US firm Gould Evans has revamped a 1970s concrete library in Kansas, wrapping the building in a terracotta rainscreen and adding modern amenities such as a recording studio (+ slideshow). (more…)
© Qatar Museums and Malcolm Reading Consultants
Qatar Museums has announced a shortlist of eight finalists that will move on to the third and final stage of the Art Mill International Design Competition in Doha. On a site extending into the Arabian Sea that was only recently occupied by Qatar Flour Mills, Art Mill will integrate gallery and exhibition space with facilities for education, events, conservation, art handling, and research. Joining the Museum of Islamic Art designed by I.M. Pei, and the still under-construction National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel, in the words of the competition brief, “Art Mill will and extend and intensify the cultural quarter being developed in Doha.”
Shortlist:
Adam Khan Architects (UK)
Atelier Bow-Wow (Japan)
EAA Emre Arolat Architecture (Turkey)
Elemental (Chile)
Junya Ishigami + Associates (Japan)
Mangado y Asociados (Spain)
Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Italy)
Rice+Lipka Architects (US)
The competition jury met for two days last month to select the eight finalists from a longlist of 26, which was already reduced from the original pool of 489 submissions from 56 countries.
Jury:
Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
His Excellency Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani
Dr. Hassan Rashid Al-Derham, President, Qatar University
Professor Harry Gugger, Principal, Harry Gugger Studio
Dr. Akel I. Kahera, Dean, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar
Sir John Leighton, Director-General, National Galleries of Scotland
Jasper Morrison, Designer
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Photographic artist, sculptor, architect, producer, and
Professor Chris Wise FREng FICE RDI, Director, Expedition
The jury was advised by competition organizer and architect, Malcolm Reading of Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) and QM technical representative Maha Hamad Al Hajri.
Stage three of the competition will occur between April – August of this year, with a winner to be announced in the fall.
© Naoki Kobayashi
Architects: S PLUS ONE architecture
Location: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Area: 50.0 sqm
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Naoki Kobayashi
© Naoki Kobayashi
From the architect. This project is a village house of the small village surrounding environment mountains.
© Naoki Kobayashi
So, there are so many Japanese cedar, pine and white cedar in this village. The form of the building is very simple.We use only materials of the area, The façade and the interior decoration of of each building volume change.
Section
© Naoki Kobayashi
Plan
In this time, we chose cedar and pine, designed cedar house and pine house. We can be also design white cedar house,oak house and so on.
© Naoki Kobayashi
Construction is underway on two bendy apartment towers in New York by SHoP Architects that will be joined by a skybridge offering a pool, hot tub and bar. (more…)
© Justin Alexander
Architects: Tobias Partners
Location: Bondi Beach NSW 2026, Australia
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Justin Alexander
Project Team: John Richards (Project Principal) , Nick Tobias (Principal Architect), Robert Gemmel, Edmund Spencer, John Barker
Builder: Bellevarde Constructions
Project Manager: Auric Projects
Structural Engineer: Partridge
Landscape Design: Myles Baldwin Design
Hydraulic Engineer: AJ Whipps Consulting Group
Planner: GSA Planning
Joiners: Stylewood, Caporns
© Justin Alexander
On a spectacular site, Deepwater celebrates its iconic location and the remarkable narrative of a fruitful marriage. Commissioned by a well-travelled couple in their 60’s, the house is a platform – a relaxing place to accommodate family and friends – and a container: a curiosity cabinet for their most treasured possessions.
© Justin Alexander
Perched on the high tide line at Bondi Beach, harsh environmental conditions and limited access dictated the form and fabric of the robust outer shell, which sits quietly among its neighbours on Ben Buckler Point. To counteract the relentless activity outside and achieve design clarity throughout, the design employs a sense of intentional restraint: a consistent material palette allows indoor and outdoor spaces flow seamlessly.
© Justin Alexander
Divided into a classical-style vertical and horizontal grid, the five levels are treated subtly differently. Ceiling heights vary, and rooms and balconies sit within and project beyond the exoskeleton, an approach that overcomes the site’s modest footprint, helps to capture views, and enables the house to be easily divided into two spacious apartments when guests stay over.
© Justin Alexander
The deliberately spare interiors feature hand-crafted joinery and hardware. A carefully curated display of paintings, sculptures, furniture and heirlooms evokes memories of travel and family history, with some newly commissioned artworks that converse with the architecture.
Section
The building also speaks to its landscape: a series of operable devices mediate the threshold, bringing in sea breezes, warm sunshine, salty air and dappled light, resulting in a home that is always naturally comfortable, regardless of the weather.
© Justin Alexander
A true collaboration between design disciplines and construction experts, every detail is built to the highest standard. The landscape design speaks to the public realm as well as the occupants, with endemic species and hardy palms greening the beachside and street elevations.
© Justin Alexander
Whether the owners are enjoying time at home together, or have their grandchildren staying over; or hosting casual family dinners or entertaining on a grand scale, this timeless home is always intimate and inviting. And with the ability to function equally well as platform and container, it conveys a precise distillation of this family’s unique narrative.
© Justin Alexander
Milan 2016: students from the Lund University have collaborated with the co-founder of Danish brand Hay to produce a range of experimental office furniture especially for small-scale workplaces (+ slideshow). (more…)
© Eugeni Bach
Architects: Anna & Eugeni Bach
Location: Plaça Rector Ferrer, 17800 Olot, Girona, Spain
Area: 90.0 sqm
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Eugeni Bach
Collaborators: Albert Cabrer, Maria Ibáñez, architects
Special Thanks To: Xevi Bayona, Montserrat Planella, Esteve Planella and Joan Carles Roqué
© Eugeni Bach
“Lluèrnia – Fire and light Festival” is an event that takes place in the town of Olot during one night every November. More than 50 light installations adorn the streets and squares during this special annual tradition of the region.
Elevation
Our installation was performed on the Plaza del Rector Ferrer, at the front facade of the church of Sant Esteve. Due to the topography of the square, the church, located at the highest end, has a podium which is accessed from a central staircase and from side ramps, creating a small elevated pedestrian walkway from the rest of the square.
© Eugeni Bach
This location, turns this space into a theater, where the facade of the church is the stage. Because of the elevated position, few people use the walkway other than when accessing the church.
Elevation
Our proposal creates a lightweight pergola that plays with light in two different ways:
During the day, the walkway becomes a space where the shadow of the pergola outlines the shape of the ground and the church façade, turning the space into a surprising threshold.
© Eugeni Bach
At night, illuminated from inside, the installation arouses the curiosity of the locals and attracts them to walk through, casting their shadows and making them a part of the show.
© Eugeni Bach
Milan 2016: in response to the vast amount of finished products on show at Milan design week, a group of graduates from Design Academy Eindhoven decided to exhibit only materials (+ slideshow). (more…)
Rendering of Atrium Modifications. Image via YIMBY
The Ford Foundation has received Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approval for renovations to its building at 320 E 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, reports New York Yimby. Constructed from 1963 to 1967, with a design by Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo and an atrium garden by Dan Kiley, the building became an instant architectural mecca and was made an individual and interior landmark in 1997. The proposed renovations, designed by Gensler, seek to restore a half century of alterations to the building’s appearance, in addition to subtle changes to adhere to adhere to fire and accessibility codes.
Rendering of Atrium Modifications. Image via YIMBY
Existing Condition, West View. Image via YIMBY
Most of the changes will occur beneath the surface, but some of the more pronounced modifications will include additional railings, new and reconfigured doorways, the removal of an exterior planter, and a new pathway along 42nd Street leading to an ADA lift. Hardscape restorations will occur in tandem with landscape upgrades by Raymond Jungles Studio. The intention is to bring the garden back to its Kiley-designed appearance, with a complete replacement of the existing, non-original plantings.
Rendering of Proposed Modifications, East View. Image via YIMBY
Existing Condition, East View. Image via YIMBY
While LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan praised the plans, stating “[they] supports the essence of that space,” are “very modest” and “incredibly respectful,” the public had a more mixed reception. Questions were raised by The Historic Districts Council’s Kelly Carrol over the proposed door replacements (the originals are bronze) and removal of the exterior planter. Both Carrol and Tara Kelly of the Municipal Art Society took issue with the 42nd Street facing wheelchair path, which both felt upset the relationships of the garden space to the street condition.
Rendering of Proposed Modifications, Main Stairwary. Image via YIMBY
Existing Condition, Main Stairway. Image via YIMBY
The LPC approved the changes, but asked the applicant to readdress the greenery along the proposed ADA lift path. The renovated building is expected to reopen to the public in 2018.
Story via New York Yimby.
AD Classics: The Ford Foundation / Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates
via Madeleine Underwood, Student Life
By next Fall, the architecture students of Washington University in St. Louis will no longer be allowed to use Styrene on their projects. The university’s newspaper, Student Life reports that the commonly used white plastic material was deemed in 2014 by the National Research Council’s National Toxicology Program as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” Thus the Sam Fox School of Design is taking its own measures to protect their student’s health. A number of other schools and cities have already banned Styrene since the NRC’s ruling.
