© Siméon Duchoud

Architects: Kéré Architecture

Location: Gando, Burkina Faso

Architect In Charge: Diébédo Francis Kéré

Client: Schulbausteine fuer Gando / Gando Village Community

Area: 310.0 sqm

Project Year: 2001

Photographs: Siméon Duchoud, Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

© Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

From the architect. As a native of Burkina Faso, Francis Kere grew up with many challenges and few resources. When he was a child, he travelled nearly 40 kilometers to the next village in order to attend a school with poor lighting and ventilation. The experience of trying to learn in this oppressive environment affected him so much that when he began to study architecture in Europe, he decided to reinvest his knowledge towards building a new school in his home village. With the support of his community and funds raised through his foundation, Schulbausteine fuer Gando (Bricks for Gando,) Francis began construction of the Primary School, his very first building.

© Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

Plan

© Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

The design for the Primary School evolved from a lengthy list of parameters including cost, climate, resource availability, and construction feasibility. The success of the project relied on both embracing and negating these constraints. In order to maximize results with the minimal resources available, a clay/mud hybrid construction was primarily used. Clay is abundantly available in the region, and is traditionally used in the construction of housing. These traditional clay-building techniques were modified and modernized in order to create a more structurally robust construction in the form of bricks. The clay bricks have the added advantage of being cheap, easy to produce, and also providing thermal protection against the hot climate. Despite their durability, however, the walls must still be protected from damaging rains with a large overhanging tin roof. Many houses in Burkina Faso have corrugated metal roofs which absorb the heat from the sun, making the interior living space intolerably hot.

© Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

The roof of the Primary School was pulled away from the learning space of the interior though, and a perforated clay ceiling with ample ventilation was introduced. This dry-stacked brick ceiling allows for maximum ventilation, pulling cool air in from the interior windows and releasing hot air out through the perforated ceiling. In turn, the ecological footprint of the school is vastly reduced by alleviating the need for air-conditioning.

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Although the plans for the Primary School were drawn by Francis Kere, the success of the project can be attributed to the close involvement of the local villagers. Traditionally, members of a whole village community work together to build and repair homes in rural Burkina Faso. In keeping with this cultural practice, low-tech and sustainable techniques were developed and improved so that the Gando villagers could participate in the process. Children gathered stones for the school foundation and women brought water for the brick manufacturing. In this way, traditional building techniques were utilized alongside modern engineering methods in order to produce the best quality building solution while simplifying construction and maintenance for the workers.

© Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

The Primary School was completed in 2001 and received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004. More importantly, however, the Primary School became a landmark of community pride and collectivity. As the collective knowledge of construction began to spread and inspire Gando, new cultural and educational projects have since been introduced to further support sustainable development in the village.

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© Ronald Tilleman

Architects: PLP Architecture

Location: The Zuidas, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Area: 40000.0 sqm

Project Year: 2015

Photographs: Ronald Tilleman, Raimond Wouda

Client: OVG Real Estate

Structural Engineer: Van Rossum Consulting Engineers

Mep Consultant: Deerns

Local Architect: Oever,Zaaijer

Sustainability Consultant: C2N Bouwmanagement

Building Physics: LBP Sight

Landscape Design: Delta Vorm Groep

Contractor: G&S Bouw

Glass Façade: Rollecate

Glass Roof: Brakel Atmos

Interior Design: Fokkema & Partners

© Ronald Tilleman

From the architect. Situated in the centre of Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district, The Edge is an office building which opens itself up to the city with its 15-storey atrium. The atrium acts as a window between the world of work and the outside, as well as providing a social heart for the building, and serving as an environmental buffer to reduce energy use. The client, a Dutch developer devoted to architectural innovation, asked for an ambitious building which would set new standards for office design in multiple areas, including sustainability, technology, workplace design, structural and façade engineering . Above all, the brief was to create an inspirational business environment.

© Ronald Tilleman

Designing a cutting edge office building that would be futureproof required PLP to anticipate new patterns of work: people in the knowledge economy have the flexibility to work from wherever they want, at any time, and with whatever degree of social interaction they want. In this context, the utilitarian approach to office design developed in the last century has become obsolete, and technological innovation has enhance the toolbox available to architects significantly. The claims towards ‘efficiency’ that have long been used by architects to justify their workplace designs are no longer relevant. For the Edge, PLP devised spaces that produce a multiplicity of moods and atmospheres within the workplace, leveraging a wide variety of technologies and intensifying social interaction through spatially specific design strategies.

© Ronald Tilleman

To create an exceptional contemporary working environment, PLP focused on the building’s atrium as the key to its success. More than just a grand statement, the atrium became an integral part of how the building reimagined the workplace. We infused this massive space with vertical layers of activity and transformed it into an essential spatial component, the social nucleus of the building. The bright, expansive space forms an architectural response to highly specific occupier demands on the building. The Edge offers numerous different types of working, meeting, and breakout environments, and sets a new benchmark for the built environment by prioritising the comfort, health and productivity of its users.

© Raimond Wouda

That atrium is also the place where new working patterns meet digital systems. Rather than thinking of the technological systems in the building as autonomous and discrete layers, PLP used them to devise new types of workspace. People have the flexibility to work anywhere in the building; and with the help of a dedicated mobile app, people can find each other, look for a quiet empty desk and adjust the temperature and lights levels to their preferences. The technology is also designed to manage energy use by making users aware of how much energy they use, wherever they work in the building.

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The Edge demonstrates that the pursuit of a vibrant and collaborative work environment can come together successfully with achieving the highest level of sustainability possible for a building. It is officially considered to be the world’s most sustainable office building, having been awarded the highest rating ever recorded by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the global assessor of sustainable buildings. The project achieved Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) certification for new construction of ‘Outstanding’ and a score of 98.36 % by employing both innovative smart technologies as well as a holistic attitude to sustainability. While sustainability as a purely technological narrative has been exhausted by its overuse, the Edge creates a radically new working environment which is enabled by sustainable technologies. 

© Ronald Tilleman

Fine tuning the shape and orientation of the Edge was the initial step in achieving the exceptional climatic and energy performance of the headquarters. The arrangement of large floor plates organised around a grand 15-storey north-facing atrium allows natural daylight to reach the vast majority of the office spaces, while the load-bearing structure and smaller glazed openings of the south facing facades provide thermal mass and shade. The atrium is the lung of the building, ventilating the office space while providing a buffer with the exterior in a way which reduces energy use in both summer and winter. As well as its energy-neutral temperature control, energy efficient design and green energy-generating technology, the Edge captures rainwater and stores it underground for use flushing toilets and watering plants in the interior and exterior gardens.

Diagram

Diagram

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© Milad Pallesh

Architects: bureau SLA

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Area: 2500.0 sqm

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Milad Pallesh, Siebe Swart

© Milad Pallesh

From the architect. The Marine Base in Amsterdam has been a restricted military area for centuries, located in the heart of the city. In January 2015, the compound has begun a gradual transition towards a more public program. The departure of the designated marine units will be completed in 2018. Building 27E, a former education facility, is the first building on the site to be renovated for a public program. It had recently been dismantled and stripped down to a bare concrete skeleton. In June 2014 The Central Government Real Estate Agency commissioned bureau SLA to present a design accommodating new uses within the building. To host the Dutch Presidency of the European Union, taking place during the first half of 2016, the building was completed in January 2016.

© Milad Pallesh

The building is situated on the waterfront, next to the Maritime Museum and the Nemo Science Centre (a design of Renzo Piano). It was part of an ensemble of two identical elevated volumes, connected by a single storey base. Since 1962 the building served as a technical education facility for soldiers. True to the “Five Points of a New Architecture” of Le Corbusier, the two buildings were elevated above ground. In these days, the columns on which the building rests, the ‘pilotis,’ were pleasing elements for sculptural expression. The upper floors consist of a grid of columns, floor beams and floors with solid brick ends. A set of concrete emergency stairs faces the water. All the concrete has been poured in situ: the grain of the shuttering planks is still nicely detailed in the visible concrete. Access is provided under the colossus in a subtle embedded entrance area.

Plan

© Milad Pallesh

Plan

The building is located in the heart of the city. The design consists of a new layout, new services and new facades. The building can now be used as working space, but also facilitates meetings with a large number of people. To make this possible a number of changes have been implemented, of which the large lobby, spacious restrooms, the elevator, extra emergency stairs as well as fixed sunscreens are the most prominent. Each floor measures 500 m2 of net floor space. The first tenant is Makerversity, a London based pioneering community that brings together the best and most exciting makers, providing them with the space, tools and collaborative environment necessary to grow their business.

© Milad Pallesh

The facades consist of large 3.5 x 3.5 meter triple glazed windows set into deep window bays. The structural grid is clad in dark, pre-moulded fiberglass reinforced concrete panels. Operable windows are designed as triangular “dog-ears” as not to (optically) subdivide the glass panes. These triangular windows are made of etched frosted glass. The main windows are fronted with solid timber screens of Accoya wood, an acetylated wood with excellent sustainable properties. The pattern of the blinds may look random at first sight, but is in fact an interpretation of all the national flags of the countries of the European Community – with an eye to the Dutch presidency of the EU in 2016. The etching on the windows in the staircases is based on a drawing of the famous Dutch minimalist artist Jan Schoonhoven (1914 – 1994).

© Milad Pallesh

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Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

Architects: Conrad Gargett

Location: Nudgee Rd, Banyo QLD 4014, Australia

Architect In Charge: Conrad Gargett

Area: 5400.0 sqm

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

From the architect. The Saint John Paul II Building is a landmark project for the Australian Catholic University Banyo campus. The siting and planning of the building and associated landscape was the key element within the campus masterplan to define the campus heart and for the enhancement of campus identity.

Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

The conceptual framework adopted resonated with a strong sense of continuity and constancy, enriched by the heritage and history of the previous Pius XII Provincial Seminary. The image of the heritage building reflected in the glass facade of JPII building heightens the community’s awareness of the significance of the heritage of the site.

Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

The building, designed in a cruciform plan, is defined by three axes: central, longitudinal and vertical. The central axis sets the symmetry of the building to pay homage to the existing heritage building. The longitudinal axis provides the organisational discipline for the building. The vertical axis symbolically connects man with the sky.

Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

The inclusive approach the design team and client lead to the creation of a community court, an ode to its historical past. The community court creates and evokes the ambience of the ‘Cloister’ and the formality of the ‘Great Court’.  The permeability of the design facilitates activities and contributes to the vitality of the place. A series of spaces were designed for learning innovation, research and student engagement. The themes of journey and interest are interwoven through these spaces and the planting selection of biblical plants in the chapel surrounds drives this messaging.

Level A

The existing ‘forecourt’ area of St Paul’s Theological College became the Saint Francis Garden to provide a connection to the Saint John Paul II Building. It also visually encloses the SW edge of the Community Court. The concept adopts the discipline of the Sacred Garden, a locus for meditation and reflection. Saint Francis Garden is square in form, divided into four parts by paths that form a cross at their point of intersection. The existing Poinciana tree, in one of the four quarters is used to symbolise the tree of knowledge and the wood of the cross. The other three squares have a circular bed of the Francis rose (white), to commemorate each of the three Franciscan Sisters who came to the Pius XII Seminary in 1941. Other plants also bear allegorical meanings to symbolise an inclusive sanctuary for all.

Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

The building, with its contrasting contemporary vocabulary, is a centrepiece on campus for learning innovation, research and student engagement. The permeability of the base facilitates student support activities and contributes to the vitality of the place.

Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

The community court and Saint Francis garden have become a locus for learning, meditation, inspiration and reflection. The landscape has created a community hub, allowing students and staff to experience the spirituality and history of the site. Overall the landscape demonstrates the importance of place and refined connectivity.

Courtesy of Conrad Gargett

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© IRIS22 Productions

Architects: RDG Planning and Design

Location: Oregon Hall, Eugene, OR 97401, United States

Sports Design Architect: RDG Planning & Design

Architect Of Record: Robertson | Sherwood | Architects PC

Area: 150000.0 ft2

Project Year: 2015

Photographs: IRIS22 Productions

Contributing Architect: Poticha Architects

Landscape Planning: RDG Planning & Design

Lighting Design: RDG Planning & Design

Mep Consultant: Interface Engineering

Structural Consultant: DCI Engineering

Civil Consultant: KPFF Consulting Engineers

Aquatic Design Consultant: Aquatic Design Group

Construction Manager: Howard S. Wright

Owner: University of Oregon

Interventions: 40,000 SF Renovation + 110,000 SF New

Construction Costs: $42,000,000

© IRIS22 Productions

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© IRIS22 Productions

This two-phased Student Recreation Center addition knits together an existing Physical Education building, and an existing and undersized Student Recreation building on an extremely tight site. Two new free-zone entrances were created.  A Great Hall entrance accommodates pedestrian traffic pattern from east of site.  While a Main Street entrance accommodates traffic patterns from north of site.  The two free-zones not only create the main circulation paths in the building, but also implement formal and informal social spaces for students.  

© IRIS22 Productions

From the free-zones, students can traverse the building, shopping its many recreation and academic venues, from the daylit natatorium and gymnasium to fitness spaces that offer an unrestrained view to the east valley of Eugene, or casual lounge spaces that scatter throughout the building. The design creates a dynamic expanded home for student wellness and physical education.  

Plan

Various sustainability strategies were implemented during the planning and construction of the addition: radiant heat and active chilled-beam cooling system, expanded solar panels, natural day lighting, and an existing pool converted into a rain water cistern that will provide water for flushing toilets and exterior irrigation. These successful strategies are expected to bring the project a LEED Platinum certification.  

© IRIS22 Productions

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