© Juan Solano Ojasi

• Architects: Seinfeld Arquitectos
• Location: Nuevo Imperial, Perú
• Arquitecto A Cargo: Cynthia Seinfeld

• Area: 142.3 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Juan Solano Ojasi

• Passive Energies Designer: Michelle Prutschi, Erich Saettone
• Project Supervision: Cynthia Seinfeld, Michelle Prutschi, Erich Saettone
• Constructor: Autoconstruction

• Structure : Prisma Ingenieria
• Site Area : 212.75 m2


© Juan Solano Ojasi

Our commandment: a house project for Lucy, who lost everything during Pisco earthqueake on 2007. It is an example of a poblation living drama that suffers, as many others, the consequences of expanding and nonplaning through the abstent of a place to live and social and fisical support. This project should have developed by selfconstruction and family involvement. Nowadays, Cañete Productive House pretends to be a positive experience where Lucy and all the poblation will have new life achievements. In order to avoid the local difficulties about electric energy production, we are making an especific investigation with Erich Saettone and Michelle Prutsky that allows the introduction of green energy into houses taking advantage of the weather conditions.

Axonometric

Axonometric

This project is located at the province of Cañete in the city of Lima, Peru. The urban structure takes position along a covered and damaged main street, symbol of the abandonment. We can find two situations in vernacular houses characteristics of the peruvian coast: First, the patio as a living generator in consequence of the weather. Although, the ALAR: an intermidiate space beetween the house and the street, as a neighbourhood life organizator. This situation will be endorsed by Lucys memories about her relationship with the exterior (her patio) to do her daily activities , disolving the interior-exterior limits. Furthermore, the poblation relationship has ended because of the insecurity that avoids intermidate spaces beetween private houses and streets.

© Juan Solano Ojasi

In consequence, we propose influently solutions and the street invigoration. That is why our first measure is a front patio carved in the house facade to establish transitional relations, while reforcing the street with a front side based in comercial activities for the family to get economic incomes. Therefore, we hope habitants can reach their public relations and improving their life quality. As a result, the “Alar” has been made as a reinterpretation of the site architecture through an urban mobiliary which offers shadow and street activities for their community.

Section Section

Section Section

Cañete Productive House borns for the stage development necesity because of the economic posibilities. The first stage, on ground level, will be used for any economic activity and will home to the intimate family: mother, daughters and the grandson. Moreover, the second stage seeks the development of two housing units available to be rented on the second floor and to improve the site use. For instance, a damp zone where the services will be done. The first stage has already been done. The project intervention will start inserting three patios which will be uncontinously (inttermitently) crossed through, while producing empty and full spaces that offers exterior life areas. Besides of that, it will fortify afective relations and restrict private and colective limits beetween every family house member, so they could remember what they have lived in the past to allow new kinds of afective and spacial relations.

© Juan Solano Ojasi

© Juan Solano Ojasi

After the difficult times lived by Lucy, we decided to work cooperatively with her to rescue the house DNA. The memories work as a fundamental relation structure for old members reunion, so it will recover the old link beetween the house and the back side creek. Therefore, we tough about the posibility to visualy go through the interior and exterior (patios) spaces to look for the old link beetween the creek and the houses. As Lucy told us, the old place where her kids grew up and used to play.

© Juan Solano Ojasi

We recovered the old local cane knitted fabric job for houses enclosures, allowing us to draw a texture which reminds with the shadows the time and the dessert condition. The lattices will mark difusive limits beetween the public street scope and the creek with the house. This is the result of conversations with Lucy to end some security myths. The adobe has been the principal constructing material of the site, however the destruction mark caused by the bad use of it avoid us to consider it as a contructing possibility. Ergo, we decided to use a simple frame system and well know by the local people, who will help with the construction process. 

© Juan Solano Ojasi

Consequently, we decided to use exposed bricks to make evident the material, reduce the outcomes and construction process. And eventually, the project nature and the weather allowed us to work with pasive energies such as the southern wind to produce energy by the developed helixes, and the countinously sunning that is a guarantee for using solar pannels. Altough, a bottle system with copper pipes to warm the water.

© Juan Solano Ojasi

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Courtesy of ZHA

We’ve just received the following statement from ZHA’s press office. The statement follows furor and extensive press coverage of a lecture given by Patrik Schumacher earlier this month in Berlin. We are currently updating this story. 

“Patrik Schumacher’s ‘urban policy manifesto’ does not reflect Zaha Hadid Architects’ past—and will not be our future. 

Zaha Hadid did not write manifestos. She built them.

Shot of one of the slides Schumacher presented at the 2016 World Architecture Festival Berlin. "Demand 5" recommends to "Abolish all forms of social and affordable housing." Image © ArchDaily

Zaha Hadid Architects has delivered 56 projects for all members of the community in 45 cities around the world.

Refusing to be confined by limitations or boundaries, Zaha did not reserve her ideology for the lecture hall. She lived it.

She deeply believed in the strongest international collaboration and we are very proud to have a hugely talented team of 50 different nationalities in our London office, including those from almost every EU country.  43% of architects at ZHA are of an ethnic minority and 40% of our architects are women.

Zaha Hadid didn’t just break glass ceilings and pull down barriers; she shattered them—inviting everyone of any race, gender, creed or orientation to join her on the journey.

Embedding a collective research culture into every aspect of our work, Zaha has built a team of many diverse talents and disciplines—and we will continue to innovate towards an architecture of inclusivity.

Architects around the world are calling for the profession to become more inclusive. The national and international press have also done a very good job highlighting the critical issues of housing and the threats to vital public spaces. 

Through determination and sheer hard work, Zaha showed us all that architecture can be diverse and democratic. She inspired a whole new generation around the world to engage with their environment, to never stop questioning and never—ever—stop imagining.

Collaborating with clients, communities and specialists around the world who share this vision, everyone at Zaha Hadid Architects is dedicated to honouring Zaha’s legacy, working with passion and commitment to design and deliver the most transformational projects for all.”

– Zaha Hadid Architects

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Courtesy of Enlace Arquitectura.. Image© Photo Stock

In this article, originally published as “¿Qué es un portafolio de proyectos y cómo se hace?” (What is a portfolio and how do you make one?) from blog Enlace Arquitectura, the author shares a series of suggestions and steps on making a suitable and convenient portfolio for when you’re job hunting. The basis of these recommendations is to correctly understand what a portfolio is and what it should contain. It also details how to maximize creativity in the representation and execution of architectural projects when included in a portfolio.

Entering the workforce is a big challenge for young architects, there’s a lot of competition and you must be able to demonstrate and defend your abilities as a professional. A basic aspect to get you started in the field or if you are looking for a job is to always have a portfolio of previous work. Many employers and professional firms will request one along with a presentable resume.

What is a portfolio?

A portfolio is an architect’s introduction letter that not only shows work experience but is also an instrument that reflects the style and personality that differentiates him from the rest. If you are a student or recently graduated and don’t have any work experience, you can also build a portfolio with academic work and make the most of your creative abilities when designing it. It can include projects done in school workshops, participation in competitions and other complementary activities like photos or publications in magazines or newspapers.

If you’ve never made one before, here are some steps that will guide you in designing or improving your portfolio:

1. First, gather all the visual content from your past projects and choose the most relevant ones to best organize the content. That could include blueprints, drawings, sketches, perspectives and diagrams that best illustrate your skill and style as an architect. Think quality over quantity, the goal isn’t to show the most creative projects, but the ones that best showcase your talents.

2. Once you’ve got your visual content in order you need to choose a presentation format. Currently, the digital portfolio is the most used since in addition to being able to send it immediately, it also makes it easier to edit and update subsequent projects. Consider a format that makes it easy to read and print on different paper sizes, like A4 format.

3. Design a template, making sure that the background doesn’t distract from the content. We recommend using neutral colors to highlight graphic elements (drawings, photographs, renders, sketches, construction details). It’s not necessary to saturate a page with content, remember that less is more, go for austerity and simplicity above all else. 

4. An architect expresses herself visually, so avoid overloading your portfolio with text, it should be something that speaks itself. It isn’t about selling renders, the content should also reflect your freehand skill, layout, constructive vision, space perspectives, photographic quality and convey professionalism. 

5. A simple and sophisticated cover to present the portfolio will suffice. In the first few pages, you can include a brief description of your resume and relevant contact information, such as telephone and email. If you want your work to look more organized, also include an index. Save the file in PDF format and you are ready to send it to a recruiter or print it.

Recommendations:

• For better quality images you’ll need a large scanner and a good camera.
• You can use design programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw, Adobe In Design or web design software Behance, Issuu and Calaméo that can give you a web magazine look.
• Order and neatness are very important. Check all the little details in the writing and presentation in things like captions, margins, texts, and fonts.
• Save in PDF format and make sure that the file size isn’t bigger than 10 MB to so you can email it.
• To make your CV and portfolio more professional you can add a cover letter.
• Don’t hesitate to compare your portfolio to those of your colleagues, ask a friend or expert for their opinion.
• It’s worth taking the time to put together your portfolio well and have the best possible presentation.

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Raymond Hood Skyscraper Bridge. Image Courtesy of Metropolis Books

This article was originally published by Metropolis Magazine as “An Incredible Journey into the New York City that Never Was.”

Imagine the waters surrounding the Statue of Liberty were filled up with land. That you could walk right up to Lady Liberty herself, following a path from Manhattan’s Battery Park. Believe it or not, in 1911, this could have been.

In Never Built New York, authors Greg Goldin and Sam Lubell (foreword by Daniel Libeskind) describe with irony, and sometimes nostalgia, the most significant architectural and planning projects of the last century, projects that would have drastically changed the city—but never did.

Cover of Never Built New York featuring Zaha Hadid's project for 425 Park Avenue. Image Courtesy of Metropolis Books

The book organizes over one hundred projects in a geographic way, starting with citywide plans to projects located in Downtown, Midtown and Uptown Manhattan, Bronx and Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Some are well known, such as the long-lasting battle for the design of the United Nations headquarters or the tragic collapse of an ambitious master plan for Ground Zero. Others are unexpected and surprising—see Moshe Safdie’s Habitat New York residential project or radical as Koolhaas’ tower for 23 East 22nd Street. A few are pure flights of fancy. Most really could have been built; for reasons often financial and political in nature, however, they never saw the light of day.

“The book taps into a part of all humanity—the what if. What if I had done that. What if I had married her? What if I had moved there? Everybody thinks about that,” says Lubell.

T. Kennard Thomson, "City of New Manhattan." The plan consisted in extending Manhattan for four miles into the Upper Bay. This 1,400 acres addition would have stretched the city from Battery Park all the way to the Statue of Liberty and beyond. Image Courtesy of Metropolis Books

Just as compelling as the extraordinary collections of drawings is the vivid language the authors use to tell the projects’ stories. Goldin and Lubell, whose editorial tone ranges from sarcastic to critical, introduce the reader to the people behind these visionary projects, giving us glimpses of their dreams and obsessions.

Raymond Hood Skyscraper Bridge. Image Courtesy of Metropolis Books

Raymond Hood, the architect behind the Daily News Building and the American Radiator Building, is one such protagonist. The authors recount how, in 1925, Hood designed a 10-thousand-foot-long bridge that was also a skyscraper. The design included two residential towers 50 to 60 stories tall, which functioned as pillars to anchor the suspended bridge.  

The megastructure would have accommodated space for 50,000 people, shops, theaters, and esplanades. Elevators would grant residents access to the waterfront for boating, swimming, or other aquatic activities. Hood defended the scheme as a feasible solution to traffic congestion: “Serious minds have claimed that the project is not only structurally sound but possessed of unusual advantages, financially.”

Office of Metroplitan Architecture, 23 East 22nd Street. Image Courtesy of Metropolis Books

Traffic congestion was also a source of vexation for Robert Moses, whose 1941 Mid-Manhattan Expressway project was part of a major scheme to build five crosstown expressways. At a height of ten floors above the street, the expressway would have run through a densely built mid-town, literally breaking into existing buildings. Moses envisioned commercial and parking spaces on top of the viaduct, and buildings hanging from the highway “like barnacles on some great seagoing bark,” in the authors’ words.

Rufus Henry Gilbert Elevated Railway. Image Courtesy of Metropolis Books

Another protagonist, Rufus Henry Gilbert, felt the city needed more mass transit. In 1870 he envisioned a train propelled by compressed air that would run inside “atmospheric tubes.” These pneumatic tubes would be suspended on top of a slender gothic arch, supported by fluted Corinthian columns. Gilbert battled with all his force to see his project come true, but was defeated by lack of fundings and power maneuverings. According to Lubell and Goldin, he died “impoverished and broken.”   

The non-built New York informs the one existing today. In some cases, it underlines the city’s lack of audacity; how else would one characterize the ditching of Mies van der Rohe’s sleek modernist tower cluster, south of Water Street, for one of the bulkiest office towers in the city–One New York Plaza? In others, it shows an urban nightmare narrowly avoided— what if, for example, Moses’s crazed Midtown-Expressway and 5th Avenue extension through Washington Square Park had been given the go-ahead?    

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe Battery Park Apartments. Image Courtesy of Metropolis Books

Never Built New York is ultimately a guide to the city that goes beyond what’s immediately visible. It helps compare the New York that “is” with the one it could have been, and what it might one day be. As Goldin and Lubell put it: “this trek through the distant and recent past is also a journey ahead. Never Built New York is about the power of ideas to shape the future. Indulge and imagine.”

Never Built New York
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