© Hoang Le Photography

Architects: Vo Trong Nghia Architects

Location: Xa Phu Cat, Huyen Quoc Oai, Hanoi, Vietnam

Project Architects: Vo Trong Nghia, Takashi Niwa

Design Team: Mai Lan Chi

Bamboo Manager: Nguyen Ba Tuong

Area: 1100.0 sqm

Project Year: 2015

Photographs: Hoang Le Photography, Le Anh Duc (AIF Studio)

Contractor: La Vong group JSC.

Bamboo Construction: Vo Trong Nghia Architects

Site Area: 6,560 m2

Client: La Vong group JSC.

© Le Anh Duc (AIF Studio)

The building is located 30 km from Hanoi, besides the main road connecting Hanoi and Hoa Binh. This area is popular for stopover of buses and cars in order to enjoy and have a rest long journey and also it is a destination for Hanoians to enjoy one day trip. 

General Plan

The restaurant is located right next the road. To create an intimate space and protect guests from the busy road the floor of the restaurant is designed lower than the road. After stepping down from the busy road to the dining space, the guests are facing to a natural lake with a bamboo arches above their heads. The 12 bamboo columns with the shape spreading upwards are supporting the roof structure of semi-outdoor dining area. The curved plan with center stage is prepared for events usage at the same time giving embracing intimate atmosphere.     

© Le Anh Duc (AIF Studio)

Elevation

For the bamboo columns we have used two different bamboo species – Tam Vong and Luong. Each of them provides different material qualities which are crucial for the building structure. The bamboo has been treated by Vietnamese natural traditional method in order to reach the high quality and long term durability of the material. The natural treatment contributes to a sustainable building approach as well. 

© Le Anh Duc (AIF Studio)

The space under the columns is naturally cross ventilated and a cooled by evaporation of water from the adjacent lake. 

Section 01

Section 02

The support area is separated building volume with the walls cladded by a local material – laterite blocks. These orange colored soil blocks express traditional in the area together with the bamboo structure.

© Hoang Le Photography

The building provides the space where guests can feel the strong connection to the local culture of the North Vietnam. The application of an open space and usage of natural materials meet the required connection. 

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© In Keun Ryoo

Architects: ThePluS Architects

Location: 464-56 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Architect In Charge: Hanjun Cho

Area: 133.12 sqm

Project Year: 2015

Photographs: In Keun Ryoo, Youngchae Park, Courtesy of ThEPluS Architects

Mechanical Engineer: Hanbaek engineering

Structural Engineer: Yongwoo engineering

Construction: Moowon Construction

Site Area: 63.71 sqm

Total Floor Area : 133.12 sqm

© In Keun Ryoo

From the architect. In an alley in the city, on a small piece of land, the [horn] has risen. The width of the land facing the road is 6 meters, and the depth 10 meters. 60 square meters of land was what I had to work with. The pre-client, who is the representative of Galmuri Publisher, is also a writer, and political philosopher. He wished to build an independent space for his publisher on this small piece of land, and was looking for an architect who could help him fulfill his wishes. (“Galmuri” in Korean means reaping harvested grain or crops for food and to use as seeds. Thus the name “Galmuri” implies that the publisher intends to carefully reap the intellectual and practical achievements of humanity, while sowing the seeds of intelligence proper for our new era.)

Courtesy of ThEPluS Architects

By chance or destiny, I became in charge of the building design. In spite of the small size of both the site and the building, the process was every bit as difficult and intense as any large building. The entrance alley was as narrow as the size of our site, neighbors surrounding the site were all the more close to the construction site which resulted in frequent complaints from neighbors throughout the process, the site’s soil was soft filled with underground water, and there wasn’t enough space to load materials.It was the harshest environment imaginable for the construction workers.

Courtesy of ThEPluS Architects

Though small in size, I wanted the building to look bold amidst the high-density surroundings. Somewhat expressionless yet impressive, simple yet refined was what I aimed for. Finally, a white “horn” rose at the end of a small alley that retained the traces of time.The horn was very close to the publisher’s previous office space which they had used for a long time. 

© In Keun Ryoo

The publisher’s previous office space was filled with traces of their time, and by looking around the office one could easily grasp the attachment my client had for the space. However, the building was sold to a new landlord and it became financially difficult for the publisher to continue renting the space they had been using for so many years. Yet my client did not want to leave the vicinities, and decided to build a new independent space nearby. However with his budget, the land he could afford was very limited. Eventually he was able to buy a very small piece of land 6 meters wide and 10 meters in depth (60 square meters) in the neighborhood.

Section

My client began to worry about how to achieve his goal on this small piece of land. My client seemed to be looking for an architect who could successfully build their independent space on this small piece of land, an architect who could show positive energy and passion for this project. When my client and I first visited the site, our perspectives on the situation were a bit different. My client had doubts and was anxious about whether they’d be able to create an environment large enough and sufficiently convenient for their activities on this small land. On the other hand, the architect, as soon as he entered the alley, understood the potential of the site, and believed he could realize the symbolism by creating an object that is small yet confident. The alley that leads to the land is only wide enough for one car at best.

© In Keun Ryoo

However, as soon as one enters the alley it became a linear axis, and at the very end of that alley was where the new building would be built. I did not want the linear direction to disappear at the end of the alley. What I wanted was to maintain the continuous new axis-direction by constructing a new building on a small ground. I wanted something that stands natural, something that is consistent with the direction of the entrance alley, so that the alley’s direction would naturally slide by the building.

© In Keun Ryoo

I wanted the building to embody the sense that the horn sprouted out from the land.I thought the first impression of the building should be the feeling of a ‘lump’.

© In Keun Ryoo

The ‘lumpy’ feeling could be achieved by minimizing decorative elements and using the building’s mass itself as a design feature. As it happened, the front of the building was facing west, so the building’s brightest expression could be read in the late afternoon. Eventually the architect was able to create the expression and impression of the building that he intended, and materialize the small yet bold image.

© In Keun Ryoo

The architect tried to give the building a variety of expressions that differed depending on the viewing angle, so that the building had an indeterminate quality that in turn arouses curiosity from viewers.

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© Douglas Mark Black Photography

Architects: Christou Design Group

Location: City Beach WA 6015, Australia

Area: 4000.0 sqm

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Douglas Mark Black Photography, Saltywings

Structural Engineer : Pritchard Francis

Civil Engineer : Pritchard Francis

Landscape Architect : 4 Landscape Studio

Building Surveyor : John Massey Group

Gabriels Environmental : Section J

Hydraulic Engineer : GHD

Mechanical Engineer : GHD

Electrical Engineer : BEST

Quantity Surveyor : Aquenta

© Douglas Mark Black Photography

From the architect. The project was commissioned through an architectural competition. The initial brief for the project required a single two storey building comprising of a surf club at ground level and a first floor commercial space. The CHRISTOU scheme challenged the brief and offered a composition of orchestrated buildings, framing a new public space and capturing views of the expansive Indian Ocean coastline.

© Saltywings

The design was inspired by the rugged coastline, the beach and the icon. The intensification of a coastal outpost, carving out space from the dunes. The project includes; a dedicated surf club at the edge of the ocean, three commercial pavilions and alfresco decking areas, extensive green roof, landscaped plaza and street, and sea wall constructed to a depth of RL -1.0 extending from the groyne in the south to the boardwalk in the north.

Site Plan

The design nestles into the site, working the topography to create a sequence of programmatic datums; transitioning from arrival, hospitality, public space, promenade and beach. At all times the lure of the ocean is present through framed and expansive views of this iconic destination.

© Douglas Mark Black Photography

The linear surf club, hidden from view on arrival, emerges from the south as a low-slung angled wall projecting itself north onto the beach, extending the ecology of the dune with extensive landscaped green roof and lookout. The surf club wall providing shelter and amplifying the sound of the ocean along the promenade.

© Douglas Mark Black Photography

The commercial buildings, appearing as a series of low-slung transparent pavilions, are set back from the surf club and wrap the plaza to the south, creating a protected internal street and public courtyard for the tenancy. The pavilions are broken, the gaps between, framing views of the coast, the groyne and lookout tower, filtering wind, and creating an arrival zone which allows for the scheme to evolve in the future.

© Saltywings

The public space cascades from south to north, beginning as a protected courtyard, opening into a protected outdoor amphitheater with full views to the beach northward.

© Saltywings

Existing pine trees were relocated to create shade within the public space and preserve the character of the landscape on the site.

© Douglas Mark Black Photography

The scheme merges the rugged coastal topography, architecture, and landscape open space, to create a singular expression; land form and built form become one.

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Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid Architects has 36 projects underway in 21 countries, and four of them will be completed this year. The Salerno Maritime Terminal will open later this month, the Port House, Antwerp, in September, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, in October, and the Mathematics Gallery at the Science Museum in London, in December.

In spite of the untimely death of the practice’s namesake last month, the firm has pledged to continue with its slate of projects, stating, “Zaha is in the DNA of Zaha Hadid Architects. She continues to drive and inspire us every day, and we work on as Zaha taught us – with curiosity, integrity, passion and determination.”

Salerno Maritime Terminal, Opening April 25

© Pablo Ochoa

To be inaugurated later this month by the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, this new terminal has been designed to enable regional, national and international ferries as well as cruise ships from around the world to dock in Salerno for their passengers to visit the historic towns and villages on the Amalfi coast.

Port House, Antwerp, Opening September 22

Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

With 12 kilometers of docks, the Port of Antwerp is Europe’s second largest shipping port, handling more than 15,000 sea trade ships and 60,000 inland barges each year. The new Port House preserves and repurposes an abandoned 95-year-old fire station into a new headquarters for the port, consolidating the 500 employees who currently work in many separate buildings, giving them views to the port’s docks and berths.

King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), Riyadh, Opening October

KAPSARC is a non-profit institution that brings together people from around the world to research and tackle energy challenges for the benefit of society and the environment.  Built with sustainable construction methods and materials to LEED Platinum certification, the new center has been designed to work with its natural environment to ensure comfort for employees alongside minimising energy and resource consumption.

Mathematics Gallery at the Science Museum, London, Opening December

Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

A pioneering new gallery that explores how mathematicians, their tools and ideas have helped to shape the modern world. The gallery’s design and layout is defined by mathematical equations that determine the three-dimensional curved surfaces representing the patterns of airflow that would have streamed around an historic 1929 aircraft at the centre of the exhibition.

Project descriptions via ZHA.

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© Arnaud Schelstraete

Architects: Vincent & Gloria Architects

Location: 36 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France

Area: 275.0 sqm

Project Year: 2015

Photographs: Arnaud Schelstraete

Following the successful development of Ekimetrics.01’s offices in 2014, Vincent & Gloria Architects was again solicited to expand the offices through a 250m2 space located on the floor above. 

© Arnaud Schelstraete

The expansion consisted in the transformation of a closed and dark space into a free- owing and light-led work environment. The new space includes a fun and flexible work universe that is comprised of two open space office areas, 1 closed office space, 1 kitchen area, 1 relaxation and co-working space, 1 large meeting room and 2 smaller meeting rooms named Ping and Pong. 

© Arnaud Schelstraete

The relaxation and co-working space recycles the codes of the original architecture project Eki.01 and uses simple materials as well day to day practical accessories. This gathering area includes a wall where over 30 Tam Tam stools can be stored inside of it, allowing for a customizable space according to needs. Large polycarbonate panels separate the space and bring a sense of intimacy to the space.Panels of acoustic mousse placed behind the Tam tam wall, better the acoustic qualities of the space while giving it privacy from surrounding workspaces.Trundle blocks were conceived in order to build customizable benches that can be turned in bleacher style seating during co-working sessions. 

© Arnaud Schelstraete

The Ping and Pong meeting rooms have their own custom made tables that transform into ping pong tables when needed. The net is made of wood and can be inserted into the table top. 

Plan

The closed office spaces have been spread out within the space thus creating 2 open areas that are limited to just over ten desks each in order to ensure the comfort of all working there.

© Arnaud Schelstraete

The kitchen was also revamped while limiting the additional cost of work: covering of existing cupboards with new materials and creation of high benches. 

© Arnaud Schelstraete

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The Great Wall of Western Australia (Pilbara, Western Australia, Oceania) / Luigi Rosselli. Image © Edward Birch

Terra Award, the first international prize for contemporary earthen architectures, has released a shortlist of 40 projects competing for awards in nine categories. The finalists selected span five continents and 67 countries. Each entry was evaluated on a range of topics including: architectural quality and landscape integration, environmental approach and energy performance, creativity and innovation, technical performance, local economy and social intensity, and showcasing of skills. Project materials range from light clay, cob, poured earth, wattle and daub, compressed earth block (CEB), adobe, rammed earth, and others.

As a widely-available sustainable material with low-energy production, the competition seeks to highlight the possible of earthen construction in order to promote broader uses in the future. An award committee chaired by Wang Shu will meet on July 9 to select the winners. The announcement will be followed by an award ceremony in Lyon, France on July 14 at the Terra 2016 World Congress, part of a series of events celebrating ‘‘Lyon 2016, capitale de la Terre”.

Individual Housing

Munita Gonzalez House (Santiago, Chile, South America) / Arias Arquitectos Asociados, Surtierra Arquitectura. Image Courtesy of Luis Garcia-Arias Arquitectos

Caldera House (San Rafael Valley, Arizona, USA, North America) / DUST

Munita Gonzalez House (Santiago, Chile, South America) / Arias Arquitectos Asociados, Surtierra Arquitectura

21st Century Vernacular House (Ayerbe, Spain, Europe) / Angels Castellarnau Visus

House J (Darmstadt, Germany, Europe) / Schauer + Volhard Architekten

Cardrona Valley House (Wanaka, New Zealand, Oceania) / Justin and Louise Wright, Assembly Architects Limited

“Clay Weaving” House (Quito, Ecuador, South America) / Francisco Trigueros Munoz, Elena de Oleza Llobet, Jorge Ramón Giacometti

Collective Housing

Garden City de Cota (Cota, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South America) / Mauricio Sanchez, Juan Pablo Urbina

The Great Wall of Western Australia (Pilbara, Western Australia, Oceania) / Luigi Rosselli

School, Sports & Health Facilities

DESI Training Centre (Dipshikha Electrical Skill Improvement) (Rudrapur, Bangladesh, Asia) / Anna Heringer. Image © Kurt Hoerbst

Public Swimming Pool of Toro (Toro, Spain, Europe) / VIER arquitectos slp

High School Païamboué (Koné, New Caledonia, Oceania) / André Berthier, Joseph Frassanito, Espaces Libres (K’ADH)

Women’s Wellbeing Centre (Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso, Africa) / Riccardo Vannucci FARE studio

DESI Training Centre (Dipshikha Electrical Skill Improvement) (Rudrapur, Bangladesh, Asia) / Anna Heringer

Maosi Ecological Primary School (Maosi, China, Asia) / Prof. Edward Ng et Mu Jun

Royal Automobile Club of Victoria Golf Club (Torquay, Australia, Oceania) / Wood Marsh Architects

Cultural Public Facilities

Windhover Contemplative Center (Palo Alto, California, USA, North America) / Aidlin Darling Design

Camthanh Community House (Hoi An, Quang Nam, Vietnam, Asia) / Hoang Thuc Hao, Pham Duc Trung, Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, Le Dinh Hung, Vu Xuan Son

Archaeological Heritage Interpretation Centre (Dehlingen, France, Europe) / nunc architectes, Louis Piccon

Visitor Center Swiss Ornithological Institute (Sempach, Switzerland, Europe) / mlzd

Offices, Shops & Factories

Pavilion Ruca Choro (Cauquenes, Chile, South America) / Patricio Merino Mella. Image © Patricio Merino Mella

Pavilion Ruca Choro (Cauquenes, Chile, South America) / Patricio Merino Mella

Koudougou’s Central Market (Koudougou, Burkina Faso, Africa) / Laurent Séchaud, Pierre Jequier

European Conservatory for Soil Samples (Orléans, France, Europe) / Design & Architecture, Milena Stefanova et Bruno Marielle (group’s representatives) ; NAMA Architecture, Jean-Marie Le Tiec and Arnaud Misse (associated architects)

ACRE Restaurant and Bar (San José del Cabo, Mexico, South America) / fabriKG Arquitectura & Paisaje

Sustainable Centre Villa Janna (Marrakech, Morocco, Africa) / Denis Coquard, Jalal Zemmama

Ricola Kräuterzentrum (Laufen, Switzerland, Europe) / Herzog & de Meuron

Interior Layout & Design

Renovation of the Al Jahili Fort (Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Asia) / Roswag & Jankowski Architekten

Plazza Pintgia, Transformation from Barn to House (Almens, Switzerland, Europe) / Gujan + Pally Architekten AG

Printing Plant Gugler (Pielach, Austria, Europe) / Herbert Ablinger, Vedral & Partner

Exterior Design, Art & Landscape

Zenkonyu x Tamping Earth (Marugame, Japan, Asia) / Tadashi Saito and Atelier NAVE. Image © Toshihiro Misaki

Zenkonyu x Tamping Earth (Marugame, Japan, Asia) / Tadashi Saito and Atelier NAVE

Urrn-Graves Cemetary (Innsbruck, Austria, Europe) / Renate Benedikter-Fuchs

Stairway to Heaven and City of Orion (Plaine de Marha, Morocco, Africa) / Hannsjörg Voth

Urrn-Graves Cemetary (Innsbruck, Austria, Europe) / Renate Benedikter-Fuchs. Image © Laurin Naschberger

Architecture & Local Development

Sewing School Steel-Earth (Niamey, Niger, Africa) / Odile Vandermeeren. Image © Gustave Deghilage

Panyaden School(Chiang Mai, Thailand, Asia) / Chiangmai Life Construction

Sewing School Steel-Earth (Niamey, Niger, Africa) / Odile Vandermeeren

Earth Village (Ha Giang, Vietnam, Asia) / Hoang Thuc Hao, Nguyen Duy Thanh, Le Dinh Hung, Vu Xuan Son, Tran Hong Nam

Kler Deh High School (Kler Deh, Karen state, Burma, Asia) / Line Ramstad, Gyaw Gyaw

Post Earthquake Village Reconstruction (M’a’anqiao, China, Asia) / Mu Jun, Edward Ng, Zhou Tiegang, Wan Li, Ma Jie

Pavilion of the Band-i-Amir National Park (Band-i-Amir, Afghanistan, Asia) / AFIR Architects & Planners, Anne Feenstra, Khalid, Dawari, Faiz M. Momand

Phoolna, Community Hall and Housing for Teachers (Sunderpur, India, Asia) / Johannes Sebastian Vilanek, Iris Nöbauer, Jomo Zeil, Felix Ganzer / Supervisors : BASEhabitat, Roland Gnaiger, Michael Zinner, Clemens Quirin

Kler Deh High School (Kler Deh, Karen state, Burma, Asia) / Line Ramstad, Gyaw Gyaw. Image © Kurt Hoerbst

Phoolna, Community Hall and Housing for Teachers (Sunderpur, India, Asia) / Johannes Sebastian Vilanek, Iris Nöbauer, Jomo Zeil, Felix Ganzer / Supervisors : BASEhabitat, Roland Gnaiger, Michael Zinner, Clemens Quirin. Image © Johannes Sebastian Vilanek

Workshop, Training, Festival

Schap! 2011 (Magagula Heights, South Africa, Africa) / Team Carinthia University of Applied Sciences 2010/11. Image Courtesy of Schap! 2011

SECMOL School Building (Leh, India, Asia) /Sonam Wangchuk together with many students and volunteers

Schap! 2011, (Magagula Heights, South Africa, Africa) / Team Carinthia University of Applied Sciences 2010/11

Community Library (Ambepussa, Sri Lanka, Asia) / Robust Architecture Workshop             

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Courtesy of Tengbom

Architects: Tengbom

Location: Södra Ringgatan 23, 441 33 Alingsås, Sweden

Architect In Charge: Tengbom

Project Leader : Marcus Zetterberg, Forsen Projekt AB

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Courtesy of Tengbom

Team: Fritz Olausson, Magnus Almung (Architects); Carl Olofsson (ArchiCad model, project planning); Karin von Geijer (Interior architect)

Programme Architect: Börje Falemo, Falemo Hus och Interiör

Production: Serneke

Developer: Hemfosa

Client: Hemfosa, The Swedish National Courts Administration, Serneke

Courtesy of Tengbom

From the architect. The District Court in Alingsås is a typical brick building from 1899, designed by architect Adrian Crispin Pettersson. It is placed a few of blocks from the town centre in a district lined with large villas and a school from the early twentieth century. In the second half of the 1950s a wing in brick was added. Just over half a century later it was time for the next extension, designed by Tengbom. A new epic date was added to Alingsås District Court’s history when we were awarded the PLÅT prize for 2016 for this extension in zinc. The yearly PLÅT seminar is a major event devoted to metal sheeting and architecture.

Floor Plan

We became involved in the process a little way into the process when there already was a proposal on the table for a brick extension by architect Börje Falemo. The District Court was interested, however, in seeing alternative facade solutions and we were given the opportunity to present a design based on the proposed floor plan. Inspired by the surrounding buildings with their steep roofs, we presented a building with a saddle roof and curved bay windows. The plan was efficiently designed with thin walls on a small plot so is was a natural choice to bring down the zinc sheeting from the roof and use it as a thin raincoat on the outside.

Courtesy of Tengbom

“It was a shape that gave us both flat and steep roofs and we needed a material that could handle this, which led us to zinc as the roofing material. The old building is a solid thick-walled construction but the extension has thinner curtain walls. In this case, zinc sheeting worked well as exterior cladding. We could wrap up the building in a single material and it was obvious what was new and what was old,” says architect Fritz Olausson.

Drawing

The result, a monolith in zinc, cannot be ignored. The sheeting accentuates the building’s shape and shows its own annual ring at the same time as it ages with dignity—much like a grey and wise judge.

Courtesy of Tengbom

“Zinc is a fine old classic material which was used extensively as roofing during the last century. We simply brought in down onto the facade and it fits beautifully with the granite foundation wall which is a common denominator for both buildings,” says architect Magnus Almung.

Even if the shape can be thought expressive, the building is restrained in volume so as not to crowd the old building.

Detail

“The design represents our time, perhaps primarily thinking of the expressive volume. Monolithic buildings are typical these days with the same material for walls and roof. You can even see buildings without eaves. In the same way saddle roofs have come back into fashion in the past few years, something we didn’t see much of previously. The difference is perhaps that this building is constructed using craft techniques that are the same as at the beginning of the twentieth century. All the sheets are put up with great care and precision,” continues Olausson.

Courtesy of Tengbom

A living facade

The roof is clad with standing seam sheeting while the facades are covered with sheets of different widths placed in a set “random pattern” from base to ridge. Variation provides a living facade and by working with four different widths we could work round the predetermined window locations which were dictated by the internal functions. The entrance doors are also clad in zinc and fall into the pattern.

Courtesy of Tengbom

“Over time the facade will age as beautifully as the adjacent brick buildings when runnels and patination make their mark on the sheeting,” says Almung.

The grey zinc sheeting was chosen with care, not least for its robust and confidence-inspiring aesthetic. The Alingsås District Court stressed the importance ofa dignifiedenvironment. The Court often makes sensitive and serious decisions—the surroundings must therefore both respect as well as inspire confidence in visitors.

Detail

“A good client is key to a successful result. The requirements of the Swedish National Courts Administration and the District Court were decisive for the building’s appearance,” says Olausson.

Metaphors and problem solving

Raising the roof is not just a metaphor for being pleased, but was a real challenge that needed to be solved. High ceilings were not originally in the plans, but made it possible to locate two new courtrooms with a ceiling height resembling that of the large courtroom in the original building. Ceiling height in the courtrooms was a hobbyhorse on which we were not willing to compromise. There was some discussion of lowering the ceilings to improve the acoustics and recording possibilities in the rooms. But instead it was a nut for the skilled acousticians to crack together with the sound and light engineers. Otherwise there would have been a battle between the building’s exterior and interior—a situation we dearly wanted to avoid.

Section

Designed-in stories

Another aspect which the presiding judge liked was a building that told stories. Tengbom has also designed the interior and Carl Olofsson saw an opportunity to incorporate the courthouse’s history in the interior. There was an existing decision that the courtroom doors should be of walnut with elements of oak. Olofsson’s solution was a striped pattern with references to the five key years for the building. At the bottom of the doors is a code with lines that form the year. Tengbom has a frame contract with theSwedish National Courts Administration and designs interiors for courts throughout Sweden. The interiors in Alingsås District Court are designed by Karin von Geijer.

Courtesy of Tengbom

“We started in both the original and new buildings when we designed the courtroom furniture. The rooms are characterised by wood-panelled walls and floors. We wanted to get a feeling that the tables were growing out of the wooden floor. It was like a jigsaw getting the tables right bearing in mind the mass of technical equipment such as cameras and recording equipment that they contain. The interiors need to be beautiful and dignified since life-changing events will take place here. The rooms must be perceived as neutral as much by the public as by the parties and witnesses,” she says.

Courtesy of Tengbom

The generous ceiling height made even higher demands on the technical installation, which influenced the furniture. The courtrooms have a lovely sense of space which must be reinforced, not supressed, by the furniture required. One solution to this, among others, is office chairs with semi-transparent backs which make the back wall behind the Court’s bench visible. The wooden frontals of the furniture have references to the facades in brick and zinc. Another unusual detail in the context of courtrooms is that they have direct daylight. If hearings are in camera then curtains can be drawn across the windows.

West Elevation

Now and then

The jury for the PLÅT prize stressed among other things that Alingsås District Court is “a building that arouses feelings (…) The designers have been insistent in their choice of material which shows a very good understanding for materials. A familiarity which has provided the finest details as well as space for great craftsmanship. Alingsås residents should confidently follow each annual ring on this solid building.”

Courtesy of Tengbom

The courthouse started to be used in November last year and will be officially inaugurated in September 2016. Currently renovation of the older parts is in progress and construction of a further extension in zinc to the older building’s large courtroom.

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Courtesy of Hou de Sousa

Hou de Sousa (Nancy Hou and Josh de Sousa) have recently won two competitions for temporary installations in Washington DC and New York, both using salvaged materials. The first, Raise/Raze, is the winning proposal for DC’s Dupont Underground, an abandoned trolley station repurposed as a contemporary arts and culture space. The project reuses the balls from Snarkitecture’s “The Beach” installation at the National Building Museum for a new environment-generating initiative, which opens on April 30.

As winners of the 2016 Folly Competition held by the Architectural League of New York, Hou de Sousa will also soon build a pavilion in Socrates Sculpture Park, in Queens. A simple wooden canopy, the structure is a multi-purpose space made of standard dimensional lumber, but has been accentuated with shingles of scrap wood found on-site. Known as Sticks, the pavilion will open to the public on July 9.

Raise/Raze, Dupont Underground, April 30 – June 1, 2016

Courtesy of Hou de Sousa

From the architect. The site is a long and narrow curved hallway. Expanding upon this particular site condition, the proposal divides the space into a series of zones that present visitors with unique situations and scenarios, while also reconfiguring how one circulates through the site. When accessing Dupont Underground from the main entrance at New Hampshire Ave, visitors are surrounded by the most compressed zone, a crystalline cave, which forks into two windy paths. The Southward path leads to a forest-like colonnade of twisted trunks and stumps for resting on. Beyond this grove lies a series of large spherical shells that define a meandering path while simultaneously enclosing small pockets of space. As one passes through this valley of domes, a group of scaled down buildings begins to appear; the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Supreme Court Building. Conversely, if at the cave’s foyer one forks towards the North, then the visitor encounters and passes through a space of massive letters and walls of text.

Sticks, Socrates Sculpture Park, Opens July 9, 2016

Courtesy of Hou de Sousa

From the architect. Sticks is a straight-forward assembly of standard dimensional lumber interconnected to form a structural space-frame. The system has been molded to fit the existing conditions of the site, but these contextual adaptations extend beyond the realm of the purely functional, and although quite minimal, ornamentally illustrate the strategies being deployed. In addition to providing a sheltered space, Sticks also serves as a storage and display system. The webbing that binds the lumber together protrudes outwards at the facade so as to support an assortment of linear materials. By doing so, scrap material becomes a dynamic decorative element while also shingling away precipitation along the outer wall and diffusing light when placed within the roof trusses. The 18 inch thickness of the structural exoskeleton essentially acts as shelving and is capable of storing sculptural works in progress or serving as a display case for curated events.

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© Giovanni Desandre

Architects: Kéré Architecture

Location: Milan, Italy

Architect In Charge: Diébédo Francis Kéré

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Giovanni Desandre, Piercarlo Quecchia, Courtesy of Kéré Architecture

Diébédo Francis Kéré has created a stone and wood pavilion encircled by wild grasses in the Palazzo Litta, a historic palace in Milan.

© Giovanni Desandre

Taking cues from the social and spatial dynamics of a typical African village, the Courtyard Village aims to carve paths for social encounter and gathering among visitors. Defining this communal ground is an elevated platform surrounded by a ground cover of native Italian grasses. Atop the platform stand three open, circular shelters made of stone, whose shaping and materiality dually express a sense of transparency and mass. Overhead, a singular over-hanging roof of bamboo protects and shades the village community below.

Courtesy of Kéré Architecture

The installation features the first chair designed by Kéré. Called ZIBA, the piece references traditional African stools that are shaped by carving solid logs with handmade tools. The ZIBA stool, made of scented cedar, reinterprets this process using an advanced digital technology. The name of the stool refers to a playful Burkinabé expression that discourages idleness. The piece was designed by Kéré for Riva1920, the Italian brand specializing in solid wood furniture.

© Piercarlo Quecchia

Floor Plan

Courtesy of Kéré Architecture

The Italian company Casone produced the pavilion’s stonework, which conveys a sense of lightness and transparency. “In search of the ideal expression of material, the close collaboration between Casone and Diébédo Francis Kéré aims to reinterpret the most primitive construction method, piling stones, in an innovative and audacious way,” said the team. Six stone varieties were used in the pavilion, drawing connections to the materiality and craftsmanship of both the historic palace and surrounding cityscape. The renowned landscape company Euroambiente supplied the pavilion’s wild grasses, which grow spontaneously along Italian rivers, along with the bamboo stalks.

© Piercarlo Quecchia

Encompassing 500 square meters, the courtyard sits at the heart of the Baroque-style Palazzo Litta. Formerly owned by one of Milan’s noble families, the storied palace has long served as an important venue for cultural and political events. Grand parties for figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Margaret Theresa of Spain have taken place there. “I very much like the power of Palazzo Litta’s architecture, the welcoming courtyard and the spacious rooms where in every corner you discover surprises,” says Kéré. “This is an excellent setting in which to show contemporary design.”

Elevation

Courtyard Village is the centerpiece of the exhibition “A Matter of Perception: Tradition and Technology,” which explores how homegrown traditions go hand in hand with modern technology. The show was organized by the Belgian publication DAMn° Magazine and the event planner Mosca Partners. The exhibition was on view as part of Fuorisalone 2016.

© Giovanni Desandre

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© Steven Lin

Learning how to design is hard. It requires students to learn an entirely new way of thinking and seeing the world. It even requires a whole new vocabulary. So architecture school is rightly hard. However, architecture school is known for being hard for the wrong reasons; studio is considered a mystical place on college campuses full of sleep-deprived students who are designing simply because professors decree that they must—so much so that when a non-architecture student meets an architecture student on the Quad they immediately offer their condolences. This perception exists because studio culture has not yet evolved from its rigid hierarchy, originating in the Beaux Arts teaching method, that thrives on competition and intensity and creates a breeding ground for unhappy students.

© Jeff So

The Beaux Arts period in Paris had four primary elements: the Ecole, private ateliers, the Salon, and café life [1]. The Ecole was the stiff, traditional study of classical painting and architecture, which culminated in the Grand Prix de Rome, a competition in which the winner would get a full scholarship to study in Rome. In the small independent ateliers students learned directly under a “master” with all the success of the students reflected directly back on the master; success breeding success, creating a strict hierarchy. The annual Paris Salon was the show in which the best works as chosen by a jury were displayed to the public. Lastly, the Parisian life of cafes was the informal extension of the ateliers and the Ecole, in which people came together to discuss design.

Contemporary architecture schools maintain many of the core ideas of the Beaux Arts method: the creation of competition and intensity between students, the strict hierarchy of students and teachers, and the jury or professor’s power to decide upon the “correct” and best student work. Yet schools today have lost informal café aspect and with it the spirit of discussing design in a more informal setting. If we dismantle the rigid hierarchy and need for competition and recreate the informal café style of architectural discussion and innovation in contemporary architecture schools, then they would become better environments for learning and designing.

I work as a tour guide for Syracuse’s School of Architecture and whenever I give prospective students a tour of the school I tell them my favorite part of studying there is the inclusivity found in the School of Architecture. I tell them that we are a unique school that only has one major with everyone housed in the same building, Slocum Hall. I tell them that Slocum is wonderful because within the lecture hall, the computer lab, or even the elevator you can strike up a conversation with anyone about design. I tell them that every student, from first years to fifth year thesis students, is interested in learning from each other and discussing what is going on in each others’ studios. And I mean it. However, there is a weak point in this inclusivity when it comes to professors and the studio culture they perpetuate.

© Flickr user ks_archi205-2009 licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Every year at Syracuse Architecture the Slivers Competition is held, in which each second year student completes a singular drawing in response to a prompt. When my year completed the competition we all pinned up our work side by side and walked around excitedly discussing all the drawings, fascinated at how over a hundred students each interpreted the prompt differently. Then the professors arrived. They announced the winners of the competition and dismantled the fun design environment the students had naturally fostered. All the students had been celebrating the diversity of interpretation, ideas, and production styles, but by imposing “right” and “wrong” design designations the professors created a negatively competitive studio culture in which students whose work was not selected were suddenly embarrassed by their productions and were simply unhappy to be there.

Of course studio culture still needs criticism and feedback from professors. However, the rigid hierarchy of the professors and jurors being the sole possessors of knowledge on the subject makes it impossible for design dialogs to open up. Schools should level the playing field by inviting students to have just as much of a voice as the professors. In doing so architecture schools would become places that students and professors with the same passion can come together to inspire and learn from each other.

The most productive studio I have ever been in was with my first year studio professor, Sekou Cooke, who insisted we call him by his first name. The way he saw it, in five years’ time we would be his colleagues, so why not start acting like it now? That was a logical statement, yet it was completely novel to us because so many professors force the hierarchy in which students are expected to respect and even often fear professors. In his studio every Friday we had to pin up our work and comment on each project individually. Sekou required that we stated our feedback in the format of “What works is ____. What does not work is ____. And what could be done differently is ____.” As a freshman it was excruciating. And then half way through the semester it clicked. We were required to follow this format because we were learning how to look at projects and consider the successes, the flaws, and the room for improvement of each project. It was essential for us to learn to look critically at our own work and give feedback to our classmates without the professor decreeing what was correct and incorrect in each project. It also left room for improvement in every project, allowing each student to continue working to improve their project and to be the best possible designer they could be.

© Ien Boodan

There have already been efforts to research potential of collaborative architecture studies, most notably by Radical Pedagogies project at Princeton University School of Architecture [2]. Working alongside her PhD students this political project led by Beatriz Colomina experiments with architectural education and the potential for collaboration in design schooling. The idea of collaboration within architectural schooling coincides perfectly with the reality that all architectural firms function due to design collaboration.

But even if the “Radical Pedagogies” explored by Colomina and her team are too groundbreaking for mainstream architectural education, architecture schools need to loosen their structures so student, faculty members, and staff members are considered equals in the design field. A reintroduction of the informal Parisian café style of design discussion and collaboration would allow architecture schools to foster architectural innovation, and would be one step towards creating a platform of mutual respect where students and professors can be inspired by and learn from each other. By leaving behind the hierarchy of knowledge and the enforcement of “correct” designs schools would become open to more experimentation and innovation. If we can create more moments like the beginning of the Slivers Project when we appreciate each others’ work and strive to learn from each other, then the perception on campus would shift from one for which other students pity architecture students to one for which they envy us.

Michaela Wozniak is in her third year at Syracuse University School of Architecture with a dual degree in geography. She was born in Cambridge, MA and is interested in pursuing a career in urban design.

References:

John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery. Updated Dec. 13, 2014.

Radical Pedagogies. Princeton University School of Architecture.

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