Arch Daily

Theater im Palais / balloon architekten ZT-OG
Two-in-One House / Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter
Village Lounge of Shangcun / SUP Atelier
Guest House [hanare] / Arbol Design
Chongqing LongFor • Hall of Waterfront City / Shanghai Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering
Siriphat Dormitory / IDIN Architects
Hotel Koe Tokyo / Suppose Design Office
Manini`owali 3 / Sunnland Architects
Xray Factory / Emilio Alvarez Abouchard Arquitectura
C.F Møller and MT Højgaard Propose Covering Aarhus Railway Site with Car-Free Urban District
Casa Cho / Ana Machado Arquitetura
Bernard Tschumi Team Wins Competition for University Research Complex in Paris
Generali Tower / Zaha Hadid Architects
Spotlight: William Pereira
Will Open-Source, Technological Solutions Ever Lead to the Dream of Universal Affordable Housing?
'Re-Veil' Factory Regeneration / Superimpose Architecture
Miami's Brickell Flatiron Building Now Halfway Completed
House Plans Under 100 Square Meters: 30 Useful Examples

Theater im Palais / balloon architekten ZT-OG

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT

Architects: balloon architekten ZT-OG
Location: Leonhardstraße 19, 8010 Graz, Austria
Lead Architects: Johannes Wohofsky, Ana Masu
Consultants: ABES ZT GmbH, Gaft-Lightdesign, Eugen Schoeberl, DI Norbert Rabl, TB Franz Blaschitz GmbH
Client : BIG Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
Area: 490.0 m2
Project Year: 2014
Photographs: Schreyer David

Text description provided by the architects. The campus of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz is located close to the city centerin Palais Meran, the former residence of Archduke Johann, dating from 1841. Together with MUMUTH, the university's house of music and concert hall designed by UNStudio, and the former horse stables, which are now home to Theater im Palais (TIP), it forms a square.

In 2011 balloon won a competition aiming at renovating TIP, which is home to the drama department, and redesigning the square linking Palais, MUMUTH and TIP.

balloon always try to look at the bigger picture when they start working on a project.Their work is based on a context-sensitive approach towards existing buildings and their surroundings. In this particular case, the urban planning dimension and the meaning of the place needed to be highlighted.With the TIP extensionballoon had a building in mind with significance beyond the campus, one that communicates with the city. They wanted to both design a new foyer that would homogenize the different parts of the TIP building and also create an urban space that would live up to the high standards set by the university and the surrounding urban environment by opening up the closed courtyard between Palais Meran and TIP onto Leonhardstrasse.

The TIP buildings previously appeared very heterogeneous. They are now covered by a surrounding golden baldachin and unified to frame one single architectonic form. This semi-transparent baldachin is constructed out of 3mm aluminum panels cut and folded to form a customized pattern. The ornament was developed out of a chronophotograph by physiologist and photography pioneer, Étienne-Jules Marey, which shows the sequence of movements of a somersault. The old boundary wall of the palais remained untouched during renovations – its silhouette is still visible behind the baldachin.

The new foyer provides the drama department with a 300 square meters multipurpose space. This elegant inside space takes on all necessary functions such as that of a bar, payment desk, wardrobe and side stage, in a way that is both generous and efficient. It can be used flexibly and can be adapted, using floor-to-ceiling curtains. It also houses offices for stagecraft, a backstage, and a student lounge. The golden baldachin outside protects the foyer against the sun in the west. The suspended ceiling in the foyer has the same design pattern.

The functional areas "theatre" and "institute" have separate entrances. They can be connected or disconnected as required. In the foyer, a built-in oblong piece of furniture provides a wardrobe for guests, buffet area and a tea kitchen. When the theatre is open to the public, the furniture also functions as a screen for the entrance to the institute rooms in the existing building. Mobile room divisions consisting of curtains make it possible to keep the large open space of the foyer.

The entire bottom of the foyer façade is glazed and can be partly opened. That way, the new foyer, the public open space and the palais merge into a spatial unit.

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Two-in-One House / Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 08:00 PM PDT

Architects: Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter
Location: Sandvika, Norway
Area: 525.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Ivar Kvaal

Text description provided by the architects. The Two-in-one House is a calm piece of architecture resting on the steep and dynamic landscape of Ekeberglia in Oslo.

Its slender and rectangular form is manifested at the top of the sloping landscape. From a concrete base, the building grows with a wooden clad body forming relation with the omnipresence of broadleaf trees surrounding the building and topped with a light glass structure.

The building provides inviting homes to two families, as well as an independent apartment. The main task was for the project to appear as a unify house despite its duality, and still ensure the privacy of both units.

The ground floor integrates the main public functions of the homes and elegant windows frame the landscape scenery and invite nature into the building.

On the contrary, the first floor protects the intimacy of the families and provides a more introvert area, with windows subtly appearing behind the cedar cladding.

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Village Lounge of Shangcun / SUP Atelier

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 07:00 PM PDT

Architects: SUP Atelier
Location: Jiapengxiang, Jixi, Xuancheng, Anhui, China
Design Team: Yehao Song, Jingfen Sun, Yingnan Chu, Dan Xie, Xiaojuan Chen, Haowei Yu
Bamboo Contractor: Anji Zhujing Bamboo Industry Technology Co.,Ltd
Construction Contractor: Shangcun Villagers
Urban Planning Team: China Academy of Urban Planning & Design
Illumination Design: Zhang Xin Studio, Tsinghua University, School of architecture
Area: 150.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Zhi Xia

North bamboo canopy facade. Image © Zhi Xia

Text description provided by the architects. The village lounge in Shangcun is a renovation project from the ruined courtyard into a public space, providing leisure and multi-used space for both local residents and tourists. The project is marked by the government as an exercisable and regional approach and a starting point of the preservation and sustainable development of this traditional village.

Shangcun village is located at Jixi County, Anhui Province, with a history of more than a thousand years since the first immigration in the late Tang dynasty. The village was built near the mountains, which enables that the village enjoys good ecological resources meanwhile its historical heritages, such as the traditional residences, are kept undisturbed from the urbanization.

The site locates in the join point of several village paths, and it is turned into a small plaza, integrating the paths of different elevations with ramps and providing a public space with covering for villagers meanwhile maintaining the fabric of the village from the top view.

Houses viewed through the bamboo canopy . Image © Zhi Xia

The site of the project is the former courtyard of the Gao's family on the front street of the Shangcun village. The main structure of the old house has collapsed due to the lack of maintaining and the only remainings are part of the old walls, the foundation of the house and the patio.

The design solution is grounded on the principal of minimal intervention, adopted a layout of multiple units using common local material – bamboo – to construct 6 sheltered large space. 3 in a row and 2 in a column, the six 5mx5m spaces form 3 sets of bamboo canopy with black awning, providing a shared space hosting the activities of the village locals and the visitors.

The project collected and organised old black bricks, black tiles, stone and usable timber from the site to form landscape elements based on the original layout of the courtyard and infrastructure construction, such as the maintaining of the old MaTau walls, and the construction of the stone retaining walls with traditional techniques, meanwhile local craftsmen shared their ideas about the details, planting and decorations, which also made the lounge something that actually grew in the village. The bamboo umbrellas, apart from traditions, are built with modern architectural techniques by professional bamboo craftsmen, in order to ensure the durability of the bamboo components, and the other part of the lounge and the landscape is completely constructed by the villagers themselves.

Bamboo umbrella and wall. Image © Zhi Xia

The villagers also show great enthusiasm in the usage of the lounge. It came into use right after its completion as a place where the villagers and tourists can get a chance to sit together, chatting about different lifestyles and enjoying the entertainments, as well as a place for village group activities and history and culture exhibition hall. As one of the few public spaces in the village, it won the approvals of all the villagers. And as a new member of the village, it managed to blend into the environment and activate the old village.

The configuration of the bamboo umbrella and the arch of the black awning originated from an experiment to simplify the structure and reduce the scale of the roof. The black tiled vernacular buildings in the village has an average roof depth of 5-6m. When viewing from the hill top, the canopy has a similar scale that blends into the fabric of the village, providing a public space for meetings and entertainment. The height of the umbrellas varies according to the change of the elevation of the ground, meanwhile the lifting roof allows people inside to see the decorative facade of the traditional residence on the south.

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Guest House [hanare] / Arbol Design

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 05:00 PM PDT

Architects: Arbol Design
Location: Naka, Japan
Area: 61.56 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Yashunori Shimomura

Detail Design: arbol + Go higashitani architectural design office
Builder: ark home
Structual Design: steradian associates
Lighting: Ljus
Furniture: iinuma katuki Furniture Mfg.
Black Leather Iron: aizara
Log: kinetoscope
Site Area: 1800 m2
First Floor: 61.56 m2
Client: Mineko Nakano

Text description provided by the architects. Guesthouse-connecting people with the hart of hospitality and Japanese citron Mr. Kenkichi Nakano, who worked as an amateur photographer in Kito village, Tokushima prefecture, was loved by many people, Unfortunately, he came down with illness, but left a will to his wife, Mineko san, "Do what you want to do". She followed it, and now runs "Ken's gallery cafe" where the photos taken by Kenkichi san, are exhibited, music events are held occasionally.

Although some customers visited from a long distance, they came all the way for this cafe, or one of the local specialties, "kito yuzu"(a kind of citrus fruit), there was no place to stay at, and she felt sorry for it. For that reason, this guesthouse was built. The house was placed in a little distance from the entrance as the site is large. In between, an entrance approach which looks like a wooden bridge was set.

This is an image of from ordinary life to extraordinary one, from the real world to unrealistic one. Around the building, gravel was put, and its surroundings are left as they are, so that people can feel rich greenery close. The house itself, its height stays low. in order to match the surroundings. Under the big roof, in this open space with no wall, many people can get together easily.

For about guest rooms, rooms are designed, following Japanese traditional space rules, they can be used for various purposes such as bedroom, dining room, and living room. The rooms can be also used for an event, removing partitions under the big roof. In a part of the house, the local material, kito cedar is selected, about lamp shades, its cloth is "tafuori", which the local industry creates. For finishing, various natural materials such as persimmon tannin painting, or charcoal mortar were used.

Preserve trees of yuzu, plum, and persimmon which that foliage is in a beautiful state, the existing bundle stones left after rebuilding turns to stone decoration for the boundary between newly built gravel and grass. Mineko san, she entertains her guests with meals, using the local food. By "Do what Mineko san wants to do", visitors would enjoy Kito village, and the guesthouse more.

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Chongqing LongFor • Hall of Waterfront City / Shanghai Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 03:00 PM PDT

Architects: Shanghai Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering
Location: Yubei Qu, Chongqing Shi, China
Design Team: Nie Xin, Xiaojuan Xu, Yang Chen, Boyang Li, Yuandi Nong, Dapeng Li, Yi Ding
Area: 950.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Shengliang Su, Yang Yuan

Services: Integral Design of Architecture + Landscape + Interior Space
Client: Chongqing LongFor
Interior Design: SYY Chongqing
Landscape Design: HWA Shanghai
Consultant For Curtain Wall: An'yan Design
Lighting Design: Beijing Qidishiguang
Structure Design: CMCU Engineering Co.,LTD.

Text description provided by the architects. Ark of Light city exhibition hall, which covers an area of 950㎡ (floor area, with the site area of 20000㎡), is located at the commercial core of Lijia new area, the riverbank of Jialing River and the new center of Chongqing, next to the only waterfront low-density business district of Chongqing and top residential area in the future.

Bird Eye View of the Park. Image © Shengliang Su

Bird Eye View. Image Courtesy of Shanghai Tianhua Architecture Planning & Engineering

Ark of Light is firstly used as the sales center of LongFor Waterfront City, and later it will become a city hall opened to public, in which commercial practice and art exhibitions will be carried out, aiming to represent the coming high-level city life in Chongqing.

Passage and Courtyard. Image © Shengliang Su

Ark and Stone are epitomes, both physically and spiritly, of the landscape city Chongqing. Therefore, taking the inspiration of "Ark of Lignt, Stone of Memory", the architects converts natural and culture features of the city with integrated design including architecture, space and landscape, and at the same time deliver the new image of Chongqing city with futuristic avant-garde form.

Entrance of the Main Building. Image © Shengliang Su

To get a complete indoor space without pillars and a free architecture figure, the construction engineer used truss structure reaching the length of 34 meters, thus the roof could be stretched out as far as 15 meters.

Main Exhibition Hall. Image © Shengliang Su

The concept of future is presented by the sense of antigravity, combing the tactility of fine gauze. To achieve that, architects used the method of parametric design when they dealt with those perforated aluminium pan-el, where holes in diverse scales actualized the initial concept of fine gauze. Under the gallery frame, they elaborately picked stainless steel plate with mirror coating as the gallery's surface, and the result turns out to be like a galaxy with mini holes on plates and light boxes in the dropped ceiling.

Passage and Landscape. Image © Shengliang Su

Passage And the Main Building. Image © Shengliang Su

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Siriphat Dormitory / IDIN Architects

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 01:00 PM PDT

Architects: IDIN Architects
Location: District Salaya, Nakhonpathom, Thailand
Architect In Charge: Jeravej Hongsakul, Wichan Kongnok, Eakgaluk Sirijariyawat, Sakon Thongdoang, Thuwanont Ruangkanoksilp
Area: 6700.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Spaceshift Studio

Structural Engineer : Pakanut Siriprasopsothorn
System Engineer: Eakachai Hamhomvong , Panot Kuakoolwong

Text description provided by the architects. Siriphat is a female dormitory, located in the dormitory zone nearby Mahidol University. The land area is limited to utilize only a half, and leaving a half for future expansion, so the land area is narrow rectangular shape and face the narrow side to the road. The buildings are divided into two buildings - North building and South building, lay continuously from the front to back of the land. The space between both buildings is provided to be a common area which will be shaded all day by the South building. The common area includes many functions such as swimming pool, library and garden from the downstairs to upstairs respectively.

Due to the very long shape building, architect designs the buildings as two parallel curves to make corridor interesting and distinctive from the other neighboring dormitories. The floor and the roof slab are expanded like eaves to the South and the West direction to create sun shading and reduce heat transmission into the wall.

Exposed brick, the main material, expresses the handcrafted skill and construction intention and its color also differentiates from the surrounding building.

At the front of the buildings is where the shop, restaurant, and café located to serve the student residents and also the outsiders. The space is connecting from inside, the basement, to the front of the building which is divided into pavilions serving for different functions as well as the rest area.

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Hotel Koe Tokyo / Suppose Design Office

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 12:00 PM PDT

Architects: Suppose Design Office
Location: 3-7 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tōkyō-to 150-0042, Japan
Lead Architects: Makoto Tanijiri, Ai Yoshida
Area: 1859.32 m2
Project Year: 2018
Photographs: Kenta Hasegawa (OFP.,Ltd)

Client: Stripe International Inc.
Floor Areas: 1F 596.67m2 / 2F 633.05 m2 / 3F 629.60m2

Text description provided by the architects. Go back in time to the past, in the Japanese store arcade, a woman with a baby sling stood in front of a store counter to juggle with store work and housework. There was a kind of margin it allows others to step into private of the house. We think it was the origin of the public. However, it has turned into the situation which doesn't allow to make coexistence. Everything is segmented in order to pursuit convenience and efficiency in recent years. We seriously believe that it is necessary to think about how architecture should be in our time when the society is changing to diversity from just taking productivity.

Hotel Koe Tokyo is a project which is constructed the flagship shop of apparel brand in the center of Shibuya, and we were demanded to design included concept and planning of content 3 years ago. We joined hotel Koe project 3 years ago and the client required to us to design the space and propose the shop concept. Basically, it was a project to launch a flagship shop for the apparel brand "Koe" in the center of Shibuya, Tokyo.

Usually, an apparel shop is open from 12 am to 8 pm. It means we have only one-third of a day to touch their clothes. That is why we proposed to open the shop in a hotel so that they could tell Koe's brand concept to a customer with using 24 hours. Considering about the culture of Shibuya, which has massive music culture, there are many music clubs and record shops, we planed the restaurant and pop-up space on the grand floor where is used as a music live and club space on the weekend. The shop of apparel on the second floor, and the bar lounge on the third floor.

We made the hotel as an entrance for making an unexpected various experience, such like people who look for a good meal will find a fashion, people who come to listen to the music will touch a space of food, and people who come for sightseeing will dance with stranger unexpectedly. And also, we strongly intended to design strong contrast by using a contrast of the clutter in the town of Shibuya and the silence in the hotel, a different usage for the hotel space to convey a fashion, the relationship between these things, so that we could make a new culture of Shibuya.

Hotel Koe Tokyo has been opened for 2 months. We've seen people who sat to chat on the grand staircase like in a park and the grand floor turned to music live space and club on the weekend. Customer will get experience called 'NEW' by they bump into paradox situation against the standard they have when they find a different space even though they expected there is a restaurant beyond an entrance to it. When we think about how architecture should be with active function, with breaking away from constructing a building designed by standardized function, we believe that thinking about the theory of entrance would be a seed for a future of architecture. In the end, designing a part of town, which means designing the meaning of this place, was the frame of this project.

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Manini`owali 3 / Sunnland Architects

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 10:00 AM PDT

Text description provided by the architects. Situated on 1.5 acres of raw volcanic land within an exclusive resort community in Hawaii, the custom 9,100 square foot home serves as an oasis from the unforgiving Hawaiian sun. The contemporary residence is designed to capture amazing views of the Kua Bay and Maui's Haleakala Mountain to the west, Hualalai Mountain to the east, and a sacred cinder cone, Pu`u Kuili, to the south. The client desired a porous home, where their beloved dog could run around, yet remain enclosed within the compound. The private and public zones of the home are organized around a series of courtyards and ponds. The courtyards create visual transparency through the main living spaces, bringing the outside in, and help in cooling the interior spaces. A simple yet durable material palette of split-face Andesite stone imported from Bali, Indonesia, stained rift-cut White Oak wood, and rendered cement plaster are carefully detailed. The gable roof forms and zinc metal roofing are reminiscent of the Big Island ranch home vernacular.

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Xray Factory / Emilio Alvarez Abouchard Arquitectura

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 08:00 AM PDT

Architect: Emilio Alvarez Abouchard Arquitectura
Location: Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
Architectural Design: Emilio Alvarez Abouchard
Area: 1860.0 m2
Project Year: 2018
Photographer: Camila Cossio

Collaborator: Estela Casillas

Text description provided by the architects. The #NaveIndustrialRX (#RXFactory) project started with the operation of a radioactive source for the steel industry. Safety was the main concern of the client, not only because of the radioactive source but because of the building itself. The first and most important outline in design was choosing concrete as the main construction material. The whole building was modulated according to the metallic panels used to cast the concrete: factory’s floors and walls are constructed in multiples of 60cm leaving it exposed, which helped us to arrange the constructive and compositional elements of architecture.

The client, an old industrialist, come up with the scheme and the program was set in two legible bodies respecting land´s original topography: the first one houses the administrative and service area (offices, meeting room, kitchen, restrooms, showers and canteen); and the second one on the back houses the free floor plan area for the factory.

The project includes some sustainability concepts that enhance user’s life and decrease the use of natural resources such as introducing natural light and fresh air in every work area (administrative and industrial). Daylight is introduced because of materials, constructive elements, colors, and highlights of the sun. The administrative area is filled with a sifted light thanks not only to the glass blocks, but to the north orientation where sunlight is not direct and the temperature does not rises significantly. The industrial area is filled of light through the translucent sheets and the highlights of the sun in the white steel frames. The steel frames where designed ex profeso for the gable cover including a louver stripe to aerate working areas with fresh air.

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C.F Møller and MT Højgaard Propose Covering Aarhus Railway Site with Car-Free Urban District

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 07:00 AM PDT

C.F Møller and MT Højgaard have unveiled their vision of a new Railway Quarter in Aarhus, Denmark, transforming the area into a car-free urban district. Covering 1,180,000 square feet (110,000 square meters) of new construction, the area will predominantly contain residential buildings up to six stories high, as well as retail and recreational areas.

The idea of covering the railway site in Aarhus has existed for decades, with upcoming infrastructural upgrades to the network calling for tracks be lowered further into the ground, creating the opportunity to occupy the existing overhead site currently dividing several areas of Aarhus.

The proposal calls for new residential structures integrated with the existing urban fabric, maintaining a building height of six stories. Towards Bruuns Bro and Frederiks Bro, an active transition including shops and recreational areas is proposed, while peripheral zones around the Railway Quarter will be upgraded with new urban spaces establishing a connection and transition to Aarhus city center.

The proposal also includes the establishment of parking decks on columns above the railway site, on top of which a new urban quarter can be built. To facilitate the car-free aspect of the scheme, bicycle parking and taxi flows will be integrated across the site for improved mobility.

This is a historic opportunity to realize the vision of even greater interconnection of the centre of Aarhus by launching a unique urban quarter to complete the ongoing urban development of Aarhus. With the Railway Quarter, we wish to create visionary urban regeneration, to achieve a sustainable, green, vibrant and car-free quarter with a bustling shopping environment and a residential area full of diversity. We will create unique, attractive urban spaces of international caliber.
-Michael Kruse, Partner, C.F. Møller Architects

The C.F Møller and MT Højgaard proposal is still "on the drawing board" with the City of Aarhus set to consider the proposal's viability.

News via: C.F. Møller Architects

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Casa Cho / Ana Machado Arquitetura

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 06:00 AM PDT

Architect: Ana Machado Arquitetura
Location: Rio Acima, Brazil
Architect In Charge: Ana Machado
Area: 500.0 m2
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Daniel Mansur

Collaborator: Vanessa Mendes
Structure: Bedê Engenharia de Estruturas
Steel Structure: Techneaço
Scaffolding: Aludesign
Lighting: Iluminar

Text description provided by the architects. Located in Rio Acima, state of Minas Gerais - Brazil, in a hilly site with a slope of approximately twenty meters, the 500m² residence is implanted in a single floor, which integrates the exterior landscape. The room’s distribution benefits the conviviality of the residents and value the surrounding nature, whose role was fundamental in the project design, which was carefully thought together with the owners, from its implantation to the design of interiors and furniture definition.

A horizontal line defined by a deck gives the house’s volume with three other inclined lines, giving the movement of its roof.

The metallic structure and the apparent concrete forms the residence as a painting inserted in the existing nature. Few material finishes were used in the project, creating a design unity. The use of wood, Portuguese sidewalk and concrete forms a neutral base for the green views, through the large glass frames and openings to the exterior.

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Bernard Tschumi Team Wins Competition for University Research Complex in Paris

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 05:00 AM PDT

Bernard Tschumi Architects has been awarded one of the largest university commissions in France, with the design and build of a €283 million ($350 million) state-of-the-art educations and research center at the Université Paris-Sud in Saclay, just south of the French capital. The "METRO Center" will form part of the biology, pharmacy and chemistry wing of the university, comprising six buildings connected by flying bridges, featuring teaching facilities, research labs, offices, restaurants, and logistics areas.

Having won a competition against teams containing Herzog & De Meuron and MVRDV, Bernard Tschumi will work in collaboration with Bouygues Construction, Groupe-6 and BE for the scheme's realization and operation.

The architects' vision for was for a chain of six separate but interlinked buildings forming "an interior street, a common denominator, and a social space for the whole complex," thus connecting the three disciplines of chemistry, biology, and pharmacy. A glazed north-facing façade reveals the heart of the complex, featuring social spaces, auditoria, a small museum, administration, and research facilities.

All north facing facades and connecting bridges are glazed to take advantage of soft natural light while the east and west facades, behind which lie research and teaching facilities, comprise of high-quality white precast concrete panels with fins. The massing of the six individual buildings varies depending on function and location, from six-level main campus buildings to three-level support buildings near existing constructions.

In total, the scheme will cover 1,000,000 square feet (88,000 square meters), and will host 4,500 people including 3,300 students and 1,300 staff, positioning the Université Paris-Sud as France's largest research and education complex.

The scheme is expected to be completed in April 2022, allowing for 12 months of design development, and 36 months of construction.

News via: Bernard Tschumi Architects

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Generali Tower / Zaha Hadid Architects

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 04:00 AM PDT

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects
Location: CityLife, 20145 Milano MI, Italy
Design: Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Area: 147429.0 m2
Project Year: 2018
Photographs: Hufton + Crow, Luke Hayes

Zha Project Director: Gianluca Racana
Zha Project Associate: Paolo Zilli
Zha Project Architect: Andrea Balducci Caste
Zha Site Supervision Team: Pierandrea Angius, Vincenzo Barilari, Stefano Paiocchi
Zha Project Team: Shahd Abdelmoneim, Santiago F. Achury, Marco Amoroso, Agata Banaszek, Gianluca Barone, Cristina Capanna, Alessandra Catello, Sara Criscenti, Kyle Dunnington, Alexandra Fisher, H. Goswin Rothenthal, Marco Guardincerri, Subharthi Guha, Luciano Letteriello, Carles S. Martinez, Marina Martinez, Mario Mattia, Peter McCarthy, Giuseppe Morando, Massimo Napoleoni, Raquel Ordas, Annarita Papeschi, Massimiliano Piccinini, Matteo Pierotti, Line Rahbek, Martha Read, Arianna Russo, Luis Miguel Samanez, Mattia Santi, Letizia Simoni, Alvin Triestanto, Roberto Vangeli, Fulvio Wirz
Zha Competition Team: Daniel Baerlecken, Yael Brosilovski, Ana Cajiao, Tiago Correia, Adriano De Gioannis, Yang Jingwen, Simon Kim, Daniel Li, Graham Modlen, Karim Muallem, Judith Reitz
Executive Architect And Project Coordination: Planimetro
Management: J and A/Ramboll
Structure: AKT, Redesco, Holzner and Bertagnolli Engineering + Cap, AIACE – Soc. Ing.
Mechanical / Electrical: Max Fordham + Manens-TIFS, Deerns
Monitoring And Evaluation: Max Fordham + Manens-TIFS
Specifications: Building Counsulting
Façade: ARUP
Elevator: Jappsen Ingenieure
Fire : GAE Engineering, Mistretta
Acoustics: Cole Jarman, ENC srl
Transport: Systematica, Sudio Corda, Alpina
Contractor: CMB Cooperativa Muratori e Braccianti di Carpi
Project Manager: Claudio Guido – In.Pro
Site Supervisor: Marco Cruciani, Tommaso Salvo, Alfio Musumec

Text description provided by the architects. Generali Tower is within the CityLife masterplan that has redeveloped Milan's abandoned trade fair grounds following the fair's relocation to Rho Pero in 2005.

Located above the new Tre Torri station on Line 5 of the city's metro system, CityLife opens the 90-acre site to year-round public use for the first time; providing new civic spaces, public parks and residential areas, in addition to shopping districts and corporate offices.

When fully complete in 2020, CityLife will be the largest new civic space and public park created in the city since Parco Sempione opened 130 years ago; welcoming more than seven million visitors, workers and residents each year.

CityLife will include 1,000 new homes, offices for more than 11,000 staff, the new 42-acre public park, piazzas and kindergarten.

Aligned at ground level with three of the city's primary axes that converge within CityLife, the 170m (44-storey) Generali Tower connects with its surrounding public piazzas and park; the curvilinear geometries of its podium defined by the perceived centripetal forces generated from the staggered intersection of these three city axes at the tower's base.

This vortex of centripetal forces at ground level is transferred vertically through the tower by realigning successive rhomboid-shaped floor plates to twist the tower about its vertical axis. This helical twist reduces incrementally with the height of each floor above street level, giving all floors a fractionally different relationship to the floors above and below.

As the tower rises offering broader views across Milan, the twist orientates the tower's higher floors to the primary southeast axis leading to Bramante's 15th Century tribune of Santa Maria della Grazie, and beyond to the centre of the city.

With its interiors to be completed this summer, Generali Tower will house up to 3,900 employees to meet their continued growth as one of the world's largest financial institutions.

The tower excels in all international benchmarks for efficiency while respecting Milan's rigorous local building codes. Its double-façade of sun-deflecting louvers flanked by glazing provides extremely efficient environmental control for each floor and ensures excellent energy performance, contributing to Generali Tower's LEED Platinum certification by the US Green Building Council.

Inclined perimeter columns follow the twisting geometry of the tower to mirror the inclined alignment of its external façade units. These perimeter columns also maximise usable office space within the tower's coherent formal envelope.

An integral element of the CityLife redevelopment that has created a new civic, residential and business district near the centre of Milan, Generali Tower is defined by its surrounding urban fabric to connect directly with the city.

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Spotlight: William Pereira

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 03:30 AM PDT

Winner of the 1942 Acadamy Award for Best Special Effects, William Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) also designed some of America's most iconic examples of futurist architecture, with his heavy stripped down functionalism becoming the symbol of many US institutions and cities. Working with his more prolific film-maker brother Hal Pereira, William Pereira's talent as an art director translated into a long and prestigious career creating striking and idiosyncratic buildings across the West Coast of America.

Courtesy of UC Irvine Special Collections and Archives

Transamerica Pyramid. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/jkz/6371624443'>Flickr user jkz</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a>

Born to Portuguese immigrants in Chicago, Pereira graduated from the University of Illinois and rapidly established himself as a prominent figure, designing a few notable Art Deco buildings and helping to draft the masterplan for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Moving to Los Angles and becoming involved in the film industry with his brother Hal in 1930, it wasn't until his partnership with Charles Luckman in the 1950s that his distinctive style of heavy masses with stripped down detailing emerged, becoming increasingly radical as his career progressed.

Thene Building, LAX. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/132084522@N05/16747302728'>Flickr user Sam valadi</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a>

University of California, Irvine, 1966. Image Courtesy of Orange County Archives

In 1958 Pereira & Luckman completed perhaps their most famous work, the Googie-styled Theme Building at Los Angles International Airport. Splitting from Luckman in 1959 and forming his own, independent practice, Pereira's work became a whirlwind of concrete, completing as many as 250 projects in the 1960s and 1970s, and working on increasingly high-profile landmark commissions. His austere geometrical style was soon to be seen in pyramids, ziggurats and domes in a variety of areas along the West Coast, including the San Diego International Airport (1959), plans and buildings for campuses for the Universities of Southern California, California (Irvine) and Pepperdine, the sprawling Los Angles County Museum of Art, and of course his two most prominent landmarks: the inverted ziggurat of the Geisel Library and perhaps the most recognizable building in San Francisco, the Transamerica Pyramid.

Jack Langson Library at University of California (Irvine). ImageCourtesy of <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UCILibrary.jpg'>Wikimedia user TFNorman</a> (public domain)

Pacific Life Headquarters, Newport Beach. Image © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pacificlifeheadquarters.jpg'>Wikimedia user Coolcaesar</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Pereira's forays into urban planning were also suitably monolithic, for example the masterplan for the Californian city of Irvine, a tightly regulated planned city around the campus of the University of California. Initially planning for a new city of 50,000, Irvine's regimented plan of individually planned and styled villages has since swelled to more than 4 times that size. His plan for the university, with stark brutalist buildings jutting out of the hillside on concrete platforms, formed an academic island within the suburbs he designed.

University of California, Irvine Campus, at the center of Pereira's planned development at Irvine. Image © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Campus_of_the_University_of_California,_Irvine_(aerial_view,_circa_2006).jpg'>Wikimedia user Poppashoppa22</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a>

Transamerica Pyramid. Image © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/jkz/6371624053'>Flickr user jkz</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a>

Find out more about one of Pereira's most famous works, the Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego, via the thumbnails below:

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Will Open-Source, Technological Solutions Ever Lead to the Dream of Universal Affordable Housing?

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 02:30 AM PDT

The dream of universal affordable housing has been an idea tried and tested by architects throughout history. From the wacky Dymaxion House by Buckminster Fuller, an imagining of how we would live in the future, to mail-order houses able to be assembled like IKEA furniture, many proposals have tackled the challenge of creating affordable housing or dwellings which could be replicated no matter the time and place. However, although their use of techniques such as pre-fabrication and cheap materials seemed, in theory, to be able to solve pressing issues of homelessness and the global housing crisis, time and time again these proposals have simply failed to take off. But why?

IKEA's research lab SPACE10 is attempting to find an answer to this question through open-source collaboration. By releasing their design of a micro-house that used only one material and one machine to make it and an accompanying website that catalogs the process and invites feedback, they are inviting architects, designers, and aspiring home-owners to work together in creating a solution which could improve the lives of millions. "The vision," they say, "is that by leveraging the world's collective creativity and expertise, we can make low-cost, sustainable and modular houses available to anyone and, as a result, democratize the homes of tomorrow."

Historically, the first step to finding a solution to create affordable housing often began with the idea of pre-fabrication. In the post-war era, after bombing had destroyed millions of homes, many designers in Europe considered pre-fabricated building approaches in order to address housing shortages. Jean Prouvé was one of these designers, constructing his first "demountable house" in 1947. Made of steel and wood with no foundations, the house used a two-legged structure called the "axial portal frame" as the primary supporting element. The smallest of these houses were only six-by-six meters and could be assembled in less than a day. However, alongside his aluminum Maison Tropicale built for the French colonies of West Africa, these houses were never successful and were mostly dismantled or destroyed. Decades later, one of his Maisons Tropicales was sold for $5 million at an auction in 2007—ironically, the designs produced to solve the issues of the dispossessed are now coveted as luxury items for the wealthy.

Interior of the demountable house <a href='https://www.archdaily.com/769256/rhsp-adapts-jean-prouves-6x6-demountable-house-for-design-miami-basel-2015'>adapted by RSH+P in 2015</a>. Image Courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

Another idea that has resurfaced in recent times is the idea of self-manufacture. Beginning in the late 19th century, mail-order houses became popular, with Sears (yes, the department store chain) selling over 100,000 of them between 1908 and 1940. With the cost of construction in the home-owner's hands, houses became much more affordable. The house kits for these homes contained around 30,000 parts with instructions on how to assemble them. However, sales for these houses dwindled during the Great Depression and never really recovered.

The Walter Segal self-build method is also an interesting example. By adapting traditional timber frame construction methods, Segal's method eliminated the need for bricklaying and plastering, which are difficult for the common person to complete. His idea was that "anybody can build a house. All you need to do is cut a straight line and drill a straight hole." By designing lightweight, simple and cheap buildings, Segal created a way into affordable home ownership that was adaptable and ecological. In the 1970s, Lewisham Borough Council created three small sites for people to construct their homes using the Segal self-build method, an example of how collaboration with council can lead to more widespread affordable housing.

Villa Verde in Constitución, Chile by Elemental. Image © Suyin Chia

This idea of self-manufacture has now been explored in a fascinating way in the work of ELEMENTAL, led by Alejandro Aravena, in which low-income families are given half a house with the other half able to be self-manufactured. This idea of incremental building allows the families to expand when they have the capability to do so, with the first half-a-house being an affordable option to start off with. After winning the Pritzker Prize, Aravena released four of their social housing designs online for open source use, explaining that this will "rule out one more excuse for why markets and governments don't move in this direction to tackle the challenge of massive rapid urbanization." However, it has been debated whether releasing drawings online is truly "open source" as it fails to acknowledge that these CAD drawings will still be inaccessible to many of the people they are intended for. Without the tools and knowledge to understand the drawings, it is difficult for people to use and customize the designs for their own use.

Exterior of Built Prototype. Courtesy of SPACE10

SPACE10's approach, while not exactly adding anything new to this established repertoire of techniques, does combine them in a way that has rarely been explored before. Danish architecture students Johanne Holm-Jensen and Mia Behrens explored the problem of designing low-cost, adaptable and sustainable housing that could be manufactured locally by the individuals that adopt it, but adapted to a global context. The result of this was a 49- square-meter micro-house built using only a CNC milling machine and FSC- certified plywood, with the total cost adding up to only $192 per square meter. Thus, it combines easily sourced materials with self-manufacture and an element of open-source collaboration, creating a recipe that feels like it could be the catalyst for change.

Key to the idea is the development of digital fabrication tools, which makes it possible for people to manufacture the parts locally; recent innovations such as hand-held CNC machines, for example, hint at a not-too-distant future when these tools will be the size of vacuum cleaners. The fact that Behrens and Holm-Jensen's design requires only one material and one machine for construction broadens the accessibility of housing to those who can't otherwise afford it, at least in theory. By exploring digital fabrication and open-source collaboration, their intention is for people to download, customize and improve the design to suit local terrains, landscapes, and cultures.

Example of templates for construction. Courtesy of SPACE10

Similar to the Wikihouse project, which shares similar goals and methods, SPACE10's method of open-source collaboration allows for a design which can be accessed by anyone. However, while the Wikihouse project presents itself as a system, SPACE10's approach is much more open-ended with more room for design changes and improvements. The goal of SPACE10 is to find a housing solution which is affordable, universal and sustainable, and they readily admit that they have not found the solution yet. This is where the open source collaboration comes in—rather than simply gaining access to a range of design files and templates to cut the materials, by collaborating on the project you are adding your input to the utopian goal of universal housing.

Interior Visualization. Courtesy of SPACE10

Similarly, while previous attempts to realize the dream of widespread affordable housing were presented as complete, unalterable systems, each with their own unique problems inextricably baked into the design, the flexibility of SPACE10's proposal may mean that it has a higher chance for success. Also interesting to note is that with many of the previous examples, the development of new technology was the catalyst and the driver of its success: The Sears mail-order houses where made possible by the construction of the railroad, while Prouve's demountable houses were possible due to factory-based pre-fabrication. With SPACE10's design, the technologies of online networks and accessibility, and of easily usable machines that did not exist 10 years ago, encapsulate the fundamental difference between 20th and 21st-century innovation, showcasing current attitudes on how we might achieve our utopian future.

Although proposals from the past have not been as successful as hoped, the reason architects have tried to solve this issue time and time again is due to the feeling that the answer is right within reach. With technological advances in digital fabrication and through the creative participation of many, perhaps the future of universal affordable housing is finally here.

Interior of Built Prototype. Courtesy of SPACE10

Access to the files can be reached by contacting files@building-blocks.io and more information can be found on at https://building-blocks.io/

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'Re-Veil' Factory Regeneration / Superimpose Architecture

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 02:00 AM PDT

Architects: Superimpose Architecture
Location: Changzhi, Shanxi, China
Partners Superimpose: Carolyn Leung, Ben de Lange, Ruben Bergambagt
Design Team: Carolyn Leung, Ben de Lange, Ruben Bergambagt, Pablo Gonzalez, Huimin Xie, Xiaoyu Xu
Area: 6000.0 m2
Project Year: 2018
Photographs: Marc Goodwin, Valentin Racko

Saving Cultural Heritage
Superimpose designed an exhibition centre for Changzhi, a third tier city in Shanxi Province of China. Under the prevailing economic and urban transformation in China, Changzhi faces suburbanisation, which is effecting into a new CBD. The main design challenge for Superimpose was to either erase the current city fabric or try to preserve the province's fewest remaining industrial heritage.

Superimpose was appointed to take part in the CBD design. The future CBD is planned on a site, which has more than 15 former bearing factories built in 1945 for the Liberation War. The 70 years old heritage embodies a significant historical and cultural value. In 2011, the client successfully acquired the land through auction. With recent economic pressure the client and authorities planned a completely new urban development, ignoring the actual added value of the heritage. Superimpose strongly believes city growth can be carried out in the form of preservation and regeneration.

In order to convince client and government to preserve instead of demolish, Superimpose referenced to successful local and international regeneration examples, such as 798 Beijing Art District and 1933 Shanghai Slaughter House. Cultural heritage as added value to the surrounding developments, owned by the same client, generated vision alignment with the client's marketing team. Eventually Superimpose successfully convinced both authorities and client to preserve and revitalise at least 70% of heritage into a "Cultural Hub".

As part of this 'cultural hub', Superimpose regenerated the first and the largest of the former factories into the 'Changzhi City Expo', which will host as an exhibition centre, a government-meeting centre, office spaces and an auditorium.

Aim: Revealing the unique spatial quality
Superimpose's main design strategy for the 'City Expo' was to investigate the original distinctive elements of the factory and insert minimum architectural interventions to restore the spatial quality and simultaneously provide the required programmatic functionality of the exhibition.

Key features of the factory are the repetitive structural frames, the unique and wall-painted propaganda slogans, and rhythmic façade openings. The original brick façade is robust, rhythmic and designed for industrial purposes. To adapt and accommodate the current needs, a level of intervention is introduced to the facade.

The original load bearing factory façade was concealed by an office extension on the east side of the factory that had a comparatively denser grid wall structure. Superimpose proposed a veranda by removing all the interior subdivisions of the extension, revealing the original factory façade and made this into the main entrance of the Exhibition Centre. The essence of the extension is kept by framing the original windows and doors without any infill. The glass roof veranda offers a sequential arrival space, which pronounces the main entrance and promotes accessibility.

The repetitive nature of the South façade is emphasised by replacement of protruded black aluminium frames and clear double glazed windows, with operable pivot doors for outdoor events.

For the interior Superimpose proposed a wide central 'catwalk' which hovers above the existing concrete floor. This catwalk spans from the East entrance to the West of the factory and connects the entire exhibition program. At the same time the raised 'catwalk' provides a smart solution to hide all the ductworks and cables without excavating into the existing floor.

Coinciding with the central catwalk, a white 'veil' metal mesh is hung from the ceiling. The 'veil' is hung in between the repetitive beams and columns, articulating the rhythmic structure of the architecture. The application of the 'veil' helps softening the industrial space. It filters the daylight from the roof light and defines a human scale within the vast space. Light fixtures are placed in between and above the mesh, creating multiple light configurations for different occasions during the evening.

A mezzanine level is strategically introduced to utilised the double height space. While the ground level is for public, the mezzanine level retains privacy for open plan workspaces, library and enclosed meeting space.

Superimpose's 'RE-VEIL' started with a vision to challenge urbanisation in the fastest growing country in the world. The project is a benchmark for similar cities in China, which are undergoing prompt urban planning decisions with cultural heritage.

Superimpose embraces the original architectural qualities of the factories by overlaying them with carefully considered and minimalistic modifications and interventions. Materials and labour are all locally resourced andtaken into account in the early stages of the design process.

Superimpose wants to celebrate cultural heritage and create places for the people and property that simultaneously helps clients and governments to reach their targets. One of the historic propaganda slogans in the Changzhi Expo states in big red characters: '大胜利' which means, big victory. Superimpose hopes that the Changzhi Expo is a big victory, leading to plenty more successful heritage transformations to come.

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Miami's Brickell Flatiron Building Now Halfway Completed

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 01:00 AM PDT

Miami's Brickell neighborhood has seen a boom of skyscrapers in recent years, dubbing it a "mini-Manhattan." Soon, Miami will really be able to stake this claim with its own version of Daniel Burnham's famous Flatiron Building. Located in the Financial district, the 64 story Brickell Flatiron luxury condominium tower has just reached the halfway mark of construction, with one floor to be constructed per week until completion.

Once finished, the tower will stand at 736 feet tall and contain 549 units. The architect, Luis Revuelta, designed the building by giving the iconic form of the Flatiron building a modern flare with its flowing metal façade that enhances Miami's skyline. More than 75% of the units have already been sold, with prices for residences ranging from $500,000 to $2,000,000, and penthouse suites selling for as much as $15,000,000.

Milan-born Ugo Colombo, partnered with Italian architect Massimo Iosa Ghini, to created spaces which perfectly embody Miami's distinct style in both the residential units and the shared common spaces including a spa, fitness center, and a rooftop pool with 360-degree views of the Biscayne Bay and the city.

The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.

News via: Massimo Iosa Ghini.

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House Plans Under 100 Square Meters: 30 Useful Examples

Posted: 24 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT

The challenge of designing a house with a tight budget and space constraints, together with the essential duty of responding correctly to the requirements of the user, is sometimes one of the most challenging and motivating tasks an architect can face. How can you take advantage of space most effectively? How can you avoid wasted material? How do you anticipate the possible future expansion of the house? And how do you develop a simple design that also delivers value to its inhabitants?

To help you in this process, we scoured our projects archives to select 30 houses that provide interesting architectural solutions despite measuring less than 100 square meters.