February 2010 by Indian Architect & Builder Magazine

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18 IA&B - FEB 2010 Paulo Marto

Paul Acland

Let’s Partner

Commenced in 2002, Paul+O Architects Ltd. are a young architectural practice set up by Paulo Marto and Paul Acland. While Paulo is an alumni of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; Paul has studied architecture at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The firm has the experience of working on a broad range of projects, which includes office fit-outs, restaurants, shops and landscaping. They received nationwide attention through their controversial Wilderness Project — a country house on a green field site in Suffolk, one of the few houses to achieve planning permission under Gummer’s Law and also, one of the last. In an exclusive interview with Sarita Vijayan, Editor & Brand Director, India Architect & Builder, the architects discuss their projects, design philosophy and plans for the future. Photograph: courtesy the architects

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let’s partner

SV. Your firm aims to create work appropriate to its time, place and function, using traditional materials in a contemporary manner. Please elaborate. Paul+O. Each project is site-specific, rooted in its immediate surroundings and greater context. Our approach to each project brief is always the same, but the resultant form of each project is inevitably always different. The Wilderness, for instance, is a rendered flat-roofed building, which sits on a flint plinth and uses only local building materials. The grid of the site, formed by rides and hedgerows, became the generator of our design: a cruciform plan with a spine wall that aligns with and carries the memory of an older hedgerow. A recently-completed indoor swimming pool is built of soft red brick and has an asymmetrical pitched roof clad with handmade tiles. Its playful and asymmetrical form echoes, in a contemporary way, the adjacent red brick country house. Two very different projects, but with the same design approach. In England, there is an ongoing debate between those who consider that contemporary buildings built within historical areas (i.e. most of the UK) should be built in the style of the existing surrounding buildings and those who think we should be designing buildings that are clearly of our time. HRH The Prince of Wales has added considerable weight to those who support the former. We consider that our projects are ‘recognisably of our age,’ as well as, being sympathetic to their surrounding – whether that be a woodland or a country house or an urban setting. SV. You received attention nationally through one of your first projects, the controversial Wilderness Project − one of the few contemporary houses to attain planning permission under Gummer’s Law, and one of the last. Please elaborate on the concept behind the project and your experience from it? Paul+O. The house was commissioned by a seventy-year-old woman who lived in a large country house but wanted to build a contemporary house in a woodland nearby. The Planning Regulations meant that the only way a house could be built was if it was in the tradition of a country house and was outstanding in its architecture. Approximately 25 new country houses have been granted planning permission in the last 10 years. From these, the Wilderness was the only house of a contemporary design to be built – the others being predominantly neo-Georgian. As stated previously, the geometry of the site became the generator for the cruciform plan of the house, which embraces the landscape judiciously exploiting aspect, shelter and existing watercourses. The ground floor of the house is largely transparent, making one feel surrounded by the landscape and blurring the edges between indoors and outdoors. We wanted the house to be quite picturesque, a sculptural form in the woodland with its asymmetrical and broken-up massing. The landscaping was also an integral part of our proposal – so again, our proposal was all about accentuating what was special and unique about this Suffolk ‘Wilderness’. The Wilderness was a tough project, not only because of the difficulty in obtaining planning permission, but also the difficulty in dealing with a ‘traditional’ contractor who did not understand the contemporary detailing of the project - one could say there was a bit of a culture shock!

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SV. Which of your past projects best represents your design ambitions? Paul+O. All of our past projects represent our design ambitions; each project presents different challenges. SV. What’s your secret, in addition to your obvious talent? Is now a good time for young architects? Paul+O. We believe the secret is dedication, tenacity and not letting one’s vision be weakened throughout the duration of the project. Often schemes are compromised because of differing agendas between the client and the consultants. I would say that the role of the architect is difficult in many ways. First, our role has been diminished along the years and therefore our status has been reduced. It is not uncommon for clients, now, to be looking for project managers or QS to run their job, rather than architects. We also have less control of planning affairs and, as a result, the quality of buildings is suffering. I believe that architects need to be forever finding new ways to carve out a relevant role in current practice. SV. Some firms seem to handle growth extremely well, while others are absolutely incapable of growing—the scale of their work can’t be easily transformed. How do you see your work changing as your scale expands and you create multiples? Paul+O. I think that there is always pressure for offices to expand. We are resisting the idea of growing too large as we want to retain a strong contact with our clients and our projects. We provide a very intimate personal service to our clients, which makes our role very satisfying and we wouldn’t want to endanger that. SV. What do you think of designing overseas? Would working in India, Shanghai, Dubai or any of the other overseas boom economies change your work? Paul+O. We are both from the antipodes – Paulo from Southern Africa and Paul from New Zealand. Paul has worked in Hong Kong, Australia and New York, Paulo in South Africa and Portugal. We would very much like to be involved with projects outside the UK, either in Europe or further afield. In fact, we are currently carrying out some feasibility studies for a house in Bali. In any of these countries we would undertake only projects where we could continue our philosophy of designing buildings that are appropriate to their time and place. This would not include building glass towers in the desert! SV. What would you say that Indian design has to teach the West? Paul+O. When I was in India some years ago, I was fascinated not by the Taj Mahal (undoubtedly a beautiful building), but by the Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Jaipur, scientific instruments pared back to their essence and at the same time made poetic – they are very sculptural in their massing and are timeless. I do not like the idea of one culture lecturing another culture, whether it be the west teaching India or vice versa, but what I think England has forgotten is that buildings can be both functional, as well as, beautiful and can lift the spirit and mind at the same time as sheltering the body.

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LET’S PARTNER Paulo Marto and Paul Acland, the duo behind Paul+O Architects Ltd., in an exclusive tête-à-tête with Sarita Vijayan, Editor & Brand Director, Indian Architect & Builder Magazine.

CURRENT Latest updates on architecture exhibitions, competitions and news.

PRODUCTS Featured are contemporary, innovative and stylish products from around the world.

CONSTRUCTION BRIEF Apprise of the world’s six most fascinating construction projects. Ferrari World Designed by multi-national architecture firm Benoy — Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is set to be the world’s largest indoor theme park.

Gwanggyo Power Centre The power centre by MVRDV Architects is a fully self-sufficient city with great programmatic diversity.

Le Louvre, Abu Dhabi Le Louvre Abu Dhabi epitomises the very essence of the Louvre in Paris.

Chester Zoo Natural Vision Project Designed by Proctor and Matthews Architects this project will simulate the rainforest habitats of the African Congo as a part of Natural Vision Project in the Chester Zoo.

Bombay Arts Society An edifice dedicated to art by the Bombay Arts Society is realised by Mumbai-based Sanjay Puri Architects.

TECHNOLOGY Curvaceous Abode Joseph Bellomo carves out an interesting modular living with House Arc.

FOCUS: YOUNG DESIGNERS The annual dedication to young designers’ is in its 11 th year. The entries received this year are a reflection of the growth of the profession both, at academic and professional levels.

ARCHITECTURE Scrapture A structure crafted from waste addresses the issues of cost-effectiveness and an environment friendly approach.

Savouring the Past With the focus on hospitality as a function and passion for restoration and renovation as expression, architect Akash Kadam, re-glorifies the experience of everlasting memories.

Re-thinking the Spatial Maneuver The driving force behind Sagar and Shilpa Kabre’s design approach has been detail to the functional requirements rather than following conventions of

POST EVENT Essar Steel Masterstrokes: The Icon Exhibition

certain building typologies.

Photo essay of the first ever exhibition on the works of the legendary architect

With its straight forward and functional design language, the project displays

Richard Meier.

a sensitive balance in the symphony of spaces and volume.

A Minimalistic Approach

Co v e r

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Chairman: Jasu Shah Printer & Publisher: Maulik Jasubhai Editor & Brand Director: Sarita Vijayan Deputy Editor: Sujatha Mani Senior Writers: Hina Nitesh, Ritu Sharma, Hema Yadav Writers: Renuka Singh, Maanasi Hattangadi Sr. Visualiser: Abdul Muttalib Visualisers: Mansi Chikani, Prashant Gujar Web Designer: Sandeep Sahoo Editorial & Events Co-ordinator: Abhay Dalvi Subscription Co-ordinators: Sunita Lumba (Delhi), Abhijit Mirashi, Sheetal Kamble Production Team: V Raj Misquitta (Head), Prakash Nerkar, Arun Madye Brand Manager: Sudhanshu Nagar Head Key Accounts: Meha Shrivastava

Experimental Architecture Blurring the line between art, architecture and design is London based young design firm Studio AV.

Material Kinetics Experimenting with materials and digital technology — Urbana, a design and fabrication studio has managed to create architecture that responds to its user.

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ARCHITECTURE the ‘dhar’ view A dilapidated cottage in Shimla is refurbished, while reinstating the elementary character of the structure.

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CULTURE COUNTS Within Temple Walls – Preserving the Spirit of Place Amita Baig invites Tara Sharma to share her experiences on sacred living heritage sites around Ladakh, which have a larger resonance on the subject.

Editorial & Marketing Office: JMPL, 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D N Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Tel : +91-22-4213 6400, Fax : +91-22-4213 6401 General Manager - Sales: Sandeep Chauhan Mumbai: Sr. Sales Executive: Viresh Pandey Asst. Manager Sales: Manish Naik Sales Executive: Kavita Jharolia Sales & Accounts Co-ordinator: Manoj Gorivale Bangalore: JMPL, Sales Head - South: Christopher Gnanaraj Nanda Gokula, # 96, Osborne Road, Ulsoor, Near Lakeside Hospital, Bangalore 560 042 Tel: 080 2554 6371, Mob: 99647 47819 Chennai: JMPL, Assistant Sales Managers: Senkhadir Balu Saena Circle No 31/6, Ist Floor, Duraiswamy Road,T.Nagar Chennai 600 017 Tel: 044 - 42123936, Fax: 044-42427728, Mob: 98407 05981 Email: senkhadir_balu@jasubhai.com Secunderabad: JMPL, Cabin No. 37, Reliance Business Centre, 303, Swapna Lok Complex, 92 Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad – 500 003 Tel: 040-5522 1050 Delhi: JMPL, Assistant Regional Managers: Rohit Chhajer, Preeti Singh, 803, Chiranjeev Tower, No. 43, Nehru Place, New Delhi 110 019 Tel: 011-2623 5332, Fax: 011-2642 7404 Pune: JMPL, Suite 201, White House, 1482 Sadashiv Peth, Tilak Road, Pune 411 030 Telefax: 020 - 2448 2059 Ahmedabad: JMPL, 64/A, Phase I, GIDC Industrial Estate, Vatva, Ahmedabad 382 445 Tel: 079 2583 1042 Processed at M.B. Graphics Tel: 91 22 2413 8980 Printed & Published by Maulik Jasubhai on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd (JMPL), Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai 400 001. Printed by him at M.B.Graphics, B-28 Shri Ram Industrial Estate, ZG.D.Ambekar Marg, Wadala, Mumbai 400031and Published from Mumbai. Editor: Sarita Vijayan JMPL, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai 400 001. Indian Architect & Builder: (ISSN 0971-5509), RNI No 46976/87, is a JMPL monthly publication. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, in English or any other language is strictly prohibited. We welcome articles, but do not accept responsibility for contributions lost in the mail.

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current GREEN SHED: Pandora Park Community Garden Design Competition Category Type Deadline

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International Architecture and Design students/instructors Registration Deadline: 19 March, 2010 Submission Deadline: 26 March, 2010

The aim of this competition is to generate constructible designs for a storage shed and a common outdoor space for a new community garden that will showcase sustainable building strategies and materials. Entrants are therefore encouraged to use materials in innovative ways in the tradition of Samuel Mockbee’s ‘Rural Studio’. A team of volunteers will build the winning design over the summer of 2010. For further information, contact: Web: www.greenshedcompetition.com

A Fresh Look at 20th Century Architecture Category Type Deadline

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International Architecture and Design students/instructors Registration Deadline: 26 March, 2010 Submission Deadline: 26 April, 2010

The competition announced by the International Union of Architects will provide an opportunity for young architects to enrich the web index www.archi.fr/UIA with their own expression of an architectural realisation from the last century, using today’s design tools. The image models to be designed need to be based on digital photographs created using Autodesk Image Modeler and Autodesk Stitcher Unlimited softwares. Entries can be architectural descriptions based on panoramic images and/or 3D models of the structure in its current state. Students may also work in groups, on different elements or structures in an architectural or urban complex. For further information, contact: Web: www.archi.fr/UIA

COMPETITION

One Prize: Competition for Creating Productive Green Space in Cities Category : Type : Deadline :

International Architects, Urban Designers, Planners, Engineers, Scientists, Artists, Students and Individuals of all backgrounds. Registration Deadline: 31 March, 2010 Submission Deadline: 30 April, 2010

Art in Architecture Category Type Deadline

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International Architecture and Design students/instructors Registration Deadline: 01 April, 2010 Submission Deadline: 01 June, 2010

The Centre for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, New Jersey is announcing a juried competition, ‘Art in Architecture’ to celebrate its inauguration as the new art centre in New Jersey, replacing the 40 year old Somerset Art Association in the fall of 2010. ‘Art in Architecture’ intends to generate ideas about the relationship and interaction between the two. The thematic goal is to seek images on architecture as a repository for art, revealing how art is expressed in architecture and how art and architecture affect and are affected by each other. In focusing on the capacity of art and architecture to be transcendent, this exhibition will add a special voice to the current debate between the ‘container’ and its ‘contents,’ which has been taking place across the globe. For further information, contact: Web: www.somersetart.org/

Concrete Geometries: Spatial Form in Social and Aesthetic Processes Category Type Deadline

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International Open to all Registration Deadline: 12 April, 2010 Submission Deadline: 12 April, 2010

Digital design methods for form finding and implementing have produced an influential body of work, preoccupied with the development of a novel, complex and heterogeneous spatial form. Set up as a cross-disciplinary Research Cluster at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, ‘Concrete Geometries’ investigates the intimate relationship between spatial form and human processes and the variety of new material entities this relationship might provoke. By bringing together art, architecture, sciences and humanities, they hope to connect fields of knowledge that are currently fragmented by disciplinary boundaries.The best proposal will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000. For further information, contact: Web: www.concrete-geometries.net/

Open Source House Design Competition Category Type Deadline

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International Architecture and Design students/instructors Registration Deadline: 17 May, 2010 Submission Deadline: 17 May, 2010

This competition is in the context of larger issues concerning the environment, global food production and the imperative to generate a sense of community in our urban and suburban neighbourhoods. The competition will focus on designing future-proof spaces and systems to explore the larger framework of suburban and urban agriculture and its effects on architecture and urban design.

Participants are challenged to design a flexible and locally embedded house in coastal Ghana. The basis for this design is a framework of eight OS-House principles on which houses and specific elements can be designed, developed and implemented. The winning design(s) will be built in Ghana. The competition’s goal is to realise 100,000 OS-Houses before the year 2020.

For further information, contact: Web: www.oneprize.org/dates.html

For further information, contact: Web: www.os-house.org/english/os-house/design+competition

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current Building the Medieval World: Architecture in Illuminated Manuscripts Date : Venue :

02 March to 16 May, 2010 The Getty Centre, Los Angeles, USA

Among the lasting achievements of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are architectural wonders of soaring cathedrals and grand palaces. This focused exhibition explores representations of medieval architecture in manuscript illumination. Artists incorporated examples of medieval churches and domestic architecture into scenes depicting stories drawn from scripture, literature and history. They also employed impressive architectural settings to symbolically convey the importance of individuals, events and frequently used architectural elements as decorative motifs to frame texts and images. For further information, contact: Web: http://www.getty.edu/visit/exhibitions/future.html

RIBA Built Exhibition Date : Venue :

04 March to 03 May, 2010 RIBA, London, UK

17 March to 01 August, 2010 Museum of the City of New York, New York, USA

Even though New York, like many major cities, has a low per capita ownership of automobiles, it has surprisingly played an essential role in creating today’s car culture; in turn, the car has helped to shape modern New York. ‘Cars, Culture and the City’ is the first exhibition to explore New York City’s century-long relationship with cars and marks the 100th anniversary of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA). The exhibition will feature visionary drawings and models; historic photographs, films, advertisements and a wealth of car memorabilia to tell this fascinating, yet, untold story. For further information, contact: Web: http://www.mcny.org/exhibitions/future/Cars-Culture-and-the-City.html

‘A garden within doors’: plants and flowers in the home Date : Venue :

30 March to 25 July, 2010 Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India

The RIBA organises and runs competitions to encourage excellence in design on behalf of a wide range of clients–both public and private– that have resulted in a variety of built landmark projects and iconic structures. These range from major public projects such as London’s Wembley Stadium to the small and interesting such as The Halo, Rossendale and the Blackpool Swivelling Wind Shelter. This exhibition features a selection of built projects, all of which have originated through the RIBA competitions process. For further information, contact: Web:http://www.architecture.com/

For fur ther information, contact: Web: http://www.visitlondon.com/events/detail/5746228

Date : Venue :

EVENTS

Date : Venue :

This exhibition will examine the enduring appeal of plants and flowers in the home and will investigate the meanings and values associated with indoor plants. It will explore the role houseplants and arranged flowers play in homemaking and in the psychology of the home, whilst taking into account changing fashions and tastes. Strong links between home and garden will be highlighted by special displays in all of the museum’s period rooms (c.1600 to the present) and also in the exhibition gallery, which will focus on the 19th century (1800–1914), a period when domestic gardening and an interest in growing plants and flowers indoors grew exponentially.

Design Making Change

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Cars, Culture and the City

17 March to 28 April, 2010 AIA Seattle Gallery, Seattle, USA

Aestheticism: Beauty in Art and Design Date : Venue :

01 April, 2010 to 31 July, 2010 Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

From asset-based community design to redefining the client-designer relationship, designers are increasingly recognising the power of design as an instrument for public good. The projects to be showcased include ‘Architects Without Borders, Seattle,’ ‘The Global Studio’ and ‘Design for the Children’. Visitors can look forward to excellent learning opportunities such as best practices and innovative strategies for utilising architectural skills with AIA’s recently released Institute Guidelines to Assist AIA Members, Firms and Components in undertaking pro bono services.

This will be the first international exhibition to explore the unconventional creativity of the British Aesthetic Movement (1860–1895). The well spring of the ‘new art’ movement of the late 19th century, British Aestheticism is now acknowledged for its revolutionary renegotiation of the relationships between the artist and society, between ‘fine’ and design arts, as well as, between art and ethics and art and criticism. British Aesthetic sensibilities produced some of the most sophisticated and sensuously beautiful artworks in the western tradition. The exhibition will feature paintings, furniture, ceramics, metalwork, wallpapers, photographs and costumes, as well as, architectural and interior designs.

For further information, contact: Web: http://www.aiaseattle.org/designmakingchange

For further information, contact: Web: http://www.visitlondon.com/events/detail/1083790

2/25/2010 4:32:35 PM

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current Nakheel refutes ‘World is sinking’ claims UAE property giant, Nakheel has issued a statement refuting recent claims that its signature project, ‘The World’ islands in Dubai is being washed away. A recently released image taken by an astronaut, which apparently shows the islands ‘sinking’ has fuelled rumours. The islands were finished some years ago and there has been no subsidence since. A system known as vibro-compaction, a process that causes the soil to vibrate vigorously, minimising air gaps between the sand particles, locking their corners and edges together, was used to increase the load bearing capacity of the reclaimed land. In fact, the load-bearing capacity of ‘The World’ islands is about twice that of mainland Dubai. While construction of the 931-hectare islands is now complete, the NASA photograph department reports that ‘little to no infrastructure development of ‘The World’ is apparent in this astronaut photograph’.

Integrated concept combines entertainment, education and Korean cultural heritage The Seoul Metropolitan Government sponsored competition for a concept design and feasibility study for Seoul Grand Park, Korea drew 21 entries from around the world. A team led by planning, design and engineering firm AECOM won it with their entry, Gaia: The Living World, which envisions an integrated entertainment and educational experience that revitalises the urban realm and showcases Korean heritage. The AECOM team brought together experts from the region and worldwide, including master planners, landscape architects, zoo designers, themed-content developers and economists. The proposal opened the entire lakefront for community use, reconnecting the city to the waterfront and breaking down the segregated organisational structure of visitor attractions and programming. The new design combines lush botanical displays, exotic animal exhibits and exciting rides. The plan proposes new attractions including Seoul Walk and Lakeside Park, a night safari at the Great Savanna, Korean Forest, jungle cruise and a winter garden complete with a giant waterfall.

AIA National Design Awards 2010

NEWS

Among the brick buildings and live oaks at Rice University in Houston stands the Brochstein Pavilion, a cleanly patterned, rhythmic composition of glass and metal. With indoor and outdoor seating shaded from the Texas sun, this structure by Thomas Phifer and Partners offers a casual gathering space in the central quad, inviting activity while blending into the existing campus fabric. The pavilion was among the 28 projects recognised by the American Institute of Architects in its 2010 AIA Institute Honour Awards.

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Other honourees include a revamped performance hall at Lincoln Centre in New York City, a restored Gulf Coast landmark, a hardworking multipurpose space for a Missouri school district and a master plan for riverfront development in Savannah, Georgia.

Ravello’s new €18m performance space launched Perched on a cliffside in the culturally rich town of Ravello on the south coast of Italy, Ravello’s €18m performance space was inaugurated. Designed by Niemeyer, the auditorium was not an easy building to design; the site presented an irregular, narrow earth surface with an accentuated diagonal inclination. Nevertheless, Niemeyer and project partners Fondazione Ravello, the Campania Region and the municipality were able to cope with the difficult landscape. The auditorium has been built with a parterre that follows the natural inclination of the ground. The 1,500sqm space hosts an auditorium that seats 400, a 167sqm semicircular stage, a recording studio, a rehearsal room and 107 outdoor parking spaces. Inside the auditorium, a mobile of methacrylate corrugated reflectors positioned on the roof act as suspended acoustic panels. The lowest level of the auditorium houses the audio-visual area, translation booths and the directed lights. The hydraulic handling system, perhaps the most impressive feature of the auditorium, can lift the stage to the entrance level, turning the foyer into a huge exploitable space that can be used for conventions and exhibitions.

New skin for aging 60s icons by LAVA Multinational architectural practice, Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA), has developed a simple, cost effective and easily constructed skin that promises to ‘facelift’ tired icons into sustainable and stunning buildings. Tower Skin, a transparent cocoon, acts as a high performance ‘micro climate’. It generates energy through photovoltaic cells, collects rainwater, improves day lighting and uses available convective energy to power the towers’ ventilation requirements. Surface tension allows the membrane to freely stretch around walls and roof elements achieving maximum visual impact with minimal material effort. As day turns to night, Tower Skin becomes a dynamic sculpture on Sydney’s skyline, an intelligent media surface, communicating information such as performances and campus events in real time. The proposal integrates principles of architecture, fashion, media and communication design into a new, hybrid solution.

US Senator Hatch surveys RhinoRock’s lightweight concrete house for Haiti US Senator Hatch visited Utah based RhinoRock’s facility to examine a house constructed of lightweight concrete panels intended for use in Haiti. Over the past decade, RhinoRock has developed a proprietary manufacturing process that eliminates 90 per cent of concrete used in a typical building panel. Originally developed for lightweight concrete fence panels, RhinoRock has modified the fence panel to be used as exterior walls of a house designed for earthquake devastated Haiti. Since the panels are light enough to be lifted by hand, the building components can be economically shipped and can be installed by a couple of men. Engineering for the new structure is rated for both seismic activity and high wind speeds. All of the components for the entire building structure are manufactured in Provo, Utah. The United Nations is currently in the process of reviewing and evaluating the new RhinoRock building structure for use in Haiti. The Red Cross and the IOM have also been supplying plans for the building.

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products VITA Designer Massimo Mariani’s ‘Vita’ is a universal shelving system, made of square modules with shelves and boxes. Ability to adapt to a space and change in time is the highlight of this system. Sides of the module measure 600mm, the depth of the shelves varying between 220mm and 330mm and that of the boxes between 390mm and 540mm. The program is based on generative computational design techniques and exploits mathematical models of self-referential and recursive growth. Modules are differentiated based on the depth of the shelves and the dimensions of the boxes: each one can be rotated according to four main orientations.

Contact: via della Chiusa ang. via Crocefisso 20123 Milano (Italy) Tel: +39-02 5831 7168 Fax: +39-02 5832 0859 Web: www.mdfitalia.it

home solutions

Multi-sensorial Gastronomy Illustrious Spanish restaurant Arzak and Philips Design have agreed to explore the multi-sensorial possibilities of gastronomy by developing provocations that enhance the experience of dining. Multi-sensorial gastronomy concepts are the latest projects involving the lunar eclipse (bowl), ‘fama’ (long plate) and ‘tapa de luz’ (serving plate). Made from bone china, these objects seem familiar and routine. However, when liquid is poured into the bowl or food is placed on the plates, a subtle glow appears at the bottom of the bowls and plates creating a new sensory dining experience. The series involves the integration of lighting, conductive printing, selective fragrance discharge, micro-vibration, electro stimulus and a host of other sensory stimuli that affect the food and the meal in subtle ways. Contact: Web: www.design.philips.com

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(DE)light Design has a profound capacity to give meaning to objects. (DE)light is a research project that aims to bring enchantment to the object-user relationship by reinterpreting the concept of light. The intention of this project is to examine how design can challenge and redefine the way people relate to and perceive mundane objects. Liquid light represents a step towards what could become a significant change in the aspect of domestic lighting. The poetic and practical potential of having light without the need of a solid source is hugely appealing. This represents just the first step in what could be a revolution in lighting design. Contact: Cristina Ferraz Rigo Tel: +31 (0) 631305363 +44 (0) 777 29 20952 +34 686 196 852 Email: cristina.ferraz@network.rea.ac.uk Web: www.cristinaferraz.es

lighting

Tactum Designed by Lara Mikocki, Tactum is an interactive energy-harvesting faรงade for engaging sustainable city living in all walks of life. Inspired by a child running their hand along a fence on their way home from school is only one of the movements that Tactum invites; pulling, stretching squeezing and all playful or natural interactions generate energy for surrounding city-lighting. It is a selfsanitising silicone membrane that encloses a series of nanogenerators and converters as its nucleus. Accompanied by a meter display to monitor usage and generation of electricity with easy to understand conversions, Tactum provides a rewarding sense of participation in the well being of our environment. Tactum is most applicable in public spaces, such as dense city areas, train stations or airports, where even waiting generates power as one leans against the faรงade. Contact: Web: www.coroflot.com

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Fluxus: The WaveNokia of Light and Product Creation Center - San Diego, CA Glass A "living wall" of

g r e e n s c r e e n®

panels is used

Fluxus emerged from the use of a single design Contact: to separate the circulation corridor from a bank of element in an artistic context that led to a Andromeda Murano silver finish was suspended and apparently conference fluid surface: a fabricrooms. of CalleOur Miottistandard 16 energy flowing through points and lines, creating 30141the Murano, Venice, Italy storefront system. specified to match aluminum marked paths and colours able to generate the Tel: (+39) 041 736674 expression of motion. The sole ‘Knit’ element covers Email: nemo@andromedamurano.it a recurrence of overtones: white to black passing Web: www.andromedamurano.it through three nuances of grey to transmit constant visual vibrations. It covers a surface area of 60sqm, using 42,000 handmade glass ‘Knit’ elements in 5 colours. The structure consists of mirrored metal rails hand-shaped to follow the artists inspirations, among which tiny lines of metal act as the base to house the Knit elements, connected by means of an original Andromeda technical device.

INTE R IO R S

Wear Sunscreen

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Contact: Greenscreen® 1743 S. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035-4650, USA Tel: 310 837 0526 Web: http://www.greenscreen.com/home.html

The City of Tempe Transit Centre, USA – a mixed-use facility for retail, city offices and leased office spaces – shades commuters from the Arizona sunshine with greenscreen® green walls. The foliage of the greenscreen® walls helps deflect radiant energy from the adjacent surfaces, including roadway temperatures, which can reach upwards of 140°F. It is a unique three-dimensional welded wire trellising system that creates a captive growing space for plants to flourish and intertwine. Rigid and lightweight standard 3” or 2” thick panels are 4’ wide x 6’, 8’, 10’, 12’ or 14’ tall. Greenscreen®’s unique wire space frame configuration can span between structure members; fences, freestanding screens and gazebos are just some of its copious applications. Made from recycled steel, greenscreen® is based on the environmental principles of amalgamating design with nature. Greenscreen® can be used commercially or residentially in almost any application.

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products Grand Central Grand Central is an innovative, expandable table that transforms from space saving occasional table to the centrepiece of the room. The tabletop is divided into twenty-two pieces that fold out spectacularly through its advanced construction. Simultaneously dramatic and poetic, its inspiration comes from a pop-up map of New York.

Contact: Sanna Lindström Studio Tel: +46(0) 73 563 25 52 Email: sannadesign@gmail.com

S PA C E S AV E R S

Peoplepad The next generation techie furniture, designed by ‘Undpartner’ and known as Peoplepad, is perfect for hi-tech, hi-class living rooms. This furniture, especially fashioned for today’s generation, features a comprehensive landscape serving global hi-tech needs – where access to technology is effortless. Its futuristic black and green combination design, allows the user the choice of how they wish to approach the media interaction. Besides being functional and ergonomic, Peoplepad is designed to look attractive. This high-tech home furniture bundles playing, relaxing, sitting and resting, all at once. It’s a set of multimedia furniture that allows its user to decide which high-tech functions to put at work. Contact: Showroom/Office Webgasse 4, 1060 Wien Homebase Dorfstraße 32, 5300 Hallwang b. Salzburg Tel: +43 (0) 660 3457735 Email: barbara@undpartner.at Web: www.undpartner.at

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40 IA&B - FEB 2010

products CISA MIFARE Hotel Locks The need for enhanced security is a common drive across all environments; particularly hotels, campuses, commercial and public buildings. Keeping this in mind, IRST has launched CISA MIFARE Hotel Locks. Specifically designed for hotels and other facilities with transient occupancy, the lock is operated with a hand-held smart card, which reduces fraud, increases room security and cannot be cloned or copied. The card can also be programmed to facilitate single level or multiple accesses. The lock mechanism is fully certified to ANSI Grade 2 and has a battery life of twelve months. It replaces the need for traditional locking systems; but if need be, has a mechanical override facility. Contact: Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies Berrington Road, Sydenham Industrial Estate, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV31 1NB Tel: 01926437000 Email: info_stindia@irco.com

INNO VATION

Recycled Tube Light

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The Toronto-based design collective known as Castor Canadensis fashions beautiful ceiling lights out of discarded old fluorescent tubular light bulbs. There are two versions, a slightly longer one, for hanging horizontally and a smaller 2 foot version for laying on the table or the floor. The ‘Recycled Tube Light’ is made from burnt-out fluorescent tubes and is lit using centrally placed incandescent bulbs. The fluorescent bulbs have been reclaimed from architecturally significant buildings in Canada, such as the TD Tower designed by Mies van der Rohe, Toronto’s Old City Hall and University of Toronto. Their diameter is 8” and they are available in various lengths of 15”, 3”, 4” and 8”. Contact: Castor Designs 70 Wade Ave, Unit A Toronto, Ontario Canada M6H 1P6 Web: www.castordesign.ca

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IA&B - FEB 2010

construction brief

Ferrari World

Sitting under a roof designed in the style of the classic double-curve body shell of a Ferrari GT- the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, designed by multinational architecture firm Benoy, is set to be the world’s largest indoor theme park. Text: complied by Maanasi Hattangadi

1. Concept: Evolving the brand into architecture. 2. The artist’s impression of the form that is unmistakably Ferrari, an expression of the passion and emotion of the brand.

A three pointed star form in plan, with an enclosed main core element and three extensive ‘tri-form’ claws to cradle the outdoor attractions, the 3D nature of the building was derived from an analysis of the sinuous double curves of countless Ferrari body shells. At the very centre of the plan, the huge roof dips and gathers itself into the ground like a huge crystal glazed, lit funnel, creating the perfect setting for some of the world’s most exciting rides. The double curve gave rise to the dynamic scale of the building at 700m from tip to tip of the tri-forms. 1

The primary inclined shield façade that wraps around the building is over a kilometer in length and leans outward by 12 degrees, pushed 9m into the air at the base and forward, accentuating the approach to the building, helping to visually position the attractions inside onto a pedestal, giving the impression that the interior is somehow unobtainable, like a Ferrari Car itself. Benoy’s proposals realised the opportunity to externalise the edges of the building in a way that allows engagement with the outdoors. In addition, large voids are cut into the shell of the building to permit integration of indoor/outdoor functions, like the roller coasters and the flexible performance space to the south. The central funnel roof is supported on 12 primary columns, which form a 12 point Arabic star pattern that is used to describe the primary geometry of the overall roof space and extends out to meet the primary raked shield façade. 2

t the heart of Yas Island sits the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi – the world’s first Ferrari theme park. Its a thrilling brand experience like no other, a multi-sensory celebration of a brand icon designed by the international firm Benoy. Inspired by the double curve side profile of the classic Ferrari GT, this bright red architectural gem will bare a Ferrari logo stretching 215ft in diameter, also the largest in the world. Indoors and out, Ferrari World will feature 20 rides and attractions including the world’s fastest roller coaster. Its circular plan form is orientated to embrace visitors from around the globe. Due to the shape of the island and the position of Ferrari World, the building was conceived as a very simple ‘ground hugging’ form, peeling up from the landscape in flowing lines like a red sand dune. The visually distinctive form and shape crowns the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 track. The roof form is based on a 120-degree tri-form arm arrangement that extends over 700m in diameter, surrounding the 3 levels of 176,000sqm of main accommodation within.

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Inside the Ferrari World building, a soaring space frame structure covers a huge undulating plaza deck, on which the many themed rides and attractions – designed by Jack Rousse Associates, spread over a gross area of over 86,000sqm will be situated. The sculptural form will sit on an apron of landscape, growing out of the desert. The apron will change in function as it wraps around the building, from landscaped terrace to public gardens and engage with the adjacent track facilities; a blend of automotive design, sculpture and architecture that has evolved into a pure swept form.

FACT FILE: Location Architect Client Completion of Project Photographs

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Yas Island, Abu Dhabi Benoy Aldar Properties 2010 Courtesy the architects

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construction brief

Gwanggyo Power Centre Envisioned as a verdant acropolis of organic ‘hill’ structures, the Gwanggyo Power Centre by MVRDV architects, is a fully self-sufficient city with great programmatic diversity.

he futuristic green city centre of Gwanggyo, designed by Dutch architecture group MVRDV, strives to create a landscape atop a new program that enlarges green qualities and links the surrounding parks by turning the site into a park. The cohesive park of box hedges building up into a series of overgrown hills, aim for high urban density and encouragement of further developments around this so-called ‘Power Centre,’ one of the two envisioned centres of the future new town Gwanggyo, 35km south of Seoul. Since the beginning of this millennium, Korean town planning has incorporated local nodes with a high-density concentration of mixed programs. These nodes consist of a mix of public, retail, culture, housing, offices and leisure, generating life in new metropolitan areas and encouraging further development around the ‘Power Centre’ strategy. The Gwanggyo Power Centre will consist of 200,000sqm housing; 48,000sqm offices; 200,000sqm mix of culture, retail, leisure and education space alongwith 200,000sqm for parking. The diverse program has different needs for phasing, positioning and size. To facilitate this, the architects say that all the elements of the city centre are designed as rings and “by pushing these rings outwards, every part of the program receives a terrace for outdoor life.” Plantations around the terraces with floor-to-floor circulation systems store water and irrigate the plants. The roofs of these hills and terraces are planted with box hedges creating a vertical park, which will improve the climate and ventilation, reduce energy and water usage. As a result, a multitude of spiralling ‘green’ hills appear in the landscape. The shifting of the floors causes, as a counter effect, hollow cores that form large atriums. They serve as lobbies for housing and offices, plazas for shopping centres and halls for museums and leisure functions. In each tower, a number of voids connect to the atrium providing for light and ventilation, creating semi-public spaces.The ‘Power Centre’ creates a dense urban program with a green regard, eliminating the claustrophobic feeling one can get when surrounded by concrete and steel in city environments.The whole new town will be a self-sufficient city of 77,000 inhabitants.

1. The canyon formed at the base of the ‘hills’ serves as a connecting juncture to the whole area. 2. Aerial view of the futuristic city centre. 3. The atrium lobbies form a nucleus for all retail, commercial and leisure activities.

FACT FILE:

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Location Client Architect Local Architect Engineering Completion of Project Photographs

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Gwanggyo, South Korea Daewoon Consortium and DA Group, MVRDV DA Group Arup 2011 Courtesy the architects

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construction brief

Le Louvre, Abu Dhabi Le Louvre, Abu Dhabi by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, epitomises the very essence of the Louvre in Paris, contemporaneously defining a new dimension to the aspirations of a universal museum.

e Louvre, Abu Dhabi designed by Architect Jean Nouvel, exemplifies the potential of a sensitive design approach to focus on encapsulating a dialogue between architectural heritage and sensory experience. The museum is one of the four landmark buildings planned for the district; others are the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and a performing arts centre. The lattice-patterned dome, designed as a seemingly floating structure, allows the sun to filter through, reminiscent of trellises casting their shadows on walls, canopies and reeds sprinkling light across city alleys and souks and of the leaves that sprinkle sunlight under palm groves. Standing on piles founded on bedrock 18m deep, its imposing form will be topped by a 180m diameter cupola supported on five perimeter pillars. This roof will float above the 260,000sqft complex of pavilions, plazas, alleyways and canals, conceived to resemble a city floating on the sea. The canopy is designed as a mesh to allow dappled sunlight to pass through into the space below, creating localised areas of shade, with an ambient temperature in which visitors can explore external exhibitions. The parasol-like 180m-diameter white dome covers two-thirds of the museum city. The form bears the hallmarks of a mosque, a mausoleum, a caravanserai, a medressa and its own distinctive features: it leans on four posts and opens out onto the water making a virtuoso and eminently modern statement. The ‘Desert Louvre’ has also been designed to withstand the vagaries of Abu Dhabi’s extreme climate. A seemingly random but carefully designed sequence of geometric holes shades visitor paths to control the temperature without blocking out natural light. “I proposed a kind of micro climate,” said Nouvel. “I wanted to protect the museum with shadow and to create a feeling of shadows and wind going through the building.” The new Louvre will be an artisan’s haven, housing long-term loans from the Louvre in Paris and other French artistic powerhouses like the Centre Georges Pompidou, Muse d’Orsay and Versailles. This museum city outlines a space that plays on the interaction between the inside and the outside.

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1. Perforated by inter-laced patterns, the dome floats above a cluster of buildings and waterways. 2 & 3. The ‘rain of light’ filtering through the roof highlights the interiors complementing the white walls and open spaces.

FACT FILE: Project Location Architect Client

: : : :

Engineering Date of estimated completion Photographs

: : :

Louvre Abu Dhabi / Classical Arts Museum Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Ateliers Jean Nouvel The Tourist Development and Investment Company of Abu Dhabi Arup 2012–2013 Courtesy the architects

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construction brief

Chester Zoo Natural Vision Project ‘Heart of Africa,’ a gigantic bio-dome, designed by Proctor and Matthews Architects will simulate the rainforest habitats of the African Congo as a part of Natural Vision project in the Chester Zoo.

roctor and Matthews, London, are the lead architects for the £ 225 million ‘Natural Vision’expansion project at Chester Zoo. Working with AECOM and Barton Willmore, the scheme forms part of the ‘Natural Vision’ redevelopment plan, an enormous project that will transpire over the next 15 years. The centrepiece of the ‘Natural Vision’ project is the £ 90 million ‘Heart of Africa’building – a tropical bio-dome simulating the natural African rainforest habitats of the Congo. Alongside important plant specimens, it will house animals such as gorillas, chimpanzees, okapi and hippos. With an internal area of 16,650sqm and a height of 34m, the ‘Heart of Africa’ bio-dome is significantly larger than the Eden Centre in Cornwall.

The dramatic roof of the bio-dome is a free form gridshell, believed to be the largest building of its kind in the world. The elongated gridshell roof of the bio-dome is extremely complex and no two segments are alike. Its height is dictated by the technical requirements of containing tree specimens. Its long, undulating form allows a number of habitats to exist underneath it, as well as, generous space for animals and visitors. The dome will be one of the largest ETFE-clad free-form roof structures in the world with environmental performance as a key factor. Inside the bio-dome, visitors will be able to explore the dramatic depths of the forest floor to the upper reaches of the rainforest canopy. By eliminating the ‘caged animal’ aesthetic, visitors will be

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3 1. Bird’s eye view of the proposed bio-dome. 2. Backview of the roofscape. 3 & 4. Simulating natural rainforest habitats, the undulating form will shelter some of the world’s most endangered species.

able to experience both animals and plants at close quarters from pathways, treetop walks and even a boat in order to gain a better understanding of the zoo’s important conservation work. Zoomorphic analogies and traditional African structures inform the building design. Its ‘footprint’ form and roof plan are inspired by cross-sections of plant cells and the shell of steel panels skirting the north of the building mimics a giant reptile. Elsewhere, the facade is expressed as a contemporary interpretation of the traditional African ‘boma’ (stockade enclosure). It is anticipated that the ‘Heart of Africa’ project will

increase visitor numbers to over 2 million per year and will establish Chester Zoo as Europe’s largest conservation, animal and leisure attraction.

FACT FILE: Project Architect Client Structural Engineers Completion of the Project Photographs

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Chester Zoo natural Vision, UK Proctor and Matthews Architectstes North of England Zoological Society (NEZS) AECOM 2014 Courtesy Proctor and Matthews Architects

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construction brief

Bombay Arts Society An edifice dedicated to art by the Bombay Arts Society is realised by Mumbai-based Sanjay Puri Architects.

anjay Puri Architects contrive a homogeneous monument as the new landmark destination for art in Mumbai. An enmeshed structure, parts of which emerge from each other constitutes this building, which houses art galleries, an auditorium, a cafeteria and a small office block. The fluidity of form seen externally, a concrete skin encapsulating spaces while undulating in both horizontal and vertical planes, is carried through to the interior volumes, making the entire experience as that of moving through a sculpture. Skylights light all internal spaces and the walls of the art gallery area blend into the roofs as a series of homogeneous seamless forms. A small office complex is perched 40ft above the galleries. The office spaces are also encapsulated in a punctuated concrete skin volume, with floor to ceiling glass panels in the direction of the sea, which defines the office block distinctly as a separate volume.

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1-4. The artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rendering of the monumental homage to art.

Thus within a small plot of 1,400sqm, an area of 1,050sqm comprising the art galleries and related functions and an office block of 1,050sqm are conceived together, each with its own discernible identity. Exposed concrete will form the entire shell of this fluid sculptural structure.

FACT FILE: Location Architect Client Structural Engineers Completion of the Project Photographs

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Mumbai, India Sanjay Puri, Sapna Khakaria Bombay Arts Society AECOM 2010 Courtesy the architects

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60 IA&B - FEB 2010

Curvaceous Abode

Text: Renuka Singh Photographs: courtesy the architect

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technology

Joseph Bellomo carves out interesting modular living with House Arcâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an off the grid, lightweight and ecofriendly housing solution.

n the recent past, the need for easy-to-assemble buildings has come into existence with houses floating away in the wake of natural calamities, such as Hurricane Katrina. The concept for modular homes emerged from a collaboration between American bicycle advocate Jeff Selzer and Joseph Bellomo, who created Bike Arc bike racks: innovative, sustainable and sculptural systems for forward-thinking urban planning and architecture. House Arc is prefabricated and flat-packed into a 4 x 10 x 3ft box and can easily be shipped and assembled. The arc pieces are ideally fabricated locally and erected by the user or the community. The prototype has 150sqft of area and though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s built to be durable and strong, it weighs only 3,000 pounds. Despite the minimal usage of structure, the house is constructed to withstand harsh tropical environments and catastrophic weather. Its curvy armature consists of lightweight steel tubing and it is grounded above land through concrete piers or a wood deck. Solar panels are mounted on the roof to keep the structure off-the-grid with its individual power supply system. A photovoltaic film powers the

1. Easy-to-assemble modular house.

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houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lighting and appliances, turning this modular house into an eco-friendly dwelling. Its lightweight structure speaks volumes about its eco-friendliness and affordability. Component arcs could be made of lightweight carbon fibre to make them easier to transport. Bellomo created House Arc using a concept he had applied when he created Tube Arc, a modular bike storage bin with doors that lock. Its tubular steel ribs and polycarbonate sheathing look like the belly of a translucent whale from the inside. Further, Tube Arc can be expanded to accommodate hundreds of bicycles in neat rows due to its modular structure. When the architect conceived the idea of building House Arc, he purposely used steel in the lightest way possible; his accent on doing so was to save on

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2 & 3. Lightweight yet strong structure made of steel tubes and concrete blocks. 4. Tubular steel framework. 5. Sunrays hit the solar panels on the roof to create electricity. 6. Photovoltaic film powers the interior lighting. 7. Under-usage of steel makes the structure eco-friendly.

cost and reduce handling pressure. The modules are designed in such a manner that it can accommodate additions and extension whenever needed. House Arcâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s framework and material allows low-income families to make their home and find shelter during emergency conditions. House Arc stands apart for the uniqueness of its design that supports sustainability and other green factors, besides being interesting to look at. These modular designs are part of Bellomo Architectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; proposal for the KA2020 project on the Big Island, Hawaii that draws interest among organisations who seek the most affordable, off-the-grid modular housing solutions.

2/25/2010 4:50:31 PM

IA&B - feb 2010

post event

ssar Steel Masterstrokes: The Icon exhibition showcased the works of legendary architect Richard Meier at Sir J J College of Architecture from 17 th to 20 th February 2010. The inauguration along with a special preview was held at the college on 16 th February 2010. Present at the venue were Mr. Scott Johnson, Partner, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP; Mr. Vikram Amin, Executive Director Sales & Marketing, Essar Steel Business Group; Mr. Jasu Shah, Chairman, Jasubhai Group and Mr. Rajesh Tope, Minister of Higher & Technical Education, Maharashtra. The event attracted professionals, students and academicians from across the country. Two lectures were organised on the 17th and 18th Feb at the NCPA theatre, Mumbai for professionals and students, respectively. Over the period of four days more than 2,500 visitors, including professionals from the AEC industry, students and academicians, visited the exhibition. Twelve panels showcasing eleven of Meierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prominent projects like Perry Street, Malibu Beach House, Jubilee Church, ARP Museum etc. and four project models were exhibited. The event provided an opportunity for professionals and students to admire and learn from the master.

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The Event

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1. Welcoming panels at the Essar Steel Masterstrokes: The Icon Exhibition. 2. Introductory panels of Richard Meier & Essar Steel. 3. View of the podium. 4. The time line panel traced Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth from 1978 to date. 5. Showcasing the growth of Essar Steel Ltd.

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2/26/2010 10:18:22 AM

Panels & Models

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9 6. The exhibition showcased 11 prolific projects of Richard. 7. The time line panel marked the pathway to the exhibition hall. 8. The pristine white model of Jubilee Church. 9. The model of landmark project of Richard Meier â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The Getty Centre.

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2/26/2010 10:18:43 AM

The Preview Evening

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14 10. Vikram Amin, Executive Director (Sales & Marketing), Essar Steel Business Group arrives for the inauguration of the exhibition. 11. Welcome address by Sarita Vijayan, Editor & Brand Director, I A & B. 12. (from left to right) Jasu Shah, Chairman, Jasubhai Group; Rajesh Tope, Minister of Higher & Technical Education, Maharashtra and Vikram Amin, Executive Director (Sales & Marketing), Essar Steel Business Group at the preview. 13. Women in Architecture â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Neera Adarkar & Brinda Somaya arrive for the preview of the Essar Steel Masterstrokes: The Icon Exhibition. 14. (from right to left) Rajeev Mishra, Principal, Sir J J College of Architecture; Rajesh Tope, Minister of Higher & Technical Education, Maharashtra; Scott Johnson, Partner, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP and Shekar Ganti, Ganti + Associates lighting the lamp thereby inaugurating the exhibition.

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15 & 17. Scott Johnson, Partner, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP, explaining the panels and models of their work to Rajesh Tope, Minister of Higher & Technical Education, Maharashtra. 16. Addressing a packed gathering at the preview night â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jasu Shah, Chairman, Jasubhai Group. 18. Scott Johnson, Partner, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP, addressing the audience. 19. Outlining the future of steel and Indian infrastructure industry is Vikram Amin, Executive Director (Sales & Marketing), Essar Steel Business Group. 20. (from left to right) Jasu Shah, Chairman, Jasubhai Group and Maulik Shah, Director, Jasubhai group in conversation with Mr. Scott Johnson, Partner, Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP.

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2/26/2010 10:19:33 AM

focus

IA&B - FEB 2010

rom architecture to design, the building profession today has come a long way. From what was once the domain of a trained few has now grown to encompass the larger field of design. What is more interesting is that the present generation of architects is experimenting with and researching at combining different media, as a step forward into the larger realm of design.

Within the

domain of ‘design’

The entries received for young designers this year are a reflection of the growth of the profession both at an academic and professional level. Text: Hina Nitesh

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The entries received this year portray the young architects today as technologically savvy, in tune with their responsibilities as an architect and willing to walk the lesser-known path. At a time when the world was going through a financial crisis of sorts and the construction industry was hard hit, these young professionals did not lose hope and made the best of what was available to them. No wonder that this year we had projects which involved renovation and reconstruction more than residences and commercial spaces. The projects also illustrate an awareness of the environmental issues and the fact that sustainability is not just for large, well-established firms to incorporate. What is also noteworthy is that these upcoming architects have stuck to their principles and convinced the clients to follow the eco-friendly path, which at times means a greater initial investment. Sagar and Shilpa Kabre from Nashik believe that built forms reflect the clients’ needs and aspirations. They design the built environment through functional spaces. Their featured project — a boys’ hostel, revolve around spatial planning, keeping the context in mind. The project by Akash Kadam from Nasik, involved restoration and renovation of a 100 year old Victorian building which was initially the governor’s bungalow and later converted to a PWD rest house. Sensitive use of materials and detailing has resulted in restoration of the lost colonial glory while keeping the building rooted in the context. Blurring the line between architecture and art, the projects of London-based Studio AmitaVikrant fall somewhere between reality and abstraction. They go a step beyond art and architecture and involve professionals from other design disciplines to explore space and its connotations through an installation in an art gallery. Their design for an exhibition space ventures into researching how the exhibit becomes architecture. In their third project, they have crossed the boundaries of nations by designing in London and fabricating in Mumbai with minimal errors in production and assembly. ‘Scrapture’ by Ankur Kothari is an architectural structure that uses scrap material. Designed as an office space, it addresses issues of cost effectiveness and recycling as an environmental friendly approach. A residence designed by Kishan Shetty for a couple in Banglore, aspires to visually connect the spaces. The planning includes the subtle play of light and shadow and a harmony in the use of materials. Spread over three floors, the design has combined interiors and landscape as integral components. Steering clear of stereotype responses, this year’s entries definitely had the experimental edge. Also noteworthy was the varied range of project typologies which made it to the final list. Restoration, renovation and refurbishment, which have been the forte of the experts are being treaded upon by the new comers as well. Maybe the financial crisis did have a positive lining. The momentary pause in the construction industry led the architects to indulge in introspection, leading to research and academic-oriented thinking. This will help in the development of newer thought processes and bring about a new perspective in the minds of architects — all for the betterment of the profession.

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80 IA&B - FEB 2010 Ankur Kothari graduated as an architect from the Sinhgad College of Architecture, Pune in the year 2007. For over two years he worked with Gangotree Architects, who primarily work in the field of sustainable architecture. Currently, he is in the process of setting up an independent practice, where he wishes to provide natural solutions that are sustainable, as well as, innovative. The featured project is his first independent project, which was completed in November 2009.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Scraptureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Architect Ankur Kothari crafted a structure from waste, addressing the issues of cost-effectiveness and an environment friendly approach. The idea was to innovate something new or different. Text: Ritu Sharma Photographs: courtesy Mahesh Navaghane

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architecture

1, 2 & 3. Slabs of sizes of approximately 2m X 1m, 19 mm thick are stocked at the clients existing godown. 4. The odd-shaped stone slabs were put to use to build a bench in front of the office using gabion walling. 5. The structure was conceptualised as a collage of assorted pieces of waste made into infill panel walls.

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he office at Ambegaon, Pune was put together as a collage of various materials not normally associated with one another; an assemblage or occurrence of diverse elements or fragments in an unlikely or unexpected juxtaposition. Hence, originated ‘scrapture,’ a structure made of scrap, such as small pieces and portions in the form of chips, cuttings, fragments or other small bits of raw material removed, cut away or flaked off in the process of manufacturing an item. The brief for the 250sqft site, located along the Mumbai-Bangalore highway at Ambegaon, Pune, called for a cost effective office structure with efficient functional spaces and aesthetics suited to a warehouse that stocks, processes and sells natural stones of all variety. An office, identical to this, was to be built in the adjacent plot for the client’s associate.

m.s. sheets over steel truss Double roof

6” thick brick wall

SECTION

Toilet

Office

Toilet

Natural stone slabs when cut into standard sizes for various applications, generate leftover pieces of odd sizes and shapes, generally deemed as ‘waste’. The concept was to collect some assorted pieces from this waste and use them for making infill panel walls. The decision was beneficial in the following aspects: • As a raw material, the leftover stone was available on site for zero material and transport cost. • The existing infrastructure at the client’s godown was available for the basic processing of the material. •The client’s experience and expertise with stone and its properties was a valuable guidance for material handling, treatment and application. • The technique also made the construction faster and curtailed labour costs to some extent.

Office The structure for this office is the same. The walling here though is of whole stone slabs

Verandah

PLAN

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6. The initial site. 7. The site already had an incomplete existing plinth, unfortunately not being at an apt location and size with regards to the current requirement. 8. All stones were pre-cut into the same width so that they would fit between the flange.

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â&#x20AC;˘ The completed structure required no further finishing, internally or externally and simultaneously served as a display wall for the material that is stocked and sold. â&#x20AC;˘ Thus, time required for construction was reduced in comparison to the conventional approach. An existing incomplete plinth on site was demolished and the raw material was used to build a new one. The toilet, pantry and a common wall separating the two offices were built in brick masonry.

9. Site under construction. 10-13. It took 2 weeks for a pair of mistris to complete all the panels till the sill level. 14-15. The complete structure requires no further finishing, internally or externally made entirely of existing resources.

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The structural system was of steel with a combination of recycled packaging wood planks, M.S. sheet roofs for cabins and stone slab roofs for the toilet and pantry. Thus, the composition served as a double roof with a continuous air gap, which allowed the travel of the electrical conduits and further prevented the heating up of the interiors. Glass salvaged from old windows was used to make pivoted windows. Beer bottles acted as a perfect alternative to expensive outdoor light fittings used to light up the office exteriors at night.

To compose a panel, different stones with varying colours and textures were chosen and fixed in place with adhesive, with respect to aesthetics, strength and ability to transmit light. Principles of construction in any other masonry work were followed in the process of panel composition, such as staggering joints in the subsequent courses and breaking of courses at regular intervals; every horizontal piece was supported by at least two verticals, spanning the sill and lintel with a continuous piece. The size of the openings was deliberately kept small to reduce construction costs and to avoid the need for a frame and a security grill. Thus, all the stone panel walls were completed in 25 days by a single pair of mistris with total cost of Rs. 1,80,000 per 260sqft, i.e. @ Rs. 700 per sqft, compared to a rate of Rs. 900 per sqft for a similar structure built using conventional methods. Apart from the odd-shaped stone slabs, which were processed and used to build the office, there existed a waste of the same that had been

3/2/2010 6:23:36 PM

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reduced to rubble of unworkable sizes. Based on the technique of gabion walling, these were used to build a bench in front of the office. A cage in the profile of a bench moulded out of weld mesh and filled with the dry rubble of the stone slabs, compacted after every 6” of filling. The light from the inside percolates, not only through the openings, but also from the white marble, which allows transmission of light, further adding to the aesthetics after sundown. Says Ankur, “The structure primarily attempts to speak of innovation

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in a sustainable manner. However, the irony is that the same material applied with the same technology in a different context, would exude opulence. Essentially, what it wishes to prod is, not the idea itself, but the need for one.” 15. The odd-shaped stone slabs were put to use to build a bench in front of the office using gabion walling. 16. The structure doubles up as a display of the very material it stocks and sells. 17. The light from inside percolates from the openings and white marble thus allowing transmission of light enhancing the aesthetics after sundown.

FACT FILE: Project Location Client Architect Assisted by Area Completion of Project

: : : : : : :

Office for a natural stone godown Ambegaon, Pune Mr. Jeetmal Kothari & Mr. Mansur Faquih Ankur Kothari Mahesh Navaghane 250sqft November 2009

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88 IA&B - FEB 2010 Akash completed his graduation from N.D.M.V.P. Samajâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College of Architecture and Centre for Design, Nashik and attained a Diploma in Civil Engineering, from the Government Polytechnic College, Nashik in 1993. After his formal education, he worked with renowned practitioners from the city for four years, followed by the inception of his own firm. With a number of good projects to his credit, Akash also contributes as a visiting faculty.

Verandah Office

Reception

Police Chowki

Reception

Rest for Police

Ridge

Pantry

Office

Office Kitchen

Watchman Cabin

The ground floor plan before renovation.

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architecture

Sa v o u r i n g t h e p a stâ&#x20AC;Ś With the focus on hospitality as a function and passion for restoration and renovation as expression, Architect Akash Kadam, re-glorifies the experience of everlasting memories. Text: Ritu Sharma Photographs: courtesy the architects

2 1. The Victorian building before renovation. 2. The building after renovation.

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C Projection of first floor

THE GROUND FLOOR PLAN FOR RENOVATED BUILDING.

3. The building after renovation explores ideas of event-space.

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onstructed as a bungalow in 1901, the Victorian building that served as the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence and that was later converted into a golf club, has witnessed numerous developments. In 1950, the building, under the P.W.D. of the Maharashtra government, was converted into a government rest house. This centurion building had to undergo major structural changes in order to accommodate its adaptive reuse. Some of the changes included enclosing the verandahs and converting them into toilets, also converting the entrance and porch to a kitchen and a security cabin. Along with some modifications in the ceiling and

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fenestration, fibre sheets served as weather sheds. The stone masonry and wooden elements were painted with chalk and oil paints. This ill-contrived intrusion adversely affected the original ambience and aesthetics of the structure, resulting in insufficient light and ventilation. With the loss of its glory, the situation of this merciful structure was further resigned to adversity by poor maintenance. Thus, the purpose for which the structure was put to re-use, was barely being served. With the intention of overcoming this failure, the Chief Engineer of the P.W.D., Nashik, called for a re-thought â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for a sensitive solution of conjectural restoration. The brief called for

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4 & 5. The wooden staircase after and before renovation.

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6 6 & 7. Views of the balcony after renovation.

the re-glorification of the original ambience and architectural style with acclimatisation of modified function. The wish list was accompanied by a specific suggestion of placing VIP rooms on the first floor.

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For structural corrections, the toilets that encroached over all the verandahs were demolished, stone walls were sand blasted to resuscitate the original look of exposed stone and melamine polish replaced the surface finish of painted wooden members. The ceiling was modified to some extent to enhance the level of natural illumination and ventilation with the help of carefully detailed skylights and the installation of a turbo-chiller system.

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8. The traditional verandahs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reinvented. 9. The meeting hall. 10. Dinning area with silver antiques and crockery unit. 11. The Presidential Suite â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with mosaic flooring and wooden ceiling.

Retaining the old support system, the staircase was crafted in teak wood. The steel supports of the verandah were clad in teak wood, while the railing was moulded in cast iron with a wooden handrail. Specifically designed and carefully detailed flooring in designer mosaic tiles and classy teak wood furniture harmoniously merge with the existing style, which is juxtaposed in a quiet, restful palate of colour. Wooden partition screens along with tradition carving work and bright lighting, further render the ambience. Ensuring a stylish, formal British experience, the design continues to receive widespread appreciation and acceptance by users ever

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since its completion. The structure did not use the vocabulary of modernism to identify a technological agenda; at the other end of the spectrum, it did not nostalgically recall any architectural style. Despite this, the overall ambience is decidedly colonial and comfortable in its heterogeneity.

FACT FILE: Project Contractor

: :

Design Team

Renovated in Area of land Cost of project

: : :

P.W.D. Rest House. Mr. Jain. Mr.Lalbahadur Yadav : Mr. Akash Kadam Mr.Ravi Jaybhave Mr.Rahul September 2008 5,600sqft 35 lakhs

12. The view of bathroom.

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IA&B - FEB 2010

architecture opinion

R e - t hink ing the spatial maneuver Sagar and Shilpa Kabre believe that built forms are more than receptacles for its occupants, they go beyond providing spaces to live, work, learn and play in. They come together to form an environment that reflects the needs and aspirations of clients. Thus, the driving force behind their design approach has been the functional requirements rather than following the conventions of certain building typologies. Text: Ritu Sharma Photographs: courtesy the architects

Sagar graduated from M.M.C.A College of Architecture, Pune. After graduation he worked for a short time with Hafeez Contractor and on the advice of Padmashri Architect B.V. Doshi joined a special P.G. course in urban design at Ahmedabad. Also, while working with his father’s firm Kabre Chaudhari Architects; he completed his MBA at J.D.C. Bytco College, Nashik. His wife Shilpa has studied architecture at B.L.D.E.A.s Bijapur. Boys hostel at Chandwad, Nashik

ocated in scenic surrounding of hills, the site was highly undulating. Thus accommodating 300 students in such situation was a challenge. The ‘Swastik’ shaped plan with central courtyard provides ease in circulation, ventilation and orientation. The rooms are deliberately clubbed together in pairs to

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1 & 2. The amphitheatre serves as an interactive space and becomes the nucleus of the structure.

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GROUND FLOOR PLAN

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97 provide adequate integrity and privacy to the students. Each pair of rooms share a toilet block and lobby unit, with drying yard. The site profile is reflected in the layered built-form. The elevation treatment and colour scheme releases the effect of massiveness of the structure. The 17m diameter circular opening in the roof projecting on the square courtyard, acts as a shading device to the corridors. The natural slope is respected by creating an amphitheatre as a main interactive space. The amphitheatre serves as an interactive space and becomes the nucleus of structure.

SECTION

Climbing through the well lit staircase connected with the corridors and courtyard makes the circulation journey pleasant. The sculptural treatment of the staircase wall adds interest to transition. Artistic expression is reflected through the finely designed and detailed floor pattern in the lobby. Materials like ceramic tiles, kota stone, black granite are provided for dado and flooring to reduce maintenance cost. Changes in texture provide subtle shift of gear and keep spaces full of vitality, in addition helping to demarcate different areas, whereas, contrast supplies the degree of visual variety. 3

Upholding the basic Indian tradition of residing and learning with the teacher, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Gurukulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boys hostel is a contemporary translation of a home away from home.

FACT FILE:

3. Artistic expression is reflected through the finely designed and detailed floor pattern in the lobby. 4. Climbing through the well lit staircase makes the circulation journey pleasant. The sculptural treatment of the staircase wall adds interest to the transition.

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Client

Principal Architect Design Team Location Civil Contractor Structural Designer Area (Built-up) Cost Of Project Duration Of Project

: : : : : : : :

Shri Neminath Jai Bramhachari Ashram Sagar & Shilpa Kabre Prashant Chandwad, Nashik Mr. Ushir Mr. Milind Rathi 5000sqmt 255 Lacs 18 months

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98 IA&B - FEB 2010 Techno Architecture is a Bangalore-based firm established in 2002 by partners Kiran V. and Kishan R. Shetty. With belief in the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Team Work,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; the firm provides design solutions in architecture and interior design. Typologies of projects handled by the firm are in the areas of hospitality, corporates, commercial, institutes and the single and multiple residential projects.

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architecture

A Minimalistic Approach With its straight forward and functional design language, the project displays a sensitive balance in the symphony of spaces and the volume. Text: Ritu Sharma Photographs: courtesy the architects

LEGEND 1. Entrance Lobby 2. Foyer 3. Living room 4. Dining room 5. Court 6. Puja room 7. Kitchen

8. Guest Bedroom 9. Home Theatre 10. Office 11. Lobby 12. Car-park 13. Master bedroom 14. Daughter bedroom

15. Son’s bedroom 16. Walk in closet 17. Toilet 18. Lift room 19. Bar counter 20. Gymnasium 21. Sit-out

22. Terrace 23. Utility 24. Servant’s room 25. Landscaped area

Upper Ground Floor Plan

ith its straight forward and functional design language, the project displays a sensitive balance in the symphony of spaces and the volume. The building is located in a typical urban suburb of Bangalore – H.S.R layout, on a south facing plot of size 55 x 65ft, with existing residential buildings on the either side. The site

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1. The house was conceptualised as a structure, accommodating myriad functions and blending spaces with each other.

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100 was characterised by black cotton soil, an almost flat terrain with a 20ft wide drain passing through its northern side.

The concept evolved into a structure, accommodating myriad functions and blending spaces with each other. The plan is a simple geometry with floor plates split in four layers adhering to the segregation of activities and use of space. Catering to the needs of fitting and accommodating the space requirements as per vertical zoning, the lower ground floor has the home theatre and office; the upper ground floor comprises of living, kitchen, dining and guest rooms, the first floor has the master bedroom and two children’s bedrooms, while the second floor houses gymnasium, jacuzzi and terrace. This layering is as per the privacy requirement of the family. Thus, the staircase acts as the link for these multiple layers. The double volume of the staircase has a vault roof with light pockets at the edges that give the illusion of a floating roof plate. The internal spaces are structured to be continuous with minimal walls, free flowing along a fractured vertical plane and knitting the house in three dimensions. Endorsing that the architects have a responsibility towards the society, where ‘green’ and ‘climate’ come to the fore, an integration of indoors and outdoors has a crucial role to play in maintaining the balance between nature and structure. The living area flows out into the contiguous landscape area on the northeast, and the uppermost terrace, at the second level, serves as an outdoor room and extension to the indoor space. The glass screen allows for a proximity to the landscape, thus inducing a sense of serenity. Openings are treated with appropriate shading devices thus conserving electrical energy.

2. The artist’s rendition of the 3-D perspective of the residence. 3. Customised elements were used to enhance the aesthetics of the façade.

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The house is minimalist and stands out with respect to the context. Taking its cue from the architecture of the house, the interior design also speaks a minimalist language. The simple furniture arrangements do much to provide a feeling of an open, flowing space. The interiors are bare and minimum, devoid of any ornamentation. The internal staircase is designed as a scooped out area creating an interesting juxtaposition in space.

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A demarcation of spaces occurs through changing material and ceiling articulation. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;generativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; aspects of the plan stimulate activity, enriching the interaction of users. The interplay of levels, which enhances the visual and spatial connectivity across the floors also creates a variety of articulated internal volumes, emphasising the public and private use of spaces.

The design is anchored in the reality of function and form in their offering to their clients, rather than the overt use of inventive material palates that the market has to offer. This was an attempt to do something different. It was outlined as a space attributed with place and reverence for nature and that segregates life from the stresses of the

4. 3-D rendering showcasing the material palette.

The elements in space became a lot more important, which is clearly reflected in the varied use of customised elements to enhance the aesthetics of this residence. Housing a distinct of detailing in clean lines, all objects in the house are detailed to accentuate the planar language of the project. Innovative approaches in the use of materials and technology is a means of bringing about the feeling of individuality in this residence. The material palate shows a certain maturity that has achieved a sense of harmony in usage.

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Front Elevation

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city. The project is balanced as far as requirements and their treatment was concerned. The practical and the creative aspects were integrated. While maintaining the balance between function and style, the carving of space was experimented. The design for this single family residence reflects the contemporary style in architecture.

5. The view of spacious living room. 6. The spaces are distinguished through changing materials and ceiling articulation. 7. The interplay of materials and technology used innovatively emphasises the feeling of individuality in this residence.

FACT FILE:

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Design Team

Structural Consultant Civil Electrical Plumbing

: : : :

Interiors HVAC Site Area Built Up Area Cost Year of completion

: : : : : :

Kishan Shetty & Principal Architect K.S.Arunachala Modern Constructions Sri.Chowdeshwari Electricals Ekambaram Babu Plumbing Works Rajesh Mourya Interiors Works Elite Air Conditioning 3348 sqft 5812sqft Rs. 175 Lakhs 2009 - 10

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international

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Experimental Architecture Studio Amita Vikrant, a London based young design firm, with its multi-disciplinary approach, experiments with various aspects of architecture blurring the line between art, architecture and design. Text: compiled by Hina Nitesh Photographs: courtesy Amandine Alessandra, Michal Treder and the architects

Studio Amita Vikrant, a young and upcoming architectural and design studio based in London, believes in an experimental and multi-disciplinary approach to work. The studio has led several international design competitions and has worked on projects around the world. Partners, Amita Kulkarni and Vikrant Tike, are also co-founders of the spatial typography lab, TextFields and curators for the successful Shoreditch based art/event space, The Corridor. The studio is currently working on architectural and art commissions in London, Berlin and Mumbai. The studio believes in collaborating with artists, sculptors, dancers, economists, engineers, mathematicians and more, drawing inspiration from all disciplines, creating platforms with flexible and open sources, delivering designs that constantly question and critically appraise the discourse of architecture and wider agendas that encompass the world of the 21st century.

TF002

his is a site-specific installation commissioned by the Shoreditch based art/event space, The Corridor. The installation was built as an extension of the ongoing design investigations into the metaphysical worlds between text and space. The project explores the zone that lies between the common spaces through which one moves everyday, like corridors and staircases and the words that describe them forming images in our minds. The word ‘corridor,’ taken here as an ‘open container of 11 letters conjures up a wide array of images based on individual associations. The installation design is a result of the manifestation of emotions evoked by the word. The spatial attributes of the commissioned site, the long and narrow corridor, was taken as the terrain for the corridor text to be activated. Investigating the dialectical relationship between the centre and circumference, the text of the corridor and the corridor suspend themselves into a shifted, ruptured and dislocated but an immersive environment. As a part of the initial investigations, a generic sans-serif typeface was rebuilt with triangulated geometries, creating a potential to construct three-dimensional forms 1

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1. The installation manifests the emotions evoked by the word ‘corridor’.

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international

from two-dimensional typefaces. Further, in the design process, this two-dimensional triangulated text was simulated by forces of tension within any given three-dimensional field by means of a computer gaming software. The existing site was built as a three-dimensional computer model and after much experimentation, the triangulated typeface text, ‘The Corridor’ was forced to be displaced within its virtual boundaries. This generated a three-dimensional virtual field of the 358 triangular elements that formed the text ‘The Corridor,’which were then mapped virtually at one given moment of dislocation, asserting their location on the real site. The 358 triangles were then physically built with 6mm sheet wood by means of custom design, parametric scripting and lasercut technology and assembled on-site to create a certain moment within the field of text. Each of these individual triangles was etched with information that contained its original text map and its serial location within the text as well as the entire field. The space itself, with its awkward little skylights and concrete floor, is a resolutely physical construct. Drawing a parallel with 2. Each of the individual components contains information of its original text map. 3. The text of the corridor array themselves into a shifted, ruptured and dislocated, but immersive environment.

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typography, the architects feel that while the subjective experience of the ‘text’ is the realm of the voyeur, the analogous act of organising the elements of enclosure is the job of a spatial designer. Accompanied by a specifically produced soundtrack, recorded in the key of a heartbeat, with its vibrations, crashes and white noise, TF002, as said by another critic, shifts the entire universe known to the walls of ‘The Corridor,’ back to its own genesis. Through this installation, the designers have transformed the associative qualities of the typefaces and text into the physical and material built space. The process through which the architects arrived at the tectonics of the installation involved the formulation of a three dimensional font, the writing of the name of the gallery in space, simulation of that name’s explosion within the gallery and its freezing and materialisation at a moment of ambiguous eloquence. Text Fields brings designers from varied professions and skills together enabling them to think and work in each other’s fields, without any preconceived thoughts and ideas, liberating the designer from categorisation.

FACT FILE: Program Location Collaborators Client

: : :

Art Installation The Corridor, London, UK Studio Amita Vikrant, Jerome Riguad & Rajat Sodhi May, 2009 The Corridor

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106

‘The Futurological Congress’

Assembly diagrams

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107

How should an exhibition for art or architecture be designed? Can the space and the exhibit form an entity in itself? Can one design to compose a composition of designs? Can this be an architectural platform and a platform for architecture? These were some of the questions that the architects confronted themselves with while designing this exhibition space. According to the architects, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the act of designing for an art or architectural exhibition is that of a beautiful dialectical one, where the designer designs to exhibit an exhibition of designsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The brief for the exhibition design focused on creating an innovative exhibition display, like an art installation itself as well as allowing it to be a mobile exhibit. Inspired by the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing board, the design 4. The intrinsically intertwined relationship between the exhibitions and exhibit engage the visitors in their emerging dimensions and experiences. 5 & 6. The interior view of the exhibition space.

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in a highly sustainable zero-waste design. The panels are economical, lightweight, flat-packed and can be modified to fit any exhibition venue. For sculptures and models, the panels can also be modified to form display tables. For the architects, this exhibition was a study in creating temporary architecture in an environment where time and finances were the main constraints, due to its short life. It also explored the qualities of continual transformations between the structure and the display, where one evolves from the other, this exhibition and the exhibits become intrinsically intertwined engaging the visitor in their emerging dimensions and experiences.

consists of 36 stand-alone panels that can be installed in under 3 hours, from start to finish. Each panel, including all its structural elements, is cut from a single piece of plywood resulting

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7. The model stands and tables were inspired by the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing board. 8. Each panel, including all its structural elements, is cut from a single piece of plywood resulting in a highly sustainable zero-waste design. 9. The panels can be modified to form display tables also to conform to the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs.

FACT FILE: Program Location Client Date Further Exhibited

: Exhibition and Furniture Design : Barbican Centre, London, UK : The Futurological Congress : September 2009 : The Singapore Design Festival, 2009

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109

Blue Frog

The architects were asked to create a threedimensional folded sculpture for a launch party at the club, Blue Frog in Mumbai. The project explored the transformation of a two dimensional graphic into a three-dimensional sculpture. Crafted with digital technology, the sculpture is the result of a tectonic translation of the name of the club. Computer modelling was used to digitally create a 3-D frog-like form from the 2-D graphic while retaining its original identity. Triangulated facets were created and later each was mapped with a distinct serial and location number. Parametric scripting and laser cut technology was used to craft the facets. The piece is constructed with a plywood shell and blue acrylic sheet to minimise both cost and the weight. This helps to suspend the piece. The structural base is made of a plywood shell with the facets as the stiffening elements. The blue acrylic facets were then bonded onto the shell by following an assembly diagram to form the 3-D Blue Frog.

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The project highlighted the use of advance digital technologies that allow designing and fabrication to be done in two different continents of the world. Conceived and designed in London, the project was realised in Mumbai within three weeks, for the launch event. The fact that the project was successfully accomplished with minimal error in production and assembly despite the time constraint, only highlights the efficiency of advanced fabrication technologies and computer modelling that resulted in such high-quality sculptural form.

Assembly diagrams

FACT FILE:

10. The built form of the sculptural installation. (Inset) The piece is constructed with a plywood shell and blue acrylic sheet to minimise both cost and the weight.

Program Location Client Date

: : : :

Installation/ Event Design The Blue Frog Club, Mumbai, India Urban Distortion Events (Launch Party) August 2009

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110 IA&B - FEB 2010

Material Kinetics Experimenting with materials and digital technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Urbana, a design and fabrication studio has managed to create architecture that responds to its user, aiming to connect the scientific and technological with the realities of the spatial and the everyday. Text : Hema Yadav Photograph: courtesy Alan R. Tansey and Stella Lee

Rob Ley, the principal architect of Urbana, currently teaches graduate and undergraduate students at the Southern California Institution of Architecture (SCI-Arc) with a focus on fabrication and digital technologies. Prior to founding Urbana, Rob worked as a Project Manager for Randall Stout Architects, Senior Designer for Cliff Garten Studio and Designer for Dmac Architecture. He holds a Master of Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

ituated in Los Angeles, California, Studio Urbana is an architecture design and fabrication studio that engages current material and formal technologies to develop solutions that react to human inhabitation. Founded in 2002 by Rob Ley, the studio is motivated to generate responsive

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environments and research to reveal material awareness that produces integrity, intimacy and efficiency on a private and public scale. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Much of the work starts with an interest in latent material potentials and typical means of production. While it may seem too reductive to begin an entire project

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international

(40) California Sycamore trees planted throughout park Anodized Aluminium and stainless steel shade canopies Lithocrete park plaza surface Cast concrete park seating Clumped grass perimeter

Gordon Ave.

Triple-Anodized alumininum sculptural shade louvres above parking surface

New 24 storey mixed-use complex

SITE PLAN Sunset Blvd.

Synthetic Canopies - Park Design

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1. The shaded canopy is located above a commercial parking structure along with designed lighting, seating and streetscape elements. 2. A series of overhead shade structures carefully regulates sunlight into a lace-like network of shadows.

with an interest in what a singular material or means of fabrication may offer, ultimately, the beauty of architecture is that regardless of what you start with, it will, by virtue, pull into it any number of other systems and effects along the way. For example, a recent project started with a fascination with a type of metal that shrinks, rather than expands when it is heated. While seemingly a negligible difference, the potential is that a common architectural material offers the capacity to behave like a muscle on command. From this observation of a single material, three years was then spent researching and testing various architectures that might take advantage of such a possibility,â&#x20AC;? explains Rob.

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3. The installation is composed of translucent tiles that have a unique texture and allow the light behind them to shine through to create a vivid glow. 4. The large-scale light installation creates an undulating environment of shifting coloured light.

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The three featured installations: Lumnescape, Synthetic Canopies and Reef, take advantage of this possibility. Although the projects differ in scale and materiality, each of them share an interest in exploring how design can encourage a more intimate relationship between people and their immediate environment. The Synthetic Canopies (under construction) was the winning entry for a permanent public art project. Larger in scope and budget than the other two projects, it comprises of a shade canopy located above a commercial parking structure along with designed lighting, seating and streetscape elements along the historic Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles. It uses a series of overhead shade structures that carefully regulate sunlight into a lace-like network of shadows, which wraps and engage people as they sit, rest and play

in the park below. A series of clustered aluminium cylinder components create artificial tree like shade structures throughout a neighbourhood park. The canopy structures are comprised of 12,000 cylindrical elements cut from various size aluminium tubing, split along the sides and flared out. The method was adopted to cut cost, complete the schedule on time and also to create a series of CNC machines that would handle the execution of all components. Due to this, the architectural construction of the project resembles something seen in a factory rather than in traditional construction. Similar difficulties were faced in both Reef and Lumenscape, although at a smaller scale. Both these projects relied on a nuanced approach to the

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production of the main components. In each case, specific machinery was required, which would assist in the fabrication of the project. Lumenscape is a public art installation, launched at the Wilshire and Western Metro Purple Line Station, serving as a bright gateway between the station and Solair, the mixed-use condominium building. Commissioned by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, it is a large-scale light installation that creates an undulating environment of shifting, coloured light. The designers at Urbana wanted to explore the idea of tactile desire within a public space. While most public installations focus on the masses as an audience, Lumenscape explores interaction on an individual level. The installation is composed of translucent tiles that have a unique texture and allow the light behind them to shine through,

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115 6. ‘Reef’ changes and interacts with the proportions of the storefront’s façade. 7. The metal fins parallel the motions of plants and lower level organisms which are considered responsive but not conscious. 8. The kinetic installation exhibits the role of emerging material technology.

FACT FILE: 7

creating a vivid glow. The light changes in colour and intensity over time, promoting interactivity with the user. Lumenscape relied on the production of 12 individual moulds used repeatedly to create 84 wall panels, utilising a thermo-forming process. The same CNC machine that was responsible for the creation of the moulds was also utilised to fabricate the aluminium framework hidden behind the wall. This system was comprised of hundreds of clips that accepts the edges of the acrylic wall panels and hold them tight, but release them when needed, including a special tool to facilitate the occasional LED fixture maintenance. This work attempts to understand the individual, both, in its attention to multiple, concurrent textual scales and sensitivity to material qualities. Reef is a responsive kinetic installation, exhibiting the role of emerging material technology in sensitive re-programming of architectural and public spaces using shape memory alloys (SMAs). SMAs are a category of metals that change shape according to temperature, offering the possibility of efficient, fluid movements without the mechanised motion of earlier technologies. In collaboration with Joshua Stein, it was temporarily installed in 2009 at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York.

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Operating at a molecular level, the metal fins, which make up the Reef, parallels the motions of plants and lower level organisms that are considered responsive but not conscious. The fins behave like a reef, covered with sea anemones that sway to the movement of the water, a responsive motion that this technology affords, negotiating between the public realms of urban space and the intimacy of the interior. The Reef changes and interacts with the proportions of the storefront’s façade, progressing from a single surface to an enclosed vault that creates multiple layers of interactivity. Its fabrication required a co-ordinated construction process between the design studio and several outside specialised individuals. This included a specialist who focused on interactive hardware and software systems, as well as, engineers that specialised in the design and production of SMAs. Although Reef’s practical application has been limited to medical and aerospace fields and novelty toys, there have been few serious attempts to test its potential applications on the scale of architectural environments. Reef’s unique explorations of technology shifts from the biometric to the bio- kinetic, extending the capacity of architecture to produce a sense of wilfulness that investigates urban and material patterns, while focusing on the intersection of traditional craft and contemporary fabrication techniques.

Project

Client

Lumenscape City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, KOAR Institutional Advisors Lendrum Fine Art

Year of Completion :

2009

Location

Los Angeles, USA.

Architect

Rob Ley, Urbana

Size

42’ L x 11’ H

Budget

$45,000

Project

Synthetic Canopies

Client

City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Sunset & Gordon Investors, LLC and Lendrum Fine Art

Year of Completion :

Under construction begins 2010

Location

Los Angeles, USA

Architect

Rob Ley, Urbana

Size

Garage Sun Shade 136’L x 124’W x 12’H

Budget

$580,000

Project

Reef

Client

Storefront for Art and Architecture

9 Park Canopies 18’L x 9’W x 11’H each

and Taubman Museum of Art Year of Completion :

2009

Grant

The American Institute for

Architecture and the Graham Foundation Material Supplied :

Dynalloy

Hardware and Software Consultant :

Ben Dean and Pylon Technical

Budget

$34,000

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116 IA&B - FEB 2010

the ‘dhar’ view

Taking ‘dhar,’ which means ‘mountain range’ in hindi, as a source of inspiration — London based architect Gaurav Sharma revives the elementary character of a dilapidated cottage contextual to its scenic surrounding. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy the architect

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architecture

1. The artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rendition depicting interplay of the textures and materials used in the restoration of the house.

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rchitect Gaurav Sharma, a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, combines architecture and disciplines in new and unexpected ways visualising his projects with an unconventional attitude. It complements the experimental approach employed by him, to respond to current cultural and technological conditions and to tackle issues in contemporary Indian architecture and urbanism. His folio spans over a variance of works, ranging from contemporary constructions and art installations to the sensitive and creative modification of historic buildings.

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Ground Floor Plan

The appeal of a classic ancestral house set in the mountains dwindles down in face of the contrasting notion of its glory lost to the vagaries of nature and negligence. It is a challenge to deliver a fresh possibility within the same constraints and reviving its primal vintage essence. Perched on a mountainous site; the house proffers panoramic vistas of the southern Himalayan range. Gaurav Sharma refurbished the original character of the ancestral house in 2008, assisting its meaningful evolution in the 21st century. The architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pursuit for the concept was to find a responsive element to the house and the picturesque

2, 3 & 4.The weather-beaten deteriorated conditions of the house before renovations took place. 5. Carved into the niche of the mountains, the house presents a picturesque sight.

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site. He quotes, “I was struck by the word ‘Dhar View’. In hindi, ‘dhar’ means a mountain range. The house was probably named after the amazing views of the southern Himalayan ranges from the site. The views from inside the house were completely lost, while those from the enveloping verandahs had become obscured due to the growth of trees and new constructions around the site. Thus, one of the design objectives was to bring these views back into the house and evoke feelings that the house and its site might have evoked originally. The restoration was conceived as an intensive sequence of sections of rebuilding the house, in some parts from the foundation itself. The house is detailed with a green minimalist approach. An extensive range of materials and techniques including archetypal elements like the traditional ‘dhajji’ walls were used to retain the innate vernacular style. “Old buildings have certain special qualities which can be easily lost while intervening. As an architect working on an existing building it is very important that these qualities are identified, understood and forwarded such that the new and the old form a combined work of continuity. I like to think what we have achieved in this project is just that,” says Gaurav. It is the minor creative facets introduced by the architect which embody the spaces into an enlivened exterior. The newly extended staircase, to the east, has a long roof light which invites natural light to the back of the house. In the night, the lighting inside the staircase, in turn, diffuses out through the roof light to illuminate the cottage within its precinct. A narrow path, which slopes down the mountain, gathers the reflected light over the low lying roof conveying a feeling of warmth on the sloping declivity. Carved into the mountain, its west extension has two strategically placed ‘picture windows’ overlooking the scenic views of the mountain ranges. Scraps of steel and glass have been used to articulate the eight foot long window. Each unit constitutes a frame of a different proportion and as you step away from the window, the whole forms one single composition inducing a poetic play of views through the fabric of the building. Tracking the mountainous slope, the downhill descent traces its way through the interiors of the house; the main entrance is into the first floor

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First Floor Plan

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A 3D visual perspective model rendered by the artist

equation, as a perfect combination of functions and complexity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wherever historic detail or fabric survived, it was joyously restored; where it was missing there has been no attempt to do a conjectural recreation,â&#x20AC;? states Gaurav. The interior strategy plays with light, texture, material and colour, instead of ornamental decoration. The crisp lines of the contemporary interventions have been designed to complement the old and its wear and tear in time. A range of colours and textures render distinct character to each space; for example lime wash has been given to walls that receive direct light, capturing a unique refracted glow in the morning or evening sun. New insertions of steel also permitted the creative modification of interior spaces like housing a kitchen in the new extensions.

6. An articulated composition of windows frame the panoramic views in moonlight. 7. Southwest extension. 8. Light diffuses through the windows illuminating the cottage within its vicinity.

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living room and then internally to the ground floor. On the southern faĂ§ade, the dining and formal living rooms open into timber verandahs, facing a 70ft cliff drop. Within each space one experiences a quality which moulds the old and new into a singular design

The adaptive renovations involved new extensions and interventions, re-organisation of spaces, major structural and non-structural repairs and new services within a limited monetary fund. The design fundamentals work as a transition from old to new

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14 9. The interior spaces have been remodeled contemporarily, retaining the vintage essence of the house at the same time. 10. Dining room opening out into a verandah overlooking a 70ft cliff drop. 11. The extensions of the house were modernised into an updated space which is in harmony with the natural surroundings. 12. The internal wall textures include exposed stone masonry and mud-plastered traditional dhajji walls. 13 &14. Creative modifications like adding a study were implemented in the ancestral structure to conform to the expectations of the current owners.

allowing the residents to read the changes without changing the whole feel of the place. The overall experience is of an updated space in recognition of the traditional splendour and establishing it as a timeless continuity.

FACT FILE:

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Location Architect Client Structural Consultant Electrical Consultant Plumbing Consultant

: : : : : :

Shimla , India Gaurav Sharma Private Vinay Sharma Sunil Dutta Vijay Singh

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