Arch Daily |
- Congress Palace and Hotel in Palma de Mallorca / Francisco Mangado
- Postgarden / Arstiderne Arkitekter
- Maxime Residence / b l a n k s t u d i o
- Brown Sugar Factory / DnA
- Residence W / KC Design Studio
- Sai Gon Thuong Mai Hotel / H2 Arch
- Flag & Pole / Ryuichi Ashizawa Architects & associates
- Coronet / Jos Tan Architects
- Anaha / Solomon Cordwell Buenz
- Forensic Architecture Shortlisted for the 2018 Turner Prize
- Piedmont Retreat / Tonic Design
- Spotlight: I.M. Pei
- Jean Nouvel's National Museum of Qatar Takes Shape as New Images Released
- Spotlight: Gert Wingårdh
- HL-1 House / [H] arquitectos
- Bjarke Ingels' Twisting High Line Towers Presented in New Art Installation
- Dear Internet: Stop Placing Blame for Gentrification on an Architectural Style
- Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU / Steven Holl Architects
- AIA Announces Winners of 2018 Education Design Facility Awards
- New Hotel From Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter Nestles Gently Into the French Hillside
| Congress Palace and Hotel in Palma de Mallorca / Francisco Mangado Posted: 26 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT  © Juan Rodríguez
 © Juan Rodríguez Text description provided by the architects. The project rests on the idea that to work on a lot that is rich and suggestive in its being difficult, such as the one we have here, is to draw up a new urban ‘outline’ for the city. The irregular geometry of the narrow and elongated lot, forming a seafront of nearly 350 meters, refers more to the idea of an urban boundary of huge dimensions that must accommodate a major project with a complex and diverse program.  © Juan Rodríguez The building looks toward the sea, and this seaward looking is summed up in a thick facade—five meters wide and erected with techniques of naval engineering—that besides keeping out direct sunlight contains the stairs and other elements connecting the different spaces and programs. As you go up the stairs, you see the sea through huge glass panes.  © Juan Rodríguez This facade is like a town wall with a path, dense but also open, and in its thickness, through ambiguous spaces that cannot definitively be considered interior or exterior, it is confused with the promenade itself.  © Juan Rodríguez The ‘alter ego’ is the north facade, whose thickness is formed by the building’s more ‘server’ spaces. The result is a comb-shaped double scheme: in functional terms, public to the south and private to the north.  © Juan Rodríguez  Ground Floor  © Juan Rodríguez Inside, different congress and exhibition halls follow one another. These are large but volumetrically expressive spaces, with voids around them that have hanging platforms and catwalks for looking out to the exterior.  © Juan Rodríguez  Section: Minor Auditorium  © Juan Rodríguez On the raised floor, connected to the hotel by a footbridge that serves to unify the complex, are the more everyday uses, the smaller convention rooms, and restaurants, along with a large terrace that, viewed in perspective, can be taken to be a prolongation of the sea.  © Juan Rodríguez  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Postgarden / Arstiderne Arkitekter Posted: 26 Apr 2018 08:00 PM PDT  © Mads Frederik
 © Mads Frederik Text description provided by the architects. Postgården is an example of how, through careful renovation and by employing simple yet bold measures, it is possible to transform a closed historic property in the middle of Copenhagen into a vibrant and welcoming building that now opens up onto the street and plays an active role in the life of the city. .jpg?1524720374 "hall after") hall after The former royal post office is an iconic building with a long and fascinating past. From 1780 to 1912 it was the post office headquarters, and subsequently headquarters of the telegraph service and the state telephone service, and then from 1912 to 2015 it was used as a post office. Over the years, several adjoining buildings were acquired and extensions added, so that the Postgården complex now counts ten buildings from different eras, and almost occupies a complete block. In the course of a three-year process, Årstiderne Arkitekter has carefully renovated and revitalised the former post office's 16,000 square metres. .jpg?1524720408 "columns before") columns before "Postgården is located on one of the busiest shopping streets in Copenhagen, but with its closed facades and high windows, it has up until now had its back turned to the city. The vision for the project has therefore been to open up the block and invite the public inside. The project involved taking a well-known site in Copenhagen –originally a workplace for several hundred people– and re-establishing it as a central address for shops and offices."  © Mads Frederik Careful renovation respectful of the past .jpg?1524720443 "stairwell before") stairwell before "The renovation work has been carried out on the building's terms as it were, and this largely explains why the project has been so successful. We looked at the building room by room, and identified what needed to be preserved and what each room should be used for." - Mikkel Westfall, creative director and partner, Årstiderne Arkitekter _.jpg?1524720430 "stairwell after") stairwell after In renovating Postgården, a conscious decision was made not to completely change the look of the building. Through studying the old drawings, the building's qualities have been preserved, and while respecting the architecture and its history, it has been sensitively adapted to meet modern requirements, including improved and level-free access from the street to all tenancies on the ground floor. .jpg?1524720385 "hall after 2") hall after 2 Some parts of the complex dating from 1729 are listed, and here the facades and interiors have been carefully restored while respecting their heritage value. The whole process has involved close cooperation between specialists and tradesmen experienced at conservation work.  © Mads Frederik Recreated as an open and engaging building  © Mads Frederik Based on a thorough analysis of the building's potential and that of its surroundings, it was decided to rebuild the property to create a new framework for a number of businesses, showrooms and retail outlets, so that there are now 800 people working there. Today, Postgården is home to leading Danish furniture and design brands such as Fritz Hansen and Fredericia Furniture as well as companies like Unity, Momondo and H&M's new ARKET store. _.jpg?1524720396 "columns after") columns after The main architectural thrust has been to open up the introverted property towards the city with large, open shopfronts on the ground floor. On the other floors, spacious leasehold offices have been established with plenty of natural daylight, while the roof levels have been enlarged and turned into common recreational outdoor areas for the building's employees.  Købmagergade facade elevation  Valkendorfsgade facade elevation  Løvstræde facade elevation Following the revitalisation of the building, a stream of people arrive each day for work, and Postgården is once again bursting with life and activity and giving something back to the city. In other words, this formerly rather quiet stretch of Købmagergade has been transformed into a natural and integrated part of the surrounding urban scene, directly linked as it is to the main pedestrian shopping street Strøget; this has also had a positive impact on business life and smaller enterprises in the immediate vicinity.  © Mads Frederik "In redeveloping Postgården, a place which attracts and connects people has been recreated in the heart of the city. As a result of the transformation, life in and around the building has rubbed off on the surrounding shops; this is now a place in the city where shoppers once again stop and meet – at Postgården. It is helping to lift the city into a collective space." - Mikkel Westfall, creative director and partner, Årstiderne Arkitekter  © Mads Frederik To reflect the changed role of Postgården, landscape architects are working to upgrade the surrounding streets, with new paving being laid in Valkendorfstræde and Løvstræde. In addition, traffic is being re-routed, so that cars now take second place to pedestrians. The transformation has therefore not just been important for Postgården –it has given the entire neighbourhood a lift and attracted interesting retailers, which is positively impacting neighbouring businesses and the urban environment in general.  © Mads Frederik  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Maxime Residence / b l a n k s t u d i o Posted: 26 Apr 2018 07:00 PM PDT  © BLINE SPACE
 © BLINE SPACE Text description provided by the architects. As the house is situated amongst the flower yard, it is designed with regard to well connect to nature and surrounding context. A wide and long terrace, open spaces, and stone wall are the main architectural elements that are used in the built. The building is divided into three sections: a parlor, a master quarter, and service area. The semi-outdoor terrace connects each section that makes indoor airy and light-filled in every area.  © BLINE SPACE The terrace and the long roof stretching out of the building create the functional spaces and protect from the sunlight. The skylight above the hallways and a restroom is designed to allow natural sunlight to come in and make the house bright all day long.  Concept  Floor Plan The stone walls are the main elements that are used to separate between public spaces and private zones. They mainly work as a cover of privacy. Two parallel stone walls are designed to enclose the private space. They are placed a bit overlapped that make open spaces for two bedrooms. The space opens to two bedrooms that creates the feeling of privacy as it is far away from the public spaces, but still allows the user to view the pleasant natural atmosphere around house.  © BLINE SPACE Moreover, the stone wall is a noticeable element since approaching to the entrance. It is considered as the lead to the built which continues to other spaces until the interior, thanks to the architect's intention to build a connection between the outside environment and inside the house together as one.  © BLINE SPACE  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2018 05:00 PM PDT  © Dan Han
 © Dan Han Text description provided by the architects. The village of Xing is located on the central level of the Songyin River. The region is important for the cultivation of sugarcane and the production of brown sugar, which is also the village's primary source of income.  © Ziling Wang The new community building is located on the edge of the village, at the transition to fields used for agriculture, and replaces private workrooms, which no longer satisfied technical requirements. It consists of several building elements, which accommodate different functions and are connected to each other by corridors. The completely transparent ground floor links the work zones to the fields and the neighbouring village structure.  © Ziling Wang
 © Dan Han The main room with the ovens is, however, actively used for sugar production only in the three winter months between October and December. It was therefore important to design the building in such a way that the village community can use it for other activities. Older inhabitants meet there during the day for tea, and films are shown or the local puppet theatre gives performances in the evening. The building has therefore given rise to a new sociocultural life, which assists in defining its identity anew.  © Dan Han The transparency between the different building elements and the unobstructed view of the processes involved in the production of brown sugar also make the building an attraction for visitors. The reduced materiality of bricks, steel construction, glass, and corrugated sheet metal creates a workroom that takes the cultural concerns of the village community into consideration.  Section As an expression of contemporary production and as a social meeting place and space for culture, the architecture shapes the social community in the village in a sustainable way. Here, the village's self-conception takes on a new form beyond traditional concepts.  © Dan Han  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Residence W / KC Design Studio Posted: 26 Apr 2018 03:00 PM PDT  © Hey!cheese
 © Hey!cheese Text description provided by the architects. In the space of nearly 125 square meters and three meters high, the first to overcome is the over-low steel girder and main pipe. We adopted the concept of "deconstruction" to separate the steel girder and ceiling so that either can exert its function independently. The arc technique of the ceiling will elevate the space. The low point of the arc can be equipped with the solid facilities.  © Hey!cheese  Plan  © Hey!cheese The setting of the style is based on the modern elements favored by the male owner and the natural elements favored by the female owner. The difference in style brings us a lot of inspirations. Like "deconstruction," different styles can exist separately.  © Hey!cheese We make the ceiling, the wall, and the floor independent and define the fields with different materials. For example, different floor materials are used in the living room and the bedroom while the wall material connects the whole space to lower the independent feeling.In the open space, we create the field spirit. With the technique of extension, the floor is extended to the wall, and the wall is extended to the ceiling to create the space integration and the visual tension.  © Hey!cheese  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Sai Gon Thuong Mai Hotel / H2 Arch Posted: 26 Apr 2018 01:00 PM PDT  © Quang Dam
 © Quang Dam Text description provided by the architects. The hotel is located in the center of Vinh - the area happens much commercial and travel activities. It was rebuilt from the old one which has a curved surface in shape. The curved surface made the front of the building seem to occult by others. Quality of covered materials and furniture in the hotel also reduced. The running function was not suitable for use necessaries.  © Quang Dam The task for architects to solve out first is making a brand new facade that is more exciting and easy to recognized by pedestrians. Second, the function and interior need to be reset for more effective using. Besides, getting natural wind and sunlight is also an important point to design the place while contributing interesting scenes. Last but not least, the building tends to be made up with sustainable and green materials aesthetically.  © Quang Dam The architects of H2 Arch worked with the locals to understand the resource out there and knew that it's so abundant in wood. So the wood product is also made with a large amount involving many joinery shops waste lots of wood slab. That made the concept of using small wooden pillars be born. We collected the wood slab, planned and rolled them into many small wooden pillars with same size combining with iron frames to set some kinds of the module.  © Quang Dam Then we changed their axis and established a new facade outstretching the street more prominently. The wooden pillars both solve the front issue and get natural wind and sunlight for inside. We reset the function for more effective using. The wood slab was used thoroughly to form small wooden pillars to cover the ceiling, wattle wall, and interior in lobby and reception area. The space was designed friendly with simple and natural material as wood, wood pillars, and whetstone floor. Wood was saturated with cashew oil, the local resource that can protect wood from vermiculating.  © Quang Dam  Section  © Quang Dam We respected the main structure of the building, just changed architecture by a brick wall, iron stair and frame and cover with wood. The solution is easy to execute, economical and suitable with the new facade. We developed and made more water and tree element inside the hotel to help to design interesting views and refresh the microclimate, make the air purer. All solution in terms of tree, water, getting natural wind and sunlight contribute to saving electricity.  © Quang Dam  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Flag & Pole / Ryuichi Ashizawa Architects & associates Posted: 26 Apr 2018 12:00 PM PDT  © Kaori Ichikawa
 © Kaori Ichikawa Text description provided by the architects. The project is a house and clinic in Dennenchofu Residential Area, at the southern periphery of Tokyo, Japan. Dennenchofu were planned based on Ebenezer Howard's 'Garden City' concept and lots were being sold since 1923. Fifty percent building coverage was mandatory to secure garden space for each lot.  © Kaori Ichikawa In the past it was populated with mansions built on large sites. However in recent years lots have been split by inheritance, reducing each lots' space for gardens, to a point where there are no gardens at all. The site of the project was also divided by inheritance, which resulted in a 'flag and pole' site of about 90 m2. The lot is squeezed between adjacent houses with only a 2.5m wide alley as access from the street.  3D Section RAA started the design process by examining 'flag and pole' sites around the site. In general, houses were built in the 'flag' portion of the site, whereas the 'pole' portion were used as the entrance and parking space, leaving no space for a garden. Moreover, the regular approach, built in a densely populated area, resulted in minimum natural ventilation and light exposure.  © Kaori Ichikawa Based on the afore-mentioned conditions, model studies and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were done, with compliance to local codes and regulations. The challenge was to obtain a building mass that could make maximum use of its' site's shape that would allow optimum ventilation and natural light exposure, while also providing adequate space for a garden in the midst of the densely populated residential area.  Structural Diagram The final mass manages to fuse the 'flag' and 'pole' portion of the site. The house curves horizontally and vertically, ensuring sun exposure and wind flow to every part of the house, from top to ground floor, outer to the depths of the house. The curved surface was made by fixing plywood on to the column, and the whole interior is clad in plywood.  © Kaori Ichikawa The program includes a clinic (located on the ground level) attached to the residence. The elongated living space at the second floor continues to the terrace, which cantilevers over the parking space, providing view to the park on the opposite road. Third floor is dedicated to the bedrooms and rooftop. Beside the three-story house, southern part of the narrow site has been dedicated to a garden. In this way, the house has become a unique, contemporary interpretation of Ebenezer Howard's 'Garden City' concept.  © Kaori Ichikawa  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2018 10:00 AM PDT  © Tom Ross
 © Tom Ross Text description provided by the architects. This brick home is one of a pair, built side-by-side c.1930. The brief was for a new bathroom and laundry, and a new kitchen and dining area that could entertain a large gathering while opening up to the backyard.  Plans The first option we considered was to demolish the rear of the building to make way for a new addition, but it soon became apparent that the available budget would fall short of this plan. Instead, a decision was made to retain much of the existing brick structure, and pop out a small extension to the side.  © Tom Ross This saved money in new structure and roofing while still allowing the entire back section to be reconfigured. We also liked how the home's physical connection to its twin next door was maintained. Bricks were salvaged from demolition, and re-used in the extension. In the bathroom, fittings and fixtures were located in former door openings to increase effective width while preserving a memory of house's past.  © Tom Ross One of our tenets is that bigger is not necessarily better. Witnessing the huge difference in function and amenity achieved through this compact renovation has been very rewarding, as was sharing our client's joy in the reinvigorated space.  © Tom Ross  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Anaha / Solomon Cordwell Buenz Posted: 26 Apr 2018 08:00 AM PDT  © Nic Lehoux
 © Nic Lehoux Text description provided by the architects. Combining history, context, and culture, the Anaha tower is an extraordinary example of contemporary architectural place-making. The condominium begins the implementation of Ward Village®, which is largest Platinum Certified LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) masterplan in the country.  © Nic Lehoux Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) in partnership with Honolulu-based Benjamin Woo Architects, Anaha is the second residential condominium tower to be completed within the award-winning 60-acre master-planned community transforming Honolulu's urban core.  © Nic Lehoux Located in the vibrant Kaka'ako district of Oahu, the 40-story, 857,000-square-foot tower creates 311 condominium homes that will help transform the previously industrial and retail focused district into a 24-hour mixed use community.  Axonometric View Anaha means "reflection of light" in Hawaiian. The tower's undulating form was inspired by the island's artistic tradition of abstracting waves. Through a sequence of shifted, interlocking, and softly curved floor plates and its high-performance glass curtain wall, the façade appears to be ever-changing in the light, like a wave shimmering in the sun, making the tower a distinctive and dynamic addition to the coast line.  © Nic Lehoux The orientation of the tower's long axis is placed 'Mauka-Makai', or mountain to ocean, which preserves coastal views from inland vantage points. The tower is brought cleanly down to the street to mark the residential entrance. The podium retail and townhomes activate Kamakee Street. Retail spaces, geared toward local artisans, are arranged along a shaded pedestrian promenade that connects Auahi and Queen Streets and feature operable facades to connect directly and stimulate street life.  Section Between the tower and podium geometries, a tranquil water feature is framed by one the country's largest verdant 'living walls', which contains a blend of 8,000 indigenous tropical plants and passes through the lobby façade, connecting outside and in. Perched 80 feet above Auahi Street, a glass-bottomed, saltwater pool cantilevers 15 feet off the edge of the seventh floor amenity deck creating a memorable spectacle.  © Nic Lehoux The design for Anaha employs numerous sustainable strategies and materials to create a building that is both environmentally responsive and focused on resident comfort. Since conventional faceted glazing could not convey the design intent and sinuous contours of the facade, the design team turned to large-format, solar-efficient radiused glass to meet both the technical performance and desired aesthetic. Juliet balconies allow the façade to open up, taking advantage of warm ocean breezes and allowing for an indoor/outdoor living experience for residents. Locally sourced materials also contain recycled content to the greatest degree possible and were selected to reduce or eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Kitchen appliances and plumbing fixtures and fittings are energy- and water-conserving models.  © Nic Lehoux  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Forensic Architecture Shortlisted for the 2018 Turner Prize Posted: 26 Apr 2018 07:00 AM PDT  Plume analysis is used by FA. It analyses the movement of clouds released in warfare, such as those that appear after a bomb explodes. Image © TiP, Balmond Studio The spatial investigation group Forensic Architecture has been nominated for the 2018 Turner Prize. Based at Goldsmiths University in London, the interdisciplinary group of architects, filmmakers, journalists, lawyers, and scientists have devoted their energy to investigating state and corporate violations worldwide. The nomination represents the second time a team of spatial designers has been recognized by the prize in its three-decade history, following on from 2015 winners Assemble. Founded in 2010 by architect Eyal Weizman, Forensic Architecture capitalizes on the widespread availability of open-source, grassroots evidence made abundant in the digital media age, including smartphone images, eyewitness testimony, satellite images, and digital recording equipment, to contribute to the fields of human rights, activism, and journalism.  Counter Investigations: Forensic Architecture at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Image © Mark Blower In a recent press release, Tate Britain revealed Forensic Architecture's selection "for their participation in documenta 14 and their solo exhibitions Counter Investigations: Forensic Architecture at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, Forensic Architecture: Towards an Investigative Aesthetics at MACBA Barcelona and Forensic Architecture: Towards an Investigative Aesthetics at MUAC Mexico [and] for developing highly innovative methods for sourcing and visualising evidence relating to human rights abuses around the world, used in courts of law as well as exhibitions of art and architecture." The online crowdsourcing database behind Forensic Architecture was exemplified recently with news that the team intended to collect people's first-hand accounts of the Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017 through the Grenfell Media Archive, in order to map them onto a 3D model of the tower and analyze exactly how the tragedy occurred.  Saydnaya Prison, as reconstructed by Forensic Architecture using acoustic modelling. Image © Forensic Architecture  Saydnaya Prison, as reconstructed by Forensic Architecture using acoustic modelling. Image © Forensic Architecture Previous examples of Forensic Architecture's activist work include a collaboration with Amnesty International to create a 3D model of Saydnaya, a Syrian torture prison, using architectural and acoustic modeling in 2016. Reconstructing the architecture of the secret detention center from the memory of survivors-turned-refugees, the project focused attention on traumatic events suffered in the prison.  © Forensic Architecture Forensic Architecture joins the coveted shortlist with three other artists: Naeem Mohaiemen, Charlotte Prodger, and Luke Willis Thompson. £25,000 will be awarded to the winner, with £5,000 going to the other three shortlisted artists. Works from the four shortlisted artists will be on display at the Tate Britain in London from 25th September 2018 to the 6th January 2019, with the winner announced at an award ceremony in December 2018. News via: Tate
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| Piedmont Retreat / Tonic Design Posted: 26 Apr 2018 06:00 AM PDT  © Tzu Chen Photography
 © Tzu Chen Photography Text description provided by the architects. Wrapped in vertical stripes of Corten® steel street-side, with vast expanses of floor-to-ceiling glass and cantilevered windows overlooking the forest behind it, a modern house sits quietly in the corner of a cul-de-sac in Durham.  © Tzu Chen Photography Katherine Hogan, AIA, and Vinny Petrarca of Tonic Design in Raleigh are responsible for this creative two-story, 3800-square-foot, single-family structure that will, as the steel continues to weather, blend into the natural setting and never need painting. Their clients loved the concept since they wanted a low-maintenance house with a modest public presence. The owners also wanted to maintain direct visual connection to their beautiful wooded site. The abundant glazing fulfills that wish.  © Tzu Chen Photography Form Follows Function: To create the innovative form and floor plan, the designers worked from the concept of a single square mass of space. They divided the mass into two halves: one for "public" spaces, one for private. Then they separated the two volumes and fanned them out to open the center of the composition to views of the natural environment, which created a protected exterior courtyard. Through this form, the two halves also face each other across the courtyard. As a result, the homeowners can enjoy the exterior of their new house from the interior and watch the steel reach its ultimate patina.  Scheme Old/New, Raw/Refined: The homeowners also wanted to use reclaimed and repurposed materials wherever possible. Hogan and Petrarca used this directive to create contrasts between old and new, raw and refined. Complementing the steel-glass contrast, new modern fixtures and finishes juxtapose with reclaimed-wood floors, recycled factory lights, and elements from the couple's collection of art, objects and furniture.  © Tzu Chen Photography  Scheme Public/Private: While the steel provides an exterior barrier, of sorts, between the family and the street, interior spaces are open and fluid, shifting perspectives throughout the house as the inhabitants move from the "public" volume of living, dining, and kitchen areas to the private volume of bedrooms and baths, all on one floor. Light-filled walkways join the two portions. The lower level is intended for guests and includes two bedroom suites on opposite sides of the floor for privacy and a two-car garage.  © Tzu Chen Photography  Upper Plan  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2018 05:30 AM PDT  Le Grande Louvre. Image © Greg Kristo Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (born April 26, 1917), is arguably the greatest living member of the modernist generation of architects. When he received his Pritzker Prize in 1983, the jury citation stated that he "has given this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms."  © RIBA <a href='http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/7206598/Lifetime-achievement-award-for-architect-I.-M.-Pei.html?image=9'>via The Telegraph</a> Born in Suzhou, China, I.M. Pei grew up in Hong Kong and Shanghai before deciding to move to the United States to study architecture. Though he was uninspired by the Beaux-Arts traditions at both the University of Pennsylvania and MIT, a professor convinced him to persevere. He received his Bachelor's degree in 1940, when the second Sino-Japanese War forced him to abandon his plans to return to his home country - in the end, a fortuitous event for the young architect, as it allowed him to discover the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, where Pei worked with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.  Bank of China Tower. Image © <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HK_Bank_of_China_Tower_View.jpg'>Wikimedia user WiNG</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY 3.0</a> Pei founded his own practice in 1955, then known as I.M. Pei & Associates (but later changing its name to Pei & Partners in 1966 and finally to Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1989). In its six-decade history, the firm's most well-known work is likely his crystalline extension to the Louvre in Paris; other highly influential works include the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and the JFK Presidential Library in Boston. In 1990, Pei retired from full-time practice, progressively reducing his workload over the following decades. However, he still takes on some work as an architectural consultant, often for Pei Partnership Architects, the firm founded by his sons Chien Chung Pei and Li Chung Pei.  JFK Presidential Library. Image © Daniel Cooper Though known as a modernist, and notable for his forms based upon arrangements of simple geometric shapes such as triangles, circles, and squares, Pei has rejected the implications of globalism inherent in the "International Style," instead advocating contextual development and variation in style. He has commented that "the important distinction is between a stylistic approach to the design; and an analytical approach giving the process of due consideration to time, place, and purpose." On a trip to China in 1974, he even urged Chinese architects to look more to their architectural tradition, rather than designing in a Western style.  Everson Museum. Image © Jesse Ganes Check out some of Pei's greatest works featured on ArchDaily via the thumbnails below, and more coverage below those: I.M. Pei awarded with the RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2010 IM Pei Wins UIA Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement I.M. Pei's Le Grande Louvre Wins AIA 25 Year Award I.M. Pei's Inspiration: A Comparison of Masterful Architecture with Minimalist Art A Young Architect's Chance Encounter With Living Legend I.M. Pei The Evolution of Light in IM Pei's Museums, from Dark Concrete Voids to Luminous Glass Pyramids Why IM Pei's Museum of Islamic Art is the Perfect Building to Suit Doha's Style Texas Society of Architects' 25-Year Award Presented to I. M. Pei & Partners' Fountain Place  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jean Nouvel's National Museum of Qatar Takes Shape as New Images Released Posted: 26 Apr 2018 05:00 AM PDT  © Iwan Baan New images of the Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar have been released, as construction continues in Doha ahead of its projected December 2018 opening. The architectural concept for the scheme has been inspired by the desert rose, and seeks to create a dialogue between the fluid, contemporary architectural form of the museum, and the historic objects it will contain. As quoted in a recent press release by Qatar Museums, the scheme will "give a voice to Qatar's heritage whilst celebrating its future."  © Iwan Baan The National Museum of Qatar seeks to redefine the role of cultural institutions, transitioning the visitor from spectator to participant. When complete, the museum will cover 225,000 square feet (21,000 square meters), containing permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, a 220-seat auditorium, a 70-seat forum, a heritage research center, conservation laboratories, collection stores, and offices, as well as catering facilities including two cafes, a restaurant, and a boutique.  © Iwan Baan The museum is currently being constructed around the original palace of former Emir of Qatar Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Doha. As a monument to Qatar's historic way of life, the palace has recently been fully restored as a central exhibit with the new museum opens, furthering a dialogue between past and future.  © Iwan Baan Central to the museum's design process was a desire to make the visitor feel immersed in both the desert and sea, strengthening the impact of the historic nomadic artifacts on display. According to Jean Nouvel, the scheme's interlocking structure, formed of steel, glass and fiber concrete, recalls the "blade-like petal of the desert rose, a mineral formation of crystallized sand found in the briny layer just beneath the desert's surface."  © Iwan Baan
News via: Qatar Museums / Ateliers Jean Nouvel
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| Posted: 26 Apr 2018 04:30 AM PDT  Aula Medica. Image © Tord-Rikard Söderström One of Sweden's most esteemed living architects, Gert Wingårdh (born 26 April 1951) brought Swedish architecture out of the tradition of the International Style and into contemporary times with his playful design spirit and love of eye-catching materials. With his use of bright colors and geometric motifs, his recent buildings have been described as "Maximalist" or "Modern Baroque."  © Jesper Ray <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gert_Wingardh_photo.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Wingårdh was born in Skövde, Sweden as the only child of owners of a cement factory. At age 10, the family moved to Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city, where Wingårdh took an interest in art and cinema, eventually enrolling at Gothenburg University to study art history. While in the program, Wingårdh traveled to Rome and was captivated by the city and its classical buildings, in particular the Pantheon. Returning home, Wingårdh enrolled at Chalmers University, where he received his masters of architecture.  Facts Tåkern Visitor Centre. Image Courtesy of Åke E:son Lindman Upon graduation in 1975, Wingårdh began working for Olivegrens Arkitektkontor AB. This was his only job at a firm before opening his own practice, Wingårdh Arkitektkontor, in 1977. The next 10 years saw Wingårdh take on small commissions before his critical breakthrough in 1988 with his design for the Öijared Executive Country Club outside Gothenburg. Inspired by the earth-sheltered structures of Emilio Ambasz, the country club was placed into a hillside and entirely covered in earth, allowing the roof of the building to act as the golf course's first tee. The project earned Wingårdh the first of his record 5 Kasper Salin prizes, the highest award in Sweden for excellence in architecture. .jpg?1461330197 "VillAnn. Image © James Silverman") VillAnn. Image © James Silverman The next 20 years saw more prize-winning architecture, including the Astra Zeneca complex in Mölndal (1993), the Chalmers Student Union Building (2001), VillAnn (2005), City Pool in Landskrona (2006) and the Aranäs High School (2006). In the late 90's, Wingårdh began working internationally, receiving the commissions for the Swedish Embassies in Berlin (1999) and in Washington, D.C. (2006), known as the House of Sweden.  Kuggen. Image © Tord-Rikard Söderström In the last decade, Wingårdh began to develop a more stylistic aesthetic, often implementing bold colors, geometric patterns and dramatically tilting walls in his designs for large-scale shopping centers and university buildings. Projects in this period include Muritzeum (2008), K:Fem Department Store (2008), Facts Tåkern Visitor Centre (2008), Spira Performing Arts Center (2011) Emporia Shopping Center (2012), Quality Hotel Friends (2013), and Aula Medica at Karolinska (2013). His 2011 design for Kuggen ("The Cog") at Chalmers features a rotating screen shielding the top floors from harsh sun. .jpg?1461330179 "Victoria Tower. Image Courtesy of Åke E:son Lindman") Victoria Tower. Image Courtesy of Åke E:son Lindman He has attracted some controversy in his home country for his embrace of skyscrapers. His Victoria Tower (2011) is one of the tallest buildings in Stockholm, and a recent design for a 237-meter, 75-story tower in south Stockholm has been put on hold due to outcry that it may not meet zoning requirements.  Facts Emporia. Image © Tord-Rikard Söderström In 2015, Wingårdh released "What is Architecture? And 100 Other Questions," a popular book that provides both a long and short answer for what he believes are the most pressing questions in architecture today. Wingårdh answers the titular question by responding that architecture is "the built image of ourselves." Looking at his work through this lens, it is clear that Wingårdh now believes the greatest human attribute is our capacity for playfulness.  Quality Hotel Friends / Karolina Keyzer + Wingårdhs. Image © Tord-Rikard Söderström See all of Gert Wingårdh's work featured on ArchDaily via the thumbnails below, and more coverage via the links below those:
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| Posted: 26 Apr 2018 04:00 AM PDT  © Onnis Luque
 © Onnis Luque Text description provided by the architects. The proposal comes from the client's requirement to generate a visual insight throughout the house by way of an indoor patio, ensuring that its function is not only decorative but also practical. The solution was to create an entrance to the residence through this patio, which helped us not only to provide these natural views, light and ventilation to the area but also to create a pathway from the street that allows you to discover a green and silent atmosphere. The welcoming feeling that the patio produces lengthens the entrance, where the patio becomes a passageway to the house and not just the face to the street.  © Onnis Luque  Lower Floor Plan At the same time, the indoor patio organizes the architectural program, separating the public area from the semi-public area. This works as the principal character of the house which creates a micro-climate that influences all the spaces of the house. The living room, dining room and kitchen are located between the patio and the backyard garden, which has a view to a lake and a golf course. These spaces become an important part of social interactions and the line between the inside and the outside disappears.  © Onnis Luque The aesthetics of the spaces is set in way that it remains loyal to the constructive system and it emphasize its elements by separating them in an evident manner. The materiality -glass, gray concrete, white concrete and wood - are organized by contrast, provoking an easy reading of the built body, as its composition looks to find an image of pure volumes.  © Onnis Luque  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Bjarke Ingels' Twisting High Line Towers Presented in New Art Installation Posted: 26 Apr 2018 03:30 AM PDT  © Keshia Badalge It was an early morning in Chelsea, and men in suits were standing around the street, ushering in guests into a dark, 12,000 square-foot exhibition space at the XI gallery. Inside, the room was lit by a centerpiece installation of the New York City skyline, sprawling upwards towards the ceiling with its reflection. Bjarke Ingels was going to unveil new plans for The XI ('The Eleventh'), a pair of twisting towers set between 17th and 18th Streets and 10th and 11th Avenue. Es Devlin, a British artist who has stage-designed for Beyoncé and Katy Perry, was tapped by HFZ Capital Group to create three installations to present the project. In the gallery, Bjarke Ingels's work is seen through a sculptural map of Manhattan constructed within a 30-foot wide concave hemisphere (Egg); a pair of illuminated towers gently rotating upon shimmering water (Dance); and a 360-degree film strip of Ingels and his sketches scrolling across a horseshoe-shaped room (Paper, Stone, Glass, Water). "Evolution in constant motion," Es Devlin told reporters as she gestured towards the curves of the dancing towers. Bjarke laughed. "I'll bring it down to pragmatism." On The Design © Nikolas Koenig  © Keshia Badalge  © Keshia Badalge Bjarke Ingels explained that because the two asymmetrical towers were situated on different plots - one along the Hudson River, the other along the High Line, they had different views of the surrounding district and could potentially obstruct each other's views. This was made worse by warehouses along the street that were blocking views to the South. © Keshia Badalge "Which is why we opened out," he continued, "So the tower on the river is reducing its footprint on the ground and opening up direct views for its neighbor to look out over the river." He points towards the model of the two towers, which are twisting in opposite directions, as if through a dance, in mutual courtesy, they are enhancing each other's conditions.  © Keshia Badalge  © Keshia Badalge "In return, at the top, the other tower diminishes its width, opening up direct views for the tower on the river to look at the High Line and over the city. As the tower re-proportions, you have some of the windows from one facade going to the other side, and you end up cutting all these corners, where windows migrate from one part of the building to the other, giving the two towers their distinguished characteristics."  © Keshia Badalge  © Keshia Badalge The skewing of this geometry will offer residents optimized views of The High Line, the Hudson River, Downtown and Midtown. Bjarke Ingels drew inspiration from New York City's classic Modernist structures and combined it with the features of lofts in the area. The facades are comprised of travertine and bronze, and the sophisticated geometry with the rows of floor-to-ceiling windows that migrate from one side of the building to the other actually lay bare the bones of the building, like a real Chelsea loft. Ingels added, "By following the columns and the grid, the result is a sort of composition that is at its core fundamentally practical and pragmatic, and also solving it in a way that is almost poetic."
The towers will be connected by a glass sky bridge, and will have luxury residences and a hotel. The Location: "Architecture Row" © Dbox for HFZ Capital Group  © Dbox for HFZ Capital Group Located between 10th and 11th Avenue and 17th and 18th Streets in Manhattan, with The High Line on one side, and the Hudson River on the other, The Eleventh has some remarkable architectural neighbors. These include Frank Gehry's IAC building, Renzo Piano's Whitney Museum of American Art, Jean Nouvel's The Chelsea Nouvel ('100 Eleventh Avenue') and forthcoming buildings by Norman Foster, Thomas Heatherwick and Jeanne Gang.  © Dbox for HFZ Capital Group  © Dbox for HFZ Capital Group It will also take advantage of new developments in The High Line, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Field Operations. It is the only location where The High Line has any real manifestation on the ground, and DS+R are creating a park so that restaurants and shops at the basement of The Eleventh will expand naturally into The High Line.  © Keshia Badalge When complete, the towers will be approximately 300 and 400 feet, the tallest buildings in West Chelsea. On the prominence of Bjarke Ingels' project, Es Devlin said, "It's a context that starts with the first time in the caves of North Spain, when somebody put their hand on the wall and said I'm here and put red mud around it, to now, when there is a hand drawing through the streets of New York and extruding a new part of the sculpture, and it's a part of the city that will cast its light and its shadow on everyone that walks through it."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Dear Internet: Stop Placing Blame for Gentrification on an Architectural Style Posted: 26 Apr 2018 02:30 AM PDT  The AVA Ballard, market rate apartments in Seattle, Washington. Image © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle_-_AVA_(building)_05.jpg'>Wikimedia user Joe Mabel</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> This article was originally published by Common Edge as "Architecture, Aesthetic Moralism, and the Crisis of Urban Housing." It may shock some people to hear this, but architecture is not urban planning. It is not transportation planning, sociology, political science, or critical geography. However, architecture, new-build apartment architecture specifically, has become a social media scapegoat for today's urban housing crisis: escalating developer-driven gentrification. Out of my own curiosity, I searched several academic databases for research that successfully correlates the architectural aesthetic of new build apartments with gentrification. While many writers and denizens of social media really want to blame today's bland, boxy, cladding-driven style of multifamily urban housing for gentrification, I'm afraid the research isn't there. In fact, one study featured in a paper on neighborhood early warning systems for gentrification cites historic architecture as one of five predictors of gentrification in the DC area.
Aesthetic moralism—the belief that one aesthetic is inherently better or more righteous than another—is a common fallacy many of us inadvertently fall prey to. This is especially true when the aesthetic in question is politicized, as in the case of the crisis of housing. There's no doubt that constructive criticisms of an architectural aesthetic are useful and important. Additionally, there are types of architecture whose critiques are tied to specific philosophical and political problems, such as cultures of consumerism, or environmentalism. However, the distinction between constructive architectural critique and aesthetic moralism is that the latter is emotionalized and metaphorical—the supremacy of one style over another comes from the idea that the preferred style is inherently "right" or "great" without being tied to any supportive concrete political, material, or philosophical argument. To give an example, aesthetic moralism is trenchant in the conservative idea that "traditional" or historicist architecture is inherently better than modernist architecture because historicist architecture represents a time when "men were men" and "people cared about craftsmanship" and that architecture was rooted in the greatness of old (nationalist) empires. Aesthetic moralism is unfortunately trenchant in the urban housing debate, usually on the NIMBY side, which often argues that new housing destroys "neighborhood character." However, it is unfortunate that such an empty argument has become more common in left critiques of the urban housing crisis and the YIMBY movement. Aesthetic moralism only serves to weaken the left's genuine critiques of both the NIMBY politics of neighborhood exclusivity and the potential effects of market-driven housing reform on poor and racialized areas prone to displacement. One sardonic article in particular, published recently in The Baffler, demonstrates this tendency of aesthetic moralism in lefty cultural circles. The author, writer Kyle Paoletta, spends almost the entire article complaining about the ugliness and blandness of new-build development in Cambridge. At the end, he pithily admits that "privileging aesthetics over affordability is exactly what ruined [Greenwich] Village…" concluding that ugliness is a necessary evil if we want cities to be affordable and that we should "press for the developers to at the very least maintain the venerable of urban life…" Despite this brief, begrudging concession to the fact that more housing needs to be built (followed by one last paragraph of "but it's ugly"), Paoletta's piece is not absolved of its aesthetic moralism. In stark contrast, Belt Magazine published (on the same day as Paoletta's screed) a lengthy article about rising rents in Chicago and the need for rent control to prevent displacement. While the piece by Mina Bloom and Ariel Cheung briefly mentions the role of architecture in Chicago's gentrification, it focuses instead on the lived experience of vulnerable tenants and the structural causes of the influx of the wealthy into these areas. The article is convincing, and makes its point without petty finger pointing at ugly new apartments. If anything, aesthetic moralism detracts from the crux of the issue at the heart of the housing crisis: as housing becomes more and more expensive, more and more vulnerable populations will become displaced in order to accommodate the influx of the affluent into cities.  The ill-fated Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex, in St. Louis, before its demolition in 1972. Image via US Geological Society This use of architecture as a scapegoat for sociopolitical problems is nothing new. Personally, I am not a fan of the style of apartment architecture referred to by Kriston Capps as "fast-casual," or by me as developer chic. However, its use as a target in the gentrification debate is misguided. First, as a recent debacle of internet memery proves, not every every iteration of developer chic is luxury or upper-middle class housing. This type of housing is relatively inexpensive to construct, which is why some architects and developers like it so much and why it is loathed by critics like Paoletta. In the private sector, cheap construction offers a high rate of return, but inexpensive or partially prefabricated construction have a long history in the architecture of public housing, the aesthetics of which have long been denounced. For example, the problems that plagued mid-century public housing in the US are frequently cited both inside (Charles Jencks, anyone?) and outside of architecture circles as failures of architecture and design rather than as a system of complex sociopolitical issues that intersect race, planning, and policy. In San Francisco, the modernist towers of yesteryear are a continuous boogeyman weaponized to prevent multi-family affordable and public housing from getting built, allowing the property values of single-family homes to continue to rise past their current $1 million dollar median. America's hatred towards the poor and the working class are laid bare in these naked feuds. In 2000, 42 units of federally-subsidized housing for teachers who could no longer afford to live in San Francisco was overthrown by homeowners in the Sunset District who in a fit of cruel hysteria claimed that "[the teachers] don't even do a good job educating our kids," and that the project was a slippery slope to public housing tower blocks that would usher in "rampant crime." In Forest Hill, another neighborhood of San Francisco, architecture was a major excuse for homeowners' successful fight against housing for formerly homeless people and senior citizens, claiming that the dense development would ruin the character of the neighborhood and that the design would give rise to and be inhabited by the mentally ill and "drug addicts." San Francisco and other California cities need to house a large number of people as these areas becomes increasingly unaffordable, and yet the myth of the design of modernist towers being a precursor to crime continues to pervade the discussion amongst people who, when it comes down to it, would rather see teachers, seniors, poor and working class people live on the streets than have their property values decline (another myth), their views blocked, or their "neighborhood character" ruined. Affordable mid and high-rise towers are the most effective way to house the greatest number of people on the smallest parcel of land, something that's desperately needed in places like San Francisco, where the value of land is so high. In today's world of inexpensive building materials, that means building in developer-chic. In a particularly twisted turn of fate, many of the people protesting modernist high rises in San Francisco, claiming that they will ruin the character of their neighborhoods, live in areas full of modernist houses, including those designed by the famed Joseph Eichler, who aimed to design houses with great architecture that were affordable for the masses. _-_Karl-Marx-Hof.jpg?1524742367) The Karl Marx Hof, a social housing project built when the city was governed by the Social Democratic Party of Austria, a period known as "Red Vienna" (1918-1934). Image © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:D%C3%B6bling_(Wien)_-_Karl-Marx-Hof.JPG'>Wikimedia user Bwag</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 4.0</a> A great tragedy of modernism was that it often intended to do the most good and help the most amount of people, from the post-war social democratic visions of Britain and "Red" Vienna to the thousands of high schools and post offices built during the Works Progress Administration—modernism was a vision that architecture in this wonderfully technologically advanced world could be utilized to better the lives of all mankind. Modernist public housing was not the failure of architecture it was the failure of people—through racial prejudices, misguided and poorly thought out policies, ugly politics, and economic greed, people caused the public housing of the past to fail.  Compass on Dexter, housing for formerly homeless and low-income men, women and children in Seattle, WA. Image via US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development Still, there's a reason developer-chic architecture has become so loathed by those fighting for the right to affordable housing. Even though there are several examples to the contrary, a good bit of this type of housing is built for the upper-middle classes, and in this way, its presence is politicized. New-build apartment buildings are common in wealthier enclaves of cities with great disparities in income inequality, such as Baltimore or Philadelphia. But they are often built during what scholars Jason Hackworth and Neil Smith have called "third-wave gentrification," which is exemplified by gentrification's expansion into both inner-city and more remote neighborhoods, the involvement of larger developers in gentrifying neighborhoods, the weakening of the anti-gentrification movement as workers are displaced from the city, and increased involvement of the state in gentrification. The architectural profiles of these new buildings may not cause gentrification, in and of themselves, but in many ways they become aesthetic symbols of the two waves of gentrification that have already been completed. New luxury developments are often clad in both old and new aesthetic signifiers of wealth. Instead of the highly ornamental monumental architecture of cities past, new luxury developments offer (in the shape of an apartment building) the newer urban popularity of the 'industrial,' (a veneer of historical authenticity) to the many-cladded, large-windowed, pastiche and desirable interior amenities (granite countertops, anyone?) favored by many formerly suburban transplants. This is, in fact, one aspect of Paoletta's article I agree with: many of these developer-chic apartments have "been scaled, planned, and outfitted for the very suburbs [their] inhabitants have fled."  The West End Flats, in Denver, an affordable housing project for formerly homeless and low-income individuals built in the "developer chic" style. Image via US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development While a new affordable mixed-use development and a new-build luxury development can look relatively similar on the outside, the new-build luxury development is one that brings, as its baggage, the same signifiers of wealth as the McMansion. This intense, immediate dislike of these aesthetics of wealth are not new: it is an old criticism applied to a new architectural typology. However, to dislike these apartments based on precedent aesthetic signifiers of luxury when the loathed architecture in question is utilized to house the formerly homeless, or offer a swath of affordable apartments for seniors creates confusion— a breakdown in the signifying chain. So why do these new buildings look this way? Often, both luxury and affordable or public developments have to conform to certain aesthetic standards in order to pass a city's required design review process before the proposed developments can be approved. When a city requires any new building to look a certain way as a condition of its being built, judging a book by its cover is certain to backfire. Because of this, alongside the historical weaponization of aesthetics by the ruling classes in the fight for social housing, it is imperative that left critiques of both the NIMBY homeowner-class and the market-driven YIMBY movement, avoid aesthetic posturing. While new-build architecture may be an easy target for both ironic internet memes and armchair criticism, the urban housing debate has people's lives and futures at stake, and thus must be firmly rooted in the political struggle for the right to the city. In the book The Art of Inequality: Architecture, Housing, and Real Estate, Jacob Moore and Susanne Schindler say it best: "No building type or architectural style creates inequality as such. Assuming so grossly overestimates architecture's power." Kate Wagner is the creator of the viral architecture blog McMansion Hell, a freelance writer, and a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University researching concert hall design in transition from Late to Post-Modernism.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU / Steven Holl Architects Posted: 26 Apr 2018 02:00 AM PDT  © Iwan Baan
 © Iwan Baan Text description provided by the architects. Sited at the edge of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus in Richmond, Virginia, the new Institute for Contemporary Art links the University with the surrounding community. On the busiest intersection of Richmond at Broad and Belvidere Streets, the building forms a gateway to the University with an inviting sense of openness. The main entrance is formed by an intersection of the performance space and Forum, adding a vertical "Z" component to the "X-Y" movement of the intersection. The torsion of these intersecting bodies is joined by a "plane of the present" to the galleries in "forking time."  © Iwan Baan  Proposal Sketch  © Iwan Baan The idea of "forking time" suggests that in the world of contemporary art there are many parallel times. The notion of one ongoing time and its "grand narrative" of history is questioned. The new Institute for Contemporary Art is organized in four galleries, each with a different character. Flexibility allows for four separate exhibitions, one continuous exhibition, or combinations. Galleries can be closed for installations without affecting the circulation to the others. One can begin the sequence through the four galleries by taking the oversized elevator to the top and circling down, or by beginning at the lower gallery of the Forum and moving up. Exposed concrete beams and planks in the galleries complement the concrete floors. As flexible spaces, the galleries can accept suspended art or projects anchored to the floor slab.  © Iwan Baan Vertical movement along the "plane of the present" links the galleries, the performance space, the sculpture garden and Forum. Along this architectural promenade, the integration of all the building elements can be experienced in changing views.  © Iwan Baan  Ground Floor Plan The 41,000-square-foot building has a double front: one side opens from the city, the other from the sculpture garden to the Forum, linking city and campus. On the ground level, the café opens directly onto the sculpture garden, as does the ground-level gallery. Pivot doors allow opening events to spill out into the garden. Paved in bluestone slabs and gravel, the garden is planted with gingko trees. A large reflecting pond of recycled water shapes the sense of this garden as a "Thinking Field."  © Iwan Baan  Second Floor Plan The building is an experience of movement in time around the exterior as well as the interior. Approaching on foot from the west (from the University), the building unfolds in the parallax of changing perspectives. As you walk, the crunch of gravel under your feet is complemented by a view that gradually opens to reveal the Forum. If you arrive by car from the north, east, or south, the double-vertical geometry in torsion marks a gateway presence, which changes shape as the car passes by. At night, glowing planes of obscure glass activate the exterior. Video projections may appear on these obscure glass walls, animating the outdoor space with art.  © Iwan Baan The 240-seat flexible performance space is fully equipped for film, theater, dance, and music performances. It connects the first floor with the second, where an overlook from the galleries provides an unexpected view between visual and performing arts.  © Iwan Baan  Section: Auditorium The exterior matte translucent glass and pre-weathered titanium zinc skin share the same greenish-grey tonality, giving the building a shifting presence, from monolithic opaque to multifarious translucent, depending on the light. The four rooftop gardens include a sculpture terrace on the second level for site-specific artist installations. The LEED Gold building is heated and cooled with geothermal wells, harvesting the same amount of energy during the winter to heat the building as it restores in the summer to cool the building.  © Iwan Baan The Institute for Contemporary Art will be a new gateway and catalyst, linking the University and the city of Richmond. With its inviting double-fronted forum opening to a serene sculpture garden, it will provide spatial energy for the most important cutting-edge contemporary art exhibits. Propelled by VCU's top-ranked School of the Arts, the ICA's architecture is an instrument for exhibitions, film screenings, public lectures, performances, symposia, and community events, engaging the University, the city, and beyond.  © Iwan Baan  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AIA Announces Winners of 2018 Education Design Facility Awards Posted: 26 Apr 2018 01:00 AM PDT  © Scott Norsworthy The American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education has announced the winners of this year's Education Facility Design Awards. The eight winners and two merit honors were awarded this year's best educational facilities that not only demonstrate excellence in contemporary architectural design but also further education in innovative ways and serve as an inspirational learning space. This year's projects are designed for students of all ages, from childhood facilities to higher education buildings. "Education continues to evolve, and the projects from this year's Education Facility Design Awards program—presented by the AIA and the Committee on Architecture for Education—represent the state-of-the-art learning environments being developed in today's learning spaces. These projects showcase innovation across the entire learning continuum, displaying how architects are creating cutting-edge spaces that enhance modern pedagogy." Read more about the winners below. Award of Excellence Chatham University Eden Hall Campus; Richland Township, Pennsylvania / Mithun  © Bruce Damonte Chatham University's new Eden Hall Campus is designed to prepare students for an uncertain future, where skills related to research and creative problem solving are essential. The campus is designed as a living lab to support research into topics including sustainable food systems, water and air quality, and the social systems they support with a curriculum that encourages hands-on experiential learning so that graduates gain experience tackling real-world problems and creating positive results, as preparation for careers as sustainability professionals. Haverford College Visual Culture, Arts, and Media Building; Haverford, Pennsylvania / MSR Design -07.jpg?1524108293 "© Lara Swimmer") © Lara Swimmer Learning in the 21st century requires active engagement that mirrors an ever-changing creative workforce. Fully developed visual and digital literacy practices enable students to move fluidly between multiple media forms, building upon source materials to create collaborative arts, scholarship, and media productions. Haverford College's new Visual Culture, Arts, and Media (VCAM) Building provides students, faculty, staff, and the wider community with a new, highly flexible, 24/7 learning environment of intersecting spaces designed for interpreting and making visual media. Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre (KTTC); Peterborough, Ontario, Canada / Perkins+Will Canada Inc.  © Tom Arban The 87,000 sf Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre at Fleming College brings together theoretical teaching and applied learning in a dynamic new environment that emphasizes program visibility, technology and collaborative learning. Connected to the existing main social and academic building, the KTTC houses SMART classrooms, faculty offices and administrative spaces, as well as teaching workshops, bulk project storage, and a 27,000-sf flexible multi-disciplinary project space called the "learning factory." Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR); Memphis, Tennessee / archimania  © Hank Mardukas Photography Memphis Teacher Residency, a faith-based, non-profit organization, required a new space for recruitment, training, and supporting teachers through an urban teacher residency graduate program. As the context for their new home, the organization decided on a large and recently renovated Sears distribution center that sat empty and decaying for 17 years. MTR was one of eight founding tenants in arts, education, and healthcare involved in realizing the newly transformed, one million square foot "urban village", Crosstown Concourse. Crosstown Concourse contains all the essentials for a thriving community. MTR became the first tenants to move into the facility—a unique space distinctly suitable to serve its operation and mission. Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab; Allston, Massachusetts / Shepley Bulfinch  © Robert Benson Photography The mission of the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab is to provide students, faculty, post docs, and alumni with a fully-equipped wet-lab environment and resources needed to take their ventures to the next stage of development. The Life Lab's curated community fosters connections among industry, investor, government and academic stakeholders. The life lab was designed and constructed as a modular building, composed of 34 modules that were built off-site concurrent with the foundation construction on-site. The overall construction period was 7 months shorter than with traditional construction, reducing the impact of site activity including noise, dust, deliveries, and on-site waste. The Frick Environmental Center; Pittsburgh / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson  © Denmarsh Photography Serving as a public gateway to Frick Park, the Frick Environmental Center is designed to both beckon and shelter; gently nudging park visitors from the edge of city neighborhoods towards the heart of the "wild" park beyond. The project's beauty inspires new visitors while simultaneously asking them to grapple with the impact of our humanity in a dynamic natural ecosystem—one that we are part of, yet inherently distanced from. The Center provides the backdrop for public discourse about this delicate balance. The Frick Environmental Center was recently awarded LEED Platinum certification, and is currently in the performance review period for the Living Building Challenge, widely regarded as the world's most rigorous and complete building standard. Tsinghua Ocean Center; Shenzhen, China / Open Architecture  © Zhang Chao Instant university towns epitomize recent Chinese urbanization: far away from city centers, these isolated urban archipelagos are often over-scaled, with a lack of humanistic concern and its attendant services. The opportunity to design Ocean Center—the last building on this campus—gives us hope that the new building will participate in the life of the campus with a brand-new attitude, presenting possibilities that rarely existed before. This is a building with an open, welcoming atmosphere, with injected public spaces that encourage all the staff and students to participate and socialize. It is a building that facilitates interdisciplinary communication and the encounter of intelligent minds. University of Iowa Voxman Music Building; Iowa City / LMN Architects  © Tim Griffith Immersed in the downtown core of Iowa City, the Voxman Music Building embraces a collaborative and exploratory student-driven model of education. The building shares musical discovery with the community through its transparent expression and composition of spaces. Conceptually, the pattern of streets and open spaces in this mixed-use urban district extends directly into the multi-level interior spaces, bringing vertical urban vitality and civic presence to the School of Music. Awards of Merit Arlington Elementary School; Tacoma, Washington / Mahlum  © Benjamin Benschneider To begin, Tacoma Public Schools developed a robust framework of inquiry towards "A New Vision for the Elementary Learning Environment" that asked a series of provocative questions rather than providing concrete solutions. The result is a non-traditional educational specification that allows new interpretations to be created while providing the District with guidelines for building planning and design that stipulates relentless reinterpretation, deep analysis, creative synthesis and meaningful reinvention at every turn. Ballet Memphis, Memphis / archimania  © Hank Mardukas Photography Ballet Memphis believes their art form is all about soaring—learning to fly and getting up off the ground. Their new, civic-oriented facility extends their mission, physically performing an energetic message about culture and arts from within the heart of Memphis. With large windows and public courtyards, the building contributes symbiotically within the thriving district. Read more about the winners on the AIA's website, here.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| New Hotel From Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter Nestles Gently Into the French Hillside Posted: 25 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, WSBY, Tejo Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter has released images of a new hotel located in the northeast of France. Breitengach Landscape Hotel links the beautiful French countryside and culture with modern lodging through a combination of amenities. The main reception building, a restaurant, and spa are flanked by 14 Nordic-style cabins that sit lightly on the hillside. Referencing the local character and landscape, the hotel will "offer an unusual but comfortable experience" for all visitors.  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, WSBY, Tejo The elegant and simple material palette of light wood and glass creates a refined, luxurious environment for guests that "will answer to their desire for quality." Although the cabins contrast with the green, rolling hillside, the clean design and proportions help them blend effortlessly into the landscape. The cabins range in size from 20 square meters to 60 square meters.  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, WSBY, Tejo All of the private features incorporated into the overall design provide uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape. The hotel will also incorporate regional art and culture into dedicated exhibition spaces as a way to promote the local practices.  © Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, WSBY, Tejo
News via: Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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