From the architect. A museum of vintage BMWs is opening this month in Beijing, China. Crossboundaries’ design for the gallery space brings forth the exclusiveness of the cars while it references the Chinese collector with a local touch.
The museum exhibition starts on the 3rd floor. Entering through an inviting, almost two floors high and bright area, passing the reception zone, whose vertical surfaces are accentuated with horizontal lighting strips interpreting the motion of speed, the visitor is being absorbed into a lower, more cozy “transitional” lounge.
diagram
Through layers of red fabric in the imitation of a Chinese gate, the exhibition opens up behind. The exhibition area is subdivided into different zones with diverse qualities, some of display and some of lounging.
White, light and slightly transparent fabric banners are hung from the open ceiling on this floor. While the fabric’s verticality reduces the high ceiling to a more human scale, the vast amount of white textile surfaces indicates generority and the “Chinese red gate” as backdrop transmits an imperial feeling.
The neutral white brings emphasis on the few exhibition pieces here, underlining their exclusiveness.
The horizontal lighting strips continue into the main exhibition area and information walls, with integrated screens for multimedia presentations at the perimeter walls of the space. Projections can be also screened on to fabric banners in the middle of the space where seating areas are provided around the exhibition pieces.
The 4th floor offers a different experience. Walking up a centered freestanding staircase, the visitor accesses the 4th floor and arrives at the front of two long car display platforms. Having more cars to show on this floor, a key feature here is the car display. The space is structured by several long platforms out of white back painted glass surfaces with integrated stainless steel strips and edges. Similar to the 3rd floor, the metal lines mimic the lighting strips on the walls and the information walls reappear on the perimeter of the space.
The ceiling of stainless steel mirrors the elevated platforms, allowing the space to appear higher and more spacious. The special lighting for illumination of the cars is also integrated here. Parallel to each other, the platforms offer the visitor a clear route through the history of cars and more interaction.
A movie theater, game room and an exhibition display for smaller items round off the experience. They are located at the end of the exhibition area, where natural light leads you towards the elevators.
Located close to paddy fields and fringed by distant woodland this second home on 30 perches ( 760 sqm) has been conceived of as a retreat for a couple who had spent a significant part of their life in a Colombo city house and desired for a tranquil space away from the hectic bustle of the city and that would enable them to live in close proximity to nature. This retreat provides a space for the owners to pursue their individual passions for gardening and writing. The owner is a scholar of Buddhist Philosophy and is working on a book.
The old building was a neglected 1980’s house with limited ventilation, dark interiors and no connections to the paddy landscape that surrounded the house. The new building kept the structure of the old, while reorganizing to maximize views, opening out to allow light and to integrate the built with the landscape. The existing levels were retained and made use of. The new house is built on the same footprint as the old. The foreground to the existing structure too was retained along with the marvelous canopy trees that were on the site (all saved), and a new living and service block was added, interior layout was revised with the requirements of the clients.
The lower level which overlooks paddy fields contains the living dining spaces, a pantry, a study and master bedroom separated from the service block through a paved courtyard (which accommodates informal dining). The upper level has a family /tv lounge extending into a verandah that overlooks the large garden, canopy trees, lily pond, bamboo groves and apart from a bedroom replete with a balcony that projects into the trees.
Section
The entire house is passively ventilated, serene courtyards, pond, green roofs and green wall (with native ferns and mosses), and large canopy trees all ensure cool microclimate within this house. And green roof over the utility area planted with native plants attracts biodiversity and captures storm water.
Locally available materials, including a combination of reclaimed and custom designed were used. A simple but tactile material palette was adopted and the colors and textures of the architecture blend into the environment of the canopy trees and the paddy fields.
From the architect. The project is the highlight in the ecotourism resort offering charming natural landscape in northern Vietnam. The investor attaches special importance to preservation of environmental landscape, natural ecology of the region and wishes to build a resort which is typical of Vietnamese villages.
Unique architecture of the restaurant is inspired by an image of traditional conical hat closely connected to the beauty of Vietnamese women, simple but no less luxurious.
The project with the ground in the shape of a twelve-sided polygon and of concrete structure is unfinished and has been abandoned for many years due to economic crisis. Take advantage of these concrete columns and beams available, the architects have researched to design the roof supporting structure with 12 bamboo frames leaning against the floor and 24 frames on concrete beams. This structural solution brings people a romantic outside scenery view which is not obstructed. The restaurant in the shape of a conical hat has an area of more than 700m2 and is 15 meters high.
Section
Bamboo is connected together with lashing and bamboo bolt to form a frame on the floor before being erected by crane. Bamboo frame connected with the foundation and concrete beams with metal pipes, iron pins makes the structure stable. This construction technique is easy to make by low-skilled worker with simple tools.
The type of bamboo used is iron bamboo (solid bamboo, local name is “tầm vông”) with the appropriate mechanical properties such as high pressure resistant, easy to bend. The roof is made of natural leaves which are very light and easy to shape. In the middle, there is a skylight of 1.56 meters in diameter to get natural light.
The widest span between two columns is 24.6 meters and the largest diameter of the conical hat-shaped restaurant is 32 meters. The project has expressed great spanning ability of bamboo structure that it is not weaker than iron and steel in spite of low-technical requirement. Moreover, bamboo bearing structure is also a decorative element making interior space more unique.
Create a cool space controlling sunlight like in a huge “SUDARE” (a reed screen). A one-story house is built on a large site in the middle of the residential area, surrounded by low hills. As the neighboring buildings are mostly low-rise houses, almost none of the shadows fall on the site, and in the result the site is always exposed to the sunlight during daytime.
Therefore we thought to suspend a huge “SUDARE” on the site to create cool energy in its shadow and then locate four boxes that forming house at its bottom. The upper roof is made out of 75 mm by 75 mm thinned wood arranged in a checkerboard pattern. The span between its ends is approx. 40 m.
To allow such as extension we used a PC steel rod system such as in suspended bridge construction, hanged on the steel beam located on concrete pilaster. This “SUDARE” has a role to cut off sunlight that falls on the roof surface. In the gap between the four buildings under the huge “SUDARE” was created a comfortable, half outdoor space. With overlapping of the conical landscape made out of remaining soil and the scenery of slightly elevated hills, the huge SUDARE formed into curved by its gravity creates a beautiful appearance.
Location: Yarra River Ct, North Warrandyte VIC 3113, Australia
Design Team: Tim Jackson, Jon Clements, Graham Burrows, Chris Botterill, Chris Rigney
Area: 1000.0 sqm
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Courtesy of Jackson Clements Burrows
Builder: Rattray Group
Structural: BDD Engineering
Mechanical: Cortese Consultants
Courtesy of Jackson Clements Burrows
The brief was to convert a disused rail line into a publicly accessible contemporary restaurant and bar venue that would not only sit comfortably within the surrounding heritage context but also contribute positively to the local residents and the tourist experience of Melbourne.
Courtesy of Jackson Clements Burrows
The design of a series of white polycarbonate box buildings responds in an abstract manner to the linear nature of the rail lines, platforms and the river. A central passage extends from the east entry to the west allowing for direct and efficient movement through the interior of the project. Refined timber lined bars at each end of Arbory create a sense of comfort and enclosure while the gently rising and meandering entry path at the eastern end of the venue maintains a connection with the landscape and a sense of journey and delight from Flinders Walk.
Section
Floor Plan
Seating is located in between the boughs of the Plane trees that abut the river frontage and in the adjacencies to the passage. The design response is contemporary yet sensitive development sited in between the Yarra River and Flinders Street Railway Station on a sliver of land, now known as North Bank.
Courtesy of Jackson Clements Burrows
In addition to ‘shoe-horning’ the kitchens, bars and back of house areas into a minimalist ‘singular’ architectural form, the onsite navigation of existing railway infrastructure, mature vegetation, and site accessibility provided many challenges throughout the project. The adaption of a pre-fabricated ‘kit of parts’ construction methodology ensured cost and onsite construction efficiencies were maximised.
Courtesy of Jackson Clements Burrows
At night the white polycarbonate buildings are illuminated, providing a glowing backdrop from which patrons can enjoy, and also contribute to, the dynamic amenity of the Yarra River and its surrounds.
As part of ArchDaily’s coverage of the 2016 Venice Biennale, we are presenting a series of articles written by the curators of the exhibitions and installations on show.
In response to Alejandro Aravena’s Biennale theme “Reporting from the Front” the UAE National Pavilion, commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, and supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, has chosen as its main theme the transformation of the UAE National house, also known as Sha’abi, or People’s house – a housing program that was introduced in the UAE in the early 1970s to house what was then a fairly transient population.
Courtesy of NPUAE
One of the most significant aspects of the Sha’abi house is its transformative capability. People moved in and over the years modified this particular model by adding rooms, decorative elements, changing color schemes and doorways, as well as extensive landscaping. The extent of change varied from one city to the next, one neighborhood to the next. Yet the main idea remained, an architecture that people were able to personalize to their needs. As a result it became an expression of their culture and lifestyle. Indeed the specific way in which these houses were designed allowed for such an accretive change. The design was based on modular elements, pre-fabricated in many instances, and was a sort of blank slate upon which people could project their aspirations – whether they were functional or aesthetic. The result is an environment that is both functionally responsive and visually interesting because it has resulted in architectural variety. The specific geometry of these houses thus allowed for such changes to take place. In such a way both ‘beauty’ in a very broad sense as well as the social aspect of these houses is being addressed, thus resonating with the overarching Biennale theme that looks at how the built environment can enhance the quality of life for its inhabitants. Our ‘front’ is the UAE’s early generation urban housing landscape.
Courtesy of NPUAE
Courtesy of NPUAE
This is a research-based exhibition rather than one where the focus is on the architectural object per se. Accordingly our aim was to document and map the Sha’abi house. This entailed an historic component (establishing a base line of sorts) as well as looking at various scales — ranging from the city/neighborhood to the house. At each of these a variety of display modes were used: drawings, models, video and photographs as well as analytical diagrams. Right from the outset the decision was made that this will not be a strictly historical investigation, nor a nostalgic rumination on “the good old days.” Instead the highlight is the present and the portrayal of the Sha’abiya neighborhoods as an ongoing living testimony about the resilience of the Emirati people and the extent to which the house, with all of its shortcoming, still plays a vital and important role.
Courtesy of NPUAE
Courtesy of NPUAE
With respect to the actual design of the pavilion the aim is to move away from traditional representational depictions. Instead the concept is derived from the theme itself, implying a universal concern (adaptable housing) by which the pavilion seeks to position itself squarely within contemporary architectural debates. Representational issues are not completely ignored however. We would like to evoke the notion of “home” since the theme deals with domestic concerns. To achieve this we looked at the geometry of the house both from an architectural and urban perspective. The notion of transformation, which is the degree to which the house changed over time, formed an integral part in developing the concept. These transformations comprise changes that took place within a modernist plan through the accretion of elements over time as noted. The pavilion itself is placed within an existing historic structure (the Arsenale, Sale d’Armi), and the intervention is seen as a delicate installation inserted within this solid context. Resultant spaces should remind viewers of a home as they are intimate and small in scale suggesting rooms in a house. Furthermore the choice of materials – steel columns, beams, panels, and metallic mesh screens – echo the existing iron columns in the space and contrast with the exposed brick wall. The pavilion is thus a contextual response to its surrounding.
Courtesy of NPUAE
Courtesy of NPUAE
Geometrically the above is achieved through a grid structure, placed independently of the existing structural system. This grid structure is expressed in space through the dividing panels and is visually present through a series of overhead beams, bisecting and intersecting the space of the pavilion. These beams enable, visually, the creation of spatial zones (rooms as noted above). They are derived from the overall grid structure of the pavilion. Viewers would thus be aware of the grid. Various elements placed within the exhibit (posters, photographs, models and the people themselves) form a backdrop against this structural system suggesting the variety that is created in the Sha’abi House itself. Furthermore, the paneling system, through the use of a mesh, acts as a screen of sorts, facilitating perceptual connections between the elements and spaces of the pavilion. Visitors would be aware of the surrounding structure, spaces and rooms. Taken together these elements enable a level of complexity that would sustain interest and more importantly is compatible with the theme of the exhibition itself.
Courtesy of NPUAE
The Exhibition has been conceptualised/structured according to three main sections: history, neighborhood and house. Ideally they should be experienced sequentially — but that is not a necessity. Indeed people usually construct their own sequence in such spaces, forming an independent narrative. These thematic sections are placed in relation to a central area which contains large images taken by Reem Falaknaz – an Emirati photographer. They are the centerpiece of the exhibition, the focal point drawing people into the space. While they are examining the other elements and sections, glimpses of these photographs are always present. The specific layout and display of these enables an intimate experience that allows for reflection on the house and the people – some are portraits while others show everyday interactions. The architecture is in the backdrop and the emphasis is on the people, a central tenet of the exhibition. In close proximity is an interactive screen where visitors are able to experience the geographic variety of the Sha’abi house in various parts of the UAE. In the process they can learn more about the UAE and its people. From this central area viewers are led to an inner, semi-enclosed space which features a case-study house (the Meqbali house). This intimate space comprises detailed drawings and diagrams as well as a table upon which is placed a large-format book containing family photographs of the Meqbali household showing how the house has been used over the years.
Courtesy of NPUAE
Overall the pavilion hopes to achieve two main objectives:
1) It offers insight into a significant part of the UAE’s urban and architectural landscape. This is important because the UAE’s urban centers are known for their gleaming skylines, spectacular architecture and iconic buildings. Yet if one steps away from these visible signs of modernity and explores its urban landscape another picture emerges. There one will find a thriving urbanity that defies some of the pre-conceived notions pertaining to its architecture. The Sha’abiya neighborhoods, containing the Sha’abi house, constitutes one of those sites. In their informality, sense of place and a lived-in look they defy the very notion of glamour, exclusivity and transience.
2) It can also suggest lessons of wider significance. It is an example, and a success story, of a socially conscious architecture that is not speculative or iconic. Indeed provision of decent housing for the disadvantaged is a universal concern and the Sha’abi house demonstrates how to construct an adaptable and flexible typology. The continuous use and change of this model is a rare example of an ongoing architectural experiment. The Sha’abi house was thus a blank canvas, a basic framework, within which various elements of Bedouin life could be placed. It is different from the typical top-down planning approach, which imposes rigid forms and spaces that are not easily modifiable. A form of architecture without architects. And it is precisely this notion that gives the Sha’abi house so much more significance and resonance, thereby transcending the UAE context.
Bowerbirds /ˈbaʊərbɜrd/ make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behavior, where males build an elaborate structure in an attempt to attract a mate.
The challenge was to design a new home with a view of Lake Erie for a client who did not want to pay the cost of a lakeside property. Hence, the site he acquired was a very long and narrow lot across the road from other homes and 2,000 feet away from the shore of the lake. Despite the client’s selection of a less desirable lot, the project was required to serve as a lure for a mate (a love nest as it were, perched in the treetop) complete with two bedrooms for two yet non-existent/future hatchlings. As such, this love nest aimed to both woo and wow a mate while also demonstrating proper family planning and money-management skills. The remaining challenge involved the limits set by municipal zoning bylaws that restricted the home’s height to a maximum of “two storeys”.
These challenges were resolved by designing an elongated first storey that accommodated all of the public spaces as well as the two children’s bedrooms and an indoor pool and garage. Meanwhile, a second storey master bedroom tower is perched forty feet above in the treetops, well above surrounding rooftops. This configuration provided the desired privacy while harnessing the view of the lake beyond. Hence, while the local zoning bylaw restricted new homes to a height limit of two storeys, the code did not actually state that a second floor must be contiguous to a lower floor… The municipal bylaws in that region have since been re-written.
British preservation group Twentieth Century Society has publicly denounced plans by David Chipperfield Architects to convert the Eero Saarinen-designed, soon-to-be former US Embassy near London’s Grosvenor Square into a “world-class” 137-room hotel. Central to Chipperfield’s plan is an enlargement of the sixth floor to make room for a double-height event space, a move Twenieth Century Society believes will “cause significant and substantial harm to the character of the building.”
Set to be vacated upon the completion of a new embassy building designed by Kieran Timberlake next year, the Grade-II listed design by Eero Saarinen was purchased in 2009 by developer Qatari Diar, who announced plans to transform the building into a luxury hotel containing five restaurants, six shops, a spa and a ballroom with space for 1,000 people and other event space.
This past April, the developer staged a competition for the building renovation, inviting top architects including Foster + Partners and KPF to submit proposal for transforming the historic structure. Ultimately, David Chipperfield Architects were selected for their design, which paid special attention to respecting the original architecture.
But for the Twentieth Century Society, the proposed changes still go too far. In a letter to the Westminster council, the nonprofit group outlines areas of the plan which they believe will cause irreversible harm to the Modernist embassy, including the removal of the original staircases, the demolition of the majority of the internal spaces, and the sixth-floor expansion.
“The proposed double-height sixth floor will damage the present proportions of the listed building: the rhythm of the front façade will be fundamentally changed,” stated the letter.
Rendering of Kieran Timberlake's design for the new US Embassy in Nine Elms, slated for completion in 2017
“We are disappointed that the applicant has persisted with this damaging scheme notwithstanding the society’s suggestions at pre-application stage as to how the effect may be ameliorated.”
D3 Team: Pagu Senna, Diego Spinola, Carolina Anselmo, André Aureliano, Jonathan Querubina, Brenda Colautti, Natasha Weissenborn, Maria Clara Villas, Luciana Dal Ri, Vitor Reais, Victor Gama, Raphael Fagundes, Mariana Ventura, João Marcos de Souza, Edson Pavoni.
The Dancing Pavilion is Interactive Architecture created for the Olympic Park 2016.
Scattered sensors inside of the dance floor capture the beat of the music and the movement of people dancing, which activates the motors of the mirrors on the façade of the building. The result is a kinetic architecture that hypnotizes people, and transforms the space into the most exciting dance club of the 2016 Olympics.
The pavilion was designed for a Brazilian beer brand to host music, parties, DJ’s and shows. Located in the Barra Olympic Park, the primary location for the stadiums in the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the building has an interactive architectural skin. The outer face of the metallic skin is composed of various colors that suggest diversity. Inside is a gigantic surface of mirrors: What would it be like to dance inside of a disco ball?
Scattered sensors inside of the dance floor allow the skin to react to stimulations, such as the beat of the mu- sic or the excited commotion of people. This Interactive Architecture is made with around 500 round mirrors that spin, opening and closing, creating optic effects.
Under the sun, this kinetic pavilion creates graphics with light and shadow on the floor and its surroundings. At night, light cannons dramatically cast an explosive light outside, calling attention as far as the entrance of the Olympic Park. As emotional architecture, it shivers like an excited body.
To create this experience of design and technology, we wanted to provoke the visitors of the largest sporting event on the planet. We wanted to take them from a common place, to stimulate the athlete that exists in everyone, and bring them to a dream state of joy and escapism.
This project is an outcome of a research process that Estudio Guto Requena has been developing for the past 10 years, investigating hybrid architecture, weaving together our concrete and virtual worlds, using sensors and interactive technology to transform our perception of space and sharpen our sensoriality.
The hardware and software necessary to give life to the skin were developed by D3, a producer of interactive installations that work in the intersection of technology, design, and poetry.
At the 2016 Venice Biennale, Peter Zumthor has put his designs for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on display for the professional community. Inside the Arsenale building, a model of the tar-pit-inspired building has been suspended to float within a curving display of textile artworks by Christina Kim, while a soundtrack by Walter De Maria – “Ocean Music,” written in 1968 – provides a rhythmic backdrop for the installation.
Continue for more on the exhibit, featuring images by photographer Danica O. Kus.
Rather than bring along artwork from LACMA to exhibit alongside the model, Zumthor and LACMA director Peter Govan selected artist Kim to create a textile artwork consisting of two curving rows of fabrics in a gradient of colors. The fabrics are picked up in the reflection of the model’s continuous glazed wall, where they serve as an abstraction of how the collection of paintings and artworks will contrast with the museum’s dark gray concrete shell.
Kim has previously worked with both LACMA and architectural themes as a participant in Wear LACMA, in which Los Angeles-based designers were tapped by the museum to create pieces inspired by LACMA’s permanent collection. Kim’s label Dosa created a 10-piece collection inspired by paintings of Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers.
The Arsenale exhibit also contains a small set of site plans and architectural drawings of Zumthor’s design, as well as a calming presence in the form of a bamboo garden.
Other images (including a photograph of the museum’s section drawing) can be seen here. A review of the display by LA Times Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne can be found here.
Sig Nordal 