(Combination of geometry and sculpture with technics used in Fallas festival from Valencia, Spain. A reinterpretation of grotesque decorations from Valencia Silk Market, UNESCO Heritage building from XV century.
A golden cube in the desert to attract people to its inside, where they become part of an art installation that mixes the contemporary language of the latticed architecture of the pavilion with the cardboard pieces and molds of a traditional Fallas guild.
The cube lays over a wooden mosaic of 25.321 pieces assembled by social collectives. The debate between tradition and contemporary is held over the floor that has been built by the collectivity. Nor the tradition nor the experimentation have a future without communal effort.
Valencia, home of Fallas fire festival and Da Vinci have a point in common. The Borgia family. While Da Vinci worked in Rome for Pope Alexander VI. The Borgia family built a palace that is now house of our government. While in Valencia the Holy Inquisition had the power, the civil society was building a building for trade. The Silk Market is one of the most important medieval secular buildings in Europe. It is adorned with many grotesque scenes and obscene figures that was how people was facing against powerful church. That spirit that Valencia people has to face against power is part of our culture and the main reason of Fallas. To make fun of power.
And is all this tradition but also its evolution during years that we want to bring to Burning Man. The project will mix:
– An structure made only of cardboard to generate the bigger space with the minimum resources and that can be burned in a clean way. Structure covered with medieval decoration. – Mosaic design in floor with the idea to make participate at its construction to the community. This mosaic will be inspired in Nolla’s ceramic, a traditional Valencian ceramic which production was lost at the end of 19th century. – Figures made in cardboard in the traditional way of building Fallas. The figures will be inspired in the grotesque and erotic figures of the Silk Market in Valencia.
Danish firm COBE has been announced as the winner of a competition for the revitalization of Deutzer Hafen, the harbor district of Cologne, Germany. Unanimously selected over proposals from Lorenzen, Diener & Diener Architekten, Scheuvens + Wachten, and Trint + Kreuder dna, the winning design will transform the old industrial harbor into a vibrant, sustainable neighborhood through the addition of a new city landmark: a new public pool and huge waterfall at the end of the harbor.
The pool will be sustained through environmentally-friendly methods, utilizing collected rainwater and excess heat expelled from buildings to provide the public with an exciting new attraction.
COBE’s design reinterprets the context of the historic harbor to create a dense urban fabric surrounding the waterway. The 35 hectare masterplan includes a variety of activate and climate-proofed public spaces, connected by an innovative system of traffic solutions. These features have been arranged around what is undoubtedly the project’s centerpiece, the large public pool and associated waterfall.
“COBE is very smartly questioning which of the existing buildings to keep and how to translate the old structures into a new harbour district. Out of all the insights gained in the public process, COBE has developed highly specific answers for the harbour development. All in all their concept visualizes a lively, colorful mixed neighbourhood, where the industrial heritage is tangible”, said Franz-Josef Höing, director of urban development in the municipality of Cologne and chairman of the competition jury.
One specific challenge native to the site are the strong tides from the Rhine River. Rather than fight against the tides, COBE’s design works with them, creating different zones that are either intended to flood or to remain dry. During high tide periods, the promenade will flood, while buildings and plazas remain safely above the water level.
”We have created a consistent sustainable project that is carefully adapted to the local climate. Flooding from the Rhine River is a serious problem in Cologne. Therefore, we have been working with a consistent proofing of the whole district by collecting rainwater in a big public pool, which is heated from waste heat from the neighbourhood. It solves a serious problem and simultaneously creates a unique attraction for the citizens. The project is already informally referred to as ”Der Pool ist cool!” by locals”, says Dan Stubbergaard, founder and creative director of COBE.
The new neighborhood will integrate itself into Cologne’s existing fabric through new bicycle and pedestrian paths, and well as new public transportation routes. A bicycle bridge will span the Rhine River to connect directly to Cologne’s city centre.
The team will now work together with the city to finalize plans. The first buildings are expected to be ready for occupancy in 2020.
Design Team: Matthew Bailey, Lisa Barucco, Melissa de la Harpe, Caroline Hammarstroem, Niels Lofteröd, Pavlina Lucas, Simon Mahringer, Sofia Miccichè, Gian Salis, Stephan Schmid, Rainer Weitschies and Annalisa Zumthor-Cuorad
Structural Engineer: Finn-Erik Nilsen, Jürg Buchli and Lauber Ingenieure AG
Construction Supervisor: Inge Hoftun, Maximilian Putzmann
General Contractor: Mesta AS, Per-Albert Rasmussen
From the architect. Allmannajuvet in Sauda and the abandoned zinc mines from the late 1800s have inspired architect Peter Zumthor to create yet another historical art installation along the National Tourist Routes.
Allmannajuvet, with its characteristic landscape and rich cultural history, is one of the 10 largest attractions along the National Tourist Routes. In 2002, world- renowned architect Peter Zumthor was commissioned by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to design a tourist route attraction for the purpose of welcoming visitors and bringing the old mining history of Sauda back to life. The simplistic buildings are inspired by the mining operation, the drudgery and the workers’ strenuous everyday lives. The installation consists of a museum building, a café building, toilet and parking facilities, paths and stairs.
All the buildings were prefabricated in Saudasjøen and then assembled in Allmannajuvet. The exterior support system consists of creosote impregnated laminated wood. The exterior walls of the building consist of 18 mm plywood sheets and jute burlap, coated with a German acrylic material (PMMA).
The interior walls have been painted in a dark colour to resemble a gallery. The foundation work of the museum building and the café building, with its high demands for precision, is some of the most demanding work carried out in Norway.
The parking facility has been masoned with natural stone from Hardanger. The stones were transported from Jondal to Sauda. The visible corner of the wall is approximately 18 metres tall and has been firmly fixed three metres to the riverbed.
In the summer of 2011, Steilneset Memorial in Vardø was opened. The attraction was a collaboration between Zumthor, artist Louise Bourgeois and historian Liv Helene Willumsen. While Steilneset was raised in memory of the people in Finnmark who fell victim to the government’s witchcraft persecutions in the 1600s, Allmannajuvet emerges as a monument of the mining operation and the miners’ life of hardship in the late 1800s.
The National Tourist Routes attraction comprises 18 selected drives through beautiful Norwegian scenery, where the experience is enhanced by innovative architecture and thought-provoking art. The tourist routes are varied and travel through areas with unique qualities of nature, along coasts and fiords, mountains and waterfalls.
Form Of Contract Or Procurement Route: JCT Design+Build
Construction Cost : £ 1.27m
Construction Cost Per Sqm: £1,983 / sqm
Courtesy of GROUPWORK
From the architect. Barretts Grove is an archetypal Victorian street of two storey brick terraced houses later interrupted by detached apartment buildings, a tall red gabled LCC school and rubble walled church. The new addition sits amongst these later stand alone structures.
Courtesy of GROUPWORK
If the overall building form is intended to help complete the parade, it and its detailing is also architectonically driven by a choice of superstructure suited to residential use then developed to a smaller domestic and tactile scale. The tall red brick gable facing the street echoes those of the LCC school and is formed in plan by a 1 bedroom apartment with a second smaller block engaged at the rear to create the second 2 bedroom plan. The double stacked and open bond of brickwork states the envelope is not load bearing (of superstructure) but a screen enveloping the whole building including the roof. That is set out with an unbroken grid of large window and door openings to maintain the strength of form despite its slenderness. Wicker woven steel balconies are hung from every other aperture softening that material palette. These are large enough for dining and are alternated to allow neighbours the opportunity to develop the limited social space above and below them when communal gardens are not available. For similar reasons the front door is an extruded version of the bronzed window reveals, becoming a port-cochere with a bench made of the same CLT as the superstructure inviting use when meeting neighbours as well as being convenient to rest yourself and grocery bags while fumbling for keys.
Courtesy of GROUPWORK
On entering it is apparent the exposed Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) acts as the superstructure for all walls, floors and the roof with visible construction joints expressing the method of assembly. Insulation with vapour barrier and protecting sheeting are applied to the outside face before a self-supporting brick rain-screen completes the exterior thermal and protective overcoat. Ceilings are also left exposed with the use of a fire retardant clear varnish and acoustic performance achieved using resilient boards, insulation and a floating timber floor above; these also accommodating the underfloor heating, power, data and hot/cold water services. The ability of the CLT to serve as structure and finish removed the need for plasterboarded walls, suspended ceilings, cornices, skirtings, tiling and paint; reducing by 15% the embodied carbon of the building, its construction cost and time on site. Timber also has inherently more robust and is perhaps a better and warmer domestic aesthetic. Window seats, timber cabinetry and full height doors some with leather handles, others with bespoke and articulated metal locks continue the sense of home.
Courtesy of GROUPWORK
The project required a comprehensive understanding of the different materials involved and their structural properties as well as careful detailing because many of the loadbearing elements are exposed. The concrete basement provides a solid foundation for the building and supports the change in level across the site. The ground floor thickness was kept to a minimum by using the internal masonry walls as loadbearing structure and its soffit left exposed. The superstructure is six storeys of loadbearing CLT panels, spanning up to 6.0m with various voids for the stair and services. The roof is also solid CLT panels, carefully balanced against each other to form the open loft space. Cladding all of this is a staggered masonry façade that is decoupled from the rest of the building to allow it to expand and contract separately. Each of these materials serves a different purpose; acting and moving in their own way but with careful detailing, together they form the seamless combination of structural form and architectural vision.
Courtesy of GROUPWORK
As a whole the building aims to sit sympathetically within the roofline and streetscape this side of the street. Though it has a carefully proportioned balance of openings within the brick façade, closer to the Dutch gables ends of the adjacent school than standard London streets it consciously aims to be idiosyncratic with layers of detail and form that are again closer to the Arts and Crafts desire for the organic than Georgian neoclassical order. This application of design and detailing to varying scales is best described by Edward Ford’s identification of ‘articulated’ and ‘autonomous’ details and the reciprocity of social spaces an echo of Hertzberger’s social housing and specifically Aldo Van Eyck’s idiom ‘tree to leaf as city to house’. This combined approach having the benefit of providing coherent streets with the opportunities for social interaction and illustrating how care can make speculative residential developments feel more like homes as opposed to a readymade and identical white painted commodity.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has awarded its 2017 Royal Gold Medal to Paulo Mendes da Rocha. The 87-year-old is among Brazil’s most celebrated architects, known for his special brand of Brazilian Brutalism which has had a dramatic effect in his home country, particularly in the city of São Paulo. The award continues a spectacularly successful year for Mendes da Rocha, who won the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale in May, and was announced the 2016 Premium Imperiale Laureate just weeks ago. Mendes da Rocha has also previously received the Pritzker Prize in 2006 and the Mies van der Rohe Prize for his Pinacoteca de São Paulo project in 2000.
Born in Vitória, Brazil in 1928, Mendes da Rocha first received acclaim in 1957 for the Athletic Club of São Paulo. Since then, he has built a number of other seminal works in including the Saint Peter Chapel (1987), the Brazilian Sculpture Museum MuBE (1988), Patriach Plaza (1992-2002), the Pinacoteca do Estado gallery (1993) and the FIESP Cultural Center (1997). Outside São Paulo, notable buildings include the Serra Dourada football stadium in Goiás (1973), Lady of the Conception Chapel in Recife (2006) and Cais das Artes arts centre in Vitória (2008). Outside of Brazil, his most notable projects are Brazil’s pavilion at Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan, and his Museu dos Coches in Lisbon, completed in 2015.
“Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s work is highly unusual in comparison to the majority of the world’s most celebrated architects,” said RIBA President Jane Duncan. “He is an architect with an incredible international reputation, yet almost all his masterpieces are built exclusively in his home country. Revolutionary and transformative, Mendes da Rocha’s work typifies the architecture of 1950s Brazil – raw, chunky and beautifully ‘brutal’ concrete.”
Responding to the award, Paulo Mendes da Rocha said: “After so many years of work, it is a great joy to receive this recognition from the Royal Institute of British Architects for the contribution my lifetime of work and experiments have given to the progress of architecture and society. I would like to send my warmest wishes to all those who share my passion, in particular British architects, and share this moment with all the architects and engineers that have collaborated on my projects.”
The RIBA Gold Medal jury comprises RIBA President Jane Duncan with Sir Peter Cook, Neil Gillespie OBE, Victoria Thornton OBE and the 2015 Royal Gold Medallist Sheila O’Donnell. Mendes da Rocha was nominated by Neil Gillespie OBE and seconded by John McAslan CBE. Read on for John McAslan’s full citation.
I’m pleased to have been invited to prepare the following citation in honour of the eminent Brazilian architect, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the 2017 RIBA Royal Gold Medal winner. Paulo’s international stature, which has been considerable for decades, arises from a remarkable and sustained combination of architectural originality, social concern, and educational work.
“All space must be attached to a value, to a human dimension,” he said in 2004. “There is no private space. The only private space that you can imagine is the human mind.” He has also said: “Every problem requires thinking, not ready-made solutions. You know that you don’t know, but there is urgency to do something. You have to discover the knowledge – that’s the whole point.” That remark applies not only to the nature of architectural enquiry, but to the way Mendes da Rocha has approached teaching over the decades.
His potential greatness was immediately apparent in 1957 when, as an emerging architect, he designed and built his first major work, the Paulistano Athletic Club. The building immediately confirmed him as an original force among the international modernist avant garde, and established so-called Paulista Brutalism.
Though very different, his architecture projects have the same degree of powerful formal and structural presence as the works of masters such as Louis Kahn and Kenzo Tange. Whilst Mendes da Rocha’s architecture may seem to fit Robert Hughes’ definition of Modernism as “the shock of the new”, his structures are never designed to shock, but rather engage as directly as possible with ordinary people, ordinary lives, and ordinary settings.
The ideas that continue to produce his architecture are still internationally influential. When Mendes da Rocha was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2006, the citation spoke of his mastery of the poetics of space. And this year, when he was selected for the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale, the citation referred to the physical and stylistic timelessness of his buildings and the fact that his “astonishing consistency” was the product of “his ideological integrity and structural genius.” His 2016 citation as an Academician of the Royal Scottish Academy, also refers to these qualities, and whilst highlighting his influence on the post-WWII ground-breaking work in Scotland of Metzstein and MacMillan and others, brings the relevance of his work even closer to me.
A further and recent accolade for Paulo, is this year’s Praemium Imperiale Award by the Japan Art Association, for this lifetime contribution to architecture.
His architecture resists summary, but it very often counterpoises massive concrete formal elements with relatively delicate transition points of structure. This, in itself, is not uncommon. But the way da Rocha assembles the pieces in the geometry of his buildings remains unique; his engineering intelligence has always equalled his formal originality.
For example, his Brazilian Pavilion at Expo 70 in Japan was effectively balanced on a single point of terrain. At the gymnasium of the Paulistano Athletic Club, six concrete blades supported the thin, pre-stressed concrete circular roof; the blades anchored 12 cables which held up a central cap to the roof: a riveting combination of heavy elements and relatively delicate structural details that added something new to modernist architecture.
The same originality of form, and social connection, can be seen in his Brazilian public buildings in the 1970s and 80s, which included Estádio Serra Dourada and the Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo in 1975; and the Forma Furniture showroom and the Saint Peter Chapel in 1987; the latter a concrete structure with two-storey glass facades, and a single concrete column anchoring the centre.
In the 1990s, in his Mies van der Rohe Award-winning scheme, Mendes da Rocha transformed Sao Paulo’s oldest fine arts museum, the neoclassical Pinacoteca do Estado, with internal bridges, a central canopy and an architectural language which magnificently retains, to this day, a freshness and quality of raw beauty and remains, in my view, one of his finest works.
Among his other important works are the Cais das Artes, Vitoria; the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, Sao Paulo; and the dramatic canopy structure at the Patriarch Plaza, Sao Paulo. His domestic architecture – such as the Casa Mendes da Rocha, Casa Masetti, and Casa King – reflect the same explorations of strikingly clear compositions involving heavy structures and finer details.
Most recently, the scale and articulation of the 2015 National Coach Museum in Lisbon is continuing proof that the humane integrity and structural boldness of Mendes da Rocha’s approach to architecture is absolutely intact.
On a personal note, when I first met Paulo, with his family in Sao Paulo in 2012, I found him to be very clearly, deeply concerned with how architects can improve peoples’ lives and with an unfailing commitment to the art of architecture. He certainly did not consider himself as an heroic designer of iconic architectural objects, which makes this highly-engaging and modest innovator even more engaging and relevant today.
I would like to end my citation by quoting something da Rocha wrote in 2003: “Unlike many people who are afraid of poverty, I have always been attracted to it, to simple things, without knowing why. Not hardship, but the humility of simple things. I think everything superfluous is irritating. Everything that is not necessary becomes grotesque, especially in our time.”
In the increasingly closely bound worlds of architecture, consumerism and corporatism, the resonance of that remark has increased through time. Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s particular genius may have originated in the mid-1950s, but he unquestionably remains an architect – and specifically not a “starchitect” – for our own times. This is surely the essential mark of his greatness.
75 buildings have been announced as the winners of the 2016 American Architecture Awards by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Now in its 22nd year, the American Architecture Awards recognize “the best new buildings designed and constructed by American architects in the U.S. and abroad and by international architects for buildings designed and built in the United States.”
This comprehensive and even-handed overview of new American Architecture for 2016, allows you (as a viewer) to witness the enormous diversity in the American practice of architecture today, said Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, Museum President, The Chicago Athenaeum. This year’s selection by the Denver jury was more interested in discussions concerning the problems of the environment, social context, technical and constructive solutions, the responsible use of energies, restoration and adaptive- reuse, and the sensitive use of materials and ecology.
The 75 winners of the 2016 American Architecture Awards are:
ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES | Los Angeles, California | 2018. Image Courtesy of The Chicago Athenaeum
GALEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Chicago, Illinois, 2012 by UrbanWorks, Ltd.
COAST AT LAKESHORE EAST, Chicago, Illinois, 2013 by bKL Architecture LLC.
HILL HOUSE 3, Los Altos Hills, California, 2013 by Michael Lustig & Associates, Inc.
Hill House 3 | Los Altos Hills, California. Image Courtesy of The Chicago Athenaeum
MILL VALLEY COURTYARD RESIDENCE, Mill Valley, California, 2014 by Aidlin Darling Design
U.S. COURTHOUSE IN AUSTIN, Austin, Texas, 2012 by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, Inc.
BERKLEE TOWER OF MUSIC/ BERKLEE TOWER, Boston, Massachusetts, 2014 by William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.
OSF SAINT FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF ILLINOIS, Peoria, Illinois, 2010 by CannonDesign
HEALTH NEUROSCIENCE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE, Indianapolis, Indiana 2012 by CannonDesign
THE ZACHARY HOUSE, Ramseur, North Carolina, 2012 by Stephen Atkinson Architecture
The Zachary House | Ramseur, North Carolina | 2012. Image Courtesy of The Chicago Athenaeum
PLEATED HOUSE, Door County, Wisconsin, 2015 by Johnsen Schmaling Architects
THE KNOXVILLE BOTANICAL GARDEN AND ARBORETUM VISITOR PAVILION, Knoxville, Tennessee 2015 by De Leon & Primmer
Bi(H)OME, Los Angeles, California, 2015 by Kevin Daly Architects
Bi(H)OME | Los Angeles, California | 2015. Image Courtesy of The Chicago Athenaeum
RED BARN, Connecticut, 2015 by Roger Ferris + Partners
RENTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, Renton, Washington, 2016 by The Miller Hull Partnership
MERCER ISLAND FIRE STATION #92, Mercer Island, Washington, 2015 by The Miller Hull Partnership
CHK | CENTRAL BOATHOUSE, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 2015 by Elliott + Associates Architects
Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine | La Jolla, California | 2012. Image Courtesy of The Chicago Athenaeum
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA CANCER CENTER AT DIGNITY HEALTH ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER, Phoenix, Arizona, 2015 ZGF Architects LLP.
The University of Arizona Cancer Center at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center |Phoenix, Arizona | 2015. Image Courtesy of The Chicago Athenaeum
POLE PASS RETREAT, San Juan Islands, Washington, 2013 by Olson Kundig
UCSD BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FACILITY UNIT 2, La Jolla, California, 2014 by ZGF Architects LLP.
LOS ANGELES RIVER URBAN AGRICULTURE PLAN, Los Angeles, California, 2014 by Perkins+Will
Los Angeles River Urban Agriculture Plan | Los Angeles, California | 2014. Image Courtesy of The Chicago Athenaeum
ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES, Los Angeles, California, 2017 by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, with contribution to concept design by Studio Pali Fekete architects and Gensler as executive architects
Design firm Benoy has just revealed its design for “Gala Avenue Westside,” a future mixed-use structure set within the iconic Lujiazui HARBOUR City development of Shanghai. Benoy (who recently created a green architectural design for Taiwan’s High-Speed Rail’s Hsin Chu Station Mall) have been appointed as the Masterplanner, Architect and Interior Designer of the Gala Avenue, set for completion in 2018.
Courtesy of Benoy
HARBOUR City’s progressive redevelopment comprises 250,000 square meters of riverside land that was formerly an industrial shipyard region. As an integral component of the overall scheme, Gala Avenue Westside will serve as a commercial and entertainment space inspired by both “historical elements and modern materials.”
Courtesy of Benoy
We have embraced the history of the site and built upon this as we conceived our design which celebrates the themes of ‘New and Old’, ‘East and West’ and ‘Traditional and Modern’, said Qin Pang, Director and Head of Benoy’s Shanghai Studio.
Courtesy of Benoy
Courtesy of Benoy
Allowing scenic views of the Huangpu River and Pudong cityscape, the Gala’s plan encompasses a 100-meter office tower and 12 interlocked retail hubs linked by a chain of squares (above and below ground). In maintaining modern materials, the interior design components maintain a minimalist aesthetic and palette, motivated by the traditional Shikumen style.
Courtesy of Benoy
Courtesy of Benoy
Alongside Mango West Bund Plaza and Vanke Xuhui Center, Gala Avenue Westside will be one of many projects Benoy has completed in Shanghai.
The Most Eco-Friendly Building in Vilnius to improve Quality of Life The K29 business center is a major, new landmark in Vilnius that was to improve quality of life for 1250 workers in a healthy working environment – setting the standards for a healthy and attractive workplace in Lithuania. K29 is built from all natural and mostly local, eco-friendly materials making it the most eco-friendly building in Lithuania to date. The building is situated on Konstitucijos Prospektas (Constitution Avenue) and has created a new destination in Vilnius with a strong iconic expression in the skyline.
Blending in to the Urban Scale The building is placed in the central business district of Vilnius – and creates a transition area between a large park area to the north of Vilnius and the city’s international business area in the east. It’s open and inviting to the surroundings and integrates the use of a new attractive park in the dynamic development area of Vilnius. K29 was designed to blend into the urban scale of the area and the surrounding landscape and is placed in the area between public green spaces and the cluster of high-rise buildings along Konstitucijos avenue 29.
Site Plan
The Oval Shape The architectural concept is the iconic oval shaped atrium building, to end the densely built area along Constitution Avenue. The oval shape of the building with the central atrium and a sloping roof gives optimal conditions for daylight for all users. Because of the sloping roof, light flows in to the atrium most of the day – and users placed close to the windows of the inner atrium can look beyond the atrium itself having visual contact with the cityscape. The building thus ensures maximum wellbeing and daylight access having no dark areas.
The complex is equipped with the newest building management system optimizing energy savings. The lighting design is with the newest and most energy efficient components and the façade is an advanced double skin building with energy glass and automated solar control system. K29 has a hybrid ventilation and cooling system with natural ventilation of office spaces with openable windows in the inner façade and through the atrium skylight.
Interior with Soft Colors and Natural Materials The design will support modern knowledge based companies with requirement for a diverse workplace design. The interior design comes with soft colors and with natural materials, wood and natural stone. The lighting design is aimed at 3000 kelvin providing soft and elegant light in working areas. All working areas have raised floors with carpet tiles. The acoustic design has been developed with a strong focus on creating the best acoustic environment for the users in all areas of the building.
The Building has a pleasant working environment, is sustainable, energy efficient and flexible – and meets the requirements for a class A+ office building.
Visualization of the Battersea development, with the Grade II* Listed former power station at its heart. Image Courtesy of Battersea Power Station Development
US tech-giant Apple Inc. have revealed that they will consolidate their UK operations to “a new Apple campus” in London’s Battersea, at the heart of a site formerly occupied by the derelict Grade II* Listed Battersea Power Station. The 42-acre complex, which is currently undergoing major redevelopment (and is soon to have a public square designed by BIG connecting to the Electric Boulevard development designed by Norman Foster and Frank Gehry), will provide a mix of commercial space and residential zones. According to the London Evening Standard, Apple will be relocating around 1,400 staff from eight sites around the British capital to the former power station, occupying all six floors of the restored building’s extensive new office space. They will be the site’s single largest single tenant.
In a statement to the Evening Standard Apple have said that they expect the move to be complete by 2021. “This is a great opportunity to have our entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history,” a spokesperson said. Apple’s primary European headquarters will remain in Cork, Ireland, where around 6000 employees currently work.
London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is “delighted [that] Apple is moving into Battersea Power Station, helping to generate new jobs and economic prosperity for London.” The British Chancellor, Philip Hammond, also commented: “Apple’s decision further strengthens London’s position as a global technology hub and demonstrates how the UK is at the forefront of the next steps in the tech revolution. It’s another vote of confidence in the UK economy,” he added.
From the architect. 13, rue d’Uzès : behind the impressing 19th century industrial front elevation, at the back of a courtyard covered by a glass ceiling made by Eiffel workshop, the brand new head office of Talent.IO pops up from the 3rd floor thanks to the lightened brand name appearing behind floor to ceiling windows.
The architectural concept chosen for this rehabilitation was to find back the original beauty of the building that has been masked and altered by successive works for a century and a half. Demolitions, cleaning, scouring pickling have revealed a wooden floor, original Eiffel-style walls and structure, freeing this big floor with a generous volume: high ceilings, 500 sq.meters without walls.
Previous Plan
General Plan
In order to respect the raw industrial spirit of the place, technical networks have been left apparent on purpose, and lights are industrial tubular devices. The paintings are purposely remaining incomplete to create a contrast and highlight zones that have been left raw.
Closed rooms have been placed at the end of the open floor to let the central space as open as possible. Floor to ceiling industrial windows let the natural light enter the closed spaces.
Alike every Vincent & Gloria project, the architectural approach is expressed from end-to-end and a specific focus is made on choosing and designing furniture. Raw, industrial materials have been chosen, often with a different usage than the initial one.
Attention paid on details and the superposition of several wooden materials (Finadiamant, industrial floor, Batipin) are creating a customizable, welcoming space full of character. With their organic design, the office tables are allowing developers to change their position according to their mood and teamwork: face to face, alongside or alternate.
Batipin and Fermacell (cement panel traditionally used for tightness) has been used for the furniture of common spaces: kitchen, bar and eating room. The ‘Talent.IO’ neon light highlights and differentiates this space from the rest of the open floor.
Along the courtyard front elevation, work and rest space thanks to contrasted and filtered lights, a long multipurpose furniture has been designed in Batipin. The long bar table is combined with 2 cocoon seats covered by acoustic material for phone calls or simply rest.
Sig Nordal 