© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

• Architects: João Tiago Aguiar
• Location: Oeiras, Portugal
• Architect In Charge: João Tiago Aguiar
• Area: 420.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

• Architecture Collaboration : Renata Vieira, Ana Caracol, Ruben Mateus, João Nery Morais, André Barreiros Silva, Rita Lemos
• Builder : AMA – CONSTRUÇÃO
• Landscape Architecture : Sofia Raimundo

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

From the architect. The house is located in a residential neighborhood in Nova Oeiras in the Oeiras district, a neighborhood with a modernist urbanism, which is a great example of the concept called “garden city”. This neighborhood has an area of houses built in spacious plots, each with a leafy garden.

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

The house appeared a bit unbalanced in its design. On the main façade[AA1]  we had an interesting equilibrium with a porch and a balcony, but the rear façade had no valuable elements.

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

The extension consists in building a new volume attached to the rear façade of the old house, extending the house through the garden redesigning its backyard façade.

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

In this new volume that extends the house, appears as a piece of contemporary architecture. To maintain the identity of the house, we reproduced from the porch, a hexagonal tile pattern to coat the new volume.

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You can see the pattern also on the sliding grates of the existing windows; this unifies both old and new, parts of the house.

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

We planned this enlargement of the main house as an autonomous and distinct volume but, at the same time, with a common element to both the original and the new construction.

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On the ground floor we created a spacious living room with a wide view to the garden. The kitchen contiguous but separated from the living room, enjoys the same great view as well through its large glass sliding doors.

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

From the lower step of the staircase to the right façade, we enlarged the window frame creating one single big glass screen. With this solution we gave natural light to the staircase, underlining its vertical amplitude.

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

On the first floor we have the private area, composed of one toilet, two bedrooms and a suite with a walk-in closet and a bathroom.

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

These last three compartments are placed on the rear of the house offering natural sunlight and a view to the backyard. 

© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

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© Quang Dam

• Architects: 3 Atelier
• Location: Dalat, Lâm Đồng, Vietnam
• Architect In Charge: Dau Phi Bach
• Area: 120.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Quang Dam

• Constructors : Dau Trong Minh

© Quang Dam

The story began in 2015 while we were doing a construction in Di Linh Highland. Our Uncle helped us look for the materials for the construction, which was our big problem in this rural area (that house also has an interesting story, we’ll tell you later). For many times searching for materials together, we talked more and more about our own future plans and passions. Nothing happened until a few days later he came back and shared his concerns and his plans for a new house…

© Quang Dam

Living with his wife, his son and his daughter, he spent everyday from early morning to late night at a small booth in the local market, selling rubber shoes and clothes. The kids grow up in the environment only within the busy and bustling market. Their daily activities were nothing else but the games on technology devices. He realized that they might have no chance to experience an amazing childhood in the arms of Mother Nature as he had before. 

Ground Floor Plan

Mezzanine Floor Plan

That was the reason why he planned to sell his old house, and then moved to a place which was a little bit far away from the central. He wanted to have a real home for his family. His desired home was the new home which was not only fulfilled with laughter and joy of his children, but peaceful enough for him to recall his sweet memories in his childhood. Two kids were born in the urban area already, now it’s time for them to completely grow up in the connection with nature.

Understanding his concerns, we designed and built this house.

© Quang Dam

The new land is located next to the highway that made our project more challenging. How to solve the problems with noise and dust from the highway became the most important thing for us to think about.

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Uncle’s House reflects featured image of Di Linh Plateau, using a wide range of traditional as well as modern materials. All are processed just enough to maintain the nature of material itself. The tile walls proved their power when keeping the house warm at nights and cool during the sunny days. They especially recall the owners to their very old moments living peacefully in a Vietnamese village when they were young. Light also has its own story in this cozy house. Here the kids can spend their time to climb on the tree, draw on the rock, grow vegetables with their mom and take care of the fish right in their own yard, which they cannot found in the modern society nowadays. 

© Quang Dam

The house may be small. Yes, it is. But we don’t think it is.

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© Daici Ano

• Architects: Kengo Kuma & Associates
• Location: Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
• Area: 1987.19 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Daici Ano

• Structural Engineer: YSE Architects office
• Mechanical Engineer: Morimura Architects Office
• Sign Design: Japan Design Center, Principal designer Kenya Hara
• Chairman Of The Board Of Directors: Kaoru Umeda.
• Client: Medical Corporation shi-sei-kai,Umeda hospital.
• Text Translation: Kiichiro Usami
• Site Area: 2697.18 sqm
• Building Area: 858.35 sqm

© Daici Ano

Umeda Hospital is as well-known obstetrician-gynecologist practice about ‘Declaration of breast’ that aims for child-birth and child-rearing, in a kind and friendly manifest to people and the natural environment.  The hospital led by Dr. Kaoru Umeda, is certified by UNICEF as one of ‘’The Hospitals Friendly to Babies‘’.

© Daici Ano

Plan

© Daici Ano

Dr. Umeda attaches importance to breastfeeding and cuddling. To best reflect his human philosophy in the architecture, we used wood in many places to express warmth and comfort. The signage by Kenya Hara is printed on pieces of cloth and covers boards and posts in the hospital, and can be taken off for washing just like clothes, which works well to soften the atmosphere of the hospital.

© Daici Ano

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Courtesy of Nabil Gholam Architects

An unconventional hybrid comprised of an art center, retail outlets, restaurants and private residences forms a new “Arts Oasis” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Designed by Nabil Gholam Architects, the project was shortlisted as a finalist in Commercial Mixed-Use – Future Projects category at the World Building of the Year Awards.

Courtesy of Nabil Gholam Architects

The design promotes arts and culture within a predominantly residential district, whilst also interacting respectfully with the neighborhood scale of its context. Expressed as a contemporary take on the vernacular architecture found within Riyadh, the project offers a unique blend of programs whilst remaining visually respectful to its Saudi Arabian roots.

Courtesy of Nabil Gholam Architects

Nabil Gholam Architects described their design as a “peculiar experiment,” due to the prescribed functions of the complex intermix in a unique arrangement. Traditionally separated, the different public and private components engage with each other to form a cohesive whole, but individually retain their own function. The internal “oasis” helps bind these elements, which the architects say are “interlinked either visually or physically through the green heart of the project..”  

Two critical parameters weighed in to shape up the project: primarily, the way the project with an ambition to become a pioneer in promoting the arts (while remaining a profitable endeavor in its other components) positions itself within the city as well as at the neighborhood scale and effectively interacts with both. And on the micro level, striking the balance between maintaining the residents’ privacy within the project itself and insuring the success of the public functions.

Courtesy of Nabil Gholam Architects

Bordered by a busy commercial road on its main facade, the scheme cements its prominence by presenting itself as a large, articulated mass. This facade is expressed as a solid wall with perforations and occasional punctures through which the vegetation is visible, hinting at the large internal courtyard that lay within. The partially transparent ground floor becomes increasingly opaque as it approaches the residential zones. The masses, textures, and patterns reference the vernacular architecture found in the historical Al Diriyah district in Riyadh. 

Courtesy of Nabil Gholam Architects

The Art Center occupies the southern edge of the site and is the only ground floor tenancy not occupied by retail or restaurants. The center offers expansive gallery spaces, a café, a shop, auditoriums, workshop spaces, a multimedia library, a training center, and administrative spaces which are elevated on the mezzanine level.

The public functions of the building, as well as some of the residential, is organized a triple height lobby space which opens up onto the large, green courtyard. This internal “oasis” forms the green lung of the building. Terraced gardens step upwards on the first and second floors overlooking the void, protecting the occupants of the adjacent apartments from the activity below. 

The courtyard is able to be used year-round, thanks to a retractable shading system. When completely retracted the space is still semi-enclosed by a fixed, perforated roof, sending intriguing light patterns across the plants. The courtyard assists the building in achieving its sustainability strategy, as the heavily planted trees and cross ventilation across water features assists with temperature regulation. Cross-ventilated apartment units, planted roofs, low-e glazing, double skin, and textured cladding all bring the building closer to becoming more environmentally aware. 

• Architects: Nabil Gholam Architects
• Area: 6000.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of Nabil Gholam Architects

News via Nabil Gholam Architects

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© Philip Vile

• Architects: Studio Seilern Architects
• Location: United Kingdom, Oxford, UK
• Architect In Charge: Studio Seilern Architects
• Area: 300.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2013
• Photographs: Philip Vile

• Structural Engineer: TALL Engineers
• Services Engineer: Atelier TEN
• Lighting Consultant: Sutton Vane Associates
• Quantity Surveyor: BAQUS

© Philip Vile

 

Old Belchers Farm is a 17th Century farmhouse with a collection of barns and stables. The buildings have Historic Interest Building Status and the property falls within the Conservation Area of Little Milton.

© Philip Vile

The project brief was for a conversion that was to offer a new contemporary art and exhibition space that would help contribute to the upkeep of the estate, consisting of a dining room and of ces that wrap around a hidden library at the centre of the project.

© Philip Vile

This library, the heart of the concept, contains four secret doors that when opened connect to the surrounding spaces. When these doors are closed, the room is lined with bookshelves on all sides. It has a mirrored polished steel ceiling, which doubles the perceived height of the space by creating bookshelves that seem to extend to in nity. A set of thin L-shaped steel plates create a very light cantilevered balcony, allowing access to the higher bookshelves while maintaining their visual verticality.

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This creates a reading room with an intimate ambiance contrasting with the surrounding bright lit rooms.

© Philip Vile

The main barn is located aside from the house courtyard setting, out of view from the High Street and just inside the private access road, as it enters into the courtyard. A lean-to block addition with asbestos roof was added to the main barn at some stage to the south elevation, obscuring the main barn and forming the boundary wall to the neighbouring property Betts Farm House.

© Philip Vile

Describing the design, Christina Seilern, said: “While the galleries are pared-down in design, the library is somewhat whimsical. It has a mirrored polished steel ceiling, which doubles the perceived ceiling height of the space by creating bookshelves that seem to extend to in nity. A set of thin L-shaped steel plates create a very light cantilevered balcony that allows access to the higher bookshelves, while maintaining their visual verticality.’

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Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects

Steven Holl Architects have received the go-ahead for a new pedestrian bridge linking their own Kennedy Center Expansion to the Potomac riverfront. Originally proposed by Kennedy Center architect Edward Durell Stone in 1959, the idea to extend the lively arts program from the center along the waterfront is set to increase the vitality of both existing programs. The bridge approval was one of the last remaining piece of the project, with the majority of the Kennedy Center Expansion already under construction.

Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects

The Kennedy Center, a national center for performing arts, was established in memoriam of President John F. Kennedy in 1959. The prestigious original building was marked for expansion, and a competition in 2013 saw Steven Holl Architects selected to undertake the design. The expansion encompasses the area south of the center to the waterfront, integrating the landscape and river into the center’s existing program. The bridge is an integral part of this plan, giving direct pedestrian access across this new zone.

Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects

In the landscape adjacent to the main expansion building towards the riverfront, various gardens and landscaped areas will play host to outdoor performances and on-site installations. A new cafe will further encourage the movement of activity from the waterfront upwards to the Kennedy Center. 

Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects

The bridge itself will also connect the center to Georgetown to the north and the Lincoln Memorial to the south to create new public access. With its approval, construction will take place within the next two years, completing Steven Holl Architects’ engagement with the center. 

For more information on Steven Holl’s active projects, check out our recent round-up.

News via Steven Holl Architects.

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