Arch Daily

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• Detached House / MIDE architetti
• Gwynne St Studio / Biasol
• International Antarctic Center Design Winner Announced
• Art Installation Links Contemporary Culture and the Historical and Archaeological Heritage of Athens
• Modern Art Museum of Medellín Extension / Ctrl G + 51-1
• Ascend, Descend: 10 Staircases Made From Beautiful Materials
• Why Henning Larsen Architects Believe that VR Is "a Gift for the Future of Architecture"
• Telheiras Apartment / Miguel Marcelino
• World Photo Day 2017: Our Readers’ 100 Most-Bookmarked Architectural Photographs
• Post Office Sněžka / e-MRAK

Detached House / MIDE architetti Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:00 PM PDT © Alessanda Bello Architects: MIDE architetti Location: Fiesso d'Artico, Italy Architects In Charge: Fabrizio Michielon, Sergio de Gioia Area: 950.0 m2 Project Year: 2017 Photographs: Alessanda Bello Collaborators : Raffaele Camputaro, Ingrid Cagol Consultants : Daniele Nesti, Francesco Terrin © Alessanda Bello From the architect. The project takes place within a large parcel in Fiesso d'Artico, a little village along the bankside area of the Brenta River, also called 'Riviera del Brenta', in the mainland territory of the province of Venice. © Alessanda Bello The essential outline and the pure profiles of the architectural volume were obtained by intentionally conceal gutters and drainpipes within the roof stratigraphy. Section The designed building hosts a single-family residence distributed onto two levels: one for the day, the other for the night usage. © Alessanda Bello At the ground floor the space is articulated through the kitchen area, living room equipment and technical rooms. The entire space is featured by a large glazed wall that leads to the compressed space of the exterior portico, consists of a real geometric procedure of subtraction from the stereometric mass of the building. This operation favours an ideal and functional connection between interior and exterior, allowing light to diffuse uniformly throughout the ground floor and, at the same time, filtering straight sunlight hitting. Floor Plan At the first floor have been placed bedrooms and a bathroom. Here, the contrast with permeability of the ground level is declared. The space is more intimate and enclosed although, by facing the large double height space of the living room, the corridor and the staircase transmit natural light coming from the large glass wall and become physical element of connection with the outside. © Alessanda Bello This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Gwynne St Studio / Biasol Posted: 19 Aug 2017 01:00 PM PDT © Ari Hatzis Architects: Biasol Location: 10/12 Gwynne St, Cremorne VIC 3121, Australia Area: 480.0 m2 Project Year: 2016 Photographs: Ari Hatzis © Ari Hatzis From the architect. Ideas of culture and connectivity underpinned our design for the Gwynne Street Studio, a dynamic warehouse conversion in Cremorne, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne. The brief called for two new tenancies within a warehouse shell – a new office for Create Company and a new studio for our own practice, with a shared boardroom and breakout space.  © Ari Hatzis The warehouse's art deco exterior and the neighbourhood's creative/industrial past provided rich inspiration for our design. Once a hub for manufacturing, Cremorne has seen an influx of young professionals, start-ups and creative industries in recent years, breathing new life into its mix of warehouses, factory shells and Victorian cottages.  Plan We retained the warehouse's brick bounding walls and the steel trusses that supported the roof. The exterior was refreshed with a vibrant pink and grey palette, which continues inside as a subtle highlight. New steel signage picks up on the building's heritage, while a driveway entry ramp recalls its previous life as an offset printer.   © Ari Hatzis Within, we imagined the interiors as a contemporary, unpretentious space with a modern industrial aesthetic. We installed a new transparent roof that floods the interior with natural light. Instead of solid walls, glazed floor-to-ceiling partitioning with black framework connects the interior spaces, creating an openness that reflects our way of working.  © Ari Hatzis Where more privacy was required, panels of reeded glass provide a degree of separation.  The design responds to the individual character of the two tenants. For Biasol, we designed an open-plan studio space that encourages creativity, collaboration and the sharing of ideas. A subtle colour palette acts a backdrop to our creative output. For Create Company, we developed a modern and professional space accented with a rich teal colour.  © Ari Hatzis The spatial configuration in both offices fosters interaction and collaboration, while  providing enough flexibility to accommodate future growth. The kitchen acts as creative hub for both of the tenancies – filled with a curated collection of art, it is an inviting, almost home-like space.  © Ari Hatzis The pared-back materials palette incorporates polished concrete floors, lime-washed ply, White Fantasy marble, and greenery from Glasshaus. Bespoke furniture – including custom work stations – defines each zone. While the project offers a respectful nod to the building's heritage, it also incorporates twenty-first-century technology, with a Sonos sound system, underfloor heating and air-conditioning built in.  The result is a layered and highly functional interior characterised by detail, materiality and quality finishes.  © Ari Hatzis This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

International Antarctic Center Design Winner Announced Posted: 19 Aug 2017 09:00 AM PDT Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar A team led by Alberto Moletto, Cristóbal Tirado, Sebastián Hernández and Danilo Lagos has been selected as the winners of the Punta Arenas International Antarctic Center (CAI) design competition.  The ambitious state-owned project sought to create a "distinctive and iconic infrastructure that is necessary to consolidate the position of Chile as an Antarctic country and Punta Arenas as the main gateway city to West Antarctica." Take an in-depth look at the winning proposal, described by its authors as a hybrid building, organized "formally and programmatically from strata or superimposed layers, materially varied to host diverse program elements, each with its own character." Here, the architects tell their story. Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar Project Description Men Wanted: For hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long month of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honour and recognition in case of success. My first trip to Punta Arenas was by boat. From the Strait of Magellan, I could see a distant volume, light and ethereal, floating over the city’s edge. The sinuous edges of the volume made it difficult to understand its geometry from a distance, revealing a body pierced by the passage of time. Quickly coming to mind was the image of a drifting iceberg and the first sailors to navigate the Magellan straight catching sight of the far-off lights of the native inhabitants. With this last image in mind, I could see the starting point of the city. Axonometry Once in Punta Arena, I went to visit the International Antarctica Center and realized it was the building I had seen from afar, organized in strata. The first layer was a dark, stony base containing the programmatic elements for the traffic of goods and vehicles. In turn, this dense volume sustained a lighter, translucent volume for the inhabitable programs used by scientists and visitors. The main floor, three stories above the ground and linearly organized, had a large void that opened up to an image of the city from afar by means of a linear, perimeter path that also became a balcony to contemplate the Magellan Strait. This perimeter space was dominated by a calm, homogenous light that contrasted the unstable climate of the exterior to construct a more abstract space, allowing for a more intimate connection with the activities taking place on this level. The main access to the public exhibition hall was located in the center of the plan and following this perimeter space, finished with an auditorium featuring views of the landscape that dominates Punta Arenosa. The programming located at the building’s center varied in height depending on the volume of air needed by each. On the exterior, on this same level, there was a platform like a dock where one could have a more direct contact with the Magellan Strait and the views to the city as well as a establish a direct relationship with the power of the Patagonian Climate. Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar In the upper part of the building, parallel to the main floor and floating over the double-height volumes generated by the public spaces, the laboratories dominate the totality of the space. From above, I could see how this program had independent entrances that connected to the vaulted floor level and the nearby urban surroundings designated for the scientists’ activities without interfering with those of us visiting but which at the same time allowed for a spatial interaction between the different users and activities in the International Antarctic Center. Upon finishing my visit, I understood that the IAC was conceived not only as building independent of the city but that part of its program related directly with Punta Arenas and thus formed a building of an urban character situated in and out of the landscape. Building Description Main Floor The International Antarctic Center Project is a particular example of a hybrid building where the intersection of elements of very different natures are joined to create a single enclave that gives a new particular sense to the place where it is found: Punta Arenas. The projects are formally and programmatically organized by superimposed strata or layers, materially varied to host diverse program elements, each with its own character. Urban Proposal Urban Context The project appropriates all the threads that make up the fabric of Punta Arenosa, building an antechamber to the CAI. In this way and despite the fact that the building is located on an urban plot, a project is built in the landscape, both from its location and its relationship to the Strait of Magellan. The CAI completes the coastal edge of Punta Arenas from the construction of a lighthouse building,  backlit that assumes its edge condition to be seen, operate as a guide and at the same time be an observation platform. Programmatic Proposal Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar To avoid excavating on sandy terrain, the project is elevated to leave the ground floor for vehicular and pedestrian access and to transport the different users, samples, and goods. Parking, mechanical spaces, and part of the auditorium are located on the second level, crossed by the entrances and the Millenial Forest to connect to the rest of the building. Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar The public program is located on the main floor. This third level has the auditorium on one end that looks out over the landscape. Its strategic location allows for the auditorium to have an independent entrance so that it can act as an autonomous space independent from the rest of the building. The smaller exhibition rooms, the upper galleries of the auditorium and the upper volumes of the main halls are located on the fourth floor. The laboratories on the fifth floor finish the building and are laid out along the whole length of the plan, giving the scientists total control of the inhabitable space and entrances separate from visitors.  Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar Climatic Proposal The main strategy of the building is to create a large transitional space from which all the required program elements will be generated. The envelope is created through the use of low-emission, translucent panels which help to control the loss of heat and the overall environment of the building. Lámina 01. Image Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar Lámina 02. Image Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar Lámina 03. Image Cortesía de Equipo Primer Lugar Architects: Alberto Moletto, Cristóbal Tirado, Sebastián Hernández, Danilo Lagos Location: Punta Arenas, Magallanes and Chilean Antartica Region, Chile Team: José Tomas Rodríguez Collaborators: Juan Ramón Samaniego, Joaquín Bustamante, Sebastián Paredes, Bettina Kagelmacher Estructural Engineer: Daniel Stagno / Hoehmann Stagno and Associates Sustainability: Antonio Espinoza / EBP Chile Prize: Primer Lugar Area: 19000.0 m2 Project Year: 2017 Images: Courtesy of Equipo Primer Lugar This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Art Installation Links Contemporary Culture and the Historical and Archaeological Heritage of Athens Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:00 AM PDT NEON is a nonprofit organization that works to bring contemporary culture closer to everyone.  The Theater of Disappearance is a site specific, outdoor and indoor installation by Argentinian artist Adrian Villar Rojas in Greece, at the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), located on the archaeological site of the Hill of the Nymphs. Built in 1846, the National Observatory is the first scientific research institution in Greece and consolidates nearly two centuries of astronomy since Greek independence in 1832. This is a project curated by Elina Kountouri, that forms part of NEON's work to establish a link between contemporary culture and the historical and archaeological heritage of Athens. © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON Today, almost 170 years later, this commission sees Villar Rojas negotiating with an archaeological site for the first time as he radically alters both the indoor and outdoor space of the National Observatory, occupying an area of 4,500 square meters. The whole site undergoes a complete transformation – architectural, horticultural and emotional. © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON Through this site-specific intervention in Athens Villar Rojas asks, 'what does it mean to have the soil beneath our feet?' Villar Rojas says: "I come from Argentina, where essentially soil is a means of production. That which is beneath our feet does not represent us in the same way that it represents people in Greece, nor people in Turkey. I think we Argentinians equate soil with fertility and this, of course, is a geopolitical construct made by Europe, the Western world and the global economic powers in general. No doubt the strongest features of our national identity are our crops and cattle, endlessly provided by a 'God–blessed' soil upon flat grasslands whose only limit is the sky. It seems a bit of an exaggeration, but just drive from Buenos Aires to Rosario crossing the countryside in the center of the 'Humid Pampas' and you will quickly understand why Argentinians are so proud of their land. So, when I arrived in Greece, I immediately understood that for Greeks what is below their feet was as constitutive of their national identity as it is for Argentinians, but in a completely different way. What was beneath their feet was culture: thousands of years of human civilizations."  © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON The artist has selected 46,000 different plants from 26 different species: a mix of graminaceous plants including bamboo, seeds and grains, and fruits and vegetables such as artichokes, watermelons, asparagus, and pumpkins. Re-planted from nurseries side by side in this unorthodox way, all the plants must survive and co-exist for four months. The act of planting serves as a symbol of liberation, co-existence, struggle, and reparation. Villar Rojas disorientates the internal geography of the National Observatory. The viewer walks through narrow pathways leading through the areas of fertile soil but the physical borders of the area are not clearly defined allowing visitors to wander and lose their way. Outside the National Observatory, the landscape undergoes a similar metamorphosis. Instead of digging down into the ground, Villar Rojas plants densely on top of it, in a constructed, artificial second level of soil. © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON The intensely fertile area gives way dramatically to a barren, polemical zone. Villar Rojas disrupts the usual dynamics of the National Observatory by utilizing a neglected space. Sculptural installations inside eleven variously sized vitrines expose the brutality of years of conquest and expansion and our quest for colonizing new territory on earth and beyond. © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON The Theater of Disappearance in Athens becomes an open-ended investigation of cultural traditions, national norms and stereotypes, learned preconceptions and received histories of conquest and exploration. © Panos Kokkinias, Courtesy NEON This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Modern Art Museum of Medellín Extension / Ctrl G + 51-1 Posted: 19 Aug 2017 06:00 AM PDT © Federico Cairoli Architects: Ctrl G, 51-1 arquitectos Location: Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia Architects Ctrl G: Catalina Patiño, Viviana Peña Architects 51 1: César Becerra, Manuel de Rivero, Fernando Puente Arnao Design Team: Sebastián Monsalve, Jorge Gómez, Eduardo Peláez Area: 7500.0 m2 Project Year: 2015 Photographs: Federico Cairoli General Coordinator: Isabel Dapena Collaborators: Luisa Amaya, Oscar Cano, Lucia Largo, María Camila Giraldo, Juan Camilo Arboleda, Nicolás Martínez, Favio Chumpitaz, Bruce Wong, Felipe Vanegas, Carolina Vélez, Luisa Echeverry, Juliana Vélez, Felipe Walter, Mónica Suarez, Sebastián Mejía, Camilo Martínez, Paula Mesa, Juan David Vargas, Luisa Lara, Juan José Riva, Juan Pablo Giraldo Construction Collaborators: Lina Durango, Laura Burgos Structural Engineering: CNI Ingenieros Consultores - Nicolas Parra G. Engineering Collaborators: Ivan Dario Acevedo, Lorena Cañon, Carol Pavon, Santiago Parra Builder: Conconcreto Interventory: Luis Guillermo Restrepo y Cia S.A.S. Client: Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín y Alcaldía de Medellín Ctrl G: Colombia 51 1: Peru © Federico Cairoli From the architect. The Modern Art Museum of Medellin (MAMM) after 6 years of gestation has just opened to the public a major extension, more than doubling its size, by adding 7000 sq. meters to the existing 3000sq. it had in a refurbished steel factory. Volume Scheme MAMM The Modern Art Museum of Medellin (MAMM) was founded in 1978 by a group of artists with the aim to arouse public interest in modern and contemporary art. It was housed in the communal space (originally intended for a church) from the Carlos E. Restrepo social housing estate, and since its beginnings got regional relevance by events as the 1st Latin-American Congress of Non-objectional Art and Urban Art in 1981 or the Rabinovich Art Salon, the big promoter of young Colombian artists. © Federico Cairoli CIUDAD DEL RIO In 2006, under mayor Sergio Fajardo's administration, Medellin established the reconversion of –strategic- industrial land from SIMESA steel plant into a mixed used neighborhood called 'Ciudad del Rio' (River City). The urban plan considered the dismantling of all factories to allow for generic high-rise blocks in a rigid scheme, leaving only the oldest nave -'Talleres de Robledo'- as the sole testimony of the industrial past. It was then successfully refurbished by the mythical Grupo Utopia as the new venue of the Modern Art Museum on the 30th anniversary of its founding. © Federico Cairoli INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION In 2009, with the opening of its new home, MAMM organized an international design competition for its major expansion to house the requirements for achieving a world class museum infrastructure. Fifteen prestigious international architectural studios were invited to team up with local Colombian colleagues for submitting their entries. In December 2009, the jury chaired by Spanish architect Federico Soriano and the public's vote of those who visited the exhibited proposals awarded the first prize to the team of 51-1 from Peru and Ctrl G from Colombia. © Federico Cairoli LEARNING FROM LOS BARRIOS 51-1 + Ctrl G proposal, initiated from the application of Medellin's own informal settlement patterns of progressive growth at its hillsides. Piled on top of each other, construction in the barrios steps up creating thousands of public interstices, where people exercise their urbanity in the most ingenious ways. An open system connected by stairs. A neighborhood life made out of terraces, front yards, and stairways. The apparent informality on the play of volumes is inseminated with flexibility, common sense, and care, values so necessary for a public building. Squares Diagram YIN YANG If with the celebrated urban renovation process of the hillsides of Medellin, the city 'exported' structure and equipment (metro cable, stairs, parks, libraries) then it is time for the vitality and flexibility of those barrios to be 'imported' to the rigidity of the nascent Ciudad del Rio. © Federico Cairoli If neighborhoods had a soul and were given a structure, new Ciudad del Rio has a structure but still lacked soul. That is the task of MAMM, as responsible of cultural and artistic strengthening of the new environment. Neighborhood-City Scheme A VILLAGE, NOT A BUILDING Instead of a building, a vertical village. This way, as in the informal barrios of stacked houses in the hillsides, where one's roof is upstairs neighbor's terrace, in the MAMM Expansion, the required programs are piled up making a cascade of public terraces connected by stairs. © Federico Cairoli A Colombian Piranesi. Inside, a promenade of art spaces. Outside, a vertical extension of the linear park of Ciudad del Rio up to the fifth floor: each one of these terraces can be seen as spatial reserves for the future growth of museum spaces. The incomplete museum that can extend either in an ephemeral or a definite way, according to its available resources. Section B This concept, based on a flexible model and not in a given shape proved very consistent when -after the competition was awarded- MAMM heavily amended its program based on budget, materiality (from brick to concrete) and requirement adjustments (as usually happens in the actual neighborhoods) so new demands were rearranged where it was most convenient, and the essence of the project remained unaltered. © Federico Cairoli ELEVEN BOXES AND A VOID The museum is built in 5 levels. Besides new art galleries, it hosts laboratories, storage, offices, shops, cafés and a theatre. These areas need to be closed, hermetic and with special light and geometric conditions. They are like boxes. Each one closed by prefabricated concrete panels which are pierced, cut, and carved to reveal different color, light, and textures. Eleven boxes -of different sizes and heights- rotate and pile on top of each other, in a careful and strategic placement. This in-between empty space, it's the place where programs are mixed, relations multiplied between people and dialogues allowed with the landscape. © Federico Cairoli DOUBLE CIRCULATION From the museography point of view, this organization allows for traditional, regular and closed exhibition spaces, as well as open and more flexible new ways for art display, and –most importantly- the simultaneous use of an internal museum circulation (ticket paid) integrating the box office with temporary galleries in Talleres de Robledo wing with new permanent galleries on the fourth level; and an external free and public route that elevates from the plaza into the theater and the laboratories of the third level up to the restaurant in level five, showing new vantage points for viewing the city and enjoying its pleasant year long spring weather in plentiful activity. © Federico Cairoli INTEGRATION The expansion project is not conceived as an isolated building from the preexistent venue. The extension of the central nave into the center and inside the 51-1 + Ctrl G addition configures the new main entrance of the museum: a great void that connects old and new. It is intended an emphatic aperture and integration towards surrounding public space, which is made clear in the continuity of the pavement, the allocation of great programmatic activity towards the exterior (shops, cafés, public toilets) and the absence of barriers. This is not only to extend the city's public life inside the building but to –inversely- make possible that art and culture propagate to the exterior making them more public and accessible. © Federico Cairoli 2X1 Each closed program from the museum complements with an open space, being a balcony, a plaza or a terrace. These spaces, beyond configuring as public spaces or open-air extensions of exhibitions, allow for users to pause and gaze the city. Double use has also been considered for the theater since by investing in equipping only one stage, it can be arranged as a conventional (closed) theater or -by opening its eastern façade- to face the linear park attending a more massive audience. Many possibilities are enabled with this: a lecture inside the theater, the projection of an open-air movie or the staging of a concert having the plaza as a stage and the audience along the theater tribune. 2x1 Theater Diagram Project Description LEVEL 1 In the first level there are 3 boxes: First is a box forming the entrances: towards the street and towards the plaza. It contains the underground parking access, the museum shop, public toilets, and the dressing room and podium for the theater. Another box -aligned with the border- contains the art storage and the small café serving the plaza. The third is a glazed box containing the box office and the access to Talleres de Robledo temporary galleries and the permanent galleries in the fourth level through the elevators. © Federico Cairoli LEVEL 2 There are 2 boxes in the second level. Both correspond to the museum offices which are covered by prefabricated concrete fret works that allow 'seeing without been seen'. This is the only level in the project that doesn't have a direct access from public stairways since it for the museum only private use. Section C LEVEL 3 On the third level there are 3 boxes: A box contains the Sound Experiment Laboratory and 2 more laboratories for class and workshops given at the museum. © Federico Cairoli Another box -at the corner- hosts toilets and vertical circulation (2 public elevators, a service lift, and emergency stairs). The third box is the Theater seating 256 people. It can also be configured as an open theater with the city as a stage by opening its east façade, or even using the same stage but facing contiguous plaza for massive events as concerts. © Federico Cairoli LEVEL 4 In fourth level there are 2 boxes: Both contain the 3 exhibition galleries for the museum permanent collection, each one complemented by an open space allowing exterior exhibitions or simply pauses in the trajectory to gaze the city. © Federico Cairoli LEVEL 5 In fifth level there is just one box, which is defined by metallic fretworks containing the space for the restaurant and events of the museum, profiting from the two large adjacent terraces. © Federico Cairoli This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Ascend, Descend: 10 Staircases Made From Beautiful Materials Posted: 19 Aug 2017 05:00 AM PDT Stairs do more than take you up a floor; they represent a journey the architect wants you to travel. The act of ascending and descending extends beyond planning. Projects like Herzog and De Meuron’s expressive staircases in VitraHaus, Sou Fujimoto’s inhabited stairs in Musashino’s Library and even MVRDV’s giant urban staircase allowed individuals to achieve entirely new perspectives of their surroundings or even city. Staircases hold their own as elements of architectural expression. Some blend in; others puncture a space with their unique shape and materials.  "Among all the architectural elements, with no doubt, the stair is for the building the same as the arteries and veins to the human body. As these carry blood to all organs, those with a similar branch, are essential for communication. In a figurative sense, the stair would be like the heart of a building, which fills it with life. The stair also has a temporal dimension: climbing up a stair means a lapse of time. The stairs and their steps have a rhythm. Its repercussion becomes evident when the steps are counted when going up or down. Above all else, the stair is a three-dimensional element. Its orientation is the gradient slope and its optical effect is the continuous change of perspective as it passes through it. This feeling reinforces the verticality as a movement line, both up and down." (Vicenio Samozzi, Italian Architect, in 1615). From textural timber to curving concrete, here are 10 examples from our archives to check out:   SDM Apartment / Arquitectura en Movimiento Workshop Courtesy of Arquitectura en Movimiento Workshop Olivo Gomes Residence / Rino Levi © Nelson Kon Antinori Winery / Archea Associati © Pietro Savorelli House of Cubes / Embaixada Arquitectura Courtesy of Embaixada arquitectura C-51 House / Ábaton Arquitectura © Cortesia da Ábaton Arquitectura CASA REX / FGMF Arquitetos © Rafaela Netto Bic Banco Headquarters / Kiko Salomão © Fran Parente House in Tamatsu / Ido, Kenji Architectural Studio © Yohei Sasakura Casa Del Grande Staircase / Rafael Iglesia © Gustavo Frittegotto Weekend House in Downtown São Paulo / SPBR © Nelson Kon This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Why Henning Larsen Architects Believe that VR Is "a Gift for the Future of Architecture" Posted: 19 Aug 2017 02:30 AM PDT Currently, virtual reality and 360-degree video are somewhat niche tools, but they are rapidly gaining in popularity. These immersive technologies give architects a means to better decipher a client's expectations—everything from a building's natural lighting to the choice of tile backsplash can be actively assessed at any point in the design and construction process. This transformative technology has already been fully incorporated into some practices. ArchDaily interviewed Henning Larsen's Chief Engineer of Sustainability Jakob Strømann-Andersen to better understand the current and future applications of virtual immersion in architecture. Screenshot from a VR mockup of a Henning Larsen project. Image Courtesy of Henning Larsen Architects Thomas Musca: The disappointing response from consumers to the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have led some to conclude that virtual reality may have little current use outside of gaming or demonstrative gimmicks. This has led to a mix of opinions towards the future role of immersive technology architecture. Why have you elected to develop spaces in virtual reality? How can 360-degree video enhance the design process? Jakob Strømann-Andersen: This technology has the potential to rise way beyond a gimmick if we develop the space you immerse yourself into. The whole point for us is to build the experience; we want to improve the virtual space by providing much more than just a great architectural visual. We strive to create a more interactive experience by integrating real-time lights and auditory stimulation to make the experience even more authentic. This means that, in the earliest stages, the end-user of the future building can already get not only a visual impression of the building but also use their other senses for an accurate preview of the space. Architects can then make adjustments accordingly based on the user's evaluation of the room. We can alter acoustic settings, light settings and so on, so the indoor climate of the space will fit the end-user. We can ask people how they perceive the space way before we hit the site, or even glimpse the rendering. It can qualify the decisions we make as designers in regards to important human aspects like acoustics. At the University of Cincinnati, Lindner College of Business, we had users walk through three different classrooms in a virtual space, each with a different acoustic setting and different sound absorbents (carpet flooring, wall absorbents and sound-proof ceilings) to decide which they preferred. For each room, we recorded an acoustic simulation that they listened to when they moved through the rooms. For us, this idea has a tremendous potential. If we use the tools scientifically, and if we use them to actively make better decisions that are anchored in user experience, then it won't just be a gimmick. Imagine the next level to be actually feeling the surface, smelling the landscape. The visual aspect is just one part. TM: Most architectural renders are intentionally fantastical mockups designed to capture the imagination of clients. Does the shift towards realism provided by 360-degree videos force designers to present a more truthful narrative of a project? JSA: It is important to note that realism won't enter until the building is finished. Until then, the craft, details, and the meeting of materials are difficult to accurately represent. The 360-degree space immersion is still a mockup and should be presented as such. However, what the technology enables us to do is to make better decisions for the people eventually moving into the space than a traditional rendering would allow. Because of this, it is our responsibility to be accurate and transparent in how we present it. A lot of decisions will change during the design process, and immersive tech enables a new level of testing and altering. TM: Both 360-degree videos and virtual reality allow viewers to self-curate their own experience in a space. Given that people will experience this technology through mediocre computer speakers, sub-par displays, confused camera panning, and so on are you cautious that the experience could be corrupted by variables outside of the designer's control? JSA: We're not too concerned about a discrepancy in the quality of the technology. We do not consider these tools as a "test-at-home" facility, but as a service architects can provide in a controlled setting. It is up to us as designers to be able to manage the data we collect from the "self-curating" end-user. As with all other scientific data collection, we must calibrate our data, eliminate sources of errors, and validate input. It is on the architect to determine how the 360-degree experience is different from reality. Like other qualitative research, it is important that we contextualize. "Perception of space" is something we continuously research, as it is an important parameter in human-centered design. The use of immersion to qualify design decisions is a discipline anchored very much in qualitative research. TM: Do you see 360-degree videos and virtual reality as a limited technology that can only be used to develop only certain types of architecture? JSA: This technology can be rewarding for all end-users. It is suited to creating a better experience of the space, comfort, indoor climate. It is for people that can't articulate their feelings and desires. They need to experience it first—and now they can. The difference is that immersion allows architects to actually do something about their remarks. TM: Do you have any reservations about using this technology? JSA: Some of our concerns are that it can be something of a solo experience. While one's tethered to VR goggles, it can be hard to share with others. That said, we're very optimistic about the potential of the technology. In the near future, we'll be able to immerse ourselves into a shared virtual space right in our office and take part of the same experience with only a push of a button. We have always been very concerned with user evaluation and end user involvement, but this technology provides a whole new layer of information. We are now able to collect immediate responses on an array of parameters: acoustics, lighting, materials, and reactions. That is a gift! Not only for us as designers, but for the future of architecture. 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Telheiras Apartment / Miguel Marcelino Posted: 19 Aug 2017 02:00 AM PDT Courtesy of Miguel Marcelino Architects: Miguel Marcelino Location: Lisbon, Portugal Area: 115.0 m2 Project Year: 2016 Collaborator: Débora Martins General Contractor: Vassalo & Sousa Courtesy of Miguel Marcelino From the architect. This apartment, built in the 80s, has problems that are typical of the architectural debilities of most of the portuguese housing buildings of the second half of the XX century: low ceilings throughout the house, subdivided spaces, long narrow kitchens, winding corridors and numerous protrusions of pillars and beams that reveal an unresolved conflict between structure and architecture. Courtesy of Miguel Marcelino Before / After Courtesy of Miguel Marcelino The intervention seeks to reduce the usual sectioning between kitchen, hall, corridors and living room, creating a fluid space with large visual fields and richer possibilities of appropriation. The bedrooms maintain a private character and the toilets are redrawn so as to break the feeling of claustrophobia. Protruding structural elements of beams and pillars will have its concrete re-exposed, without shame, and together with the new wooden elements, will contribute to the new atmosphere of the apartment, reigniting the qualities and pleasure of living in an apartment, in a city. Courtesy of Miguel Marcelino This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

World Photo Day 2017: Our Readers’ 100 Most-Bookmarked Architectural Photographs Posted: 19 Aug 2017 01:00 AM PDT This August 19th is World Photo Day, which celebrates photography on the anniversary of the day on which France bought the patent for the daguerreotype, one of the earliest photographic processes, and released it to the world for free in 1839. At ArchDaily, we understand the importance of photography in architecture—not only as a tool for recording designs, but also as a discipline that many of us enjoy. To celebrate the occasion, we decided to reveal the most popular images ever published on ArchDaily, as selected by you, our readers. Using data gathered from My ArchDaily, we have ranked the 100 most-saved images from our database; read on to see them. 01. Hiroyuki Oki Binh House / VTN Architects  © Hiroyuki Oki 02. Edith Verhoeven Modern Countryside Villa / Maas architecten  © Edith Verhoeven 03. Krzysztof Strażyński Apartment For A Guy And Even Two Of Them / Metaforma  © Krzysztof Strażyński 04. Agnese Sanvito Gallery House / Neil Dusheiko Architects  © Agnese Sanvito 05. Parham Taghioff Pars Hospital / New Wave Architecture © Parham Taghioff 06. Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman skinnySCAR / Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman  Courtesy of Gwendolyn Huisman and Marijn Boterman 07. Martin Gardner The Quest / Strom Architects © Martin Gardner 08. Iwan Baan Heydar Aliyev Center / Zaha Hadid Architects  © Iwan Baan 09. Shinkenchiku Sha Nest We Grow / College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley + Kengo Kuma & Associates  © Shinkenchiku-sha 10. Edward Hendricks House 24 / Park + Associates © Edward Hendricks 11. Kyungsub Shin The Layers / OBBA  © Kyungsub Shin 12. ArchSD Kai Tak Primary School / ArchSD  Courtesy of ArchSD 13. Jack Thompsen Concrete Box House / Robertson Design  © Jack Thompsen 14. Rafael Gamo Next Hydroponic Plant / CC Arquitectos  © Rafael Gamo 15. Anand Jaju Brick House / Architecture Paradigm  © Anand Jaju 16. Hufton+Crow Harbin Opera House / MAD Architects  © Hufton+Crow 17. Fernando Gomulya Splow House / Delution Architect  © Fernando Gomulya 18. Tom Blachford Courtyard House / FIGR Architecture & Design  © Tom Blachford 19. Kevin Scott Cabin at Longbranch / Olson Kundig  © Kevin Scott 20. Paolo Rosselli Bosco Verticale / Boeri Studio Courtesy of Paolo Rosselli 21. Shannon McGrath Armadale House / Robson Rak Architects + Made By Cohen  © Shannon McGrath 22. Brad Feinknopf TinkerBox / Studio MM Architect  © Brad Feinknopf 23. Ilya Kruchinin Landform House / A61architects + YYdesign  © Ilya Kruchinin 24. Ivan Avdeenko Arthouse / Pominchuk Architects  © Ivan Avdeenko 25. Terrence Zhang Parc Central / Benoy  © Terrence Zhang 26. Rafael Gamo Portales Dwelling / Fernanda Canales  © Rafael Gamo 27. Åke E-son Lindman Kalmar Museum of Art / Tham & Videgård Arkitekter  © Åke E- son Lindman 28. Nic Lehoux The Bear Stand / Bohlin Grauman Miller & Bohlin Cywinski Jackson  © Nic Lehoux 29. Sophie Mayer Rural House / RCR Arquitectes  © Sophie Mayer 30. Chibi Moku Swiss Simplicity / Wohlgemuth & Pafumi Architekten  © Chibi Moku 31. Andrés Lejona One on One / Moreno Architecture  © Andrés Lejona 32. Shai Epstein LB House / Shachar- Rozenfeld architects © Shai Epstein 33. Joao Morgado JA House / Filipe Pina + Maria Ines Costa  © Joao Morgado 34. Quang Tran Ccasa Hostel / TAK architects  © Quang Tran 35. Chris Warnes Allen Key House / Architect Prineas  © Chris Warnes 36. Andy Ryan The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art / Steven Holl Architects © Andy Ryan 37. Vásquez Villegas Energy Living / M+ Group  © Vásquez Villegas 38. Liky Photos Work-Studio in a Plant-House / O-office Architects  © Liky Photos 39. Jeremias Thomas MeMo House / BAM! arquitectura  © Jeremias Thomas 40. Chen Hao The Qiyun Mountain Tree House / Bengo Studio  © Chen Hao 41. Hiroyuki Oki Apartment in Binh Thanh / Sanuki Daisuke architects  © Hiroyuki Oki 42. Imagen Subliminal Córdoba-Flat / Cadaval & Solà-Morales  © Imagen Subliminal 43. Yi Fan Seclusive Jiangnan Boutique Hotel / gad  © Yi Fan 44. ASSISTANT It Is A Garden / ASSISTANT © ASSISTANT 45. URBANTAINER Common Ground / URBANTAINER Courtesy of URBANTAINER 46. Dean Kaufman Grace Farms / SANAA  © Dean Kaufman 47. art4d magazine / Ketsiree Wongwan Forest House / Studio Miti  © art4d magazine / Ketsiree Wongwan 48. Peter Sexty Breeze Mooloolaba / Tony Owen Partners  © Peter Sexty 49. Beer Singnoi Townhouse with Private Garden / baan puripuri  © Beer Singnoi 50. Amit Geron Bare House / Jacobs-Yaniv Architects © Amit Geron 51. Gustav Willeit Guworld Haus am Stürcherwald / Bernardo Bader Architekten  © Gustav Willeit Guworld 52. Takahiro Nedachi / Shawn Liu Studio Hotel Proverbs Taipei / Ray Chen + Partners Architects  © Takahiro Nedachi / Shawn Liu Studio 53. Mike Sinclair Shelton Marshall Residence / El Dorado  © Mike Sinclair 54. Bitter Bredt Denver Art Museum / Studio Libeskind  © Bitter Bredt 55. John Horner Rock Creek House / NADAAA  © John Horner 56. Alan Williams Backwater / Platform 5 Architects  © Alan Williams 57. Philippe Ruault Seattle Central Library / OMA + LMN  © Philippe Ruault 58. Timothy Soar Caroline Place / Amin Taha Architects + GROUPWORK  © Timothy Soar 59. Raphael Olivier Neo-Brutalist Revival /  Raphael Olivier © Raphael Olivier 60. Atelier Alter The Paradise of Color / Atelier Alter  Courtesy of Atelier Alter 61. Filip Šlapal The BLOX / DAM.architekti  © Filip Šlapal 62. Alexander James Photography The Courtyard House / De Rosee Sa  © Alexander James Photography 63. Agnese Sanvito Stone Helical Stair / Webb Yates Engineers & The Stonemasonry Company © Agnese Sanvito 64. Mario Wibowo Soori Bali / SCDA Architects  © Mario Wibowo 65. MCA Estúdio LA House / Studio Guilherme Torres  © MCA Estúdio 66. NAARO Villa Ypsilon / LASSA architects  © NAARO 67. Sergio Pirrone Flying House / IROJE KHM Architects  © Sergio Pirrone 68. J.Roc Design Wooden Living-Roof / J.Roc Design Courtesy of J.Roc Design 69. Edward Hendricks 22 Toh Yi Road / Ming Architects  © Edward Hendricks 70. Mina Eden Villa / xyz architects © Mina 71. Åke E- son Lindman Atrium House / Tham & Videgård Arkitekter  © Åke E- son Lindman 72. Iwan Baan Beirut Terraces / Herzog & de Meuron  © Iwan Baan 73. Michael Neuhaus Residential House Cologne Hahnwald / Corneille Uedingslohmann Architekten  © Michael Neuhaus 74. Doublespace Photography The Lookout at Broad Cove Marsh / Omar Gandhi Architect  © Doublespace Photography 75. Héctor Armando Herrera CSF House / López Duplan Arquitectos  © Héctor Armando Herrera 76. Simón Garcia Citylife Apartments / Zaha Hadid Architects  © Simón Garcia 77. Katherine Lu Dolls House / Day Bukh Architects  © Katherine Lu 78. Nic Lehoux Photography Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre / DIALOG  © Nic Lehoux 79. Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST  Krøyer Square / Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects & COBE  © Rasmus Hjortshøj 80. Steve Troes Boos Beach Club Restaurant / Metaform architects © Steve Troes 81. Doublespace Photography Rosemary House / Kohn Shnier Architects © Doublespace Photography 82. Wissam Chaaya Wadi Penthouse / Platau © Wissam Chaaya 83. Tim van de Velde CASWES / TOOP architectuur  © Tim van de Velde 84. Brett Boardman Wellington on the Park / Fox Johnston  © Brett Boardman 85. Himanshuu Sheth The Dasavatara Hotel / SJK Architects  © Himanshuu Sheth 86. Derek Swalwell Fitzroy Loft / Architects EAT  © Derek Swalwell 87. Hiroyuki Oki Thong House / NISHIZAWAARCHITECTS © Hiroyuki Oki 88. Stephen Goodenough Urban Cottage / CoLab Architecture  © Stephen Goodenough 89. K. Kopter Oasia Hotel Downtown / WOHA  © K. Kopter 90. Vincent Monthiers Eco-lodges Les Echasses / Patrick Arotcharen Architecte  © Vincent Monthiers 91. Tina Nandi Courtyard House / Abin Design Studio © Tina Nandi 92. Fabrice Fouillet DYEJI / Costa Lopes  © Fabrice Fouillet 93. Wison Tungthunya Hubba-to / Supermachine Studio © Wison Tungthunya 94. Adam Letch Clifton House / Malan Vorster Architecture Interior Design © Adam Letch 95. Ali Daghigh, Parham Taghiof ARG Shopping Mall / ARSH 4D Studio  © Ali Daghigh, Parham Taghiof 96. Alt Kat Photography Levent House / COA Mimarlık  © Alt Kat Photography 97. Sigurgeir Sigurgeirsson B14 / Studio Granda  © Sigurgeir Sigurgeirsson 98. Maxime Brouillet Le Banc de Neige / Atelier Pierre Thibault  © Maxime Brouillet 99. Robert Polidori Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - Terminal 2 / SOM  © Robert Polidori 100. Bajura Oleg Piano House / LINE architects  © Bajura Oleg This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Post Office Sněžka / e-MRAK Posted: 18 Aug 2017 10:00 PM PDT © Andrea Thiel Lhotakova Architects: e-MRAK Location: Sněžka, Czech Republic Lead Architects: Martin Rajniš, Patrik Hoffman, Jan Mach, Tom Plzenský, David Kubík, Josef Franc Area: 112.0 m2 Project Year: 2007 Photographs: Andrea Thiel Lhotakova Courtesy of e-MRAK From the architect. It's hard to find a more difficult place for building a house than the peak of Mt. Sněžka. Wind speeds reach up to 250 km/h, winter temperatures hit record freezes, it is the most strictly protected zone of a national park. Site Plan How to build in such a locality without spending excess money, and create a house that would remain in the minds of the people who visit? This building is a cousin of the storage depots of Amundsen's or Scott's polar expeditions or the houses that you see in Greenland or the Spitzbergen Islands. Courtesy of e-MRAK It enters on tiptoes into the national park: it is of wood and glass, standing on delicate metal supports. In the harshest winters, it is completely closed off behind interior insulation slabs – shadowboxes – and exterior blinds, which protect it from flying bits of rock and ice. © Andrea Thiel Lhotakova Its outdoor staircase reminds you that you are climbing to the highest point of the Czech lands. An environmentally friendly wooden building, respecting nature, humanity, and the majesty of the mountains. © Andrea Thiel Lhotakova Plan and Elevations © Andrea Thiel Lhotakova This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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