Arch Daily |
- Skorba Village Center / Enota
- Restio River House / SAOTA
- PART STUDIO / XuTai Design And Reseach
- Brick Cave / H&P Architects
- Reclamation of Public Space in a Mexican Housing Complex Wins 2018 MCHAP Prize for Emerging Architecture
- C- House / ARA Studio
- #24 Cathay Restaurant / MINGGU DESIGN
- Corrugated-Sheet House / Daisuke Yamashita Architects
- Wildcoast / FGR Architects
- Grasshopper Studio and Courtyard / Wittman Estes
- David Adjaye Honored with 2018 Louis Kahn Memorial Award
- Slack Toronto Office / Dubbeldam Architecture + Design
- MVRDV's Dutch SeaSaw Rocks Back and Forth in Response to the Changing Tide
- PM House / Cadaval & Solà-Morales
- Is Religious Architecture Still Relevant?
- House Over The Rocks / Schwember García-Huidobro Arquitectos
- Italian Cistercian Architecture Through The Lens of Federico Scarchilli
- Photographer Iwan Baan Celebrates Pritzker Prize Winner B.V. Doshi With Curated Instagram Posts
| Posted: 12 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT  © Miran Kambič
 © Miran Kambič Text description provided by the architects. Skorba is a small village in the vicinity of Ptuj, Slovenia's oldest town. Once a typical village with a clustered settlement pattern, the passage of years and the proximity of the city caused it to grow out of turn, transforming it into a commuter suburb without a clear structure. The organic growth resulted in a markedly heterogeneous development organised along the access roads, with no public surface layout and without a clearly legible village centre.
Consequently, the first consideration following the decision to erect a village chapel was how to use this opportunity to also lay out a central event and socialising space for the villagers. The site for the new village centre was carefully chosen: the plot once contained the village stream source, and this is also the point where the one river terrace bank rises upwards to the other one. The village centre is sited close to the community centre building, at the crossroads of the main paths through the village.  © Miran Kambič In discussing the new village centre Skorba, it is remarkable that the entire project, from the initial idea to completion, was driven by the initiative of the inhabitants themselves. They took an active part in raising the funds to purchase the plot as well as in the construction, which required many hours of voluntary work by the villagers. All of this had to be taken into account when drafting the project. Therefore, the design does not hinge upon the perfection of every detail and does not feature any high-tech solutions. Instead, it aims to establish an appropriate relationship with its surroundings and a sufficiently bold appearance chiefly by means of a clearly legible volumetric design and simple materiality.  © Miran Kambič The first step in defining the space is the siting of the triangular surface of the new square in the centre of the vacant plot. The paved surface, clearly separate from the grassy surroundings, defines the future socialising space. The surface then employs a narrow access path to connect to the road passing by. The central part, created by the section of the geometries of both paved surfaces, is given a slight dip, which shelters the event space from the impacts of the surroundings and directs all users' gazes towards the centre. Next, the volumes of the chapel and the grandstands are raised to create an introverted village square. The final device in designing the new village square is the truncation of the raised volumes by means of a uniform plane which creates an impression of a virtual roof and completes the structure's form.  © Miran Kambič The entire structure is made of a uniform material - white concrete. The combination of simple materiality and emphasised volumes creates an attractive spatial element, its appearance sufficiently bold to drown the heterogeneous structure of the surroundings and mark the significance of the area.  © Miran Kambič  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2018 08:00 PM PDT  © Adam Letch
 © Adam Letch Text description provided by the architects. Perched on the banks of the Buffels River, close to its mouth in Pringle Bay - a small coastal town less than 100km from Cape Town, South Africa - this house has an easy living permanence that shakes off the salty winds and lets in the sun and the natural beauty of the surrounding indigenous vegetation and mountain valley.  © Adam Letch The architecture is clean and robust. It has a gravitas to it. The materials are hard wearing and resistant to the tough coastal climate and its winds that periodically sweep the bay. The planning of this SAOTA-designed family holiday home is nuanced and sophisticated, built to fully grasp the daily rituals of holiday living.  © Adam Letch The individual open-plan rooms flow seamlessly, forming one extended living zone and central space. The welcoming kitchen and lounge area is at the centre, with a sofa in the kitchen large enough to seat the entire family. The living rooms have a direct relationship and the flow between these spaces add a unique dynamic to the house. A sense of mystery is created through the various spaces glimpsing each other.  © Adam Letch  © Adam Letch Five years of living on the property before building, presented insights to the complexities of the site. This came with an opportunity to study and carefully consider the relationship of the house to the sun in path. The house faces due north with a large stairwell that floods morning light into the kitchen area. The westerly facades of lounge and terrace look towards Cape Point, the most southerly tip of Cape Town's False Bay, and offers fantastic haloed sunsets in the early evening.  © Adam Letch The character and interior architecture of the kitchen area demonstrate a fresh approach to living. With the addition of some custom made pieces from ARRCC interiors - including the sofas and dining table in neutral tones - the house is geared to the enjoyment of weekends away. There is a sophisticated eclectic mix of easy-living and comfortable furniture. Shades of white and grey fabrics are accented with original Moroccan Berber rugs and colourful kelims, complimented with solid French oak coffee tables and lacquered round timber stools. The use of soft leathers, white linens and rich textures create an immediate sense of calmness.  © Adam Letch  © Adam Letch A warm but playful and quirky element to the home is added with the likes of the punched brass cladding to the lounge fireplace as well as the graphic lighting installation from Flos. The dining room features a custom-made table by James Mudge that is accentuated by the Lindsey Adelman pendant light. The black Magis chairs is softened with sheepskins throws.  © Adam Letch Artwork have been carefully curated and include artists such as Deborah Poynton and Albert Coertse. The art is limited to key areas of the home for maximum impact. The neutral colour palette and modest furniture pieces of the bedrooms allow the incredible views to be the focus as ever-changing artwork each day.  Plan 2 Behind the scenes, the home is technologically enhanced with the latest audio lighting and systems that can be automated for time of day – with the beauty being in the understatement and absence of seeing it. Finishes to the home include the use of terrazzo floors. Beach house style is integrated with modern finishes, in the likes of the marble-layered panels that extend up the bathroom walls.  © Adam Letch Built at good elevation with lots of access to the surrounding fynbos, the natural choice for landscaping was to incorporates as much indigenous vegetation as possible - surrounding the house and in the internal courtyard. The addition of three iconic South African trees - Milkwood, Coral trees and Waterberry's - make this an iconic, true-to-style South African family holiday home.  © Adam Letch  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| PART STUDIO / XuTai Design And Reseach Posted: 12 Apr 2018 07:00 PM PDT  Facade. Image © Susan Tan
 Panorama. Image © Susan Tan Text description provided by the architects. The SPACE finds its charm in transfiguring the materialistic to human perceptions. In a particular moment, the materiality and form are transformed to emotions by the space. It generates rich experiences while facilitating human diversity.  Central classroom. Image © Susan Tan In the case of PART STUDIO, an institution on art education, the space takes the form of a 25x10 m2 square with the building's mechanical and electrical equipment platform as the entrance rooftop. Inner space meets various needs: a teaching studio for 30 people, which can be converted to a lecture/exhibition hall for 50 people; 4 separate smaller studios, offices, reception rooms, VIP lounges, bathrooms, store-rooms, etc.  Diagram Confronted with the unfriendly surroundings, the initial idea is to mark off the interior from the exterior, and to blur the boundary between indoor areas. The scope and numbers of windows have been extended by outdoor walls to maximize natural lighting. And the glassy fences serve to provide undisrupted views while separating landscape and screening the equipment from view.  Hallway. Image © Susan Tan The original partition boards have been removed to create an all-open space. The independent studios have been comparted by ceiling-high and transparent glass walls to guarantee desired functions and views, and to eliminate the sense of confinement.  Hallway. Image © Susan Tan A circular block combining the corridor and landscape has been designed to facilitate exhibitions and lectures, forming a continuous and draughty traffic in the space.  Hallway. Image © Susan Tan In the major studio, desks and chairs can be re-arranged in the storing space on the occasion of an exhibition. Old-aged wooden floorboards and lath bricks have been preserved on the ground made of tiles and concrete.  Reception room. Image © Susan Tan Despite the small departure from our initial concept due to cost-efficiency and time limit, users of this space recognize its multi-functional construction which inspires intriguing atmosphere and interesting stories.  Toilet mirror. Image © Susan Tan  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2018 05:00 PM PDT _Nguyen_Tien_Thanh__(6).jpg?1523504383 "© Nguyen Tien Thanh") © Nguyen Tien Thanh
_Nguyen_Tien_Thanh__(29).jpg?1523505064 "© Nguyen Tien Thanh") © Nguyen Tien Thanh Text description provided by the architects. The house is located in a suburban commune of Hanoi which has undergone a rapid process of urbanization. It is designed in a philosophy that it will help shape a place similar to the natural environment in an artificial manner. The proposed structure of the house resembles that of a Cave. The overall structure is made up of and enclosed by two layers of brick wall meeting one another at an intersection, with alternate 'green' arrangements of plants and vegetables. Bricks have long been a familiar local material and widely used in rural areas of Vietnam with a simple manual construction method. _Nguyen_Tien_Thanh__(22).jpg?1523504966 "© Nguyen Tien Thanh") © Nguyen Tien Thanh The two built-in layers of wall function as a filter to eliminate the adverse aspects of the external environment (sunshine from the west, dust, noise) and bring nature (light, rain, wind) to where necessary inside. Above the outer wall is tilted inward in different diagonals to create better viewing angles for the general landscape of the area.This, at the same time, helps users in various corners inside the house sense Time and Weather through shadow and air.  Exploded Axonometric Brick Cave encompasses a chain of space interconnected one another with random apertures gradually shifting from openness/publicity to closeness/privacy and vice versa. The combination of "close" and "open" creates diverse relations with the surroundings and thus helps blur the boundaries between in and out, houses and streets/alleys, Human and Nature. _Nguyen_Tien_Thanh__(4).jpg?1523504328 "© Nguyen Tien Thanh") © Nguyen Tien Thanh _Nguyen_Tien_Thanh__(15).jpg?1523504797 "© Nguyen Tien Thanh") © Nguyen Tien Thanh Brick Cave reminds its users of emotional pieces of both strangeness and familiarity by offering them images of corners of a yard, expanses of the sky, strips of a garden, and parts of an alley… which is tentative to uses of space at different times in a typical tropical monsoon climate of the North of Vietnam. This, therefore, truly brings to users an interesting and enjoyable experience as they are accommodated in a sense of a large open space harmonized with a comfort of a safe shelter. _Nguyen_Tien_Thanh__(28).jpg?1523505050 "© Nguyen Tien Thanh") © Nguyen Tien Thanh  Model Views _Nguyen_Tien_Thanh__(17).jpg?1523504851 "© Nguyen Tien Thanh") © Nguyen Tien Thanh  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2018 04:45 PM PDT  © Sandra Pereznieto Last month, the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) announced four finalists in their MCHAP award for emerging architecture: The María Montessori School by EPArquitectos and Estudio Macías Peredo, Children Village by Rosenbaum and Aleph Zero, the Embodied Computation LAB by David Benjamin, and Common Unity by Rozana Montiel Estudio de Arquitectura.
 © Sandra Pereznieto The rehabilitation and recovery of the project's public space had an immediate impact on the safety of the area, activating a space that had been empty for decades. The space is unified by a square that seems to float on the ground, composed of permeable areas for existing trees and concrete areas that form bridges under the shade of light steel structures that provide shade while blending in among the trees. These gestures generate a feeling of spaciousness while offering places for small gatherings and individual activities. This urban design is as much about the resulting public space and the programs that did not exist before as it is about the design of a social process—all in a single project. Read on for a description of the project by designers Rozana Montiell and Alin Vázquez Wallach.  © Sandra Pereznieto In Mexico City, housing complexes are massive and more than 25% of the Mexican population lives in housing units: they are cities in their own right. Residents have a problem with social integration because they lack adequate public spaces. So, housing blocks are notorious for the barriers owners mount to define their homes' boundaries. COMMON-UNITY is an intervention done in the San Pablo Xalpa housing unit, which has approximately 7,000 inhabitants and is located in the north part of Mexico City. Contrary to belief, the use of barriers and fences increases feelings insecurity: protection becomes an obstacle. When we arrived at Xalpa everything was gated, every single square was privatized, and of course, these bars could not be championed. The gates were to a certain extent “untouchable.” The barriers mounted by owners to define their limits, fragmented the landscape into passageways and corridors that pushed social life out of common areas. In fact, most of the neighbors did not even know each other.  © Sandra Pereznieto We worked around the barriers created by the inhabitants in order to make them permeable, democratic and meaningful. One of our design strategies to reclaim privatized spaces for public use was to shift the vertical (railing, walls, gates, enclosures) which separate and divide for the horizontal (roof, shelter, floors, passageway) that connects, reunites, and encourages community interaction. The horizontal became more than just a roof: by expanding the program of potential activities in common areas through compact multi-functional structures, our COMMON-UNITY project gathered the community under the same roof.  © Sandra Pereznieto The design of the new space spoke for itself: people willingly gave up 90% of the barriers. Rehabilitating public space restored the community’s use of it, transforming the UNIT into COMMON-UNITY. The recovered public space in Xalpa became an extension of each apartment, while it remained free to the public. The real-estate value of the apartments doubled: the apartments surrounding the rehabilitated areas acquired the added value of community life. Safety was achieved through design. Our intervention was aimed at placemaking: by expanding the program from the perspective of its temporal and multifunctional uses, we transformed the space into a place with identity and character. Placemaking is about understanding architecture as a social construction too. See the project in full here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2018 03:00 PM PDT  © Dimar Utama
 © Veronica Paskalia Text description provided by the architects. Due to a citizen house crisis, having an urban residence with space which is not too broad has pushed the boundary to provide the best solution to the owner. But with sustainable architecture and design a serious concern in the contemporary world. With a land area of 180m2, trimming the cost of 2nd-floor wall forwarded into a steep roof as the main facade.  Floor Plan The solid facade of the building could be seen from the edge of the road, using lightweight concrete as the major wall, and zincalume roof as the main roof, The work of the outdoor includes most everything surrounding a home's exterior. The landscape can even work with the home to choose the right spot for the house with extra mini garden on the 1st floor and 2nd floor.  © Veronica Paskalia
 © Dimar Utama Research supports daylighting's positive effect on building performance and human health, In the practice of architecture, daylighting refers to the use of natural light, be it brilliant sunlight or muted overcast light, to support the visual demands of building occupants. Also, reduce the cost to cut the production damage. This house has its own 2 natural lighting scheme with voids and skylights at the end of the saddle roof, the light will be reflected then enters the intimate space.  © Veronica Paskalia  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| #24 Cathay Restaurant / MINGGU DESIGN Posted: 12 Apr 2018 01:00 PM PDT  West Entrance Elevation. Image © Kuo-min Lee
 West Entrance Lobby, Circulation Split. Image © Kuo-min Lee #24 Cathay Restaurant, innovatively redesigned by Jaco Pan of Minggu Design, is located at Guochuang Park in Nanjing City, China. This historical park is adjacent to Ming Great Wall on the west and Qin Huai River on the east. The site had originally been the Silver Dollar Bureau of Jiangnan Region in the late 19th century before transformation to work as the Secondary Machine Tool Plant Nanjing in the 1950s.Extending nearly 130-year industrial context, this place's been maintained and updated after the public realization of the reversion of old relics. Today, it's become a foundation developing culture and creation in the local.  East Entrance Interior. Image © Kuo-min Lee 24 presents the twenty-four solar terms in the Chinese tradition of meteorology, suggesting that the restaurant uses seasonable fruits completely while auxiliary with today's cooking tricks to give a rebirth to the Huaiyang Cuisine. This is also the intact purpose why the owner hopes to operate the restaurant there. Thus, the architect was commissioned to transform the existing old building in order to blend the essence of the brand seamlessly into a new space where visitors are able to celebrate the elegance and tranquility, while keeping the ambiance creative and pleasant.  1F Dining Room. Image © Kuo-min Lee  1F Plan  2F Interior Space Layout. Image © Kuo-min Lee Texture and Circulation  Kitchen. Image © Kuo-min Lee A single-storey building with a height of 10 meters was divided into three parts: the ground floor serves as public dining area and semi-open kitchen with supplementary floor height down to the underground; 6 private dining rooms and 1 teahouse & library combination are separated into the north and south sides of the corridor on the second floor; the third floor consists of offices, workplaces, and several independent private dining rooms.  1F Canteen, Open Kitchen and Space. Image © Kuo-min Lee Visitors will find the interiors have a wise composition and explicit functions. But the circulation presents much interesting to get people an interlaced vision of placing themselves in the dreamland. The variational arrangement makes an ambiance that leads diners to experience the course of exploration of curiosity to openness and clearness. This unforgettable tour helps people forget bustles and noises outside and reach the core of the restaurant.  2F Client area. Image © Kuo-min Lee West and East Entrances  East Entrance Lobby. Image © Kuo-min Lee A large number of floor-to-ceiling glasses were used to make up the façade. The brand sign suspended on the right corner of tall narrow and massive wood door stays non-conspicuous intentionally. The relative position of timber door on glass façade was examined carefully, which directly faces the entrance to dining rooms of the restaurant on the ground floor. For one thing, passengers passing by the avenue can easily catch sight of the chic ornament in the lobby but not get access visibly to the public dining area; for another, necessary privacy is retained while introducing natural light into the room.  West Entrance Lobby. Image © Kuo-min Lee The entrance on the west side is totally different. Three giant darkened sections built in the common brick façade focus the entrance to the enteral place. Contrasting with the exquisite brass-made logo, it endows a sense of modern industry.  Staircase to Second Floor. Image © Kuo-min Lee Materiality and Details Entering the restaurant from the main entrance, visitors reach the ground floor via the lobby. In this sunken space, the common dining area and the semi-open kitchen reside in parallel. The architect hopes that the relation between the diners and the kitchens at this moment can be standalone and associated, which could be expressed in a more informal manner as "Broken Up". bar-shaped dark steel plates are arranged longitudinally to form a grille on the glass facade of the kitchen. In this way, during the course of the shuttle, the grille in marching forward direction completely blocks the sight, and it is visible only when standing and facing against the grille.  East Entrance Lobby. Image © Kuo-min Lee On the other side of the public dining area, the architect used a screening wall made of rice paper to block the messy light and mottled walls out of the dining space. The slightly rough surface of Chinese art paper softens light and shadow.  1F Corridor. Image © Kuo-min Lee In order to introduce the idea of "bamboo forest" into the interior from the outside, the architect set up a number of perforated black metallic tubes inside and outside, and light sources were placed in the tube to simulate the shape of the bamboo. When night falls, dim light oozes out of the hole in the metal pipe, just like the fireflies in the bamboo forest in summer night, blurring the bound of downtown and countryside and yearning for the nature meanwhile.  Bookshelves. Image © Kuo-min Lee  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Corrugated-Sheet House / Daisuke Yamashita Architects Posted: 12 Apr 2018 12:00 PM PDT  © Takeshi Yamagishi
 © Takeshi Yamagishi Text description provided by the architects. This residence is for five families of a couple and three children in Aisai City of western Aichi Prefecture. It was built within a corner of a large site adjacent to a plot of the main house. Since urbanization in this area is controlled, the surrounding plots were by consequence largely empty; because the environment lacked a clear context, the resultant building was designed as an extremely simple geometric shape.  © Takeshi Yamagishi The main volume is a roughly 8.2-meter cube made of a nine-grid, three-story steel structure. What enables this rigid shape is a structure made from latticed steel H-beams, foundation and braces, as well as eight slender steel pillars supporting the vertical load in the center and four corners of the building. This steel frame rests lightly on a concrete base. After considering the relationship between the main house and existing garden, we positioned the volume to line up with the north-south absolute axis. We created an entrance and porch, a set of steps extending from the podium, parking lot in the empty space between the building and frontal road, and several new garden areas in the spaces bordering the perimeter of the site.  © Takeshi Yamagishi Within this cubic volume, on the exterior of the completely internalized spaces, we inserted three large semi-outdoor spaces. The interior aluminum sash panels and exterior translucent polycarbonate folding doors can be opened and closed, creating dynamic indoor and outdoor environments: an intermediary region that allows for flexible space usage. On the first floor is the pre-existing garden and spaces relating to it. The second floor contains areas for looking out at the main house and the many trees and shrubs growing throughout the site; with a cross-sectional connection from the first floor. The third floor is for enjoying a view over the higher reaches of the surrounding area, as well as more distant scenery. Of course, these semi-outdoor spaces act as feelers toward objects and goings-on in the surrounding area, but we also hope that as dense air spaces they will draw in gentle light and breeze, while regulating the thermal environment.  Perspective Section A By the way, we utilized galvanized steel sheet and polycarbonate corrugated sheets for the building's exterior finish. This was our way of responding to the numerous residences, storehouses and factories in the region which make use of materials such as metal plates and galvanized sheet iron. In the same way, the garden stone and concrete block wall we used for the exterior were the result of our reflections on the subject of industrial vernacular.  © Takeshi Yamagishi  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2018 10:00 AM PDT  © Peter Bennetts
 © Peter Bennetts Text description provided by the architects. FGR Architects has brought the best of simple, minimalist design to Wildcoast Road, Portsea, by creating a rectangular module home that effortlessly stands out amongst the establishment. The design is meticulous and considerate where upon first look, the family residence appears to be floating, as it sits perched on a crest. The unique land typology allows for a six-meter cantilever before gently cascading. The unique engineering behavior of the build informs its considered design approach. A core central module stabilizes the two parts of the unique linear structure that is precisely 30 meters in length and 11 meters wide.  © Peter Bennetts  Ground Floor Plan  © Peter Bennetts Truly taking advantage of the top-of-hill location, the undercroft of the floating 'wing' allows for three cars to be housed in a covered space. The true beauty of the home though is experienced in the journey of arrival. Cars must navigate a 'battle axe' layout from the surrounding parkland, moving through a pear tree-lined driveway before finally walking up a definitive trail of stone steps to the front door. Cleverly, the rear of the home is experienced before the front, with the main entry point easily accessible at the back.  © Peter Bennetts FGR Architects Director Feras Raffoul says it was important that the home allowed for privacy but still maximized the incredible views of Portsea back beach and the surrounding parklands. "We really took advantage of the unique location and typology of the site to truly appreciate the surrounds. There is a beautiful sense of transparency in the building where you can look through either side of the home and absorb the views. "This home was designed to be appreciated all year round. There is a simple timelessness to the design of the home. The family will be able to look out and see the world but remain in privacy from onlookers," said Feras.  Sketch Once inside, a clean and comfortable atmosphere is immediately apparent. The sun-protected sitting area within the central module is made from a frameless wall, creating an overall transparency and allowing the home to breathe from one end to the other. One half is a living space complete with an open, glazed facade, and the other, a private space that hovers above ground housing three bedrooms and two bathrooms. A pure, simple palette has been used to create a timeless elegance across the 340sqm home, with internal renders carefully selected to match the exterior of the building.  © Peter Bennetts "A deliberate decision was made to use minimalist interior materials as to not take away from the views, which each room is strategically positioned to capture," added Feras. The bathrooms are created to mimic the external elements and create an illusion of showering in the outside environment. Large skylights let in generous amounts of the sun creating a natural and organic atmosphere, once again complemented by dark joinery including black tapware and towel rack.  © Peter Bennetts Considering the entry to the private part of the home, the kitchen is complete with a statement 5m long textured limestone island bench surrounded by dark cupboards and benchtops as well as prominent black tapware. The flooring is made of light timber that is complemented by dark, simple joinery. Flooded with natural light, the kitchen looks out to the swimming pool and beach through frameless 22.5 m glass panels, offering a comfortable place to take in the sweeping coastal views whilst enjoying an evening meal or morning coffee. Automated venetian blinds are also installed to protect the occupants from the northern light.  © Peter Bennetts  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Grasshopper Studio and Courtyard / Wittman Estes Posted: 12 Apr 2018 08:00 AM PDT  © Nic Lehoux
 © Nic Lehoux Text description provided by the architects. The Seattle housing shortage has increased pressure on single family neighborhoods to provide more usable space on limited single family lots. Normative new housing demolishes existing small buildings and replaces them with 'Seattle Modern Boxes' that maximize building size and density within zoning setbacks.  © Nic Lehoux Grasshopper Studio and Courtyard offers an alternative density called courtyard urbanism. Maintaining the small footprint of a 1940s house, a multifunctional studio was added along the rear alley. The resulting interstitial space formed a private terrace open to the sky. This courtyard urbanism tripled the usable square footage of the site by blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor space. A central Silk tree provides dappled shade in summer. The illusion of a much larger property is created through 'borrowed landscape' from adjacent trees and sky above.  Studio Plan Inspired by ancient Chinese south facing courtyard housing, the central paved terrace is a protected private area for dining, entertaining, lounging and year-round play. The wide covered walkway to the north sometime becomes informal seating, at other times a stage for children's performances. The open plan studio is programmatically indeterminate to encourage maximum flexibility. Future uses include visiting guests, short term rental space, utility/workshop space, and play space for the main house. A pavilion roof, floating over volumes that house storage, bathroom, laundry, and future kitchen, extends to form a carport and outdoor workshop space.  © Nic Lehoux The interstitial zones between the studio and outdoors are defined by masonry walls, wood decks, and are protected from the weather by large pavilion roofs. A boundary wall of constructed and landscape elements screen the adjacent neighbors, creating a private oasis in a dense single family neighborhood. A concrete block wall retains the grade change and screens the alley from view. The studio is a boundary in itself, filtering alley views while light streams through the clerestory.  Exploded Axonometric Grasshopper Studio Courtyard is adaptable to a multiplicity of uses and family arrangements. The flexibility of a small building footprint and large private outdoor space maximizes and integrates the use of the entire property. As a response to urban resource scarcity, it encourages rethinking the arrangement of the single-family lot and offers Seattle an alternative density for the future.  © Nic Lehoux  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| David Adjaye Honored with 2018 Louis Kahn Memorial Award Posted: 12 Apr 2018 07:00 AM PDT  Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture by Adjaye Associates. Image © Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC British architect Sir David Adjaye, Founding Principal of Adjaye Associates, will be honored as this year's recipient of the Louis I. Kahn Memorial Award by the Center for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia. The annual award celebrates the achievements of an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of architecture, while also celebrating the achievements of influential Philadelphia-based architect Louis Kahn. Past recipients of the award have included Bjarke Ingels, Norman Foster, Peter Bohlin, Daniel Libeskind, Robert A.M. Stern, Rafael Viñoly and César Pelli.  Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture by Adjaye Associates. Image © Darren Bradley  Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture by Adjaye Associates. Image © Darren Bradley Adjaye will receive the award for recognition of his sculptural ability and ingenious use of materials. Having founded Adjaye Associates in 2000, he has overseen notable projects such as the $540 million Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, which opened in 2016. Ongoing schemes include the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, and the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Center in London.
 Studio Museum in Harlem by Adjaye Associates. Image © New York Times / Adjaye Associates  Adjaye Associates' Holocaust Memorial in Central London. Image © Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad Architects Now in its 33rd year, the Louis I. Kahn Memorial Award raises funds in support of the Charter High School for Architecture and Design, which encourages youths from under-represented and under-served communities to pursue careers in architecture and design. In receiving the award, Adjaye will be invited to deliver a talk and exhibition about his work, exploring his designs through sketches, videos, photography, and material samples. The award ceremony, supported by MIS Capital, will take place at the University of Pennsylvania's Irvine Auditorium on May 3rd, 2018, with the exhibition opening at the Center for Architecture and Design on the same day. News via: Center for Architecture and Design
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Slack Toronto Office / Dubbeldam Architecture + Design Posted: 12 Apr 2018 06:00 AM PDT  © Shai Gil
 © Shai Gil Text description provided by the architects. Slack, the world's fastest growing tech company in history, is a San Francisco based startup offering a revolutionary team communication app for business. After just a handful of years, the company had already opened offices around the globe including Vancouver, New York, Melbourne, London, and Dublin. Each office occupies a former industrial building with interiors that honor the property's legacy, renew its productivity, and reflect Slack's values of empathy, solidarity, and craftsmanship.  © Shai Gil For their Toronto location, Slack sought to create an imaginative space that reflected their company culture and its relationship with craft and technology. Set in a former knitting and textile factory in the heart of downtown Toronto, three stories within the interior of this mid-rise brick and beam building were redesigned to meet all the needs of a twenty-first-century tech company, inspired both by the building's heritage and the company's work culture.  © Shai Gil The project team drew from a "threads of communication" concept using linear geometries throughout the space, such as continuous angular light fixtures and colored networking cables running through the length of the office on the ceiling and walls. These enliven the space in an homage to the lines of yarn that were used in the mechanized knitting process, while also referencing the communication service of the messaging application itself. In the reception area, the design team worked with long-term collaborator Kathryn Walter of Felt Studio who wrapped diagonal strips of industrial felt along the walls and ceiling, creating a warm and inviting environment as soon as you step into the office.  Floor Plans A feature characteristic of the interior is the bold, contrasting pops of color that demarcate distinct areas including solitary workstations, phone booths, break-out meeting rooms, a staff lounge and sleek executive boardroom. Each zone corresponds to a single color that comprises Slack's branding, reinforcing company identity while also providing visual interest and relief to the otherwise yellow tones of the brick and wood interiors. Meeting rooms are uniform yet each unique, owing to their bold and varied color scheme.  © Shai Gil Throughout, vibrantly colored acoustic wall paneling matches textured carpeting and distinctive furniture pieces. The angular light fixtures appear to thread through the ceiling, knitting workspaces, and meeting rooms together. The large communal cafe picks up on the linear theme again with its white and wood diagonal slat finish. The interiors are varied enough to meet the functional requirements of 140 employees, but they also bring a sense of continuity and community to the workplace. The result is a fresh take on an old space that is serious about work while offering a playful and comfortable space for its employees to succeed.  © Shai Gil  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| MVRDV's Dutch SeaSaw Rocks Back and Forth in Response to the Changing Tide Posted: 12 Apr 2018 05:00 AM PDT  Courtesy of MVRDV MVRDV has won a competition for the design of an art installation in the Dutch coastal city of Den Helder, seeking to strengthen the connection between land and sea through a new public landmark. The "SeaSaw" consists of a viewing platform balanced in equilibrium atop the city's flood defenses, a distinguishable structure praised by the jury for capturing "the energetic spirit of the city represented as an infinite form." Like many Dutch coastal cities, Den Helder hosts a remarkable flood defense system of dikes: artificial mounds and ditches along the coast designed to protect Holland's reclaimed land from the sea. Recent reinforcement of the Den Helder dike has resulted in a division between the city and its coastline, a lost connection that MVRDV seeks to re-establish, while also giving Den Helder the distinctive landmark it currently lacks.  Courtesy of MVRDV  Courtesy of MVRDV SeaSaw rediscovers this connection by creating a viewing platform balanced on top of the coastal mound currently blocking views between the city and coast. The infinitely-looping platform re-establishes these views, embodied in a landmark matching the identity of Den Helder: tough and energetic. The connection between land and sea is reinforced by the tidal influence on SeaSaw, with the platform gently rocking back and forth in response to the changing sea level. The platform will form a node for a proposed 3-mile-long (5-kilometer-long) walking and cycling path along the dike, integrating the system with both the city and coast while simultaneously activating the seafront.  Courtesy of MVRDV
For the scheme's development, MVRDV worked in collaboration with IMD engineers. Completion of the SeaSaw is set for 2019. News via: MVRDV  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| PM House / Cadaval & Solà-Morales Posted: 12 Apr 2018 04:00 AM PDT  © Sandra Pereznieto
 © Sandra Pereznieto Text description provided by the architects. The plot is located at the edge of the mangrove swamp of Puerto Morelos, about fifty kilometers south of Cancun, at the Riviera Maya; beyond the mangrove are the unique colors of the Caribbean Sea. The property is surrounded by lush vegetation, typical of its watery condition. Nevertheless, with the height that the project grants to the future house, the sea will be seen, thus the views will be evolving from floor to floor: from the intense green to the clear blue of the sky and the water.  © Sandra Pereznieto This will be the last of a series of row houses and will have a small backyard. Access is provided from this street, and although little transited at the moment, it has a public use. The architectural project wants to reinforce the neutral identity of the house towards the street, and prevent openings while concentrating all the magic to the interior. The domestic space is built around a staircase that qualifies the central space of the house and articulates the necessarily vertical character of the construction.  Model - Interior  © Sandra Pereznieto  Model - Stairs The sculptural staircase serves as a backdrop to the living room, a diaphanous space whose height and proportions qualify it as the main and nodal space of the house; the living room, on its turn, is widely open to the garden, and to the lush vegetation. The house is closed completely towards the south, where the street is, but also to the sun, which becomes almost unbearable in these latitudes. The stair rests against this south façade and behaves as a structural spine that organizes the functioning of the house, and that leads you to all the rooms that open towards the north and to the views of the mangrove and the sea.  Floor Plans The rooms, located in the upper part of the house, are voluntarily plain and simple, just holding a bathroom and responding to the sole premise of orienting the bed to the views and always endowing them with a large terrace to benefit from living in the open air. In this way, the south facade of the house is hard, closed and opaque, while the north facade is more permeable and ductile. The construction and finishes of the house seek to be as austere as possible, using the simpler construction techniques such as load walls. All are painted in a continuous color. In the end, it is the space, with its opening to the mangrove, to the sea, the vegetation and to the white north light, the main protagonist of the house.  © Sandra Pereznieto  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Is Religious Architecture Still Relevant? Posted: 12 Apr 2018 02:30 AM PDT  Salisbury Cathedral. Image© <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/cathedraljack/37235357646'>Flickr user JackPeasePhotography</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Some of the greatest architectural works throughout history have been the result of religion, driven by the need to construct spaces where humanity could be one step closer to a higher power. With more people choosing a secular lifestyle than ever before, are the effects that these buildings convey—timelessness, awe, silence and devotion, what Louis Kahn called the "immeasurable" and Le Corbusier called the "ineffable"—no longer relevant? With the Vatican's proposal for the 2018 Venice Biennale, described as "a sort of pilgrimage that is not only religious but also secular," it is clear that the role of "religious" spaces is changing from the iconography of organized religion to ambiguous spaces that reflect the idea of "spirituality" as a whole. So what does this mean? Is there still a key role for spirituality in architecture? Is it possible to create spaces for those of different faiths and those without faith at all? And what makes a space "spiritual" in the first place?  Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosque_of_Cordoba.jpg'>Wikimedia user Meisam</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> It is interesting to note that there is no fundamental or essential form for worship spaces in most major religions. Although we think of minarets for Islam and Gothic cathedrals for Catholicism, throughout history many sacred spaces were easily switched from one religion to another depending on those in power. For example, the Pantheon was stripped of its sculptures of Pagan gods and replaced with Christian imagery while the architecture itself stayed the same and played the same role. Buildings erected on Biblical sites have changed from churches to mosques to synagogues. Built sacred spaces, no matter the religion, often share very similar typologies, with the use of light and scale to evoke a sense of awe and piety.  The Pantheon. Image© <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/biker_jun/6896653072'>Flickr user Jun</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY SA-2.0</a> However, historical architecture has very rarely built spaces with the purpose to house multiple religions. An exception is the Golden Temple in Amritsar (1577), where entrances on all four sides represent the temple's willingness to open its doors for people from all walks of life and religions. But the historic desire to clearly separate the architecture of different faiths is changing, with the Temple of All Religions in Russia (1992) tackling the architectural problem by juxtaposing Greek Orthodox domes with Russian minarets and ornamental flourishes that would be at home in a Jewish synagogue or Islamic mosque. And currently being built in Berlin is the House of One (2015), where a church, synagogue, and mosque will exist under the same roof.  Temple of All Religions, Russia. Image© <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/23336697@N00/2178548324'>Flickr user Maarten</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Another interesting way this issue has been explored is through "multifaith" rooms that exist in airports, shopping centers, hospitals, prisons, schools, and government buildings. These multifaith rooms, often invisible if one does not look for them, are typically simply an empty, white-walled room tucked in somewhere without any input by architects, where people of different faiths can come in to worship while waiting for a plane or a discharged patient. Andrew Crompton, Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool, explores the phenomenon of multifaith spaces and describes them as "mundane spaces without an aura," explaining that "in order not to be meaningful in an inappropriate way, they use banal materials, avoid order and regularity, and are the architectural equivalent of ambient noise." [1] Rather than attempting to promote unity through inclusion, using the Temple of All Religions' approach of a strange eclectic mix of everything, these multifaith rooms attempt to promote unity by stripping away anything that evokes the sacred, leaving us with nothing.  Multifaith Prayer Room, Hong Kong International Airport. Image© <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Muslim_prayer_section_of_multifaith_prayer_room_in_HKIA.JPG'>Wikimedia Commons user Chongkian</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY SA-3.0</a> But are "spiritual" or "multifaith" spaces even relevant in a time where rates of religiosity are declining rapidly? In fact, they may be more important than ever. Julio Bermudez's collection of essays, Transcending Architecture: Contemporary Views on Sacred Space describes how "our contemporary civilization has exacerbated the feelings of existential emptiness and meaninglessness" and that the need for "spiritual" or "transcendent" space could not be more relevant. [2] With consumerism and hyper-connectivity, where we are continually besieged by constant images, noise, and information, the need for spaces to reflect, to meditate and to feel silence is crucial. In this way, spirituality in architecture can be completely disconnected from organized religion and take on a new role—with architecture that creates a sense of wonder, a space for reflection, and a glimpse into clarity.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG The ways to create these architectural conditions can be learned from the structures of the past, to recreate the atmosphere of self-reflection and awe without the necessity of religion. Through form, space, scale, materiality, and light, the role of spiritual spaces can begin to form a new typology, one that today's society can benefit from. Louis Kahn believed that spiritual spaces could be created through silence and light, evidenced in his projects such as the Salk Institute, where a program of religious worship was not essential to the creation of a sacred place. He described his use of light and dark in his architectural work as pertaining to the philosophy that "even a space intended to be dark should have just enough light from some mysterious opening to tell us how dark it really is." [3] In the Salk Institute, the stark difference between the shadowy cloisters beneath the laboratories and the open brightness of the plaza emphasizes the qualities of light in each of those spaces, heightening the sense of drama and emotion. In Robert McCarter's tome on Louis Kahn, he describes that although this plaza does not have a formal program, it "remains one of the most powerful and deeply moving spaces ever built." [4]  The Salk Institute. Image© <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamsjung/3040455466'>Flickr user Jason Taellius</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY SA-2.0</a> Another way in which architects have tackled the question of how to create spiritual spaces is through the use of nature. The dappled shadows cast by the branches of an ancient tree, or the way the ocean laps gently against the shore, are all moments in nature that create a sense of tranquillity, working to uplift the human spirit. In the Salk Institute and Carlo Scarpa's Brion Cemetery, the use of water flowing through the site acts as a moment of calm, its precision and simplicity creating a brief moment of absolute clarity. In Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals water is an essential part of the program and, paired with the materiality of the quartz stone walls, it creates a surreal and meditative space. These examples give a hint to how these new spiritual spaces can be built, where the emphasis moves from specific religions to a space for all that is necessary for all.  Brion Cemetery. Image© <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/13890783864'>Flickr user seier+seier</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Our ongoing architectural fascination with cathedrals, mosques, and temples points to the continuing relevance of religious architecture. Although we may not all follow the traditions and beliefs of organized religion, the effects that these buildings create suggests a new type of architecture that can be relevant and even essential in our current world.
References
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House Over The Rocks / Schwember García-Huidobro Arquitectos Posted: 12 Apr 2018 02:16 AM PDT  © sgharquitectos
 © Nicolás Sánchez Text description provided by the architects. This house is located within a forest in the south of Chile in a place of boundless natural beauty. Its dense surrounding forest and rocks from the last glaciation compose a unique landscape.  © Nicolás Sánchez The house was located in a complex but crucial place: over the rocks to avoid the flow of water draining through the site and moisture, in a forest glade to receive the sunlight, all while taking in the best views towards the forest and the Andes Mountains.  © Nicolás Sánchez  1st Floor Plan  © Nicolás Sánchez The house was conceived as a shelter (or "refugio") which means that the bedrooms and private spaces are simple and reduced, and where, by contrast, the public areas are more open and spacious to accomadate family life.  © sgharquitectos  Sections  © sgharquitectos The shelter is laid out in a "Y" shape in plan in order to capture the sunlight and the best views. Additionally, this form allows each person to enjoy quiet moments in the bedrooms but also intensive family times in the center. Thus, there is a healthy balance between resting and sharing.  Isometric View The “Y” house has 3 directions: The north axis, with the master bedroom looking towards forest. The west axis, with children and guest rooms. The east axis, with the living and dining room that looks towards the forest glade and the mountains. Finally, in the center, where all axes intersect, sits a spacious and sunlit kitchen where the family can congregate.  © Nicolás Sánchez Outside, one enters the house by means of a rusty steel footbridge. Everything else around is untouched forest in order to appreciate nature in its pure state.  © Nicolás Sánchez  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Italian Cistercian Architecture Through The Lens of Federico Scarchilli Posted: 12 Apr 2018 01:00 AM PDT  Abbazia di Fossanova In his latest photographic collection, Federico Scarchilli captures Cistercian order in the form of Abbazia di Fossanova, Casamari, and Valvisciolo. Simple and utilitarian, Cistercian architecture reflects the transition between the Romanesque and Gothic periods. During this time, many religious authorities felt excessive ornamentation was a distraction to spiritual studies.  Abbazia di Fossanova Abbazia di FossanovaConsecrated in 1208, Abbazia di Fossanova is considered by many to be one of the best examples of Cistercian architecture. The abbey is cruciform with square-ends. Carefully carved capitals line the nave which frames the adored rose window.  Abbazia di Fossanova Abbazia di CasamariAbbazia di Casamari is often compared to Fossanova. A double arched entry leads to gardened cloisters which the church itself is accessible from. The abbey's plan is of true basilica form complete with a central nave and two aisles.  Abbazia di Casamari  Abbazia di Casamari  Abbazia di Casamari  Abbazia di Casamari  Abbazia di Casamari Abbazia di ValviscioloAbbazia di Valvisciolo also has a nave and two aisles but at the end of the north nave is the Chapel of Saint Laurence. The Chapel is adorned with "il Pomarancio," painted frescoes by Niccolò Circignani. In the rectangular apse, open arches are supported by stout pilasters.  Abbazia di Valvisciolo  Abbazia di Valvisciolo  Abbazia di Valvisciolo  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Photographer Iwan Baan Celebrates Pritzker Prize Winner B.V. Doshi With Curated Instagram Posts Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT Architectural photographer Iwan Baan recently honored 2018 Pritzker Prize Laureate Balkrishna (B.V.) Doshi. It has been a little over a month since the Pritzker jury selected the Indian architect as the latest winner, and his work still remains popular within the online world. The genuine materiality and intricate spatial experience associated with Doshi's work are captured by Baan in multiple projects across India. Baan's Instagram (@iwanbaan), which has nearly 120K followers, acts as "a diary of travels with the iPhone." Read on to see some of Baan's images (some posts have multiple images, so be sure and use the left and right arrows to see the full set of pictures). A range of intimate and perspective shots, the series of images portrays Doshi's work on a personal scale. A glimpse into the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology reveals students drawing, studying and even napping. Baan also gets up close and personal with the iconic circulation spaces in the building. This combination of experiential perspectives provides an opportunity not many are afforded to experience a Pritzker Prize winner's work firsthand. You can see more of Iwan Baan's work at his website here or on his Instagram (@iwanbaan).  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| You are subscribed to email updates from ArchDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar