sun light, whereas in the night, the building glows from within, revealing its characteristic facade pattern to the market and beyond.

© Kyungsub Shin © Kyungsub Shin

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Ono-Sake Warehouse / Eureka + G architects studio

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 03:00 PM PDT

© Hideki Ookura © Hideki Ookura
  • Architects: Eureka, G architects studio
  • Location: Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
  • Lead Architects: Junya Inagaki, Satoshi Sano, Takuo Nagai, Eisuke Hori/ Eureka + Ryohei Tanaka, Gwangbeom Heo/ G architects studio
  • Area: 494.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Hideki Ookura
  • Structural Engineering: Takuo Nagai, The University of Shiga Prefecture/Eureka
  • Environmental Engineering: Hori Eisuke, Kindai University/Eureka
© Hideki Ookura © Hideki Ookura

From the architect. Ono-Sake Warehouse is built on the border of the commercial and residential district. This architecture complex is composed of Logistics storage, store and office.

© Hideki Ookura © Hideki Ookura
© Hideki Ookura © Hideki Ookura

We separate the storage function out side to lead the local resident movement. Commercial facility and road side will be eye stop of district and car go through back and forth.

It makes new activity and casual landscape.

The structure is mainly used conventional wooden structure, plaster work, and steel material.

© Hideki Ookura © Hideki Ookura

These materials combination made contrast and it's possible to create light form and function.

© Hideki Ookura © Hideki Ookura
Sectional Perspective Sectional Perspective
© Hideki Ookura © Hideki Ookura

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Day Street Apartments / Tzannes + Loftex

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 01:00 PM PDT

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu
  • Architects: Tzannes, Loftex
  • Location: Central Business District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Lead Architects: Mladen Prnjatovic, Ben Green, Loftex
  • Area: 10000.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2017
  • Photographs: Katherine Lu
  • Builder: Hamilton Marino

From the architect. When the late afternoon sun hits the façade of Tzannes' newest mixed use residential and commercial building on the western perimeter of central Sydney, Australia, its more than 1150 anodized aluminum mesh shutters glow pure gold, softly filtering the light into the apartments behind and illuminating the precinct below. [See animation link below].

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

Designed in close collaboration with their client, Loftex, and their in-house architects, the 10,000 sq m building replaces several runs down, non-heritage four story warehouses previously on the site with a new mixed use commercial and residential development containing 119 apartments, over 14 levels. Three levels of basement car-parking, bike storage, storage, and services are included. The ground floor contains through-site active uses (retail/commercial space) with frontages to James Lane and Day Street, residential lobby, some services and entry to the carpark.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

"Our ambition for Day Street apartments was to design an infill building that is both fitting and distinctive in the cityscape of the south western edge of the Sydney CBD, " said Mladen Prnjatovic, Director of Tzannes and co-design director of the project.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

Responding directly to its inner urban condition, the new apartment and commercial use building upgrade the adjoining public domain and rear laneway, providing beauty, amenity, and functionality for its new residents and tenants.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu
Level 5 Plan Level 5 Plan
© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

The building form is both grounded and floating, comprising two elements: a four story face brick base anchors it to the streetscape and urban laneways below, above which sits an articulated taller form containing the upper levels of apartments above.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

A long, narrow inner urban site presented a number of significant design challenges: east-west only orientation, lack of sun access, overlooking and privacy, both to and from the building, noise, heat load on western elevation and future-proofing for possible development on adjoining sites.

Section Section

The four story face brickwork building base occupies the entire site. Designed as a sculpted yet singular element, its height, materiality, and detail provide a contemporary reference to the building it replaces.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

" We worked with the brick warehouses that were once the predominant building type in the area as a reference for the character, detail, and scale of the architecture, " said Ben Green, co-design director and Director, Tzannes. "Above the base, we imagined a warm lantern-like tower, designed around an active system of folding gold color screens that ensure all apartments have excellent solar and privacy control, an abundance of light, and views."

West Elevation West Elevation

Residential levels above the base are more open and lightweight in character. The majority of apartments are provided with an operable concertina system of aluminum screens or louvers for privacy and sun access control. This layer of golden colored aluminum screens provides a unique addition to the cityscape, rich in texture and color, continually dynamic and visibly responsive to the time of the day, sun and temperature conditions.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

All apartments have their living rooms and their major open space areas to the west. There are no apartments that are oriented to the south. While some of the units are single orientation, the double core arrangement and the building form has been designed to maximize the number of through and corner apartments.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

Rooms are arranged to encourage natural cross ventilation and the penetration of natural light. All kitchens have direct access to natural light and ventilation.

© Katherine Lu © Katherine Lu

The building meets and exceeds BASIX requirements and incorporates solar hot water heating, photovoltaic cells and individualized advanced and efficient air-conditioning systems.

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Office Rama IX / Gooseberry Design

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 12:00 PM PDT

© Beer Singnoi © Beer Singnoi
  • Architects: Gooseberry Design
  • Location: Thanon Phra Ram 9 - Thanon Rama 9, Khwaeng Suan Luang, Khet Suan Luang, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10250, Thailand
  • Area: 430.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Beer Singnoi
© Beer Singnoi © Beer Singnoi

From the architect. New office building located near the business district of Bangkok. Gooseberry Design Co., Ltd. was focusing on maximize building space in the limited land area to serve the minimum requirement for at least 40 users.

Floors Plan Floors Plan

Gable roof, exposed column, rectangle shape are the three major elements of the Thai-style house which considered to be the main concept of Office Rama IX. Building form developed by transforming concept elements together with functional requirements.

© Beer Singnoi © Beer Singnoi

Brick wall, brick column and random pattern of the opening are designed to create a unique atmosphere and also provide natural light and ventilation.

© Beer Singnoi © Beer Singnoi

Working space on the 3rd floor provides double volume with a mezzanine floor which gives comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. The triangle sculpture represents the character of the gable roof. Brick column façade create multiple opening which makes users feel close to nature and give the positive performance of work.

© Beer Singnoi © Beer Singnoi

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House in Jardim América / André Vainer Arquitetos

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 10:00 AM PDT

© Cacá Bratke © Cacá Bratke
  • Architects: André Vainer Arquitetos
  • Location: Jardim América, São Paulo - State of São Paulo, Brazil
  • Authors: André Vainer, Tiago Wright, Fernanda Jozsef
  • Architect In Charge: André Vainer
  • Team: Juliana F. Penteado, Marina Ferreira
  • Area: 0.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2015
  • Photographs: Cacá Bratke
  • Structure: Benedictis Engenharia- Eng. Eduardo Duprat
  • Eletric And Hydraulic: Engeplot Engenharia e Serviços S/C Ltda.- Engº Roseane Vendrame
  • Constructor: Skaf Construtora- Eng. Antonio Skaf
© Cacá Bratke © Cacá Bratke

From the architect. This building functions as a complement to a residence and is located on the same lot, in an area directly behind the main house – its facade looks out onto a different street and it possesses an independent entrance.

© Cacá Bratke © Cacá Bratke

The arrangement is simple: individual studies, a rehearsal room, a recording studio, a scullery, and bathrooms, as well as the addition of this new outbuilding to the existing house, comprised of offices and a sauna which opens out onto the garden located between the buildings.

Ground Floor Plan Ground Floor Plan
Section A Section A
Upper Floor Plan Upper Floor Plan

In observance of property setback laws, the building is located as close to the street as possible, while still providing a large garden area between buildings.

© Cacá Bratke © Cacá Bratke
© Cacá Bratke © Cacá Bratke

A catwalk connects the buildings' second stories to each other: the recording studio connects to the office located in the new outbuilding.

The top stories are comprised of a roof garden and an observatory.

© Cacá Bratke © Cacá Bratke

The structure is made of concrete, using prefabricated slab arrangements and ceramic block masonry; door and window frames are made of painted aluminum and the flooring varies between polished concrete and wood. Monochromatic paint.

© Cacá Bratke © Cacá Bratke

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Zaha Hadid Architects to Project Augmented Reality Light Show onto Karlsruhe Castle at 2017 Schlosslichtspiele Festival

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 09:00 AM PDT

Zaha Hadid Architects, collaborating with digital artists and computer science researchers Andy Lomas and Mubbasir Kapadia, have been selected to create a projection mapping light show at the 2017 Schlosslichtspiele Festival in Karlsruhe, Germany. Titled 'Behaviour Morphe,' the dynamic light display will be projected onto the city's 18th century baroque palace, simulating how users move throughout and interact with the building's interior spaces.

The project will showcase the latest digital spatial simulation technology used by ZHA in the analysis and planning of their architecture, revealing how artificial intelligence and digital tools can be applied to building design.

"Dynamic new virtual spaces are defined by using real-time data to interpret the virtual actors' interactions," explained Patrik Schumacher, ZHA principal. "These digital spaces are then explored with iterative growth systems that emulate the evolutionary process of nature, demonstrating the potential of metamorphic simulations and digital morphogenetics.

"As an architectural interpretation, the projection outlines ZHA's Computational Design (CODE) research group's work in these iterative systems of development."

In addition to the video from ZHA released today (above), the Karlsruhe Center for Art and Media released this alternative video of 'Behaviour Morphe' earlier this month: 

Other architects participating in the 2017 Schlosslichtspiele Festival include Hani Rashid, Lise Anne Couture and Greg Lynn. The festival will run from August 3rd to September 10th. Learn more about to event in the video below, or visit the website, here.

News via Zaha Hadid Architects

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Salisbury University Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons / Sasaki

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 08:00 AM PDT

© Jeremy Bitterman © Jeremy Bitterman
  • Architects: Sasaki
  • Location: Salisbury, Maryland, United States
  • Senior Project Architect: Ayers Saint Gross
  • Area: 226000.0 ft2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: Jeremy Bitterman
  • Consultant: Gilbane Construction
© Jeremy Bitterman © Jeremy Bitterman

From the architect. Strategically located at the core of the campus, Salisbury University's new Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons significantly transforms how teaching and learning occur on campus. The new building allows the university to bring all of their academic support programs together in combination with a state-of-the-art library, classrooms, cafe, 400-seat assembly space, and the Nabb Research Center—a special collections library dedicated to the history and culture of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Common ground for all of the university's academic disciplines, the Academic Commons fully supports all modes of study and learning, from individual contemplative study to collaborative, technology-rich group engagement.

© Jeremy Bitterman © Jeremy Bitterman
Axonometric Axonometric
© Jeremy Bitterman © Jeremy Bitterman

The program elements are arrayed around a dramatic four-story learning commons with each floor dedicated to a specific type of learning. The ground floor is devoted to staff-supported collaboration. The second floor contains program elements focused on teaching and learning skills, the third floor is dedicated to individual reflective learning, and the fourth floor, which contains the Nabb Research Center and a 400-seat assembly space, facilitates engagement with original sources and supports learning through public dialogue.

Floor Breakdown 3D Plan Floor Breakdown 3D Plan

A critical challenge of the project was siting the building. Its location at the historic crossroads on campus required strategies to knit the building into the existing fabric and diminish the impact of its 226,000 square feet. The building also mediates between very different scales and characteristics on campus. To the east the building faces onto Route 13 and the community of Salisbury, requiring a civic expression and a more monumental scale, as the building serves as a gateway and point of arrival for the community. To the west, the building frames Red Square, the iconic student square and gathering space for the university, requiring a much more informal and intimate scale and expression.

© Jeremy Bitterman © Jeremy Bitterman

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Brick Monkey Creates LEGO Replica of Herzog & de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie from 20,000 Pieces

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 07:20 AM PDT

Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey

One of last year's most long-awaited buildings may have just met its match in terms of complexity – and it comes in the form of its own LEGO replica.

Created by LEGO sculptor Brick Monkey, the LEGO version of Herzog & de Meuron's spectacular Elbphilharmonie was constructed from more than 20,000 individual LEGO pieces, featuring point perfect scaled versions of the concert hall's signature features, including the building's elevated public terrace, glass facade and sail like roof, made up of hundreds of precise umbrella shaped elements. But most impressively, the model can be opened in half to reveal a detailed recreation of the structure's main concert hall.

According to Brick Monkey, the piece took approximately 110 hours to construct from start to finish. The model is approximately 1.2 meters (4 feet) long, 1 meter (1'2") tall and weights about 25 kilos (55 pounds).

Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey
Courtesy of Brick Monkey Courtesy of Brick Monkey

See more images in the gallery below, and check out more of Brick Monkey's work, here.

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House on the Top / Metrópolis Oficina de Arquitectura

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 06:00 AM PDT

© Juan Solano © Juan Solano
  • Collaborators: Jorge Pizzorno, Jorge Luis Panizo
© Juan Solano © Juan Solano

From the architect. This urban house is built in a lot whose front is being increasingly extended towards an interesting panoramic view of Lima, due to which a hanging exposed concrete framing this view is proposed.

© Juan Solano © Juan Solano
First Floor Plan First Floor Plan
© Juan Solano © Juan Solano

The entrance from the street is worked as a spatial sequence that guides user through bridges and stone walls until a double-height great hall that distributes to the inside spaces of the house.

© Juan Solano © Juan Solano

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20 Striking Architectural Photographs Selected as Finalists of 2017 EyeEm Photography Awards

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 04:01 AM PDT

Global photography community EyeEm has announced the finalists of their 2017 Photography Awards. Free and open to photographers of all skill levels and backgrounds to submit through the EyeEm web platform and app, this year's awards received more than 590,000 submissions from users around the world across five categories: The Architect, The Great Outdoors, The Photojournalist, The Portraitist, and The Street Photographer.

The architecture category alone received over 95,000 submissions, from which 20 images were selected by a jury of photographers and editors from institutions including National Geographic and the BBC. All of the finalist images will be displayed at the 2017 EyeEm Photography Festival & Awards in Berlin from September 15-17, where each of the category winners and Photographer of the Year will be announced.

Continue on to see the 20 finalists in the architecture category.

Athens, Greece / Niko S

© Niko S / EyeEm © Niko S / EyeEm

Santiago Calatrava's City of Art and Sciences; Valencia, Spain / Claudia Solano

© Claudia Solano / EyeEm © Claudia Solano / EyeEm

Hong Kong / Denise Kwong

© Denise Kwong / EyeEm © Denise Kwong / EyeEm

Valletta, Malta / Ioanna Malkogiani

© Ioanna Malkogianni / EyeEm © Ioanna Malkogianni / EyeEm

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong / Evelyne Sieber

© Evelyne Sieber / EyeEm © Evelyne Sieber / EyeEm

Tokyo, Japan / Tim Gaweco

© Tim Gaweco / EyeEm © Tim Gaweco / EyeEm

Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong / Jeremy Cheung

© Jeremy Cheung / EyeEm © Jeremy Cheung / EyeEm

Sheffield, UK / Paul Crudgington

© Paul Crudgington / EyeEm © Paul Crudgington / EyeEm

Sao Paulo, Brazil / Ezequiel Ferreira

© Ezequiel Ferreira / EyeEm © Ezequiel Ferreira / EyeEm

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Rosley Majid

© Rosley Majid / EyeEm © Rosley Majid / EyeEm

Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany / Wilhelm Oberliess

© Wilhelm Oberliess / EyeEm © Wilhelm Oberliess / EyeEm

Central Business District of Makati, Philippines / Allan Borebor

© Allan Borebor / EyeEm © Allan Borebor / EyeEm

Torre Agbar; Barcelona, Spain / Francisco Javier Hoyos Carcedo

© Francisco Javier Hoyos Carcedo / EyeEm © Francisco Javier Hoyos Carcedo / EyeEm

Beijing, China / Hu Zhenyuan

© Hu Zhenyuan / EyeEm © Hu Zhenyuan / EyeEm

Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea / Ngoc Van Anh Nguyen

© Ngoc Van Anh Nguyen / EyeEm © Ngoc Van Anh Nguyen / EyeEm

Chicago, Illinois / Scott Firestone

© Scott Firestone / EyeEm © Scott Firestone / EyeEm

Beijing, China / JFMonom

© JFMonom / EyeEm © JFMonom / EyeEm

Singapore / Fong Han Wei

© Fong Han Wei / EyeEm © Fong Han Wei / EyeEm

Dubai Marina, Dubai, UAE / Bruno Guerreiro

© Bruno Guerreiro / EyeEm © Bruno Guerreiro / EyeEm

Budapest, Hungary / Erik Sellgren

© Erik Sellgren / EyeEm © Erik Sellgren / EyeEm

Learn more about the 2017 EyeEm Photography Festival, here.

20 Photos Selected as Winners of EyeEm's Minimalist Architecture Photography Mission

Global photography community and marketplace EyeEm has announced the winners of their Minimalist Architecture Photography Mission to find photos that best highlight "the beauty of minimalism in architecture." Organized alongside art and design blog We and the Color, the competition saw photographers from across the globe submit over 45,000 images focusing on the color, lines, shapes, and compositions of contemporary, minimalist architecture.

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Quai Ouest / Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 04:00 AM PDT

© Sergio Grazia © Sergio Grazia
© Sergio Grazia © Sergio Grazia

From the architect. The Quai Ouest building, located in Boulogne-Billancourt, possesses a broadly exposed 150-meter façade. The building has undergone a major restructuring and within this framework, the façades are designed to meet a particular challenge, both in terms of image and in terms of energy savings and the environment.

© Stefan Tuchila © Stefan Tuchila

A rapid analysis revealed a number positive features: a lovely location in the socalled media triangle, facing Canal plus and TF1, both national broadcasting channels, good visibility along the 150 meters of the façade, perfect exposure to the south and the west, a flexible structure in good condition, a good omen for a successful upgrade.

© Sergio Grazia © Sergio Grazia
Floor Plan RDC, R+1 Floor Plan RDC, R+1
© Sergio Grazia © Sergio Grazia

However, the project had to correct a certain number of negative aspects: exposure to noise of street traffic, absence of sun breaks on the highly exposed façades, outmoded architectural image which weakens the presence of the edifice, ambiguous and residual anchoring in the ground penalizing the ground floor.

© Sergio Grazia © Sergio Grazia

These observations taken into account, the project for the façade corrects these issues while also taking advantage of the all of the site's potential. It unifies the volumes, enhances transparence and visibility of the lobby and changes the perception of the scale by grouping three frames, or 4.05 m. 

© Stefan Tuchila © Stefan Tuchila

Detail Detail

© Stefan Tuchila © Stefan Tuchila

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In Defense of the Emoji Building and Architecture Being Fun, Sometimes

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 02:30 AM PDT

© Bart van Hoek © Bart van Hoek

It's always fascinating when architecture breaks the bounds of the profession and becomes a topic of debate in the wider profession. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, there is no shortage of such occasions: whether it's the click-seeking cluster of articles that found a client for an improbable cliff-hanging design or the forums that suddenly decided that most modern architecture looks "evil," the viral trend treadmill ensures that there are plenty of opportunities for the layperson to offer their two cents on the output of our profession.

The flavor of the summer of 2017 is Attika Architekten's Emoticon Facade. This thoroughly sensible and polite building has caught the public's attention thanks to its inclusion of emoji-shaped decorative additions. While most of the internet has responded with heart-eyes, there's no shortage of people for whom these carved emojis are a clear indication that architecture, and by extension society, and by extension all of life as we know it, is doomed, never to recover. Such an opinion is legitimized by articles like this one in Wired by Sam Lubell, who in reporting on the building found two experts willing to take a big old smiley poop on Attika Architekten's work. Given the role that these experts play in directing the conversation among the public, their arguments bear analysis.

First up is Sean Khorsandi, a professor of architectural history, who argues that "architecture is serious. We're using copious materials, and we're taking up land. There is a responsibility that goes along with that. If everything is a joke; reduced to this disposable 'I like it in the moment' fad, that's a dangerous attitude to have." Lubell adds that Khorsandi "finds it telling that most discussion of the building has focused on the emojis, not its fairly pedestrian design."

Ok then, let's talk about that design, shall we? Located in Amersfoort in the Netherlands, the two-building complex has a simple, austere materiality and subtly civic massing that clearly owes a debt to greats from the Netherlands' past such as Willem Marinus Dudok and Hendrik Petrus Berlage, or to other prominent North European proto-modernists such as Gunnar Asplund.

© Bart van Hoek © Bart van Hoek

In its facade treatment, the design borrows from the Chicago School in the way that the large windows enabled by the steel structure are framed by horizontal and vertical elements; however, where the Chicago School skyscrapers emphasized the vertical elements, in this low-slung complex it is the horizontal white bands which are dominant. The ground floor glass shop fronts create an acceptable, if not exemplary, connection with what appears to be an underwhelming public space.

© Bart van Hoek © Bart van Hoek

Emoji decorations or not, you won't find anyone who considers this design to be a masterpiece, but it's unreasonable to conclude that the entire project is some sort of bad joke. Even the jokey addition of the emojis serves an architectural purpose: instead of being used throughout the design, the emojis are confined to the key facade on the more civic-looking building in the complex (the one which is topped by the clock face). The extra attention given to this facade establishes a hierarchy within the design, giving it coherence. In conclusion, architecture is serious, and this is serious architecture.

Furthermore, at the risk of adding another unwanted opinion to the pile, by my estimation it is the design's very ordinariness which makes the emojis work. They appear in a place you'd expect to see a slight embellishment of some sort, but on a building which you'd never expect to have a sense of humor. It's this bait-and-switch that brings delight.

Another concern raised in the Wired article is that the use of emojis—which in recent years have seen their designs evolve rapidly—might make the building stink a little too much of 2016, the year it was completed. "It might be cute now, in the kawaii sense of the word," said art historian Susan Kart to Lubell, "but imagine a building that used portrait heads with 1980s-style mullet hairstyles the way this building uses emojis. Not very cute or trendy after the hairstyle passes."

You know what else really dates architecture? Dates. And yet for hundreds of years, it was fairly common practice for buildings to proudly display the date they were constructed, presumably because designers back then had no sense of shame. One can only imagine how relieved the 4th-century designers of the Arch of Constantine must be right now; their use of Roman cultural references in their decoration could have been really embarrassing, but luckily we still all wear togas on a daily basis and the Arch of Constantine is still totally kawaii.

Taking Kart's quote a little more seriously, all buildings are products of the time in which they are produced, irrespective of any overt pop-cultural references made by the designer. It's hard to imagine Postmodern kitsch emerging in any time period other than the 1980s, or Gothic developing in anything other than the religious society of the middle ages. More importantly, buildings tell stories about the societies that built them. Fascinating histories can be told through the medium of architecture, and it's concerning that an art historian is so dismissive of our ability to create our own stories. A better version of Kart's comment might be: "it might be cute now, but how long will it be before it becomes interesting instead?"

© Bart van Hoek © Bart van Hoek

A final concern is raised by Khorsandi in the comments of the article. Responding to another commenter, he writes: "I see emojis not as decoration though, but as text—ideograms. Unlike other means of literally reading architecture... these icons are not heralding high culture, nor do they seek to represent a deeper meaning. They are merely a motley collection of ideograms."

Here we may be getting somewhere. Emojis are supposed to signify things, and this "language," simple as it is, was largely ignored in the design of the building. But the perfect is the enemy of the good, and for most members of the public, such concerns would not even occur to them when seeing this building. Perhaps future designs will be able to use emojis in a more sophisticated manner, but Attika Architekten did a service in testing the waters to see how people would react to the idea. And guess what? For the most part, the public really liked it.

© Bart van Hoek © Bart van Hoek

To borrow an expression from one Wired commenter, this profession can sometimes seem to have its architect's scale firmly up its a**. When an architect breaks this status quo—to the delight of literally millions of members of the public—why do some invest so much energy in trying to convince others that it was a bad, ill-considered idea? Why are we so quick to gloss over the thought and expertise that has been brought to a design in order to make architects seem like they don't have a clue what they're doing? It's enough to make one sadface cryingface.

Emoticon Facade / Attika Architekten

See the full project here.

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Townships Farmhouse / LAMAS

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 02:00 AM PDT

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud
  • Contractor: Sherma Construction Inc. Magog, QC
© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

From the architect. An hour and a half east of Montreal the landscape begins to rise into rolling farmland punctuated by lakes and small mountains. Just before you reach Vermont, the town of North Hatley sits at the unlikely meeting point of the north-eastern United States and Quebec. Settled by the British Loyalists who led Connecticut during the war of independence, the farms around the town of North Hatley are as much connected to the culture of the early American colonies as they are to the Quebecois barns of the seigneuries.

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

The rich variety of agricultural building in the area is the backdrop for the Townships Farmhouse, designed by Lee and Macgillivray Architecture Studio (LAMAS). The rich variety of agricultural building in the area is the backdrop for the Townships Farmhouse, designed by Lee and Macgillivray Architecture Studio (LAMAS).

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

The client for the house is a farmer/artist couple with long ties to the area and a keen interest in land conservation and preservation of agricultural buildings; the house is clad in repurposed hemlock salvaged from dilapidated barns in Ontario.

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

The house is situated on a working farm and is sensitive to the seasonal changes of farm life; the barn doors on the facade are not ornamental but can be closed to protect the large expanses of glass from cycles of plowing, sowing, and harvesting. Vivian Lee, one of the principals of LAMAS explains, "Although it is obviously geared towards domestic habitation, the design of the house was always meant as an evolution of farm buildings and the unique ways that they structure space."

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

The courtyard aggregation is a hybrid of Quebec barn types (in which aisles and haylofts are perpendicular to the roof line), and Ontario barns after 1850 which often had a U-shaped or completely enclosed courtyards. The result is a central courtyard space that is sheltered from the wind in the winter and can open up to views of apple trees and the hills across Lake Massawippi in the summer. James Macgillivray explains, "One-half of our client is a painter and a great collector of art so we were very sensitive to the views. On one side is their own 'eld of oats, another has rolling hills and a horse farm. Before the house was put together, we had these views in our minds and then the arrangement of the three buildings took place around those views."

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud
Lower Floor Plan Lower Floor Plan
© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

The concept of views dovetailed nicely into the architect's understanding of agricultural buildings, "Our 'rst design decision was to take the concept of the "aisle" from barns—essentially a thoroughfare for bringing in materials and livestock--and repurpose it outwards to capture views from the surrounding 'elds." Because the house is arranged in a courtyard formation it goes back in on itself and the interior spaces can be superimposed onto the background of the landscape in unexpected compositions.The windows frame views that capture the intersections of spaces within the house, through the house, and outside the house.

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

The windows frame views that capture the intersections of spaces within the house, through the house, and outside the house. Everything that used to be functional becomes visual and spatial.

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

Around the same time that they started work on the commission, LAMAS was shortlisted for MoMA's PS1 Young Architects' Program. Macgillivray describes the two jobs as a dichotomy in the office, "On the one hand we were trying to do something wholly discursive and radical for MoMA, and on the other we were doing this project that really had to adhere very strictly to some notion of type but also have total fidelity to the client's vision."

© Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud © Stephane Groleau and Laetitia Boudaud

Lee adds, "funnily enough, even though the two projects look entirely different, both of them were playing with the same idea of framed views, aisles and the collapsing of space into an image. These are themes that we continue to explore today, whether it's a bread factory, a children's bookstore or a house."

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Brooklyn's Prospect Park Gets Covered in Thousands of Pinwheels for its 150th Anniversary

Posted: 27 Jul 2017 01:00 AM PDT

© Amanda Gentile/ADG Photography © Amanda Gentile/ADG Photography

To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Brooklyn's Prospect Park, AREA4 and Suchi Reddy of Readymade Architecture and Design collaborated with the Prospect Park Alliance to create a public art exhibition that features more than 7,000 pinwheels. Called The Connective Project, the installation covers the Rose Garden in the northeast corner of the park with yellow pinwheels that include art and written work submitted by the public. Influenced by the vision of the park's 1867 designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, Reddy's aspiration for the project was to create a playful urban retreat that sparks a conversation about the value of public spaces. 

It's an honor to work in this world of wonder that Olmsted and Vaux's created, and to be able to add a contemporary sense of discovery, said architect Suchi Reddy of Reddymade Design.

Courtesy of Reddymade Architecture + Design Courtesy of Reddymade Architecture + Design

Blanketing the field with a sea of color and movement, the installation provides a space for children and adults to engage with the park. Calling on childhood memories, pinwheels were chosen to draw a wide range of visitors to the under-utilized area of the park. The object was also selected for its relationship to nature, with its movement that is informed by wind patterns.

A post shared by Lila Scott Barre (@lilabee) on

To involve the community, the project began with an open call for artwork to be featured on the inside folds of the pinwheels. Additionally, artists were given the opportunity to have their work evaluated and selected by a panel that included members of the Brooklyn Council of the Arts and the Brooklyn Museum among others.

© Amanda Gentile/ADG Photography © Amanda Gentile/ADG Photography

Prints of the top ten chosen pieces, including the winning piece Chitin & Furanocoumarin by artist Ansel Oommen, will be available for purchase at the Brooklyn Museum gift shop. Along with the previously submitted artwork, visitors are encouraged to contribute to the installation by folding and drawing their own paper pinwheels made from weather-resistant and compostable stone dust.

Courtesy of Reddymade Architecture + Design Courtesy of Reddymade Architecture + Design

The challenge was to create a concept that would unite and inspire the community. This large scale installation has allowed us to invite public participation while working with artists and designers to create a world class experience said Grainne Coen of AREA4, the creative agency that worked on the project.

© Amanda Gentile/ADG Photography © Amanda Gentile/ADG Photography

The installation will be on display from July 7-17.

News Via: DNA PR

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10 Projects That Feature Striking Steel Trusses

Posted: 26 Jul 2017 11:00 PM PDT

Understanding the structural aspects of architecture is an inherent task of the architect; sufficient structural knowledge allows designers to propose ideas such as large structural elements which offer an interesting response to a project's needs.

Steel trusses are an example of such a response, which demonstrate an ability to define spaces and structures that are truly complex and interesting.

Below is a list of 10 inspirational projects that use metal trusses as an essential element of design.

Milstein Hall at Cornell University / OMA

    © Matthew Carbone © Matthew Carbone

    CETICOM Jaén / ER Arquitectos + non Arquitectura

    © Jesús Granada © Jesús Granada

    Cinepolis Headquarters / KMD Architects

    © Michael Calderwood © Michael Calderwood

    San Wayao Community Sports Center / CSWADI

     

      © ARCH-EXIST © ARCH-EXIST

      River Place / Paul F. Hirzel

      © Jim Van Gundy © Jim Van Gundy

      Harvest School / Zendejas Arquitectos + Marván Arquitectos + Martinez Arquitecto

      © Yoshihiro Koitani © Yoshihiro Koitani

      AH House / SEINFELD Arquitectos

      © Juan Solano © Juan Solano

      Rey Vitacura / CARREÑO SARTORI arquitectos

      © Marcos Mendizábal © Marcos Mendizábal

      El Tranque Cultural Center / BiS Arquitectos

      © Juan Francisco Vargas © Juan Francisco Vargas

      Oscar Freire Observatory / Triptyque

        © Leonardo Finotti © Leonardo Finotti

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