© Yohan Zerdoun

• Architects: KSG Architekten
• Location: Cologne, Germany
• Area: 1700.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Yohan Zerdoun

• Client: Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln AöR (StEB), Cologne
• Responsible Partner: Prof. Johannes Kister
• Project/Site Management: Gabriel Mörsch, Eric Mertens
• Structural Engineering, Structural Physics: Ingenieurbüro für Bauwesen IBT, Eschweiler
• Building Services Equipment Planning: DS-Plan – Ingenieurgesellschaft für ganzheitliche Bauberatung und Generalfachplanung mbH, Cologne
• Laboratory Planning: EUROLABORS AG, Kassel
• Fire Prevention: BFT Cognos GmbH, Aachen
• Landscape Architect: stern landschaften, Cologne

© Yohan Zerdoun

A design competition initiated by the municipal drainage works in 2013 aimed at determining an architect for the new laboratory and office building of the sewage institute. The design by kister scheithauer gross (ksg) responds to the distinctive surroundings of the works grounds with a detached and geometric volume, which optimally exploits the triangular site. The architects were commissioned with the implementation. “The one-storey building with a circular roof structure housing building services takes up the corporality of the technical buildings and lives up to both its function and its symbolic effect as a prominent technical building,” explains the originator of the design, Johannes Kister. 

Site Plan

The completely encased building with a curved façade rather resembles a metal container and is thus harmoniously blending in with its surrounding. The façade reduces the scale of the building, yet without being distant and lacking character and being a typical example of industrial architecture. The new building derives its identity from its materiality and ornamental façade design, which awakens very different associations. Is it an Oriental screen? No, it looks like the Tetris game. Or maybe it is a Hollerith punch card. “During the façade design I thought of the typical sieve characteristic, which I also connect with conducting analyses and research, the actual procedures in a laboratory,” says Kister. “What is behind it? What is inside? We transferred the play with the curiosity of a chemist to the design. From the outside, the viewer only sees parts or components of the whole thing. With every step the viewer takes around the building, the view to the core, the interiors changes.” In addition to the creative idea, the front-mounted façade also acts as shading device and manages to harmoniously unitize the different-sized and varyingly arranged window openings in the social, office and laboratory areas. There is no “unsightly rear side”, and the employees inside the building can enjoy exciting views to the surroundings. 

© Yohan Zerdoun

Plan

© Yohan Zerdoun

From a functional and constructive perspective, the building is divided into two parts: a lower section with a single leaf wall built of pumice blocks, providing high thermal insulation, and a reinforced concrete ceiling as well as a taller hall built of prefabricated reinforced concrete elements with a trapezoidal sheet roof. The hall-like, taller section, which provides more than half of the floor area, accommodates the large analytical laboratory with modern laboratory facilities; unlike in conventional cell laboratories, this laboratory type impresses with shorts walking distances and a high level of transparency. It is true: the function of the building – a highly technological analytical laboratory for the sewage institute – and the triangular shape of the site don’t seem to be compatible at first sight. However, with the innovative concept of arranging the laboratory benches in rows, the planners were able to break away from the typical internal division of a laboratory and, in a second step, achieve a higher flexibility both in terms of zoning and the basic building shape. In the end, this led to a new laboratory building, which owing to its aesthetic shape, its exceptional façade and the optimal working procedures in the interiors already ranks among the pilot projects in laboratory construction. On 7 October 2016, the building was officially inaugurated after a construction period of approximately 14 months. 

© Yohan Zerdoun

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© Acne Studios

• Architects: Acne Studios, Max Lamb
• Location: E 74th St, New York, NY 10021, United States of America
• Design Team: Acne Studios (in-house)
• Max Lamb: Furnishings
• Area: 230.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Acne Studios

© Acne Studios

From the designer. Acne Studios new global flagship store on the Upper East Side of Madison Avenue in New York City features gold as its signature tone, with metal interior walls and fittings in aluminum that have been electrostatically gilded. A black asphalt floor and structural columns are dotted with semi-precious coloured stones. The space, entirely wrapped in glass to allow interior visibility, is designed to act as a gallery as well as a clothing store.

© Acne Studios

The ceiling—a full lighting surface—creates a homogeneous light through the store. A golden aluminum partition divides the space between the public front and the private back area.

© Acne Studios

Furniture and interiors designer Max Lamb has created new bronze furniture around his polycarbonate concept for the store, including a desk, benches and stools. Lamb also collaborated with Acne Studios to create custom rugs that sit like islands throughout the store. Yarns of different weights were hand-dyed in Lamb’s studio in London before being tufted at Kasthall in Sweden. There, the tufter used each cone of yarn until it was finished in order to allow chance to dictate the pattern.

© Acne Studios

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© Filip Dujardin

• Architects: Marc Koehler Architects
• Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Architects In Charge: Marc Koehler, Chun Hin Leung
• Area: 67.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Filip Dujardin

• Builder: Bouwbedrijf Siemensma
• Photoshoot Furniture: Friday Next, HAY, Fabrikoos
• Consultant: Breed Integrated Design

© Filip Dujardin

In this corner house, all floors are interconnected in a continuous flow. The house takes maximum advantage of the exceptional views of its rugged, industrial environment. Loft House 1 is the first implementation of a series of durable, wooden loft houses. 

© Filip Dujardin

The house is based on a reversed principle: its owners decided to sleep downstairs and live upstairs. This allows them to fully enjoy the views of the harbour from the kitchen, the lounge and the dining room. The owners’ wish was to connect the areas on the upper floors with the lower floors in one, continuous flow. A solution was found by incorporating a staircase that serves as an atrium and has become a central design element. The atrium has been designed so that each vertical walk becomes an attractive adventure. Another classification principle is the split-level structure: each floor is half a floor higher or lower in relation to the previous or the next. This allows the owners to look easily from one floor to the other. This creates a gradual transition from one floor to the next, unlike the clean break between each floor in a standard terraced house.

© Filip Dujardin

Surprising Sightlines
Thanks to the combination of the atrium — the staircase — and the split-level structure, the different levels of the house are truly interconnected in a single, continuous flow. This also goes for the workspace on the ground floor, which is located adjacent to the garden and the two bedrooms. The bedrooms are designed like small houses within a house, and are experienced as such. They were also given windows on the staircase side, resulting in some surprising sightlines. It was decided to position the openings in the façade in a playful manner, offering different views of the remarkable surroundings from different areas in the house. 

© Filip Dujardin

Section

© Filip Dujardin

Sturdy and Serene Atmosphere
This industrial location inspired the architect to design a sturdy framework with large glazed surfaces and black opaque, painted hardwood frames. Besides being sturdy, the house also emanates a serene atmosphere. The house has a refined wooden wall cladding, the transition from coarse to fine resulting in a façade with a layered and surprising appearance. The façade is covered with a preserved Radiata Pine softwood — NobelWood from Foreco. This type of wall cladding requires no treatment and is completely maintenance-free. NobelWood, a wood type resulting from responsible forestry, is a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood. It has durability class 1, which is similar to teakwood, ages beautifully and colours with the seasons. This makes it not only a sustainable choice but also an aesthetic one. 

© Filip Dujardin

Evolutionary prototype
What is so special about this house is its prefab wooden construction. The design was based on the Superlofts concept by Marc Koehler Architects, situated on the Houthaven quay in Amsterdam. In Loft House 1, the building system was optimized and further expanded, resulting in an evolutionary prototype. The wooden structure serves as a framework in which floors can be installed in any position, giving the entire house a flexible layout. In addition, the prefab wooden structure shortens the construction period considerably, to just six months. The construction of the prefab elements in a closed workshop took two only weeks, and assembly at the building site took no more than four days.

© Filip Dujardin

Product Description. Foreco – Nobelwood
The house has a prefab frame completely made of timber. For the wooden façade elements the product NobelWood has been used which gives the villa a warm and natural look. Besides the limited environmental impact, the steady aging has been an important aspect for choosing NobelWood within the application in the Lofthouse I. The cladding at ground level has a dark coating for a beautiful contrast with the weathering timber.

© Filip Dujardin

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Throughout history, simple structures have constituted one of the most common forms of human expression. Small-scale housing, shelters, and viewpoints have been shaped by myriad materials that effectively created – depending on the techniques used – different forms of response to the same need.

Here is a compilation of 20 small-scale projects that stand out due to their small size and their simple, practical structures.

01. Buijtenkeuken / Studio Elmo Vermijs 

via © Studio Elmo Vermijs

02. Garrison Treehouse / Sharon Davis Design 

via © Sharon Davis Design

03. The “PopCraft Kiosk” / André Vieira + Flávio Serpa 

Courtesy of © André Vieira, Flávio Serpa, Carlos Vieira e do Centro Regional de Apoio ao Artesanato dos Governo Regional dos Açores

04. Colorado Outward Bound Micro Cabins / University of Colorado Denver

via © University of Colorado Denver

05. Pinohuacho Observation Deck / Rodrigo Sheward 

via © Grupo Talca

06. Tricycle House and Tricycle Garden / People’s Architecture Office (PAO) + People’s Industrial Design Office (PIDO) 

Courtesy of © People’s Architecture Office (PAO) + People’s Industrial Design Office (PIDO)

07. Cabaña-torre Karadya BIO-RESERVA 

via © Estudio Borrachia Arquitectos

08. 4×4 Studio / Teresa Mascaro 

via © Teresa Mascaro

09. Lookout / Angus Ritchie + Daniel Tyler 

via © Angus Ritchie + Daniel Tyler

10. Beach Modules / Màrius Quintana Creus 

via © Màrius Quintana Creus

11. Mirrored Beach Hut / ECE Architecture + Creative Forager 

via © ECE Architecture + Creative Forage

12.  5CUBE Energy Pavilion / de Siún Scullion Architects 

via © de Siún Scullion Architects

13. Writing Pavilion / Architensions 

via © Architensions

14. Habitable Polyhedron / Manuel Villa 

via © Manuel Villa Arquitectos

15. Casa No Muro / Saperlipopette les Architectes + Martial Marquet 

via © Saperlipopette les Architectes + Martial Marquet

16. ‘Noun.1 Unavailability’ / Gartnerfuglen Arkitekter 

via © Gartnerfuglen

17. Renaixement / Pink Intruder 

via © Pink Intruder

18. Shed / NARTARCHITECTS 

Courtesy of © NARTARCHITECTS

19. SKY GARDEN / SO? Architecture and Ideas 

via © SO? Architecture and Ideas

20. Sombras del Salto / Cristián Palma Ramírez 

Courtesy of © Cristián Palma Ramírez

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Architecture depends on its time. It is the crystallization of its inner structure, the slow unfolding of its form. – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

In 1951, Mies van der Rohe designed the Core House, a participative design structure which could be completed by its inhabitants.

This flexible model challenged certain architectural concepts, explored new industrial technologies, and proposed a modular system to improve the quality and affordability of housing.

In a 2011 article by Luciana Fornari Colombo, entitled “Mies van der Rohe’s Core House – a Theoretical Project on the Essential Dwelling,” she states:

“The Core House can be considered an outstanding example of a theoretical project, that is, of a project undertaken independently, as a self-imposed challenge. This type of project allows the architect to more freely test and develop generic architectural ideas for no one and nowhere in specific, which are able to inspire future designs. In this sense, theoretical projects are not only unbuilt projects. They provide an appropriate opportunity to put architecture in front of its disciplinary limits.”

According to Myron Goldsmith, who collaborated in the design of the Core House, as quoted in Fornari’s article; “the main ideas that Mies van der Rohe speculated and tested in this project were: architecture as background for people, absolute minimum use of elements, how far one could go in a unified space (what had to be closed, what could be opened), how far one could go in simplifying the unconventional living idea and how to live within it.”

Courtesy of Archilogic

What exactly is the Core House?

In 1945, the magazine Arts and Architecture announced an extraordinary opportunity for experimentation in domestic architecture: the twenty year “Case Study Houses” Program. The aim was to provide solutions for the design and construction of simple, inexpensive architectural models worldwide. Subsequently, the program addressed a need to help people rebuild their lives in the post-war era in the United States, as millions of soldiers returned to their homes after World War II.

Six years later, Mies van der Rohe designed the Core House (1951) as a personal research project, without any financial support from a client. Myron Goldsmith and students of the Illinois Institute of Technology were involved in the design process. The project consisted of a square space enclosed with a glass façade with four exterior H-shaped columns supporting the flat roof. The interior space was free to be arranged around the service core, utilizing furniture, partitions and curtains as opposed to installing permanent walls.

Fornari states, “The Core House was intended to adapt to different families and sites. To accomplish that, the house could be built with sides in 40, 50 or 60 feet square (12.19, 15.24 or 18.28 meters) and receive different service core arrangements.” Fornari also says, “opened in all directions to the surrounding nature through large glass panels, the house has minimal visual obstructions… besides the slender columns. These columns are dislocated from their usual position, the corners, emphasizing the sense of space continuity and creating the perception of the roof as a light floating plane.”

For a rough idea of how individuals could adapt the design, Mies van der Rohe also proposed some variations in the size of the models and arrangement of the service core. (Now we have Archilogic!)

The following year, the Chicago Daily Tribune published an important article on the Core House, written by Anne Douglas (1952) entitled “Dinner in Yesterday’s Bedroom – It’s Possible in this Flexible Plan,” in which Mies is quoted:

“…A dozen people have come to us in the last few years and asked for a modern house in the range of $30,000 to $40,000. We told them it was difficult to work out individual houses, for the work has no relation to the cost of the house… Since there seems to be a real need for such homes, we have attempted to solve the problem.”

Although the project has not gained much attention in the discussion of the Case Study Houses program or architectural theory in general, Fornari concludes her article by stating:

“Besides innovating and influencing later designs as much as many built works, the Core House can also be considered a crystalline exemplar of modern architecture, expressing the historical and cultural context in which it was developed. Still, as it happens to outstanding works of art, this project transcends its own generation. After many decades, this house did not lose its innovating qualities, offering, still today, a modern appeal to the daily need of shelter. Besides all the influences and repercussions it had, the value of this work also lies in itself, in its purifying and resolving effect in the fundamental questions of architecture. This unique proposal represents the achievement of a beautiful vitreous apparition, almost immaterial and infinite.”

Courtesy of Archilogic

Archilogic

Once the exclusive domain of programmers, code is now being used by a new generation of designers, artists, and architects, eager to explore how software can enable innovative ways of generating form, and translating ideas. Archilogic has built Mies van der Rohe’s design on the web. Click through the configurations and choose your favourite layout.

And if you’re ambitious, using the software’s built-in tools, you can alter the interior layout of the house, and even insert furniture or art.

Participate in the process of design and show us your ideas!

http://ift.tt/2gltkCA

Bibliography

• Douglas, A (1952). “Dinner in Yesterday’s bedroom – It’s possible in this flexible plan.” Retrieved from archives.chicagotribune.com.
• Colombo, L.F (2011). “Mies van der Rohe’s Core House, a Theoretical Project on the Essential Dwelling.” Retrieved from vitruvius.com.br.
• Van der Rohe, M (1952). ‘The Core House’ Retrieved from Moma.org

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© Thijs Wolzak

• Architects: Moke Architecten
• Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Lead Architect: Ludo Grooteman
• Area: 18000.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Thijs Wolzak

• Client: Amsterdam Waterfront i.s.m. Biesterbos
• Structural Design: Diocon
• Installatio N Design: Viac
• Environmental Design: LBPSight
• Construction Firm: Kondor Wessels Amsterdam

© Thijs Wolzak

The site of NDSM Nieuwdok site is a former ship dock area at the waterfront of Amsterdam Noord in the Netherlands. The area is currently largely derelict and used by early adapters, like Greenpeace, Red Bull and MTV. The remaining monumental industrial buildings allocate small creative businesses and workshops, while new bars and hip festivals indicate the potential attraction of the area. They are signs of what is about to happen, as in the coming years the area will be transformed into a diverse urban area, with housing, office space, hotels and the like, all with a staggering density. Surrounded by the IJ River and some remaining docks, the water has a strong impact on the site and provides beautiful views.

© Thijs Wolzak

NDSM Nieuwdok houses the first school in the area and 380 studios for university students. Situated in close proximity of the last remaining ship dock, noise proved one of the key determining factors during the design process, as the noise level is too high for living to be allowed. 

© Thijs Wolzak

Together with specialists architect Ludo Grooteman developed a double glass and aluminium façade. Each studio has both a thermal façade and an acoustic façade, the latter providing an exterior climate while reducing the noise level significantly. Thus all students have an extra bay window for relaxing or other activities. As all bay windows are rotated towards the waterfront it results in a rough, scaled façade.  

© Thijs Wolzak

The school is allocated in the double storey plinth. With interior spaces of up to 5,6 meters height, we made the plinth spacious, while double concrete columns sandwich bay windows and give it a robust expression. Together with the brown-red facetted top the building obtains a sort of autonomy that suits the area well. It connects to the strong industrial monuments while having its own autonomous expression. 

© Thijs Wolzak

Floor Plan 00

© Thijs Wolzak

Floor Plan 01

© Thijs Wolzak

Floor Plan 02

While the building shape on street side is orthogonal and simple, the courtyard is terraced and more complex. The terrace on ground floor functions as exterior space for the students of the school, who can reach the second terrace via a large staircase. The top terrace is the exterior space dedicated to the studios. The wooden floor, benches and tables and the corten steel planters give it a soft and more intimate atmosphere, emphasised by the ship building prints on the glass cladding.  

© Thijs Wolzak

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© Bajura Oleg

• Architects: LINE architects
• Location: Chisinau, Moldova
• Architect In Charge: Dmitrii Petrov
• Area: 264.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Bajura Oleg

© Bajura Oleg

A single-storey pavilion of glass, concrete and wood, located in the suburbs of Chisinau.Flat plot of a trapezoidal shape, with three sides surrounded by the existing low-rise buildings, which dictated the shape of the house, but in spite of this plan forms the inner courtyard of regular shape with a swimming pool above which hovers home construction.Clear and concise exterior lines flow into the interior of the house.The house is spread over most of the area, all areas of the house are built around a courtyard.In addition to the common area in the house are three bedrooms of which two children and one master bedroom with bathroom en-suite bathroom and dressing room, as well as auxiliary facilities and a games room.Space home minimalist and restrained. 

© Bajura Oleg

Floor Plan

© Bajura Oleg

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