Arch Daily |
- Watermark WestQuay / ACME
- If Staircases Are Such A Crucial Architectural Element, Why Are They So Often Neglected?
- Hubertus Chapel / Can Architects
- Oeconomie-Gebäude Josef Weiss / Julia Kick Architektin
- Outhouse / MISA ARCHITECTS
- House W / Atelier About Architecture
- Sequence House / Youichi Kouno
- Beijing Space of Lace Pattern—Lily Nails Salon / ARCHSTUDIO
- Stokehouse / TILT Industrial Design
- Penda Designs Modular Timber Tower Inspired by Habitat 67 for Toronto
- Studio Dental / Montalba Architects
- Casa Paraíso / DCPP Arquitectos
- Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter Wins Competition for Kiln-Inspired Food Education Center in Denmark
- Restelo House TC / João Tiago Aguiar Arquitectos
- Explore Le Corbusier's Only South American Project, the Casa Curutchet, With a Virtual Walkthrough
- House 2LH / Luciano Kruk
- Proposed 66-Storey Tower Could Be LA's Third Tallest Building
- Spotlight: Konstantin Melnikov
- Caritas Pavilion / Piuarch
| Posted: 03 Aug 2017 10:00 PM PDT  Courtesy of ACME
From the architect. Phase 1 of Watermark WestQuay is the first part of a major redevelopment of a key area within Southampton's town centre designed by ACME. e new scheme contains a 10-screen multiplex cinema, bowling alley, 24 restaurants and cafés, and a new public plaza and esplanade. Created for Hammerson, Watermark sits adjacent to their WestQuay Shopping Centre, drawing the development towards the sea. A soaring cantilevered box wrapped in a skin of curving silver tubes projects out over the new square, signalling the development from the city as a hub of activity.  Courtesy of ACME The WestQuay masterplan addresses Southampton's historic role as a main thoroughfare for cruise ships and trade. During the course of the twentieth century the shoreline has become distanced from the local population, moving progressively further away from the medieval town walls that historically marked the waterfront, due in part to a series of port facilities and industrial buildings, such as the former Pirelli factory.  Courtesy of ACME Phase 1 and 2 of Watermark WestQuay have been designed as the first steps in a plan to reconnect the city to the sea, embracing Southampton's ancient maritime history. e overall vision of the masterplan will ensure that the new development bridges the level change that currently divides the site from the city centre, while maintaining protected views by splitting the scheme into distinct north and south projects.  Courtesy of ACME The areas of newly created public realm around the building are open 24 hours a day, ensuring that the scheme is fully integrated into the fabric of the city centre. It centres around a new public plaza, flanked by the Town Walls and a set of tapering steps leading down from the lower promenade, creating a natural auditorium in which to host a range of events. Lined with restaurants that open up onto the square, this flexible space will become a scene of lively activity throughout the summer months.  Courtesy of ACME A water feature provides a focal point and combines fountain jets with a mirror pool which ebbs and flows much as the tides would have done when this location formed the waters edge, while integrated lighting animates the space during the evening and night. During the winter the space is designed to host an ice rink, Christmas markets and other activities to ensure it remains vibrant with activity year round.  Courtesy of ACME  3D Model  Courtesy of ACME Leading south from the Plaza along the foot of the Town Walls is Western Esplanade. is is the first portion of a pedestrian route that will eventually reach all the way to the waterfront when future phases of the masterplan are developed. A sinuous planted swale creates pockets of space which allow people to gather and relax alongside colourful planting composed of wide variety of native species.  Courtesy of ACME Uplighting is employed along the Town Wall providing a richly textured backdrop to the scheme at night, while all lighting to the public realm is provided from the building itself and the trees, ensuring the plaza is clutter-free and focusing attention of the ancient Walls.  Courtesy of ACME  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| If Staircases Are Such A Crucial Architectural Element, Why Are They So Often Neglected? Posted: 03 Aug 2017 09:00 PM PDT Staircases can trigger conversations, provide a sense of arrival, and dazzle with ingenuity. As an architectural element, they are not just about circulation – so why are they neglected in the design of so many new projects? In this short film from Monocle, the breadth of ingenuity possible with the stair—from those of the Danish National Bank in Copenhagen to London's Leighton House Museum—explore how they can come to embody the very essence of a good architectural project.  © Monocle Films  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Hubertus Chapel / Can Architects Posted: 03 Aug 2017 08:00 PM PDT  Landscape. Image © Szilárd Köninger
 Altar. Image © Szilárd Köninger „…it is good for us to be here…" //Mark 9:5// There is a tabernacle stands in the glade made of wood. Some grazing horses are around. There are a shrine with three stools under the roof. A place for liturgy. Its antitype is a wayside shrine or a barocque triangular covering. It is almost a chapel, but a church. Sancuary of the glade where people gather wearing khakis outfit. Some are carrying horn, antlers while others are decorating as the Saint Hubertus celebration has begun… It is a private company. The Hunters - I mean. Keepers of an ancient tradicion. The ritual of chasing and kill for living. So its place is far from settlements. …a tune of a bell beat the air finishing the preparation. It is much too small in size compare to its sound. The only temporary adornment of the sacred space. The triangular santcuary opens towards the audiance, but unclosed in the back focus to infinity. Furniture are gone by the end of the day and horses can re-enter the field. There is a tabernacle stands alone in the glade framing by the silence of a primeval forest.  Night. Image © Szilárd Köninger The call from the forestry was to create a chapel-like building for hunters to celebrate the Hubertus Day. As the Forestry was fascinating about the happening but unclear in programatic the building. The key was to make the rules clear for the start in the following points:  Axonometric GOALS Objet Trouvé: to find a reference system in the absence of consecrated place in the neighbours Materiality: naiveté use of wood (from the Forestry)  Roof. Image © Szilárd Köninger INSTRUMENTS: Objet Trouvé: The wayside shrine is the uniqueness of this region in sacred building focusing on the Trinity was a german impact in baroque age. The mysterious number three was the root of the design was seen in the base of column statues or even in shelter roofs supporting by three columns. Materiality: timber is the only material we use, even in joinery and furnitures. The roof, the pavement and the roof cover are us the local wood  Detail The architecture is a compound of the three points. The layout is an equilateral triangle define a space open up to the audience and unclosed on the back. Levitating on grass. The altar and the three stools follow the same method and order in design as the chapel. Made of series of lath with wooden joineries. The furniture are mobile, but their form define their place in the sanctuary.  Interior. Image © Szilárd Köninger  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Oeconomie-Gebäude Josef Weiss / Julia Kick Architektin Posted: 03 Aug 2017 07:00 PM PDT  © Nussbaumer Photography
 © Nussbaumer Photography From the architect. The economy building was constructed in 1889 in addition to the hotel and the winery of Josef Weiss. It is located in the central district of Dornbirn, close to the train station. Since 1997 it is protected as cultural heritage and could therefore escape from demolition. Over the years different projects were planned for the building but none of it was realized. It kept empty until the new owners bought it in 2016 and carefully rebuilt it to their home and atelier. By reacting to the given structures of the building the original spatial particularity could be preserved.  © Nussbaumer Photography  Section 01  © Nussbaumer Photography The result is an open, loft like living and working space that includes areas free of predicted utilization, split levels and air spaces as well as a hidden, private roof space. The façade with all its patina was kept, all modifications were made from the inside. Also on the inside is a protected small outside sitting place. Linear openings in the timber façade bring more light into the rooms and give a view to the outside. The old wooden planks on the floors were numbered, built out, cleaned an reused as flooring. Wooden parts which had to be restored or exchanged stay clearly visible as new.  © Nussbaumer Photography  Plan 02  © Nussbaumer Photography  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 03 Aug 2017 05:00 PM PDT  © Zurich Shah
 © Zurich Shah From the architect. Outhouse: a visible invisible extension of nature  © Zurich Shah On the first visit to the site, the architect made up his mind to optimize on the setting of this project. Amid lush green farmland, away from the bustling city of Ahmedabad, this site offered a getaway into the serenity and vastness of nature.  © Zurich Shah The design approach was to create an enigmatic feel by camouflaging the building with the background, which offered a matchless view of the horizon. The imagination was to bring life to a poetic expression: green grass below, and the blue sky above, and the outhouse at this threshold.  © Zurich Shah  Site Plan  © Zurich Shah The outhouse plan comprises a series of courtyards and private spaces, connected through an immaculate passage. This project has a living area, dining, kitchen, master bed and guest room. The courtyards embed usable outdoor spaces like the patio, swimming pool, and the entrance vestibule.  © Zurich Shah These fragmented semi-public, semi-private spaces are carefully positioned to create an array experiences while improvising on the ambiance. O The cantilevered deck turns into a pulpit in front of the graduating lawn space for audience seating.  © Zurich Shah The swimming pool is designed with the right amount of privacy, with a handy private shower and powder room for guests. The rooms intentionally make for an inside out living experience. The deeply shaded openings in the north and east ensure thorough daylight and shelter from the weather.  © Zurich Shah  Sections 2  © Zurich Shah The exposed RCC ceiling is patterned with the bamboo curtains, with a complete green cover at the terrace. The building preserves water with its reverse boring to help recharge the ground water table.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House W / Atelier About Architecture Posted: 03 Aug 2017 03:00 PM PDT  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture
 Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture From the architect. It took three years to complete the design of House W with numerous redesign and adjustments in between. Atelier About Architecture has invested great effort and the process witnessed its own growth. As the owners of the project, the architect duo was playing as both Party A and Party B during design, and the key is to clarify the expectations on living and to solve possible problems with absolute sincerity.  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture The design of House W was challenged by two physical conditions at the beginning: the temperature at the site is extremely low in winter because the building is rested with its back against the hillside, therefore we need to ensure the heat preservation inside will be strong enough under cold weather while to guarantee energy efficiency; it is also a tough job to meet the strict requirements on heat preservation and to create humanistic environment in the building at the same time. In most circumstances, rooms will be arrayed along the four sides of the plan; therefore, the area in the center will barely share any sunlight and become inanimate and cold. The situation generally gets worse when the volume turns larger, which will bring more difficulties to the heating and ventilation.  Diagram The building is standing with its back against the hillside, allowing the cold air to scour along the north façade in winter. AAA defined the program of the building as well as the sizes and positions of the windows based on the site and sunlight. The outside walls were wrapped with 150mm insulation panels, plus the huge glass box in the atrium, providing continuous heat in winter. As proved by the experiment on the data collected in the first heating season, the temperature of the interior will reach an average level of 11 degree in winter without turning on any heating equipment. Meanwhile, cool air will be introduced from the basement and discharged from the inside as a result of natural airflow to reduce the indoor temperature.  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture  Ground Floor Plan  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture AAA also invited Architecture and Technology Research Institute of Tsinghua University to carry out a half-year professional examination after the realization of House W with the aspiration of building a passive house that completely meets international standards.  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture AAA made careful measurements on each independent room according to our own living habits, and have defined the volume of each space by column width of 6 meters instead of blindly maximizing the space. In this blundering era with excessive visual information, architecture itself has become more and more pictorialized where people are more likely to be attracted by the photos of a building instead of the building itself. However, the real beauty of architecture, as well as the abstraction and the relevance of spaces, are beyond the expression by images. Architecture can only be understood through personal experience.  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture Martin Heidegger believed that poetic dwelling is not only about poetic watching, but also about living in poetry. The comfort of living is an evitable element in any time. In his article Ornament and Crime (Ornament und Verbrechen),Austrian architect Adolf Loos advocated for removing ornaments from objects as he saw ornament as fraud. AAA was greatly inspired and therefore rejected all ornamental elements for visual impact in this project to ultimately present a "sincere" building that truly meets our expectation on living.  Courtesy of Atelier About Architecture  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Sequence House / Youichi Kouno Posted: 03 Aug 2017 01:00 PM PDT  © Makoto Kunisada
 © Makoto Kunisada From the architect. My client whose hobby is D.I.Y wanted to actively engage in the house-building. Her desire was to build storage furniture while living in the house, and the architecture as a vessel is to provide the most comfort and the feel of material quality.  © Makoto Kunisada This house's theme is not only to take advantage of the location's goodness overlooking the sea but also to have a function as an atelier ,and not to build in the internal space too much. This house is divided into two buildings; a residential building and an atelier building.  © Makoto Kunisada I put a roof on both of them and made a courtyard like a "clearance" in between. The roof over this courtyard is hollowed out into an elliptical shape, and the feet are connected to the deck that leads to the sea. The atelier building is an one-story ,residential building is a two-story . The roof of the atelier building is a wood deck terrace, which has connections with the external space at various points, so you can feel the refreshing sea breeze.  Floor Plan / Sections The outer wall of the atelier building adopted wooden boards of various thickness, width and kinds, such as cherry,oak, chestnut and zelkovatrees. Considerable secular change is expected because of the strong sea breeze at the location. I am looking forward to how each wooden board will change over time.  © Makoto Kunisada Overall, only natural materials such as wood, diatomaceous earth and tiles come out to the surface, and the inner space is kept quite simple.  © Makoto Kunisada The kitchen directly represents such house design policies. Taking functionality into consideration, the countertop was custom-ordered to a technical company,but the material of the body is plywood. My client will enjoyed making the storage space and finishing the surface.  © Makoto Kunisada In addition, my client has completed the part of the floor and a wall by herself, and the gardening is now underway from the soil making. This house is changing every time I visit. I cannot contain myself for joy to see the ever evolving "sequence design".  © Makoto Kunisada  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Beijing Space of Lace Pattern—Lily Nails Salon / ARCHSTUDIO Posted: 03 Aug 2017 12:00 PM PDT  © Jin Weiqi
 © Jin Weiqi From the architect. The project is aimed to extend two dimensional floral patterns into three dimensional spaces, creating a flexible environment with feminine temperament thus improving the identity and comfort of the nails salon. Located on the edge of Blue Harbor's underground square, the salon is in an irregular and elongated shape.  © Jin Weiqi Accordingly, the design employs walls that interlace straight and curved lines to re-integrate interior interface. The curved walls divide various functional areas such as manicure, beauty, reception, storage, etc., meeting different spatial needs from open to private. Meanwhile, the variety of scales and shapes also enriches customers' environmental feelings.  Diagram  Floor Plan Pattern of the walls adopts lace, one of typical clothing patterns with distinct feminine feature, abstractly transformed and finally realized through laser cutting of 6 mm steel plate. Position and scale of the lace pattern have taken visual relation of clients inside the space for reference. The pattern turns all the walls translucent, overlapping and interweaving while clients move around and get multiple feelings.  © Jin Weiqi The storefront is enclosed by pitchy hot-rolled steel plate, only leaving a transparent entrance. When customers pass through the noisy mall and walk inside the salon, the pure and abstract space of lace pattern enables you to slowly calm down and enjoy the time that belongs to yourself.  © Jin Weiqi  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Stokehouse / TILT Industrial Design Posted: 03 Aug 2017 10:00 AM PDT  © John Gollings
 © John Gollings From the architect. Almost four years after a fire tore through the popular foreshore venue, Stokehouse, St Kilda is again abuzz thanks to the restaurant's iconic new design. Sydney Industrial Design studio, TILT Industrial Design, collaborated with Robert Simeoni Architects and owners, the Van Haandel Group, to reimagine the new Stokehouse's exterior.  © John Gollings The restaurant has a fresh new look, and sits just a few metres from one of Melbourne's most famous beaches. The building doesn't try to imitate its predecessor. Instead, it pays homage to the beachside jetty, with a blackened timber-clad façade. Raw elements such as leather, concrete and brick connect the building to the nearby man-made sand dunes. The dunes conceal the ground floor from street level, giving Stokehouse, on the top floor, the illusion of floating.  © John Gollings The new precinct also houses casual bar and grill Pontoon, and fish-and-chip kiosk Paper Fish. TILT undertook the façade design, manufacturing and installation process. The façade is a series of operable, horizontally bi-folding screens located outside the restaurant's windows. The screens provide protection from the sun, and can be raised to reveal beautiful bay views.  Structure Detail  Structure Detail The coastal location is a demanding environment for mechanical structures. Marine grade stainless steel was used for the façade's fabricated structural elements – paramount for longevity and reliable performance. The operable screens have significantly added to the building's aesthetic, while providing additional comfort for patrons – a combination resulting in a great design and commercial outcome.  © John Gollings  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Penda Designs Modular Timber Tower Inspired by Habitat 67 for Toronto Posted: 03 Aug 2017 08:05 AM PDT  Courtesy of Penda Penda, collaborating with wood consultants from CLT-brand Tmber, has unveiled the design of 'Tree Tower Toronto,' an 18-story timber-framed mixed-use residential skyscraper for Canada's largest city. Drawing inspiration from the distinctly Canadian traditional modular construction, including Moshe Safdie's iconic Habitat 67, the tower is envisioned as a new model of sustainable high-rise architecture that can establish a reconnect urban areas to nature and natural materials. "Our cities are a assembly of steel, concrete and glass. If you walk through the city and suddenly see a tower made of wood and plants, it will create an interesting contrast. The warm, natural appearance of wood and the plants growing on its facade bring the building to life and that could be a model for environmental friendly developments and sustainable extensions of our urban landscape," states Chris Precht, partner at penda. The 'Tree Tower Toronto' will continue Canada's pioneering efforts in timber-framed tall building construction, taking advantage of the significant credits (10-20% of total funding) made available by the Canadian government for projects exceeding certain carbon footprint standards.  Courtesy of Penda  Courtesy of Penda The tower will reach a height of 62 meters (203 feet) and will comprise over 5,000 square meters (53,800 square feet). The majority of the tower (4,500 square meters) will house residential units, while 550 square meters (5,920 square feet) will be dedicated to public areas including a cafe, a daycare center and community workshops. Pre-fabricated CLT panels will be assembled off-site and craned into place once the foundation and base core is set. This construction method will allow the building to be built quicker, quiter and with reduced waste than traditional construction techniques. Minor concrete and steel-elements will support the CLT panels as necessary, but even those pieces have been designed with the building's life cycle in mind. "Elements of a building like wires and copper will be a scarce resources in future. To demolish a tower in an conventional way, buries most valuable elements of a building. To think about down-constructing a tower secures for a sustainable life-cycle of a building," explains Dayong Sun of penda.  Courtesy of Penda  Courtesy of Penda Large outdoor terraces will support large vegetation systems capable of supporting food gardens, shrubbery and even trees, all of which will help to passively cool the building and offer privacy to teach of the units. By placing trees directly adjacent to the structural wood panels, a kind of symbolic symbiosis of nature and built environment can be observed. 'This connection helps further to develop a true ecological high-rise, supplies its residents with fresher air and provides a lower carbon footprint," said Tmber CEO Mark Stein. "The extensive use of wood will set ambitious sustainability targets and will be a catalyst for similar developments in Canada." News via Penda.  Courtesy of Penda  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Studio Dental / Montalba Architects Posted: 03 Aug 2017 08:00 AM PDT  © Kevin Scott
 © Kevin Scott From the architect. In defining the dental studio space with a modern aesthetic while honoring the historic elements of the base building, Montalba Architects has sought to create a transcendent environment that feels gallery-like and serene. Situated within a rapidly developing neighborhood in San Francisco's financial district, the dentists' brick and mortar location is as unique as their office on wheels, also designed by Montalba Architects.  © Kevin Scott  Axonometric  © Kevin Scott  Plan Within the dark building shell, a conceptual 'lantern' creates a sense of scale, luminescence, and transparency, enclosing the series of operatories within. Wood slat trellises turn vertical to separate the waiting area, and this delineation helps the small space feel larger. Moments of material contrast are introduced between the rough shell walls, smoked mirror panels, and central colonnade of white oak monoliths, which serve as functional storage and define the entry to each private patient room.  © Kevin Scott  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Casa Paraíso / DCPP Arquitectos Posted: 03 Aug 2017 06:00 AM PDT  © Rafael Gamo
 © Rafael Gamo From the architect. Casa Paraíso is a weekend country house located in a residential estate within a golf course near the city of Cuernavaca, Mexico. Standing on flat ground with two-storey neighbors on both sides, the main and most important design intention is to generate a sense of openness on the rear side of the project which enjoys a wide view to the golf course and the mountain chain nearby.  Concept The design concept approaches a single-storey house with two mayor openings; one facing the street on the south side and the second one on the rear facing north, where all outdoor and most of the social activities take place.  © Rafael Gamo  Exploded Diagram  © Rafael Gamo In addition, low-rise vegetation and trees are introduced as site boundaries instead of walls or fences, intended to embrace a sense of nature inwards the house, blurring the limits of the indoor / outdoor sensation.  © Rafael Gamo  Ground Floor  © Rafael Gamo The architectural scheme both in plan and section is based upon the repetition of a series of walls oriented towards the main views, sectioning the different program within the house intersected only by a long circulation axis.  © Rafael Gamo All this elements are held together by a single concrete slab that ordains the hole project happening below it, resolved with a two sided slope given by estate’s normativity.  Views The furniture designed by LCMX is based on simple and functional lines, according to the maximum efficiency along the production process. Moreover, it emphasizes the contrast among the various materials used in the building of the house, like wood, steel, granite and concrete. Cleanness, simplicity and contemporary are the main qualities the design of the furniture sees highlighted. These elements working together with the architectural main design lines favor the space/user interaction.  Elevations / Section The kitchen design is based on the central role these spaces play in today’s dwellings. Its main traits are flexibility and simplicity, which makes of it a very functional setting. It may be assembled in a simple and intuitive way, which allows to adapt it to the user needs and space requirements. The self-supporting steel structure allows for multiple adjustable wooden storage spaces.  © Rafael Gamo The above mentioned design guiding line was carefully followed with each furniture item. It pays special attention to details, all the way from the initial concept, to achieve pieces of great quality. It is based taking into account the combination of traditional and contemporary production processes.  © Rafael Gamo  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter Wins Competition for Kiln-Inspired Food Education Center in Denmark Posted: 03 Aug 2017 05:45 AM PDT  © Places Studio Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, in collaboration with Places Studio, has won a competition for a new cultural center celebrating the rich food and farming culture of Denmark's Jutland region. Located on the site of an existing farm and bakery in the town of Hjørring, the design of the Kornets Hus (Danish for Grain House) draws inspiration from the culture, architecture and landscape of Jutland, resulting in a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional baker's kiln.  © Places Studio "The Jutland region, with its diversity of landscapes and long history, is in many ways the most continental region in Denmark. Hjørring has some of the oldest traces of settlements nationally and an established cultural landscape," explain the architects. "The new inspiration centre will offer visitors, locals and employees alike a facility for activity based learning centered around the importance of grain both to Jutland and human civilization."  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter The 500-square-meter (5,380-square-foot) building has been organized into a simple, L-shaped plan that offers flexible space for a variety of events and activities. The interior faces of the building feature minimalistically detailed glass walls, allowing visitors to make a direct visual connection with the expansive wheat fields to the west and to the outdoor terrace.  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter Public spaces are focused around a large bread oven, whose chimney pops up out of the roof to create a beacon. Two brick-clad light wells inspired by baker's kilns bookend the building, providing natural lighting to teaching and exhibition spaces. News via Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Restelo House TC / João Tiago Aguiar Arquitectos Posted: 03 Aug 2017 04:00 AM PDT  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
 © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG From the architect. The house is located in Restelo neighborhood, more precisely in the west part, in an area composed of semi-detached houses from the 50's, close to the busy commercial street of Restelo.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG The approach focused on the extension of a house on its backyard, demolishing all the existing construction apart from the main elevation that has been fully recovered.  Section A The rear façade was completely redesigned, where the spans metric is changed, a sliding rail wide span was ripped open at the ground-floor level. This creates a strong relationship between the inside and the outside, between the living-room and the garden, with the visual extension through the large glass.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG At the upper level, bay spans were opened with a regular metric, aligned with three roof mansards. In the rear elevation, the spans detail, the prominent white metal plate which frames the openings and creates a three-dimensional effect on the façade's surface thanks to the creation of slight shadows, should be highlighted. The intention was to design an elevation with clean and simple lines, which attributes sobriety to the garden area in contrast with the somewhat messy diversity of the surrounding patio's atmosphere.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG With respect to the interior, an entrance hall is created, which distributes to the kitchen, to the guest toilet, to the stairs that give access to the 1st floor and ahead to the dining/living-room. The garret of the stairs is used to install a cabinet. The 1st floor is composed by 2 bedrooms, one shared bathroom and a suite with closet. In order to obtain a better use of the space a longitudinal corridor was designed, enabling the bedrooms distribution and the access to the attic.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG The attic, a wide multi purpose space, open to the whole width and length of the house, benefits from 3 open mansards over the rear elevation that flood this space with natural light and offer privileged views over the garden.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Explore Le Corbusier's Only South American Project, the Casa Curutchet, With a Virtual Walkthrough Posted: 03 Aug 2017 02:30 AM PDT  © ARQ+HIS One of only two projects completed by Le Corbusier in the Americas—the other being the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts in Cambridge, Massachusetts—Casa Curutchet is located in La Plata, Argentina. Commissioned by the surgeon Dr. Pedro Domingo Curutchet in 1948, the four-story residence includes a small medical office on the ground floor. The form of the building echoes traditional Latin American courtyard houses while also exemplifying Le Corbusier's five points of architecture. With Le Corbusier in Europe, the construction of Casa Curutchet was directed by Amancio Williams, a man who had the job of interpreting Le Corbusier's intent into physical space. Le Corbusier and Williams had a mutually respectful relationship and accounts show that they worked incredibly well together, but after some disagreements with Dr. Curutchet, Williams was let go from the project in 1951. It was then finished by others. Le Corbusier and Williams continued to correspond and it is clear that Williams was integral to the success of the building's construction and even influential in adjustments to its design while it was being completed.  Casa Curutchet with its existing context. Image © <a href='http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_Curutchet_y_edificio_lindero.jpg'>Pedro Paulo Palazzo</a> licensed under <a href='http://https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Attached to an existing building, this is a rare instance where a Le Corbusier project is not standing alone and instead must integrate with a historic context. Seen as an example of successful modern architecture for its a balanced dialogue with its surroundings, the building still does not sacrifice the principles of Le Corbusier's design ideologies, even incorporating a ramp and spiral stair. Casa Curutchet underwent restoration from 1986 to 1988 and was declared a national landmark in Argentina, and was named to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2016.  Entrance ramp at Casa Curutchet. Image © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rampa_de_dentrada_a_la_Casa_Curutchet.jpg'>Jorge Nestor Guinsburg</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Today Casa Curutchet is home to the Colegio de Arquitectos, Buenos Aires' professional association of architects, and is open to the public for tours. However, if you don't live in La Plata, you can now take a virtual tour thanks to the 3D walkthrough above by Daniel Pertovt from anywhere in the world! Explore Le Corbusier's only South American project and see how he and Williams managed to sensitively integrate modern architecture into Argentina's existing cultural and architectural context.  © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_Curutchet_La_Plata.jpg'>Wikimedia user Jrivell</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a>  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 03 Aug 2017 02:00 AM PDT  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk
 Courtesy of Luciano Kruk From the architect. After carrying out some market research on the middle classes' housing needs in the Northern Greater Buenos Aires area, our client, a medium sized building company, learned how scarce commercial offer of high constructive and architectural quality houses is as opposed to how greater the demand for it. In view of these results, they decided to have a replicable housing prototype designed for them by our Studio: 2HL House  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk A single story house was commissioned, that should be adaptable to medium sized plots (17 to 20 m wide and 35 to 40 m long) and should not have more than 170 m2 in total. The programme—set up by the client—aimed at fulfilling an average family's needs: a social area, composed of integrated living-dining-room and kitchen, a master suite, two smaller bedrooms sharing a bathroom, service areas, a solarium, a swimming pool, and a grill.  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk  Site Plan  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk Based on these requirements, the Studio projected a house in a pure prism organized over a 1 m2 modulated grid, with mostly blind side walls and open front and rear facades.  Axonometric We suggested that all rooms should be disposed around a central patio, as not only would it improve the interior lighting but also, due to the floor plan organization, would encourage cross ventilation throughout all areas of the house.  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk Speed and constructive practicality, along with costs control, determined the choice of materials. Instead of the exposed concrete we traditionally use, clay hollow brick masonry was selected; also, instead of going for concrete flooring, it was decided that 1 mt wide square cement-looking porcelain floor tiles would be used.  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk Aiming at preserving the intimacy of the front rooms—while preventing them from losing their views of the outside—and controlling direct sunlight in the inside, wooden vertical parasols and a pergola, sustained by double-T iron beams, were designed. A similar solution was employed on the rear, to produce a veranda that would project the master suite and the social area.  Section A With the purpose of projecting the light and the virtually expanding the inside, a bright chromatic palette was suggested, while darker colors were proposed for the outside so that it would dialogue with the natural surroundings without competing with them.  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk The first house of the series was built in 2016 in La Comarca, a suburban neighborhood near Nordelta in Tigre, Province of Buenos Aires.  Courtesy of Luciano Kruk  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Proposed 66-Storey Tower Could Be LA's Third Tallest Building Posted: 03 Aug 2017 01:00 AM PDT  Courtesy of Los Angeles Department of City Planning Los Angeles' Department of City Planning has released an initial study for a potential future skyscraper that could break ground in 2020. The 66-story Figueroa Centre is proposed for construction on a current parking lot adjacent to the Hotel Figueroa in South Park. Designed by CallisonRTKL, upon completion, the building would become Downtown LA's third tallest building, surpassed only by Wilshire Grand and the US Bank Tower, both at 73 stories.  Courtesy of Los Angeles Department of City Planning The design of the tower combines glass with a stone-clad base, while the roof will be finished with a form of parapets. Measuring a total of 984,940 square feet (91,500 square meters), the building will include 220 hotel rooms, 200 residential units, and approximately 22,800 square feet (2,100 square meters) of ballrooms and meeting spaces. In addition to this, 94,080 square feet (8,700 square meters) of commercial space will be created, including retail and restaurants. A nine-storey podium will be located at the base of the building, with 11 levels of both underground and above grade parking. If the developer's plans are approved by the City, the Figueroa Centre will break ground in 2020 and is expected to be complete by 2023. News via Curbed LA and Los Angeles Department of City Planning.
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Spotlight: Konstantin Melnikov Posted: 02 Aug 2017 11:00 PM PDT  Melnikov Residence (1929) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov Best known for the Rusakov Workers' Club and his own house, Russian architect and painter Konstantin Melnikov (August 3rd, 1890 – November 28th, 1974) has only recently received his due, now more than forty years after his death. He spent much of the twentieth century shunned by the Soviet architectural establishment, having refused to capitulate to the increasingly conformist (and classicist) prescriptions of Stalinism. As a result, he was forced to end his career only a decade after it started, returning to his other avocation as a painter and leaving in his wake only a precious few completed works.  Image via <a href='http://www.melnikovhouse.org/about-melnikov.php'>melnikovhouse.org</a>  Rusakov Workers' Club (1927-1929) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov Initially educated in the ideologies and languages of neoclassicism, Melnikov's confinement to historicisms did not last long. The young architect quickly found himself pushing the boundaries of a nascent avant-garde, spurred by political upheaval and Lenin's cultural revolution. With his first major commission, the angular Soviet Pavilion at the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Melnikov inaugurated a number of ideas that would resurface and mature in later projects: dynamic and composite volumes, sloping roofs (to counter the burgeoning European modernism), and a restless energy that seemed to embody the ethos of early Soviet society.  Soviet Pavilion at the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (1925) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/27862259@N02/5842277086'>Flickr user kitchener.lord</a> licensed under <a href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/'>CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a> Like most architects working under the wide reach of the state, many of Melnikov's projects during this time were commissioned to accommodate the social structures of the new regime. In quick succession, he designed a series of housing units and worker clubs that reflected and promoted communized lifestyles. The construction of his own house near Arbat Square, audaciously individualistic and expressive, was made possible only through its stated (though unfulfilled) intentions to be "a prototype of worker housing." [1]  Svoboda Factory Club (1927-1929) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov  Frunze Workers' Club (1927-1929) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov Completed in 1928, his house was unlike anything the Soviet Union (or the rest of the world) had yet seen. It is composed of two three-story cylindrical volumes compressed into each other, creating six principal living areas between which the functions of the house are divided. The house's most iconic features, of course, are its hexagonal "beehive" windows, over sixty of which perforate its rounded skin.  Melnikov Residence (1929) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov Around the same time, the nearby Rusakov Worker's Club was nearing completion. Today, the Club is the most dramatic and highly regarded of Melnikov's public projects and a crowning achievement of 1920s Soviet Constructivism. It is centered around a large auditorium on the lower floor and contains three smaller auditoria above, the posteriors of which cantilever through the exterior façade at an upward angle. The resulting volumes, whose purposes are clearly identifiable, express an interesting measure of functional legibility, though it is their tense suspension above the sidewalk that makes the project sensational.  Rusakov Workers' Club (1927-1929) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov By the end of the decade, Moscow was filled with Melnikov's worker's clubs, including halls at Burevestnik, Frunze, Kauchuk, and Svoboda, as well as a set of automobile and bus garages. Each of these projects, unique though they were, shared similar appreciations for circular plan and window elements, overstated geometries, and convention-breaking massing arrangements.  Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage (1926) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov  Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage (1926) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov  Gosplan Garage (1936) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov Melnikov's flurry of commissions and professional success ended as quickly as it began. By 1933, the political climate in professional architectural circles had shifted, and Melnikov's individualism and formal explorations had fallen into disfavor. He worked for a few years on urban planning projects and would continue to submit the occasional (and inevitably unsuccessful) architectural competition proposal. But what began as an individual's meteoric rise—and a provocative disruption to the architectural establishment—came to a tragic stall in the mid-1930s that Melnikov never could revive.  Burevestnik Factory Club (1927 - 1929) / Konstantin Melnikov. Image © Denis Esakov See all of Konstantin Melnikov's projects featured on ArchDaily via the thumbnails below, and further coverage below those: Melnikov and Moscow Workers' Clubs: Translating Soviet Political Ideals into Architecture The Architecture of Konstantin Melnikov in Pictures Melnikov House Listed As Cultural Heritage Site References:
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 02 Aug 2017 10:00 PM PDT  © Andrea Martiradonna
 © Andrea Martiradonna From the architect. Designed for the Expo 2015 area in Milan, the Caritas Pavilion is based around the message: "Divide to multiply. Break the bread" or, in other words, the idea of sharing wealth. The Edicola, this is the name of the small pavilion, has the appearance of a fragmented cube that translates into architectural terms the idea of crating wealth by sharing. The structure has been designed keeping simplicity at the core of its composition and the unadorned nature of its appearance.  © Andrea Martiradonna The project is divided into 5 structures that are similar to each other but of different sizes and designed for different purposes. They are positioned on the ground and joined by vertices, a reference to the Edicola's typical square floor plan. The uniformity of the construction is provided by its structural profile characterized by the same external dimensions, colour and materials.  © Andrea Martiradonna Thanks to its extremely simple structure, the Edicola is truly eco-sustainable. Externally, It is made of plastic pretensioned mesh that lets the air flow through without any need for air conditioning and lets in natural light which helps keep energy use to a minimum. Moreover, the structure has been designed ensuring that it can be efficiently dismantled and re-assembled elsewhere. Thanks to its shape, structure and dimension, it can be used as a school, a counseling centre for the disadvantaged or a centre from which to provide basic life support to the needy.  Axonometric The plot occupied by Caritas, placed in a strategic position along the Decumano of the Expo 2015 site, presents a number of different features: a 200 sqm outdoor paved area that greets visitors, a 150 sqm covered area divided into different rooms and a 550 sqm green area. It is not just a place but 5 situations, 5 experiences that helped visitors relate to the theme "divide to multiply" and the Caritas world. Visitors moved through the five "rooms" overlooking one single central area. An artwork entitled Energia, designed by the German artist Wolf Vostell in 1973, was the main attraction in this space. Energia is a large installation with great narrative force constructed out of a Cadillac loaded with war weapons surrounded by different kinds of bread. This powerful critique of consumer society comes from the contrast between symbols of consumerism and destruction and man's primary need, bread.  © Andrea Martiradonna  Plan  © Andrea Martiradonna  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| You are subscribed to email updates from ArchDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
.jpg?1501503995){kind=link}
.jpg?1501783920){kind=link}
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar