© Mauricio Salas

• Architects: CUA
• Location: Calle de la Prosperidad 35, Mexico City, Mexico
• Architect In Charge: Diana Harari, Marcos Cohen, Ygal Maya, Yair Wolff
• Area: 1587.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Mauricio Salas

• Other Participants: Dos Arquitectura Construcción
• Steel Structure : Ajax
• Project: GC Geoconstrucciones
• Hydraulic And Electrical Installations: Inversa

© Mauricio Salas

The idea of an architectural project with a multifaceted identity, accountable to the residents, the urban area and the environment, was born from the moment of change and growth currently taking place in the Escandón neighborhood.

Section

© Mauricio Salas

Section

The project consists of the development of 10 apartments in a 502 m2 plot, with a 50% footprint area and five levels. There are two buildings connected by bridges and a nucleus of vertical circulation. Spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and windows have the same proportions in every apartment. 

© Mauricio Salas

Every apartment is different and their areas are variable, from 60m2 to 135m2. Therefore, rather than for a single type of user, the apartments have been conceived for a range of different types of users – from single people to couples or small families – who coexist and share the building. Many apartments are developed in two or more half-levels in order to create circulation and break the classic pattern of a city apartment. There are five single-level apartments, three two-level apartments, and two apartments of three half-levels. 

© Mauricio Salas

Detail Floor Plan

© Mauricio Salas

The building’s footprint was dictated by the property’s location, allowing a southern or southeastern orientation for most of the apartments. This same approach enabled the creation of a spacious open plaza and an enriching landscaping proposal that encourages visitors to explore the facilities as it establishes a connection between each space and the vertical circulation while providing natural lighting and ventilation. 

© Mauricio Salas

The materials were chosen so as to do without any coverings or treatments; all materials are used in their natural form and function. Cement block stained in earthy hues was used to give more warmth to the spaces. A mixed structure of concrete and steel was used, and both materials were left visible in the six façades of the building. This kind of mixed structure creates open spaces free of columns and intermediating interruptions. 

© Mauricio Salas

 The apartments have wood and natural stone finishes. Every apartment has terraces and private patios. LED lamps provide artificial lighting, and the plumbing system is supported by rainwater collection and a filter system. 

© Mauricio Salas

 One of the main goals of the project was to have spaces enjoyed by the users from the inside out. The design of the access plaza corresponds with this goal, and it also provides all the apartments with a view, which creates an environment of inclusion and also promotes coexistence between neighbors. Ultimately we wanted to materialize one of the main aspects that characterizes the Escandón neighborhood, a district that is mostly residential and where there is still is a lot of communication and community between residents. 

© Mauricio Salas

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Courtesy of White Arkitekter

White Arkitekter has teamed up with the City of Stockholm to redevelop Södra Skanstull, a neighborhood characterized by obstructive overland infrastructure bridging the south of Stockholm to the island of Södermalm.

In order to reclaim these underused areas of the city, the revitalization project will create pedestrian and cyclist boulevards, as well as 65,000 square meters of space for culture, sports, and offices, 22,000 square meters for commerce, and 750 new apartments. The project will additionally identify, map, and upgrade existing facilities.

Courtesy of White Arkitekter

A dynamic and diverse city quarter can only flourish if we build on the history of what is already there, rather than building anew, said Krister Lindstedt, Lead Architect at White Arkitekter.

Furthermore, soft landscaping and strategically placed new structures will be utilized to minimize noise and pollution.

Courtesy of White Arkitekter

In its current state, the neighborhood of Södra Skanstull is cut off from city life, and not as functional as the neighboring borough of Hammarby Sjöstad, “which is hailed as an exemplary sustainable and human-scaled neighborhood.” With the new revitalization, however, the area is hoped to become an example of street-level connectivity and walkability.

Throughout the project’ research and fieldwork stages, “local stakeholders have played a vital role in the process […] and will continue to have a voice in shaping the neighborhood,” noted White Arkitekter.

Courtesy of White Arkitekter

We care about those who inhabit the city, who contribute the life of the neighborhood and make Södra Skanstull’s identity. Consulting with businesses, cultural and community resources allowed us to identify, and make the most of, the existing qualities of the area, said Rebecca Rubin, Architect at White Arkitekter.

Phased construction for the project will begin in 2019.

News via White Arkitekter.

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[In New York] there’s this math problem: 1.8 million small households and only one million suitable apartments. – Mimi Hoang, principal of nArchitects

Last year, nArchitects released a trailer that teased the development of their winning adAPT NYC entry, Carmel Place (formerly known as My Micro NY). The competition sought to address the need for small household apartments in New York City. Now in a newly released video, the full story of the city’s tallest modular tower comes together in smooth timelapse to a dainty piano soundtrack.

© Iwan Baan

With the original adAPT NYC competition being part of the Mayor’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, the proposal was granted special mayoral overrides—most notably waiving the minimum 400 square foot floor area of an apartment unit, hence Carmel Place’s extra-small footprint. The 55 units within the building are 260-360 square feet each, which residents moved into in June this year. Each of the 55 micro unit apartments is its own self-supporting steel frame module. Another 10 of these steel framed modules serve as the building’s core.

© Iwan Baan

While the units themselves are small, the demand for them was not, with 60,000 applications for 14 affordable housing units (there were 22 affordable units in total; 8 were reserved for formerly homeless US veterans). But while the sheer demand for the apartments suggests a warm reception to the idea of micro unit living, not all believe that a reduction in size is a solution to affordability.

© Pablo Enriquez

However, nArchitects have always understood the complexities that a project like Carmel Place involves. “When we were invited by the developer to work on this project we thought ‘is this really a good thing? Should we be shoving people into smaller shoeboxes?’” said Mimi Hoang, principal of nArchitects, in an interview earlier this year. Hoang offered the opposite perspective, saying “you have to think about all the other tangential, ripple effects of not doing it… Not doing it means loss of talent in the city, because plenty of people, especially creatives, are leaving New York for cities like Philadelphia. Artists, musicians, they can’t afford to live in New York any more.” And, she emphasized that they are not interested in “squeez[ing] more apartment units onto their plots,” but “interested in creating community… in creating a new kind of living experience.”

Courtesy of nArchitects

It is nArchitect’s hope that residents in these “big but small” apartments can feel connected to the larger city through the building itself, which slots into its surroundings unobtrusively. The building also expresses a cohesive whole, rather than emphasising the separate singular units within. The design coupled with the modular construction methods used make Carmel Place an important precedent for the future.

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Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

• Architects: Hans André Kubat Sarria
• Location: San Clemente, Maule Region, Chile
• Area: 39.5 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

• Tutor: Andrés Maragaño Leveque
• Financing: Municipality of San Clemente (Money), Infantry Regiment No. 16 Talca (Refuge des-use)
• Cost: $ 2,400,000 (chilean coin)
• Academin Institution: University of Talca School of Architecture
• Construction Date: Diciembre 2015 – Mayo 2016
• Design Process: Marzo 2015 – Octubre 2016

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

Valley of the Condors, an Andean area in the comuna of San Clemente, the seventh region in Chile, more specifically on km 136 of CH-115 which connects Chile with Argentina, place named because of the large number of these birds that cross the sky, it is a place of occupation of different communities throughout history. It has been a place of movement of goods and people, from the earliest times. The Indians, already furrowed as trade and hunting area, besides being a ceremonial space, from its majesty and beauty of the landscape.

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

Then he was crossed and inhabited by herdsmen and their verandas, which moved hundreds of cattle, making specific appropriations to protect them from weather conditions. That is, in this landscape, and there were ways of living, small cottages and stone conformations, which happen to be types of architecture in the landscape.

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

The place plays with a constant duality: on the one hand, there is the majesty and beauty of its landscapes; on the other hand, there is its inhospitable climate and sparse vegetation, which makes it an uninviting place for climbers, a sporting community that uses that landscape as a platform for its activity.

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

Climbers
The community of climbers is not only present in the area of the Maule valley. Climbers from all over Chile and abroad visit our valley, drawn by the quality of the rocks and the multiple possibilities offered in the area for practicing the sport, from traditional climbing to competition climbing, bouldering, high bouldering, etc.

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

The valley is so big that there are still unexplored areas with an enormous potential for high-level climbing. That is why the community of climbers is especially concerned about maintaining the area and keeping it clean, emphasizing the need to care for the mountains.

Courtesy of André Hans Kubat Sarria

Given the aforementioned conditions, the problem emerges: How can we support the activities of that sporting activity with an infrastructure that can be used both in the winter and in the summer.

The solution: the construction of a shelter that can provide adequate conditions to its users in periods where they need shade, or to build a fire, etc.

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

The method: dismantling a forgotten infrastructure – a shelter located at km number 124 along CH-115, abandoned by the MOP after the construction of the road, in a deteriorated state (When the construction was done, this infrastructure was abandoned and was eventually consolidated as a shelter used by mule drivers and tourists). The material will be sorted and moved 10 km toward the border with Argentina, where it will be reborn through the efforts of its intended users – mountain climbers – thus consolidating a place with a high potential for sports activities, but which has been invaded by hydroelectric power plants. 

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

The shelter proposed its own dismantling not only as a temporal renovation process, but also in terms of space, form and location.

No qualified laborers or professionals were hired. The future users of the construction – the community of mountain climbers – were responsible for building it with their own hands.

Courtesy of Hans André Kubat Sarria

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© Rod Edwards

Architectural photographer Rod Edwards specializes in 360º virtual reality imagery and virtual tours of iconic buildings. Having spent the last decade producing this type of media, Edwards was recently commissioned by Visit Britain to shoot his “More London” project as part of the global campaign for the 2015 James Bond film “Spectre.”

Read on to see “More London” and more projects by Edwards.

Tate Modern Switch House by Herzog & de Meuron

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More London by Foster + Partners

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The Angel Building by AHMM

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Chatsworth House for Visit Britain

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Take a look at Edwards’s full profile here.

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© Tamás Bujnovszky

• Architects: Kolossa Architects
• Location: Csomád, Hungary
• Architect In Charge: József Kolossa, András Weiszkopf
• Area: 389.0 m2
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Tamás Bujnovszky

• Associates: Katalin Kolossáné Bartha, Lilla Árkovics, Annamária Babos, Zsófia Gönczöl
• Structural Engineer: László Mózes
• Electric Engineer: Tamás Piller
• Building Services Engineer: Zoárd Mangel
• External Graphics: Dóra Máthé
• Manufacturer: Tildi Bau Kft., Kristóf Keresztes
• Supervisor: Géza Áts
• Client: The Municipality of Csomád, Mayor: János Klement

© Tamás Bujnovszky

From the architect. The Sports Center is located in Csomád, Hungary. Csomád is a small settlement in the northern metropolitan area of Budapest with the population of ca. 1500 people. The leadership of the village is dedicated toward architectural quality: in 2008 they won 2^nd prize on Pest County’s Architectural Award, and in 2015 they won the special award for village renewal of the Association of Hungarian Architects (Magyar Építőművészek Szövetsége)!


© Tamás Bujnovszky

 The Sports Center is the first phase of the local sport area development. The building was placed between the two existing football pitches. The 2^nd phase future extension will be placed alongside the bigger football field, hidden partially under the hillside. Phase one is designed to perform as a balanced architectural element on its own, yet the two phases are also going to provide a nice composition. The thin, concrete slab serving as a “levitating” outdoor bridge connecting the two phases is built already in phase one lending a somewhat dynamic touch to the otherwise closed shape of the Sports Center.

1st Floor Plan

2nd Floor Plan

The geometry of the building evolved a lot through the design process. In the end it “found” its place and shape interacting sensitively with the site and its urban function.

© Tamás Bujnovszky

The ground floor contains a pub and the restrooms while the changing rooms and the spaces of the football club are on the first floor. The ground floor is open to visitors and the two floors can be used separately.

Sections

Due to its dynamic, simple design, the new building stands out among the pitched roof residential buildings of its surroundings. Small gestures and detailing like the special blue color used many places throughout the building which is typical to the village, or the abstract reappearance of the inner yard of traditional local houses however make locals recognize the Sports Center as their own, and they seem to take pride in showing it to all the guests of various sports and village events.

© Tamás Bujnovszky

Product Description. The white plaster is the principal material used on the façade and emphasizes the simple and dynamic form of the new Sports Center in Csomád, Hungary. The white plaster facade gives a characteristic, modern look to the Sport Centre among the residential houses and the green landscape in the village. Moreover plaster is one of simplest facade materials and easy to maintain.

© Tamás Bujnovszky

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© Bartłomiej Bieliński 

• Architects: Anna Thurow
• Location: Gmina Kobylanka, Poland
• Architect In Charge: Anna Paszkowska-Thurow, Krzysztof Paszkowski-Thurow
• Area: 240.0 m2
• Project Year: 2012
• Photographs: Bartłomiej Bieliński 

• Collaborators: urbicon sp. z o.o.

© Bartłomiej Bieliński 

In close vincinity of Szczecin, in Kobylanka there is one house, differing from the “typical” suburban cityscape. Designed by architect’s couple Anna and Krzysztof Paszkowski-Thurow resembles immediately a picture of modern barn. Compact and energy-saving house is exploring archetype of typical polish countryside architecutre yet Anna and Krzysztof have merged it with innovation by using modern material and colour settings like dark-grey fibre cement slates as facade and roof cladding. On the contrary gable walls were plastered in white. Southern wall has a dynamic cut-out which forms roofed sundeck. Bold silhouette of the building makes a strong statement: there is a border between contemporary and “typical” architecture. 

© Bartłomiej Bieliński 

This house was a comission from a young couple and although it may not seem obvious, this is a family friendly “barn”. To proove that, there is a clear distiction between day, working and resting zones both for parents and yougsters. There is also a double height living room interconnected with common space on the 1st floor, allowing for good communication among the house.

Ground Floor

First Floor

When designing interiors of this house, Anna has referred to the character of the owners, their job as landscape developers and their numerous travels. Therefore all surfaces in the house might be characterised as rough and natural. Floor is paved with open-pore travertine and white-oiled oak planks. Kitchen is open integrated with the dining room. Spine of the building is created by centrally located staircase housing also storage area underneath, finished with white-oiled oak. Modern bathroom was designed in black emperador marble inspired by turkish-bath look, resembling distant eastern voyages of owners. 

© Bartłomiej Bieliński 

Anna and Krzysztof are architects, graduated from Szczecin’s Technical University and Copenhagen School of Design and Technology. Their style is underpinned by a subtle play of clean lines and natural materials as well as love for nordic internal warmth and order. They are often referring to Oskar Hansen’s saying: “We’re treating architecture as a backgroung exposing life’s processes, not like a majority of architects, understanding it (architecture) as a thing itself – composed and described” 

© Bartłomiej Bieliński 

Product Description. Creaton STRUKTONIT fibre cement slates enables homogenous covering for modern buildings. Due to its positive environmental characteristics it can achieve an A+ rating in the BRE Green Guide* providing extra credits under BREEAM Schemes. It is not only the environmental benefits that make Creaton STRUKTONIT fibre cement slates an attractive option for those specifying slate or cladding. This product was developed with the architect in mind and offer the opportunity to produce innovative and imaginative designs either as vertical cladding or slate roof pitches as low as 15°. Unlike other materials, fibre cement slates do not require wet-cutting due to the composition and workability of the material. 

© Bartłomiej Bieliński 

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© BaO Architects

• Architects: BaO Architects
• Location: Baitasi, Beijing, China
• Architect In Charge: Benjamin Beller
• Photographs: BaO Architects

• Sponsors And Partners: China’s French Embassy, Artistic cooperation service of Beijing’s French Institute, Beijing Huarong Jinying Investment & Development Co. Ltd., Beijing Design Week, JML, ENTRE, CPYA, GEJIANZHU

© BaO Architects

The BAITAcinema is an ephemeral activation of a small courtyard located in the historical Baitasi district in Beijing. Realized for the Beijing Design Week 2016, the project is in fact the first step in a longer-term strategy that BaO architects is undertaking with the French Embassy in China to transform this courtyard into a permanent cultural space for collective and shared actions. 

Floor Plan

The core gesture of the project was the construction of a wooden amphitheater within the existing layout of the house. Invading both outdoor and indoor spaces and entirely transforming the visitor’s experience of the place, the installation purposely provokes its vernacular host and creates accidental encounters or spatial events between the new and the old. It opens up a new range of usages, postures and potentials in a space that was considered a straightforward traditional residential space. 

© BaO Architects

BaO’s architectural intervention focused on the desire and the possibility to create a spatial event that would enable a socio-political one. In essence, the amphitheater proposed to create a space that is traditionally associated with public life, community space, and civic gathering, within a setting that epitomizes domesticity and the intimacy of the Chinese family life. This cadavre exquis approach was a conscious architectural tactic to trigger an optimistic and progressive outlook on the opportunities of Beijing’s Hutongs’ renewal. It is uninhibited in its design, celebrates the possibilities of smallness, and is bold in its attitude toward its historical setting. It tries to break away from conventional and somewhat too polite approaches to historical district regeneration that is unfortunately too often associated with cultural pride and nostalgia. 

© BaO Architects

The project and its associated “open-door policy” created a ambiguity between private public space that was intended as a way to signal the coming creation of a public-oriented program in the heart of the neighborhood. It was designed as an open cultural platform, a flexible artifact, an infrastructure that enables gatherings and celebrates collective actions. The ambition of the pop-up BAITAcinema was to create moments of encounter and shared pleasure where the hutongs community and the design week visitors alike can relax, watch a movie together, attend and participate in a variety of discussion on the city, assist to performances and artistic happenings, and participate in creative workshops. 

© BaO Architects

The BAITAcinema program ran successfully for 2 consecutive weeks with a screening program intermingling old Chinese movies, documentaries, silent movies, children cinema, lectures, talks, workshops, and a special Sino-French Environment Month documentaries selection. BaO architects, alongside the French Embassy, local authorities, and the local community, will work on the formulation of the long-term project for the courtyard during this winter with the intention to start construction in the spring 2017.  

© BaO Architects

Render

© BaO Architects

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