Minimalist Architecture and Home Interior

Luxurious Bathroom Bright

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 17:02:00 +0000

This is a bathroom that is luxurious and elegant. With a sunny atmosphere creates a sophisticated atmosphere. Large mirror with a classic gold frame. A shower of silver tower is positioned in front of a large window. Trolley is ideal for holding bottles and bathroom accessories, leaving the basin neat.

Modern bedrooms with bed linen flower

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:20:00 +0000

A modern bedroom with a different atmosphere with murals mountains. A painterly landscape mural in heathery shades adorn the back wall in this bedroom. The floor kept neutral so it does not beat the view. Motifs on the bed linen very harmonious relationship with the atmosphere of the bedroom. Shades of blue are very supportive owners break.

Yellow Living Room Variation

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:07:00 +0000

The living room decorated with yellow dominant color will give the impression of bright and beautiful. So that the room is not boring, add a few accessories or decorations with a dark color. This method is to provide a varied atmosphere. To further add to the warm atmosphere, adding carpet in yellow decorated with a contrasting color images. A wallpaper, bold geometric with a soft yellow color provides a solid background for the furniture mustard. Display has been broken up with soft gray accents and a selection of plain and patterned accessories.

Former airbase becomes new campus for ASU Polytechnic

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:15:00 +0000

The design for the ASU Polytechnic transformed a decommissioned airbase into an inviting pedestrian campus that celebrates the desert landscape and creates a new identity for the program. By segmenting the 245,000-sq-ft program into five buildings, the architects formed four landscaped courtyards linked by a series of portals and arcades, creating a cohesive pedestrian campus.

The three largest buildings turn their long sides to the east and west protecting the courtyards and open-air atria from the monsoon driven rain and desert dust. These shady, open air atria provide environmentally sensitive social spaces that maximise visibility, daylighting, and the sense of community while minimising energy usage.

By removing 14 acres of asphalt and concrete and transforming it into a desert landscaped mall, storm water is slowed, captured in smaller detention basins throughout the new mall and in turn, used to nourish the desert landscaping. The strategy minimises the load on the existing storm water detention basin, but more importantly, it establishes a beautiful indigenous landscape as the heart of the new campus.

Flexibility and growth were central considerations. Consequently, the design relies on simple well-lit classrooms configured around a repetitive 30' x 30' module. Utilities and duct chases are located within the atria allowing the interior space to remain unobstructed, facilitating future reconfiguration. The use of a locally manufactured desert tough material palette and expressed building systems are both costeffective and responsive to the desert context.

Purposeful environmental strategies such as narrow building sections, shading devices and solar orientation allow 90% of the spaces to be eff ectively daylit, reduce thermal loads and contribute to its LEED Gold rating. The designs materiality, environmental and architectural strategies lead to an identity that is unique to its place and expressive of the Polytechnic's identity. The entire project, from master plan to construction start, was designed in seven months.

A collaborative and tactile design process achieves unexpected outcomes

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:12:00 +0000

Located in a metropolitan suburb of Melbourne, the design for Essex Heights Primary School is inspired by the composition of an 'oyster' - strong on the outside and beautiful on the inside. The school of a 450 student population prides itself on the ability to provide a unique educational setting, where a significant population of Special Needs children can operate confidently in a mainstream environment.

The brief for the project was to create a facility that would continue to celebrate this individuality where children of all physical and mental abilities can learn alongside one another in a completely uninhibited manner. Together, through an extensive consultative process with the school community, the design encourages a more flexible approach to learning in both an indoor and outdoor environment.

In line with the changing face of education, a circular and entirely accessible colonnade flanks an outdoor amphitheatre uniting three Learning Communities in which cohorts of 150 students can engage in a variety of modalities of learning. Within each Learning Community are homerooms co-joined with semi-transparent sliding walls and united by a collaborative space in which wet areas and resource facilities are located. The use of colour and texture has also been throughout to provide identity to each building. Unlike traditional school grounds which would encompass an oval, hard courts and play structures, the landscape environment has been designed to be more akin to a miniature botanical gardens.

The amphitheatre provides the pivot point from which all circulation and visual connection to and from the site are derived. The layering of architecture and landscape creates a diversity of spaces to provide relaxation, contemplation, informal learning and active play areas through the creation of spaces such as sculpture gardens, grassy mounds, mazes, productive gardens and learning terraces. In this garden setting, everyone has a learning space in which they can feel at home.

Colourful housing complex in Vienna comprises highly individual residential units

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:43:00 +0000

From an urban development perspective the site of this residential development is located in a very heterogeneous environment. The corner of the building facing the public traffic area assimilates the main directions of the adjacent buildings and a green zone is produced along the street as a buffer between public and private space.

The main target group for this housing development with ‘green’ surroundings at the periphery of the city comprises young families, the elderly and couples. More than half of the apartments have their own gardens; the rest have terraces or loggias.

In addition, the apartments – mainly terrace-house-style duplex units – feature a high degree of individuality; the differences in the apartments can also be seen in the exterior design and the façade. The loggias (‘eyes’) indicate the living rooms; the smaller windows arranged in varying patterns mark the bedrooms.

Located virtually at the ‘heart’ of the building, at the geometrical center of the ground floor, and adjacent to the stairwell is a multipurpose zone and children's play area with a sandbox and monkey bars.

The common zone consists of a wooden surface including a large sunken area for playing with sand and a vulcanised rubbers play area with a hill. In addition, there is a long multipurpose element designed for both sitting and lying on. Despite its small size, the area is intended as a space where residents can meet, talk, and play together.

Effective architecture should be extended to public toilets as lavatory crisis hits UK

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:55:00 +0000

As council spending cuts across Britain are spreading nationwide gloom, it seems that the phasing out of public toilets is causing particular concern, according to recent reports. With the British Toilet Association predicting that up to 1,000 public conveniences will be closed across the UK this year, it seems that councils regard these essential amenities as superfluous, requiring high maintenance costs that they would rather do without.

As the Edinburgh Evening News reported on 7th January 2011, ‘as well as shutting half [of Edinburgh's] 30 loos, the council proposes abandoning plans to spend £400,000 on much-needed improvements, even though this was a priority of the local Lib Dems before they went into a council coalition with the SNP.'

The need for public loos in parts of the country that rely considerably on tourism is simply unquestionable. Indeed, in an article in the Independent this week, architect and designer of the Emerald Isle public toilets in Notting Hill, Piers Gough, states that ‘public loos are a necessary part of a civilised world'. Surely, then, if the expense is the sole turn-off for councils, it is now in the hands of the architect to maintain the dignity of our dear lavatories by providing effective design solutions to reduce long-term cost.

As Mike Bone, director of the British Toilet Association, clearly states: 'intelligent design and built-in durability will reduce long-term maintenance and cleaning costs.' Furthermore, the design of the facilities should be so appealing that people wouldn't mind spending a few pennies to use them; thus regaining some of the initial cost. If councils can come round to investing in effective architecture for these essential public buildings, the nation will reap the benefits in the long run.

Design studio creates ‘floating’ tearoom over roots of sentimental tree in Osaka garden

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:50:00 +0000

The studio concluded that the easiest solution would be to cut the tree down, however this would mean erasing a part of the family’s history and making major alterations to the arrangement of the garden. Henceforth, Facet Studio adapted the design to leave the tree root unaffected. In the first glance it appears that the tearoom is built on top of the platform; however in reality, there is a big hole in the platform over the tree root, above which the tearoom floats.

Australia and Japan-based Facet Studio have completed a simple, stylish tearoom in the garden of an Osaka house. As the landing of the external stair which connects ground and first levels, a stone platform of 2.5m x 9m is designed to take advantage of the best natural sun access, and the residing family consequently requested for a tearoom to be built there. The challenge presented to designers, Facet Studio was that the desired location also hosts an old tree which bears the name of the family.

Furthermore, interlocking 100mm x 100mm solid pine square sections form a deep beam to structurally span over the big hole, which not only bears the role of structure, but also the skin of the tearoom and its finishing material. The effort in protecting the symbol of the family ultimately intertwines with the spirit of ‘balance’, which is embedded in the culture of tearoom.

Design Collective Architects completes new house in Singapore

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:33:00 +0000

Located on the southern tip of Singapore, the 8,000 sq ft site sits closely amongst others within the exclusive residential enclave of Sentosa Cove. In a context where each house tries to out-do the previous with newer technology, materials and exotic finishes, the philosophy of PAROS was to undo all of the above. PAROS was to provide the break in the monotony of what was becoming of the common streetscape of closely constructed single residential homes.

There was a conscious attempt to create and to hide architecture. The dwelling space was created by means of peeling the earth up and tucking beneath. The space created would open out towards the back of the plot overlooking the waterfront and close off and disappear along the front driveway. Only a blank white wall signifies the presence of a building within the place. The entire roof of the house seems to rise from the earth, taking along what was the original garden with it onto the rooftop. The roof top garden is accessible from the master bedroom.

The interior space of the house was design with practicality in mind. Every room is naturally ventilated and with sufficient natural daylighting. Landscaped terraces are located at every bedroom and bathrooms. Materials selected are intended to not distract the occupants from the natural elements that the house sits within and overlooks.

Transitional spaces at stem cell building encourage ‘cross-pollination of ideas’

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects with executive architect the Smith Group and DPR Construction, the new facility will act as the headquarters for the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, analysing complex scientific data at the earliest stages of human and animal development.

Located on a steeply sloping hillside, the site posed multiple challenges for the design team. A solution was found in the creation of a raised serpentine structure supported by steel space trusses springing from concrete piers, minimising space excavation and incorporating seismic base isolation to absorb earthquake forces.

The main laboratory area is arranged in four split levels set in stepped stages working in harmony with the sloped nature of the urban hillside. Each of these levels is topped with a cluster of offices and a green roof-space planted with wildflowers.

An external network of stairs and pedestrian bridges takes advantage of San Francisco’s temperate climate, with internal stairs and break rooms providing a base for the ‘cross-pollination of ideas’ among scientists. Interior glazing maximises visual connectivity while plentiful glazing on the south-facing side affords widespread views to the wooded slope of nearby Mount Sutro.

Rafael Vinoly Architects is currently pushing forward on two long-awaited projects in London, UK – work has now recommenced on 20 Fenchurch Street (the Walkie Talkie) and the £5.5bn redevelopment of Battersea Power Station has been approved by Wandsworth Council.

AXIS designs the first private residential project to be awarded BCA's Green Mark Platinium

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:42:00 +0000

The facilities for the development are extended into the basement with a sunken valley of connecting spaces and wide swathes of greenery; providing residents places to sit, relax or take a leisurely stroll. The Oceanfront is an eco-friendly design. Based on sun path analyses conducted, planters, balconies and aluminium sun-shading louvers are provided for heat and glare protection. Low-emission glass is used extensively for the façade. The use of prefabricated structures, pre-cast building components and drywall partitions minimized the impact to air, water and noise pollution onsite, and resulted in higher quality control for the individual building components.

Several energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly features are in use throughout the development, such as a pneumatic waste disposal system. Friendly and ‘green’ materials are also used extensively throughout the development. In an effort to preserve site ecology, all the trees cleared for the construction site were relocated. Designed for energy and water efficiency, The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove is the first development on the island to achieve BCA’s Greenmark Platinum Award.

BIG’s West 57th tower block introduces new residential typology to New York City

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:33:00 +0000

Durst Fetner Residential (DFR) yesterday announced the design of West 57, a 600-unit 80/20 residential building on West 57th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues. The building is designed by renowned Danish Architect firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and is their inaugural North American project. The building’s programme consists of over 600 residential units of different scales situated on a podium with a cultural and commercial program. The building will strive for LEED Gold Certification.

The building is a hybrid between the European perimeter block and a traditional Manhattan high-rise. The twisted form of the West 57th development combines the advantages of both: the compactness and efficiency of a courtyard building providing density, a sense of intimacy and security, with the airiness and the expansive views of a skyscraper. By keeping three corners of the block low and lifting the north-east corner up towards its 467 ft peak, the courtyard opens views towards the Hudson River, bringing low western sun deep into the block preserving the adjacent Helena Tower’s views of the river.

The form of the building shifts depending on the viewer’s vantage point. While appearing like a warped pyramid from the West-Side-Highway, it turns into a slender spire from West 58th Street. The courtyard which is inspired by the classic Copenhagen urban oasis can be seen from the street and serves to extend the adjacent greenery of the Hudson River Park into the West 57th development.

Bjarke Ingels, Founder of BIG explains: “The building is conceived as a cross breed between the Copenhagen courtyard and the New York skyscraper. The communal intimacy of the central urban oasis meets the efficiency, density and panoramic views of the tall tower in a new hybrid typology. The courtyard is to architecture what Central Park is to urbanism: a giant green garden surrounded by a dense wall of spaces for living.”

Eric Owen Moss' new Samitaur Tower offers bold new ideas on public space

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 02:52:00 +0000

Samituar Tower is first and foremost an information tower. But it is also designed to be a lookout tower, an entertainment venue and a marker of the new community that has taken hold there - one teeming with arts and entertainment types. Located directly across from a new light rail line to be completed in June that will connect the area to Los Angeles and potentially bring 30,000 visitors to its ranks, the Samituar Tower stands to figure prominently in the area’s new world order, both as a symbol of its transformation and as a new type of public gathering space.

At its simplest, the tower is a billboard on steroids. It has five video screens oriented to different audiences including transit riders, pedestrians and motorists. At each level, there is a viewing deck, from which visitors can view the surrounding area and Los Angeles beyond. While these screens have yet to be programmed, Moss envisions that they will stream videos, advertising and other culturally significant content depending upon need and interest. To keep the tower relevant, a certain amount of happenstance has been built in allowing it to be programmable for future uses.

Rising 72ft high (making it the tallest structure in the district) the weathered steel tower with its seemingly precarious positioning belies its sturdy underpinnings, which have been designed to withstand earthquakes. It is to be the first of many towers in the area which, if fully realised, will transform this Southern California Mecca into a modern day equivalent of an Italian hilltown, with its own, inventive piazza. But beyond its borders, the Samitaur Tower offers bold new ideas on how future cities can be shaped to address contemporary conditions.

Eric Owen Moss is credited with putting Culver City on the map. So said Peter Cook who, in writing about the architect’s latest project there, The Samitaur Tower, for the Italian design magazine, Abitare, credited Moss with transforming the West Los Angeles suburb from a dump into a happening place. The latest chapter in Moss’s epic adventure of city building which has spanned 20 years and given rise to a number of experiment buildings is a new media tower, named for Frederick and Lauri Samitaur Smith, a former journalist and actor, who like their architect are committed to the area’s transformation.

New residence responds to the architectural history of its site in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 02:46:00 +0000

The sloping of the land slope is in dialogue with the building and consequently proposes the necessary fittings and suspensions. The house contains two ‘times’: the fluctuation of the front volume shows the intimate side of the residence, pointing to the future at the edge of water; and the covering of the open area in the back, where parties burn the wood at the oven, is close to the ground and past memories.

The Pampulha lagoon in Belo Horizonte is full of architectural significance and to build on its margins means to be close to the modernist legacy. The building considers the site’s recent history but also expresses its modern urban spirit with rural balconies and breezes.

In a sequence of steps and floors the house fits the site making a simple route from the street to the roof which has been turned into an observatory, ‘transforming the tops in terraces looking for the horizons seen at the topographic city with its struggles and mutant culture and its mountains with their fragile eternity’.

Eco-friendly elements make this an ideal tropical home for the modern family

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:10:00 +0000

This is a home that can endure Singapore’s unforgiving tropical climate with minimal impact to the environment, simply by tapping onto readily available natural resources. Four levels make up the building, each catering to the family's various social and entertainment needs while also making sure to accommodate each member's need for personal space and quiet solitude.

Achieving space maximisation and privacy were also factored into this design, in view of the house's close proximity to neighbouring units. As a result, the internal spaces face inward into a multi-functional courtyard. This space acts as a circulation pivot, light well and ventilation exhaust, while also serving as a visual focal point. A wall of dense foliage also provides a natural means for additional privacy.

The building's slimmer east and west facades are a contrast to the wide-open north and south ones. This regulates natural lighting and wind ventilation for efficient thermal circulation. A pitched roof, with its series of repeating slopes, also generates additional skylight openings. And let's also not forget that this is first and foremost a home for an active couple and their kids. For this, a lap pool and training room ensure that their fitness needs are taken care of.

Horizontal hotel composition in Atlantic Forest sports glass-free windows to merge inside and outside space

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:08:00 +0000

Designed by Drucker Arquitetura, the Ilheus Resort in Atlantic Forest, Brazil is a low-rise system of bungalows dotted throughout the stunning natural landscape. The Makenna Resort is owned by German businessman Thilo Scheuermann, who shrugged off his former life after falling for the scenic beauty of the Brazilian coastline and opened the Resort last year.

The single-storey properties are composed in elongated horizontal forms from materials such as concrete, which adds a simple yet sophisticated air to the project. The individual structures sport glass-free window frames which aim to blur the boundaries between inside and outside space. Precise in both form and function, these private hotel bungalows allow their occupants to interact with the spectacular surroundings in a passive manner.

A spa and social building form the centre of the resort complex, with the bungalows arranged in a square around them. Drucker Arquitetura explains: “The challenge of this project was to transform a natural place in an architectural space, or build a territory in which the physical landmark is no longer a backdrop to become an active part of their own construction, identifying those key elements of the landscape to emerge through a system of relations that go beyond the visual area of the building.”

DP Architects completes luxury residential tower in Singapore

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:53:00 +0000

Standing tall at 27 storeys with two basements, offering a unit mix of 3, 3+1, 4 and 4+1-bedrooms, as well as two penthouses, the development resides in one of the most exclusive residential districts in Singapore, overlooking the heart of Orchard Road and a host of high-class surrounding developments. With two lifts serving two units per floor, the unit configuration also confers exclusivity and privacy on the dwellers.

The building derived its slender composition from the narrow rectilinear site. The prime element of the design consists of an undulating solid skin wrapping around the front façade that regulates and exudes a rolling effect across the main road frontage. The curve form creates a longer façade that maximise the greenery view across the site. It also creates interesting internal living spaces for the dwelling units. This rhythmic expression is coupled with an ascending top ridge, culminating at a curled half-circle apex three storeys above the last floor. Complementing this skin is an additional layer of glass drape of a seemingly curtain-wall system that comprises the bay windows, punctuated by a series of balconies.

The plan and window height take full advantage of the prime views from all corners of the floor plate, while leveraging on cross ventilation and natural daylight. To reduce heat gain and glare, horizontal ledges above the bay windows and planter boxes are introduced. Balconies outside the living room encourage semi outdoor activities. High on the 14th storey, is the open-sided landscaped sky deck, which feature the sky gym, Jacuzzi and a host of other communal niches, with views that are both unobstructed and dramatic, attained through the elimination of enclosures and the high ceiling of over 6 m. The ground level is dedicated to landscaping and communal facilities. The tower is raised on circular columns, creating a well ventilated space and a lofty experience.

Metropole responds to architectural diversity in DC's trendy Dupont Circle

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:42:00 +0000

Located within Washington, DC’s historic Dupont Circle neighbourhood, Metropole is located on the nexus of three architecturally distinct streets. The seven-storey, 98-unit building celebrates this diversity with a design that responds to the eclectic character of each street. The building’s south side faces a busy thoroughfare with a strong urban edge and vibrant retail activity. Metropole’s corresponding façade is monumental in scale to reflect the character and vitality of this street.

Conversely, the building’s west side fronts a street lined with elegant and stately brownstones. These historic buildings display highly sculpted massing and a diverse composition of architectural elements. In response, Metropole’s west façade is designed with masonry detailing, metal and glass bay windows, balconies and a variety of fenestration patterns that are proportioned to be compatible with the adjacent brownstones.

The third street is lined with historic townhouses. These structures are smaller in scale than the brownstones lining the adjacent street, but are characterised with a similarly rich architectural palette. Metropole’s north façade responds with detailed trellises and finer grained massing to achieve compatibility with the street’s character. Recessed horizontal brick courses stacked vertically eight apart tie the architecture of the three sides together. Window mullions, sills and heads along with handrails and other exterior elements are justified to align with this brick banding throughout the entire exterior.

The units inside the building boast similar variety. Two-storey units occupy floors two through five and flats occupy levels six and seven. To impose a sense of grandeur and maximise natural light, the units are designed with atriums and floor-to-ceiling windows. The single-storey flats are typically larger in footprint than the two-level units, but have many of the same spatial qualities and features.

Wolfgang Tschapeller's floating proposal selected for Centre of Promotion of Science

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:51:00 +0000

A competition jury for the Centre of Promotion of Science unanimously selected Austrian architect Wolfgang Tschapeller’s floating proposal for the urban development of Blok 39, Serbia. Tschapeller’s concept comprises a sprawling white structure where only supporting pillars and circulation facilities touch the ground. This elevated approach ensures that the majority of groud level space allows for free vision.

The competition brief states that the Centre must ‘facilitate scientific education, a continuous training as well as social and economic growth, both with direct action, and in partnership with other actors’. Winning architect Tschapeller suggests that the new complex must also be a symbol of optimisim for the city of Belgrade, solidifying an education-based identity for the local community.

65% of the site will remain green with all parking and serving functions based below ground. A vast range of both local and exotic plants will be incorporated into the surrounding landscape alongside waterlines, bike routes and jogging paths. The underside of the Centre will have mirroring qualities ‘to reflect all the movement on the ground as well as the visitor who by entering the centre is penetrating the reflections of the earth’s surface’.

Gehry's centre for New World Symphony in Miami opens today

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:46:00 +0000

For years classical music has been tainted with a stigma of being stuffy, out of touch and somewhat redundant as regards contemporary culture; the home of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida is looking to combat this unfortunate branding head on with a sculptural new rendition by 81 year old architect Frank Gehry.

Initiated by Michael Tilson Thomas and Ted Arison in 1987, the New World Symphony tirelessly trains a comprehensive selection of exceptionally talented musicians to be worldwide leaders in their field. Over the years, the orchestra itself may have developed in terms of numbers and level of interest, but its Art Deco home in the Lincoln Theatre has remained cramped and acoustically challenged.

Gehry’s confident expansion for the New World Symphony is being opened today, marking a new era for the orchestra as it embarks on a monumental mission to stimulate fresh interest in an area of the musical spectrum so often overlooked by young minds. Externally, the dazzlingly white structure is one of Gehry’s quieter compositions; its smooth milky frame punctuated by an 80 ft high wall of glass, through which Miami’s abundance of natural light can penetrate.

Whilst the structure’s exterior does little to expose the artist behind its composition, in the voluminous entrance hall Gehry’s trademark style is sung from the rafters. A grand staircase weaves its way between white abstract rehearsal spaces as a generous, illuminated glass bar and campus box office skim the polished concrete floors. These pure white shapes are fused to a 756 seat concert hall where the traditional essence of classical music is celebrated in the embrace of state of the art digital technology.

A tactic enlisted by many expanding performance venues is to encourage audience members to interact with the live music on an intimate level by arranging fixed seating in close correlation to the professional musicians onstage. Gehry has incorporated this method into the design of the concert hall, positioning the seating in a ‘vineyard pattern’ to ensure that no seat is more than 13 rows from the stage. Likewise, immense curvilinear sails span the ceiling, upon which animated projections intensify the concert experience. This theme of projection has also been incorporated into the external facade, as passers-by are welcomed to sit in the Mary and Howard Frank Plaza to view projected displays showcased on the walls of the Center.

Hannunkari & Mäkipaja Architects completes innovative public housing project in Helsinki

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:39:00 +0000

Forthis complex of two apartment houses for social housing in the suburban area of Malmi in Helsinki, an innovative and sustainable approach was required by the client, the Helsinki Housing Production Bureau, to ensure the design quality on the city owned lot. Affordable purchase and maintenance costs, sustainable rental homes with the combination of the limitations of the site were the key fundamentals of the project. Schematic design began in 2007 and construction was completed in September 2010.

The buildings form two curved angles towards the north blocking the noise and tremor from the metropolitan railway. They also make a statement in a larger urban context, the suburban railway environment development. Architectural expression is rooted in sustainable strategies utilising brick and thick larchpanels, also paying attention to the residential neighbourhood behind. The compact angle form is energy efficient; the living spaces with large windows to the south, solid brickwall towards the north.

Two five-storey buildings that provide 62 flats all facing to the south / west quiet courtyard. The spacious glazed balconies create outside rooms and give the inhabitants a chance to prolong and enjoy the short northern summer. The facilities in the basement include storage rooms, a community club and a laundry. The garage rooftop and part of the carport has been landscaped into the green hillside.

Conceptual design for London River Park selected for Planning Excellence Award

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:36:00 +0000

Gensler’s London office won the top prize at the 2010 London Planning Awards; the firm picked up the overall Planning Excellence Award along with Best Conceptual Project Award at a ceremony earlier this month for its London River Park design. The proposal maps out the first continuous river-walk between Blackfriars and the Tower of London in the heart of England’s capital, in an attempt to activate the under-utilised expanse of river frontage.

On receiving the award Chris Johnson, Managing Principal of Gensler’s London office, commented: “In heavily built cities the requirement for open space provision needs to be addressed seriously and why not creatively? As active players within the construction industry, it is our responsibility to show and drive the commitment to improve the quality of life in London. The London River Park will attract significant inward investment to the City and leave a lasting legacy of improvements to the river for future generations to enjoy.”

Gensler’s concept of a floating City annexe is flexible to allow for a programme of changeable events, gardens and educational features for the 10 million individuals that visit the site annually. Marketed towards both residents and tourists, the green urban space is marked for completion in 2012 to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the London Olympic Games and the Lord Mayor’s Pageant.

Haxi welcomes curvaceous new commecial building to central business district

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:25:00 +0000

Haxi New District Office Building is a new office building designed by ZNA (Zeybekoglu Nayman Associates, Inc) in Harbin, China and is the first contemporary landmark architecture in the region. The site is located within the central business district of Haxi, where the high speed train station is to be located, transforming the area into the high end business, conference and university district of the city of Harbin.

Design firm ZNA proposed the concept of this project based on a detail study about human activity and events expected in this new town centre: a closer relationship between the citizen and the office staff, an open space for a range of activities and relaxation, a large interactive surface between the indoor exhibition hall and outdoor walking path. ZNA looked into creating a comfortable and green indoor environment to offset the severe weather condition of City of Harbin, one of the most northern cities in China.

The indoor air circulation has been carefully managed. Photovoltaic panels have been used to provide hot water for the whole building whilst heat pumps were also investigated as an optional energy source. For the interior design, a large volume of green materials have been specified for less emission and better indoor air quality. For the landscape design, local vegetation been widely used for less maintenance and reduced water usage.

The linear design elements of the urban plaza set up the background for various types of events. With a central stage that sinks into the ground and a partial curved wall as the backdrop, the building provides a public space that is active and dynamic. The different layers of softscape and hardscape add more dimensions to the space, while also creating smaller gathering spaces for different groups of users.

MVRDV completes gravity-defying home in the English countryside

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 07:45:00 +0000

The Balancing Barn is in a beautiful location in the English countryside, near Thorington in Suffolk. The building is almost unseen from the road. Approaching from the 300-metre-long driveway, the Barn appears as a small two-person house, only seven metres wide, with the pitched roof of a traditional barn. The length of the building is 30 metres, dramatically cantilevered over a descending slope.

This balancing act is made possible by the rigid structure of the building, with 50% of the barn being in free space. From the house there are wide vistas over the Suffolk landscape, adjacent lake and surrounding gardens. Planting around the Barn offers privacy inside the house and in the grounds. The exterior of the building is covered in polished stainless steel, which reflects the colours of the changing seasons.

On entering the Barn, guests arrive in the kitchen and large dining room. A series of four en-suite double bedrooms follow. Between the second and third bedroom lies a hidden staircase, emerging underneath the midpoint of the cantilever, providing access to the garden and swing beneath the Barn. At the far end of the Barn, a large living space is created with full-length windows and a spectacular glass floor to admire the drop. Here visitors are directly connected to nature, through wonderful views of the garden and surrounding landscape.

The Barn responds through its architecture and engineering to the site condition and natural setting. The traditional barn shape and reflective metal sheeting take their references from the local building vernacular. The project was completed on 5th October 2010.

New rehab centre for the drug-addicted in Amsterdam reflects typology of classic hotel

rif_fendy@yahoo.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 07:32:00 +0000

A new housing complex for those with drug addictions is now onsite in Amsterdam. Designed by Atelier Kempe Thill (AKT) on the edge of Bijlmerpark in the central area of Amsterdam-Zuidoost, the facility combines small residential rooms between 15-25 sq m and bright, airy communal spaces. The private rooms centre on a social activity area, or ‘collective living room’, lighted by an attractive rooflight and generous windows overlooking the relaxed external landscaping. An additional small rooftop courtyard provides intimate private reflective space for all residents.

Laws regarding the distribution and use of soft drugs are more lax within the Netherlands than the rest of Europe, where the use and possession of drugs that have ‘limited risks’ - AKA soft drugs - for personal use is largely overlooked and does not carry the risk of prosecution. Conversely, the use and distribution of hard drugs ‘with unacceptable risks involved’ carries a prison sentence of up to twelve years.

It has been argued that this ‘loose’ legislation has led to the reduction of individuals becoming addicted to hard drugs and figures presented in a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in Lisbon suggest that Dutch figures are the lowest in Europe. AKT’s new welcoming hotel-style complex is in keeping with the tolerant approach to drugs in Amsterdam, decriminalising the use of such substances and putting the power back in the hands of the people.