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From the architect. The Hochschule Ruhr West – University of Applied Sciences in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, in short the HRW, is part of a nationwide development of new universities. With a total of eight buildings and about 62,000 m² of GFA, the university has the dimensions of an autonomous district: four institute buildings, a canteen, a lecture hall and a library as well as a multi-storey car park have been built on the former railway site in the Broich district. The HRW functions not only as a new educational institution, but also as an important component of the urban development concept for the entire university surroundings. For this reason, the various campus buildings reflect the heights and volumes of the surrounding development and the campus itself deliberately opens up towards the quarter and to the adjacent buildings.
The residential area and the infrastructure along Duisburger Strasse will be enlivened and enriched by events and uses of the new university. At the same time a number of different public spaces have been created on the campus that invite one to stop and sit for a while and that are also available to residents for recreational activities.
HPP / ASTOC’s design for the new college campus on Duisburger Strasse was the winner of a Europe-wide, 2-stage competition with a total of 15 participants.
Due to the technical orientation of the courses at the Mülheim location (Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Science and Economics) special attention was paid to services and supply planning and the technology used thereby as well as the climatic impact of the overall development. The project was realised on the basis of a general planning contract; a total of 15 specialist engineering offices were involved.
The grand campus was opened with a speech from Hannelore Kraft, State Prime Minister of NRW and the Ruhr West University presented the work of its institutes and range of courses on offer.
Three winning firms have been selected in the competition for the Museum of the 20th Century to be located in the heart of the Berlin Cultural Forum in Berlin, Germany. The 200 million euro building and site plan will serve as the new home of multiple internationally significant art collections, including the National Gallery’s Marx and Pietzsch collections, sections of the Marzona collection, and a collection of works from the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings).
In 2015, the competition was launched, aimed at finding a design scheme that would encompass the site layout, architecture and landscaping around the museum.
Facing stiff competition from a list of 42 renowned finalists, Herzog & de Meuron together with Vogt Landscape Architects has emerged victorious for their brick, warehouse-inspired design. Runner up prizes were given to Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects with SCHØNHERR A / S, and Bruno Fioretti Marquez with Capatti Staubach Landscape Architects, while four jury recognitions were awarded to proposals from OMA, SANAA, Staab Architekten, and Aires Mateus e Associados.
The winning design is conceived as an interaction of two inner roads, dividing the museum into four thematic quadrants. The interior “boulevards” invite visitors to linger to view art or socialize.
The building’s large gable allow diffuse light to penetrate deep into the building, which can be controlled at select locations for optimal art viewing conditions.
“As in the city, the central intersection is the most well-trafficked place. At the center of the museum, you are able to view the whole of the building and its structure at a glance,” explain the architects.
“We see connecting and networking as the major goals of our project. The museum is the place where different paths cross, where different mentalities and worlds allow an encounter The museum has several entrances, as it is oriented in all directions one could say, the museum of the 20th century is the goal for the far outlying Piazzetta and draws attention to the local collection building for art. “
Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects
Bruno Fioretti Marquez Architekten
The finalists included:
All of the finalists designs will be on display as part of an exhibition on the competition from 18 November 2016 to January 8, 2017 in the Cultural Forum.
News via National Galerie 20.
From the architect. Located in the historic center of Sant Cugat del Valles, a house between party walls becomes a city project and a way of life.
A piece that fits complex urban conditions: Monastery surroundings, Cultural Heritage, the main facade and the roof to preserve, 5 meters width and topographical unevenness that leaves the plot in between two streets in different heights.
Inside the existing space, a concrete block house is inserted. It party walls increase their thickness to serve as a filter and server space, generating storage space in one side and “promenade” space in the other.
These thicknesses creates interior facade walls in the longitudinal direction that increase the spatial feeling in the transverse direction of the house.
Inside the concrete house the wooden plans adapt to the topography and the gaps of the existing facades.
The offset is used to generate visual cross and flood with light all plants to the basement through the vacuum of the upper bounds.
The house program is fragmentated avoiding the continuity of the horizontal plane of the floor as Adolf Loos’s “Raumplan”.
The sequence of houses within the house goes from more urban materials to domestic materials, constructing an empty space that lets light in and configures visual spaces all together. The inner emptiness becomes the square or public space of the house. That space where all eyes are crossed and relationships are built through railings furniture-turn to it.
Made from a combination of tangled and woven red wool, Brazilian artist Tatiana Blass’ installation, “Penelope,” flows inside and out of the Chapel of Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil.
The installation was inspired by the Greek myth of Penelope, who was Odysseus’ wife in Homer’s Odyssey. In the story, Penelope weaves and destroys a burial shroud for her husband, in a tribute to the power of love and to weaving.
At the altar of the church, a large pedal-loom is attached to a 45-foot red carpet that extends to the courtyard, representing power and nobility. From the other side of the loom, a matrix of tangled red wool burgeons outwards, and through the walls of the building, covering the gardens outside.
Like with the myth of Penelope, it is unclear whether the carpet is being constructed or unraveled in the building, creating a merging “of the religious with the architectural and the enigmatic.”
Learn more about the project here.
News via Trend Tablet, H/T Colossal.
London studio Edgley Design has completed and moved into this zinc-clad development in Islington comprising basement offices, and a row of terraced houses with a saw-tooth profile. Read more
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This article was originally published by Archipreneur as “5 of the Most Innovative Architecture Firms.”
The AEC industry is notoriously slow to adopt new technologies. Cumbersome organizational structures and high financial stakes make it difficult for AEC professionals to experiment. Due to the limited role of architects in the project development process, innovative design solutions and experimentation with new manufacturing techniques are still confined to academic circles and research institutions.
However, some architecture firms are utilizing their high profiles, international success and the influx of talented, young designers to establish in-house research divisions and incubators that support the development of new ideas in the AEC industry. The following five companies are consistent in pushing the envelope and helping architecture adopt some of the latest technologies:
One of the most renowned architecture firms in the world, BIG, is a great example of architects keeping step with pop culture and new business trends. Both their design and company culture reveals a nimbleness and experimental attitude that allow them to explore different avenues for practicing architecture. BIG’s founder, Bjarke Ingels, is a rare example of an archipreneur attuned to the latest media trends and business strategies. He embraces social media, invests in new enterprises, and implements innovation in his projects.
Recently, BIG teamed up with aerospace organization Rumlaboratorium, the Danish Technical University and artists from realities:united to launch a Kickstarter campaign to design a prototype of a unique steam-ring generator that would be part of the “cleanest power plant in the world.” The initiative shows a readiness to invent and extend their involvement in the construction process to engineering. In 2014, they launched a new division within the company and called it BIG Ideas, which was intended to act as a research and development lab where the firm could create products and new building materials. Several other independent projects are currently underway, many of which are focused on finding new engineering solutions to be incorporated into BIG’s projects.
SHoP Architects and SHoP Construction (SC), collectively known as SHoP, are among New York’s 10 largest architecture firms. What makes them stand out among other mainstream architecture firms is their interest in addressing the gap between real estate development, architecture and engineering. A hybrid business model allows them to function as a combination of a real estate development firm, a think tank, and a one-stop shop for clients.
Five people with individual backgrounds in design, construction, business, marketing and development founded the firm in 1996. The team was led by Gregg Pasquarelli, who had previously worked as an investment banker on Wall Street. They first experimented with trading fees for equity on their Porter House project, and went on to develop several other projects, as well as their own, and collaborating with other architects.
SHoP is a trailblazer when it comes to redefining the way architecture is practiced. They are rethinking the role of architects in the project development process and looking for ways to get more autonomy, better pay, and innovative design projects off the ground, all while cutting construction costs through smart fabrication.
Perkins + Will is one of the United States’ leading architecture firms in healthcare design, delivering buildings that focus on better patient experience and high performance. Their new in-house Innovation Incubator program aims to “foster, through micro-grants of money and time, a culture of innovation, creativity and experimentation by supporting small research projects proposed by individuals.” The program has already selected 19 entries from the firm’s global offices and awarded several micro-grants to groups of participants with the most innovative proposals.
The firm also formed the Perkins + Will Building Technology Laboratory, which is focused on developing new technological solutions that boost the performance of buildings. Their annual design competition encourages talented designers to experiment. Design solutions selected through the contest are often further developed through the Innovation Incubator system.
One of the first architecture offices to fully embrace Virtual Reality (VR), Seattle-based NBBJ, developed its self-contained venture Visual Vocal to build a VR platform integrated into the firm’s design process. By using VR, NBBJ hopes to speed up collaboration and communication between designers and allow them to make decisions based on client feedback. The new productivity tool will allow architects to build VR versions of 3D models that can be explored on a smartphone.
Together with mobile and cloud-based solutions, VR is expected to replace conventional communication such as email. The team, led by John San Giovanni and Sean House, raised $500,000 for Visual Vocal, which will be developed as a tool not only for architecture but also for other industries. Future plans for these platforms include solutions for working in the aerospace industry, product design, and biotech.
Recently, HOK partnered with the Biomimcry Guild in order to foster bio-inspired innovation in the field of architecture. The partnership began in 2004 and the two companies have collaborated on several projects since, including HOK’s proposal for the “City of the Future” competition in 2008.
“We believe biomimicry will not only help us significantly reduce the environmental impact of our projects, but also has the potential to help define a whole new sustainable standard for our profession,” said HOK Sustainable Design Director, Mary Ann Lazarus, “Because biomimicry addresses critical environmental issues at the habitat scale, it gives us lessons on how to achieve significant results even restorative outcomes at all scales.”
HOK is also a great example of an architecture firm embracing new media tools, as one of the most active users of social media in the architectural industry. The firm launched Life at HOK in 2008 as a supplementary resource to the company’s main site. It is an employee-authored blog, dedicated to showing the processes behind their projects and office culture. HOK employees from around the country post different types of content, such as links to YouTube videos, Facebook profiles and Flickr images. The site aggregates several social media platforms and encourages feedback and interaction with and between its users.
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These five firms are consistently showing a readiness to adopt new design and communication tools, design strategies, and business models. This attitude allows them to remain flexible and absorb various cultural and technological shifts instead of simply trying to keep up with the world. Which other architecture firms do you find innovative?
Wrap House is a private home located in Reculver, England. It was designed by OB Architecture in 2015. Wrap House by OB Architecture: “Set on an unassuming narrow plot within the Metropolitan Green Belt south of London, The Wrap House is a modern 200m2 (2,153ft2), 2 storey family home overlooking the open fields of Biggin Hill Airport. The house comprises of 2 long ‘wrapping’ elements that stretch down the narrow..
Our job of the day from Dezeen Jobs is for a senior technical architect at the London office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, whose current projects include the expansion of New York’s Pennsylvania Station (pictured). Read more stories on SOM, or browse more architecture and design opportunities on Dezeen Jobs.
Sig Nordal 