After a career as a professional skateboarder, Helsinki-based Janne Saario has become one of few landscape architects in the world with a practice devoted completely to designing skate parks for young people. Saario’s designs—all of which are located in Europe—diverge from the typical brutalist stereotypes of concrete skate park masses, and rather, are site-specific and heavily influenced by their natural surroundings.
“Young people are our hope and future,” says Saario. “And by offering beautiful and meaningful surroundings to grow, like wonderful skate parks, we can make a positive change on their picture of the world and future behavior.”
Learn more about the skateboarder-turned-architect by watching the Time Magazine video, above.
Alongside Camilla Block and David Jaggers, Neil Durbach of Durbach Block Jaggers has carved out a unique place in Australian architecture. Known primarily for their carefully sculpted modernist houses, the firm’s architecture is simultaneously rich in architectural references and thoroughly original. In this interview, the latest in Vladimir Belogolovsky’s “City of Ideas” series, Durbach explains the true inspirations behind their work, why these inspirations have little to do with the public descriptions of their projects, and why for him, the intention of all of his architecture “is to win Corb’s approval.”
Vladimir Belogolovsky:You came to Australia while the Sydney Opera House was still under construction. Does this mean you were here even before going to the US?
Neil Durbach: Yes, I first came to Australia as an exchange student while still in high school.
VB:So you have seen the Opera under construction then. How special was that? Did that building change anything in particular in you?
ND: Well, at that time I wanted to be an artist. A friend took me on a boat to see it. It was kind of staggering… And I thought – you know, this is much more interesting than art. And I felt – maybe architecture is what I should pursue.
VB:Why did you think that architecture was more interesting than art?
ND: I think it was its scale… It was so mysterious and overwhelmingly monumental…
VB:You grew up in South Africa and it was not until you graduated from college that you came here to Sydney, right?
ND: First, I went to the US. After my degree in South Africa in 1981, I started my Masters at the University of Berkeley. But I got bored, and realized that I could and wanted to immigrate to Australia, so I did. That’s how I avoided the draft, and I never went back. Soon I started doing competitions. Harry Levine and I won a competition for the overseas passenger terminal at Circular Quay and then we won another one – for a new wing at Tusculum, home of Australian Institute of Architects’ New South Wales Chapter.
VB:When we first discussed the idea of interviewing you, you said, “I have nothing to say.” Were you joking?
ND: No. It has all been said. Architecture is something beyond words. Do you know what I mean?
VB:Sure, but you know why I am here, right? [Laughs.] This building where your studio is based here in Sydney, Roslyn Street, you designed it as an homage to Antoni Gaudi. Why is that?
ND: Well… not actually. There are things you have to learn to do as an architect. There has to be an easy narrative to get past so many gate keepers. For the Holman House we used Picasso’s The Bathers painting as a metaphor. But the truth is that this association came much later. It was an easy analogy and we realized a long time ago that to get past so many barriers you need a metaphor, an easy metaphor. If you say “Gaudi,” everyone would say, “I love Gaudi.” That’s what we said to the council to get the approval.
VB:And what did you say to the clients of the Holman House? Did you talk about the painting?
ND: No, we talked about architecture only. We talked about houses designed by architects José Antonio Coderch and Jørn Utzon. But then people ask you, “What inspired you?” So you begin to think of quick and simple metaphors. For Canberra Gallery, it was Christo’s Valley Curtain, for The UTS Science and Health Building it was a grove of trees, and for the Holman House it was The Bathers. I love this painting; its aesthetic qualities and the way it stretches, and folds, and moves towards the edge. I think it is important to think of ways of getting into your projects for other people.
VB:You said about your studio, “We are a practice committed to search for the possibilities of architecture itself – its power and poetry; its pleasure and necessity.” Out of all these words, it is the word pleasure that strikes me most. Do you think architecture is about providing pleasure? Do you see pleasure as perfection? Is that what you are after?
ND: I do think that architecture is about a sense of joy and yes, pleasure. Perhaps these qualities are all on the soft side of architecture. And it could be provocative, of course, as in the case of the Melbourne-based architects, Ashton Raggatt McDougall. And I don’t quite see architecture as the armchair of society. To me architecture should be about joy and a sense of happiness, and beauty. After all, as Stendhal said, “Beauty is nothing other than the promise of happiness.” We need beauty. You know, I grew up in an incredibly boring, conservative, constrained middle-class environment. So when I looked at the images of Le Corbusier or Picasso, there was such an unbelievable sense of liberation through pleasure. I like this idea of pleasure achieved through making beautiful things. You look at Le Corbusier’s work and it seems like changing the world was not that hard.
VB:You also said that you are “aiming for clarity of intent and joyfulness of form.” Could you talk about the importance of form to you and is “iconic” a particular quality that you try to achieve in your work?
ND: There is a painting by Cézanne called The Hanged Man’s House. My mother had a poster of this painting at home. It was an ordinary house but the fact that it was called The Hanged Man’s House turned it from something very ordinary to something unbelievably iconic. For me, it was a painting with a very powerful meaning. I realized that iconic may not be about what something looks like but about what it means. So an icon could be something that makes you connect in a certain way. Iconic is something transcendent; it opens a door into… subliminal.
VB:But your houses, for example, are named after your clients. So if we were to call them iconic it is because of how they look. They are visual icons.
ND: Maybe… And it is difficult for icons to sustain themselves. You know how Corb said that his Ronchamp roof was inspired by an upside down crab shell. But you know, it was not really that. That was a decoy. Nothing is so easy. And just because something is different and memorable does not make it an icon. Or it could turn into a bad icon. It has to have some richness, complexity, depth, and subtlety. You can’t just flip a turtle on its back and call it an icon.
ND: Just to hook the initial interest because, you know, generally architecture is not that interesting to Australians. Architecture to Australians is about as interesting as surfing is to people in Iceland.
VB:Not in general. It becomes interesting when architecture itself is interesting. Are you interested in defining your own voice in architecture?
ND: I think our work has become connected with an image of our practice. But it would be futile and pointless to aim for that.
VB:Let’s talk about some of your inspirations, such as Le Corbusier.
ND: I have seen many good buildings by great architects and sometimes I would become obsessed about some of them. But often what happens is that certain buildings flare up, but eventually, they seem to just – fade away. But there is something different about Corb. Look at his La Tourette, Ronchamp, or even his tiny Cabanon in Roquebrune. His buildings become richer and richer with time. The work is persistently present. His work is sustainable on every level. It is absolutely brilliant and it gets endlessly better. Perhaps that’s because he was so keenly tuned to making architecture itself; there was this incredibly deep sense of architecture itself, somewhat independent of function. Of course, Kahn, Aalto, Asplund, and Mies had some of that, but to me, Corb was unique. It is as if all architectures were channeled through him. Everything he touched was made into something rich and transformative. He is endlessly fascinating and intriguing to me.
VB:Discussing architecture you mentioned such words as cool not being the same as beautiful and you contrasted such terms as trendy, hip, and sugary to beautiful. What words would you use to describe architecture that you really like?
ND: I think people particularly like certain buildings when its intention creeps up slowly on you… The same is with people. Someone said – you may ride in an elevator 10 times with the same person and one day you hear him or her speak, and you suddenly fall in love with the character. You discover something so compelling, something not evident at first, something quite personal and beautiful. For example, SANAA just won the new addition to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. If you think about their work, it has richness, complexity, subtlety. Ryue Nishizawa’s Teshima Art Museum in Japan is just staggering, breathtaking. And you may see all the drawings and photos but all that is nothing until you go and visit it. That’s an extraordinary talent.
VB:You know, Joshua Prince-Ramus told me he likes SANAA’s work the most. I said, how can you like something that’s so completely the opposite of what you do? And he said, “How can I do something so irrational? That’s not who I am.” He said some of their work is pure shape, and some spaces are not accessible. So my question to him was – how can you so stubbornly follow your mind and not listen to your heart?
ND: Sure, it says something about consistency and fear of change… Waldo Emerson, an American poet and champion of individualism said, “Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” But look at Rem Koolhaas’ work; he has a very fluid way of thinking. He said once that he always tries to escape what he calls an “architectural ghetto.” In a funny way, this is how we started here. Everybody was doing boxes, and as light as possible. But because I was an immigrant, I said, I am never going to really be like them. So why not do the complete opposite? Meaning, as heavy as possible.
VB:You think your work is heavy; in what way?
ND: You know how architecture here seems to be all constructed, put together, and assembled out of parts? So I said, we are going to carve things. We will carve spaces out of solids. That’s what I mean by heavy. Our buildings are sculpted.
VB:Do you like when your projects are described as “quirky” and “playful?”
ND: No, because it implies that our work is frivolous. But we work unbelievably hard here. For us, architecture is serious play. It is not silly. Of course, we try to be playful, but we are very serious while doing it. I am hesitant about picking particular words because then it would imply that we have a style. But that’s what is fascinating about architects such as Asplund and Utzon… They didn’t have a style. You know, Asplund never looked at his old drawings. He never detailed anything the same way. So even if he had to do the same detail again he was forced to think about it from the beginning, which led to new discoveries.
VB:Is that how you work? You never look at your own old drawings?
ND: We try to… That’s the nature of our approach. Georges Braque kept working on his collages slowly and steadily, perfecting them slowly. And then there is Picasso who just went through it; he just kept exploring and never stopped. There are different ways, but here we like going forward.
VB:I think now is a good time to ask you – what is the intention of your work?
ND: That’s easy. The intention is to win Corb’s approval.
VB:How did you achieve the final form of the Holman House? What is your typical process?
ND: We always work in models, and with this house, we have done many models. Each one is different. It is all based on a kind on non-judgement – from one thing to the next. We work very quickly. We start with anything and then we build all these tiny models, one after another. They point somewhere. Sometimes you start with something that you think about for a long time… Sometimes it is just a stumbling of things… The final form becomes a hybrid of many things and ideas. Sometimes it is completely chaotic… And we often feel insecure about the result or the next step… And traumatized… Because you don’t want to do the same thing again. You want to do better.
VB:But what in the world was driving you? Why did it need to be so original?
ND: The very fact that we wanted to build something that we had not done before, is that good enough? We wanted to climb to another height, that’s all. We are constantly doubtful and we try to be critical. We want it to be the best it can be.
Belogolovsky’s column, City of Ideas, introduces ArchDaily’s readers to his latest and ongoing conversations with the most innovative architects from around the world. These intimate discussions are a part of the curator’s upcoming exhibition with the same title which premiered at the University of Sydney in June 2016. The City of Ideas exhibition will travel to venues around the world to explore ever-evolving content and design.
The architectural team comprised of Davis Brody Bond and Kieran Timberlake has unveiled its newest updates on the design for 181 Mercer, a 735,000-square-foot complex for New York University that will replace a 35-year-old gym facility and become NYU’s largest classroom building, as well as a space for performing arts, athletics, and students and faculty housing.
The design, which features a slimmer massing and 20% less gross square footage than permitted by the City approvals process, focuses on transparency, lightness, and connection, in an effort to contrast with the bunker-like character of its predecessor—Cole’s Sports Center—and to make Mercer Street itself more engaging.
Through the addition of 60 new classrooms, 20 music instruction rooms, and a variety of study spaces, NYU will accommodate a growing need for properly sized and equipped academic spaces, thus allowing for other buildings to create more laboratories, as a part of a long-range effort to support the sciences.
Additionally, the space will feature three new theaters, an orchestral ensemble room, ten performing arts classrooms, and 50 individual practice rooms, giving “young performing artists in Tisch and Steinhardt practice, rehearsal, and performance spaces in keeping with programs of NYU’s caliber.”
While the academic purpose of the building was foremost, the architects were asked to do more than that, said NYU President Andrew Hamilton. They were asked to meet our academic needs while achieving the highest standards for design in order to produce a building of which the University can be proud, one that reflects our character and is thoughtful and responsive to the concerns of our neighbors. And they accomplished just that.
In lieu of a traditional university “quad,” the second floor of 181 Mercer will become a “Commons” space that will encourage casual interactions between different disciplines and activities for students and faculty alike.
The building will also include housing for approximately 420 freshmen, 30 to 60 faculty apartments, and an athletics facility with spaces dedicated to various sports and the capability of hosting up to 2,700 people for assemblies.
Because the building will be used for such varying programs, separate entrances for classrooms, athletics, residences, and theaters will work to control traffic flow and optimize user interactions. Moreover, the first-floor atrium will be accessible to neighbors, with a dedicated room for local community users.
With a transparent façade of floor-to-ceiling windows, the building aims to save energy by admitting natural light. Similarly, sustainability was kept in mind for the design of an outdoor greenway, green roofs to moderate water runoff and naturally cool the building and a connection to NYU’s co-generation plant. Overall, 181 Mercer will pursue LEED v4 Silver at a minimum and is targeting a Gold rating.
Demolition on the existing Cole’s gym began in October of 2016. Construction of the new building is slated to begin in February 2017, and be finished in 2021.
Learn more about 181 Mercer through interactive floor plans, here.
From the architect. The new two-storey, 410m2 building caters for around 100 young adults and houses two multi-purpose halls, music room and recording studio, café, a series of activity pods and break-out spaces as well as an outside recreation space. The £860,000 project is used by 11-19 year olds during weekday afternoons and evenings and is available to the wider community during the daytime and weekends.
The Point is a project for the community and by the community. The young people of Tadley worked in collaboration with the architects to create ideas and develop the design through a series of workshops and consultations events. Their ideas and aspirations were supported and brought to life through the town’s residents who voted to have an uplift on their own council tax charge to help fund the project – for every £1 contributed by Tadley council taxpayers, the Tadley District and Community Association secured an additional £2.88 in grants or donations towards the project.
Situated on a vacant parcel of land to the rear of the existing 1980s Community Centre, The Point is modern and playful, complementing the scale of the surrounding buildings. The L-shaped configuration and striking roof form create an entrance courtyard space against the existing building, while the eaves to the rear is kept low to avoid overbearing to neighbouring properties.
Dark grey fibre cement cladding acts as the skin of the building, wrapping around the roof and walls to create a seamless mass into which windows and openings are punched. These breaks in the form introduce warmer timber tones through timber veneered rainscreen cladding which in turn reveal the internal spaces beyond. Inside, walls and ceilings use birch faced plywood while the exposed roof structure is made of glued laminated timber and plywood panels. The timber-framed wall panels and floor cassettes were prefabricated offsite for improved quality control and to speed up the construction time.
A generous entrance space opens onto a floated concrete floor that complements the tones of timber while providing a hardwearing surface that will stand the test of time. The building plan is based around a flexible ‘spine wall’ of storage and activity pods. These pods are conceived as ‘secret spaces’ situated throughout the building. At ground floor a café/kitchen space and large multipurpose hall form the main spaces while the upper level houses a fully equipped music room and recording studio, breakout spaces, meeting room and another multipurpose hall.
Outside, a generous recreation area provides activity spaces for both the existing Community Centre and The Point while a new pedestrian walkway and raised sculptural seating emphasise the main entrance.
‘We worked closely with the young people of Tadley to develop a sculptural design that is a landmark building for them and the wider community. But more than that it’s somewhere they can truly call their own.
Process Text
The roof, with its dark folded ‘cloak’ appearance, gives the building a contemporary edge while internally a series of uplifting spaces create an environment the young people want to use everyday.’ – David Ayre, Director, Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt
‘Since we started working with Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt on the initial Feasibility Study, they have demonstrated a complete understanding of our original brief that The Point should have a distinctive identity of its own – influenced by the youngsters themselves. What has been delivered is a wonderful interpretation of those ideas.’ – Adrian Noad, Chairman, Tadley & District Community Association
Inspired by the roman villa and by Spanish and Arab heritage, the house takes form through the natural lexicon of Italian expressionism (Moretti, Michelucci etc.), which also maintains a strong memory of Rudolf Steiner. For Metroarea, infact, designing a contemporary building in 2016 means establishing a dedicated dialogue with history and with nature.
So for example the continuous inside outside relationship obtained by the big glass windows, is filtered by hanging gardens, canopies and custom made bamboo shutters, that are a reminiscence of the traditional awnings and latticework Moucharabieh.
Diagram
The typical central patio is the fulcrum of a complex network of multi level paths and, at the same time, as the impluvium was used to gather water, it is enriched by a waterfall and creek that connects the two swimming pools.
The Villa shape, follows the natural slope of the ground and it is lying perfectly on the hill, in a shape the reminds of an amphitheater, surrounded by nature.
The use of simple materials like irregular board formed concrete and drywalls, underlines the desire to avoid a popular image of luxury, while instead pursuing a connection with the island, the ground and its tradition. The result is thus informal and hospitable, according to the lessons of Busiri Vici, Couelle and Vietti.
Product Description. Most of material is custom made or produced on site. The use of simple materials like irregular board formed concrete and drywalls, underlines the desire to avoid a popular image of luxury, while instead pursuing a connection with the island, the ground and its tradition. The result is thus informal and hospitable, according to the lessons of Busiri Vici, Couelle and Vietti. Custom made bamboo shutters are a reminiscence of the traditional awnings and latticework Moucharabieh. Concrete was produced on site as no cement plant on the island could guarantee concrete density.
From the architect. This project of transforming part of a former sparkling wine factory into a multimedia art center was inspired by a genuine interest in the history of the building and executed through a series of light — both in terms of the artwork material and the manner — interventions into the space.
MARS, the first contemporary art gallery to be founded in post-Soviet Moscow, now functions as an innovative multimedia art institution. In May 2016, a new MARS center was opened amidst Abrau-Durso’s idyllic scenery — a picturesque locale in the South of Russia. The gallery spans the entire first floor of the stone-clad champagne factory.
The Nowadays team decided to keep the hallmarks of its industrial past — factory switches and breaker boxes — intact and execute all the interventions in a delicate and respectful way, preserving the historical layers. All the navigation elements designed by a Moscow based MANEGE development department are put together using materials “native” to contemporary multimedia art — differently sized LED-tubes and thin black metal sheets.
Axonometric
While the white box has long been established as a default setting for traditional forms of ‘low-tech’ art, high-tech multimedia art usually requires a black box to bring out all of its features. But the monotonous black space can bore, tire and disorient the visitor. The Nowadays office decided to execute the gallery project as a sequence of ‘black’ (dark) and ‘white’ (well-lit) spaces, where most of the artworks are stored inside the rooms (boxes, essentially) which are carefully installed within the existing interior. This approach also serves the goal of delicately incorporating the new into the old.
Some of the rooms functioning as artwork containers are boxed-off with chemically treated rainbow steel — a aid to emphasise both the industrial spirit of the space and the ephemerality of the light-based artwork.
The new concrete floor doesn’t touch the walls, but keeps it’s polite distance from the historical elements of the building. This gap that is filled with gravel-stones collected from the lakeshore is also creating nests for the soft LED-lighting.
The biggest intervention is in the corridor, where the registration desk and lockers are merged into one solid steel sculpture, providing an exciting preface to the exhibition.
On the opposite side — at the end of the exhibition — there is a secret room where, due to its geographic orientation, beautiful rays of light create a poetic atmosphere almost all-day-round. There is no artwork but visitors are encouraged to put on one of the VR-helmets that are offered and take a simulated tour of the Moscow MARS center. Not a teleportation hall, but close enough.
Product Description. One of the most aesthetically prominent materials of this project is galvanized steel. Galvanization that produces a rainbow effect on the metal surface is normally used to treat small metal elements, such as framing nails, rolled angles, etc., to make them durable and rust-resistant. We were genuinely inspired by those multicolor blotches and decided to experiment with the same technology and material but on a larger surface — as large as the size of galvanizing bath allows. So our partners, Moscow based multi-functional production company Macrofabrica used galvanization on 1800 x 900 cm steel sheets. The outcome was used to make polychromatic metal boxes for exhibiting individual artworks – to emphasize both the industrial spirit of the space and the ephemerality of the light-based artwork.
The clients who had a great deal of fatigue in working and in the urban environment asked to us design a house surrounded by nature. They had a desire for a unique space that was different from the apartment where they lived.
The site is a steep slope with mountains in the back. We did not want to design on the land properly arranged by cutting the ground or build up the soil . The point was to actively use the surrounding natural environment and land while comply with slope of the land and overturns the concept of the building form what people think.
The house in the ground, the nature in the house. A house-shaped white shell is the space embrace the nature. The residential space lower than the ground level enables a variety of spatial experiences through the skip floor planning. By reversing the shape of the land and the house, we wanted to think about the relationship between house and nature and notion of form.
Product Description.Dirt runs off with the water that falls on the facade. The Lotusan exterior coating possesses a highly water-repellent surface similar to that of the lotus leaf. Its microstructure has been modeled on the lotus plant to minimize the contact area for water and dirt.
From the architect. SITE: The U38 house is located in Bangkok, Thailand. The 400 sqm house was designed for a couple and a child in the site next to the husband existing family house surrounded by typical suburban houses.
STRUCTURE: Since the owner and also a builder himself need to complete a house within 4 months, architect decided to use very simple steel structure on 6 by 5 meter grid to build it as fast as possible.
Diagram
PROGRAM: The program is a 2 story house. Architect place the building on one side to keep some space for green area & swimming pool with carport at the front. On the ground floor including open plan of living room and dining room which are facing onto swimming pool and outdoor terrace. The second floor is composed of master bedroom, son bedroom and family room.
SCREEN: In order to protect Heat from the Tropical climate of South East Asia and creates privacy for the 2nd floor. Architect design a long terrace on the side to keep the room from the heat outside and moveable recycles wood skin panels over glass layer for more privacy and heat protection.
Longyue Hotel is a unfinished building for 10 years in Tianjin. OfficePROJECT was invited to transfer this abandoned 5000spm hotel space into a co-working model.
The first step is to catch the identity of the existing space. The space is high and empty. The rough feeling of an unfinished atmosphere is attractive and fascinating. We want to keep this identity as implanting several different space installation. Some different routes and experiences were set to encourage the communication and interaction between people and the primitive space. Through these paths, people start to encounter and observer. A new observation network formed. The desire of space exploration becomes the motivity of the creative productivity.
Spatial Installation Diagram
“wander”,”watch”,”enclosure”,”fold”, “look”,”traverse”,”loop”. These installations explain some basic ways of spacial experiences. We interacted these experiences as an complicated “The Garden of Forking Paths”. In this Borges’ novel, time sometimes endless, sometimes become a loop. The major character chose all possibilities. Different ending generated. This is the idea of today’s internet. An echo here presented between online and offline.
These installations have two materials- OSB boards and stressed steel panels. These two materials forms contrasts in different way with the primitive concrete space. These contrasts lead the breaking of the familiarity.
15 days form schematic design to construct drawings, 30 days of construction, this is an informal design process. This process represented a normal condition in China’s renovation projects nowadays.
The site’s previous existence was a market garden with shelterbelts forming large outdoor rooms. Our client then planted part of the site with vineyards and fenced off paddocks for horses. He built a barn and a dressage arena.
The house presented an opportunity to bring order to the large site. Some division was needed between the private home and the public dressage arena. Bi-axial landscaping elements of Gabion baskets were employed to divide the site into quadrants.
The house has 3 positive elements with negative spaces between. These positive elements house the Lania, the garage and the bedrooms. They are articulated as simple box forms with weathered timber planked skins referencing agrarian crates. The giant crates form the edges to the negative spaces and frame views of the site.
The primary negative space is the living room pavilion situated between the Lania and bedroom box. A oating roof caps the living room tipping up toward the south light and allowing a view of the tree top foliage. It is intended that the expansive roof gives the building a scale appropriate to the scale of the land.
The living pavilion extends west to form a terrace and east to trap a sheltered courtyard with tree and water feature. To the north a large sun terrace.
The house is elevated on a blockwork plinth to lift it out of the potentially soggy homogenous land. This height allows the boxes to oat, gives the occupants a view over the vineyards and brings them closer to the eye height of the horseman. The plinth, intersected and edged by the gabions serves to blind the positive and negative spaces.
Sig Nordal 