P.S.1 2010 entry: LUX NOVA by EASTON+COMBS
We continue featuring the proposals for this years P.S.1 summer installation competition (awarded to SO-IL, read our full coverage of the PS1 competitions here).
This time we introduce you EASTON+COMBS, a practice ran by partners Rona Easton and Lonn Combs.
The firm has a focus on material innovation, which could be seen at LUX NOVA, their proposal for the P.S.1, which includes “Strong Light”, a 100 percent recyclable and exceptionally strong featherweight building component.
The initial system is developed as a permeable featherlight structural skin that engages an environmental play of translucent and polychromatic effect. The system offers an 80% weight reduction over an equivalent glass system with no compromise in strength and stability at a significantly lower cost.
More about LUX NOVA after the break:
AD Interviews: OFIS Arhitekti
While in Croatia, I took some time to visit Ljubljana, Slovenia, and interview OFIS Arhitekti. The practice was founded in 1998 by partners Rok Oman and Spela Videcnik, both graduates from the Ljubljana architecture school and the Architectural Association.
OFIS has produced a high amount of buildings in the last years, with very good examples in housing: Izola Social Housing, Shopping Roof Apartments, Tetris Apartments, Lace Apartments, Student apartment studios and the Backbone Village Houses.
But the firm has also being involved in retail (Mercator), religious architecture (Farewell Chapel), and some houses such as the Alpine Hut and Villa Old Oaks (full list of OFIS projects previously featured at ArchDaily). Clearly, dealing with different types of clients (individuals, state, real state) is not a problem for this young office.
What I liked about the interview was to see how responsible this young firm feels as a generation in terms of building the image of Slovenia, a new nation that has been trough many changes in the last years, specially in terms of opening to the rest of the world.
Autodesk Butterfly: Online CAD collaboration
With BIM, project collaboration was possible. But online collaboration over CAD drawings hasn’t been easy yet, with some applications that work very slow or in a limited way.
But a new project coming out of Autodesk Labs promises to make online CAD collaboration feasible: Autodesk Butterfly.
As you can see on the above video, sharing works on a very simple way over email allowing people to work on a drawing at the same time. I gave Autodesk Butterfly a try at their technology preview website (no need to sign-in, just hit Try Now) and the flash interface loaded fast. It is very intuitive to use if you have used AutoCad, and the version control system allows you to go back to previous states of the drawing.
An iPhone version would be great, as it would allow you to do on-site review and annotations. Anyway, the preview looks very strong, and maybe we will have a full version of this tool available soon.
Ardesco / TEGET
Architects: Teget Architectural Office
Location: Bodrum Peninsula, Turkey
Design Team: Mehmet Kütükçüoğlu, Ertuğ Uçar
Project Group: Alev Dağlı, Hande Köksal, Mert Üçer
Owner: Novron İnşaat ve Dış Tic. A.Ş.
Contractor: Novron İnşaat ve Dış Tic. A.Ş.
Interior Architecture: Teğet Mimarlık
Landscape Architecture: Teğet Mimarlık
Structure: Nilgün Cangır
Mechanical: Semai Yaman
Electric: Lerzan Tuncer
Project Year: 2008
Construction Year: 2009
Photographs: Hande Köksal
Helsinki Seafarers’ Centre / ARK-house Architects
Architects: ARK-house Architects
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Project Team: Pentti Kareoja, Seung-Ho Lee, Pasi Kinnunen
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Jussi Tiainen
AMFORA / Zwarts & Jansma architects
Currently, Amsterdam is expanding at an exponential rate with space becoming limited and streets becoming even more congested. Zwarts + Jansma have addressed the need for Amsterdam to develop a way to accommodate the growing society by taking a concept by Dutch engineering company Strukton and pushing it to new levels. AMFORA (Alternative MultiFunctionele Ondergrondse Ruimte Amsterdam – Alternative Multifunctional Underground Space Amsterdam) is a network of almost 50 km of tunnels that will be built underneath the canals in the town center to provide space for parking, and sports and leisure facilities.
More about AMFORA after the break.
Casa in Arruda dos Vinhos / Plano B
Plano B‘s small cabin in Arruda dos Vinhos is an elegant, yet simplistic housing solution. Conceived as an exercise in the juxtaposition of materials to originate a new body, the project uses pre-existing materials found in a ruined structure which neighbors the site as the basic components for the new constructive system.
More about the project after the break.
Museum of Polish History / Jednacz Architekci
Poland-based Jednacz Architekci shared with us their proposal for the Museum of Polish History competition, for which they received 2nd Prize.
More images and architect’s description after the break.
2G Magazine #51 / MGM Morales Giles Mariscal
2G is a bilingual (english/spanish) magazine published by Spanish editorial Gustavo Gili, a series of monographs that has featured architects such as Sou Fujimoto, Williams Tsien, Lacaton & Vassal, OFIS, Tony Fretton, and classics such as Mies van der Rohe (Issue 48/49
Issue 51 features the spanish practice Morales Giles Mariscal, which I already knew about because of 2 housing projects in Ceuta, Spain, with an interesting mix of unit configurations.
On this monograph you can see several completed and ongoing projects by the firm, for different uses: housing, educational, civic, cultural, etc. The different approaches used for each project are a reflect of a constant exploration by the firm, being “clean lines” the only common feature across them.
More photos and information after the break:
AD Round Up: Health Architecture Part III
We start this week’s Round Up with Part III of Health Architecture. Check the first part and second part in case you missed them. The other four, after the break!
T-Clinic / Suppose Design Office
With this project we wanted to see what we could do amidst the functional constraints of a clinic. Instead of keeping places normally used for movement such as an elevator shaft or stair wells closed, we wanted to open them up to collect light, using them as lightwells to maintain the lighting coming- in from above (read more…)
Water Filtration Plant / C+S Associati
Architects: C+S Associati
Location: San Erasmo Island, Venice, Italy
Project Team: Carlo Cappai, Maria Alessandra Segantini
General project and structures: Technital S.p.A.
Client: Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia, Regione del Veneto, Comune di Venezia
Actuator: Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia tramite il Consorzio Venezia Nuova
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Courtesy of C+S Associati
The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture 2010 Conference
ACADIA 2010 will focus on the changing nature of information and its impact on architectural education, research, and practice. The conference will gather leading practitioners, theorists, and researchers who will examine the relation that architecture has with technology and information, and how the latter propels today’s most innovative design experimentation and research. ACADIA 2010 will be centered on a series of peer-reviewed paper sessions and a groundbreaking exhibition including peer-reviewed projects.
Conference will be held at The Cooper Union, New York City, from October 21 to 24. Details about the Conference and Call for Papers and Projects are now available at www.acadia.org/acadia2010.
House in Colina / OPA
Architects: OPA / Felipe del Río, Federico Campino
Location: Colina, Chile
Structural Engineer: Leonora Morales
Contractor: Jaime Martinez Jaca
Landscaping: José Ignacio Romussi
Interior Area: 200 sqm
Exterior Area: 77 sqm
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Nico Saieh & Cristina Alemparte
Bastogne / adn Architectures
Architects: adn Architectures
Location: La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium
Collaborators: David Henquinet, Nicolas Iacobellis, Didier Vander Heyden
Contractor: W.S.K
Project Area: 140 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2009
Photographs: adn Architectures
Sweden Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
As the key words “Sustainability, Innovation and Communication” cornerstones, the Swedish Pavilion, designed by SWECO, showcases how the nation’s spirit of innovation solves problems, improves the urban environment and living standards, and demonstrates the importance of communication under the new technology situation.
The pavilion comprises four cube-like structures that are arranged to form a cross-like space between them — a shape much like Sweden’s flag when seen from above.The outside walls show a city-like grid; the inside walls are covered with images of nature. These cubes are connected by elevated walkways, and house the exhibition,VIP areas, a shop, a café, and a large covered courtyard — room enough for everyone.
More images and description after the break.
AD Interviews: 3LHD
My first encounter with the new breed of Croatian architects was with 3LHD, a young firm ran by Sasa Begovic, Marko Dabrovic, Tanja Grozdanic and Silvije Novak. The partners got together while still students at the Zagreb Architecture School in 1994, and thanks to the croatian competition system they were able to do their first public works, starting with the Memorial Bridge in Rijeka (1997). After that, the firm has been involved in several public works such as a stone Sports Hall in Bale, the Spaladium Center in Lora, and their latest realizations: Zamet Center in Rijeka and the Dance Center in Zagreb. In these projects, 3LHD has been able to develop new shapes that relate to a young nation.
But thanks to their awarded public buildings, the firm has also received commissions for office developments, hotels, and private houses: House K, House N and House V.
I really enjoyed my visit to this practice, and was very glad to see how a young practice (partners born between 1969-1971) can establish a collaborative working environment with a clear organization, that allows them to effectively manage a large team to work in different scales.
AIA 2010 Honor Awards
Last week the AIA announced the 28 projects that will receive the Honor Awards this year, an award which recognizes excellence in architecture, interior architecture, and regional and urban design.
The winners will be recognized during the AIA 2010 convention in Miami.
Complete list of awarded buildings, including links to features on ArchDaily, after the break:
Villa Saitan / EASTERN Design Office
Architects: EASTERN Design Office + HOJO Structure Research Institute
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Client: Shigekazu Yagi
Constructor: Minobe Construction Corporation
Site Area: 301.82 sqm
Total Floor Area: 557.70 sqm
Project Year: 2006
Photographs: Koichi Torimura
Lim Geo Dang / IROJE KHM Architects
Architects: IROJE KHM Architects
Location: JangHangDong, IlSan, GoYang, Korea
Architect in Charge: HyoMan Kim
Project manager: JiWon Han
Site area: 231.6 sqm
Gloss floor area: 199.22 sqm
Photographs: YongKwan Kim
Fujitsobo / Archivision
Architects: Archivision
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Principals in Charge: Yoshihiro Hirotani & Yusaku Ishida
Structural Engineers: Umezawa Structural Engineers
Mechanical Engineers: Azu Planning
General Contractor: Daido Housing
Site Area: 67.88 sqm
Constructed Area: 108.31 sqm
Project Year: 2008-2009
Photographs: Yuichi Higurashi
Los Angeles NFL Stadium / Aedas Sport
Designed by Aedas Sport, the innovative 75,000-seat stadium will be the first LEED-certified building in the NFL and will capture the luxury and drama of the world’s entertainment capital. The project anticipates completion for the 2013 season. Both the NFL and the client, Majestic Realty, are committed to making a progressive statement with this building and are exploring a number of initiatives that will make this the most environmentally progressive stadium in the U.S. Aedas Sport has employed the unique topography of the site to build the stadium into a hillside, reducing the steel structure by 40% and allowing at least two-thirds of the seating bowl to be built on grade.
More images and full architect’s description after the break.
