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© Frank Hanswijk

Architects: Studio Rolf.fr + Zecc Architecten
Location: Rotterdam South, The Netherlands
Area: 170sqm
Project Years: 2008-2010
Photographs: Frank Hanswijk

© Frank Hanswijk

Social context
This house takes part of a program of the congregation Rotterdam who wanted to revitalize disadvantaged neighbourhoods by selling metier houses to private persons.

These homes have in common that they are neglected the last few years and have to be refreshed. The buildings usually consist of several small apartments, one per layer. The purpose of the municipality by selling the buildings is to attract inhabitants with more carrying-capacity. Condition of sale is that the property will be restored within a specified period and will transformed into one house. This causes less, but larger houses. This is the opposite trend to what happens in many inner cities where larger houses are divided into several small apartments.

© Frank Hanswijk

The renovation of the Rotterdam ‘metier house’ is turned into an architectural spectacle, where was experimented with time and space. The 100 years old facade of a dwelling in a closed housing unit, is totally painted black. Both masonry, frames and “windows” are covered with a shiny black oil. This creates a kind of ‘shadow’ of the original facade. In some places the new transparent windows pierce through the historical facade. The new windows announce a time with a very different way of living. This creates a relationship between the original facade and the new interpretation which become readable. All floors and small rooms behind the old windows run into one spatially contiguous entity.

Just like in the façade, also in the interior the traces of the past remained visible. On the building walls an old banister and holes of removed floor joists reveal the original layout of the dwelling. The new house in the 100 year old cover has a completely different planning. The traditional layout of floors and walls, which compose the rooms are missing. Instead a series of small wooden slats compose a huge sculptural element. By this is a continuous space is left between the four walls of the historic building. This creates living spaces, which are connected by voids, large stairwells and long sightlines. All redundant banisters, railings and doors are left out, causing a high degree of spatial abstraction.

© Frank Hanswijk

Floors, walls, stairs and ceilings blend together and seem to recall an “Escher-like” impossibility. Yet this metier house (that has been empty for nearly 30 years) is far from uninhabitable. In the lower part of the house a large workroom is placed connected to the ‘roof tiles-bamboo garden’. Above is a series of semi-open living functions: living, eating, cooking, study, sleeping and a bathroom / closet.

The old roof tiles are removed in the upper part (re-used in the garden) and a new greenhouse is placed with a hot tub with a stunning view.

© Frank Hanswijk

New interpretation: three worlds
The existing building is used as a box to build a completely new house in it. All walls and floors of the house were demolished which created a space of 5 meters wide, 10 meters long and 11 meters high. In and up this box three different “worlds” are stacked: the studio, the house and the roof garden. On the ground floor, the 5 meters high studio is built. This studio space is kept as open as possible. This is achieved by organizing the necessary facilities along the walls as much as possible, in one continuous element.

The living area is placed above the studio with a height of 6 meters. In this space, a sculpture is build which divides space into several areas without creating closed rooms. The object is designed and situated in a way that in several places views arise which emphasize the entire length, width and height of the place. The design is concentrated on the residual spaces between the object and the existing walls.

elevations

Materialization sculpture
The sculpture is entirely composed of screwed bars together which forms both construction and finish. This construction method creates a great freedom of form. A large part of the object hangs with these bars on the roof floor so that support becomes superfluous.

Colour use
In the house, five colours are used: black, white and three greyscales. An existing side wall is totally painted white. The traces of construction, including the old railings and pipes are all painted white. The other building wall is left untreated. The different faces of the object are painted in three greyscales. These shades are aligned to the space they enclose. By this method, the space between the object and the existing box are strengthened. Rotterdam South accommodates with this new metier house a black pearl…

© Cornell University

After Mayor Bloomberg, Cornell President Skorton and Technion President Lavie announced Cornell’s victory over Stanford to build an eleven acre state-of-the-art tech campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City, the team has now tackled their next step in choosing six high-profile architecture firms competing to design the schools first academic facility.

Selected from over more than 40 firms from the U.S. and abroad, the finalists include Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Morphosis Architects, Steven Holl Architects and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Continue reading for more information.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill helped Cornell design the proposal and continues to refine the master plan for the campus. The school expects to break ground in 2015 with a 150,000 square-foot facility that will include lecture halls and instructional space. Cornell plans to have the facility ready for occupancy by 2017.

As The Wall Street Journal states, Gilbert Delgado, Cornell’s university architect, believes this initial, net-zero building will “provide a signature element” that will “set the standard for what’s to follow.”

Cornell plans to announce the selected candidate in April. Several architecture firms will be commissioned to design the individual buildings on the campus, as Cornell officials envision a campus that showcases “the best architects of their time”.

All buildings will respect and maintain the basic footprint designed within the master plan and strive towards net-zero energy. Check out ArchDaily’s previous coverage from more information on the net-zero campus.

Reference: The Wall Street Journal

Scott McDonald © Hedrich Blessing

Architect: Thomas Roszak Architecture 
Location: Chicago, USA
Photographs: Scott McDonald © Hedrich Blessing 

Scott McDonald © Hedrich Blessing

Completed in June 2011, the new Clark Family Welcome Gallery at Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL may now be added to the growing list of uniqueand interesting projects of Thomas RoszakArchitecture, LLC. Through smart and collaborative design, Roszak led the team to meetproject goals by creating a multifunctional space that provides a welcoming gathering area while also initiating an exciting pre-show experience necessary in optimizing the planetarium’s main event, the Sky Theater.

In order to do so, Roszak’s team considered creative and innovating ideas, most notably their use of abstract materials and the creation of space that feels different and other-worldly. Using aluminum tubing and polyester fabric constructed walls provided a cost effective alternative while creating a high-impact, and highly dramatic design. Roszak’s team consulted with“fabricologists”, experts in the fabric industry, sorting through thousands of choices before discovering the perfect options. The team didn’t settle until they found a fabric with precise, clean lines embodying the desire for a seamless look.

The result: a smooth textured, pure white fabric with just the right amount of transparency used inboth single and double layers. Most importantly,the fabric had to have the ability to reflect thespace’s LED lighting system, but also absorb light where mixed-media video is projected on the fabric walls.

floor plan

While learning about their client and astronomy as a whole, traveling through “slices in time” became an apparent fundamental concept. Roszak’s design incorporates this theme by using the carefully selected fabric on walls and surfaces shaped to mimic travel through spacetime. Roszak’s used parametric modeling techniques to design the complex shapes and surfaces of the space. The fabric surrounds the area creating rich, spatial “events” in each section. Roszak layered the fabric in alternating areas creating darker and lighter “slices” along the visitor’s pathway with each section representing a “time slice” in outer space.

Delineated slopes of cascading sheer planes add to the design representing the surface of the present that has recorded an astronomical event over time. Even the design’s floorplan is laid out such that by shifting one’s position in the gallery, the perception of space changes as the voids separate, join, expand, and contract. All of the design effects add to the visitor’s experience of walking from “slice” to “slice” feeling like they are traveling through time in space.

scheme

Also included in the space travel theme shown through Roszak’s plan are the many courses of the purposely “bent” shape of the gallery. These paths entice the adventurous explorer to wander along “shortcuts” of the free-flowing space just as a real astronaut would. The purpose of the twists and turns is two-fold since they also create opportunities for a collage of media learning displays. Extensive collaboration with experts in video, animation, sound, and lighting inspired interactive exhibits with layered projected images, motion- detecting light and sound effects, and unusual display technologies around every corner.

Many years of experience and past projects have given Roszak a naturally positive attitude on collaboration, knowing how to bring together individuals who are experts in their fields, and working together to maximize a project’s full potential. Most importantly, Roszak listened to the client and made sure they were involved in every design stage.

Using architecture in a way to incorporate a client’s vision, even the most “out of this world” concepts, can be in the realm of the possible. The architectural and media contributions to the Welcome Gallery immensely enhance guests’ overall experience at Adler Planetarium. Thomas Roszak Architecture, LLC, is proud to have their architectural and design contributions aide in reaching Adler’s ultimate goal of creating an exciting and curiosity-evoking visit sure to create buzz and desire for guests to return for more learning and space exploration!

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Courtesy of KRDB

SOL Austin - Solutions Oriented Living – is a model development of a sustainable community that integrates social, economic and ecological components to create a “holistic community”.  The project was a result of a partnership between KRDB Architects, Beck-Reit contractors, the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC) and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation.  The medium density, single-family in-fill project in central east Austin, just three miles from downtown incorporates a significant portion of low-income and affordable housing, sustainable practices and consideration for the kind of future that developments like this can create.

Read on for photos, plans and more information about this project, considered for the AIA 2011 Design Awards in Urban Design.

Courtesy of KRDB

Being just three miles from the downtown area of Austin, the development is located along public transportation routes and in close proximity to many amenities: public schools, parks, three organic farms and a vibrant East Austin arts community.  The development is 5.5 acres, re-zoned to SF4-A and developed into 38 lots composed of 40 units, ranging from 550 sf to 1800 sf.  The units are arranged around a central pocket park and all have access to quality outdoor space.  Driveways are shared, parking is off the street, a composition of variable setbacks breaks the monotony inherent to most residential developments, and creates a dynamic public realm.  The landscaping is considerate of Austin’s climate, all of which was chosen for its tolerance to periods of drought.  The project also incorporates the first permitted sub-grade bio-filtration facility in the city.

Courtesy of KRDB

Passive environmental design was developed for every home with the goal of achieving net-zero energy use.  Energy modeling helped develop the systems to ensure that the homes were developed with the right components of SIPS panels, geothermal energy and building materials.  This process also factored in the most economical solution for building.  At 60% sold and built, GNDC has already committed 16 of the 40 homes for either home ownership or permanent, affordable rental housing.

Components, image via ccl.northwestern.edu

There are admittedly many differences from architecture school and working in the profession. One major difference is that while in school, people are in a mode of exploration, and any and all tools to facilitate that exploration are welcome. By the time one reaches the stage of “doing the work,” the suite of tools becomes far more narrow: AutoCad, Revit, Ecotect (maybe), and the occasional 3D program like Rhino. And if a person decides to hang out their own shingle, the computer tools becomes even more limited because of cost issues, unless bootleg copies are something you want to risk.

The good thing about university research is that they are constantly developing tool suites that can help architects and designers for free. Take for example, a suite of tools offered by Northwestern University’s Center for Connected Learning, headed by a graduate of MIT’s Media Lab, Professor Uri Wilensky. It’s called NetLogo and it can help anyone model cities. In detail. From natural objects like plants to man-made objects, all these components can be realistically rendered to create an entire city. Or, if your project is more modest, perhaps just a block.

Because that is one time-consuming issue, isn’t it? Drawing all the detail of a design’s surrounding environment? From streets to buildings, streetlights to easements, there is nothing more necessary and yet tedious than being the one who is designated to draw the physical context (i.e. the surrounding environs) of a design, regardless of whether that design itself is a single or a series of structures.

Inherent in the NetLogo tool suite is a library of smaller components and landscapes that can be easily added to any model. This is especially useful in modeling urban environments, and in fact the researchers determined that a series of smaller “seed” components was best to allow for additional flexibility, rather than creating a larger, more comprehensive model that one might have to spend a lot of time personalizing. This is combined with the capability of generating components oneself. Ease and efficiency combined with flexibility are key here.

So what are some of these components one can illustrate, as well as calculate using this software? It is pretty comprehensive, because the categories range from pollution, recycling, economic disparity and even sprawl, to name a few. In other words, one can “explore the connection between the micro-level behavior of individuals and the macro-level patterns that emerge from the interaction of many individuals.” Surely this will only aid architects and designers as they work with their clients. After all, clients are often motivated by a multitude of factors, not just that of creating a discrete space. But determining the impact of their needs on sprawl, pollution, or even of it’s impact on sustaining the local resources often seems too daunting and, frankly, too expensive. With this tool suite, some of those concerns can be allayed. What’s more, since it’s free, clients can also download it and explore all these factors for themselves in different configurations. And this can only facilitate communication. And don’t worry, they offer extensive tutorials.

© Zhang Siye

Architect: Atelier Deshaus (Liu Yichun/Zhuang Shen/Chen Yifeng)
Location: Huale Rd, Qingpu, Shanghai, China
Project Team: Chen Yifeng, Liu Yichun, Zhuang Shen, Fan Minji, Tang Yu
Site Area: 17070 sqm
Building Area: 6328 sqm
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Zhang Siye

© Zhang Siye

Xiayu Kindergarten lies in the Qingpu New Town. The area around site is vacant, thus the traditional urban feeling is non-existent. The eastern side elevated highway is a potential source of exhausted gas and noise, but it also provides the possibilities of viewing the building from various eye levels, altitude and speed in process of passing by. The river provides the fine landscape, and it also let us think about the way of ensuring the children’s security and the figure of building by the river. In design of Xiayu Kindergarten, we emphasize the difference between inside and outside. We moderately isolate the inside from the outside of the building by conforming the boundary, thereby creating the difference between them.

© Zhang Siye

The inner region is protected, while the outer environment is filtrated. We find a soft curve form that could benefit for the site better than straight lines. So we separate the 15 classrooms and teacher offices into two curve clusters that are wrapped by solid and void material respectively. In the design of the class unit, we arrange all the living rooms on the first floor with outdoor playgrounds, and leave brilliant colored bedroom boxes on second floor. To emphasize floating and uncertain feeling we detach the colored boxes’ floor from the roof of first floor.

© Zhang Siye

It’s this uncertain and isolation on proper scale that leads to a seemed random convergence condition and produces spatial tension. Every three bedrooms are linked by raised wooden walkways, thus we create a friendly and kind atmosphere like a bedroom village. The architectural volume is scattered by the tall trees dotted in those courtyards, while final architectural figure is full of vigor because of the trees. As a result, the architecture and tall trees bring out the mutual brilliant status and cohabit harmoniously in the narrow riverside.

© Zhang Siye

Courtesy of NewSchool of Architecture and Design

Acclaimed architect and designer Joshua Prince-Ramus, whose projects include the Seattle Central Library and the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas, will deliver a lecture on March 2nd to NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) students and faculty on the topic of “Slow Architecture” at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. NSAD will also provide a live video stream of the 7:30 p.m. lecture for the general public. His lecture is a remarkable opportunity for students to learn from his unique approaches to the design process and his ability to create inspiring designs that extend the boundaries of what is possible is testimony to the power of architecture’s artistry and science. More information on the event after the break.

Prince-Ramus is principal of REX, an architecture and design firm based in New York City. He has been described as the “savior of American architecture” by Esquire magazine, has been credited as being one of the five greatest architects under 50 by The Huffington Post and named one of the 20 most influential players in design by Fast Company magazine. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with distinction from Yale University in 1991 and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University in 1996.

REX has received numerous accolades, including second prize in the international competition for the new Edvard Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, and has been named finalist in the international competitions for both the new Victoria & Albert Museum in Dundee, Scotland, and the Sitra, Finnish Innovation Fund’s Low2No sustainable development in Helsinki, Finland. The Seattle Central Library, which was completed when the firm was under a different name, was awarded in 2005 the highest honors bestowed by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), and the American Library Association (ALA). In 2010, the Wyly Theatre project also won the top awards conferred by the AIA and ACEC.

The NSAD website will include updated information for members of the public interested in viewing the Prince-Ramus lecture March 2. For more information, please visit here.

© José Campos

Architects:  Cândido Chuva Gomes
Location: Vila Viçosa, Évora, Portugal
Client: Parque Escolar, E.P.E.
Project Years: 2008-2011
Building contractor: Lena Construções / Abrantina / MRG Engenharia e Construção
Photographs: José Campos

© José Campos

The intervention area consisted of school grounds, vast and arid, where, between the existing buildings, three large pine trees grew.
The central block had social and management functions; other two held classrooms and laboratories, another was still devoted to workshops and, finally, a sports pavilion.

Functionally outdated, formally unattractive and structurally fragile, it denoted an aging prematurely equipment and an obvious inability to become warm and friendly to the school community.

© José Campos

Beyond the aspects listed above, it also became urgent and essential to solve the thermal, acoustic and air handling problems, as well as architectural barriers, outdoor spaces, etc. This reality is the starting point for a new school concept based proposal.
Firstly, the buildings to preserve were selected, and the drawing found its way into a unique final object. Maintaining both classroom buildings and the sports pavilion, the answer became to fulfill the spaces between them, creating new volumes and thus becoming a continuous element.

© José Campos

This “new” school building re-organized, and started by marking its entrance and a dignified hall. That space extended itself outdoors, joining an exterior square. On the inside, a clear, simple and bright image was wanted, with obvious paths, easing the connection between the several operational entities.

Externally, a solid artisan brick covering provides protection to the building, reducing maintenance costs, while giving unity to the whole complex. The GRC grid allows the control of light intensity and provides uniformity to the outside image of the building, boosting the integration of pre-existing blocks. The entire surrounding area was redesigned, enhancing outdoor activities, the relationship with the interior spaces and assuming an improved framework for the building.

© José Campos