Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

• Architects: LYCS Architecture
• Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
• Design Team: RUAN Hao, HE Yulou, JIN Cheng, FU Li
• Area: 240.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

From the architect. Choosing a suitable office is the first challenge that many entrepreneurial firms may come up with. Usually a micro entrepreneurial firm needs flexible space to accommodate uncertain staff. On one hand, renting a large office space in one step will tremendously add the newly established firms’ financial burden; On the other hand, if the company rents a relatively small office space, it may turn out to be too crowed when the company grows. What’s worse, there may be no space for meeting room, reception room and some other programs. What exactly should the entrepreneurs do to find their office?

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

Underline is a multi-functional cafe which is designed and invested by LYCS Architecture. The project is located in the Eastern Software Park where lies in the center of Hangzhou. Although surrounded by highly-rent office buildings, there is no public space for communication or meeting in this area. To meet the companies’ needs of working, meeting and communicating, Underline could be changed immediately from a single-function cafe into a cafe + meeting room or cafe + office room through free combinations of its interior spaces.

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

Instead of over-decorated design, the designers created a peaceful atmosphere for the cafe in a modern and concise way. The facade of the cafe is made of all-glass windows with chessboard-like black frames. The concrete walls above the facade are set with the LED logo of ‘underline’. The design is quite simple but ingeniously fits into the surrounding environment. 

In order to bring out a vivid effect, the designers decorated the large-scale black wall   with relaxing and humorous painting. 

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

The inner space is clean and tidy. Rows of Bookcases on the wall are made of wooden boards and metal sheets. Wooden tables with gray sofas are both comfortable and user-friendly.

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

Elegant and different-height chairs in the middle of the dinning area bring lively elements into this friendly place. All the books on the shelves are put away backward. This setting brings orderliness to inner space, provides the customers surprises when they pick up one book as well.

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

Within the entirely bright-colored space, the black bar counter appears very outstanding in stark contrast with the dinning space.

Exposed ceiling makes the cafe look higher, and also provides more possibility of the multi-functional configuration.

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

Freely moving clapboards provide more possibilities for the space. With different combinations of clapboards, the whole big space is easily divided into four small spaces. At the same time, free combination of four small spaces also meet different functional requirements.

Floor Plan Type 1

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

Floor Plan Type 3

Users can change the cafe into a classroom, an office room or a meeting roomin one minute. Besides of space division, the clapboards can also turn into tools for creativity. People can write and draw on the clapboards, or use them as blackboards for lessons or brainstorming.

Courtesy of LYCS Architecture

In spite of common usage for office, Underline can house various activities with its freely changeable inner space. These activities include road shows, movie screening, banquet  commercial party,etc. Besides, more ways of its space usage are going to be found out by the users. Thus, in Underline, users can costomized design thier exculsive space in a relative lower cost.

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A photo posted by Onch Movement | Jewelry (@onchmovement) on Apr 18, 2016 at 12:04am PDT

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Coachella, the annual music festival that takes place in California‘s Colorado Desert, is a spectacle on numerous levels, but it is the associated visual artists, architects, sculptors, and designers that are an often overlooked element of event’s success. Below are the best architectural installations of Coachella 2016.

Alex Arrechea, Katrina Chairs:

A photo posted by Alexandre Arrechea (@alexandrearrechea) on Apr 16, 2016 at 1:47pm PDT

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Like many of Arrechea’s sculpture and installation works, Katrina Chairs began with a watercolor painting, A Few Days Before Katrina (Diálogo). Practical and immediate, watercolor is the artist’s primary medium. He cherishes the watercolor as the only part of his process that he shares with no other hands. 

With Katrina Chairs, he imagines a structure that lifts the community from the danger and encourages a dialog about the purpose and possibilities of space and design. He constructed the four Katrina Chairs with steel I beams covered with plywood. Each supports one side of an improbably situated building, a Dadaist juxtaposition that jolts viewers’ sense of proportion. At 50 feet tall and 19 feet wide, the installations create a surreal environment that communicate a story and offer shelter from the sun in their deep shadows.

A photo posted by Albert Lam (@disneyphotoblography) on Apr 17, 2016 at 6:53pm PDT

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A photo posted by Alexandre Arrechea (@alexandrearrechea) on Apr 17, 2016 at 2:18pm PDT

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Jimenez Lai, The Tower of Twelve Stories:

A photo posted by Christian Hernandez (@xtian_hernandez) on Apr 16, 2016 at 10:19am PDT

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Jimenez Lai courses fearlessly and thrives somewhere in the space between architecture and comic book art. The Taiwan-born architect’s Downtown Los Angeles firm Bureau Spectacular focuses on experimenting with design through storytelling. The Tower of Twelve Stories is essentially a full-scale section model, a 52-foot-tall structure peeled open from top to bottom to expose the interior action. Its modules come together not in exacting cubes, but rather in cartoonish spaces of different shapes, some barely touching and others snug in place.

A photo posted by Christopher ➳ Aaron (@christophermichaelaaron) on Apr 17, 2016 at 11:42am PDT

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A photo posted by Jimenez Lai (@0super) on Apr 17, 2016 at 11:26am PDT

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Phillip K. Smith III, Portals:

A photo posted by David Dixon (@slimdixie) on Apr 16, 2016 at 2:57pm PDT

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Fascinated and inspired by the desert’s phenomenal light, Smith advances the work of California’s Light and Space pioneers of the late 1960s and ’70s, particularly James Turrell and Robert Irwin. The idea of interacting with light and the sun traces to Smith’s earliest works after studying art and architecture at Rhode Island School of Design.

His new installation, Portals, combines ideas from Lucid Stead and two series, “Lightworks” and “Light + Shadow,” that he recently exhibited at Royale Projects in Los Angeles. The all-white pavilion is a ring, 85 feet in diameter, with outer walls of 3-by-3-inch mirrored stainless steel columns angled toward the center and reflecting a fractured view of the sky and crowd moving on the festival landscape.

A photo posted by phillip k. smith, III (@phillipksmith3) on Apr 15, 2016 at 12:19pm PDT

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A photo posted by PALM SPRINGS STYLE (@palmspringsstyle) on Apr 17, 2016 at 7:46pm PDT

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Do LaB:

A photo posted by Do LaB (@thedolab) on Apr 15, 2016 at 11:18am PDT

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World-renowned, Los Angeles based event producers, Do LaB, are pioneers in America’s festival culture and the masterminds behind Coachella’s wettest and wildest oasis, the Do Lab Stage. Aside from bringing cutting edge lineups, beautiful art installations and feel good vibes to the polo fields every year, Do LaB is best known for producing their own set of unique, interactive music festivals including Lightning in a Bottle, Woogie Weekend and Dirtybird Campout.

A photo posted by Andrew Jorgensen Photography (@jorgphoto) on Apr 16, 2016 at 8:57pm PDT

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A photo posted by Oscar (@lostboy_15) on Apr 18, 2016 at 12:02am PDT

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Project descriptions are from the festival’s website.

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Courtesy of El Dorado

• Architects: El Dorado
• Location: Leawood, KS, USA
• Area: 18240.0 ft2
• Project Year: 2013
• Photographs: Courtesy of El Dorado

• Principal In Charge: Doug Stockman
• Project Manager: John Reeves
• Designer: Gavin Snyder
• Cost: $3.7 million

Courtesy of El Dorado

From the architect. A developer wanted to design a speculative office building in Johnson County to attract high-tech companies. Standing in stark contrast to the beige, small-windowed, mansard-roofed professional buildings that are the norm in this part of suburban Kansas City, the 18,000 square-foot, two-story office building has a simple, rectangular floor plan within a concrete structure that features an all glass enclosure with a carefully positioned exterior perforated metal scrim system that helps regulate heat gain throughout the year.

Courtesy of El Dorado

To the south, panels run parallel to the windows, removed at strategic locations (hallways, doorways) to open views across the entire interior floor plan. To the east and west, panels take the form of angled vertical louvers, their spacing varied according to shading needs of the rooms inside.

Diagram

The north is mostly open. A steel frame awning covers the building entry and shades an outdoor patio.

The façade also facilitates a visual connection to a lush exterior landscaping package. This makes for an improved work environment and, as studies have shown, greater alacrity and higher productivity among office workers.

Courtesy of El Dorado

Detail

Courtesy of El Dorado

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© Imagen Subliminal

• Architects: i! arquitectura
• Location: Madrid, Madrid, Spain
• Architect In Charge: Idoia Otegui
• Area: 200.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Imagen Subliminal

• Contructor: Alser contrucciones S.L.
• Client: Trocamor Inversiones SL

© Imagen Subliminal

From the architect. The best of the countryside in the best part of the city. They say we cannot have it all and that we always desire what we don’t have. But sometimes it happens, sometimes the bell rings and you encounter a rough diamond, the possibility of having the best of living in the countryside: a house with your own garden, swimming pool, dog and best views of nature but at the same time situated in a tower in the center of Madrid with the neighborhood, pharmacy and bar at your feet. And marvelous 360º views. Sometimes dreams come true…

© Imagen Subliminal

Floor Plan

© Imagen Subliminal

This chalet in the Madrid district of Chamberí, is situated in a privileged floor number 12 of a 60´s tower. The access is through the garden that has two levels. The first one has a kidney shaped swimming pool made as they were made before, like the decadent American road motels. The house, that has 80 square meters built, also has two floors, like any proper chalet. The ground floor holds the whole house, a small house, but enough. A living room with a marble chimney and a wooden boiserie, as it couldn’t be any other way, and direct exit to the garden, a kitchen with an exterior dining space, a spacious bedroom with a dressing room, a terrace and a bathroom, both with views of the mountains of Madrid, why not.

© Imagen Subliminal

Diagram

© Imagen Subliminal

The second floor is reserved for the best part, spiral stairs that guide us to a small space that will instantaneously remind us of a boat, the heart of the house. A useless luxury, sublime, where the seriousness and conventional of a living place doesn’t fit, built without any specific objective, it can be used for any reason, without any function, it just exists. A padded octagon with 360º windows to sit down, meditate, read, hold meetings, for nothing, to contemplate Madrid as if we were a fish eye, turning around ourselves…

© Imagen Subliminal

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© Roger Moukarzel

The Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon (APEAL) has announced a shortlist for the design of a new modern and contemporary art museum in Beirut, Lebanon. The yet to be named museum will be located in the city’s historic center on land owned by the Université Saint Joseph and directly opposite the National Museum of Beirut. A masterplan for the site includes new campus facilities for the university, a business center, and the museum, all sharing green common areas and underground parking.

The competition’s independent jury is chaired by Lord Peter Palumbo, Chair of the Pritzker Prize, and includes Lord Richard Rogers, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones, Rodolphe el-Khoury, Lamia Joreige, Fares Al Dahdah, George Arbid, and until her untimely passing, Zaha Hadid. From 66 submissions from 16 countries, the jury selected 13 finalists that will move on to the second round of the competition. The winner will be announced this fall.

According to Peter Palumbo, “The submissions for stage one were strong and varied; we were impressed to see such remarkable and qualified talent engage with the concept of the museum. The finalist will be an exceptional architect who identifies with the project values and understands the significance of designing a cultural institution in the current urban, social, economic and political context of the country and region.”

Finalists include:
109 Architectes s.a.r.l.
Bernard Khoury / DW5
Hashim Sarkis Studios, LLC
HW architecture
ibda design
IDC / Verner Johnson / ETEC SA
L.E.FT Architects
Lina Ghotmeh / DGT Architects
Najjar Najjar Architect
Raëd Abillama Architects / Nadim Khattar
WORK Architecture Company (WORKac)
Yatsu Chahal Architects (YCa) / Said Jazairi Consulting Office (SJCO) / Youssef Tohme Architects and Associates (YTAA)

For further information on the project please visit the competition website.

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© Robert Venturi

The movement towards gender equality in the architecture profession has been gaining attention for some time now, led in large part by surveys of the profession such as the AIA’s recent diversity study or of course the annual Women in Architecture survey by The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal. However, recently the debate around gender has taken on a different form; in a response to the AR’s most recent survey published in RIBA Journal, for example, the curator of Turncoats and founder of the practices Interrobang and Studio Weave Maria Smith argues that it is time to move on to a more nuanced depiction of the problem. “I’d like to see a radical change in how this discussion is framed,” she says. “We must move away from generic indignation and start to properly interrogate why both men and women practice architecture the way they do.”

In light of this slow movement towards action in place of indignation, on International Women’s Day last month we asked our readers what exactly should be done to eliminate gender inequality in the field of architecture. The question provoked a broad and at times incredibly heated discussion – read on to find out what our readers had to say on the topic.

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Addressing the Trolls

First off – and it’s a shame that this is even necessary – at ArchDaily we feel that we have to address some of the less productive comments left on our post. Some responses were aggressive, including those angrily proclaiming that gender inequality doesn’t exist or one reader that suggested we must have been “taking stupid pills” to suggest that it does; others were simple-minded jokes, such as readers claiming that we can solve gender disparity with “more buildings that look like tits” or by “allowing only women to design kitchens and laundry rooms.”

If you’re looking for evidence that gender disparity in architecture exists, and that it is a big problem, consider this: usually at ArchDaily we rarely censor comments, especially on our Facebook posts. But when we posted this question to Facebook we initially received almost nothing but sarcastic or angry comments like those mentioned above. We eventually took the difficult decision to start removing comments that we feared could put people off from joining the conversation. It was only after we did this that more thoughtful commenters began to emerge – in other words, it was only when those who are not concerned about issues of gender equality were silenced that those who are concerned could even have a conversation on the topic.

It may therefore be worthwhile to bear in mind the following comment:

According to me, an architect that has no vision of social justice is no architect. He or she is just somebody who found something to make a living. Reading some comments here, even though they are just “jokes”, makes me feel quite discouraged. – Beuneudique Zimmor via Facebook

Problems of Social Perception

One of the first problems identified by some of our readers was that of social perception from outside the profession. As many people identified, architecture is often seen as a “man’s profession,” and everybody from clients to contractors can make practicing architecture frustrating for women.

In India, it’s not the profession of Architecture that discriminates; but it’s the social and family role that forces architect women to stay away from practicing in the field and make other choices for career. So only the change in socio-cultural values will have more women architects practicing the profession. – Kavita Pradhan via Facebook

I think everything starts at childhood! Abolish the stereotype of architecture being a man’s job, and highlight great female architects so they can be role models for the newer generation. – Shane AlHarbi via Facebook

The Family Dilemma

Inevitably, a large part of the conversation revolved around the topic of having a family, with fair rules for both maternity and paternity leave being identified as a critical obstacle to equality.

You do suffer for being a woman and your career takes a hit when you decide to become a mother. As far as I’m aware there are many men in my office proud dads who want to have a child as much as a woman. Except, they don’t have to carry the baby do they? Trust me, many women would happily let the guys do it if that were possible. – Lynne Howat via Facebook

As a young married woman in architecture in the US, I have had no problem with my career initially. I have been recognized and taken seriously based on my merits and achievements. However, there are certainly barriers looking towards the future. Firstly, the fact that the largest corporate firms offer no maternity leave policy other than what is mandated by the government is discouraging. At similarly high profile companies in other industries, paid maternity leave is standard. Secondly, the sentiment among many of the older women (and men) in the field that have been successful is that you must forgo family to have a career. While my male coworkers looking to start families are now being taken more seriously at work, it is often holding female coworkers back. Finally, while I am respected from outside the profession (where women having families is not a negative), internally I find I have a steeper hill to climb than females in other industries. I, personally, am willing to fight the good fight as my mother had to do in finance in the 80s. – archilady

When asking for a pay increase I was posed the question: “You don’t plan to get pregnant anytime soon then?” Regardless of what financial support the government is willing or able to provide questions like that are a testament to the prevalence of gender inequality in the architecture workplace. I said no (sucked it up) and got the increase. Soul destroying? Yes. – Georgia Lawrence via Facebook

A man can just as easily quit his job to spend more time with the child. But society and employers don’t always see it that way – and that’s the sexist part. When we had our daughter, my employer was great and worked with me to shift my schedule earlier. My husband’s job was awful. When he told them he had to be at daycare by 6 one day, they said “why can’t your wife do it?” Same thing with working weekends. In our family we split childcare equally, but both of us are fighting against that lingering stereotype that it’s my job and mine alone. – Elizabeth Uncles Benzur via Facebook

Having had time off, be it 12 months to say 10 years to raise a family, there is no corporate or government assistance for reintroduction into the workplace, thus the woman is are more likely to take a pay cut for the actual experience they have in order to get back into the workforce. This is stifling and very often demoralising especially now they’re are more people the money has to support… These are real issues that affect the choices of women from when they sit their first ever job interview. It is a circumstance that for most men they never have to think about, ever. – Renee Kerrie Crumpet via Facebook

Address the Root of the Problem

But beyond the challenge of raising a family, readers identified a whole host of places where gender equality could be promoted by fixing other problems – from problems with the profession itself to problems with architecture schools and even high schools.

Respect the work, regardless of the source. Stop giving jobs to people because they are networked. The profession needs to become merit-based again instead of connection based. This breaks down the barrier for women, as well as promoting new talent of all sexes, races and countries. – Joe Tanner via Facebook

The disparity we see between men and women in architecture cannot be discussed without addressing a larger issue: our profession is one that does not value its own regardless of gender, race, etc. We have somehow become content with incredibly low pay across the board, poor or no healthcare coverage, long hours, hard and sometimes free work with little reward. Women who want to have children and are not respected or valued enough by their workplace are likely to leave for something that they perceive as being more rewarding (and are probably right). This is why we are seeing a drop in the number of women in the industry. – jf

Academia needs to step up and be more forthright about the barriers that kept women from practicing architecture for so long, and the continuing sexism that prevented female architects from being taken seriously (particularly in the 20th century). One of my biggest disappointments in my educational experience is the fact that this was not once acknowledged in a whole year of history courses. Furthermore, our options for case studies almost never include works by female architects… Addressing this in academia is one way to make sure that everyone in the next generation of architects entering the field understands this reality, because there is an appalling lack of awareness at the moment. – McKenzie Baird via Facebook

You need to start younger, with earlier schools. As adults these things are obvious, but, as kids, we only know what we see & hear around us. – Melanie Stone Perry via Facebook

Looking Forward to a Brighter Tomorrow

With all of that said, however, some readers wanted to emphasize that we’ve already made fantastic strides in terms of improving gender equality, and it certainly seems like we will continue to do so.

As a female architect things have improved since I started out with regards to sexism. Site huts used to display numerous pictures of naked ladies, some sites didn’t even have female toilets, I had my boss spank me on the derriere and got told once that I had got the job because I scored higher out of ten on looks, compared to the other woman. These days it’s a lot better. Modern professional men tend to be so much more respectful. It’s just the dinosaurs at the top that are still an issue but gradually they are all retiring. – Lynne Howat via Facebook

Women are encouraged to study architecture but in the professional field they are not seen as competent as men. I mean clients don’t seem to prefer women. Though this view is changing with the world. Women are getting chances more than the past. Let’s hope for the best. – Shihab Mohammad Shibly via Facebook

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© Camila Cossío

• Architects: JSa
• Location: Río Amazonas 73, Col. Renacimiento, Cuauhtémoc, 06500 Ciudad de México, D.F., Mexico
• Architectural Design: Javier Sánchez + Aisha Ballesteros
• Design Team: JSa, Laura Natividad, Dania Gutiérrez, Jimena González Sicilia, Juan Jesús Pérez, Gerardo Fonseca
• Project Area: 1326.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Camila Cossío, Rafael Gamo

• Interiors Concept: JSa (Javier Sánchez + Aisha Ballesteros) Ignacio Cadena, Cadena + Asoc. Concept Design con Jorge Mdahuar
• Interiors Design: Javier Sánchez, Ignacio Cadena, Aisha Ballesteros, Jorge Mdahuar, Laura Natividad, Dania Gutiérrez ,Santiago Arroyo, Jorge González
• Hotel Room Furniture Production: Ezequiel Farca Maz y mas
• Restaurant Furniture Design And Production: La Metropolitana
• Tapestry Production: Déjate querer, Lagos del Mundo
• Art Curator: Arróniz Galería
• Guest Artists: Ricardo Rendón, Omar Barquet, Luis Nava, Tomás Cerdeño, Cristian Camacho y Tomás Guereña (Los Contratistas)
• Branding: Cadena + Asoc. Concept Design
• Renderings: Gerardo Fonseca, Luis Frausto
• Models: Edith Razo, Anayetzi Ruiz y Héctor Moreno
• Structure: Oscar Trejo y Sergio López
• Building Services: M3
• Construction Site Direction: JSa, Javier Sánchez, Aisha Ballesteros, Laura Natividad, Dania Gutiérrez, Francisco Martínez
• Site Management: David Ruiz, Javier Perdigón, Andrés Aguado, Raúl López
• Activities Carried Out By J Sa: Architectural and executive project, interiors and construction site direction

© Rafael Gamo

This project had as its starting point a project of urban archeology. We find a property in total decay, formerly called Garden Amazonas Hotel, we quickly googled it and saw a couple of photos of its heyday where we were primarily drawn to the central courtyard as an oasis within the city, and the seventies decoration, artificial grass and the clothes of those who were photographed sunbathing by the pool. There was nothing left of that hotel other than the typical structure of a motel with exterior corridors overlooking the courtyard as well as countless layers of coatings, aggregates, steps, and ceilings. Today the hotel has 36 rooms, each with a special touch.

© Rafael Gamo

The facade, which we decided to keep intact, was probably remodeled in the eighties, wanting to impose an air of modernity to the building they covered it with an enclosure finished in glass mirror. Colonia Cuauhtemoc, which today is a very culturally active area, shared the same process of deterioration for several years when the periphery competed with the central city. The decision of what to keep and what to remove was a playful and gradual discovery process.

© Rafael Gamo

We even decided to prevent access on the facade and build a new one on the side, in the neighboring parking lot to change the narrative of circulation and cause a surprise making visitors come in directly to this central courtyard that we had idealized in the photographs. In the process, in addition to removing and showing the different layers, we also decided to provide some powerful elements that could give cohesion and unity to the project. The concrete structure of the existing building can be seen in every common area and hotel room.

© Camila Cossío

The central courtyard becomes the busiest public space, the restaurant, which is designed under the same criteria of the hotel. The shop / gallery and library spaces are integrated with each other, they break the boundaries between them and create the feeling of no limits defining them independently; the library has a cozy enclosure through the atmosphere and furniture.

Plan Level 1

The lattice of black concrete blocks is connected with these objectives of spatial relations, but also provides privacy and enriches the journey to the rooms. These have a living condition inside that depends on the guest, some even have private roof terraces to sunbathe and enjoy the vertical urban landscape of Mexico City.

© Camila Cossío

The interiors are done in collaboration with a team of Mexican designers who took care of every detail of the spaces, from concrete furniture with inlaid custom wood and lighting fixtures, even the bathroom fixtures, producing each piece according to each room. Contemporary art interventions cover some walls of the rooms giving a touch of color and creating a unique spatial experience.

© Camila Cossío

BRANDING

For us it was important to take care of every single detail that makes the hotel experience, this is why in conjunction with a specialist we developed the graphics and branding, so that the same conceptual architecture guidelines could be reflected in them.

© Rafael Gamo

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© Sergio Grazia

• Architects: AZC
• Location: 5 Ruelle de la Planchette, 75012 Paris, France
• Azc Team: Grégoire Zündel, Irina Cristea, architects; Valentine Jamet and Stefano Lunardi, project’s managers.
• Area: 2250.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Sergio Grazia

• Client: Elogie
• User: La Fondation des Amis de l’Atelier
• Partners: OTE ingénierie
• Labels: HEQ process
• Cost: 10,6 M€ for a work cost of 7,5 M€ TTC

© Sergio Grazia

From the architect. This project provides sheltered housing for frail, elderly residents with a variety of disabilities. The building comprises individual studio apartments, communal areas and medical consultation rooms for residents and out-patients.

To understand the project one must understand the history of the site at 232 Rue de Charenton in south-eastern Paris, along the side of which runs a passage that can be found on city plans as far back as 1789, at which time it led to cultivated fields. Fraught with real-estate related tension due to the complex planning laws in Paris and the Bercy neighbourhood, the project took seven years to see the light of day. The site is surrounded by high buildings that cast their shadows, and cramped by a house on the corner whose owner refuses to sell. Nonetheless, the orientation is interesting and planning laws are moving in the right direction. To the north, on the Rue de Charenton, we were able to build to six storeys, to the south, at the heart of the block, up to three storeys.

© Sergio Grazia

As with all historical urban environments, planning regulations left no flexibility in terms of defining the height, width and length of the building. The resulting volume faithfully transcribes the layers of restrictions: the minimal access from the Rue de Charenton, extending back into the block where it is calm and protected, gives a position between street and garden with, above all, a large part of it in full sun at the height of summer.

Shaped like a bayonet, the site engaged us in an interesting architectural exercise. The urban restrictions combined with the requirements of the brief led us to consider the most efficient means of squeezing in the allocated 2,150 sq m. Following the planning laws, the resulting volume slips like a living thing in between the existing buildings – our pragmatic approach aimed to use every inch of available space.

© Sergio Grazia

On the Rue de Charenton, the generous height allowances and the shape of the site led us to design volumes of surprising proportions, which fold along the roofline. On the Ruelle de la Planchette, the upper part of the aligning facade folds in, scrupulously following the volumes permitted.

The smooth external skin faces onto the city. Generously proportioned windows, almost square, provide maximum light and transparency in all the internal spaces, a luxury in Paris. The day-rooms are arranged around two patios; their proportions were reconsidered in order to meet standards, as well as requirements for natural lighting. All the day-rooms are naturally lit, as are the circulation spaces.

© Sergio Grazia

The height of the neighbouring buildings gives them plunging views over the site. With this in mind, every detail of the building was carefully studied to ensure that they fitted in and were pleasant to look at. In both the design and its realisation, we opted for a building that is sober and adaptable, conceived in terms of real-life usage over the long term. We took into account the possibility of future extension in the event of acquiring the corner house. In considering the ensemble of issues with regards to health and thermal and acoustic comfort, we gave great importance to user needs.

The first consideration regarded contact with the outside world. The quality of the envelope and exterior openings is essential in ensuring the quality of a building. Large windows create a relationship between the internal spaces and the city and neighbourhood. The second consideration concerned opportunities for interaction within the building. We strove for transparency at the heart of the site, for the quality of the communal and circulation spaces, which are designed as largely glazed walkways providing opportunities for residents to see, meet and interact with one another. These circulation spaces are a determining factor in the quality of life in shared accommodation. The third consideration took into account the layout of the different functions. The building houses several different functions, as well as the private living units – communal areas, easily accessible spaces for activity and leisure, and work areas for the staff.

Section

Finally, if the question of energy is fundamental, so, obviously, are questions of well-being, comfort and health.

The relationship between the occupants and the city was one of our foremost concerns. On the ground floor on Rue de Charenton is the entrance hall, on the Ruelle de la Planchette is a service entrance, and between these two entrances, along the Ruelle de la Planchette, administrative offices, family reception areas, and part of the paramedical unit are located. Designing the circulation in bayonet formation enabled us to place large spaces at the heart of the block and small offices along the side street. At the centre, directly visible from the entrance hall, is the multi-use room and the two large activity and reading rooms.

© Sergio Grazia

Large, central glazed areas, including the main patio, which is itself an ‘outdoor room’, help to maintain transparency throughout the ground floor. At the semi-basement level are the service areas, for maintenance, laundry and staff, lit by daylight. In the central zone, three large activity rooms are organised around the central patio, from which they receive natural daylight. We identified the areas where residents would spend the most time, such as the activity rooms and circulation spaces, in order to prioritise natural light. Areas that are used only occasionally, such as physio and psychomotor therapy rooms, are daylit from the sub-basement level.

Detail

Repeating the same configuration of circulation space for each floor of the building, we created an efficient means of arranging the various areas. We distributed the 26 housing units on the upper floors, feeling that ground-floor bedrooms would not be agreeable. The patios are places for contemplation, like Japanese patios. They are the points towards which views from the communal living areas are directed. Circulation ceases to be a ‘corridor’, instead becoming a ‘route’. One passes from one point in the building to another looking outside.

© Sergio Grazia

The architecture seeks a duality in the choice and use of materials. On the city side, a neutral skin, discrete and timeless, is achieved using an external facing in high-resistance concrete, grey in colour, dressing the edifice for urban life. On the patio side, larch-wood cladding, which requires no maintenance, provides a welcoming appearance for the residents. 

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In an interview with the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Bjarke Ingels reflects on the design of skyscrapers, noting how “sculpture is fine, but if its arbitrary it’s not as interesting.” Architects, Ingels argues, have the problem of “skilled incompetence:” the notion that they “already know the answer before [they’ve] even heard the question.” This prevents them “from questioning the question, or having the question rephrased, or elaborating on the question, or even listening for the question – because [they] already know the answer.”

While discussing some of his current projects in New York City, including Two World Trade Center, Ingels declared:

It’s always about trying to find increasingly refine the parameters by which you design high rise. Having recently been throw into the mix in [New York City’s] Downtown, it’s no longer a single floor plate repeated but more like a series of buildings within the building.

Via CTBUH

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In a new film by NOWNESS, Dutch photographer Iwan Baan explains his process for photographing MAD architects’ Harbin Opera House in the northern region of China. The short documentary describes the power of architectural photography and how Baan aims to capture the present moment of a place, instead of creating a timeless scene.

Read more about the film, here.

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