1111 Lincoln Road by Herzog & de Meuron

Herzog & de Meuron have produced not a new cultural behemoth but a strange sculptural structure, reviving the idea of the car park as a figure in the city.

1111 Lincoln Road

Design Team: Herzog & de Meuron

Location: Miami, USA

Status: Completed 2010

Multistorey carpark is always synonymous with paranoid, corrupt dystopia & denied its own architectural expression and buried - beneath the ground, unseen, uncelebrated, a poorly-lit, dirty secret. However, the latest building (carpark) from Herzog & de Meuron is a surprise to all of us.

Envisioned by developer Robert Wennett and designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the multistorey carpark is part of the 1111 Lincoln Road development. Robert Wennett, has used Miami Beach's parking shortage to smuggle in a layer of retail for which he otherwise would have struggled to get permission. Boutiques and bookshops at ground level establish a pattern of (upmarket) retail for (the now mid-market) Lincoln, while four condos on a new street at the side help with profits, leaving Wennett's own penthouse and a restaurant to occupy the top floor. There is even a shop halfway up the ramps, isolated and intriguing.

A stack of raw, sharply chamfered concrete layers is prised apart by wedge-shaped columns, which wind into each other and draw the eye into the slightly sinister shadows against the vivid blue of the Florida sky. It is almost shocking. As you ascend through the structure, its concrete planes fold themselves beneath you, each level exposing a yet more compelling vantage-point on the surrounding city. At one point a complex tangle of steel by artist Monika Sosnowska turns out also to be a safety feature, stopping kids getting struck beneath the ramp. By the time you reach the top, the city, the sea and the sky twinkle before you in a filmic panorama.

The idea is to create a series of layers that extend the public realm up into the building, to attract events, parties and life into the structure. Both architects and developer see the structure as an experiment in a new kind of downtown transport architecture, a building as exciting to enter as to emerge from, blinking into the Miami sun.

The public street in front of the car park has also been transformed. Artist Dan Graham has built a curvaceous glass pavilion outside. Beside the raw concrete, a gleaming white monolithic block provides one of the very few Swiss avant-garde drive-in banks.

This is not a conventional piece of regeneration, even if it is on a site that frankly needed it. A building dedicated to consumption in every way, most notably to fuel and fashion, it nevertheless becomes a stark and thoughtful reflection on the contemporary city. It strips architecture back to its sinewy muscles and the US city back to its autopianism. The diametric opposite of the sunny, pastel-tinted, much-loved art deco for which the city is known it is a vernacular derived from local conditions - sun, shopping, views and traffic.

via ft

Continue reading...

Bornhuetter Hall by LTL Architects

Wood-clad study nooks cantilever, like box seats, into the theatrical space of the courtyard, producing a dynamic entrance to the building and establishing private study areas in a collective setting.

Bornhuetter Hall

Design Team: LTL Architects

Location: The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio

Status: Completion 2004

LTL’s work with the College of Wooster began in 2001 with an extensive feasibility study of the residential campus plan that culminated in recommendations for substantial changes in the density and configuration of several student halls. Contrary to the prevailing trend at residential colleges toward apartment-style living, extensive discussions with students, residential life staff, and college administration led to the unanticipated conclusion that a double-loaded corridor type actually encourages the greatest degree of socialization and the most positive student experiences.

The success of the double-loaded corridor as a catalyst for college social life is predicated on several important conditions: 1) the scale of the hall unit--the total number of rooms served by a single corridor--should be neither too small nor too large, as this resulted either in isolation or institutional anonymity, 2) the corridor should be wide enough to function as an ad-hoc social space and connect to or incorporate other collective spaces, and 3) the corridor should be integrated with the main circulation paths through the building.

The generative brief for Bornhuetter Hall, a new 47,500 sq. ft. residence hall comprising 185 beds, was derived from this research. Sited on the northern edge of a liberal arts campus, Bornhuetter Hall encourages social interaction by transforming the conventions of the double-loaded corridor and enriches student experience by providing a balance between private spaces for study and public gathering areas for communal life and discussion.

In order to ensure that each hall fosters a sense of community (25-30 students per hall), the building is made of two separate wings, which share a ground floor mechanical system. Within each wing, the hallways flare at their ends and embraces lounges, a kitchenette, and more intimate sitting areas. A collective outdoor courtyard is created by this split. This exterior room functions as the public center of the building. It is an unusual space, simultaneously at the heart of the building and at the ends of each wing. It contains both social and private spaces. It provides a sequence of entry into the building and passage through to a park framed at the rear of the building.

via LTL Architects

Continue reading...

Appaloosa Branch Library by DWL Architects

As you approach the library, the building’s metal skin changes colors- It’s primarily silver-gray straight on, and then as you get off to an angle you see a grayish green, as you get flatter to it, it goes dark green or a purplish color. As you’re driving up to it some of the walls look bright pink and some look bright green, creating the mirage effect.

Appaloosa Branch Library
Design Team: DWL Architects + Planners Inc.
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Status: Completion 2009

Designed in collaboration with Douglas Sydnor Architect and Associates, the Appaloosa Branch Library design theme celebrates the environment in a protected desert setting. They surveyed the site and decided they didn’t need to go back to historical precedent, or design something that would conform to what might work in other parts of the country. Instead they wanted something thoroughly modern and functional, with the crispness of steel design. They were creating something in the desert, so they decided they might as well create something for the desert.

Rising from a very functional plan, the 21,500 s.f. library concentrates its interior drama in a single large Reading Room that is 70 feet wide and 130 feet long. The space is naturally lit with indirect light that changes during the day but rarely enters the room directly. Sunsets will color the whole room with changing shades of pink and orange, while thunderstorms will be visible wherever they occur. The Reading Room is separated from staff spaces and meeting rooms by a massive geologically-layered concrete wall. Rooms along the south side are wrapped in iridescent metal and float a few feet above the arroyo. At the west end, the building digs into the earth, but at the east end it opens onto a patio with filtered views of the McDowell Mountains.




On the north side of the building, small windows actually form Morse code spelling out "Appaloosa." It was built to meet LEED Gold standards and has many "green" features, including photo voltaic cells, minimized water usage, roof designed to minimize heat island effect, minimal chemical usage during construction and operation and so much more. In addition, it was situated to avoid as much direct sunlight as possible. e.

As the only city building in northern Scottsdale, the Appaloosa branch functions as a public meeting place for residents. There is a café that serves as a “newsroom” where people often come and have coffee while they read the newspaper and watch the news.




via DWL Architects + Planners

Continue reading...

Madison Avenue (DOLL) House by REX

Suspended in air, the doll house remains a freestanding residence while capitalizing on underutilized urban space. Undeniably frivolous, the Madison Avenue (Doll)House nevertheless contains a kernel of an idea for accommodating growth in rapidly-densifying cities.

Madison Avenue (DOLL) House
Design Team: REX
Location: New York, USA
Status: Completion 2008

Calvin Klein’s Senior Vice President for Creative Services approached REX to design a concept house showcasing pieces from the company’s apparel, accessory, and home lines. The catch: the house would be realized in miniature and displayed in the main window of Calvin Klein’s Madison Avenue store during the 2008-2009 holiday season. REX dubbed this fusion of concept house and doll house a “(Doll)House.”

A response to two markedly different scales and purposes, the (Doll)House had to reconcile—in one design—the contradictory constraints of a concept house and a doll house. By siting the concept house in the ‘landscape’ above a Manhattan intersection, the competing demands of the two scales begins to reconcile. The conflicting constraints that remained unresolved by the selection of the concept house’s site are reconciled by the (Doll)House’s design itself. The design begins as four, minimalist floor plates (dining room, living room, bedroom, and rooftop pool terrace) following the precedent set for Calvin Klein by John Pawson, the store’s designer.





The plates are then shifted to maximize visibility into the doll house, and to provide views out for the imagined occupant of the concept house.

To balance the opposing desires for views and privacy, the (Doll)House is wrapped in a cocoon of
translucent white textile. Conceptually, this fabric layer operates as a sunshade, outboard of a glass façade.

The interiors and roof terrace are furnished with miniature replicas of pieces from the company’s apparel, accessory, and home lines. These items were designed by the company’s creative directors: Francisco Costa, Calvin Klein Collection for Women; Italo Zucchelli, Calvin Klein Collection for Men; Ulrich Grimm, Calvin Klein Shoes & Accessories; and, Amy Mellen, Calvin Klein Home.

Meanwhile, elevated and freestanding within the storefront, the doll house can be seen closely in the round and from afar, and can be opened from all sides for play.







via REX

Continue reading...

Taliesin Shelters by Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture's Students

A writer for the New York Times called the Taliesin Shelters perhaps "the hippest dormitory in the world." The "shelters," as they are called, dot the natural landscape surrounding the campuses, and are offered to students as options for living while attending school.

Taliesin Shelters
Design Team: Students of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture
Location: Taliesin West,Scottsdale, Arizona
Status: Ongoing project

The construction of Taliesin West, begun by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1937, was designed by Wright and built over many years by apprentices who were a part of the resident Taliesin Fellowship. Taliesin West is the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. The buildings rest on 500 acres of preserved Sonoran Desert open space on the South foothills of the McDowell mountains with spectacular views of Scottsdale, Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun.

Students at Taliesin West are provided the option of living in experimental desert shelters during all or part of their residency. Some of the student's design shelters are: Hook Shelter, Glass House, Hanging Shelter, Leaf Cube Shelter,Desert Perch Shelter and Ryan Hewson's shelter.





The structures at Taliesin West can be visited on the student-led Taliesin West Desert Shelter Tour, Saturdays at 1:30 between mid-November and mid-April and by appointment at info@taliesin.edu.





via Taliesin

Continue reading...

Cape Russell Retreat by Sanders Pace Architecture

The retreat is a well-crafted structure, with all the design process focus on sustainability, low-impact and off-the-grid design mandate to the site which would precede the design and construction of the house.
Cape Russell Retreat.

Cape Russell Retreat
Design Team: Sanders Pace Architecture
Location: Sharps Chapel, Tennessee, US
Status: Completed Spring 2009
Awards: AIA Tennessee Award of Excellence, AIA East Tennessee Award of Honor

The Owners commissioned Sanders Pace Architecture to design and coordinate construction of an off-the-grid lakeside pavilion with integrated water reclamation and photovoltaic technology for weekend use. A lightweight steel structure was chosen for durability and ease of fabrication. This structure was shop fitted with tabs to allow for the attachment of a secondary skin. In developing this skin the desire for transparency coupled with a passive cooling approach led to a shop fabricated structural screen of 2x4 vertical cedar boards backed with insect screen. Structural blocking located between the vertical structure lends a delicate pattern to the structural skin camouflaging the structure within its densely wooded setting. Towards the water view the cedar skin dissolves and becomes a series of screen panels allowing unobstructed views to the water and mountains beyond. A single 8'x8' sliding screen panel provides direct access to the water. additionally the cedar screen provides the structure for the butterfly roof above that directs and delivers rainwater to a collection cistern located beside the structure. An internal charcoal filter and ultraviolet light treat the water for potable use. Rooftop mounted photovoltaic cells provide the necessary power to run the water pump, refrigeration, fans and lighting providing for a truly independent overnight living situation.

via Sanders Pace Architecture

Continue reading...

Brooklyn Children's Museum by Rafael Vinoly Architects

"The design of the Brooklyn Children's Museum is a force for shaping the creativity of young minds," says Rafael Vinoly. "Its expanded presence in the neighborhood elicits a visceral, instinctive response in children that's exciting to see."

Brooklyn Children's Museum
Design Team: Rafael Vinoly Architects
Location: Brooklyn, New York, US
Status: Completion 2008
Awards: AIA Tennessee Award of Excellence, AIA East Tennessee Award of Honor

Seeking expanded capacity to serve a growing audience of children and families, the Brooklyn Children's Museum wanted a new public presence that would contribute to the vitality of the surrounding community. Rafael Vinoly Architects has achieved this by creating a distinctive L-shaped, two-story structure that differs from its context in color as well as physical form, yet remains welcoming and deferential to the museum's existing built fabric. The plan doubles the museum's space to 102,000 square feet and is expected to expand its annual visitor capacity from 250,000 to 400,000.

The architecture of the new building is compelling and inviting to children, its glittering envelope of 8.1 million yellow ceramic tiles creating a landmark attraction. The implemented design completely reimagines the existing 1977 museum, both expanding and reconfiguring it. Two stories of new construction add a library, exhibition galleries, cafe, and classrooms. The new building's expanded plan and second-floor galleries are integrated with the existing structure through open staircases and vertical circulation cores, providing visitors with a wider array of circulation options. The design provides access to the existing rooftop terrace and outdoor theater, linking these spaces directly to a second-floor Kids' Cafe. Throughout the building, specially-designed features ensure that the architecture remains child-accessible: for instance, additional wooden handrails are mounted at a low level, and porthole windows punctuate the building envelope at a variety of heights and angles, yielding a series of unique elevated perspectives on the neighborhood.




Whenever possible, construction utilized rapidly renewable and recycled materials and also incorporated high-performance/sustainable features. The museum will be the first in New York City to employ geothermal wells for heating and cooling purposes.

The Brooklyn Children's Museum is planned to be New York City's first LEED-certified museum and the first to tap geothermal wells for heating and cooling purposes. Wherever possible, construction utilized rapidly renewable and recycled materials and incorporated high-performance/sustainable features. Photovoltaic cells on exterior walls convert solar energy directly into electrical power, and energy-saving sensors control the interior lighting and ventilation systems.







via Rafael Vinoly Architects

Continue reading...