Courtesy of Studio Libeskind

Studio Libeskind has won an international competition for the design of a mixed-use tower and complex in the heart of Vilnius, Lithuania. The 20,000 square meter building will feature offices, a luxury hotel, restaurants and public amenities and will be located at the intersection of the White Bridge, the Neris River and Old Town.

Courtesy of Studio Libeskind

“The idea for the Downtown Tower-K18B is to create a 21^st-century landmark for the city, while integrating the surrounding context to complement the urban fabric of the historic city,” said architect Daniel Libeskind. “The design will create a vibrant mixed-use complex that will invigorate and enliven the development of the neighborhood.”

The jagged tower takes inspiration from the light, sky and surrounding environment, and will rise out of a 6-story podium of spaces connected by a glass-enveloped galleria containing a restaurant, bar and retail in addition to the lobbies for the hotel and office towers.

The competition was organized by the Vilnius Municipality, Lithuanian Union of Architects and Lords LB Asset Management. Studio Libeskind is also currently designing the Vilnius Modern Art Centre as well as a sports and wellness centre, Vilnius Beacon.

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© Ralph Feiner

• Architects: Aita Flury
• Location: Domat/Ems, Switzerland
• Collaborators: Konrad Braun, Lukas Podzuweit
• Structural Engineer: Conzett Bronzini und Partner Ingenieure
• Area: 900.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Ralph Feiner

© Ralph Feiner

Not only the name of the house is an allusion to the Villa Foscari La Malcontenta, rather its design is driven by spatial interests deriving from engagement with Palladio’s work. It is centred on a visual equilibrium of the volume, on the interlocking types between interior and exterior space, on the interweaving of wall and buttresses, and on a hierarchization of the facades, formulated as the reaction of the building to its surroundings. An additional essential concern lies in balancing the interior spaces. As in Palladian corridor-free systems, it is the square rectangles that are commonly related to each other. 

© Ralph Feiner

Plan

© Ralph Feiner

These “cells” are clearly experienced as separate units even though optically they are mostly laterally spanned with each other by large sliding-door openings. Similarly to the façade, the idea is centred on a negotiation of stillness and dynamic, openness and closedness, degrees of isolation and interlocking. By this means the relations vary slightly from floor to floor.

Diagram

The multi-family house with a Swiss Minergie Standard label is located in a zone where the building regulations prescribe pitched roofs. It contains eleven apartments (2½ to 3½ rooms) and a commercial premises.

© Ralph Feiner

Constructively seen the house is a solid construction with exterior insulation, plastered and partially visually reinforced with sound-absorbing clinker bricks filled with cement. These bricks are used as a secondary ornament to articulate the facade, and additionally appear wherever people come into tactile contact with the facades.

© Ralph Feiner

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© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

• Architects: João Carriço
• Location: Silves, Portugal
• Collaborator: Vítor Jesus
• Area: 180.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Luís Henrique Da Cruz

• Development, Project Management And Design Concept : Arnold Aarssen
• Construction: Adelino Lopes Gomes, Lda.
• Engineering: Paulo Terra

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

A complete re-do project with special official built heritage department approval of a single family house, built on the fifties, with modern lines, and located in the heart of the historical center of Silves, Algarve, Portugal. 

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

Basically the existing situation was on a full ruin state, all materials collapsing indoor and outdoor. Due to the restricted permissions on this historical protected area of the city, the main concept was based on restoring the street northern facade, keeping the height on the rebuild red tiled roof, apply new wooden framing and renewing the coloring, therefore the built identity and layout of the ‘house’s face’ was kept.

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

Balancing with three terraces on different levels (floors), facing the south river sight, a modern shaped mini tower is sticking out from the terraces. From stones and materials collapsing, a new pure white world was created.

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

The back garden south façade pretends to achieve the principle of contemporary architecture… big windows for natural lighting and ventilation, pure/plain stucco finishing and permanent visual relation of the interior to the exterior living.

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

Indoor there’s also an approach for purity… main white color finishing, concrete look and feel solid flooring, modern finishings on bathrooms/walk-in kitchen, mixing of traditional handmade tiles with different geometric patterns, wooden feeling on the ceiling and flooring of the attic’s bedroom.

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

The circulation scheme is very simple, based on open spaces, sided by a stairwell cut, connecting the three levels.

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

Section

© Luís Henrique Da Cruz

In general, this projects aims to create an harmonic aesthetical language on the combination of two worlds, the traditional (on the street front façade) with the contemporary (on the indoor and south back façade).

Diagram

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© Simon Devitt

• Architects: Architectus, Athfield Architects
• Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
• Area: 3500.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Simon Devitt

• Structure And Services: Aurecon
• Project Management: Coffey
• Acoustics: Marshall Day
• Contractor: Southbase Thiess JV

© Simon Devitt

Transport interchanges have historically played a major role in the civic and economic vitality of a city. Recognising the importance of the new bus interchange as a catalyst for the revitalisation of the central city the interchange was one of the first anchor projects to be completed after the 2011 earthquake. As a vital part of the new civic infrastructure it needed to not only provide a highly efficient public transport hub but also help define the rebuilt city’s identity and public space experience.

© Simon Devitt

Architectus won the commission in a competitive process and led the development of a compact inner city transport hub that put good urban design and pedestrian experience first whilst incorporating the operational requirements of over 1000 bus movements a day. The hub integrates buses, intercity coaches, taxis and cyclist as well as anticipating opportunities for future light rail. 

Plan

A ‘L-shaped’ concourse was devised fronting both Colombo and Lichfield Streets with 16 bus bays arranged in a crescent shape on the interior of the site. To minimise the footprint of the bus apron a ‘reversing bus bay’ design was adopted. Extensive field testing with drivers and operators as well as state of the art bus management systems convinced all stakeholders that this unconventional approach was best for project, enabling a concealed and secure bus apron as well as a contiguous and legible concourse that engages with the city. 

© Simon Devitt

The concourse is conceived as an extension of the city’s public realm. Materials used are the same inside and out and seating has been developed in the language of street furniture – detailed in concrete and solid timber. 

© Simon Devitt

Along Colombo Street four timber pods sit underneath the main roof. They deliver passenger amenity including cycle and luggage storage as well as retail and food outlets – all of which open to both the street and the concourse. Glazing provides a seamless transition between the two and allows views from the public realm through the concourse to the bus apron beyond.

Section

Section

The experience of the indoor environment is enhanced by providing a fully naturally ventilated environment – a challenge for an indoor space surrounded by diesel buses and two main road frontages. Bus bays with automatic sliding doors prevent passengers from straying onto the apron and in combination with localised air curtains prevent the ingress of toxic fumes. A combination of roof mounted wind catchers modelled on ancient Persian wind-towers and high level louvers on the street frontages draw outdoor air into the concourse. The passenger hall is tempered by hydronic underfloor heating powered through a groundwater heat pump system.

© Simon Devitt

Form and materiality are influenced by Christchurch’s largely lost neo gothic architecture and remaining nearby brick buildings. This is evident in the folded roof geometry with its gables and large skylights which bring daylight into the space and create an internal volume inspired by the great transit halls of the past. A cultural narrative developed by local Rū nanga Ngāi Tūāhuriri based on themes of early Maori navigation is integrated into the building fabric.

© Simon Devitt

The holistic design approach has resulted in a civic facility that integrates the local urban and cultural context with customer comfort and the requirements of bus operators to launch Christchurch into a new era of modern public transportation.

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