Marks Barfield Architects and Davis Brody Bond have teamed up to design an aerial “gondola” that would stretch over the city of Chicago and serve as a major tourist attraction. (more…)
Capability to Respond
During the emergency process for commissioning new Courthouses, as part of the restructuring of the Judicial System defined by the National Government of Ecuador, the consulting company Hospiplan is invited to participate in the design of new buildings that would ¨guarantee all citizens an opportune, efficient and quality access to justice¨. This emergency commissioning implied the radical reduction of time allocated for the development of the projects, and a necessary reorganization of the processes normally followed.
Based on previous experiences, Hospiplan calls arquitectura x to lead a team capable of producing 20 projects in 21 days, located in the 3 geographic regions of the country, with a total of 45 days to develop all details, specifications, engineering designs and budgets. arquitectura x proposes a strategy to design 1 generic project with 20 variables, instead of 20 specific projects, and conforms a team with Colectivo Arquitectura and Espinoza Carvajal in architecture, Cesar Izurieta leading the structural engineering team, and all the rest of the engineering designs in charge of Hospiplan.
In the end, 18 Courthouses were designed since 2 plots were deemed inviable, and to date 5 have been built. Because of the nature of the emergency commissioning, each building was constructed by individual contractors without any involvement of the design team during the building process.
This building is one of the specific results and should be considered as part of a system, developed in the following way.
Systematization of the design process leading to the systematization of the construction process.
The design of these Courthouses is seen as an opportunity to emphasise the need to optimize all constructions processes for public buildings in Ecuador, by implementing a planning model based, on one hand on modular building components, standardization of production processes, light prefabrication and dry assembly methods, and on the other, on the systematisation of the design methodology, in order to produce a generic model flexible enough to be modified and adapted depending on the specific contexts and needs of each case.
The 20 programs are thus systematized according to the strict functional correlations given by the operational needs, generating programmatic modules following logic of use, be it public, semi-public, or private use, and determined dimensionally by the structural-spatial building module selected to optimize construction. The functional dynamics of these programmatic modules are also based on the double circulation system determined by the operating requirements of the courthouses, and on the vertical distribution logic of the spaces, prioritizing public use on the ground floor while concentrating private use on the upper floors.
This way a series of matrices for the subsystems of the project are generated, allowing for simultaneous evaluation and decision making for the 20 cases at once, based on worst case scenarios, that is, always making decisions for one project and applying them to the other nineteen.
General layout and Public Space
The layout of the buildings on the site responds to one basic principle:
Public Building = Public Space
The buildings´ general layout respond to their context, always generating public spaces shaded by trees in the form of plazas, small squares, broadening of sidewalks, and/or gardens and green parklets. For this purpose, the buildings incorporate open portals that define the edges of these public spaces and act as transitional space between the public interior and public exterior and corresponding streetscape. These public portals are also the architectural elements that allow the adaptation and integration of the buildings to the existing urban context, or rather become an urban ¨place making¨ model in the case of buildings located in areas intended as new centralities for their towns.
Structural – Spatial Grid
The structural system is in essence a steel grid, with a square, 6.30 metre module, that acts as the dimensional base for the building. A rational, repetitive and invariable structural system is intentionally sought with the double premise of achieving the most efficient use of materials, and a time effective execution during the construction process. In contrast to other more common structural principles based on diaphragms or slabs, the linear grid allows for the most flexible solutions for distribution, spatial organization, transformation, or expansion of the building.
The 6.30 meter module between axes corresponds to the dimensions of the two basic elements that form the grid: 6.00 meter long IPN beams and 0.30 x 0.30 metre square columns; this modular dimension of the grid minimizes material waste and optimizes sectioning of standard steel members.
Distribution and Circulation Systems
The circulation scheme responds to the particular needs defined by the operational system of the courthouses, with all-access public areas located to the front and on the lower and ground floors, characterized by the portals and double or triple height halls. These public areas are distributed occupying most of the ground floor and the frontal spaces of the first and/or second floors, oriented to the public space outside.
Vertical circulation in the public spaces is solved with an open staircase and elevator placed in the centre of the building; private vertical circulation is contained in one or more cores that access all levels of the building, but are always separated from the open public circulations.
Scale, Materiality and Adaptation
The Courtrooms are the primary spaces in the buildings, the places where hearings are held to impart justice, spaces located in a predominant area of the first or second floors above the interior public space within the double/triple height halls, they are clearly identifiable as volumes clad in natural wood.
The spatial scheme responds to an open plan principle, spaces are defined with a light prefabricated constructive system of modular fibrocement boards, used for interior walls, floors, ceilings and facades. This system allows for total flexibility of the buildings so they can adjust to new programmatic conditions, modifications, expansions, renovations, and the possibility of dismounting and recycling of parts and materials. Modular, prefab dry assembly systems also allow the efficient construction of these buildings in relatively isolated places.
We Like Today has released its bid-winning plan for a mixed-use leisure destination on the Brighton and Hove seafront, endorsed by the City Council. Wanting to reviving this part of the English coast as a destination for recreation and swimming, the proposal includes a 50 meter open air heated pool, lifeguard facilities, changing facilities, cafes and restaurants, yoga and exercise studios, indoor training facilities, therapy rooms, a boardwalk allowing disabled access to the beach, retail spaces, pop-up shops, conference facilities, and offices.
According to Rich Brett, creative director and principal of We Like Today, “I am interested in using design and architecture to make a difference and wanted people to feel pride of place for an area that used to be at the heart of Brighton and Hove’s leisure industries. Brighton shares a special relativity with the sea, yet at present, there is little integration between the two. The idea for Sea Lanes was to build an active and immersive destination, open up a dialogue with the sea and the local community, and revitalise Madeira Drive and this area of the city.”
Intent on a designing a property “in Brighton, for Brighton,” the shapes and iconography of the many small pavilions of Sea Lanes are meant to celebrate the characteristics of the city. In the words of the architects, “the scheme celebrates the idiosyncrasies, intimacy, variety and attitude of [Brighton].” The project is being developed with several local companies, including Copsemill Properties, SwimTrek, and Swimmergy.
Brighton’s reputation as a health resort dates back to the 1730s when British physician Dr Richard Russell proclaimed the therapeutic benefits of its seawater. Although supported by the Council, funding for this project is being achieved through private investment.
New York 2016: Brooklyn design studio Fort Standard has debuted a cabinet crafted from stone slabs and a chair made solely of leather as part of its latest furniture collection (+ slideshow). (more…)
From the architect. The Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) of the University of Stuttgart have completed a new research pavilion demonstrating robotic textile fabrication techniques for segmented timber shells. The pavilion is the first of its kind to employ industrial sewing of wood elements on an architectural scale. It is part of a successful series of research pavilions which showcase the potential of computational design, simulation and fabrication processes in architecture. The project was designed and realized by students and researchers within a multi-disciplinary team of architects, engineers, biologists, and palaeontologists.
Biomimetic Investigation into Shell Structures
The development of the ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2015-16 is characterised by a twofold bottom-up design strategy based on the biomimetic investigation of natural segmented plate structures and novel robotic fabrication methods for sewing thin layers of plywood. The project commenced with the analysis of the constructional morphology of sand dollars. At the same time, a fabrication technique was developed that enables the production of elastically bent, double-layered segments made from custom-laminated, robotically sewn beech plywood. Introducing textile connection methods in timber construction enables extremely lightweight and performative segmented timber shells.
Previous studies on sea urchins by the research partners already led to the transfer of constructional principles and the development of new construction methods for timber plate shells. In this project, natural segmented shell structures were further analysed in an interdisciplinary cooperation between architects and engineers from Stuttgart University and biologists from Tubingen University in order to reveal additional relevant aspects. Within the taxonomic phylum of Echinodermata two species of the class Echinoidea (sea urchin) and the order Clypeasteroida (sand dollar) were identified as particularly promising for the transfer of morphological principles as well as procedural principles of growth for an integrative design process.
Together with the University of Tübingen, pictures and SEM scans (scanning electron microscopy) were performed on several species in order to understand the intricate internal structures of sea urchins and sand dollars. It was concluded that the performance of these segmented lightweight structures relies not only on the arrangement of its individual calcite plates, but also on the geometric morphology of a double layered system and the differentiation within the material. Most importantly however, the calcite plates of some sea urchin species are connected through fibrous elements in addition to the finger joints, and it can be hypothesized that this multi-material connection plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the sea urchin’s shell during growth and exposure to external forces.
Employing the Material and Structural Logic of Wood
Based on both the biological principles as well as the material characteristics, the material system was developed as a double-layered structure similar to the secondary growth in sand dollars. The building elements consist of extremely thin wood strips. Instrumentalising the anisotropy of wood, these strips are custom-laminated so that the grain direction and thickness corresponds with the differentiated stiffness required to form parts with varying radii. Thus, the initially planar strips can be elastically bent to find the specific shape pre-programmed into their laminate. In this deformed state, the elements are locked in shape by robotic sewing. In this way, 151 geometrically different elements could be produced, which result in a stiff doubly curved shell structure when assembled.
As bending moments in the plywood strips due to external loads should generally be avoided, the joints between segments are designed for transferring in-plane normal and shear forces only. While the latter led to finger joints at the element edges, the former resulted in the distinctive articulation of laced connections that transfer the tensile forces between segments, which play a role similar as the fibrous connections between the sea urchins plates.
Robotic Sewing for Segmented Timber Shells
Timber exhibits excellent mechanical behaviour and high potentials for textile and multi-material joints outside the scope of conventional timber connections. Especially for thin layers of plywood, multiple continuous connections are generally preferable to larger singular ones. However, glued connections generally require either large presses or complex formwork to maintain the pressure necessary for lamination.
This project explores robotic sewing to not only join the individually bent plywood strips that form a segment, but also to prevent potential delamination. An industrial robot is employed for both assisting during the assembly and bending of the strips that make up one elements, and then locking the pre- assembled segment in shape by sewing them with a stationary industrial sewing machine. During fabrication the robot first moves the segment through the sewing machine so that the strips are connected. Then it guides the segment trough along its edge to secure the laminate and to attach the PVC covered polyester fibre membrane that form the lace connection between segments. The robot and the sewing machine are integrated and controlled through a custom software. This ensures that there is no lateral movement during needle penetration.
A Demonstrator on the Intersection of Architecture, Engineering and Biology
The pavilion consists of 151 segments that were prefabricated by robotic sewing. Each of them is made out of three individually laminated beech plywood strips. Ranging between 0.5 and 1.5 m in diameter, their specific shapes and material make-up are programmed to fit local structural and geometrical requirements. The textile connections developed for this project allow overcoming the need for any metal fasteners. The entire structure weighs 780 Kg while covering an area of 85 m2 and spanning 9.3 meters. With a resulting material thickness / span ratio of 1/1000 on average, the building has a structural weight of only 7.85 Kg/m2.
The overall design responds to site-specific conditions on the university campus. It establishes a semi- exterior space that integrates the ground topography as a seating landscape and opens towards the adjacent public square. At the same time it demonstrates the morphologic adaptability of the developed system by generating more complex spatial arrangements than a simple shell structure. The research pavilion shows how the computational synthesis of biological principles and the complex reciprocities between material, form and robotic fabrication can lead to innovative timber construction methods. This multidisciplinary research approach does not only lead to performative and material efficient lightweight structure, it also explores novel spatial qualities and expands the tectonic possibilities of wood architecture.
Milan 2016: Italian furniture brand Moroso has unveiled its latest collection of furniture, including a transformable sofa with bean-shaped cushions and a seat based on a dreamcatcher (+ slideshow). (more…)
Today is Cinco de Mayo, the annual celebration of Mexico’s victory against France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. To mark the occasion we’re showcasing beautiful Mexican houses, including a home with a rooftop stable and Casa Wabi by Japanese architect Tadao Ando (pictured), described as “paradise on earth” by one Dezeen reader. See more Mexican houses »
Shoehorned into the narrow space behind Mario Botta’s 1995 building, the Snøhetta-designed new wing of the SFMOMA was forced to go where few museums have gone before: up. Rising 10 stories into the San Francisco skyline, the new building nearly triples the amount of existing gallery space and adds a new entrance into what is now one of the world’s largest buildings dedicated to modern art. As the museum is set to reopen to the public May 14th, the critics’ takes are rolling in. Did the restrictive site inspire a unique design solution or limit the creative possibilities of the project? Read on to find out.
“The pair do not make a particularly happy marriage. Indeed, after visiting the conjoined complex, it makes you wonder why one was deferentially kept at the expense of the other, while being considerably lobotomised in the process.” – Oliver Wainwright, The Guardian
The first box on most critics’ checklists was to compare and contrast the new and old sections of the building. Wainwright was especially critical of Snøhetta’s decision to remove the existing monumental staircase located under the oculus of the Botta building while replacing it with “an open wooden stair, angled off-centre and rising in a jaunty dog-leg… like erecting an Ikea flat-pack in a temple.”
But the extension’s treatment of its predecessor is not Wainwright’s only objection with the new structure; he also found the innovative fibre-reinforced panels cladding the building’s exterior to ready tacky, and the interior details continuing the “Ikea flatpack sensibility.”
“Clad in undulating panels of white fibre-reinforced polymer, which are intended to recall both fog and the rippling water in the bay, the building has an inescapable flimsiness, as if it has been carved from polystyrene like the architectural models on display inside… Compared to the carefully detailed brickwork and banded granite blocks of the Botta building next door, the whole thing feels a bit cheap, in both material quality and architectural thinking.”
“Should the museum simply have knocked down the older building and started from scratch on a prominent and roomy site? My trip to San Francisco has left me thinking it probably should have.” – Christopher Hawthorne, LA Times
Hawthorne also took issue with the way the new and old buildings interact, again citing the destruction of the monumental staircase, but instead of blaming the expansion, he targets the original Botta building as the culprit, suggesting the museum would have been best served by giving Snøhetta a tabula rasa:
“SFMOMA has killed its 1995 building to save it, or saved it to kill it. Take your pick. It’s a strategy that might make sense if the Botta were layered or complex enough as a work of architecture to survive this kind of dismantling. But it’s not.”
As its own building, Hawthorne admires Snøhetta’s architectural moves, describing them as “deft,” though he worries that by tucking itself into an alleyway and obstructing views of its own facade by its bulging in key locations, the building is a little too apologetic in its deference to the existing building and neighboring centers of commerce:
“The really striking quality of that moment of aggression toward the Botta building is that is seems altogether out of character with the rest of the addition. In almost every other way the Snøhetta design is handsome, carefully intelligent, self-effacing and agreeable.”
In the end, Hawthorne laments that Snøhetta was given so little room and so many restrictions to work with, suggesting that downtown San Francisco is in need of a contemporary building with some personality:
“What San Francisco needs at the moment is a full-on and unapologetic expression of contemporary architecture and culture, granted both the space and the institutional permission to make its own statement, to be surprising, challenging, occasionally irrational and maybe even downright weird.”
“Welcome to the new museum experience—casual, transparent and diverting.” – Julie Iovine, Wall Street Journal
Iovine sees the SFMOMA expansion as a reflection of the current trend of openness and interaction in museum design; the building is meant for the public as much as the art. She also sees the connection between old and new not as fratricide, but as creating a “one-two punch” for the city’s skyline:
“There was considerable hoopla over the removal of Botta’s monumentally boxy stairway that stacked up to a mesmerizing circular skylight. But, in fact, it was always too narrow for everyday public use. Its replacement is a less intrusive, more generous staircase that inscribes a square as it rises in deference to Botta’s love of primary forms.”
Iovine also notes the addition’s tendency to hide itself from view, but suggests that it allows the building to feel “not vast and intimidating, but inviting and easy to navigate.”
“With attendance numbers expected to exceed 1.2 million a year, circulation—the art of moving people around—takes on real significance. Snøhetta handles this problem artfully, endowing unexpected moments with an appealing sense of craftsmanship and materiality.”
Most important to Iovine is that the museum is able to get as many people through the galleries as possible while maintaining a unique architectural experience, and in that regard, she deems it a rousing success.
“Snøhetta’s expansion has imagined new ways to experience art in a world filled with museumgoers on the move.”
“Snøhetta’s addition is pure San Francisco, quirks and all.” – Josephine Minutillo, Architectural Record
Minutillo notes the lack of true precedent for a museum as tall as the SFMOMA extension’s 200 feet, and admires the new building’s willingness to have its own identity while still respecting Botta’s original:
“Rather than adjoining a quiet box, as minimalist David Chipperfield did at Cass Gilbert’s classical St. Louis Art Museum, Snøhetta designed an addition that asserts itself as a work of architecture in its own right, while showing the appropriate amount of deference to Botta’s aggressive pile.”
Minutillo also lauds the innovative facade system, but worries that in a fast-developing downtown district, its most interesting face may soon be completely obscured by its surroundings:
“The greatest achievement of the project is the way it is rooted within place, with its grand white facade of silicate crystals from Monterey Bay embedded in its panels’ surfaces catching the city’s dramatically changing light. It is one more voice in the cacophony of singular buildings, its own predecessor not the least of these.”
SFMOMA Expansion / Snøhetta
See the project description and drawings on ArchDaily
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Branksome Hall was established as an independent all girls school in the residential South Rosedale Heritage Conservation District in the urban heart of the City of Toronto, Canada — now a leading International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. The campus is set within a large 13-acre property characterized by lush, wooded ravine edges and open green spaces. The city’s extension of Mount Pleasant Road divided the campus into two sides and the students cross via a pedestrian bridge.
The new Athletic and Wellness Centre serves as the campus-wide meeting and gathering space with places to watch sport and provides informal studying spaces. It is a 2-storey, with green roof, building that includes an aquatic centre with teaching and training pools, gymnasium, fitness centre, yoga and dance studios, dining hall, servery, kitchen, open courtyards, ravine terraces, and administration and support spaces. The challenge was to fit the large volumes onto the building footprint and the requirements of competition volleyball in the gymnasium, with a 12m height restriction in the Rosedale residential neighbourhood. The aquatic hall is set one level lower with the gymnasium floating above. A series of transparent walkways with interconnected ground and second floors encourage students to pass by and see athletics – inspiring involvement in the athletic community. Large program spaces are balanced with intimate social interaction learning spaces with visual connections to nature and the ravine.
The new facility complements and provides a direct connection to its heritage and natural surroundings with a natural palette of materials, finishes, and textiles; with transparent views and abundant natural light permeating deep into program spaces and student commons. The subdued natural palette of concrete, light wood, masonry, stone and glass establishes an appropriate neutral backdrop to the colourful school uniforms, team jerseys and student life. Exterior glazing allow visibility to the life within, showcasing the Branksome Hall functions and creating an open and inviting public identity.
The Global Art Affairs (GAA) Foundation in collaboration with PLANE-SITE, has produced a series of interviews with world renowned architects that will be available for public viewing at the TIME SPACE EXISTENCE exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale. The prestigious list of architects includes Peter Eisenman, Denise Scott Brown, Curtis W. Fentress, Meinhard von Gerkan, Dirk Hebel, the late Frei Otto, and Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell of WOHA.
The interviews focus on the discussion of “where architecture has been and where it is going.” The videos, about five minutes each, discuss the ways that architecture has impacted our existence.
Some of the perspectives taken by the interviews include Frei Otto reflecting on his legacy, Eisenman questioning architectural pedagogy, and Denise Scott Brown calling on young architects “to grasp the present moment.”
The interviews will be on display at the Palazzo Bembo and Palazzo Mora from May 2016 through November 27, 2016.
