Arch Daily

A Two-Family House OGLE / NRJA
DongZhuang Museum of Western Regions / Xinjiang Wind Architectural Design & Research Institute
Zern Pavilion / Vlad Kissel
Acquarium / Atelier8
Theresa Street Residence / Sonelo Design Studio
Town Hall Extension / Titan
Construction Begins on Penn Station's Moynihan Train Hall Transformation
Drift San José / Self Designed
Explore These Digitally-Created Abandoned Islands by Brazilian Designer Fabio Araujo
Office Interior in Vilnius / Karchman
Architects Urgently Need to Leave Their Desks to Work More on Site, According to Our Readers
MÜLLER House / Eugenio Ortúzar + Tania Gebauer
This Architectural Installation Reconnects With the Senses Through Suspended Bricks
Riksbyggen and Sweco Architects Win Competition for Wooden Mixed-Use Development in Gothenburg

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 07:00 PM PDT

Architects: NRJA
Location: Riga, Latvia
Lead Architects: Uldis Lukševics, Ivars Veinbergs, Zigmārs Jauja, Linda Leitāne-Šmīdberga
Area: 400.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Gatis Rozenfelds - Zigmārs Jauja

From the architect. Two separate apartments for two families make up the volume which complies with the strict regulations of Riga historical center.

The height of the volume corresponds to the buildings across the street; the varying slopes of the roof react to the geometry of the nearby roofscape.

The materials used for facades – black brick, painted timber boards and Rheinzink tin sheets – respond to the surrounding context of historical buildings.

The tonality of used materials corresponds symbolically to the location – Ogļu (from latvian - Coal) Street.

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DongZhuang Museum of Western Regions / Xinjiang Wind Architectural Design & Research Institute

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 03:00 PM PDT

Architects: Xinjiang Wind Architectural Design & Research Institute
Location: 103 Provincial Rd, Wulumuqi Xian, Wulumuqi Shi, Xinjiang Weiwuerzizhiqu, China
Design Team: Liu Xu, Zhang Haiyang, Liu Erdong, Zhang Zhong, Zhang Qing, Zhang Jian
Area: 7700.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Yao Li

From the architect. Western or Eastern?

DongZhuang-Building Museum of Western Regions, is located in Tuoli Township of Nanshan Grasslands, 30 km away from Urumqi City, and is built on the site of a previous grain shop that existed more than sixty years ago. Since the ancient times, architectural design which is inspired by natural landscape has always been exciting. The Museum, facing the city in the south and backed by the mountain in the north, has no disturbance on surrounding vegetation. From afar, it looks like an off-white stone rolled down from the mountain, standing quietly and naturally in the open and vast Gobi desert of Inner Eurasia. Part of the Museum was designed as a guest house containing a private art gallery and the other is open to the public where passengers could have some rest.

Cement, sand, necessary rebar and least glass are all components of the building for ecology protection and resource conservation. The thick walls and small windows shield against the scorching sun in summer and chillness in winter. The principles and methods of traditional technologies for cavity walls, ramming earth, sun-dried mud bricks and laying stones are adopted to construct a simple, reliable and durable building. The texture of materials is highlighted on the building's surface to obtain a "natural" completeness of a non-specific space.

The design respecting the data framework and ecological cycle reflects the diversity, liberty and obscureness of local life and endows the building with liberty, freeness and vitality. DongZhuang is a "transparent" presence, with no clear internal floors, possibilities of uncertain and multiple applications, and UDLR interconnection. It takes advantage of natural presences in a smart way to protect against wind and snow and realize ventilation and day lighting. The perfect concave-convex matching with the outer space and the existing space chiseled and space "created" as required for the workers' needs makes a building under the concept of "harmony" and "container".

Design principles:

1 The building shall be durable and firm enough to resist violent storm, sand storm, and ultraviolet ray.

2 Buildings are not built to show off the wealth and test technologies, especially in poor areas, and local materials and applicable folk building technologies will be used for the building.

3 Good-looking is not beauty, and even beauty often lasts for a short while with the shift of aesthetic trends. A pleasant and well-adapted building with multiple functions is a good building, and durability is a synonym of history, symbol and localism.

4 It is preferable for a house in the desert hinterland to emerge in harmony with the nature and perish of itself as time goes by.

5 The natural light is over artificial light as the latter is dependent on too much input and the sun and the moon are really splendid and reliable.

6 The internal and external space of the building is homogeneous, and flow and stagnancy is reciprocal causation as the space exists of itself.

The texture of wall brick and floor ceramic tile is completed under the efforts of the designers and 23 local Artux constructors. For memory and respect, the designers stroked and engraved the latter's names on the "five stars" red brick. North: the wall body is intensified to resist strong wind. East: an opening is provided for enjoying the blue sky and white cloud among the existence of beautiful small river, temples and mountains. South: owing to the sceneries of green hills and trees, and the smoke from kitchen chimneys rising from the pasture families, together with the bright sunshine and gentle and pleasant breeze, it is a good idea to drink milk tea in the garth, basking in the sunshine, beside the screen work of the vertical ladder. West: one can enjoy the warm picture made of the setting sun shining through the fruit trees, the stream flowing quietly, and homebound people. One can open the skylight of the roof to let in the light of stars and moon, observe the universe, while listening to the twittering of swallows. Previously there were many bird's nests on the northwest corner, the designers planted flowers and plants on the space between stairs and water tank to build "Bird's Nest" open to the south for returning swallows. Before construction, scores of apple trees, elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian Olive) and elm in the yard of the old grain shop were moved to the southeastern corner of the square of the village primary school, and then restored after the main structure was completed.

The theory of uncertain design is obtained from the experience of the architectural design in the Western Regions for decades, which not only requires craftsmanship, and but also should incorporate the awareness from the depth of one's soul, and quality of respecting natural space. According to the uncertain design theory, a building is compared to a potato, and the seed of the potato is cut into irregular pieces, which are buried in the ground, so no one knows how large they would grow and what they would look like. But they will grow up and be themselves for sure. The potato has its own image and natural skin after self-enrichment, due to the demand of inner growth and external oppression and bondage from soil. The uncertain theory tries to give the space a "space", which is full of air, sunshine, airflow, moisture, heat and coolness, snow and rain and countless causes and effects relevant to stretching. Then their existence leads to the topic about life and reproduction. Reliability, continuity, non-utilitarianism, view of nature, open view of environment, free and versatile use of the space, the simplicity of materials, crafts and cost, and the expression of the most primitive, substantial and simple "blank" are all the essential thought and action principles of the design of DongZhuang Museum.

The place is mostly called "Western Region" in China, and "The East" by the European, so it is hard to define whether it is a building of the east or of the west.

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Zern Pavilion / Vlad Kissel

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 01:00 PM PDT

Architects: Vlad Kissel
Location: Muzeon Park of Arts, Крымский вал, вл. 2, Moskva, Russia, 119049
Area: 12.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Sergey Christolyubov - Andrey Lysikov

From the architect. The podium, on which the object is located, is surrounded with flowers and ornamental grasses. There is a сauldron inside with living plants. This composition symbolizes the proximity of our ancestors to nature. And the drop-shaped openwork construction of the installation is a reference to early Slavonic aesthetics.

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Acquarium / Atelier8

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 12:00 PM PDT

Architects: Atelier8
Location: 160 Ju Lu Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China
Author Architects: Jorge Gonzalez, Dai Chenjun, Zhao Qing
Area: 79.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: LiYue

From the architect. Settles into the new night life entertainment hub in Shanghai. Due to the project's location, the plan does not rely on the pre-existing square, thus erecting it autonomously. The previously installed four meter high windows enhance the three-dimensional space, giving it sublime proportions.

Dynamism in a static space leads to the concept of this lounge — entirely glazing the space with different objects inside and people moving around, resembling a fish tank.

Enclosed space to define atmosphere but open to the visitor sight to get the attention. Our main goal is to define those boundaries.

We decided to keep those windows, the line between public and private space, as a key point and enhance their importance with a curtain chain which will add movement and a soft characteristic to the huge glass surface yet to keep the privacy.

The line between serving space and seating area, become a subtle wall that holds copper and glass shelves, holding the necessary kitchenware. The kitchen is nested on the back part but open to the tank tearing a horizontal window.

Once inside the tank, the sequence continues with the bar built in concrete and weathering steel followed by a 4 m long concrete table through the main axis of the space. The flexible use of the concrete table hosts both the clients and the staff. This split in two spaces where the copper and marble tables will be distributed.

The upper part of the tank, the skyline, is firmly colonized by a three-dimensional copper plating structure and bamboo paneling disposed in the different direction which holds all the lighting and equipment.

Bespoke furniture built in green marble and leather combines with copper and concrete while the doors received different treatment. The main entrance will welcome the guest with a rather heavy yet moveable weathering steel and bamboo from Anji. The interior opens to the side corridor with a copper plating door and the kitchen is connected to the corridor with aluminum panel door.

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Theresa Street Residence / Sonelo Design Studio

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 10:00 AM PDT

Architects: Sonelo Design Studio
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Architects In Charge: Wilson Tang, Elodie Lim
Area: 170.0 m2
Project Year: 2013
Photographs: Peter Bennetts

Builder: Legion Building Solutions

From the architect. Subtlety is the one word Theresa Street residence evokes.

On our first visit to this single storey house off a cul-de-sac lane, we were dazed by what presented before us. Upon entry, we were greeted by a tripartite layout with rather wide hallway barrelling through the gut of the house into the living room. Two clumsy stairs ascended from hallway to mezzanines. Spaces were dim and disjointed. Mezzanines were low in headroom. Bathrooms were bunker like, far removed from the loft interiors it boasted.

We were tasked to create a seamless light-filled interior whilst not diminishing the accommodation. With a modest construction budget, contrary to the extent of works required, our intervention became an exercise of restraint. A rigorous re-planning was necessary to bring forth spatial clarity and continuity.

New kitchen, dining, and bathrooms were relocated to the heart of the house, previously a bland hallway. They linked existing front entry to the living room, simultaneously benefitting from the tall gable ceiling. Selection of finishes took cue from existing industrial detail and palette was kept neutral.

The outcome is a modest seamless interior effortlessly disguising the old as new.

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Town Hall Extension / Titan

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 08:00 AM PDT

Architects: Titan
Location: Rue de la Mairie, 85310 Chaillé-sous-les-Ormeaux, France
Area: 90.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Julien Lanoo

Cost Consultant: ecms
Fluids: kypseli
Structural Engineering: iba
Acoustics: symbiance
Cost : 190000€
Client : Town of Chaillé-sous-les-Ormeaux

From the architect. Titan has completed the extension of the Town Hall in Chaillé-sous-les-Ormeaux, in the region of the Vendée. The new building is defined by a simple composition of volumes while preserving its urban significance. The design focuses on scale, refinement of elements and its connections to the context. The structure and appearance of the proposed building are informed with an awareness and respect for its programme and location. The extension is detached from the communal hall and opens to the west and redefines the public space. This interstice creates a visual connection with the town hall and the municipal school block.

Produced locally, the brick naturally established itself as the core element of the project, allowing the natural material qualities to give character to the overall appearance. This idea is accentuated by the use of customized manufacturing and implementation. The building provides a high degree of passive insulation. The structure is entirely made of concrete and wrapped in a perforated brickwork screen. The relationship with the economy and the ecology of production and transportation was also one of the decisive factors for the sustainability of the project.

The south facade, between the marriage hall and the schoolyard, is a singular point in the brick skin. To provide intimacy and protection from the sun, elements of Mashrabiya were introduced in the design of the wall. The brick facade transforms into terracotta paving and gently extends towards the ground, creating a harmonious contrast between new and old.

The project poetically reflects the relationship between land and the symbolic importance of the building, and explores the ways architecture weaves together people and place.

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Construction Begins on Penn Station's Moynihan Train Hall Transformation

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 07:20 AM PDT

Courtesy of New York State Governor's Office

Construction has begun on Penn Station's fast-tracked Moynihan Train Hall project has begun, announced New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in a press conference.

Located within the existing James A. Farley Building (across from the existing Penn Station entrance), the new 255,000-square-foot Train Hall will serve as a new concourse for Amtrak and Long Island Railroad passengers, while an additional 700,000-square-feet will be dedicated to commercial, retail and dining spaces.

"For decades, passengers were promised a world-class train hall worthy of New York - today, we are delivering on that promise and turning that dream into a reality," said Governor Cuomo. "We are transforming the Farley Post Office into a state-of-the-art transit hub to get travelers where they need to go faster and more comfortably. With better access to trains and subways, vibrant retail and business opportunities and stunning architectural design, we are bringing Penn Station into the 21st century."

Designed by SOM, the renovation will feature a new 92-foot-tall skylight located within the center of the Beaux Arts building (designed by McKim, Mead and White). The train hall will service nine platforms with 17 tracks. New renderings released with the announcement show the connection between the above- and below-ground areas, as well as a look how the building will look from the street.

While demolition and preparatory work on the project began in September of last year, construction will now begin full speed ahead on the $1.6 billion project, with a completion date targeted for 2020.

Viewpoint 1: Technical knowledge is actually received in practice, and learning it in theoretical terms is not enough

From Lucas Downes:

As a 5th Year KSU Grad student, I've found that my education hasn't quite prepared me for "real architecture." We do plenty of fantasy projects that seem to use alien technology in their structure for clients with endless budgets.

But aside from a few building construction classes and an attempt at CDs in studio 4th year, we don't get a lot of exposure. I've gotten all of my knowledge from my internships. And I think experience is an important factor. You can flash wall sections at a student all day long, but it won't mean much until you actually see it in application.

From Alexandra Ayres:

When I finished my Part I, I didn't have a clue about any method of construction. In my final year, we were asked to do a CD for the final project and most of us used Detail magazine as our source.

All my knowledge of construction comes from working in an architectural practice and site visits. Even when I did my Part II, we didn't get taught anything about construction methods. Universities should teach construction from day 1.

From Reaping:

We had a few courses in materials and construction, but they didn't weigh on me. I have learned more in the 5 years since college that I would claim I could learn at a University. Real life experience is where you start to see these things.

From Chad Sutter:

I grew up around construction, worked my way through college in the trades and doing small projects. I had a better understanding of materials and construction than did a few of my professors, including one that was very proud of his Master's from Pratt; he had no clue about how materials could be used, and how they were joined or connected.

I have also seen plenty of architecture and industrial design grads that have so little understanding of construction they could never get something designed or built fresh out of school, at least not without an experienced mentor guiding their work. That is what worries me about a few schools offering licensure upon graduation, I think it will end up in a few train wrecks.

From RPR:

A career in architecture can be described as a commitment to lifelong learning. It's why architects are considered pups in their mid-forties. I see this as somewhat of a failing by the institution itself.

Graduates who follow the prescribed route and exclusively work in firms are oftentimes expected to learn by osmosis rather than by 'doing.' Anything outside of what they're exposed to is self-directed learning. This can work, but factor in exams, trying to meet billable hour quotas and having a life outside the architectural realm makes it a slow process.

From Lindsey Leardi:

In my first year at Kansas State University, we were commissioned to design material-less forms to understand space making. Our materials were simply modeling materials: balsa wood, foam core, and chipboard; which have very little to no comparability to real construction materials.

How can you defend something you have no idea how to build? How do you assess the design success of something with no materials? How can you begin to understand the atmosphere you've created without materials?

From Jason Le:

I studied architecture. I learned all my construction methods, materials and general regulations through work. I have only been in the field for 1 year but have learned more than I did in University. University just teaches you to sell your idea no matter how ridiculous it is.

From Eric:

I believe the primary problem is that architects are often taught to think that design and construction thinking are separate activities. First we design, and then we apply construction systems to the design.

Conversely, at the firm I worked for, the designs always began with a construction methodology right at the beginning of the design process. What was interesting was that the designs actually got BETTER as they went through the development and construction processes. This only happens when the architect has a firm grasp on their design intentions and how the construction systems used in the design process extend and enrich the project. Every project I worked on came in on time and on budget (although the budgets ranged widely from one project to the next), as well."

From Tom Harrison:

The majority of architectural education focuses of how to sell and idea with beautiful drawings--irrespective of the quality of the idea. Perhaps a better focus would be on how to design something that can be constructed within budget that will actually perform the function for which it was intended.

From Percy:

Today's architects would prefer to be artists or stars, but what we see is the symptom and not the disease. The illness is the academy itself. Our predecessors mostly knew what they were doing, they knew everything about the material and the structure was important for their project.

Many students have no idea how to get the most out of their materials and what their weaknesses are. The academy must form sculptors and not drawers. The reality is that the materialization of our works, and therefore construction, is fundamental. Not teaching this in universities mutilates our profession.

From Duncan Whatmore:

It is not a lack of knowledge about materials or construction that creates this scenario. Many years ago, architects decided to abandon the "boring" disciplines of cost and project management in order to concentrate of the "fun designer-y" parts. Consequently, they lacked the control of the process that allowed their visions to be realized. Sure, construction knowledge is essential, but lack of this is not the primary factor in causing this effect--it's control.

Viewpoint 2: Knowledge of construction should make projects more efficient, but without sacrificing good design

From Reaping:

If there was some hybrid of a School of Architecture and a School of Construction where both sides get a chance to learn from the other pool I think we would be able to see a lot more creative designs that don't have to sacrifice as much.

But from what I can tell, usually the guys you work with on site have WAY more experience since they have been building for years, meanwhile I can only claim I went to school and know how to draw pretty pictures. But that's where having an office full of experienced guys really comes in. They can guide you through a few projects and start to show you that pie-in-the-sky ideals crash when you are met with a budget that is almost entirely consumed by the most generic designs.

From Bram Tamasoleng:

Many of the answers will say that day-to-day experience works the best to make a good architect. It is true, by experience you will learn the best way to use materials and details but remember that the things you learned from your degree are the power to imagine and to create. By this I mean architect should think about how to create a solution to overcome problems that arise because of their innovative ideas, whether that's a budget problem or an issue of not being sure if the detail will work or not.

I say if an architect could not overcome the problem that means it is not the right solution for the client nor for themself. Options are there just to pick the right one for the right case. Sometimes the process can be trial-and-error but that is what makes an architect--to create and to innovate, and not just be dictated the "conventional way."

From Lucas Downes:

I don't think we should be taking credit hour after credit hour of detailing and building construction classes, but a little more preparation would be extremely helpful. Sure it would limit design, but they would be more realistic, and that would provide more challenges--which in turn could create a more interesting design.

From Jtbochi:

I really don't think school is capable of teaching this type of knowledge without actually doing it in the field. What schools can do is teach students to be global thinkers. That's really what an architect does daily. He or she has to know something about every aspect of the project and if the architect doesn't know, they know who does and coordinates with all parties to come up with a solution. Engineers have a notoriously narrow vision, but they are experts in their precise field. The architect must be a confident decision-maker because the contractor and consultants will usually go out of their way to pass the final decision down the line and the client is looking to the architect to make the right call.

However, to those who think architects are just dreamers, some are... and that's a good thing because if it weren't for dreamers, we would only repeat past successes and never truly progress. A good architect knows when to dream and push the envelope and also when to be pragmatic and solve the problem.

From Lindsey Leardi:

A tenacious knowledge of construction materials yields better design. The colleagues of mine who have the best understanding of materials are some of the best designers I know.

Viewpoint 3: Architects don't have to know everything, and we can consult or learn from the specialists

From Lester Kanali:

The way constructors insist that architects get on their level to build something that actually "works" is exactly the same way they should get on the architect's level. It should be a more cohesive process rather than attacking the skillset of any of the professionals.

From Nora Hild:

Architecture school teaches us about architecture--the theory/design, history and human scale. It is the job of an employer to teach about construction and materials for architectural graduates. And it is the responsibility of graduates to do their own research about best practices, IMO.

From Tom Scooter Seiple:

There's a significant emphasis on "knowing everything" in the design industry, especially in architecture. Not that it's bad to be ambitious about knowing more (hell, I'm teaching myself to code and revisiting stats right now), but I often feel it breeds a mentality of superiority and overconfidence. There's nothing wrong with consulting specialists. That's what they dedicated their careers to, they are resources!

What other related professions think

From Rj Kietchen:

You work from the build cost up, not design down. As a former General Contractor I can attest to the visual construction path that is followed after consulting with an architect. The architect, armed with drawing skills, imagination, and little else, is utterly unaware of 95% of what it takes to develop a property, the materials involved, the associated direct and indirect costs, and the customers; both builders and end-user.

I used them when clients had already retained them and never otherwise. 40% of my build time was spent educating the architect on why things can't be built the way they designed it. In the final diagram, you see what the customer could afford to build, but that never prevented the architect from presenting the first image, trying to justify why they were hired.

From @imrighturwrong:

Architects should be required to work in the field for 1-2 years before receiving a license. It would help them to realize that just because you can draw something doesn't mean you can build it.

Understand: concrete isn't perfectly flat, steel isn't plumb & level. Also, with the kind of people out there actually doing the work (lack of tradesmen) the good ones are getting fewer and farther between. Also, don't think you can just sit in your office. You HAVE to visit the site. Especially when it's a remodel. Trust me. As a general contractor, we know when you've chosen to not do your due diligence. It results in overdue, over-budget jobs with excess change orders & paperwork that nobody has excess time to do. So, please, take your job seriously. We are counting on you.

From Michael Moore:

I'm not a architect on paper. I have no degree that says I am. What I do have is several years (29 years) experience and I'm 37 years old. I started working during summer breaks as a child. I really fell in love with the trade, building something with my bare hands and seeing it come to life. I started reading blueprints and laying out houses out to be framed when I was 15 years old. It would really amaze the homeowners that a kid was laying everything out, and if they had any requests to make changes, they had to speak to me. I say that, to say this: experience is by far the best education you can have, hands down.

From Cameron Abt:

Frankly, I'm shocked to learn that this isn't the case already. I'm an electrical and systems engineer, but had to take many mechanical, civil, and other design classes so that we could understand the constraints and goals of other fields. (...) Teaching us how to design for production, maintenance, and disposal not only reduced the number of design iterations required to get to an end product but significantly lowered the total cost of ownership of the system.

Not all engineering schools are like this--some of my friends went on to get jobs with colleagues who did have to learn about manufacturability on the job. But I do know that my friends were soon professionally miles ahead because of this. And I would think, from my admittedly limited knowledge of architecture, that the same would draw true for architectural students.

I'm currently working with many architects on behalf of developers, producing VR tours for new projects. It amazes me how many changes on both architecture and ID need to be made by the developer because the architect wasn't concerned about the feasibility of construction or, sometimes more often, maintenance of the space thereafter.

Tips and possible solutions from our readers...

From Anushish Pagia:

In my view, a better approach towards the field could be to first categorize the materials available and then use these materials after studying their properties for our design.

From Rj Kietchen:

Know every cost number to every single material you propose, including 25% for waste, then know every single build time amount and cost for every material and every design you propose including 25% for waste. Then take 60 percent of the budgeted project amount for the build, then calculate the material cost and time costs for the proposed design to be less than the 60 percent amount. That will result in a completed project at the budgeted amount and get you another contract to design.

From Eric:

I would strongly encourage others to visit as many construction sites as possible during your education and in your early experience following graduation. If your firm has projects in construction, visit the project site with the project architects, even if you aren't working on the project. This may require visits before or after your regular working hours. Take lots of pictures, ask lots of questions, and listen.

Contractors are often surprised and pleased when a young architect expresses an interest in what they do, so take full advantage of these opportunities when they arise. You'll become a better architect!

Check all the comments received in our previous article here and through our Facebook here.

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MÜLLER House / Eugenio Ortúzar + Tania Gebauer

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 02:00 AM PDT

Architects: Eugenio Ortúzar + Tania Gebauer
Location: Ancud, Chile
Area: 72.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Ortuzargebauer arquitectos

Collaborator Archictet: Tal Sustiel

From the architect. This project is born from the quest to put into practice four essential principles of architecture: Functionality / Efficiency in the use of resources / Correct use of passive energies and / The recognition of the place, as a comprehension of a territory and a culture.

Recognition of the site:

Morphologically the project appears as a volume with two distinct expressions; a small shed, hermetic and closed to the outside access space, so that only once from the interior of the house, there is a re encounter with the place, through a glazed facade, in the form of a curtain wall, from floor to ceiling, which highlights the beauty of the place as a whole.

Functionality:

The house is thought from the optimization of the square meters, the comfort and privacy of the enclosures. For the latter, the two bedrooms were located at the two ends of the house, as inhabited poles, retaining their privacy with the rest of the house.

The bathroom, together with the kitchen, forms a single wet and structural core, adjacent to the main bedroom, serving the rest of the house.

This distribution leaves the public space completely integrated in the center of the house and linked directly with the kitchen, dining area, living area and a translucent covered terrace, which allows to enjoy the outside, protected from the heavy rains.

The main access, sheltered from the central volume, opens from the south, avoiding the exposure of the rains and winds, through an access ramp, facilitating access for people with disabilities.

Correct use of Passive Energy:

In order to achieve greater comfort and optimize passive energy, through a completely glazed façade the house, allows to receive and capture as much as possible the path of the sun in its north façade, at the same time as it closes in a hermetic way as a curtain wall to avoid the heavy rains.

Opposite the north facade, the south façade, is the one in charge of ventilating the house, through specific windows serving as wind tunnels, to ventilate and to refresh in a natural form the interior of the house in the months of spring and summer.

As for the rain, two channels at each of its elongated facades, developed over the entire length of the house, allow to recover and to accumulate it for diverse uses.

Materiality: Resources Efficiency

The optimization of the use of resources, allowed to build this house in only 2 months, at a low price per squared meter and reduce to almost zero the amount of waste during construction process.

In order to achieve the above, the house was designed by virtue of the materials to be used: Flooring plywood, cladding and furniture 244/122, wood for structures 360 cm, and zinc plating pre painted black, which allows to absorb heat in a cold area, while at the same time making the work mimetic with the place.

Lastly, to complete the sustainability of the project, it is constructed entirely with renewable wood using local labor.

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This Architectural Installation Reconnects With the Senses Through Suspended Bricks

Posted: 18 Aug 2017 01:00 AM PDT

A design by Ashari Architects for an architectural installation in Iran is a direct response to the need to reconnect with the senses.

The project, a pavilion built from a cube that holds a suspended brick volume, shows the potential of the use of this material by creating distinct atmospheres.

From the Architects. Our response to the challenging architectural installation competition near one of the most important historic gardens “Afif Abad Garden” in Shiraz, Iran was PAUSE.

PAUSE is the childish adventure feeling and inspiration that we have not experienced since the childhood. PAUSE tries to revive the feelings that we have been ignoring. Feeling of brick texture tactile; hearing the sound of our steps on the metal sheets, looking at the sky which we pass under of it every single day without any attention to it, not even trying to pause to enjoy it.

Listening to the “water features at the site," PAUSE from the outside is a cube that holds a suspended brick volume. This is adequate enough to incite the adventure and curiosity senses. By passing the brick wall entrance, we reach a dark closed space which can’t hear anything except the sound of metal sheets under our steps. We continue our journey by touching the brick textures.

This concludes inciting and emphasizing our auditory and tactile senses which lead to follow our only possible guide that is the brick texture to move forward while our eyes are constantly searching to find a light beam or an opening. The mirrors and the light reflections gradually inform us about an occurrence that is about to happen. A little light beam is reveled and suddenly a stunning source of light from above lightens the space. We find ourselves under the sky which is framed and surrounded by mirrors and define the border between us and the environment.

As to respect the maximum allowed space which is 4m X 4m X 4m, the effort was on implementing our concept in the exactly defined space. Creating a moving knot in circles of the space led us to initiate a circular volume in a cubic volume. By extruding the circle to create a cylinder and from cylinder to cone to create difference volume radiuses achieving the spatial diversity between the floor and ceiling and as a result drawing attention to the people above.

In order to incite people’s curiosity sense, we covered all around the interior cone inside the cube structure with metal sheets. Afterward, the entrance/exit space was defined by changing the material and creating a brick wall that invites the visitors.

To increase safety, 80 cm at the bottom part of the cone is omitted to supervise the people movement which led us to suspend the cone and that ended up as an interesting challenge of structure for us.

All of the bricks that are used in the pavilion are cut in half and installed with the designed straps. The mirrors’ density in the inside increases as you move your eyes toward the upper part of the cone. Finally, to prevent the direct sun light and control the light the ceiling is covered by metal sheets. A hole has been cut out from the ceiling in order to push everyone's focus to the above space.

Architects: Ashari Architects
Lead Architects: Amirhossein Ashari
Project location: Shiraz, Iran
Completion Year: 2017
Gross Built Area: 16 square meters
Other participants: Zahra Jafari, Ayda Bazoobandi, Mostafa Yektarzadeh, Sahar Gharayi
Photography: Amir Ali Ghafari

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Riksbyggen and Sweco Architects Win Competition for Wooden Mixed-Use Development in Gothenburg

Posted: 17 Aug 2017 11:00 PM PDT

Courtesy of Kristian Schling, AdoreAdore

Riksbyggen and Sweco Architects were announced as the winners of a government-led competition to create a cross-laminated timber framed housing development for the Johanneberg district of Gothenburg, Sweden. The proposal, called "Slå rot" (Swedish for "put down roots"), was chosen for its response to its existing environment with nods to tradition, while still providing an innovative structural system and modern living to the neighborhood.

The seven-story building houses 45 apartments in a variety of sizes and arrangements. On the lower floors, the living space ranges from 65 to 100 square meters, with 120 square meter terraced apartments on the rooftops. The apartments face either north-south or east-west to maximize on sunlight and bedrooms are oriented towards the courtyard for privacy.

The design of the exterior of the building takes reference from two different architectural styles of Johannesburg's past. The upper and lower quarters of the neighborhood feature both the simplified shapes of the Swedish grace style of the 1920's and the functionalist aesthetic of the 1930's. The materialization and colorization of the facade along with rounded balustrades hint at the project's ties to its past. Still, the building's expressive facade stands apart with its own contemporary features such as multiple glazed openings.

Sustainability is at the forefront of the design, both in its constructional and operational considerations. The apartments feature balconies with glass screens that provide a thermal buffer and encourage residents to grow their own plants. A locally-run green cafe is located on the bottom floor of the development to provide common spaces that stimulate community interaction. Additionally, a car and bike pool will be provided to lessen dependence on automobile ownership.

The timber-framed tall building design has been popularized in recent years, especially in northern regions such as Canada and Scandinavia, where the technology is advancing rapidly. The main structure of the building is a system of glue-lam beams and pillars, joined through CNC-milled joinery and stabilized through concrete cores and reclaimed brick. Prefabricated CLT modules will mount themselves in this grid. As a nod to its structural system, the exterior is clad in wooden paneling.

By using new technical tools in combination with traditional craftsmanship regarding the wood properties, we can today build high quality wooden houses in an economically sustainable model, says Mikael Ahlén, Market Area Manager at Riksbyggen.

The project will start in 2018 and is slated to be completed in 2021, the 400th year anniversary of Gothenburg.

News Via: Sweco Architects.

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subota, 19. kolovoza 2017.

Arch Daily

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New Renderings of Penn Station's $1.6 Billion Renovation Released as Project Gets Greenlight

First Renderings Revealed of Revamped Plan for New York's Penn Station

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