It is a rebuilding project for a residential area lined with houses from ancient times. The project is in a 104.81 sqm (31 tsubo) low-rise area, and on a narrow piece of land with setback restrictions and limitations set forth under the Landscape Act.
Floor Plan
For this reason, the surrounding houses are built to fill up the land, creating the cramped housing unique to Kyoto, and this makes it difficult to create areas with gardens and green spaces that give a sense of nature.
Under such circumstances, we wondered whether we might be able to develop houses with a sense of space, while ensuring the number of rooms required.
Section
Therefore, on this occasion, we made a point of creating a space on a narrow plot.We set three boxes of different volumes on the plot and set each one at an angle. On the plot, we started creating the spaces produced by the angles.
We greened the spaces so as to make it possible to get a sense of the outdoors from any room. Rather than taking a building as being one large volume, by bringing together several small volumes, and connecting small spaces together, it is possible to have green areas dotted around the site, incorporate the exterior area into the building and create rich space even with minimal space.
From the architect. Located in a new subdivision less than an hour from Auckland this new house was one of the first built on a flat site that has been split up to create well sized semi-suburban semi-coastal sections on what was once pastoral land.
Faced with a flat vacant lot with no neighbours the design strategy was to anticipate the soon to be context and also to create a sense of retreat from the street. We also wanted to respect the client’s privacy and provide a layered separation from front to back.
We proposed the use of shadow as a design material, creating an oversized dark roof that rests on thick cedar clad walls. The roof protects from the elements, heavy downpours are common, but also the extended black eaves and long shadows are protective in nature. From the interior the black eaves frame the landscape views and enhance the appearance of the surrounding greenery.
As you approach the subdivision from a car the house appears as a simple gable form, referencing the work of the early New Zealand modernist Group Architects. From the street the roof is held up by the cedar clad walls and the front door is screened by a poured in place concrete wall. Moving through the home however it is apparent that the house is a spilt gable form and the plan is dived in two, the front half is the garage, street entry and guest bedrooms while the rear half is the living spaces and owners bedroom. A glazed link connects the two wings located at the highest point of the roof. The glazed connection also provides, to the east, a secondary garden entry and, to the west, a sheltered evening outdoor dining space.
The living areas are arranged either side of a wide cedar lined wall that continues from the garden to the rear through to the entry. This wall acts as a threshold separating the kitchen from the living and dining spaces. These spaces are also set on a lower level to the kitchen, so to enter you pass through the wide cedar wall and down a few steps creating separation through level change and material rather than walls and doors. A high raked ceiling with exposed rafters to the living room as opposed to the flat ceilings found elsewhere. The high walls create room for the owner’s art collection but also imparting the sense of being in a covered outdoor room, which is enhanced by the glazed opening leading to an al fresco sitting room.
House Under Eave has a shifting scale; from the street the house appears as a compact assemblage of parts. On entering however the scale expands as you move through the plan and spills out to a verdant garden. It is in this space the owner can retreat to, connected to the garden but sheltered by the eave.
The biggest temptation is to jump right in. There are solutions that come to you. There are images that spontaneously appear. My method is rather to hold back as long as possible, to really imagine it spatially, so to be sure I have something to say.
Award winning documentarian and critic Matt Tyrnauer (director of Valentino: The Last Emperor, Citizen Jane: Battle For The City) has released a new documentary taking a look into the mind of world-renowned architect Jean Nouvel and his design process.
The film, titled Jean Nouvel: Reflections, follows the French architect around the world to visit his most recent works, including the Philharmonie de Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe, Fondation Cartier, Musée du Quai Branly, and Doha Tower and future projects, notably the National Museum of Qatar, his New York skyscraper, 53W53, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
via Altimeter Films
The footage captures Nouvel working through problems at all scales and in all stages of his process: from conceptualizing, to sketching, to deciding the hue of the stones to be used in the galleries of the forthcoming Louvre Abu Dhabi, as he explains the inspiration behind his landmark works.
Jean Nouvel: Reflections recently premiered at the 2016 New York Film Festival, and is also an official selection at Milano Design Film Festival, Savannah Film Festival and the Chicago Film Festival.
More information about the documentary can be found here.
It is important for children to like the Maison de la Petite Enfance, for them to feel comfortable there, free yet safe. It has to be gentle and tender with them, participate in their education, help them find their marks and stimulate their imaginations» – The elected officials of Lieusaint. With the children’s well-being in mind this is how NOMADE Architectes designed and carried out the project. The facility is composed of the following:
– a family nursery
– a medical entity for monitoring children and check-ups for admission
– a rest space for child-minders (RAM)
– a multi-reception with a 40-cot capacity
– a place for receiving children and parents (LAEP)
The Maison de la Petite Enfance is located on a space that acts as an interface between houses on one side and the center of Lieusaint on the other. With its use of materials and its location, the building fosters gentle, harmonious incorporation into the larger landscape. It is built on a north-south axis.
A neighboring woodland led NOMADE Architectes to preserve and enhance this landscape heritage by creating a dialog between its volumes and the woods. The Maison de l’Enfance is located in the path of a «greenway» that links the center of Lieusaint with new outlying buildings.The entrance plaza to the building opens onto this greenway. A slope rises up from this pedestrian zone to the Maison’s entrance, guiding patrons gently to the front door. The formalism of the gabled roofs, as required by the local master-plan, becomes an original concept by repeating the same motif in the façade, using ceramic tiles to create a single-material envelope.
NOMADE Architectes worked on the quality of the interior atmosphere, basing it on a central concourse punctuated with patios, considerable natural light and controlled hygrothermal surroundings. Used as the building’s backbone, this concourse adapts to the varying moments of the building’s life:
– reception time: a friendly space for welcoming the public
– activity time: connections with the multiple reception area, the nursery, the shared space, administration and the annexes
With its compact shape, the building is organized functionally.
The building is split into two interconnected parts:
The central unifying concourse running north/south
The function-based compartments (multiple reception, nursery, shared space and administration) are rather like small houses forming a village around the main road.
NOMADE Architects offered construction solutions that made it a sustainable, optimized project in energy-consumption matters:
– the building meets RT 2012 (thermal regulation) standards for low-energy consumption
– Interior patios accessible to children and staff instill eco-responsibility in the children
– More than simply easing foot traffic and raising the children’s awareness, the patios also control the building’s temperature with air-intake that provides ventilation for all buildings and contributes to the summer comfort of all users
– Solutions such as landscaped roofs hallmark the building’s ecological ambitions
– 20 sq. m solar panels in the tiles increase user comfort
Product Description.The materials used project an image of the building’s sustainability in harmony with the natural environment. Made of wood in its structure and finishings, the project demonstrates genuine commitment to an adapted response thanks to noble and lasting materials.
NOMADE Architectes opted for a wooden building system that enabled it to save time in the construction.The roofs are made of flat ceramic tiles that cascade down to the walls, thus creating contemporary archetypes in perfect harmony with the existing neighborhood.
Google and La Biennale di Venezia have teamed up to release an online catalogue of the 2016 Venice Biennale. Hosted on Google’s Arts and Culture platform, the digital archive contains over 3700 images and videos from the 15th International Architecture Exhibition “Reporting From The Front”, curated by Alejandro Aravena, and a selection of National Pavilions and ancillary events.
Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
The partnership between Google and La Biennale di Venezia began with the launch of last year’s Biennale Arte 2015 online database, which gave people from around the world a chance to “visit” the festival virtually.
Of course, don’t forget to check out ArchDaily’s own extensive coverage of the 2016 Venice Biennale, featuring exclusive interviews, commentary and in-depth looks at this year’s installations and events, at http://archdai.ly/2016biennale.
From the architect. Elm Street is dominated by very mature evergreen trees and high garden hedges, so much so that the residential architecture on the street becomes secondary in prominence. The west side of the street also contains unusually deep lots, just under 350 feet in length, with no lane access at the rear. As such, the properties offer design opportunities & challenges not available on more typical residential lots in the city.
This particular property is one of these deep lots with clusters of tall evergreen trees, both within the site and on the neighbouring properties, some close to 100 ft. in height. The site depth and the mature trees are the main influences on the design of the house. The 343 ft. long lot allows the house to be stretched apart into living space pavilions that open up to and integrate with the natural setting, while breaking down the building mass. The simple lines and natural materials are intended to create a quiet backdrop to the overwhelmingly established natural setting of the site and neighbouring lots.
The house’s massing consists of single and double storey components straddling a central glass-enclosed circulation spine. The components are separated by garden courtyards and anchored to the site by three feature chimney walls. The house is set low on the property with the main floor level only a foot above the existing entrance grade. This eases the connection between interior and exterior spaces. Exterior terrace platforms become an extension of the living spaces into the surrounding garden. The pool is sited as a water court to the family room and main bedroom above.
Utilizing a subtle palette of natural materials, the finishes are a combination of horizontal wood cladding, glass and architectural concrete. The architectural concrete finish on the three feature ‘chimney’ walls is expressed both inside and outside to further emphasize the connection to the exterior.
HW architecture, led by Lebanese/French architect Hala Wardé, has been chosen as the winners of an international competition to design the new BeMA: Beirut Museum of Art in Lebanon. The new museum will be located in the heart of Beirut and features a “central campanile tower” that will rise nearly 400 feet into the air as it becomes a new cultural beacon for the city.
The new Beirut Museum of Art will be located on a “symbolically-charged” site in historic Beirut that once marked the dividing lines of the Lebanese Civil War. The museum will serve as a symbol of unification, displaying modern and contemporary works from Lebanon, the Lebanese diaspora and the wider region.
HW Architecture’s design is centered around a campanile tower containing space for workshops and performances, as well as artists’ residences that feature panoramic views of downtown Beirut. A public garden and landscaped promenade will accommodate site-specific installations and artworks in a lush, peaceful setting, while an amphitheater will play host to performances and events. As the Museum will be situated on a plot of land owned by Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), the selected design takes special consideration to its connections to the campus and to the larger urban surroundings.
Courtesy of Beirut Museum of Art
In their citation, the Jury lauded the winning design for “the way it creates a succession of varied landscapes and spaces where art and society can come together. The connections between garden, amphitheater, exhibition spaces and roof garden have been well considered and offer a continuous visitor experience that lends itself to both exhibiting art and engaging with the community.”
Courtesy of Beirut Museum of Art
“I am delighted and honored to realize my first major project in the city of Beirut where I was born, on such an exceptional site,” said Hala Wardé following the announcement.
“This museum program, in connection with the university, will allow us to create a new cultural and social space with a garden and amphitheater, and will single out this artistic territory with a strong and recognizable urban beacon, which through its multiple expressions, will belong to the new urban landscape of the city. It is a moving coincidence to receive this news as the architectural world is gathered in London to honor Zaha Hadid, an inspiration to women and architects worldwide, who was originally a member of this competition’s jury. I am thinking of her today with great affection.”
Hala Wardé. Image Courtesy of Beirut Museum of Art
The jury also awarded a special mention to WORK Architecture Company, New York City, led by Columbia University of Architecture Dean Amale Andraos.
As one of the most significant developments for Lebanese art and culture in a generation, BeMA is envisioned as a multidisciplinary hub of art and design dedicated to showcasing modern and contemporary Lebanese culture. The formation of BeMA: Beirut Museum of Art is spearheaded by The Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon (APEAL), a non-profit organization dedicated to international quality programs that support art from Lebanon and the global art scene.
The museum is expected to open to the public in 2020. More information on the museum and competition can be found here.
From the architect. Surrounded by large pine trees the church and crematorium of the Northern Cemetery in Kalmar lies beautifully. It was originally designed by the architect Rudolf Holmgren at Birch-Holmgren Arkitekter and completed in 1963. The crematorium had a small renovation done in the 90’s, replacing older technical systems with modern technology, but it was still in great need of an overall renovation. Increased demands of the program also required an extension of the building.
Site Plan
A thoughtful process with the main focus on creating a dignified farewell has led to a development of a slightly new facility. It’s placement and material follows the order Rudolf Holmgren chose fifty years ago: pitch-faced limestone, plaster and lacquered oak façade, allowing it to attach with a humble approach.
An additional story of technical facilities has been added below the existing building. In order to fit all the required technology, large and poorly used spaces in the basement were made available, some through excavation. With this solution, the noise generated by the technical systems does not interfere with the light sound from the pine trees outside.
The interior floor is just as the original buildings’ made of polished limestone in different tones. For warmer character of the ceremony-room, the planed limestone was chosen, with the beautiful and timeless tool-chiseled ”carpet” aligned in the center.
The crematory now offers a completely different working environment. A transformation from typical industrial approach towards a intimate and dignified last farewell, providing an opportunity for the families to attend the cremation of the deceased, if chosen. To the east the untouched view that provides the unique character of the ceremony-room was found. While seated, the low horizontal window cuts the view and creates a strong relation to the softly shaped lawn with the pine trunks shimmering in the light.
Floor Plan
The crematorium was awarded the 2014 Swedish Stone Industry Association’s prize ”Stenpriset” and the 2014 Swedish Association of Architects Blekinge- Kalmar’s local architecture prize.
Architectural Assistants: Sofia Ferreira, Malcolm Thorpe, Melissa Beasley, Eleni Makri and Ross Tredget Structural design by Jonathan Douglas, of Douglas Kenney Consulting Engineers Building Services by John Treadgold, of Technical Solutions
Party Wall Surveyor: Andrew Rysdale, of Robert Martell and Partners
From the architect. The initial brief for a largely unrefurbished Victorian house on the South Side of London’s Westbourne Grove, centred around establishing a new family home for two adults and their young children. During the course of the project the family expanded from two children to four. Behind the original façade, the buildings circulation, rear form and fenestration limited the development of a new section able to generate enough space for a growing family.
Elevations
The resulting project involved the complete demolition of all original accommodation behind the front façade, and substantial excavation to facilitate the new proposal.
The original half landing and cross wall configuration was superseded by vertically stacked circulation over six levels, and more generously proportioned and planned spaces. The living and dining area, over two levels, are linked by a double height gallery and motorized door, which opens directly onto a rear courtyard. Family accommodation extends beyond the new lower ground level up to the Westbourne Grove pavement.
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Level 1 is dedicated to the Master suite, with the upper levels accommodating the 4 children. The carefully considered simple palette of materials have been chosen to absorb and reflect light and provide continuous surfaces for the clients substantial art collection. Florentine Pietra Serena limestone is used throughout the living spaces and bathrooms, and grey oiled Oak is the primary floor surface in all bedrooms.
Museums are increasingly becoming key landmarks that help define the image of a city, housing part of its memory and culture. In recent decades they have gained even more importance thanks to their architectural designs. Briktop was inspired by iconic designs to create this video that features works that stand out in architectural history and are important references for all architects.
See the video and the list of works below.
Learn more about all the museums that appear in the video by clicking on the following links:
Sig Nordal 