© Yi Fan

• Architects: gad
• Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
• Interior: GFD Interior Designs
• Client: Seclusion Group
• Area: 2816.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Yi Fan

© Yi Fan

From the architect. Seclusive Jiangnan Boutique Hotel is located in Dadou Road Historic District, Hangzhou and adjacent to Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Before the renovation, the existing structures are two dilapidated affordable housings. Since get the commission, within less than a year, gad tried to use design as a tool to regenerate space in the historic district and balance the “preservation” and “demolition” as well as “inheritage ” and “innovation”, which are two seemingly contractions.  

Before

The project aims to convey the idea to the public that “spatial quality is the key for living experience in residence”. The new design keeps the original form of the buildings, but reorganizes the circulation and spatial divisions. The No.188 building is in I-shape and along the canal while the No.190 is in L-shape and next to the historic neighborhood. Designers insert a glass box as hotel lobby and main entrance that connects the two separate buildings. In this way, it forms a courtyard as a 3-side enclosed space. The further design demolished the excess volume so that to keep the façades clean and straight.

© Yi Fan

The design of the façade adopts two different means. For the facades facing historical neighborhood, they are in bricks locally sourced and the old windows have been replaced with glass. The design tries to match the feeling of the vernacular architecture from materiality perspective and keep the consistence of the appearance of historic neighborhood. For the façade along the canal, architects use staggered pattern of brick wall and ceiling windows so that reflects the water at the same time responses to the context materially.

© Yi Fan

Floor Plan 01

© Yi Fan

The previous basement parking space being reprogrammed and renovated into library and gallery. This action regenerates the space and bring new public space indoors. A large public space from lobby opens up to third floor that creates new communication space and increases the flexibility of the space. The roof space is redesigned into LOFT guest rooms. The previous balconies are connected and transformed into public party place.

Section

The interior majorly uses wood material. The design pursues a more intimate and home-like environment. The first two floors are mainly flowing public space divided by bookshelves.Seclusive Jiangnan Boutique Hotel is equipped with restaurant, café, library, gallery and residence to provide an enjoyable experience. It regenerates the space within the historic neighborhood and comes up with a different modern lifestyle with the most traditional feelings of Hangzhou. 

© Yi Fan

Detail

© Yi Fan

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© Jongseok Byeon

• Architects: Architecture Studio YEIN
• Location: Gujeong-myeon, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Architect In Charge: Yesun Choi
• Design Team: Myungsun Lee, Hanhee Park, Jeongmee Kim
• Area: 1254.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Jongseok Byeon

© Jongseok Byeon

The client came to visit in the situation when the existing Korean traditional house should be partially demolished as it become an obstacle to the planned construction of a double-track railroad from Seoul to Gangneung, which is preparing for 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Olympics. We had to impartially consider the ideas of three generations of the client family: the grandmother and the father could not discard the love of the sixty-year-old Korean traditional house, while the young son wanted to shake off the old lifestyle that was quite bothersome so far. Taking into account their ideas, we began to enjoy imagination by sitting together with the family on the side wooden floor.

© Jongseok Byeon

Preservation / Link / Topography
In Bongyangjae House, three words are used as architectural terms: first, preservation, to relocate and refabricate the Korean traditional house at a crisis of demolition, thus protecting and cherishing its bygone memories; second, link, as a house that connects and mediates the three generations, completed by wooden assemblies of linkage between the Korean traditional and the Western-style parts; and finally, topography, of the rising landscape that can be seen in the Korean tradition of real landscape painting, to project its image that can reflect its locational background, Daegwallyeong, and pursue harmony with pine trees.

© Jongseok Byeon

The Plan that Combines Three Generations
We made the existing Korean traditional house disintegrated and relocated to preserve the space for the grandmother and the father as well as creating a new space for the son. The Buildings are laid out in a way of unfolding its floor plan southward within the site and the almost 100-year-old Geumgang pine tree was preserved fortunately despite the new construction works of a double-track fast train nearby. In order to avoid the noise from the right side which the fast train would pass, we relocated the existing Korean traditional house to the left side while designing the western-style house as a reinforced concrete structure and putting a loft above as a buffer space. 

© Jongseok Byeon

Floor Plan

© Jongseok Byeon

Amongst the four space in the main body of the existing structure, one is assigned to the grandmother; another to the father; yet another to the common space; and the right one is used only to provide its component because it could hardly reassemble its loft above the kitchen. Designing the common space, which connects between the new western-style and the Korean traditional wings, as a wooden structure which can be fabricated, we made the flow naturally lead through the vestibule to the Korean-style wing, whose left space was topped with a hipped-and-gable roof while its vestibule and the right space were topped with a gable roof. In son’s place, children room was put in connection with the toilet corridor so that the son would have his own family there in future; and the living room and the kitchen were located to the south. We also made a roof balcony that would serve as a family lounge to which one could go through the loft.

© Jongseok Byeon

Product Description. 
The main materials of BongYangJae are pine tree and concrete. The structure of Korean Traditional building “Han-ok” is consistent with timber wood made by local pine trees. Therefore relocated part of BonYangJae is mostly made of local pine trees.

While we refabricate previous house, existing timber is reused after process and damaged part is replaced by newly processed timber of pine tree.- 

© Jongseok Byeon

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Aerial photo. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

• Architects: Z-STUDIO
• Location: Qing Xiu District, Nanning City, Guangxi Province, China
• Lead Project Designer: Feng Guo Chuan
• Project Team: Zhang Chun Liang, Yi Yu Jun, Jia Yao Dong、Liang Qi Bo、Liu Hui、Liu Hai Long、Gao Jing Jing、Yang An、Liu Li Li, Zhao Bao Sen, Zhang Mei Song
• Area: 21238.0 m2
• Project Year: 2013
• Photographs: Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

• Client: Nanning Weining Assets Management Co., Ltd
• Budget: Approx. CNY 267,000,000

Exterior. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

Urban planning exhibition halls in China should be public buildings for citizens, but in reality, these buildings are largely used for government to attract investments. Therefore, a grand square built in the front helps to highlight the elevation of the box-like building. It is common in Chinese that public buildings only show the power of the authority, instead of serving the public. The project is located at the edge of a mountain park. If we take the common practice, the building has to step aside to make sure there is enough space for a grand square, which means we need to excavate the mountain and build a 10-meter-high wall. In this way, we occupy the park where people could have taken a walk, create an unnecessary square and a huge building filled with negative space. In order to preserve the park, we build part of the exhibition hall on stilts as public space, not just empty ones. The space in the shade allows not only for outdoors exhibitions but also people to take a stroll. So citizens will get closer to the hall and exhibitions. The roof transformed into an artificial hill with ups and downs integrates the hall into the mountain of the park, making the prominent feature of the design. The roof helps the preserved mountain become the landscape feature of the design, meanwhile, expands the area of the park. All in all, the architects intend to provide people with a public building as well as a larger and more interesting garden.

Concept Analysis

Aerial photo. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

Concept Analysis

A free-form surface has been introduced in the design to blur the shape of the hall, rather than the symbolic facade. When you walk on the roof, you can find different levels of beauty of the hall from various perspectives, which encourages people to wander the hall and enjoy it. 

Elevation Analysis

Exterior. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

Elevation Diagram

The roof is made of dozens of trumpet-like steel structures. They are both suitable for the topography and perfect supporting structures of the hall, creating a large span space of 33 meters inside and an overhanging space of 15 meters outside the hall. In addition, these structures serve as not only accesses to bring in light and collect water, but also interior staircases and equipment rooms. 

© Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

Function Analysis

Interior. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

An urban planning exhibition hall always sounds like its city, hence we should show the city image through a hall basing on local people’s needs, the respect for nature and human-oriented values. We should merge halls and environment so that citizens can see the integration of architecture, landscape, future city and daily life. Here we try to make the best use of the city space by means of architecture design to gain a win-win result between the government and citizens. 

Interior. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

The hall has been put into operation while its garden on the roof has been blocked to the mountain park by a fence, which explains local authority wouldn’t easily accept the spirit of openness and publicity. Nevertheless, Nanning Urban Planning Exhibition Hall has made clear its open attitude that it is ready to embrace the future. 

Roof garden. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

Master plan

Roof garden. Image © Courtesy of ZHUBO DESIGN

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© Iván Casal Nieto

• Architects: Erbalunga estudio
• Location: Galicia, Spain
• Architect In Charge: Erbalunga estudio
• Other Participants: AGM Ebanistas, Aluminios Sestelo Silva, Cocinas Valenzuela.
• Area: 70.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Iván Casal Nieto

© Iván Casal Nieto

From the architect. The owners of this house were not identified with the layout of their old apartment. Small consecutive spaces, arranged longitudinally along a corridor that provided access to multiple rooms and uses. A simple  and inefficient distribution for a contemporary dwelling.

© Iván Casal Nieto

From the beginning, multifunctional spaces were created allowing future possibilities. It was necessary to move away from the restrictive layout that was preventing new habits, hobbies, activities or new ways of thinking.

Existing Plan

Proposed Plan

Kitchen, dining room, living room or work area were connected in a open plan layout keeping this uses away from the most private areas of the house.

© Iván Casal Nieto

A simple, clean and unconventional designed space acts as a proper living room and it hosts different activities. This main space can be adapted to meet the requirements of the clients.

© Iván Casal Nieto

Furthermore, the layout generates a meander through the space that leads the guest from the most public to the most private part of the flat relating the different uses of the dwelling.

© Iván Casal Nieto

The proposal retrieves the dwelling’s values and efficiency, providing space and light, a rare luxury in an urban context.

© Iván Casal Nieto

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© Thies Rätzke

Herzog & de Meuron’s Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, Germany has opened after 16 years of planning and construction, which was held back by financial and legal issues. The grand opening of the concert hall, taking place on January 11 and 12, 2017, features inaugural concerts and a light display on the façade of the building.

As Hamburg’s newest cultural destination, the building was inaugurated by German Federal President Joachim Gauck, Mayor of Hamburg Olaf Scholz, architect Jacques Herzog from Herzog & de Meuron, and General and Artistic Director Christoph Lieben-Seutter.

More than 4,500 guests from Germany and abroad will take part in the opening concerts in the Grand Hall and Recital Hall today and tomorrow, including Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, various high-ranking political and cultural leaders from around the world, and 1,000 visitors who won tickets to the event, out of 220,000 entrants from 73 countries.

© Maxim Schulz

© Maxim Schulz

On both opening days, music will be made available outside of the building for all to see and hear, accompanied by a projection of colored lights onto the building’s façade.

© Maxim Schulz

© Maxim Schulz

© Maxim Schulz

“With its wavy lines on the warehouse foundation, the first sketches for the concert hall were first put to paper in 2001 by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. In 2003, the Hamburg populace were given their first glimpse of the development plans […] In 2007, the citizens of Hamburg approved the construction, which then began in April 2007. At the end of 2012 and after many challenges, the City of Hamburg concluded an agreement for the complete reorganization of the project with the construction company Hochtief. Since then, the project has progressed according to schedule. On October 31, 2016, Hochtief handed over the completed Elbphilharmonie to the City of Hamburg.”

© Maxim Schulz

© Maxim Schulz

© Maxim Schulz

A 360-degree live stream will be available on the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg YouTube page.

News via the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

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© David Foessel

• Architects: Septembre Architecture
• Location: Paris, France
• Architects In Charge: Memia Belkaid, Lina Lagerstrom
• Area: 333.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: David Foessel

© David Foessel

From the architect. Construction of a five storey building with four apartments and a commercial space. The challenge was to integrate the new construction on the existing two levels of which only the concrete structure was retained. The solution of a light wooden structure for the top three levels was developed. This structural choice also allowed to facilitate supplies to the site, difficult to access, and optimized the construction time. The context is in a dense and heterogeneous urban tissue, close to the circular highway “la periphèrique” that spatially separates Paris from its suburbs, the area is under important renovation and transformation. All apartments profit from double exposure and two enjoy private terraces directed on the calmer backyard. With regular generously proportioned windows, the facade is intended as a reinterpretation of the classic Parisian typology but adapted to current uses.

© David Foessel

Exploded Axonometric

© David Foessel

Floor Plans

© David Foessel

Product Description. The facade of the ground floor and the first floor are clad in enameled bricks in a light grey tone. This material reflects the architectural desire to emphasize the first two levels.

© David Foessel

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