Arch Daily |
- 334 Sumatrastraat / Bláha Architecture + Design
- Sarmashgh Office / Kohankhesht Architecture Group
- K.Por House / Sute Architect
- Jam2go / Betwin Space Design
- Kaihua County 1101 Project and City Archives / The Architectural Design and Research Institute of Zhejiang University
- Excelsior Springs Community Center / FS Architecture
- Archtober, New York's Architecture and Design Festival, Begins This Weekend
- House | Office / José Castro Caldas
- New TWA Lounge Opens as Construction Moves Forward on Hotel Transformation
- Fire Station of Metzeral / Loïc Picquet Architecte
- Elon Musk Announces SpaceX Plans to Begin Mars Colonization by 2022
- La Moraleja House / Otto Medem de la Torriente
- 100 Classrooms for Refugee Children / Emergency Architecture & Human Rights
- Arup Develops Affordable 3D-Printing Sand Casts for Complex Steel Structural Elements
- New Documentary on Freddy Mamani Explores the Connection Between Architecture and Cultural Identity
- Mediterranean Villa / Architectural office TOBIS-inzenjering
- Caruso St. John to Transform the British Pavilion Into a Politically Charged Meeting Space at 2018 Venice Biennale
| 334 Sumatrastraat / Bláha Architecture + Design Posted: 29 Sep 2017 10:00 PM PDT  © Maurice Mikkers
 © Maurice Mikkers From the architect. For its latest project, emerging Dutch practice Bláha Architecture + Design has completed a four-storey designed-to-rent townhouse in The Hague, the Netherlands. The project was commissioned in 2014 by a private client that wanted to redevelop an existing property for investment purposes. 334 Sumatrastraat is located on a typical 19th-century street of middle class housing in Archipel, The Hague.
The project transforms a dilapidated 1880-terraced house into a home that can be let out as a whole house, or as two separate apartments with their own front doors. To create a generous space Bláha has made a number of key moves, including converting the roof into a bedroom, adding a courtyard garden, and extending the property by an extra 2.5m across the rear on every floor to create further floor area and external terraces, as well as a completely contemporary rear facade.  © Maurice Mikkers From the front, the main facade has been restored to its original design. The only modification is the additional two dormer windows on the roof. The original brickwork has been repointed, and the timber windows and roof replaced. Inside however, the house has been completely renovated, with only a handful of existing elements retained because of the poor state of the building. Rather than replace these elements, Bláha has turned the inside into a contemporary living space that juxtaposes old with new. From the outside, visitors will expect a historical property complete with small rooms, but on entering they will find light-filled, expansive spaces, characterised by clean lines, neat storage solutions and a palette of whites, greys and natural materials.  © Maurice Mikkers This surprise begins on the ground floor, which occupies the entire 28m-deep plot. Designed as a 'big loft', the 102m2 space can function as a garage/workshop to tenants, or as a separate live/work studio. An exciting move has been to claw back some of the filled in rear to create a walled courtyard, which has access to the terrace above via a steel stair.  Long Section Upstairs, the contemporary theme continues. Bláha has created a new core in the centre of the northern party wall. This core contains an open stairwell and acts partially as a cloakroom on the first floor, complete with closets and a WC, then as a landing on the second floor. On the first floor, this core opens onto a long double aspect living space, with a sitting area towards the front, and a kitchen and dining area to the back that in turn opens onto a large terrace through full-height glazing. This open space can then be sub-divided by sliding walls on either side of the core to create more intimate spaces. The kitchen is a pared back design focused around an impressive and sophisticated Carrera marble island – a material that continues throughout the house for fire surrounds, as well as in the bathrooms and WCs.  © Maurice Mikkers Continuing upstairs, the upper two floors are for sleeping. On the second floor is a central marble bathroom sandwiched between a bedroom to the rear with a new terrace that looks over the surrounding back gardens, as well as a room to the front of the house that has access via a white steel stair to a mezzanine bedroom on the third floor in the converted attic. This ante space can be either used as a home office or dressing area. The sleeping area on the floor above, meanwhile, also has full-height glazing and doors opening onto another generous new terrace.  © Maurice Mikkers  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Sarmashgh Office / Kohankhesht Architecture Group Posted: 29 Sep 2017 07:00 PM PDT  © Ali Daghigh
 © Ali Daghigh From the architect. The project was referred to our office when the architectural plans had been designed. Through negotiation with the project's owner and based on his requirements and expectations, the plans were modified. The improved plans enjoyed the benefits of more purity of space, maximum exposure to sunlight and optimum usage of the occupancy so that the spaces form is a single whole and the horizontal circulation and connection of the plans are not interrupted while the stairway and elevator are merely used for access to various spaces.  Section As the site and land of the project is situated in a multiple context of the residential and administrative occupancy, in designing the external façade (southern and northern), we attempted to design the southern view, situated along with the main street, to express and expose the administrative occupancy of the building, whereas the northern view, located in the alley, is connected with the adjacent residential buildings. Therefore, in the southern façade, the brick walls were designed with various angles so as to not only do they control the light in the uniform internal space but also they balance the inconsistent and heterogeneous outside views for users.  © Ali Daghigh The brick walls, inside and outside the building, create light and shade in a pleasant way during the daytime and when they are blended with the plants, they create particular attraction for inside users and outer pedestrians. The employment of "brick" as the main material points to the traditional monuments and the identity of the district context.  © Ali Daghigh  Diagram  © Ali Daghigh  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 29 Sep 2017 03:00 PM PDT  © Issira Tonehongsa
 © Issira Tonehongsa From the architect. Ms.Por'shouse is the steel structure modern stylehouse. It located in the middle of the field, that is the first figurewhen the designer realized the task to design Ms. Por's house. This house has 3 bedrooms, a family home in a big rice mill surrounded by fields that can provide 360 degree views and steel structure to save construction time and labor saving in construction.  © Issira Tonehongsa In design, start with the proposition in order for the house that the wind can blow through the house, the house is laid out as a U shape so that it can get the wind and it can create a chill wind in the front of the house, be able to sit all day. The building is located to be the living room in the front of the house. The back of the house is where the family can have a back porch to sit and enjoy with the rice field in the evening, using the building to shade in the backyard, giving the building to be a relaxing space and getting the wind both front and back side of the house by placing the hallway open. The inside of the house be able to open for getting the wind all day.  Plan 1  © Issira Tonehongsa  Plan 2 Even this house is built in a modern style, but it makes the modern home with the fields look good and contemporary with a present time.  © Issira Tonehongsa  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 29 Sep 2017 01:00 PM PDT .jpg?1506237123 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi
.jpg?1506237003 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi From the architect. Visual media are infiltrating into daily life deeply. An increasing number of people are expressing themselves through various UCC platforms such as YouTube or Africa TV as well as SNS. However, video studio is as unfamiliar as ever to the public. Opened near Gangnam Station late last April, Jam2go is complex cultural space of new concept, where anyone can produce video while seeing, listening, eating and enjoying. .jpg?1506237530 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi As its name means 'to go with fun' ('jam' is modified expression of 'fun' in Korean), anyone can produce video easily at this studio just like take-out of beverage. It is because that it has 'Jam Studio' with equipment for filming, lighting, and recording at the broadcasting station level, automatic editing software, and unmanned filming system which needs no manpower. Overwhelming the first floor of Jam2go, opening-and-shutting media wall 'Full Automatic' studio has 10 cameras. Performing and singing image is composed by chroma-key technique and edited as video at this studio. The image can be seen at stage, media wall and .jpg?1506237702 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi Overwhelming the first floor of Jam2go, opening-and-shutting media wall 'Full Automatic' studio has 10 cameras. Performing and singing image is composed by chroma-key technique and edited as video at this studio. The image can be seen at stage, media wall and the online site of Jam2go in real time. It provides media experiences through both of online and offline. A platform for performance, recording and video production presents freshness and familiarity with F&B service. .jpg?1506237044 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi  First Level Plan .jpg?1506237163 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi Equipping epoch-making programs, this studio consists of a space for rental and three floors such as the first floor, mezzanine, and the second floor. Enormous acoustic equipment in control room beyond information desk and large media screen and stage on the first floor tell the use of this space intuitively and evoke customers' curiosity. There is a main studio for the performance on the first floor and a small studio for recording on the second floor. .jpg?1506237616 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi According to the spatial features, there are two human traffic lines; one is for general customers and other is for artists only. Users of the studio can access to the waiting room and practice room through spiral stairway beside the entrance, which is connected to the small studio on the second floor. A private stairway to VIP room on the mezzanine is built separately. Complex and independent human traffic lines look like a labyrinth. .jpg?1506237287 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi  Second Level Plan .jpg?1506237423 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi The first floor is created with the atmosphere of Level Square, and the second floor is of Mirror Square, according to the whole concept of 'Wonderland'. A hall of the first floor looks like a square where users can walk and sit freely. Various level differences make inside look like outside. Differently from the first floor with vibrant and active atmosphere, the second floor is composed with casual and dreamlike ambiance. Mirror of the ceiling reflecting dynamic spatial sense as a sphere floats and a mass turns over, makes interior space felt more fantastic. .jpg?1506236923 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi Adding to this, both of the first and the second floor reveal their spatial features, showing vivid colors and materials repetitively. Outstanding elements such as patterned brick and colored glass used here and there empower to the concept of Wonderland. These elements appeal much more simply and symbolically because they penetrate the aim constantly as a cultural playground for coming true the creators' dream. It is expected that the creators with talent and originality can realize their ideas and embody their imagination while communicating with the world freely. .jpg?1506236963 "© Yong-joon Choi") © Yong-joon Choi  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 29 Sep 2017 12:00 PM PDT  © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou
 Southwest Aerial view. Image © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou From the architect. Kaihua County 1101 project and city archives is the project, that respect the characteristics of the location as the design starting point, put forward the folding platform and floating box as design concept, cleverly solved the problems like functional sub-areas, traffic streamlines, cost control, structural rationality and other effects factors, achieve a building compatible with the surrounding environment.  © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou The project is commissioned by the Kaifeng County Construction Bureau, make an area of about 9,000 square meters of city archives and air defense command center in a Scenic entrance. Project location is superior, the southern side of the status are the multi-storey townhouses, northern is low Hill with rich vegetation. The eastern side of the valley is quiet and tranguility, west side from the source of the Qianjiang River only a few steps away, People can easily board the hills and see the river.  © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou The challenge of this project is to build a small building with an open visit function and a private concealed function in a beautiful place such as described in Tao Yuanming's "Peach Blossom Spring". In this regard we have designed a project with multi-stream lines and combination of variety partition function.  © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou At first, we put the city archives placed in the bottom and semi-basement because the Intensive flow of people. Then the canteen on the second floor near the street, the air defense command center placed in the second floor near the valley , use the folded plate to hide the following two floors in the mountains. At last, placed the housing and Construction Bureau office above the folded plate, Through the cantilever structure and other methods to make the buildingbox has a visual effect, that it above on the mountain, and to maximize the use of landscape resources.  Function Zone The visitors from the noisy town walk forward, and gradually into the exhibition center, which with simple, high transparency glass curtain wall. Showing the open atmosphere of the modernist style, showing the power and determination for the rapid development of Kaihua County.  © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou The site has a path to connect the north side of the mountain, it is a daily up and down channel for people. if the building placed in this site will interrupted the connection channel, For fully respect the current situation and utilize many of the surrounding landscape resources, proposed we a solution for different elevation platform, which is put the intensive flow for the city archives in the first or second floor, and use the folded plate to hidden the two floor in to the mountains, through the ramp and the staircase to connected the folded plate with different elevation, like the continuation of the north side of the mountain contours, so that the lower part of the building and the mountain integration. It is not only restored the original up and down channel, but also make the multi-elevation platform become a ideal place to watch the surrounding landscape.  Diagram And the large window with frames of the east side is a typical and very effective method for find scenes. A very fine black window frame insert in the wall with imitation stone gigging paint. Transparent glass windows as excellent viewfinder, embedded the most beautiful part of the valley as a never fade painting, in the building. Then, winter passed and spring comes, clouds flow high and low, The vegetation is dying and lush. People stay in a stable and comfortable building, but no sense of distance to enjoy the external beautiful landscape , that orming a continuity. of an internal and external.  © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou We designed the hole project with color black white and gray, not only gives a simple and generous modern, but also a quiet and heavy sense of history. Extreme lines integrations of virtual and real, the transformation of light and shadow. Successfully incorporated city archives, air defense command center, office and many other functional space, and harmoniously conform to the surrounding mountains, Reflect the architectural idea of the harmony between man and natural.  © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou The function and flowline of the entire building are complex yet pure, conform to the lie of a mountain embedded our own unique meaning, it will further enhance the overall quality of architectural design in Kaihua County, the project will become a pearl, in China Kaihua County shine!  Panoramic View. Image © Qiang Zhao - Yifan Zhou  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Excelsior Springs Community Center / FS Architecture Posted: 29 Sep 2017 10:00 AM PDT  © Michael Robinson Photography
 © Michael Robinson Photography From the architect. Located on a highly visible site shared with school district facilities, the new 50,000 SF Excelsior Springs facility offers a variety of amenities for community members of all ages.  © Michael Robinson Photography Inspiration for the design of the community center came from the steeply sloped site, the human body and the city's mineral water heritage.  © Michael Robinson Photography Rather than flattening the sloped site, activity zones were organized to step down the hillside. Inside, a ramped circulation spine connects all spaces within the center and acts as an extended exercise path. This path provides a visual connection to the activity areas as one moves through the center.  © Michael Robinson Photography Similar to the body's concealed systems (muscular, skeletal, circulatory, etc.), a building's concealed systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, etc.) are essential to its function. Rather than hide these systems, the design highlights and celebrates their contributions to the building's architecture and operations.  Diagrams Each building system and activity zone is accented with a distinctive color. In addition to providing vibrant and dynamic environments, the colors also serve as important wayfinding guides within the facility. The color scheme was inspired by the WPA-era Hall of Waters, a beautiful Art Deco building that once served as a bottling facility for the healing, medicinal mineral waters of Excelsior Springs. Interior signage, large-scale wall graphics and furnishings were designed and specified by the architect to reinforce the design concept.  © Michael Robinson Photography Product description. The interior layout and vertical organization of program spaces along the circulation spine informed the exterior design, thereby creating the "lines and layers" of the exterior. Brick masonry, cast stone, metal wall panels and aluminum framed windows are the primary exterior materials. These materials, while a direct response to the context of the adjacent high school, allow the community center to have a unique identity while still complementing the academic campus. A clock tower element, which also encloses a secure outdoor play area for Child Watch, provides another visual connection to the adjacent academic facilities.  © Michael Robinson Photography The approach on the exterior was to break down the scale of the project through a series of banding and transitioning of materials – both on the vertical and horizontal planes. Recesses and overhangs, and in turn shadow lines also play a vital role in finessing the overall exterior composition of the project. The project also uses exposed steel, perforated metal, intriguing landscape, distinctive surface patterns, and deliberate material transitions to take on a machine-like quality – thus, re-emphasizing the concept of body (architectural and human) as a machine.  © Michael Robinson Photography The exterior color scheme is a result of the client's request for the new architectural language to pull cues from the existing high school structure. The brick is an inversed pattern and color tone of the school masonry. The corrugated metal was "borrowed" from the existing roof of the high school and the green metal panels at select areas pay homage to the green awnings of the existing school structure. The only "new" material introduced to this project is a light colored cast stone product that was heavily favored by the community.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Archtober, New York's Architecture and Design Festival, Begins This Weekend Posted: 29 Sep 2017 09:00 AM PDT  Building of the Day: The George Washington Bridge Bus Station (Credit: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) During the month of October, a host of events will take place throughout the five boroughs of New York City as part of the month-long architecture and design festival, Archtober. The well-known Building of the Day series of walking tours continues with highlights including the Sea Glass Carousel, Freshkills Park, and the George Washington Bridge Bust Station. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum will present a lecture on the architecture and design of the World Trade Center called Trees of Steel: The World Trade Center Tridents. Open House New York Weekend returns once again, along with National Design Week put on by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The National Design Awards Gala will be held during their design week, and Docomomo US will host their Modernism in America Awards. In addition, several partners and sponsors will be leading site tours of their facilities throughout the month; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will hold an After Hours Architecture Tour to explore the iconic structure designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Freshkills Park has organized a Discovery Day of the landfill-turned-park, and the Judd Foundation will host a Guided Visit of 101 Spring Street. To see the city from the water's edge, join Classic Harbor Line, in partnership with AIA New York, for daily architecture boat tours. The Center for Architecture will also host a series of festive, architecture-themed events with a twist, including the popular Pumpkitecture competition, in which teams of architects carve pumpkins into architectural works to win the Pritzkerpumpkin. Joining from London is the Great Architectural Bake-off, in collaboration with WATG and Wimberly Interiors, where architects and designers test their skills in a new medium, cakes! Additionally, Archtober Trivia Night, industry experts will try to stump the audience with questions about architecture, design, and NYC's built environment. Learn more about Archtober and find the full calendar of events, here Download the information related to this event here.
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| House | Office / José Castro Caldas Posted: 29 Sep 2017 08:00 AM PDT
From the architect. In order to continue exploring the interlude between Architecture and woodcraft - In which the Architect builds his own work, I arranged this 40 m2 studio. An opportunity to study / test within this space that would become my Home | Office and set up a laboratory of Architecture, where I could try out both space organization and execution solutions in detail. The hypothesis of resolving the adjustments, reconsidering badly anticipated decisions, imperfections as a carpenter does with his pieces, with the balance of who projected to solve the inherent deviations of the construction processes, here in a scale of Architecture, a kind of revivalism of the Arts and Crafts movement... To inhabit it, al-lows me to perceive its result.  © Mercês Tomaz Gomes The space is divided between a social / work zone and a private one. The colored plane is this border. The work area includes a cooking counter (which can be enclosed with a curtain) and a table for meals / meetings. A cabinet with 3 fronts that solves the storage and complements the kitchen on one side (1), in another a drawer for tools (2) and an-other for bathroom and cleaning material storage (3). On the axis between windows, the workshop area and (later) I added a desk and another office. This is because in case of use of the workshop the dust can be easily ventilated by the two windows. Going through the colored panel, we reach the private area, with a living room and the room divided by a shelf with use distributed to both sides. At the top of the bed, panels thatal-low a connection of the two spaces and air circulation.
The "design" is a stipulation of geometric proportions from anthropometric measurements - nothing new, studied for centuries, I simply give it continuation - Colors, is both for not wanting to follow a "minimalistic white" project as well to explore the chromatic range available from the Valchromat material.
 Until I move from this space, the work will continue. For now there are still things added, but there seems to be less and less needed. It may be that I go through a phase of altering things that worked less well, needing an update but for the time being I have not yet uncovered them, the space is quite comfortable, but it may not survive the continued will to experiment.
Nothing that was built interferes with the existing one, everything is made by fittings, without glues or screws and the divisions are "useful" (cabinets, tables, closets...).  Gif 008. Image Courtesy of José Castro Caldas  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| New TWA Lounge Opens as Construction Moves Forward on Hotel Transformation Posted: 29 Sep 2017 07:00 AM PDT  The TWA lounge at 1WTC. Image © Jesse David Harris A new space has been given a retro makeover while a historic one is racing towards modernization as work continues on the transformation of Eero Saarinen's iconic TWA Terminal into a luxury hotel and event space. Just completed is the TWA Lounge, a satellite space for the hotel located on the 86th floor of One World Trade Center. Part gallery, part mock-up, the Lounge space recreates the look and feel of the original terminal down to the smallest detail.  The sunken lounge carpeted in Chili Pepper Red, the signature color created by Saarinen for the TWA Flight Center. The custom Solari© split-flap analog display, manufactured in Udine, Italy, shows flight departures. Image © Emily Gilbert The space centers around a sunken seating area directing views to a functioning Solari departure board and the New York skyline beyond. A penny tile floor wraps up around the backrests of the couches, matching the exact details specified by Saarinen in his original plans. Vintage TWA memorabilia are packed into the space, including everything from TWA branded playing cards to flight attendant uniforms to graphic posters lining the curved walls. Especially notable is a supersized model of the terminal, built by Saarinen himself in 1962.  MCR's TWA Collection includes a library of historic design and branding books, vintage flight collateral, iconic TWA flight hostess uniforms and a scale model of Eero Saarinen's Flight Center at TWA Airport. Image © Emily Gilbert  Reception desk modeled after Jet Age city center TWA ticket counters created by iconic mid-century industrial designer Raymond Loewy. Image © Emily Gilbert  Hotel rendering. Image Courtesy of MCR Development The lounge space was envisioned to drum up excitement for the upcoming restoration and transformation of the terminal into the new TWA Hotel. Having broken ground last December, foundation work for the two new room-filled wings is now complete, with above ground construction set to begin next week. A new rendering released with the news shows a fountain-lined approach to the hotel, which will contain 505 rooms. The terminal building will be restored to house the lobby as well as four dining and entertainment spots (including a nightclub). The terminal will also connect to a refurbished Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft, which will be converted into a restaurant and bar.  View of north hotel wing foundation. Image Courtesy of MCR Development  Union concrete worker pours concrete for the new TWA Hotel. Image Courtesy of MCR Development The TWA Hotel is being designed by Beyer Blinder Belle (restoration) and Lubrano Ciavarra (addition) for MCR Development. Construction timeline estimates a Spring 2019 opening. See the final photographs of the TWA terminal before its restoration began, here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Fire Station of Metzeral / Loïc Picquet Architecte Posted: 29 Sep 2017 06:00 AM PDT  © Pascal Amoyel
 © Pascal Amoyel From the architect. The Metzeral's new Fire Station is situated in a natural reserve called "Ballon des Vosges », in the same place where an old stone quarry used to be located many years ago. The building represents the synthesis between a landscape insertion and a construction with several constraints connected to its implementation (mostly due to its "fast intervention" needs).  © Pascal Amoyel The project is divided into two different structures: a technical center and an administration center. While both structures demand separated conceptualizations, the building as a whole seeks a performing and harmonized unit. The administration center can be identified by its wood frames in the facade. The interior spaces of this part of the building present raw masonry and joinery works.  © Pascal Amoyel This provision allows to satisfy costs requirements, but it also gives an organic result responding to the life of the building: a raw construction allowing the firemen to use its spaces freely while rough intervention is needed. The interior volumes are high and all the technical elements are visible, which make them more easily accessible. The circulation is naturally illuminated by carpentry details.  © Pascal Amoyel  Section  © Pascal Amoyel The administration center was also conceived with high energy efficiency standards. In order to make thermal aspects as functional as possible, a few roof edges were adjusted with fixed larch wood slats. The natural heat input is so optimized: the heating system in the wood boiler is reinforced by these simple provisions and allows a local supply.  © Pascal Amoyel  Floor Plan  © Pascal Amoyel The second structure of the building is constituted by the technical center, which houses the fire engines: it disappears by littering itself between the administrative center and the big rock situated behind the building. Its black color contributes to its erasure in the landscape and allows a greater development of the administrative center and its wood frames. The latter, adorned with its vertical blades, fits perfectly into this fantastic natural setting and seems to come into resonance with it.  Color Axonometric Diagram  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Elon Musk Announces SpaceX Plans to Begin Mars Colonization by 2022 Posted: 29 Sep 2017 04:05 AM PDT  Courtesy of SpaceX At this morning's International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, SpaceX founder and Lead Designer Elon Musk announced the most ambitious plans yet for the colonization of planets and satellites beyond Earth, including the establishment of a lunar base and a permanent Mars colony by 2022. "The future is vastly more exciting and interesting if we're a space-faring species than if we're not," said Musk during his keynote. "It's about believing in the future and thinking the future will be better than the past."
The timetable for implementation of the Mars colony is shockingly imminent: by 2022, a minimum of two cargo ships will land on the red planet, using robotics to begin setting up power, mining and life support infrastructure while confirming water resources and potential hazards. Just two years later in 2024, two ships will carry humans to the surface for the first time, who will build a propellant production plant and begin preparing the base for expansion. The plan involves focuses the company's energy entirely on one rocket, the SpaceX BFR, which will power the existing Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon models to allow for the service of both the International Space Station and interplanetary missions.  Courtesy of SpaceX Musk also announced plans for a new Earth-to-Earth transportation system that will also be powered by the rockets. Cruising at speeds up to 27,000 kilometers per hour, the system could take travelers between any two sites in the world in under an hour, with most popular long-distance trips reduced to about 30 minutes. Check out the full keynote below:  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| La Moraleja House / Otto Medem de la Torriente Posted: 29 Sep 2017 04:00 AM PDT  Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente
 Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente From the architect. The key element around which the project is developed is a centenarian oak existing in the plot. The spaces needed for the house are organised around the tree and a courtyard where the axes converge as a latin cross layout.  Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente  Lower Floor Plan  Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente The common rooms are around the courtyard and the oak, so from any point the presence of the tree is perceived. Its leafy canopy encourages us to establish different heights inside the house. As a result, we obtain a continuous space generated in a single distribution plan, within several volumes that spatially enrich the project which function is to control the interior lighting through the openings in the facades.  Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente The private rooms of the house are away from the common areas, keeping the courtyard as a center and reference of the house  Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente This house is inspired by the mediterranean architecture and the traditional arguments on which it is based.  Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente Through cross ventilation, we achieve that the quality of indoor air is frequently renewed. Through its porches, we protect the windows of the direct incidence of the sun and also generate spaces in direct contact with the surrounding garden. .jpg?1426216085 "Section") Section .jpg?1426216074 "Section") Section The volumes, the patio, the existing vegetation included from the beginning in the project and the care in each of the details of all the phases, have made the result satisfactory, both for its owner and for all those who have contributed in its development.  Cortesía de Otto Medem de la Torriente  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 100 Classrooms for Refugee Children / Emergency Architecture & Human Rights Posted: 29 Sep 2017 02:00 AM PDT  © Martina Rubino
 © Martina Rubino The Syrian civil war has displaced millions of people, most of them are children, most of them do not receive an education because of a lack of schools.  © Martina Rubino Emergency Architecture & Human Rights is building sand-bag schools to host Syrian and Jordanian children in Za'atari village, located just outside the Za´atari refugee camp, 10 km from the Syrian border. A vast majority of people who have been displaced from Syria are now living informally within the host community, hence they are often found without access to social security, sanitation, and educational facilities.  Elevations, Sections and Plans Za'atari village is currently home to15,000 Syrians and 13.000 Jordanians. EAHR, in collaboration with the local community and a local NGO, Acting for Change Jordan, implemented an extension to the existing school in order to increase the number of students access to education: the school will be used by children in the morning and by adults during the afternoon, who will use the space to learn reading and writing skills.  © Martina Rubino The classroom was built with the superadobe technique. The construction is inspired by the Great Mosque of Djenné, traditional earth architecture from Mali and vernacular beehive house structures of Syria originating form Aleppo and Homs, where many of the refugees come from.  © Martina Rubino Due to the limited choice of building methods and materials, and the harsh environment characterized by hot summers and cold winters, the beehive style is a viable solution for a school construction. This kind of building technique does not require high-tensile-strength reinforcements and can be built quickly with unskilled labor, performing better than tents, cement blocks and corrugated metal sheets in terms of thermal insulation. In comparison with a cement block structure of similar dimensions, the costs for construction were halved.  © Martina Rubino  © Martina Rubino During the construction, EAHR trained local workers on super-adobe construction methods which can also increase livelihoods and strengthen the resilience of the local community. This method hopefully allows these skills to be re-adopted to build more sustainable, low-cost and energy efficient buildings within the surrounding informal settlements and during Syria's future reconstruction.  © Martina Rubino  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Arup Develops Affordable 3D-Printing Sand Casts for Complex Steel Structural Elements Posted: 29 Sep 2017 01:00 AM PDT  © Davidfotografie Arup's' research into alternative production techniques and materials has focused on the potential of 3D printing metal in the construction sector. Complex and individually designed steel structural elements can be efficiently produced "resulting in endless possibilities in mass customisation, weight reduction, product integration and more." Working with the Anglo-Dutch company 3Dealise, their 3D-printed sand molds are used in the traditional casting process to create sophisticated, unique structural steel nodes as a certified material. Sand printing offers a quick technique that can reuse the materials and allows costs to be kept low.  © Davidfotografie 3D printing/additive manufacturing (AM) in the building industry has extreme potential; smaller structural elements produced this way can carry the same structural forces and loads as standard elements due to their irregular shape whilst cutting waste and minimising carbon footprint. Arup's new manufacturing method is in response to their 3D printing technique for structural steel which formed the metal structure layer by layer. By incorporating the 3D printing process earlier into the production, it avoids the relatively high costs and difficulties associated with using 3D printers at that scale.  © Davidfotografie
Arup will be presenting their research into sand printing and cast steel at the TCT Show, a world leading event in 3D printing in Birmingham from the 26th to 28th of September. News via: Arup.
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| New Documentary on Freddy Mamani Explores the Connection Between Architecture and Cultural Identity Posted: 29 Sep 2017 12:00 AM PDT  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary Soon you will be able to satisfy your wanderlust free from altitude sickness; on Wednesday October 4th, the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam will see the world premiere of the documentary Cholet: The Work of Freddy Mamani. From director Isaac Niemand comes the story of Bolivia's unlikely architectural phenomenon, and one of ArchDaily's 2015 leaders in architectural design and conceptualization. Throughout the film, Moby's discographic beats, along with the sounds of nature in Bolivia's altiplano, subtly drown out everyday noise to elevate viewers to an alternate reality in El Alto, the highest city in the world. The film opens with carefully framed views of El Alto and a man's voice speaking Aymaran, one of the endangered languages of central Andes' indigenous people. Neimand uses quirky introductions against cut transitioning and rack focusing to center the viewers' attention.  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary The more you know about El Alto before viewing this film, the easier it will be to completely transport yourself to the altiplano and grasp the significance of Mamani's work within the context of its political, cultural, and economic climate. El Alto is a rapidly growing city overlooking Bolivia's capital, La Paz. Historically, economic status in the two cities directly related to a person's geographic elevation: the wealthiest residents lived in the valley below and El Alto was a deplorable slum high above. As struggling farmers and miners moved to El Alto, the dynamic began to change. Over time, El Alto's identity became one of hard-working champions of free trade.  Courtesy of Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam Identity is a key theme in the film. At first, Mamani is introduced not with respect to his status or architectural accomplishments but rather by his ancestry: he is Aymaran. Being Aymaran carries a sense of humbleness, and time and time again the film reminds us of Mamani's simple lifestyle. As a child, he had to walk one hour to school. He drives a beat-up blue Toyota pickup truck. He wears dusty jeans, plaid button-ups, and ordinary sneakers. He eats a "regular alteňo lunch" at a restaurant with plastic chairs and tables that advertise Coca-Cola. And he has two sons. In one scene, Mamani shows his sons how to search for his works on Google and says to them, "All this is what we have built."  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary Mamani's work is inspired by his own culture and iconography, along with the culture of his perceived ancestors, the Tiwanaco peoples. When asked by a radio host what the relevance of his work is for the Aymara world, Mamani responds, "[My work] is a restoration [of] our values. A recovery of our identity."  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary El Alto is primarily brick, with some surviving adobe mud construction. Now, out of this abundance of monotone brick matchboxes rise over 60 of Mamani's Cholets, and many copies, acting as electric symbols of the energetic, nonstop city they occupy. Just like the city itself, Mamani's work is described as rebellious and individualistic. In the film, Mamani explains to viewers the formula for his multi-use buildings: typically, shops inhabit the street level, above which are two floors of social event spaces, followed by two floors of rentable apartments, all crowned by the Cholet, where Mamani's clients live.  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary Of course, Mamani does not escape criticism, and identity becomes a source of controversy in more ways than one. Gastón Gallardo, the Dean of Architecture at Mamani's alma mater, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), interrupts the film to remind us that Mamani is not a certified architect, but rather a civil construction and civil engineering graduate. Gallardo calls Mamani's work "more decoration than architecture," and among other professionals interviewed in the film, he doesn't believe Mamani's work references Tiwanaco ancestry much at all. Meanwhile, Jedú Sagárnega, an anthropologist and archeologist at UMSA, insists that while the Aymaran people believe they are descended from Tiwanaco peoples, the two cultures are completely separate and unrelated.  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary  © Isaac Niemand via screenshot from documentary The question of whether Mamani's work truly derives from his ancestry remains unanswered. Regardless, Mamani has idiosyncratically transformed the face of an indigenous city. Niemand's documentary challenges us to think about what is considered true "architecture"—where does this validation come from? Mamani may not be a licensed architect, but the people of La Paz call Mamani's work, "Aymaran architecture," and when people research Aymaran architecture, now and in the future, they will discover his creations. By telling Mamani's story in between snapshots of Aymaran life—masks, music, fighting Cholitas in multi-layered Andean skirts, textiles, the open-air market, the Mi Teleférico system and more—Niemand presents the conclusion that Mamani's work is integral to the Aymaran cultural identity. After hundreds of years, the Aymaran people of El Alto finally have an architectural style that reflects their spirit and in which they can take pride.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Mediterranean Villa / Architectural office TOBIS-inzenjering Posted: 28 Sep 2017 10:00 PM PDT  Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering
 Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering From the architect. Croatia-based architecture studio TOBIS Engineering recently finished Villa Martinuzzi, a gorgeous Mediterranean villa located in Pula, Croatia.The house was dating back to 1890.  Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering New owner had one simple request for his villa, with not so simple detail; a living space that is combination of traditional and modern, but designed without forcing this popular "let's build old" style.  Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering  Ground Floor Plan  Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering Ground floor with 45 cm thick stone walls was imagined as a traditional base for the contemporary first floor. Ground floor features modern kitchen, original staircase, bathroom, bedroom and living room with the dining room. Part of the slanted roof is covered in glass, letting the daylight pass through the roof and glass hallway floor on the upper level all the way to the ground floor. Upper floor features two bathrooms and three bedrooms.  Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering  First Floor Plan  Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering The façade panels are of different formats, arranged in irregular raster. In the end everything became whole, both old and new, and stone and glass, and black floors and stone walls.  Courtesy of Architectural office TOBIS -inzenjering  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 28 Sep 2017 09:00 PM PDT The British Council have revealed Island as the theme of the British Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. In the exhibition, Adam Caruso, Peter St. John (Caruso St. John), and Marcus Taylor will engage "with current political themes," and was submitted by means of an open call with reference to Shakespeare's The Tempest:
 Marcus Taylor, Adam Caruso, Peter St. John. Image © Lucia Sceranková Caruso St. John, based in London and Zurich, was founded in 1990. They have collaborated with Marcus Taylor on several projects, including a joint proposal for the UK Holocaust Memorial. "In the year before Brexit," St. John comments, "we plan to transform the building into a generous public space that can be a popular meeting point within the gardens of the Biennale." For Sarah Mann, Director of Architecture Design Fashion at the British Council, "the uncertainties that exist in today's world give the British Pavilion a new imperative, and Island promises to be a thought-provoking installation."
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