Dezeen promotion: design event Northmodern is set to present Nordic, northern European and international furniture, lighting and accessories in Copenhagen from 18 to 20 August 2016 (+ slideshow). (more…)
From the architect. The RAG building is the first building to be realised by architectural firm Eek and Dekkers. The project fits seamlessly with the way Piet Hein Eek has been working for decades. Instead of worrying only about the design, Eek focuses on the entire process from idea to commissioning. Eek and Dekkers have found common ground in this approach. It is this command of the whole process, from concept to completion, that secures the result. This working method is characterised by simplicity, whereby existing elements are treated with respect and used as a starting point for new creations.
In its previous life the RAG building functioned as a pumping station, supplying the surrounding factories with compressed air and vacuum, among other things. The industrial buildings around the RAG have now made way for new build homes, so that the building has gradually become the centre of a residential area. The RAG itself has also been allocated residential status. The roof construction with riveted rafters, concrete coffering (‘bims’ plates) and large industrial steel windows give the building a unique character.
The concept for the development of the building was itself embedded within the building. A low-rise construction was realised across the full length of the façade on the south side of the RAG building in the sixties. The roof of this low rise formed a perfect roof terrace for the adjoining living rooms and kitchens. It was obvious that the living rooms should be situated under these beautiful roof structures.
As the building is so large, the plan with a terrace on the roof of the adjoining construction was a virtually perfect solution for the section adjacent to the facade. But what to do with the other section? After a, in retrospect, remarkably long period of deliberation and careful consideration, we found the solution. We decided to take out one section of the grid from the heart of the building, sacrifice two windows on either side and to remove the ‘bims’ plates. We thus created an open internal street in which the roof terraces could once again be realised to the south. The sun rises and sets beautifully over the building, parallel to the new inner street. With this intervention we were able to solve everything at once. The windows, doors and existing elements could again be 100% put to use. In the new inner street, we not only made the roof terraces but also all the necessary doors and windows. Wherever the upper floors meet the original steel windows in the outer façade, we devised a detail that allows the 30 centimetre-thick concrete package to correspond exactly with the original horizontal window frames. We respect and use the existing details and incorporate the rest in newly built elements.
The inner street has a private-public character and is the property of the residents. They all live together under one roof, but there is no problem with privacy as the properties are south-facing. The living room wall of the neighbouring home is visible from the roof terraces of the properties in the inner street, with above it glass right up to the apex of the roof. The new window frames and facades of the inner street are all made of wood. Although we initially envisioned typical steel windows and doors, as were originally used in the building, budget cuts ultimately forced us to search for alternatives. The wooden window frames turned out to be a great improvement. Instead of imitating the old and building upon it, the numerous large glass surfaces are clearly distinguished from the existing elements. It emphasises the design and the additions – new is new and old is old.
The building stands upon an enormous basement that is half underground. This cellar was originally used to house supply and drainage pipes, maintenance and was also the foundation for the machines. As all existing windows and doors were based on this height, we reinstated the original level after completely demolishing the cellar. The living spaces on the ground floor are thus a metre above ground level and have a view of the surroundings, yet are not overlooked. The cellars are low, yet very serviceable as bicycle cellars and storage spaces. A ramp on the east side of the building provides access to the cellars adjacent to the central section under the inner street. The construction of the floor is as thin as possible and includes a large atrium with stairs. The atrium also provides two apartments on the ground floor with their own balconies.
A’s House Project is a private home located in Hoàng Văn Thái, Thanh Xuân, Hà Nội, Vietnam. It was designed by Global Architects & Associates in 2016. A’s House Project by Global Architects & Associates: “Separated from the noisy city, the house is humbly ensconced in a small alley on Hoang Van Thai Street, Hanoi. With an area of just over 46 square meters (495 square feet), the house is..
The second annual Z-Axis Conference, organised by the Charles Correa Foundation, will center on the notion of Buildings As Ideas. Held in the western Indian city of Goa at the Kala Academy, one of Correa’s later projects, the conference is a tribute to his memory and belief that “buildings are ideas that manifest and take form.” Jean Pierre Crousse, of Lima-based practice Barclay & Crousse, will open the conference with the keynote address; other international speakers include Camilo Rebelo, Ilze Wolff, Yung Ho Chang, Dick van Gameren and ArchDaily‘s James Taylor-Foster.
You find out more about the conference, which will run between the 1st and 3rd September 2016, here. Public registration is online here.
Swiss artist Felice Varini has used brightly coloured paintwork to transform the rooftop of Le Corbusier‘s iconic Unité d’Habitation in Marseille into a huge optical illusion (+ slideshow). (more…)
The project is the result of a competition initiated in 2009 by the Town of Asse, Belgium for a regional fire station and a youth center. The site (a brownfield of formerly asphalt production industries) is located on the outer edge of the Town Center. Beyond the ring road the landscape is open, rural. A “land-form” concept was developed as a means to preserve existing landscape features and create a dialogue between the new buildings. The land form is scaled appropriately to the landscape and organizes the new buildings – a youth center and a fire station – into one common shape. As a singular and bounded entity, the form does not suggest sprawling growth in any direction, but rather offers a clear vision for future landscape, infrastructure and building decisions.
A subtle bend in the landform and building denotes the principal entrance to the site. A clear solution had to be found for addressing the public functions given the multiple buildings (where is the front door?). As opposed to a strip of buildings with a parking lot to serve as the main orienting device, a public plaza between the youth center and the fire station serves as a formal front. Custom pavements, markings, road obstacles, street furniture, lighting, local trees and plant species, and a smooth topographic contour break down the scale of this large universally accessible plane.
The plaza acts as a ‘town square’, gathering and distributing the many building users: pedestrians, cyclists, cars, buses, emergency vehicles, and fire trucks. Both the fire officers and youth center have staged public events and festivals in the square. It is within the public plaza where a fundamental ideological basis for the project is confirmed. Upon entering the plaza: the site, form, and scale akin to a “Big-Box” setting are designed to create a civic environment.
The Fire station has a solid, sober, and functional appearance and maintains a banality characteristic of Big Box typologies. Building voids in and around the programmatic spaces reveal the buildings economical and repetitive construction logic. However, through detailing precision, material joints, alignments, and finishes –any sense that this is a conventional building technology is disrupted.
Within the building, a circulation corridor cuts through the programmatic spaces, extends vertically via a long continuous stairway, and follows the curve of the building. The upper levels, which house the private living and sleeping quarters of the fire officers, are formally distinguished. Four volumes, each with different functions (kitchen, dining, private rooms, gymnasium), roof slopes, and separated by roof gardens are supported and punctuated by red painted glue laminated beams.
Origami House is a private home located in Bali, Indonesia. It was designed by Alexis Dornier in 2016. Origami House by Alexis Dornier: “Folded pavilion structure embracing texture and craft, and confluence of interior and exterior. Various cubic volumes connecting to it in all directions. Standing on a seemingly solid plinth, the pavilion gives shelter from heavy tropical rain falls and sun, while enabling full, unobstructed enjoyment of the lush..
From the architect. The house is located in a scenically privileged position, high on a hillside in a residential settlement in which a small church also is a part The dominant view and an excellent south-west exposure are a tangible presence in every space of the house.
We have been working on a project maintaining the originally thought out architectural concept including two levels in order to adapt the design to the steep slope of the ground.
The lower level presents a longitudinal and hypogean development integrated in the hillside as a natural stone terrace. Here you will find bedrooms, studio and fitness zone. Centralness and individuality characterize, on the contrary, the upper level of the living area that, as a rock is resting on the structure and thus remains fixed, has become the principal entrance from the high-positioned street. On this level the outdoor spaces take a longitudinal trend; towards north the pool is going out from the section of the stone wall, on the opposite side a large terrace opens itself on the top of the garage.
The project challenge, which we have felt important from the beginning, has been how to succeed in managing, in the inside of the house, all of the outside nature, the many types of sky with different and strong weather conditions, without conflicting emotions.
Observation and protection have become the objectives of the project.The will to involve all the outside beauty is coexisting with the opposite approach to create intimacy and concentration inside the house.
On one side you have large glass surfaces which as a segmented diaphragm opens the house to the scenic nature, on the other side wooden wings and functional elements that are carrying us into the organism of the house, tracing flowing and continuous passages along the glass surfaces for then to enter the semi-darkness of the inner spaces.
The definition of the organism has also taken shape from the comprehension of the dynamics of two persons’ common life with different rhythms and characters: identify and understand each person’s liberty, the areas to divide and those to protect. This is transferred into a flowing, continuous space without interruptions. The borders are not defined, the spaces are changing following the rhythmic moments of the day. Big full-height sliding panels are modeling ideal rooms, creating fissures for company, light and curiosity like a dynamic play. We didn’t want it to be necessary to “close a door” in order to isolate a room.
A further control of the project has been the attention to the dynamics of the natural borders of light and shadow which are drawn on the floor at the different moments of the day. The concrete floor of the upper level emphasizes and highlights the contrast between light and darkness; the borders in the afternoon seem sharp and precise. On the contrary, the wooden floor of the lower level absorbs and mitigates the differences; the shadow tones are softer, the atmosphere more relaxing.
Outside near the windows of the living room the pool water is reflecting the variability of the sky. Inside, within a short distance, the fire of a brazier placed on the floor creates heat and gives company in the cold winter days.
World Heritage Corb: next in our series on the 17 Le Corbusier buildings that have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List is Maison La Roche-Jeanneret in Paris – designed to provide a home for the architect’s brother and a separate residence and gallery for a friend with a collection of cubist art (+ slideshow). (more…)
From the architect. Designed by the architectural practice of IttenBrechbühl and constructed by the main contractor HRS, Modern Times Hotel enjoys a perfect location amongst the hills above the town of Vevey. It sits adjacent to the motorway for easy access by car, only a stones-throw from the new Charlie Chaplin Museum with the mountains, the heart of Vevey itself, and the famous UNESCO World Heritage site of the Lavaux vineyards closeby. Thanks to its highly visible location, the buildings seems to welcome its visitors with open arms just after they leave the main road. Modern Times Hotel has become a new gateway to the region and is emblematic of Charlie Chaplin’s presence in Vevey.
At the very heart of nature
The hotel is located between the main roads to the north and the quiet residential quarter of the town to the south which is still under development. By way of its position, lying parallel to the hillside, the building itself both defines and serves to protect the whole of the buildable area of the site.
The building is perfectly embedded into the naturally sloping topography of the site taking full advantage of its relief and surrounded by a large landscaped garden. At the heart of this park one may walk amongst the colours of the Mediterranean and come across a small pond adjacent to the main terrace on the Southern aspect of the hotel. Protected by a canopy, the terrace offers great views to the mountainside of the “Rochers de Naye”.
A dynamic facade
The building stretches along the length of the site but its façade has been designed as a rhythm of elements broken by only two folds which announce the main entrance to the hotel and the location of the restaurant. Ribbons of metal that run all around the building otherwise highlight its horizontality. Panels of warmly coloured vertical glazing– brown, bronze, and grey – give the building an elegant, yet calm, character. The northern façade of the hotel reads as a sequence of planes which change in their appearance according ones particular viewpoint and also with the changing natural light.
A sequence of surroundings
The ground floor is a unique and open space featuring the main reception, restaurant, lounge bar, and conference facilities. The different activities function independently of the main hotel and allow it to have a life all through the year. The decor of the different spaces are distinguished by their own particular atmosphere: In the reception area, a large kinetic sculpture commissioned from the artist Charles Morgan and inspired by Chaplin’s lm “Modern Times” adds metallic touches to a colour palette which is predominantly black and white; in the conference rooms, an elegant floor of solid oak; fresh and lively colours of purples, oranges, and blues give the lounge bar the feeling of a New York speakeasy; the restaurant features Versailles parquet flooring and its atmosphere is more intimate with large lamps illuminating a softer palette of beige and grey punctuated by blues and greens.
