Kaohsiung Library Competition proposal / Mecanoo
Mecanoo architecten teamed up with Artech architects, Taipei for their proposal for the Kaohsiung Library Competition. Their 38,000 sqm library, which will become the region’s main library, won second place. More images and complete press release after the break.
Agamon Hakhula Visitor Center / L2 Tsionov-Vitkon Architects
The Israeli duo, L2 Tsionov-Vitkon Architects in association with architect Ofir Nahum has shared with us their entry to the Agamon Hakhula Visitor Center Competition, which has been awarded second prize. More images and a description from the architects after the jump.
Exterior Spaces in Guimaraes / Pitagoras Arquitectos
Architects: Pitagoras Arquitectos
Location: Guimaraes, Portugal
Project year: 2008 – 2009
Photographs: Luis Ferreira
Thomas Phifer and Partners
New York architect Thomas Phifer recently published his first monograph and shared the publication with us. The work matches our perception of Phifer’s architecture – elegent and pristine – as the pages are filled with exciting photography, capturing the essence of the buildings in their natural context. As Phifer shared when we interviewed him, “We really seek to open buildings up again…to nature and to the sun, to the sound of the wind; to bring back that sense of nature which is part of architecture.”
More about the monograph after the break.
University of Michigan Museum of Art / Allied Works Architecture
Allied Works Architecture was founded in 1994 by Brad Cloepfil and has grown to 50 employees with offices in New York City and Portland, Oregon. They have designed buildings for the arts, creative workspaces, residences, education buildings, and urban designs. Receiving numerous awards for their designs, including a National AIA Honor Award for the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Allied Works Architecture were among the five finalists for the Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec, check out their proposal here. In 2009 they were selected to design the National Music Center in Calgary.
We will be featuring a handful of designs by Allied Works Architecture over the next few weeks, and decided to start with their award winning University of Michigan Museum of Art located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The building more than doubles the program and collection spaces of the original museum while restoring the Alumni Memorial Hall. The addition occupies one of the last buildable sites on the historic campus, completing the primary public facade of the university.
More photographs, drawings and project description following the break.
Architects: Allied Works Architecture
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Associate Architects: Integrated Design Solutions
Project Team: Brad Cloepfil (principal), Thomas Robinson (project lead), Chelsea Grassinger (project architect) Allied Works Architecture, Paul Stachowiak (principal, Richard Newlin (associate sr. architect) Integrated Design Solutions
Project Management: University Architect’s Office, University of Michigan
Contractor: SKANSKA
Structural Engineer: KPFF
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing & Fire: ARUP and Integrated Design Solutions
Lighting/Daylighting: ARUP Lighting
Curtain Wall: RA Heintges
Exhibition Design: Allied Works Architecture
Graphics and Signage: Pentagram
Project Area: 40,362 sqf (existing), 53,452 sqf (new)
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Jeremy Bittermann, Richard Barnes
Bikyoshoki / CounterDesign
Architects: CounterDesign by Jae K. Kim
Location: Seoul, Republic of Korea
Project area: 165 sqm
Project year: 2009-2011
Photographs: Jae Kyung Kim, Woo Young Kim
The Hill House / David Coleman
Architects: David Coleman / Architecture
Location: Winthrop, Washington, USA
Structural engineer: Gary Gill
Landscape architect: Bruce Hinckley
Construction consultant: Brian Dobler
Project area: 2,100 sq. ft.
Photographs: Lara Swimmer
Varaždin Residence / Dva Arhitekta
Architects: Dva Arhitekta d.o.o. - Tomislav Ćurković, Zoran Zidarić
Location: Varaždin, Croatia
Collaborator: Barbara Vuković
Project area: 450 sqm
Project year: 2004 – 2009
Photographs: Robert Leš
DPR House / Marsh Cashman Koolloos Architects
Architects: Marsh Cashman Koolloos Architects – Mark Cashamn
Location: Sydney, Australia
Project team: Jason Border, David Parsons, Rowena Marsh
Structural engineer: Simpson Design Associates
Builder: Artechne
Project year: 2009
Photographs: Willem Rethmeier
House in Nasu / Kazunori Fujimoto Architect & Associates
Architect: Kazunori Fujimoto Architect & Associates
Location: Nasu, Tochigi, Japan
Site area: 504m2
Building area: 85,44m2
Total floor area: 85,44m2
Design: 2009
Construction: 2010
In Progress: Sunset Park Materials Recycling Facility / Selldorf Architects
Situated near the entrance to the Gowanus Canal, formerly the site of a police impound lot, the 11-acre pier will house a new 125,500 sqf facility for recycling and education. Designed by Selldorf Architects, the Sunset Park Materials Recycling Facility was not just conceived as a facility for recycling, but also as an active classroom. The approximate 2.5 acres of green space, complete with grazing goats, 50,000 sqf of photovoltaic cells and hopeful wind turbine, will offer an observation corridor and educational classrooms for students. The site is currently being raised four feet by construction crews and a completion date of December 2011 is anticipated.
Architects: Selldorf Architects
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Client: Sims Municipal Recycling
Project Area: 125,000 sqf
Renderings: Courtesy of Selldorf Architects
The Indicator: Atelier Atelier
New architecture firm names are getting out of hand. It’s as if they are trying to sound like Indie bands. Barring that, they often fall back on “Atelier such and such.” One trendy use of atelier has been the “Atelier insert-your-name-here” variation. This has been way overdone. There is also the “Atelier theoretical buzz word” version.
Since a name is how you present your firm to the world, it’s worth giving it some serious consideration. It’s more important to be apt and appropriate rather than too creative with names. Save the creativity for your designs.
More after the break.
Optic House / Randy Brown Architects
The Optic House was a collaborative design effort by Randy Brown Architects and their client. As a famous eyeglass designer, the client requested an instrument for viewing and to be viewed. The inspiration for the design revolved around the branch of physics known as Optics. This branch specifically studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it.
More information, images, and drawings after the break.
Architect: Randy Brown Architects
Location: Bennington, Nebraska, USA
Principal in Charge: Randy Brown
Project Team: Shane Fowler, Jonny Kaufman, Andrea Kelly, Brian Kelly, Neil Legband, Jenni Luebbert, Brandon Schumacker
Building Contractor: Landmark Custom Homes
Project Area: 3,000 sqf
Photographs: Farshid Assassi
Center for Promotion of Science in Belgrade / Mariusz Wrzeszcz Office
The Polish firm, Mariusz Wrzeszcz Office, has submitted their recent project, the Center for Promotion of Science in Belgrade for our readers. The architects description and additional images are available after the break.
Lakeside House In Zurich / e2a
Architects: e2a - Wim Eckert, Piet Eckert
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Project Team: Samuel Benz, Stefan Berle, Bryan Graf
Construction Management: Witzig Architekten GmbH, Zurich
Structure: Marti + Dietschweiler AG, Maennedorf
Landscape: Beat Nipkow, Landschaftsarchitekt BSLA SIA, Zurich
Building Physics: Leuthardt + Mäder, Ingenieurbüro für Bauphysik + Akustik, Brüttisellen
Electro Engineering: R+B engineering ag, Zürich
HVAC: Gruenberg + Partner, Zürich
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Radek Brunecky
Robert Paine Scripps Forum for Science, Society and the Environment / Safdie Rabines Architects
Designed by Safdie Rabines Architects, the Robert Paine Scripps Forum for Science, Society and the Environment is an oceanfront conference center that plays host to scientists from around the world studying the oceans, earth, and marine life. The project features an approximately 300-person flexible auditorium space, four oceanfront meeting rooms of varying sizes, a graduate student lounge, a catering kitchen, and a restaurant.
Project description, images, and drawings after the break.
Architects: Safdie Rabines Architects
Location: UCSD La Jolla, California, USA
MEP Engineer: Integrated Engineering
Structural Engineer: Flores Lund Consultants
Civil Engineer: Fuscoe Engineering
Landscape Architect: Aerea Studio
Acoustic Consultant: Dohn and Associates
Contractor/Builder: Jaynes Corporation, General Contractors
Project Area: 15,000 sqf
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Anne Garrison, David Hewitt Anne Garrison Architectural Photography
Summerhill House / Boyd Cody Architects
Architects: Boyd Cody Architects
Location: Summerhill, Ireland
Project area: 320 sqm
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Sinead Bourke / Boyd Cody Architects
Are you an Architect? Take the quiz…
Jody Brown, the architect behind the blog Coffee with an Architect made this interesting quiz to determine if you are indeed an architect or not.
Best Hepburn? Is it Katherine or Audrey? Better Duchovny? Is it X-Files or Californication?
The 50 questions and their correct answers after the break.
Dress Code / Complex City
Olivier Brouillard, from Complex City, shared the design of Dress Code, an elementary school designed for the community of Fréchy, Switzerland, an area surrounded by farming and nearby hills. Under the idea that once the program and the function are defined, the architect’s job consists in dressing up architecture; Dress Code was conceived. It gives a major importance to the facades and to the way the building is seen externally. Visual communication is a key point, especially considering that school is the first source of knowledge for youngsters.More images and project description after the break.
In Progress: City Green Court / Richard Meier & Partners Architects
Construction for the City Green Court, Richard Meier & Partners third building within the Prague 4-Pankrác Master Plan, is underway. Receiving a pre-certification of LEED Platinum, the building’s design is inspired by the language of Czech Cubism simultaneously responding to issues of conservation and sustainability. A completion date of early 2012 is anticipated. The video,
“We are working together to make City Green Court a benchmark for green building design in the Czech Republic,” shared Richard Meier. “This assignment has been particularly challenging as it also meant addressing the historic beauty of Prague and at the same time creating a modern image of the City for its future.”
More renderings and drawings of City Green Court following the break.
Architects: Richard Meier & Partners
Renderings: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects, vize.com
Video: vize.com
Huga Fab III and Headquarters Building / J. J. Pan & Partners
Architects: J. J. Pan & Partners, Architects & Planners (JJP)
Location: Central Taiwan Science Park, Taichung, Taiwan
Project Team: Shun Yi Cheng, Martin Hagel, Yi Shien Chin, Shih Cheng Yang, Wen Chi Wang, Shih Fan Huang
Building contractor: Fu Tsu Construction Co., Ltd.
Project year: 2007 – 2009
Photographs: Chun Chieh Liu
