ARQUITECTURA DEL MUNDO

Villa Bio, Llers - Girona (España) / Cloud 9 - Enric Ruiz-Geli [13/10/07]

2008-05-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Villa Bio, Llers - Girona (España) / Cloud 9 - Enric Ruiz-Geli
La arquitectura contemporánea es LA PLATAFORMA de la cultura y el arte contemporáneo.
Habitar es una plataforma existente que puede convertirse en arte. EL ARTE DEL HABITAR.
Esta plataforma la concebimos como un PAISAJE DE ACONTECIMIENTOS LINEAL.
Este paisaje se pliega en el solar y forma una ESPIRAL creciente.
La plataforma es una ESTRUCTURA LINEAL de hormigón de sección constante en forma de "C".
Las FACHADAS longitudinales ciegas trabajan como VIGAS y crean un voladizo de 15 m.

Fachada:
El hormigón es un MATERIAL LÍQUIDO
El hormigón como material líquido que se solidifica y crea una topografía "líquida" en fachada.

Proceso:
1- Creamos un 3D del paisaje topográfico que queremos construir.
2- Un paisaje Viriliano de accidentes
3- Por proceso de CadCam con una fresadora de 3 ejes, moldeamos una imagen personalizada, única, no standard, de 24m x 3m
4- Tratamos el molde y lo convertimos en encofrado de las fachadas norte y sur. (imagen)

La plataforma entra en estado líquido, mutante, con una cubierta de jardín natural, un paisaje interior de vidrios (piedra) con plotters de renders digitales...

http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/villa_bio.htm

Mountain Dwellings by BIG

2008-03-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

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]

2008-03-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

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]

2008-03-29T19:53:00.001-07:00

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

Syntax Architektur - AustriaCasa en la colina - Weidling, Austria

2008-03-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

Condicionado por las características del terreno, angosto y con una fuerte pendiente hacia el sur, el estudio Syntax Architektur, liderado por el arquitecto Michael Barth, diseñó esta vivienda unifamiliar abundante en luz natural que aprovecha al máximo las virtudes del jardín y sus adyacencias.

fuente: http://arkinetia.com/Articulos/art517.aspx

Beijing: Una Plaza Tiananmen verde... según Ma Yansong

2008-02-08T14:34:00.001-08:00

For the past 50 years Tiananmen Square has been the nearest thing the Chinese Communist party has had to holy ground. It is the plaza that Mao built, famed for its rallies during the Cultural Revolution, and it became notorious after the bloody crackdown on student protesters in 1989.
But in a sign of widening intellectual debate in China, one of the country's leading young architects has proposed a radical transformation of the square.
Ma Yansong, an award-winning urban planner, says the grey concrete symbol of China's red politics should be given a green makeover. To heighten awareness about the environment, he believes the Beijing square should be transformed into a park and forest. In his model, the vast expanse of paving slabs outside the Forbidden City are replaced by trees and grass. There are lush thickets around the mausoleum containing Mao Zedong's embalmed body and a verdant entrance to the Great Hall of the People.
"We want to transform this empty political square into something that can be enjoyed," Mr Ma said. "Our aim is to propose not to criticise, to raise the issue of public space. The way we do our architecture is to show that we can come up with our own solutions. We don't just take orders. That is why we want to show this project to the public first."
Mr Ma, who completed an apprenticeship in London under the prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, is one of the boldest and least orthodox within China's architectural community. His firm, MAD, has offices in Beijing and Dubai, is working on five big projects in China, and is behind a curvaceous 50-storey tower arising in Ontario, Canada.
The architect believes Tiananmen Square need not be considered sacrosanct, because its origins are relatively recent and foreign. The plaza was created after Mao Zedong's Communists came to power in 1949. Copying Red Square in Moscow, it was designed for military parades and giant public rallies. But this function is, he says, outdated.
"Tiananmen is ... the physical centre but not the real centre. No Beijing people go there," he said. "The question we posed ourselves was how to make the area more enjoyable if we no longer need it for tanks?"
However, his plan for Tiananmen is too controversial for the authorities. The mainland media have already been told not to publish images of his green model. "Tiananmen Square is a sensitive topic because many things happened there," Mr Ma said. "The idea of turning the plaza into a forest makes many people feel uncomfortable."
Zhang Lixin, a director at the Beijing urban planning bureau, said: "This isn't just an architectural design problem. We also use this space for national events. In the long term, I think Tiananmen Square will keep its original function. We can do some work nearby to make more green spaces."
It is not green but grey that dominates a model of Beijing at the Urban Planning Exhibition Centre in the city. Radiating outwards from a pillow-sized Forbidden City, to the area of a tennis court, the scale model illustrates the dramatic changes occurring in the urban landscape as the city gears up to host the 2008 Olympics.
Beijing is becoming a showroom for the world's leading architects. Rem Koolhaas, from the Netherlands, is behind the spectacular tilting towers of the Central China TV HQ in the commercial district. Paul Andreu, from France, helped lay the giant egg-shaped national theatre, while the UK architect Norman Foster designed the dragon-inspired airport terminal, which will be the world's largest when it opens next year. Yet despite the new national stadium - known as the bird's nest - and the giant egg theatre, the pastoral theme does not extend much beyond the shapes and names of all the new steel and concrete designs. The city's suburbs are eating up farmland as sprawl continues. A green belt was planned in the late 1990s, but it was consumed by development. Now there are only a few small splashes of park and farmland left.
With urban development twisting out of the grasp of planners and regulators, Mr Ma argues that a green Tiananmen could indicate changing priorities. "I read that Beijing has 2.8% of green space, including the lakes. It was much better in the past. It is very bad now."

fuente: http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2072172,00.html

VilLA NM, Upstate - Nueva York / UNStudio - Ben van Berkel [08/05/06]

2008-02-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

VilLA NM – Upstate New York
Location: Upstate New York, Catskills, USA
Program: Single family house
Gross floor surface: 250 m²
Volume: 700 m³
Site: 7.423 m²
VilLA NM is a family summerhouse situated in a hilly and woody area, some two hours drive from NYC. This area of up-state New York used to be a destination for the elite during the twenties and thirties and became world famous during the summer of ‘69 with the Woodstock festival. In subsequent years the area suffered a decline in popularity, but now more thirty years on the area once again open for new developments and is regaining its popularity amongst the younger people of NYC who like to escape the bustle of the big city.
The house is situated on a plot of 7.000 m2 with a tremendous 360º view of the forests and meadows. The sloping site is used as device for the programmatic and volumetric organization of the house. A single box-like volume bifurcates into two separate volumes; one seamlessly following the Northern slope; the other lifted above the hill creating a covered parking and generating a split-level internal organization.
The volumetric transition is generated by a set of five parallel walls that rotate along a horizontal axis from vertical to horizontal. The walls become floor and vice versa. The ruled surface maintaining this transition is repeated five times in the building. Standardizing and pre-fabricating of this structural element lowered the building costs without reducing the spatial quality of the interior. The interior space also takes advantage of the split-level organization. The kitchen and dining area on the ground floor are connected by a ramp to the living space above, the 1.5-meter height change allowing for a tremendous view over the valley. A similar ramp connects the living area to the master and the children’s bedrooms on the second floor.
All the functional facilities such as the bathroom, kitchen and fireplace are situated in the vertical axis of the house. This organization allows the freeing up of the outer walls. Rooms that require a higher level of privacy are partly closed of to the exterior. All other rooms are provided with large glassed windows.
The materialization of the design is a combination of concrete and glass with a light metal construction. The intelligent transformation of a geometric form and the standardization of the structural elements enabled the economical production of a highly individual building with strong spatial qualities.

Design:UN Studio: Ben van Berkel with Olaf Gipser and Andrew Benn, Colette Parras, Jacco van Wengerden, Maria Eugenia Diaz, Jan Debelius, Martin Kuitert, Pablo Rica, Olga Vazquez-Ruano

fuente: http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/vila-nm.htm

Centro cultural, Goiânia - Oscar Niemeyer

2008-02-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

Situado na zona sudoeste de Goiânia, depois dos limites da BR-153 (que liga a cidade ao Sul do país), o Centro Cultural Oscar Niemeyer é um amplo conjunto voltado à arte, com 17 mil metros quadrados de área construída. O espaço leva o nome do arquiteto, que nunca havia projetado uma obra na cidade. O desenho é simples: quatro volumes com formas e usos distintos, sobre uma esplanada retangular.
Em 1999, Niemeyer foi convidado pelo então governador (e atual senador tucano) Marconi Perillo a criar o Monumento aos Direitos Humanos. Reza a lenda, alimentada pelo próprio ex-governador, que ele foi ao escritório carioca de Niemeyer, que não o conhecia, e disse de forma enfática: “Vim cobrar o aluguel das terras em que o senhor construiu Brasília!”. O arquiteto logo percebeu que se tratava de uma brincadeira e passou a ouvir a encomenda - que, pouco antes da viagem ao Rio de Janeiro, já se ampliara para um centro cultural. “Eu e Edson José Ferrari, que era secretário de Perillo, tivemos essa idéia”, relata Marcílio Lemos Carvalho, então arquiteto da Agência Goiânia de Cultura e que acompanhou a execução da obra.
Niemeyer empolgou-se e ficou sensibilizado com a idéia de batizar o espaço com seu nome. Mas o local de implantação ainda era incerto. A primeira proposta, em Lagoa das Rosas (onde fica o zoológico), foi abandonada por questões ambientais. Cogitou-se também a área da rodoviária, projetada por Paulo Mendes da Rocha (com Luiz Fernando Teixeira e Moacyr Cordeiro), que é subutilizada e depois foi transformada parcialmente em centro de compras, desfigurando o desenho original. Entrou em pauta então o terreno atual. De propriedade de um empresário, havia uma pendência jurídica sobre a gleba, que na década de 1980 fora doada para a construção de um centro de convenções, não levada a cabo. Com isso, uma ação contra o Estado pedia a área de volta. Negociações levaram a um acordo: os novos prédios de Niemeyer ocupariam 60% do lote e os outros 40% seriam devolvidos ao antigo dono. O arquiteto visitou o local e readequou o projeto a essa condição. Por motivos políticos, a obra foi executada às pressas: um ano depois da definição do terreno, o centro estava inaugurado.
A implantação de um projeto desse porte certamente consolidará o eixo da expansão endinheirada da cidade, no sentido sudoeste. As margens da BR-352 (ligando Goiânia a Belo Horizonte), ainda com ocupação rural, rapidamente se transformarão. Um indício é o condomínio fechado de alto padrão, alguns metros depois do centro cultural.
Na trajetória do arquiteto, é comum a criação de conjuntos em que cada prédio, ocupado por um item do programa, adota uma forma diferente, com uma composição espacial entre si. O Centro Cultural Oscar Niemeyer não foge à regra: são quatro edifícios diversos no formato - uma cambota, um triângulo, um cilindro suspenso e um pavilhão - e na ocupação (respectivamente, teatro, memorial, museu e biblioteca). “É uma composição de volumes puros: um triângulo, um círculo e um retângulo”, concluiu Paulo Mendes da Rocha, quando relatei minha visita ao lugar.
E para a composição ficar mais clara - tal como numa natureza-morta de Morandi - os quatro volumes estão implantados em uma grande esplanada retangular, de 26 mil metros quadrados. É ela que suporta e delimita a relação entre os volumes. Na frente estão o teatro (à esquerda) e o memorial (à direita). À primeira vista, o teatro, com 4,7 mil metros quadrados, lembra a Oca (sem escotilhas) e o Senado, conhecidos trabalhos do autor. No entanto, a entrada principal encontra-se no fundo, o que dá pureza à forma na porção frontal, que é parcialmente circundada por espelho d’água. A pressa na inauguração deixou seqüelas: o olho mais apurado percebe a imperfeição da curvatura. O espaço tem capacidade para 3,7 mil espectadores; 200 lugares, no balcão, têm acesso em nível pela esplanada.
O Monumento aos Direitos Humanos é um prédio curioso: único elemento vermelho da composição (os outros são pintados de branco), trata-se de uma pirâmide de concreto com 75 metros de altura, oca por dentro. O memorial em si, um pequeno espaço com auditório de 170 lugares, está abaixo da esplanada e possui 655 metros quadrados. O volume rubro é a entrada, ao mesmo tempo que cobre o foyer.
Atrás do monumento, está o Museu de Arte Contemporânea, um volume circular suspenso de 2,8 mil metros quadrados, apoiado em pilar central. O acesso é feito por uma rampa, que esconde parcialmente o grande esforço estrutural do edifício. No primeiro piso, fica o espaço de exposição permanente, e o mezanino é dedicado a mostras temporárias. Parte do programa está sob a esplanada, onde ficam a administração, a reserva técnica e uma pequena galeria.
Fazendo as vezes de pano de fundo da composição (idéia reforçada pelo vidro preto), a biblioteca, com 1,2 mil metros quadrados, é um pavilhão em pilotis, com três pisos e cobertura destinada a um restaurante panorâmico com terraço. É aqui que se percebe mais claramente a falta de domínio no detalhamento - para ser mais exato, na relação entre os caixilhos do pilotis e a estrutura.
O acesso principal do conjunto, pela BR-352, é feito através de uma escadaria larga. No dia-a-dia, os visitantes chegam pelos fundos, onde fica o estacionamento de 530 vagas. Observada dali, a plataforma da esplanada transforma-se em laje, e percebe-se que parte dela é ocupada: são dois cinemas (com 280 lugares cada), cinco lojas e um bar, além de áreas técnicas. Tal como na Brasília dos primeiros anos, a composição funciona à vista do visitante: a planície verde junto ao horizonte dá ênfase aos volumes puros e força a sua composição geométrica.
A tarde da inauguração, no final de março do ano passado, foi indescritível. Sem perceber a mágica do momento, os políticos e seus assessores corriam, inaugurando um prédio atrás do outro, enquanto o Sol poente manchava o céu com uma paleta invejável de cores. De repente, uma tempestade se anunciou no horizonte, misturando mais ainda os tons. A chuva não veio, mas um arco-íris cruzou o céu, com o mesmo raio do teatro e exatamente sobre ele. Talvez uma homenagem do cerrado ao arquiteto que o colocou no mapa. Possivelmente cenas como essa, engrandecidas pela natureza, logo não serão mais possíveis, num entorno ocupado pelo voraz mercado imobiliário. E, ironicamente, isso terá ocorrido, em parte, por culpa do próprio centro cultural.

fuente: http://www.arcoweb.com.br/arquitetura/arquitetura763.asp

geógrafo y urbanista catalán Jordi Borja

2008-02-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

"Los vecinos tienen derecho a protestar, pero hay que tener en cuenta a los otros ciudadanos"
De visita en Buenos Aires, el geógrafo y urbanista catalán Jordi Borja mantuvo una charla informal con un grupo de arquitectos y periodistas. Dijo que el derecho a la ciudad no solo es patrimonio de los que viven en ella y que "los countries no tienen nada que ver con la ciudad, están entre el balneario y el hospital psiquiátrico".
Atrincherado en el lobby de un coqueto hotel de la Recoleta, Jordi Borja accedió a una charla informal con docentes de la Licenciatura en Urbanismo de la Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento a la que se sumó Clarín.com. El geógrafo y urbanista catalán, director del Master "La ciudad: Políticas, Proyectos y Gestión" en la Universidad de Barcelona y responsable del plan de descentralización de Barcelona en los '80, es un referente internacional en temas de gestión y planeamiento de ciudades y así se lo hacen notar sus colegas locales. Además, Borja es un profundo conocedor de las ciudades latinoamericanas, entre ellas Buenos Aires. Considera a los barrios privados cada vez más omnipresente como una negación de la ciudad y dice que la novela "Las viudas de los jueves" es un fresco irónico y sociológico de lo que allí sucede: "No tienen nada que ver con la ciudad, están entre el balneario y el hospital psiquiátrico", dice, redoblando la ironía. Ante la requisitoria de un equipo de docentes universitarios y arquitectos, Borja tampoco ahorra críticas al modo en que se construyen las torres en nuestra ciudad. Tal como se hacen aquí, las torres generan un vacío, un espacio social muy pobre", dice. Pero asegura no estar ni a favor ni en contra de la construcción de torres. "Si quieres tu que haya mezcla social, tienes que hacer operaciones de alta densidad. A veces, la baja densidad empobrece la vida urbana". Lo dice con conocimiento de causa, el que vive en la Villa Olímpica de Barcelona, tiene apenas 8 mil vecinos. "Si allí tuviésemos menos zonas verdes y mayor densidad, sería mucho mejor", reflexiona. Tema inevitable, el temblor bursátil que ocasionó la caída de las acciones inmobiliarias en Madrid se adueña de la charla. "España, en este último tiempo, construye más viviendas que Francia, Inglaterra y Alemania juntos. Esto es insostenible y curiosamente este aumento de la oferta no ha traído una baja en los precios, si no todo lo contrario", dice Borja. Cuenta que tal como sucede en nuestras ciudades tercermundistas, este boom constructivo deja afuera a los sectores medios y bajos de la población, que siguen sufriendo el déficit habitacional. "Aquí hay un vacío legal, no se puede ganar dinero tan fácilmente", dice Borja. El problema de la vivienda no para de crecer en las grandes ciudades del mundo. Borja lo sitúa junto a los conflictos más comunes como el desempleo, la pobreza o la inseguridad. ¿El medio ambiente? "Todavía es una preocupación de las clases medias, de personas con algún título universitario", dice. ¿Las crecientes protestas de vecinos? Aunque reconoce que hay casos en que los vecinos tienen cosas mejor pensadas para sus barrios que gobiernos y empresas, habla de la necesidad de que el urbanismo sea algo concertado, participativo. Y reniega de las protestas que se arman para defender privilegios. "Claro que la opinión de los vecinos debe tenerse en cuenta, pero no son los únicos. También deben decidir los potenciales ciudadanos de ese barrio, los comerciantes, los que allí trabajan, los que realizan algún tipo de actividad en esa zona".

fuente: http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/05/09/um/m-01415477.htm

Emiratos Árabes: 'RAK Convention and Exhibition Centre', OMA

2008-02-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a full set of images, plans and diagrams of the giant RAK Convention and Exhibition Centre for the new city at Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Reinier de Graaf of Office for Metropolitan Architecture and looking like the Death Star, the centre consists of a spherical glass and steel nest and a very long, low building raised off the ground.
>> see more architectural projects in the Gulf on our Google Map of the region
Text from the architects follows:
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RAK CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE CREDITS
Project: RAK Convention and Exhibition CentreStatus: ConceptClient: Rakeen DevelopmentLocation: Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab EmiratesBudget: N/ASite: Gateway City, Ras Al Khaimah, UAEProgram: Mixed Use: Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hotels, Offices, Residential, Shopping, Restaurants
Partners in charge:Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf
Team:Samir Bantal, Daniele de Benedictis, Anne-Sophie Bernard, Philippe Braun, Adam Frampton, Martin Galovsky, Beth Hughes, Pieter Janssens, Ravi Kamisetti, Bin Kim, Barend Koolhaas, So Jung Lee, Mirai Morita, Charles-Antoine Perreault, Ian Robertson
RAK Convention and Exhibition Centre Text
Unlike the traditional high-rise building, the design for the Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre accommodates all primary functions, such as the convention centre, hotel rooms, apartments, offices and retail space in a giant sphere.
A low-rise building adjacent to the sphere `hovers` above the ground beside the exhibtion centre, retail and additional hotel rooms.
Access to the new buildings is provided by a new road system linking it to the city creating a direct connection between the new buildings and the exisiting urban structure.
What is left to be invented when it comes to the creation of a landmark?
So far the 21st century – in a desperate effort to differentiate one building from the next – has been characterized by a manic production of extravagant shapes. Paradoxically, the result is a surprisingly monotonous urban substance, where any attempt at ‘difference’ is instantly neutralized in a sea of meaningless architectural gestures.
RAK is confronted with an important choice: Does it join so many others in this mad, futile race or does it become the first to offer a new credibility?
This project represents a final attempt at distinction through architecture:not through the creation of the next bizarre image, but through a return to pure form.
Invented long ago, both the sphere and the bar explicitly abandon claims to formal invention or ‘originality’. (The sphere even existed before man itself…) Yet both geometries still continue to feed the architectural imagination: perfectly autonomous shapes, within their bounds the promise of a perfect world – made possible only by the seamless integration of engineering.
In spite of their apparent simplicity the sphere and the bar could come to represent a milestone in the construction of the new RAK and provide it with a powerful universal symbol: Western and Eastern, futuristic and primordial, contemporary and timeless.

Esker Haus, San Candido - Italia, Plasma Studio

2008-02-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

Esker Haus (esker significa formación geológica estratificada) es una vivienda individual ubicada en la parte superior de una casa de los años 60.El anexo fue concebido como un parásito de la casa original, y parte de la estructura de ésta diferenciándose gradualmente hasta adoptar un lenguaje propio. Está formado por una serie de estructuras de madera y acero que se deforman para evocar las suaves laderas de los dolomitas circundantes. El mirador parcialmente accesible determina también el carácter de los espacios interiores, que están envueltos por planos dinámicos creando siempre nuevas y cambiantes perspectivas y configuraciones espaciales.The unique stratified morphology and construction system started off from projecting each step of the external staircase as a modulor that then was proliferated as frames. These frames enable the subsequent deformation and softening of the overall geometry.
El particular sistema de construcción estratificada parte de proyectar hacia dentro cada peldaño de la escalera exterior. Los espacios interiores reflejan la geometría exterior, y provocan una transgresión del esquema cartesiano partiendo de la estructura de la casa original y evolucionando hacia la morfología más suave y fluida del paisaje.
Memoria original en inglés:Esker Haus (esker=stratified geological formation) is a self-contained residential unit placed on top of an existing house from the 1960s.The project has been developed as a parasite which started from adopting the structure of the host and gradually differentiated into its own unique organization and morphology.The project is formed by a series of steel and timber frames that deform to recreate the smooth hillsides of the surrounding dolomites. This partly accessible roofscape also determines the spatial character inside- the spaces are enfolded by an angular and dynamic series of planes creating new and ever-changing perspectives and spatial constellations.The unique stratified morphology and construction system started off from projecting each step of the external staircase as a modulor that then was proliferated as frames. These frames enable the subsequent deformation and softening of the overall geometry.The split level organization leads to the lengthening of parts of the stairs to form a topography for informal occupation. The overall spatial character is that of an echelon with a diffusion of functions and conditions where inside and outside, above and below become gradient zones of varying intensity. These interleave as a loop that transgresses from the most private zone of bedroom and bathroom via kitchen, dining and living rooms towards the more public and exposed territory of the various terraces.The interior spaces are the reflection of the exterior geometry with folded planes accentuating the flow through the open split-level plan.The interior is designed as a transgression from the Cartesian orthogonal layout (determined in part by the structure below and functional requirements) towards the softer fluid morphology of the roofscape.

fuente: http://arkinetia.com/Articulos/art453.aspx

La arquitectura de Mathias Klotz

2008-02-08T14:01:00.001-08:00

La arquitectura de Mathias Klotz trasciende cuestiones acerca del lenguaje y el reconocimiento de adscripciones o herencias estilísticas sobre las que a menudo se le interpela. Nacido en 1965 en Viña del Mar (Chile), el inicio de su andadura profesional coincide con el fin de diecisiete años de dictadura pinochetista y la eclosión democrática en un país que, como excepción en la zona, gozaba de una economía estable, lo que permitió a jóvenes arquitectos recibir sus primeros encargos en los que cristalizase el nuevo espíritu social.
Finalizados sus estudios, Klotz comenzó a construir casas para clientes que solicitaban segundas residencias cuya particularidad consistía en estar destinadas a un único residente, factor que le permitió experimentar con la creación de grandes espacios únicos y trabajar con materiales y técnicas procedentes del lugar donde las obras se asentaban. Arquitectura que nutría y reinterpretaba el paisaje, estas primeras obras - la Casa Klotz, la Casa Ugarte y la Casa Chiloé, construidas entre 1991 y 1994-suscitaron un interés que sumergió a su autor casi imperceptiblemente en la dinámica profesional del arquitecto de corta edad y le valió un justo reconocimiento de la crítica internacional.
Ampliación de fronteras. Gradualmente, la oficina de Klotz, establecida en 1991, ha comenzado a realizar encargos que abarcan desde viviendas unifamiliares, locales comerciales y edificios públicos al diseño industrial y la escenografía, lo que ha diversificado la localización geográfica de su labor, con obras construidas y en proceso en Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, México, España, Italia, Líbano y China. Junto a proyectos como la Casa Ponce (Buenos Aires), la Casa Reutter (Cachaga, Chile), el Colegio Altamira (Santiago, Chile), destacan, entre sus últimos trabajos finalizados, el edificio de la Facultad de Medicina y la rehabilitación de un edificio para la Universidad Diego Portales y la construcción de un pabellón militar, ambos en Santiago, diseños afrontados desde la prioridad a los intereses de cliente y usuarios, consciente de que es esa satisfacción en el uso la que garantizará la «vida plena» y la «subsistencia» de la obra.
José Antonio Coderch cita el deseo de realizar una arquitectura viva y de adquirir un profundo conocimiento como vocaciones del arquitecto en No son genios lo que necesitamos ahora, un escrito de 1960 que Klotz señala como referencia personal. Coderch defiende la exigencia de afrontar la creación arquitectónica desde una responsabilidad ética, en un sentido que implica brindar construcciones surgidas de una actitud intelectual fundamentada en la dignidad espiritual de lo humano y en la subordinación del ego a la búsqueda de la excelencia.
Tics inconvenientes. De acuerdo con esas ideas, la actitud de Klotz está despojada de las inseguridades, complejos y ambiciones de genialidad que abocan a otros profesionales a la rimbombancia estilística e ideológica que ahueca el valor de lo construido como acto de búsqueda y comprensión esencial de la arquitectura. Tempranamente fue elogiada la «sofisticada sencillez» de sus construcciones, reflejo de la actitud pragmática dotada de sensibilidad hacia lo material y conceptual presente en su obra, posiblemente derivada de una actitud mental y de la circunstancia personal de verse enfrentado a la experiencia de la construcción desde el mismo comienzo de su carrera.
Su obra está imbuida de un carácter personal que tiene que ver con el paisaje y la posición geográfica, pero sobrepasa estos factores. Goza del beneficio de estar en el mundo y, a la vez, de poder refugiarse en un confín de la aldea global, estando lejos y, gracias a ello, disponer de una perspectiva periférica de un mundo que, aunque conectado, está formado por redes asimétricas. Su lugar en el mundo, y el hecho de no poder reconstruir su identidad en términos de pertenencia a una tradición cultural específica y nítidamente definida (o estereotipada), son componentes que señala como relevantes para establecer su retrato intelectual: «Sucede que soy un híbrido, nieto de inmigrantes que llegaron a un país en el extremo sur occidental del nuevo mundo, es decir, al sur del fin del mundo». Para Klotz, esta complejidad -que se transfiere a la inquietud de preguntarse dónde está física y filosóficamente un proyecto- implica inherentemente la posibilidad de concebir su propia arquitectura desde una profunda libertad, uno de cuyos rasgos fundamentales sería la misma capacidad para no aferrarse a la necesidad de teorías o interpretaciones ulteriores.
En absoluto una excepción. A pesar de que en una Historia de la Arquitectura escrita desde un punto de vista eurocéntrico se tiende a concebir a figuras como Mathias Klotz como rara avis dentro de un contexto que se desconoce casi por completo o que se mitifica mediante tópicos regionalistas o costumbristas, su arquitectura debe considerarse continuadora de una gran escuela legada por el Movimiento Moderno en Iberoamérica, que recibió influencias tanto de Europa como del norte del continente, donde los espacios se escapan absolutamente a los parámetros de escala europeos y a la libertad expresiva otorgada por el relativo peso de la Historia y la tradición. Klotz es heredero de todo esto, en una época en la que el lenguaje del Movimiento Moderno ha salido favorecido, lo que le ha permitido trabajar sin temores, conociendo y jugando con los postulados, a veces constreñidores, legados por los maestros.
En Klotz, su propia experiencia es el pensamiento y la construcción de su propia arquitectura. A una edad en la que muchos arquitectos asumen su independencia, Klotz ha consolidado una aproximación personal a la arquitectura cuyo sustento es haber alcanzado una comprensión esencial de ésta habiendo querido y sabido guiarse por su instinto, imbuyendo el hacer arquitectura de la dimensión sencilla y noble de lo cotidiano, comprendida como un acto humano y vital.

fuente: http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/notas/btbw/2007-05-12.htm

La arquitectura de Mathias Klotz

2008-02-08T14:01:00.000-08:00

fuente: http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/notas/btbw/2007-05-12.htm

Portsmouth FC unveils Herzog & de Meuron stadium plans

2008-02-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Pompey's stunning plans include 36,000 seat stadium and 750 apartments in £600m development
Portsmouth Football club and Sellar Properties have today unveiled ambitious plans for a £600m development in Portsmouth.
Designed by Olympic stadium architects Herzog & de Meuron, a new football stadium will seat 36,000 people. The Waterfront Quarter scheme will also include more than 1m sq ft of residential on a 13-acre reclaimed land site adjacent to the city’s dockyards, as well as a 1.5 acre public space.
As part of the plans, the club’s previous stadium site at Fratton Park will also be redeveloped once the new stadium is completed. Make Architects has been commissioned to draw up designs for 750 new apartments on the site.
Planning applications for the proposed development will be submitted in the autumn. Subject to consent, reclamation work could get underway by 2008, and construction of the stadium the following year.
James Sellar, chief executive of Sellar Properties, said: “We are proposing a Waterfront Quarter of the highest quality design set amidst the historic dockyards. This scheme is set to become an international icon reflecting Portsmouth’s historic and future status as one of the UK’s principal cities.”

fuente: http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=284&storycode=3085673&c=2

Atlas Building - University of Wageningen, Wageningen, Netherlands - Rafael Viñoly Architects

2008-02-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

Rafael Viñoly Architects PC is delighted to announce the official opening of the Atlas Building for the University of Wageningen Department of Environmental Sciences. The centre represents the firm’s second completion in the Netherlands, following the opening of Mahler 4 (Amsterdam) in 2005. Founded in 1918, Wageningen University has evolved into one of the world’s leading education and research centres, focusing on the environmental, plant, animal, agrotechnological, and food sciences. Housed on a new campus – the Centrum de Born, located to the north of the town of Wageningen – the Viñoly-designed centre provides one of the most advanced technological platforms for research and development. A third of the space has been given over to soil research laboratories, with the rest designated as office space. The vision for the building was to create an informal collaborative environment that stimulates intellectual interaction in an unforced and natural way. The concept was further informed by the site’s urban planning requirements, which called for a compact, monolithic building; the response is a bold cube-shaped building, defined by a signature external concrete structure of striking sculptural quality that serves to render the building almost entirely column-free. This has, in turn, allowed a flexible building, with interior spaces that have been designed freely to meet the needs of those scientists who will be using them. A first-floor entrance, accessed by a ramp, opens up into a vast atrium, around which laboratories, work spaces and offices are organised. Bridges connect the galleries on adjacent floors, encouraging informal interaction between users, while the introduction of natural light – permitted to enter from the north side only – is a welcome addition for those working within.

fuente: http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=1020

Kurokawa’s Capsule Tower To Be Razed

2008-02-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

Kisho Kurokawa can’t seem to catch a break these days. Just days after the Japanese architect lost his bid for the governorship of Tokyo, the Nakagin Capsule Tower, his best known building and one of the few built examples of the Metabolist movement, was given a date with the wrecking ball.
Photo: © Corbis
Kurokawa's Capsule Tower
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The Capsule Tower, completed in 1972, stands in the center of Tokyo’s affluent Ginza neighborhood. The building is actually composed of two concrete towers, respectively 11 and 13 stories, each encrusted with an outer layer of prefabricated living units. It has long been appreciated by architects as a pure expression of the Metabolist movement, popular in the 1960s and 1970s, which envisioned cities formed of modular components. But in recent years residents expressed growing concern over the presence of asbestos. On April 15, the building’s management association approved plans calling for the architectural icon to be razed and replaced with a new 14-story tower. A demolition is yet to be determined.
For his part, Kurokawa has pleaded to let the Capsule Tower express one of its original design qualities: flexibility. He suggested “unplugging” each box and replacing it with an updated unit, letting the base towers —which he calls “timeless”—remain untouched. Japan’s four major architectural organizations, including the Japan Institute of Architects, support this scheme. But the building’s management remained unconvinced and raised concerns regarding the towers’ ability to withstand earthquakes, as well as its inefficient use of valuable land. The new building will increase floor area by 60 percent.
Following the board’s decision, only Kurokawa continues to raise protest. If the Capsule Tower is destroyed as planned, it will join a growing list of losses. His Sony Tower in Osaka, completed in 1976, came down last year; Plantec Architects designed a glass-walled commercial building that will replace it.

fuente: http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/070430kurokawa.asp

Johnston Marklee & Associates - EE.UU. - Hill House, Pacific Palisades, California

2008-02-08T13:41:00.001-08:00

La Casa de la Colina de Marklee está diseñada bajo condiciones generadas por problemas de construcción en el terreno. El sitio, un lote de forma irregular ubicado en una accidentada pendiente, ofrece vistas panorámicas del Cañón de Santa Mónica.
El diseño de la casa capitaliza esas restricciones del terreno y de la reglamentación edilicia como una oportunidad para tallar formas y espacios, en apariencia caprichosos, que son meros resultantes de encajar el edificio en los límites reglamentarios.

Texto original en inglés::The Hill House is designed under conditions generated by modern problems of building on the hillside. The site, an irregular shaped lot situated on an uneven downhill slope, offers panoramic views of Santa Monica Canyon. The design of the house utilizes the restriction of hillside and zoning ordinance to create a spatial and structural opportunity - adopting the zoning envelope as a building form. The dynamic form minimizes distinction between roof and wall planes while maximizing interior and exterior.HILL HOUSE by JOHNSTON MARKLEE & ASSOCIATESPacific Palisades, CaliforniaOctober 2004Architect: Johnston Marklee & Associates, Los Angeles; Mark Lee (Principal in Charge), Sharon Johnston AIA, Jeff Adams & Mark Rea Baker (Project Architects); Diego Arraigada, Brennan Buck, Michelle Cintron, Daveed Kapoor, Anne Rosenberg, Anton Schneider (Project Team)

fuente: http://arkinetia.com/Articulos/art445.aspx

Casa GDL1 / BGP Arquitectura

2008-02-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

Proyecto: Casa GDL1
Localización: Guadalajara, México.
Arquitectos: BGP Arquitectura - Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta con Luís Enrique Mendoza.
Colaboradores: JN Morones, Daniela Legorreta, Héctor Barroso, Carlos Coronel.
Estructura: Colinas de Buen Ingenieros, S.A.Cancelería: Val y Val.
Año de Diseño: 2003
Año de Construcción: 2005
Área terreno: 780m2
Área construcción: 750m2
Fotografía: Jaime Navarro
Sitio Web: http://www.bgp.com.mx/

Ubicado dentro de un nuevo fraccionamiento que se desarrolla sobre una ladera, el terreno, de forma irregular debido a la pendiente y las curvas del mismo, cuenta hacia el sur con una vista privilegiada hacia una importante área verde, considerada uno de los pulmones de la ciudad de Guadalajara; al norte se topa con el corte del terreno en el que se desplanta. La casa niega la calle al cerrarse en su fachada y mostrarse como un muro sólido, mientras que se abre con grandes ventanales hacia los jardines interiores y las vistas de la ciudad.
En el terreno se dispusieron dos prismas rectangulares: uno en el sentido longitudinal apoyado sobre el terreno que marca el acceso a la casa y aloja todas las actividades privadas de la familia, así como separa el terreno para crear un jardín privado en la parte posterior y un jardín, donde se alojan un asoleadero y una alberca, en la zona del frente. El otro volumen es perpendicular al anterior y volado se posiciona en sentido transversal, marcando la diferencia entre la calle y el interior de la casa y alojando las actividades públicas. El garage y los servicios de la casa se ubican en el sótano, aprovechando la pendiente y niveles de cimentación del proyecto, no afectando la volumetría general de la casa. Un volumen independiente en una de las esquinas del terreno aloja un gimnasio y / o cuarto de vistas y desarrolla a partir de su periferia un muro de concreto que sirve como colindancia hacia los terrenos vecinos.
Usando la transparencia como punto focal del proyecto, el volumen de planta baja cuenta con fachadas de vidrio duovent, para aislar térmicamente la casa, excepto en el extremo que traspasa los límites definidos por el volumen de planta alta, donde se transforma en un sólido de madera representativo de la continuación conceptual de la terraza que se forma en su azotea. De esta forma, todas las recámaras cuentan con una gran ventilación e iluminación natural y disfrutan tanto de la vista como del jardín. En el caso del volumen superior, sus caras hacia la calle y hacia la parte posterior del terreno se muestran como muros masivos de piedra, mientras que las caras que dan hacia los patios y hacia la ciudad se transforman también en membranas transparentes.
A su vez, el volumen superior se conecta con el inferior en uno de sus extremos, mientras que la otra punta queda flotando en el espacio teniendo un cantiliver de 12 metros; esto, aunado a las fachadas de vidrio, produce una sensación de suspensión en el aire a quien lo habita. En el punto de intersección entre ambos volúmenes se produce un espacio de doble altura, violado sólo por un piso de cristal esmerilado sobre el que se ubica el comedor; y un domo en la azotea hacen que el espacio sea totalmente traslúcido en el sentido vertical, provocándose una continuidad espacial entre el vestíbulo de acceso y la planta libre del nivel superior.

fuente: http://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/2007/04/18/casa-gdl1-bgp-arquitectura/

Ajman Marina Free Zone, Dubai / rojkind arquitectos [24/04/07]

2008-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Propuesta presentada por rojkind arquitectos - Michel Rojkind en el concurso de ideas para el master plan en la 'Ajman Marina Free Zone' de Dubai. El proyecto consiste en dos tipologías de edificios que combinan diferentes usos, viviendas en los edificios de mayor altura y viviendas más comercios en los más bajos del conjunto....

PROJECT: MARINA DUBAI
LOCATION: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PROGRAM: RESIDENTIAL, OFFICES AND COMMERCE
DESIGN YEAR: 2007

CREDITS
ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT: ROJKIND ARQUITECTOS [MICHEL ROJKIND] with OFFICE FOR URBANISM [ANTONIO GOMEZ-PALACIO]
PROJECT TEAM: AGUSTIN PEREYRA, MORITZ MELCHERT, JUAN CARLOS VIDALS, EUGENIO VILLARREAL

High Rise
We have treated the high rise buildings as the central icon of the project. These are the gateway buildings that will be recognized from a distance, and which will be the initial attraction for visitors and residents alike. It is also the landmark location where the water moves in, approaching the inland.
The architecture assumes the challenge of being on one hand aesthetically bold, and on the other functionally rational. By integrating building and structural systems, we have developed a concept that can go a step beyond, with vision. The design is reminiscent of water and dynamic as only visionary people are.
We have also emphasized need for long term flexibility in our designs, by focusing the identity-making components of the concept to the external skin, and the high profile areas, while maintaining an interior that is clear, flexible and adaptable to evolving needs.

Low Rise
The low rise is all about quality of space. These buildings will be experienced mostly from a short distance. They are the areas of the Master Plan that are most fully integrated with the open space and urban design. Through the boardwalk, through the retail level, through the extended base, the Low Rise element has the function of integrating in the experience of users both the functional components of the Plan, and the aesthetic of the development.
In addition to a powerful waterfront pedestrian route, we propose to generate a series of pedestrian through-connections. This will enable the ground related retail to maximize frontage opportunities, and capture additional walk by traffic. It will also enable users of the site to access (physically and visually) the different parts of the development, and the waterfront in a direct way.
Ultimately we see that the Low Rise elements offer an opportunity at the intimate scale, to define and enhance the experience of users. It will also be the benchmark that leads the designs of future phases of development.

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

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2007 - by Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen - 24 August – 5 November 2007

2008-02-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2007 is designed by the internationally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson and the award-winning Norwegian architect Kjetil Thorsen, of the architectural practice Snøhetta. This timberclad structure resembles a spinning top and brings a dramatic vertical dimension to the traditional single-level pavilion. A wide spiralling ramp makes two complete turns, allowing visitors to ascend from the Gallery lawn to the highest point for views across Kensington Gardens as well as a bird’s eye view of the chamber below.
Olafur Eliasson’s deep-rooted interest in spatial questions, explored in his artistic practice, has resulted in an increasing engagement with architectural projects. This has led to Kjetil Thorsen and Olafur Eliasson collaborating on a number of projects, including the National Opera House, Oslo, and a recently submitted competition proposal for a new Museum of Contemporary Art in Warsaw.
The expansion of the Serpentine Pavilion design team to include a visual artist is the development of a format that started in 2006 when Pavilion designers Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond, with Arup, collaborated with the artist Thomas Demand, whose solo exhibition in the Serpentine Gallery was concurrent with the Pavilion. The result was a visual motif, in the form of a large-scale frieze within the Pavilion, which created an explicit link between the Serpentine’s art and architecture programming strands.
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is based in Berlin where he established Studio Olafur Eliasson, a laboratory for spatial research. His work explores the relationship between individual people and their surroundings, as experienced in his awe-inspiring large-scale installation The weather project, 2003, at Tate Modern. He is also publisher of a new magazine that melds artistic and architectural experimentation. His architectural projects include a rooftop extension at ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark; a plan for The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Smithsonian Institution’s museum of modern and contemporary art in Washington DC and a recent façade design for The Icelandic National Concert and Conference Centre in Reykjavik, due for completion in 2009. Kjetil Thorsen is co-founder of Snøhetta, one of Scandinavia's leading architectural practices, with offices in Oslo and New York. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt, 1995 - 2001, is the commission that brought Snøhetta to international acclaim. Thorsen is responsible for the design of award-winning public buildings globally, and has collaborated with Eliasson several times, including the National Opera House, Oslo, currently under construction. He is a founder of Galleri Rom, Oslo, which focuses on the intersection of architecture and art, and is a member of the Norwegian Architectural Association (NAL) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He is also Professor at the Institute for Experimental Studies in Architecture at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion commission, now entering its eighth year, is an ongoing programme of temporary structures by internationally acclaimed architects and individuals. It is unique worldwide and presents the work of an international architect or design team who, at the time of the Serpentine Gallery's invitation, has not completed a building in the UK. The Pavilion architects to date are Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond, with Arup, 2006; Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura with Cecil Balmond, Arup, 2005; MVRDV with Arup, 2004- (un-realised); Oscar Niemeyer, 2003; Toyo Ito with Arup, 2002; Daniel Libeskind with Arup, 2001; and Zaha Hadid, 2000.
As part of the expansion of the Serpentine Gallery’s programme, the architecture strand this year also included Lilas, an installation commissioned from Zaha Hadid Architects and designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, and Patrik Schumacher, on the occasion of the Gallery’s world-renowned fundraiser The Summer Party, which took place on 11 July.

fuente: http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2007/01/serpentine_gallery_pavilion_20_7.html

Plan Municipal Parques Bibliotecas del programa de la Alcaldía “Medellín"

2008-02-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

Enmarcados dentro del Plan Municipal Parques Bibliotecas del programa de la Alcaldía “Medellín, la más educada”, estos cuatro proyectos se levantan en los cerros de la capital antioqueña como nuevos íconos de una ciudad que tiene una cara diferente para mostrar.
Ubicadas en puntos estratégicos de la ciudad, las bibliotecas La Quintana, La Ladera, Santo Domingo y San Javier se han convertido en un importante eslabón en la transformación urbana y social que quiere llevar a cabo la Alcaldía de Medellín.Los proyectos fueron adjudicados por concurso. “De esta manera los arquitectos pudieron interpretar lo que queríamos”, responde Carlos Mario Rodríguez, arquitecto y gerente de diseño urbano de la Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano Municipal de la ciudad.Para desarrollar las bibliotecas se tuvieron en cuenta tres aspectos fundamentales: la recuperación y el fortalecimiento de las centralidades barriales y zonales, disminuyéndole presión al centro de la ciudad y logrando presencia institucional; la proximidad a sistemas de transporte público y la cercanía a sistemas ambientales que se pudieran articular a través de parques lineales.A partir de esos criterios urbanos, estos nuevos edificios debían convertirse en espacios de encuentro y en referentes contemporáneos de la ciudad con un mayor valor de uso.
Con otros ojosUbicada en un sector de difícil acceso y con graves conflictos sociales, económicos y políticos, la biblioteca San Javier le ha dado a la gente de este lugar olvidado de Medellín una oportunidad para mirarse y reaccionar de otra forma.El reto de la San Javier, localizada frente a la cárcel de mujeres que será demolida para dar paso a un importante proyecto de vivienda y en cercanías del parque lineal de la quebrada La Hueso, ha sido fortalecer el componente cultural, educativo y de transformación de hábitos de vida.“Ese es el punto medular: jalonar comportamientos diferentes en una comunidad que ha estado marginada en transporte, cultura, educación y equipamiento”, comenta Javier Vera, arquitecto diseñador de la biblioteca.El edificio tiene una postura muy respetuosa con el lugar. Es una arquitectura que ha sabido leer la topografía de la montaña. Concebida como una serie de vagones o anaqueles urbanos que se van escalonando de una manera sutil, la biblioteca está cobijada bajo una sola cubierta troquelada de patios.Esto le permite al usuario serpentear a través de una rampa continua por todos los espacios impregnados de naturaleza. “Existe una sensación de libertad y de contacto con la naturaleza muy interesante.En el interior hay nísperos y olivos y en el exterior la biblioteca está sumergida en un bosque de acacias amarillas, como si a las características morfológicas del barrio se les diera continuidad con la geometría del edificio”, aclara Vera.En su interior estos vagones, piedras monolíticas en concreto, como los llama Vera, están conectados entre sí por una rampa, pero pueden funcionar como espacios completamente independientes. Como un estímulo para volver a trabajar y a activarse se levanta en la parte baja del piedemonte el Cedezo.
La Quintana, más allá de una bibliotecaLocalizada en el parque lineal La Quintana, paralelo a la quebrada del mismo nombre, la biblioteca se levanta como elemento unificador de los barrios ubicados a ambos costados del arroyo. “Aquí se puede hablar más que de una biblioteca, de un espacio público abierto y libre, que los vecinos puedan sentir como propio y que permita nuevas expresiones sociales.Ésta es la esencia del edificio”, comenta Ricardo La Rotta Caballero, arquitecto y diseñador de la biblioteca. En este sentido se diseñó una “calle pública” desde donde se generan las diferentes zonas de relación con la comunidad.Sobre este camino y abarcando espacios abiertos y cerrados se levanta una gran pérgola en madera teka que crea, como un árbol, un espacio de reunión bajo la sombra y un interesante microclima.Esta pérgola tiene a la vez un sentido de umbral o puerta de acceso al parque La Quintana, a la biblioteca (como vía al conocimiento) y a Medellín pues desde allí se descubre toda la ciudad.El proyecto, muy horizontal e integrado a la topografía, contempla básicamente dos grandes bloques en alturas diferentes: el de la biblioteca misma en la parte baja, más privado, más silencioso, y el de arriba, en donde se despliega toda la actividad pública. Un espejo de agua paralelo a la quebrada recorre el camino entre ambos edificios.
Vale la pena destacar la importancia de las grandes diferencias de altura del terreno, pues, gracias a ellas, se generaron diversos niveles donde se extienden los diferentes espacios con sus actividades. Aprovechando esto, se creó una terraza donde está ubicada la cafetería, mirador desde donde se observa toda la ciudad.Dentro del concepto de progreso la biblioteca se vinculó al desarrollo empresarial y profesional de la gente a través del Centro de Desarrollo Empresarial (Cedezo) ubicado allí. El reto acá supuso luchar contra el reloj. Se trabajó con concreto gris en los muros, arcilla en el piso y madera en las zonas altas y las persianas. Pero el desafío más grande era la gente; devolverle la confianza para que se apropiara del espacio. Y el proyecto lo logró.
Dos proyectos un solo arquitecto Las bibliotecas La Ladera y Santo Domingo fueron diseñadas por el arquitecto Giancarlo Mazzanti teniendo en cuenta necesidades y condiciones diferentes para cada una. El resultado: dos proyectos exitosos de transformación en zonas marginales de Medellín.En el caso de la biblioteca La Ladera, localizada en el centro- oriente de la ciudad en lo que fuera la antigua cárcel del mismo nombre, ésta se funde con la topografía y los espacios fluyen en lo horizontal.Más allá de un edificio convencional, la biblioteca está planteada como una serie de terrazas a modo de miradores en donde la gente se puede encontrar y apreciar desde allí la ciudad. Tres módulos plataformas contienen la biblioteca, el centro comunitario y el centro cultural. Estos módulos están conectados y articulados entre sí por un contenedor curvo donde se hallan la ludoteca, la administración y una sala de exposiciones La circulación se establece acá como una sala urbana donde la gente puede confluir. “Este proyecto está más cercano a un centro comunitario que a una biblioteca formal”, comenta Mazzanti.Por ello la biblioteca se proyecta como un elemento de renovación del sector generando un espacio público recreativo y ambiental que no existe en ese lado de la ciudad. No en vano se tuvieron en cuenta espacios públicos como el gimnasio, el auditorio y el centro comunitario.
Una apuesta atrevidaLa apuesta de la biblioteca Santo Domingo es totalmente distinta de la anterior. Considerada como el comienzo de la recuperación del cerro de Santo Domingo, la biblioteca está localizada en el filo de la montaña, convirtiéndose en un mirador excepcional sobre la ciudad.
El desarrollo de un camellón, que juega las veces de balcón sobre la ciudad, articula los miradores construidos por la Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano y por la estación de metrocable.Esta vez el diseño acoge tres edificios a manera de “rocas” o volúmenes que emergen de la tierra como nuevos referentes de la ciudad. “La idea aquí era producir unos íconos, unos símbolos reconocibles a distancia.En este caso, por el tipo de diseño, la biblioteca se encierra y mira hacia adentro”, comenta Mazzanti. En este lugar de recogimiento la luz y el silencio que se lograron son vitales. Conectados entre sí a través de una plataforma, cada uno de los tres edificios tiene un uso muy definido: biblioteca, espacio social y centro cultural.Los materiales utilizados –laja de piedra negra, madera y vidrio de color– coinciden con el diseño limpio y contemporáneo. Durante la noche los edificios se iluminan como faros que pueden ser reconocidos en la distancia, monumentos que logran desviar la mirada hacia la ladera.

fuente: http://www.metrocuadrado.com/contenidom2/publesp_m2/habitar_esp/habitarabrilde2007/ARTICULO-WEB-PL_DET_NOT_REDI_M2-3482258.html

Rising House, Beijing - China / MAD Office [26/04/07]

2008-02-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

Rising House (Under Construction)

Program: Single Family HouseSite Location: Beijing, China Building Area: 775 m2
This is an IT professional‘s weekend house near the Great Wall of Beijing. The driving concept of this scheme is Folding Landscape. The down-slope site facing the hills and river makes it possible to exploit the contours. A continuous volume is being pulled up from the ground level and faces the natural landscape. A glass-enclosed living space is inserted in-between the volume and ground. The rising volume and the levels inside resemble a continuous and undulating landscape, and a courtyard inserted at strategic position connects with the outside on the ground floor.
The ground floor plan follows the example of Mies Van Der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, and on the upper level the plan becomes reverse – a pool enveloped by glass roof and floor, so the sunlight could shine through the water and the glass floor of the pool and cast upon the ground floor.

Jean Nouvel in Doha

2008-02-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, we’re focusing on architecture and design in the Middle East in the run up to the International Design Forum in Dubai next month.

Here are several renderings, model shots, plans and elevations of Jean Nouvel’s High Rise Office Building proposal for Doha in Qatar.

Work has already started on the 45-storey tower, which is due for completion late in 2008.

The glass-clad building is wrapped in a metal brise-soleil based on a traditional Islamic pattern.

>> more Jean Nouvel on dezeen:
Jean Nouvel for Corian
La Philharmonie de Paris by Jean Nouvel (first of three consecutive posts)
100 11th Avenue by Jean Nouvel
More images of Nouvel’s Abu Dhabi museum

Indigo Hotel by Sebastián Irarrazaval

2008-02-07T07:51:00.000-08:00

Photographer Cristobal Palma has sent us a set of photos of Indigo Hotel in Puerto Natales, Chile, by architect Sebastián Irarrazaval.
These are exterior shots; we’ll put some interior shots up later (update: see them here and here).

We’ll let the architect briefly explain the project:
“Patagonia Hotel is situated along the maritime passage of Puerto Natales, entrance to the Torres del Paine National Park. It is has six levels with 29 bedrooms and a Spa on top of the building.

“The Project is organized around three main ideas. First: to discover the building as a voyager who experience places not at once but through continuous steps. Second: to be sensitive with the site and its provincial character and lack of “noise” .Thirdly: to radically differentiate the intimate space of the sleeping rooms from the monumental space of public areas.”

fuente: http://www.dezeen.com/2007/03/30/patagonia-hotel-by-sebastian-irarrazaval/

Ateliers Jean Nouvel - 100 11th Avenue - New York, NY

2008-02-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

Construction has begun on the 23-story tower, described by Nouvel as “a vision machine,” at the intersection of 19th Street and the West Side Highway, along the Hudson River in Manhattan. The glass and steel building is a direct material and conceptual descendant of Nouvel’s 1987 Headquarters for the Arab World Institute in Paris.
The main south curtain wall is comprised of approximately 1,647 completely different colorless windowpanes organized within enormous steel-framed “megapanels” that range from 11 to 16 feet tall and as wide as 37 feet across.Each windowpane inside these megapanels is tilted at a different angle and in a different direction – up, down, in, out - bearing a slightly different degree of transparency.

Study for the mosaic-like curtain wall.
By contrast, the north and east facades will be clad in black brick that references the masonry characteristic of West Chelsea’s industrial architecture. These facades will also contain a complex pattern of different-sized punched windows framing dramatic views from inside.
A seven story free-standing “screen” of densely mullioned glass, a near repeat of the main facade’s steel-framed mosaic pattern, is placed 15 feet from the building’s south facade.The space created between the tower’s multifaceted glass curtain wall and this street wall screen forms a semi-enclosed atrium, called “The Loggia.” Within this atrium fully-grown trees and beds of ornamental plantings, placed within the grid, will appear to float in mid-air.

At 70 feet long, the building’s mirror-canopied pool will be one of the longest in Manhattan. The majority of the pool is sheltered within the building’s structure, with 24 feet extending into a landscaped outdoor space (the lower tier of the garden).

In the 20 foot-high ceiling lobby enormous, single-pane punched windows of different textures and degrees of transparency will face the building’s private multitiered slope garden on the north side of the building, bringing nature indoors.

The palette of apartment interiors is pale and materials have been chosen to achieve maximum luminosity, with an overall look inspired by the sleek minimalism of the neighborhood’s many contemporary art galleries.

Elevator shafts will contain random LED lighting and full-scale punched windows, so that passengers in glass-walled cabs can see city vistas as they ascend at 450 feet per minute, while twinkling light patterns are visible from elsewhere in the neighborhood.
The building will contain 72 residences and be LEED certified.
Estimated completion: Fall 2008

fuente: http://www.arcspace.com/architects/nouvel/100/100.html

Sand house - steven holl

2008-02-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

The previous house the architect Steven Holl designed, on a mesa in New Mexico, was a metal iceberg that eschewed right angles. His newest house, however, embraces them. The change was dictated not by Holl’s aesthetic whims but by his clients, who were moving from the Midwest to rizona, with a large contemporary art collection. What they wanted was a home that doubled as a private gallery. Indeed, although the scenery outside is gorgeous, the couple was less interested in framing views (something every house in the neighborhood tries to do) than in framing works by the likes of Jeff Koons, Bruce Nauman and Robert Ryman.
Given that mandate, Holl sought a way to build the house that would emphasize vertical surfaces. He found it in the “tilt-up method,” long a staple of warehouse construction: first the slab is poured, then the thinner wall slabs are poured right onto the floor (with a layer of grease to keep the new and old concrete from merging). When the wall panels are dry, a crane raises them to 90 degrees, where roof beams lock them into place. But while warehouse slabs typically are designed to create bland, windowless surfaces, Holl designed his slabs to merge at some points and diverge at others. That created facades with small openings to let light in — without sacrificing too much of the owners’ privacy or precious wall space. The result is the kind of geometry that has intrigued Holl at least since he designed Manhattan’s Storefront for Art and Architecture (with Vito Acconci) in 1993, giving it a similarly intriguing puzzle-piece facade.
Even where Holl used glass, he played hide-and-seek games, placing perforated sheets of Cor-Ten steel in front of the main entrance. The perforated sheets extend into a railing for the ramp that leads to the house’s flat roof. A small front courtyard contains a lap pool, where the paving is pink Arizona sandstone.
For the interior of the 3,320-square-foot house, Holl followed standard gallery construction protocols: he laid the floor (in this case, a continuous sea of gray terrazzo) before a single inside wall was built. That means the walls can be moved if the owners decide to rearrange the spaces. In the current configuration, there’s a long, gallerylike living room, a den where the husband watches television and an office for the wife, with walls of deep-blue plaster. The only place to sleep is in the master bedroom suite, with its spalike bathroom of Port Orford cedar. The husband says his golfing buddies always ask, “Where are the other bedrooms?”
But if the couple doesn’t want guests, they do want light. The kitchen, dining area and den share a south-facing glass façade shaded by a deep overhang. Elsewhere, small skylights send sunbeams dancing across the plaster walls and shiny, dark gray floor. Beneath three of the skylights are shallow pools of water. In his early plans Holl described the pools as a low-tech air-conditioning system: warm air would pass over the pools, causing cooling evaporation before ascending through the skylights. In reality, the owners rarely open a house containing fragile artworks to the elements. Holl himself admits that the pools and skylights “are not a blockbuster HVAC feature.” In fact, what he created was a conceptual air-conditioning system, a fitting accompaniment to the couple’s conceptual art. Indeed, the owners, who found Holl through art-world contacts in Chicago, are comfortable with him in part because his work is so much about ideas. A Columbia architecture professor who is himself married to an artist, Solange Fabião, Holl writes treatises with titles like “Intertwining” and, like most artists, gives each work a name. This one is the Planar House. As the lady of the house explains, “The house is a vessel for the collection, and it’s also become part of the collection.”

fuente: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/style/tmagazine/04sandbox.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Chile: Casa Deck, Alto Rungue, Assadi + Pulido

2008-02-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

La vista hacia la localidad de Rungue, se presentaba como un plano inclinado hacia el valle con la Cordillera de la Costa como telón de fondo. El terreno sugería una gran terraza, una explanada sobre la cual observar la totalidad de este escenario.
El proyecto se inicia con la idea de un deck de madera. Sobre esta plataforma se habría de incorporar los recintos de la casa. Pero los recursos estaban destinados exclusivamente a esta terraza, y el espacio interior alcanzaba sólo para un gran estar incorporado a ella. Se decidió por lo tanto destinar casi la totalidad de estos recursos a solucionar la vivienda en base a dos compuestos principales: un deck y un recinto de estar, este último, capaz de absorber la cocina, el comedor e incluso el dormitorio principal. Se decidió además, bajo la premisa de que en una casa de veraneo los dormitorios se ocupan solamente para dormir, eliminar dicho concepto y cambiarlo por el de dormidero, con lo cual el espacio destinado a dormitorios se elimina casi por completo del proyecto.
Mediante un pliegue de este deck se consigue una concordancia con la inclinación del terreno a la vez que se encierra al espacio destinado para la vivienda. El exterior se trabaja entonces como un área libre que descansa sobre el relieve y el interior como una cápsula de vidrio incorporada a los pliegues de esta lámina de madera. El interior a su vez fue dividido longitudinalmente en dos mediante un muro ancho de servicios, al que se le incorpora la cocina y los baños, además de un set de camas en tres niveles hacia la parte posterior de la casa. Estos dos espacios se convierten entonces en una gran zona de estar familiar, comedor y cocina por una parte y un pasillo-dormidero con camas por otra.
La lámina de madera que genera este deck recorre toda la casa, desde la parte más baja –en la cual se ha incorporado la piscina- convirtiéndose luego en el techo, dejando en evidencia, ya desde una primera aproximación a la casa, el uso de la madera en todas sus partes.
El deck principal que incluye la piscina deja una inclinación, producto de la pendiente del terreno que mira hacia el oriente, como una reposera del tamaño de toda la vivienda, admitiendo la posición del cuerpo en descanso como si se tratara de una gran chaise longe. La cubierta de la casa se inclina en el sentido opuesto, sirviendo esta vez de solarium hacia el poniente del sitio.

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

El arquitecto Niemeyer inaugura su obra más difícil y demorada

2008-02-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

El arquitecto brasileño Oscar Niemeyer, de 99 años, inaugurará mañana, jueves, el 'Teatro Popular' de la ciudad de Niteroi, la obra que, en sus propias palabras, fue la más difícil y con mas aplazamientos de toda su carrera.

'La construcción del teatro que proyecté en el Camino Niemeyer fue la más demorada y difícil de realizar', afirmó el arquitecto en un artículo que escribió para la edición de hoy del diario O Estado de Sao Paulo.'Durante años la obra fue afectada infelizmente por diferentes problemas que la falta de recursos generaba', agregó Niemeyer al admitir que los problemas presupuestarios no sólo atrasaron la construcción cerca de ocho años sino que lo obligaron a hacer numerosas modificaciones en el proyecto.El arquitecto dijo que durante todo ese tiempo se abstuvo de criticar a los responsables de los problemas, porque reconoce que 'todos intentaban encontrar una solución, cualquiera que fuese'.El llamado 'Camino Niemeyer' es una ruta que incluye seis grandes obras de este arquitecto de fama mundial en Niteroi, la ciudad de cerca de 500.000 habitantes separada de Río de Janeiro por un puente de 14 kilómetros de extensión.Entre las obras de esta ruta destaca el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Niteroi, una construcción con forma de platillo volador ubicada sobre la bahía de Guanabara, cuyas aguas separan a Río de Janeiro de Niteroi y que también pueden ser vistas desde el Teatro Popular.Sobre las dificultades para realizar la construcción, la alcaldía de Niteroi informó de que invirtió 9 millones de reales (unos 4,4 millones de dólares) en la obra y tuvo que pedir otros 5 millones de reales (unos 2,4 millones de dólares) al Ministerio de Turismo.'Sacar del papel la obra prima de la mente de Niemeyer exigió un gran esfuerzo financiero, pero el teatro que el arquitecto entregó a la comunidad justificó la inversión', afirmó la municipalidad en un comunicado.El Teatro Popular, en un área construida de mil metros cuadrados, consta de un platea de 480 metros cuadrados y está en medio de una plaza de 17.000 metros cuadrados.El arquitecto concibió el escenario del teatro de forma que algunos espectáculos puedan ser vistos por un público de 350 personas sentadas y otras por un público de hasta 10.000 personas en la plaza.'El teatro exhibe las estructuras de concreto armado de Niemeyer que tanto influyeron en artistas, arquitectos y sociedades a lo largo del siglo XX. En él están las curvas, las sinuosidades de una arquitectura que abandona las líneas rectas y las antiguas concepciones constructivas', asegura la municipalidad al indicar que la obra resume la arquitectura de Niemeyer.'También cuenta con dibujos con el trazo inconfundible de su autor (una manifestación popular que agita banderas y una mujer que baila) estampados en dos paneles gigantes de cerámica', agrega.En la inauguración del teatro estarán presentes, además de Niemeyer, el alcalde de Niteroi, Godofredo Pinto, la ministra brasileña de Turismo, Marta Suplicy, y el antiguo titular de esa cartera y hoy ministro de Articulación Política, Walfrido Mares Guia.El teatro será inaugurado precisamente en el año en que Brasil conmemora con varias exposiciones y actos el centenario de su más famoso arquitecto, que será el 15 de diciembre próximo, y constituye el primer homenaje que le rendirá este año Niteroi, la ciudad con más obras de Niemeyer después de Brasilia.En Niteroi, además, aún están en construcción o en proyecto otras obras de Niemeyer, como la Fundación Oscar Niemeyer, el Memorial Roberto Silveira, el Museo Petrobras de Cine (que tiene la forma de un rollo de filme) y una Catedral.

fuente: http://actualidad.terra.es/cultura/articulo/niemeyer_arquitecto_inaugura_obra_dificil_1497854.htm

edificio Council House 2 en Melbourne

2008-02-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

La semana pasada publicamos el edificio Council House 2 en Melbourne, el cual fue distinguido por la Green Building Council of Australia por su alta capacidad de ahorro energético e implementación de tecnologías sustentables. La idea era mostrar un caso donde la Arquitectura se piensa desde una arista tanto de sustentabilidad como de ahorro de energia y recursos a largo plazo.
Debido a la dinámica que adoptó la discusión anterior, nos contactamos con Design Inc, coautores del proyecto en conjunto con la City of Melbourne, con el fin de compartir mayor información con Plataforma Arquitectura. De esta manera es posible apreciar la complejidad técnica y arquitectónica del edificio a través de imágenes, plantas, cortes y esquemas. Desde ya, muchas gracias Justin Cooney.
En las siguientes imágenes es posible apreciar las distintas elevaciones del edificios, donde los elementos a destacar son las turbinas verticales que funcionana como mecanismos reguladores de la temperatura del edificio. Luego encontramos una serie de imágenes que hablan de la relación con el primer piso y el espacio público, junto con 3 plantas que grafican la situación con la calle, un planta tipo de oficinas, y la comentada cubierta del post anterior.

fuente: http://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/2007/03/22/ch2-en-melbourne-arquitectura-sustentable-de-1a-mano-vol2/

Casa Ramos – San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante

2008-02-07T06:55:00.000-08:00

Daniel Carratalá / Lino Bellot – España

La Casa Ramos se emplaza en territorio austero y seco, en un terreno colonizado por el raspeig. Son dos cuerpos posados en el suelo, la casa en sí y la piscina.

Los grandes tableros de resina rojo carmín sustentados por una estructura de acero cubren parte de la terraza, arquetipo del habitar frente al mediterráneo. La terraza tenía que ser el espacio más amplio de la casa, capaz de acoger hasta las actividades más cotidianas. Para ello, la terraza contiene varios espacios, permite intimidad y también una fiesta, permite estar a cubierto o a la intemperie. La terraza es en sí la casa, con algunas habitaciones interiores a modo de apéndice en el mismo nivel y con la bodega escaleras abajo como en un barco.

COLIN’S HOUSE - VIVIENDA UNIFAMILIAR EN AIGUA XELIDA, GIRONA A DIEZ GRADOS SUR DE LONDRES

2008-01-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

Este proyecto es mucho más fácil de explicar que de entender. En arquitectura esto pasa muchas veces. La lógica del proyecto atiende a situaciones inesperadas, vertebradas como si fuera un hilo narrativo, una especie de corto cinematográfico. Una pequeña historia que en este caso acaba con final feliz; la casa por fin está acabada.
Existe una serie de requisitos previos en este proyecto fundamentales para entender el mismo. En según que universidades a eso se le llama el “Contexto”. En nuestro caso el contexto será el verdadero hilo narrativo del proyecto, la escritura con la que confeccionaremos el guión de la vivienda. Un solar “con_texto” implícito. Nuestro trabajo finalmente consistirá en estructurar el texto, la narración del lugar.
La localización del proyecto encierra casi directamente la solución al mismo.
1.- Solar alargado de 900m2. Por 1 lado linda a otra propiedad. Por los lados cortos linda con calles. Por el otro lado linda a un paso peatonal de 3mts. Que a su vez linda con un bosque de pinos protegidos que a su vez linda con el mar. Por suerte este último linde esta orientado a sur.
2.- La separación a lindes es la habitual en este tipo de proyectos excepto en el linde al paso peatonal: No existe separación.
3.- Sol, vistas y geometría están aliados en el mismo lado, el linde largo sobre el que descansa el paso peatonal.
4.- El Solar tiene una pendiente considerable aunque bastante constante. Aproximadamente un 10%.
5.- La normativa nos indica la idoneidad de una solución en cubierta inclinada.
6.- El cliente se involucra con el proyecto mediante un dossier espléndido de referencias “a priori”. Detectamos rápidamente que domina la cultura de la imagen, que responde a un perfil marcadamente hedonista. El vive y trabaja en Londres. Es inglés.

La descripción del proyecto es prácticamente la solución del mismo. No necesitamos en este caso de grandes estructuras conceptuales para soportar nuestras decisiones. La arquitectura será muy cruda, sin amaneramientos, sin salsas enmascaradoras. El solar es el proyecto... y poco más. No queremos intervenir más allá. El proyecto viene a ser como la receta del Sushi, ordenes tácticas, en vez de construcción de procesos. La única condición es ser estricto con las decisiones. No podemos dejarnos llevar por la autocomplacencia.
A.- Acceso a la cota –0.60 desde la calle superior. Entrada por garaje.
B.-La sala de estar se abre al paisaje, las vistas, el mar y el sol precisamente donde tenemos el paso peatonal. Por un lado haremos una gran ventana de 13x3 mts. Por otro lado deberemos elevar la cota de la sala de estar para evitar las miradas indiscretas.
C.- Un pasillo-escalera divide la vivienda en dos. Esta escalera de grandes rellanos permite subir 1,50mts hasta el nivel de la sala de estar y desde los rellanos se accede a las habitaciones en planta baja.
D.- Este pasillo-escalera no puede ser oscuro. Abriremos un patio en cada habitación. Serán fuente de luz natural, y crearán una fachada interior a la sala. Desde las habitaciones veremos los pinos.
E.- La vivienda se estructura en dos cuerpos: Sala de estar y cocina con la gran ventana y cuerpo de habitaciones con los baños. La fachada exterior de las habitaciones da a norte. Haremos unas ventanas a la altura del forjado pero será una gran pared ciega con apenas 4 ventanas alargadas. Como en el ayuntamiento prefieren cubierta inclinada cada cuerpo tendrá una cubierta inclinada hacia el interior de los patios. Cada cuerpo tiene su lógica estructural; El volumen de la sala de estar será de estructura metálica, cubierta de chapa, será un volumen ligero. Para la gran ventana hacemos una jácena metálica para evitar cualquier pilar en la abertura de 13x3mts. El otro cuerpo será pesado, forjados unidireccionales de hormigón y cerramientos en termoarcilla. El volumen se protege del Norte, acoge las habitaciones. Una parte de la casa esta expuesta, la otra esta recluida.
F.- Ahora toca decidir donde colocamos la piscina. Está claro que la piscina también es la casa. Debe de estar totalmente integrada en la casa. La subimos de cota respecto al terreno y la bajamos un poco desde la cota de sala de estar. Aún así la piscina vuela. El mar está muy cerca por lo que la piscina será pequeña. Decidimos finalmente hacer un único carril siguiendo el lado largo del solar, al igual que la casa. Es una piscina de 20mtsx2mts. Debido a la inclinación del solar la piscina quedara exenta por todas las caras. Una U de hormigón, una gran jácena de agua acabada con un cristal. La piscina queda suspendida en el aire, no hay más remedio.
La casa una vez explicada se entiende. Ahora si. Cada impedimento provoca una decisión arquitectónica. La arquitectura es tomar decisiones, apenas poco más. Una decisión al día es suficiente.
Ahora podemos hablar de naturalezas artificiales, de proyectos reactivos, de indisciplinas, de lógicas extremas. O también de sensaciones, imágenes poéticas y fenomenologías. Pero preferimos dejar estos temas para la universidad, para las conferencias o para clientes con ganas de escuchar.
Este proyecto para nosotros es sencillamente arquitectura cruda.

http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/colin_house.htm

“Private house near Moscow by Zaha Hadid”

2008-01-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

CLIENT: Capital HillARCHITECT: Design Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher; Project Architect [Initial Stage] Tetsuya Yamazaki; Project Team Mariana Ibanez, Daniel Fiser, Marco Vanucci, Lourdes Sanchez, Ebru SimsekStructural Engineering Ove Arup & Partners, EnkaThe project is located on a north-facing hillside in Barvikha, Russia, within the pine and birch forest where the trees can reach a height of 20m.
The programme of the villa is divided into two main components. The first, lower component is merged with the sloped landscape, while a separate volume floats, 22 meters above the ground to benefit from the panoramic views above the treetops of the Barvikha forest.
The form for the villa comes from the natural topography of the unique site. Adapting the fluid geometries described within the geology of the site and the organic forms of the forest’s vegetation, the building emerges from the landscape, remaining partially embedded in the hillside, in order to articulate the existing surroundings with the artificial landscape.
This concept of organic inter-articulation leads to an intricately layered spatial formation that presents itself as a unifi ed whole with each component referring to its local topography.
The general concept for the design of the villa responds to a strategy that extends the exterior topography to the interior of the building, while its geometrical definition is derived from the surrounding environment of flowing terrain levels that are stretched to generate the new landscape, proposing a continuous integration between interior and exterior spaces.
The program of the villa is organized vertically on four levels. The lower level is envisioned as leisure space with a living room, massage and fitness areas as well as sauna and steam rooms. One level up on the ground floor, the main living room, dining, kitchen, entertainment, indoor swimming room and car parking spaces are located.
The main entrance lobby, study/library, guest room and children’s room are on the first floor, while the master bedrooms and a lounge with exterior terrace occupy the upper level.
The two main components of the house are articulated by three ‘legs’. These concrete columns establish a strong dialogue between both levels whilst also functioning as the primary structural elements of the villa. Between these columns are the vertical shafts required to place all mechanical elements and services connecting to the upper level.
The vertical circulation of the house - a transparent glass elevator and staircase - are also incorporated between these columns, providing a direct connection between the lower and the upper levels.
The main entrance to the house is located on the first floor. Within this grand entrance, the three concrete columns intersect the main roof, introducing slices for skylights and a double-height space.
The views from the living room are continued from beyond the grand staircase in the entrance lobby, are framed by double-curvature, in-situ cast concrete structures. These concrete structures serve both a structural purpose as well as dividing the main living room, dining room and indoor swimming pool. The major materials proposed for this project are pre-cast and in-situ cast concrete, steel and glass. To give the interior spaces a sense of fluid continuity, these materials are repeated throughout the villa.

http://www.dezeen.com/2007/03/18/private-house-near-moscow-by-zaha-hadid/

Lorcan O’Herlihy - Gardner 1050

2008-01-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

Gardner 1050 es uno de los trabajos de Lorcan O’Herlihy relacionado con el abordaje del problema habitacional plurifamiliar. En un momento en que se replantean las estrategias de organización urbana en L.A., la unidad unifamiliar de habitación comienza a hacerse una comodidad poco accesible. En este cuadro de tipología urbana, el proyecto forma parte de ese boom de complejos multi-unit, afirmándose por la conjugación de relaciones innovadoras a través de materiales comunes. Detalles y más imágenes en Abarriga De Um Arquitecto y archnewsnow.

http://arkinetia.blogspot.com/2007/03/lorcan-oherlihy-gardner-1050.html

Alexander Gorlin Architects – EE.UU. - Chicago Townhouse

2008-01-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

La casa flota por detrás del muro que separa un jardín privado de la acera, y está enmarcada por casas típicas del lugar a ambos lados. Una espectacular escalera lateral conduce directamente al corazón de la vivienda desde la calle -medio nivel arriba- donde está el living, el comedor y la cocina. En la misma línea, otra escalera sube hasta el dormitorio principal, que está literalmente suspendido sobre el living.

Otra escalera, debajo de la anterior, une la zona del comedor con los dos dormitorios que se encuentran medio nivel por debajo de la calle.El nivel principal tiene dos dobles alturas al frente y al contrafrente; el dormitorio principal balconea a ambos. La escalera que une estos dos niveles separa el volumen del dormitorio respecto de la medianera. Todo esto crea la ilusión de un único gran espacio.Desde el nivel de la suite, mediante otra escalera enlazada con las anteriores, se accede a una terraza que mira al contrafrente.

http://arkinetia.com/Articulos/art311.aspx

Asphalt Spot by R&Sie

2008-01-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

http://www.dezeen.com/2007/03/11/asphalt-spot-by-rsie/

Polonia: Ampliación del Museo de Arte Moderno de Poznan

2008-01-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

A roof top extension by London based architect Claudio Silvestrin to the National Modern Art Museum of Poznan in Poland, providing access to the newly converted into gallery space on the top floor of the museum. The building arrangement expresses the contemporary and future architectures clearly identifying the three construction dates of the museum 1900, 1976 and 2006.

http://architechnophilia.blogspot.com/2007/03/roof-top-extension-by-london-based.html

Faustino Winery by Foster + Partners

2008-01-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

Architects Foster + Partners have designed a winery for Spanish wine producer Faustino Group.

The design, for a trefoil structure in the Ribera del Duero wine region, was launched in Madrid today.

Below is the press release and a project description:

Designs for a new winery for the Faustino Group launched
Foster + Partners have unveiled designs for a new winery for the Faustino Group, 150km north of Madrid in the Ribera del Duero, one of Spain’s foremost wine-producing regions. Form follows function to striking effect, with the complex processes rationalised to create the optimum conditions for wine production.
The material palette of oak, steel and glass relates to the production of wine, itself. Visible from one of the main arteries in the country that links Madrid to Bilbao; the winery will be a new symbol for the group, establishing their new brand, Bodegas Portia.
Reminiscent of the naturally undulating topography of the site, a road climbs to the roof of the building, enabling the harvested grapes to be poured straight down into the hopper, where the wine production process begins. The building’s unusual trefoil design is the logical result of a rationalisation of the wine making process into its three core functions. Using gravity to aid movement of the wine within the building, the circulation between the functions is seamless - maximising efficiency and minimising damage to the grapes and wine at their various stages of preparation.
The different needs for each stage - the fermentation in steel vats, ageing in oak barrels and finally, ageing in bottles - dictate the three distinct volumes of the building which are controlled by an operations hub at the core. The wings which house the barrels and bottle cellar are partly sunken below ground, providing the most favourable conditions for ageing the wine, while the fermentation wing is exposed, allowing carbon dioxide to be released.
Partly buried within the landscape, the visible impact of the building is reduced and the passive environmental benefits are maximised, as the concrete structure uses thermal mass to control the internal atmosphere. The building is clad in tiles of earth-toned Corten steel, which further enhances a sense of harmony with the dramatic landscape. The design also incorporates photovoltaic cells on the roof, thus lessening the environmental impact.
A slim line of day-light in the wings of the vast spaces of the winery delineates the ground level, to aid orientation for both visitors and employees. The main visitor facilities are located at the heart of the building, overlooking the operations hub with access to the public areas on glazed mezzanine levels extending to each wing and to the wine tasting in the café and restaurant. Lined with deep-stained old wine barrel slats, they are evocative of the rich tradition of winemaking in the region.
The winery will open in time to process the first harvest of 1.2m kilos of grapes in December 2007.
–
Faustino Winery, Gumiel de Izan, Ribera del Duero, Spain 2004-2007
Client: Faustino SL
Location: 150km north of Madrid on the main traffic route connecting the major cities in Spain, in the Ribera del Duero region, one of Spain’s foremost wine producing areas
Construction: 2006 – December 2007
Net area: 11,300m²
Building type: Winery for the elaboration of one million bottles of red wine per year
Concept: Trefoil plan that reflects the principal process stages. Elaboration, ageing in barrels and ageing in bottles. The two volumes housing the ageing processes are buried in a natural slope in order to be accessible by lorries from above and to make use of the thermal mass. Operational support and visitors facilities are strategically located in the centre of the building with the public areas on a mezzanine level. Restaurant with view of the landscape
Height: 10.5m at the highest point at the centre
Dimensions: Each individual volume is 54 x 37 metres
Structure: Concrete structure with pre-cast elements where the structure is exposed and in situ cast concrete where the structure is buried underground, i.e. retaining walls. The difference between the concrete will be visibly marked by a fine line of light for visitor orientation
Materials: Simple materials used in a winery: steel, glass, wood The public zones will be clad in the burgundy-coloured wooden slats of the barrels.
Energy: The partly buried structure maximises its thermal mass to maintain a constant internal environment and the optimal thermal conditions for the bottles and barrels. The wing where the tanks are housed is naturally ventilated to allow CO2 to escape during the fermentation process.
Photovoltaics have been incorporated into the design on the roof, spreading over the three wings to maximise the surface for capturing energy.

http://www.dezeen.com/2007/05/24/faustino-winery-by-foster-partners/

Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid, Neutelings Riedijk architects

2008-01-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

HILVERSUM, the Netherlands — It’s almost daunting to note how many young architectural talents are flourishing today in the Netherlands. If Rem Koolhaas, the profession’s reigning intellectual prince, casts a long shadow, it’s clear that plenty of emerging architects have managed to assert strong creative voices of their own.

Willem Jan Neutelings and Michiel Riedijk stand out from the usual Koolhaas clones. Still relatively unknown in the United States, their firm has steadily built a reputation in Europe for bold designs that draw on everything from primitive temples to comic-book illustration and the decorative ephemera of Andy Warhol. They also have something as rare in architectural circles as raw talent: a sense of humor.
The completion of their Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision here can only elevate their status. Wrapped in a luxurious skin of colorful cast-glass panels, it is their most gorgeous work to date. Yet beneath the glittering surfaces they have fashioned a serious critique of a world saturated in advertising and marketing images, and reaffirmed architecture’s heroic stature.
A leafy suburban hamlet southeast of Amsterdam, Hilversum is best known as the center of the Dutch television industry. Yet it has quietly amassed an impressive array of architectural works. The folded concrete forms of the Villa VPRO, the offices of a private broadcast authority designed by the Dutch firm MVRDV, are visible from a distance; Willem Marinus Dudok’s low, graceful brick town hall, a landmark of early-20th-century Modernism, is a short drive away.
The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, the home of the national broadcasting archives, was conceived as a perfect cube, half of it buried underground. In addition to the archives and offices, it houses a museum, making it a new cultural focal point for the city.
Standing on an isolated lot flanked by a small garden, its glowing glass shell recalls the translucent exterior of Gordon Bunshaft’s 1963 Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale . Like many architects of their generation, Mr. Neutelings and Mr. Riedijk have been heavily influenced by postwar architects like Bunshaft: the brutal directness of his buildings carries particular appeal when so much architecture is corrupted by fairy-tale images straight from Disney. Both buildings are taut, confident structures. But Mr. Neutelings and Mr. Riedijk’s building is rooted in pop culture rather than in the ethos of postwar corporate America.
Conceived in collaboration with the 65-year-old artist Jaap Drupsteen, the structure’s panels are imprinted with famous images from Dutch television: the justice minister riding his bicycle, say, or Johan Cruyff scoring a goal. Using computer technology, Mr. Drupsteen ran the images together and baked them into the glass.
The effect is mesmerizing. The images are only barely discernible from certain angles, as if the building were imprinted with the faint traces of shared memories. But the exterior facades are also a sly critique of contemporary culture. The blur of images conveys the daily bombardment from the Internet, television, movies and newspapers, yet here they seem frozen in time, as if temporarily tamed.
Inside the building that tranquillity gives way to a comic-book version of Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” with strict divisions between various worlds. Visitors enter via an internal bridge that crosses over an underground atrium. From here, a vast hall conceived on the scale of a piazza leads to a cafeteria overlooking the calm surface of a reflecting pool. On one side of the hall looms the ziggurat form of the museum; on the other, a wall of glass-enclosed offices. Here the spectral glow of the interior of the cast-glass skin evokes the stained-glass windows of a medieval cathedral.
It’s a stunning space whose power lies in the contrast between the various architectural experiences within. Clad in cold gray slate, for instance, the underground atrium is a striking counterpoint to the heavenly glass walls above. Mr. Neutelings and Mr. Riedijk call the atrium their “inferno.” It also evokes a tomb: big, square openings are cut through the atrium’s walls, revealing a series of corridors painted a hellish red. The archives are tucked behind these corridors, where researchers and scholars, you suppose, toil away with the concentration of monks.
Neither fiery nor blissful, the offices are something closer to purgatory. Arranged in neat little rows, they open onto long, narrow corridors that overlook the bustling main hall. The office interiors are more contemplative, the colored cast-glass panels alternating with more conventional strip windows. The colored glass emits a soft glow that is strangely soothing.
But the true inferno, in visual terms, is the museum. Mr. Neutelings and Mr. Riedijk set the entry stairs off to one side of the main hall, as if they were trying to avoid it. There are hints of the architects’ presence inside: the walls of the museum auditorium are covered in an elegant, diamond-shaped pattern, and two small openings pierce the darkness at the top of the stairs to the museum’s upper floors, offering sudden glimpses of the colorful glass skin.
But the architects had no control over the design of the exhibitions, and what little architecture there is here is completely overwhelmed by a nauseating mix of interactive installations, reproductions of stage sets and tchotchkes from old Dutch television shows. The effect is cringe-inducing.
Like many architects, Mr. Neutelings and Mr. Riedijk are struggling to come to terms with a society that is on the verge of being completely consumed by global advertising and marketing images. More often than not, architecture is becoming a tool of those interests.
By sealing off these competing forces in distinct worlds and then juxtaposing them, the architects have subtly reasserted the dignity of the public realm, while providing a potent commentary on where our culture is heading.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/arts/design/26visi.html?_r=3&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Casa en Ranón - Ecosistemaurbano - España

2008-01-09T06:31:00.001-08:00

La estructura de la casa es de acero y madera, en una arquitectura reciclable y fácil de de construir. Dos tipos de madera fueron usados: pino y Duglas fir. Las piezas de cortes diversos ordenados en forma aleatoria dan a la cáscara un aspecto rústico, natural, de corteza de árbol que integra la arquitectura al paisaje.

La geometría y orientación han sido estudiadas y generadas en función del clima local y del asoleamiento durante todo el día. Las paredes de madera miran al sur, y la doble altura interior está acristalada para controlar la temperatura. La cara norte está protegida por un espacio exterior cobijado por una tapia de madera. Los espacios interiores son flexibles: en la planta baja un único espacio puede ser dividido según las necesidades; la planta alta puede ser usada como una gran suite o bien dividida en tres dormitorios.

http://arkinetia.com/Breves/art456.aspx

Las casas prefabricadas de Rogers

2008-01-09T06:24:00.000-08:00

El arquitecto británico Richard Rogers, recientemente ganador del premio Pritzker, ha producido en colaboración con el promotor británico George Wimpey, una serie de casas basadas en elementos prefabricados que tienen como principal objetivo reducir los costes de construcción, reflejandose estos en el coste final de la vivienda.
Su diseño flexible, permite a los propietarios elegir entre diferentes acabados interiores, cambiar la distribución en función de las necesidades gracias a las paredes móviles y añadir nuevos módulos prefabricados.
Uno de los componentes clave de estas construcciones es lo que sus desarrolladores han llamado “EcoHat”, un sistema que permite la reutilización del aire caliente para optimizar el consumo de energía.
El sector de las casas prefabricadas es tremendamente popular en Estados Unidos y tiene un buer mercado en Escandinavia, pero sin embargo no goza de mucha popularidad en el resto de Europa.

Poco a poco este tipo de viviendas se van abriendo hueco por unas razones o por otras, en este caso por la iniciativa y el impulso gubernamental. Debido a las cada vez mayores dificultades que plantea el mercado inmobiliario para los jóvenes de Reino Unido, las autoridades han decidido experimentar con nuevos esquemas al tiempo que se recurre a arquitectos de primera linea en este desarrollo (Oxley Park) que se ubicará en la ciudad de Milton Keynes, al noroeste de Londres.

Es probable que el sector residencial protegido comience a recurrir a este tipo de construcciones de una forma cada vez más generalizada, no solo en Reino Unido, sino también en el resto de Europa.

http://urbanity.blogsome.com/2007/05/16/oxley-woods-milton-keynes-uk-rogers-stirk-harbour-partners/

Jebel Al Jais Mountain Resort, OMA

2008-01-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Live from Dubai: here are some images of Jebel Al Jais Mountain Resort - a tourist village on a mountain in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah designed by Rem Koolhaas of Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

The project, which consists of elements including an inhabited dam, an inhabited bridge and a vertical village built into a cliff, is one of a string of schemes OMA are working on in the United Arab Emirates - including the RAK Convention Centre at Ras Al Khaimah - and which Koolhaas presented at the International Design Forum in Dubai this weekend.

Images courtesy of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).

There are more images of this project on OMA’s website.
>> see more architectural project in the Persian Gulf on our Google map.
A statement from OMA follows:
—
Jebel al Jais Mountain Resort
Location: Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Client: Rakeen Development
Site: Gateway City, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Program: Mixed Use: Covention and Exhibition Centre, Hotels, Offices, Residential, Shopping, Restaurants
Status: Concept Phase
Once the idea of the resort was to provide a momentary escape from everyday hardships; an earthly preview of paradise for temporary consumption…but now in the UAE, where the resort has become the ubiquitous condition, everywhere and ever present, it is the resort itself that is beginning to inspire escape.
The mountain resort of Ras Al Kaimah present a spectacular natural setting. To enter the rugged landscape of these mountains still feels like breaking new ground.
The surge of a new tourism in the form of survival trips, discovery tours and eco-expeditions signals a renewed hunger for long lost dangers; a re-appreciation of some of the more unpredicatible, now necessarily welcoming aspects of nature.
Rather than domesticating these barren slopes into the standard environment of the traditional resort, this project aims to create a resort that exploits their true natural conditions.
The proposed resort consists of a number of different individual parts, linked like a string of pearls by the new Jebel al Jais road.
These include the terraced resort, modern villas, the wedge building, outcrop, pixel villas, vertical city, the dam, the bridge, the cantilever building and the cliff villas.
Each part represents a different urban solution to inhabiting the mountains, providing various degrees of concentration and density. Each part also offers its own specific way of preserving the integrity of the landscape.

http://www.dezeen.com/2007/05/28/jebel-al-jais-mountain-resort-by-oma/

Edificio de 68 viviendas de protección oficial en Zaragoza

2008-01-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

El proyecto desarrolla un programa residencial de viviendas de protección oficial, de diversos tipos y superficies, en un edificio longitudinal de cuatro plantas alzadas, escalonado en tres tramos para adaptarse a la pendiente del emplazamiento. La situación del solar, en el límite sur entre la ciudad construida y el territorio, y su acusada dimensión longitudinal, configuran una pieza de borde urbano que responde de manera distinta a las evidentes diferencias en las condiciones del entorno. La orientación del edificio apoya la idea de contraste entre el exterior cerrado y masivo, orientado hacia el norte, y el interior, quebrado y abierto hacia el sur y las vistas.
Las unidades de vivienda participan de esta doble orientación, con los dormitorios hacia la calle, al norte, y las estancias de día, estares y cocinas, hacia el espacio interior ajardinado, al sur. La banda de servicios ocupa una posición central que permite la doble circulación a su alrededor, así como la ampliación de visuales en el interior de la vivienda, aportando una mayor sensación de amplitud para su reducida superficie.
Exteriormente, el edificio presenta una configuración cerrada, opaca, buscando una adecuada y silenciosa integración en el entorno inmediato -un conjunto de viviendas sociales de los años sesenta-. Las fachadas exteriores, de ladrillo blanco, siguen las alineaciones normativas. Un zócalo en planta baja de paneles de hormigón resuelve el encuentro del edificio con la pendiente inclinada de la acera.
En los puntos donde el edificio se recorta en altura para adaptarse a la pendiente, y en el final del bloque, se sitúan los porches o zaguanes de acceso, de amplias dimensiones, que comunican la vía pública con el espacio interior ajardinado, que contiene los accesos a las viviendas. Este espacio interior intermedio, zona de acceso, encuentro y relación, crea una secuencia entre el espacio público y el privado. Las diferencias de cotas, tanto en los accesos como en el patio interior, dada la pendiente del solar, se resuelven mediante planos inclinados de suave pendiente y rampas de acceso a los portales.
Sobre el espacio interior, el edificio se caracteriza por una serie de paños quebrados definidos por una poligonal. Las distintas directrices de la fachada y las posiciones variables de los paneles correderos de lamas de aluminio, en función de su posible uso frente a la cocina o al estar, dotan a la fachada de movimiento y un aspecto cambiante a lo largo del día.

Ficha técnica
Arquitecto: MAGÉN ARQUITECTOS (Jaime Magén)
Arquitectos colaboradores: Francisco J. Magén.
Promotor: Sociedad Municipal de Rehabilitación Urbana de Zaragoza.
Aparejadores: Fernando Bardavío, Felisa Sánchez, Miguel A. Romero y Adrián Zorraquino
Situación: Calle Biescas 15-29. Zaragoza
Superficie construida total: 8.397 m2
Presupuesto: PEM 3.715.254,15 €
Empresa Constructora: Construcciones Galve y Gil.
Jefe de obra: Zorba Shabaro
Concurso: 2002
Proyecto: 2003
Construcción: 2004-2006
Fotógrafo: Roland Halbe
Premios:Bauwelt Prize 2007. Primer Premio. Categoría: Vivienda ColectivaPremio Accesibilidad 2006 COA Aragón. Primer Premio Obra Construída.Seleccionado en el Concurso Nacional de Ideas sobre las experiencias de cambio y las tipologías de futuro de la Vivienda Social y la Vivienda de Protección Oficial en España. Propuestas construidas o proyectadas en los últimos cinco años. CSCAE, 2003

http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/68-vpo-zaragoza.htm

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - Steven Holl

2008-01-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 31 — Working on theoretical proposals and the occasional house commission, Steven Holl emerged as a rare, original talent in the 1980s. The strength of his vision was rooted in a desire to reconnect architecture to the physical world — the shifting nature of light, the reflective surfaces of water, the texture of materials — and an atavistic love of craft.

He went on to design plenty of good buildings, like Simmons Hall, with its porous steel-grid facade, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the angular forms of the art school at the University of Iowa. But missing was the kind of project that cements an architect’s place in the pantheon: a building in which his special gifts, the full support of a client and the qualities of a site magically fuse into a near-perfect work.
The waiting is over. Mr. Holl’s breathtaking addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, opening here on June 9, is his most mature work to date, a perfect synthesis of ideas that he has been refining for more than a decade. By subtly interweaving his building with the museum’s historic fabric and the surrounding landscape, he has produced a work of haunting power.
For the art world, the addition, known as the Bloch Building, should reaffirm that art and architecture can happily coexist. The rest of us can draw comfort from the fact that public works of our own day and age can equal or surpass the grand achievements of past generations.
The imposing south facade of the old Nelson-Atkins Museum is a testament to the scale of America’s civic ambitions in the 1930s, when the effects of the City Beautiful movement could still be felt. Overlooking a series of terraces that step down to meet a gently sloping lawn, its colonnade of Ionic columns suggests a great temple to art, distant and unapproachable.
When the museum opened a design competition for an expansion in 1999, most architects treated this south facade as sacred and inviolate. Rather than disturb the symmetry of the plan, they proposed placing the addition on the museum’s north side, where they variously envisioned a big contemporary box in a range of styles. Only Mr. Holl proposed setting his addition on the side, creating a series of glass blocks that continues from a new public plaza on the north end to frame one edge of a long, rolling sculpture park at the south.
The result is a building that doesn’t challenge the past so much as suggest an alternate worldview that is in constant shift. Seen from the north plaza, the addition’s main entrance gently defers to the old building, the crystalline form suggesting a ghostlike echo of the austere stone facade. From there, the eye is drawn to the distinct yet interconnected translucent blocks, which are partly buried in the landscape.
Mr. Holl refers to the blocks as “lenses” that draw light into the galleries. To understand their beauty, you must experience them over the course of a day, or preferably through the shifting seasons. When I first saw them from the park at dusk, they radiated light, and in their own way seemed as imposing as the limestone facade of the old 1930s building.
The next morning, the glass forms had picked up the moodiness of the passing clouds. Depending on the angle from which they were viewed, their surfaces shimmered or turned a cool blue, so that they seemed to fade into the sky.
But as beautiful as the lenses are, there is more at work here than visual games. The lenses are only the most visible part of a rambling underground world that is enveloped by the park. The south park actually rises up over the roof of the galleries, helping to frame a series of small sculpture courts between the glass boxes. People can stroll freely onto the rooftop courtyards, wander back down into the galleries, or navigate a staircase between the old and new buildings to the upper plaza.
This freedom of movement adds to the sense of discovery, and it is reinforced by the museum’s policy of free admission, uncommon among the nation’s ever hungrier art institutions. This allowed Mr. Holl to create various entrance points into the building. The relaxed ease of entering fosters a sense that the museum and the artworks inside it belong to everyone, not to a privileged set of connoisseurs. (New York museums, take note.)

The flow of bodies moving through the rooms is balanced with moments of stillness. The main lobby, for example, a long, narrow, three-story atrium crisscrossed by ramps that lead down into the galleries, prompts visitors to reflect on their choices. As you descend, you can follow a slow-paced sequence through the galleries or proceed down a long, shifting ramp with carefully framed views of the park and the old museum building. You can bypass some galleries and re-enter the sequence at any time without sacrificing a sense of clarity.

Mr. Holl compares the experience to reading a 17th-century Chinese scroll painting, a narrative that requires a constant shift in your perspective as the drawing unfolds. The subtle shifts in the relationship to the ground outside instill a sense of weightlessness, so that you are constantly reorienting yourself within the landscape.
But by creating alternate routes and slowing the pace through the galleries, Mr. Holl also prepares visitors for the encounter with art. Because you do not feel as if you are being herded through the galleries by an invisible hand, you tend to take your time in turning from one work to another. (The museum’s holdings range from Chinese paintings, sculpture and ceramics to the Hallmark Photographic Collection.)
As you near the end of the sequence of galleries, you can turn and gaze back up through a window at the facade of the old building across the park, which has never looked more gorgeous. It’s a generous gesture to the past, one that ingeniously punctuates the space.
But none of this would really matter, in the end, if it weren’t for the quality of the light. This has long been a contentious issue in museum design. Despite recent advances in glass technology that block most of the harmful ultraviolet rays, most conservators remain leery about the damage that light can inflict on artworks. One result, more often than not, is a cautious evenness in exposure that can grow monotonous.
Mr. Holl solves this problem by varying the height of his galleries from 27 to 34 feet. This allows for architectural spaces enlivened by shifting natural light. Big, curved panels inside the lenses funnel a mix of northern and southern sunlight down into the galleries, so that you are aware of the passing of a cloud or a bit of thunder. A few carefully placed spotlights meanwhile focus attention on the paintings.
Mr. Holl has often talked about the desire to imbue his buildings with poetry. Here he has done something more: He has created a building that sensitizes visitors to the world all around them. It’s an approach that should be studied by anyone who sets out to design a museum from this point forward.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/arts/design/06nels.html?ex=1338782400&en=d08768badf28ba33&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

TNA Architects - Ring House, Karuizawa

2008-01-09T06:04:00.000-08:00

Los arquitectos Tabei-Nabeshina han diseñado una sorprendente mini-torre dentro de una urbanización en la ciudad de Karuizawa, cerca de Tokio. Ring House está envuelta por anillos de cristal y madera que permiten una vista del bosque de 360º de modo que toda la casa parece disolverse en el entorno y conjugar las áreas de espacio privado y las de servicios. La altura de cada anillo se decidió de acuerdo al espacio que quedaba detrás, mostrando u ocultando en función de la privacidad. El cristal entre los anillos permite ver el bosque. Construida en Owner's Hill, un lugar de vacaciones en el bosque Karuizawa, Ring House ocupa uno de los cientos de solares que disponen los habitantes de la ciudad para construir sus casas de fin de semana. Ver en Worldarchitecturenews.

http://arkinetia.blogspot.com/2007/06/tna-architects-ring-house-karuizawa.html

2008-01-08T18:06:00.001-08:00

East Beach Cafe by Thomas Heatherwick

2008-01-08T17:14:00.000-08:00

East Beach Cafe, a seafront structure designed by Thomas Heatherwick, opens in Littlehampton, England next week.

Here are the first photos of the completed building, taken by Steve Speller.

For more information and construction images, see our previous posts here and here. Plus design critic Stephen Bayley wrote about East Beach Cafe in The Observer newspaper yesterday.

http://www.dezeen.com/2007/06/11/east-beach-cafe-by-thomas-heatherwick/

PREFAB FRIDAY: ESPACE MOBILE

2008-01-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

June 29, 2007
PREFAB FRIDAY: ESPACE MOBILEby Emily
From the Austrian countryside, the hills are alive, with the sound of…. prefab! Salzburg-based Espace Mobile has recently debuted their very eye-catching, very affordable prefabricated line of customizable homes, ranging from €55,000 to €95,000. The concept behind Espace is the individual “at home” in a natural environment, designed for modular customization with the best materials for long lifetimes and flexibility.

The Espace home is as customizable as your next automobile purchase, allowing you to pick and choose from a variety of features- everything from size and configuration to roofing, balcony, and interior material options. The structure is also optimized for energy conservation and heat retention (and comes with a 3-year warranty!). Sizes are a standard 4 meters wide, ranging from 7 to 15 meters long. Now if only we owned an acre or two in the uber-green Austrian countryside!

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/29/prefab-friday-espace-mobile/

VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron

2008-01-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Construction work is due to start in September on VitraHaus, a new showroom at the Vitra Campus at Weil am Rhein in Germany.

Designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, it will be the latest architectural addition at the furniture brand’s extensive HQ complex, which already features buildings by Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando and more (see aerial montage above; VitraHaus appears bottom right).

Herzog & de Meuron, who are located in nearby Basel, have based their design on the local standard house typology extruded and stacked in an irregular pile. Below is a photo of the model we took at the Vitra Campus last month.

Below is a project description provided by Herzog & de Meuron:
–
No. 294
VitraHaus
Weil am Rhein, Germany
2006 –, planned completion 2009
Over the past few years Vitra has aquired a wide-ranging Home Collection. The quantity and variety of objects by many different designers led to the idea of building a showroom to present the items to the public. There would also be additional space to be used as an exhibition venue for selected parts of the collection or even as an extension of the Vitra Museum itself. A shop, a cafe linked to the outside and conference rooms complete the program.
The “VitraHaus“ is a direct, architectural rendition of the ur-type of house, as found in the immediate vicinity of Vitra and, indeed, all over the world. The products that will be on display are designed primarily for the private home and, as such, should not be presented in the neutral atmosphere of the conventional hall or museum but rather in an environment suited to their character and use.
By stacking, extruding and pressing – mechanical procedures used in industrial production – simply shaped houses become complex configurations in space, where outside and inside merge. The interior is designed as a spatial sequence with surprising transitions and views of the landscape. The landscape in all its variety – the idyllic Tüllinger Hills, the broad expanse of the railroad tracks, and the urbanized plane of the Rhine – was the incentive to design a building that concentrates on the vertical. In contrast to the other buildings on the Vitra Campus, an essential component of the design involved drawing the outdoors inside.
The anticipated increase in visitors – not only individuals but also many schools and other groups – gave added importance to benches, niches, covered waiting zones and entries. These areas for sitting, standing, waiting, and looking are stamped or cut out of the shape of the houses through simple mechanical manipulations. Given the large number of design objects on view inside, all of these areas are conceived as an integral part of the architecture and not as self-contained objects.
Herzog & de Meuron, 2006Translation by Catherine Schelbert
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http://www.dezeen.com/2007/07/01/vitrahaus-by-herzog-de-meuron/

Sakura house, Meguro, Tokio - Japón / MOUNT FUJI ARCHITECTS STUDIO

2008-01-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

The site is situated in an area where land costs are among the highest in Tokyo.The area is typically cluttered, like most residential areas in downtown Tokyo.It is hard to say that quality of living environment deserves the price of land.
I felt that creating a better living environment was a top priority upon squeezing in yet another house into this neighborhood.What came to my mind were the two classic ‘Glass Houses’ by Mies and Philip Johnson.The sense of freedom and openness that makes us want to walk naked inside these houses surely owes to the transparency of the glass itself, but it is the fact that the buildings are surrounded by a pleasant environment –the forest– that counts the most.Since ‘the forest’ itself already provides a comfortable living environment, it is left for the architecture to separate internal to external atmospheres with thin, transparent membranes.They clealy demonstrate that as long as there is an environment suitable for living, a ‘house’ is no more necessary.
What I looked to create here was a presence that would replace this ‘forest’.
More precisely, I attempted to generate a quality living environment by placing two large, swirled belt-shaped surfaces on the premises.The pair consists of self-standing walls measuring 7.5 m and 5 m high respectively, made of lace-like steel 3 mm thick that filters light like sunshine through foliage, with holes punched out in a floral pattern depicting cherry blossoms, a traditional Ise paper stencil pattern.
As we make our way into the abstracted forest of cherry blossoms, we are greeted by an ‘environment filled with “anticipation” for a living comfort.’ There, nothing can be found that suggests a ‘setup’ of a ‘house‘. The place is a pure ‘living environment’ and is neither a symbol called ‘house’ nor a ‘residential area’.

Credits
Title: Sakura house
Architects: Masahiro Harada , Mao Harada / MOUNT FUJI ARCHITECTS STUDIO
Function: atelier
Function: Private Residence
Location: MEGURO,TOKYO,JAPAN,2006
Site area:131.41m2
Building area:75.43m2
Total floor area:279.58m2
Structural system: reinforced concrete partly steel frame , stainless panel
Major materials: stainless panel, mortal, exterior; white mortal, chestnut flooring, interior

http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/sakura-house.htm

Clover House

2008-01-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

A housing land development ground and the existing retaining wall were excavated to create space with double-height in the basement, and, in addition, a flat glass box was layered on the ground to accommodate the house space to dwell. It has been proved that excavate techniques enables spaces to be free-formed. A cloverleaf hall with 4.6 meters ceiling height is a common space for the family, and following this space, some laterally excavated spaces lies, which looks like Yaodong, Chinese traditional underground houses, and the each space functions as a private room for study and kitchen and bathroom.
Three loft alcoves on the ground level are private bedrooms. It means that the relationship between the shape of three clusters in the basement and of bedrooms on the ground level in reversal as negatives and positives. Each bedroom relates to the exterior space. For example, loft-2 relaxes narrowness of the floor in hard numbers by projecting an adjacent retaining wall at the north side as a screen. Moreover, one can approach directly to their own bedrooms through the outside stairs.
çIn structure, a matter of great interest is how to resist sliding caused by earth pressure of adjacent lots on the north and east side. Nine millimeters thickness iron plate is used as both a mold and finishing material. The mold is filled with cement so that resistance to the pressure is gravitationally solved.
The iron plate used for the finishing side was prefabricated dividing it into 16 blocks, and all of the joints were merged into each other to completely weld so that the plate itself wound be an effective water proved layer.
Katsuhiro Miyamoto

Credits
Project Name: CLOVER HOUSE
Architects: principal-in-charge: Katsuhiro Miyamoto / Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates - project team: Isamu Tamaishi / Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates
Collaborator: Masahiro Miyake / y+M design office
Structural engineering: Masaichi Taguchi / TAPS
Contractor: General contractor: Kohatsu Steel construction: Nakamitsu Kenko , Mukai Tekkojo
Character of space: House
Client: Toshio Iwasaki
Each Floor Area: basement floor: 56.01m2 first floor: 20.18m2
Total Floor Area: 76.19m2
Building Area: 46.95m2
Site Area: 117.44m2
Principal Materials: exterior: steel plate, calcium silicate boar, interior: steel plate, mortar, polyvinyl chloride flooring sheet
Principal Structure: steel plate, reinforced concrete, steel frame
Location: Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan

http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/especiales/clover-house.htm

The Glass Pavilion of the Toledo Museum of Art by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, SANAA

2008-01-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.iwan.com/photo_a-SANAA_Toledo_Glass_Pavilion.php

Zaha Hadid completes her Serpentine pre-pavilion – images

2008-01-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

The first pictures of Hadid's installation for the Serpentine Gallery
Hadid's pre-pavilion, designed as a stopgap after the main pavilion scheme by architect Kjetil Thorsen and artist Olafur Eliasson was delayed by two weeks, will host the gallery's summer fundraising party tonight.
Designed as an open air space rising 5.5 m, it consists of three identical tensile fabric structures or parasols arrayed around a central point. Each parasol develops sculpturally from a small articulated base to a large cantilevered diamond shape.
Taking inspiration from complex natural geometries such as flower petals and leaves, the three parasols overlap to create the pavilion's complex symmetry - interweaving all-the-while without touching, allowing air, light and sound to travel through narrow gaps. The result is a space that feels both open and enclosed.
In these photographs, taken last night, continuous lighting around each base throws light up the fabric surfaces along thin seams which radiate about the parasols, acting like corseting or the veining of flowers, to highlight the geometric intricacy of the pavilion
Hadid's installation will be used to host the gallery's summer fundraising party this evening (July 11) while Thorsen and Eliasson's pavilion will be assembled in August and remain in place until November
Hadid was the third architect to be involved in this year’s Serpentine pavilion project. Originally the pavilion was to be designed by German architect and engineer Frei Otto, but this fell through in March after it became clear his designs were over-ambitious.

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=725&storycode=3091134&c=1&encCode=000000000135118b

THE NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

2008-01-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

INSPIRATIONBOOKS ARE FOR PEOPLE AS WINGS ARE FOR BIRDS
JOHN RUSKINI ALWAYS VISUALIZE PARADISE AS A LIBRARY NEVER AS A GARDEN
JORGE LUIS BORGESIN A WELL SELECTED LIBRARY WE ARE LIKE IN ETERNITY
T. G. MASARYKBOOK IS A GARDEN FOR YOUR POCKET
ARAB PROVERBREADING - THE WAY TO THE ART
POLISH PROVERB LIBRARYJUST A FEW YEARS AGO THE BOOK WAS DECLARED DEAD WITH SUCH CONFIDENCE AND FINALITY THAT NO ARGUMENT SEEMED POSSIBLE. IT'S APREDICTION THAT, AS WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, WAS AS FLAWED AND SHALLOW AS THE ALLEGED END OF HISTORY THAT ACCOMPANIED THE CLOSING STAGES OF THE COLD WAR. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS ABOUT THE IDEA OF A LIBRARY THAT ARE SO FUNDAMENTAL THAT THEY DON’T NEED TO BE REINVENTED. AND A NATIONAL LIBRARY IS EQUALLY FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK IN THE CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF ANY STATE. CITIES DECENTRALIZE, GOOGLE IS WORKING ON PUTTING EVERY BOOK EVERY WRITTEN ON LINE, TO THE OUTRAGE OF THE COPY WRITE HOLDERS, BUT STILL WE NEED PLACES IN WHICH YOU CAN SMELL INK ON PAPER, EXPLORE BINDINGS, AND THE MARGINAL NOTES, AND SHARE A SPACE WITH OTHERS TO WHOM BOOKS, WORDS AND IDEAS MATTER. IF THE IDEA OF THE LIBRARY IS AN UNCHANGING FUNDAMENTAL, THE ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE THAT IT SPEAKS, AND THE TECHNICAL PRINCIPLES THAT ALLOW IT TO FUNCTION, CONTINUALLY EVOLVE. THEY ARE THE MARKS SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS LEAVE OF THEMSELVES TO THEIR SUCCESSORS. THE REALM OF THE BOOK IS ONE THAT IS BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC. A NATIONAL LIBRARY THAT CARRIES WITH IT ALL THE HIGHLY CHARGED ASSOCIATIONS OF A CRUCIAL CULTURAL INSTITUTION, MUST AT THE SAME TIME SUPPORT THE SCHOLARS AND THE SCHOLARSHIP WHICH IT EXISTS TO SERVE. IT MUST CELEBRATE THEIR WORK, AND MARKTHE SIGNIFICANCE THATTHEY HAVE FOR ASOCIETY. IT MUST BE PROTECTIVE OF FRAGILE LITERARY TREASURES AND PROVIDE AN APPROPRIATE ATMOSPHERE FOR STUDY. BUT NEITHER IS IT A MONASTERY. SCHOLARS AND THEIR WORK TODAY BELONG TO THE WIDER WORLD, AND A NATIONAL LIBRARY MUST EMBRACE IT AND WELCOME IT. A LIBRARY HAS TO ADDRESS BOTH THE TECHNICAL, FUNCTIONAL ISSUES, AND THE EMOTIONAL ONES. IT MUST BE A PLACE IN WHICH THE RAW MATERIALS OF THE SCHOLAR'S WORK ARE ACCESSIBLE WITH THE MINIMUM OF FUSS AND FRICTION. BUT IT MUST ALSO MIRROR ITS INSTITUTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. IT MUST LOOKTO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, BOTH SYMBOLICALLY AND LITERALLY. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE SCHOLAR MUST LOOK BEYOND THE PAGE TO REFRESH THEMSELVES AND TO REST THEIR EYES, AND TO BE REMINDED OF THE MATERIAL WORLD AROUND THEM. AND THE LIBRARY MUST PROVIDE A SENSE OF REWARD FOR THOSE VISITORS WHO ARE NOT SPECIALIST SCHOLARS BUT COME TO SEE A NATIONAL TREASURE. NOR CAN IT TAKE THEIR INTEREST FOR GRANTED. IT MUST WORKTO EARN ITS PLACE AT THE CENTRE OF NATIONAL LIFE BY ENCOURAGING VISITORS AND OFFERING THEM AN ENGAGING EXPERIENCE. THE LIBRARY IS BOTH A LANDMARK FOR PRAGUE: ONE THAT GROWS FROM THE LANDSCAPE, AND THE CITY'S ARCHITECTURAL TRADITION, ANDA VANTAGE POINT, PERHAPS THE BEST INTHE CITY. AS SUCH IT IS THE PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT OF ALL THAT A NATIONAL LIBRARY MUST BE, IN BOTH THE PRACTICAL, AND THE SYMBOLIC SENSE. IT IS A REFLECTION OF ITS OWN TIME, AS WELL AS OF THE FUNDAMENTAL NOTION OF ATIMELESS INSTITUTION THAT IS A LIBRARY.12 POINTSPLACE FOR THIRD MILLENNIUM
DEMOCRATIC ARCHITECTURE IN A DEMOCRATIC STATE
KEY WORDS AS BEAUTY, ELEGANCE, COLOUR, PLASTICITY, PEOPLE AND BOOKS
VIEWS AS PART OF URBAN COMPOSITION
COLOUR AS REFERENCE TO THE PAST AND FUTURE
THE 'STREET’ AS LINK BETWEEN OUTSIDE AND INSIDE
BOOKS FROM STORAGE REACH READER IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES
BOOKS ARE PLACED BACK TO ORIGINAL POSITION IN STORAGE
STORAGE FOR 10 MILLION VOLUMES WITH 4 MILLION EXTENDED CAPACITY
MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY IN THE INTERNAL BUILDING LAYOUT
COMFORT OF SOFT FURNITURE THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING
UNIQUE INTERNAL PLANNING REDUCES FLOOR AREA BY 30% SITE • ARCHITECTURESITE OF THE NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY IS AT THE EDGE OF THE ENORMOUS EXISTING PARK OF LETNA. NEW PARK AREA AND ROW OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS WILL BE PLACED AS PART OF NEW URBAN PLAN. FUTURE TUNNEL ENTRANCE WITH GREAT AMOUNT OF POLLUTION AND NOISE IS CERTAINLY NOT BEST SITE FOR BUILDING OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. NEW AND PROGRESSIVE URBAN PLAN FOR WHOLE LETNA SITE ISA BSOLUTELY NECESSARY. GREENERYSHOULD DOMINATE. TREES AND MORE TREES. LIBRARY AS ECO BUILDING IN THE PARK. LETNA AS APLACE OF PEACE, DEMOCRACY AND CULTURE. NOT A PLACE FOR MILITARY PARADES. EASY PEDESTRIAN ACCESS FROM TRAM, METRO, PARK AND STREET FROM ALL DIRECTIONS.ARCHITECTURE OF PROPOSED BUILDING IS THREE DIMENSIONAL VOLUME HARDLY TOUCHING THE GROUND. SIMPLE, MODERN, EXCITING, PROGRESSIVE, COLOURFUL AND UNIQUE. MINIMAL VOLUME PROTRUDING ABOVE TREES LEVEL. CHAMPAGNE COLOUR CREATING LINK WITH PAST AND FUTURE. IT IS ARCHITECTURE FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM. IT IS ARCHITECTURE FOR PEOPLE, KIDS, DISABLED, AND SCHOLARS. EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ARCHITECTURE IN BALANCE. PRIVATE SPACES, PUBLIC SPACES. ARCHITECTURE WHICH INVITES PEOPLE IN. ARCHITECTURE WITH VIEWS. HAPPY ARCHITECTURE. ARCHITECTURE FOR THE BOOK. PEOPLE AND BOOKS DOMINATE BUILDING. EASY MOVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE. LIFTS AND RAMPS. ARCHITECTURE OF NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE.PODIUM - LEVEL 0PODIUM ITSELF IS FINISHED IN UNPOLISHED WHITE MARBLE. WITH PERIMETER EDGES LIFTED UP IN CERTAIN AREAS. SLOPING SURFACES COVERED WITH MIRRORED, FINISHED STAINLESS STEEL. BUILDING IS REFLECTED IN THESE 'MIRRORS' FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES. WHOLE BUILDING IS VISUALLY ELEVATED OVER THE PODIUM. GROUPS OF PINE TREES. IVY ON CARPARK BANKS. CREATING GREEN VISUAL BARRIER. BOULDERS AROUND TREES. SEATING EVERYWHERE. STAINLESS STEEL BOWLS AS SPRINGS INSERTED IN THE MARBLE SURFACE. WATER OVERFLOW GOING INTO LITTLE STREAMS. PERHAPS COLOURED WATER. IN WINTER HEATED WATER. CREATING HERE ALL YEAR GARDEN. COLOUR RAMPS AND STAIRCASES. MINIATURE CAFÉ. PEOPLE SITTING, WALKING, RELAXING. MOST MODERN, ARTISTIC PODIUM. PODIUM OF NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY. IN THE MIDDLE SPACES ESSENTIAL FOR RUNNING OF THE LIBRARY. SUPPLIES IN RUBBISH OUT. BOOKS IN AND OUT. SEVERAL LOADING BAYS. SEPARATE LOADING BAYS FOR BOOKS. ROOMS FOR LIBRARY STAFF. DAY LIT, NATURALLY VENTILATED CAR PARK. EASY PARKING FOR DELIVERIES AND CARS. SECURITY PODIUM OF NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE.'STREET' - LEVEL 1'STREET' IS A PUBLIC SPACE ELEVATED ABOVE THE PODIUM WITH DIRECT CONNECTION TO THE STREET AND PARK VIA RAMPS AND STAIRCASES. STREET IS MAIN ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT. LINK OF OUTSIDE AND INSIDE. FULL OF PEOPLE SOMETIMES DOUBLE HEIGHT SPACE. TREES. EXHIBITIONS. BOOKSTORES. LIFTS. COFFEETABLES. VIEWS AND DIRECT ACCESS TO THE READING ROOMS. DIRECT ACCESS TO READING ROOMS AUDITORIUM AND RESTAURANT. VIEW TO THE OTHER FLOORS. FANTASTIC VIEW OF AUTOMATIC BOOK STORAGE THROUGH LARGE CIRCULAR OPENING. ALMOST DARKNESS THERE WITH THE BOOKS, STREAMS OF DAYLIGHT COMING THROUGH. VISIBLE MOVEMENT ELEVATORS.SHADES OF ONE COLOUR. ACOUSTIC CEILING. PEOPLE WALKING. PEOPLE SITTING. SHINY SHINY COLUMNS, SOFT SEATING, SEMI SOFT FLOOR. PLACE TO HAVE A DATE. PUBLIC SPACE OF THE 'STREET' IN NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE.READING ROOM - LEVEL 1,2,3BOOKS ARE SILENT TEACHERS
ALUS GELLIUSREADING ROOM IS ANOTHER ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT OF THE LIBRARY. MAIN VOLUME OF READING ON ONE STREET LEVEL. BOOK STORAGE ON MEZZANINE SERVING ALL READING ROOM ON FLOOR ABOVE READING ROOM FOR PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY WITH LIMITED PUBLIC ACCESS. CONTROLLED DAYLIGHT. SILENT SOFT FLOOR. SOFT ACOUSTIC CEILING. SPECIAL SCENTED SURROUNDING. VARIOUS SHADES OF ONE COLOUR. SHINY SHINY COLUMNS. ELEGANT BOOK SHELVES WITH EASY ACCESS. PLACE TO READ, RELAX, MEDITATE AND THINK. SILENCE. PEOPLE MOVING AROUND SILENTLY. FRITTED GLASS WALLED BOOK DISTRIBUTION CENTRES. SOFT FURNITURE EVERYWHERE. TABLE LAMPS. PLACE TO REMEMBER. PLACE TO STAY LONGER. TRANQUILITY. SILENCE. BEAUTIFUL SPACE TO THINK. READING ROOM OF NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE.OFFICES + EYE - LEVEL 3,4,5,6,7,8OFFICES AND ADMINISTRATIONAREONLEVELS 3 4 5 6, OPEN PLAN PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY WITH RESTRICTED PUBLIC ACCESS. PRIVACY OF MEETING ROOMS AND SOME OFFICES. SOFT FLOOR AND CEILING. COLOURS AGAIN. SHINY COLUMNS. CONTROLLED DAYLIGHT. NO CORRIDORS. DIRECT LIFT CONTACT WITH CENTRAL STORAGE AREA AND DELIVERIES. EASY CONTACT WITH READING ROOMS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES TO WORK. CERTAINLY NOT DARK CORRIDORS OF KLEMENTINUM. OFFICES IN NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE.EYE SPACE IS ON THE TOP FLOOR. UNIQUE SPACE ON SEVERAL LEVELS. UNIQUE PLACE. DYNAMIC SPACE. 3 FUNCTIONS. OBSERVATION DECK. CAFÉ. PERIODICAL READING ROOM. PLACE TO READ LATEST NOVEL. KIDS BOOKS. BREATHTAKING VIEWS. 30M ABOVE THE GROUND. ST VITUS CATHEDRAL. OLD TOWN SQUARE. KLEMENTINUM. RIVER. HORIZONS. CLOUDS. BLUE SKY. SNOW. GREENERY. BEAUTYOF PRAGUE. OLD AND NEW. SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT TO SEE. MAGNET. BEST COFFEE. PLACE FOR CHARMING DATE. SOFT FLOOR AND CEILING. COLOUR. SOFT SEATING EVERYWHERE. GENTLE LIGHTING. GLASS TABLES FOR VISIBILITY. COMFORT. PEACE. PLACE TO BE. EYE SPACE OF NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE.BOOK"BOOK: PORTABLE WRITTEN OR PRINTED TREATISE FILLING A NUMBER OF SHEETS FASTENED TOGETHER."
OXFORD DICTIONARYBOOK IS THE MAIN AND MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE DESIGN. ARCHITECTURE FOR THE BOOK. AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR CULTURE. ALWAYS WAS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE. FROM STONE PIECES, CERAMIC TILES, HAND WRITTEN, ART PIECES, FIRST PRINTS, MODERN PAPERBACK TO LATEST CD. BOOK WILL STAY WITH US.STORAGE OF BOOK IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THELIBRARY. IT MAKES THE LIBRARY. RIGHT STORAGE SYSTEM IS VITAL. EXTENDIBILITY CRUCIAL. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM HAS IT ALL. FULLY AUTOMATIC. THE STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO GUARANTEE THE RETURN OF ANY BOOK TO ITS ORIGINAL TOTE LOCATION WITHIN THE STORAGE. FULLY TESTED AND ALREADY IN USE IN OTHER LIBRARIES. NO HUMAN HAND TOUCHES THE BOOK. SAFE.ANY BOOK OR DOCUMENT WILL REACH THE READER OR STAFF MEMBER WITHIN 5 MINUTES. IT IS MULTIFUNCTIONALAND ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED. STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL BOOK CENTRES FOR INTERNAL OR READER USAGE.THE MOST ADVANCED BOOK STORAGE IN THE WORLD. BOOK STORAGE OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE.
HIGH SECURITY IN AUTOMATED CONTROLLED FACILITY.
IT CONTROL SYSTEMS PROVIDING ACCURATE TRACEABILITY OF BOOKS.
IT CONTROL SYSTEMS WITH PROVEN INTERFACES TO HIGH LEVEL HOST SYSTEMS.
PROTECTION OF BOOKS IN SAFE CONTAINERS.
HIGH DENSITY VOLUME STORAGE, MINIMISING LAND FOOTPRINT.
RAPID, RELIABLE AND ACCURATE ACCESS TO STORAGE OF BOOKS.
MODULAR DESIGN SOLUTION TAILORED FOR GROWTH AND EXPANSION.
REDUNDANCY AND BACKUP SUB-SYSTEMS WITHIN DESIGN.
SUBTERRANEAN AREAS TO MAXIMISE ABOVE GROUND BUILDING FACILITIES.
LOWMAINTENANCE AUTOMATED EQUIPMENT, WITH HIGH AVAILABILITYAND RELIABILITY.
GOODS TO MAN SOLUTION CONSIDERABLY REDUCING PERSONNEL.
AUTOMATED CYCLIC INVENTORY FACILITY.
ISOLATED ENVIRONMENT WITH INDEPENDENT FIRE PROTECTION.
COMPLIANT WITH CODES FOR ARCHIVE PROTECTION RECOMMENDATIONS
LOW MAINTENANCE OF ALL AUTOMATED EQUIPMENT. STRUCTURETHE SUPERSTRUCTURE IS DESIGNED AS A STRUCTURAL STEEL FRAME WITH INTERNAL COLUMNS ON A 12M x 9M GRID, SUPPORTING A COMPOSITE FLOOR MADE UP OF STEEL BEAMS AND CONCRETE FLOOR SLABS. DUE TO THE REDUCTION OF FLOOR AREA AT EACH LEVEL, PERIMETER COLUMNS WILL BE INCLINED TO SUPPORT SLAB EDGES ALLOWING FOR A 3M PERIMETER CANTILEVER ZONE. LATERAL STABILITY OF THE FRAME WILL BE PROVIDED BY INTERNAL CONCRETE CORES WORKING IN COMBINATION WITH THE FACADE OF THE BUILDING. THE FACADE ITSELF WILL CONSIST OF TENSION CABLES SUPPORTING INSULATED ALUMINIUM CLADDING PANELS. THE SKIN WILL BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNAL FRAMEWORK BY A RING BEAM LOCATED AT LEVEL 7. THE RING BEAM ISA KEY STRUCTURAL ELEMENT WHICH NOT ONLY SUPPORTS THE 'HUNG' FAÇADE WITH BUT ALSO SUPPORTS A SERIES OF STEEL ARCHES AT THE TOP OF THE STRUCTURE.THE SUBSTRUCTURE CONSISTS OF A 15M DEEP, SINGLE-STOREY BASEMENT USED AS THE PRINCIPLE BOOK STORAGE AND ARCHIVE AREA. THE PERIMETER RETAINING WALLS ARE CONCEIVED AS 1.2M THICK DIAPHRAGM WALLS, STIFFENED BY BUTTRESSES AND INTERMEDIATE WHALING BEAMS WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO RESIST THE LARGE EARTH PRESSURES RESULTING FROM THE DEPTH OF BASEMENT. ON THE INSIDE FACE OF THE DIAPHRAGM WALL, A 300MM REINFORCED CONCRETE LINING WALL WILL BE CAST TO FORM A SECOND BARRIER AGAINST WATER INGRESS. A 1.2M THICK RAFT SLAB WILL FORM THE BOTTOM OF THE BASEMENT BOX, BEARING ONTO THE SHALE STRATA, AND WILL ACT AS THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL INTERNAL COLUMNS. THE SLAB ITSELF WILL BE CAST IMMEDIATELY ONTO A DRAINAGE BLANKET RESTRICTING THE AMOUNT OF WATER WHICH WILL PERMEATE INTO THE SLAB. IN ADDITION, A DRAINED WALL AND FLOOR CAVITY WILL BE PROVIDED TO COMPLETE THE WATERPROOFING SYSTEM. THE INTERNAL LINING TO THE WALL CAVITY WILL BE CONSTRUCTED OF TWO SKINS OF BLOCKWORK WITH A WATER/VAPOUR RESISTING MEMBRANE IN BETWEEN. THE CAVITY BENEATH THE FLOOR WILL BE FORMED FROM PURPOSE-MADETILESOVERLAIN BY A WATER/VAPOUR RESISTING MEMBRANE. THIS SYSTEM ENABLESANY WATER WHICH HAS ENTERED THE STRUCTURE TO BE CONTAINED AND DIRECTED TO SUMPS, FROM WHERE IT IS REMOVED BY PUMPING.ENVIRONMENTLIGHT. GENEROUS LEVELS OF NATURAL LIGHT IN ALL PUBLIC AREAS ARE PROVIDED BY CIRCULAR AREAS OF GLAZING DISTRIBUTED OVER THE EXTERNAL SKIN, CREATING A HUMAN FRIENDLY CONDITION WITH STRONG VISUAL CONNECTIONS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, WHILST PROVIDING A CALM ATMOSPHERE FOR CONTEMPLATION AND CREATIVITY. NATURAL LIGHT LEVELS IN MANY PUBLIC AREAS WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR CIRCULATION AND READING FOR MORE THAN 70% OF LIBRARY OPENING HOURS - SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS IN ELECTRIC LIGHTING ENERGY WILL THEREFORE BE ACHIEVED. HOWEVER, THE EXTENT OF GLAZING IN THE BUILDING ENVELOPE IS CAREFULLY CONTROLLED AND RELATIVELY MODEST - IT HAS BEEN CALCULATEDTHATASKIN WITH 15% GLAZING GIVES THE OPTIMUM CARBON EFFICIENCY BALANCE WHEN HEATING, COOLING AND ELECTRIC LIGHTING USAGE ARE CONSIDERED FOR A WHOLE YEAR.CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL. THE CLIMATIC CONTROL SYSTEM FOR THE BUILDING FOLLOWS THE SAME OBJECTIVE OF A CALM AND COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION. A LOW VELOCITY MECHANICAL VENTILATION SYSTEM IS USED TO BRING A CONTROLLED AMOUNT OF FRESH AIR INTO THE OCCUPIED AREAS OF THE BUILDING - THE AIR IS SUPPLIED INTO THE LIBRARY, AUDITORIUM, OFFICES AND STUDY ROOMS THROUGH A RAISED FLOOR. THIS LOW LEVEL SUPPLY ARRANGEMENT IS SILENT AND ENERGY EFFICIENT, AND AVOIDS THE RISKS OF EXCESSIVE NOISE AND DUSTY INTRUSION THAT WOULD ENTER THROUGH OPENING WINDOWS. SOME DEGREE OF LOCAL CLIMATE CONTROL WILL BE PROVIDED FOR LIBRARY STAFF USING SMALL LOCALISED FAN UNITS WITHIN THE FLOOR CAVITY. THE RETAINING WALLS IN THE BASEMENT WILL BE CONFIGURED AS A THERMAL LABYRINTH TO GIVE PASSIVE CLIMATIC CONDITIONING TO THE WHOLE BUILDING INCOMING FRESH AIR WILL BE TEMPERED BY INDIRECT CONTACT WITH THE MASS OF THE EARTH BY PASSING THROUGH THE CAVITY WALL AROUND THE BASEMENT PERIMETER, GIVING FREE COOLING IN SUMMER AND FREE HEATING IN WINTER. THE BASEMENT LOCATION FOR BOOK STORAGE MEANS THAT THE STORE IS NOT EXPOSED TO NATURAL LIGHT OR THE EXTREMES OF THE EXTERNAL CLIMATE. THE AUTOMATIC BOOK RETRIEVAL SYSTEM CAN LARGELY WORK IN DARKNESS, WITHOUTTHE NEED FOR EXTENSIVE ELECTRIC LIGHTING. A VERY LOW CAPACITY HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEM IS THEREFORE ALL THAT IS REQUIRED TO KEEP OPTIMAL CLIMATIC CONDITIONS WITHIN THE STORE.

Zaha Hadid has designed a landmark building for Szervita Square in the historic centre of Budapest, Hungary

2008-01-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

Zaha Hadid has designed a landmark building for Szervita Square in the historic centre of Budapest, Hungary (via www.hg.hu).

The mixed-use building, for ORCO Property Group, will replace a communist-era car park and will contain shops, restaurants, offices and a nightclub.

Orco Property Group is an Eastern European property developer that is also behind the Zlota 44 residential tower in Warsaw by Daniel Libeskind.

Nouvel’s Abu Dhabi museum

2008-01-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Jean Nouvel’s design for the Classical Museum on Saadiyat Island

The client, UAE’s Tourism Development & Investment Company, sent us the following information on Nouvel’s project:

Nouvel’s design concept for the Classical Museum owes much to Saadiyat’s natural surroundings: “The island offers a harsh landscape, tempered by its meeting with the channel, a striking image of the aridity of the earth versus the fluidity of the waters,” said Nouvel.

“These fired the imagination towards unknown cities buried deep into the sands or sunk under water. These dreamy thoughts have merged into a simple plan of an archaeological field revived as a small city, a cluster of nearly one-row buildings along a leisurely promenade.
“This micro-city requires a micro-climate that would give the visitor a feeling of entering a different world. The building is covered with a large dome, a form common to all civilisations. This one is made of a web of different patterns interlaced into a translucent ceiling which lets a diffuse, magical light come through in the best tradition of great Arabian architecture.
“Water is given a crucial role, both in reflecting every part of the building and acting as a psyche, and in creating, with a little help from the wind, a comfortable micro-climate.”
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VilLA NM, Upstate - Nueva York, UN Studio - Ben van Berkel

2008-01-08T14:01:00.000-08:00

Auditorio y Centro de Congresos, Aguilas Murcia - España / EBV Arquitectos -Fabrizio Barozzi + Alberto Veiga

2008-01-08T13:51:00.000-08:00

Concurso InternacionalPrimer Premio/ Proyecto en ejecuciónPresupuesto 26.413.657 EurosSuperficie 10.216 m²2004...
El proyecto surge como respuesta a las características que la particular localización del lugar de proyecto proporciona..Por un lado la necesidad de relación con el tejido urbano que crece hacia el interior y por otro, conservar la tonalidad expresiva del paisaje natural en el que se encuentra.
En esta contraposición el proyecto ha definido las tensiones que lo articulan y que le permiten organizarse como una respuesta coherente a los condicionantes que residen en el lugar. Asimilar esta contraposición, ha llevado el proyecto a encontrar su definición específica como una reflexión dialéctica, sobria y potente a la vez, entre el artificio de lo urbano y la naturalidad de lo orgánico. El proyecto entonces aparece como una masa modelada en función de las tensiones de los distintos espacios que la rodean ,hacia la ciudad, ofrece su lado urbano; alzado limpios, ordenados y pausados que construyen la manzana hacia las calles internas. Hacia el mar, encuentra su condición especifica en una búsqueda espacial que intenta interpretar los espacios y las configuraciones que el paisaje y la geografía proporcionan. De ahí, el proyecto trae, la posibilidad de modelarse hacia la bahía con amplias superficies cóncavas que tejen relaciones poderosas con el paisaje natural circundante. Se asienta como una vela frente al mar, se moldea sobre el perfil retranqueante de la costa a la que mira, e intenta abrirse hacia el horizonte.

Casa Kleyer - LIN Architects – Alemania

2008-01-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

Construcción muy rápida y muy bajo presupuesto. Espacios amplios y diáfanos. Una estética industrial y un sobrio volumen único. Estructura de acero acabado en zinc, con losas y muros rellenos de hormigón poroso a encofrado perdido. Una escalera que se desplaza para atacar la planta superior en varios puntos. Divisiones interiores móviles. Suelo de cemento pulido.Pueden ser éstos los requerimientos específicos de un cliente, aun sin tratarse del propio arquitecto. Es el caso de esta casa de 230 m2 para una familia de mamá, papá y dos niños.

Zaha Hadid's Expocentre exhibition halls and residential tower project in Russia

2008-01-08T13:43:00.000-08:00

Closely located to the Moscow International Business Center (MIBC), the largest investment and construction project in Russia, and Europe as a whole, the Expocenter Project offers the city a new exposition venue, hotel, and residential development. The main function of the horizontal space is to house the exposition and conference halls. The exposition halls cantilever to the sides at the upper levels, providing for a snow-free outdoor event space; and concealing the traffic at the southern part of the building. Such a venue with 26,340 sqm net exhibition space, which is located in the center of Moscow, will be in high demand for such high-class exhibitions and events. The conference halls, located at the Eastern side of the first floor horizontal space, accommodate 3 auditoriums of different sizes, which can also combine to create one large hall of 1500 seats. The residential tower is designed as an elegant continuation of the Moscow City skyline (first a drop and then a rise), with a large vertical volume divided into two smaller shapes in order to sustain its overall slenderness.This verticality of the urban space swoops to the ground to create a main lobby that serves both as a grand social meeting space, and allows for separate entrances for the residence blocks and the hotel. The hotel rises to the 26th floor of the Western tower, with beautiful views to the Moscow City development. The 2nd and 3rd floors of the hotel complex contain a gym, a spa, and many specialized restaurants, bistro cafes and shops. The residences are located in the Eastern tower and on the top floors of the Western tower.

Casa en Open Door

2008-01-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

Memoria descriptiva
Es el sueño de todo arquitecto diseñar su propia casa. La oportunidad llegó luego de comprar un lote de 2600 m2, con una profusa vegetación, en un barrio cerrado cercano a la ciudad de Luján.
En el frente el terreno gana en intimidad al separarse de la calle, mediante una línea continua de añosos fresnos. En el fondo un conjunto de árboles delimita virtualmente los límites del solar y genera un paisaje de tonos variados según la época del año.
Decidimos ahí construir nuestra vivienda de fin de semana.
El diseño de la casa se basa en las siguientes premisas:
> lugar para recibir amigos.
> transparencia para sentirse dentro del paisaje.
> actitud firme frente al terreno.
> flexibilidad y amplitud de los espacios.
> materialización austera con un exhaustivo diseño del detalle y con el confort suficiente para sentir el placer de vivirla.
En el proceso buscamos que la arquitectura genere diversas sensaciones, mediante el uso de la luz, del agua, de los reflejos, de los colores y de las texturas.
El prisma que conforma la casa está apoyado sobre un zócalo de hormigón recedido con respecto al filo del muro exterior, generando mayor altura para ganar en perspectivas y posando la casa de manera sutil sobre el terreno.
La casa se vacía en el centro y genera un estanque que articula los diferentes espacios y llena de luz el área social y el hall de acceso.

Se vuelve totalmente transparente en el estar comedor generando una doble apertura, hacia el frente y al contrafrente. En el sector de los dormitorios se buscó más privacidad abriéndose sólo hacia el jardín posterior.
La isla-cocina tiene la posibilidad de integrarse al espacio del estar-comedor. El paño vidriado de fondo da a un sauce que generó la ubicación de la casa en uno de sus ejes y que filtra el sol de la mañana. En el otro sentido la decisión fue la de tomar todo el ancho del terreno para que todos los ambientes disfruten de las vistas largas.
Los 4 paños vidriados del estar comedor se corren hasta cerrar el estanque, dejando completamente abierto el espacio hacia la terraza-expansión, cuya galería vincula todos los sectores.
Desde el estar se disfruta del caer de la lluvia en el estanque y del movimiento de los rayos del sol sobre el tabique de hormigón visto. Hacia el sector privado un paso-estudio recibe la luz de una claraboya y con el recurso de paños pivotantes de piso a techo se accede a los dormitorios.
La contemplación del paisaje en el dormitorio principal se da a través de un gran paño vidriado mientras que por una ventana longitudinal lateral entra la luz del atardecer.
MENEGHETTI arquitectos

Ficha técnica
OBRA: CASA EN OPEN DOOR
AUTOR: MENEGHETTI arquitectos (Arq. Juan Pablo Meneghetti, Juan Sebastián Meneghetti) + Arqta. Marcela Hitters
EMPRESA CONSTRUCTORA: DIAZ construcciones
CALCULO ESTRUCTURAL: Ing. Humberto Nicastro
UBICACION: La Cañada Polo Club, Open Door, Pdo. De Luján, Bs. As., Argentina
SUPERFICIE DEL TERRENO: 2600 m2
SUPERFICIE CONSTRUIDA: 198 m2 Cub. / 58 m2 Semicub.
TIEMPO DE EJECUCION: 12 meses
AÑO DE PROYECTO: 2005 AÑO DE CONSTRUCCION: 2006

student housing Ljubljanafloor

2008-01-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

area: 13.000 m2project: 2004-2005built: 2005 - 2006
address: Poljanska 57, SI-1000 Ljubljana
client:Ministry of Education, Ljubljanaproject
team:Matija BevkVasa PerovićAna ČeligojUrsula OitzlDavorin Počivašek