Arch Daily |
- Orchids and Ladders / SERRANO+BAQUERO Arquitectos
- Rural House Renovation in Zhoushan / Evolution Design
- Balkaneh Residential Building / DAAL Studio
- Knikno House / Fabian Tan Architect
- House W / KC Design Studio
- Tianyi Lake Dream Town / iDEA
- House in Ishikiri / Fujiwaramuro Architects
- The Books House / Luigi Rosselli
- Works of Classic Architecture Captured During Autumnal Splendor
- Highland Hall Residences Stanford University / LEGORRETA
- 10 Incredible Works of Architecture Photographed in Fall: The Best Photos of the Week
- Tehama 1 House / Studio Schicketanz
- Zaha Hadid Design Creates Shoe and Transparent Clutch Bag for Charlotte Olympia
- Archeology in a Jazz Club / Büro KLK
- The Architect as Educator: Remembering Gunnar Birkerts
- Why Open-Plan Offices Don't Work (And Some Alternatives That Do)
- The Rock / Atelier Général
- HOK's Mercedes-Benz Stadium Will Be the First LEED Platinum-Certified Pro Sports Stadium in the US
- Graham Stirk On His Career Of Iconic Designs As Part Of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
| Orchids and Ladders / SERRANO+BAQUERO Arquitectos Posted: 23 Nov 2017 09:00 PM PST .jpg?1511436063 "Courtesy of Serrano+Baquero") Courtesy of Serrano+Baquero
.jpg?1511436745 "© Fernando Alda") © Fernando Alda The Orchid .jpg?1511436651 "© Fernando Alda") © Fernando Alda .jpg?1511415367 "Scheme and Project") Scheme and Project .jpg?1511436793 "© Fernando Alda") © Fernando Alda .jpg?1511415352 "Diagram Key Elements") Diagram Key Elements The Ladder .jpg?1511415379 "Model 1") Model 1 .jpg?1511436621 "© Fernando Alda") © Fernando Alda .jpg?1511415393 "Model 2") Model 2  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Rural House Renovation in Zhoushan / Evolution Design Posted: 23 Nov 2017 07:00 PM PST  © JianPing Yang
 © Yong Zhang Text description provided by the architects. 70% of the houses in a village sitting on one of the Zhoushan Islands are hollow, but the stone structures, with their building material sourced from the local area, are quite solid and integrally constructed. Roofs have already partly collapsed, which can be expected when considering the technology and material conditions of the time. Two of the houses near the seaside, which have been unoccupied for 70 years and have somewhere around a four-meter difference in elevation, face the south, their gables facing the east and west, orienting them toward the sea and protecting them from typhoons. These two particular houses have been specially chosen.  © JianPing Yang Everything for these two "solid" houses both begins and ends with interior design. Between a span of three to five days, there needs to be a balanced consideration given to the local architecture, interior structures, landscape, and other spaces. Construction will only last 40 days (really 31 days), so how on Earth can everything be set up for filming in a way that would not affect local business? There are only a few hundred inhabitants on the island, with all living and manufacturing supplies coming in from the mainland. An architect faced with such a task would really have to take all these key aspects into account when finding the most appropriate course of action!  © Yong Zhang With the highs and lows of the terrain and picturesque views of the sea, the design focus here would have to be more on how to capture multi-angled views from inside the house looking out rather than merely how the house itself looks like. The house incorporated into the new design can be found on the eastern side of the collection of old houses lowest in altitude, where the only available patch of land facing the sea can be found, and it serves as a precise remediation of the lack of adequate depth and width the old houses have to carry out modern social gatherings. The new house is built with reinforced concrete and has a perfect match in terms of both structure and space while still remaining free of excessive decoration. Concrete was specifically chosen here to help the house withstand erosion stemming from the harsh sea climate.  © Yong Zhang  © Yong Zhang The entire structure is composed of bedrooms renovated from the two old houses plus a studio converted from an old kitchen with collapsed roof that is now replaced by a glass ceiling. There is also a newly built reinforced concrete "box" facing the sea connecting two courtyards both on the upper and lower levels, respectively, to accommodate the upstairs master bedroom and two downstairs guest rooms. The new "box" space therefore serves as the common area for social and recreational activities.  © Yong Zhang The "new box" on the site is made to be inconspicuously retrusive. In the presence of the time-honored beauty of 70-year-old houses and the supreme natural landscape, any fresh elements seem unnecessary and charmless. That is why the new structure is meant to compliment and pay respect to the local area instead of gain a significant amount of the spotlight, which essentially underplays the structure's full potential. Here, there is a balance between the new and old and understanding and harmony, and here, modern-day "aesthetics" and old "remains" thrive in co-existence.  © Yong Zhang Looking at the overall layout, time has made the two houses part of the old village. To the local villagers, the new box may seem obscure or even negligible. Only when you walk into the courtyard from the old street, will you discover the secrets of this new space. The "climactic" 270° seascape is saved for last when considering spatial sequencing, but when observed from above the sea, the design seems to be a new organism facing both today and tomorrow.  © Yong Zhang  Ground Floor Plan  © JianPing Yang This program mainly concerns building renovation and design, not merely the pure alteration of interior space. Consideration should be given to public concerns and incorporate site selection along with the local environment and people, and interior design may also include how best to handle the owner's personal issues.  © JianPing Yang Completion should mean that structures are usable then and there, with perfect harmony between building, structure, electromechanical components, interior layout and landscape. Finishing everything in terms of design and construction in 60 days (really 40 days with the Zhoushan project) is most certainly a great challenge, and the practicality and degree to which the technological requirements, need for materials, and implementation process can be completed on time should always be a determining factor when deciding upon such a task.  © JianPing Yang Today, most of our concerns are often placed upon grand narrative-themed buildings, and we usually turn a blind eye to many homes that are humble but still relevant to daily life. A great number of public buildings may seem appealing at a distance of around 200 meters or so, but up close at 20 or even 2 meters, they become significantly less refined. We pay too much attention to how good a building looks on the outside while ignoring what lies inside. Perhaps we need our houses to be pure, low-key, reserved and less "noble", and if a TV program can entertain the public and still convey a notion that makes people more aware of the vital relationship between environment and human-made structures, encouraging them to care about our own living environment and maximize their own spatial delight and spirit made possible by architectural aesthetics, then what harm is there in making such a process entertaining?!  © Yong Zhang  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Balkaneh Residential Building / DAAL Studio Posted: 23 Nov 2017 06:00 PM PST  © Parham Taghioff
 © Parham Taghioff Text description provided by the architects. The Balcaneh residential building is built on a land of 624 square meters with a width of 14 meters in the Firdis district of Karaj. The project consists of five residential floors and a parking floor, with entrance to the northern side of the building. Due to the low power of property buyers in this area, the employer demanded three residential units per floor. The quality of construction in this area is very low, so the design team has devoted its efforts to reviving these forgotten qualities.  © Alireza Esfandiari .jpg?1510526588 "Diagram") Diagram Due to the flatness of the wall facing the street of the surrounding buildings, an attempt has been made to design terraces out of the façade, so we have more connection with the street. The design of the terraces is modular to create more harmony with the surrounding context. Also, in order to compensate the colorless environment, we used red brick and wood as the main materials, which makes the project more prominent and creates a personality for it.  © Alireza Esfandiari To control the amount of light and preserve confidentiality and visibility the exterior façade is made of porous brick. behind the brick, we have the double glazed window glass that shapes the border between inside and outside of the project. This composition of brick and glass along with wooden terraces forms the façade of the building. due to the lack of sunlight in the North View, it has been tried to provide the most glass facades. However, in the southern view, due to the intensity of the sun›s exposure, as much as possible avoided large openings and only 16.5 percent of the facade is made of glass. Also, on this side, the terraces are designed inside the volume to avoid direct sunlight.  © Parham Taghioff .jpg?1510526628 "Floor Plans") Floor Plans  © Parham Taghioff In the north facade, we designed living spaces near the street and bedrooms in the central part of the building to prevent as much noise pollution of the street as possible for resting areas, also with using brick and wood inside the apartment we tried to improve the quality of these spaces and, by creating a warm and intimate atmosphere, the concept of a home for living in these apartments will be strengthened.  © Alireza Esfandiari  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Knikno House / Fabian Tan Architect Posted: 23 Nov 2017 04:00 PM PST  © Ceavs Chua
 © Ceavs Chua Text description provided by the architects. This semi-detached house was rebuilt for a young family on a 60' x 90' piece of land. Laid out over two different levels, the lower section of the plot houses the car porch with a ramp and staircase, connecting it to the home which sits on the higher land area. The house consist of a single-storey open living space, which intersects perpendicularly to a 2-storey building with closed private rooms.  © Ceavs Chua  Ground Floor Plan  © Ceavs Chua The dominant longitudinal upper floor from the front to the rear is a gabled form inspired by the client's request for a modern interpretation of a barn. Its façade is made from modular grey concrete blocks, which in contrast with the predominantly white ground floor accentuates weight.  Section Upon entry, a corridor takes you immediately into the house with a choice of going to specific areas without walking through other spaces. On the left is the open linear living areas which expresses continuity through its inverted gabled timber ceiling that seeks to add warmth. This voluminous space opens itself through the front garden that shields the road view and the rear with a black koi pond & lounge decking. To add to this, it is also visually connected to the first floor corridor that serves as the entryway to the bedrooms. This creates a tranquil, bright and an unobstructed cross ventilated space.  © Ceavs Chua The plan is 'T' shaped and creates precise experiences with the exterior and interior through a series of spatial geometry and symmetry. It is difficult to describe this home in a simplistic sense as its parts seem to mesh with each other, giving multiple repeated descriptions of spaces but hopefully, it will speak for itself in clarity to the present listener.  © Ceavs Chua  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2017 02:00 PM PST  © SAM
 © SAM Text description provided by the architects. This 50-year-old house is located in a high density residence area, with the typical design of three-story townhouse that you see often in Taiwan. Main problems for this rectangular shaped house include poor daylighting, which is common for houses of this specific shape, and the close proximity to neighboring houses,which poses a privacy and security threat. Also, noises from nearby tourism attractions and night markets are a nuisance.  Diagram Considering the lack of privacy and good view, we decided to design the house inward and upward. The front of each floor is set back to form a buffering semi-outdoor space between streets and residence areas, and with uses of semitransparent expanded meshand openings on the façade, we are able to set up boundaries but still introducing natural lighting, ventilation and rain to the inside.  © SAM By removing partial ceilings and the use of atrium, these semi-outdoor spaces on three floors are linked, so the first-floor balcony will be used as doorstep with improved daylighting, while second-floor balcony plays as an extension to kids' corner with trees and plants and the main suite on third floor can enjoy green garden view.  Elevation & Section Lighting and ventilation are big factors in regard to the wellness of occupants. By large windows located both at the front and the back, and use of atrium in the middle, sunlight can naturally flow into every corner of the house. The middle atrium uses glass to keep floor area, and the surrounding stairs use perforated steel plate, llowing sunlight from above going through.  © SAM Also, the balcony at the back of the house is forfeited and set back so the distance to neighboring houses is expanded from 40 centimeters to 90 centimeters. The toilet located at the back uses glass for partitioning to allow as much ambient lighting as possible.  Plan Each floor is handled as an open plane. All cabinets are located against walls to maximize indoor floor area as the width of the house is only 370 centimeters. White wood floors are used and walls are with cement finish. Other materials used include stainless steel, wood and glass.  © SAM The white/gray tone have created an original feeling, while this also helps the reflection of sunlight in the house, as well as refraction of lights created by the use of glass.  © SAM The reinforcement of beams and columns is kept without intentional concealing, allowing existence of both the old structure and new elements, to exhibit the unique quality and atmosphere of this renovated old building.  © SAM  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2017 12:00 PM PST  © Qingshan Wu
 © Qingshan Wu
 © Qingshan Wu Dream Town is a center which offers interactive learning and entertainment experience to kids through playing adult roles in different professions.  © Qingshan Wu The design started from two challenges: How to achieve the coherence between the iconic effect and the site context, i.e. by the Tianyi Lake and near two small hills, so that the architecture roots into the site while celebrating its own identity. Secondly, How to design a building that accommodates a "city" inside? The interior is in fact a miniature town, housed by the architecture.  Traffic analysis To respond the two challenges, the design team engaged the physical site constrains, i.e. the two small hills and the lake front, by pressing the original mass into a series of curvy outlines. Meanwhile, inspired by the pattern of the urban fabric from stereotypical water-front cities,a generic city layout including streets, corners, plazas, plots and building blocks, was deployed to the inform a collection of curvy volumes based on the programmatic distribution principles.With one singular mass broken down into multiple volumes, the massive impact of the building scale is reduced profoundly in respect of its surroundings.  © Qingshan Wu The facade designed is based on ripple patterns and dynamic colour effect to inspire children's imagination. Through parametric design and computational optimization, the design team managed to achieve the recognizable ripple patterns with only 17 different types of panels compared to the original hundreds of unique panel types.  © Qingshan Wu The project was completed and opened to the public in Oct, 2016. And it has been widely praised by parents and kids since then.It is expected that as soon as the outdoor play zones is eventually in full operation, the edutainment mall will offer children more diversified experiences.  © Qingshan Wu  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House in Ishikiri / Fujiwaramuro Architects Posted: 23 Nov 2017 11:00 AM PST  © Toshiyuki Yano
 © Toshiyuki Yano Text description provided by the architects. This combined residence and business is located on a gently sloping property on the east side of Osaka. We were involved in the project from the stage of searching for the building site. After considering a number of properties over the course of several years, the clients ultimately purchased this site near a relative's home. They requested a design that had the atmosphere of a resort, included a space to open an aroma salon, and used a wide variety of different materials.  © Toshiyuki Yano In addition, because the property is located in a densely developed residential district, we were careful to secure privacy while still aiming for a plan with an open feeling to it.  Ground Floor Plan Our overall guiding image was of light being encapsulated in the center of the house. To achieve this, we created a central void with a skylight above it, and windows on the first and second floors facing the void. Sunlight and reflected light enter this central living room from various directions so that the atmosphere of the interior shifts subtly throughout the year. All the rooms in the house are linked through the void above the living room. On the first floor, which contains the rooms where the family gathers, large sliding glass doors face the southern side of the property, connecting interior and exterior spaces. The bathroom is also connected to an outdoor terrace and second living room, which contributes to the resort-like atmosphere.  © Toshiyuki Yano The aroma salon and bedrooms are located on the second floor, and the salon is accessible directly from the entryway to better accommodate frequent clients. Textured finishes are used throughout the house, including antique brick on the exterior walls, custom-made tiles on the living room floor, glass tiles in the bathroom, and brass fixtures.  © Toshiyuki Yano  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Books House / Luigi Rosselli Posted: 23 Nov 2017 09:00 AM PST  Courtesy of Luigi Rosselli
 Courtesy of Luigi Rosselli Text description provided by the architects. A Calligrapher handed three books to his wife, she placed them in a random stack on the table… "We want The Books House"… they said. The Architect understood that the books were not only a reference to a home he had previously designed named The Six Degrees of Separation, but also to the ledges and shelves of Sydney-Hawkesbury sandstone outcrops that surface on the steep escarpments of the northern side of Sydney Harbour, including the block of land owned by the Calligrapher and the Businesswoman.  Courtesy of Luigi Rosselli Weathered rock stratums have been replaced by off-form concrete slabs with soft edges, scissoring above a monolithic sandstone storey for the house. An elliptical concrete stair forms the pivot point of each floor of the house, anchoring them to the steep escarpment; the stair also wraps around a lift core that descends, mineshaft-like to link the rest of the house to the garage level.  Sketch The rock is integral to the house: from the basement to the uppermost level of the home, where the sandstone formations provide an ancient geological scenography. Both the living room and the Calligrapher's study have views of the rock face with its gently curving set of steps, expertly carved from the stone that climb to an old Frangipani tree. They also look out over a small swimming pool and a cave excavated into the cliff side, perfect for meditation and longing for a Buddha.  Courtesy of Luigi Rosselli This home was designed following a reading of The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang, which is a must read in order to gain a greater understanding of the dwelling culture in China, this explains the "Dragon" path that meanders to the front door and is not just necessary to make climbing the steep hill less laborious but also to soften the approach to the house and abandon the straight geometry of the road.  Courtesy of Luigi Rosselli Luigi Rosselli and Kristina Sahlestrom have learned much from the Chinese building culture over the course of this project's development, and The Books house is an embodiment and crystalisaiton of this ancient culture in stone and concrete.
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| Works of Classic Architecture Captured During Autumnal Splendor Posted: 23 Nov 2017 08:00 AM PST  Fransworth House / Mies van der Rohe © Roland Halbe As the northern hemisphere says goodbye to the final month of fall and gives thanks for architecture's splendid (and fulfilling) beauty, the time is ripe for revisiting a selection of canonical projects that look their grandest during "leaf peeping" season. Either the brilliant reds, oranges, browns and yellows of the foliage echo the natural colors of the project's materials or the reflective properties of ample glass magnify the natural phenomenon. This annual period of transition provides photographers with a "golden" opportunity. Fallingwater / Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater © Robert Ruschak - Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous house, Fallingwater, in southwestern Pennsylvania seems made for the brief annual moment of fall foliage. Built in 1935, the now-public museum and National Historic Landmark is a textbook example of organic architecture's pursuit of unifying art with nature. Glass House / Philip Johnson Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division In Philip Johnson's own expansive property in New Canaan, Connecticut, the Glass House is the perfect place to experience the changing of the seasons. Enclosed by glass on all sides, inhabitants can relax in the most stylish furniture available while enjoying a panoramic view of the outdoors. Farnsworth House / Mies van der Rohe Farnsworth House, Image Courtesy of Hedrich Blessing Photographers Like Philip Johnson's Glass House, the Farnsworth House is perfectly designed to bring the outside in--although, with the Fox River regularly flooding the area, sometimes you get more of the outside than you bargained for. As a result, the Farnsworth is best when it's only leaves that are falling outside. Grace Farms / SANAA Grace Farms © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/diametrik/22440618775'> by Lian Chang </a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'> CC BY 2.0</a> Completed in 2014, SANAA's Grace Farms hugs the landscape as it curves over rolling hills and in between groups of trees, creating a dynamic composition with the natural surroundings. Thorncrown Chapel / E. Fay Jones horncrown Chapel / E. Fay Jones © Randall Connaughton In Arkansas, E. Fay Jones' masterwork takes on both the material and characteristics of the forest, with its densely packed wooden beams mimicking the surrounding branches. As those branches become increasingly bare, the transparency of the chapel allows it to still blend in with the now-sparse woodland.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Highland Hall Residences Stanford University / LEGORRETA Posted: 23 Nov 2017 07:00 AM PST  © Hunter Kerhart
 © Hunter Kerhart Text description provided by the architects. After having designed the “Schwab” Residential Center with Steinberg in 1997, the Graduate School of Business New Residential Building “Highland Hall” joins the Stanford University complex in 2016.  © Hunter Kerhart The 14, 000 m2 building includes a maximum of 4 floors and provides 200 beds with service areas and spaces for diverse public activities.  © Hunter Kerhart Located in the Serra street, which besides crossing the campus serves as an academic corridor, “Highland Hall” is located at the East end, next to the “Schwab” Residential Center, which is connected through a Mall located at North of the new building and that in turn, will allow the building merge with the local urban landscape.  Site Plan Two key elements of its design are the courtyards that are aligned on the East-West axis with those of “Schwab” and the walkway from North to South, which serves to connect the two residential buildings with the “Knight” Management Center, forming in this way an Academic and Residential Complex of the Business Administration School.  © Hunter Kerhart The new building is divided into three sections: West, North and South; where a variety of multipurpose areas, public seating areas, kitchens and dining rooms, both inside and outside are located for the use of the school community.  © Hunter Kerhart The access tower to “Highland Hall”, considered as its iconic element, is 12.5m in height and is located in the entry plaza to the East side of the complex, thus emphasizing the relationship with the current residential building. In its rear side the Lobby Lounge is found, that besides being a key space for the reception of the new building; it also serves as a connection to the main courtyard and the different levels of the complex.  © Hunter Kerhart In the main courtyard a sculptural staircase was devised, where the ground floor has an art piece (“Textiles of Eternal Traces”), that consists of fountain and a glazed ceramic mat, designed by sculptor artist Adán Paredes.  © Hunter Kerhart Similarly, the inclusion of artistic interventions in the “Contemplative” and “Events” courtyards with the participation of two other Mexican artists: Pilar Climent and Frida Escobedo, with pieces that are built into the architecture that will provide character to the new building.  © Hunter Kerhart  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 10 Incredible Works of Architecture Photographed in Fall: The Best Photos of the Week Posted: 23 Nov 2017 06:00 AM PST  Cortesía de VIPP September 22nd marked the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. This season of the year is excellent for architectural photography due to the effects of nature, which delights us with wonderful red and orange foliage. To mark the beginning of this season, we have created a selection of 10 works captured in fall by prominent photographers such as Francisco Nogueira, Jorge López Conde, and Steve Montpetit. Iwan BaanOffice in the Woods / SalgasCano © Iwan Baan Roland HalbeFarnsworth House / Mies Van Der Rohe © Roland Halbe Francisco NogueiraAlvega Canoeing Center / ateliermob © Francisco Nogueira Format Elf ArchitektenFormstelle / Format Elf Architekten Cortesía de Format Elf Architekten Roger FreiLimmat Footbridge and Promenade Lift / Leuppi & Schafroth Architekten © Roger Frei Matter Design + FR|SCHFive Fields Play Structure / Matter Design + FR|SCH Cortesía de Matter Design + FR|SCH Steve MontpetitRosenberry Residence / Les architectes FABG © Steve Montpetit Roger FreiLimmat Footbridge and Promenade Lift / Leuppi & Schafroth Architekten © Roger Frei Jorge López CondeEx House / GarcíaGermán Arquitectos © Jorge López Conde VIPPThe VIPP Shelter / VIPP Cortesía de VIPP  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Tehama 1 House / Studio Schicketanz Posted: 23 Nov 2017 05:00 AM PST  © Joe Fletcher
 © Joe Fletcher Text description provided by the architects. Studio Schicketanz organized the design of this house around a central cleared knoll and prioritized outdoor space, producing a deep exploration into the ways in which a structure can merge with and arise from a very specific ecological language. Textured stone walls give rise to controlled cement steps leading to a crisply modernist structure detailed with geometric framing and supporting a cantilevered roof that offers a shaded penumbra around the entirety of the structure. Light is at play everywhere, from the dappled light that hits the stone wall to the reflection of the majestic neighboring tree in the house's expansive glass facade  © Joe Fletcher On the interior, neutral tones from the reclaimed teak flooring and a fir ceiling work with the couple's art collection and pops of luxurious detail like an antique dresser and a smooth round tub to offer a consistent feeling of an evocatively natural aesthetic. Indoor and outdoor spaces flow seamlessly together through the barest hint of doorways and enclosure; everywhere is permeated by sun and sky.  © Joe Fletcher  Site Plan  © Joe Fletcher Studio Schicketanz designed the interiors to operate in effortless conversation with the exteriors; a relaxed sensibility permeates the house, offering a softness that produces a new experience of the modernism of the rest of the structure. The use of plaster, reclaimed wood, and hand-hewn details speaks to the history of the valley, and signals the level of restorative possibilities embedded within this project.  © Joe Fletcher The house is part of Clint Eastwood's coveted Carmel development called Tehama. It's also part of Schicketanz's career-long investigation into the relationship between landscape, building materials, form, and nature. Sleek plaster cubes are settled around a courtyard, offering a different material texture from the slick glass exterior of the main living space; views over the mountain range come into conversation with the carefully-considered details. The look is part rustic, part modern, all deeply-felt architecture.  © Joe Fletcher  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Zaha Hadid Design Creates Shoe and Transparent Clutch Bag for Charlotte Olympia Posted: 23 Nov 2017 04:00 AM PST  Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Design This week, Zaha Hadid Design released a new platform wedge shoe and accompanying clutch bag with British shoe and accessory brand Charlotte Olympia. The limited edition pieces, which sport the familiar flowing forms perfected by Hadid in her architecture, are both constructed using a combination of transparent perspex and rose gold accents.  Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Design The collaboration between Hadid and Charlotte Olympia began in 2015 but was interrupted by Hadid's death last year. "Zaha Hadid Design and Charlotte Olympia have meticulously realized these pieces as Zaha originally envisioned," said the design team in a press release.  Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Design "Zaha Hadid was a phenomenal person to have known and her work and aesthetic are constant sources of inspiration for me," said Charlotte Olympia Dellal, the founder of the Charlotte Olympia brand. "It was an honor and privilege to have worked with her and to continue working with her fantastic team on this dream collaboration."  Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Design Available only at Charlotte Olympia stores and online, the shoes are priced at £1,600 ($2,130 USD) while the clutch bag costs £2,600 ($3,460). News via Zaha Hadid Design.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Archeology in a Jazz Club / Büro KLK Posted: 23 Nov 2017 03:00 AM PST  © David Schreyer
 © David Schreyer Text description provided by the architects. During the renovation works on an ancient heritage building from the late 18th century on Vienna's traditional Berggasse, a bricked up staircase was found. It led to a twelve meters deep, second cellar area with approximately 250 square meters. Located between Votivkirche and Sigmund Freud's apartment, this cocktail and underground bar is an aesthetical gem.  © David Schreyer  Basement floor plan (-1)  © David Schreyer Historical investigations showed that it was a semi-legal establishment in the 50ies and 60ies in an era of Vienna's flourishing jazz scene represented by names as Joe Zawinul or Fatty George. So the generic "genius loci 'did not have to be invented but simply revealed.  © David Schreyer The circulation and dramaturgy of the cocktail bar starts at an undecorated, narrow entrance door that leads to a first-basement level, containing the wardrobe and a mirrored vestibule to a "floating" stair case, which suggests a touch of "Sunset Boulevard". This pathway leads directly to the seven-meters main bar. Several alcoves, a hidden booth, the smallest art gallery in Vienna and secret hallways surround the center piece and give the impression of a nearly surreal venue fallen out of times.  © David Schreyer  Basement floor plan (-2)  © David Schreyer Due to the strict constraints concerning the conservation of a historic building the whole building equipment and appliances were situated in a concrete floor plate and in a load-bearing trussing which was directly generated from the engineering requirements. The whole static structure as well as the ventilating pipes and further installations, were cladded in composition gold. The floor plate is covered with a layer of Italian nero marquina marble manually laid in a herringbone bond. The cladding of the bar counter was cut out of a massive block of Sahara noir laurent gold marble applied in a mirrored pattern, and the counter plate was crafted out of a massive European walnut.  © David Schreyer The furniture and illumination give the impression as if it was directly carried out of a museum of international furniture design. The famous Platner Arm Chairs by Knoll, the candle light by Ingo Maurer or the Sofa DS- 1025 by Ubald Klug are arranged with the brand-new bean bags by Alexander Wang for Poltrona Frau.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Architect as Educator: Remembering Gunnar Birkerts Posted: 23 Nov 2017 02:30 AM PST Gunnar Birkerts, Latvian-born architect and educator, passed away on August 15, 2017, at the age of 92. A passionate advocate of a creative process he called "organic synthesis," he leaves behind dozens of built works over three continents and influenced hundreds of architectural students and colleagues through his inquiry-based process and dynamic interactions. Eric Hill and John Gallagher, in their AIA Guide to Detroit, said of Birkerts' architecture:
Born and raised in Latvia, Birkerts attended the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart before emigrating to the United States in 1949. His interest in the architecture of Eliel and Eero Saarinen, which he read about in journals at the U.S. Information Agency, led him to Detroit to seek work with Eero Saarinen. He worked in Saarinen's office for several years and then with the office of Minoru Yamasaki, also based in Detroit, before co-founding the practice Birkerts and Straub in 1959. In 1963, he founded Birkerts and Associates, through which he designed more than forty buildings and major additions in the decades to follow.  Corning Fire Station, New York. Image© <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brikerts_Corning_Fire_Station.jpg">Unknown Wikimedia Author</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY 3.0</a> "I use the process of organic synthesis," Birkerts said in Process and Expression in Architectural Form—the book he authored in 1994—"to bring together all the factors to be considered in the conceptualization of an appropriate solution expressive of our times." This synthetic design process gave rise to a variety of buildings over his career, from the sleek black box encasing a hammock-like curve for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (1974) to the prismatic brilliance of the Corning Glass Museum (Corning, NY, 1980). He designed a bold orange wedge for Detroit's Calvary Baptist Church (1977), an angular earth-colored structure emerging from the hillside for the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela (1996), and an underground well of light for the University of Michigan Law Library Addition (1981). No two are alike. As Birkerts explained to Martin Schwartz in a 2005 interview: "Buildings are different because every site is different, every city is different, every exposure is different. Everything's different. There's nothing that would create the same building."  ederal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 1973, (now: Marquette Plaza), in its original configuration.. ImageVia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marquette_Plaza.jpg">Wikimedia Commons / Historic American Buildings Survey</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en">CC0 1.0 (Public Domain)</a> Parallel to his career as a professional architect, Birkerts pursued teaching architecture, primarily at the University of Michigan where he was a faculty member from 1961 to 1990. Birkerts was an educator at heart, drawing from the students' enthusiasm and coming alongside them in their journey of discovery. Even his sketches, drawings, and buildings are approached from a pedagogical point of view. They didactically explain his process. "It's a poster," Birkerts said of an office building façade in a 1976 Progressive Architecture article, "a graphic expression of the building's concern." His built works express Birkerts' synthesis of their constituent parts – functional requirements and structural systems stirred together with culture, place, and time. One of the works that defined the latter part of his career was the Latvian National Library in Riga, which was commissioned in 1991 and opened in 2014. It was a swansong for his homeland, replete with metaphor and cultural symbols such as towering birch forests, raised wooden fortresses, and Latvian folkloric tale about a glass mountain. The building was recognized with the Library Building Award of the American Institute of Architects this year. "Allegiance to history and culture," Birkerts said in Process and Expression in Architectural Form, "and not simply the mode of today, is essential to the lasting quality I aspire to in my architecture." In this, he has been a shining example – and he brought us along his journey.  Gunnar Birkerts in an undated photo. Image via The Republic Further Reading and Cited Works
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| Why Open-Plan Offices Don't Work (And Some Alternatives That Do) Posted: 23 Nov 2017 01:30 AM PST  <a href='https://www.archdaily.com/491468/airbnb-s-european-operations-hub-in-dublin-heneghan-peng-architects'>Airbnb's European Operations Hub in Dublin / Heneghan Peng Architects</a>. Image © Ed Reeve This article was originally published by Amar Singh on Medium titled "You're working in the wrong place." At my most recent job, I did all of my best work at home. I would actively try to avoid the office for as long as possible. At home, I had two desks and complete control over my environment. Distractions and breaks were choices. Once I went into the office, the environment changed. There were constant distractions, from other employees, dogs barking (for the record: puppers were a net positive), impromptu meetings and birthday celebrations. It was very difficult to get into flow states and incredibly easy to be broken from them. Of all the places I could work, my desk at the office was often the worst option.  My home office is a fortress of productivity. Image via Amar Singh on Medium When I'm in a crowded space my thoughts also get crowded. I feel overwhelmed by stimuli and the inability to escape them. In contrast, when I have space (mental & physical), I'm able to challenge and understand both my thoughts and assumptions. The quality of my thinking goes up significantly. I realized I kind of hated open offices. The Rise of the Open Office
It sounds great in theory. Have an office with everyone in one room you'll get more synergy than you can dynamically optimize. Marketing and Design will work side by side on skunkworks projects, Engineering and Product can knock out questions and bugs immediately, and communication will flow through the organization naturally. 80 percent of all offices now have an open floor plan. Traditional companies have moved towards open plans to inject some much-needed creativity and serendipity into their offices, just like the cool start-ups. Makes sense, right? There's one big problem: Open Offices Don't WorkBefore I continue, I would like to call out that I am part of the "problem" with open offices. I'm extroverted and when faced with the choice of diving into a deep, complex problem or shooting the shit with my coworkers, I too often choose the latter. I'm not alone in this. Workers who are in open office environments suffer by almost every measure. One study of an Oil & Gas company in 1997 showed that:
When comparing performance to regular offices, open office employees experienced more uncontrolled interactions, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of concentration and motivation. Research also shows that open offices often lead to anti-social behaviors.
The addition of noise inevitable to the open offices was seen as a large obstacle to productive focus. Physical barriers also instill a sense of privacy—and a sense of privacy at the office has been shown to boost job performance. Open offices are bad architecture. They represent a failure in psychology as much as design. In order to understand why the open office is so pervasive, we have to understand the underlying psychology and rationale. The most common arguments for the open office are outlined below: Spontaneous Creativity over Focus
Busyness as a Proxy for Productivity*
*Lifted from Cal Newport's Deep Work Cost Efficiencies
Open concept offices also give workers the knowledge that they are constantly being watched, whether passively or actively. It encourages us to look busy and productive. We look busier, but we're less efficient, take more sick days and our communication and happiness suffers. It's not a smart trade-off. AlternativesWe should strive to create better environments for meaningful work. There are numerous concepts proposed, my favorites include: Hub and SpokePotentially the best of both worlds. Hub and Spoke spaces feature a singular entryway into common spaces and hallways that spoke out to different individual offices. People have the ability to choose to collaborate or to ensconce themselves in their offices. Hub and Spoke spaces have large, central spaces and hallways that need to be navigated that encourage conversation.  MIT Building 20 Aerial View. All those offices and one central entrance. Image via Amar Singh on Medium M.I.T.'s Building 20 is a famous example of the Hub and Spoke approach. Building 20 was famed for the amount of innovation facilitated within its walls. Some of this has been attributed to the unique structure of the building. The hallways and staircases were the sites of creative collisions, not people sitting with three feet of each other. Eudamonia MachineEudamonia is the Greek concept for "a state in which you're achieving your full human potential." I learned of the Eudamonia Machine (a brainchild of David Dewane's) from Cal Newport's Deep Work. In the Eudamonia Machine, there are five spaces that get progressively more focused on concentrated, focused work: Gallery
Salon
Library
Office
Chamber
A more in-depth exploration of the Eudamonia Machine. I'm a big fan of the concept, although the branding could be a bit more accessible. Writer's CabinPerhaps you work at a dogmatic start-up or your situation won't allow you to make any significant adjustments to your work space or structure. Not being in control of your environment will make it harder to get work done. You still need to get work done. Find your equivalent of the Writer's Cabin. Figure out a place where you can do serious, uninterrupted work. It can be a coffee shop, library or laundry room in the back of your house. Your 'cabin' is your space in which you get work done. Your SolutionAudit yourself and figure out how when you're most efficient and reaching flow states. Audits are helpful, because we often do things that seem logical, but are actually counterproductive. Looking at the outcomes is a worthy investment of your time. Do you get your best work done while in an open office?  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2017 01:00 AM PST  © Adrien Williams
 © Adrien Williams Text description provided by the architects. Built on the slope of Mount Shefford, the residence bridges an aerial view on one side and an ascending, rugged topography, populated by rocks and maples, on the other.  © Adrien Williams The initial idea for this project was to merge with the mountain, to nestle into the terrain until it becomes one with the residence. Entering the site from below, we see a black volume that seems to emerge from the slope and detach itself from the surrounding vegetation. Its dark truncated shape echoes the rocky projections that inhabit the site. The living areas, located upstairs, offer the occupant an intimate relationship to the site, a level access to a wild and untouched nature via a large terrace profiled to the topography. At the other extremity, the house rises above the void, allowing an atmospheric point of view towards the treetops.  © Adrien Williams  Ground Floor Plan  © Adrien Williams A utility space sheltered by the projection of the upper floor gives access to the residence. From there, a wooden staircase leads to the main floor, where the spaces flow freely under a flat, floating roof, showing a laminated wood structure. An inner course circulates from room to room, following the outer walls. The walls open at the end of each axis to offer a view of the surrounding trees, creating the feeling of being both protected under the wooden roof and immersed in the forest.  © Adrien Williams The kitchen, finished in white pine veneer, is framed by two parallel white blocks that form an indirect link with the adjoining dining room. This space opens completely onto the ascending slope and dialogues with the boulder located nearby, integrated into the terrace. In continuity with the master bedroom, the ambulatory circuit continues along the periphery of the space occupied by the bathroom, at the heart of which a bath-shower block faces a huge window, placing the user in intimacy with the forest. Nested between this space and the living room, the triangular-shaped veranda opens onto a leafy cover, a nest perched in the hollow of the landscape. Like the house as a whole, a refuge both anchored and aerial.  © Adrien Williams  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| HOK's Mercedes-Benz Stadium Will Be the First LEED Platinum-Certified Pro Sports Stadium in the US Posted: 23 Nov 2017 12:00 AM PST  via HOK HOK's Mercedes-Benz Stadium is officially the first LEED Platinum certified professional sports stadium in the United States. The new home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons boasts the highest sports venue LEED score at 88 total points. There is much more to learn from this stadium than just its unique retractable roof system. The two-million-square-foot venue is an unprecedented model for sustainability and performance innovation. Its notable design solutions conserve water, lighting, and energy.  via HOK  via HOK
The stadium uses 47 percent less water than baseline standards due to its highly advanced stormwater management system, water-efficient fixtures, and conservation infrastructure. Edible landscaping and an urban garden promote local food production and culinary industry jobs. An adjacent 13-acre green space will afford not only game-day parking and tailgating but also non-game day community events. The venue's 4,000 solar PV panels generate enough renewable energy to power nine Atlanta Falcons games or 13 Atlanta United matches. Implementing all of these conservation strategies simultaneously will save substantial operating costs over the course of the stadium's lifetime. Even users' arrival to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium considers energy conservation. Bike valets, EV charging stations for 48 electric cars, pedestrian-friendly walking paths, and 3 MARTA rail lines connect the community to this large gathering space.  via HOK The project team and Arthur Blank will receive the stadium's LEED Platinum plaque ceremoniously on the field before the Falcons go up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Nov. 26. News via: HOK. Correction Update: This article originally stated that the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was the first LEED Platinum-certified stadium in the world. The first, in fact, was the Minerão Stadium by BCMF Arquitetos in Brazil, which received LEED Platinum certification in 2014. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium is, however, the first LEED Platinum sports stadium in the United States.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Graham Stirk On His Career Of Iconic Designs As Part Of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Posted: 22 Nov 2017 10:00 PM PST In an exclusive half-hour interview with Graham Stirk, partner at Richard Rogers' London-based practice RSHP (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners), Monocle's Tom Edwards dives into discussing the complexity of some of the practice's recent projects. Stirk is best known for designing some of the firm's iconic London buildings, such as the Leadenhall Building (or "Cheesegrater") and the more controversial NEO Bankside. Check out more episodes in Monocle's The Big Interview series.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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