© Zooey Braun

• Architects: Metaraum Architekten BDA
• Location: Pforzheim, Germany
• Architects In Charge: Wallie Heinisch, Marcus Lembach, Marcus Huber, Felix Bittmann
• Area: 10000.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Zooey Braun

• Planning Of Traffic Facilities: Mailänder Consult GmbH, Karlsruhe
• Structural Engineering: Engelsmann Peters Beratende Ingenieure GmbH, Stuttgart
• Lighting Design: Day & Light Lichtplanung, München

© Zooey Braun

The city of Pforzheim, located in the Northern Black Forest in Germany, is carrying out sucessive changes to public areas surrounnding its main railway station, in order to make the space more attractive to pedestrians.

© Zooey Braun

An essential component of the areas reconfiguration is the new bus station, which features a total of 30 platforms housed under an elegant and prominent roof.

© Zooey Braun

Site Plan

© Zooey Braun

The roofscape of the new central bus station provides form to the hitherto shapeless area between the railway station and overpass, generating a new hub for modern mobility in a high-quality urban space. Instead of a monotone sequence of roofed walkways, an urban space has emerged as a real “place” with a high recognition value. Situated a suitable distance from the central railway station, the new central bus station presents itself as an extension to the historical building – a concise urban marker that gives form to the unsociable area to the east of the railway station building.

Diagram

Plan

Roofing concept

The 1950s formal language of the historical railway station building is augmented with modern design. The rolling edges of the roof segments are inspired by the radii and loops typical of vehicle movement; the central bus station thus visibly manifests itself as a dynamic element in the traffic landscape of which it forms an integral part. Openings above the traffic lanes allow light and sunshine to stream through to the bus stops, whilst providing structure to the views from below and creating an interesting spatial experience through the organically evolving play of shadows.

© Zooey Braun

Elements organised in a linear fashion form a compact summary of the central bus station’s necessary functions (information signs, time display, passenger information system and seating areas). They are small and easy-to-find islands of function – “places” rather than merely scattered individual elements. This achieves optical clarity, orientation and overview, enabling passengers to locate bus stops quickly and with certainty.

Roof Plan

Product Description.The internal space-defining paneling of the supporting structure is formed using movable suspended cement-bound plaster supporting plates. The “graphical“ aspect of the required expansion joints underlines the dynamically elegant nature of the roof shell.

© Zooey Braun

The brand is “Aquapanel” cementboard by Knauf. It is related to the projects architecture in view of the fact that it is the only “cheap” material to create elegant and smooth double curved surfaces whithout creating cracks or bulges as a result of extensions caused by difference of temperatures.

© Zooey Braun

http://ift.tt/2edGKLH

© Edmund Sumner

• Architects: R+D Studio
• Location: Jaypee Greens Kensington Boulevard Noida, Noida-Greater Noida Expy, Sector 131, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, India
• Area: 3200.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Edmund Sumner , Courtesy of Unknown

• Client: Vidya Education Foundation
• Plumbing & Firefighting: Saviram Engineering Consultants Pvt. Ltd
• Hvac: Abid Hussain Consultants
• Structure Design: BMSF Design Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
• Acoustics: Communications Media Products Pvt. Ltd.
• Stage Design: Modern Stage Service
• Lead Architects: Shikha Doogar, Shridhar Rao, Aditi Bhatia, Sanjoy Kumar Deb, Anshul Kapoor, Samiksha Khanna, Harshat Verma, Mudit Gupta

© Edmund Sumner

r+d studio was asked to design a multifunctional building for Delhi Public School on Noida Expressway. Maximising on the constricting area opportunity provided by the client, the firm was able to deliver a building design of 90 per cent efficiency and a conglomeration of six programs, as compared to the requested three. Consequently it houses a swimming pool, a 400-seater auditorium, multipurpose halls, squash courts, a cafeteria and a library, nestled within the courtyard of the academic school block. 

Axonometric

The varied functions are brought together through varied volumes stacked up to create a delicate balance with childlike frivolity. Seemingly on the verge of a tumble, the stack resembles a precarious tower of blocks that were hurriedly put together by a child. Simultaneously, it is designed in a way that is dichotomous to the more formal arrangements of the neighbouring classrooms. The plaza surrounding the MPH acts as an extension of this frivolity and pulls the children out to experience the amphitheatre; children’s play areas and the play grounds.

© Edmund Sumner

From the play areas the children can proceed towards the auditorium, cafeteria, or the swimming pool area through their individual access points, or move to the multipurpose rooms and squash courts upstairs. The separate entrances are a conscious intervention to limit internal circulation. This provides the scope for accommodating more functions into a very tight-knit space. 

Plan

From the exterior, this space can be accessed through a ceremonial ramp near the auditorium, or the steps leading to the cafeteria and the swimming pool. It is surrounded by greenery stripped across steps – which serve as an amphitheatre for outdoor projections of the events proceeding inside. While the granite facades of the MPH resonates the formality of the existing architecture, the interior bleeds a colourful contrast onto the white space. Colour is that binding element in the building that ties one block to another, as it seemingly seeps into the space through the furniture, floor, and even the structure. It serves as the playful intervention that brings the space alive, much like a child filling in bright reds and oranges into a blank outline. Given the skewed arrangement of different blocks in the building, the structure is a juxtaposition of multiple grids, and colour is the language that ties the variety together. However the auditorium has a language of its own – the interior is designed like folds striating across the walls of the room. The birch striations contrast the informality of the exteriors to create a space that is an accrual of state of art technologies and aesthetics.

© Edmund Sumner

Product description. With 3,500 kids using the facility it was important to address the wear and tear of the building and one of the primary areas which we felt needed attention was the flooring. We proposed to use Pandomo flooring from Ardex which is a micro-cement surface application which gives us seamless flooring in the desired colors and patterns. 

© Edmund Sumner

The other area where we address the materiality of the space was the Auditorium, where we introduced Birch Ply wall paneling. Brichwood is a natural acoustic material and by introducing it in the Auditorium we were able to get an optimal sound for a very reasonable price.

© Edmund Sumner

http://ift.tt/2dZhPQS

© R2 Companies

R2 Companies and Gensler have teamed up to revitalize the Milwaukee Post Office building and convert it into a mixed-use destination with retail and an activated riverfront arcade. The master plan aims to transform the brutalist building, which is one of Milwaukee’s largest and most iconic, by carefully considering the existing site and accordingly defining an identity for Milwaukee’s downtown. 

“As people migrate back to urban cores, transforming urban relics are the answer to healing the downtown fabric of cities while providing authentic experiences for new generations living in and around them,” said Benjy Ward, principal of Gensler. “The Milwaukee Post Office site exemplifies this potential.”

© R2 Companies

The site is connected to the river walk, an elevated highway, and an intermodal station that boasts 1.4 million annual users—features that the architects believe endow the adaptive reuse proposal with the necessary potential to become a dynamic urban destination and a symbol of opportunity.

© R2 Companies

Matt Garrison, managing principal of R2, envisions the building with two floors of commercial space, including a high-end grocery store and a big box retailer, with another floor each of parking and office space. 1,500 feet of riverfront property could house restaurants and entertainment, leaving another 900,000 square feet available for future development.

© R2 Companies

We’re really excited about the potential for this site, said Garrison. The Milwaukee Post Office is the type of [opportunity] we spend a career looking for.

• Architects: R2 Companies, Gensler
• Location: 341 W St Paul Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203, USA
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: R2 Companies

News via: R2 Companies

http://ift.tt/2ea8npF

Courtesy of Archimatika Architects

Archimatika Architects has unveiled the plans for “Leopol Town,” a new housing project located on Styiska Street in Lviv, Western Ukraine. Overall, the project will include seven buildings, with 757 flats, shops, cafeterias, restaurants, and public access at the lower levels. 

In an effort to combat the uncomfortable Soviet “sleeping neighborhood” feeling of the city, the project will feature open blocks, parceling, energy efficient systems, and sustainability principles to “invite nature in.”

Courtesy of Archimatika Architects

Lviv is a city that is valued for its history, and moreover the Ensemble of Historic Center is under UNESCO protection. We wanted to pay tribute to the city and the styling of its historic neighborhood by rethinking the block and opening it to nature to penetrate and open views to the public – said the architect. 

Courtesy of Archimatika Architects

Along the longer side of Leopol Town, a green pedestrian street will connect the historic city center and a new sports arena. Through the use of trees, the housing will act as an extension of this green zone.

Courtesy of Archimatika Architects

Courtesy of ARCHIMATIKA

Courtesy of Archimatika Architects

The design of the buildings is drawn from the Historic Old City—façades will feature historic elements and inclined roofing will correlate with the silhouette of the Old City.

Courtesy of Archimatika Architects

Courtesy of Archimatika Architects

Three types of urban zones will comprise the project: public interactive, and semi-public. Public green zones filled with recreation places for kids and their parents will be a place where residents and neighborhood guests come together. Built-in cafeterias, restaurants and local stores are facing public zone, and create next urban layer, where people can interact with neighborhood. Semi-Public continuous pedestrian space inside of the enclose complex is created for the needs of residents and their guests. It also provides kids’ safe movement inside of the yard. Recreation zones for different ages, sport zones, bicycle paths and kids’ playgrounds designed in different areas of the future development – described the projet’s team. 

Courtesy of ARCHIMATIKA

News via Archimatika Architects.

http://ift.tt/2ejvKfd

© Alessandro Giraldi

• Architects: Cité Arquitetura
• Location: R. Sorocaba – Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil
• Authors:  Celso Rayol e Fernando Costa
• Project Coordinators: Daniel Osório, Lúcia Andrezo e Francisco Meyer
• Area: 2485.94 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Alessandro Giraldi , Cortesia de Cité Arquitetura

• Team: Ana Clara Meirelles, André Caterina, Érika Sampaio, Felipe Andrade, Laura Basile, Luiz Felippe Calçado, Marina Cuiabano, Thiago Marques
• Client: FMAC Engenharia
• Structure: GMA Engenharia e Projetos – Vicente de Souza e Helmany Murtinho
• Installations: Armando Fernandes
• Fire System: Monta
• Hvac: Ambientair
• Images: Archigraph
• Marketing : Totalright – Marcello Mendes

© Alessandro Giraldi

Dynamism through balconies

Place of intellectuals and bohemians, Botafogo neighborhood has been going through a process of increasing value and vertical growth for the past few years, mixing new residential condos with historical buildings and modest residences from the beginning of the 20th century. This diversity makes the region perfect scenery to welcome unique architecture, beyond conventional real estate market standards, such as the case of ´Sorocaba 112´.

The conceptual approach of the building’s façades and interiors is developed through investigative architectural and construction models, based on the adjacent buildings and the neighborhood. By doing so, the final design aims to become a dialogue with the cultural richness and history of its surroundings. 

© Alessandro Giraldi

© Alessandro Giraldi

The foundation is made of cast walls, glass and horizontal corten steel profiles, creating a transition from the street, through a visual continuum between the entry hall space and the public sidewalk. The material´s strong tone, chosen for the foundation, highlights the lightness of the building´s white body.

© Alessandro Giraldi

Typical Floor Plan

© Alessandro Giraldi

The building consists of 12 apartments, three units per floor; all of them are composed by three bedrooms and different plan layouts. The areas vary from 95m2 to 120m2, and each apartment features a 15m2 frontal balcony.

Section

© Alessandro Giraldi

Encouraging the use of bicycles for riding in the neighborhood and in the city was also an important aspect of the project. Besides providing a customized bicycle for each apartment, a map with indications of local bike routes and cultural attractions was included in the bicycle storage place.

Sketch

http://ift.tt/2eGiqWv

Courtesy of LAVA

LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture) has won the competition to redesign an energy park and energy storage building in Heidelberg, Germany, for the Stadtwerke Heidelberg. Currently a cylindrically shaped storage center, the space will be transformed into a dynamic sculpture, city icon, and knowledge hub for sustainable energy, fully accessible to the public with city views. 

In order to display the concepts of energy transition, decentralization, networking, flexibility and adaptability, the project will feature a multi-layered façade structure inspired by geometries in nature like leaves, spider webs, and reptile skins. “The result is a dynamic, ever-changing surface of light and shadow, animated by wind, turning the building into a beacon of a dynamic new energy regime.”

Around 20,000 diamond-shaped plates made of thin stainless steel will be hooked to an elastic connection in the meshes of a steel outer network, allowing them to twist up to 90 degrees in the wind.

This number of plates matches the number of households supplied with energy by the network, explained Tobias Wallisser, LAVA director. [This is] a visual signifier of the impact new technology can make.

Courtesy of LAVA

At night, the static inner shell will be illuminated with blue, green, and white LED lighting mounted below the stairs.

Courtesy of LAVA

Visitors will experience this exciting place as a three-dimensional structure. Across a bridge, they will reach an elliptical entrance level. Two elevators take them on a journey, giving panoramic views as they are transported to a roof terrace with large staggered terraces and event spaces and a bistro. The emergency stairs are two vertical promenades of knowledge.

Courtesy of LAVA

In the Energy Park, visitors can learn about the challenges of energy transition in the city of Heidelberg, technical details of the utility company, Stadtwerke, renewable sources of energy on site, and more.

At 56 meters high, the thermal storage complex—which will serve as a key component to the application of renewable energy as it compensates for the gap between heat production and consumption in the city—will become one of the tallest buildings in Heidelberg.

Courtesy of LAVA

The project will be an example of LAVA’s “re-skinning” research, showcasing its philosophy of “more with less.”

Furthermore, LAVA has recently been named as the 2016 Laureate of the European Prize for Architecture, which honors architects that have “committed to forward the principles of European humanism.”

Courtesy of LAVA

The project is set to begin construction in 2017, and will be on display—along with 13 other shortlisted entries from the competition—in the IBA (International Building Exhibition) in Hedelberg from October 20 to 22.

Learn more about the project here.

News via: LAVA.

http://ift.tt/2dGsRFe

© Kristina Hrabětová

• Architects: VRTIŠKA • ŽÁK
• Location: Prague, Czech Republic
• Area: 15000.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Kristina Hrabětová

© Kristina Hrabětová

Architects began with works on the project in the summer of 2014, when they won the tender with an innovative interior design solution. “We had a specific task from the client, which for us was a clear challenge. Create a more playful office and environments than the Google Zurich have. Therefore, we have most of our creativity at the beginning invested in finding new informal solutions for the offices of today. The main topic was to find elements that are not only attractive, but still practical and widely used by all employees. The next task was to solve the running of the company, the location of individual departments and still maintain as possibly most airy space with maximum preservation of privacy, “says Roman Vrtiška, one of the two authors.

© Kristina Hrabětová

In a Prague office, we can find a private restaurant (whose running and eating employee is paid by the company), an internal, central staircase through all seven floors, gym, shop, recording studio, playroom, movie theater, game room, golf simulator, library or relaxation room full of hammocks and parasols. This amount, for the office non-standard elements, however, has its own reason. “IT segment is currently one of the fastest growing in the world, so a recruitment has a great interest in new talents, which now has the opportunity, not only because of these attractive spaces to better adopt. It is essential that the company Avast paves the relatively benevolent and liberal strategy towards their employees, so we were able to integrate these elements into the interior and to equip them basically almost the whole floor, “says architect Vrtiška.

© Kristina Hrabětová

© Kristina Hrabětová

The authors then tried to incorporate into the interior relaxed atmosphere that prevails in Avast while using industrial materials to highlight the origin IT companies and technology background. Therefore, the duo Vrtiška • Žák decided to put in a relatively narrow footprint of the building core, which is located on the longitudinal axis and has concentrated most of the space that are “not working” (meeting rooms, telephone booths, private employment booths, press corners, etc.).

© Kristina Hrabětová

The whole project was basically one big analysis of life in the “IT office” and its study. We have tried to avoid the usual stereotypes and offer the company Avast completely different perspective of work in offices. The result led into our idea called “Office golf”. In essence, it is our own invention, when we tried to get employees to regular exercise on all floors. Each office floor has a total of eighteen holes, just like a regular golf course. Additionally, everything is designed so that each of them is always different difficulty. Employees have the opportunity to go one after each other individualy floor by floor brainstorming, playing and visiting the places where most of them would probably never go. The idea of ​​office golf indirectly linked the idea of kick boards, which are tailor-made for Avast and are freely available to all floors. The building is 135 meters long, so the scooter is ideal, simple and quick way to move all over the floors, “added the authors.

© Kristina Hrabětová

© Kristina Hrabětová

http://ift.tt/2eelBFJ

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

How do you make school fun and sustainable in the age of technology? S.Misagh Architecture and Planning’s design for an Iranian village school creates an edgy alternative to the antiquated classroom. The firm’s three principle concepts for their Deh-e Now Village School — identity, knowledge, and the natural environment— allow students an array of opportunities for interactive engagement with their surroundings. 

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

By connecting educational spaces to the public space, the architects hope to foster effortless interactions between students, faculty, and parents. In a plan to create zero hierarchy between these sectors, the firm promotes a single identity as a “coherent framework central to the nurture of the children.”

All the spaces are designed to provide opportunities to experience and discover through playing games, socializing and cooperating with others, and sustainably using natural resources, the firm writes.

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

In addition to the the two yards (village yard and play-yard), the classrooms and administrative spaces distinguish four distinct zones within the school — all adapted for creative development and learning processes on a daily basis. Six classrooms overlook the central courtyard, whose ground was designed with various textures to inspire children’s imaginations. 

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

The ground floor plan attempts to convey three key features to the environment: climate, local culture, and rural lifestyle. While the students become acquainted with the fundamental elements surrounding them, the students will garner greater appreciation, writes the firm. Further encouraging growth, a small agricultural area is used for testing various cultivation methods before planting them in large scale.

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

Serving as a meeting entrance for the school, the final zone “Administrative, Scientific, and Public Spaces,” welcomes a multitude of activities including a public space for socializing within the village. The semi-open space blurs the line between outside and inside, benefitting village events and parent-teacher meetings.

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

The firm also looked at site layout to design in accordance with the grid of the natural landscape. Their attention to climate played into structural decisions as well as their dedication to natural elements. 

• Location: Jiroft, Kerman Province, Iran
• Architect In Charge: Salman Zangeneh
• Area: 0.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of S.Misagh Architecture & Planning

News via: S.Misagh 

http://ift.tt/2euIULe

© Peter Cuypers

• Architects: Studioninedots , Ateliers 115
• Location: 44 Rue Traversière, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France
• Design Team: Albert Herder, Vincent van der Klei, Arie van der Neut, Metin van Zijl
• Area: 9300.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Peter Cuypers

• Project Team: Wouter Hermanns, Daniel Aw, Freddy Koelemeijer, Eliano Dias Felicio, Pedro Piernas
• Engineering And Project Manager: Jean-Marc Saurer
• Partner: Ateliers 115 Architectes, Paris: Jean-Claude Martinez, Eric Brunel
• Contractor: AGB
• Facade Consultant: Interface; Dennis Soules, Fabrice Bourgon
• Structural And Services Consultant: Egis

© Peter Cuypers

From the architect. Boursorama Banque has moved into its new Parisian head office in Boulogne-Billancourt designed by Studioninedots. In collaboration with Ateliers 115, Studioninedots created a robust and clear building distinguished by its subtle recesses and terraces but foremost by the striking facade that interplays rhythms of bronze-coloured blades. 

© Peter Cuypers

 The bank building is situated on a section of the old Renault factory site in Paris. The plot Lot YA sits within a dense urban fabric and points with its southern tip towards the adjacent Parc Billancourt and the river Seine. This resulted in a paradox: optimal views of the park were desired but, simultaneously, incoming direct sunlight should be blocked.

Concept

Concept

Concept

Studioninedots approached the challenge with a clear solution: vertical aluminium blades. By placing them at an angle, the blades function to block sunlight during the harshest hours while retaining views. The spacing of the blades is determined by the amount of sunlight and the orientation, resulting in a large variety of facade compositions. As one moves around the building, the facades continuously change appearance. Placing the main entrance in the southern tip positions the bank prominently amongst the ‘front row’ on the park and also establishes an interesting vista through the inner court.

© Peter Cuypers

The building is designed to stand its place among the high rises on Avenue Pierre Lefaucheux. Utilising horizontal layers, for example in the form of recesses and terraces, connects it better to the smaller scale residential buildings in the neighbourhood. 

© Peter Cuypers

Diagram

© Peter Cuypers

This site comprises the last large scale development within Greater Paris and will accommodate approximately 15,000 residents and occupants. The urban plan is designed by Patrick Chavannes. Renowned architects including Jean Nouvel, Dominique Perrault, KCAP, LAN and Baumschlager&Eberle have designed individual plots. Studioninedots won the invited competition in 2012 for the development of Lot YA, which was commissioned by an innovative, open-minded client. 
YOU, Lot YA is the first project completed by Studioninedots in France.

© Peter Cuypers

http://ift.tt/2dfMHe8

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

• Architects: Closer Architects
• Location: Prague, Czech Republic
• Architects In Charge: Martin Cermak, Matej Beranek
• Area: 240.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: www.aiphotography.eu

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

The Villa “Z” was designed on a south sloping plot in a residential part of Prague, Czech Republic.  The property is quite small–about 650 square meters. There are walls of the neighbor’s houses on the south and east borders. On the west side there is a house just 2,5 meters from the property line. Its windows are right on the facade facing the client’s house. On the positive side there is 10 meters of space from the road on the north, which makes the plot optically bigger. A major requirement of the client was to design the best house with a maximum of 350 m2 of living area which included four bedrooms, a garage, living rooms, spa etc. 

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

These limitations were the most significant in designing the concept for the house.  There are neighbors on the east and west sides close to the property, who can watch what is happening on the site what we wanted to get rid of. This inspired us to design the house to be open to south and within itself   using a central patio in the second floor. This takes advantage of the nice south view to the hills and a scenic forest on the horizon. On the south sides,  we made all the living  areas with private terraces which are always hidden or somehow covered from the view of neighbors.   Other facades are using just wide narrow windows on the top of the rooms to bring light into utility rooms like bathrooms and the staircase, but keep privacy.  

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

The house is vertically divided into three levels. The first level is partly underground and it opens to the terrace and the garden on the south side. On this floor there is a utility room with all technical equipment, the main staircase and the spa zone (with sauna and bathroom). On the side facing the garden, there is a bedroom for guests and a party room or fitness room which is focused to the outside terrace. This area is mostly covered by the middle floor. This is useful when you want to use the terrace, even in rainy weather. The facade of this level is covered by a special black plaster so this basement is a hidden foundation for the white house above which optically lets it levitate above the ground. 

Courtesy of Closer Architects

The middle floor is accessible at the same elevation as the road on the north side. On this level there is a garage for two cars, an entrance hall, main staircase, restroom, two kitchens (open and closed/caterer’s), a dining area and a living room. Along the south façade, especially in front of the kitchen, there is a big terrace which is cantilevered above the garden. This is also partly covered by the construction of the top floor.  This is used mostly as a dining terrace and is accessible through the sliding windows from the kitchen. The living room is covered by a sloping roof which allows the direct vertical connection through the master staircase with the gallery and master bedroom on the top floor.  The sloping roof brings the feeling of continual super elevated space. This idea is also supported by placing a triangular window on the facade heading to the private master terrace in front of the master bedroom and the gallery. This window brings light to the interior, even if the main windows on the south are covered. The triangular window also allows the visual connection between the private master terrace and the living room or gallery. The master staircase railing brings a dynamic shape into the interior as does the other furniture like the kitchen made of white tri-stone and the black painted oak book case. To the east, behind the master staircase there is a sloped window with a nice view to the Zen garden with a proposed stone statue,  which would be illuminated from below. Next to the window, there is a built in couch, where you can have a nap with a book while looking at the statue.  

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

The top floor is accessible either by the main staircase on the west side of the house – this is primarily used by two children, who have their bedrooms and restroom in the west wing, or by the master staircase from the living room. This is mostly used by the parents going to their bedroom (which has a private en-suite bathroom as well). There is a private, almost triangular master terrace, in front of the bedroom, which is also accessible from the gallery. It is bordered on three sides by a facade on the west, by windows on the north and east. A scenic view opens to the south through a small gap. This shape allows the owners to use the terrace with 100% privacy and still have a nice view to the forest on the opposite side of the valley and the distant horizon.

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

The middle and the top floor exteriors create dynamic black and white sloped spiral blocks which are twisted together. The black part – made of high glossy black painted glass panels and windows – divides the white cantilevered volumes which helps them    appear like they are floating in the air.  Additionally, the volume of the middle and top floor floating above the black basement—increases the sense of the Villa’s overall interlocking three dimensional volume.  Together these high contrast components, allow the house to embody the dynamic energy of a statue while optically decreasing its apparent volume (more than if it were monochrome).  

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

The interior design elements flow continuously from the exterior to the interior.  The same dynamic shapes and colors are used for the  furniture’s angles, staircase railings and even ceilings, all reinforced by LED light stripes.  

© http://www.aiphotography.eu

We took extensive care to create and design the architectural details to support the client needs through the Closer Architects vision. We give many thanks to the talented  sub-contractors who were really partners and helped to finish such a complex building within a reasonable budget.   

http://ift.tt/2dXnJ4S