© Gino Zavala

• Architects: República Portátil
• Location: Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile
• Design And Construction: República Portátil
• Area: 120.0 m2
• Photographs: Gino Zavala

• Collaborators: Camilo Aravena, María Francisca Aruta, Gerardo Neira, German Aravena, Carlos Martín Quinteros , María Teresa Castro, Melissa Moscoso, Betzabé Morales, Mirko Smith, Ismael Sandoval, Valentina Leiva, Diego Gajardo, Heriberto Vera, Mariana Rodríguez, Gabriel burgos, Oscar Rivera y Francisco Marín.
• Field Registration: Franco Van der Mollen
• Materials: Pino Radiata MSD, terminación en base a OSMO Polix-Oil incoloro y OSMO Wood Protector.

© Gino Zavala

Hall Cafeteria
The School of Architecture of the University of Biobio, located in Concepción, was founded in 1969. This School is a community of approximately 500 people and its infrastructure has workshops exclusively to work in, and a double height central space for meetings known as “Hall del Pilar” (hall of the column). This space is a witness of assembly’s, parties, expositions and has always been the heart of the school. In the year 2006 the building was remodeled and due to the changes the cafeteria hall lost its character, turning into an ambiguous space that ended up disappearing in 2015 leaving a unoccupied place that left the heart of the school empty of its activities.

© Gino Zavala

In the beginning of the year 2016, the need to rethink the available space of the cafeteria was urgent. For this a new work alliance was created between the School of Architecture, the workers of the University of Biobio (Afunab) and the students. This joint effort came to give life to a space with no program, adding the proposal from the architects that wanted to give back to the school that special meeting and discussion area, in a context of productive creativity.

© Gino Zavala

The proposal searches to generate a containing element for the cafeteria space, a configurant , that at the same time holds the activities that occur in the “Hall del Pilar”. This new element separates with out isolating, respecting the relationship between both spaces. With two openings, it distributes the accesses and organizes the paths that the Hall used to have as a space to go through, giving this place neutrality that could gather teachers and students of the School of Architecture UBB.

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Scaffolds for the memories
A scaffold is before everything a structure, self-supporting and a grid based skeleton that is used to help the construction of another structure. The new cafeteria considers wood scaffolds, its prime functions is to take distance from the Hall del Pilar. This scaffold is formed by a number of small boxes of 50x50x50 cm, it is a separator but also an empty space available to be filled of objects and productions. This space was thought to establish a diffused and transparent limit, a great vertical showcase that allows to expose memories and what has been done. So this way the architecture hallway can be filled with small meaningful objects that add up to the day to day life.

© Gino Zavala

Isometric

© Gino Zavala

Three places to be
In the interior, the cafeteria unites three ways of interaction. The first is the social table, made by two camping tables for 20 people, with a little ceiling to share with someone that sits in front or on the side. The size of the surface of the table is 56 cm wide and allows to create bonds and direct dialog, but at the same time gives the enough freedom to not feel invaded by a close neighbor.

© Gino Zavala

The bar, is a furniture that creates a space for people to enter from the exterior of the cafeteria. Its allowed to be used standing up or to be sited on 4 tall stools of 70cm. The thin table top lets its users reunite and have coffee for a few moments or sitting down, in a frame full of shelves of the bar, getting a general panoramic view of the “Hall of Architecture”.

© Gino Zavala

Courtesy of República Portátil

© Gino Zavala

The embedded bench of 4m long covers the whole back wall, there are two shelves that have a small angle and act like a back support being able to receive users as if it was a couch in a home. The furniture keeps underneath it, benches and chairs that allow the flexible use of the space according to the needs of the encounter. In some moments circles are created for meetings surrounding the bench and the other tables are staked to form working surfaces, installing portable computers on top of them. This furniture creates one of the most dynamic spaces inside of the cafeteria, allowing students, teachers and the public in general to adjust to their own criteria the disposition of the furniture that the proposal gives.

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© MVRDV

MVRDV, working with co-architects KAI Architects, has designed a new Y-shaped residence in Northeast Tainan, Taiwan. Known appropriately as Y House, the 330 square meter (3,552 square foot) villa will become a standout addition to a new residential development aimed at becoming a weekend retreat for city workers.

© MVRDV

A 40-minute drive from Tainan City and the sea, the villa has been designed as a futuristic space for escaping the city. The house’s distinctive Y-shaped form is the result of several design decisions. To give its residents unobstructed views over the surrounding landscape, the trunk of the structure rises to several levels above the height of its neighboring buildings. At the top of the trunk, the form expands to give priority to the communal spaces of the house, the living and dining rooms. In turn, this split creates a cradle for a unique rooftop pool and sundeck.

© MVRDV

Additionally, by lifting the main spaces of the house into the sky, the building can maintain a minimal footprint, allowing it to be set into a pool of water surrounded by a garden. A series of stepping-stone pathways, positioned according to the principles of Feng Shui, lead homeowners to the front door, giving a tranquil quality to the procession from vehicle to home.

© MVRDV

© MVRDV

Inside, a garden tea room on the ground level provides space for entertaining guests. The next level is designated for sleeping quarters, including two children’s rooms, a master bedroom and guest bedroom. In the upper portion of the Y, the living space is hovered over the open kitchen, where it meets the sloping walls to become seating and integrated bookshelf. Stairs and a lift provide access throughout these levels of the house, before an additional stairway leads to the solarium, changing rooms and up to the rooftop pool.

© MVRDV

An assortment of large, circular windows puncture the building’s concrete shell throughout, providing an abundance of light into the interiors without disrupting the overall Y-shape. The punctures continue up onto the roof and within the rooftop pool, letting dappled light shine down into the living spaces.

© MVRDV

“How to make a house that literally rises above the ‘sea’ of houses? How to create a view towards the sea over the other houses?” says MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas. “By making the program downstairs as narrow as possible, a large garden is created and situating the majority on the top floors a view is created. And in the heart of the elevated house, the rooms diverge/move apart to give space for a valley to swim in with a view towards the sea…”

© MVRDV

Y House will be MVRDV’s second project for realization in Tainan, following their competition-winning scheme to transform the T-Axis in downtown Tainan into an urban lagoon.

News via MVRDV.

© MVRDV

• Architects: MVRDV
• Location: Tainan, East District, Tainan City, Taiwan
• Design Team: Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries, Wenchian Shi, Hui-Hsin Liao, Ángel Sánchez Navarro, Diana Bibisheva, Antonio Luca Coco, Costanza Cuccato and Jaime Domínguez Bálgom and Matteo Artico
• Co Architects: KAI Architects Tainan, Taiwan
• Client: Wonders Information Co. Ltd
• Structural Engineers: Envision Engineering Consultants, Taipei/Tainan, Taiwan
• Area: 330.0 m2
• Project Year: 0
• Photographs: MVRDV

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© John van Groenedaal

• Architects: Joris Verhoeven Architectuur
• Location: Tilburg, Netherlands
• Area: 280.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: John van Groenedaal

© John van Groenedaal

House Riel Estate completed in 2014 is located in a new residential development in the small village Riel near the town Tilburg. The property conforms with its archetypal main structure and materialization with the rural character of the village and the surrounding countryside; a main building with a gable roof, rural hand-molded bricks and heavy oak doors.

© John van Groenedaal

In the province of Brabant, where the dwelling is situated, it is customary to enter through the back door. By seperating kitchen and living room from each other, a separation is also made between the formal entrance and the informal back door. Also arise an afternoon and evening terrace.

© John van Groenedaal

The staircase is located in the intermediate zone between kitchen and living room. It rises up along the gentle slope of the roof and ensures a clear connection between the ground floor and upstairs. The presence of this stairs is further emphasized by the skylight above it folding over the roof which ensures light gliding down the stairs.

© John van Groenedaal

Plan

© John van Groenedaal

An asymmetric sculptural play of mass and openness is created by tilting the roof and also with the masonry giving the impression of heavy solid walls. The detailing of the house reinforces this and provides a powerful clarity.

Riel Estate is inspired by the minimalistic brick pavilions in the German museum park Insel Hombroich. 

© John van Groenedaal

Product Description.The window frames and lintels are all detailed out of sight. By this means the bricks and the glass are the only materials in sight for a strong image.

© John van Groenedaal

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© Moreau Kusunoki Architectes / Guggenheim

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is abandoning plans for a museum in the Finnish capital after a proposal for funding was rejected by the Helsinki City Council, 53-32.

“We are disappointed that the Helsinki City Council has decided not to allocate funds for the proposed Guggenheim Helsinki museum, in effect bringing this project to a close,” Richard Armstrong, the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, told the Helsinki Times.

The news comes a shortly after the Helsinki City Board voted to proceed with the scheme by a 8-7 vote, despite the project already being denied funding by Finnish Government in September.

The controversial project has been under fire from opponents since its inception. Recent figures to speak out against the project included Finnish MP and architect Anders Adlercreutz, architectural critic Jonathan Glancey, and Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa, who criticized the project’s “globalisation and commercialisation of art.”

The competition for the design had attracted 1,715 entries, likely making it the largest architectural competition in history. It was won by Paris-based Moreau Kusunoki Architects, whose proposal was lauded for its contextually-driven design.

News via Architect’s Journal, Helsinki Times.

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© Tom Arban

• Architects: Perkins + Will Toronto Office
• Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada
• Architect In Charge: Jan-Willem Gritters (lead architect), Duff Balmer (design principal)
• Area: 87000.0 ft2
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Tom Arban, Scott Norsworthy

• Structural: Stephenson Engineering Limited
• Mechanical And Electrical: MCW Consultants Ltd
• Civil: D.M. Wills Associates Ltd.
• Landscape Consultant: Fleisher Ridout Partnership Inc.
• Life Safety / Code Consultant: Jensen Hughes Inc.
• Cost Consultant: A.W. Hooker Associates Ltd.
• Leed: Provident Energy Management
• Racking: Johnson Equipment
• Specifications: DGS Consulting Services

© Scott Norsworthy

From the architect. The Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre (KTTC) was established in 2014 as a central part of the Sir Arthur Fleming college in Peterborough, Ontario. Designed by architects Perkins + Will, the $42 million project used innovative design to leverage campus and community interest in the skilled trades and training programs.

© Scott Norsworthy

Aligned with the main north-south axis of the campus, the building is conceived as a new gateway, inviting pedestrian movement from the student residences and Sport and Wellness Centre (also designed by Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will in 2002) to the north. The guiding vision behind the project is the idea of exploring new pathways to learning and the conviction that ‘learning can happen anywhere’. A state-of-the-art facility, Fleming College integrates theoretical learning with applied practice in a manner that emphasizes visibility and inter-disciplinary inclusiveness.

© Tom Arban

© Scott Norsworthy

The 87, 000 sq. ft. multi-level learning center is illuminated by natural light, exposed structural components and open spaces, creating ideal grounds for learning and collaboration – proponents that Perkins + Will find integral to noble design. A series of flexible spaces, including a large ‘learning factory’ allow each trade to work collaboratively within one large floor space. Within this space an innovative 4 storey teaching ‘cube’ provides a flexible framework for electrical and plumbing installations and a more direct simulation of actual site conditions. Serving this space, are a series of dedicated workshops, SMART classrooms, and interactive student and office spaces that support a wide range of services and programs; all supported with wireless access, flexible integrated services and reconfigurable layouts. Fostering the visibility of students working in the bustling commons area below, the facility emulates a real-world construction site and promotes the cross-pollination of ideas, while simultaneously providing the technological tools needed for the traditional teaching above.

Exploded Axonometric

The KTTC also incorporates aesthetic details that appeal to students of varying demographics, who may wish to get involved in the trades, effectively shattering the gendered divide that is often seen in the skilled trade sector. Targeting a Gold LEED certification, the KTTC building challenges the perceptions of what skilled trade training facilities look like and serves as first-hand inspiration for the students enrolled.

© Scott Norsworthy

The building engages its setting by partially burying its lower floor along the east side and carving out a large sunken courtyard along this face connected to the lower workshop zone. Along the opposite side of the building facing the woodlot, the lower floor aligns with the existing grade enabling unobstructed access into the main project spaces.

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A cladding of black cement board, natural concrete, cedar, Corten steel and generous glazing, reinforces this connection to the site creating a combination of rich natural tones and patinated surfaces that blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings

© Scott Norsworthy

Product Description. Using wood accenting at the front entrance allows the facility to merge with the existing landscape in a way that is natural and uplifting. The rich cedar introduces neutral tones which are continued through the facility, providing an unobtrusive, yet eye-catching design.

© Tom Arban

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