Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Aileen Sage Architects has installed a swimming pool inside Australia‘s Biennale pavilion to symbolise the importance of this type of public space to the nation’s cultural identity (+ slideshow). (more…)
Rogers Partners’ Elmer A. Henderson: A John Hopkins Partnership School (Henderson-Hopkins) has received the 2016 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Institute Honour Award for Architecture, as well as the 2016 American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education (AIA-CAE) Educational Facility Design Award of Excellence.
The project is a $42 million, 125,000 square foot public school located in East-Baltimore. Lauded by AIA Jurors as being “exuberant” and “optimistic,” as well as containing “welcoming indoor and outdoor spaces” that are “deftly woven into the neighborhood” and “well received by the community,” Henderson-Hopkins is the city’s first new public school in over 30 years.
Unlike the typical single-building model of a school, Henderson-Hopkins is a cluster of smaller buildings, mirroring the row houses, stoops and social civic spaces of Baltimore’s urban fabric. Students are grouped by age in these buildings, bisected by main and side streets. Each building has its own common areas, flexible teaching areas and an outdoor “learning terrace”, decentralizing education to promote individual learning.
“We are honored to be recognized in this way by the AIA at the National Convention. This project represents what architecture for education can really be about: enabling students, teachers and community. Our goal was to recover and reimagine an urban fabric rich in opportunity and optimism for East Baltimore,” says Robert M. Rogers, FAIA, Founding Partner of Rogers Partners. “In its intentionally porous, safe, urban plan and through the craftsmanship of light, materiality and performance, the design respects history and supports the future of education and of this neighborhood.”
The project was the result of a competition sponsored by East Baltimore Development, Inc. It is one of the forerunners of a trend of more open, civically engaging schools, being promoted by Baltimore’s Urban Design & Architecture Review Panel.
Since its completion in 2014, the project has won many awards, including the 2015 Chicago Athenaeum, International Architecture Award; the 2014 World Architects, Building of the Year, Editor’s Choice Award. The project has also appeared on the front page of The New York Times, the cover of ARCHITECT magazine, in Architectural Record and The Architects’ Newspaper.
Maison C is a private residence designed by Olivier Chabaud Architecte. It is located in Bois Colombes, south of Paris, France. Photos by: Philippe Harden
Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: a resurgence of handmade architecture is one of the biggest themes to emerge from this year’s Venice Biennale, according to Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. (more…)
Edinburgh-based studio, Konishi Gaffney Architects, has won the competition to design a temporary pavilion for the Pop-Up Cities Expo. The Pop-Up Cities Expo is a headline event at Scotland’s Festival of Architecture, featuring pop-up pavilions at Mound Square from cities around Europe. Konishi Gaffney will be representing Edinburgh – the host of the expo – with their winning pavilion design.
The proposals were required to represent Edinburgh internationally, showcase the city – including its World Heritage Status – and reflect its location at the Mound Square.
Konishi Gaffney’s winning pavilion aims to provide a “snapshot” of Edinburgh, inspiring future generations of architects. The pavilion will be engineered by TALL engineers, fabricated by local artist and maker Johannes Sailer, and supported by several Scottish timber companies.
“Our idea is based on a folded origami form developed from thinking about the brief for a pop-up pavilion. The form is made from two pyramids laid back to back with three openings pulled out: one for the door, one for a fixed window and one for an opening window for ventilation,” said Kieran Gaffney of Konishi Gaffney Architects. “The proposal is innovative in its design and minimised the use of materials. Using locally sourced timber means a small carbon footprint and the pavilion is intended for re-use at other events and functions.”
The event and competition were organized by the City of Edinburgh Council, along with the Edinburgh Architectural Association (EAA), and will take place from June 17 to July 17 at the Mound Square in conjunction with The Festival of Architecture.
News via the City of Edinburgh
From the architect. The project of the Laayoune Technology School in Morocco is part of the decentralization policy of universities centers in the different regions of the country. The program consists on teaching spaces(classrooms, workshops, amphitheater), library, administrative offices, teacher’s offices and services (maintenance spaces, staff accommodation etc.). The site, quite away from the city center, generated aneed of“urbanity” through an organization around an axial scheme, and thus providing a comprehensive and clear reading and at the same time a diversity of ambiences.
The various buildings are fragmented to allow maximum natural ventilation and lighting and are connected by a set of external paths, squares, covered squares, mineral gardens to justly enhance this notion of urbanity. The architectural vocabulary is solid, geometric and plays with the contrast-ocher-exterior and interior-light. Different sun protection devices are used: brise-soleil, double skin, protected walkways etc. The materials used are minimized to emphasize abstraction and coherence of the whole while meeting the need of sustainability and easy maintenance.
Haitang Villa is a private home located in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, China. The 5,490-square-foot home was designed by ARCHSTUDIO in 2015. Haitang Villa by ARCHSTUDIO: “The project is a three-story townhouse located in a residential area in the eastern suburbs of Beijing. The first floor and the basement are a connected space which is used to receive visitors. The second floor is for daily living, it has separate..
From the architect. Located in the middle of a very small South German town we took it as a challenge to create an urban yet homely centre in the form of a new village square. We aimed to develop the religious complex as a whole to form a calm space encompassing the new church, the church tower, the community centre and the existing rectory.
As the new building (especially the main entrance) is situated at the end of the urban pedestrian axis of the town it is seamlessly integrated in the existing context and perfectly enhances urban planning. In this way the development is not only of religious but also public importance.
The position of the new church building beside the existing church tower and the rectory creates busy public spaces as well as contrasting quiet areas which have a peaceful atmosphere without being showy.
The cubic church building provides a rectangular end to the new church square and at the same time it is an open space with a translucent basement on all sides. The design of the basement façade has to be seen in direct context with the campanile of the church, whose top is faced with vertical oak boards.
For us it is very important to create these sorts of connections between our buildings and the local history and geography.
In this way, regional characteristics and features are brought to life in new architecture and the new elements of a “today” are connected with a “yesterday”.
The floor-to-ceiling glazing is screen-printed with a soft pattern of waves. This makes the external expanse of the building look open from a distance, but from within the sacred place is still protected from everyday disturbances from outside. This is the ideal expression of a modern, open church.
The light and open inner space of the church incorporates familiar elements of sacred architecture yet offers a creative freedom in the sculptural workings of the ceiling which brings an artistic and spiritual dimension to the room. People will find warmth too when they sit down on or touch the bright natural oak seating and fittings.
The diversity of lighting offers different kinds of lighting during the day and at night and echoes the diversity of creation.
Nevertheless for us it was important to keep the interior peaceful and unostentatious so that the focus would remain on the churchgoers and their prayers and activities and provide them with a peaceful atmosphere set apart from their everyday lives. This ambiguity of the space points to a variety of possible uses.
We again used the staccato design feature of oak piles (referencing the existing church tower) for the design of the skylight above the altar area to emphasize the meaning of the most sacred area of the church. The pulpit, altar and baptismal font (by Sabine Straub) have been designed in symbiosis with the architects’ floor design (black concrete) and also contribute to the quiet and low- key atmosphere.
H 01 is a private home located in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. Completed in 2014, it was designed by Azovskiy & Pahomova architects. Photos courtesy of Azovskiy & Pahomova architects
