The Architectural Review (AR) has crowned David Chipperfield's Fayland House winner of the 2015 AR House Awards, deeming it the world's best new house. Celebrating excellence and innovation in the design of a one-off house, the award highlights the Chipperfield-designed home for being a "radical new take on the English country house."
"To make a luxury home that isn’t pompous or a projection of the vanity of its inhabitants is a really difficult thing," said judge Adam Caruso of Caruso St John. "Fayland House places a very large house in a special landscape without disappearing. The domestic outdoor spaces, which have always been an issue in English country houses, are in courtyards, which is an innovation."
Courtesy of AR
Located on a lush hillside site in Buckinghamshire, the 888-square-meter, single-story home is organized by a loggia that spans the length of the house and connects the living spaces and interior courtyards to the surrounding landscape.
Courtesy of AR
"That colonnade in the front and the way it modulates the scale on the landscape is very interesting," adds judge Sofia von Ellrichshausen of Pezo von Ellrichshausen. " It also seems to be very rigid from the outside, but the plan is a lot less obvious, offering differing levels of privacy, and arranged around courtyards. The fact that Chipperfield has a large office but can still maintain a high level of quality in a small-scale project is a lesson, of course."
Courtesy of AR
Read the AR's full review on the Fayland House, here.
Collaborators: Marco Carnelutti, Francesco De Cillia, Roland Henning, Sergio Bignami, Stefano Bindi, Elena Carlini, Luisa Foretich, Carlo Mauro, Paolo Turco, Walter Vidale, Robert Zizzutto
From the architect. The new square dedicated to Gino Valle, the focus of the urban development plan of the Portello area, opens to the public at the same time as the inauguration of Expo 2015. The square, the largest in Milan, can now be reached by a cycle path that starts in the CityLife park and which, crossing all the pavilions of the former Fair, passes through it projecting itself towards the parks of the western belt and the area dedicated to the World Fair.
Floor Plan
Public space and pedestrian movement are the settlement principles that connect different architectural structures, arranged around a large sloping square that opens up in front of the former building of the Milan Fair.
The square has a wide base, the surface of which rises at a gradient of 5% along the diagonal line oriented at 45 degrees with respect to the bearing of the former exhibition area from where it starts. This diagonal continues along the walkway which leads to the park and defines the main axes of the entire plan of the Portello. The base is structured into two underground levels and one above ground. It houses car parks, services, building entrances, commercial spaces and a restaurant. Therefore it is not a mere walking surface, but a structure equipped with functions, dotted with open air courtyards: a flexible matrix serving all the structures above.
The base supports three buildings which define the square and produce, along with the surrounding buildings, visual overlaps that vary constantly due to their ascending or descending profile. As hinted at by the designers, they thus create three “urban mountains” that mark the profile of the Portello.
Courtesy of Valle Architetti Associati
Used as offices and for commercial functions, the three buildings irregularly enclose the square, thereby giving rise to a contained space that is at the same time open to the surrounding areas. Their volume, emphasized by the form, is then characterized by an effect of lightness. The panels that clad the façades are opaque on the lower part of the buildings and gradually become clear the higher up they are placed, tending to dematerialize the perception of the upper part of the envelope.
Site Plan
The design of the paving in the square was generated by overlaying the pattern of a regular grid on the walking surface covering it entirely. The grid was then deformed by making it narrower towards the opening that leads to the park, where the space is compressed like a bottleneck and expands in the square to mark its width and expansion. In this deformation the straight lines of the grid become large concentric curves that form a regular pattern without emphasizing the axis of the main direction.
In recent months a bas-relief by Emilio Isgrò titled “Grande Cancellatura per Giovanni Testori” (Great Erasure for Giovanni Testori) was added to the square. The imposing installation (23.40 by 2.47 metres) stems from the elaboration of an excerpt from the book Il ponte della Ghisolfa (The Ghisolfa Bridge) by Giovanni Testori.
The city divided into parts proposed by the plan is confronted with the definition of public space and what designers define as a “kinetic figuration” which establishes relationships between various elements starting with the movement of pedestrians and the times that define the perception of emptiness in relation to the spaces of the built city.
Medibank Workplace; Melbourne / HASSELL. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
INSIDE World Festival of Interiors has announced the 50 nominees being considered for the World Interior of the Year 2015 award. Running concurrently with the World Architecture Festival, INSIDE comprises of the most original and exciting interiors from the last 12 months.
Nominations have poured in from 16 countries that span four continents across the nine diverse categories that make up the awards. Among those competing are two dentistries, a music arena, two cinemas and a global TV studio. All nominees will compete in the form of live presentations and debates to a distinguished jury during the festival in November. Read on for a complete list of the shortlisted projects.
New Rock World Ktv; X / Inspiration Group. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
Bar & Restaurants
Adrift by David Myers; Singapore / Wilson Associates
Coastal Private Club; Wuxi / One Plus Partnership (Hong Kong) Limited
Mecha Uma; Taguig City / Jorge Yulo Architects and Associates
New Rock World Ktv; X / Inspiration Group
Vivarium; Bangkok / HYPOTHESIS
ZEN SUSHI; Rome / Carlo Berarducci / Berarducci Architecture
Exploded; Wuhan / One Plus Partnership (Hong Kong) Limited. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
Civic, Culture & Transport
Exploded; Wuhan / One Plus Partnership (Hong Kong) Limited
library@orchard; Singapore / New Space Architects Pte Ltd
Luminary; Wuhan / One Plus Partnership (Hong Kong) Limited
Volkswagen Arena; Istanbul / azgan Design Architecture Co. Ltd.
Creative Re-use
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel; London / Flanagan Lawrence. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
Al Jazeera; London / Volkswagen Arena
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel; London / Flanagan Lawrence
From the architect. The primary objective for this tiny cafe in the heart of downtown San Francisco was to bring epicurean level coffee at a rate and speed to meet the Financial District’s demands while simultaneously revitalizing a stretch of sidewalk that has been fallow for over twenty years. Coffee Bar serves as a workshop to explore, experiment, and embrace the trends of the coffee industry.
The cafe sits at the entrance to Saint Mary’s Garage, located centrally on the block of Kearny Street directly across from the Bank of America plaza. This stretch of sidewalk has been plagued by vacancy: adjacent lies a neglected lot, and the space itself has been empty for at least twenty years. After the Loma Prieta earthquake, the garage underwent seismic upgrades. This placed a large concrete shear wall between the space and the sidewalk, effectively making it undesirable for retail. In an effort to bring life back to this crucial pedestrian zone, the concrete shear wall was opened, connecting the space to the sidewalk. In order to reduce waste, materials were used sparingly. Instead of covering up an othewise rough shell, existing concrete and piping were refreshed and left exposed, celebrating their industrial character.
Utilizing the Japanese Shou Sugi Ban technique, the exterior wood siding is scorched, a process which inherently prolongs the life of the wood. Above the opening, the scorching fades into the wood’s natural color. On the left, at pedestrian level, the scorched wood wraps to the interior, becoming the main intervention: a black frame surrounding the baristas. This black frame becomes a room within a room, emphasizing the artistry of the barista through a minimal use of materials and high efficiency lighting. The blackened steel counter provides a stark backdrop for the finished product, and will patina over time.
The Washington Post has published renderings of the new U.S. Diplomacy Center currently under construction at the State Department in Washington DC. "A shimmering pavilion," as architecture critic Philip Kennicott describes, the new center will serve as a welcoming public entrance to the Department of State's headquarters and be the nation's first museum and education center devoted entirely to the "history, practice and challenges of US Diplomacy.
Designed by architect Hany Hassan of Beyer Blinder Belle, the glass pavilion will house a museum and an underground cafe, bookstore and event space, providing a new destination just two blocks from the National Mall.
From the architect. The project is located on the edge of Khao Yai mountain range, one of the most important and extensive national reserve forested regions of Thailand. The existing site is an abandoned agricultural land but has a great potential of viewing the beautiful panoramic view over the area. On the front, the land faces a small local road, and, on the back, there is a small mountain right next to the boundary line.
The brief is to create a unique residential project which should be different from other residential projects in the area, in term of overall concept and design. Since the project is locate next to one of the beautiful forest regions, where people come for holiday and enjoy the natural resources, the nature has become the most important factor for architect to create a concept of 'slow life' living space where resident and visitor can enjoy to spend times outdoor as well as indoor.
From that idea, the design concept of the project has been proposed with an inspiration of 'the journey to Khao Yai', where people experienced the visual beauties of many different species of natural greeneries from every direction throughout the journey until reaching their destination. This inspiration is transformed into a design concept of "The Path" and "The Forrest" for the project. These two concepts will transform the public area of the project, to enable residents options of choosing their pathway amidst natural and recreational spaces to their accommodations.
First Floor Plan
The land is separated into 2 main parts. The front part, next to the road, is the residential area. The second part of the plot, next to the mountain which is not allowed to build big structure, is reserved as a public park for recreational activities of the residents. In the front part, the architect proposes a series of building, with careful consideration of appropriate planning layout to ensure that the residents are able to see either beautiful panoramic scapes on the front or close-up mountain view on the back.
Two main 6-storey buildings, A and B, both connected to the main swimming pool located in between buildings. With the proposed building gap, the pool can, at the same time, open up to both panoramic and mountain views. The Building A has been proposed by the architect with a V Shape layout, in order to fit all unit requirements rather than to raise up the building height. Along the road, 12 two-storey villas are also created, with private gardens and pools. While both buildings required to face to the South by the client and his Feng-Shui master, the design of spacious cantilever balcony for each unit has been proposed by the architect, to prevent the strong direct sunlight and create enough shading during the late afternoon.
The public areas have been designed as open-air spaces without using air condition. Careful considerations have been given to the possibility of integrating natural lighting into areas of walkways to ensure cost-saving on the use of electricity within the building. While the project is constructed on the edge of the mountain 'Khao Pang Ma', the Mountain Stone has been selected as the main architectural materials and interior design, as well as landscape design, because it can be acquired without any additional cost during the foundation construction process. This idea would also help to reduce the cost of construction waste disposal from the site.
For the landscape design, T.R.O.P, the landscape architect of the project, has created a link between the architecture and Nature. For the front part of the land, 'The Forest' has been proposed as main landscape concept for the opening space among architecture forms. The Main objective of landscape design is to integrate the man-made architectural blocks into the greenery surrounding.
The floating units on tall columns remind of the gigantic trees in the rain forest. The area underneath, with much less Sunlight, is very similar to condition found under those big trees. This different availability of Sunlight is the main criteria to re-create a forest-like landscape. "The Path" is also introduced as the main circulation system in between Residential Blocks and Villas, with private entry for each units. The proposed circulation system is an elevated walkway, raised a bit above the landscape terrains, enabling residents' options of choosing their pathway amidst natural spaces to their accommodations. It is also a recreational route, where visitors could exercise or take a leisure walk and experience direct contact with nature.
On the second part of the land, 'The Park' has been proposed as the recreational attraction for the residences. With the neighboring mountain as a backdrop, a variety of landscape programs has been introduced to the property. Working with the architect, the team has proposed the idea of having functional pavilions floating in the green landscape field. On the left, the Dining Pavilion, with cafe is built to frame the boundary of the Park. Right next to it, an outdoor dining terrace is created as an extension of the facility, encouraging residents to spend more time outdoor.
Overall, the main design objective of the project is to create a contemporary context, but still keeping intact the essence of a tropical feeling and atmosphere. The design team believes that contemporary design does not have to be in opposition to nature, on the other hand, with the right design, both can cohabitate with each other.
From the architect. Education program that can be obtained in recent infant facilities are also diversified, flexibility is sought in the facility. ForJoint classes and English classes, etc., in accordance with the curriculum of the day, rooms can be changed to the shape and scale optimal form. We planned that is not provided as much as possible fixing things in the building.By creating a high degree of freedom space with variability, we wanted to provide an environment that can adapt to a variety of educational curriculum.
In particular, it is not provided a partition in a classroom, and it has been planned to carry out the furniture which become instead of partition, and is freely as able to change the shape and area of the class.Children buy this furniture at the time of admission to the kindergarten and bring back their home at the time of graduation. This system makes furniture in the kindergarten be updated annually, and also keeps the interior clean. Because it is also possible to change the shape every time to update, furniture itself has variability.Also, in order to be able to open all the joinery, they can use the entire interior of the building as semi-outdoor space.
Plan - Window Open
In addition, because it is provided with external screen on the outer periphery, it blocks a strong sunlight and rain. And it is possible to open the roof of atrium, to create a basin with the rain that falls in the atrium. It has become a great playground for children.In winter, this basin will be frozen and can be used as a skating rink.
Because it is possible to open and close the roof, they can play badminton and soft volleyball, etc. to fit the weather at the piloti.Furthermore, it also becomes like dining rooms in conjunction with adjacent kitchen, and can also be used as an external space to the internal space by opening and closing the roofs and joinery. The spaces with high degree of freedom, which do not limit the use, have created a variety of playground to stimulate children's creativity.
From July 5th to 12th 180 Creative Camp will invade the center of Portugal, bringing to Abrantes unique creative collaborations between several celebrated national and international artists in areas like street art, video, design, music and architecture.
Everyone is invited to participate in this special week in Abrantes, watch and take part in the activities - from concerts, to workshops and talks - and work with the artists that will be a part of 180 Creative Camp.
Street artist INSA, director Alex Turvey, electronic musician Iago Lewis, German collective Plastique Fantastique and multidisciplinary artist Christopher Derek Bruno are some of the names that 180 Creative Camp is bringing to Abrantes during the week of July 5th to 12th.
Recently awarded with the quality label EFFE – Europe For Festivals, Festivals For Europe - an initiative supported by the European Union with the purpose of selecting festivals that are deeply committed to the arts, their communities and Europe - 180 Creative Camp transforms once again this city in the center of Portugal into a creative center for the media arts, promoting unique artistic collaborations and inviting everyone to be a part of the event.
The collaboration projects will unite Alex Turvey and Iago Lewis in the production of the short movie “SOM”; INSA (who recently created the world’s largest in Rio de Janeiro) will be helped by Portuguese street artists to develop a major project curated by British magazine Very Nearly Almost that combines street art and media arts; and musician PZ and director Alexandre Azinheira will work together in a music video for the new album by the Portuguese artist.
There are many reasons to visit Abrantes during this week, thanks to all the activities presented by 180 Creative Camp, like daily talks with the invited artists, workshops and several concerts in the historical center of Abrantes during the nights of the week, with musicians like PZ, Os Príncipes, FEL, Tøuløuse and Albatre.
Parallel to these activities, the creativity event will launch an innovating exhibition in Portugal, Analog Human Digital, that gathers 10 groundbreaking design studios from Portugal and Brazil: Estudio PUM, Dmtr.org, R2 Design, Epiforma, Bolos Quentes, atelier d’alves, DSType Foundry, This is Pacifica, Silvadesigners and Non Verbal. This exhibition is the result of a partnership between Canal180 - the producer of 180 Creative Camp - and Shutterstock. One year ago, this NY based company presented Analog Human Digital’s concept in Berlin with some of the best design studios in Germany.
For this 2014 edition, the event presents workshops not only directed to Portuguese people, but to everyone who may be interested in one of the several artistic areas. Walk with me, for instance, is a Spanish map design concept with a huge success, that will travel to 180 Creative Camp in a workshop coordinated by Julià Roig and Andrés Lozano. German collective Plastique Fantastique will also be at the event to coordinate a workshop that will result in different pneumatic structures installed in the historical center of Abrantes.
Last April, in anticipation to this creativity week, 180 Creative Camp launched two open calls for artists: the Open Call for Urban Intervention Projects and the Open Call for Stores Art Attack Projects. For the first open call, 63 proposals from 20 different countries were considered. Awarded with 5.000€, Domesticity, by Colombian authors María Mazzanti and Martín Ramirez, was the winning proposal, which will be implemented in Abrantes for 180 Creative Camp. For the second open call, 15 projects were selected, from countries like Germany, USA, Austria and Poland, whose authors will work with the local community with the purpose of stimulating traditional businesses in Abrantes during the week of the event.
Created in 2012 in Vila Nova de Cerveira, in the north of Portugal, this is the 5th edition of the creativity event developed by Canal180, a TV channel dedicated to art, music and culture. Since then, 180 Creative Camp has celebrated its first international edition in Italy and hosted incredible artists like Mac DeMarco, Hiro Murai, Ella&Pitr and Florentijn Hofman.
To know more about the event, visit www.180.camp (where you can find more practical info about the program and where to stay in Abrantes) and to sign up for the workshops contact creative.camp@ostv.pt.
Sometimes, clients bring in a clear idea or a name of a place they envision. This time, a movie named two moon junction surfaced when we first met. He talked about building a private cultural center centered around a coffeeshop and a gallery. A free spirited space , somewhat erotically charged like the movie, a place full of festivity and relaxed atmosphere. The other important criteria included providing two separate buildings, one for the client, and the other for his younger brother. The budget was extremely low, so from the start we decided to build simple boxes with some impact points.
The site is an hour drive up north near the city of Ilsan. It is a non-descript place, where all kinds of buildings stand alongside each other without any consideration for each other, industrial, residential and squatter town all mixed up. The diamond shaped site was divided into two sites accommodating two simple boxes oriented to provide enough parking space and a passage way between the two buildings.
The low budget and the movie two moon junction were two major inspiration for the design. Each building has three floors that can be accessed directly via individual staircases, by doing so, common space can be reduced to minimum while maximum can be allocated for rental usage. The two boxes have an encounter with a large sphere, thus having a distinct concave space that signifies a moon motif. Right one is imbued with a balcony like a lure. The left one is given a horizontal slit. The other sides of the buildings also have contact points with small sphere, providing depth and apertures. The irregularities provided by contacts with the sphere are carried into the building to become space with some bulges, a space with some convex. The top floors have outdoor gardens with high walls, but round apertures give much transparencies among much solidified building. A mini pantheon like domes are also provided on the top floors. The free standing walls on the 3rd floors are punctured with horoscopes representing each client. Welcome back to “ornaments and symbols”…moon and stars!!!
In 2009 Stanton Williams won an international competition to transform the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, one of France's six largest Fine Art Museums outside of Paris. Their design for this, the London-based practice's first major project in France, connects a number of historic buildings through one new "monolithic extension, glazed with thin layers of Portuguese white marble and glass façade." The museum is slated to open to the public in 2016.
We conserve and repair the beautiful structure that supports that roof. Beneath, we dig into the site to introduce new services that complement sales activity: logistics, parking, installations.
Rather than changing the visible volume, we change the surfaces that enclose it to improve the conditions of use and space, control the entrance of daylight and organize the adjacent urban space, integrating the presence of the outdoor stalls.
Cross Section
The interior is like a city. Two orthogonal axes (N-S and E-W) form the layout along which the stalls are organized, with the emphasis on their individuality. A large open foyer space on Carrer de Mallorca receives visitors. It is a plaza leading into this virtual city of commerce.
On the outside, the skins with which we clothe the existing structure open as they reach the ground to offer produce. The market relates with the city by communicating its use; the streets and the plazas that are gained are places of exchange, not just of transit.
Best Residential Architecture – Single Family: Haffenden House / PARA-Project . Image Courtesy of AZURE
AZURE has announced the winners of its fifth annual AZ Awards, which recognize excellence in design and architecture worldwide. The 19 winners were chosen from a shortlist of 66 projects.
The jury included Winka Dubbeldam of Archi-Tectonics (New York), architect Brendan MacFarlane of Jakob + MacFarlane (Paris), designer Anwar Mekhayech of the Design Agency (Toronto), landscape architect Janet Rosenberg of Janet Rosenberg & Studio (Toronto) and designer Philippe Malouin (London).
Best Commercial ⁄ Institutional Architecture Over 1,000 Square Metres: Melbourne School of Design / John Wardle Architects and NADAAA (Melbourne, Australia). Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Commercial ⁄ Institutional Architecture Under 1,000 Square Metres: Pani Community Centre / SchilderScholte Architecten (Rajarhat, Bangladesh). Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Landscape Architecture: June Callwood Park / GH3 (Toronto, Canada)
Best Landscape Architecture: June Callwood Park / GH3 (Toronto, Canada). Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Temporary / Demonstration Architecture: Epiphyte Chamber / Philip Beesley Architect (Seoul, Korea)
Best Temporary / Demonstration Architecture: Epiphyte Chamber / Philip Beesley Architect (Seoul, Korea). Image Courtesy of AZURE
INTERIORS WINNERS
Best Residential Interior: Casa G / Francesco Librizzi Studio (Sicily, Italy)
Best Residential Interior: Casa G / Francesco Librizzi Studio (Sicily, Italy). Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Commercial ⁄ Institutional Interior: Galleria Luxury Hall West / Burdifilek (Seoul, Korea)
Best Commercial ⁄ Institutional Interior: Galleria Luxury Hall West / Burdifilek (Seoul, Korea). Image Courtesy of AZURE
DESIGN WINNERS
Best Furniture Design: Arper's Kinesit by Lievore Altherr Molina
Best Furniture Design: Arper's Kinesit by Lievore Altherr Molina. Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Furniture System: Randers + Radius' Grip Tablesystem, by GrumDesign
Best Furniture System: Randers + Radius' Grip Tablesystem, by GrumDesign. Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Lighting Fixture: Vibia's Wireflow by Arik Levy
Best Lighting Fixture: Vibia's Wireflow by Arik Levy. Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Lighting Installation: Art Museum Ahrenshoop / Licht Kunst Licht
Best Lighting Installation: Art Museum Ahrenshoop / Licht Kunst Licht. Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Interior Product: Fireclay Tile's CRT Glass Tile by Paul Burns
Best Interior Product: Fireclay Tile's CRT Glass Tile by Paul Burns. Image Courtesy of AZURE
CONCEPT WINNERS
Best Unbuilt Competition Entry: Liepaja Thermal Bath / Steven Christensen Architecture
Best Unbuilt Competition Entry: Liepaja Thermal Bath / Steven Christensen Architecture. Image Courtesy of AZURE
Best Concept / Prototype: Robotic Infiltrations / Andrei Gheorghe
Best Concept / Prototype: Robotic Infiltrations / Andrei Gheorghe. Image Courtesy of AZURE
STUDENT A+ WINNER
Danny Karas (SCI-Arc, Los Angeles, USA): M&N
Danny Karas (SCI-Arc, Los Angeles, USA): M&N. Image Courtesy of AZURE
ReDeBOSTON 2100; Architerra. Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water
The winning projects of the Boston Living with Water competition have been announced. The competition “sought design solutions envisioning a beautiful, vibrant, and resilient Boston that is prepared for end-of-the-century climate conditions and rising sea levels.” Out of 50 teams, three were selected, each for separate sites—one for a building, one for a neighborhood, and one for a significant piece of city infrastructure—in addition to one honorable mention. Each of the winners will receive a $13,000 prize funded by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Barr Foundation.
The Boston Living with Water competition was organized by the City of Boston, The Boston Harbor Association, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the Boston Society of Architects. As Mayor Martin J. Walsh honored the winners, he noted that “competition ideas and strategies are already informing Boston’s future, including revisions to building plans and zoning codes, and influencing ‘Imagine Boston 2030.’” Winning projects will be on display at BSA Space through June 2015. Learn more about the winners, after the break.
The Prince Building (Building category winner)
ReDeBOSTON 2100; Architerra. Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water
Rather than trying to prevent seawater from entering the city, this proposal welcomes the water and repurposes the outer streetscapes to a new urban seashore that is a focus of recreation, ecological reclamation, and new cultural experiences.
The 100 Acres section of Fort Point Channel (Neighborhood category winner)
ReDeBOSTON 2100; Architerra. Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water
WINNER: “ReDeBOSTON 2100” led by Architerra, Boston.
This proposal would raise the entire base and infrastructure of the 100-acre neighborhood by approximately twelve feet, matching the raised elevation of historic Summer Street and creating a resilient development area to serve as a model urban waterfront district for the 21st and 22nd centuries.
Total Resilient Approach; Thetis S.p.A.. Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water
WINNER: “Total Resilient Approach” led by Thetis S.p.A., Venice.
This proposal considers the transportation infrastructure as a flexible element aimed at performing a wide range of resilient functions. Raising Morrissey Boulevard and improving its connections to the adjacent neighborhood present an opportunity to redevelop Columbia Point through an overall strategy based on habitat restoration and sustainable urban landscaping.
Honorable Mention: Resilient Linkages
Resilient Linkages; NBBJ. Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water
This proposal attempts to balance the immediate pressure for development in Fort Point with the long-term understanding that the area will be prone to regular flooding in the future. The plan would establish a new, elevated street grid and require developers to integrate supportive infrastructure for sea level rise into their projects, which could then be linked to form fully-functional, neighborhood-scale infrastructure.
Facing the port of Casablanca, the economic capital of the country, the railway station is located at the meeting point between the medina, the art deco district and the new developments in the city centre. The station needed to be rebuilt in anticipation of the increase in passenger numbers in the future, where 25 million travellers are expected to use the station every year. The general design of the station and of the adjacent public spaces reflects broader considerations regarding the urban remodelling of the waterfront and the districts in the vicinity of the port of Casablanca.
Floor Plan
The Project
Under its large roof, the transport hub houses waiting areas, circulations, services as well as retail outlets and a two-tier underground car park facility. The concourse is the major element of the hub and opens up onto a large forecourt on the south-west and the platforms on the north-east. As if in anticipation of possible new transformations, the station has been devised in a way that allows its future connection with a potential regional express line station.
The dimensions of the vast concourse and the walkways leading to the transverse platform are suited to deal with, mainly, commuter travels and peak time loadings occurring over the same periods during the day. The concourse hosts all travel-related services (ticket offices, information displays, reception, waiting areas etc.) as well as a prayer room away from the bustling crowd. Vertical circulations pass through a central floor opening and link the main concourse with the lower level, which completes the retail offer of the ground level (fast-food restaurants, kiosks, vending machines and ATMs) by providing food court areas and some retail outlets. The underground car park is located below this level and has a capacity of 380 places.
The passenger building: A wooden and steel roof obeying a rigorous geometry, tops the “hypostyle” concourse. It is supported by thin columns, the upper part of which splits into eight branches to filter sunlight through the skylight. Its floor-to-ceiling glass facades ensure continuity between indoor and outdoor public spaces while allowing passengers to grasp the general layout of the station and, thus, anticipate their movements. On the west facade of the building, the modern mashrabiyya acts like a screen between the city and the station to reduce direct sunlight in the afternoon. On the south facade, the roof covers the vast outdoor public spaces.By its spaces, volumes, materials, lighting and geometry, the station carries on the heritage of Moroccan palaces and public buildings while paying tribute to the modernity of Casablanca.
The adjacent buildings: The project also includes a building intended for tertiary sector activities, which is connected to the passenger building and marks the starting point of further developments along the Almohades boulevard. The second stage of the tertiary development project includes two buildings, whose horizontal future development should echo the form of ocean liners and the Art Deco style of Casablanca. Their north facades will offer unimpeded views of the ocean.
The underground car park: The car park is located both under the forecourt and the passenger building thus providing direct vertical access to the platforms. It has only two storeys, which makes usage and management easier, especially in terms of safety. Its entry and exit ramps frame the taxi drop-off areas on the ground level, Boulevard Houphouët Boigny.
Elevation
Materials and fittings: Materials and lighting draw on the architectural modernity of Casablanca while benefitting from the main principles of Moroccan traditional architecture (geometric patterns, lighting design, simple and noble materials, use of traditional techniques).
Both the station and the forecourt are paved with Benslimane limestone slabs (a province about 80km north of Casablanca), thus extending and unifying the pedestrian areas beyond the concourse. The pillars supporting the roof consist of light-coloured concrete and extend into a steel bole and an aluminium casting bearing the eight branches of the “capital”. The underside of the roof is made of wood. The facades are clad with clear, transparent glass framed in steel structures. The mashrabiyya is made of fiber-reinforced concrete. Kiosks housing shops and services are designed as easily modifiable objects featuring metal structures and glass panels. Their expected lifespan is shorter than that of the building as they should be easily modulated to adapt to the potential development of new programmes in the future, and to reflect changing life styles and the evolving relations between the national rail operator (ONCF) and its users. The main passenger pathways are equipped with automatic doors which allow for fluid movements while minimising air draughts. Upper and lower levels are linked by lifts. The whole building can, thus, be accessed both by mobility impaired users and by people laden with luggage or carrying pushchairs and prams.
When the first images of Cornell University's new campus on Roosevelt Island were unveiled last year, the First Academic Building (now known as the Bloomberg Center) was highlighted as a design driven by sustainability. In this interview, originally published by Arup's newly-revamped online magazine Arup Doggerel as "Net zero learning," Sarah Wesseler talks to members of the team from Morphosis, Arup and Cornell about how they designed the building to be one of the most sustainable education facilities in the world.
For its new tech-focused New York City campus, Cornell University set out to create one of America’s most sustainable university centers. With the net zero Bloomberg Center now in construction, I interviewed three leaders of the design team — Diana Allegretti, Assistant Director for Design and Construction at Cornell; Ung Joo Scott Lee, a principal at Morphosis; and Tom Rice, a structural engineer and project manager at Arup.
Sarah Wesseler:Why did Cornell choose to aim for net zero for The Bloomberg Center, and what were the design implications of that decision?
Diana Allegretti: It’s a higher aspiration compared to LEED.
Ung Joo Scott Lee: Without getting into the technicalities of the exact definition of net zero energy — is it a measure of embedded energy? how do you calculate it? is it carbon neutral? — it’s a combination of many factors, with the broad goal of creating a healthier environment and a more efficient use of building materials and construction.
That dictated many things beyond just trying to save energy or using a certain type of low-VOC materials. It was a more integrated approach. When you think in those terms, it’s different than just a LEED checklist. A LEED checklist is exactly that — it’s a series of prescribed things that you try to hit to get to a point. Cornell’s intent was to go beyond that and understand a more cohesive approach towards the net zero energy goal.
Tom Rice: It’s a much harder target, and it’s also a particularly hard target in this climate.
Lee: Tom is absolutely right. You think about net zero and many of those buildings are in a field in the middle of Arizona. In the New York City area, with this climate, you need a much different approach.
Fortunately, we initially engaged with Cornell’s engineering group, who had familiarity in thinking outside of the box. As an example, Cornell University in Ithaca uses lake-source cooling for their campus, utilizing Cayuga Lake as heat exchange. So they understood the challenges of working towards a net zero building here in the northeast.
Allegretti: They also recently completed a two-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) array in Ithaca on 11 acres of land. But they have the space for that; they have a much bigger campus than the Roosevelt Island Cornell Tech campus.
Wesseler: What are the most important features of the design from a sustainability standpoint?
Lee: Because the project was so performance driven, we started with some basic questions that we thought needed to be asked to support that energy goal. We tried to make the building explicitly about that in its form and functions.
From the beginning, we knew that we had to tackle the PV surface area issue. PVs are becoming more efficient, but they’re reaching an efficiency plateau, so we have to deal with the horizontal surface. That translated into a building that had a particular form, a certain type of massing. In lieu of having a tower, it required a form factor that is lower and broader. That also allowed us to create a walking building, which reduces the number of elevators, which further reduces energy consumption. It gives the opportunity to lay down a larger field of PV solar panels. It’s all integrated. The PV canopy, in many ways, defines the building identity and the overall masterplan.
Rice: The sustainability discussion is wider than net zero. It’s an overlap between LEED Platinum and net zero, and there are other issues around all of that as well. We’re basically looking for every reasonable measure to achieve sustainability and/or net zero. Energy efficiency, really — net zero is just a term, but we’re really looking to make this a building that meets its purpose, with energy efficiency being one component which is balanced against all other functional requirements.
Allegretti: We have a geothermal field that provides heating and cooling for the building. Cornell University sought partnerships with the US Geological Society to fund three test wells as early analysis for the feasibility of the geothermal loop system.
Lee: Another impactful design feature that is understated but has huge consequences for energy use is the façade. The easiest path to getting a very high-performance building is twofold: first, consume less energy, and second, create a greater exterior insulation line. More than other projects throughout the city, this project has a very highly insulated and detailed exterior wall. We want a building that has a heavy and tight winter jacket. There was a lot of careful detailing, in conjunction with Arup’s façade team, to review thermal bridging and continuous insulation.
Rice: We agreed on some fairly tight limits on the amount of glazing early in the project, and Scott has worked within those. That’s not always an easy thing for an architect to do.
Lee: It’s a fine balance between glazing and daylight. In a more opaque building you have less opportunities for daylighting, and lighting is the biggest energy hog in the building. In a more transparent building, you have more daylighting but greater heat loss. We worked towards achieving a balance.
Allegretti: Right. It’s a 24/7 building basically, and you might have two students on the third floor at two in the morning. How do you address energy-use efficiencies without having the entire system on all the time?
Rice: The glazing thing is interesting as well because the building has fantastic views across the river. You want to benefit from those views, which means you need vast windows. There would be no great benefit in having a really energy-efficient building that doesn’t take advantage of that location. So there’s more glazing in certain areas, partly because of their location.
And another aspect of sustainability is resilience. The whole campus is considering future flood conditions and events like Sandy. Elevations of buildings and other design elements have been set to make the campus less susceptible to any future extreme flooding.
Allegretti: Yes, for the Bloomberg Center we essentially built a bathtub around the building perimeter to mitigate against any water infiltration should flooding occur.
I might mention that what existed on the site previously was an old hospital. It was quite large, like 800,000 square feet.
As a sustainable measure, we took the concrete floors and some walls and are crushing them to build up the substrate of the site. To Tom’s point, we want to create a spine. There’s a natural ridge to the island, and so at the high point we’re going to be building up even slightly higher.
And additionally, we’ll have all the entrances to buildings purposefully set off of what’s called the Tech Walk spine. This way it’s not off of the road system, which is in very close proximity to the East River.
Campus-wide, what’s also important is the rainwater runoff. The rainwater harvesting system is going to be used as a greywater system for the plumbing and toilets in the Bloomberg Center, but the excess water will also be used for irrigation of one of the lawns.
We also have biofiltration swales on site. Rainwater is collected and put through natural boulders and rocks and plantings. It will come out at the other end as clean water discharging into the river.
Wesseler:What has the design process been like for this building? Was the team coordination any different than it would have been for a less ambitious project?
Lee: There were a lot more phone calls than usual! A lot more reviews.
Sometimes when you get into a project, not everyone has the same end goal in mind. The net zero goal was a mission that was well defined that the team understood. It was very intense, with many checks and a lot of balances.
Rice: We had a review of the energy use versus generation at every stage of the design to make sure we were still on track. And as Scott says, it was a collaborative process.
I would add that although the owner is involved in these kinds of discussions on every project, the owner here, i.e., Cornell, really needed to be part of that process for this project, because some of the decisions depended on the way they were planning to operate the building.
A couple of examples: there were discussions on electric plug loads which were based on the type of computers that would be used — desktops or laptops and monitors — and Cornell was willing to sign up to a certain level of use and not beyond that level. Lighting controls as well: Cornell was talking about restrictions on lighting and use of task lighting, and also temperature set points within the building which maybe are a little bit beyond what some owners would be comfortable with.
So it was architect and owner and engineer, all trying to figure this out together.
Allegretti: We even had some faculty and expert input outside of the facilities department. For example, we had some of those folks weigh in on the building control system selection which will control all these smart technologies — the electric plug loads, the lighting and shading controls, and temperature sets. As part of the academic curriculum, the faculty would like to data mine some of this information from the building system and utilize it for research and development, which is quite unique in a university setting.
Cornell has three core educational hubs: built environment, connective media, and healthier life. The institution hopes to create a more efficient, sustainable built environment, and this building is literally its actual lab for it.
Wesseler:How unique is this particular design? Is it similar to other net zero projects around the world, or is it a completely new kind of thing?
Lee: I think it’s a new thing, in the sense that as architects we work with different clients for buildings in different locations and different climates. In every project, there are a million decisions. Our job is to filter through those decisions, prioritize them, and ultimately implement them. So the building is about being energy efficient, but it’s also about urban planning, transportation, visibility, and accessibility, since it is located on an island.
We have discussions about how to get things into the island. What is the size of a façade panel that’s well insulated thermally? How big of a panel can that be? And how are we going to get it where it needs to go?
It’s also a particular academic program, only for graduate students and no undergraduates. It’s an engineering school, geared towards business entry and entrepreneurship. What are the qualities of spaces that you need in order to teach this curriculum?
This is not intended to be the recipe for a net zero building that you can put anywhere. These are integrated decisions implemented for a particular set of conditions.
Benedetta Tagliabue (born 24 June 1963) is an Italian architect known for designs which are sensitive to their context and yet still experimental in their approach to forms and materials. Her diverse and complex works have marked out her Barcelona-based firm EMBT as one of the most respected Spanish practices of the 21st century.
Born in Milan, Tagliabue graduated from the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia in 1989. In the early 1990s, she married Spanish architect Enric Miralles and the pair founded their studio Miralles Tagliabue EMBT. Together, Miralles and Tagliabue designed some of the practice's most notable works, including the renovation of the Santa Caterina Market in Barcelona and the enormous edifice of the Scottish Parliament Building - a building which critic Charles Jencks described as "a kind of small city," reflecting the complexity and intricacy of the Edinburgh streets which it responds to.
However, following Enric Miralles' tragically premature death in 2000, Tagliabue took over the firm as a sole director, completing the Santa Caterina market, Edinburgh Parliament and a string of other projects besides. In recent years, the firm's most striking work has perhaps been the Spanish Pavilion completed for the 2010 Shanghai Expo, a design which epitomizes their philosophy of continuing curiosity and material experimentation.
To this day, Tagliabue refers to her late husband as one of her greatest influences, and in 2011 she founded the Foundation Enric Miralles, with the mission of promoting and teaching the philosophies of inquiry and experiment that are fundamental to his legacy.
The Spanish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
See all the works of EMBT featured on ArchDaily via the thumbnails below, and more coverage of Benedetta Tagliabue below that:
From the architect. Set within the vineyards and close to the center of town, the site for the house is a large plot of land dotted with full grown trees and vineyards.
The project consists of two houses connected with glass. Each house is protected from a busy road with two 'L' Shaped walls - one is stone and one is cedar. A number of pieces behind these walls are arranged together around courtyards and terraces. In turn giving rise to a sequence of individual gardens, each with their own individual ambience - gardens set among other limitless gardens. A system of slender spaces act like paths connecting the gardens, courtyards, and interior spaces, each embracing and respecting the landscape.
The entrance garden is conceived as a porch-like atrium which leads to a solid redwood door crafted from the only tree removed from the site. This door opens to a small glass foyer which connects the two main walls of the house. To one side is an interior gateway through a cedar wall and to the other side is a portal through a thick stone wall. The gateway opens to a garden and guestrooms and the portal opens onto the family art collection and main house. The main house opens to vineyards on the valley floor with 270 degree views of the surrounding Mayacamas Mountains, Mt. St. Helena, and Stags Leap beyond. Guestrooms are through the cedar gateway and open to the southern views of vineyards, Stone Mountain, Mt. Vedeer and the city nearby. Meanwhile the utility areas are hidden away in front with easy access while increasing the buffer between the house and busy road and the house.
Large eaves create both a place to enjoy the outdoors all year around and protection from the summer sun, while letting in the right amount of winter sun deep into the house. The envelope of the house enhances the control of the site while providing a sense of privacy and protection while juxtaposed with large openings to the surrounding landscape. The materialization of this project reflects its rural setting, while softening its urban attributes of shelter in front and massive openings behind those urban attributes and human nature.
The NewSchool of Architecture and Design has awarded Gianandrea Barreca their Global Design and Innovation Award for his extensive and creative work. Barreca co-founded Boeri Studio (now recognized as Barreca & La Varra and Stefano Boeri Architetti), and is known for putting an emphasis on both human interaction and public art.
One of his most well known projects is the Bosco Verticale “green skyscraper” in Milan, which was awarded the 2014 International Highrise Award, and deemed the “most beautiful and innovative highrise in the world." This past semester, 15 NewSchool students had the opportunity to visit Bosco Verticale, and learn from Barreca in person.
After two months of a decreasing demand for design services, the US Architecture Billing Index (ABI) has bounced back into positive territory. As the American Institute of Architects (AIA) report, May's ABI score was 51.9, up from a mark of 48.8 in April. The new projects inquiry index was 61.5, up from a reading of 60.1 the previous month. This growth was lead by a growing demand for new schools, hospitals, cultural facilities and municipal buildings.
A breakdown of regional highlights, after the break.
“As has been the case for the past several years, while the design and construction industry has been in a recovery phase, we continue to receive mixed signals on business conditions in the marketplace,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “Generally, the business climate is favorable, but there are still construction sectors and regions of the country that are struggling, producing the occasional backslide in the midst of what seems to be growing momentum for the entire industry.”
As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. Regional and sector categories are calculated as a 3-month moving average, whereas the index and inquiries are monthly numbers. Any score above 50 reflects an increase in design services.
Collaborators: ARAE Patrimonio, Asociacion Cultural Falla Cronista, Retales, Josep Martí, Barret Films, Led Visuals, Ignite, Valencia Vibrant, Choreoscope, Visorifashionart
Client: A.C.F Nou Campanar
Cardboard Supplier: ALPESA
Wood Supplier: ALPESA
From the architect. It is an installation made with cardboard tubes with a metallic appearance atop a mosaic made of 96,000 wooden pieces.
During the Fallas festival in Valencia held every year the ultimate goal of these installations is to be burned to celebrate the arrival of spring. In this context we built a structure entirely of cardboard and wood joints. The purpose was to investigate to what extent we could carry up this type of structure, and also to place in a traditional context a contemporary image to provoke the debate between tradition and modernity.
The installation represented a temple where citizens can meet and realize the power they have to change things through debate and confrontation of ideas. Hence the title Ekklesia, as this was the ancient Greek assembly that met once a year between elections to decide if someone was annoying for the polis, and if that was the case expel him from the city for ten years.
Floor Plans
The facility was visitable and columns were screen printed with real political messages with critical messages of citizens, trying to highlight the emptiness of political discourse and the need to provide it with content to generate discussion and be owners of our future.
The stage on which the installation was settled was a mosaic of 96,000 pieces based on designs of Nolla Mosaic, a traditional Valencian ceramic that was lost in the middle of 20th century. On the one hand its function was highlight a lost heritage and to emphasize that any innovation in a traditional context should be based on a thorough knowledge of tradition.
At the same time we also wanted it to be a participatory project and therefore the completion of the mosaic was made in different workshops with children at risk of social exclusion and various neighborhood associations.
“The ekklesia (from Ancient Greek “ἐκκλησία ‘) was the main assembly of Athenian democracy in Ancient Greece. Ostrakon (plural, ostraka), literally piece of vessel, is the Greek term that has come down to us as the famous exile by ostracism, and it was nothing but a law allowing citizens to banish for some time political or other harmful citizens for Polis. Over the potsherds the citizens had to write the name of the politician who was a potential danger to the community. In the Athens of the V century B.C. was an important political institution, safeguarding its democratic system of government from internal enemies. To apply law of ostracism the Ekklesia gathered once a year debating whether there was sufficient evidences to implement the ostracism, if that was the case the ostrakophoria was called , assembly where ostracism was voted. Such voting was held in the agora, with about 6,000 citizens entitled to vote. And the vote consisted in writing down on the piece of ceramic uóstrakon the name of the person that everyone thought it should be ostracized. Once the votes were counted the one with most votes was banished from Athens for 10 years, the exile was granted 10 days to prepare his departure from the Polis. The Athenian ostracism was a preventive law, which anticipated future conspiracies to establish tyranny.”
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_-_Final_Boards_4.jpg?1434518015 "ReDeBOSTON 2100; Architerra. Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water")
_-_Final_Boards_3.jpg?1434518048 "ReDeBOSTON 2100; Architerra. Image Courtesy of Boston Living with Water")
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