What would some of our favorite buildings do if they could stand up and walk around? From the Leadenhall building to the Petronas Towers and One Central Park, designer and illustrator Michael William Lester has taken 20 architectural landmarks from around the world and brought them to life in a series of animated GIFs.
“Good architecture interacts with its surroundings,” writes Lester on his website. “It gives off energy, sparks interaction and pulls so much life in that the building itself lives and breaths.”
“WHILE LONDON IS HARD AT WORK, THE LEADENHALL BUILDING GETS ITS AFTERNOON NAP.”
“ONE CENTRAL PARK’S EAST TOWER KEEPS ITS SMALLER SIBLING’S HAIR HEALTHY.”
“THE BURJ AL ARAB DIPPED INTO THE ARABIAN GULF IN 1999 AND HASN’T LEFT THE WATER SINCE.”
“HALLGRÍMSKIRKJA WELCOMES VISITORS WITH OPEN ARMS, MUCH LIKE THE REST OF ICELAND.”
“BRASÍLIA AIRPORT WAS UPDATED WITH A MORE HANDS-ON TERMINAL FOR THE 2014 WORLD CUP.”
“IT TAKES ALL THREE MARINA BAY SANDS TO LIFT THE WORLD’S LONGEST ELEVATED SWIMMING POOL.”
“A FIRM HANDSHAKE LET THE PETRONAS TOWERS PUT THEIR DIFFERENCES BEHIND THEM.”
“WEMBLEY STADIUM ITSELF DOESN’T HAVE A GREAT VIEW OF THE PITCH BUT THE WI-FI IS GOOD.”
“THE HIGHCLIFFS MET IN 2003 AND HAVE BEEN THERE FOR EACH OTHER EVER SINCE.”
“THE TEXTILES INDUSTRY IS COMPETITIVE. THE COLTEJER BUILDING SLEEPS WITH ONE EYE OPEN.”
View the full Character Building series on Michael William Lester’s website.
The house only shows a tile covered gable roof, hiding the contemporary loft underneath. Ground floor is a free space, totally opened to the south facing garden; simply structured by a sauna and a shelf. On the top of this first house hovers another one, a retreat hidden in the bush of the industrial carpentry, looking down over the first one or escaping to the remote landscape.
Location: Place Georges Gissy, 68300 Saint-Louis, France
Area: 5713.0 sqm
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
Project Manager: Cécile Ortolo
Structure Engineers: AIC
Fluids Engineers: ALTO
Economy: CHOLLEY
Acoustic: JP LAMOUREUX
Fire Safety: CSD-FACES
Roads And Networks Engineers: OTCI
Management And Coordination: C2Bi (Strasbourg)
Technical Controller: Qualiconsult (Strasbourg)
H&S Coordination: Veritas (Didenheim)
Client: City of Saint-Louis
Client Assistant: S.E.R.S.
Work Cost: 9,7 M€ vat excl.
Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
From the architect. Located in Saint-Louis (Alsace, France) in the “Three Borders” region and in the inner suburb of Basel, the “Forum” is a 5.713 sqm cultural facilities designed to host associative, sporting and cultural events.
Site Plan
The wish was to create a unified project, playing on both the multiplicity of the connected volumes, and on a global homogenous design.
Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
The building, made of 13 distinct volumes assembled in one big puzzle at the center of the site, is a harmonious answer to the surrounding individual houses. In the same time, the choice of a unique material for the whole building – a copper-colored expanded metal – makes it original equipment and a landmark in the city of Saint-Louis.
Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
The inspiration has come from the context, which combines big orangey interlocking tile roofs with some industrial brick chimneys reminding the industrial past of the site.
Floor Plan
Inside the building, the spaces flexibility is maximal: two main adjustable subspaces have been created. The Great Hall (1.870 sqm), dedicated to host sport practice, competitions, shows, concerts or fairs, can be adapted thanks to a mobile bleacher and a set of retractable sliding partitions. The Festival Hall (870 sqm) also hosts shows and fairs, as well as associative events or banquets and weddings, thanks to a kitchen placed right next to it.
Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
Those two big areas can be independent or opened on each other if the use of the entire building is required.
Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
Perspective
Courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand
A dynamic thermal simulation was used to reach a very good energetic efficiency. This level of performance has been achieved thanks to two envelopes with complementary functions: A first structural envelope forming the core and shell while guaranteeing thermal and acoustic insulations. And a second skin of expanded metal mounted over the core and shell, creates a wide plenum allowing great thermal protection.
From the architect. The client wanted a cheap little house, with room for one family and lettable studio. Lie Øyen solved the task with a puzzle of prefabricated concrete elements.
Diagram
Villa Tussefaret is a 60 m2 compact single family two storey house. It can be divided vertically into one main unit and one rental unit. Combined, these two units provide four bedrooms, two bathrooms and two living rooms. The idea was to create a concrete “shell”, a one-room house that could later be divided into two floors, which had to have room for two children and a rental unit. Through the design process the house became slightly more conventional, but the idea of the “big shell” is maintained. The house is made from prefabricated concrete elements. The insulated sandwich panels were deliveres ready to use, with exterior and interior finish. This made it possible to complete the structure quickly. The elements are intended as single pieces that are assembled and rest on each other. Their size is close to the maximum for transportation and assembly. Each element has a unique shape, and they are combined so that the spaces between them make up the window openings.
The windows and doors are made of crude aluminum, the only other material used in the exterior. All material can be left untreated. The interiors are oak veneered birch plywood. Room zones connect the two floors, and the custom-built furniture, made by the architect’s own carpenters, emphasizes these zones. The furniture can change as the family and its members develop and grow.
The perceived quality of life in buildings should come from the geometry and how that geometry connects to human beings”. It was the initial thought we had when being offered to design a row house in Phu My Hung, a new urban development area in the Southern Saigon. This project could be considered as another attempt to find a contemporary living manner in row house typology. The brief was to get rid of the way of living we used to have in common town house, where the staircase in the center along with the corridor to access spaces covered by four walls which isolate people inside his own world. The client is a nuclear family, consisted of the parents and two kids with the explicit wish to have a home fulfilled with natural elements while being able to improve the spiritual connection between each family member.
Section
Therefore, in a general view, the house looks like a composition of cubes as the private rooms while the spaces created under the shifting volumes will become the public areas for the family. The bold section plan which collateralized circulation, privacy, and activities-control, could be used to decide the function in each voids and volumes. Continuously, a circulation as a silk ribbon is consequently created to connect all spaces together and tighten the relationship of spaces. From the main entrance, a narrow covered passageway introduces people to a 5-meter-height living space with the rotating door system at the end of the house. This system would be opened to the backyard garden and instantly fulfilled by wind provided through the tunnel. The living space and the dining area both expands vertically, through a double height, which helps to harmonize the public spaces inside the house with the outdoor impression. Along the straight flight steel staircase, some floating private volumes such as library, space for the guest, and children space could gradually be seen. The master bedroom with the private common space in the fourth floor, are connected by a stone pavement that overcomes the garden which has been landscaped with indigenous plant and the top light above. The other utilities are arranged to be in the top floor. The rooftop garden provides outdoor space for the family to enjoy the night life in this new urban area. From the beginning till the end, the staircase – as the spine of the house lets us involve in a non-stop adventure to discover different places throughout the house.
The architecture takes advantage of two fronts, east and south. On one side which is also the main elevation, is to the sun, the other has a magnificent view to the public park of the ward. Into a consistent dialogue with the next-door landscape, large openings in the southern side are proposed to enjoy the spectacular scenery of enormous plantings from the parks, and witness the seasonally qualitative change throughout the years. The main elevation, also indicates clearly the concept of geometry, while the volumes are mostly covered by wooden louver to absorb an amount of the sun heat before coming inside the house, the rotating door system covering the second floor void, becomes the gate between the outside and inside of the house. When all the doors are opened, the nature could be invited to flow inside and later on, the outdoor feeling would be provided for the whole building. By that meaning, the natural elements are always welcomed to be one part of the house as the client’s request.
We also have the practice that speculated on the idea to imitate the leaf-pattern and operate it as a decorative but still functional element. The outdoor wooden panels, which are externally arranged in checkerboard pattern to express the main concept of stacking and shifting volumes, become fruitful with the leaf-pattern carved in and through, one by one. On the other hand, the internal louvers can be rotated so as to adjust upon the sunlight. The exposed concrete floor become more interesting with the “carpet” made with the leaf-pattern terrazzo. Moreover, the furniture itself is another way to increase the variety of pattern in interior design. The brutal feeling, with this meticulous detail could somehow strongly strike the eye in aesthetic sense.
This architecture offers an interpretation of a fresh new lifestyle for young families in the modern tropical city. In another way, it could be considered as the cross point of modern and natural life which can be perfectly compatible with each other.
Opened 39 years ago and designed by Australia’s iconic modernist Harry Seidler, the MLC Centre houses some of the city’s most exclusive collections of jewellery and fashion boutiques. The food court, an ever popular meeting place for shoppers and local office workers was due for a well‐deserved make‐over and Luchetti Krelle were tasked with improving and updating the quality of new and existing business’ both aesthetically and operationally.
The updated layout focused on improving the pedestrian flow to cope with the high volume of visitors and rush hour commuters. Materials were selected for maximum durability and robustness, while the design assisted the daily maintenance of a clean and healthy environment. The innovative use of the undulating timber ceiling transformed the existing low subterranean space into an enjoyable, spacious and light environment that returned the precinct into the iconic hub it once was.
From the architect. Pyeongdaeri in Jeju was once called “Baengdui.” It means a wild field covered with stone sand grass. The old Jeju is well preserved in this village with traditional stone houses and cottages huddled together in the beautiful seaside. Recently,many newcomers from the land are settling down in this area, converting old farmhouses into handicraft workshops, stores, cafes and guest houses. They are making a positive impact to the village revitalizing the local economy while making efforts to preserve the rural character of the community.
The client was also a family that moved to Jeju from the main land. They were a so-called half-retired generation who retired but refused to live a life of retirees.They wanted to start a new life in Jeju, so they asked us to build a pension where guests can enjoy the privacy that single-family housing offers.
1F Plan
2F Plan
The construction lot was in the middle section of a big lot used for farming, so taking the future construction of the other lots on both sides into account was important in the design process. Thus, the idea of having side windows was eliminated, Keeping enough distance from both sides, a principle was established to bring the open panoramic view into the interior with the ocean view in the front. The lot was embracing a magnificent ocean view. Wishing the building and the land would reflect all the stunning views of the Pyeongdae Sea, we named the place “Pyeongdae Panorama.”
The concept of Pyeongdae Panorama was creating harmony with the neighborhood by using solid bricks and Jeju’s stone warehouse as a theme. The building would be the shape of two stone slates laid on top of each other with a large panoramic window from which guests can enjoy the sea view unfold in front of their eyes. Pyeongdae Panorama has only two guest rooms so they can be easily managed and maintained by the family without hiring anyone. A maintenance office of about 10m2 was created for the maintenance tasks such as cleaning and laundry washing can be taken care of within the building.
Each of the two guest rooms “Ocean Panorama” and “Garden Panorama” have a theme.To allow the guests to keep their privacy while enjoying the ocean view, the rooms are designed in an “L” shape, and the guests of each room can use the front and back yards, respectively. Each room sleeps up to 4 people,and the two rooms are connected by a door so a family or a group of friends can easily stretch out using both rooms. The stone walls are used in the ground to define the areas and create a sense of boundary.
Section
The pension has a separate BBQ pit facing the sea as well as a private outdoor hot tub. The Ocean Panorama gives a spacious, open feel with a high ceiling and a panoramic windows in the living room that opens to the breathtaking sea view. The GardenPanorama has a bi-level structure with a private terrace where guests can enjoy the relaxing garden. Each room is decorated in accordance with the tone and manner, from the lighting and fabric to furnishing, giving a consistent look and feel. To make guests feel right at home, electronic door locks and the security system were installed.
As a livelihood forthe second start after retirement, Pyeongdae Panorama offers flexibility ofconnecting two separate guest rooms and scalability so the place can beexpanded to serve as a main home for the retirees some day when they decide toreally retire.
A House for Hermes is the outcome of a collaboration between the architect and a client working as an artist and landscape architect. Sited on the northwest edge of Philip Island, the project involved the conversion of a heritage-listed chicory kiln into a couple’s residence. The design was conceived as part of an ongoing exploration of what might constitute “home” or “place” in a world where prevailing conditions are of speed, dynamism and change. This conceptual framing extended from an earlier art installation undertaken by the client that was exhibited at Tarrawarra Museum of Art in 2007.
The architecture is predicated, not on the rehearsed acts of enclosure or through the predetermined functions that define a house, but on the idea of facilitating and celebrating transformation and movement. Through the use of adaptive and reconfigurable spaces and the manipulation of thresholds and passages, the house is intended to be a place that engages with and is a catalyst for change. A sense of “open-endedness” – of new possibilities of inhabitation – is reinforced by the treatment of an interior landscape defined by contiguous interlocking volumes that encompass the exterior decking and surrounding context. This desire for serendipity is partly a response to Georges Perec’s question: “We should learn to live more on staircases. But how?”
Plan
Section
Plan
Divided into two primary volumes, the nucleus of the house is a reconfigurable kitchen in which the joinery works as the connective threshold between ground and first floor. This area is designed to accommodate a range of activities from group cooking classes to an intimate meal.
The kiln is one of three buildings set within a large coastal property adjacent to protected wetlands. The Coldon home (a guest house and artist studio) and Setters Cottage (sewing studio) provide complementary amenities to the main house and along with an outdoor bathroom precipitate an engagement and traversal of the surrounding gardens and landscape.
The original heritage building is one of the few example of early 20th century chickory kilns on the Island constructed from concrete. Substantial rebuilding and restoration work to the concrete was required due to significant structural cracking and spalling, which was undertaken through the use of insitu reinforced shotcrete. The decking on the north side of the kiln is integrated with a large concrete retaining wall and water trough that was originally built as part of the industrial function of the building and has now been tanked and refilled with water to provide a means of passive cooling.
Custom Housing: Hog Pen Creek Retreat; Austin, Texas / Lake|Flato Architects. Image Courtesy of AIA
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected ten recipients for the 2016 Housing Awards. The AIA’s Housing Awards program, now in its 16th year, was established to recognize “the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life.”
Custom Housing: Hog Pen Creek Retreat; Austin, Texas / Lake|Flato Architects. Image Courtesy of AIA
Custom Housing: Independence Pass Residence; Aspen, CO / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Custom Housing: Independence Pass Residence; Aspen, CO / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Image Courtesy of AIA
Custom Housing: Island Residence; Honolulu / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Custom Housing: Island Residence; Honolulu / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Image Courtesy of AIA
Custom Housing: Newberg Residence; Newberg, OR / Cutler Anderson Architects
Custom Housing: Newberg Residence; Newberg, OR / Cutler Anderson Architects. Image Courtesy of AIA
Custom Housing: Oak Ridge House; Jackson, MS / Duvall Decker Architects, P.A.
Custom Housing: Oak Ridge House; Jackson, MS / Duvall Decker Architects, P.A.. Image Courtesy of AIA
Multifamily Living: 1180 Fourth Street; San Francisco / Mithun
Multifamily Living: 1180 Fourth Street; San Francisco / Mithun. Image Courtesy of AIA
Multifamily Living: Cloverdale749; Los Angeles / Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
Multifamily Living: Cloverdale749; Los Angeles / Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects. Image Courtesy of AIA
Specialized Housing: Commonwealth Honors College, University of Massachusetts; Amherst, MA / William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.
Specialized Housing: Commonwealth Honors College, University of Massachusetts; Amherst, MA / William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.. Image Courtesy of AIA
Specialized Housing: Homeless Veterans Transitional Housing, VA Campus; Los Angeles / LEO A DALY
Specialized Housing: Homeless Veterans Transitional Housing, VA Campus; Los Angeles / LEO A DALY. Image Courtesy of AIA
From the architect. Constructed directly on the rocky terrain, along the St. Lawrence River in the Charlevoix region, residence Panorama is a space in harmony with the surroundings. The foundation concept was to sit the construction on parallel concrete blades, so that the water can naturally flow underneath the building.
The walls of cross-laminated timber offer high stiffness that meets the seismic requirements of the region.
The radiant concrete slab, wood curtain wall facing southeast, the oversized roof overhangs, airtightness and insulation quality are characteristics that enable the construction to achieve not only undeniable comfort, but also allowing the LEED GOLD certification.
In an eco-responsible spirit, several components have been recuperated, among others, from an old convent. Carefully selected elements helped to create a comfortable, bright and alive environment. Dedicated to rental use, the choice of having a single living level imposed itself to allow for simplified and fluid spaces. This in-row design has opened all rooms towards the river and created a strong segregation of the living and rest areas.
Sig Nordal 