GLR Arquitectos‘ residence in Nuevo Leon, Mexico sits on higher topography than its neighboring houses. This “privileged situation” provides the home with greater height, and as a result, better vistas toward the National Park of Chipinque. The home is comprised of simple, pure geometric volumes that intend to evoke an image of lightness within a language of heavy and massive volumes.
More about the project after the break.
Back in December we told you about the international design competition to re-invigorate the park and city areas surrounding “one of the world’s most iconic monuments”, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The five finalist teams have been announced, and the winner will be selected on September, 2010. The finalist teams are: - Behnisch Team - MVVA Team - PWP Landscape Architecture, Foster + Partners, Civitas - SOM, Hargreaves, BIG - Weiss/Manfredi Team
Yury Permyakov designed a simple house that adheres to the client’s main concern: to maximize the seperation from the neighboring houses. The 300 sqm house is seen as some “kind of pearl” that wrapped by a protective layer, and only a slight sliver of the inner surface of the facade is left open. The exterior protective surface is a coarse dark-colored metal sheets with small holes.
More images after the break.
AMO is a design and research studio inside OMA, a think tank operating on the boundaries of architecture: media, politics, sociology, sustainability, technology, fashion, curating, publishing and graphic design. Some of their works include the barcode flag for the EU and a study for Wired magazine.
And while OMA covers sustainable strategies on a building or master plan scale, AMO is approaching it on en European scale as one of the five consultants conducting technical, economic and policy analyses for Roadmap 2050, an initiative by the European Climate Foundation which looks to chart a policy roadmap for the next 5-10 years based on the European leaders’ commitment to an 80-95% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. You can download a brief of Roadmap 2050 in PDF.
The goal is to achieve a 2% energy efficiency saving per year in order to meet this goal, with power and vehicle transportation being the most important areas.
Through the complete integration and synchronization of the EU’s energy infrastructure, Europe can take maximum advantage of its geographical diversity. The report’s findings show that by 2050, the simultaneous presence of various renewable energy sources within the EU can create a complementary system of energy provision ensuring energy security for future generations.
AMO’s work focuses on the production of a graphic narrative which conceptualizes and visualizes the geographic, political, and cultural implications of the integrated, decarbonized European power sector.
On their study you can find an interesting approach to a diverse european energy grid, including energy trade and the use of new non-traditional sources.
The image of “Eneropa” appears as a new continent based on its energy production: Biomassburg, Geothermalia, Solaria, the Tidal States… are part of this new territory. Other branding concepts are introduced on the study, creating a tangible image of this ambitious plan, which reminds the powerful (yet simple) idea behind the barcode flag.
You can download the full study in PDF format at the Roadmap 2050 website.
More after the break:
Daniel Bonilla Arquitectos‘s latest project is an open chapel in La Calera, Colombia that is gently nestled into the surroundings. The simplicity of the geometry adds a touch of elegance to the pious space, as the natural features of the environment, wind and light, create “an essential harmony.”
More images after the break.
MONU magazine on urbanism is continuously looking for interesting contributions. The current open call for submissions for MONU “Most Valuable Urbanism” and closes by the end of May 2010.
O + A have conceived a conceptual pool scheme for a river in Amsterdam. Entitled Urban Beach, the pool appears as a continuous band that is folded and lifted to create a mobius strip-like effect. The folding allows the object to become more flexible, and the architects see it as a framework for various programmatic activities, such as an open-air movie theater in the summer, or a wellness center in the winter.
More images and more about the pool after the break, via Dezeen.
Cheungvogl, a young international architectural practice based in Hong Kong (see previous projects by Cheungvogl featured on AD here), designed two residences in Tokyo on a private development. House 2a is to be occupied by the client, a Japanese-German couple, based in Tokyo while House 2b is for sale. The client’s required that the design be, “Calm, but not sterile. Humble, and yet unexpected. Economical, nothing extravagant. Open space with flexible floor plans and a space to contemplate.” Working with these ideas in mind, Cheungvogl created related residences that also become separate enities.
More about the residences and more images after the break.
Based in Germany, Studio Aisslinger‘s new housing prototype is modular, sustainable and transportable. The low energy house, named ‘Fincube’, is comprised of thin horizontal “ledges” of locally grown wood that wrap the slightly bulging form. This second facade layer provides privacy for the inhabitants and fuses the man-made structure with its natural surroundings. The home provides 47 sqm of living space with a minimal CO2 footprint, and can also be easily dismantled and rebuilt on a different site. The supporting structure is made of local larch and the interior is a combination of larch and stone-pine. Organized in a helical structure, the entrance area blends into a generous open kitchen with an adjacent living space, and around the corner rests the bedroom.
More images after the break.
Back in 2006, the Torrevieja Relaxation Park in Spain was built to be a landmark in the City and a referent in contemporary architecture, but its actual state is just the opposite.
A new hospital typology has been designed by the team of Hord Coplan Macht + Spevco that eliminates the need for a standard hospital. In their design, 58 trailers provide a fully operational, fully mobile 48-bed hospital. The trailers include every aspect of a hospital – from waiting gift shops, to surgical suites with 4 O.R.s, pharmacies and labs. The design is the future of how westernized health care will travel abroad. It is a system that effectively transforms health care for entire regions and countries over time, letting the hospital and care come to the patient.
More about the mobile idea after the break.
“In the profession of Architecture today women currently make up about 50% of Graduate students. However, in the profession itself, licensed women practitioners make up only about 15%. Why do you think we see such drastic percentage drops? Why don’t we, women, make it to the end?”
Organized by MoMA and PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, the Rising Currents exhibit cannot be missed by architects, ecologists, or green enthusiasts…let alone any New Yorker. The exhibit is a cohesive showcase of five projects which tackle the lingering truth that within a few years, the waterfront of the New York harbor will drastically change. Dealing with large scale issues of climate change, the architects delve into a specific scale that we can recognize and relate to. The projects are not meant to be viewed as a master plan, but rather each individual zone serves as a test site for the team to experiment. The projects demonstrate the architects’ abilities to look passed the idea of climate change as a problem, and move on to see the opportunities it presents. Barry Bergdoll, the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA, explained, “Your mission is to come up with images that are so compelling they can’t be forgotten and so realistic that they can’t be dismissed.”
More about each zone after the break.
French architect Jean Nouvel has been selected to design this years Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.
Since 2010, the Serpentine Gallery has commissioned world’s most renowned architects to design a temporary structure to host summer events. The list includes Zaha Hadid, Frank Ghery, Rem Koolhaas, Toyo Ito, Daniel Libeskind, Oscar Niemeyer, Alvaro Siza + Souto de Moura, SANAA (previously featured at AD), danish artist Olafur Eliasson, and several collaborations with Cecil Balmond and ARUP.
Nouvel proposes a vivid red metal structure, which trough the reflection of its materials (steel, glass, fabric, polycarbonate) remind of classic british icons, such as the phone box or the London buses, while contrasting with the green of the park. A free standing 12m tall wall marks the presence of the pavilion.
More images after the break.
RISCO Architects‘ new 5-star Altis Belém Hotel contains 50 rooms and a number of facilities intended to support water sports. The hotel is designed in a way as to not constitute a visual obstacle along the axis between the Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries. The hotel is a very narrow structure composed of a rectangular platform and “pockets” that hold different entities, such as a restaurant, to provide privacy. Above this platform, a larger green space opens for the guests to enjoy. On the exterior of the hotel, what appears to be an elaborate surface is actually a system of shutters that guests can open or close to reveal their larger balconies.
In an interesting article from the New York Times this week, different families completed not so typical renovations. A few years ago, the Sleeper family moved from their crowded Missouri ranch house when they saw an eBay offering for three acres with an empty sandstone cave in Festus, Missouri. The initial idea to build a larger home on the land was soon abandoned as the family realized the potential the former quarry offered. With 15,000 feet of naturally insulated space, the Sleeper family took up a new residence – inside the cave. The older family members helped add more “home” touches to the cave and since the cave’s bare walls shed sand, the Sleepers placed interior roofs or umbrellas over areas like the kitchen that need to stay sand-free. Other than that, the family truly enjoys the natural feel of the space and have created a comfortable home. “The inside of the house feels like you’re outdoors without the discomfort of hot or cold,” Mrs. Sleeper states.
More images after the break.
NeoStudio Architekci shared their completed design for a residence in Garby near Poznan, Poland. Located on a sunken site, the building rests on a steep southern slope. With the client’s desire for a double height, two-level living room, the home takes its form around that central room. The back of the home has been fitted to the existing slope and makes the form read as ”soaking into the surroundings” as an attempt to make the form dissolve into nature. The house also includes the standard amenities for a family of four, such as a kitchen, dining area and bedrooms.
More images after the break.
The Dutch submission to the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is an exceptional one. This time around, it will not be the classic pavilion with long lines of visitors waiting outside and a presentation inside. The Netherlands is making its appearance at China’s world exposition along an entire street. The submission, entitled “Happy Street”, is the response by designer John Kormeling to the Chinese Expo theme “Better City, Better Life” and the sub-themes:
- Urban cultural diversity - Urban economic growth and prosperity - Innovation in science and technology in urban contexts - Remodelling urban communities - Interaction between urban and rural areas.
Find out more about Holland’s pavilion right here. More images and a video after the break.
