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From the architect. Cultural architectures have always been academician He Jingtang’s “specialty”.
Project Dachang National Palace is no doubt his another masterpiece. Located in Dachang Hui Autonomous County, Langfang, Hebei province, the project is supposed by the local government to be an iconic design, introducing Dachang’s particular culture and enhancing the soft power of the city. The national palace is thus endowed with multiple functions, serving not only as the recreation center of the city, but the essential cultural site for the introduction of local religion and history as well. It has undoubtedly brought lots of challenges to the designer, because of the special ethnic composition, historical context, religious belief, complex functional requirements of the site and the setting of a cultural landmark.
In the design of the project, Academician He Jingtang has also carried out his concept of “2 Views” and “3 Characters”, with the starting point of holistic view and sustainable development concept, fully considering regionalism, cultural, and epochal character of the architecture, therefore presents us an excellent design.
This is a poetic sanctuary that shows people both the brilliant Islamic culture and our vision for a better life. This is also a homelike cultural center that provides a spiritual home for local residents especially Muslims.
Dachang County is a Muslim enclave near Beijing. To revive the Islamic culture and improve the quality of culture life, the local government developed Da Chang Muslim Cultural Center, a cultural complex integrating the functions of theatre, exhibition, convention and community center.
Based on traditional mosque, the building subtly interprets the spatial structure of mosque with new materials and technologies. The surrounding arches shrink into elegant curves from the bottom up, while the cambering petal-shaped arches of the reflection in the water look even more vivid and graceful. The dome sees the translation and abstraction of Islamic symbols rather than simple mimicking. We constitute the dome with petaloid shells and creatively transform the interior space into a semi-exterior roof garden flooded with sunshine, fresh air and vegetation.
Chinese designs towards the world
In recent years, Academician He Jingtang and his team have also begun stepping onto the international stage, attracting with their splendid designs more and more attention of internationally renowned architectural media, universities, and critics, and have won their great praise. On the 10th of this month, Academician He Jingtang will be invited to the Venice Architecture University to launch an exhibition with the theme of PLACE, CULTURE, TIME——He Jingtang: Design for Drastically Changing China Opening Activities ,and he will also chair the opening forum.
Orrizontale has constructed “Casa do Quarteirão,” a permanent wooden installation developed for Walk&Talk 2016, an annual arts festival in the Azores islands, that reclaims the physical space of the street for “convivial and collaborative use.”
In 2011, Walk&Talk was founded to “transform the islands into a laboratory for contemporary and transdisciplinary artistic creation, producing experimental projects, in a permanent dialogue with the territory, the culture and the local community, promoting a favorable environment for sharing and co-creation.”
Collaborating with visual designer NO-ROCKET, Orrizontale builds on this mission with “Casa do Quarteirão.” Located in the O Quarteirão neighborhood near the Ponta Delgada historic city center, the project attempts to preserve and enhance an area of the city that has not been invaded by parking lots and cars.
“After a first visit in Ponta Delgada, during a public talk at MIOLO Art Gallery, we chose together with the inhabitants to work in the small Travessa da Rua d’Acoa, to materialize a common square, a place for the community,” explain the architects on their site decision.
Orrizontale refers to the project concept as a Viviero, a collective greenhouse for the community, inspired by the intimacy of traditional Azorian residential architecture. Thus the structure features two program elements: a pavilion for the community gather and hold events (Rua Pedro Homem), and a small structure with a terrace (Rua d’ Acoa) to provide a cozy setting for taking in the area. Between these two structures, a new public square emerged.
The project is designed to be transformable, using modular frames that can be easily reassembled into several configurations that meet the needs of a variety of activities. The structures were constructed with help from the community in just five days, using wood from the Cryptomeria japonica, an endemic conifer species that grows in the island.
For more on Walk&Talk 2016, check out the event website, here.
News via Orrizontale.
Studio Ossidiana, founded by Alessandra Covini and Tomas Dirrix, investigates architectural materials through experimental research projects. Their recent work “Petrified Carpets” explores the “ideal garden” found in Persian carpets and will be showcased at the Dutch Design Festival of 2016 along with other exhibitions.
“The carpet is interpreted here as a planimetric representation of a garden.”
The exhibition is essentially a collection of concrete architectural objects, which represent or resemble specific components of a Persian garden (i.e. the central fountain, the kiosk, the doorways to the garden, etc).
Studio Ossidiana explored various strategies in casting and texturizing the concrete to form specific translations of the acclaimed gardens. Combining pigments, stones, sand and cement in different ratios suggests the multiple contours, tones, and shades of gardens.
Each of their objects possesses a stunning expressiveness that attracts the wandering eye. Having collaborated with the high-end prefabricated concrete manufacturer, Hurks, each object was constructed to expose “lively and bright characters of its material.”
Alongside graphic designers Team Thursday, Studio Ossidiana is currently at work on a publication about Petrified Carpets with the photos from Kyoungtae Kim. Their installation — produced for “In No Particular Order,” an exhibition curated by Agata Jaworska — was supported by the Talent Development Program of the Creative Industries Fund NL.
News Via: Studio Ossidiana
From the architect. The commission is for a meeting place, for sailing, and kite and wind surf, on a site with perfect conditions for these sports.
The idea seeks a shelter in this climate that is very austere, extreme, with strong, cold winds. The project achieved three climates: inside it is 100% closed, another intermediate and another open.
It is a waterfront retreat generating a backyard connected to the front thanks to the skeleton-like structure which allows shelter. Allowing to have a space for people who accompany and do not participate in the wind sport.
The dock like circulation achieves the travel between the sea (wind) and the backyard, which is protected from the wind (outdoor shelter), allowing to have a fire pit area outside.
The wooden structure as a skeleton is the support for different skins, textures, shadows and lights.
It was designed in a 3m x 3m wood module where the structure (pillars and beams) are exposed. The structure was impregnated on the outside with carbolineum (black color) and wall linings in dark brown. The ceiling is made with eucalyptus poles, exposing the wooden beams in black.
The interior walls and floors were made with pine wood finished in natural primer.
A simple materiality was considered (wood, forest area) and local labor (very cheap).
Clément Blanchet Architecture has released its bid for the international Nice Station Extension competition, which also received entries from Marc Mimram, Jean Duthilleul, and winner Daniel Libeskind. The proposal integrates buildings in the city center of Nice—which is surrounded by railways, a ring road, and the city—including a new mixed-use public complex, retail and office spaces, and a boutique hotel.
The architects observed the original site as isolated and without a strong public center. Therefore the design team proposed a simple design to negotiate between infrastructural and metropolitan issues. First, the new mixed-use complex will extend from the existing station, organizing these programs along with a united walkway. The ground-floor retail space connects the building to its site, while mixed-use areas are formed by an undulating three-dimensional facade that connects the project to the northern part of the city. Overall, the exterior view of the complex is aimed at interfacing with residents and travelers alike, bolstering the relationships between interior, exterior, and site.
The proposed design includes new entrance points that welcome visitors inside. A primary ambition of the project is to cultivate a rich local architectural history in Nice’s city center. The design is also meant to reflect and promote public life by fostering free social interaction.
News via: Clement Blanchet Architecture
Sig Nordal 