Arch Daily |
- Villa Slow / Laura Alvarez Architecture
- A3 - Advanced Architecture Apartments / STARH
- Clover House / R.C.TECH
- Hua–Fai - Youth Center / Sebastián Contreras Rodriguez
- 6 Roofs House / Studio Velocity
- How to Build a DIY Vertical Garden
- Le Corbusier's Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau Named One of "20 Designs That Defined the Modern World"
- BLACK BOX II / Natalie Dionne Architecture
- 15 Facades That Push Conventional Limits: The Best Photos of the Week
- Minnesota's Experimental City of the Future that Never Got Built
- Alfred Taubman Wing / Preston Scott Cohen
- This All-In-One Piece of Furniture Is A Tiny House Must-Have
| Villa Slow / Laura Alvarez Architecture Posted: 12 Nov 2017 09:00 PM PST  © David Montero
 © David Montero Text description provided by the architects. Villa Slow is a rental holiday retreat in the Natural Park of Valles Pasiegos, in the North of Spain emerging from a stone-ruin within a more than two-hectare terrain of natural landscape. The new home typology is based on a traditional construction of the area called 'cabaña pasiega' (peasant cabin) but with a contemporary twist. The strategic location of the construction on top of a little hill facing south, grants impressive views towards the valley and from the mountain.  © David Montero  Section CC  © David Montero The scheme of the house is simple. Two big panoramic windows in the living room facing opposite directions create a beautiful scenography of mountains, clouds, and trees. These two openings allow to enjoy the impressive views towards the valley and mountains from the spacious living room in the centre of the house. Two bedrooms are situated next to the living area, on the eastern wing, in the most private side, both with their own bathroom and openings to the infinite landscape. They receive beautiful light in the morning. Thanks to their generous height, a mezzanine on top of the bathroom core, allows for additional sleeping arrangements: just a couple, couple with children, friends, etc.  © David Montero  Sections HH + GG  © David Montero Villa Slow is designed and built with extreme mindfulness and care for detail. The house is very respectful with the environment in aesthetic and technical terms. Villa Slow is a passive house thanks to a heat pump, under floor heating and high quality insulation and windows for a minimum heat loss. The high performance glass warms up the interior in the winter and the big wooden shutters protect from heat gain during summer. All materials used to build Villa Slow are reused from the old stone shed or come from the area of Cantabria.  © David Montero The rough exterior stone-walls and roofs contrast with the delicate interior wooden structure and details. Villa Slow is a house of subtle contrasts: rough-delicate, open-closed, wood-grey, interior-exterior, traditional-modern.  © David Montero  © David Montero Laura Alvarez architecture tries to find balanced solutions in materialisation. In this project, wood elements give a warm feeling, whereas white helps understanding the building envelope. A combination of classic sitting furniture and minimalist elements create a very calm space from which enjoying the outstanding natural setting.  © David Montero  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| A3 - Advanced Architecture Apartments / STARH Posted: 12 Nov 2017 07:00 PM PST  Courtesy of STARH
 Courtesy of STARH Text description provided by the architects. A3— Advanced Architecture Apartments are harmoniously incorporated into the context of their environment. Two starting points—the mountain and the city, set the overall architectural concept. The plot reserved for A3 is in the border area, where the city and the mountain overflow into one. Lines and clear borders are blurred in smooth and soft forms, allowing everyone to determine exactly where and how to perceive shape and space. Situated in one of the most contemporary areas of Sofia—Bulgaria Blvd., A3 is designed to be relevant, contextual and avant-garde. Some of the most modern and interesting buildings in Sofia are exactly here. On the other hand, a very dominant element of the environment is the mountain, peeking in the future building. The combination of these two powerful components results in a dynamic and modern shape of the building, without harming the function.  Courtesy of STARH It is divided into five volumes, linked in a common ensemble that defines its final shape. Each of the volumes is outlined with soft and elegant forms which let everyone associate them with their own imagination. It is easy to correlate the elements to five mountain peaks or a silhouette of a family with three children, but the deeper concept is to stimulate you define yourself as becoming involved with the building. To become the author of a new form, to be inspired.  Courtesy of STARH The creation of A3 flows from the inside to the outside, the design strictly follows the function, which is the approach the studio considers correct for residential building design. The uncompromising function complies fully with the investor program. There are straight orthogonal forms in the layout, which bring comfort and flexibility in the interior space organization. The 100-meter-long building is divided in 5 blocks (entrances) each with its own vertical communication. The first two sections - A and B—have two apartments on each floor, while V, G and D entrances - three apartments on each floor. The small number of apartments per floor increases the feeling of luxury living and provide more privacy. There are 158 dwellings in the building, each with excellent function and favourable geographical position. Every living room is situated east-southeast, richly glazed, facing Vitosha Mountain and the cityscape.  Courtesy of STARH The ground floor is designed for commercial use—shops with sizes from 50 to 100 square meters. Car parking is assured by two underground levels and the entire free aboveground area is planned for landscaping and recreation.  Section The design of A3 contains strict elegance and soft organic forms. The building is perceived equally well in the overall silhouette and from different angles. The feeling of elegance and sophistication is emphasized by the facade materials—glass and fibreC by Rieder. The glass is in two colours—transparent and Graffiti Lacobel.  Courtesy of STARH  Courtesy of STARH fibreC is an innovative, high-technology material, made of glass-fiber concrete, which gives unlimited options in forming. Besides aesthetics and functionality the materials provide durability and easy maintenance of the building.  Courtesy of STARH  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 12 Nov 2017 06:00 PM PST  © Pygmalion Karatzas
 © Pygmalion Karatzas Text description provided by the architects. Clover House is located on the south side of the island of Kythera in Greece, where gentle Mediterranean hills with low vegetation descend towards the sea.  © Pygmalion Karatzas The architectural composition sought to integrate the building harmoniously into the surrounding landscape. The development of the house is linear, parallel to the views and the contour lines. It breaks into two smaller ground floor volumes - the main house and a guests suite. An arch act as the connecting element of the two wings, a reference to the local form of 'sfendonia'. The corridor created between the two main building blocks, crowned by the large arch, forms a transverse viewing axis. Tapered walls enhance the sense of the building's proportions, a feature often found in structures around the island.  © Pygmalion Karatzas  Plans  © Pygmalion Karatzas The residence develops behind a vertical plane formed by a curved stone wall that runs along the north side of the house. Its monolithic figure refers to the walls of the Venetian castle that sits in direct view, on the opposite slope. This curved diaphragm serves also as a windbreaker to the house from the northerly prevailing winds during the winter months. The openings on the north side are small, yet capable to allow the cool north breeze to enter during the summer months. Large longitudinal pergolas provide shadow to the exterior verandas in the south. A sculptural concrete staircase leads to the terraces above for better viewing angles.  © Pygmalion Karatzas  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Hua–Fai - Youth Center / Sebastián Contreras Rodriguez Posted: 12 Nov 2017 04:00 PM PST  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo
 © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo Text description provided by the architects. Just a few kilometers away from the Thai-Burma border, adjacent to a natural reservoir, lies a youth center providing educational services to Karen migrant youth. The youth living in this center are drawn to this location due to its close proximity to institutions offering immigrant communities the opportunity to further their education through technical and vocational training programs.  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo The design of Hua Fai transgresses conventional designs of such institutions which maximize utility with little regard for the complex social needs of the youth inhabiting these spaces. The design of Hua Fai with its triangular structure and cascading vertical gardens provide youth with their own private space to flourish and pursue their educational goals.  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo The objective of the Hua Fai project was to expand existing facilities to accommodate the increased number of youth accessing education programs in the community. The expansion involved the building of eight sleeping units, a communal open area and washroom for the use of the students. Five independent units were built, four of them were divided symmetrically to create eight independent spaces to be used as private rooms, and a fifth unit, a washroom (hygiene facility), houses the showers and toilets.  Plan Level 1.0  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo  Plan Level 1.2 The arrangements were premised upon two main objectives: The volumetry derives from the original concept of Estudio Espacial's "Casa Techo", an aproach to a solution for emergency housing that states that "a roof is a house". The emergency unit concept was modified to adapt to the permanent nature of this facility, accounting for the environmental and social conditions of this context.  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo Due to increased deforestation in this part of South East Asia, old houses are carefully dismantled in order to retain the undamaged pieces of timber which are later sold in a second-hand market.  Section C2  Detail 01  Section C3 This reclaimed wood was used to build the structure and flooring of the units. Three vertical frames act as the skeleton of the construction, holding the weight of the roof and dividing the inner space, while two inclined frames on each side help to protect the terraces sitting in front of every unit.  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo Given the extreme weather conditions of this area, prone to heavy rainfall during monsoon season, it was mandatory to elevate the building to avoid water damage to the structure. A single steel profile anchored to light foundations was used in order to raise the timber frames from the ground. The roof design borrows elements from local construction found in this area, which maximizes the use locally available materials. The roof is comprised of three layers; An inner layer of aluzinc, screwed to the timber structure to make it impermeable to rain, a middle layer of eucalyptus trunks placed vertically to create ventilation, and an upper layer of sugarcane leaves locally assembled within the community. Horizontal floor level openings of fiberglass panels were used to bring light into the ground floor of the rooms.  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo The washroom unit is built with the same strategy and geometries. Since it is a wet area, steel profiles were used to form the skeleton, a triple layered roof and concrete block walls which delimitate the four small divisions inside. All four facades have different functions; four doors leading to either showers or toilets.  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo Facing the rice field, the open sink area. A seating zone on the long side facing the gathering space and a vertical garden is built on the wall facing the access to the complex, welcoming the kids when accessing the land.  Section C1 The construction process used combined the professional training of the migrant workers with a deep understanding of conditions on the ground. The team consisted of immigrant construction workers in training, from marginalized communities, supervised by a construction engineer and an architect. The techniques and materials utilized for construction were carefully selected in order to accommodate the skills of the workers and the limited tools available for construction.  © Juan Cuevas, Alejandro Sánchez, Albert Company-Olmo  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 6 Roofs House / Studio Velocity Posted: 12 Nov 2017 12:00 PM PST  © Kentaro Kurihara
 © Kentaro Kurihara Text description provided by the architects. This is a house for a married couple and their child. Its site is located in a residential area facing the school route that school children and wives of the neighbourhood pass. This area has gentle hills. Many sites have developed the flat ground by heaping up soil, therefore there are no connections between the natural typography of the road and the flattened sites.  © Kentaro Kurihara Most of the nearby houses are surrounded by walls and have a parking lot at the road side along the site. The flat site, the wall and parking lot have made the distance more than necessary between living space and the town.  © Kentaro Kurihara I connected the landscape and the road. I built six roofs in HP shell which lie one on top of another to the landscape. I designed each of the roofs so that eaves become high to center of the site, and low to the outside. In the center a bright open living space is created, and the outside addresses the surrounding town at a human scale.  Floor Plan The line which connects the lowest to the highest point of each roof creates a diagonal line. The line is a gentle valley, therefore the flow of rainwater is controlled. I made gaps between the roofs which lie one on top of another by lifting up each corner beside the highest and lowest points on the roof. The gaps allow the passing of wind and light, connecting the house to the elements.  © Kentaro Kurihara The underside of the roof with its around of curved surfaces responds to the gently undulating typography of the town. As life passes between the space under the eaves a continuity is created between inside and outside. The garden arranged alternate and gently slopes down to each adjacent street, combined make the space like a small park, creating accessibility and encouraging relationships between the house and its passing neighbours.  © Kentaro Kurihara Both school children and wives of the neighbourhood expressed an interest in the house and often spoke to the residents during construction. A man of the neighbourhood visited on its completion, and I heard he liked the tree in this garden, so he planted one in his own. When I took a picture for some magazines, I also noticed that the opposite house's were all painted white. I think this site connecting the street with the slope and the surrounding site will re-establish relationships with the neighbourhood  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How to Build a DIY Vertical Garden Posted: 12 Nov 2017 08:00 AM PST
About thirty years ago, French landscape architect Patrick Blanc became a pioneer in the implementation of vertical gardens in Paris, and later in other cities around the world. Through the creation of vertical structures capable nourishing plant species, these systems allow species to grow on the facades of buildings, considerably reducing a structure's internal temperature and allowing the expansion of green areas to new (vertical) territories within the city. Blanc's creation was part of a series of developments in understanding what nature adds to the city, recognizing the value of green spaces and their contribution to social, environmental and urban policies. Singapore, London, and São Paulo have used the system as an important technique in their goal to improve the quality of urban life.  © Matheus Pereira In the city of São Paulo, for example, the Movimento 90° founded in 2013 by Guil Blanche is already responsible for the construction of about 16,000 square meters of green area in a series of vertical gardens throughout the city, especially on Avenida 23 de Maio, where there is 10,950 square meters of green space, and in the gables of buildings along the Elevado João Goulart, popularly known like "Minhocão," where there is 4,180 square meters. In practice, vertical gardens provide a whole series of environmental benefits, such as solid residue recycling, heat reduction inside buildings, partial air clean-up through CO2 capture, and the ability to reuse captured rainwater, which is used for the irrigation of the plants. 10.jpg?1507151630 "© Felipe Gabriel Via Movimento 90°. ImageEdifício Santa Cruz") © Felipe Gabriel Via Movimento 90°. ImageEdifício Santa Cruz And, while a vertical garden may begin with a set of pre-defined green species invading the gray landscape, other new species may arise due to the seeds deposited by birds and insects, as a result of their ecological interaction. Whether on a grand urban scale or the smallest individual scale, we can be a contributor to the system's implementation. Read on to learn how to set up your own vertical garden. .jpg?1507151648 "© Felipe Gabriel Via Movimento 90°. ImageEdifício Santos") © Felipe Gabriel Via Movimento 90°. ImageEdifício Santos Materials
 © Gabriela Di Bella Via Movimento 90°. ImageAvenida 23 de Maio Step-by-Step1. Begin by cutting one of the felt blankets into rectangles. The measurements are variable, according to the species chosen to compose the vertical garden, but should be between 25 and 40 centimeters.  © Matheus Pereira 2. Fasten the cutouts to the second blanket by sewing them together. Use thick thread or string, preferably, since the bags will be required to support earth and plants. 3. Attach the high-density felt panel to the rigid sheet. Then, attach the panel created to the wall using the spacers so that water cannot infiltrate the wall.  © Matheus Pereira 4. After the sheet is installed, connect the hoses together with the couplers. Remember that the hoses must be drilled every 25 or 30 centimeters and arranged in a linear fashion, to irrigate the plants evenly. Connect the timer to the water outlet, and set it to release the water at set time intervals. © Matheus Pereira 5. Insert fertilized soil and the selected plant species one by one, in each of the felt bags. Off you go! Your plants will begin to grow, and in months, will fill the entire wall, making it appear like a homogeneous layer of vegetation. SpeciesThe species chosen to compose the vertical garden must be chosen carefully, according to the amount of sunshine and shading that the panel will receive. Areas With Full Sun
Partially Shaded Areas
 © Helena Wolfenson Via Movimento 90°. ImageAvenida 23 de Maio Shaded Areas
 ©Via Movimento 90°. ImageEdifício Santos Tips
*The original version of this article suggested "Chapa ecológica," a sheet made from recycled Tetra-Pak packaging that is only available in some countries, but you can use any material with similar characteristics. References Vertical Gardens. Available in: <http://movimento90.com/jardins-verticais/>. Access in September 29, 2017.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Le Corbusier's Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau Named One of "20 Designs That Defined the Modern World" Posted: 12 Nov 2017 06:00 AM PST  Courtesy of ADAGP, Paris 2015 Creator of London's Design Museum and columnist for CNN, Stephen Bayley named Le Corbusier's Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau as one of, "20 designs that defined the modern world." Before Bayley lays out the list, he gives a brief history and several definitions of design; culminating to his conclusion that design gives life meaning. Bayley writes, "Le Corbusier declared that design is 'intelligence made visible'. That's certainly true, but intelligence can take many forms…" [1] Designed and exhibited at the Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs of 1925, Corbu's Pavillon was part of a larger project entitled, "Plan for a Modern City of 3,000,000 Inhabitants." [2] The design, complete with a rooftop terrace, anticipated challenges of the future, such as overpopulation, by maximizing a typical urban dweller's home. Corbu utilized built-in furniture such as cabinets, shelves, and wardrobes to make the most of a small space. One could say it was the first, "tiny house," of its time.  Courtesy of ADAGP, Paris 2015 Despite defiance from the Organizing Committee of the Exhibition, no money or formal site, Corbu, "wrote the rules of Modernism," [1] with the Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau (according to Bayley). With his design of the Pavillon, Corbu made architecturally political statements. He rejected ornateness. He wanted to show the world that the pure forms created by industry (the standardization of mass production) had value. Corbu revolutionized modern interiors by emphasizing function. According to CNN, the other 19 designs that defined the modern world are: [1910] The bra To read more about how Corbu's masterpiece ended up on the same list as "the bra," click here. References:  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| BLACK BOX II / Natalie Dionne Architecture Posted: 12 Nov 2017 05:00 AM PST  © Raphaël Thibodeau
 © Raphaël Thibodeau Text description provided by the architects. BLACK BOX II is the latest in a series of tiny additions impacting existing architecture in a big way. Conceived as a jewelry box, large openings blur the interior/exterior boundary, revealing its treasure of fine cabinetmaking work within through the playful use of complementary surface materials. The BLACK BOX II addition is covered with large plates of iridescent, black fiber cement board, with a perforated motif for the loggia, finely assembled with matching rivets. In contrast, blond wood and light porcelain and ceramics, illuminate the interior. When large windows fold open to incorporate the garden into the home, interior and exterior materials interact to connect spaces. Inside, oak wood paneling covers the walls and ceiling of the shed, while a lattice of western red cedar lines the exterior alcove.  © Raphaël Thibodeau The slate slabs of the terrace adjoin the concrete-like porcelain floor of the kitchen. Heritage of the past, the original oak wood floor of the dining room, preserved and restored, set the tone. The kitchen island, made of solid oak, stands monumentally in the center and serves as an altar to daily rituals. At the perimeter stands, more soberly, white or black furniture and cabinetry. This project is a plea for constructive art, recognizing the complicity between the architect, the builders, and the owners, all actively involved in the search for quality, both technical and aesthetic. The art of architecture manifests itself here in all its dimensions.  Ground Floor Plan  © Raphaël Thibodeau  Upper Floor Plan  © Raphaël Thibodeau This semi-detached townhouse, made of red clay brick, is typical of Westmount and the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough of Montreal. Through the reconfiguration of outdated internal divisions and the grafting of two black volumes in juxtaposition, the pre-existing architecture is enhanced and transformed to better reflect the modern lifestyle and aspirations of its inhabitants. We are always striving to strike the right balance between new and old in order to create a coherent whole, preserving the authenticity of the existing details while affirming the contemporaneity of our interventions.  © Raphaël Thibodeau  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 15 Facades That Push Conventional Limits: The Best Photos of the Week Posted: 12 Nov 2017 04:00 AM PST  © Hufton + Crow New technological developments in construction have given architects great freedom when designing. Innovations in construction materials and their properties allow for the creation of increasingly original and surprising facades. The buildings constructed as a result can even inspire people to travel thousands of kilometers just to see these masterpieces. This week, we present 15 of most ground-breaking facades through photos by prominent photographers such as Paul Ott, Peter Bennetts and Laurian Ghinitoiu. TianJin University Research InstituteLiuzhou Suiseki Hall / TianJin University Research Institute Cortesía de TianJin University Research Institute Laurian GhinitoiuBund Finance Centre / Foster + Partners + Heatherwick Studio © Laurian Ghinitoiu Julien LanooBoa Canteen / D’HOUNDT+BAJART Architects & Associates © Julien Lanoo Peter BennettsCirqua Apartments / BKK Architects © Peter Bennetts Hiroyuki OkiFPT University Administrative Building / VTN Architects © Hiroyuki Oki Shawn Liu StudioTainan Tung-Men Holiness Church / MAYU architects+ © Shawn Liu Studio David SchreyerHigh School Crinkled Wall / Wiesflecker Architecture © David Schreyer CreatAREight Tenths Garden / Wutopia Lab © CreatAR Jesús GranadaCaixaForum Sevilla / Vázquez Consuegra © Jesús Granada Iwan BaanZeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa / Heatherwick Studio © Iwan Baan Paul OttOffice Off / heri&salli © Paul Ott Jorge AllendeMusikene / GA + Atxurra Zelaieta Arquitectos © Jorge Allende Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco CappellettiRIJNSTRAAT 8 / Ellen van Loon + OMA © Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture StudioNingbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio Cortesía de Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Minnesota's Experimental City of the Future that Never Got Built Posted: 12 Nov 2017 03:20 AM PST  Conceptual drawing of MXC's primary domed enclosure, proposed to be a mile wide in early discussions, but eventually scaled back. Image Courtesy of The Experimental City Documentary The Minnesota Experimental City (MXC)—a utopian plan for the city of the future that was decades ahead of its time, and yet is surprisingly little-known—was the brainchild of the urban planner and technocrat Athelstan Spilhaus. Spilhaus was a man who saw science as the solution to the problems of the world, and became a public figure presenting his ideas of utopia in everyday life through his comic strip "Our New Age." During the mid-1960s, he conceived an ambitious plan to condense his ideas into a prototype for future cities that would be both noiseless and fumeless, accommodating America's growing population and their by-products. A new documentary, The Experimental City, explores the development, and ultimately, failure of the MXC's vision for future settlements. Using retro film clips, it takes us back in time to a period where Spilhaus' predictions of computers that can fit into your home and remote banking appeared more of a fantasy than reality. The film is directed by Chad Freidrichs (known also for his 2011 film The Pruitt-Igoe Myth) and was premiered at the Chicago Film Festival, in conjunction with the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Several further screenings will be taking place across the country, including at DOC NYC on November 16th. In proposing the MXC, Spilhaus identified America's consumption problem and extrapolated the country's rising population, issues that are still relevant today, and proposed a world that relied on technological solutions as a vision of the 21st century. A rural site was selected in Swatara, Minnesota, and planning began. In the MXC, a new waste management system would reprocess any waste as useable elements within the city, with buildings constructed from reusable components that made them quick and easy to assemble and disassemble for the ever-changing needs of the city.  Athelstan Spilhaus' first "Our New Age" comic, from 1958, shows an incredibly prescient understanding of the coming challenges of climate change. Image Courtesy of The Experimental City Documentary  Spilhaus' "Our New Age" comic from 1966 about his recently-proposed Experimental City project. Image Courtesy of The Experimental City Documentary A mass transit system was to be implemented within the center of the MXC, prohibiting internal combustion engines and reducing emissions. Cars would be attached to a rail that would take control of the driving and maintain a constant speed, with the driver only regaining steering of the car when they needed to turn off the road.  Illustration of dual-mode transportation options for the Experimental City. "Mechanical Guidance" was ultimately selected for MXC's transportation system. Image Courtesy of The Experimental City Documentary Due to the cacophony of futuristic ideas proposed by Spilhaus and his collaborators, and because the project never advanced far enough for any single vision to emerge as a concrete proposal, the surviving visuals of the city show little agreement on what the city would look like. One image that stood out, particularly within the first few years of the project, was the dome that the city was planned to be encased in. Owing largely to Buckminster Fuller's involvement, it promised climate control and a balanced energy system—possibly it was a step too far, being dropped later on, but the image stuck.  Illustration of the Experimental City's proposed underground infrastructure, based on original conceptual drawings. Image Courtesy of The Experimental City Documentary  Experimental City conceptual drawing by MXC urban designer N.J. Pinney. Image Courtesy of N.J. Pinney In another image, underneath the surface of the city was shown a subterranean world filled with what were known as "Utilidors." Their purpose was to hide all the services and pipes before the city was built, eradicating the need to dig up the roads. Sewage systems, delivery routes, and waste management would all be hidden away from the public eye to allow for efficient zoning of the city. Other images show tensile megastructures, solar panels, and complex zoning systems that would enable personal short-range flight.  Conceptual drawing of a possible air zoning scheme for the Experimental City, by MXC urban designer N.J. Pinney. Image Courtesy of N.J. Pinney In the end, the ambitious project stood little chance of becoming more than just good intentions. The MXC faced opposition from many environmental groups, despite sharing their concerns, as the city's planners and the opposing activists held completely different philosophies on the correct approach to these problems. The hefty price tag of $10 billion also damaged people's attitude towards the project.  Protestors from rural Swatara, Minnesota march 200 miles to the Capitol in St. Paul; 1973. Image Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society Although now the Minnesota Experimental City may appear out of date in creating a brand new conceptual city from the top-down—see Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse or Frank Lloyd Wright's Broadacre City for other examples in which this approach didn't work—the documentary's director Freidrichs thinks that the MXC shares a surprising amount in common with today's large-scale master-planned cities:
 Conceptual Model of MXC's megastructure. Image Courtesy of N.J. Pinney Today it is almost completely forgotten, but the Minnesota Experimental City was, in many ways, emblematic of the end of society's reliance on individuals designing our futures and the beginning of the anti-establishment cultural phenomenon. Had it been developed a decade earlier, the MXC may have had better luck in the political climate, but the underlying morals of the project are as relevant now as they were back then. Spilhaus never made it to the 21st century he always dreamed about, sadly passing away just 2 years before the millennium.  Conceptual drawing of MXC megastructure's interior, by MXC urban designer N.J. Pinney. Image Courtesy of N.J. Pinney To find a screening of the documentary The Experimental City, visit the website here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Alfred Taubman Wing / Preston Scott Cohen Posted: 12 Nov 2017 01:00 AM PST  © James Haefner
 © James Haefner Text description provided by the architects. Among the most important and interesting challenges was a twofold demand: on the one hand, to create a 36,000 ft2 building that would stretch from the existing architecture /planning wing of the college, past the art wing, all the way to Bonisteel Blvd, and on the other hand to make this building that is on the eastern end of the existing building act as if it is in the center of the school, in order that it will serve as the nexus of circulation for all students and faculty. In short, the goal was to establish a center within a linear edge building. In order to make the square footage of the three-story building stretch as far as it needed to, half of the ground floor was evacuated, which created an outdoor experimental gallery for student projects.  © James Haefner .jpg?1510313175 "Section") Section  © James Haefner Lifting the commons off the ground this way solved several other problems; it permitted the courtyard between the existing and new buildings to remain open to the valley and retention pond to the east, allowed the new building to create a path through – between the existing and the new -, resolved the disparity in height between the new plenums and the existing building's, and thereby established an ascending and continuous sequence of interior spaces. The main space, called the commons, is composed of two pairs of ramps linked by a spiral-like suspended stair. The solid parts of the railings are kept low to enable viewing of the central space from afar and to articulate a remarkable scale effect.  © James Haefner The commons is a continuous space encircled by the new and existing studios, as well as all the other essential spaces of the program: the lounges for architecture and planning students, faculty offices, and a remarkably tiered set of meeting and reading rooms. Its function is to serve as a lounge, a space in which to hold reviews, a workspace for large fabrication projects, a space for important occasions and dinners, and a space for lectures and discussions.The facades combine modest vernacular and cultural building character. The brick pattern, which weaves running bond and soldier's coursing, is composed to formalize implicit shadows or folds that extend from the sawtooth profile to the windows. Four large windows address distant views from the studio; the smaller individual office windows reveal the changing levels within the building.  © James Haefner  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| This All-In-One Piece of Furniture Is A Tiny House Must-Have Posted: 12 Nov 2017 12:00 AM PST  © Angel Rico A single piece of furniture, designed by architect Angel Rico, allows this husband, wife, and child to live happily in only 20 square meters of space (about 215 square feet). Smart design solutions, such as this, are essential for any modern day tiny house or apartment. Keep reading to learn everything this transformer can do.  Image © Angel Rico A modular system allows this furniture element to open and fold into different design solutions based on the client's needs. Many of the client's requests involved the ability to host other people. By utilizing vertical space, the design maximizes area and participates in the evolution of micro-living.  © Angel Rico When the furniture is acting as storage in it’s furled state, the living room can comfortably accommodate seven people. The storage unit turns into a privacy screen as you open it up halfway, and a guest bed can extend down. Open the product even further, and the kitchen becomes ready for use - still leaving room for ten people to dine. With the new “chill-out” area above the bathroom, five people can spend the night in this cozy abode.  © Angel Rico  © Angel Rico  © Angel Rico  © Angel Rico Architect: Angel Rico  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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