Rock Ventures LLC and Bedrock Real Estate Services has announced the winners of Opportunity Detroit’s international design competition which solicited ideas for a potential signature project on the former Hudson’s Department Store site in downtown Detroit. The three winning design ideas came from Rome, Italy; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Southfield, Michigan. More images and information on the winning entries after the break.

The nine-week competition was a free, open call for architects, designers, planners, artists, and community members to present ideas for innovative, creative, and inspired designs for the potential future use of one of the city’s most iconic sites. The competition attracted nearly 200 entries from architectural and design firms, as well as individuals, from 23 states and 22 countries.

Entrants were asked to create compelling visions for a new urban development on the vacant 92,421 square-foot site, bordered by Woodward Avenue, Gratiot Avenue, Grand River Avenue and Library Street in the heart of downtown Detroit.

From residential to retail, to concert venues and offices, the entries ran the gamut from a single story structure to a 1,000-foot high skyscraper, as entrants let their imaginations run wild. Some of the submissions pay homage to the original Hudson’s Department Store by including its likeness in their design; one submission literally turned the store upside down, another included a completely green, sustainable and energy efficient building, and yet another included all made-in-Michigan materials.

Award: 1st Place
Project Name: MINICITY Detroit
Designers: Davide Marchetti and Erin Pellegrino
Location: Rome Italy
MINICITY Detroit incorporates an urban path to an elevated platform and includes sculptural high-rise elements and low-rise components for a combined use of commercial, residential and retail space in upper and lower plazas. Other uses include a market space and cinemas. The design incorporates red brick found in much of the city’s historic architecture while complementing nearby buildings.

Award: 2nd Place
Project Name: Detroit Entrepreneurial Center (DEC)
Designers: Efrain Velez, Juan Nunez, Marko Kanceljak
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Detroit Entrepreneurial Center (DEC) is an eco-friendly mixed use development designed to promote a dynamic exchange among people and inspire innovation. It features a business incubator, marketplace, hotel and several housing options along with climate controlled common areas. The building honors Detroit’s industrial past and resembles the silhouette of past factories and “the material qualities of a rusted steel façade.”

Award: 3rd Place
Project Name: Highwave Detroit
Designers: Team Rossetti/Metrogramma
Location: Southfield, Michigan
Highwave Detroit proposes a building honoring the site’s significance for Detroit’s identity with a strong visual impact. Its triangular shape suggests a sail on a boat. Other materials include steel, concrete and glass, and a greener side featuring terraces with water views and reflecting pools at ground level. Functions include entertainment and event space, residential, retail and office space.

After the official judging ended on June 7, the public was invited to view and vote on the submissions as part of a special exhibitand community open house Saturday and Sunday June 8-9. The three submissions earning the most public votes won cash prizes of $2,500, $1,000 and $500 respectively for first, second and third places. All submissions (including Honorable Mentions and Community Vote winners) can be viewed in the online gallery.

Architects: Keisuke Kawaguchi+K2-Design
Location: Mihara City, Hiroshima, Japan
Year: 2013
Photographs: Toru Kitamura

It’s a new house that is hidden within an old, atmospheric brick storehouse which dates back to World War II. It was originally a fuel storehouse and later functioned as a work place for the father of the present client. It will now continue to mature as a residence with the passing of time. The old brick storehouse has historical value, and furthermore it would be nearly impossible today to build using the same techniques of that time. So our thought was that we should “preserve it” so that it can continue to exist. Fortunately the client agreed with our conviction and thus the “Hiding Place” was realized.

The residence is a steel structure. The house is placed in the middle of the storehouse with four passages surrounding it. As the brick storehouse itself is trussed with wood, we used steel to protect the new house in case of emergency such as an earthquake. LDK, a Japanese tatami-matted room, and a bathroom are all arranged in one room. Simple unvarnished cinder blocks are stacked to separate spaces. All areas visually open to the outside towards the interior brick walls of the storehouse.

We adopted glass walls on every facet since there is no worry about privacy in everyday life. This allows the residents to enjoy the beautiful red bricks from inside. In addition, we installed skylights in the new house so we can enjoy the aged wooden beams of the storehouse with gentle, natural light shining into the house. The skylights and openings in the brick walls to the outdoors are made to disperse light and provide a breezeway to the new house. To harmonize with the beautiful brick walls, environmentally friendly Afzelia wood flooring with beeswax was utilized.

The inside of the storehouse simultaneously serves as the outside of the residence. Vines were planted at random to form a shade garden to harmonize with the environment. It will be pleasing to watch them grow naturally up the wall.

The interior was designed to create a sense of depth. Indirect lighting arrangements were scrutinized for effective lighting. We also added a wood stove. Its countenance is suitable for this house, but above all a flickering flame is most beautiful. The wide views of brick and glass in this space create a “sui generis” (distinctive) atmosphere, and the reflection of light and flames add a great variety of expression to the room. The client‘s family has already started a new life here. The brick storehouse enfolding the “residence” has begun a new era.

New things are enchanting. The old, at times, must be swept out when priority is given to convenience and comfort. On the other hand, there are times when the old exudes an overwhelming radiance and unique presence. Isn’t it a special atmosphere that only those nestled for a long time can create? Artificially aged interiors are often used in homes. Why? Perhaps because rusticity evokes a sense of nostalgia which people find attractive. It’s not easy to integrate “authentic, significant age” into our lives.

In our modern lives, we can get convenient items on the spot if we only pay for them. Scenery and life in Japan has changed drastically just in the fifty years after World War II. It is certainly great that our society is richer thanks to the progress of “convenience”. But, to live in company with the old means to “preserve an inheritance”. Although time and great care may be required, living alongside the old may nurture our senses. History etched in a building is that of the people who have lived there. Nostalgic scenes bring back “memories” and these “memories” sometimes lead to the “strength to live on into the future”.

Thus, “Hiding Place in the Brick Storehouse” was born, and enters a new time. We wanted the brick house to continue into the next age without dampening its distinctive charm. I deeply appreciate the choice the client made, and feel a great significance in having been able to engage in its architecture.

Architects: Alday Jover Arquitectura y Paisaje
Location: Utebo, Zaragoza, Spain
Technical Architect: Luis M. Gutiérrez, Eva Brugal
Area: 2,850 sqm
Photographs: Jordi Bernardo

Collaborators: Iñaki Alday, Margarita Jover, arq. autores; Aroa álvarez, Caroline A, Dillard, Rubén, Páez Joana M. Verd, arq.
Material Budget: 691,786 €
Total Budget: 954,941 €
Client: Ayuntamiento de Utebo
Structures: BIS arquitectes
Engineers: INCO ingenieros
Technical Architect: Luis M. Gutiérrez, Eva Brugal
Program: Cultural center and public space downtown Utebo, Zaragoza

A mythical ruin is now in the center of town, next to a large canal, which for centuries milled grain and later generated electricity for the entire population. We propose its recovery as a museum with a didactic character, included within a new cultural center. The project is developed in five key concepts:

1. The identity of the mill space.

2. The compactness with the location of the Cultural Center in a second volume located on the south side of the plot.

3. The abstract volume with the minimal visible scale reference elements, to address the problem of scale and obtain a presence of the public building on the Plaza de Aragon, despite the taller residential surroundings.

4. The outside space as part of the cultural center, the area between the volume of the mill and the Plaza is treated as a large outdoor room, a parterre.

5. The material character of the building and its environment, which accepts imperfections and the passage of time. The new volume refers to the local traditional architecture and the mill itself, with ochre stained concrete elements, and the constructive evolution of the traditional stone and mortar walls. Therefore, the sense of mass predominates. Its concrete finish texture, constructed with formwork made of reeds, a typical material of the canals, generates a vibration and chromatic variation with the changes in daylight.

Canterbury Cathedral is delighted to announce a design competition to find an outstanding team to revitalise the landscape immediately in front of the main Cathedral entrance. The competition is an opportunity for designers to reconsider the way visitors first encounter England’s leading Cathedral and Mother Church.

Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Cathedral’s Precincts were last remodelled in the 1940’s. The Cathedral is looking for a creative team who combine sensitivity to the classic and historic qualities of the space with an ability to meet modern expectations.

Brigadier John Meardon, Receiver General of Canterbury Cathedral said, ‘More than a million visitors enter the Precincts every year and the setting of the Cathedral is their first contact with this numinous and astonishingly beautiful building. The welcome we offer them should show us at our best. We are grateful to Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing for generously funding this competition, which is one strand of our programme to conserve and share this building with a wider audience.’

Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) is managing the competition on behalf of the Cathedral and further details of the project and how to register for the competition are available on the dedicated competition microsite.

Malcolm Reading, Chairman of MRC and organiser behind recent design competitions for the V&A, the Cadogan Estate and the Olympic Park Legacy Company, commented: ‘It’s an unusual challenge for a team, mixing landscape and place-making with a respect for a setting with the highest heritage protection. This is a space that needs to be welcoming, offer sanctuary and also opportunities for celebration. We are hoping for collaborations that balance a rich mix of different skills with sensitivity to the needs of visitors, pilgrims and the church community.’

A creative exploration of the project is strongly encouraged along with interesting multi-disciplinary collaborations. Competitors have until July 17, 2013 to enter the first stage of the competition. All entrants must follow the registration procedure as explained on the competition website.

From the responses a shortlist of five (the competition’s second stage) will be chosen to work up concept propositions (for which an honorarium will be paid to the unsuccessful teams). The shortlist will be announced in the late Summer and the winning team announced in the Autumn.

Architects: Laboratorio Urbano de Lima – Pablo Díaz Mora + Carmen Rivas Lombardi
Location: Lima, Perú
Year: 2010
Photographs: Courtesy of Laboratorio Urbano de Lima + Carmen Rivas Lombardi

Project Team: Arq. Noelia Muñante Salazar
Structures: Ing. Julio Higashi Luy
Plumbing: Ing. Roberto Pain
Electrical: Ing. Wilmer Alarcón

The project is located in the Pius XII private school, across the current sports field, in the district of Surco, Lima-Peru. The initial call was a private competition, which we won 1^st place.

Initial considerations of the project were the versatility and flexibility of the space. The project started from a study of pedestrian flows in the school, through which it was suggested that the building be a place with natural accessibility, and where users enter the project in a natural way, integrating the building to the school’s outdoor space.

Further considerations (which are based on the client’s prerequisite) required considering a modular structure that would allow future expansions without greatly affecting the building.

The structure is based on a metallic folded profile supported by “H” columns. This folded profile allowed us an increased permeability with the exterior because we solved the structure with smaller sections and therefore achieved greater transparency.

The multipurpose room space can accommodate different school activities, such as lunches, receptions, conferences, meetings and karaoke. It was suggested that the enclosures slide open so that the space is accessible to the continued entry of students and parents.

The material logic considers the highest visual permeability outward, and to accentuate the folded profile to some extent (with a natural wood lattice) that projects towards the sports field.

Architects: FARM
Location: Singapore, Singapore
Team: Tiah Nan Chyuan, Lee Hui Lian(FARM), Kurjanto Slamet (KD Architects)
Collaborators: KD Architects, Locus Associates with Base6 and Terre Pte Ltd
Area: 1,116 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: Bryan van der Beek & Edward Hendricks

This is a tale of two houses – similar looking, yet independent and coming together to form a coherent whole. The two blocks sit on a sprawling piece of land, belonging respectively to the retired parents and one of their children.

This separation of the house into two blocks, in part a response to the sheer scale of the land, is also a requirement brief given by the clients. Programmatically, it consists of a two-storey block with the main living and master bedroom area, and a single-storey block housing the entertainment areas of the house.

What links these two volumes together is the huge central courtyard at the entrance expressed in an austere geometry of granite floor and wall, an organically shaped oculus and a minimalist planting of six willowy trees. Like a sparse yet artful Chinese landscape painting, this sets the tone for the rest of the spaces.

The landscape design, similar to the house, is also experienced in multiple correlated layers. It takes its inspiration from the philosophy of classical Chinese Garden where views are borrowed through cutouts and vistas, and where sight lines and spaces begin to overlap.

Architects: FORGAS Arquitectos – Joan Forgas y Dolors Ylla-Catalá
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Area: 4,500 sqm
Year: 2007
Photographs: Filippo Poli, Jordi Tost, Courtesy of Forgas Arquitectos

Collaborators: A. Fernández, E. Valls, A. Stakic (arquitectos), F. Benedicto (arquitecto técnico)
Structures: BOMA
Facilities: J. Miravet
Cable Car Facilities: LEITNER
Client: Ayuntamiento de Barcelona / TMB
Budget: 5,000,000 €

Here we present the 3 new stations for the Montjuic cable car, the work of the Spanish office FORGAS Arquitectos, who belong to the collective Plataforma 8E, presented in Chile as part of the XVII Architecture Biennial in Santiago.

The old Montjuic cable car was a facility that dated from 1969. The passage of time exhausted its useful life and made it obsolete. This is why in 2004, the Barcelona metropolitan transportation company (TMB) decided to replace it in order to adapt it to the new requirements of the city.

The assignment of the renewal of the cable car facility links to the proposals of the global management project Passeig dels Cims de Montjuic, both for the improvements in its capacity, functionality and security, and the fact of being part of the new system of mobility planned for the mountain.

The renewal of the cable car keeps the original layout, but relocates the stations adapting them to the new paths of the park, giving accessibility and comfort to users in addition to responding to the new technical requirements of the facilities. In this context, the upper station is relocated outside the perimeter of the castle moat in order to respect the monument and its immediate surroundings as patrimony.

Also, the new stations become larger because they accommodate more robust machinery and technology belonging to a state of the art cable car, with larger cabins, faster and with higher safety standards.

Each of the three stations features a specific program in order to optimize their relative conditions.

Due to its location, this station must have a complementary and linking role with the funicular station which connects to the subway network of the city. It hosts cable car machinery and includes a services and office program.

The new station approaches the patrimonial building of the funicular station in order to restore its original volumetric clarity. Both buildings are connected at ground floor to give continuity to the technical area and this connection is used to provide an elevator that addresses the accessibility between the platforms of the funicular and the lobby.

The location of this station, in a central position with respect to the project and a site with less conditions than to the others, makes it ideal to include the cabin garage and repair and maintenance workshop.

The roof of the garage is partially occupied by the elements of the station and the rest of the surface is treated as a roof garden, planted with “sedum”. This makes for a colorful vegetal appearance with minimum maintenance.

Given the uniqueness of the site, tangent to the monument, we have proposed that the program of this station be minimized: public platform and warehouse. At the top it has an access at the level of the perimeter of the castle and at the bottom, it has direct connection with the Passig dels Cims and the bus stop.

We have intended for the stations to be open and permeable to the surroundings of the park, locating the technical elements partially underground.

The construction of the three stations is performed under the same criteria and materials: exposed concrete walls with a textured finish on the baseboards, light envelopes with zinc finish on metallic structure on the roofs of the public areas and complementing the repertoire of materials: treated wood and glass which guarantees comfort, transparency, and visual quality in these spaces.

Amid fears that an initial proposal for a DePaul University stadium wouldn’t adequately fit in its residential context, The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) seeks architects without experience in sports design to propose alternative designs. The MPEA hopes to draw top architects to the project, who, with their fresh-eyed approach, will then collaborate with specialized stadium designers later in the process. A similar approach to solicit proposals for a revamp of Navy Pier was used in 2011.

In a recent interview, Spiegel speaks candidly with three architects who have one thing in common: projects in Germany plagued by severe delays and spiralling costs. Christoph Ingenhoven is head of Ingenhoven Architects, designers of train station Stuttgart 21. Meinhard von Gerkan of Gerkan, Marg and Partners is responsible for the Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, and finally Pierre de Meuron represents Herzog & de Meuron, designers of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.

These projects are well known in Germany as much for their designs as for their construction costs, and Spiegel is not shy about getting to the bottom of these controversies. Of course, the architects themselves have their own ideas about the bad press (namely that they’re being unjustly blamed). Meinhard von Gerkan, for example, says:

“It’s a big mistake to voluntarily serve as a figurehead, because then everyone knows whom to target. We are these figureheads, not the clients and not the construction companies. And we are liable for everything.”

More of these gems from the architects, after the break….

Pierre de Meuron gives an idea of what causes these problems to happen in the first place:

“Look at this cup in front of me. Let’s say it represents the Elbphilharmonie. They initially said it had to be white and somehow contain tea. That was roughly what was stated in the call for bids at the time. But no one said how big it should be, that it also needed a saucer and possibly even a spoon.”

De Meuron believes that it is important to stick with a difficult situation:

“We are courageous because we stayed with the project. We have assumed an obligation – not just to the client, but also to the city.”

Von Gerkan has a further suggestion as to the root cause of the problem – the political system that commissions them:

“Developing and expressing solutions is one thing. Putting them into practice in a political landscape that’s tied to a four-year cycle is another. Politicians depend on making a name for themselves with major projects during their terms in office.”

Ingenhoven suggests that “the solution is to plan more intensively in advance”, however von Gerkan disagrees:

“The pure truth doesn’t get you far in this business. The opera house in Sydney would never have been approved if they had known how much it would cost from the start. It only works with fake documents.”

“With a lie at the very beginning?”

“Yes. Only with a lie.”

After taking persisting courageously and taking responsibility for the blame, how do these situations affect the architects themselves? Christoph Ingenhoven has the answer:

“The three of us are not cynics. We are making an honest effort to do the right thing. And it’s difficult to experience what we’re going through.”

Read the full interview at the Spiegel 

Architects: Conxita Balcells Associats S.L.P
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Architect: Conxita Balcells Blesa, conxitabalcellsassociats s.l.p.
Area: 1,614 sqm
Year: 2008
Photographs: Lourdes Jansana

Collaborators: Ana Lete, Maria Manrique, Oriol Ribes
Structures: Manuel Arguijo, arquitecto
Facilities: Grau-Del Pozo instalaciones
Technical Architect: Aumedes Dap, Valeri Consultors Associats
Construction: Construccions Solius, S.A.
Management: GISA
Budget: 2,486,476.26 €

Here we present the Primary Care Center in Carnet, developed by the Catalan office of Conxita Blacells, an architect who belongs to the collective Plataforma 8E, presented in Chile as part of the XVII Architecture Biennial in Santiago.

The center hosts a number of medical areas in a building comprised of two floors.

The Center for Primary Care (CAP) is located on a portion of the existing underground parking, which allows us to define an area for facilities and assets of the municipality, articulating a large public square. We also enhance a back passage that relates the Domenech i Montaner museum with the “Teixit i Punt” school.

The proposal seeks to integrate the building into the site in a simple and rational way, with its main facade facing the square, with a skin of perforated stainless steel enclosed by a large black zinc plate frame. It is shown laterally, at a smaller scale, on the access road. On the other hand, in the passage, the building is integrated with the small residential buildings displaying a more fragmented volume, using zinc and plaster and paint.

The relationship between program and place has allowed us to lay out the more public area on the ground floor, whereas the restricted use areas are located on the upper floor. By dividing the program into two bays separated by a longitudinal courtyard, we were able to enhance the areas with facade towards the square by placing the waiting rooms there, while consultation rooms and offices are located on the facade towards the interior courtyard.

Architects: DURAN&HERMIDA arquitectos asociados – Javier Durán y María Augusta Hermida
Location: Cuenca, Ecuador
Area: 913 sqm
Photographs: Sebastián Crespo

Collaborators: Sonia Guzhñay, Edison Castillo, Cristian Sotomayor
Construction: DURAN&HERMIDA arquitectos asociados
Site Area: 360,00m2

This building is located in the city of Cuenca, so sunlight is almost perpendicular, with variations of 23 degrees at the equinoxes of June and December. It contains one apartment per floor, except for the third top floor where the space is divided between a small apartment and an office.

We intended for the apartments to have sunlight in the morning and evening, therefore, the east and west facades are very transparent, while those facing north and south are closed preventing views to the neighbors. The apartment on the ground floor is lit through a back courtyard.

The construction system used is fast and efficient: we propose three bearing walls 6 meters apart, each built with solid bricks 20x40x8 that are manufactured especially for this project. The slabs are constructed with pre-stressed beams 6m in length positioned every 60cm. This system allows us to dispense with the columns and have two free bays to distribute the spaces.

The west facing facade has a series of sliding shutters made of a metal frame and wooden slats that prevent views to the laundry areas and protect from the annoying afternoon sun.

The interior spaces are related to each other creating a sense of infinite space, this enables a new way of understanding and inhabiting domestic space.

The challenge is to achieve the highest standards of both constructive and spatial quality, but adjusting to the costs of the local market, so that they are competitive and affordable for a large segment of the population.

The Chinese government is pushing forward with a plan that will move 250 million Chinese people from rural communities into newly constructed towns and cities over the next 12 years. The government has been bulldozing ancient villages, temples and open-air theaters as well as paving over farmland to make way for mega-cities that will raise the number of city-dwellers in China to nearly the total urban population of the US.

To find out how and why this is happening, keep reading. 

For decades, the Chinese Communist Party insisted that peasants, even those working in cities, be tied to plots of land in order to ensure political and economic stability. Today, however, with the threat of a slowing economy, the party has reversed its stance, hoping to find new sources of national growth. China is looking for a way to restructure its economy, to become more independent, and rely less of exportation.

Their solution: domestic consumerism.

Those who live in rural communities in China are largely self-sufficient, living off of the land and requiring very little in terms of infrastructure and transportation. By pushing for rapid urbanization and a radical shift from production to consumption, the government believes that there will be countless new opportunities for construction companies, transportation, utilities and appliance makers. “If half of China’s population starts consuming, growth is inevitable,” said Li Xiangyang, vice director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, part of a government research institute. “Right now they are living in rural areas where they do not consume.”

But this extreme approach to urbanization and modernization can be a dangerous one. In countries such as Brazil and Mexico, where urbanization was also seen as the vehicle for economic growth, slums expanded and unemployment clung to the newly relocated underclass. If China wants to succeed in its endeavor, it will need funds sufficient for the construction of new roads, hospitals, schools and community centers – which alone could cost more than $600 billion a year – as well as provide for education, health care and the pensions of ex-farmers. They will have to coordinate intensely among various ministries and somehow balance the rights of those dislocated by their policies.

At his inaugural news conference, the country’s new prime minister, Li Keqiang, cautioned that it would require quite a few legal changes “to overcome various problems in the course of urbanization.” These could include chronic urban unemployment if jobs are unavailable, more protests from uncooperative farmers, a permanent underclass in big Chinese cities and the destruction of rural culture and religion – not to mention the obliteration (already taking place) of the traditional, organic Chinese city.

The day after Chinese architect Wang Shu received the Pritzker Prize in May of 2012, he returned to the old Beijing neighborhood where he had grown up only to find it in the process of being demolished. This neighborhood – called a “hutong” – was a maze of narrow streets and traditional courtyard houses that once characterized the urban fabric of a Chinese city; now, however, they are rapidly transforming into sprawling, gridded mega-cities of identical skyscrapers – copy-cats of many modern cities in the West.

“Cities today have become far too large,” Wang said in an interview in April. “I’m really worried, because it’s happening too fast and we have already lost so much.”

While China’s intense urbanization has caused irreversible destruction to much of the country’s rich architectural and urban past, it has also created and continues to create countless opportunities for innovative design. With so many plans and projects waiting to be developed, it’s only natural that China is becoming more and more fascinating to the architecture world. But what price must be paid, what sacrifices made by 250 million lives for the China of the future?

Tell us your thoughts below, and for the original story, check out this excellent New York Times article.

References: NYTimes, Bloomberg

Architects: K2LD Architects
Location: Singapore
Project Team: Ko Shiou Hee, Leong Lai Ping, Elita Ong
Year: 2012
Photographs: Patrick Bingham-Hall

Main Contractor: Holden Tiling & Construction Pte Ltd
M&E Engineer: PTA Consultants Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: MSE Engineering & Management Consultants
Quantity Surveyor: Ian Chng Cost Consultants Pte Ltd
Landscape: Watermount Gardens Pte Ltd
Interior Designer: A2zen Consulting Ltd

A private family residence situated on a uniquely shaped triangular plot, the Winged House frames the site with two prominent forms – the trapeziums. These forms open towards the main view at the back of the site where 3 existing majestic palms are, and of lush greenery. These embracing forms carve out and frame a middle garden for friendly and private gatherings.

In response to the tropical climate context, the formal exploration took a turn from cutting openings from a pure trapezoid form to separating roof from form.  The form draws from the understanding of traditional Malay architecture where the house itself is climatically responsive to bring comfort to its inhabitants.  The form of the traditional Malay house is reinterpreted into folding trapeziums whilst keeping its climatic purpose of bringing in fresh air into its interior space. Elements such as the extended overhanging eaves and the double pitched roof are adopted into the form.  The extended overhanging eaves are manifested in the form of extensive roof overhangs for the naturally ventilated spaces, which are enjoyed with much shelter and shade even during the seasonal heavy rain downpours.

The traditional double pitched roof is translated into the separation and staggering of the roof form.  This split of the roof achieved a play of light and shadows into the interior space. Spaces such as the double volume Dining room, the 2nd storey passageway and the large Patio are all celebrated with the overlapping split roof and its light play. This slot is further enhanced at night with concealed light fittings illuminating the split. The staggered roof form also creates for the possibility of the penetration of natural ventilation into the living spaces.

Materiality is key to strengthening the relationship of the two winged forms, its space in-between and roof on roof. In the intermediate space between two forms is the main entrance foyer and Living room which is flanked with two feature natural split granite walls, contrasting its heavy presence with the lightness of the roofs and vertical timber lines of the house. Timber is extensively used throughout the house, choosing a lighter species of timber (Burmese Teak) for the underside of the roofs versus the darker wood (Chengai) as the infill medium (ie: the sun-shading screens) to create a play of depth of the façade. The vertical timber screens not only help in providing shade from the harsh sun, but it helps blend the house with the lush vertical tree trunks of the surrounding greenery.

The Winged House, in its formal expressions and material language, results in an abode that sits snugly in its context in a quiet ‘winged’ embrace of the site and dwelling within.

Following the first negative downturn in ten months (what AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Phd, is hoping was just a “blip“), May’s Architecture Billing Index (ABI) has bounced back from a score of 48.6 to 52.9. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings (aka an expansion in demand for architects’ services).

Baker notes that “there is [still] a resounding sense of uncertainty in the marketplace from clients to investors and an overall lack of confidence in the general economy – that is continuing to act as a governor on the business development engine for architecture firms.” However, the scores, which revealed the most growth in the Northeast as well as in the multi-family residential and institutional sectors, are good signs for the design and construction industries.

More results of this month’s ABI, after the break…

Key May ABI Highlights include:

• Regional averages: Northeast (53.7), West (52.1), South (50.9), Midwest (47.5)
• Sector index breakdown: multi-family residential (52.8), institutional (52.2), mixed practice (51.0), commercial / industrial (47.5)
• Project inquiries index: 59.1 (up from 58.5 last month)

Story via the AIA

Featuring fantastic quotes from SHoP Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Tod Williams Billie Tsien, & WORKac, Justin Davidson’s latest in New York Magazine gets behind the scenes of the working architectural relationship, in all its “beauty & complexity.” According to Davidson, these husband-wife teams are serving to upset ”two enduring fallacies: that men build as women help, and that the noblest kind of architect is a Napoleon of the blueprint, dispatching orders for others to carry out.” 

Architects: Claesson Koivisto Rune
Location: Edsviken, Sollentuna, Sweden
Project Group: Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto, Ola Rune, Lotti Engstrand
Builder: Komponent Byggen AB
Area: 270 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Åke E:son Lindman

The client had split his garden city plot in two and moved the old house to the one. The other had a more embedded position, including a big old oak tree in the middle.

The gross building allowance had to be fully exploited in order to create a large enough home for the growing family. The stipulated distance to the property line of course limited the positioning from the sides, while the desire to preserve the old oak tree blocked the middle.

The curved L-shape stems completely out of the zoning regulations. The actual bend gives the house an interior spatial flow that would have been broken if we’d chosen a sharp corner. The curving of course also makes for an iconic and sculptural exterior – something that the client specifically requested.

Another distinctive feature is the facade colour. Vertical boards are painted in different Falun red shades. An irregular transition from ocher (wide boards) to dark red (narrow boards) happens from the bedroom end to the living room end. The inspiration for the colour mixture was taken from the Swedish children’s book ‘Where’s the Tall Uncle’s Hat? ‘.

The house has two floors in its tall end. That’s where you find bedrooms etcetera. In the second lower end, the upper floor terminates with a balcony facing the interior living room with its high ceilings. The roof has a diagonal, pitch; from one end to the other and also backwards. This skews the house’s gables but also makes for the constant changing of room geometry as one moves through the house.

The house’s waistline houses the kitchen and, behind a bookcase, stairs. The kitchen thus is very much open while the stairs up to the more private spaces are more to the side. With its slow climb, the stairs gives a you a feeling of ‘proceeding’ rather than walking between levels.

All openings / glazing is carefully placed so that visibility from neighbours is avoided. This also creates a feeling that the house is located in a place far more sparsely populated than the area in reality is. As if it was just the house and the outdoors.

Instead of a larger number of conventional windows, the remaining placements are generously glazed. For example, the living room is completely glazed toward a conservatory. As an outside extension of the living room.

The entrance floor is made of Carrara marble. The tiles are laid perpendicular to the main facade, even where the room bends (like a fan). An integrated blood-red bookcase and staircase flows into an equally blood-red wood floor upstairs. The bathrooms are tiled (floor, walls and ceiling) with different patterns from Marrakech Design’s collection by Claesson Koivisto Rune.

We thought of the house as if it designed itself; that it was neither particularly strange or extreme. But everyone else evidently did not agree. When the house was finished or nearly finished three cars drove into the concrete blocks placed on the street right outside to prevent high speed in the area. Three drivers, three different occasions, who could not keep their eyes on the road.

Floating Barn is a lakeside residence designed for long Latvian summers. The two-story house features living spaces, a bathroom and a small deck on the first floor, and a sleeping area is located on the second floor. By using one material for both walls and roofs, a homogenous look is achieved. The pontoon base of the house features storage tanks for clean water, filtered graywater and fuel.

The plans call for the use one kind of wooden material for both the walls and roofs, giving the finished house a modern, homogenous look, as if the entire structure was cut from one block.

On the deck side, the side wall is made of glass to provide views of the water and to let in natural light. The overhanging roof also provides shade for the long summer nights of Northern Europe.

For inspiration we looked at old fishing shacks that used to line the riverbanks in the Baltic Sea port of Pavilosta, Latvia. Rather than building on the land directly, however, the modern buildings would be tied to piers on the water. This would allow the homes to be easily towed to other docks, if needed, or grouped together in a floating community.

Architects: NRJA
Design Team: Uldis Lukševics, Linda Leitāne-Šmīdberga
Area: 80.0 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Courtesy of NRJA

In recent years, high profile news outlets like The New York Times and CNN have featured architects’ struggles by citing the dire unemployment statistic of 13.9% for recent graduates, the highest of any college major.  Many architecture firms are still reluctant to hire new full-time members to their team, and all too often students and recent graduates remain without work. Since approximately 40% of architecture graduates pursue work outside of the architectural profession, and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) currently reports 26,850 students enrolled in accredited architecture programs, we can assume that over the following years 10,000 students trained as architects will forge their own path in a variety of other occupations.

One of the most creative, high profile fields that can offer an architect a wide range of positions is the film industry. And, in fact, those with architectural backgrounds have been making the transition into the filmmaking industry for decades.  Our timeline showcases a sample of those with an architectural education who have enjoyed enormous success in the filmmaking industry over the last 80 years as actors, set designers, or directors.

You can read more about their stories (including how Jimmy Stewart went from architecture to acting), after the break…  

Readers may be surprised to learn that Academy Award winning actors and classic film legends, Jimmy Stewart and Anthony Quinn, both have architectural education backgrounds. Jimmy Stewart graduated from Princeton University with his architectural degree in 1932. Ever since he was a boy, he had a strong interest in aviation, and so his architectural thesis focused on airport design.

He began his acting career before entering the Army Air Corps in World War II, acting in 29 motion pictures from 1935-39.  Stewart went on to star in four Alfred Hitchcock blockbusters, Rope, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo and over 80 films over the course of his career.  He received highly-sought after recognition for his acting abilities, culminating in an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1941 for The Philadelphia Story.

Our graphic below showcases a sample of some of his most famous films in which he had a starring role.

For architecture graduates considering a career in the film industry, set design may be the most obvious avenue of entrance.  One example of an architecture grad who made that leap is Anshuman Prasad, who graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003 with his Master of Architecture.  After writing his thesis Beyond Mise-En-Scene: Narrative Through Architecture in Main Stream Cinema (1980-2002), Prasad moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a set designer.  He is now a member of the Art Director’s Guild. One of his latest projects as set designer is the film Captain America: Winter Soldier.  From 2005-2013, he has been involved in many blockbuster films, including Die Hard 4, The Hangover, No Strings Attached, and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, as shown in our timeline below.

Prasad views his film career as more of a specialization rather than abandonment of architecture, as his time as set designer has given him a new appreciation for the mood and character of spaces.  In particular, light, shade, reflections and rain create incredible variations within a space.  The benefit of being a set designer is that all these conditions can be controlled. He also believes that the most critical aspect of set design is proportion, and here his architecture degree is especially useful. Looking back on his career transition, Prasad reminisced, “I believe it was the diversity of the work that has always attracted me to set design and there was a lot of passion as well, after all, this was Hollywood.  For someone who still believes in the magic, it was a dream job.”

Before becoming a virtual set designer, Tino Schaedler began his architecture career at The University of Hanover in Germany, graduating with his Masters in 1999.  He practiced for three years, working for Daniel Libeskind and Barkow Leibinger, while teaching Studio Digital Analog at the University of Arts in Berlin.

When interviewed by designboom.com, he admitted that he felt stifled as an architect.  While fascinated with accessible mediums and techniques, he endured long hours, lots of pressure, and little money.  He quickly realized the potential of broadening his architectural design and representation skills with advancing digital tools and decided to attend film school at the Art Institute of Vancouver, British Columbia, where he graduated with a diploma in 3D animation and visual effects in 2003.

Schaedler realized that his degree in architecture provided him with a broad range of  “understanding and sensitivity for other fields.”  It was a hard decision to quit architecture but it led to more creative freedom, since he was now able to create opportunities to bridge various fields and mediums together. His approach to architecture has shifted as a virtual set designer as he no longer feels limited to traditional building practices.

From 2003 to 2011, he was involved with blockbuster films such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, V for Vendetta, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Fantastic Voyage. He now views space as a relationship driven by a narrative rather than being conceptually rigid.  Schaedler continues to enjoy being fully in charge of his own designs and to grow in his passion as a virtual set designer, art director, and trained architect.  Our graphic highlights all 10 of Schaedler’s Hollywood motion pictures to date.

Another architecture graduate is film director Joseph Kosinski.  After studying engineering at Stanford University in 1996, Kosinski earned his Master of Architecture at Columbia University in 1999.  He claimed to learn two things in architecture school: the ability to be self-critical and that he did not want to be an architect.

His decision not to be an architect paid off.  Kosinski made his directorial debut in 2010 with the blockbuster sequel, Tron Legacy.  He landed this job due to his digital modeling skills, which he learned while studying architecture.  Originally, Disney sought to use a formula for the movie similar to The Matrix, but Kosinski was able to convince the producer, Sean Bailey, to hire him based on his ability to conceptualize a new reality in his world of Tron.

This year, Kosinski extended his filmmaking resume by serving as director, writer, and producer for Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise.  Due to Oblivion’s instant popularity as the number one film at the box office on its opening weekend, Kosinski’s background in architecture is gaining extra attention.  The highly visited pop culture website Buzzfeed.com has profiled how his architecture degree is able to help him design structures like the ‘Sky Tower’ in Oblivion.  When interviewed for that piece, Kosinski was quick to point out that he does not miss being an architect. In fact, he argued, he has done just as much if not more than most of his colleagues with whom he went to school.  As a filmmaker, he is able to be more of a dreamer, one that, using the same digital tools as an architect, can create what cannot be physically built at this time. Our graphic shows all three of his Hollywood motion pictures to date.

For Prasad, Schaedler, and Kosinski, this transition between creative fields lent itself to more gratifying design work, much higher pay, and ultimately a more satisfying life. Their stories remind us that those with an architectural education are fortunate – they have the creative grounding, technical knowledge, and flexibility to be successful in a variety of other industries. Working in a standard architectural firm may not be for everyone, especially if it entails working long, thankless hours, getting stuck drawing bathroom details, or even getting laid off at the drop of a hat. These stories show how an architectural degree can allow architecture grads to forge their own path, and create a dream job of their own design.

Erik Butka graduated with his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree from the University of Michigan.  After working in an architectural firm and strengthening his digital modeling skills, he is considering the transition into the film industry.

Meagan Calnon graduated with her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree from Miami University.  In addition to architecture, she continues to be interested in multidisciplinary creative outlets including furniture and product design.

Kathryn H. Anthony, Ph.D. is ACSA Distinguished Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the author of two scholarly books, Design Juries on Trial:  The Renaissance of the Design Studio (20th Anniversary Edition available on Amazon.com) and Designing for Diversity:  Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession (University of Illinois Press); over 100 scholarly articles, and two apps for iOS:  The Design Student Survival Guide, and The Student Survival Guide.  For the past two years, she has taught a new graduate seminar on “Architecture, Cinema, Environment and Behavior.”  The class was inspired by her experience supervising Anshuman Prasad’s architectural masters’ thesis.

Architects: Solis Colomer Arquitectos
Location: Villa de los Niños, Guatemala
Area: 2,400 sqm
Year: 2007
Photography: Courtesy of Solis Colomer arquitectos

The “Children’s Village” Library located in Zone 6 of Guatemala is part of the Educational Facilities of the same name, a project developed by the Sisters of Mary, which focuses on training underprivileged children. This new set of buildings is part of the last phase of the educational complex, which has more than 15,000 m2 of construction distributed in modules of classrooms, workshops and sports facilities.

The project is a tripartite composition that includes a library, auditorium, classrooms and workshops. We tried to bring the three modules in a square configuration, leaving an empty center space, which recalls the housing typology of the central courtyard, which is engraved in the collective memory of the inhabitants of the city. This residual space has the quality of integrating with the rest of the public space of the entire complex, resulting in a set of scales ranging from the public to the private, giving the student an intimate place for labor. In turn, this space is covered with a pergolas system, which allows the filtering of light and the protection of the user.

Each of the modules that make up the complex have been treated with a different formality and materiality, noting the difference in the functions performed in each of the parts of the composition: The white glazed brick is used in workshops and classrooms, this functions are contained in modules that formally looks like the common typology of the house of two roofs; the typical brick is integrated into the auditorium, which is contained in a module of spiral planimetry that consistently meets the needs of an area as specific as this; at last we consider “connection modules”, which are formed by the vertical circulation and bridges that consolidate all modules in a single composition.

These “connection modules” are semitransparent elements that serve as joints between solids, so we had to take care that they give the impression of being lighter than the classroom modules workshops and auditorium. The answer to this problem is solved with the choice of two types of coatings. The first, a composition of aluminum profiles and microperforated sheet, which at first glance gives the impression of being solid, until it is intersected by daylight or nightlight, highlighting the transparency of the skin, and also working as a natural vent for the vertical circulations that are contained in this module. The second coating conform a lattice that covers the different bridges connecting the workshops modules.

The Library and its other components make an integration of materiality and formality with the culture of the place, resulting in a new architecture, but with clearly legible references to the past.

This project becomes therefore an iconic building for the complex and all the Zone 6 area, in which the complex is located.