Arch Daily |
- Novetredici Residential Complex / Cino Zucchi Architetti
- Etihad Museum / Moriyama & Teshima
- A White House, A Growing Home / RIGI Design
- HASE-BLDG.１ / Coelacanth and Associates
- House S / Yuan Architects
- House in Higashi Ohwada / CASE-REAL
- UW / Husky Stadium Link Transit Station / LMN Architects
- House in Apulo / AGRA Anzellini Garcia-Reyes Arquitectos
- Architecture "Snowflakes" Created from World-Famous Building Plans
- Poseidon House / David Mutal
- Jouney Café / David Dworkind
- How African Cities Are Failing People with Disabilities (And What Architects Can Do About It)
- Jonquilles House / Michel Prégardien Architecture
- The World's Best Cities 2018
- From Rio Londoneiro to Dubaris: 14 Iconic Destinations Reimagined As Hybrid Cities
- Ampère e+: Refurbishment of Sogeprom Headquarters / Ateliers 2/3/4/
| Novetredici Residential Complex / Cino Zucchi Architetti Posted: 27 Dec 2017 07:00 PM PST  © Filippo Poli
 © Filippo Poli Text description provided by the architects. The residential complex named "Novetredici" in via De Cristoforis, Milan represents the natural completion of the block bordered by the streets Viganò, Rosales, de Cristoforis and the street Fratelli Castiglioni, which flanks the new Unicredit skyscraper complex in the Porta Nuova development. The block acts as a hinge between the new urban transformation on its North side and the existing urban fabric on the South; the latter is formed by buildings aligned on the perimeter of the blocks, by "transitional" elements - such as the existing houses in via Viganò, which open their courtyards to the street - and by post-WWII architecture, marked by a freer disposition and greater heights. Along with the nearby complex designed by CZA and called "La Corte Verde", which occupies the northern portion of the block, the Novetredici complex revises the master plan guidelines for the area in favor of a settling mode capable of reinforcing the existing urban structure and at the same time of generating a new environmental quality.  Situation The arrangement of the two complexes is marked by a strong urban character without necessarily recreating a perimeter block: the new built volumes line up on the North, East and South to the borders of the existing roads, while the West side is left open, creating a strong visual communication between the green heart and via Rosales. The building envelope defined by the master plan on via De Cristoforis - a linear high body that would have cast its long shadow on the garden and created a North side perpetually without sun - was divided by the project into two distinct parts, a lower one on the West and a higher one on the East, joined at the base by a common glazed entrance hall. The two volumes combine the efficiency and compactness of a centralized plan with a great attention to the relationship between the existing urban edges and the course of the sun, producing a soft progression between fronts characterized by solid walls and parts marked by large terraces that together constitute an "inhabited screen".  © Filippo Poli The stepped profile of the building on the West side is determined by the prescribed setbacks in relation with its proximity to the historical buildings in Corso Como, while the one to the East one enhances the width of via Viganò and the long views on the historic city and the new Porta Nuova development. The broken geometry of the common atrium, marked by a thin slab resting on slender cylindrical pillars and by a glazed perimeter, creates an urban foyer expanding the narrow dimension of via De Cristoforis on the South, marked by a great transparency between the street and the rear private garden blurring with the Corte Verde garden on the North side.  Ground Floor Plan The access to the private underground car park is located within the building volume; the base of both bodies is marked by large slabs of rusticated white stone divided by metallic elements, creating a formal continuity at eye level along the existing street. Over this, the strong horizontal lines of the glass parapets is balanced by the verticality of the metallic elements and by the widows stacked up in tall vertical figures which bind together the various floors. The variety of colors and surface textures of the materials - handmade bricks in two different shades of clay-color, frosted glass, corrugated and perforated aluminum sheets enameled in a gray-turquoise metallic hue - generates a continuous variation of the urban fronts from different points of view within a strongly unified design, which keeps together the different sizes of the openings.  © Filippo Poli The single-pitched roofs of the two buildings has two different orientations converging towards the central garden, the real heart of the project. Together with the crowning of the buildings and the exhibited double heights of the top floors, their slanted profile reinforce the urban character of a housing complex capable of combining a sound architectural statement with the plurality of perceptual states for those who will stroll along the old and new public spaces. Although marked by different materials and architectural solutions, the Novetredici complex dialogues strongly with the Corte Verde on the North portion of the block, creating together a series of formal resonances which try to give new dignity to the theme of "inner city living", and reinterpreting the "modern tradition" of the best Post-WWII residential architectures in Milano without any nostalgia or direct reference.  © Filippo Poli  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Etihad Museum / Moriyama & Teshima Posted: 27 Dec 2017 06:00 PM PST  © Architekturfotograf Berlin Felix Loechner
 © Architekturfotograf Berlin Felix Loechner Text description provided by the architects. Located next to the historic Union House on the Dubai waterfront, the Union Museum honors the 1971 signing of the document that created the United Arab Emirates and celebrates the rich culture and history of its people. Much of the museum is underground, including permanent and temporary galleries, theatres, event spaces and archival facilities. The dramatic entrance pavilion rests lightly upon a reflecting pool and plaza, its undulating parabolic curves representing the parchment upon which the unification agreement was written and its tapering golden columns representing the pens with which the document was signed.  © Architekturfotograf Berlin Felix Loechner  Section  © Architekturfotograf Berlin Felix Loechner The travertine plaza seamlessly migrates into the pavilion, where space flows across terraced viewing platforms and through the delicate latticework of bronze Jali screens. Lightwells of varying shapes and sizes illuminate the expansive underground spaces, which in turn lead to the circular Union House, the location of the signing ceremony, and the re-created Guest House where the leaders of the seven member emirates resided during negotiations. The surrounding landscape treatment includes the re-establishment of the original 1971 shoreline of Jumeirah Beach, which is represented by a reflecting pool and sandy beachfront.  © Architekturfotograf Berlin Felix Loechner  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| A White House, A Growing Home / RIGI Design Posted: 27 Dec 2017 04:00 PM PST  Give the kid a bigger world.. Image © Tian Fangfang
 A house is not equal to a home, home is a place belongs to a family.. Image © Tian Fangfang Text description provided by the architects. RIGI designed this white 3-story residence in a common Shanghai old-style lane. There are plenty of similar buildings in Shanghai which is not new, and located in a naturally-formed block, carrying the memories of this city.  Context The original architecture was completed in 1947, which consists of 3 floors, 5.5 meters in width, and about 15.2 meters in depth. It faces south and has entrances in both sides. Due to the complicated compartments and deep depth, the overall indoor lighting was bad. As it was built long time ago, part of the building structure need to be repaired, we also reinforced the whole architecture, and unified the height of the entire building. The staircase in the northern side was torn down, Skylight and staircase are designed to be the center of the architecture, reshaping the whole logic and form of this 3-story building. Punched holes,the steel stairs can bring in light, The stairs go upward around the natural light patio from the 1st floor, extending the whole house vertically around the light.  A White House. Image © Tian Fangfang  Refurbisment Diagram  A complete home.. Image © Tian Fangfang RIGI designed a semi-opened area on the 1st floor which blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor. After reconstruction, the original isolated courtyard has a new connection with the 3-story space. The semi-outdoor space adds enough warmth into living room. Sunshine, plant, interior, exterior, and blurry boundary allows spaces and life scene to switch freely. A hole is reserved in the courtyard, where to plant tree in Spring, which could accompany the kids to grow up - time is also a part of our design.  A tree growing whit the kids. Image © Tian Fangfang On the 1st floor, the sunlight living-dining room and the kitchen are designed as a whole space, where family spend most of time together. We hope this space belongs to every scene of life, instead of being defined by functions. We designed a whole modular furniture wall, called "life board", which can be decorated or assembled by accessories in diverse ways, along with life changing. From this point of view, we hope the future form of the design could be gradually shaped by daily life.  Open up part of the roof to create a large skylight which brings in lots of natural light to the middle part of the space.. Image © Tian Fangfang  Floor Plans  Life happens here everyday.. Image © Tian Fangfang On the 2nd floor, the door and the storage space are hidden behind the wall, which creates a clean and complete area. During sunny days, it will be a warm family space.  A quiet and warm space.. Image © Tian Fangfang The kid's bed, desk and storage space are connected through our design. The kid likes the house very much, climbing stairs, playing in the courtyard, which is also our design original purpose - to bring a bigger world to the kid, allowing him to know about the changing world from another dimension.  A space belongs to the child.. Image © Tian Fangfang Following natural daylight, going up along the steel staircase, we can see modified skylights, vertical lighting windows and a pure outdoor space. This is the area we modified most. The whole building starts from light and vertical space. For the main bedroom, we kept the slope structure of original building, unified the cloakroom and the toilet into a box, reserving the original architectural form to the largest extent and creating a new connection in the original space which is not big.  We unified the cloakroom and toilet into a box which reserved the form of original architecture to the largest extent.. Image © Tian Fangfang We want to design something carrying beauty and happiness. There is not so much joy in life, and our life is filled with small happiness. What we love is not to possess good things or luxurious furniture, but a self-made life on our own. Having seen so many houses, the only concept we believe is that a person cannot be stuck with a settled life, whether in the house value or style.  The natural light is the best decoration.. Image © Tian Fangfang A house is not equal to home, home belongs to us and our family. A house is like a container to carry our growth, experience and hope. And design, brings more tolerance into life.  Home is a container, carrying our everyday life.. Image © Tian Fangfang The city where we live and work is not perfect, and there are even some disorder traffic and a lot of garbage, but it is not an obstacle for us to design a warm house. This is a house of 1970s, witnessing the lives of generations. At this moment it seems to be reborn. This is the meaning of our life, to be better.  More green, more vigor.. Image © Tian Fangfang  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| HASE-BLDG.１ / Coelacanth and Associates Posted: 27 Dec 2017 02:00 PM PST  © Hiroshi Ueda
 © Hiroshi Ueda Two aspects of `Old city of Ordinary people` and `New big merchant City`  Diagrams Various Scale Sensitivity and several types of business coexists in Rough Concrete Construction  © Hiroshi Ueda  Plans  © Hiroshi Ueda Deformed grid with two aspects of iconic façade and reference line of space division  © Hiroshi Ueda A red loop connects people  © Hiroshi Ueda  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 27 Dec 2017 12:00 PM PST  Courtesy of Yuan Architects
 Courtesy of Yuan Architects Text description provided by the architects. Facing a beautiful scenery of green hills, the building features staggered terraces that extend the indoor living space to the mountain landscape, offering a connection with nature that brings a sense of fulfillment to daily life.  Courtesy of Yuan Architects Built on a hillside, House S intentionally elevates the living space to provide privacy while offering a comfortable outdoor activity space for families. An undulating wall running through the building defines the exterior and interior, separating the public space from the private.  Courtesy of Yuan Architects  Exploded Axonometric  Courtesy of Yuan Architects Within the building, the wall encircles the master bedroom and children's room, forming the two main spaces, private and secure. Between the public and private spaces on each floor, three staggered terraces provide three different lifestyles and settings, enabling the owner and their children to retain their private spaces but also enjoy enriching interactions.  Courtesy of Yuan Architects  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House in Higashi Ohwada / CASE-REAL Posted: 27 Dec 2017 11:00 AM PST  © Takumi Ota
 © Takumi Ota Text description provided by the architects. A wooden architecture plan situated at the bottom of a bamboo forest where a small river also flows. The site where the sound of the river can constantly be heard, was chosen by the client who is a photographer. Here, the volumes of the structures were placed along the river, creating a long two layer volume.  © Takumi Ota  Plans  © Takumi Ota Thus the sound of flowing water can be heard in all the rooms which also have a view facing the stream. This house also functions as the photographers studio. Here we have created a studio space on the 2nd floor, and the living space on the ground floor, and by connecting these two floors with a wellhole we aimed to gently link the atmosphere of these separate floors. In addition, by stretching the living room outwards to the stream as an outdoor wood deck, we aimed to take in the surrounding nature as much as possible.  © Takumi Ota  Elevation  © Takumi Ota  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| UW / Husky Stadium Link Transit Station / LMN Architects Posted: 27 Dec 2017 09:00 AM PST  © Kevin Scott
 © Kevin Scott Text description provided by the architects. More than a light rail station, Sound Transit's University of Washington Station, designed by LMN Architects, adds multiple facets to the urban fabric at the intersection of Montlake Boulevard and Pacific Street.  Situation Knitting together transportation modalities from bike to bus to pedestrians to trains, the multi-disciplinary design of the 156,000-square-foot station creates a unified mobility solution at a problematic street intersection, one of the busiest in Seattle, and provides a unique gateway to the UW campus through its above and below-grade experiences  © Kevin Scott The project includes a train platform 100 feet underground, accessed by escalators and elevators from a two-level glass entrance structure at grade. Along the way, users pass through a tall, vertical circulation chamber featuring "Subterraneum," an art installation by Leo Saul Berk, who worked with LMN to blend architecture and sculpture in expressing the geological layers of soil surrounding the station walls.  Floor Plans The station's new bicycle and pedestrian bridge — with stairs, escalators and ramps connecting both levels of the entrance structure — curves gently as it spans over Montlake Boulevard to land on the university campus. Each element of the project is carefully considered as a component of a larger whole, set within a complex web of uses that encompasses the campus, the surrounding neighborhoods, and important university destinations such as Husky Stadium, Alaska Airlines Arena and the UW Medical Center.  © Kevin Scott "LMN's work at the University of Washington Station beautifully and intricately navigates an almost unbelievably complex urban node," says Rebecca Barnes, university architect and associate vice provost for campus and capital planning at the University of Washington. "The outcome is a great architectural and urban design achievement borne of many acts of imaginative and insightful civic leadership."  © Kevin Scott Public space underground Between the surface and the train platform 100 feet below, circulation paths follow an orchestrated sequence of moments, constantly orienting users to the station's overall volume, structure and internal flow.  © Kevin Scott Visual connections between levels create a strong sense of place. The glass entrance structure frames views of the surrounding context, including Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains. The transparency also serves as a light well, allowing daylight to reach down to the mezzanine level.  © Kevin Scott Colored ceramic wall tiles animate the mezzanine and ticket machine areas with energetic green motion lines. A green overhead service armature — integrating light fixtures and public-address speakers — provides clear wayfinding throughout the circulation path between surface and platform.  © Kevin Scott Each piece works together and builds up the climactic experience of "Subterraneum" in the central circulation chamber. Mechanical infrastructure is largely invisible from these public spaces.  © Kevin Scott Concealed behind the scenes, an emergency smoke ventilation system, track crossover area and associated maintenance spaces are nearly as large by volume as the circulation areas in the station's below-grade footprint.  Two elliptical-shaped ventilation towers emerge above-grade, anchoring each end of the structure, and fade from view through the strategic use of perforated screens. The towers serve the emergency smoke ventilation system for the entire tunnel, along with fans at every station on the line that work in tandem to move air and smoke in the event of an emergency. Public art At the heart of the station experience, the escalators and glass elevator pass through a 55-foot-high central chamber, one of the tallest interior volumes in the city.  © Kevin Scott Working with artist Leo Saul Berk, a UW graduate known for exploring subterranean themes in mixed-media sculpture and installations, "Subterraneum" blends sculpture and architecture in exploring the opportunities of the underground condition. Backlit, perforated metal panels clad the chamber walls, displaying luminous patterns representing geological layers, while suffusing the space with ambient light. The vertical angle of the chamber walls changes along the long axis, creating a twisting volume that offers varying views of the artwork from different vantage points throughout the station.  © Kevin Scott Four escalators and two glass elevator columns spill through this soaring space, providing a dynamic experience of the art while riding up or down. Various vantage points at the mezzanine and at the bottom of the chamber offer a chance to take in the views, while observing people coming and going to the train platform.  © Kevin Scott  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House in Apulo / AGRA Anzellini Garcia-Reyes Arquitectos Posted: 27 Dec 2017 07:00 AM PST  © Claudia Quintana & Martin Anzellini
 © Claudia Quintana & Martin Anzellini Text description provided by the architects. On the outskirts of Bogota and other cities and towns in Colombia, particularly in temperate zones, more and more houses are rising as holiday or second homes for city dwellers. This represents an interesting opportunity for architects but, above all, a challenge because these constructions have an important impact on the rural landscape and on local culture.  Site Plan With this in mind, the concept of this project is to return to the values of local vernacular building techniques and architectural typologies. The House in Apulo -following the principles of the constructions of the region-, has a double cover: the first one in concrete slabs to close the rooms and to protect from bats and insects and the second, as a shell for living, dining and cooking areas. The roof structure to shape the entire interior space is in laminated pine wood with bamboo shoots and locally obtained Palma Amarga or Calicá palm. The beautiful "Apretado" (Tightened) type ofinstallation of palm leaves is resistant to hard winds, isolates from heat and can easily be replaced every 15 to 20 years when needed.  © Claudia Quintana & Martin Anzellini Next to each one of the dormitories there is bathroom, with an open-air shower overlooking the garden. There is also a mezzanine, above the dormitories, which is accessed by a steep steal sculpture-stair.  © Claudia Quintana & Martin Anzellini  Elevations  © Claudia Quintana & Martin Anzellini The result is a simple house that offers different alternatives of use and, in the landscape, it is simply a discrete "palm shed" as any peasant dwelling in the region.  © Claudia Quintana & Martin Anzellini  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Architecture "Snowflakes" Created from World-Famous Building Plans Posted: 27 Dec 2017 05:55 AM PST  Courtesy of Maria Spada In the foyer of their London offices, architecture firm Allies and Morrison is displaying "Archiflakes," a series of snowflake designs inspired by the floorplans of famous structures from around the world. Developed by staff member Maria Spada, the series was a response to an internal competition to design the office's seasonal decorations.  Courtesy of Maria Spada Much like KOSMOS Architects' poster series from last year, the designs draw a connection between unique and delicate patterns of snowflakes and the graphical appearance of architectural floor plans.  Courtesy of Maria Spada The snowflakes were created by adapting the floorplans of buildings suggested by other Allies and Morrison employees, with the country in which the buildings are located representing the various nationalities of people working in the practice. The buildings selected as part of the series include world-famous designs such as Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes and Mies van der Rohe's Friedrichstrasse skyscraper, as well as lesser-known, locally famous landmarks.  Courtesy of Maria Spada In addition to the large hanging decorations in the Allies and Morrison office, the firm has sold small laser-cut examples of the snowflakes to raise money for the charity Destiny Children, which is currently constructing a dining shelter in Mombasa, Kenya to a design by Allies and Morrison and Arup.
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| Posted: 27 Dec 2017 05:00 AM PST  © Gonzalo Cáceres
 © Gonzalo Cáceres Text description provided by the architects. This house is located about 50km south of Lima. The proximity to the city makes the client seeing himself living permanently here in the near future, That made us think of a house on the beach for the winter and the summer assuming a relationship with the sea that could be or very expansive or rather withdrawn ; a more exterior or more interior experiences according to the time of year.  Sketch  © Gonzalo Cáceres  Sketch This duality is clearly visible in the presence of a more intimate garden opposite the view to the open ocean or an outdoor pool parallel to the horizon that intersects perpendicularly with a temperate inner pool which, becomes a winter cave with a more restricted view of the sea. This duality and multiplicity are organized in a "promenade architecture" that connects all these spaces visually through a tour that runs throughout the house. An access to the upper street bordering the forest gives way to a glass bridge when entering, where one sees the interior water two floors below or the marine horizon in front.  © Gonzalo Cáceres Then staircase goes down through the double height to the living room and the last staircase leads to the pool and the sauna gym below where a mobile bridge allows guests to enter their bedrooms. The organization of the whole house responds to the separation and coexistence of the world of parents in the upper levels and the world of the children in the spaces below. Unlike most buildings in the area, the garden is truly important and being born from the rock in the lower part, it extends the promenade to the level of the lower street.  Axonometric - Pool  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 27 Dec 2017 03:00 AM PST  © David Dworkind
 © David Dworkind Text description provided by the architects. Jouney café, located in the heart of downtown Montreal, is a Lebanese café/bakery concept created by Patrick Abdelahad. It takes takes its name from the seaside town of Jounieh, the owner's hometown.  © David Dworkind The long narrow restaurant can seat 40 in an array of different seating options. Banquette seating lines the 16-foot-tall brick walls, while an I-beam spans the sloping floor to accommodate a large communal table. A perforated steel staircase leads to the mezzanine where bar seating overlooks the restaurant from above. The constricted entryway inspired the design of side-by-side bench seating with swivel café tables fixed to the wall.  © David Dworkind  Floor Plans  Sections  © David Dworkind The simple material palette is comprised of ash wood, powder coated steel, brown leather, and terracotta - inspired by the tiled roofscapes of Lebanon. Handcrafted terracotta pendants line the length of the restaurant.  © David Dworkind  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How African Cities Are Failing People with Disabilities (And What Architects Can Do About It) Posted: 27 Dec 2017 01:30 AM PST  A paraplegic man, entering the Nigerian House of Representatives, is forced to crawl down the steps. Image <a href='https://twitter.com/SaharaReporters/status/938102600817348609'>via Sahara Reporters on Twitter</a> This article was originally published by Common Edge as "Africa's Undeclared War on the Disabled." Recently I spent part of a week in the company of a multidisciplinary group of academics and researchers from Europe, the US, and Africa, at a workshop entitled "The Practice and Politics of DIY Urbanism in Africa." Jonathan Makuwira, a professor from the Malawi University of Technology, delivered a compelling paper on "Disability and Urbanism in Malawi," highlighting the many challenges of the continent's disabled population, using that city as a case study. The lecture reaffirmed my sentiments on the gross inadequacies of urban public spaces for the disabled. It's an issue that formed the basis for my 2016 entry for the Richard Rogers Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), where I had proposed to use the fellowship to develop a prescriptive accessible design blueprint for public spaces in the city of Abuja.
Considering the events that also took place that same week, Makuwira's talk couldn't have been more timely. The workshop curator, Steve Marr, a political science PhD and senior lecturer at the University of Malmo in Sweden, often needed a wheelchair to get around, and our time together offered me an opportunity to view the city through his eyes. As expected, he had a hard time negotiating most public spaces we went to, and couldn't get into others because of poor wheelchair accessibility or faulty lifts. After one of the roundtable sessions at the Norwegian Embassy, we set out for the short walk to the residence of the Swedish Ambassador for a final soiree. The street was fraught with obstacles and Steve had to disembark from his wheelchair on several occasions for it to be lifted over the barricades, a heart-wrenching sight for everyone present. Although Steve made light of the situation, the ignominy wasn't lost on me, a designer practicing in Abuja who has long acknowledged the urgent need for better access for the disabled. These efforts were even more poignant in light of an incident that happened a few days earlier, when the Nigerian Twitterscape exploded with images from the House of Representatives in Abuja, showing a paraplegic man, entering the legislative chambers and forced to crawl on all fours to descend numerous flights of stairs as lawmakers watched indifferently.
Ironically, all of these events played out a few days after World Disability Day, which was marked with the customary workshops, seminars, and rallies organized by the advocacy groups on the continent. Even newspaper columnists took a break from politics to mutter an obligatory word or two about the rights of the disabled. All over the world, cities are developing accessible design standards to better accommodate the disabled in the use of public spaces. And yet most cities in Africa, like Abuja, haven't followed their lead. Most counties here have failed to translate any of the platitudes and rhetoric around disability issues into real brick and mortar. The design and layout of most public buildings in Africa conveys our collective contempt for people living with disabilities. The streets of my current city, Abuja, are a death trap for the disabled, and conditions for them are even worse in other cities across the continent. Concrete barricades, exposed manholes, and other physical barriers make daily commutes an arduous endeavor for even the able-bodied; let alone people with disabilities. Most architects and designers here do not appreciate the importance of accessible design because it's rarely taught at design school, or even emphasized in professional practice. For most designers, accessible design starts and ends with the occasional wheelchair ramp (often an afterthought). Public car parks typically don't have dedicated spaces for the disabled and, even when they do, no one enforces them. Architects and designers rarely take into consideration the anthropometric proportions of the physically-challenged. As a result, we often end up with spaces that have no clear floor space for wheelchair or walking stick maneuvering. Most public bathrooms aren't configured to accommodate the physically challenged, who often have to make the most of conventional layouts. These aren't the only indignities. At present, a large percentage of ATMs in our cities are inaccessible to the disabled; this forces them to rely on second parties to carry out their transactions, which exposes them to theft and fraud.  An all-too-typical building entrance, in Abuja, Nigeria. Image © Mathias Agbo, Jr. Disabled Africans often live in a state of quiet resentment, and for good reason. There's a history of paternalistic care forced on them. Most families with disabled members insist on assigning chaperones to them, so they tend to live their entire lives with other people pushing their wheelchairs (or leading them by the hand, if blind). Sadly, the indignities often run deeper: some poor and unscrupulous families, under the guise of minding their disabled family members, use them as a hedge for begging. Creating public spaces that are fully accessible would go a long way towards breaking this culture of imposed dependency. Most African countries don't yet have their own local accessibility standards, but whether they realize it or not, they do have an effective tool at their disposal: the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) has become the global model for best practices. African architects and designers should use it, rather than wait for local laws to be enacted in their individual countries. At the same time, it's long past time for policymakers on the continent to rewrite our building codes to ensure that new construction abides by accessible design best practices and that existing buildings be retrofitted to reasonably accommodate the disabled. Providing equal access to the built environment, after all, is more than just the right thing to do. It's a fundamental human right. Mathias Agbo, Jr. is a design researcher and built environment designer. He runs a small design-build consultancy in Abuja, Nigeria and periodically writes on design and architecture. Find him on Twitter @Mathias_AgboJr.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jonquilles House / Michel Prégardien Architecture Posted: 27 Dec 2017 01:00 AM PST  © Defourny Samuel
 © Defourny Samuel Text description provided by the architects. The project consists of a studio (40m2) and a duplex apartment (85m2) located in an old hollow tooth of a staircase street named Jonquilles. Conceived as the extension of a course starting at the foot of this street and ending on a roof terrace, it puts the inhabitant in permanent contact with its place. The project was also shaped around the strong constraints specific to the site : narrowness of the plot (less than 5 meters), sloping ground in a south-facing staircase street, difficulties in supplying the site. These constraints have guided the spatial but also technical choices : light and small materials, minimal excavation... all largely realized with man hands.  © Defourny Samuel The facade is characterized by a set of sliding shutters (wooden slats), present on all floors. These shutters designed for climatic reasons allow the inhabitant to transform his daily relationship to the street. The main metal frame that divides the façade is part of the general typology of adjacent facades' drawings (brick lines, general levels of templates, scale) and masks, in this apparent simplicity, interior spaces' complexities.  © Defourny Samuel  Section  © Defourny Samuel The entire design offers a great deal of internal spatial diversity, multiple differentiated views of the environment, the possibility of transforming the relationship to the outside and many outdoor spaces of different qualities, thus meeting the multiple and varied needs of humans and families.  © Defourny Samuel  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 27 Dec 2017 12:00 AM PST  Ranking cities is a risky endeavor. How can one be objective and fair when this great earth and its 7.6 billion inhabitants would never come to anything close to a consensus? And yet global consulting firm Resonance Consultancy has taken on the challenge based on the opinions of the people they claim matter most: "a city's visitors and its residents." Surveying the inhabitants and tourists about 23 different factors (that are then grouped into six key categories—Place, Product, Programming, People, Prosperity and Promotion), the methodology aims to be comprehensive in the ranking of quality of place and reputation. In the people category, for example, the surveyors looked at things like the immigration rate and diversity of a city, including number of Foreign-born Residents. Also taken into consideration was the amount of "stories" or "mentions" a city generates on web platforms like Facebook, Google and even TripAdvisor. And, most relevant to us architects, cities were scored on their quality of neighborhoods, landmarks and parks.
Here are the top 10 cities, per Resonance Consultancy's 2018 "World's Best Cities Report." #10 Chicago, USA Photo by Pedro Lastra on Unsplash
Read more about Chicago on www.bestcities.org #9 San Francisco, USA Photo by Patrik Göthe on Unsplash
Read more about San Francisco on www.bestcities.org #8 Barcelona, Spain Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash
Read more about Barcelona on www.bestcities.org #7 Dubai, UAE Photo by David Rodrigo on Unsplash
Read more about Dubai on www.bestcities.org #6 Singapore Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash
Read more about Singapore on www.bestcities.org #5 Tokyo, Japan Photo by Andre Benz on Unsplash
Read more about Tokyo on www.bestcities.org #4 Moscow, Russia Photo by Astemir Almov on Unsplash
Read more about Moscow on www.bestcities.org #3 Paris, France Photo by Ilnur Kalimullin on Unsplash
Read more about Paris on www.bestcities.org #2 New York City Photo by jonathan riley on Unsplash
Read more about New York on www.bestcities.org #1 London, England Photo by Paddy Kumar on Unsplash
Read more about London on www.bestcities.org To see whether or not your favorite city ranked in the top 100, head over to bestcities.org to see the full list.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| From Rio Londoneiro to Dubaris: 14 Iconic Destinations Reimagined As Hybrid Cities Posted: 26 Dec 2017 10:00 PM PST  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios From New York to Rome, London to Cape Town and beyond, these city mash-ups blend distinct architecture and attractions to create truly unique imagined destinations. Expedia recently launched a series of campaigns that would inspire travelers by showcasing destinations from different perspectives and unique angles. They took 14 famous cities and combined their architectural DNA into 7 unique hybrid, mash-up cities. 1. Rio Londoneiro  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios Want to kick back and relax, but also experience culture and museums? We've taken the best bits of London and Rio De Janeiro to create a hybrid city where you can do both. In Rio Londoneiro, you can spend a day sunning yourself on Copacabana Beach under the watchful eye of Christ the Redeemer. Once you've topped up your tan, take in one of the many tourist sights. Perhaps a ride on the London Eye for spectacular views of the beaches, mountains and famous buildings in this incredible city. 2. Bang York  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios Bang York Bang York – the city that's so nice they named it twice. As you'd expect from a hybrid city created from Bangkok and New York, there's so much to see and do here. It's the city that never sleeps, so luckily there's no shortage of coffee shops and places to eat. Spend the morning getting zen by visiting one of the 400 Buddhist temples in the city. Then head over to Central Park, where you can find everything from boat rides and trails to the zoo and perfect picnic spots. The nighttime is when it all goes down, though. Take in a Broadway show and marvel at the iconic skyscrapers and bright city lights. 3. Cape Roma  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios If it's romance you want, we recommend a city break in Cape Roma. The perfect hybrid city of Cape Town and Rome. Walk around the classical ruins, Renaissance palazzos, and baroque fountains to make some truly magical memories with your partner. In the evening, you have your choice of cuisine – this historic port has it all. Have your meal on the waterfront in the shadow of Table Mountain before capping off the night with a walk along the beach. The sights and tastes of this magnificent city make Cape Roma one of the world's most romantic cities. 4. Sydnakech  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios Sydney plus Marrakech equals Sydnakech; the hybrid city that takes you on a journey through time with its unique combination of old and new architecture. There's only one place to start: no trip to this city is complete without a walk over the Harbour Bridge on the way to the iconic Opera House. After that, it's time to go shopping. Sydnakech is home to some of the best and most authentic shops in the world. There is no end to the elegance of this city; the tiling, fountains and floral motifs make it a truly beautiful place to explore. 5. Dubaris  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios If you have a passion for architecture, Dubaris is the place to visit. This hybrid city created from Dubai and Paris features examples of architecture from the Middle Ages to the modern day. To start, you can't miss the iconic Eiffel Tower. Why not take an elevator to the top and see the city from the sky? Dubaris is full of landmarks; majestic mosques, modern souks... and let's not forget the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. 6. Moscanbul  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios Moscanbul is truly an unforgettable treat for the eyes, as you would expect from a hybrid city created from Moscow and Istanbul. On entering Red Square, you'd be forgiven for rubbing your eyes to check that you weren't seeing things. But it's very real: those multicolored bonfire flames rising into the sky are actually Saint Basil's Cathedral. This is a bustling city with much to see and do. There are numerous historical mosques, synagogues, palaces, castles, towers and markets to check out, so plan your time accordingly. 7. Seoulhi  Courtesy of NeoMam Studios Created from Seoul and Delhi, Seoulhi is evolving quickly, but it has one foot firmly rooted in the past. On one hand, the city has a huge collection of futuristic architecture. Walking around here can feel like you're a character in the new Blade Runner movie. But when you feel like a change, step back in time to the old town, where you can take high tea and explore the many eras of old architecture that the historical sector has to offer. Images and city descriptions via Expedia Viewfinder & NeoMam Studios  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ampère e+: Refurbishment of Sogeprom Headquarters / Ateliers 2/3/4/ Posted: 26 Dec 2017 09:00 PM PST .jpg?1513952469 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez
.jpg?1513952458 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez Text description provided by the architects. The present building is showing off a typical facade of the eighties office towers' architecture, with a less satisfying relationship with the soil, a heightened repeat of a floor standard, of a window type, with a simple and smooth façade thus a kind of autism to its own context. _1-_BEFORE_.jpg?1513953089 "Before") Before _2-_AFTER_.jpg?1513953100 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez The building wanted to be a tower, but it's not. Its small length didn't allow it to compete with its close sisters. Its location, on the fringes of La Defense's slab, makes it belong more to the "domestic" city and its codes. Thus, he should renounce to his solitary object status.  Situation The project is trying to rectify those miscommunications by making "Ampère e+" belong to the urban system of Courbevoie's city, by supporting the transfer of the circular boulevard into an urban boulevard. Our task was also to shape and rank the present building, to make it comprehensible and careful to its urban context. .jpg?1513952549 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez Entrench the building in the city The building hold to the floor has been redesigned, as well as every access on the city. Lost amid towers, the building had to reinforce itself, mainly in its construction with a new planning of the ground floor, and a rebalance of the volumes between the ground floor and the minus one floor. The main entrance was also reviewed. .jpg?1513952482 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez The project begins with the creation of a complementary volume in the ground floor. It's coming to rebuild the unitary shape of isosceles right-angled triangle, which is at the basis of the composition of the volumes on the plot. This modest volume allows to unite the ground floor and cancel the introversion created by the inside corner of the square building. The building is shining on its environment. .jpg?1513952605 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez The present entrance of the building is invisible from the street, it appears unreachable. A reversal of the entrance was prescribed. The new volume is welcoming a totally rethought entrance, and repositioned on the Henri Regnault street's side to the North. The entrance is staged on public space and the building has a recovery of city life.  Ground Floor Plan In the same « city life » goal, green and plant spaces are refurbished to be visible from the street. Their uses are redefined. To the North, they accompany the entrance expansion to the minor level where the meeting pole, the cafeteria and the terrace are situated. In the east, a meticulous work on the topography allows to almost reset on an equal footing the plot and the circular boulevard. The east façade is no longer a back façade, it's maintaining again functional and urban relationships, with a circular boulevard currently mutating. .jpg?1513952626 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez Changing scale The ground-floor facade is indented to make the bearer structure reappearing and to identify an "arisen" volume, which means the building frame. We have chosen to organize this frame according to an explicit horizontal order, that is disassembling it into three layers superimposed with 3 levels. This order cancels the sensation of an interminable stack of levels, its scale is changing. We have made the choice of this reorganization, to boost the building, to stratify it, to enhance it.  Cross Section Dig in Often isolated from the traditional office buildings typology, we have chosen to put in roughness, adopted spaces, that could lead other uses. It comes to be three dug boxes in the horizontal order settled down. They're welcoming three hanging gardens that are on one hand, redefining the urban scale of the building, and on the other hand, introducing an intermediary scale in the building itself. The hanging gardens are becoming a symbol of the urban commitment of the building. _2-_AFTER.jpg?1513953166 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez Interior double-height "lounges", facing each of those hanging gardens and all possible associated uses, allow to make a welcomed transparency in the depth of the building and the plot. .jpg?1513952682 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez The play made here on the insertion of roughness allows to organize the building "Ampère e+" by offering it diverse uses and new timescales. The creation of those hanging gardens, such as little shadowed bubbles, has allowed to make a contrast between the outside area (shadowed one) and the openly inside areas. .jpg?1513953118 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez Strategy in motion The hanging gardens are showing a little time difference between themselves, emphasizing the autonomy of the three horizontal strata. .jpg?1513953045 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez This « strategy in motion » is dealing with the vibrant nature of the Circular Boulevard, and makes a subtle signal on the adjacent Belfort and Carnot's streets.  Sections / Diagrams A sequence with the sky, a new relationship with the horizon We have chosen to take the rooftop, to requalify the relationship between the building, the sky and the horizon, to replace it in its skyline and to use this place as a unique one. _1-_BEFORE.jpg?1513953015 "Before") Before .jpg?1513953060 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez The work on the building relationship with the ground is extended with the roof, to "finish" the building. Beside the building' small length (in relation with the surrounding towers), the terrace has a noticeable panorama on the Montmorency's state-forest (North/East). This location allows the creation of a terrace/opened garden. Thus, the project provides the design of a mezzanine on the ninth floor, on the same level as the terrace/opened garden. This design, and its purpose, is responsible of a long-term and qualitative treatment of the visible roof from the surrounding towers. Furthermore, the technical equipment that's needed for the functioning of the building are gathered in a technical enclosure, hedged by a privacy protection on the south side. .jpg?1513952931 "© Charly Broyez") © Charly Broyez  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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