Housing blocks come in all different shapes, sizes and layouts. So searching for the precedent that matches every category you desire can sometimes be a tedious process of clicking in and out of an unorganized list. Enter the Collective Housing Atlas, an online library of housing projects that is organized into categories.
Users can search within the categories of block typology, tower block typology or typology of dwelling, and then refine their search by selecting from subcategories such as shape, depth and circulation. With a click of a button, you can create lists including all U-shaped buildings, building with courtyard orientation or buildings featuring two-story units. Once you find a project that suits your needs, all of that project’s categories are displayed, making bouncing around between different categories with an end result in mind a simple task.
Some categories remain empty for now, but Collective Housing Atlas’ database is continuing to grow as they pursue their mission “not to highlight new architectural works, but [to make accessible] a list of previously selected buildings in a fast and visual way.”
From the architect. Conceived of as a beacon-like sanctuary within its gritty industrial neighborhood, this 3000sf space serves as Top Chef and James Beard Award Winner Paul Qui’s flagship restaurant. Working partially within strict limits of the original building’s footprint and massing, the restaurant embraces its relationship to the site and rekindles its dialogue with the evolving neighborhood. A unique plan diagram allows for guest reception with direct access from the pedestrian-heavy 6th street or from the rear parking lot, and the simple, yet sculptural roof forms subtly nod toward both the sacred and the home, two parallels the chef wanted to convey to his guests.
The stylistically abstract, hard protective outer shell gives way to a richly textured progression of warm interior spaces, including an indoor/outdoor courtyard, bar, dining room, special format tasting room and completely open kitchen. Inside, extensively repurposed materials from the original building imbue the space with character and contextual history. The experimental, craft-based ethic of the chef convey in the spirit and details of the architecture, which incorporates hand-made pottery elements, integrated art installations, and operable sliding walls that allow the spaces to be reconfigured for special events (or at the whim of the chef). Even the trunk of a pecan tree that once grew through the roof of the original building has been milled into tabletops and plateware.
Continually acclaimed by critics and foodies as one of country’s best and most innovative restaurants, the building acts as a true workspace first and foremost, offering guests a unique opportunity to engage and participate with the boundless creativity and expertise of its proprietors.
Israel has unveiled its theme for the 2016 Venice Biennale: “LifeObject: Merging Architecture and Biology”. Their pavilion will be comprised of a large-scale sculptural installation and seven speculative architectural scenarios relating to Israel. The exhibition will focus on the relationship between biology and architecture, acting as a “research oriented platform.”
Architectural Speculation LiveIt, Cliff Erosion process. Geo modeling time lapse. Dr. Oded Katz, Geological survey of Israel. Image Courtesy of Xhibtion
The curatorial team, including architects Bnaya Bauer, Arielle Blonder, Noy Lazarovich, scientist Dr. Ido Bachelet and curator Dr. Yael Eylat Van-Essen, invited seven groups of architects and scientists – among them Prof. Dan Shechtman, a Nobel Prize Laureate – “to synergize their knowledge, and reorient their approach towards architecture.”
Detail View. Image Courtesy of Xhibtion
The exhibition includes both ideas that can be implemented as well as “new visions for the future,” with examples ranging from using nano-materials to naturally control transparency in desert structures, to employing cancer treatment techniques to deal with urban densification.
Conceptual Diagram. Image Courtesy of Xhibtion
A self-supported structure inspired by a 3D scan of a bird’s nest sits at the center of the exhibition. Dubbed LifeObject, this structure “undulates and curves throughout the lower floor of the pavilion.” Combining composite, smart and biological materials, LifeObject is a “living structure.” Human presence around the structure opens a cabinet de curiosités, “filled with biological materials that are expected to have a significant impact on architectural design and construction.”
Speculative Exhibit. Image Courtesy of Xhibtion
The exhibition’s conceptual foundation is ‘resilience’, “an essential element of biological systems that refers to their ability to cope with shock or trauma.” This theme “bears increased significance upon Israel and its geo-political context, where states of crisis continually rise up, greatly influencing quality of life and spatial design.”
LIAG Architects has unveiled their design for a new art storage building. Commissioned by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the aim of the project was to create a large open space, while simultaneously meeting other needs such as protecting art that can’t be exposed to daylight, controlling the temperature in certain zones, and using minimum amounts of energy to operate the building.
Courtesy of LIAG architects
The 29,000 square-meter storage building is a simple volume designed not to reveal the organization of the interior. The entrance is a gold cladded arch shape, which opens the building towards an adjacent train station. The compact volume allows for the form to be expanded upon to create a larger facility if needed in the future.
Courtesy of LIAG architects
The layout of the facility allows for art to be transported through the shortest routes possible. Each of the three floors contains one main corridor from which all spaces are accessible.
Facade Treatment Diagram. Image Courtesy of LIAG architects
The design addresses the need to protect the artwork through both passive and active systems. The façade system utilizes a material that reflects daylight, but avoids glare. This material not only changes the building’s appearance throughout the seasons, but also allows controlled amounts of light to enter into the storage spaces.
The temperature of the facility is moderated by an insulated skin and energy stored in the ground. Different programs within the building are situated in ways that meet their specific needs. Studios and offices, which can tolerate warmer temperatures, are located at the top of the building, while cooler storage spaces are located on the lower levels.
DESIGN TEAM: Thomas Bögl, Maja Frackowiak, Jordy Aarts, Erik Schotte, Arie Aalbers, Jeroen Moerman, Anna Gunnink, Clemens Rothleitner, and Jose Reviriego Machío.
From the architect. An open space of 260 dunams in the heart of Jerusalem, Israel, on the edge of the Givat Mordechai neighborhood, opposite the busy Pat Intersection It is named after a herd of 17 gazelles that lived in this area, bounded by urban development and major transportation routes. The population of gazelles was in danger due to this massive urban development. In the early ’90s, Real estate developers have sought building rights in the area. Local activist supported by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) fought to preserve the site as a natural oasis and turn it into an urban nature park. After lengthy court battles, that ended in the activist victory, the building plans where dimissed .An alternative plan for the nature park was created by the Local activist in a unique public planning process.
Park Plan
The plan was presented to the municipality, who then decided to adopt the idea and turn it into an operative planning process. Our firm, alongside with a Landscape architecture firm of Rachelle Wiener Landscape & Architecture, were appointed as designers and leaders of the planning team. In January 2013, work began on the park, which is described as Israel’s first urban wild nature reserve.
The highlights of the park will be a pack of about 30 wild gazelles, which roam freely throughout the grounds in a natural setting .the design is ecology minded, trying to enhance the existing ecological system and improve it . It includes 5 natural and man-made ponds, based on the existing drainage water system that flow through the park. To accommodate visitors, the design offers a set of lookout points for observing the various natural wildlife that inhabits the park, an entrance building, parking lot and plaza, a new visitor and research center, and manmade island.
With the opening of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale almost upon us, architects, curators and artists have already started to migrate to the city to unlock pavilion doors and sweep out the past six months of hibernation from the previous biennale season. This year, however, one pavilion has confirmed that it will remain closed – the Canadian Pavilion will not be opening its doors. Closure of the space has been attributed to a much-needed renovation, which has been mentioned by those who have exhibited in the space, specifically Shary Boyle at the 2012 Venice Art Biennale. Nevertheless, there are whispers that the political nature of this year’s entry may have been another reason to keep the pavilion shut. That said, Canada will be present by staking claim in the Giardini with a provocative installation entitled Extraction.
The installation outlines the strategic and expansive role that Canada has played in the mining industry, both at home and abroad. Canada’s involvement in worldwide mining extends long past its history as a nation. According to the curators, it can be traced back to the time of King John of England and the Magna Carta 800 years ago – a document which provided the proper legislation to separate surface rights from mineral rights, making the latter the domain of the Crown. Today it is the largest land owner in the world, having authority over 95% of Canadian lands.
The power of the State of Canada, the largest constitutional monarchy in the Americas, gives its corporations the same access to mineral rights. This has made Canada home to over 75% of all global prospecting and mining companies. Silently and tenaciously this prolific mining activity has worked fairly unnoticed, extracting the raw materials that make up the building blocks of contemporary urban infrastructure. The materials that make buildings and cities are grounded in colonial construction; that is, because architecture itself serves the political purposes of building of a country.
Extraction will present 800 years of building an empire in a short film of 800 images from 800 contributors in 800 seconds. The 13 minute and 30 second film will be viewed through the keyhole of a survey stake that will be driven through the core of Canada’s colonial past, its Italian neighbors at the Venice Giardini being France, Germany and the United Kingdom. This intervention will take place outdoors, in the open air, strategically aligned at the intersection of these three pavilions to expose their histories and tensions, enabled by the security of foreign ground.
Deliberately embedded in the ground, it asks visitors to kneel down to watch the film one by one – a unique event for Canada and the Venice Architecture Biennale. The curators have designed a rare survey stake for the installation to be forged in pure gold and inscribed with the words summa virtus terra est, or “the greatest power is land.” Typically used in mining, a survey stake is the legal and territorial instrument at the interface of a legal property boundary on a survey drawing and the actual ground and precedes all forms of territorialization, construction and power. In this language, Extraction uses the golden stake as a counter-monument; in the words of the curators, the intersecting arrows marked on its face nullify the stake itself and will therefore symbolize the self-cancellation of the empire.
The team behind the installation have donating their time and services as landscape architects and ecological engineers at a contaminated gold mine in Furtei, Sardinia. First owned and operated by Australian mining companies, the Furtei gold mine was later sold to Canadian companies, who abandoned the site in 2009. Mining and exploration there spanned twenty years and failure to clean up the site following invasive operations generated significant levels of acid mine drainage and contamination, including cyanide and arsenic–based processes that threaten the agricultural region and Cagliari watershed.
The story of Furtei is not isolated. It is only one among many mines left behind in the shifts of global resource capital. Being in Italy, Furtei was chosen specifically by the curatorial team in order to ground Canada’s history to Italy at this year’s Biennale. A small booklet outlining the story of Furtei and Canada’s current remediation efforts will be given to visitors, along with 100g of aggregate ore from Furtei. Interestingly, the concentration of the gold ore is one part per billion; this extremely low ratio marks an important shift in world mining today – as the concentration and grade of ore (from precious metals and other minerals) in the ground decreases, the environmental effects dramatically and irreversibly increase. In other words, it’s fool’s gold.
Notwithstanding the bunker-like appearance of Canada’s closed pavilion this year, its location outdoors and in the open air reinforces the root of Extraction. Typically dwarfed by its neoclassical neighbors in the Giardini—a bittersweet irony given that the Canadian Pavilion should be tucked between these political powers—Canada will this year emerge from beneath the trees to declare a new identity. This is the debut of the “territorial revolution,” since the grand and final act planned by curator Pierre Bélanger (OPSYS) and the Extraction team is to present Queen Elizabeth with the golden stake at the closing of the biennale. This gift, which will coincide with the eve of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation is, as Bélanger states, “a declarative gesture of retrocession and independence.”
Extraction has been commissioned by the Art Gallery of Alberta and is curated by OPSYS, under the direction of Pierre Bélanger, a Canadian landscape architect, urbanist and associate professor at Harvard. In addition, OPSYS is collaborating with Canadians, Atelier Hume, goldsmiths and gemologists, who are forging the stake and with RVTR to co-write the book Extraction Empire.
From the architect. Building housing for the disadvantaged population of the northern districts of Toulouse (one of the most dynamic areas of the conurbation) is – as part of ADOMA’s insertion mission – a modest yet active contribution to the development of a more generous and mixed city.
The new construction project on the west portion of the ADOMA site necessitated a profound questioning of its organisation, including a change in the balance between built and unbuilt areas to the detriment of the latter, and consequently to the quality of use by residents.
Plan
One could indeed fear, given the size and the current configuration of the Place des Papyrus, the overall direction of the site and the technical constraints imposed by the construction of timber modules, that many homes would be facing north and overlook -or be overlooked by- existing buildings.
Aware of these constraints and aiming to make the new building «acceptable» in an urban way for existing residents and as comfortable as possible for its future residents, we suggested the chosen timber modular construction system which would achieve the following objectives:
Implanting the new building so that it positively reorganises the surrounding collective areas, especially by offering new practical and ornamental spaces replacing the existing ones.
Maintaining the uidity of domestic routes throughout the site, whilst optimising its functional organisation. This includes repositioning service and equipment facilities – mailboxes, spaces for two-wheeler parking and selective waste sorting – and reorganising means of access.
Minimising overlooking and north-oriented apartments, while ef ciently organising internal service paths, the overall compactness and the technical management of the building.
This results in a synthesis, as part of the architectural and technical project, between the inherent ef ciency of the repetitive, dense and «stackable» aspect of a modular building and the contextuality that is essential to the new building’s quality of use and «integration». These differing objectives are successfully and closely intertwined in this project.
The conversion and restoration of de Zwarte Silo, a distinctive grain silo constructed in 1923 in the harbour area of Deventer, into a lively catering facility was completed late 2015.
BOEi (a foundation specializing in repurposing cultural heritage) commissioned Wenink Holtkamp Architecten to transform the existing closed storage building into a new transparent foodhall (Fooddock), in which the adjacent harbourarea becomes an important part in the interior experience of the building. The new function exposes, thanks to the transparency introduced in the facade, a new face to the area.
The rawness, particularly present and characterizing the interior of the building, has been preserved as much as possible. Several thin steel window- and doorframes have made a significant contribution into the preservation of the distinctive character of the building.
In 1921 the company of A.J. Lammers ordered Deventer architect Maarten van Harte to construct a grey, 1500 tons, concrete silo. Due to persisting moisture problems the silo was treated with fine gravel strewn bitumen, resulting in the distinctive black skin of the building.
The silo can be separated into 4 main volumes, each with its own function. The tall silo served as grain storage. This silo has 30 cells, including 14 large hexagonal cells that are clearly visible in the façade of the building. The low volume located at the Mr. H.F. de Boerlaan served as a warehouse and office building. The low volume on the eastside of the grain silos served as salt storage. This clear zoning of functions is well presented architecturally in the original design of the silo.
From the architect. Designed with the intention of capturing the historical premise of a mosque as a communal space for worship, Al Warqa’a Mosque is a structure that also functions as a gathering place for the community. With the proliferation of the iconic Turkish Central Dome mosque typology in the UAE, the architects sought to return to a simpler design that is less focused on the mosque as an icon, and more as a social space. Al Warqa’a Mosque echoes the spatial simplicity of Prophet Muhammad’s 7th-century house in Medina, which is considered the first mosque in history. In what came to be known as the Arab Hypostyle typology, the original mosque structure was distinguished by an open courtyard surrounded by rooms supported by columns. The design approach behind this layout was influenced by an understanding of the mosque as a multifunctional space for the community to congregate and socialize in after prayer; in this way it is seen as an extension of its immediate environment.
Ibda’s integration of this concept in Al Warqa’a Mosque can be seen in the seamless transition into the space from the outside; with no boundary wall defining the premises of the mosque, worshippers can enter the mosque from three different sides of the riwaq (hallway) surrounding the prayer hall. This increased accessibility creates an oasis-like effect that emphasizes the notion of the mosque as a communal space. Defining access into the haram (holy space)through the sahn (courtyard) is designed to create a spatial shift that gradually takes worshippers from the busy street environment to the serene space of worship through a series of playful and inviting arches. The sahn also serves the functional purpose of allowing more space for people to pray during Friday prayers or other high traffic seasons such as the holy month of Ramadan and the two Eids.
Upon entering the sahn, worshippers are met with a striking minaret structure located at the corner of the courtyard. Designed as a white free standing element that is adorned with patterns, the minaret becomes a unique amalgamation of minimalist and traditional influences. Beyond the sahn, the interior of the mosque is an intimate, yet brightly lit space that is uninterrupted by columns – usually a facet of the larger mosques prevalent in the region. Demarcated by a floating bridge that intersects the space, the women’s prayer hall is at once private and contained within the uniformity of the haram. The sensitive treatment of the women’s area is in contrast with many such spaces in other mosques in which the women’s prayer hall is segregated to a large degree, typically relegated to the rear mezzanine level or in closed rooms altogether. The bridge structure also insures that there is no sound obstruction or delay during congregational prayer times or khutbas (sermons).
Floor Plan
Conceptually and spatially, the architects incorporated the theme of light both as a physical component and a spiritual element in the design of the mosque. An emphasis on natural light is created through a skylight that wraps around the entire space, producing a diffused effect that gives the interior an ethereal sense of brightness. Light also plays another role. It serves to call attention to the movement of the sun as a catalyst in the changing prayer times, the constant motion becoming a visual reflection of their daily cycle. This concept of motion is additionally integrated into the pattern design in the mosque. Based on an abstracted flower relief, an alternating pattern of openings on one side of the floating bridge creates an intricate play of light and shadow that further underlines the notion of movement and change in prayer times.
The materiality and design of the Al Warqa’a Mosque reflects a mindfulness to the locality of the structure. Using Saudi Sandstone for the external façade, the mosque becomes an extension of the desert environment it is located in. The sandy outer façade contrasted with the stark white interior of the mosque reinforces the notion of the mosque as a sanctuary in the neighborhood – a type of retreat from the harsh elements of the material world.
From the architect. Ahmedabad, is predominantly dry through the year, though it does rain occasionally during monsoon months, from late June to August. The clients a young couple with a daughter of 9 and their parents, contacted us for a family home.
Pre-existing trees, and a large lawn, prompted the exact positioning of the built form, the lower level, weaves spaces around trees, retaining all 284 of them. Several foundations were carefully positioned and HAND DUG to preserve roots, and the trees became generators of specific vistas and open to sky courtyards resulting in a FORMLESS LABYRINTH OF INTERCONNECTED SPACES.
ARRIVAL, is announced by a 16 meters column free span canopy, which creates a 2.4 meters high entry space, bound by vertical pivoting wooden louvers. This FILTER like space, allows breezes to freely flow through to the main courtyard beyond, and frames an existing NEEM tree as a sculpture, a powerful presence of nature is sensed throughout the house.
The architecture deploys DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, to mitigate the intense heat.
An ORGANIC PLAN, bound by Massive rammed earth walls with high thermal mass, and COURTYARDS (preserving trees), vertical pivoting wooden louvers, top hung windows with mesh inserts keeps out mosquitoes and allows breezes/breathing.
Ground Floor Plan
Aided by giant sliding glass walls, which retract into pockets, the living, dining spaces seamlessly connect with the surrounding verdant environment. SHADE, from the upper cantilevering storey, brings respite and is welcoming in this tropical region.
Apart from these measures, sprinklers activate on timers to humidify the courts which are all planted with Ferns, Monsteras, Allocasias, Philodendrons, Rafis palms, Terminalias and other plant species.
The upper storey is resolved with a SKIN of CORTEN, each single element of 0.5 meters x 5.5 meters high panels which hang off the internal structure, creating a ventilated façade, to again absorb the heat from the incident sun and release upwards vide air circulation behind them, hence reducing heat gain of the inner structure and spaces.
The corners of the volume are perforated as Jaalis in the patterns of trees and branches, a bow to the SIDI SAIYYED MOSQUE JAALI, an architectural wonder of Ahmedabad. These spaces become dappled in patterned light and shade, along with the sliding screens on the principal eye of the façade, cooling the breezes through the VENTURI EFFECT of the Jaali screens.
1st Floor Plan
OVER DECK foam insulation coupled with reflective glazed tiles, sliding screens, giant Agassi (balcony) spaces and the VENTILATED CORTEN FAÇADE, all work in unison to reduce heat gain.
The forthcoming nature of the clients, led to the design of an entire series of furniture and objects specifically for their home. These were all designed in 20mm x 20mm brass sections and salvaged wood. Mirrors, towel racks, book shelves, vanities, TV stands, occasional tables, nest of trays, were all designed as bespoke objects.
The Main staircase to the upper level, is an assemblage of thick wood akin to a stack in a drying yard, the stair rail, is crafted out of rosewood as a precious object with the bent corners of cast brass, pronouncing an elegant luxury along with a sense of TIMELESSNESS.
Throughout the project – the level of CRAFTMANSHIP is exquisite. All the ART is gifted to the clients by friends and family….
Projects like these, leave behind beautiful memories of their making, five years of pleasurable meetings, mock ups, successes and few failures, a sense of the entire team accomplishing a new level of awareness together, builders, carpenters, stone layers, metal smiths, polishers, gardeners, the CLIENTS and us the architects.
This was a very, rewarding endeavor…….for all involved.
Named after their daughter “DIYA” meaning the light that enlightens, this home we are certain will be loved and nurtured.
Sig Nordal 