Arch Daily |
- Hussein Bin Talal Park / Strelka Architects + Strelka KB + Snøhetta
- Primary school Nezamyslice / Malý Chmel
- No-Boundary Tolilet / ZHUBO-AAO
- CORTEZZA / TERRANUM
- Casa Sebastian / Workshop, Diseño y Construcción
- Dique Luján House / FRAM arquitectos
- Hofmann House / Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
- NUDES Designs a Mosque of Light for Dubai
- APR House / Studio AG Arquitetura
- Canada's Best Architecture of 2018 Recognized by Canadian Architect Magazine
- Urban Lofts / Bureau Fraai + BNLA Architecten
- How to Judge a Building: Does it Make you Feel More, Or Less Alive?
- What 6 British Cities Could Have Looked Like
- Casa Zupe / Iván Bravo Arquitecto + Bruno Giliberto
- Stone Houses in Cáceres / Tuñón Arquitectos
- Peter Barber's Adventurously Eccentric London Architecture
| Hussein Bin Talal Park / Strelka Architects + Strelka KB + Snøhetta Posted: 07 Dec 2018 06:00 PM PST  © Strelka KB
 © Strelka KB Text description provided by the architects. Hussein bin Talal Park in Grozny, ordinary at the first glance, could be considered as one of the first contemporary public space in the Russian Caucasus. After the regional conflicts that followed the fall of the Soviet Union, Grozny, the capital of the Republic of Chechnya with a 90% Muslim population, was faced with the task of almost total reconstruction of the city. This reconstruction, beginning in 2003, has made huge strides in clearing signs of destruction and decay but public spaces, having less direct economic impact, naturally remained last on the list of priorities. The city needed a new type of urban center of attraction for residents of different ages. With this in mind, the park was to bridge national culture and modern infrastructure – and today, it has become overwhelmingly popular in the local community.  © Maria Gonzalez Noticeably, it was Milana Sadaeva, a female Deputy Mayor of Grozny, who coordinated the project from authorities and supported the idea of citizens' engagement. Grozny residents had the ability to review the park's renovation plans before the start of work. Though such participation in spatial design is an established practice in the West, the experience was new to post-Soviet territory. As such, when functional zoning, architects of Strelka KB, a Russian urban consultancy, and Strelka Architects, a Russian urban architectural bureau, in collaboration with the Oslo and New York based architecture and design firm Snøhetta, developed a space with a skatepark (1,200 sq. m), sports grounds (1,600 sq. m), a playground (750 sq. m), recreational areas (1,800 sq. m), a pond (1,800 sq. m), an amphitheater and much more.  © Strelka KB  © Maria Gonzalez  © Maria Gonzalez To create the design, the five-step design algorithm was introduced: it included comprehensive territorial analysis, design project and full design documentation, followed by design and construction supervision. In the Russian context, such supervision is new, being implemented as essential to ensuring that design intentions are implemented, and supervising architects were constantly present on site.  © Strelka KB  © Strelka KB Grozny's first skate park has become a unique sport site of its kind not only in the city, but in the whole region. Before construction work was completed, local youths began following its progress, even clearing out construction dust and debris themselves in order to start skating as soon as possible. A sports field was built in the park to replace the deserted area that had been previously used, designed for the students of the seven schools within walking distance, alongside a playground for two different age groups.  © Maria Gonzalez At the major pedestrian intersection, a reservoir was built, and soon became the place of attraction that draws residents to the park. The park is equipped with prayer rooms to meet the as local context. The project's design also employed a variety of national symbols and patterns. The square in front of the amphitheater features traditional Chechen tiles, and a large inscription of "Run" in Chechen was etched onto the running track. The park's natural elements, especially the existing trees, were preserved while more than 50 new trees were planted alongside them.  © Maria Gonzalez The park also created new opportunities for localbusiness. The project provided for a cafe space, where a local investor soon opened a restaurant, with a usable roof space that offers a wonderful view of the park. Behind the cafe's rear terrace, an amphitheater was built to house both public events, but also for local community gatherings.  Master plan Alongside the renewal of Hussein bin Talal Park, Strelka KB completed the reconstruction of Grozny's Muhammad Ali Boulevard which leads to the stadium Ahmat Arenaused as a training base during the World Cup 2018.  © Maria Gonzalez Projects like Hussein bin Talal Park are part of the 'Future Cities' program for transforming public spaces in 40 Russian cities. It is the first programme since the Soviet era to reimagine public space use to meet global trends and standards. It has been conducted since 2016 by Strelka KB and DOM.RF, an integrated housing development institution, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities Sector.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Primary school Nezamyslice / Malý Chmel Posted: 07 Dec 2018 03:00 PM PST  © Pavel Mezihorák
 © Pavel Mezihorák Text description provided by the architects. The maximal external volume of the house was determined before the start of the design. This limit defined the footprint, the maximum height of the building and the height of the individual floors, which are linked to the existing school building.  Axonometry The central walls made out of full bricks have the function of load-bearing, spatially and acoustically separating and heat-accumulating. On the ground floor they have a thickness of 45 cm, on the upper floors due to a smaller load of 29 cm. In the place of their imaginary intersection, in the center of the house, these walls are not connected, which brings daylight into the center of the building and at the same time this "gaps" are used to enter the classrooms, whose positioning corresponds to their lighting needs an to the location of the blackboard/screen in the room. On the ground floor, these gaps are empty and underline the elementary architecture of four walls. The structural connection of all the walls is provided by the visible concrete slab which also allows for thermal accumulation.  © Pavel Mezihorák An important point of the proposal was the deliberation of the form of the classrooms. There are four square classrooms in the extension offering a more versatile teaching arrangement, unlike the classical longitudinal classroom scheme lit from the left side. Square classrooms are double-lit; standardly from the left side, but also from the right side of the back, which brings a different type of illumination - non-directional and friendlier to the left-handed.  © Pavel Mezihorák  Plans  © Pavel Mezihorák The new building is connected to the exiting one only on the northern side, so it is oriented to sunlit sides - south, east and west - a risky factor in relation to unwanted direct sunlight and related overheating of the building and classrooms. Classrooms on each floor are rotating around the sides. The Eastern Classroom is classically one side illuminated, direct sunlight falls only in the morning. The square classrooms are oriented to the southeast and southwest. Using outdoor shading together with double-sided illumination, the direction and intensity of light can be varied. The size and overall appearance of the windows combine several contradictory requirements; smaller windows would not allow sufficient light, larger glass areas would cause overheating.  © Pavel Mezihorák Part of the architectural intention was to use solid, yet affordable, building materials to privide appropriate space canvas for children's activities. Full brick, reinforced concrete, profiled glass, natural linoleum and terrazzo tiles were used. The realization was carried out by a local construction company and by a large number of local craftsmen.  Courtesy of Malý Chmel  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| No-Boundary Tolilet / ZHUBO-AAO Posted: 07 Dec 2018 01:00 PM PST .jpg?1537186879 "Exterior night. Image © Chao Zhang") Exterior night. Image © Chao Zhang
.jpg?1537179818 "Entrance. Image © Chao Zhang") Entrance. Image © Chao Zhang Text description provided by the architects. Located on the Road intersection (Beihuan Road and Yiyuan Road), architects designed a border-less plan layout making the nasty toilet blank out behind greening surrounded,assimilate into nature.Boundary between architecture and nature becomes ambiguous.Toilet compartments are gender-less. .jpg?1537182093 "Exterior. Image © Chao Zhang") Exterior. Image © Chao Zhang Architects introduced design case of central park landscape to maximize toilet's availability.Working as shortcut towards park,it includes several leisure seats for passengers to rest and wait.  Axonometric 8K mirror stainless steel is adopted as facade material that varies along with different time and lighting.Architecture is integrated with surrounding in harmony and fading behind nearby forests at the same time.Besides,passengers also play a part in the appearance of facade,while the toilet is vitalized and being an infectious art installation. .jpg?1537181780 "Entrance. Image © Chao Zhang") Entrance. Image © Chao Zhang Users gain unique experience feeling through the bright interior atmosphere as well as light from dormer window.Used as a supplement to indoor lighting,nature lighting reduces lighting energy consumption.  Exterior. Image © Chao Zhang  Section .jpg?1537177922 "Compartment Interior . Image © John Siu") Compartment Interior . Image © John Siu A green bucket is set up under tree containing a sink and two urinals for children.Such device releases the pressure for limited quantity of toilet compartments and increase the joy of children's toileting.It could also avoid embarrassment for parents gardening in toilet.  Compartment . Image © Chao Zhang There are 3 gender-less compartments, accessible bathroom, children's outdoor toilet and administrator room in such a limited design site.Network and big data are applied in maintenance management.Usage of whole-life BIM、passenger flow statistics record camera、behaviour analysis camera、super intelligent NVR、face recognition access control、information releasing terminal and iVMS management station make toilet monitoring and managing safety and efficient,emergency as users falling down or sudden movement would be reported in time.Meanwhile,information can be released through information reporting system. Besides,citizen can get information of air quality、temperature and humidity by scanning QR code in toilet,people may make evaluation after using.Number of daily users has been remaining at around 500 per day since its completion. .jpg?1537182032 "Exterior. Image © Chao Zhang") Exterior. Image © Chao Zhang  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2018 12:00 PM PST  © Llano Fotografía
 © Llano Fotografía Text description provided by the architects. Cortezza building is located in the north part of Bogotá city, in the sector of Parque de la 93. The area is characterized by the multiplicity of uses and the strong presence of office buildings and a wide variety of trade of various scales. In addition to trade, in the sector you can also find a high presence of hotels of various categories.  © Llano Fotografía The project is resolved in an exercise of composition in a corner lot within a consolidated block that seeks to establish a direct relationship with existing buildings and, in addition, in a building that opens to the city on the corner with the presence in both fronts of retail uses in the lower floors.  Section The building is composed of three (3) basements, and seven (7) stories plus the deck level. the reception is located on the first floor and this space is characterized by a double height space in which the choice of natural materials for the coatings of the surfaces of ceilings, floors and walls. The wood of the ceiling in pine represents the name of the brand of the building; Cortezza was born as an inspiration in the bark of the trees that evoke the earth.  © Llano Fotografía The wood is contrasted with natural stones such as the slate installed in the double height wall of the reception and the marble of all the floors of the common areas of the building. When looking for a natural language with the choice of materials, we also sought to make a simple installation in terms of lighting. The building has a double façade as a mitigation measure to the warming that may happen in the afternoon hours.  © Llano Fotografía  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Casa Sebastian / Workshop, Diseño y Construcción Posted: 07 Dec 2018 11:00 AM PST  © Tamara Uribe
 © Tamara Uribe Text description provided by the architects. Casa Sebastian is a residence located in the heart of the port of Chuburna in the state of Yucatan. Designed as a rest house where the owners could relax and be in touch with nature during their visits.  © Tamara Uribe The angled design of the entrance invites visitors to take part of a small tour between the vegetation and the wall of lattices that divides the public space from the private until reaching the main door which is made of cedar wooden planks.  Ground floor plan By accessing the house you have a general view of the front of the house where the lattice serves as a decorative element by crowning the building as well as being functional by being used as a handrail on the second level and on the rooftop.  © Tamara Uribe The lattices and wall textures are used as a reinterpretation of the characteristic elements in the Yucatecan architecture creating a harmonic play of light and shadows thanks to the different textures.  © Tamara Uribe The social area of the house consists of the kitchen and the living room joined to the terrace by a large sliding door from floor to the ceiling that can be fully opened integrating the inside and outside of the house and offering spaciousness by generating visuals to the garden and the pool.  © Tamara Uribe Most of the decorative materials used are typical of the region; like the crema maya stone of the outer courtyard, the chukum resin of the swimming pool (the resin comes from boiling the bark of a tree endemic to the region and as a result provides the characteristic color blue of the Yucatecan swimming pools), and the pasta tiles that are used in the kitchen, restrooms and stairs to give traditional feeling of the local architecture.  Section A y B The light color of the walls along with the natural color of the woods aim to project freshness, establish unity with the rest of the materials used in the house to work as a canvas to display art.  © Tamara Uribe In addition of the public area, the ground floor has a guest bedroom with a bathroom. Meanwhile, the upper floor holds exclusively the master bedroom with the main bathroom, both with access to a private terrace overlooking the gulf.  © Tamara Uribe The last space of the house is the roof top, which was designed with a steel and bamboo structure to hang hammocks and to protect against the Yucatecan sun in order to generate different atmospheres depending on the activities of the owners.  © Tamara Uribe  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Dique Luján House / FRAM arquitectos Posted: 07 Dec 2018 08:00 AM PST .jpg?1542239852 "© Fernando Schapochnik") © Fernando Schapochnik
.jpg?1542239919 "© Fernando Schapochnik") © Fernando Schapochnik Text description provided by the architects. Dique Luján is a small town in the Province of Buenos Aires, located in the northern area of the same and bounded by the Luján River and the Villanueva Canal. It is a town that meets the characteristics of the typical villages of the "Delta"; lowlands surrounded by large mirrors of water that favor the development of abundant vegetation and tropical character. These geographical and environmental peculiarities have had a direct influence throughout history on what is usually called "Architecture of the Delta" and we consider it necessary to study this dialogue at the time of approaching the project.  Ground floor plan The plot is characterized by the proximity to the Luján River, (whose channel undergoes sporadic growths marking a maximum flood level of one meter above zero level) and the presence of several arboreal specimens, including a Pecán Nogal and a Bald Cypress typical of the Delta of the Parana. .jpg?1542239760 "© Fernando Schapochnik") © Fernando Schapochnik These data were decisive when locating the house in relation to its environment; both horizontally, respecting and incorporating the existing vegetation, as well as vertically, locating the floor level above the flood level. This last condition refers directly to the character of the traditional constructions of the Delta, dissociating the plane of inhabiting that of natural expansion.  Axonometric The house is implanted longitudinally on the south side of the plot, taking advantage of its size and releasing the largest area of land towards good orientations. Both the programmatic disposition and the section of the house respond directly to this decision. The service places posted on the southern limit and the main ones on the opposite, gaining orientation and opening towards the land. .jpg?1542240026 "© Fernando Schapochnik") © Fernando Schapochnik A longitudinal circulation in which instances of storage, distribution and arrival occur, makes the boundary between smaller and larger rooms while coinciding with the position of the ridge. In this way there is an asymmetry in the section of the house that is reflected directly on the roof skirts. This is projected of free runoff and steep slopes due to the presence of deciduous specimens.  Structure 01 Three patios interrupt the continuity of the roof. The one of largest dimension sponsors the arrival of the staircase from the ground while at the same time functioning as an exterior expansion space. "The Walnut patio" surrounds the existing tree preserving it and incorporating its trunk into the interior landscape of the house. Finally, an empty space coincides with the access hall to sift the visual relationship with the neighbor. .jpg?1542240250 "© Fernando Schapochnik") © Fernando Schapochnik A gallery of constant depth, except when merging with the access patio, runs through the entire front of the house and refers back to the island's architectural character. Since there were no restrictions to access the lot with traditional transport, the separation of the house from the ground is solved by the execution of three reinforced concrete beams that supported on a series of shafts refer to the typical palafitos of the Delta islands. .jpg?1542240307 "© Fernando Schapochnik") © Fernando Schapochnik A succession of wooden structural frames are placed on the beams. They delimit both the interior and exterior spaces, being at the same time a supporting and spatial structure. This constructive logic moves away from the traditional Baloon-frame system, allowing flexibility in the assembly of the interior and exterior spaces as well as in the dimensions and quantities of window treatments. .jpg?1542240015 "© Fernando Schapochnik") © Fernando Schapochnik  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Hofmann House / Fran Silvestre Arquitectos Posted: 07 Dec 2018 05:45 AM PST  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
 © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG Text description provided by the architects. A consolidated landscape surrounded by gardens, a large and elongated plot with a distant view of the sea and a pleasant breeze. This is the searched and lucky starting point trigger of this story.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG  First Floor Plan  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG Three elements make up the project. An extruded cover in the longitudinal direction of the ground with a "T" shape is the framework in which space is inhabited. This geometry let us feel the sea, protecting from prying eyes, having the sense of living without neighbors. It helps control the southern sun during summer and lets it pass in winter. The walkable roof becomes a sort of belvedere enjoying the entire surface of the plot.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG An exempt cabinet houses the structure, distributes spaces and filters privacy, opening up possibilities in the way of movement and use of space. The main room, shaded by the cantilever is arranged in continuity with the outside. The interior of the unit includes wetted parts and limits the scale of overnight areas that are located in the quiet part of the garden. The study opens on the corner with the best views.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG These two elements, cover and cabinet are deposited on the stone base where the water level and other uses of the house are dug. These spaces are adapted to the natural slope that exists in the plot. A noticeably square plan, which covers an extensive range of uses in a compact area, is drawn. The staircase and the inner atrium distribute the spaces, prioritizing uses, with all spaces opened to the garden.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| NUDES Designs a Mosque of Light for Dubai Posted: 07 Dec 2018 05:00 AM PST  Mosque of Light. Image Courtesy of NUDES Mumbai-based NUDES architecture office have revealed a new design called "Mosque of Light" as their entry in the Dubai Creek Harbor competition. The project was designed as a play in light with a multi-layered geometrical form to filter daylight softly into the prayer hall. The mosque explores the combination of light and built form around a spiritual experience.  Mosque of Light. Image Courtesy of NUDES Sited as part of the Dubai Creek Harbor Development, the Mosque of Light would be part of a larger development that expects to have 48,500 residential units with over 175,000 residents. Made to house daily prayers, the project is oriented towards the main qibla wall with spaces for prayer on the ground floor for both women and men.  Mosque of Light. Image Courtesy of NUDES  Mosque of Light. Image Courtesy of NUDES Inside, NUDES created the design to play off formal patterns and bounce light off the doubly curved surfaces. In turn, a series of 'mashrabiya' apertures generated from the simple repetition of geometries intensifies this effect. The system protects from sunlight to provide a cool, comfortable space for prayer and gathering. The mosque would include an outdoor terrace and ground level plaza that connect to the building's four minarets. Overall, the design utilizes a clear, simple concept to provide an inspiring place for assembly and prayer.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| APR House / Studio AG Arquitetura Posted: 07 Dec 2018 04:00 AM PST  © Ricardo Bassetti
 © Ricardo Bassetti Text description provided by the architects. The house was designed for a young couple, newly married, who loves to host. She is an architect and her husband own a restaurant. The parti was to fully integrate the environments to increase amplitude, bringing an airy and well-lit space, since the old house was very small and segmented. An open kitchen and a garden were also designed, creating space to spend time with their friends.  © Ricardo Bassetti  Ground Floor Plan  © Ricardo Bassetti The solution to a semi-detached house on both sides was the start of the renovation project. The lateral service aisle was removed, allowing this space to integrate with the new layout, reinforcing the idea of creating more ventilation and well-lit spaces into the home. An interior courtyard was created as a glade and the eaves from the back elevation were removed to increase the incidence of natural light.  © Ricardo Bassetti In this courtyard, a green wall was created to bring nature into the house. A glass walkway was inserted as a vertical circulation allowing the residents to enjoy the garden while accessing the second floor. The renovation project for the house demanded the insertion of some structural reinforcements during the design process. A sequence of metal beams was created after the demolition of the old supporting walls and consequently revealed the skeleton of the original construction. The main idea was to show the counterpoint between the original and the new integration concept leaving all the new beams apparent.  © Ricardo Bassetti  Section A  © Ricardo Bassetti The vertical circulation was relocated to allow the program for 2 suites on the second floor. A third suite was proposed in the upper deck as a possible expansion in the future. This solution became feasible because of the disruption of the volume, through the patio, creating a different well-lit façade for the house. In order to ensure good airy and well-lit solutions for the house, the project proposed large glass panels, as presented in the front window and the inner patio. These panels, when opened, allows a cross ventilation axis with a generous exchange of air.  © Ricardo Bassetti The light colors were elected as a strategy to reflect the light, introducing brightness for the spaces. On the ground floor, the option was to use a tiled floor, to ensure the convenience of cleaning and maintenance. The service area, washroom, and pantry were covered by American Oak wood panels, to increase the warmth in these places, composing the ambiance with light colors and smooth tiles.  © Ricardo Bassetti The interior design pursued to explore different textures, such as steel, straw, stone, wood and vibrant fabrics to balance with a minimalist architecture. Additionally, the choice of materials with thermal and acoustic insulation was intended, because of the high noise pollution of the region. The idea was also, combined with other solutions mentioned before, create a microclimate in the middle of a vibrant commercial neighborhood.  © Ricardo Bassetti  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Canada's Best Architecture of 2018 Recognized by Canadian Architect Magazine Posted: 07 Dec 2018 03:00 AM PST  Idea Exchange Old Post Office / RDH Architects. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Canadian Architect has announced the winners of its annual Awards of Excellence program. Now in its 51st year, the awards are "the highest recognition for excellence in the design stage in the Canadian architectural sector." Celebrating unbuilt and student work, the awards place emphasis on design ambition, innovation, and social and environmental sustainability. This year, fourteen entries were recognized from a pool of 190 professional and student submissions. The winners, featured below, were divided into Awards of Excellence, Awards of Merit, Student Awards of Excellence, and the inaugural Photo Award of Excellence. Award of ExcellenceWindermere Fire Station 31 / gh3* with S2 Architecture Windermere Fire Station 31 / gh3* with S2 Architecture. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Idea Exchange Old Post Office / RDH Architects Idea Exchange Old Post Office / RDH Architects. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine The Octagon / Ja Architecture Studio The Octagon / Ja Architecture Studio. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine The Arbour / Moriyama Teshima Architects with Acton Ostry Architects Inc. Associated Architects The Arbour / Moriyama Teshima Architects with Acton Ostry Architects Inc. Associated Architects. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine New Paddock – F1 Grand Prix du Canada / Les Architects FABG New Paddock – F1 Grand Prix du Canada / Les Architects FABG. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy / Consortium Saucier+Perrotte with GLCRM Architectes Bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy / Consortium Saucier+Perrotte with GLCRM Architectes. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Škola Smíchov / Office Ou Škola Smíchov / Office Ou. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Award of MeritJames Avenue Pumping Station / 5468796 ArchitectureInternational Estonian Centre / Kongats Architects International Estonian Centre / Kongats Architects. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Aménagement du musée et du dôme de la basilique de l'oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mount-Royal / Atelier TAG and Architecture49 in consortium Aménagement du musée et du dôme de la basilique de l'oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mount-Royal / Atelier TAG and Architecture49 in consortium. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Insectarium de Montréal / Kuehn Malvezzi, Pelletier de Fontenay, Jodoin Lamarre Pratte with Atelier le Balto Insectarium de Montréal / Kuehn Malvezzi, Pelletier de Fontenay, Jodoin Lamarre Pratte with Atelier le Balto . Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Student Award of ExcellenceEngaging the Post-Industrial Frontier / Joshua Nieves, Dalhousie University Engaging the Post-Industrial Frontier / Joshua Nieves, Dalhousie University. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Northern Cloud / Mark Melnichuk, McGill University Northern Cloud / Mark Melnichuk, McGill University. Image via Canadian Architect Magazine Photo Award of ExcellenceReflecting Architecture: Parq Vancouver / Ema Peter PhotographyThis year's jury comprised Ted Watson, MRAIC, a partner at Toronto-based MJMA, Monica Adair, MRAIC, a co-founder and principal of Saint John, New Brunswick-based Acre Architects, and David Penner, FRAIC, founder and principal of David Penner Architect in Winnipeg. News via: Canadian Architect Magazine  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Urban Lofts / Bureau Fraai + BNLA Architecten Posted: 07 Dec 2018 02:00 AM PST  © Studio de Nooyer
 © Studio de Nooyer Text description provided by the architects. With the conversion into high-end urban lofts Bureau Fraai & BNLA architecten made the design for the upgrade of former office spaces underneath two of in total four characteristic 60's mixed-use residential blocks of Dutch functionalist Piet Zanstra.  © Studio de Nooyer The existing facade of these levels with office spaces underneath the buildings were outdated and are renewed with respect to the characteristics and structure of the original design. As an addition each loft apartment is provided with a loggia.  Sketch The conversion into a total of 48 high-end compact urban lofts for young professionals, is part of the StartSmart-living concept developed by Nobillon Vastgoed. As an addition to the private lofts, part of the concept is to provide spaces for the inhabitants to meet and connect. This originates from the believe that a healthy social-life is essential for a high quality-of-life. According to these principles the communal spaces as lobby, staircase and hallways are designed as an extended part of one's loft.  © Studio de Nooyer Focus of the main design concept for the interior of the lofts is the introduction of a 3D interior object containing a kitchen, a bathroom, storage space and a mezzanine with a double bed. The quality of the raw concrete structure of the existing building contrasts with the refined wooden interior objects. The co-existence of these different materials and textures captures the past and the present into a harmonic design which is both industrial and luxurious.  © Studio de Nooyer  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How to Judge a Building: Does it Make you Feel More, Or Less Alive? Posted: 07 Dec 2018 01:30 AM PST  via Wikimedia. ImageSelgas Cano's Pavilion at the 2018 Brugge Triennale This extract was originally published on Common Edge as "The Legacy of Christopher Alexander: Criteria for an Intelligent Architecture." In his monumental four-volume book, The Nature of Order, Christopher Alexander talks about an intelligent architecture, responsive to human needs and sensibilities through adaptation to existing buildings and nature. This is a new way of viewing the world—a way of connecting to it, and to ourselves—yet it is very much the same as the most ancient ways of connecting.
Intelligent criteria provide a way of judging whether a building, or piece of urban environment, is good or bad for our emotional health. Yes, a building can be either good or bad to different degrees. People don't need experts to tell them whether a building is good or bad; they are fully capable of judging for themselves [one of several ways of judging is to use Alexander's "Mirror of the Self" Test]. Here's the method—just ask yourself this question: "Does this building make me feel more alive, or less alive?" Note the specific nature of the question. It does not ask: "Do you like this building?" or "Does this building make you feel excited?" since those answers lead to ambiguous conclusions. Likes and dislikes are due to individual preferences overlaid with educational conditioning (exploited by the media and those with an agenda). Exposure to propaganda influences our decision. .jpg?1544175156 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu") © Laurian Ghinitoiu Similarly, emotional excitement could be due to either pleasure or alarm, and again, it's often difficult to distinguish between these two physiologically opposite responses. The above question instead digs deep into the subconscious networks that constitute human intelligence, and identifies a building with our own living structure. Intelligent architecture uses our evolved neural circuits to connect us to our environment. A second question examines the coherence of a building. This is a very easy method for judging the coherence of highly complex visual structures. Pick any identifiable sub-unit of the building, some obvious component (such as a wall, column, doorway, window, cornice, etc.), and ask yourself: "Does the overall life of the building diminish if I could move this piece or change it in any way; or even remove it altogether?" In a good building the answer would be yes for each piece, regardless of size. Every piece belongs exactly in its place, and its shape and materials reinforce the overall coherence of the whole. This is system-based coherence, which contributes to unity and adaptivity and is not to be confused with a compositional or formal model.  © Matthu Placek. ImageParrish Art Museum / Herzog & de Meuron; Photos © Matthu Placek In a lesser building, pieces are seen as irrelevant and hardly belonging to the whole. They have become decoration (i.e. structure that has no meaning or purpose and is added solely for fashion). Removing them or drastically changing them does not alter the overall coherence since that is nonexistent. Why, then, are those components included? Style is not an honest justification; it is so superficial and trivial a reason as to be meaningless. If you as the user can envision a portion of a building improved—making it more adaptive in its use and in its direct positive physiological impact on you—then the architect has not done his/her job of seeking coherence but has instead imposed arbitrary forms or a formal compositional bias. The brain, being capable of highly-sophisticated computations, instantly evaluates the geometrical coherence of any structure. Neurologically-derived sensations are linked to a physiological state, to degrees of alarm or calm. To profit from this physiological mechanism we need to cast off the industrial-modernist paradigm and the myopic/idiosyncratic vision of others.  via Wikimedia Contrary to what starchitects claim, our technology does not dictate any particular architectural style. We discover an informational content in traditional architectures that speaks to us on a human level. Empirically, through its materiality and design, traditional architecture provides appropriate scaling, structural patterning, complex textural information, and a sensibility towards construction, proportion, and human nature. Consider the basic building blocks of how humans interface with the material world (and by extension, the built environment). We find genetic algorithms, Darwinian processes, emergence, capillarity, fractal structure, membrane interfaces, information compression, small-world networks, inverse power-law scaling, etc. playing a central role in how the built environment functions. We now offer these concepts in an architectural language that practitioners might use to improve their work. Knowledge from biology, robotics, and artificial intelligence applied to architectural design extends human experience. At the top of the evolutionary ladder lies the brain's complex neuronal system that makes intelligence possible. In addition to storing knowledge in our brains' neural circuits, human beings also habitually use their built environment as an extension of biological memory. Books, artifacts, song, ornament, and socio-geometric patterns represent the "collective memory" of a particular culture. Represented memory encoded in traditional buildings, in turn, has been guiding architecture for millennia. This powerful repository of what we know about our responses to environmental structure can be as trivial as a particular ornament, a color, a space of certain proportions, or the texture of a wall. .jpg?1544175296 "via wikimedia") via wikimedia Socio-geometrical patterns embedded in traditional architecture and urbanism complement the inherited knowledge encoded in texts and oral literary traditions throughout the world. These externalizations of brain functions encode information derived from experience over the entire course of human evolution. Collective memory thus provides the foundation of culture and civilization. It is only recently that the patterns observed in traditional cultures, coming from innate human preferences, were found to have a genetic basis (sparking the emergence of the new method of Biophilic design). Built knowledge (represented in the built environment) is both complex and irreducible, making it very difficult to simplify and transfer into written text. Alexander attempted to do that in his Pattern Language. Largely maligned by the architectural establishment, his classification has nevertheless gained support and high regard from the computer science community, and his visionary results are now used to organize software complexity. When we begin to see the traditional built environment as an extension (an external repository) of human memory, we realize just how intricately biology is linked with architecture. This explains why humanist architects are sensitive to feedback from their design and respect traditions from which they can benefit. The clearest, most useful statements of architectural theory have always drawn upon epistemology, being concerned with language and logic (although much of contemporary theory wanders off into meaningless directions). Even so, the enterprise of epistemology is generally detached from human emotion and physiological processes. Sensations and visceral states are essential to knowledge, however, and pattern recognition helps to generate our identity. Truth and reality both have biological and social origins. A state of mental understanding is inseparable from the neurobiology of emotions and complex bodily responses. Brain-based reality is thus emotional; a marked difference from its impersonal philosophically-based counterpart.  © Cristobal Palma | Estudio Palma This essay is extracted from the longer article "The Science of Intelligent Architecture," published in Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury, Krakow, Poland, Issue 45 (2017), pages 95-105, and which includes material from an earlier article "Restructuring 21st-Century Architecture Through Human Intelligence,"published in ArchNet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, Volume 1, Issue 1 (March 2007), pages 36-52.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| What 6 British Cities Could Have Looked Like Posted: 07 Dec 2018 01:00 AM PST  Unbuilt London. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam A historic hotbed of architectural styles and a current architectural capital of the world, cities in the United Kingdom are awash with iconic buildings from the Georgian, Neoclassical, and contemporary era. Such buildings, from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol to the Southbank in London, have come to define the cities in which they stand, drawing the eyes of tourists and designers alike from around the world. It is therefore an interesting exercise to examine what these cities would look like if such structures didn't exist. To this end, Neomam Studios has partnered with QuickQuid to produce a series of images demonstrating what six British cities could have looked like, resurrecting some of Britain's most surprising unbuilt structures. The collaboration follows on from similar previous endeavors by Neomam, who recently speculated on what New York's Central Park could have looked like, and how six ruined British castles would look today had they stood the test of time. We have republished the images below with an edited description by QuickQuid. For more detail on the buildings, as well as references for their creation, visit the official website here. London Unbuilt London. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam  Built London. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam QuickQuid: The Royal Festival Hall is a relatively conservative construction, but only because the chosen design pipped a more imposing Brutalist blueprint in a competition to commemorate the 1951 Festival of Britain. Sir Misha Black and Hilton Wright's design would have dominated both the riverbank and the skyline, its imposing glazed spiral ramp leading to a 1500-ft high viewing platform across the city. Liverpool Unbuilt Liverpool. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam  Built Liverpool. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam QuickQuid: Visitors to Liverpool today can't fail to notice "Paddy's Wigwam," the tent shaped Catholic Cathedral at the opposite end of Hope Street from the giant Church of England Cathedral. But believe it or not, the design could have been even more bizarre. C.H.R. Bailey's entry to the 1959 competition for Liverpool's new cathedral looks like it was ripped from the film set of sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, released just three years previously. Bristol Unbuilt Bristol. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam  Built Bristol. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam QuickQuid: In 1864, Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge finally opened after 110 years of struggle. Bristol's famous landmark could have looked very different. The idea for a bridge first came about after the 1754 death of a local wine merchant, who bequeathed a small sum towards its construction. After violent riots against a toll on Bristol's existing bridge in 1793, architect William Bridges unveiled a proposal for an overpass that would pay for itself. Manchester Unbuilt Manchester. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam  Built Manchester. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam QuickQuid: The architecture of Piccadilly Gardens has long been a site of controversy for the people of Manchester. But few realize it could have been settled once and for all with the construction of an art gallery on the spot back in the 1930s. After the First World War, the council voted for the area – which had been a temporary infirmary for returning soldiers – to be partially put aside for a new gallery and library. While the gardens were re-landscaped, a competition was held, with the forerunning gallery design provided by 29-year-old E. Berry Webber. Newcastle Unbuilt Newcastle. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam  Built Newcastle. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam QuickQuid: The 1960s was a swinging period for architecture, with new ideas, materials, and economic confidence rejuvenating the industry. All the same, Newcastle may seem an odd place to have become a 'city in the sky' – but it nearly happened. In an effort to separate pedestrians from the modern blight of ubiquitous automobiles, Newcastle's city planners looked up. Designs were drawn and work began on a system of overhead walkways between raised buildings. Searching for a modern equivalent, expert Professor Stephen Graham suggests that Hong Kong is one of the closest real-life '3D' cities to use every dimension as Newcastle nearly did. Edinburgh Unbuilt Edinburgh. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam  Built Edinburgh. Image © QuickQuid / Neomam QuickQuid: Everyone is familiar with the way Edinburgh Castle peers down on the majestic city as it has, in many forms, for over 1,000 years. David Bryce's 1862 sketch for a Memorial Keep in honor of Prince Albert would have been a major change to the city's skyline. But Queen Victoria, Albert's widow, disapproved of the construction, and the tower was never erected.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Casa Zupe / Iván Bravo Arquitecto + Bruno Giliberto Posted: 07 Dec 2018 12:00 AM PST  © Aryeh Kornfeld
 © Aryeh Kornfeld Text description provided by the architects. Palimpsests were manuscripts elaborated more than 1,000 years ago (VII century), which, due to economy, erased the traces of previous writings on the surface to give rise to the one that would come next.  © Aryeh Kornfeld The writing, although new, was recorded on a kind of testimony of the previous one, being able to cross many times the traces of one and another, diluting consequently the idea of erased and new, giving birth to a mixed and binominal figure.  © Aryeh Kornfeld  First floor plan  © Aryeh Kornfeld On land, the traces of the previous dwelling were left behind for the value of the horizontal ground on the slope, and as such, the new design assumes this geometry as part of its origin. The foundations and terraces define the position of the pieces, recognizing this geometry as the imprint of the preexistence that defines the general score of order in the territory.  © Bruno Giliberto The house, like a palimpsest, carries the imprint of the writing that preceded it so as to trace a new order without ignoring it. Its altitude, its perspectives, its bays and walls are consequently the result of a binomial governed by legacy.  © Aryeh Kornfeld On this sediment, the house is silent, simple, in the understanding that any contraption discredits the binominal reading of the ground and layout, fusing the new and old in a single body.  © Aryeh Kornfeld The basement of the house, which imports foundations and horizontal platforms from the previous dwelling, exposes the ground as a stony body, a podium, a leveraged base that nests a set of bodies of rough wood on its surface, all intersected and pierced by gaps that allow the interior to frame views over the valley, nourishing the spaces with natural light.  Sections The silence of its forms is used to amplify details, materials and encounters that fill the work with a particular vision on design. Doors, windows, furniture, skies, pavements, tiers, guardrails, they all form a catalog of clearly defined pieces, articulating a contrast between its silent order and the complexity of its parts.  © Aryeh Kornfeld Like a Siamese body, Zupe house ties preexistence by understanding it as a geographic ally, as a ground with an altitude, and a height with a horizon. The other half completes this premise only by understanding that the score was already written, like the palimpsests from the VII century.  © Bruno Giliberto  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Stone Houses in Cáceres / Tuñón Arquitectos Posted: 06 Dec 2018 10:00 PM PST  © Tuñón Arquitectos
 © Tuñón Arquitectos Text description provided by the architects. Located in Cáceres, the house is a simple prismatic volume with a square floor plan of 16-meter sides, and each of the four facades is perforated by three Windows. The stretches of a wall have been constructed with local quartzite stone, and the windows are framed with Extremadura granite of warm tones.  Floor Plans Scheme  © Tuñón Arquitectos  Axonometric Scheme Rigorously defined by its outlines, the volume accommodates nine cubic spaces of 4.2-meter sides which serve different domestic uses, from sitting rooms and bedrooms to the kitchen, with the closets and bathrooms placed in between.  © Tuñón Arquitectos  Sections  © Tuñón Arquitectos Each of those spaces comprises two layers: a lower one clad with oakwood boards where the building services are placed; and an upper stratum formed by a through of white concrete and completely free of mechanisms. The rooms open on to the exterior landscape through large oak-framed windows of square proportions. An open platform at the back features a swimming pool.  © Tuñón Arquitectos With its 16-meter sides, the square-plan house contains nine rooms and is built on the outside with walls of local quartzite stone detailed with granite, and on the inside with white concrete and oakwood claddings.  © Tuñón Arquitectos  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Peter Barber's Adventurously Eccentric London Architecture Posted: 06 Dec 2018 09:00 PM PST  © Peter Barber Architects London architecture today, for all the big-hitters that dominate the headlines (Foster, Rogers, Heatherwick), finds its richness in small studios. Peter Barber leads one such studio, where for the past 30 years he has led the development of some of the city's most sensitive housing and housing developments.
Among these are McGrath Road, a small development in Stratford, East London that reworks the traditional back-to-back housing model for a local council. The typology, prominent in the 19th century but unpopular in later years due to its lack of a garden, is a perfect fit for senior housing. In Barber's scheme, the tightly packed homes are gathered around a shared courtyard, allowing residents to move smoothly between public and private space in the development. Architecturally, it's also more daring than a typical council project. Clad in brick - a ubiquitous material in the capital - the detailing evokes a more continental European approach to design. This adventurous and energetic approach is typical of Barber, and 2018 seems to be the year the world has taken notice. The studio has recently been leading the charge in a renewed housing initiative in collaboration with London's various borough councils and mayor Sadiq Khan's Greater London Authority, with numerous projects already completed and many others in the works. On the sutdio's website, Barber cites a quotation from Walter Benjamin: "Buildings are used as a popular stage. They are all divided into innumerable, simultaneously animated theatres. Balcony, courtyard, window, gateway, staircase, roof are at the same time stages and boxes." The studio's recent success can perhaps be attributed in part to this democratic ideal: buildings are backdrops in our lives, we make them just as much as architects do. Learn more about Peter Barber's recent works in London on Metropolis Magazine.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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