Arch Daily |
- ArchDaily's 2018 Building of the Year Awards are Now Open for Nominations
- Elfort Road House / Amos Goldreich Architecture
- New Ministry of Defense in Paris / ANMA
- The Dovecote-Granary / Tiago do Vale Arquitectos
- Dom-Ino Pavilion / Benyuan Design and Research Center
- AKAS Khaoyai / Black Pencils Studio
- Sanhuan Kindergarten / Perform Design Studio
- House as Tree of Life / Andyrahman Architect
- Ballet Memphis / archimania
- MoMA to Explore Spomenik Monuments With "Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980"
- Franceschi Container Houses / Re Arquitectura + DAO
- Call for Submissions: Outside the Box / Opening International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia
- Amazon's Futuristic Checkout-Free Convenience Store Opens with Just a Few Kinks
- House ALTABRISA / Gerardo Boyancé Ancona
- Secondary School in Cabrils / Josep Val Ravell + Arnau Solé Simón
- MVRDV References Moscow's Historic Architecture with Competition-Winning Mixed-Use Design
- Frank Gehry’s Online Masterclass: A Review By Architecture Students
- The Apple Store / pH+
- Dear Employers: Do You Want an Architect or a Revit Monkey?
- What Makes The Barbican The Perfect Setting for Music Videos?
| ArchDaily's 2018 Building of the Year Awards are Now Open for Nominations Posted: 22 Jan 2018 01:30 PM PST  In 2017, ArchDaily went from strength to strength, as we continued to grow our audience around the globe. Last year we reached more people than ever before, with increases being particularly notable in developing countries. This means that ArchDaily's community of readers is more diverse than ever before 2017 was a defining year for ArchDaily. The change and uncertainty around the globe which emerged during the past year allowed us to double down on our mission to provide information, knowledge, and tools to architects, leveling the access to architectural knowledge and enabling a more diverse, equitable profession. As part of this, we now have a renewed focus on data-driven decisions and crowdsourcing architecture's understanding of its own work. The flagship of this crowdsourcing effort has always been our annual Building of the Year awards. Now, for the 9th consecutive year, we are tasking our readers with the responsibility of recognizing and rewarding the projects that are making an impact in the profession, with ArchDaily's 2018 Building of the Year Awards. By voting, you are part of an unbiased, distributed network of jurors and peers that has elevated the most relevant projects over the past eight years. Over the next two weeks, your collective intelligence will filter over 3,500 projects down to just 15 stand-outs—the best in each category on ArchDaily. This is your chance to reward the architecture you love by nominating your favorite for the 2018 Building of the Year Awards!  © Iwan Baan. ImageElbphilharmonie Hamburg by Herzog & de Meuron, winner of the 2017 Cultural Architecture Award Full rules after the break. The ProcessDuring the next 2 weeks, you'll be in charge of nominating buildings (in fifteen categories) for the shortlist, and then voting for the winners of each category. We will guide you through these stages accordingly.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG. ImageCasa Cabo de Vila by spaceworkers, winner of the 2017 Houses Award During the nominating stage, each registered user of the My ArchDaily platform will have the chance to nominate one project (published between January 1st 2017 and December 31st 2017) per category. This stage starts on January 23rd and ends on January 30th at 10:00AM EST. After this, five projects per category will move into the voting stage, starting January 31st and ending on February 7th at 10:00AM EST. The winner will be announced on February 8th, 2018. Eligible Projects Image Courtesy of Nicolás Campodonico. ImageCapilla San Bernanrdo by Nicolás Campodonico, winner of the 2017 Religious Architecture Award
First stage: Nominations
 © Wison Tungthunya. ImageHubba-to by Supermachine Studio, winner of the 2017 Interior Architecture Award Second stage: Voting
 © Iwan Baan. ImageVIΛ 57 West by BIG, winner of the 2017 Housing Award How to Nominate and Vote
http://boty.archdaily.com/us/2018  © Roland Halbe. ImageBBVA Bancomer Tower by LEGORRETA + LEGORRETA & Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, winner of the 2017 Offices Award Winners
 © ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart. ImageICD-ITKE Research Pavilion 2015-16 by ICD-ITKE University of Stuttgart, winner of the 2017 Small Scale Architecture Award Timeline
 © Nigel Young. ImageMaggie's Cancer Centre Manchester by Foster + Partners, winner of the 2017 Healthcare Architecture Award Important notes
 © Ketsiree Wongwan. ImageYellow Submarine Coffee Tank by Secondfloor Architects, winner of the 2017 Hospitality Architecture Award  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Elfort Road House / Amos Goldreich Architecture Posted: 22 Jan 2018 09:00 PM PST  © Rory Gardiner
 © Rory Gardiner Text description provided by the architects. This project, a Victorian terraced house in Islington, comprises of a side and roof extension, as well as extensive internal refurbishment. Featuring open-plan kitchen, dining and living areas on the ground and lower-ground floors, Elfort Road House has been transformed from dark and cluttered into light and spacious.  Proposed Plan  © Rory Gardiner Our clients, a young family of three, required a larger property with extensive space. The brief was to create a light, airy, family-friendly environment: an abode featuring sophisticated simplicity, clever uses of space, an open-plan feel for entertaining, contemporary touches, yet with a respect for the original period style and featuring high-quality, timeless design.  © Rory Gardiner The spaces for eating, living and working are arranged over an open series of half-levels, exploiting volume and light. Removing the third bedroom at the first half-landing resulted in a study half the depth and a spacious double-height living room. This creates a visual connection between the dining room, kitchen, front living room and study.  © Rory Gardiner The selection of materials was kept to a minimum so that the house would feel 'streamlined' and not too busy. This restriction was echoed in the choice of colour palette to enhance the space in terms of size and fluidity. Oak flooring was laid throughout, except in the bathroom and WC where we used patterned porcelain tiles.  © Rory Gardiner Plywood is used for all the bespoke joinery as it is a common material which can be used in different and extraordinary ways. It is relatively cheap, stable, flexible and very strong. We exposed the edges of the ply to add warmth to the design, while covering the faces with a scratch and heat-resistant, anti-bacterial nanotech material called Fenix NTM that can be used in both dry and wet areas. Due to these properties, it was also used to cover all kitchen surfaces.  © Rory Gardiner The Clients: "The result has been spectacular: A home we look forward to returning to every day that perfectly complements the needs of our growing family. Every time we open the front door we will be reminded of the care and attention to detail Amos Goldreich Architecture meticulously designed into every corner of our home."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| New Ministry of Defense in Paris / ANMA Posted: 22 Jan 2018 07:00 PM PST  © Cécile Septet
 © Cécile Septet Text description provided by the architects. The new Ministry of Defence building is a complex operation due to its dual urban and architectural nature. It is located on a 16.5-hectare site divided into three plots: the Victor plot to the east (8.5 hectares) is home to the Cité de l'Air, whose buildings have been either demolished or rehabilitated; the central Valin plot (8 hectares) is occupied by the ministry's main building, and the western Corne Ouest plot is given over to a commercial real estate programme.  Sketch  Sketch ANMA was tasked with coordinating the three plots, building the ministry's main building (146,500 m²) and restructuring the Perret building on the Valin plot, as well as constructing two buildings on the Victor plot.  © Cécile Septet A majestic and discreet building  © Cécile Septet The concrete structure of the outer wall is concealed beneath a double-skinned façade of screen-printed glass and ceramic glass laid as horizontal slats in different tones of white, the colour of peace. The official main entrance is formed by a towering crevasse with a dark grey steel façade, continuing on from the folds of the roof. Inside, the patio façades are covered in coloured glass panels in shades of green and blue. The panels are laid out as pixelated surfaces and designed to suggest military camouflage. .jpg?1516362414 "Roofing") Roofing The building's roof can be seen from the ring road, resembling a huge dark origami. This fifth façade displays the sort of jagged lines that evoke stealth aircraft military technology. It is dominated by the three towering 45-metre ventilation chimneys.  © Cécile Septet The 17,000-m2 building incorporated in the project was built by the Perret brothers in 1934 and has been rehabilitated. Its irregular corner connects to the ministry's extended arms. Adopting the same approach as used for the new constructions, the Perret building is covered with a metal over-roof, giving it visual consistency with the overall project.  © Cécile Septet  Facades A natural machine  Enviromental Scheme In the office building, the traditional model of partitioned offices required by the programme has been adapted to meet contemporary needs, such as energy saving, comfort in the workplace and retaining a human scale. It also respects the esprit de corps that is a core value of the army, and that is given concrete form in the composite approach to site configuration.  © Cécile Septet  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Dovecote-Granary / Tiago do Vale Arquitectos Posted: 22 Jan 2018 06:00 PM PST  © João Morgado
 © João Morgado Text description provided by the architects. The Dovecote-Granary is a place of serenity and introspection, where one can establish a strong connection with both nature and oneself. Without a conventional function, space is its own purpose: a treehouse-temple of sorts. Its roots are humble, though unexpectedly pragmatic, creative and sophisticated in their design and solutions: a precious little jewel of vernacular Minho architecture. Originally built in the late XIX century, its starting point was two traditional northern Portugal maize granaries standing over granite bases. A common roof united them under which there was a dovecote. Finally, the space between the two granaries was used to dry cereals, with two huge basculating panels controlling the ventilation.  © João Morgado This incredible design was an unusual but smart combination of three very common vernacular typologies (granary, dovecote, drying shed) that are still part of our collective memory. The execution, unfortunately, was not without its problems. Built out of oak wood, the structure was under-dimensioned for the demands of that construction and, receiving no proper maintenance through an important part of its life, the wood rapidly decayed: though still kept standing by steel cables stretched from the adjacent trees it was unsalvageable. The rotten wood pieces, nevertheless, allowed for the full documentation of the design and constructive techniques of the building as it was when last usable, opening the doors for a piece by piece reconstruction, in the same vein as the Ise Jingu rebuild every 20 years in Japan, but here at the scale of rural northern Portugal, preserving an interesting built vernacular document and using local artisan traditional knowledge to achieve it.  © João Morgado  Section C1  © João Morgado Times changed, though: there's no farming on the property anymore, so the rebuilt Dovecote-Granary will not serve its original functions in the foreseeable future. It won't have a specific use either: it will be what the nature of the space lends itself to be. These circumstances implied not only reconstruction but also transformation, giving form to the theme of the project. The result is an element by element rebuild of the Dovecote-Granary, with an intricate redesign of all the subtle carpentry details and a limited set of surgical interventions that will allow for its safe and renewed use. To fix the original structural fragility a small number of cross-members was inserted in strategic locations, reflecting solutions found in buildings of similar age, construction techniques and typology.  © João Morgado  © João Morgado  © João Morgado Two new foldable wood stairs lead inside both granaries and an interior staircase rises to the dovecote, finally making that magical space accessible. This project matrix was of a strict reconstruction with the added requirement of the most minute intervention to render it usable, enabling the minimal necessary connections inside and out. The Dovecote-Granary is now a sanctuary among the tree canopies, an iconic shape in the rural landscape of the Minho region, and the experience of the dancing leaf shadows, the gentle crossing breeze and the birds chirping in a late summer afternoon fully defines its new purpose, function and use.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Dom-Ino Pavilion / Benyuan Design and Research Center Posted: 22 Jan 2018 04:00 PM PST  © Chao Zhang
 © Chao Zhang Text description provided by the architects. A pavilion called "Dom-Ino" is presented by 2017 Bi-City Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB) - Sub-exhibition in Shangwei Village. Different from conventional buildings, this pavilion has no walls, but 24 huge iron doors. Doors can be either opened or closed at any angle by rotating, which allows the space to "breathe".  © Chao Zhang "Dom-Ino House" proposed by Le Corbusier in 1915, brings infinite possibilities of free plan and elevation to architectural design. 100 years later, an old building left with unfinished concrete structure frame, found abandoned in an ordinary village of southern China, is strikingly similar to the "Dom-Ino House" prototype, and is demonstrating its application of the "Domino System" in the Shangwei Village, like a specimen.  Courtesy of Benyuan Design and Research Center  Plan  © Chao Zhang Benyuan Design and Research center has carried out a series of renovation strategies to this old building: 1. Retain the original structure of the concrete frame; 2. Use 24 giant iron doors to create a space with different spatial combinations for the multi-functional use for art and education.
The Dom-Ino Pavilion becomes a flexible platform for communications between different groups of people and different cultures. The ground floor has a studio, which can be used as the client's office or public educational space. The newly added 16 rotatable doors on the second floor can enclose and split space for various activities, like art exhibitions, community meeting and small performances, etc. And the roof terrace serves as a community social area.  © Chao Zhang  Site plan  © Chao Zhang Take a glimpse through any open door, you will see a unique image of Shangwei Village: a lonely papaya tree; a mottled corner of old Hakka house; a factory building facade with pink mosaic tiles; or houses of European style built by villagers. Through the giant doors, the framed views reveal the vitality and conflicts of this village.  © Chao Zhang The doors are covered by perforated patterns. In the daytime, sunlight goes through the small holes and leaves shadows on the ground. The light and the shadow, following the rhythm of time, respond to the surroundings in an interesting way. After sunset, the light coming through the holes will vaguely form the face of Le Corbusier. Through the eyes of this man, who constructed the modern western architecture theory, people will catch a vivid image of this southern village of China.  Courtesy of Benyuan Design and Research Center  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AKAS Khaoyai / Black Pencils Studio Posted: 22 Jan 2018 02:00 PM PST  © Spaceshift Studio
 © Spaceshift Studio Text description provided by the architects. AKAS is a residential project in Aumphur Pakchong, Nakornratchasrima, consists of 2 blocks of low-rise condominium. The project was initiated by the idea of natural scenery appreciation toward Khao Yai National Park, the main scenery of the project, changes seasonally throughout the year; breezy clear blue sky in winter, yellow and brown plantation in summer ,and dramatic mist covering the mountain in monsoon. Transforming the natural inspiration to architectural design concept, to capture 'AKAS'(air), an intangible element represented by the magnificent view of Khao Yai National Park, by creating proportional opening to overwhelm the human scale in comparison to the scenery's.  © Spaceshift Studio  Masterplan Raised on a gentle slope, 7-storey of living units are organized with linear system to maximize building exposure to the nature. Balconies along the southern facade are extended from interior living space to hold outdoor living activities throughout the day. Interior space is overwhelmed by the scenery from inside, but building outside is humble comparing to the surrounding. Building scale is refined by vertical elements and connected through horizontal beams. In detail level with material insertion and sleek profile eave breaking down rigid block to blend with natural backdrop.  © Spaceshift Studio AKAS project does not only concern about the natural scenery, maximize viewing area and functional organization for the residents to be able to live closest to the nature within the comfortable living space, but also create co-existence of architecture and mesmerizing natural surroundings.  © Spaceshift Studio  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Sanhuan Kindergarten / Perform Design Studio Posted: 22 Jan 2018 12:00 PM PST  © Lian He
 © Lian He Text description provided by the architects. Located in the northern outskirt of Yangzhong, an island city in the Yangtze River, this new kindergarten is one of the public education facilities that typically are constructed before the real estate developments of the surrounding upcoming urbanized area.  © Lian He Kindergartens in China adopt a three-grade system. This kindergarten needs to accommodate 15 classes in three grades for a total of approximately 450 children. In order to create a smaller scale, we proposed three hexagonal courtyards for three grades respectively, with five sides of each hexagon corresponding to five classes, and the sixth side open for shared circulation or social spaces.  © Lian He  © Lian He All the programs are organized around three courtyards that have identical plan shapes but varied floor numbers, resulting in an overlapping and cascading massing form. We placed the classrooms on the top floor of each courtyard to maximize their natural light and ventilation, and other supporting programs on the lower floors, such as music, art studios, a library, a multipurpose hall, a kitchen and teachers' offices.  © Qian Li  © Lian He Three courtyards differ in their character and materiality. For easy access, Junior Grade children reside in the classrooms around the lowest one-story lawn courtyard, with playsets and a tree house installed from the lawn to the roof top for children to adventure. Middle Grade children migrate to the second level of the second courtyard, which features a mound-like wooden platform that is the roof of the multipurpose hall below. For the third courtyard, as kids grow to Senior Grade and become more mature, or at least they think they are, we proposed a more normal-looking courtyard with concrete paving throughout. However, it can collect rainwater and turn into a shallow wading pool during hot weather.  © Lian He While each courtyard seems to clearly belong to each different grade, the open circulation spaces or shortcuts between the courtyards allow the children to easily leave their own courtyard and explore those less familiar spaces. The juxtaposition of three courtyards produces an unpredicted spatial complexity. The spiritual center of the kindergarten is an outdoor amphitheater that slopes down from the mound of the second courtyard, partially covered by the roof of the third courtyard.  © Lian He  East-west section  © Lian He The close adjacency between the courtyards provides children convenience to step out onto the roof terraces of the neighboring courtyards, and enjoy diverse outdoor activities, including peeking down to the lower floor classroom interiors through the roof skylights. The curvilinear walkways loop around and lead children back to their own courtyard.  © Lian He The exterior facades of the classrooms are covered by metal louvers, with one color corresponding to one grade. The migration of the colored louvers from ground floor to the top floor, visible both within and without the courtyards, reinforces the concept of children growth, which is celebrated here both at independent moments in time, and collectively through time.  © Lian He  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House as Tree of Life / Andyrahman Architect Posted: 22 Jan 2018 11:00 AM PST  © Mansyur Hasan
 © Mansyur Hasan  1st Floor Plan Text description provided by the architects. In Javanese belief, trees is important in life. The tree is symbolized as kayon (gunungan), essentially a living tree or "tree of life", which symbolizes life in the world and its contents. With trees, people will live sustainably. Without trees, people will perish.  © Mansyur Hasan Trees also become a metaphor in architecture in the tropics, so the important thing in a house is a shade / shade roof, while the wall should be attempted to be a wall that can be passed light and air freely. This house is designed with that awareness as well, as a shade covered by a wall with holes (roster).  Concept  © Mansyur Hasan The owner of this house is a heavy wood lover, who has a collection of old wood items he has collected for decades. The use of wood should be wise, and pay attention to its sustainability, so that building materials are always available and preserved. The wise use of wood is also related to the continuity of tree planting on earth, which is realized by planting trees in the area of this house.  © Mansyur Hasan  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jan 2018 09:00 AM PST  © Hank Mardukas Photography
 © Hank Mardukas Photography Text description provided by the architects. Ballet Memphis had outgrown its current space and wished to move to a thriving performance arts district in the heart of the city with a one-of-a-kind facility. The company's new home opens up to the community with large windows and public courtyards between the studios. The two-story building houses practice space for Ballet Memphis' professional company and classrooms for youth and community dance instruction. The building is intended to engage the public in dance, movement, wellness, self-discovery, and connection.  © Hank Mardukas Photography  Site Plan  © Hank Mardukas Photography The exterior form, composed of layers of glass, perforated copper, and volumes of contrasting metal emulates a music box. Gauzy screens and deep insets of the building mask and reveal the activity of dancers within. Warm and neutral materials and cool colours are also used to frame and display movement. The perforated copper screen mimics the existing historic street edge – enhancing the urban experience within an entertainment district undergoing a renaissance – while complying with current city codes and setbacks.  © Hank Mardukas Photography The building's façade offers opportunities for the community to engage with the Ballet, via exterior courtyards and a café. A costume shop exists at the easternmost end of the project, featuring a display window that doubles as a mini-performance venue.Dance and architecture share a focus on movement, space and time. Celebrating these disciplines, through this civic project, enhances the growing entertainment district and residential neighborhoods in the area.  © Hank Mardukas Photography  Floor Plan  © Hank Mardukas Photography  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jan 2018 08:00 AM PST  Miodrag Živković, Monument to the Battle of Sutjeska, 1965-71, Tjentište, Bosnia and Herzegovina. View of the western exposure. Photo: Valentin Jeck, commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2017. The Museum of Modern Art will explore the architecture of the former Yugoslavia with Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980, the first major US exhibition to study the remarkable body of work that sparked international interest during the 45 years of the country's existence. The exhibition will include more than 400 drawings, models, photographs, and film reels culled from an array of municipal archives, family-held collections, and museums across the region, introducing the exceptional built work of socialist Yugoslavia's leading architects to an international audience for the first time. The architecture that emerged during this period—from International Style skyscrapers to Brutalist "social condensers"—is a manifestation of the radical pluralism, hybridity, and idealism that characterized the Yugoslav state itself. Exploring themes of large-scale urbanization, technological experimentation and its application in everyday life, consumerism, monuments and memorialization, and the global reach of Yugoslav architecture, Toward a Concrete Utopia will feature work by important architects, including Bogdan Bogdanović, Juraj Neidhardt, Svetlana Kana Radević, Edvard Ravnikar, Vjenceslav Richter, and Milica Šterić. From the sculptural interior of the White Mosque in rural Bosnia, to the post-earthquake reconstruction of the city of Skopje based on Kenzo Tange's Metabolist design, to the new town of New Belgrade with its expressive large-scale housing blocks and civic buildings, the exhibition will examine the unique range of forms and modes of production in Yugoslav architecture and its distinct yet multifaceted character. Organized by Martino Stierli, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art, and Vladimir Kulić, guest curator, with Anna Kats, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art. Generous funding for the exhibition is provided by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Additional support is provided by the Annual Exhibition Fund. News and exhibition description via MoMA.
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| Franceschi Container Houses / Re Arquitectura + DAO Posted: 22 Jan 2018 07:00 AM PST  © Francisco Vasquez May.
 © Carolina Bello + Pablo Franceschi. Text description provided by the architects. As is natural, families grow, segregate but stay together; blood is a very strong bond. Franceschi Containers is a project born from the heart of a family that loves nature and is concerned about the environment, following that natural cycle of growing, they see the need to increase the space in which they live so that everyone has their independence and privacy but still stay together.  © Francisco Vasquez May. That is why they decide to build three apartments, one for each of their sons, in the property where they built their house and live about 20 years ago, a terrain adjacent to the canyon of the Uruca River, in Santa Ana, west of San José, Costa Rica.  Elevation + Section The premise was to create 3 independent units, low impact with the environment, which respects the privacy of the existing house, adapting to the available budget.  © Carolina Bello + Pablo Franceschi. Based on these parameters, we created three apartments built from 40-foot high cube cargo containers, which had reached their operational useful life, and were strategically located to achieve cross ventilation and natural light in all the rooms, the first level comprised by the social area is projected towards the back patio by means of a deck, the second level orients the internal space towards the south to the spectacular view to the hills and the river canyon, the most favorable position respect to the physical-environmental conditions was sought of the site to ensure the comfort of the inhabitants and make the most of the space on the location, maintaining a compact intervention footprint.  First floor plan The good management of the resources was key in this project, making the most of all the available local materials respecting their nature and modulation, in order to generate the minimum possible waste, on the other hand materials of low environmental impact were used, plantation woods, solar heaters and passive climate control strategies, to avoid the use of air conditioning.  © Carolina Bello + Pablo Franceschi. Being units with limited space, the design is conceptualized and customized with details such as mobile furniture in social areas and double-function walls in service areas and rooms. In this way, flexible and versatile spaces are achieved, adaptable to the different stages and events of life.  Second floor plan The waste that generated materials such as wood and metal were used in the manufacture of furniture, lamps and doors, the small parts of the container were reused in objects such as handrails, door handles, bath accessories, planters and hangers, which gives a strong character to the project.  © Francisco Vasquez May.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jan 2018 06:00 AM PST  Opening Dutch pavillion in 2014_Photo Simone Ferraro On the occasion of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, and in response to its general theme 'Freespace', the teams of the Belgian, Dutch and Spanish pavilions launch a joint Open Call. This Open Call seeks to engage students, architects, designers, researchers, curators and artists of all ages and nationalities, to develop site-specific projects that encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing and solidarity across borders. Projects should propose a spatial intervention and action in the outdoor space in front of the Spanish, Belgian and Dutch pavilions, and during the official opening day of the Biennale, 26 May 2018. Applicants are invited to imagine ways in which the Giardini could operate as a space for knowledge production, exchange, cross-pollination and representation beyond national demarcations; to question the methodological nationalism associated with the idea of an enclosed pavilion; and to reconsider the role, protocols and form of an opening ceremony and celebration. Proposals should create a dialogue between the three pavilions; Eligibility Submission Requirements - a brief introduction of the team, including the names of team members The deadline for submitting proposals is 12 February 2018.Proposals should be sent to: ensambledopening.venezia2018@gmail.com Guidelines Giardini - interventions in the side walkways and green areas should be avoided; Selection Process Budget Questions
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| Amazon's Futuristic Checkout-Free Convenience Store Opens with Just a Few Kinks Posted: 22 Jan 2018 05:01 AM PST  via Amazon Amazon's innovative, checkout-free convenience store concept, Amazon Go, has opened to the public in Seattle. Located in the base of an existing Amazon office building, the 1,800-square-foot (167-square-meter) store offers grocery and convenience items. To begin shopping, customers simply scan an Amazon Go smartphone app and pass through a turnstile. Using machine learning, computer vision and artificial intelligence technologies (incorporated into the software powering cameras and weight sensors), the store can then track the actions of customers as they remove items from the shelves, creating a virtual shopping list as they go. When a customer is finished shopping, they simply exit the store through the turnstiles and the user's Amazon account is automatically charged. Amazon believes the concept to be the future of brick-and-mortar retail, as the technology will cut out several minutes from the shopping experience. And while the store will still feature a full slate of employees including chefs preparing ready-to-eat foods and customer assistance associates, cutting out cashiers may allow for lower overall operating costs, savings which can in turn be passed along to customers in the form of price cuts. Vice president of Amazon Go Gianna Puerini, speaking to Reuters, spoke about the four years of development that were necessary to realize the vision for the store. "This technology didn't exist," said Puerini said, walking through the Seattle store. "It was really advancing the state of the art of computer vision and machine learning." "If you look at these products, you can see they're super similar," she said of two near-identical Starbucks drinks next to each other on a shelf. One had light cream and the other had regular, and Amazon's technology learned to tell them apart." The official public opening comes one year after the store began trial testing with employees. Over that time, the system was able to fine tune to better identify individuals and recognize when items were put back in incorrect locations throughout the store. A still kinks may still need to be worked out, however, as several Twitter users have already reported the system failing to charge them for certain items:
For now, the concept is still in a public trial phase, as the company has not confirmed whether it will expand Amazon Go into any future locations. They also have stated that there are no current plans to introduce the technology into Whole Foods, which was acquired by Amazon last year. Learn more about Amazon Go, here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House ALTABRISA / Gerardo Boyancé Ancona Posted: 22 Jan 2018 05:00 AM PST  © David Cervera Castro
 © David Cervera Castro Text description provided by the architects. The field is located in the north of the city of Merida, Yucatan, in the Fraccionamiento Altabrisa, boasts a privileged location for a house room, because it is one of the most exclusive residential areas, close to large residential complexes, commercial and hospital admissions; the ground is adjacent to a residential avenue and a street. The area for the development of the project enjoys a highly urbanized, it is a soil with an irregular shape in the corner, with 759.00 m2 of land, with a north-south orientation.  Ground Floor Plan The design of the project responded to a large extent to these factors, as well as the needs of the user that inhabit it, a young family that I was looking for something contemporary, and with many opening-ras to the outside. This solves a program of 427.64m², on two floors. The concept for such a solution was to create a house very compact, which is given as two found volumes, one of social and other of services.  © David Cervera Castro On the ground floor is resolved with a glass box; which is interrupted by a few vertical cracks that allow ventilation and likewise allow it to be very clean without the use of aluminium structure, generating openings to the outside. In the upper floor is kept the same scheme, which holds all the private part of the house with three bedrooms, and space between the two pivot that is a study with an inner garden; the main facade to be not so favorable seeks to be quite private, generating an opening toward the avenue from the master bedroom.  © David Cervera Castro  Sections  © David Cervera Castro  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Secondary School in Cabrils / Josep Val Ravell + Arnau Solé Simón Posted: 22 Jan 2018 03:00 AM PST  © Simon Garcia
 © Simon Garcia Secondary School in Cabrils The new Secondary School is located at the entrance to the town of Cabrils, very close to Barcelona. As you enter the village, it is the first of a series of facilities (school, sports center ...) located along the road following the riverbed.  © Simon Garcia The sea and the mountain range parallel to the coast characterize an extremely urbanized and altered by man place. It is a boundary area between the fields and greenhouses that escaped urban development, and the villages, houses in row and sparsely inhabited housing estates that cover the lower part of the mountain, with the sea visible on the horizon.  © Simon Garcia The building was designed to accommodate a very specific and strict functional programme, as well as the need to release as much free space as possible for the playground and to enable a future growth. With these premises was conceived a 100m long piece parallel to the access road to the village and to the stream that descends towards the sea. The difference between the two ends exceeds one floor height. Hence, the first architectural decision is taken with the aim of a better integration of the school into the urban surroundings:  © Simon Garcia The fragmentation of the volume. With a strategy of setbacks, the large volume it’s broken, introducing a vertical component and generating smaller planes closer to the scale of the nearby homes.  Site Plan On the courtyard façade, according to what’s happening inside, the volume is broken in larger pieces of diferent materials.  Ground Floor A white volume. It seemed appropriate to use white in order to highlight the different volumes that cast shadows on one another. Preserving this way a Mediterranean tradition of smooth white volumes bathed in sunlight that characterizes de zone.  1st Floor Plan A coloured base. For technical reasons, such as resistance and durability, but also because of a dimension and proportions issue, the white volume needed a base.  © Simon Garcia The yellow base becomes the focal point.  2nd Floor Plan The yellow base becomes the focal point. Highlighting the building entrance and as a gateway to the village, the coloured base rises in high until covering the entire façade. The yellow base becomes the head and most singular part of the building.  Section Highlighting the building entrance and as a gateway to the village, the coloured base rises in high until covering the entire façade. The yellow base becomes the head and most singular part of the building.  © Simon Garcia  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| MVRDV References Moscow's Historic Architecture with Competition-Winning Mixed-Use Design Posted: 22 Jan 2018 02:50 AM PST  Winter Street View. Image © MVRDV MVRDV has been selected as the winner of an international competition for a new mixed-use complex to be located near several important historic buildings in the city center of Moscow, Russia. Known as Silhouette, the complex will pack 52,000 square meters (560,000 square feet) of commercial, retail and residential space into its pixelated, geometric volume.  Sakharov Avenue view. Image © MVRDV Located at the intersection of Academician Sakharov avenue and Sadovaya-Spasskaya street, Silhouette draws inspiration from its historic neighbors, including the Le Corbusier-designed Tsentrosoyuz Building and Narkomzem, the Constructivist style Ministry of Agriculture building by Alexey Shchusevand. The building takes advantage of its corner plot by stepping toward and away the street below, ensuring high exposure and accessibility to the rest of the city. "Silhouette is really an abstraction of the classical stepped building silhouettes found in the city," explains Jacob van Rijs, co-founder of MVRDV. "The combination of two grand and warm-toned buildings create a symbolic gateway to the city centre, but also homely dwellings and fine workspaces with a lively programme on ground levels for all to enjoy." Rising to a height of 78 meters (256 feet), Silhouette will offer expansive views of the city while simultaneously adding a new profile to the Moscow skyline. Employing a modular system, the building shifts in and out to accommodate the various program types within, including a sports center, flexible workspaces, an event space, a supermarket, an underground parking garage and a range of luxury apartments. Its dynamic facade ensures that each floor plate features a unique configuration, allowing for a variety of apartment types and layouts.  Sakharov Avenue view. Image © MVRDV "The volume of the building is sculpted and diversified to create distinctive entrances, a sloping roofscape and strengthens the views of the city," explain the architects. "Sculptural cuts on the top and bottom of the facade are carved out according to the function that needs to take place, or certain quality that needs to be provided within the space inside." The building elevation translates the shifting form to a 2-dimensional plane, with various window sizes responding to their position within the facade. The building will be clad is a bold red ceramic facade system that references the Constructivist building adjacent and emanates a warm and welcoming presence. MVRDV's proposal was selected by developer GK Osnova through a closed competition. News via MVRDV.
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| Frank Gehry’s Online Masterclass: A Review By Architecture Students Posted: 22 Jan 2018 01:30 AM PST
You've probably seen the ads. Popping out from your Facebook newsfeed, the Masterclass sales pitch immediately attracts the eye: beautifully backlit wooden models and silky hand sketching emphasized by orchestral swells are accompanied by an adorable pirouette by the one and only Frank Gehry. The combination of Gehry's status and slick production has managed to amass over 1.6 million views for the trailer on Youtube. Even in the company of courses taught by Martin Scorsese, Deadmau5, and Samuel L Jackson, the lone architect impressively lays claim to the eighth most popular teaser in the Masterclass series. The production value alone is almost a convincing argument for the $90 USD price, a detail that is quietly left out of the trailer. The course has been reviewed by a critic, a practicing architect, and a curator—but what of its ostensible target audience, the architecture student? Has Masterclass managed to crack the online class conundrum with cinematography and celebrity? "Frank Gehry Teaches Design & Architecture" is two hours and forty-two minutes of Gehryisms, anecdotes, and occasional instruction. Seventeen chapters comprise a documentary-esque long-form interview. But with an opportunity to mine the mind of a virtuoso like Gehry, Masterclass has failed to deliver.  via Screenshot from video When the course focuses on a single topic, it succeeds. The most compelling chapters are the two "Take Away" case studies on LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall and NYC's 8 Spruce Street. These sections offer a legitimately intriguing peek into Gehry's iterative design process. The narrative surrounding the Concert Hall is particularly inspiring. Gehry recounts the building's story—from the design changing hands and the shifting of blame over its initial $60 million flub, to precedents and his process working alongside Yamaha acoustic engineers. Gehry obsessed over the sound quality to ensure an intimate connection between orchestra and audience. To achieve that, Yamaha built large scale 1 to 10 mockups of great concert halls, and put conductors such as Pierre Boulez inside them to test the sound. Music, movement, and feeling resonate in the Concert Hall and showcase the vibrancy inherent to both Gehry's process and persona. His passion for the perfection of space reminds students like us why we got into architecture in the first place. Despite that, this emotionally resonant chapter isn't enough to redeem the whole course.  via Screenshot from video Masterclass insists, and uses language that reinforces the idea, that this video series is a comprehensive learning experience, a "course." That claim is misleading. Masterclass presents a skewed impression of the field by offering a simplistic representation of Gehry's own true process and rigor. The sequence of chapters is indicative of this: "Generating Ideas," "Frank's Inspiration," "Creating With Your Client," and, most egregiously, "Business" overpromise and underdeliver. The latter chapter is little more than vague fiscal advice and snazzy title cards that urge the viewer to "Have Financial Integrity," "Be a Master Builder," and "Prove Your Design Can Be Built." Going beyond platitudes would have been helpful.
Frank Gehry's brilliance is defined by digitally conceived designs, yet no chapter covers his process beyond abstract "eureka moments." The "course" concentrates on the sculpture and "movement" of architecture but doesn't address technicality. Why is there no chapter on structure? Where is program? Building technologies? Drawing conventions? For the casual viewer, the Masterclass is harder to fault. Gehry is accessible, engaging, and fun to watch. But, for an architecture student, save for a few inspiring episodes, the content offers minimal substance for its $90 USD price tag and opens more doors than it explores, leaving us confused as to who the intended audience is.  via Screenshot from video The accompanying assignments do little to redeem the course. Upon enrollment, students are presented with a list of suggested reading and are asked to participate in online discussions with classmates. They are also assigned a single arts and crafts project, which instructs the participant to use cloth to physically model "folds" and subsequently reflect on "which ones might best translate into architectural space." The undertakings were not particularly helpful. It would have been more fruitful to have had an assignment that carried over from chapter to chapter and culminated in a self-driven design informed by Gehry.
Although the instructor is brilliant, this particular Masterclass does not hold a candle to online architecture courses offered by Harvard, edX, and MIT. Meanwhile, the casual viewer is better off paying $10 USD for a Netflix subscription just to watch their Bjarke Ingels documentary, which manages to highlight over half a dozen built projects in 45 minutes. Architecture students should save the money for plotting. Andy Chen and Thomas Musca are Cornell University B.Arch Students.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Jan 2018 01:00 AM PST  © Tim Soar
 © Tim Soar Text description provided by the architects. The Apple Store is a lovingly designed flexible and fun family home located in the heart of Goudhurst, Kent, situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as 'the Goudhurst Fruit Belt'. The project sees an apple packing station transformed into a vibrant five-bedroom family home and live/work space complete with triple height yoga studio, photography workshop, pool and children's secret hideaways. The project was subject to strict conditions by the planners requiring the visual integrity, scale, structure and agricultural character of the original Fruit packing Station be retained. The part business designation (class B1) also had to be retained which supplements the new C3 use creating a truly integrated and highly successful Living and Working Space.  1st Floor Plan  © Andy Glass Large open-plan spaces are created under the free-span industrial roof, with rooms divided by sliding doors constructed from birch plywood. The communal areas at ground level and the cellular private spaces above are all oriented around a triple-height internal courtyard in the centre of the house. The generous volume of this space can be used as a workshop,yoga studio or badminton court, located underneath original metal beams, which are exposed but painted white to match the cool interior finishes. The main living spaces feature large aperture windows framing key vistas to the surrounding woodland. In spring an apple orchard will be planted on site as a continuation of the 'Goudhurst Fruit Belt' serving as a reminder of the history of the site.  © Tim Soar Low cost materials have been used throughout the project in inventive ways to deliver interiors of affordable luxury, throughout the home polished concrete floors flow seamlessly from one room to another. The building is topped by a corrugated metal roof, featuring private terraces and refurbished extract cowls that are now chimneys for the log burning stoves below.  © Tim Soar The Apple Store is divided with flexible studios and workspaces to the east and living areas to the west. A 5m x 10m swimming pool is located at the furthest end of the building, including a large glazed opening looking out onto the adjacent woods. This aspect remains hidden from neighbouring properties, offering the family privacy while swimming. The home sensitively retains and celebrates the utilitarian and agricultural DNA of the building whilst showcasing beautifully and carefully considered modern interventions throughout the space. The combination of the historic and contemporary provides a large canvas for ever changing living patterns which will evolve with the family  © Tim Soar Andy Puncher, Director of pH+, said: "The Apple Store was a really exciting project to work on from a planning policy and cost effectiveness point of view to deliver a materiality and quality of spaces which work for both residential and commercial uses within an agricultural aesthetic at approximately £1000 / m2. It is truly a building of, from and integral to its place delivering"  Elevation  Elevation  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Dear Employers: Do You Want an Architect or a Revit Monkey? Posted: 22 Jan 2018 12:00 AM PST  © Alhelí Zanella Giurfa
Are newly graduated Architects "employable" people according to the requirements of the current market? And are these the right requirements? Being able to call yourself an architect after five or more years of early mornings, a heavy workload, thesis, etc. is a great accomplishment and satisfaction for those who have achieved it. After the celebrations, the family photo and catching up on the missed sleep due to studying, it is time to face reality: to look for a job. One would imagine that as architecture is considered one of the most demanding careers, which would explain why it is also known as "architorture", what comes next shouldn´t mean more suffering. However, reality strikes. Soon one realizes that there is a gap between what was learned in university and the requirements of most architecture firms, construction companies, real estate developers and other sectors in which an architect can play a role. That’s how looking for a job becomes a complex task in which it no longer matters if you passed a workshop with the best grades or if you had an excellent result on your thesis. Five years are not enough for a person to dive into the world of architecture. They learn a little of everything and nothing at once: there just isn’t enough time. The new students of architecture arrive in an unknown world, in which they must face for the first time the concepts of space, scale, among others. Then, as they learn about the history of architecture, urbanism, construction methods and, above all and mainly, learn to design, a capacity that falls on the workshop course, the one that "matters most", the one that "makes you an Architect". As a student, you rarely question your training, especially in the early years. By not knowing so much about architecture yet, the student doesn´t have a notion of what knowledge is lacking or what knowledge they need to reinforce in order to graduate as an architect or an employable architect, at least. The period of university studies is, to a certain extent, a bubble in which buildings do not fall without a thought out structure, the word budget does not appear; the emergency stairs, building capacity, and disabled access doesn´t matter, especially if they "muddy" the design. During the studies, the National Building Regulations practically do not appear. There is a group of architects, especially academics, who postulate that this isolation of certain aspects of reality is important because the university is where you "learn to think." They point out that in order to develop creativity and explore ideas and concepts beyond conventional ones, architecture students should not be subjected to certain rules and regulations, especially in the first years. As they say, there are certain things that are learned just "on the field." That is why now, in most Architecture faculties, pre-professional internships are mandatory. Internships are presented as a window to reality, in which the student experiences the work and rhythm of an office, gains experience and at the same time gets to enrich his Curriculum Vitae (CV). However, having completed an internship does not necessarily ensure that one becomes familiar with certain activities such as making a space, filling out a SBF (Single Building Form), completing a Unit Value Table, etc. What you can learn by doing an internship depends very much on which place you choose, or rather, on which place accepted you; how much work they entrust to you as an intern and, finally, the accompaniment of a professional who takes the time and work to guide you and explain what you do not know. There are students who can spend six months doing internships in the most recognized firms and only dedicate themselves to making models, folding plans and developing one or another part of a project, as long as it is not something too complex or important. Therefore, allowing only pre-professional internships to be responsible for giving that necessary "dose of reality" is something left to chance. Reviewing the profile of the graduate, we can highly creative, innovative, humanist-based entrepreneurs with ethical and moral values. We should acknowledge that there are some faculties that also offer training from a business and management perspective. However, the courses that provide this training are usually elective and unattractive to people who have chosen a career linked to creativity. In the end, any course that is not a workshop will not be taken with enough rigor or dedication since "nothing matters more than a workshop." And so, we find ourselves with new architects that come to the labor market with mainly design oriented training and with the illusion of finally projecting their work in the real world, even if it is just a bathroom. The portfolio is prepared, a CV is assembled including all the activities that have been done so far, including sports and personal interests to "fill in space" and you go and try your luck. If it is not by recommendation or contact, you venture to look for adverts and see if your profile fits some of them. There are adverts in which from the beginning you are asked about defined design software. In other words, if you do not know how to use this software, do not send your CV, because you will not pass the first filter. What is being evaluated then? The capabilities of a person? or their software knowledge? Imagine that the applicant passes the first filter and arrives for the interview. After a courteous first exchange of words, the applicant will show their portfolio to the potential employer. The conversation will be reduced to questions about the software that were used to make the views and diagrams, if they were done alone or with help, what workflow was used to achieve the visual style, etc. Finally, the potential employer will end up showing more interest in the final result than to the architectural proposal or to the ideas that inspired the project. It is true that architects must know their work tools. Nobody draws plans by hand anymore, so it is inevitable that you have to know at least one of the computer design software. In addition, today technology is advancing by leaps and bounds and there are increasingly more software options to create plans, 3d, renders, postproduction, graphics, etc., that are each time progressively more specialized and complex. Thus, it would seem that during the formative stage time spent on watching internet tutorials is better to help master software than reading a book of the discipline itself. It is contradictory that architects, who do not manage other software besides Autocad, ask their workers to know and ideally master a long list of software, especially 3d modeling and rendering. It would appear then that the hiring of personnel is done to supplement their lack of knowledge of software without considering the other capacities of the worker that could mean a great contribution to the firm or company. On the other hand, the offices that look for the so-called "junior architects," besides wanting "computer monsters", paradoxically look for people who have more than a year of work experience even when they have just graduated. In addition, they must know about documentary procedures and they must have supervised projects, a very important feature but one that can hardly be performed as an intern or as a recent graduate. There are architects who can have up to three years of work experience and have never supervised a project in a sustained manner because they are not given the opportunity to do so the first time. It is understandable that one wants to entrust such a responsibility to people with experience, but it is necessary that there are offices and people who are willing to guide the recent graduate by entrusting them with things that he may not have mastered but for which he has capacity and that are also necessary for him to learn so as to continue to educate themselves. In addition, you have to be very lucky to be hired by an office that genuinely considers the opinion of an inexperienced architect and that is valued. While universities promote the exchange of ideas, teamwork and the joint search for better solutions for a project, in the first years of work life that usually does not happen. Suggestions that go against those set by the Chief Architect are not usually welcome: "it is prohibited to injure the ego of an Architect." The training of an Architect is a complex task that does not end during the years of university studies. Professional internships, personal motivation and time, a lot of time, are those that will continue to train an architect. It is only after years of accumulated experience that architects that are around fifty years of age will be called "Young Architects." It is true that at the beginning of the career it is necessary to learn the trade and that, inevitably, a more technical rather than creative job must be done. That is why, on the one hand, universities should be aware of shaping not only great designer and theoretical architects for the long-term, but architects that are employable from the beginning of their professional lives. On the other hand, offices should seek the full integration of new architects to the professional practice and not confine them to be caddists or modelers during their first years of work since for this, they could hire specialized people who do not need the integral formation of an architect. Note: The present text obtained second place in the II National Contest of Architectural Critique, held in Peru, 2017.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| What Makes The Barbican The Perfect Setting for Music Videos? Posted: 21 Jan 2018 10:00 PM PST Musicians of all ages and genres feature the Barbican in their music videos. Youtuber Phil Gyford's playlist "The Barbican in Music Videos" compiles songs from artists including British rapper Skepta, UK rock band Coldplay, the infamous electronic musician Moby, and guitarist James Morrison. Even modern pop artist Dua Lipa strut her stuff through the Barbican while singing her song, "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)." But what makes the Barbican the perfect set for a professional music video? Perhaps artists were attracted to its remarkable Brutalist style. Maybe the architecture was used for it's historical or political significance. For the three professors at London's Kingston School of Art who designed the Barbican, it was a multi-use project of herculean proportions. Located in the heart of London, the Barbican is an art center, music school, restaurants, a pub, cinema, and residential units. A symbol of British post-war architecture, the Barbican was designed to attract middle-class professionals in order to reverse population decline in the inner city; the government's attempt to provide quality housing to all citizens. In the 1970s, urban living was thought of as dirty and unsafe. Chamberlin, Powell and Bon knew their design would need to appear safe and exclusive to attract middle class professionals. Inside, the Barbican provides its residents with lush landscapes, serene walkways, and cultural amenities. Outside, the Barbican is impenetrable and perplexing. Slit openings and sawtooth rhythms give the complex militaristic qualities, like a medieval fortress. Remnants of London's old city wall run through the site, one of the many details which make the Barbican an architectural storytelling masterpiece. In some of the songs featuring the Barbican, artists are upset or confused. You aren't quite sure where exactly they are within the Barbican because of its disorienting and Brutalist nature. In other songs, the artist is trying to make a statement, similar to the Barbican itself. Explore the playlist to get a better look at the Barbican and decide for yourself what about the architecture attracts so many artists.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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