© Roland Halbe

• Architects: COE Architecture International
• Location: 4 Chome-15 Seta, Setagaya-ku, Tōkyō-to 158-0095, Japan
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Roland Halbe, Kai Nakamura, Kei Takashima-Nacasa, Norihito Yamauchi, Kunihiko Ishijima, Masao Nishikawa

• Contractor/Executive Architect : Tokyu Construction Company
• Interior Architect: COE Architecture International
• Interior Designer: ILYA Corporation
• Café Interiors: Seshimos Architects
• Lighting Designer: SOLA
• Landscape Architect: SOLA
• Graphic Designer: Artless, Inc.

© Roland Halbe

This innovative building replaces the original Seta Sports Connection built in 1982, which was one of the first membership fitness clubs in Tokyo. The new six-story, 6,000 square-meter facility accommodates the private club’s new emphasis on personal sports training, Japanese bathing and social activities.

© Kei Takashima-Nacasa

Designed in a striking minimalist aesthetic, Aqua Sports & Spa is the first project to be completed by COE Architecture International in Japan. The significance of the new Aqua Sports & Spa draws on a sensitivity Christopher Coe developed early in his career as a designer with celebrated architect Richard Meier.

© Kunihiko Ishijima

Embracing the project’s complex urban site and varied program, the architect explored Western and Japanese concepts of spatial definition and materiality. Although a private club, the design intent was to create a transparent building with a welcoming and public presence, one with a serene and refined demeanor in sharp contrast to the chaotic surroundings of Tokyo. The design echoes an ancient calmness in opposition to the frenetic context.

© Roland Halbe

The building is located on a steep hillside site, which was once part of a Tokugawa country estate containing onsen springs, rich forests and a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji. Today the site is bordered by a large highway, apartment buildings and small houses. But there remain large pockets of trees on both sides of the highway, which became primary considerations in the building design.

© Roland Halbe

Diagram

© Kai Nakamura

The building is comprised of spaces serving both the sports and social functions of the club. Fitness facilities include the only private 50-meter swimming pool in greater Tokyo, as well as a fitness gym, locker rooms, spa lounges and men’s and women’s showers and Japanese baths. The social facilities include a lounge, bar, dining room and a public cafe with outdoor terrace.

© Kei Takashima-Nacasa

Aqua Sports & Spa focuses on high-level personal service for its members and the building design needed to bridge the wide gap between a utilitarian fitness club and a luxurious hotel.  Programmatically, the club functions are separated into sports and social spaces. Each assemblage of spaces is housed separately in white or dark gray concrete volumes which vary in scale related to their function. 

Section

Plan 1

Section

Enclosed in the largest white volume, the pool is raised in the air level and parallel to the adjacent highway and sidewalk. Enormous windows allow both private swimmers and passing pedestrians to visually engage each other from only 2 meters away.

© Roland Halbe

At the upper end of the site a smaller white volume sits perpendicular to the pool volume. It contains the member’s lounge which floats above a clear glass box enclosing the ground floor entry lobby and public café. The upper lounge is totally transparent at its east and west ends to take advantage of the unique tree-top views of the historic site. The centerpiece of the lounge is a modern pavilion of wood slats defining the main seating area and fireplace within the larger lounge space. A driveway slips under the elevated lounge and between the entry and café, providing access to the roof-top parking, similar to Corbusier’s Villa Savoye.

© Kai Nakamura

Expressing internal functions within a refined massing of varying scale, the design negotiates the complex site and blurs the traditional boundary between private and public spaces and activities.

© Roland Halbe

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© Hiroyuki Oki

• Architects: MM++ architects
• Location: Phú Nhuận, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
• Architects In Charge: Mỹ An Phạm Thị, Triết Lê Hữu

• Area: 140.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Hiroyuki Oki

© Hiroyuki Oki

From the architect. In the fast growing Vietnamese economy, ways of living are changing and middle class people tend to prefer living in high rise building apartment rather than in the typical small urban alley, called “Hẻm”. Hẻm are now considered by many people as dirty, crowded and unsafe.
However, they are a vital component of Ho Chi Minh City street network and the social life of the city’s inhabitants.

© Hiroyuki Oki

Far from any conceptual statement, this project proposes an alternative, showing potential rehabilitation of this urban fabric in need of revitalization.

Model

Site Characteristics
The house is built on an irregular shaped 4m wide and 8m deep plot in a typical small alley of Phu Nhan District, a heavily populated central district of Ho Chi Minh City. It was designed for a Family of 4 members, on 4 levels: Ground floor, mezzanine, 2 floors and roof terrace.
The project sticks to this irregular shape, except on the front where a balcony and a small courtyard create a “buffer space” between the public space and the house. The roof terrace, accessible, connects the house’s inhabitants with the city scape.
The site is surrounded by disparate constructions and the environment is visually chaotic.

© Hiroyuki Oki

Space Optimization and Coziness
With 32 m2 per floor, layout and interior design are the key factors to optimize each space in order to meet all the functions required and gives a sense of coziness despite promiscuity.

© Hiroyuki Oki

© Hiroyuki Oki

Natural Lighting and Crossing ventilation
The house is widely open on the front elevation set back. In addition, the vertical timber screen prevents from direct view into the house.
The free side elevation allows bringing light on each floor in every room. In the back, the staircase doesn’t have any windows but a random perforated wall bringing enough light and sufficient airflow through the house.

© Hiroyuki Oki

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© Simon Devitt

• Architects: Pattersons
• Location: Banks Peninsula, Canterbury 7581, New Zealand
• Area: 110.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2013
• Photographs: Simon Devitt

© Simon Devitt

Seascape Banks Peninsula comprises of the eroded remnants of two large composite Miocene shield volcanoes and this remote beachside cottage is set into an exposed rocky escarpment, on a tiny boulder strewn South Pacific cove on the volcano formations’ northern side.

© Simon Devitt

The cottage is a shelter designed as a honeymoon retreat for paying guests and consists of three rooms; a lobby, a living/sleeping room and a bathroom.

Plan

Its plan and section uses an interlocking geometry to respond to two views, a three quarter outlook along the face of the cove and a far view aligning with a double rock arch called “The Comb.” The Comb collapsed into a simple rock spire during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

© Simon Devitt

“When designing in beautiful natural environments like these it helps to take the positive view that human beings and therefore our constructions are a natural part of the planet, like the rocks and the trees we are children of mother earth, but with that relationship comes responsibility and respect.” – Andrew Patterson

© Simon Devitt

The retreat is constructed largely from rock quarried near its site with in-situ poured concrete floors and an earth turfed roof. This robust structure is integrated into the escarpment above to protect occupants from falling debris and then lined with horizontal macrocarpa timber. The lining forms integrated joinery, services, wall and ceiling panels and shelters behind double glazed low e-glass in storm and shatter proof steel mullions, which utilise earthquake resistant sliding heads.

© Simon Devitt

The cottage is self-sustainable in respect to on-site water harvesting and wastewater treatment. The project incorporated an extensive reforestation and re-vegetation sub project.

© Simon Devitt

“For me the ecology of a space, which is measurable, and the poetics of that space which are harder to define, are essentially the same.” – Andrew Patterson

“Its a real privilege to work in places like this.” – Andrew Patterson

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Courtesy of CORD

• Architects: CORD
• Location: Snape Maltings, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1SP, United Kingdom
• Designers: David Rickard and Germano Di Chello (CORD)
• Area: 11.4 ft2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of CORD

• Structural Engineer: Price & Myers
• Steel Fabricator: Flux Metal
• Stone Supplier: CED

Courtesy of CORD

‘Myriad’ has been commissioned by Aldeburgh Music and Suffolk Coastal District Council to join the outdoor sculpture collection at Snape Maltings alongside existing works by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Sarah Lucas and Alison Wilding. 

Courtesy of CORD

The sculpture has been designed in collaboration by artist David Rickard and architect Germano Di Chello, in response to the brief for a sculpture that “offers a vantage point across the marshes at Snape and a new view over this at and beautiful landscape”. 

Diagram

Standing tall on the Henry Moore Lawn, Myriad holds an array of mirrors high above visitors’ heads re ecting views of the surrounding landscape down to earth. Below several of the high level mirrors are further re ector panels positioned to create a series of large periscopes. 

Courtesy of CORD

Made with brushed and mirror polished stainless steel, Myriad captures a wide and ever changing series of vistas from the spectacular surroundings, to create a dynamic multi-perspective collage that constantly shifts in relation to the visitors’ movement around and within the sculpture. 

Courtesy of CORD

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Courtesy of Agence Ter

Agence Ter has won a competition to redesign the bank of the East Bund, adjacent to Pudong in Shanghai, reconstructing 21 kilometers of waterfront along the Huangpu River. Devising programmatic elements for five sections of the riverfront, Agence Ter hopes to inject a variety of functions into what is now an underutilized area. In the words of the designers, “The project redefines the space of the bank to create a living interface between neighborhoods and the river, a new width articulating soft transport, ecology, public spaces, activities and economy.”

Courtesy of Agence Ter

Courtesy of Agence Ter

Organized into three main paths – discovery, main, and sports – the tripartite system will systematize flows and usage into continuous strands of movement across the site. Each of the paths will also be accompanied by new facilities to animate the bank and inspire new activities for the space. Agence Ter envisions a synthesis of everyday functions and nightlife, along with local and national events.

Courtesy of Agence Ter

Courtesy of Agence Ter

The Main Path will be a pedestrian promenade – the designers call it “the main artery of the project” – which will include temporary and permanent installations and services such as food stalls, playgrounds, and activity lawns. The Sports Path will be for cyclists, joggers, and active-life enthusiasts; amenities will include fitness training support, ping pong tables, and sports fields. The Discovery Path will be used to engage with the richness of the waterfront settings, offering insight on Shanghai’s natural, cultural, and architectural heritage. Each of the paths will afford views of the river and adjacent metropolis, and natural spaces throughout the project’s 350 hectares will highlight biodiversity and the protection of flora and fauna.

Courtesy of Agence Ter

Addressing the challenge of designing 21 kilometers of landscape, Agence Ter’s proposal seeks to create specific solutions guided by the existing identity and ecology of differing riverfront locations. The designers will create spatial continuity through the use of terraces, canal overpasses, footbridges, and “landmarks” at kilometer markers, which the office has called “totems” – spaces that will be used for tourist information, as lookouts, restaurants, and to fulfill other purposes, all the while adding rhythm and flow to the parklands.

Courtesy of Agence Ter

Courtesy of Agence Ter

In reconnecting the Shanghainese to the Huangpu River, the office wishes to highlight existing and forthcoming river links in the form of harbor boats, cable cabin transport, and connections to the tramway and metro systems.

Courtesy of Agence Ter

Agence Ter’s client for this project is Shanghai East Bund Investment Group Co, Ltd, and the project is a collaboration between the office and consultants AND Studio, JFA, SCS, and Concepto. Set to begin construction this year, the project will be completed in 2019.

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© Ema Peter

• Architects: Hemsworth Architecture
• Location: Pemberton, BC V0N, Canada
• Area: 1500.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Ema Peter

© Ema Peter

The BC Passive House Factory is an all wood construction demonstration project located in Pemberton, BC. Conceived as a simple, light filled, wooden box, the new 1500 sm facility is designed for the manufacturing of prefabricated ‘Passive House’ panels. The design, fabrication, and construction of the new facility exemplifies the client’s, BC Passive House (BCPH), mission in wood construction, prefabrication, energy efficiency, and sustainable design practice.

© Ema Peter

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© Ema Peter

The main inspiration for the design came from the belief that the industrial, everyday buildings that make up a vast amount of our built environment can be just as important, and well considered, as our ‘public’ buildings. 360-degree clerestory windows provide natural daylight and views to the surrounding mountains. The exterior wood ‘2×4’ cladding acts as fixed screens for the clerestories and have been designed to provide a varied ‘openness’, offering greater solar shading on the south and west facades, while maintaining the stunning views to the surrounding mountains. The abundance of daylight on the exposed wood finishes transforms a typical factory floor into a warm, comfortable, and inviting space to work in.

© Ema Peter

The facility is the first of its kind in North America and will assist BCPH in their promotion of the Passive House Standard and sustainable, energy efficient, wood based construction. 

© Ema Peter

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