© Stéphane Groleau

• Architects: Équipe SAGP
• Location: Québec City, QC, Canada
• Architect In Charge: François Moreau, Michel Veilleux, Pierre Guimont, François Mathieu, Marc Letellier, Kurt Amundsen
• Client: Ville de Québec
• Landscape Architects: Projet paysage
• Area: 65000.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Stéphane Groleau

© Stéphane Groleau

The idea to build a multifunctional arena in Quebec City began in 2009 with the creation of the group “J’ai ma place” (which translate in a double meaning : I have my seat/I belong here), which had the mission to revive the popular craze for the return of a team professional hockey in the old capital. The project, strongly supported by the mayor of the city, has quickly captured the attention of the media and citizens. It’s in 2012 that the mandate to design this project was officially granted to the SAGP integrated team. The Videotron Centre is now a unifying project for an entire population, proud to have witnessed the birth of a unique infrastructure of its kind in the heart of the Quebec City region.

© Stéphane Groleau

 Built on the site of a former hippodrome, on the edge of the Limoilou district, the main volume of the amphitheater clearly marks the function of the building across the city. Its pure white skin and openings evoke the movement of the snow moved by the wind, snowdrifts, and more broadly the nordicity of the city. The snowdrifts, formed by icy winds, delight the eye and shape our landscape. They subtly became the visual representation and conceptual line of this sports and cultural facility of Quebec. The structure that supports this curved façade is in laminated timber, a detail that greatly colors the perception of peripheral passageways. The openings that undulate around the perimeter of the volume offers unique views of the city. From the outside, the white dome is visible from almost everywhere in the city. The internal configuration of the building, following to the principle of open concourses on the bowl, invites to the celebration and the free movement of users. The overall feel of the place is festive, lively and stimulating.

© Stéphane Groleau

© Stéphane Groleau

Videotron Centre presents a hybrid structure of steel and laminated timber. The use of wood has been chosen as a support structure of the envelope of the main volume to elegantly adapts the curve of the outer wall and gives a unique look to peripheral concourse. From the main concourse to the lower roof on a total height of over 25 meters, this structure has only an intermediate support at the upper concourse. The laminated timber arches, located at a distance of 5 meters from each other, create the 92 facets of the oval volume of the enclosure of the bowl.  Black spruce – in section 25 by 25 millimeters – was selected for its local availability and structural qualities, allowing to refine the dimensions of the impressive arches.

© Stéphane Groleau

The lobby, generous and open to the exterior public square brings the imposing building to the pedestrian scale. The lobby features a long screenprinted glass wall acting as a sunshade to minimize solar gains in summer. A hybrid structure of wood and steel has been used to support the facade of over 93 long and 11 meters high, dramatically suspended 4 meters above the ground. At night, the wall is highlighted to provide an increased civic presence. Ultimately, the wide public square will undoubtedly become a favorite place to watch a hockey game outdoors on the huge built-in screen.

Section

Floor Plan

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The amphitheater has a large number of configurations to enable a wide variety of sports and cultural events. In the show configuration, it can seat 20 396 people and 18 310 in the hockey configuration.  The infrastructure meets the NHL requirements and allows to possibly welcome a team in the upcoming years. The Centre is aiming for a LEED NC Silver certification, which is rather rare for a building of this type. 

© Stéphane Groleau

With the construction of Videotron Centre, Quebec City has adopted a new fun contemporary equipment, evocative, sustainable and connected to its community.

© Stéphane Groleau

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© David Montero

• Architects: Héctor Navarro, ARKHITEKTON
• Location: Tetuán Street, Santander, Cantabria, Spain
• Area: 2432.15 m2
• Year Project: 2016
• Photography : David Montero

• Collaborators: Eduardo Navarro, Laura Fernández, Avelia Chomón

© David Montero

“Between valleys and craters” (the name of the proposal) has sought since its first sketches to create a public space able to generate a continuous ground plane capable of saving the large difference in level that the work area presented (6.20 meters in the worst part). Usable by 100% of its surface and, thus recovering a residual space in the city that had juxtaposed a series of independent operations (parking, electric installation, huge ramp to upper housing block…)

© David Montero

Site Plan

© David Montero

Once the project was assigned, the architects did field work with the aim of collecting proposals and future users concerns for this project. Restaurateurs and other neighboring businesses proposed valuable approaches, above all, existing problems that had to be solved with the final proposal. Some solutions were relocated and greenery were added (at first, the whole proposal was a square defined by a concrete floor as the competition required). It also accomplishes the city councils demands, ensuring the safety of users and taking into account the economic maintenance for the future.

© David Montero

The project has been designed with a ground plane as a sculpted topography, getting with its formal solution, accessible routes to higher areas of the square avoiding ramps and handrails. To this purpose, a regulating plane has been designed to find the easiest solution in its geometry getting minimal slopes capable of fulfilling the standards of accessibility. This plan applies actions which will result in a zoning of the square as “craters” that organize activities and circulations. A visual connection is achieved between all parts of the whole, but allowing the particular development of each of the uses. These craters are materialized in many different ways depending on their use. Concrete floors for terrace areas (for existing businesses) with shrubbery in their slopes, rubber soils in the playground, grass or other one occupied by a stands-like installation.

© David Montero

Over the project, a pattern of 3×3 meters serves as a basis for organizing trees (Pyrus calleryana), streetlights and other urban furniture . This grid also defines the expansion joints that is part of the striped pattern of the concrete floor .

© David Montero

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Courtesy of Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has finally found a home. Following nearly a decade of searching, the museum’s board has announced that Los Angeles’ Exposition Park will serve as the site for the MAD Architects-designed building housing the life’s work and expansive art and media collection of one of history’s most celebrated filmmakers, George Lucas.

Courtesy of Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

After proposals for the museum in San Francisco’s El Presidio district and Chicago were turned down by their respective communities, new competing schemes for Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Treasure Island were released in October of last year.

“While each location offers many unique and wonderful attributes, South Los Angeles’s Promise Zone best positions the museum to have the greatest impact on the broader community, fulfilling our goal of inspiring, engaging and educating a broad and diverse visitorship,” the museum board commented in a statement.

The museum will join several other cultural institutions located in the Exposition Park area, including Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the California Science Center, The University of Southern California main campus, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the main stadium of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics and the proposed site of the city’s bid for the 2024 Olympics.

The project will be self-funded by Lucas, who is expecting to spend over $1 billion on the building and programming.

More information on the selection can be found here.

News via LA Times, Lucas Museum.

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In its latest installment of the Private View series, Nowness has released a short documentary by New-York based filmmaker Alexandra Liveris profiling Santiago Calatrava. In the film, Calatrava discusses his perspective as an artist and an architect, as well as his creative process, mainly within the scope of the World Trade Center Transit Hub.

“You see, the first goal in this place was to deliver something beautiful where such an ugliness was there before,” says Calatrava in the film. “To deliver something optimistic looking to the future where so much sadness and depression was there.”

via Nowness

via Nowness

Private View: Santiago Calatrava originally aired as a part of the DOCNYC film festival. Watch it above, or at Nowness.

News via Nowness.

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Fundação Iberê Camargo. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

Throughout the 60-year career of Álvaro Siza, his work has continuously defied categorization–having variously been described as “critical regionalism” and “poetic modernism,” with neither quite capturing the true essence of Siza’s intuitive architecture. In this interview, the latest in Vladimir Belogolovsky’s “City of Ideas” series, Siza discusses those attempts to categorize his work, his design approach and the role of beauty in his designs.

Vladimir Belogolovsky: Your student, Eduardo Souto de Moura said, “Siza’s houses are just like cats sleeping in the sun.”

Álvaro Siza: [Laughs.] Yes, he meant that my buildings assume the most natural postures on the site. There is also a reference in that to the human body.

Leça Swimming Pools. Image © Wikimedia user Christian Gänshirt licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

VB: Do you think it is important or even possible for an architect to explain his or her work and process in a conversation such as we are having now?

AS: I think so. Maybe in the wrong way [Laughs.] I like explaining my work. When I am asked to present a lecture, I always choose to talk about one particular project because I like to explain how ideas come about.

Boa Nova Tea House. Image © Samuel Ludwig

VB: I have seen a number of your projects in Portugal and Spain, and just yesterday, I went to see your Restaurant Boa Nova here in Porto, which is a kind of project that is impossible to understand through photographs. It is not about an image, but something else, which does not translate into pictures. What do you think that is?

AS: Well, that is true for most buildings, not just mine. Photographs can’t convey space.

Boa Nova Tea House. Image © Samuel Ludwig

VB: Except that most buildings look better in photos and with your work, the opposite is true.

AS: There is such a thing as a sensation of understanding and feeling space. I had this realization when I first visited Fallingwater by Wright. First, there is a density of the atmosphere there; then the scale can never be accurately understood. Wright’s house is actually much smaller than what you would expect from just looking at photos. He reduced such dimensions as parapets or ceiling heights.

Portuguese pavilion for Expo 98. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: I want to talk about your architecture as an approach. Kenneth Frampton said that you are a part of the “Critical regionalist” movement. And by “Critical regionalism” he understands “an approach to architecture that strives to counter the placelessness and lack of identity of the International Style,” and an approach that “also rejects the whimsical individualism and ornamentation of Postmodern architecture.” What do you think about being placed into this category, “Critical regionalism?” Do you agree? Because you also have a very strong individualistic character, so it is a mixture of things.

AS: Yes, I agree with being categorized as such. When critics talk about critical regionalism the word that is overlooked is critical. What Frampton meant, I think, was not that architecture should go in the direction of closing its global discourse, but that such discourse should encourage continuity of local cultural traditions, as opposed to celebrating the International Style, which was becoming placeless.

The Building on the Water / Álvaro Siza + Carlos Castanheira. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: And so you see your work as a continuation of the local traditions.

AS: Yes. But don’t forget that all traditions either change and transform or they die.

VB: You said, “Tradition is important when it contains moments of change.”

AS: Yes, tradition does not mean closure, immobility. Quite the opposite, the value of traditions is in being open to innovations. Tradition is not the opposite of innovation, it is complementary.Tradition comes from successive interchanges. Isolated cultures that try to preserve their traditions without being open to new ideas collapse. Every traditional culture is influenced by outside cultures. When I was growing up there were very few centers of global culture – Paris, London, New York, and the rest was a periphery. Portugal was in the periphery and it was closed until the 1974 revolution, after which the country was rediscovered. Frampton was one of the first critics who came here and he traveled to other parts of Europe, including Spain, Greece, and Scandinavian countries. It was the time when architects were interested in rediscovering non-mainstream architecture. In this context, he was perhaps the first critic who insisted on the importance of identity.

Fundação Iberê Camargo. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: You often say, “Nothing is invented. There is a past for everything.” You are not interested in making something entirely new, right? Your work is based on what was done before. Could you talk about your position?

AS: It is impossible to make something entirely new. Look at the Villa Savoye in Poissy by Le Corbusier. When you see it, the sensation is that it is entirely new. It is clearly new architecture for a new kind of man. But the reality is that nothing is new but modified or transformed. There were horizontal “slit windows” in ancient structures in pre-Columbian America or in Portuguese vernacular; there are pilotis in the old market of Venice; you can even find examples of open plan in ancient structures where there was just a roof and perimeter walls with no interior partitions. The new only comes from new combinations and materials, but nothing is completely new. We, architects are constantly being influenced by what is around us. For example, I remember when my Bonjour Tristesse social housing was being built in Berlin. I was in that neighborhood and I saw a building that I thought was under construction; it had a similar roof profile as mine. So I told my contractor – look I haven’t finished my building yet and it is already being copied. Then the contractor said, “If anyone is copying that’s you because that building is being demolished.” [Laughs.] And the truth is that I probably saw it before I did my design and it influenced me subconsciously.

Wohnhaus Schlesisches Tor (Bonjour Tristesse) / Álvaro Siza Vieira + Peter Brinkert. Image © Wikimedia user Georg Slickers licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

VB: Kenneth Frampton said: “Like Aalto’s, all of Siza’s buildings are delicately laid into the topography of their sites. His approach is patently tactile and tectonic, rather than visual and graphic. Even his smallest buildings are topographically structured.” At the same time you said, “Even before I have complete knowledge, or good knowledge of every single problem, I begin sketching possible solutions with the little information I have. I feel I need to begin immediately with an idea – although then it can be completely changed.” Could you talk about your process of drawing and design?

AS: I start drawing from the very beginning. I don’t worry about analyzing the problem, the site conditions, or even the program. Because if I first do all the analysis there would be too much information and little architecture… So first, I sketch, sometimes before I go to the site. This is because I immediately start working and searching for an idea, even if I only have a photo of the place. And most of the time the first sketches are good for nothing. But I use them to construct an idea that comes out of many sketches. Gradually, with more information, a real thing emerges. I always work with collaborators who feed me with information. I work with models directly and at some point, there’s a cross between rigor that comes from precise information and complete freedom of my intuition, they meet.

Taifong Golf Club. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: You said that a drawing establishes a dialogue with the mind. You called a drawing hand not just thinking but provocative.

AS: It often happens that in the very beginning of a project it is not clear how to develop it. In those moments, I try to distract myself. I take a break, do many sketches and drawings, and suddenly a spark comes. So there is a relationship between the hand and the mind. One complements the other. Aalto too spoke of this.

The Building on the Water / Álvaro Siza + Carlos Castanheira. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: Your work is very intuitive. You said, “I don’t work within any theoretical framework nor do I offer a key as to how you should understand my work.” Your work is intuitive but also very particular and you have a very controlled repertoire. For example, most of your buildings are white, some have red brick. They are solid-looking, faceted or with curved profiles and convex and concave facades. Do you intentionally discipline yourself or is it about developing your particular and recognizable language?

AS: I don’t think I have a unified language. I worked in Portugal and Spain, in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, China… These are very different circumstances. Building techniques are different. Materials are different. Climatic conditions are different. Histories and cultures are different. The atmospheres are different. My decisions are based on what I observe and absorb. When I worked on the art museum in Santiago de Compostela, I did not want to use local granite (gris); I wanted to use white material in the interior. I chose Greek marble because at the time it was cheaper. I also wanted to use the same marble on the facades but that provoked opposition from the locals. I wanted the museum to be white for two reasons – to distinguish its civic importance and also because in the past, the whole city was painted white. Throughout history, Santiago was white. Only in recent times, stucco was removed to reveal stone and granite. So every building is a response to specific circumstance and I don’t have a strict theory. Of course, I do have a theory, otherwise how could I have a practice? But this theory does not limit my work.

Viana do Castelo Municipal Libary. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: You once said, “Beauty does not interest me.” Yet, your work is very beautiful. What is the main intention then?

AS: Did I really say that?

VB: Do you think you were misquoted?

AS: I could only say that if I was drunk. [Laughs.] Of course, I am interested in beauty. Beauty is the peak of functionality! If something is beautiful, it is functional. I don’t separate beauty and functionality. Beauty is the key functionality for architects… I wonder how I could say that beauty was not of interest to me… Perhaps someone provoked me by saying that I am an aestheticist. I am not that. But a search for beauty should be the number one preoccupation of any architect.

Gondomar Sports Complex. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: Nowadays many younger generation architects pride themselves on the fact that they don’t personally initiate projects with a sketch. They developed a team approach with multiple contributions. But I read that you like to design your projects alone sitting in a cafe. What do you think about the collaborative approach to architecture?

AS: This is partially true but it was years ago. I no longer draw in cafes. I used to do that to get out of the ambiance of my studio. This used to happen on daily basis. A coffee house in Porto was an institution. You could see students studying in cafes or meetings would take place there. Now coffee is something that you drink quickly and move on; it is no longer an authentic experience. I even saw a sign at one café that said, “No studying.” But I have another reason for not going to cafes. After certain projects, here in Portugal I became known, so when people see me they come to say hello and when they see that I am drawing they ask if I could draw something for them. So I had to resist. [Laughs.] Now I do sketches in the studio because my collaborators don’t demand sketches from me. [Laughs.]

Mimesis Museum / Alvaro Siza + Castanheira & Bastai Arquitectos Associados + Jun Sung Kim. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: Nevertheless, you start projects with sketches and for a while, you stay one on one with the project, right?

AS: Yes, but at the same time I involve my team from the very beginning. Engineers, for example, start right away. What I don’t like now is when younger architects start working on projects immediately on the computer. This does not give them a chance to start the project freely with free thinking and freehand drawings. Fresh ideas come from thinking and drawing, not from the computer. Sketching is important for thinking.

Fire Station in Santo Tirso. Image © Joao Morgado – Architecture Photography

VB: You also said, “I am a functionalist.” Then you added that “the form, spaces, and atmosphere don’t arise from solving functions. Every architect is forced to provide answers to functional problems. But architecture with a capital A begins when a project obtains freedom, free of all constraints, able to take flight and develop in other directions.” What does that mean for you – architecture with a capital A?

AS: Very difficult… Architecture is a service. When a client asks for something architects have an ethical responsibility to deliver a project that responds to a particular set of objectives as rigorously as possible. But we should still remember that architecture should remain free. Architecture should strive to become another thing, not just be a solution for pragmatics. As an architect, I don’t just want to be preoccupied with solving problems. There are other issues at stake. The real issue is to keep a good balance. Functionality should never suffer, but architecture should be much more than that and achieving beauty is the top priority of any architecture.

Amore Pacific Research & Design Center / Alvaro Siza, Carlos Castanheira and Kim Jong Kyu. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: “Architects do not invent anything, they just transform reality” is one of your favorite expressions. Kenneth Frampton said that this aphorism of yours should be engraved at the entrance of every architecture school. He also said that many of our leading architects can’t accept this idea even as a joke.

AS: Bad for them because this is true. [Laughs.]

VB: There is a very strong belief among leading architects in this notion that “here is my work” and “there is everyone else.”

AS: Well I would agree with that. My architecture is also different. But at the same time I know that I am not an inventor. I am the transformer. That’s all.

Fundação Iberê Camargo. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VB: You said, “Rationality is not enough. I want to go around the problem.”

AS: [Laughs.]

VB: I want to finish our conversation with another one of your phrases, “A good architect works slowly.”

AS: Computers made it possible to design and build architecture much quicker. But thinking still takes as much time. Architecture is about a debate and provocation; that can’t happen without thinking. Computers can enhance thinking, but architecture is a slow art.

Ribero-Serralo Sports Complex. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG + SG

VLADIMIR BELOGOLOVSKY is the founder of the New York-based non-profit Curatorial Project. Trained as an architect at Cooper Union in New York, he has written five books, including Conversations with Architects in the Age of Celebrity (DOM, 2015), Harry Seidler: LIFEWORK (Rizzoli, 2014), and Soviet Modernism: 1955-1985 (TATLIN, 2010). Among his numerous exhibitions: Anthony Ames: Object-Type Landscapes at Casa Curutchet, La Plata, Argentina (2015); Colombia: Transformed (American Tour, 2013-15); Harry Seidler: Painting Toward Architecture (world tour since 2012); and Chess Game for Russian Pavilion at the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale (2008). Belogolovsky is the American correspondent for Berlin-based architectural journal SPEECH and he has lectured at universities and museums in more than 20 countries.

Belogolovsky’s column, City of Ideas, introduces ArchDaily’s readers to his latest and ongoing conversations with the most innovative architects from around the world. These intimate discussions are a part of the curator’s upcoming exhibition with the same title which premiered at the University of Sydney in June 2016. The City of Ideas exhibition will travel to venues around the world to explore ever-evolving content and design.

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© Joseph Kennedy

Most visitors to the Galapagos Islands point their cameras towards the exotic animals and away from the local people. They direct their full attention to the natural landscape, as if to intentionally deny the existence of the urban space of the city, since the presence of any form of architecture would seem in logical conflict with the islands’ identity as a protected wildlife reserve.

The architecture of the Galapagos is both a conceptual and physical contradiction. Like a Piranesian joke, the San Cristobal typology of the proto-ruin falls somewhere on a spectrum between construction and dismantlement. With their “permanently unfinished” construction state seemingly in flux, it is unclear whether many of these buildings display a common optimism for vertical expansion or are instead symptoms of a process of urban decay.

"Unfinished" construction in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno. Image © Joseph Kennedy

"Unfinished" construction in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno. Image © Joseph Kennedy

The unique shapes of these pseudo-informal constructions are the product of a tax loophole found in many South American and even Southern European countries that allows residents and landlords to defer property taxes on buildings in the process of construction. (Another contributing factor to this practice is their residents’ existence in a liminal state of poverty.) The result is a strange, unintentional aesthetic of the purposefully incomplete that has a tendency to dominate many lower income neighborhoods. An especially large concentration of these building types can be found in the capital of the Galapagos, San Cristobal.

"Unfinished" construction in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno. Image © Joseph Kennedy

"Unfinished" construction in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno. Image © Joseph Kennedy

In leaving open the possibility of future construction, these semi-shelters invite the casual observer to imagine divergent possibilities for the completed construction that reflect an imagined future direction for the Galapagos Islands as a whole. Will the roofs of these homes become the penthouses of the wealthy Ecuadorians seeking a vacation home on the islands, high rise hotel towers to house the increasing flood of international tourists, or aviaries for accommodating the world-famous Galapagos finches, so as to integrate these birds into the matrix of human development?

"Unfinished" construction in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno. Image © Joseph Kennedy

"Unfinished" construction in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno. Image © Joseph Kennedy

Mapping the urban area of Puerto Baquerzio Moreno allows us to quantify the percentage of inhabitants that are actively taking advantage of this tax loophole. 1,800 buildings can be counted in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno from satellite photos. 1,253 buildings were surveyed from the ground in total: of those 960 appear to be mostly completed, 207 appear to be in a state of incomplete habitation, and 86 are apparently currently in construction. From that data, 76.5% are “completed,” 16.5% are “incomplete,” and 7% are “under construction.”

Map showing the status of construction in Puerto Baquerzio Moreno on Isla de San Cristóbal. Image © Joseph Kennedy

The somewhat larger and more developed Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz suggests one possible path in which Puerto Baquerzio Moreno may develop. The survey of site statistics shows 2,925 buildings in the main city: of those 2,633 appear to be mostly completed, 233 appear to be in a state of incomplete habitation, and 59 are apparently currently in construction. From that data, 90% are “completed,” 8% are “incomplete,” and 2% are “under construction.”

Map showing the status of construction in Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz. Image © Joseph Kennedy

Joseph Kennedy is a Fulbright grantee conducting research and teaching at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. He graduated with a B. Arch from Cornell University in 2015.

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© Jens Bösenberg

• Architects: Bruzkus Batek Architects
• Location: Neue Bahnhofstraße, 10245 Berlin, Germany
• Architects In Charge: Ester Bruzkus, Patrick Batek, Holger Duwe, Lukas De Pellegrin
• Area: 1000.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Jens Bösenberg

© Jens Bösenberg

Based in the old Knorr Braking Systems factory, Friedrichshain – a protected historical site, is one of three of the online retailer Zalando’s locations in Berlin, employing around 2000 people. Bruzkus Batek architects have designed and conceptualised a multi-use “fashion hub” at the site, including a modern, fully featured canteen and terrace onto the interior courtyard. 

© Jens Bösenberg

The space-efficient design of the wooden framed seating units with OSB surfaces, blends inviting warmth with the austere, industrial design of the host building in a truly exciting way. Up to 300 Personnel gather daily in this canteen to enjoy a selection of meals, or simply coffee. Outside of break time, the space is used for informal meetings and associated activities.

© Jens Bösenberg

© Jens Bösenberg

Out on the terrace, two adjoining huts and a large area of wooden decking, with a bright yellow “garden hut” nestled in the courtyard, provide a great space for sunny weather eating and is the ideal space for parties and functions.

Terrace Section

© Jens Bösenberg

Terrace Floor Plan

The Hub itself is a central event space of approx. 650 square metres, serving as an incubator for creative projects, and an event space. Showboxes – freestanding cubes made of either aluminium, copper, tiling or layered plastic sheeting – provide a space for the dynamic presentation of new fashion collections. The materially varied, precise construction of these cubes stands in contrast to the open, industrial atmosphere of the surrounding building, where the framework and substructures remain visible. Multi-use exhibition platforms and a catwalk are also provided, constructed from OSB.

© Jens Bösenberg

Floor Plan Level 02

© Jens Bösenberg

The windows facing onto the vibrant Neue Bahnhof Strasse are equipped with individual, boutique-like showcases behind each one. Individual doors give access and they are used to show a selection of fashion displays, reflecting the company’s currently sold lines to this busy, upmarket Berlin street. Inside the room they also form an interesting design feature.

© Jens Bösenberg

Stark, bright neon lighting lights the main space, creating the character of a gallery, while individual exhibits and points of interest have their own, subtle light design as an offset and accent.

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As a young architect, there are crucial moments and decisions that begin to define your professional career. What type of architecture do I relate to? Who or what inspires me to create and design? Where do I form my architectural references and context? Should I stay or should I look for a professional experience abroad? At this point, most of us have dreamed of living and working in New York, Chicago, San Francisco… but we often have no clue where to start and immigration bureaucracy seems so obscure, expensive and complicated that we easily get discouraged and give up on our American Dream.

Courtesy of Architect US

After many tries of  looking for a career opportunity in the U.S., I can affirm that the easiest and fastest way to get a job and live your American Dream is through Architect-US – Esteban Becerril, Trainee at SOM.

The most common way Internationals make it to the States is through enrollment in a graduate or post-graduate school. However, not everyone can afford the academic track and thus University doesn’t seem to be a realistic way forward either. In addition to this, the global issues affecting the architectural profession and the proliferation of a new model of networked international practice, lead us to think the industry is in real need of platforms that encourage global dialogues and promote cross-pollination while breaking down the immigration barriers.

You can’t be a global practitioner without transfusion experiences between different cultures. Architect-US is great because it simplifies the process – Kenneth Drucker, Design Principal, HOK New York.

Aiming to reduce these hurdles, Architect-US Career Training Program the First Exchange Program specialized in international Architects and Engineers interested in working in the United States- facilitates the liaison between rising global architectural talents and U.S. based firms, sponsoring the J-1 Visa of participants as part of the U.S. Government’s Exchange J-1 Visitor Program. In 2016, Architect-US placed and sponsored the J-1 Visa of participants from 11 different nationalities -Argentina, France, England, Spain, Brazil, Canada, China…- making the American Dream of over 50 participants come true.

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I remember last year I was kind of lost and desperate to find a good job. And then I heard about Architect-US and I decided to apply for their Job + J-1 Visa Program. They arranged me interviews with several firms and in a few months I was starting at HOK, living my American Dream in the city that never sleeps! –  Claudia Conde, Intern at HOK.

The goal of Architect-US’s outreach is to change the culture of opportunities, advocating for talent and excellence, while reinforcing the value of personal determination and sacrifice. In other words, Architect-US is conceived as a win-win Program: participants get the opportunity to live a unique professional experience and to gain entry into one of the most competitive markets of the world, by covering their J-1 visa expenses; on the other hand, US firms get access to international talent at zero cost by offering participants waged internships or trainings. Architect-US Program is a virtually free service to employers -they pay no program, visa or placement fees-, while connecting and strengthening ties with young professionals eager to learn from American techniques and methodologies, who hail from Europe, South America, Asia, Canada and Australia. It frees the hosts from visa costs and paperwork and facilitates a speedy bureaucratic process (4-6 weeks).  

I had tried many times with other visas but when I started the J-1 visa process with Architect-US, I always had their team by my side, reassuring me. Now I can go on with my life in a happy and fulfilling way, knowing that I won’t have to worry about a visa for a long, long time! – Sibilla Morsiani, Trainee at Restoration Hardware.

In this sense the Program provides the J-1 Visa sponsorship to top-notch architecture students and young professionals, aged 18-35, for them to have the opportunity of pursuing an internship or professional training for up to 18 months in the U.S.; accepting only paid positions that will ensure anyone can afford participating regardless of their economic means. Some of the most prestigious U.S. based companies – such as SOM, OMA, HOK, Grimshaw, IBI Group and FR-EE among others- already trust Architect-US Professional Career Training Program, having brought a variety of cross-cultural benefits to their workplace and standing up for diversity inclusion.

Courtesy of Architect US

One interesting focus of the Architect-US Program is that it helps firms find the right people, both students and professionals – Gustavo Rodríguez, FXFowle Design Principal.

Beyond an educational training service, Architect-US Career Training Program promote opportunities to provide international young professionals with the chance of having a first approach to the American Building Industry while raising public awareness of the benefits of hosting international talent. In 2016, Architect-US hosted an International Competition for the Design and Construction of the program’s booth at the American Institute of Architects 2016 National Convention, held between May 19-21st in Philadelphia, PA.

The competition counted with an international panel of industry leaders including Nuno Ravara (Herzog&de Meuron Associate), Ivan Shunkov (President of Harvard Architectural & Urban Society Alumni), Alex Alaimo (AIA National Associates Committee Director at Large), Salvador Pérez Arroyo (Honorary Professor of the Bartlett School of Architecture UCL), Blanca Lleó (Vice Dean of Madrid Polytechnic School of Architecture External and International Relations) y Patricia Garcia Chimeno (Architect-US CEO and U.S. Director of Operations). Out of the 60 registered entries, three awards were given based on self-supporting structural solution, material usage optimization, design ingenuity and ease of assembly. The 1st prize was won by Rebecca Lou Zhenyuan -a young talented architect working at Arup Hong Kong at the time- who not only saw her first design built in the most prestigious U.S. Architecture event of the year but also found her dream job at Kieran Timberlake, where she is currently pursuing the Architect-US J-1 Training Program.

Courtesy of Architect US

The endorsement of Architect-US means everything in the selection process with the host company, transmitting responsibility and feasibility. Definitely, what makes the difference – Lorena Galvao, Intern at IBI Group.

Internationals, Architects & Engineers, interested in participating in the Architect-US Program should register at their website. Furthermore, Architect-US The Blog serves as a forum for the exchange of international architects experiences, ideas and resources, addressing global challenges and bringing those in the architecture community closer together. More information about the outreach is available on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube .

• Title: Architect-US: How to Work in the U.S. and Not Die in The Process
• Type: Grants, Scholarships & Awards
• Organizers: Architect-US
• Submission Deadline: 01/01/2017 17:37
• Price: Free

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