Christopher Henry
Linda Flora Residence / Shubin+Donaldson Architects
This 26,800 sqf home, designed by Shubin+Donaldson Architects, not only merges with its remarkable environment, but virtually disappears. Except for a few deft lines and angles – such as the ordered rows of the surrounding vineyard – there is very little perceivable ‘built’ presence. The entrance is marked by a single low wall, delicately cut into the land while sheltering a stairway that immediately begins the descent into the home.
Project description, images, and drawings after the break.
Architect: Shubin+Donaldson Architects
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Partners in Charge: Russell Shubin and Robin Donaldson
Project Designer: Bradford Kelley
Project Area: 26,800 sqf
Project Year: In development
Renderings: Mike Amaya
Architecture City Guide: Austin
For this week the Architecture City Guide series headed to the city of Austin, Texas. Already our third stop in the Lone State, it is easy to see why Texans take such pride in their state, even when the Cowboys go 6 and 10. Both the capital of Texas and Live Music, Austin is a vibrant city that takes pride in being far from ordinary. Austin also plays host to South By Southwest (SXSW) which is being held this week, March 11th – 20th. Its eclectic and liberal lifestyle have led many Austinites to adopt the slogan “Keep Austin Weird.” In this context its architecture is as diverse as its people. This short exposé of a few contemporary and modern buildings hardly tells the story of Austin, so we ask you, the readers, to add to the list. Please share your favorites with us in the comment section below.
The Architecture City Guide: Austin list and corresponding map after the break!
Wieden+Kennedy Headquarters / Allied Works Architecture
The site for this project was within an abandoned warehouse that fills a city block. This allowed the Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency to occupy a single building for the first time in many years. The original 1908 building formed a solid, five-story masonry mass with little light – a perforated box filled with a gridwork of heavy timber and quartered by cruciform masonry walls.
Project description, images, and drawings after the break.
Architect: Allied Works Architecture
Location: 224 NW 13th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, USA
Project Team: Brad Cloepfil, Kyle Lommen, John Weil, Chris Bixby, Paul Kinley, Jeff Lee, Jake Freauff, Lorraine Guthrie, Brian Malady
Client: Wieden+Kennedy
Photographs: Courtesy of Allied Works Architecture
Jordan Housing Bank For Trade and Finance Headquarters / NBBJ
The Columbus, Ohio office of international design firm NBBJ is designing the new headquarters for the Housing Bank For Trade and Finance (HBTF), the largest bank branch network in Jordan. Located in the Schmeisani section of Amman, the new HBTF headquarters will feature a modern, iconic design helping to re-shape the city’s evolving skyline. It will also be among a handful of buildings in Amman created under the current sustainable design guidelines. Once completed, the new facility will provide employees with a state-of-the-art work environment to deliver even better service to customers.
Project description and drawings after the break.
Architect: NBBJ
Location: Amman, Jordan
Project team: Adam Shriver, Aleksandr Daskalov, Brian Sell, Chandra Wilcox, Dean Stump, Don Kruckeburg, Earl Lee, Ed Mickelson, Ivan Amy, Jim Lehnert, John Woods, Karen Miller Eskandari, Kent Usher, Mark Gammon, Mark Perry, Matt Manda, Mike Suriano, Nick Forbess, Scot Walls, Tony Murry, Tyler Bohm, Katie Hueblein, Michael Denison, Laura Elswick, Jeff Heffner, Jonathan Novak, Teri Umbarger, Brian Rezentes, Budiman Wiharja, Nursah Balcilar
Design Engineer: Arup
Local A/E: Arabtech Jardaneh
Lighting Designer: Quentin Thomas Associates
Food Service Designer: Hammer Design Associates
Wind Testing: CPP
Water Architecture: Dan Euser
Construction Manager: Projacs
Client: Housing Bank for Trade and Finance
Project area: 76,000 sqm
Project year: Estimated Completion 2014
Renderings: Li Fang / Illustration on Demand
Uchiko / Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
Uchiko is the sister restaurant to one of Austin’s most respected restaurants, Uchi, which is operated by renowned chef Tyson Cole. The design evokes the atmosphere of a simple Japanese farmhouse with an emphasis on natural materials and evidence of craftsmanship.
Project description, images, and drawings after the break.
Architect: Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
Project Team: Michael Hsu, Jay Colombo, Maija Kreishman
Location: 4200 North Lamar, Austin, TX, USA
Contractor: Blue and Associates
Landscape Design: D-Crain
Contributing Decorator: One Eleven Design
Project Area: 4,995 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Paul Bardagjy
Screen House / Randy Bens Architect
The clients of this 1954 bungalow asked Randy Bens Architect to add a new floor to the existing structure. Located in a post war suburban neighborhood that sits at the prow of a hill in New Westminster, British Columbia, the bungalow is surrounded by rich modernist architecture from that era. The existing house was an L-shaped bungalow that was too small for the clients, an artist and psychologist, who have three boys ages 17 to 26. The new floor would be the domain of the parents, and the boys would acquire main floor bedrooms of a more suitable size. The addition would be composed of a studio, master suite, and a deck to take advantage of the view. Architecturally, the goal was to knit together the old and new with simple gestures and materials that would be sympathetic to their context, yet fresh.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: Randy Bens Architect
Location: New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Contractor: Basil Restorations Ltd.
Structural Engineer: Ennova Structural Engineers Inc.
Millwork: Topal Custom Cabinets
Project Area: 3,500 sqf
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Roger Brooks Photography
NOAA La Jolla Laboratory Replacement Project / Gould Evans
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is constructing a new facility to replace the existing NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) located in La Jolla, California, which is threatened by continuing bluff erosion. Designed by Gould Evans, the new facility will include approximately 124,000 sqf with an additional 90,000 sqf of under building parking, and is located on a site east of the existing SWFSC property. The proposed 3.305 acre site enables NOAA to continue its long-term partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) of UC San Diego, but constrains the design, construction and available development due to its steep grade.
Project description, video, and images following the break.
Architect: Gould Evans
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
Associate Architect: Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker
Mechanical/Electrical Engineer and Prime Consultant: Gibbens Drake Scott
Structural Engineer: TranSystems Corporation
Specifications, Laboratory Consultant, Security Consultant, and Sustainability Consultant: HDR Architecture
Life Support Systems Consultant: MWH Americas
Civil Engineer: RBF Consulting
Landscape Architect: Wimmer Yamada & Caughey
Vegetated Roofs Consultant: Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company
Project Area: 214,000 sqf
Project Year: estimated 2011
Renderings: Gould Evans
Pachter Residence / Teeple Architects
Choosing to live, work and sell his art in one location, the Artist-Owner wanted to bring these program elements together, while keeping their architectural expression distinct. Teeple Architects’ solution came in the form of three long spatial volumes stacked on top of each other, shifted laterally and longitudinally to allow light penetration into the spaces. Each volume houses one aspect of the program; the ground floor volume is the studio, the second floor; the gallery, and the top floor is the residence. The clarity and directness of the concept brings dramatic expression to the sculptural form of the building.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: Teeple Architects
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Principal in Charge: Stephen Teeple (OAA, FRAIC)
Project Team: Bernard Jin, Mark Baechler
Structural Engineer: R Villa Associates
General Contractor: Golden Hammer Renovations
Project Area: 3,200 sqf
Project Year: 2004
Photographs: Tom Arban
Wrap House / Studio B Architects
Situated in the East End of Aspen, this small property, designed by Studio B Architects, is part of a Lot Split and was required to ‘respond’ to its immediate Historical Swiss-Style neighbor in its massing, proportions and materials.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: Studio B Architects
Location: Aspen, Colorado, USA
Contractor: Koru
Landscape: Bluegreen
Interiors: Studio B Interiors (Susan Okie)
Project Area: 3,500 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Derek Skalko and Raul Garcia
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts / Allied Works Architecture
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is a building that supports the production of young artists. Where the school excels in the academic preparation of its students, it aspires to forge rigorous, creative thinkers and makers in spaces that inspire ideas and provoke experimentation and production. The 200,000 sqf expansion to the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, designed by Allied Works Architecture, includes areas for the core programs of music, dance, theater, and visual arts, as well as spaces for assembly and traditional academic instruction. The expansion is organized as simple loft spaces of concrete, brick and glass that rotate around and extend outward from an open-air central amphitheater, known to students as the ‘Green Room’. The program clusters are contained in distinct volumes that provide individual identity yet overlap adjacent disciplines in plan and section. Project description, images and drawings following the break.
Architects: Allied Works Architecture
Location: 2501 Flora St, Dallas, Texas, USA
Project Team: Brad Cloepfil (Principal), Chris Bixby (Project Lead), David Suttle (Project Architect)
Project Area: 202,000 sqf
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Jeremy Bittermann and Vicky Sambunaris
Yanlord Landmark / NBBJ
Hailed as one of China’s top 10 new urban landmarks NBBJ‘s design of Yanlord Landmark sets a new standard for high-end retail, work, and residential space in Chengdu. Yanlord Landmark was selected by the China Index Academy and China Index Research Institute as one of China’s Top 10 New Urban Landmarks two years in a row (2008-2009 and 2009-2010).
Project description and images after the break.
Architect: NBBJ
Location: Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
Architect of Record: China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute
Interior Design: Lian Zhitian and CL3
Structural Engineer: ARUP
Landscape Architect: EDAW
Lighting Consultant: Panorama
Curtain Wall Consultant: Aurecon
Property Consultant: Jones Lang LaSalle
Surveyor: DLS
Signage: Dutton Bray
Project Area: 212,482 sqm
Project Area: 2010
Photography: Paul Dingman
Chuckanut Drive Residence / Miller Hull Partnership
Designed by The Miller Hull Partnership, this 1,400 sqf main house and guest house/ garage is located on a heavily wooded cliff site with views out over the San Juan Islands of Washington State. The plan orients to major views south down the coast line and west out to the islands while being careful to stay outside of the drip line of the dominant Doug fir trees. Large overhangs protect glazing and provide shelter. This house was awarded an American Institute of Architects Housing Award.
Project description and images following the break.
Architect: Miller Hull Partnership
Location: Bellingham, Washington, USA
Project Area: 1,400 sqf
Photographs: Benjamin Benschneider
Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church / Teeple Architects
The new Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church, designed by Teeple Architects, has been conceived as a direct reflection of the liturgical vision of its Baptist congregation. This liturgical vision has a dual focus – fellowship, which the church characterizes as horizontal relationships between people, and spirituality, which is seen as a vertical relationship between people and God.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: Teeple Architects
Location: Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Principal in Charge: Stephen Teeple (OAA, FRAIC)
Project Team: Cheryl Atkinson, Bernard Jin, David Jensen, William Elsworthy, Graham Baxter
Structural Engineer: CPE
Mechanical Engineer: LKM
Electrical Engineer: LKM
Civil: Masongsong
Landscape Architect: Dutoit Allsopp Hillier
General Contractor: Derbtile Construction Inc.
Project Area: 80,000 sqf
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Shai Gil Photography
KM-QRO / casaPública
The Krauss Maffeir operating facilities was built inside an industrial building that could not be structurally touched. Additionally, the design program called for enough space for exhibitions and heavy equipment maneuvering of up to 50 tons. casaPública responded by designing a freestanding two level structure that can be dismantled.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: casaPública
Location: Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro. Mexico
Project Team: Pamela Moreno Caballero, Patricio Guerrero, Rodrigo Durán, Daniel Ibarra, Sara Villanueva
Construction and Engineering: EstructurArq
Carpentry: Tandemex and Diseño en Madera
Project Area: 350 sqm
Photographs: Rafael Gamo
Soddy / Randy Brown Architects
This proposed sod house designed by Randy Brown Architects responds to the site and the history of Nebraska’s first settlers of European descent. In the early 1800’s, Nebraska was all open fields filled with native prairie grass. The first settlers were confronted with the challenge of what materials to build with. These pioneers built dugouts, or homes that were literally dug out of the side of hills. Exterior walls were slabs of sod stacked in a running board pattern.
Project description and drawings after the break.
Architect: Randy Brown Architects
Location: Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Project Team: Randy Brown, Neil Legband
Photographs: Courtesy of Randy Brown Architects
Christian Life Center / BNIM
BNIM, the recipient of the 2011 AIA National Firm Award, designed the Christian Life Center (CLC) hoping that each resident experiences and appreciates the intended qualities of the building—quiet, embracing, community, individuality, nature, frugality, environmental responsibility, stewardship, authenticity and unique beauty. The design team envisions the building contributing to the success of men entering the program.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: BNIM
Location: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Project Area: 27,000 sqf
Photographs: Farshid Assassi
Jussila / Studio B Architects
This project consists of master planning 80 acres of fertile hills with programmatic elements that include a winemaking facility, main residence and tasting room. The site is situated in Paso Robles, California, center of an emerging wine region just north of Santa Barbara.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: Studio B Architects
Location: Paso Robles, California, USA
Project Area: 5,000 sqf
Photographs: Wayne Thom
Zeidler Residence / Ehrlich Architects
Located on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the 3,500 sqf Zeidler Residence, designed by Ehrlich Architects, arranges interior and exterior living spaces to maximize views, natural light, and ocean breezes within a subtle, sophisticated material palette.
Project description, images, and drawings after the break.
Architect: Ehrlich Architects
Location: Aptos, California, USA
Project Area: 3,500 sqf
Photographs: Matthew Millman
Library and Classroom Building, Langara College / Teeple Architects
From the project’s inception, Langara College was looking to address the educational and spatial needs of the school, as well as create a sustainable environment to incorporate the new Library and Classroom program. In addition to designing the building, Teeple Architects designed a master plan that offers a strategy to realize the environmentally responsible vision of the College’s future. The decision to create a LEED Gold Campus, supported by sustainable built and natural features, was the starting point for the overall Langara scheme.
Architect: Teeple Architects
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Principal in Charge & Project Architect: Stephen Teeple (OAA, FRAIC)
Project Team: Cheryl Atkinson, Myles Craig, Luc Bouliane
Associate Architect: IBI/HB Architects
Structural Engineer: Glotman, Simpson
Landscape Architect: Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
Mechanical Engineer: Cobalt Engineering
Electrical Engineer: Spantek
General Contractor: Bird Construction
Project Area: 80,000 sqf
Project Year 2007
Photographs: Shai Gil Photography
The Greater North Charleston Naval Base Memorial / BNIM and Burt Hill
The City of North Charleston approached BNIM and Burt Hill with one challenge – create a unique memorial dedicated to the thousands of their men and women, both military and civilian, who have risked their lives fighting for our country and citizens. Located on the grounds of the former Charleston Naval Base in Riverfront Park, the memorial is organized along a visual timeline using architecture, graphics and landscape to communicate the evolution of three naval vessels built over the course of the Base’s operational years: the Landing Craft, the Submarine and the Destroyer.
Project description, images, and drawings following the break.
Architect: BNIM and Burt Hill
Location: Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Huff
Chattanooga Street Duplex / Zack | de Vito
This project is a modern, urban two-unit townhouse designed by Zack | de Vito. Its construction consists of a 3-story wood frame structure over a concrete basement/garage. The site is a typical San Francisco lot, 26′ x 115′, with a moderate to steep upslope. The project was undertaken as a design build project with the Architect also being the owner and the general contractor. The North unit is the owner/architect’s home, and the South unit was sold. The design/build/develop strategy allowed the owners to build a new, modern home in the almost inaccessibly expensive Bay area housing market. The design build strategy also allowed an extraordianry amount of design freedom during construction, with details being worked out continuously through construction.
Project description, images and drawings after the break.
Architect: Zack | de Vito
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Project Team: Lise de Vito, Jim Zack, Greg Klosowski, Jeff Jordan
Landscape: Jim Zack and Randy Thueme Design
Project Area: 5,550 sqf
Project Year: 2004
Photographs: Massimiliano Bozonella
