San Francisco – California – USA (by Gordon)
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.
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.
“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.”
A 360-degree live stream will be available on the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg YouTube page.
News via the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
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.
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.
Construction has begun on Foster + Partners’ Varso Tower, which will become Poland’s tallest tower upon completion. As a part of the larger Varso complex, which will include three additional buildings, the 53-story tower will reach 310 meters in height and will span 140,000 square meters.
The tower is expected to become a new hotspot for business, residents, and tourists, as it will house flexible office space, two restaurants, shops, cafés, covered internal streets, and an observation deck, which at 230 meters will become one of the highest in Europe. From here, building users, locals, and tourists will experience views of Warsaw’s skyline and the metropolitan area.
The Varso development is located next to Warsaw’s Central Railway station, and will revive the most centrally located brownfield area in the city, “bringing new life to the vicinity and improving the local environment and surrounding public spaces with extensive new planting and street furniture.”
The lower buildings in the complex, by Hermanowicz Rewski Architects, will form a central frontage along one of the main streets next to the Central Station, as well as a joint multi-story podium with green rooftop terraces for building occupants.
Because Varso will utilize technology to reduce air pollution as well as electricity and water consumption, the project will be the first of its scale in Poland to be rated “Outstanding” in the BREEAM certification scheme.
“We believe that Varso Tower will have a unique place on Warsaw’s skyline, but most importantly it will establish a new destination capable of revitalising this urban quarter, right in the heart of the city,” said Grant Brooker, Head of Studio at Foster + Partners leading the design team in London. “The building contains high-quality and flexible office space, but it also makes an important contribution to the city with its glazed public courtyard at ground level and the spectacular viewing platforms with restaurants at the top. These public galleries offer panoramic views of the city to everyone.”
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
News via Foster + Partners.
The house is located in a family condominium, in La Dehesa, each site faces an inner street that gives access to them. Therefore is a front and a against front, the first is shared, and the second is in a more private area, this transition is posed through a central axis composed of 3 spaces that follow each other, acces hall, open central courtyard and warm terrace.
The house is a square that its defined in inner and outer edges, each of wich has a function related to familly dwelling, this is how the most private sector corresponding to the bedrooms, living room and desk are separated, in another sector the public spaces, living and dining room and in another sector of the square, services.
Each of these spaces is related to the exterior, either with an airtight facade, or in the case of the living areas with a terrace is projected as an emergent volume of the square shape, that opens to the outside, but tempering the space with full and empty.
The second levels apear as spaces emerging from the main volumen, capturing the outer light and taking it with an inclination of the sky to the interior, in its outer form these volumes are triangular, wich causes the planes to intercept each other.
Malouna Villas is a private resort located in Thailand. Completed in 2015, it was designed by Sicart & Smith Architects. Malouna Villas by Sicart & Smith Architects: “Malouna villa is an exclusive private residential project located on the North Coast of Koh Samui Island in Bang Po, Thailand. Lying on a quiet part of beautiful Laem Noi Beach along Koh Samui’s northern shore, Villa Malouna boasts 45m (174ft) of pristine..
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Arch Out Loud is partnering with Last House on Mulholland to host the HOLLYWOOD design competition. The competition asks participants to design a house of the future which demonstrates the use of innovative technology, integrative environmental strategies and capitalizes on the iconic prominence of its site beneath the famed Hollywood sign. The competition serves as a design charette generating ideas about the potential for what the site could become and how it can inspire the future of residential design.
The Hollywood sign itself has long served as a symbol of the neighborhood’s dominance over the motion picture industry and as a beacon for its aspiring talent. When it was erected in 1923, however, the Hollywood sign (then, Hollywoodland) was meant to serve as a real estate advertisement and not a logo for showbiz. Today, the icon’s popularity has led to incessant tourist traffic within the residential streets of the canyon below. The site for the Hollywood competition is located on an empty plot directly beneath the sign on Mulholland Hwy, which has been purchased by Steve Alper of Last House on Mulholland.
Its location on such a prominent site enables the project to gain widespread attention. Therefore, the project will seek to promote a positive mission and serve as an example for how future homes can be built and inhabited. As advancing technology continues to affect all aspects of daily life, social customs as well as living patterns will evolve and homes of the future should reflect such evolution. As climate change continues to impact energy consumption and production, rising sea levels, and water scarcity, all building especially those in coastal, arid cities like Los Angeles will need to find appropriate responses to address such concerns.
Rewards:
Prizes total $6,000
1st Place – $3,000 + Certificate
2nd Place – $2,000 + Certificate
3rd Place – $1,000 + Certificate
10 Honorable Mentions – Certificate & Publication
Directors Choice – Certificate & Publication
Owners Choice – Certificate & Publication
Jury:
Thom Mayne – Founder, Design Lead | Morphosis
David Basulto – Founder, Editor in Chief | ArchDaily
Tom Kundig – Principal | Olsen Kundig Architects
Jimenez Lai – Founder | Bureau Spectacular
Peter Zellner – Founder, Principal | ZELLNERandCompany
Jenny Wu – Principal | Oyler Wu Collaborative
Paul Petrunia – Founder | Archinect
Jonathan Segal – Founder | Jonathan Segal Architect
Heather Roberge – Founder, Design Lead | Murmur
Dwayne Oyler – Founderl | Oyler Wu Collaborative
Frank Clementi – Partner | Rios Clementi Hale Studios
Ron Radzinor – Founder, Partner | Marmol Radzinor
Christine Theodoropoulos – Dean | Cal Poly State University
Benjamin Ball – Founder | Ball-Nogues Studio
Greg Lindy – Owner | Lux Typographic + Design
Calendar:
Advanced Registration – January 3-14
Early Registration – January 15-26
Regular Registration – January 27- February 9th
Submission Deadline – February 10th
3D models, detailed CAD linework and a portfolio of site photos are available to competition participants.
Contact arch out loud at info@archoutloud.com
Sig Nordal 