© Christian Richters

• Architects: Casanova+Hernandez Architecten
• Location: Shkodër, Albania
• Area: 1138.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Christian Richters, Courtesy of of Casanova+Hernandez Architecten, Blerta Kambo

• Local Architect: Atelier 4
• Structural Engineer: Diana Lluka
• Mechanical Engineer: Spiro Drita
• Electrical Engineer: Dëshire Mena

© Christian Richters

 The selected design for the Marubi Museum developed by Casanova+Hernandez architects aims to promote a rich dialogue between tradition and modernity, between the past and the present. The legacy of the tradition is underlined by restoring the historical building designed by the famous Albanian painter, sculptor, photographer and architect born in Shkodër, Kolë Idromeno, while preserving its spatial and structural qualities without any volume transformation or new interior partitions. Conceptually, Idromeno’s building becomes an important “object” of the exhibition to be shown, contemplated and visited.

© Christian Richters

A modern image associated to the new museographic program is achieved by installing five “functional boxes”, which are prefabricated and detached from the original building, working as pieces of furniture or sculptural elements. Tradition and modernity establish a dialogue in every corner of the building. At the exterior of the museum, a showcase element works as a landmark that indicates the museum entrance; in the interior of the building, the original windows and spatial qualities of the building dialogue with the exhibition boxes; and in the courtyard, the old building coexists with a new modern and sculptural back facade.

© Christian Richters

© Christian Richters

Open, accessible and alive cultural landmark

On the one hand, the museum program expands into the public space and one of the “functional boxes” becomes a showcase installed in front of the museum, serving as a landmark that invites citizens to visit it. On the other hand, public space enters the museum and the project erases the border between street and institution with a transparent and accessible ground floor that hosts a free-entrance multifunctional space for lectures, workshops and temporary exhibitions. As a result, the project intends to create an open and alive museum capable of becoming a cultural landmark linked to the street life of Shkodër.

© Christian Richters

Interactive Chrono-Thematic exhibition:

Information and education combined into a multisensory experience

 The exterior side of the functional boxes located on the first floor of the museum presents a chronological exhibition, which is intertwined with the thematic exhibition exhibited inside them. The chronological exhibition shows the life and achievements of the Marubi’s dynasty with texts, historical pictures, videos and objects organized around the biography of the three members of the Marubi’s dynasty. This information is put into context together with the history and culture of Albania and the city of Shkodër, thus acquiring an important didactic dimension.

© Christian Richters

Axonometric

© Christian Richters

The thematic exhibition complements the chronological exhibition by stimulating a multisensory experience that makes the visitor interact with the space and with the devices of the three thematic rooms. These rooms show three phases of the traditional photographic process presented inside the ideal reconstruction of the historical spaces where this process took place: the photo-studio of Pjëter Marubi “Driteshkronja”, the darkroom of Kel Marubi and the Gegë Marubi’s archive. 

© Christian Richters

Museum Identity

The modern image of the museum is based on an abstract pattern, which is inspired by the geometry of the aperture of the photographic camera that opens and closes to control the light. This abstract pattern is used to design the structural layout of the five exhibition boxes installed in the building, while at the same time integrates a complete and versatile exhibition system that includes frames to exhibit photos and documents, showcases for objects and video screens for slide-shows and short movies.

Section

Section

The abstract pattern, which is always mixed with the photos and objects of the collection, becomes the symbol of the museum. It can be recognized at different scales and in several parts of the building such as in the logo of the museum, in the design of the street showcase, in the layout of the functional boxes inside the building, and even in the structure of the new artistic back facade that frames the views over the surroundings and filters the light within the building. Marubi National Museum of Photography acquires its own specific identity by linking all spatial, structural, functional, graphic and visual aspects, helping visitors to identify building and collection with a complete, rich and unique experience.

© Christian Richters

http://ift.tt/2aBLL35

Courtesy of Flickr user Erik Drost

Upon opening its doors for the first time on a rainy winter’s night in 1932, the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan was proclaimed so extraordinarily beautiful as to need no performers at all. The first built component of the massive Rockefeller Center, the Music Hall has been the world’s largest indoor theater for over eighty years. With its elegant Art Deco interiors and complex stage machinery, the theater defied tradition to set a new standard for modern entertainment venues that remains to this day.

Industrialist and noted philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. was approached in 1928 by a group of leading New York citizens seeking to build a new opera house for the Metropolitan Opera Company. Though Rockefeller himself was not particularly concerned with opera, his sense of civic duty and the favorable economic climate of the late 1920s convinced him to support the project. In October of the same year, he signed a lease with Columbia University for a parcel of land in Midtown Manhattan. Unfortunately, infighting between members of the opera committee and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 led to the project’s demise, leaving Rockefeller with a long-term lease that cost him $3.3 million a year.[1]

Courtesy of Flickr user Roger

Rather than attempt to break his lease, Rockefeller made the decision to build a complex of such exceptional quality that it would attract tenants in spite of the tepid business climate of the early 1930s. Beyond mundane fiscal concerns, however, Rockefeller dreamed of creating something that would leave a powerful impact on the fabric of New York City – an icon that would stand for optimism and hope—the “American Dream”—amid the dreariness of the Great Depression.[2]

Rockefeller’s search for a tenant to replace the Metropolitan Opera Company led him to the Radio Corporation of America, which manufactured radio sets and owned both the National Broadcasting Company and the movie studio RKO. This partnership, which was made official in June of 1930, brought in one of NBC’s radio stars, S.L. Rothafel – more popularly known by his listeners as “Roxy.” With a litany of successful theater openings in his wake, he left the Roxy Theatre to take a new position as director general of the two theaters to be built at the Rockefeller Center. The Roxy Theatre had boasted the highest occupancy of any in the world upon its opening in 1927, and now Roxy once again sought to claim that title for his latest project.[3]

Cutaway diagram from a 1933 edition of Popular Science. Imagevia thomwall.com

While Roxy may have been a star in his field, the designer chosen to create the Music Hall’s interiors was a relative unknown: Donald Deskey. Deskey, who had previously designed rooms for the Rockefellers’ Manhattan townhouse, was a proponent of the Bauhaus ideal that design should not cling to the past, but establish a new and timeless classicism of its own. He had also attended the Exposition Internationale des arts decoratifs et industriels modernes, the 1925 exposition that became the namesake of Art Deco. His forward-thinking design rationale was perfectly suited to the theme of the Rockefeller Center: “the Progress of Man, his achievements through the centuries in art, science, and industry.”[4]

via randylee.tv

Rather than rely on profuse ornamentation, as had been typical for theaters before 1930, the Radio City Music Hall was to make its mark through a modern approach and a considered restraint. Deskey designed over thirty spaces, including a Grand Foyer, several lounges, and smoking rooms, each with its own unique individual visual motif. Craftsmen contributed textiles, balustrades, and other decorative elements, while a collection of artists created several murals and sculptures. While Deskey did make use of traditionally luxurious materials like gold and marble, he combined them with new industrial products like Bakelite, permatex, and aluminum. The result was not the typical shock of frenetic ornamentation, but a more subdued, streamlined Art Deco luxe.[5]

Courtesy of Flickr user Steve Huang

To an external observer, the sheer scale of Radio City Music Hall is not readily apparent. While the neon marquee stretches a full city block, the ticket lobby is a comparatively humble space. Once guests pass through the doors, however, they enter into the Grand Foyer – a cavernous lobby standing sixty feet tall. This space was shocking in its muted elegance, with sleekly curved bronze balustrades, full-height mirrors backed with gold instead of the usual silver, and an immense mural composed of the same faded red and gold hues as the rest of the room. Typical theaters of the period mimicked exotic styles of other cultures or the past, evoking a sort of fantastical detachment from reality; Deskey’s design, meanwhile, would have seemed more suited to an upmarket hotel or ocean liner than a theater.[6]

The Dancers' Medallion on the exterior of the Hall. ImageCourtesy of Flickr user Heather Paul

Although the Grand Foyer is stunning in itself, the auditorium is naturally the centerpiece of the Music Hall. A series of proscenium arches, the largest of which is a full sixty feet (18.3 meters) tall, radiates from the stage itself. This stepped series of arches was Roxy’s brainchild; he explained to the press that he wished to recreate, through architecture and lighting, the same effect as a sunrise he had witnessed on a transatlantic crossing. Thanks to the colored lights hidden behind each successive arch, a multitude of visual effects beyond a simple sunrise can be achieved.[7]

Courtesy of Flickr user Mattia Panciroli

The curved ceiling also aided in acoustics, though it would be enhanced by the installation of loudspeakers behind golden grilles in the walls. Technology and architecture complemented each other in this system: the plaster covering the arches absorbed excess sound reverberation, allowing the broadcast through the auditorium’s speakers to be heard clearly and cleanly.[8]

The most elaborate technical achievements, however, were to be found in the stage itself. Various features were included to ensure that the Music Hall would be able to dazzle audiences watching the full variety of stage productions. The stage was split into three sections, each of which could be hydraulically raised or lowered independent of its neighbors. In addition, a circle radiating almost thirty feet from the center of the stage could be made to rotate in either direction, the first time these two capabilities had been combined into a single stage. Even the curtain itself was a technological novelty, with thirteen electric motors driving cables that could allow the drapery to take on a variety of unusual configurations beyond merely being opened or closed.[9]

The Gentlemen's Lounge. ImageCourtesy of Flickr user Kristina D.C. Hoeppner

Though Radio City Music Hall’s opening program on December 27, 1932 was panned by critics and attendees as long and dull, the building itself received no such complaint.[10] In fact, while the lackluster response to the show literally sent Roxy to the hospital, Deskey’s elegant Art Deco interiors were an instant hit with the theater’s visitors. An article published the following morning in the New York Tribune declared that “The least important item in last evening’s event was the show itself…it has been said of the new Music Hall that it needs no performers; that its beauty and comforts alone are sufficient to gratify the greediest of playgoers.”[11]

The Ladies' Lounge. ImageCourtesy of Flickr user Kristina D.C. Hoeppner

In the decades following that rainy winter’s night in 1932, the Radio City Music Hall has cemented its status as one of the world’s leading performance venues. 300 million people have attended shows and events at the theater since its opening, and it has consistently seen performances by leading actors and musicians throughout its illustrious operational life.[12] The theater’s interiors are also largely unchanged from their original appearance, thanks to careful maintenance and preservation by Rockefeller interests. Those who come to see a show at Radio City Music Hall today therefore walk into a carefully-preserved piece of history, one that appears to have achieved Deskey’s goal of creating its own timeless beauty.[13]

References

[1] Francisco, Charles. The Radio City Music Hall: An Affectionate History of the World’s Greatest Theater. New York: Dutton, 1979. p2-3.
[2] “History.” Radio City Music Hall. Accessed July 19, 2016. [access].
[3] Francisco, p3-5.
[4] Francisco, p8-10.
[5] “History.”
[6] Francisco, p24-27.
[7] Francisco, p15.
[8] Thompson, Emily Ann. The Soundscape of Modernity: Architectural Acoustics and the Culture of Listening in America, 1900-1933. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002. p221-223.
[9] “World’s Biggest Stage Is Marvel of Mechanics.” Popular Science, February 1933, 16-17. p16.
[10] Thompson, p221.
[11] Francisco, p24.
[12] “History.”
[13] Francisco, p24.

• Architects: Edward Durell Stone & Associates
• Location: 1260 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, NY 10020 United States
• Architect In Charge: Edward Durell Stone
• Interior Designer: Donald Deskey
• Area: 87120.0 ft2
• Project Year: 1932
• Photographs: Courtesy of Flickr user Erik Drost, Courtesy of Flickr user Ed Schipul, Courtesy of Flickr user Roger, Courtesy of Flickr user Steve Huang, Courtesy of Flickr user Mattia Panciroli, Courtesy of Flickr user Kristina D.C. Hoeppner, Courtesy of Flickr user Heather Paul, via thomwall.com, via randylee.tv

http://ift.tt/2ag6MfB

© Salva Lopez

• Architects: Andrew Trotter
• Location: 72017 Ostuni, Province of Brindisi, Italy
• Area: 340.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Salva Lopez

© Salva Lopez

From the architect. Masseria Moroseta: a white stone farmhouse standing proudly on the ridge with views across the olive trees to the sea.

© Salva Lopez

Built using traditional techniques and local materials, the modern architecture is influenced by masserie (farmhouses) of the past. Set in five hectares of olive groves with trees up to 500 years old, Masseria Moroseta is an enclave of pared-down relaxation and rural simplicity. 

Floor Plan

As in a traditional farmhouse, everything is set around the central courtyard: the salon and veranda with their views to the sea, the staircase to the roof terrace, and the six rooms and suites on either side, half with private gardens, the other half with private terraces looking out across the fields. 

© Salva Lopez

Vaulted ceilings and stone floors keep the inside cool on even the hottest days. The communal spaces encourage the kinship of community, while providing many intimate nooks for moments of simple solitude, both inside and out, including the living room, the veranda with its outdoor kitchen and bbq, the spa and gym, and the large pool. Leaving out the marks of time, Masseria Moroseta connects us with the past in a peaceful environment, and grounds us in the traditions of the Puglia countryside.

© Salva Lopez

http://ift.tt/2ahTVbw

© Paul Tierney

• Architects: ABK Architects
• Location: Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
• Area: 1600.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Paul Tierney, Courtesy of ABK Architects , Robin Wallace

• Client: Tipperary County Council
• Civil And Structural Engineers: Punch Consulting Engineers
• Environmental Consultants: Homan O’Brien Associates
• Cost Consultants: AECOM Limerick
• Landscape Architects: Stephen Diamond Architects
• Main Contractor: P.J. McLoughlin, Sons Ltd.
• Value: €2.25 million

© Paul Tierney

The existing building had been developed over the years since an external swimming ‘tank’ was enclosed with a simple portal frame building in the 1960s. It is located on an ‘island’ site defined by the River Nenagh and an overflow channel adjacent to the Dublin railway line embankment on the outskirts of Nenagh.

© Robin Wallace

Site Plan

© Robin Wallace

The project involved the renewal and reorientation of the building to address the new park to the east and the creation of an entrance that reconciled the different functions of Swimming with Gymnasium and Aerobics.

© Paul Tierney

The reception was located centrally with views through to the pool and access to wet changing and dry changing on either side. The old changing rooms were remodelled into a modern changing village. A new aerobics suite and the extended gym now look out over the parkland. A jacuzzi and sauna suite were introduced. Internal finishes were upgraded and the pool tank was completely retiled.

© Paul Tierney

http://ift.tt/2alcYW5

© Vinesh Gandhi

• Architects: Sanjay Puri Architects
• Location: Ras, Rajasthan 306101, India
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Vinesh Gandhi

© Vinesh Gandhi

From the architect. Situated on an undulating site in the deserts of Ras, Rajasthan, India, Studios 18 apartments are a part of an entire layout spread over 36 acres. With no buildings or development in the vicinity, this layout is being created for the working people of a new cement manufacturing plant that has commenced production nearby. Close to the site there is no existing development and there are four villages at a distance of 1 km from the site. Taking a cue from the organic layouts of the neighbouring villages near the site, the residential units are interspersed within the existing contours along organic streets that weave through the site.

Site Plan

The 18 residential apartments follow the organic nature of old Indian cities with houses stepping back and creating interlocked built volumes across three levels. A 4M contour difference is negotiated by the building levels stepping down accordingly. In response to the hot arid climate prevalent in the location of 8 months of summer and temperatures in excess of 35°c, the apartments are all oriented towards the north, north east and northwest with no apartment facing the south. The low rise design allows the residents of studios 18 to be close to the ground level akin to living in individual houses.

© Vinesh Gandhi

The circulation spaces connecting the housing blocks are naturally ventilated with an abstract composition of square punctuations on either side facilitating air to move through. The harsh glare of the sun is cut off; yet allowing natural light within the linear corridors, and creating different patterns at different times of the day. The linear corridors provide a cool ventilated sheltered walkway between the apartments allowing residents to glimpse landscaped spaces on either side while walking through and making the circulation an interesting experience. Each apartment too is cross ventilated with deep recessed windows and open to sky terraces.

© Vinesh Gandhi

Color acts as an integral parameter in differentiating volumes as well as identifying circulation spaces interestingly while alluding to the colors of the region. In Rajasthan colour plays an important role in the lives of the people who wear bright colours daily. As if to compensate for the miles of arid, sandy terrain they see around them, they wear brightly coloured clothes and jewelry. Most cities in Rajasthan state are identified by a colour. Jodhpur in Rajasthan is known as the blue city with traditional homes in hues of blue lime plaster. Jaisalmer is known as the yellow city for its traditional houses being built in yellow sandstone. The colour palette used is the most significant part of its visual impact. The deconstructed cubes sport varied hues of the sandy region, at different times of the day – visually differentiating the stepped, recessed volumes as well as identifying circulation spaces. With lighter hues on external walls to reflect heat off the surfaces, and darker tones indoors to create a cooler feel, they add impact to the highly ‘responsive’ design solution.

Floor Plans

Sections

Studios 18 is a contextually designed housing project that is sustainable by its design adhering to the existing contours, its orientation to reduce heat gain, its facilitation of natural light and ventilation and its low rise design. via v2com.

© Vinesh Gandhi

http://ift.tt/2ahrlXI

© Justin Alexander

• Architects: Corben Architects
• Location: Sydney NSW, Australia
• Architect In Charge: Mohit Keni
• Design Team: Philip Corben, Mitchel Ovens, Amy Beech-Allen
• Area: 550.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Justin Alexander

• Structural Engineer: Acor Consultants
• Hydraulic Engineer: ITM Design
• Landscape Architect: Spirit Level Designs
• Interior Design: Elizabeth Hattersley Design
• Builder: Living Constructions
• Joiner: Debrich Custom Joinery

© Justin Alexander

Set on a battle-axe block above a beach adjacent to a nature reserve, this three level house is large and expansive yet articulated to provide intimate spaces designed to maximise its unencumbered sweeping water views from every level. 

© Justin Alexander

The brief from the client was to provide an interior that was modern but warm with a casual elegance free of unnecessary embellishment or decoration.

© Justin Alexander

The resultant home is filled with natural light and has been thoughtfully designed to highlight spatial vistas and the breathtaking water views, whilst maintaining privacy from surrounding homes.  It provides sophisticated open plan entertaining spaces and relaxed family areas that can be cleverly opened or closed off as required to suit the needs of a growing family. The design also includes secluded spaces of refuge to enjoy spectacular sunrises and sunsets, cool breezes in summer and the warmth of the sun in winter, a particularly important requirement of the client. Time was also spent fine-tuning the design and spatial planning to accommodate the specific needs of the family to ensure the home is not only beautiful but also highly functional.

Level 1 Floor Plan

The journey from the street begins down a gentle stair in the landscaped access handle shared with the driveway, past a double garage door integrated with wall cladding leading to a custom finished front door. The entry on middle level welcomes one with its light filled double height volume and a striking off-form concrete wall with a timber clad cantilevered stair. The living space beyond, with its centrepiece of beautifully crafted marble kitchen island, is large and expansive yet articulated to provide intimate spaces and framing the panoramic water view.

© Justin Alexander

The upper level consists of the main bedrooms with the private master suite and the ensuite commanding the unencumbered sweeping water views. The lower level consists of guest bedrooms and Rumpus Room that combines with undercover BBQ terrace and swimming pool to provide a private sanctuary with a tranquil resort feel.

© Justin Alexander

In contrast to the geometric building, the landscaping consists of a series of free-form terraces working with the site contours and integrating natural features. Extensive native planting is used to complement the adjacent nature reserve and integrate with its natural context.

© Justin Alexander

The materials palette used throughout the home is dominated by natural products, with extensive use of timber, stone, glass and steel. Furniture and soft furnishings continue the natural theme with leather, timber, marble, wool and linen featuring prominently. The beautifully hand crafted joinery also incorporates solid timber and timber veneer, marble, slate and steel.  The material selection was purposely limited and repeated throughout the home extending from inside to outside providing a harmonious overall ‘look and feel’ to the architecture and design.

Level 2 Floor Plan

The project has been an excellent example of a successful and trusting client/architect/interior designer/builder partnership resulting in a detailed contemporary residence from the initial purchase to completion in approximately two years.

© Justin Alexander

http://ift.tt/2aBXDPy