From the architect. The project’s principal design decisions were driven very much by the location of the house on an Island disconnected from mainland Australia by road and not serviced by any public utilities or Council amenities. The site sits on a ridgeline looking out across Philip Island to Bass Strait and back across bucolic, pastoral landscapes to the French Island National Park.
This leads to views in almost all directions which we were keen to capture but also to an intense exposure to the winds and driving rain coming in off the Strait. Our solution was to design a simple square form courtyard house which would provide a sheltered outdoor space while also maximizing daylight and natural ventilation into a house that was going to need to be self-sustaining in terms of power.
This worked well with the prefabricated nature of the build, enabling an easy module breakup, and allowed us to route circulation around the courtyard while living and bedrooms were given the opportunity to look out to sea. A family project, the house needed to accommodate aging grandparents while also allowing friends and extended family to stay over when occasionally marooned by bad weather.
From the architect. The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation is devoted to introducing design innovation at the center of university life, preparing students to address some of society’s most pressing challenges. The project is a team-based, project-centric educational space and a compelling symbol to the region of the University’s commitment to sustainable innovation.
Built and operated by the UC Berkeley College of Engineering, the Jacobs Institute fosters interdisciplinary engagement across the University, welcoming undergraduate students from other departments, inventors, tinkerers and over thirty student clubs to an environment of creativity, collaboration and innovation.
The tiny corner site, formerly a volleyball court, lies at the northern edge of campus within a diverse context. Two 4-story engineering buildings border the site on the west and south while an existing two-level basement underlies nearly a third of the site. A variety of residential buildings line the street to the north.
Diagram
The compact building makes efficient use of its tight urban site, cantilevering over the existing basement while retaining a south-facing solar court. Large, flexible design studios are bordered by project rooms, instructor’s offices and fabrication equipment rooms with a variety of rapid prototyping tools. Transparency and overlooks reveal the hum of creative activity within. The south wall opens to the sun for optimal daylighting and passive solar benefit, connecting to the adjacent Wozniak Terrace and the campus beyond.
At the exterior, the building presents a new threshold to the UC campus – a “beacon of innovation” that communicates the values of the Institute and the University. Glassy stairs project outward, glowing after dark to welcome visitors from the campus to the south. A cantilevered photovoltaic array ascends to the north, expressing the ecological values of the Institute to the University and the public. The array provides 58% of the building’s energy, reducing total building energy by 90%.
The designs of the Zaha Hadid-created statuettes to be handed out at this year’s BRIT Awards have been unveiled. One of Hadid’s final commissions before her death this March, the design consists of a family of 5 interrelated trophies take the form of abstracted female figures representing diversity. One of those family members, meant to represent Britannia, the female personification of Great Britain, will be awarded to musicians for their victories in the BRIT Awards ceremony this February.
Following Hadid’s passing, the project was carried out by Zaha Hadid Design Director Maha Kutay and the BRIT Awards’ Niamh Byrne, who set to follow through on the late architect’s’ vision.
“Zaha was truly excited to be doing this,” remarked Kutay at the concept unveiling last month. “Her vision was, being an architect, to focus our efforts more on the 3D element, as the statue had previously been used as a canvas for artists to paint on for the last few years. Our design expresses Zaha’s unwavering belief in progress and optimism for the future and a break from the norm. The biggest challenge was to create something different within certain guidelines, yet achieving a result recognisable to the public. You have to respect the existing to create something new.”
“We are delighted with the finished statues,” said Brit Awards chairman Jason Iley. “Like Zaha, they are innovative and original and have gone well beyond our expectations to create something special that will progress the award into the future.”
Previous designers of BRIT Awards statuettes have included artists Artists Damien Hirst and Sir Peter Blake.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Section
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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…”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
Section
Section
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
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.
From the architect. For a Spanish architect, to build a house in Mexico is a privilege. To build a house in Monterrey is a gift. To build the TEC lottery house in Monterrey is amazing. And, logically, I did my utmost to ensure that this house would be the most beautiful in the world. That is my stated intent with every new project that falls into my hands.
And of course, if Barragán is always present in all my architecture, he is even more in this case, which is why I decided that not only would my house be flooded with light, but that it would be the golden light of Barragán.
With this in mind, after creating a diagonal space resulting from concatenating two spaces of double height, I decided to gild the high vertical wall on which all the southern light would fall and fill it with this much-coveted golden hue.
Accordingly this light-filled house would be literally flooded with golden light, and thus become a veritable DOMUS AUREA.
Ground Floor
Sketch
1st Floor
In functional terms, the house is divided into three planes. On the ground floor the most public areas. Continuity to the garden will be through verandas and shaded areas. On the upper floor, the bedrooms and living area overlooking the lower floor. At the higher rooftop level, the more private areas will be located, including the swimming-pool.
Building a highway in a city is often thought of as a solution to traffic congestion. However, the induced demand theory has shown that when drivers have more routes, they choose to continue using this medium instead of using public transport or a bicycle, and as a result, congestion doesn’t decrease.
As a result, some cities have chosen to remove spaces designated for cars and turn what was once a highway into urban parks and less congested streets.
Here we have six examples, some have already been completed, while a few are still under construction. To the surprise of some, most of the projects are in the US, which reflects that American designers are looking into further studying European transport policies.
Harbor Drive, Portland – USA
Courtesy of Unknown
One of the first highways in the US to be eliminated to make way for a park was Portland, Oregon’s Harbor Drive built on the shore of the Willamette River. In 1974 the transformation work began that gave rise to Tom McCall Park.
Courtesy of Unknown
The Hawthorne Bridge, which was originally part of the freeway, became a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians, connecting First Avenue with the park.
Cheonggyecheon, Seoul – South Korea
Courtesy of Unknown
The Cheonggyecheon elevated highway in Seoul was built on a canal of the same name. In order to deal with environmental pollution and the noise generated by the more than 160,000 vehicles using the highway daily, Mayor Lee Myung Bak launched a plan to demolish it and build a park instead.
Courtesy of Unknown
The selected proposal was designed by Kee Yeon Hwang, who wanted to clean up the canal and return it to its role as a meeting place. In addition, the recovery of this public space has reduced noise levels and temperature in the surrounding area.
Pier Freeway, San Francisco
Courtesy of Unknown
In the early 1980s in San Francisco, a plan began to demolish the California 480 highway with the idea of building a park instead. However, it wasn’t until 1991 that the two-story motorway was demolished – after being damaged by the 1989 earthquake. Studies concluded that rebuilding the freeway was much more expensive than making a park.
Courtesy of Unknown
Today the place has one of the best views of San Francisco Bay and has many miles of pedestrian and bicycle paths.
Madrid Río, Madrid
Courtesy of Unknown
In the year 2000, the Madrid Río project was started, which sought to restore the banks of the Manzares River. A difficult task thanks to the stretches of the M-30 highway that crossed it.
As there were several historic structures involved, like the Puente de Segovia, the oldest bridge in the city, the Ermita Virgen del Puerto and Puente del Rey, the project carried out the restoration while maintaining these aspects of the city’s history in the middle of the park. In addition, the Puerta del Rey, a building dating back to the reign of José Bonaparte, was able to return to its original location, since it had been displaced during the construction of the motorway.
Courtesy of Unknown
The park opened in 2011, offering citizens spaces for sports, walks, and opportunities to learn about the city’s history. In this instance, the motorway was not completely demolished, but traffic was diverted by underground tunnels.
Park East Freeway, Milwaukee
Courtesy of Unknown
In the 1960s, a project in the works would see the downtown area surrounded by the Park East Freeway. However, nearby residents began to oppose it, arguing that the project would cause too much noise. For this reason, the highway was never completed and certain parts were demolished between 1999 and 2002 for the development of the Park East Corridor project which, when finished, will allow free access from the city center to the river.
In total, the new park is 60 hectares, 24 of which were allocated to new buildings to revitalize the area. So far, the northern part of the park is the one that shows the greatest advances through the remodeling of the main avenues that connect with downtown.
Alaskan Way, Seattle
Courtesy of Unknown
In 2001 an earthquake damaged the overpass of the Alaska Freeway in Seattle. Initially, the plan was to rebuild it, however, it was later decided to make a four lane underground tunnel so that on the surface the areas along Elliot Bay join with the rest of the city through a new pedestrian space. The inauguration of the park is scheduled for next year.
Sig Nordal 