© Uzi Porat

• Architects: Amitzi Architects
• Location: Giv’atayim, Israel
• Architect In Charge: Lichen Amitzi
• Structural Engineer: Doron Tweg
• Area: 200.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Uzi Porat

© Uzi Porat

From the architect. An existing single-story, semi-detached house from the 1950’s was remodeled and added a second story to accommodate a family of five.

The house, which follows the shape of the plot, is long and narrow, and apart from the entrance door the street façade is almost windowless. Toilettes on the ground floor and a deep balcony on the first floor buffer between the house and the busy road. 

© Uzi Porat

Relocating the main entrance from its previous position on the long façade enabled us to plant a large garden and outdoor living area, visible and accessible via large glass sliding doors, which extends the living space outside.

© Uzi Porat

In order to maintain sufficient privacy, the master bedroom is located on the ground floor and the children’s bedrooms on the first. The master bedroom is located behind the kitchen, and faces away from it, to a private small garden of its own.

© Uzi Porat

Structural reinforcements form an architectural language through which the house’s history is revealed: addition to the ground floor is in exposed concrete, and the stairway opening cut from the existing ceiling is supported by steel columns.

© Uzi Porat

The steel stairway, consisting of Z-shape elements, is the dominant feature in the living room. The stair railing continues upwards and merges with the first floor balustrade.

Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

The ground floor is paved with gray stone, which is used also as cladding of the bathroom walls, while the children’s area is dark wooden floor. All carpentry elements are painted white. 

© Uzi Porat

http://ift.tt/2iMrquv

© Bosnić+Dorotić

• Architects: NFO, Petar Barišić
• Location: Čukur Brdo, Hrvatska Kostajnica, Croatia
• Architect In Charge: NFO (Kata Marunica, architect, Nenad Ravnić, architect.) + prof.Petar Barišić
• Project Team: Sandra Perić, NFO architect; Nikica Pavlović,NFO architect; Filip Vidović, NFO architect; Dragan Mileusnić; Željko Serdarević
• Investor: Croatian Radiotelevision – HRT , project manager prof. Milan Bešlić
• Contractor: Beton Lučko d.o.o., Piletić staklo d.o.o., Šurba d.o.o., Telektra d.o.o.
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Bosnić+Dorotić

© Bosnić+Dorotić

From the architect. The public competition for Gordan Lederer Memorial was announced in 2014 by Croatian Radiotelevision – HRT as part of a plan  to mark all the  locations where HRT cameramans and photogaphers were killed during the war in Croatia in the 90’s. Gordan Lederer was killed on 10th of August 1991. by a sniper shot while filming on Čukur hill in Bania region in Croatia.

© Bosnić+Dorotić

Competition was won by NFO architecture studio and sculptor Petar Barišić with a proposal called ‘Broken Landscape”. The memorial was unveiled in august 2015 on the 24th anniversary of Lederer’s death.

© Bosnić+Dorotić

Gordan Lederer Memorial emerged as a multidisciplinary process between architecture and sculpture. This duality developed a project that combines different approaches to the same subject matter, understanding the problem through a number of aspects.

Section

From the very start it was clear that the base of the project was already given by Lederer himself selecting the location for his final session. The challenge of the location, Čukur hill, which offers amazing view of the Una river valley, became the starting point of all concepts, more or less successful. Discussions and sketches that have marked most of the creative process led to the concept that eventually remained clean and striped of unnecessary layers of meaning or expressiveness but still with opportunity  for individual interpretations.

© Bosnić+Dorotić

Memorial ‘’Broken Landscape’’ consists of access path and a broken camera lens. The path, designed as a pathway of Lederer’s life, is encrypted in the concrete slabs laid on the grass. Coding is performed in such a way that the concrete slabs are ‘’chained’’ in black steel frames, each engraved with the year of Lederer’s life in negative as an interpretation of film frames. The path goes tensely through natural terrain leading to the last slab, a memorial plateu, without a number, representing the year of his death. Bench on the memorial plateu is reduced to the maximum and is really just a part of the path that gently raises from the ground indicating the end of the path and a final  view in real and figurative sens. Through the text placed on the memorial plateu: ‘’ … now that August mornings are peaceful and at ease, a bright melancholy in Gordan Lederer’s eyes beams through the dawns of Banija…’’ visitor enters the contemplation and observes the Lens. 

© Bosnić+Dorotić

The Lens alone, thrown in the grass in front of the plateau directs visitors view to the valley looking at “the last shots” that Gordan Lederer took.  The glass membrane pierced with a shot from a sniper, stops visitors glance for a moment and confronts them with the reality of events on that location. In the same time perfect stainless steel circle suggests the continuity of life, framing view of the same landscape filmed 24 years ago at the same place. Viewed from the River Una Valley, Memorial is dematerialized as a sun glint reflected on the broken lens surface.

Floor Plan

Project is nominated for European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2017!

© Bosnić+Dorotić

Product Description: The access path consists of concrete slabs, framed with black steel frames laid on the grass. Each slab is engraved with the year of Gordan Lederer life. Lense itself, placed 10 m from the memorial plato is made out of three layers of laminated safety glass, in total 4 cm thick. The middle one was pierced by a sniper shot with the outer glass layers holding it together. Lense frame is made out of stainless steel ring (74×59 cm) wiht outer diameter 4,4 m. Lense is placed on the grass with total height of 4 m.

http://ift.tt/2iS3g1V

© Amit Geron

• Architects: Gottesman-Szmelcman Architecture
• Location: Kabri, Israel
• Architect In Charge: Asaf Gottesman, Ami Szmelcman
• Area: 600.0 m2
• Project Year: 2006
• Photographs: Amit Geron

© Amit Geron

From the architect. Located in the North of Israel along the Lebanese mountain range that defines the boarder, Kibbutz Cabri has always served as a haven for the Arts and for artists. Over the years it has been the home to national artists such as Ori Reisman & Yechiel Shemi, and has established a regional school dedicated to the arts, as well as, a print studio that has attracted international renown. The Gottesman Print Center is composed of a large area dedicated to print making, substantial exhibition spaces and important storage facilities. The building is typified by its minimal yet pronounced presence within the landscape. It enjoys panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

© Amit Geron

Energy neutral, the print center gains its energy from the solar panels that line the roof surface. And is laminated throughout the day by defused natural light that is indirectly dispersed thought the space.

© Amit Geron

Etching, like architecture, is dependent upon a complex translation process. The quality of the steel or copper plate, the sharpness of the tools, the concentration of the acid, the aquatint, the moister and type of paper, the pigments, as well as, the press, are all a part of the creative and translation process.

© Amit Geron

Many years ago, there was a conference at the Print Center that included 10 artists and 10 brain researchers. The topic of the conference was “creativity” and what noteworthy was an observation by one of the scientists that artists need to create problems in order to solve them.  Beyond the specific aesthetic qualities of prints, many artists love printmaking because of the challenges in the realization process…  and also because it offers the artist the gift of Time, an opportunity to escape the “immediate.”

© Amit Geron

The world has become a very fast place, especially when one is discussing images. Just to underline this point, in the last 2 years, more digital images have been produced than all the images created in human history.

Floor Plan

The creative process has become a little too easy; to immediate. Cabri offers an alternative scale of judgement that goes beyond mega bits. There is an insistence on a form of expression that has depth. Creating prints is a slow process. It requires skill and judgement. Originality is not enough and neither is just a good concept.

© Amit Geron

Originally, Kibbutz Cabri hoped to build a large museum, and we designed accordingly. In our utopia, we planned a space for Yechiel Shemi, another for Ori Reisman, a print studio and an extra space for changing exhibitions. Yet in spite of all our efforts, the project could not be realized in its full splendor.

© Amit Geron

At the end of 2003, Yechiel Shemi passed away and it became clear that a more modest project should be envisioned. We opted to expand and transform the haphazard print workshop that was housed in Ori Reizman’s studio into a state of the art print center with accompanying exhibition and storage facilities. Even

Section

before the building was completed, artist Jim Dime came and opened a Masterclass which brought some of the best artists in Israel to Cabri and together, they all worked under a tent and produced amazing prints which became the first portfolio created in the new print centre.

© Amit Geron

The print enter’s exhibition space draws visitors from all over the world It enables visitors to learn a little about printmaking and occasionally catch an artist at work. 

© Amit Geron

Although we did not succeed to build the large museum, Shemi’s studio has been transformed into a wonderful place, where in parallel with the print centre, several exhibitions are shown every year.

Site Plan

 Shemi’s sculptures have become a part of the inter-connecting landscape and art pilgrimages walk from Shemi’s studio  to the Print Studio and  visa versa.

What is still missing is a real space for the wonderful works of Ori Reisman. 

© Amit Geron

Product Description.This was a pretty low tech project. it is important to note that the building was constructed while the old print center was still being used and that in transforming from the old to the new we only closed the print center for several weeks.  The basic construction is concrete “in situ” casting and concrete block construction. What was slightly different was the roof construction that needed to be extremely light and straddle the existing center without creating either temporary or permanent internal supports. The entire roof structure is supported by the external walls which means that in some cases the spans can reach 20 meters.

This was achieved by creating a light weight steel roof covered by Paltiv’s Double layered Polycarbonate panels. Internally we constructed a plasterboard ceiling with particular detailing for the filtration of natural light and indirect lighting. As an additional layer of insulation & waterproofing we opted for Solatics solar membranes that come integrated to a flexible PVC sheeting that can be welded together to offer a continual and waterproof surface.

http://ift.tt/2ilJati

© Courtesy of Atelier Alter

• Architects: Atelier Alter
• Location: Fengtai, Beijing, China
• Chief Designers: Xiaojun Bu, Yingfan Zhang
• Design Team: Xiaojun Bu, Yingfan Zhang, Dehu Du, Zhenwei Li
• Area: 4200.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of Atelier Alter

• Client: Beijing No.12 Kindergarten

© Courtesy of Atelier Alter

No.12 Middle School is one of the best schools in Beijing. There is a strong need from the neighborhood to have the School incorporate kindergarten education in their curriculum. The kindergarten of the school strives for building the best school of the neighborhood, and the architecture of it reflects its ambition. On top of that, the architecture aims for shaping a unique character for the school while enlivening the area of the city. 

© Courtesy of Atelier Alter

This is a rehabilitation project. The structure sites at the expending area of the city. Surrounded by residential blocks, the site is in need for human scale culture facilities. The architecture design tries to create a pure and simple paradise with memorable spaces for children. The kindergarten is composed by clean lines and shapes of primary colors. By looking through the lens of a child, the purity of childhood is well preserved in the architecture. 

© Courtesy of Atelier Alter

Our project begins with converting the scale from a grown-up to a child. We use building blocks as the inspiration, by incorporating the openings of the original building, we create large color blocks that pop-up from the facade as gigantic building blocks for the neighborhood. The simple color block stands out from the vernacular housing construction, and creates a dialogue with the children of the neighborhood.  

Facade Isometric Diagram

Facade Analysis

Our use of primary color starts with the understanding of perception in a child. As the vision of a child starts to mature gradually after six, children’s understanding of color is not as completed as the grownups. So we use a variety of colors in the elevation as well as the interior and exterior environment to stimulate the senses of children and encourage them to explore in the spaces and shapes. Thus their role play in the space would be more memorable. We use blue for nursery, green for toddler and orange for preschool kids, with different emphasis on keeping them calm or making them more activated. 

© Courtesy of Atelier Alter

Level 1 Plan

© Courtesy of Atelier Alter

By combining the brilliant colors, we also try to bring some vividness to the city of Beijing—the city de-saturated by winter smog. In perspective, the architecture creates a surreal image of 2-D cookie cutter in the concrete forest of modern city. The two sides of the pop-up volumes are lighting panels. The lighting design makes the pure color block looks richer at night. It turns the architecture into a gigantic modern art of light and color. 

© Courtesy of Atelier Alter

http://ift.tt/2i01nfj

© Brad Feinknopf

• Architects: Robert Maschke Architects
• Location: Cleveland, OH, United States
• Architect In Charge: Robert Maschke, FAIA
• Area: 5475.0 ft2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Brad Feinknopf

• Design Team: Robert Maschke, FAIA; Marc Manack, AIA; Matt Lindsay, Associate AIA
• Structural Engineer: I.A. Lewin, P.E. and Associates

© Brad Feinknopf

The little_BIG house is located in Cleveland, Ohio’s historic Little Italy neighborhood, known for its rich culture and artisanal background. The husband and wife client, both industrial designers, commissioned the project to create a studio for their work and a home to raise a growing family. The residence is located on a dense and constrained urban street away from the idyllic neighborhood center.  The site is narrow and bound by three “shot gun” homes to the North, a retaining wall to the East, and a multi story condominium to the South.  A former open framed steel warehouse, now used as a covered surface parking structure, is to the west, obstructing views from the site. The imposition of these structures help to inform the design approach.

© Brad Feinknopf

Diagram

© Brad Feinknopf

The architecture emerges from the reconciliation of inherent contradictions embedded within the site and program. The client desired an urban presence, while also creating private exterior space secluded from the surrounding context. The couple asked for flexibility to “split” the property into independent homes in the future. In response to these constraints, the massing of the house became parsed into two distinct volumes, pushed to the extreme boundaries of the site, connected by a covered bridge. This organization creates a communal courtyard from the residual space between the volumes. A monumental stair connects the various programmatic elements. The stairwell folds upon itself overlapping and separating, creating a visual connection between levels. The movement of the stair is evident on the metal surface of the exterior envelope, a folded logic that unites the parts into a cohesive wholeThe material palette is simple and elegant. The exterior facade is black stucco concrete in concert with a color matched metal folding wall and roof. Patterned corten panels provide privacy from the street and the adjacent properties through their use as entry gate and perimeter fencing. The interior is composed of hard troweled concrete floors with white walls, floor to ceiling book matched and sequenced statutory marble slabs in the bathrooms, and richly colored bamboo for the architectural millwork and stairs. Additionally, the monumental stairwell is veiled in white perforated steel panels. This textured strategy is implemented on select glazing units through etching. The perforation pattern was developed through a series of photo manipulations of light passing through a bamboo forest. A transposition inspired by the materiality of the millwork and stair.

© Brad Feinknopf

© Brad Feinknopf

Product Description. The concrete stucco allows the form to be sculpted and the complementary metal panels wrap and defines the space within and around the building. 

© Brad Feinknopf

http://ift.tt/2jcYZCT

© Marta Vilarinho de Freitas

In the first installment of her series, “Cities and Memory – the Architecture and the City,” architect Marta Vilarinho de Freitas created a set of intricately rendered architectural fantasy worlds that straddled the line between realism and abstraction.

Now Vilarinho de Freitas has returned with an additional 7 illustrations, this time experimenting with planimetrics and new cityscape scenes.

In her drawings, she explores the relationship between detail and perception of the city, where negative space becomes as important to an architectural element’s presence and what is drawn.

© Marta Vilarinho de Freitas

© Marta Vilarinho de Freitas

© Marta Vilarinho de Freitas

© Marta Vilarinho de Freitas

© Marta Vilarinho de Freitas

© Marta Vilarinho de Freitas

Check out Vilarinho de Freitas’ first set of illustrations, here, and visit her facebook page to see more of her work.

Architecture is the Protagonist in These Intricate Illustrations
//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

http://ift.tt/2hYKtCj