Mountain Dwellings by BIG

Mountain Dwellings, a project consisting of apartments above a multi-storey car park by Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), is nearing completion in Copenhagen.
The 80 apartments are arranged on a sloping “hillside” above the car park that has space for 480 cars.
Mountain Dwellings are next to VM Houses, completed by BIG and Julien de Smedt Architects in 2006 (shown left in the aerial photo above).
Here is some text supplied by the architects:
–
How do you combine the splendours of the suburban backyard with the social intensity of urban density? The Mountain Dwellings are the 2nd generation of the VM Houses - same client, same size and same street. The program, however, is 2/3 parking and 1/3 living.
What if the parking area became the base upon which to place terraced housing - like a concrete hillside covered by a thin layer of housing, cascading from the 11th floor to the street edge? Rather than doing two separate buildings next to each other - a parking and a housing block - we decided to merge the two functions into a symbiotic relationship.
The parking area needs to be connected to the street, and the homes require sunlight, fresh air and views, thus all apartments have roof gardens facing the sun, amazing views and parking on the 10th floor. The Mountain Dwellings appear as a suburban neighbourhood of garden homes flowing over a 10-storey building - suburban living with urban density.
The roof gardens consist of a terrace and a garden with plants changing character according to the changing seasons. The building has a huge watering system which maintains the roof gardens. The only thing that separates the apartment and the garden is a glass façade with sliding doors to provide light and fresh air.
The residents of the 80 apartments will be the first in Orestaden to have the possibility of parking directly outside their homes. The gigantic parking area contains 480 parking spots and a sloping elevator that moves along the mountain’s inner walls. In some places the ceiling height is up to 16 meters which gives the impression of a cathedral-like space.
The north and west facades are covered by perforated aluminium plates, which let in air and light to the parking area. The holes in the facade form a huge reproduction of Mount Everest. At day the holes in the aluminium plates will appear black on the bright aluminium, and the gigantic picture will resemble that of a rough rasterized photo.
At night time the facade will be lit from the inside and appear as a photo negative in different colours as each floor in the parking area has different colours. The Mountain Dwellings is located in Orestad city and offer the best of two worlds: closeness to the hectic city life in the centre of Copenhagen, and the tranquillity characteristic of suburban life.
MTN
ARCHITECT BIGPROJECT MOUNTAIN DWELLINGSCLIENT HØPFNER A/S, Danish Oil Company A/SCOLLABORATORS JDS ARCHITECTS, MOE & BRØDSGAARD,FRODE MADSEN RÅDGIVENDE INGENIØRER ApSSIZE 33.000 M2LOCATION COPENHAGEN, DKSTATUS COMPLETION MAY 2008

fuente: http://www.dezeen.com/2008/02/17/mountain-dwellings-by-big/

Skyline Residence, Los Angeles, Ca / Belzberg Architects [19/02/08]

Introduction
Perched atop a ridgeline in the Hollywood Hills, the presence of the Skyline Residence represents an honest approach to creating an environmentally sensitive building without sacrificing beauty nor budget. The pre-existing site presented a challenge in terms of constructability, the client presented the challenge of limited allowable expenses, and the architect was resilient to marginalize beauty and originality. The requirements of an architecture to satisfy each of these constraints are found in that which is constant and continuous at a given site.
Capitalizing on and working within the physical, visual, and psychological characteristics of a given site fosters value in the relationship between building and site. Beyond incorporating various sustainable strategies out of pure concern for the environment, the budgetary limitations imposed on material choice forced the architect to implement strategies for using resources in close proximity to the site. While the building is not fused with the ground formally, it’s relationship to ground, sky and the elements through a comprehensive understanding of locality is symbiotic.
Site Observations
Because the site exists along a ridgeline, the shape of workable land was generally narrow and linear abutted at both sides by steep, brush-covered hillside. The workable area was also compressed by an easement flanking the Southwestern edge. The earth itself is partially composed of granite implying difficulty for excavation. Simultaneously, the root system of the surrounding brush helps to prevent the less solid areas of earth from sliding making the occupation of the hillside a feat which would require ample resources and additional equipment. Beyond the physical constraints, opportunity presented itself by realizing viewing angles in comparison to solar angles. Each had the capacity to compliment each other in order to maximize natural lighting and views without increasing future cooling demands.
Sustainable Initiatives That Are Affordable?
From the beginning, incorporating sustainable design strategies was a guiding principle in developing the design. The increasing popularity of ‘green’ products and the emerging state of newer ‘green’ technologies are changing the way architects perceive the substance of each design, however, cost is still quite prohibitive, especially for single-family residences. At the same time, some of the most common or basic strategies to incorporate natural solutions are also some of the cheapest. The Skyline Residence was built for $180 per square foot and incorporates a multitude of green tactics for building sensitively and responsibly.
Protection from direct sunlight, optimum viewing angles, and maximum day-lighting were parameters which informed the organization of spaces and the composition of exterior wall treatments. The Southwest facing façade is exposed to low, late evening sunlight. On the interior, a single-loaded corridor was created to act as a heat buffer between the glazing and the bedrooms. In addition to deep shadowing eaves, a custom screen was installed made of Extira, a low formaldehyde emitting composite lumber. While acting primarily as a shading device, the entire elevation composed of these slightly offset pieces of lumber creates a unique visual texture viewable by residence to the West. Contrarily, the Northeast side of the building which is entirely glazed has dramatic views of downtown Los Angeles, Laurel Canyon and the San Fernando Valley from the South to North entirely.


Winds are created through the valleys on either side of the house and move linearly, paralleling the length of the house. Oversized, hinged double-doors open on either side of the living room which not only invite the prevailing winds to flow uninterrupted through the interior space, but also engender feelings of being outside. This feeling is dramatically enhanced through the use of a floating orb fireplace, an infinity edge view, and a concrete materiality which extends beyond the threshold to the pool. In another are of the house, the corridor leading to the bedrooms has openings at either end which facilitate an airflow past each room, and openings from each room to the rear yard draw on the cool, moving air from the corridor through the length of the house.
Due to the severity of slope and the dense granite stone beneath the surface, minimal excavating was used. This technique not only reduced expendable energy in operating machinery, but removed only earth which could be reused in other areas of the project. For instance, the excavated granite was decomposed and re-used to level drain pipes, under concrete slabs, as a drainage field under the pool and as a walking surface for the viewing deck above the garage. This is generally an expensive material for the aforementioned uses, however, the material was free and the unnecessary shipping of sands and other pulverized materials was minimized.
There was also a constant interest in reducing emissions resulting from the transportation and importation of materials, specifically those materials which are commonly used in bulk at construction sites. While choosing furniture, fixtures and equipment is an obvious avenue to reduce energy consumption throughout the life of the house, the hidden elements of construction and structure were considered in this design as well. Re-using the earth eliminated shipments of excavated earth out of the site and reduced the shipments of other decomposed materials into the site. California manufactured low-e glazing, steel, cmu blocks, and indigenous aggregates support this initiative as well. Wood framing and wood flooring leftovers were acquired from a nearby construction project and put to use in this project, and to dress the landscape, low water consumption flora from a residence to be demolished in the area was transplanted to this site as well.
Design Strategy; Folding, Framing and An Architectural Pangaea
Both the main house and the guest house are enclosed by a single folded surface with infill glazing and screened walls. The objective of such a strategy is to capitalize on framing extrinsic conditions and using the solid walls of the fold itself to affect the adjacent spaces. Low-e glazing makes up the entirety of the North and Northeast faces of the building and open up the interior to views of downtown Los Angeles, Laurel Canyon and the San Fernando Valley. The building is oriented and planned in a way that each room has at least one fully glazed wall to capitalize on these dramatic views. The absence of one solid wall in each room also reveals the fold as a framing device. On the Southwest facades of each building, the fold maintains itself as a framing device, however in these instances as a screen wall designed to shade the interior from harsh evening sun while providing visual texture to the valley below.
The fold itself represents the only solid exterior surfaces defining the form of the building and defining an edge to adjacent exterior spaces. It is quite common that spaces surrounding a building compliment the building itself however struggle to really become a space in and of itself. The strategy for removing the guest house from the main house and including an auto court in between stems from the idea that complimenting forms which spatially could be perceived as once being united allow the interstitial space between a sense of connection, if only visual. In this design, the faces resulting from a separation in form created areas for videos and films to be viewed. The deck above the garage is now a gathering space for social events and a viewing platform for projections onto the Southern face of the guest house. This interaction between the main house and the guest house utilizes a normally singular and stagnant space in the auto court and activates the solid surface of the fold through an engagement with the surrounding space.
Conclusions
In an era of rapidly declining environmental quality, and in a society which is evermore concerned with its responsibility toward the situation, it’s become important to remember that very simple things such as understanding site conditions or local climate patterns are efficient methods of reducing architecture’s imposition on a landscape. Considering the multiple sets of constraints imposed upon this site, and the severity of such, achieving a residence of this quality for only $180 per square foot should promote a creative shakedown within all designers to surface the possibilities of designing quality and aesthetically pleasing structures which are also sensitive to local and global conditions.
Credits:
Project Title: Skyline Residence
Year: 2007
Size: 5,800 ft2
Location: 8520 Skyline Dr. - Los Angeles, Ca 90046
Client(s): Skyline, LLC
Design Architect: Belzberg Architects
Principal: Hagy Belzberg
Design Team: Erik Sollom, Manish Desai
Construction Manager: Bill Bowen
Project Team: Barry Gartin, Brock DeSmit, Carina Bien-WIllner, Dan Rentsch, David Cheung, Eric Stimmel, Erin McCook, Ryan Thomas
Structural Engineer: Dan Echeto
Landscape Architects: Nicholas Budd Dutton Architects
General Contractor: Belzberg Architects
Furniture: Elizabeth Paige Smith
Special Fabrication: Spectrum Oak
Photography: Benny Chan of Fotoworks

fuente: http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/skyline-residence.htm

Marcio Kogan e Lair Reis

Cores e volumes lúdicos, sem apelar para infantilização
A escola-berçário Primetime adota uma filosofia de ensino que proporciona condições favoráveis ao desenvolvimento do potencial de crianças até três anos. Nesse contexto, a arquitetura assume o papel primordial de estimular os sentidos. A proposta de Marcio Kogan e Lair Reis explora as possibilidades implícitas nesse objetivo e estabelece um dinâmico e colorido jogo de volumes, construídos com diferentes materiais.
A própria cliente estruturou o complexo programa da escola-berçário com capacidade para 75 crianças, localizada no bairro do Morumbi, em São Paulo. Foi um trabalho construído ao longo de anos de estudo e planejamento, período em que, paralelamente, ela adquiriu diversos itens de mobiliário importado, selecionados pelo design e por oferecerem soluções consideradas adequadas e atuais. “Ela sabe exatamente o que quer. Cada detalhe foi exaustivamente discutido e tem o seu porquê”, descreve Marcio Kogan, autor do projeto.
A arquitetura de linhas contemporâneas, com caráter lúdico e sem o apelo fácil da infantilização dos espaços, já era uma das premissas da cliente antes de contratar o projeto. Ficou fácil, então, escapar dos modelos convencionais e propor uma construção baseada na composição de volumes e cores e na mescla de concreto, vidro e policarbonato. O resultado é um conjunto de caixas que interagem e, à primeira vista, fazem o observador supor que se trata de um escritório.

Para dispor todos os itens do programa no lote de esquina, relativamente pequeno, foi necessário verticalizar a construção. Com três pavimentos interligados por rampas, o bloco principal apresenta fachada sul transparente, expondo a circulação com guarda-corpo de vidro e a grande empena amarela que resguarda os demais espaços. Quase todos os ambientes estão abertos para a face norte, que ganhou a proteção de chapas perfuradas instaladas a 1,20 metro de distância da fachada posterior, criando varandas que possibilitam deixar os vidros abertos sem colocar em risco a segurança das crianças. Vista externamente, essa fachada parece opaca durante o dia e transparente à noite. Voltada para a pequena praça de transição entre o espaço público e o privado, a face frontal destaca-se pelo volume cúbico amarelo, que se projeta do limite da construção e abriga uma pequena sala de reuniões.
No térreo do bloco principal há apenas a rampa com fechamento de policarbonato que embute a linha de pilares. Ela leva ao andar intermediário, reservado para as crianças que já conseguem caminhar, e ao pavimento superior, onde ficam os bebês que ainda não andam. Dois outros blocos foram implantados no nível da rua. O de cor laranja concentra cozinha e refeitório, ambientes também usados em atividades didáticas, enquanto o bloco amarelo destina-se à sala de múltiplo uso com palco, explica Lair Reis, co-autor do projeto.No detalhamento, foram previstos diversos itens sofisticados, que têm por objetivo assegurar higiene e conforto tanto para as crianças como para os funcionários. No piso superior, onde funcionam o berçário e o lactário, o sistema de ventilação com pressão positiva e ar filtrado evita a contaminação das mamadeiras e dificulta a transmissão de viroses. Para evitar que funcionários levem vírus ou bactérias ao lactário, foram criadas uma área exclusiva para higienização de utensílios e um passa-mamadeiras de design hermético, instalado na parede que separa o ambiente da galeria de circulação.
A sala de banho dos bebês tem conjuntos de banheira e bancadas desenhadas especialmente para este projeto. Do tipo monobloco, as peças foram elaboradas em resina, a partir de um molde desenvolvido com a participação da cliente. O mobiliário embutido foi desenhado pelos arquitetos, que previram espaços para deixar objetos e acessórios à mão, facilitando o acesso e as atividades de rotina. A iluminação de alta eficiência energética evita o ofuscamento da visão dos bebês quando estão deitados e o paisagismo explora espécies que aguçam a curiosidade das crianças por meio de cores, aromas e texturas.

fuente: http://www.arcoweb.com.br/arquitetura/arquitetura822.asp

Entrevista a Jacques Herzog / Fredy Massad y Alicia Guerrero

Jacques Herzog es consciente de que aquello que fundamentalmente se le exige como arquitecto es que sepa vender el prestigio de su firma y el valor de proyectos cuya concepción, a veces, se ha basado en la prioridad de satisfacer esas expectativas y descartando querer o poder asumir la profundidad del desafío intelectual y creativo que todo proyecto arquitectónico debe suponer. Algo sucede cuando un profesional o estudio de arquitectura se transforma en una marca operando a escala global: la dimensión más adecuada para aproximarse a sus obras es asumirlas concebidas como productos. A sus autores, como los portavoces y relaciones públicas de esa marca razonando las excelencias del nuevo producto. El trabajo de pensamiento sobre la arquitectura a través de la concepción y construcción de una tiende a volatilizarse, y el arquitecto hace descansar el peso del valor arquitectónico de un edificio en argumentos sobre su efectividad e idoneidad.
Esto se percibe tal vez en su discurso sobre el recién inaugurado CaixaForum Madrid, la rehabilitación de una antigua estructura que Herzog & de Meuron han sabido resolver eficientemente para transformarlo en un centro cultural capaz de estar dotado de su propio carácter y protagonismo dentro del eje Prado-Recoletos, pero que dista de la interesante complejidad de sus obras anteriores y alguna de las que el estudio tiene en construcción actualmente.
Como hicieran con la central eléctrica de Southbank en Londres, han llevado a cabo la metamorfosis de una estructura industrial en un centro cultural. Entre ambos trabajos han hallado afinidades y diferencias fundamentales: "Creo que fue algo estratégico por parte de la Fundación La Caixa el elegir este lugar, de una manera similar a como se produjo con la Tate Modern: hasta la inauguración del museo, la central de Southbank era un edificio inadvertido pese a encontrarse frente a la Catedral de San Pablo. De la misma manera, ésta era una parte desconocida para la mayor parte de los ciudadanos madrileños. El concepto del proyecto se centró en lograr hacer de él una especie de imán que atrajera visitantes a su interior. La realización de CaixaForum ha sido un trabajo más urbanístico que arquitectónico", explica Herzog en fluido castellano.
El espacio interno del edificio ha sido producido totalmente ex novo, no han preservado ninguna de sus cualidades originales. ¿A qué se ha debido esta decisión?
No era crucial el hecho de que se tratara de una estructura industrial al contrario que en la Tate Modern, donde la Sala de Turbinas constituía un espacio tan bueno que decidimos preservarlo, en este caso el edificio original carecía de cualquier tipo de calidad espacial.
El tratamiento que han planteado ha consistido fundamentalmente en "llenar y elevar el edificio original", centrándose en generar a través de la fachada una nueva dimensión pública para ese edificio que hasta la fecha había permanecido anónimo.
Lo fundamental en este proyecto ha sido convertir un edificio escondido y cerrado en el corazón la ciudad en algo totalmente público. El edificio existente de ladrillo era muy pesado. Estamos en el siglo XXI, de manera que no se percibe como algo ni mágico ni surrealista el que lo hayamos elevado. Era una forma de poder crear espacio para la gente en un lugar donde no había nada. Era el mejor y más lógico recurso para ofrecer espacio bajo el edificio.
La elevación ha permitido crear espacio público, asimismo ha sido completamente transformado mediante la pared vegetal, que trata de evocar a la naturaleza previa a la aparición de la ciudad que trata de crear un buen entorno para la plaza pública, pero que también busca una conexión con el Jardín Botánico y el paisaje del Paseo del Prado.
¿Cómo espera que el edificio establezca un diálogo entre los edificios situados en el eje de Prado y Recoletos?
No podemos competir con estos edificios en términos de tamaño, sino de concepto. CaixaForum Madrid es más pequeño, es más discreto, más privado. Pero esto no nos provoca ningún complejo. Estas diferencias tan fundamentales es lo que hace interesante que esté en relación con el Museo del Prado y el Museo Thyssen. Es interesante que Madrid disponga de una variedad semejante de museos que brindan variedad sin competir entre ellos.
Convertirse en un objeto de deseo condiciona la posición que como arquitecto responsable se debe tener. Asumir el papel de arquitecto-estrella hace perder libertad. Se corre el riesgo de convertirse en un esclavo de la propia imagen y tener que justificar decisiones a las que las mismas dinámicas del mercado le van sometiendo. Inconscientemente, a través de su discurso, Jacques Herzog deja patente el hecho de que ser una superestrella tiene un precio que el arquitecto está dispuesto a pagar.
El Estadio Olímpico de Pekín va a constituir no sólo un hito arquitectónico para esa ciudad sino también a nivel global. Puede considerárselo asimismo ya antes de su conclusión uno de los proyectos cruciales en la trayectoria arquitectónica de Herzog & de Meuron. Es obligatorio preguntarle sobre la dimensión ética de la arquitectura ante las salvajes dinámicas constructivas promovidas por el gobierno chino o los jeques árabes.
Creo que hay mucha hipocresía dentro de este juego de construir en China. Todo el mundo quiere participar. Estos días Steven Spielberg está cuestionando públicamente los derechos humanos en China, pero sin embargo nadie cuestiona los derechos humanos cuando va a construir a Estados Unidos. Los árabes también tienen sus propios problemas. Creo que la cuestión es algo distinta: en el mundo en que vivimos cada vez hay menos países democráticos y hay una fuerte dinámica arquitectónica. A uno corresponde decidir si decide involucrarse en eso o no. Es una cuestión muy compleja y que exige un debate amplio, donde se analicen todos los matices. Me sería imposible dar una respuesta breve sin incurrir en la hipocresía o el cinismo.

fuente: http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/notas/btbw/2008-02-22.htm

Tetris apartments, Liubliana - Eslovenia / OFIS ARHITEKTI [25/03/08]

Tetris apartments, Ljubljana - Slovenia, OFIS ARHITEKTI (2005-2007)
The location is on the edge of the planned 650 apartments which was finished year ago. Also this apartment block is social type and was sold to Slovenian Housing Fund.
The given urban plot of the building was 4 floors high, 58 meters long and 15 in width.
Since the orientation of the building is towards the busy highway the apartment opening together with balconies are shifted as 30 degrees window-wings towards the quieter and south orientated side. In the future also 2 more blocks are planned on both longitudinal sides; therefore there are no direct windows towards east and west. Each apartment has view towards its own balcony, sometimes there is also a glazed loggia. On this way intimacy is created and there will be no direct views from ones apartment directly to the others in the opposite block.
Apartments are of different sizes - from 30m2 studio flats up to 3 room apartment of 70m2. Bigger apartments are developed on the front facades and have nicer views and corner orientation. They are made of economic but quality materials such as wooden oak floors, granite tiled bathrooms and have large windows with external metal blinds. The concept of structure is made in a way, that floor plans are flexible, since only structural walls are those, that separate apartment shell from the rest of the building. All other inner walls are non-structural.
Long after the elevations were planned many people associated them to Tetris game. And so the building got its name. The façade was developed simply – just tracing the floor plan organization.
The inner – structural façade wall has plaster; the external wall that embraces the loggia is glazed or wrapped into precast panel. These panels are wooden of three colors that are tracing the vertical zigzag pattern. Balcony fences are either perforated precast panel or transparent metal fence.
The cost per square meter had to be 650 EUR/m2 since the selling cost was 1300EUR/m2.

Project: Tetris apartments
Client: Gradis G group, Ljubljana
Location: Ljubljana
Program: Social apartments with parking
Surfaces: Surface: 5000m2 / Nº of floors: 4 floors + 2 underground parking
Apartment types: 1- room apartment: 35m2 / 2-room apartment:69.00m2 / 2.5- room apartment:89.00m2 / 3- room apartment: 103.00m2
Budget Construction cost: 650EUR/m2
Selling cost: 1.200EUR/m2
Construction start: February 2006
Construction finish: September 2007
Project team:
Project leaders: Rok Oman, udia MA(AA) / Spela Videcnik, udia MA(AA)
Design team: Martina Lipicer, udia / Nejc Batistic, udia / Andrej Gregoric, cand.arh / Ana Kosi stud. arch.

fuente:http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/tetris_apartments.htm