MOR Architects has won first prize in the competition to design the Konaki Averof Cultural Center in Thessaly, Greece. The competition sought out proposals to convert an existing complex with historic importance into a modern socio-cultural multiplex.
In an effort to reinterpret the relationship between the building and its urban environment, the winning proposal reintroduces the horizontality of the landscape, before human intervention.
The design not only provides maintenance and restoration of the existing external shells of the complex but additionally creates a “new, free-standing longitudinal roof with extensive cantilevers on both sides.”
Courtesy of MOR Architects
Courtesy of MOR Architects
Courtesy of MOR Architects
Through this new wing, the building is unified in its revitalized form as a space to host community functions such as events, exhibitions, and workshops. Furthermore, the addition creates a zone of protected open-air circulation between units of the complex.
Courtesy of MOR Architects
Courtesy of MOR Architects
Similarly, “the shaded open-air spaces of the building, together with the existing tall trees of the site aid towards a sustainable microclimate while—at the same time—escalating the transition from the outdoor to the indoor space and constituting an integrated unit of public space for the community.”
From the architect. This modern rammed earth house, winner of the international prize for contemporary earthen architectures Terra Award 2016, is located in Ayerbe, a little village in the Spanish Pyrenees. Rural migration in the region during middle 20th century led to the disappearance of traditional architecture techniques. This house attempts to awaken the interest of the community and the curiosity about this type of sustainable buildings that are strongly linked to the territory. The project has been inspired by old local earthen buildings regarding their orientation, morphology and the use of local materials.
A life cycle analysis has shown a 50% reduction of CO2 emissions. Local materials like stone, earth and straw represent 80% of the weight of the building. Hydraulic lime, roof tiles, wood and sheep’s wool have also been used, obtained from an area within 150 km radius. The house includes passive solar strategies as windows specially designed for an efficient use of natural light, thermo-insulating blinds, cistern for reutilization of rain water, thermal accumulator clay plastering, biomass heating boiler, etc.
With her own home design, the architect has tested all techniques and materials to their limits in order to achieve not only a natural and sustainable house, but also an energy efficient, environmentally and socially engaged building.
Plan
The passive solar design used is also allowing research work focused on the thermal behavior of the earthen walls according to their position, as well as the study of a sample of a trombe wall.
The site is within the town, has a rectangular shape with its long side facing the north. The surrounding buildings use one or another earth construction technique (adobe, rammed earth and mixed stone building techniques). The house adapts to the street levels and is built in three floors.
Section
Following the traditional strategies, a patio was opened in the south. The passive solar design, combining big windows in the south face, little ones in the north and skylights with earth walls, ensures thermal comfort, natural light, and cross ventilation. These passive design principles maximize sunlight access trough the south façade improving benefits of earthen walls thermal mass.
In winter, heat is stored in earthen walls during the day and it’s transmitted to the interior spaces throughout the night. In summer shadow systems as eaves, wooden curtains prevent the light access to the interior of the house.
Upper floors are built in 45cm thick earthen walls and timber decks support the housing spaces. Earth selection was objective and was tested in laboratory. A discontinuous sedimentation test and a screening test were made in order to know lime, sand and gravel’s proportions. It was also made a carbonates test to quantify the carbonates proportions contained in the sample. Straw fivers were added to the mixture to increase thermal and shrinkage qualities. The interior and exterior lime plaster was built using the “calicostrado” vernacular technique. Wooden work form used was a standardized system and was mounted continuous and simultaneously fitting it immediately before the filling. The construction process was mechanized to improve execution and economical performance. The mixture, the elevation and the pouring were made by a single machine. The compression was made by hand with an electric compressor.
Section
Coverings of interior partitions were made by local clay plasters. The roof is isolated with 20cm of sheep’s wool in order to avoid thermal loss during winter and overheating in summer. Inner wooden floors are isolated with natural cork boards.
Pinewood carpentry has double glazing with internal air chamber. Windows opened to north and west facades have interior wooden shutters. South windows have heavy interior curtains and roller exterior wooden shutters to manage shadows. Both strategies are the traditional ones for each orientation, adapted to local climate and it’s management is known by users.
Detail
A cistern for reutilization of rain water is buried in the patio. A biomass heating boiler heats the house and produces hot water needed.
With UNESCO’s recent announcement that 17 buildings by Le Corbusier are to be added to the World Heritage List, Monocle 24’s Section D speaks to a number of organisations—including the Twentieth Century Society, devotees of Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona, London’s Victoria Albert Museum, and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian in New York City—in order to understand why architectural preservation is important, and who decides what’s worth saving.
From the architect. In April of 2015, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) was awarded the first prize in the LIXIL International University Architectural Competition. During the following summer, we developed the project in detail and made construction drawings, supervised by architects from Kengo Kuma and Associates. This winter, the Inverted House was built in Taiki-cho, Hokkaido, and we were working closely on site with the local contractor throughout the process. Now the house is awaiting its new life as the 5th competition house on the open fields of Memu Meadows.
The theme of the competition was atypical: “House for Enjoying the Harsh Cold”. Traditionally, architecture has created a strong division between inside and outside, keeping the cold at bay while preserving heat within. The Inverted House seeks to challenge this idea and to bring the ‘harshness’ of the world into the house itself. By minimalizing heated interior spaces and creating a series of sheltered exterior spaces, the building reads the legacy of traditional Japanese Sukiya-zukuri in the light of Scandinavian frugality. Its rough walls create a clear division in the landscape, holding together precisely articulated wooden roofs and floors. The resulting unity becomes an instrument, using wind, snow and sun to change the feeling of the world for its inhabitants.
Diagram
Diagram
The house is approached through the first space defined by the cross-wall: the Garden Room, that gathers snow in winter and keeps it until late spring in the shadow of the high walls. From here, the Outside Living Room is entered through the main entrance, where a series of elevated wooden floors leads to the fireplace, while a large, gently sloping roof extends toward the surroundings and the sunset. Adjacent, the Room for Cooking is protected from the strong winds by a very steep roof. A narrow passage around the cross wall leads to a protected interior, the Inside Room, a narrow, dark space, heated by an open fireplace. A long, low window focuses the view on winter snow or summer flowers in the Garden Room outside. At its other end, one finds the most intimate spaces: a bathtub is hidden beyond the wall, closely under the roof, and a sleeping platform floats above the snow, facing the sunrise, with a roof opening towards Memu’s full sky.
We imagined Inverted House as a delicate instrumentation of many pieces, rather then one dominating concept. Each wall, floor, roof, pillar, and step, has been carefully considered in proportion and relation to the building as a whole and to the world in which it is built.
The lot, where the house is inserted, have a non-regular shape, longitudinal and perpendicular to the street Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Matosinhos. In a consolidated urban area, the surrounding buildings, are, in most of the cases, buildings with a ground floor and attic. These constructions for their constructive time presents nonconventional height.
The urban density of this road presents buildings with different temporal characteristics, and for that reason, with different constructive approaches, with different elevations, materials, etc… a result of the growth andevolution of this road.
Concerning the volume, the house will be distributed in two floors (ground floor and 1st floor), which are dissimulated in the facade with horizontal lines to point some alignments with the surrounding buildings.
It is proposed a house with two floors. The interior spatial distribution is separated by function and by floors. The social/ service area, at the groundfloor, is composed by the entrance hall, the toilet, the kitchen, the dining / living room, the vertical access to the 1st floor (stairs) and the garage.
Due to the longitudinal nature of the lot, and the fact that it only detains two fronts for construction, it was proposed an exterior yard at the center of the house to allow natural light to dining/living room and kitchen. On the 1st floor, the private area, is composed by the rooms and its toilets and a lounge / reading area. At this floor, the interior yard, gives some more natural light to the interior rooms.
From the architect. Eniwa is a house that has been built in the city’s subdivision. Appearance as listed in the project title is the black profound image, introspection is a soft finish, was a completely different look at the inside and outside.
Place the water around the core-like, to separate the living space and dining kitchen, which is a characteristic that the core upper part is connected to the children’s room.
From the architect. Condominium development comprising six 5-storey residential blocks (total 140 dwelling units), one 3-storey communal facilities block, communal swimming / spa pools and basement carpark. Total gross floor area of 12,754 square meters.
Plan
Homeowners are increasingly looking beyond the layout of the unit they are purchasing to the collective identity of the development, finding an emotional connection between the place of residence and the lifestyle choices they subscribe to. This is an aspect impacting residential design worthy of deeper contemplation.
Strategically nestled amidst a mature landed housing neighbourhood abound with laid-back charm, the site location enabled us to formulate a clear image of the development – a private eco- lifestyle sanctuary indulging urbanites’ longing to momentarily detach from the city bustle – and provided an answer to the client’s search for a branding niche, reaching out to a target demographic sensitive to ecological consciousness.
Designing for the high density of condominium developments is a challenge that constantly calls for refreshing solutions. Residential blocks are laid out in a staggered configuration that maximizes porosity within the site, fostering an ambience of airiness amidst the surrounding tightly woven urban fabric. ‘Ventilation breezeways’ between individual blocks serve to channel the prevailing north-eastern wind through the site.
Looking to expand the spatial nomenclature of condominium living, penthouse units are furnished with their own roof terrace space instead of enclosed attic rooms. For residents to enjoy outdoor dining and a dip in the private pool or jacuzzi, the high-level trellis roof creates a comfortable, thermally buffered space at the roof terrace, which exudes the debonair allure of tropical living. Deeply cantilevered balconies on second to fifth floors serve as functional extensions of units’ living space, being effectively shielded from the weather and adding a touch of spatial splendour. Believing in “doing more with less” as a sustainable design approach, architectural elements each has a manifold role, both aesthetically and as eco-friendly features. The high-level trellis roof – comprising folded perforated aluminium panels inclined at a gradual pitch – not only reduces thermal gain through the roof slab, but also serves to channel breezes toward the habitable roof terrace. The roof terrace serves as catchment area for an integrated rainwater harvesting system, which provides irrigation for the extensive communal landscaped deck.
“Wind scoops” affixed to cantilevered facade frames are vertical elements directing air movement through the main living spaces of units, while acting as diaphanous sun-shading screens. These lightweight wind scoops echo the expression of the balcony parapet screen, forming a sophisticated design language of delicate translucency and lightness. As part of a holistic design approach, we look beyond the utilitarian value of building components and discover in them the potential to inject creativity into the living environment. For instance, the surface drainage system blends into the lush landscaping, being designed as a vegetated bio- swale that helps filter surface run-off. Screening off views of the basement carpark (partially open on one side to capitalize on existing site topography) from neighbouring lots, BRC mesh panels double up as a urban farming wall that allows residents to grow their own vegetables within shared communal space. Counteracting the closed-community perception of private condominiums, the main development entrance is designed to be open-concept, where the drop- off area is lushly landscaped and incorporates a welcoming forecourt with cascading water wall feature. The security guardhouse is consciously set back from the site boundary, effectively creating a more pedestrian-friendly interface on the street level.
Design Team: Liu Jin, Yu Yiqing, Tao Zimin, Zhou Jing, Sibelle Hu, Tan Shuang
Area: 11000.0 sqm
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Courtesy of yue-design
Courtesy of yue-design
From the architect. The library is built together in the school library on the basis of the original design plan, the formation of Tongling City Library, three Hall Xinhua Bookstore and Tongling Polytechnic Library one new model. Library area of about 11,000㎡, designed to seat 1500, a total amount of 700 000 books, after the completion of the use of the bookstore element Diversfied rich library services capabilities, provide the public with greater levels of reading experience.
Mezzanine Floor Plan
First floor: two separate foyer hall, with a capacity of 400 people lecture hall, young children borrow area, book distribution center, children’s lending section, visually impaired reading area and art galleries;
Courtesy of yue-design
Layer / II mezzanine: Xinhua Bookstore, there are business selling books, cultural and creative stationery, gourmet food, education and training, and self-employed foreword postscript coffee tea etc;
Second Floor Plan
Three layers: a sky garden-sitting reading hall, to create three-dimensional multi-level reading and interactive experience center. Small potted plants and echoed across the green table, remind the reader, here is the Tongling citizen “eco large study.” And offers a free creative painting room.
Four layers: a comprehensive collection of books and reading area, HIFI room, listening room and listening room.
Courtesy of yue-design
Fifth floor: reading area and set up a comprehensive self-study area, document library, electronic reading room, library and other special collections, including the electronic reading room interspersed with geometric forms of space is the way to bring readers and concepts of modern life.
From the architect. The Victory Christian Church’s Beaumont Centre is a flourishing centre for worship in Auckland. DKO’s addition to the existing auditorium allowed Victory to reconnect with its congregation and the City of Auckland and is now a successful venue for community events in this vibrant New Zealand city.
DKO designed a new administration building, terrace areas and a 3 level carpark as well as a reinvigorated multi-purpose rooms and related amenities areas in the existing auditorium. Our design response provided a building and program that opened up the Church to its immediate community and urban landscape.
The Henning Larsen Architects-designed Danish Pavilion has opened to the public on Ipanema Beach to celebrate Denmark’s participation in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The pavilion is the only national pavilion at the games, and contains displays featuring Danish companies and products. The design takes inspiration from the nation’s seafaring and yachting traditions, while programmable LED lights allow the pavilion to resemble a number of different flags from bird’s eye view.
Entitled “Heart of Denmark,” the pavilion will serve as a gathering point for Danish athletes, representatives and visitors, and will host a number of exhibitions and activities dedicated to Danish design, innovation, art and culture. Located in a high-traffic area for both tourists and locals, the pavilion will offer views to the Atlantic Ocean and of the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain.
The pavilion contains 3250 square feet (300 square meters) of covered space, including a bar, a press room and exhibition area, sheltered below a lightweight structure technique consisting of aluminum masts, sailing canvas and clear acrylic. An amphitheater will allow visitors to enjoy the views or watch the Olympics on a big screen.
The pavilion will be open to the public from August 3rd to the 21st from 11am to 10pm. For more information on the design, check out the drawings and renderings here. For further information about the pavilion program and activities, visit the official website here.
Sig Nordal 