Boavista is a single-family house refurbishment in a well-known Porto street with the same name. The plot was a last century house in an advanced state of ruin facing one of the busiest streets, but offering a garden in the interior of the block.
The width limitations of these old constructions invite the dwelling to extend its boundaries to the inner courtyard. With this, a generous area is provided, setting the entire social area through one contiguous space. The kitchen extension connects to the garden, assuming a crucial role in the relation with the exterior. A wheeled wooden island allows a flexible use of the space. A skin of wooden shutters characterize the extension façade and set different layers of shade.
In the center a light core is settled, being the stairs developed in different stages with different relations with this void. Therefore the theme of the skylight is revisited, exploring one of the main features of these old constructions and enhancing its importance on the structure of these typologies. The height of the skylight defines an unusual residential scale allowing visual relations between the three floors.
One of the most public and politically relevant debates about spatial borders, that of the United States and Mexico, has been probed in a project currently being exhibited at the London Design Biennale. Helmed by Fernando Romero and his team at fr*ee, “Border City” puts forward the idea of a binational city on the border, a place where cultures “both clash and blend to create something altogether unique.”
The states along the border of these two countries now have a population of over 100 million people – ample to facilitate the introduction of a new city. fr*ee explained: “Border City is the first integrated masterplan for a binational city conducive to both sides of the border, employing tools of enterprise such as special economic zones to argue for its viability.” The masterplan is unrolled in detail at the London Design Biennale, as seen in the video below. The exhibition is open from the 7 – 27 September.
Courtesy of fr*ee
The proposition stemmed from contemporary discussions around issues of immigration, border control, and free trade, and the inflammatory ways in which people sensationalize the problems without looking for viable solutions. The concept is rooted in the long history of places where frontiers meet, places like Hong Kong, Andorra, Baarle Hertog/Baarle Nassau, and Stanstead/ Derby Line.
Courtesy of fr*ee
fr*ee explained in a press release: Economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability are urban assets and organizing principles for the proposal’s design. Challenging “border situations” are likely to multiply across the world as populations grow, migration increases, and economies continue to globalize. Romero introduces an urban prototype, with a hexagonal plan, that might offer a new model for a rapidly developing world.
Courtesy of fr*ee
The first proposed city is situated on the cusp of New Mexico, Texas and Chihuahua. The research and ideas put into the concept design would be transferable to other binational cities, but in order to give physical form to these concepts, a specific city had to envisaged.
Courtesy of fr*ee
This junction of states was seen as a highly fruitful area due to the completion of the new inland port of Santa Teresa, the I-10 highway connecting east and west coasts, and the 7 existing border crossings in the area. Each of these represent an extraordinary opportunity for logistics and transportation of products in the area, and combine to form the critical infrastructure needed for a plan such as this.
Steven Holl has been awarded the 2016 Daylight Award in Architecture, which honors architects “who have distinguished themselves by realizing architecture or creating urban environments that showcase a unique use of daylight, for the benefit of overall quality of life, its impact on human health, well-being and performance, and its value to society.”
Organized by non-profit, private charitable foundations Villum Fonden, Velux Fonden, and Velux Stiftung, the award puts specific emphasis on the interrelation of theory and practice.
I am deeply honored to have been selected as the laureate for Daylight in Architecture, said Holl. Space is oblivion without light. A building speaks through the silence of perception orchestrated by light. Luminosity is as integral to its spatial experience as porosity is integral to urban experience.
From the architect. Situated on the border of a working farm in Suffolk (UK), the Scott House has been designed as a long and narrow flat roofed pavillon, to give the building a sufficient magnitude and scale to correspond sizes of the existing barn and the old dairies on the site. The long structure is placed on the edge of the property, perfectly conveying the transition from the meadowlands to the cultivated farmland and private enclosed garden.
The house is lifted on a slightly elevated sand stone plateau, that serves to lift the building slightly to a level that matches the gentle slope of the site from the East towards the West, which provides the interior with a view over both the garden and the fields in the horizon. The large overhang of the roof and the thin fascia board makes the building as light and airy as possible.
The internal layout of the house is an open space plan with long views, only divided by freestanding elements in to different functional zones. The design of the facade is all about transparency, letting nature be an integral part of the interior and framing views of the extraordinary settings.
The house is constructed in wooden beams with a vertical cladding in local Larch to correspond with the vertical wooden cladding on the existing structures on the site, creating a harmonious meeting between the old and the new buildings.
Archive 2 / Sauerbruch Hutton. Image Courtesy of Lars Müller Publishers
Louisa Hutton and Matthias Sauerbruch, of Berlin-based practice Sauerbruch Hutton, have recently published Archive 2– a second series of monographic volumes dedicated to the work of their practice between 2006 and 2015. In the nine years between two sets of books, the architects have observed that “the expansion of the digital realm has had a profound effect on the way we perceive, discuss and produce architecture.” As such, and on the occasion of their second volume, they are inviting people to share their thoughts “on the convergence of architecture in concrete, pixel and print.”
The Oogenlust domain proves that matters can also be solved differently. A generic, almost banal program composed of dock shelters, offices, a showroom, storage and a greenhouse is combined in an estate that already received an enormous number of visitors, unanimously impressed by its appearance and atmosphere.
Eco Chique The strength of Oogenlust is the ensemble, in which a large program is completely harmonized with nature. Here nature takes over the role of technology, for instance through solving sun shading by means of wisteria hanging over the facades or the breathing and moisture-regulating clay walls. The love for pure, natural materials has been the common ground between the client, the architect and the building parties, culminated in the finished project.
The most particular feature of the project is the fact that the former headquarters building belonging to the company was relocated to the new site. The red cedar cladding of this building is re-used as facade panelling for the new exhibition building. All the new company functions are executed to allow disassembly, in analogy with the relocated company building.
Nature has been the starting point for all aspects of the design, on all levels. The biodiversity of the domain has been enhanced by introducing several types of indigenous trees around the meadow. The large pond at the entrance provides, besides the collection of rain, also the water necessary for the company’s technological work.
Elevation
Details
From an architectural point of view, the Oogenlust estate is a composition of several built and scenic elements that generate a hybrid: a built scenery or a scenic building. Starting from the parking place on Steenselseweg, one walks over the bridge crossing the pond, under the building, to an enclosed area named “the plaza” hosting all the formal entrances in the complex. From this plaza the route passes by the greenhouse, the workshops, the meadow and pine forest where it articulates itself to the public routes between Eersel and Steensel.
The Norwegian Mountaineering Center is anchored in an innovative interpretation of nature’s fantastic dimensions and the dramatic experience of mountaineering. The design of the building is based on its function as a mountaineering center and gathering place for both locals and visitors.
This provides the structure with a characteristic volume communicating its contents with exciting and unique geometrical expression. Its outer skin is clad in a uniform surface, highlighting its originality and situation next to the train tracks of Raumabanen and the station area in the Åndalsnes town center.
This u-shaped home surrounds an inner courtyard containing a holly osmanthus that has been cherished for many generations. It is designed to allow the tree to be viewed from any part of the house including the living room, dining room, the front entrance, and Japanese-style room.
The Japanese-style tatami room is planned to be used as a guest room. While it follows certain traditional aspects such as the sizes of the wood used and vertical length of the entranceway, by using as few parts as possible to keep the appearance simple, the aim is for one’s gaze to naturally be drawn to the greenery beyond the window to the right of the tokonoma (alcove). To maintain a dignified look, electronic equipment is functional yet kept discreet by integrating it into the architecture.
The living area is designed for the family’s daily activities. It is created with finishing and details that give a sense of “softness” to accommodate the everyday life. The vicinity around the open ceiling is designed to be the gathering area for the family to relax, play, cook and dine in. The screen used for watching movies for fun was successfully and sleekly concealed by using a combination of wood and steel.
Materials used for the finishing are diatomite, marble flour, washi (Japanese paper made of grass and tree fibers) wallpaper, and solid wood. Insulation is made with cellulose fiber. By using natural materials throughout the building, a healthy environment has been created.
From the architect. Designed as a ‘Retreat within Retreat’, the 20,000 Sqft spa block is a new ‘insert’ at a well-known Yoga Retreat in Indiathat offers spectacular layers of spaces and experiences.
The Architectural Vision is planned as a sustainable model, focusing strongly on the connect of man in the realm of nature. The main block disappears into the earth and is half submerged to connect to the isolating quality of the earth, with the light and air movement planned from a series of sunken courts. The approach to the main area slowly opens up a plethora of spaces which are programmatically planned to suit the smooth spatial transitions of the guests.
The entire feel is organic with natural light washing the exposed walls and ceilings with a spectacular play of light and shadows. The spaces are further held together with a strong design language of Hand crafted jaali screens, solid wood doors and openings which merge the interior and exteriors, quite literally.
Plan 1
Plan 2
The Guest Lounge area opens up to a Central Court with water body on one side, and to a Sunken Court on the other. Private Consultation rooms are part of the main spaces, but are silently tucked away beside the water body.
The spa block is seen as a semi-detached sequence that utilizes the adaptive approach with each unit fitted to the purpose it serves. Each spa room (measuring upto 600 sqft) is positioned to offer spectacular views of the site / surroundings, whilst concealing the guests from the outside with local exposed brick jaali works as the shell. The structure’s porous cell conceals a softer environment inside and the private open to sky lounge spaces (for after treatment relaxation) bringing in natural daylights into all spaces. With the spa offering an array of treatment options with the 10 massage rooms, one can experience the holistic Ayurveda treatments based on age-old therapies, or choose from the Oriental and western offerings from the menu.
The landscape merges the geometry of network of the surrounding paths to form break-away spaces for the guests to lounge. These buffer zones create smooth transitions from the exterior, to semi covered spaces, and also offer a beautiful play of light.
With each block growing from the sunken gardens into the sky, often blending into a series of greens, the organic approach seamlessly fuses the inherent sense of lightness expected from a space so serene. The feel is further exaggerated on the upper level, in the 2000 sqft Meditation and Yoga pavilion, with large openings on the east, allowing natural sunlight to create a powerful setting for the Yoga sessions at sunrise. The Large Pavilion opens up further to a series of private Yoga and Meditation Spaces offering beautiful varied settings using the natural play of light and shadows of the sun against the roof jaali’s / screens.
From the architect. We were approached to design a mental health clinic in Saga City specializing in the treatment of patients with dementia. As in other towns and regions, Saga’s aging population has created a greater need for healthcare for the elderly. Ordinarily, healthcare facilities are planned and constructed on the advice of medical professionals with the sole consideration of creating a space for efficient and safe treatment of patients.
In this clinic, however, a special “Learning” common space was created intended for patients living with dementia and their families.
This “Learning” space is not meant to directly treat the illness but rather to provide visitors with a starting point for facing the condition of dementia.
In addition to an outdoor garden designed to recreate the local scenery of rice fields and mountains using local flora, a 30 meter bookshelf was constructed containing pictorial books intended not so much to be “read” but rather to be “seen” and impart an impression on the reader.
Sig Nordal 