© Chuck Choi

• Architects: Peter Rose + Partners
• Location: United States, Chilmark, MA, USA
• Area: 4000.0 ft2
• Project Year: 2012
• Photographs: Chuck Choi , Matthew Snyder

• Architect Project Team: Peter Rose, Matthew Snyder, Erkin Ozay, Jon Chace, Grace Escano, Duong Bui, VW Fowlkes, Stani Iordanova, Shu Lai Talun, Nathan Fash
• Climate Engineer: Transsolar Klima Engineering
• Landscape Architect: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates
• Structural Engineer: RSE Associates
• Mep/Fp Engineer: ICOR Associates
• Contractor: Holmes Hole Builders

© Chuck Choi

From the architect. Nestled into the native shrubs of the Martha’s Vineyard coastline, East House’s site-cast concrete façade welcomes tendrils of coastal vines while providing a robust barrier to New England’s coastal weather. The ten-inch-thick concrete walls are cast in the form of a collection of concrete boxes, relieved with sustainably harvested Spanish Cedar window frames, and oriented to achieve both subtle and dramatic responses to the landscape.

Diagram

During design, a commissioned study revealed a rate of coastal bluff erosion that made both client and architect extremely uncomfortable with the siting of the residence. The solution was to cast the floors – formerly wood-framed – in concrete, making each box a three or four-sided structural unit that could be individually lifted and moved to a location far from the bluff, should erosion occur. The 4,000 square foot house is thus divided into concrete boxes –  individually liftable with all interior finishes in place, and interstitial corridors – light wood framed zones that can be easily removed and rebuilt if the building is moved.

© Chuck Choi

© Chuck Choi

Each box has a rugged concrete exterior and is finished with interior stone floors. The interior walls are clad in Douglas Fir and Alaskan Cedar, which are soft to touch, but extremely durable in the rough coastal weather. Circulation travels along the interior figure of the boxes through interstitial spaces both rough-framed and finished in wood, and is choreographed to an ever-more-revealing experience of the site. Strategic through-views to surrounding greenery direct visitors from the entrance to a library and living area.

© Chuck Choi

Floor Plan

© Matthew Snyder

Embedded in the natural landscape, East House is nearly invisible from points further up the slope. The concrete shell is cantilevered over the landscape, allowing for expanses of glass along five walls. Operable windows pull back, and the gap between the concrete units amplifies the sound of the ocean, bringing it along with sea breezes through the entire house. A planted roof caps each box individually, mitigating run-off while further visually integrating the building with the lush landscape. Rainwater is collected in the interstitial roofs, directed to a single Mahogany flue, and cast into a below-ground 

© Chuck Choi

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© Olivier Amsellem

• Architects: Stéphane Fernandez – Atelier Fernandez & Serres
• Location: Parc de la Duranne, 255 Avenue Galilée, 13290 Aix-en-Provence, France
• Clients: SEMEPA Aix-en-Provence
• Area: 1000.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Olivier Amsellem

© Olivier Amsellem

The site of La Duranne is exceptional.The construction process always leads to a modification. The question of the natural, architectural urban landscape allows to relate the construction to its development in the time.

© Olivier Amsellem

The question of the structure is here an important point. A logic close to landscape, to the light and to the structure. It allows to draw a link between the existing and changing landscape with also a notion of effectiveness. The structure will provide to the multi-purpose hall the ability to deliver the different goods. In this way, the particularity of this program is the multi-purpose option. A special attention will be taken to the structure studies : efficiency, cost-efficient and multo-purposal.

© Olivier Amsellem

Plan

© Olivier Amsellem

We prefer the liberation of bearing points to allow the users to develop themselves. The question of development will be a key element during the approach.The pre fabrication services are promoted : interesting cost-efficient. This technic improves a clean building site. The speed of realization is also an important point which creates a minimum incidence on its environment.

© Olivier Amsellem

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© Adolf Bereuter

• Architects: Bernardo Bader Architekten, Bechter Zaffignani Architekten, Architekten Hermann Kaufmann
• Location: Krumbach, Bregenzerwald, 6942, Austria
• Area: 1130.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2013
• Photographs: Adolf Bereuter

© Adolf Bereuter

For over ten years the municipality of Krumbach pursued a very committed construction program, which essentially concerned the structural development of the village center. The rectory is seen as a preliminary ‘milestone’ in this process. In its function as a cultural and multipurpose building, the rectory plays an important role in Krumbach’s public life, reinforced by its spatial presence in the in the village square. Inside the building, a parish hall (small village hall), the parish office with rectory as well as a library and the rehearsal room for the music club and choir. The diverse range of uses provides additional vitalization and attractiveness for Krumbach’s village center.

© Adolf Bereuter

Plan 1

© Adolf Bereuter

The Rectory is a socially sustainable building, demonstrating a well-considered intervention led by a small community’s effort to provide a form of infrastructure to its citizens that best supports and promotes a lively village life. 

© Adolf Bereuter

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© Thomas De Bruyne

• Architects: OYO Architects
• Location: Maldegem, Belgium
• Area: 175.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Thomas De Bruyne

© Thomas De Bruyne

This family house designed by OYO is the result of a close collaboration between client and architect. OYO was given carte blanche, which opened the possibility to focus on an ecological and compact building from the start. Unlike most single family houses in Belgium OYO started with the idea of positioning the living rooms on top of the bedrooms. In a house composed with split-levels it was important to establish cross relations between the spaces and natural lighting conditions throughout all spaces. 

© Thomas De Bruyne

The house is defined by the continuation of the soil, creating one continuous lifted green roof. The only exception: two popping volumes created on the green surface. One defines the entrance, the other brings light deep into the dining room. The window is dimensioned regarding the light conditions but carefully positioned so the inhabitants maintain privacy towards the street. The use of wood and warm materials was an inspired decision to create a Scandinavian-like interior ambiance. The balance of light and material-use like stone, wood and white surfaces are the defining elements that bring everything together.

© Thomas De Bruyne

Section

© Thomas De Bruyne

From the design phase to the construction of the house, OYO’s main objective was to selectively use every material to its highest potency. A concrete base was used to carry a light timber frame, which was prepared in a local warehouse and mounted together on site. A rubber roofing membrane was wrapped around the house to protect the interior from changing weather conditions working as one facade element. This unorthodox technique allows the rubber to change appearance as the day passes, the season changes and the weather fluctuates. Through the seasons there are different plants flowering on top. Since the roof of the house actually continues into the ground level, a singular green roof is conceived so that both facade and roof will vary in color all the time. 

Plan 1

Plan 2

The fireplace can be used both indoors and outdoors. In summer it is used as a BBQ and people dine under the covered terrace. The terrace is a continuous wooden deck connecting the living rooms and kitchen with the exterior spaces. On the wooden deck we also find a small swimming pond. When the sun is out, it casts a playful reflection on the ceilings in the interior of the house.

© Thomas De Bruyne

Section

© Thomas De Bruyne

This house has an excellent low energy performance because of the insulation pack between the timber frames and the thermal capacity created by the green roof. Something you might not notice when you approach the house are the solar panels laying on top of the volumes from the entrance and dining area, all facing South. This adds up to the energy demands of the residents and contributes to the sustainable ambition the clients had from the beginning when dreaming about their new home.  

© Thomas De Bruyne

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© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

• Architects: WAU Design
• Location: Xingxiang, Shanxi, China
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

• Structural Engineers: Tsinghua-Yuan Ltd.
• Client: Bureau of Education & Sports in Xingxiang

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

From the architect. The 120-division School, designed by WAU Design, is completed recently. The school including 72 classrooms, teacher’s office, library, lecture hall and sports center is located in the new developing area of Xingxian, ShanXi province.

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

Concept

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

Our vision for the design is to create an image of range upon range of mountains just like the natural environment the site has. The building raises up from the ground floor to the roof top, this makes the slope roof to be a extension and development of the ground floor landscape. The roof with a high accessibility creates a playful outdoor space for children having different kinds of activities. An interesting mix of landscape and building makes different space experiences for the students. The intersection parts of different roofs form the public lobby with patios around, this not only blurs the distinction between interior and exterior but also organically connect different programs such as classrooms, office, library, etc.

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

Ground Floor Plan

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

The building has roofs with various inclination, we make the lower part to be public terrace for the upper level. In addition, such kind of roofing reflects the cave dwellings in Shanxi, extending the historical context of the site.

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

In the energy conservation, the design responds to local climate. The shape of the building takes full consideration of wind to have good ventilation. In addition, patios not only create the Greenhouse Effect, but also act as rainwater collectors to improve the microenvironment. The most important, concrete masonry backup , brick veneer, together with air space in between, formed the “Respirable Wall”, which helps to improve thermal and insulating performance and reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling.

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

After all this design conveys the regeneration of traditional architecture, creates a brand new atmosphere of  teaching building, and enhances the students’ perception experience of space.

© MA Minghua – ZHAN Changheng

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Courtesy of hyperSity office

• Architects: hyperSity office
• Location: Beijing, China
• Design Team: Yang Shi, Guoling Zhang
• Area: 2600.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of hyperSity office

Courtesy of hyperSity office

From the architect. Joy City ‘Woo Space’ is an innovative co-working space designed for entrepreneurs. It is located in a business park for creative industries, which was transformed from a granary warehouse in Chaoyang District, Beijing.

Courtesy of hyperSity office

The original space was a single-story red brick warehouse, in net height of 6.7 meters and ridge height of 9.2 meters, which sized in 1000 square meters ground floor area. The client expected the renovated space with multiple functions, such as independent and co-working space, event space, café, theater and gym.

Courtesy of hyperSity office

Section

Courtesy of hyperSity office

To provide office and communal area of 600 people, multi-level interlayer system is applied in the projects to make the space expanding to 2,600 square meters. Overall, the space was divided into three major levels with fifteen different elevated heights, so that each working team can have their own sphere with privacy and independency, while wide view is also offered. Full height recreational areas create relaxing atmosphere in the office. Meanwhile, spaces of temprorary use such as conference rooms, pantries and chat rooms are purposely designed in the height of 2.3 meter. With the series of contrasted floor heights, they dynamically formed interesting spatial experiences.

Courtesy of hyperSity office

The main building entrance forms a welcoming gesture by a unique folded metal plate to connect the exterior and interior space. Moreover, it also shapes an area of triangle small courtyard in front of the coffee bar. In a similar approach, another courtyard is enclosed. Together with rooftop outdoor terrace above the boiler house, vibrant leisure facilities are created for both staffs and guests.

Courtesy of hyperSity office

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© Breton Brut

• Architects: FUUR Associates
• Location: Ubud, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
• Area: 4127.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Breton Brut

• Local Submission Architect: ARTE Architect & Associates

© Breton Brut

Bisma Eight was conceived as a 38 room building with a series of interconnected communal areas, which connect the journey of the guests with a strong connection to the surrounding landscape and views, all carefully curated for maximum visual impact.

© Breton Brut

Materials and Details provide a contrast to the modernistic brutalist structure. Stone tiles and Masonry available from locally sourced suppliers are reinterpreted in an interesting manner, For instance,  the boundary wall terracotta bricks are also used for the interior café walls and stairwell, hence creating a slight ambiguity between the exterior and interior.

Plan 1

Locally crafted doors were also juxtaposed against modern fair faced stucco walls, giving hints of an eccentric folk palette with bold colors coming through the final build.

© Breton Brut

Architecturally, in order to fit the rooms into the long narrow site , a forested alleyway had to be carved out in between the two blocks of accommodation, leading into a plateau where the pool and poolside bar capture the panoramic view of the valley below . The remaining 18 rooms were tucked below the pool level , each room with a distinctive view of the canyon and privacy.

© Breton Brut

Spatially compact, it tries to redefine what a hotel provides for the modern holidaymaker – a cool bar , a café for reading working , a pool with a view , a small dining hall and a compact gym – the essentials of the city nomad.
However, the spaces are arranged in such a way that each space feels like an escape from the other spaces, and relate to the site in its own intimate way.

© Breton Brut

Sourcing of local crafted materials also gives the surfaces a meaning and dimension, so to speak – one that creates the cultural moment for the project, a moment between the traditional and rawness of the construction.

© Breton Brut

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© Peter Bennetts

• Architects: Woods Bagot
• Location: 498 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
• Area: 2000.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Peter Bennetts

• Design Leader: Bruno Mendes
• Team: Tom Nelson, Bret Simmonds, Richard Galloway, Christopher Free, Sarah Ball

© Peter Bennetts

From the architect. Is there a project that is more demanding than designing your own office? Having a group of architects and interior designers pulling in different directions for design supremacy was always going to be a challenge.

© Peter Bennetts

To avoid such a situation, the Melbourne studio embarked on a consultative workplace strategy to gather feedback from all staff who would be using the space. The feedback indicated an overarching desire to work collaboratively but also to enable social gatherings. While this set the planning principles for the fit-out, what was still missing was a conceptual vision for the project.

Mezzanine Floor Plan

© Peter Bennetts

1st Level Floor Plan

It was at this point the design team considered the simple and inspirational cookbook by Ferran Adria, The Family Meal. Inspired by the dishes eaten everyday by the staff at the legendary El Bulli restaurant, the book focuses on the most important time of the day – when the chefs come together to socialise, share ideas and collaborate.

© Peter Bennetts

Woods Bagot Principal and design leader Bruno Mendes said the project deployed a sense of domesticity and familiarity.
“The simple notion of coming together to share an experience drove our design concept to develop a central heart for the studio. We wanted to celebrate and foster the studio’s collective, collegiate spirit.”

© Peter Bennetts

Based on the notion of gathering, the various formal and informal spaces within the studio were formed around a large central space at the core of the floorplate.  Stitching together a variety of informal and formal workspaces, it also forms the main assembly space functioning as an open auditorium by connecting the two levels of the studio while providing a platform for invited speakers, movie nights and dancing on Friday nights. Its connection to the main staff lunch area and through to workspaces was critical to reinforce the social and collaborative agenda.

© Peter Bennetts

Monumental in gesture and application, timber was the material of choice. Defining each of the key spaces within the studio, the timber weaves itself into natural steel plates which are used as transitional elements to define the various level changes. The physical result is a studio which is more akin to the nuances of ‘living’ as opposed to ‘working’.

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Courtesy of Transborder Studio

Oslo-based Transborder Studio have won a competition for the development of new “Agricultural District” surrounding a former dairy factory in East Oslo. Selected from 5 proposals from invited architect teams, the winning design, entitled “Follow the Milk,” strives to develop the district into a place where “ agriculture has a new relevance related to urban food culture, bioproducts and the agricultural sector’s role in a sustainable future.”

Courtesy of Transborder Studio

Located next to Bjørvika, the Oslo Central Station, the historical old town and the multicultural Grønland neighborhood, the neighborhood of Lanbrukskvartalet is centered around the historic dairy factory, which was constructed in 1912.

Courtesy of Transborder Studio

Transborder Studio’s plan will renovate the factory into a mixed-use facility containing program elements such as a food market and microbrewery. A mix of existing and new surrounding buildings (including one cheese-inspired building) have been arranged based on an analysis of the logistic pathways of the existing factory, and will also contribute to the agricultural block with green roofs and beehives for producing honey.

“Landbrukskvartalets existing design is about logistics; Milk in and dairy products out,” the architects explain. “Transborder’s concept starts with following the milk through the facility, letting the flow of the milk define the design decisions. This results in a porous city block with several openings to the surroundings, a cluster of urban spaces with strong identity and a clear communication of the industrial heritage.”

Courtesy of Transborder Studio

The masterplan will double the total area of the quarter from 30,000 to 60,000 square meters, including 30 percent housing, which will amount to about 200 new units.

The architects hope the design will allow the neighborhood to become “a reinterpretation of the site’s historic relationship between the city and the productive farmlands.” After winning the competition, Transborder Studio has now been commissioned to further develop the winning scheme.

News via Transborder Studio, Landbrukskvartalet, and Aftonposten.

Courtesy of Transborder Studio

• Architects: Transborder Studio
• Location: Schweigaards gate 34, 0191 Oslo, Norway
• Competition Team: Øystein Rø, Espen Røyseland, Håvard Skarstein, Fredrikke Frølich, Søren Olav Saanum Bessesen, Margrete Bjone Engelien
• Project Team: Håvard Skarstein (project architect), Øystein Rø, Espen Røyseland, Fredrikke Frølich, Gauthier Durey, Søren Olav Saanum Bessesen
• Collaborators: Geir Nummedal (Landscape architecture, Asplan Viak)
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Courtesy of Transborder Studio

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© Gonzalo Viramonte

• Architect: Gastón Sironi Gastón Sironi
• Location: Mendiolaza, Córdoba, Argentina
• Construction Administration: Gastón Sironi Gastón Sironi
• Area: 149.0 sqm
• Year Of Project: 2015
• Photographies: Gonzalo Viramonte

• Site Area: 1242 sqm

© Gonzalo Viramonte

PROJECT
As a result to the sites unique characteristics, the architectural concept arises from the indoor-outdoor interaction for this single family home that is set with open views in a complex topography.

© Gonzalo Viramonte

The design is a synthesis of spaces joint through patios emphasizing the connectivity with the outdoor space. The complexity of heights gets resolved by locating the garage below the main volume to compensate the grading. This main volume houses the public area, 2 main areas that are connected through an entry patio and takes advantage of the main views and orientations. The private area and future expansions follow the same design logic of connections with the outdoor space. Through this open spaces, every room gets northern light.

© Gonzalo Viramonte

© Gonzalo Viramonte

SUSTAINABILITY
The suitable orientation of the house is not the only aspect considered for good temperature conditioning. A mixed construction system including concrete, metal framing hardware and 6 cm polyurethane foam rubber with air chamber; also aid to the conditioning of the place. Awnings and sliding vertical sunshades generate a microclimate that retains the heat or cold air. Rainwater is collected through a series of gutters and stored to be reused for landscape.

Plan

MATERIALS
The intention was to utilize low maintenance materials that would also have a lower impact to the site. Exposed concrete and oxidized metals are the main actors, with their unique characteristics of changing textures and coloring through time.

© Gonzalo Viramonte

Section

© Gonzalo Viramonte

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