Three houses built in the early twentieth century share a plot in a heterogeneous neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Courtesy of Adamo faiden
Diagram
Courtesy of Adamo faiden
The upper house of the set presents the possibility of being extended, finding above itself the space to house programs related to leisure activities in contact with the air, the sun, and the sky.
Courtesy of Adamo faiden
An accumulation of existing flat roofs at different heights becomes the floor for the new construction, distributing a series of indoor and outdoor areas that are connected together. An envelope conformed by opaque, transparent and permeable elements covers the old house in all its extension, opening new possibilities of relationship with the environment.
Minnesota-based Architects for Society has developed a prototype for a rapidly deployable dwelling that could house victims of catastrophic events (+ slideshow). (more…)
From the architect. Gabba Gabba Hey !! With this “war cry” one of the most famous bands of rock n ‘roll history, The Ramones, would start almost all their concerts This slogan, rescued from the cult movie Freaks 1928, was fixed to a huge banner to reclaim the pride of the marginal. The whole band starred the musical Rock and Roll High School (1979), centered in the crazy disintegration of an american high school where the students would take the total control of institution turning the Ramones in their new improvised teachers.
35 years after this funny and educational pionering experience a well known group of musicians from Granada musical scene have decided to move the same spirit to their own city. The local selected, a former diagnosis clinic, is transformed from the demolition of layers of plasterboard to discover the harshness potential present in an enclosure in which the whole process of building work has been left patent.
A very special space, the concrete room Gabba Hey, is built in this raw interior by separating floor, walls and ceiling to become an acoustic “bunker” able to absorb a wide range of wavelengths (from the simplest from the guitar to the ever-complicated from bass and drums). In the background, a curve plane “redraw” a flexible living space to be used by the children, for presentations, conferences or improvised concerts where, why not, be able to sing: hi, ho, let’s go !!
Opinion: megabrands like Nike and Pespi have stolen the spotlight at this year’s Milan design week and are upstaging the traditional design brands, says Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs. (more…)
Herzog & de Meuron have released new images of their design for National Library of Israel. Located on a prominent site in West Jerusalem, the National Library is at the base of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) and adjacent to the Israel Museum, Science Museum and Hebrew University.
Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron
The building has a six-story profile that is curved, elevated and cantilevered. It is faced in Jerusalem limestone that has been ground, cast, and chipped to create a uniform surface. Wood is used at the building’s base, and according to the architects, “interrupts the massiveness of the structure… [and] brings a human scale and detail to the pedestrian experience while linking the building to timber traditions important to the local vernacular from ancient to early modern times.” The project, slated for completion in 2020, had a cornerstone laying ceremony earlier this month.
Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron
The design is broken into three distinct regions: vitrines, five-transparent openings that frame the building’s reception at ground level; carved stone, the curvaceous upper-volume that emphasizes the triangular shape of the plan and makes the building prominent, but also respectful of its surroundings; book well, a punch of offset concentric circles passing through each floor of the building and culminating in a skylight.
Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron
“Our design responds to the context and reflects the ambitions of the National Library of Israel,” say the architects. “It is open and transparent but grounded in the traditions of great libraries and the city itself. As in the past, books will remain at the center. They form a foundation and necessary balance against constant technological change. Books root the building to the ground and are visible to all in a central void. Vitrine-like elements form the bottom two floors and display the library’s content and activities to the street. Above, a carved space containing stone binds the project together and reflects the massive quality of Jerusalem’s historical architecture.”
From the architect. Since it’s opening this summer, UBC’s new Alumni Centre, despite its modest size and unusually challenging budget, has had a significant impact on life on campus for past, present and future alumni. The wholehearted embrace of the building has far exceeded the university’s and the community’s expectations.
The pavilion building was designed to reflect its distinct Pacific Northwest coast context and UBC’s campus in particular. The frit glass exterior skin of the building changes dramatically from day to night, and from grey skies to sunshine. The service block that anchors the north-east quadrant of the building is clad in white shouldice concrete block to reference the extensive use of white brick on UBC’s modernist campus. Local BC woods animate the interior and provide a material warmth in a cold grey climate. The project has been designed to achieve LEED Gold accreditation.
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The design is a result of a broad consultative process that not only included university stakeholders, but also representatives of the Musqueam First Nation, on whose territory the campus is located. References to both the university and First Nation history have been carefully integrated into the architecture.
At grade it is highly transparent, porous, and animated featuring a café, fireplace lounge and library. A celebration hall with 360-views of the campus context, and meeting rooms occupy the second floor. The Board of Governors meeting room has pride of place on the third floor at the western tip of the building – with a spectacular view towards Main Mall and the heart of the campus.
The sleek white ceramic frit exterior of the pavilion building contrasts with the extensive use of local BC wood on the interior. Rough sawn red cedar is used on the ceilings, soffits and exterior cladding of the dramatic feature stair that connects all the building levels from the entrepreneurship@ubc hub in the day-lit basement culminating in a sky lounge on the third floor. The interior surfaces of the stairs are clad in highly durable Douglas fir.
The visitors’ experience of the building is organized on the east-west axis linking the expansive view to the main campus to the west with an intimate experience of one of the campus’ oldest elm trees that is located at the eastern end of the building. As one ascends the stairs from level to level, the visual connection with this magnificent tree changes till one reaches the sky lounge located level with the top branches.
All the public spaces are designed with a high degree of flexibility – the ground floor fireplace lounge, library, meeting room and café can all be interconnected for one large social event, or operate separately. The second floor celebration space for 300 can also be sub-divided to accommodate a multiplicity of uses.
Designed to meet a tight budget of $12.8 million, this 40,000 sf building incorporates highly durable and easily maintained materials, and has proven to withstand daily event use.
LEED Gold sustainable initiatives include optimized energy performance and daylighting, construction waste management, recycled materials, local materials, water-efficient landscaping and two charging stations for electrical cars.
Milan 2016: Japanese studio Nendo has created a half black, half white installation to display marble furniture for design brand Marsotto Edizioni (+ slideshow). (more…)
