From the architect. Renovation and addition of House Denk, a restaurant with a long-standing tradition and a renowned reputation, started with a bold vision in a head of a young, dashing chef Gregor Vračko. After perfecting his cooking skills in the finest restaurants of Portugal, Germany, Austria, The United Kingdom, The States and elsewhere, he returned home, determined to merge the tastes and aromas of the world with local tradition. But first, he needed a place with the appropriate atmosphere. Boštjan Matul and Dominik Sagadin, two young aspiring architects seemed like the perfect creators to materialize his vision. The restaurant standing today at the crossroad in a small village next to the Slovenian-Austrian border could be seen as merely a renovation, but the splendid fusion of modern breeze and local tradition surpasses everything in its close and distant region, architecturally and culinary.
Even though the extension of House Denk looks rather contemporary, its simple structure of two longitudinal volumes doesn’t marginalize the rest of the village. The first volume is facing the street, inviting the guests to come closer, whereas the second offers an intimate meal with boundless views of the surrounding garden. The two volumes comprise and subtly hide the existing building; their appearance is on the edge of being only an extension. Not only that they complete the old house, they also refine the village of Zgornja Kungota.
The main entrance in the eastern volume welcomes guests with its solemn ambience; dark textile floor, dark brick walls combined with rough wood, dim light and antique pieces. After a few steps, a whole new world opens through a transparent wall overlooking the green atrium: it is the passage to the dining area. The second volume with its pavilion formation poses as a contrast to the entry one. It strings along southern side amidst trees and ponds; detached from the main house and accessed through a glazed bridge, it is generously lit with large windows, but still, the wooden floors and a dark ceiling provide just the right dusky atmosphere for the chef’s creations. Both volumes are connected with a spacious outdoor terrace; the rhythm of pillars from the entry volume is gradually vanishing until it finally reaches the edge of the terrace. The dining extension and terrace refuse to follow slight descending of the terrain; they are lifted on refined metal pillars above the garden instead, letting the nature pass through and ramble around the atriums.
Restaurant House Denk stands proudly with its bold presence and just like its chef, exceeds expectations. A varied and an integral whole is gently woven into rural surroundings, boldly surpassing its domain.
A new video by JDS Development Group, Building Knowhow: Skybridge, begins with an anecdote of a day when the firemen showed up at the site. “We got a call – the buildings are falling down!” the chief fireman told Michael Jones, director of JDS. Jones responded with a chuckle, “they’re supposed to be like that!”
Located on the East Side of Manhattan, the American Copper Buildings, designed by New York-based SHoP Architects, test the boundaries of engineering. In an informative video, JDS Development Group documents the building of a skybridge between the towers, outlining their detail-oriented, step-by-step approach. Located 300 feet in the air, it is New York’s first major skybridge in 80 years.
However, the skybridge is not merely a ‘footpath’ between the towers; the bridge also transfers electricity and condenser water between the towers.
SHoP Architect’s designs for 626 First Avenue were revealed only last year, and the building is estimated for completion in 2017.
It’s an elegant, tongue-in-cheek intervention that grafts OMA’s spatial vocabulary into a historical Venetian palazzo. I love the un-puritanical juxtaposition of geometric cuts and flying stairs/escalators against the atrium’s colonnade, the ‘fake’ opus-incertum walls and the Venetian red-painted handrails—a whole theatrical paraphernalia that works quite well in this case. – soperdida
OMA’s alteration and exposing of layer upon layer of older gross modifications strikes me as rather joyous. Along with the historic Fondazione Prada complex, OMA’s approach becomes clear. No sterile meaningless restorations and especially little if any creation of phony “new-old” interventions. Like all of OMA’s work this is not about a “style” but a fresh pragmatic approach—the essence of modernism. The insertion of yet another new function into a structure 6 centuries young promises centuries more of workable, enjoyable space for commerce and social participation. Bravo! – Steven S Dornbusch
However, not everybody agrees, as some felt that OMA’s boldness was disrespectful to the fabric of the listed heritage building:
Quite disrespectful, I realize that modern should not be confounded with the old, but making concrete so rough is too much. The first impression was nice, but after studying it profoundly it turned out to be a big mess. There is no correlation between styles, material, and shapes, the the architects mixed up styles (or everything they knew), things which are not suitable together. The building was treated as if there was no old building. – SomebodyThatIUsedToKnow
What is the Future of NLÉ’s Floating School After Its Collapse?
via NAIJ.com
For the past three years, the architectural community has been promoting NLÉ’s Makoko Floating School as an intelligent response to the challenges facing poor communities in precarious spaces, both physically and economically. However, all of that was brought into question this week by the structure’s sudden collapse. What happens next will depend heavily on the reaction of the NLÉ, the people of Makoko, the architectural media and the rest of the profession at large. One reaction was provided by our readers, one of whom seemed to see the collapse as a minor setback at most:
I would not say this is a negative against NLÉ. This structure was an innovation towards solving a social problem, using design in an inexpensive way. Much like how we learned how to keep today’s buildings standing, all of us architects should look at this example to further the discussion on how can we can build a similar situation to withstand the extreme elements. – Sean
Continuing Discussion
Wild Ideas in the Windy City
Courtesy of Marks Barfield Architects and Davis Brody Bond
The advantage of public transit is that it has the ability to move large numbers of people efficiently and allows for flexibility (getting on and off in different places). Gondolas were designed for a very different purpose and thus don’t function well as mode of urban public transit. Also, they are constantly closed due to high winds. Need I remind everyone of Chicago’s nickname, of which it most definitely lives up to?
This is a great 2nd year studio project, utopian and whimsical, but from legitimate architects? It’s one thing to put it out there as a fun exercise in thinking outside the box but reeling in engineers and developers and selling it like it is something that it is not, is naive. Unfortunately these gimmicky publicity stunts cause many outside of the discipline of architecture to question our relevance and ability to tackle the complexities of the real. – J Davis
Keep the debate flowing! Please post any responses to these topics in the comments below.
From the architect. The area of architecture is placed in a centre of a small village Veľké Úľany (South West Slovakia). The ground is unique for its specific irregular shape which tends to be narrowed at the edge. This place is situated near to a protective zone of Calvary, an important municipal monuments with high vegetation.
Main concept of design is based on a markedly conservation of its authentic genius loci. The mass of the architecture forms on a traditional shape of a house located between the existing trees. Efforts to keep symbiosis with surrounding nature led to the connection of flat and sloped roof. The two-storey building purposely respects the street line and its location opens up a view of the entire area. Steeper slopes of the roof to the south promotes the lightness and subtlety of garden and creates its nice background. Human scale brings airiness into the backyard and decreases towards the entrance which consequently seems less personal, but still attractive.
The house designed as open space can be comfortably used by four member family. On the ground floor is a hall accessible directly from the level of parking places for cars (grassing tiles). Right after the entrance the house offers a nice view to the garden passing through the living room and large glass wall. The bathroom with toilet forms the northernmost tip of the object with the entrance through the hall with wardrobe and technical equipment. The daily places are partly divided by the mass of staircase. Dining room with kitchen and living room creates one operating circle whose circumference is the strongest architectural feature: connection of the exterior and interior. Open bedroom area adds breathability to the house. First floor serves as the night zone of the house with two separate rooms.
Section
Perspective
From the daily zone, there is an exit to the terrace and garden. The garden is designed in the context of flowers, useful plants and herbs. The realisation of the garden, including the selection, planting and treatment of existing trees as well, was accomplished with care and high attention.
The house construction just complete the main idea of preserving existing trees. The building is based on a reinforced concrete foundation slab, using cellular glass insulation to do not break the root system under the house and retain the original green high vegetation on the area. In the interior and exterior as well, there are used only natural materials as wood, stone, steel and concrete in its rough form. The entrance and courtyard facade is adjusted by wooden panelling, which is left to natural oxidation. Medium high fence is built only around garden area – it is formed to gabion with fulfilled and empty parts. The house looks small and compact and still benefits from native trees which maintain a comfortable climate in its interior and environment nearby. Thanks to the open space disposition of whole area, house and its surrounding keeps its holistic harmony of exterior and interior.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has released the results of their Future Trends Survey for April 2016. The report shows continued growth in employment and workload predictions, as the industry edges closer to pre-recession levels. Notably, it shows a rise in revenue for projects outside of the UK, with this figure jumping for large practices.
Workloads in April 2016 showed an 8% increase from those in April 2015. “Workload growth has been strong throughout the last year, and this is the twelfth consecutive quarter in which we have seen rising workload,” RIBA Executive Director Member Adrian Dobson in a press release.
Despite this, the Future Trends Workload Index fell two points from March, to +29. All Nations and Regions returned positive forecasts, with the North of England remaining strong (balance figure +43). Large practices (51+ staff) had the highest balance figure at +71, followed by small practices (1–10 staff, balance figure +28) and medium-sized practices (11-50 staff, balance figure +24).
The private housing sector workload forecast saw the biggest increase in April (rising to +33 from +28 in March), and Dobson identified it as “the key driver of growth.” He attributed this growth in part to the fact that “Buoyant housing activity is no longer confined to London and the South East but is widespread throughout the country.” The commercial sector forecast decreased to +11 (down from +18 in March). Meanwhile, the public sector and community sector forecasts changed little.
“The past year has also seen strong employment growth,” said Dobson. “However, there is some way to go before employment levels will attain their pre-recession peaks.” In April, The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index was unchanged at +10. The index is determined by the difference between those expecting to employ more permanent staff in the next three months and those expecting to employ fewer. Responding practices reported that permanent staffing levels were 6% higher than one year ago. Large practices were the most optimistic about recruiting new staff, with a balance figure of +71. Medium-sized practices and small practices were less optimistic, although still positive (with balance figures of +6 and +24 respectively).
The survey, established in 2009, uses a geographically representative sample of mixed-size practices to determine the prevailing workplace trends. The results are quantified into index numbers, enabling efficient monthly tracking.
Full results of the survey, including a graphical analysis, can be viewed here, and is updated each month.
Team: Tomas Umbrasas, Aidas Barzda, Tautvydas Vileikis, Rokas Kontvainis, Justė Surplytė
Mdel
Plan
Old Town nooks, unexpected views, Basilian street incites for mystics and a kind of monastery austerity. The space is shared among two moods: timeless clay coolness in twilight and monochrome play of light. In the evening, the mystical hearth fire dissolves all mood contrasts and invites to rest.
The context of this small apartment is worth of mentioning. The century old long house is situated close to the old Vilnius city gate, defensive wall and the marketplace. The street of Basilians’ reveals a monastery further away. Apart from location, a sense of history is strengthened by thick walls, tall window openings and high ceiling.
The provided 2 bedroom 45 sq. m. apartment layout by real estate developers wasn’t a rational option neither for the client, nor for us. A spacious home with bold design intended for a couple or a loner was the initial guideline for the interior project.
The main idea was to create a space for two different moods: timeless clay coolness in twilight and monochrome play of light. They are “housed” in two zones created by a slanted wall in the midle of the rectangular room. The result: a set of irregular interconnected rooms, each with its’ own character‐ something inspired by the cozy old town nooks. A circle of free movement is possible once opened the tall frameless doors.
The historical context incites for mystics and a kind of monastery austerity. This mood, comprising hall, bathroom, bedroom, is expressed by coolness of dark clinker tiles, black furniture surfaces, mirrors, painted concrete ceiling. It is practical for utilitarian functions and works soothingly in the bedroom. Here, a fireplace gap in the wall allows for a glimpse to the living room and sharing the warmth of fire.
Quite a different monochromatic bright mood dominates the living room, where the midday light plays with tones of gray, white and black. The narrowing trapezoid room is shaped by white walls, painted concrete ceiling, oak floor and of course‐ the clinker wall. The sense of lightness and minimalism is kept in furniture‐ from hanging kitchen volumes to modest tables and sofa, even the plinths are wall built in.
Cultural Centre in Bakar, a historical town on the north Adriatic coast, was originally built as Community Centre during the 1970’s. Community Centre’s had a significant role in the society, designated for diffusion of culture in smaller communities.
Various characteristics of socialist political and cultural environment have contributed to their outspread.
Culture had a clearly defined ideological position as part of the social Superstructure, so it had resources to stimulate different forms of cultural production and social activity. Cultural activity was not limited to art alone, but it has encompassed other activities including education. Lifelong learning courses have been regularly organized in Community Centers.
Next to it, traditional social gatherings took place in the Centre, taking the role that National Houses had in the pre-socialist society.
All of this has made Community Centers most important buildings in the municipalities, recognized as the center of a community. For that reason they have been usually built as oversized and monumental buildings.
Community Centers have been usually constructed in cities built on post-war industrialization, contrasting both elements of the Marxist cultural theory, Base, representing industrial production, and Superstructure, housed in Community Centre. The building in Bakar follows the same pattern. During the 1970’s, landscape surrounding the medieval town was dominated by heavy industry. Architecture of the Community Centre seemed to have responded to neighboring scale and form of industrial plants and port infrastructure. The building was divided in several parts, typical for Community Centers of the period; central hall for events, offices for municipal administration, rooms for civil societies and communal area with café and a bowling alley.
The industry has disappeared with the transitional processes of the 1990’s, but so has the social environment that has enabled activity in the Centre. Like in many other post-socialist locations, the change in cultural policy has emptied the budget, leaving a structure too big for contemporary needs.
The building was gradually decaying and largely out of use, until the reconstruction works began in 2012.
Restoration approach is embracing the fact this is an oversized building with an expressive geometry.
Interior of the building is cleared of all partitions, creating one big covered space, opening to the surrounding terrain. Without a fixed set of activities, unlike from the period when it was built, the building is conceived as an empty shell that can accommodate various programs. It is a generous covered public space, periodically colonized with municipal events and gatherings. Structural wall is dividing the interior in two, concert hall on one side and a large open space on the other, housing workshops, café and area available to local NGO’s.
Expressive shape of the building, previously covered with metal panels, has been reduced to basic geometrical shapes, emphasized with colors.
Recent selection of the neighboring city of Rijeka as European Culture Capital for 2020, creates a new environment and condition where culture represents an agency for a once strong industrial region to reinvent itself. Cultural Centre offers to the city of Bakar an opportunity to take part in these processes.
From the architect. This project is an extension for KIMONO, a Japanese restaurant located in the center of Hanoi, Viet Nam. The extension is the fifth and sixth floor of the existing restaurant. These additional floors supply private dining rooms for guests. Considering the irregular existing structural plan, we used curve walls to make a diversity of spaces with a soft and comfortable atmosphere. The triangular spaces where the curved walls meet each other became “Light Tubes”.
Plan
The Light Tube and the interior were inspired by the way Vietnamese traditional lamps are knitted together by hand. The traditional technical skills of craftsmen have been applied to make the architectural elements, including not only doors and partition walls but also ceiling and handrails. Each element comes together to create a unique but comfortable space.
The dimension and proportion of the bamboo material has been studied to create a soft, light feel, as opposed to a conventional solid wall. To implement this project in detail, we worked very closely with Vietnamese craftsmen to find out the best applicable knitting patterns.
The bamboo wall harmonizes with other natural materials; wood and stone. The dining rooms host the enjoyment of quality food, offering the quiet spirit of handicraft and workmanship for guests, even in the middle of a busy city.
Courtesy of the City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects
The Boston Society of Architects (BSA) has announced the winners of the Northern Avenue Bridge Ideas Competition. Launched in March, the competition sought to gather ideas for the future of the bridge that center around improving mobility, honoring history, and creating destination. The bridge, which opened in 1908, was closed in December 2014 due to structural integrity concerns.
As it was open to the public, the competition received ideas from architects, designers, historians and community members, overall resulting in 133 submissions, including 99 graphic designs and 34 essays.
A 16-member jury assembled by the city and the BSA awarded eight submissions a total of $15,000.
The winners of the Northern Avenue Bridge Ideas Competition are:
Northern Avenue Botanical Bridge / AW Architects
Courtesy of the City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects
Island in the Stream / Robert White
Courtesy of the City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects
Northern Avenue Bridge Park / Rob Barella
Courtesy of the City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects
Courtesy of the City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects
Honorable Mention: Channel Mall Station / TVAConnection
Courtesy of the City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects
People’s Choice Award: Pivot Point Bridge / Emeline Guajac, Erika Deroche, Rob Krauszer, Hing Chung Fung, Steve Bryson, Chris Baker-Albertz
Courtesy of the City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects
The Public Works Department is currently in the process of drafting a request for proposals for the design of the future bridge, which it hopes to release in the coming months.
The city of Venice has been caught in a tug of war between progress and traditionalism for many years, and particularly since the construction of a railroad viaduct in 1846 linked the island city to the Italian mainland for the first time in its history.[1] Over a century later, the Venetian government commissioned Louis Kahn to design a new Palazzo dei Congressi for the city; his proposal, while paying respect to the histories of both the Republic of Venice and a unified Italy, could not escape similar controversy.
Kahn began the design process not with drawings, but with sculpture. Using clay, he constructed a model of Venice that showed only three landmarks in recognizable detail: Piazza San Marco, Le Corbusier’s contemporary scheme for a hospital (another project which would never come to fruition), and Kahn’s own proposal for the Palazzo. The initial site proposed by the city, as shown in this clay rendering, was the Biennale Giardini near the eastern tip of the island; when this location was rejected, Kahn was then asked to propose a new design in the Arsenale, a former military compound which was already owned by the city.[2]
This rough site plan for the building (1968-1974) is currently on the FBI's National Stolen Art File. Image via FBI
Although the change of site forced Kahn to start over, it also afforded him the opportunity to make a more poetic architectural maneuver: rather than set it in the heavily-wooded landscape of the Giardini, he was able to turn the Palazzo into a bridge that spanned across the Canale delle Galeazze. The public space that would originally have been found in the Giardini transformed into a roof terrace, allowing the structure to act as both Palazzo and piazza in a single dramatic gesture.[3]
Kahn’s proposal for the Arsenale was striking in its simplicity. Two rectangular masses rose from opposite banks of the canal, each containing stairways to bring visitors to the congress hall. The hall itself was suspended between the two stair towers, its floor sloping gently toward the center of the space. Above, three shallow vaults ran transverse to the longer curve of the floor; similar vaults would appear in another of Kahn’s projects, the Kimbell Art Museum, which would open in 1972 – Kahn’s last year of involvement with the Palazzo dei Congressi project.[4, 5]
Plans (three levels)
These vaults were surfaced in lead – a design decision inspired by another Venetian building. While giving a lecture on the roof of the Palazzo Ducale (the Doge’s Palace), Kahn noted the curved lead roofing of the nearby San Marco Basilica, which had stood firm for a thousand years. This was, by his reckoning, proof that the material was equally suitable for use in a new building. Although the Palazzo dei Congressi was never built, the concept would not disappear with it; as with the form of the roof, the material finish would also be translated to the Kimbell Art Museum.[6]
Section
Perhaps the most distinct aspect of Kahn’s proposal was its sloped floor. This form would have been achieved using a post-tensioned concrete slab, the curve of which would have been visible from both inside and outside the building. Although this idea was already present in the first iteration of the design, it gained greater visual rationale in the final version; its curve, rather than sitting atop a series of ground-level artist workshops, instead emphasized its suspension above the waters of the canal.[7]
The example for the lead-lined roof vaults may have originated in—or been inspired by—the city of Venice, but it was in another Italian city in which Kahn found his inspiration for the congress hall. The Piazza del Campo in Siena, dating back to the end of the 13th century, is famed for the shell-like concave dip in its paving.[8] This shell is laid with nine radiating strips of travertine stone, representing the Government of the Nine that ruled the city for eighty years.[9] Siena’s civic center is not an uncommon source of inspiration for civic buildings, having been referenced by architects like Alvar Aalto to name only one; it is perhaps not surprising, then, that Kahn saw the Campo as a worthy subject on which to base his own design.
While Kahn was commissioned at the Mayor’s behest, and worked closely with the local government throughout the project, his proposal was ultimately rejected by city officials after six years of work. Much like Le Corbusier’s hospital, the Palazzo dei Congressi was deemed too anomalous of an element to blend into the historical urban fabric of Venice; the design’s references to Venetian and Sienese landmarks were an insufficient counter to its undeniable formal Modernity. The city’s health commissioner, Vito Chiarelli, had written a letter to Kahn shortly after the architect was commissioned specifically to warn him that Venice had an “innate inability to accept abstract forms embedded in its historic context.”[10]
Many contemporary projects in the vein of Kahn’s fell victim to Venice’s mid-century historicism, never progressing beyond models or the drawings. It is up to the observer to determine if this obstinate preservation of the city’s pre-war urban fabric was justified, or if new landmarks like Kahn’s Palazzo dei Congressi could have captured a new architectural glory to rival that of the splendour, and innovative attitude, of the former Venetian Republic.
Plan of the Congress Hall
While visual materials are few and far between, you can visit this source to see a number of photographs and drawings of this unrealised project.
References [1] Cessi, Roberto. “Venice – History.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 30, 2016. [access]. [2] McCarter, Robert. “Demanding a Presence: The Unbuilt Works of Louis I. Kahn.” Lecture, CUNY Spitzer School of Architecture, New York, February 21, 2013. [3] McCarter. [4] McCarter. [5] Fracalossi, Igor. “AD Classics: Kimbell Art Museum / Louis Kahn.” ArchDaily. March 31, 2011. [access]. [6] McCarter. [7] McCarter. [8] “Piazza Del Campo – Siena, Italy.” ItalyGuides. Accessed May 29, 2016. [access]. [9] “Piazza Del Campo.” Tuscany Pass. Accessed May 29, 2016. [access]. [10] Ainsworth, Troy Michael. Modernism Contested: Frank Lloyd Wright in Venice and the Masieri Memorial Debate. PhD diss., Texas Tech University, 2005. p298-299.
Sig Nordal 