Rs. 150 AUG 2010 VOL 24 (11)
Archit e Inter i c t u r e : P ra d or s: S +P S, P e e p S a c c h de u ra n K umar v a , I n d ra n e Archit el Du tta ects
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Green Initiatives Winston T. Shu of Integrated Design Associates, Hong Kong, has practised for 29 years with broad experience in specialised fields of design expertise that embody advance environmental technologies. In an exclusive conversation with Sarita Vijayan, Editor & Brand Director, Indian Architect & Builder Magazine, he sheds light on many aspects facing technology’s role in the built environment. SV. In today’s advancement in building, engineering and technological field, what is the significance of integrating architecture and advanced engineering with technological sophistication? WS. It is a very important thing for us architects to learn all aspects of engineering and what is the current state-of-the-art system, because we need to be able to work with different disciplines and to be able to know how to deal with them, we also need to know what is currently the most advanced engineering systems there are. Sometimes, you need to use them because some buildings require that kind of input; on the other hand some buildings do not need to go to such advanced engineering to make it work. So you have to equip yourself, as an architect, so that when a client comes you have something different to offer him and not let him tell you what he wants and you say “I don’t know anything about that”, because that would be very embarrassing as an architect. SV. What technological aspects have you introduced to pioneer a better quality product and improve the quality of life? WS. There are many aspects; I will talk about two or three of them. Knowing how air moves and how air conditioning can be used in a very large space without having to air condition that full volume of space, is one thing you will never know until you do a building. When we were doing the Hong Kong Airport, the ceiling is 24m high and you will see that people are only moving in the lower three-four meters. So a lot of questions get asked like, ‘Isn’t that very energy inefficient, you have such high volume and you are only using the bottom 4 metres.’ The answer is actually no. In fact larger the volume, the more efficient your air conditioning is, because you are not trying to cool the entire volume, you let the hot air rise and let it sit there, that holds the cool air at the bottom. So there is an invisible line, that is a temperature gradient and up to that line you only circulate the air below that and so that zone is only three meters to four and a half meters. Therefore, your only conditioning is 31/2 to 41/2m area of volume and therefore, larger the building, more efficient the air conditioning is , which goes against the conventional way of thinking, that if you have a large volume you must put a lot of air and moves a lot of air around to keep it cool. That is the sort of engineering which is now well accepted.
Photograph: courtesy SEWC
SV. Your recent work includes the iconic riverside development in Shanghai. What was design process that you adopted to approach the above two projects? WS.The Shanghai project is very simple. The client is a very commercial developer, and he wanted to maximise his return and in real estate. The higher you go the more valuable the space is. In most buildings, if you are going higher, the opposite happens, the structure and the building start to get slenderer, so as a result, you are diminishing the most valuable real estate. If you are going straight up, you are doing the same thing, 1000sqm at base and 1000sqm at the top, the only rate of return of increase is only because you are going higher. If I can provide the client with a bigger floor space, where the rate of return is at
let’s partner its maximum, then I will have a ‘funnel’ building where, minimum floor space is at the bottom because that is the lowest return & maximum floor space at the top where there is maximum return. So building becomes ‘cone-shaped’. Now how do you keep such a building structure to work? Although, the approach is very commercial, it meets the client’s requirements. Now most of the schemes that he had, this client had almost 18 buildings on the same site and ours was just one of the 18 buildings and ours is the only one that gives him the rate of return that he wouldn’t imagine, because all the other towers were just straight. So immediately, that gives him a different perception of what we can achieve for him. Then you look for addition of value, if I give him more floor space then you obviously have more space then do you create an atrium or something different in terms of spatial experience, then you divide the building into 6 clusters, so each cluster is for a large corporate company tenant and so you create an atrium for each cluster, so therefore you can lease this tower as 6 large corporate tenant but each have their own corporate identity. Now if you go into a tower with 6 tenants, every floor will be the same, the exterior does not tell you either that Mr. So-and-so has his office there, you would not be able to tell. Whereas, if you do it that way; every tenant has his identity. What company would not like to be recognised from the outside, so if you can provide them that, it of extra value to you, it is like advertising on the outside of the building, but not so garishly that you put posters, but you just recognise it as a interesting space. SV. Can you provide an insight to the LEED Platinum certified landmark commercial development in China amongst your recent works? WS. LEED Platinum building also has been approached from a very practical angle. The client has a piece of site which on paper allows him to build 200,000sqm but the two schemes, which he employed before he commissioned us, got rejected by the city planner. Because the amount of daylight the building was blocking of the neighbouring window, it prevented the planning authority to give the approval. If you have to meet the planning requirement, meant that the building had to be slanted or had to be adjusted so that the day light can actually reach every window. We calculated that if we were to do that, we lose 40 per cent of your total buildable volume. Now when you bought the land you thought you had 200,000sqm, but suddenly now you lose 40 per cent of that. You will then think twice if that site is worth paying that much amount of money. He was on the verge of abandoning that project, so he said give me another solution where I can do something different. So we came up with the idea of microclimatic envelope. Now, the microclimatic envelope was not because we had a flash of idea that we want to go green, it was because once u have a step-down building you have a lot of terraces a lot of gaps between the buildings that you cannot use so in order to achieve that 200sqm. I need to use that area which otherwise would be unusable, so therefore you buy some of those areas back. If those areas are on the roof, would you use the roof as an office? It is going to cause problems when it is windy, when there is a sand storm, in Beijing, its too hot too cold. But if you enclose its like a conservatory, it is like a winter garden, why wouldn’t one use it. So that concept suddenly brought us the idea that maybe if I can convert all that unusable area into useable then I will be able to give the client the 200,000sqm. So therefore, by enclosing the space you could provide a lot more area that is usable and rentable, but then by doing so isn’t that going to get very hot, unconditioned, who is going to use it, etc, etc. So then the idea of natural ventilation and using advanced technology to see weather a micro climate can be created by this skin and that is what lead us to this green building design. So it comes from a very practical reason and then you find a solution that is a much advanced engineering to give you the answer to allow you to do it. But the back of it, it is always the practical objectives.
SV. You had the opportunity to work with Norman Foster. What impact did the experience have on your architectural design and philosophy? WS. My experience at Foster+ Partners was very illuminating. I think it is one of the best things in my life as a professional person. It is tough but you learn a great deal. The office has a culture of analysing everything. We never had to tell a client to choose a certain project because it is better, why it is better? Because I like it. We never had to say that. When you present an idea to a client, it has to have a rational reason. If the client sees the rational reason just the same way you see it, he will always agree with you. It is only when yon cannot win over such an argument that you have to use the big architect argument, “I am the architect, I think this is nice so you should have it.” That is not the way it should be. So that is what I learnt from Foster; never impose your thoughts through the jack-hammer way. You impose it by very gradual persuasion but the persuasion is always in a very analytical and logical process. Now that is what I thought was the biggest benefit working in an office like Foster’s. SV. You have designed the highly acclaimed Hyderabad International Airport. How was your experience working in India and what are your views on the Indian infrastructure industry? WS. I really enjoyed working in Hyderabad, to be absolutely honest about it. I think in India, the project management skill is first class. I mean I have worked with British contractors, Chinese and now with Indian contractors, worked with clients who have managed to complete the project themselves, worked with clients who employ project managers to complete the project for them and I have to say the project management team in Hyderabad was first class. They were very professional and very on-hand to deal with the issues. When I look back, the project manager who was an Indian and the way he dealt with issues, how very Indian it was. He would not upset anyone; correct me if I am wrong, in Indian culture one does not like to upset anyone. They like to keep everyone happy, but yet you do what you want but without upsetting anyone. In the European way when I was working in England you do not have to do that, you do not have to be so mannered. If you do not like something you just speak it out and just say how it has to be. I watched this project manager how he dealt with different voices around him, the positive ones, the negative ones but at the end of the day it was the way he wanted. And that to me something like an art and I learned it from him too. When you come to construction industry the only difference, I feel, when it comes to building a building in Europe as opposed to building a building in China and again a building in India, the difference is in the workmanship. I think India still has a little bit more to learn about finishing a building to a certain quality and then maintaining that building to that quality. China also has very similar issues to these, they can build in a standard closer to the European, probably not 10 years ago, but today their industry has improved so much, they have imported the best machinery for manufacturing so the products are now very good so therefore they can match quality for quality in terms of material. But the only thing they are lacking is putting them together with that sort of care. They can bang it all up, which looks good for the first day but day two, its starts to dismantle with the joints opening up and that sort of thing. So the culture to maintain things at their end, is still lacking in China. India, I think is similar in that sense. I have seen many building that have just come up but it already seems like they have aged. When I went back to Hyderabad, I think GMR has maintained the building very well, they have taken a lot of care of what they have. And I suppose this is what is missing in some of the other buildings. If an architect or an engineer can produce a building that shows the amount of love and care in the detailing and the client follows you with that love and care then the building quality improves.
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LET’S PARTNER Winston T. Shu of Integrated Design Associates, Hong Kong shares his experience in environmental technologies and its role in the built environment with Sarita Vijayan, Editor & Brand Director, Indian Architect & Builder Magazine.
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CURRENT A complete update on architectural exhibitions, events, competitions and news.
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PRODUCTS Featured here are contemporary and innovative products under the category of Lighting, Lifestyle and Space-savers from across the globe.
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CONSTRUCTION BRIEF Exploration of ongoing fascinating construction projects from around the World.
The Great Hall at Grace Farms, Connecticut
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Designed by OBRA Architects, The Great Hall at Grace Farms is an addition to the
Bamboo House designed by New Delhi-based architect Pradeep Sachdeva, is a
old barn in New Canon, designed to serve as a Multipurpose Hall.
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contemporary cottage in Gurgaon which blends the simple approach in design with
New Integrated Terminal, Vadodara, India Once completed, the New Integrated Terminal designed by US based Frederic Schwartz Architects and India-based Creative Group will create a new dialogue
luxurious amenities within along with concerns to environmental design
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the famous River Nan.
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expression of European culture which suffices the need of occupant blending in
Xinjin Water City near Chengdu, China To create an innovative city development, Dutch architects MVRDV plan a model along
POST EVENT Everest Everest Industries Limited successfully organised seminars at a multi-city level in
harmony with its surroundings.
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TECHNOLOGY Alternative Solutions Proposed in Dubai by New Delhi-based architect, Rahul Surin, ‘Farmscraper’ is an attempt to create vertical farm and an epicentre of creative urban livelihood.
Architectural Divulgence Working on a simple perception of revelation, Bengaluru-based DKA Architects have rationally designed PMR Residence in Hyderabad.
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India on ‘End-to-End in Pre-engineered Building Solutions.’
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The Desert Wing Featuring the Kendle House by Kendle Design Collaborative which is an
within the existing suburban expression of the city.
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ARCHITECTURE Regionalised Approach
INTERIOR Luxuriant Retrospectives With a concept of creating a distinctive dialogue within a triplex apartment in Mumbai, Mumbai-based architects S+PS have merged together informal expressions and simplicity within.
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Contemporary Retake Mumbai based Puran Kumar Architects have worked on concept of adaptive reuse to re-interpret the essence of a historical building as a contemporary workplace.
Co v e
i te c t, h c r a e sy th achariah e t r u Z co e: © Sebastian g a m rI
Chairman: Jasu Shah Printer & Publisher: Maulik Jasubhai Editor & Brand Director: Sarita Vijayan Deputy Editor: Sujatha Mani Senior Writers: Hina Nitesh, Ritu Sharma Writers: Renuka Singh, Maanasi Hattangadi Visualiser: Mansi Chikani, Nikhita Gadkari Web Designer: Sandeep Sahoo Editorial Co-ordinator: Namita Bandekar Events Co-ordinator: Abhay Dalvi Subscription Co-ordinators: Sunita Lumba (Delhi), Sheetal Kamble Production Team: V Raj Misquitta (Head), Prakash Nerkar, Arun Madye Brand Manager: Sudhanshu Nagar Head Key Accounts: Meha Shrivastava
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OFF-BEAT Imperceptible architecture Designed by Dutch based architects MVRDV, Galije is designed to blend with the surrounding impeccably and create a unique experience.
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INTERNATIONAL Getting under the Skin Acknowledged as first gold level LEED NC Building, 355 11th Street is redesigned as a sustainable and eco-friendly building by Aidlin Darling Design.
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ART Responsive and Responsible DIY Pavilion designed by Shift Architects is an architect initiated art project created with thrash, which serves as model within city serving as a new social architecture.
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Ingenious Metaphoric Expressions Kinetic Sculpture designed by Germany based ART+COM Media Design Studio is a combination of creative ideas and technology which results as a piece of art.
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Mesmerising Impressions Urban Art Projects in collaboration with artist Ned Kahn, creates a simulating and iridescent art work.
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A tower in the sky Designed by Matter Design, Periscope is a winning design which creates a unique spatial expression within the city.
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ANNOUNCEMENT 361° The Conference on Design and Informal Cities Organised by Indian Architect & Builder along with the Citizens Group, the 361° Conference aims to address issues concerning informal settlements in Mumbai.
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 Mumbai: Assistant Regional Sales Manager: Viresh Pandey Sales Executive: Kavita Jharolia Sales & Accounts Co-ordinator: Manoj Gorivale Bengaluru: JMPL Nanda Gokula, # 96, Osborne Road, Ulsoor, Near Lakeside Hospital, Bengaluru 560 042 Tel: 080 2554 6371 Chennai: JMPL Assistant Sales Manager: Senkhadir Balu Saena Circle No 31/6, 1st Floor, Duraiswamy Road, T-Nagar, Chennai 600 017 Tel: 044 4212 3936 Fax: 044 4242 7728 Mob: 098407 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 Assistan Regional Manager: Rohit Chhajer, Preeti S Mundra 803. Chiranjeev Tower, No 43, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110 019 Tel: 011 2623 5332 Fax: 011 2642 7404 Email: Rohit_chhajer@jasubhai.com, preet_singh@jasubhai.com Pune: JMPL Suite 201, White House, 1482 Sadashiv Peth, Tilak Road, Pune – 411 030, Tel: 020 2449 4572 Fax: 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 The HuB Design Competition Category Type Deadline
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International Students and professionals Registration: September 13, 2010 Submission : October 10, 2010
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY CHARLESTON is pleased to announce the chapter’s first open design competition. The challenge of the competition is to continue South Carolina’s legacy of preservation and sustainability. As a basis for exploration, the HUB design competition proposes that a new light rail system has been established that will provide a connection between Charleston’s downtown peninsula and its surrounding communities. Entrants to the competition are challenged to design the two major components of the new transit system. The two designs should collaborate to create a system of cohesive recognisable nodes for tourists and residents. The HUB is an idea’s competition geared towards the generation of innovative thoughts and solutions that will spark debate and help in the advancement of this rich culture. For further information, contact: Web: www.afhcharleston-competition.com
Auja Design Competition Category : Type : Deadline :
International Students of Architecture Registration: September 15, 2010 Submission: November 01, 2010
EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) is holding a design competition for improvements and ecological designs for their Jordan Rift Valley Center for Environmental Education and Ecotourism Development, also called Auja Center, in Auja Municipality, Palestine. The building stands on a minimally landscaped site and is in need of a roof master plan to be realised with future funding. The proposals should demonstrate a creative way to design rooftop amenities that reflect the Center’s purpose, local ecology, and environment. For further information, contact: Web: www.tilt-up.org/awards/student/2010/details.php
COMPETITION
Architecture & Design Writing Fellowship at Writers’ Colony Category Type Deadline
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International Architects Register/Submit: October 15, 2010
The Writers’ Colony is pleased to offer the 2010-2011 Architecture & Design Writing Fellowship. With an emphasis on the fields of American architecture, landscape architecture, crafts and furnishings, this Fellowship is designed to support qualified professionals and arts commentators. The Fellowship is open to a range of architecture & design writing genre, criticism, history, regionalism, globalism, public art, museum practice, and biography; as well as to artists compiling a presentation on a body of work. For further information, contact: Web: www.writerscolony.org
Schools of Tomorrow – Student Design Competition Category Type Deadline
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International Students Registration: October 18, 2010 Submission : November 29, 2010
The design of educational facilities serves as a major focus for architects and the communities in which they live and work. The challenge comes in making a building that functions in the simplest way possible for the young minds of children, provides a modern workplace for the teachers and staff and promotes the spirit of its community. Kawneer and AIAS give students a chance to meet these challenges in the 2010 Schools of Tomorrow Design Competition. For further information, contact: Web: www.aias.org
Manufacturing Identity Category Type Deadline
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International Open to all Registration: October 31, 2010 Submission: October 31, 2010
Manufacturing Identity is an open collection of works exploring how emerging technologies will impact how creative practitioners see themselves, portray themselves, and understand the role of their creative processes. Technological advances have significantly impacted how individuals in society construct their sense of self, sometimes as empowered creators and equally as alienated observers. Manufacturing identity invites all creative practitioners to explore the impacts of emerging technologies on how they construct their idea of self. For further information, contact: Web: www.manufacturingidentity.tumbir.com
The 2 nd Annual BrickStainable Design Competition Category Type Deadline
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International Open to all Registration: November 15, 2010 Submission : December 15, 2010
Potomac Valley Brick presents the 2 nd Annual BrickStainable International Design Competition. The Competition seeks integrative solutions for a building using clay masonry units (brick) as a primary material and seeks to explore the potential of brick construction in the creation of an energy efficient building. Its focus is to think beyond all boundaries and “re-think” brick in the context of its material qualities and current construction technologies. For further information, contact: Web: www.brickstainable.com
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current An American Model of Architectural Practice Date : Venue :
August 29 to November 21, 2010 Venice
The High Museum of Art in Atlanta will present the exhibition ‘Workshopping: An American Model of Architectural Practice’ at the US pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, the 12th International Architecture Exhibition. Workshopping explores the role of the trans-disciplinary collaborations in architecture, spotlighting seven architecture projects with a focus on research and social engagement. The High Museum has partnered with 306090 to co-organise the exhibition, which will be designed by native Atlanta artist Danielle Roney. The US Pavilion is presented by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, which supports and manages the official United States participation at selected international exhibitions. For further information, contact: Web: www.labiennale.org
Architecture ZA 2010 Date : Venue :
September 21 to September 27, 2010 Johannesburg, South Africa
Architecture ZA 2010 offers a week-long festival under the auspices of the South African Institute of Architects. It proposes to relocate architecture within the contemporary conditions and cultural production of South Africa. Local and international architects, as well as a wide collection of creative minds engaged in the imaging and production of the city–from filmmakers to urban geographers, space politicians to community organisers, philosophers to fashion critics –will be put into energetic contact. They will respond to a range of themes and topics designed to encourage the intersection of multidisciplinary voices with architects and architecture. For further information, contact: Web: www.aza2010.org
RIBA Research Symposium 2010: Does beauty matter?
EVENTS
Date : Venue :
September 23, 2010 London, United Kingdom
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) will be holding its fifth annual research symposium on 23rd September 2010, focusing upon one of the basic principles of architecture: beauty. Architecture is often judged on its success in creating beauty, yet beauty is a slippery, uncomfortable and divisive subject. It is both a universal good and an enduring source of controversy, but what does it really mean? The symposium will tackle the significance and function of beauty today. Delegates will debate with architects, developers, community activists and politicians, informed by brand new research. For further information, contact: Web: www.architecture.com/WhatsOn/Conferences/2010/
IIID Showcase 2010 Date : Venue :
September 30 to October 3, 2010 MMRDA-BKC Grounds, Mumbai
IIID Showcase 2010 is one of the largest trade events for interior designing and construction industry in India. This show comprises of 8 different expos namely Home Furniture & Accessories Expo, Office Furniture & Accessories, Kitchen & Bathroom Expo, Outdoor Living Expo, Walls & Ceiling Expo, Floors Expo, Laminates & Veneers Expo and Lighting Expo. This grand event attracts manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and service providers for demonstrating their latest products and services to the key decision makers and influential trade buyers related to interior designing and construction industry. Participants and visitors will have ample opportunities to network with industry leaders and learn industry development trends, share expertise and discuss future advances. For further information, contact: Web: www.zakiiidshowcase.com
3 Day Workshop: Information Structuring, Architecture and Visualisation Date : Venue :
October 21 to October 23, 2010 IDC, IIT Mumbai
The course, Expo Info Design will cover Information Theory, Ordering of Information, Methods for Structuring and Visualisation of Information, Display of Qualitative Information, Process of Sorting and Categorising Information as well as Introduction to Information Architecture. The lectures will draw upon examples from a wide variety of application of Information Design that include: Web indexing and organising Menus, Knowledge Visualisation, Sigange and Wayfinding, Maps and Diagrams, Graphic Interfaces and Displays, Interactive Information Applications, etc. The Course Expo Info Design will make communication information visible, efficient and effective. For further information, contact: Web: www.idc.iitb.ac.in
Architectural Lighting Day – Istanbul 2010 Date : Venue :
October 25, 2010 Istanbul
ALD Istanbul is an international conference which is focused on architectural lighting design. The first event will take place in 2010 and will be organised biannually. The purpose of ALD Istanbul is to bring all players of the architectural lighting industry together and to create a theoretical and practical thinking platform within Turkey and near geography such as Russia, Ex-soviet Unions, Middle East, South Europe, etc. The event will host internationally successful architects and lighting designers. Through the presentations and discussions participants will find the opportunity to see recently completed projects related to light and its applications. For further information, contact: Web: www.aldistanbul.com
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current Kone India to launch energy saving elevators by 2012 Kone India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Kone Corporation of Finland, plans to introduce energy saving elevators in India by 2012. The company plans to manufacture the elevators, equipped with new generation technology, at its Ayanambakkam plant near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Kone employs about 2,800 people in all, and has 40 branches across the country. The proposed elevators would work efficiently even while saving 50 per cent energy . Vice-President Jussi Oijala said the new elevators would shut off automatically when not in use. “Through this, we can make the elevators perform much more better,” he said. The company had already launched energy saving elevators in Europe. ‘In 2006 we had set a target of manufacturing elevators that will consume only 50 per cent of power by 2010 and today its been achieved…,’ he said. The new energy saving elevators have been launched in Europe. Kone Corporation plans to invest 60 million euros in research and development for 2010-11. The Chennai facility produces elevators for India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and manufactures components for modernisation projects across Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.
Shristi Infrastructure to launch mega integrated Park in Siliguri Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation has announced that after its successful projects in Asansol (Shristinagar), Durgapur, Ranigunj, Haldia, Krishnanagar, Agartala and Kolkata, the company is launching its mega integrated Park in Siliguri. Kanchan Janga Integrated Park by Kanchan Janga Integrated Infrastructure Development, a joint venture company of West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (SIDCL) is planned to provide all facilities from industries to commercial–retail and housing. A modern township uniquely conceptualised to encompass economic activities. The total project will be completed in three phases within 5-7 years and the first phase is expected to be completed by October, 2011. The project is envisaged to cost Rs 500 crores to begin with and will increase with addition of various facilities commensurate to the need.
NEWS
NL Architects takes 1st place for “Multi Mill”, Outdoor Cultural Stage in Amsterdam Amsterdam-based NL Architects have won the competition to design a cultural stage in the Port of Amsterdam. The Port of Amsterdam commissioned Roos Burger & Yvon Yzermans, two collaborating art historians, to develop a cultural facility in Houthavens West. The Port wants to improve the attractiveness of the area to the public by realising a cultural meeting place in the transforming area between city and port. The idea of NL Architects is to construct a flexible ‘base’ that can facilitate various art forms like: theater, film, fashion, sculpture, sound, light art, dance, video and music.
ADEPT and Sou Fujimoto Win Swedish Media Library Competition Danish ADEPT, Japanese SOU FUJIMOTO Architects and an advisory team consisting of Topotek 1, Ramboll A/S and Bosch & Fjord won the competition for a new library in Falun, Sweden, with the project “Dalarna Media Arena”. The project, which consists of a 300sqm library and an adjoining plaza, is a part of Dalama University campus. Dalarna Media Arena is a reinterpretation of the library–a multifunctional event–and knowledge center–targeting students and teachers as well as the local community. Dalarna Media Arena matches a new library culture, staging a wealth of opportunities for events and inspiration. The library has its own special character in which library and multimedia functions unite and create synergy with the existing university. Wooden facades integrate the building in the surroundings, reflecting the local tradition of using wood as construction material. This project will help to attract people in the neighbourhood, thereby anchoring the library in the local community.
VOA Associates incorporated reveal Roosevelt University’s new vertical campus In this ever-competitive academic market, colleges and universities are seeking bold new strategies to increase enrollment. Roosevelt University in Chicago is one school that is banking on signature architecture to reposition itself amidst a growing landscape of academic institutions and bring more students to its ranks. Designed by VOA Associates incorporated, Roosevelt’s new vertical campus will transform the way the university operates while bringing a significant change to Chicago’s skyline. The mixed use structure will house administrative offices and classrooms, a dining hall and fitness center, a conference centre, science labs and residence suites for more than 600 students. The building will also house the university’s business school. With residences located on the top 17 floors, students will study among the stars while enjoy stunning views of the city’s skyline, Grand Park and Chicago’s waterfront. Designed to obtain LEED Silver certification, the building is slated to open in 2012.
Water Cube reopens as Asia’s biggest indoor water park after 10 months of reconstruction Infamous for its extravagant spending during the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing spent a staggering estimate of €31 bn decorating the city with iconic pieces of architecture. Whilst it was hoped that tourists would continue to flock to Beijing in order to experience the new cityscape first and bringing with them much-needed capital, this was not the case. In an attempt to combat these shortcomings, planning and design firm Forrec were brought in to revamp the National Aquatics Centre, known affectionately as the Water Cube. On Sunday 8th August – the two year anniversary of the start of the Beijing Olympics – the Water Cube was reopened to the public as Asia’s largest indoor water park. Sporting seven-storey slides, a wave pool, a water bar, rides entitled Aqualoop, Ridehouse, Bullet Bowl and Speed Slide, whirlpools and ‘deep-sea tornados’ , the 77,000sqft complex has already been a hit with the waiting masses.
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products Bird Table The Bird Table consists of two table bases and a glass top. The bases are CNC cut from 24mm birch plywood, which is strong enough to support the glass weight. Each base is made of two identical parts that slide into each other. The glass top is 12mm safety glass, 210 x 90cm, but one can decide on other sizes, but wider than 85 cm. The table is stable and needs no further fastening.
Contact: Fehrbellinerstr. 82 Berlin 10119 Germany Tel: +49 (0)30 236 144 03 Mob: +49 (0)176 216 243 16 Web: www.ronen-kadushin.com
S PA C E S AV E R S
Pocket Bookshelf Crate on the outside, bookshelves on the inside, a system of adjustable safety belts allows the books to travel fixed in any position. The pocket bookshelf is its own crate, it folds and unfolds as a jigsaw puzzle and has the reversible qualities of a pocket. It relates the traveller and his cultural knowledge with the new place where he arrives. It is an object that transports the identity a person projects in his books. But it is also a space without place, that transforms and adapts to the situation and the halt a travel offers.
Contact: Ariel H. Jacubovich, arq. Web: www.ur-arquitectura.com.ar www.arieljacubovich.com.ar
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products
Zufall Maurer Over the past four decades Ingo Maurer has developed and produced lamps, light objects and lighting concepts. Always committed to handcraft, full of creative ideas and distinguished by technical innovations, they have become milestones of lighting design. Zufall (the table lamp) tops out at 14 to 28 inches tall, depending on the extent of extension from the aluminium base. The silicone arm can be formed flexibly. It has a base plate with integrated toggle switch with a plug-transformer. Contact: Ingo Maurer GmbH Kaiserstrasse 47 80801 Munich Tel: 49.89.381.6060 Fax: 49.89.381.606.20 Email: info@ingo-maurer.com Web: w w w.ingo-maurer.com
Turner Lamp
LIGHTING
The Turner Lamp is a simple, elegant LED light that is powered by the sun. During the day, one can turn the lantern up-side-down to charge daylight. In the evening, the lantern can be turn back and it will light up - time after time - sensibly reusing the daylight. The wind will never blow the Turner light out, and since it is lit by LEDs, the lantern will not attract insects. Turner Lamp has a warm and cosy shine which replaces tea light.
Contact: Web: www.onoe-design.dk
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products
Warm by Enrico Franzolini Karboxx, is an Italian company specialised in developing lamps with an exclusive and refined design by using innovative and technological materials such as carbon fibre and fibre-glass. Warm is such one among such new collections. It is a floor lamp with white polyethylene shade and galvanised metallic base, painted black with thermohardened powder coating. The shape exalts the material and vice versa, like when the polyethylene shade, playing with transparencies, puts on a sensual net creating suggestive atmospheres. Inspiration and technology together result in warm, embracing light. Warm is available for indoor and outdoor use.
Contact: Karboxx srlarboxx Srl Via del Gelso, 16/2 33100 Udine (UD) – Italy Tel: +39 0432 26577 Fax: +39 0432 512596 Email: info@karboxx.com Web: w w w.karboxx.com
LIFESTYLE
Bodice Light by Project Holo
Designed by Michael Travalia for Project Holo, Bodice Light is a furniture design project focused on exploring new ideas and creating ranges of exciting, diverse objects and furniture. It is a striking and beautiful floor standing light made from HI-MACS. At 2.2m, the light offers a subtly over sized, humanistic and sinuous form. Launched at Tent London last year, the piece challenges the conventional application of HI-MACS, highlighting the potential and scope of the material. Given the
complexity of its fabrication and resulting elegance, it proves a new dimension in both solid surfaces and lit objects. Inspired by the pleating of fabric and the sewing of a seam, its warmth of material complements a multi-faceted, curved structure, adding delightful grace to any environment.
Contact: Web: www.projectholo.com
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products
Velvet Velvet embraces within itself the warmth of light and projects outward the beams created by shade. A flash of light captures the gaze and captivates the spectators. Velvet is a reflection of its own light. An elegant product that rethinks basic conventions in lamp design and subtly recreates the interplay of light and shade. The design of its metal structure is both form and function; it keeps light inside and filters out the shade.
Contact: Christian Sintes and David Dominguez Barcelona, 08012, Spain Tel: +34 934 155 685 Email: modo@modo.st
Aria Aria is a new lamp designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini for Murano Due. The lamp is a refined and ethereal empty crystal bubble which fills with the light flow coming from a LED source hidden in the small canopy of white metal. The invisible light source makes Aria a sophisticated furnishings complement with an almost immaterial presence, in which the form appears only through a captivating trick of reflections.
LIGHTING
The calibrated and precise design, the lightness of the material and the fascinating effect of light, fit out instyle every housing.
Contact: Iosa Ghini Associati–Bologna Via Castiglione, 6 40124 Bologna Tel: +39-051236563 Fax : +39-051237712 Web: www.iosaghini.it
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products
Limu Chair Designed by the young Sandro Lopez, LIMU chairs give life to a sculptural project which blends harmoniously into living spaces. It is designed for the Elit Collection by Pircher, a long established Italian company that expertly combines the local woodworking tradition with its indubitably superior design and manufacturing know-how. With their gentle, curvaceous lines, the four elements allow the possibility of experimenting with their shapes and freely interpreting each individual element. Limu is ideal as an addition to both interior furniture and protected outdoor areas. Its versatile character can interpret the continuity between interior and outdoor by focusing on the fluidity of spaces and functions. It is made from curved beech plywood and PEFCcertified compressed beech wood and is available in natural beech, white and wenge.
Contact: Sandro Lopez Tel: 0039 347 157 6772 Email: info@sandrolopez.com
LIGHTING
Staverton Launches ZD Furniture System
Staverton has announced a new addition to its office furniture collection with the launch of Staverton ZD. The new system maintains the traditional brand values of Staverton and has been designed to meet the needs of contemporary workplace designers and managers for a product that is flexible, durable, competitively priced and extremely good looking. Conceived with the understated yet intelligent design for which Staverton is renowned, ZD desking incorporates a stylish, floating top, module lengths of up to 2200mm, shared components and metal to metal fixings throughout. Telescopic cable managed beams enable the
size of workstations to change, extending the life of the product. The ZD range offers many options which include sliding tops, mass vertical cable risers, matching screens and leg frames available in either white or silver. Contact: 155-157 Staines Road Hounslow, Middlesex, London, TW3 3JB Tel: +44 (0)20 8538 5980 Email: info@staverton.co.uk
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construction brief
With a planted, accessible roof, the new building merges with the topography, looking like a new hill on the landscape.
The Great Hall at Grace Farms, Connecticut The new addition to the old barn in New Canaan named The Great Hall at Grace Farms will be a multi-purpose, nature driven facility designed by OBRA Architects. Text Compilation: Renuka Singh
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BRA Architects from New York have conceived a multi-purpose facility. The Great Hall at Grace Farms, Connecticut. It is designed to be a gathering space, temporary sanctuary space, recreational and sports facility, which is a specification from the client’s side. The Great Hall at Grace Farms is part of a project, proposed to be built on a 48 acre site dominated by a large hill and trees in close proximity to the town of New Canaan, Connecticut. The Great Hall is peculiar in many ways as it is going to serve many purposes with a gymnasium and indoor basketball court, a space for banquets and all kinds of social occasions, and a space for weekly religious services. The barn building was originally built in the mid 1980s. Now it will have a new look with varied additions. The barn and the Great Hall will appear amongst the old trees in a sequence of views first inwards and then outwards. After the barn’s renovation, there will be spaces for leisure, education, a library, a suite of classrooms and administration offices. The courtyards defined by the ‘H’ shape of the barn structure will be designed as a fragrant garden that will offer the barn a new seasonal dimension. The Grace Farms religious community seeks to preserve the old farm’s ethos through the new Great Hall building atmosphere that would merge with the surrounding landscape. The Great Hall is located on the eastern side of the existing barn and it descends 14ft down to the east from the barn elevation through a slope. This slope helps in defusing the mass of the new building which would otherwise visually overshadow the old structures. Such a structure and design highlights the interior of the building, which allows connection to the adjacent barn on the upper level through a roofed promenade that culminates in the entry lobby.
The new building looks like a new hill on the landscape. It offers continuity of experience with a planted, accessible roof, moving through the site while echoing the most prominent fixture of the present topography. The mass of the hill has been divided and detached in three different directions, to the east, which is a symbolic orientation for Christianity and the source of morning light, to the north, which has access to the generous pastoral views of the site, and to the west, which creates a visual connection to the old building. The trinity that emerges from the openings form deep arched views of the surrounding farm and allow abundant natural light in the interior. The glass enclosure of the openings that range between 15 and 20ft high is minimally designed with thin steel mullions to enhance unhindered views while allowing multiple points of access from different directions. The dome is built with 3” precast concrete panels allowing economic repetition, defining the dome with only 5” distinct panel shapes. Majority of the interior surfaces of the additional building have been completed in hardwood. The walls of the Outdoor Chapel and Crying Room (space for mothers with their infants) have been clad with white plaster. Once it’s complete, the new multi-use building will apparently have many visitors and yet it will be a nature-oriented place.
FACT FILE: Project Location Status Architect Area Photographs
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The Great Hall at Grace Farms New Canaan, Connecticut Under-construction OBRA Architects 9,000sqft OBRA Architects
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construction brief
The exterior curving facade of the steel marks the bold look of the design.
New Integrated Terminal, Vadodara, India
The New Integrated Terminal at Vadodara Airport is going to be a collaborative iconic structure by USAbased architectural firms Frederic Schwartz Architects, Gensler and India-based Creative Group. Text Compiled by: Maanasi Hattangadi
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stablishing a new dialogue with the existing suburban expression of the city is the New Integrated Terminal, Vadodara Airport, designed in collaboration by USA-based architectural firms Frederic Schwatrz Architects, Gensler and India-based Creative group. The architectural language inspired by the aerodynamic strategies of airplanes’ body and wings, is a radical departure from the conventional. The arrival into the airport is framed by aligned trees, planted intentionally to tower at 6m height. The foliage is manipulated to create an illusion of the arched span of the Terminal as a floating structure. The exterior façade is a steel fluidity that curves and pins on its sides to enclose its functions within. Keeping India’s tropical climate in mind, the design considers overhangs of the façade on both North and South side which will ensure protection from the harsh sunlight. The symmetry of the autonomous roof is composed of a repetitive module to effectuate maximum efficiency for engineering, fabrication and construction considerations. The materiality is tactile and uses a complementary combination of glass and steel to define its identity. The steel edifice is structurally sound, owing to roof-supporting trusses resting on shear walls, on its east-west frontage. A familiar strategy, the glass framework is extensively used to seek an airy spaciousness required for the populated interiors. Further to the same, a geometrical play of skylights is placed on the roof which ensures constant streaming of natural light. Inside of the cocooned shell, the subtle details like no columns inform flexibility to the spatial matrix. The layout configuration is essentially standard and sequential. All the zones nucleate at a central zone, yet resuming their activities in their individual demarcations. The central celebratory feature of this design that will emerge is the Stepped Pool, semblance of the step-wells of Gujarat, is niched in between the visitor’s concourse, check-in hall and baggage claim. In midst
The central node of the interiors is the Stepped Pool which is a cultural reference of the stepped wells of Gujarat.
of the charged atmosphere of arriving and departing passengers, the place will hush in serenity. The unassuming facet will be a visual separation for the activities surrounding it. Adjusted within a simple grid, the design allows a possibility for future expansion. Extending an astounding capacity, the terminal will encompass a volumetric composition for 700 total peak-hour passengers, 18 check-in counters, four security-screening lanes and three baggage claim devices, each 47m in length. With the key intention of strategising on green buildings, inclusion of rainwater harvesting has also been done. An ambitious and unprecedented program, responding to the changing demographics of the city, will be a community asset that will change the skyline of Vadodara with its levitating steel form.
FACT FILE: Project Location Architects
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Client : Estimated Project Cost : Rendering :
New Integrated Terminal, Vadodara Airport Vadodara, India Frederic Schwartz Architects, New York, USA Gensler, New York, USA; Creative Group, New Delhi, India Airports Authority of India ` 130 crores Courtesy Frederic Schwatrz Architects
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construction brief
The ‘floating’ city is a group of islands linked together to inform a cohesive program.
Xinjin Water City near Chengdu, China Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, model an urban plan of a group of islands along the River Nan using water as a major element to outline a commercial and residential hub.
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lurring the lines between being a city of future and wondrous fancy, the Xinjin Water City, designed by Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, is an economical and cultural nucleus being built on islands along the River Nan near Chengdu in China. Water is one of the most celebrated yet precious elements that enliven the urban fabric in the present day. To preserve the diminishing quality and quantity of water in Xinjin, a fast developing city near Chengdu, this striking vision of an ‘island’ city was conceptualised. The master plan, spanning an expansive area of 500 hectares, depicts a zoning strewn with randomly shaped islands linked with bridges. The creation of these islands is an acknowledgment of the river Nan by the architects and the resourcefulness to capitalise on water as a base and overcrowd the land. They comprise of three new urban areas for Xinjin that will respect the presence of ambient water while simultaneously framing an attractive place to live and work in. Some smaller islands have been conceptualised to consider as a possible repurposing as hotels or conference centres. The design approach builds towards a central node that will house commercial and leisure activities also. Transforming perception of water-front cities, a regulating mechanism has been included in the design that will instigate self cleaning methods in the area and integrate the water into existing water systems. An innovation district, the area will concentrate all the water-front development and tourist attraction within its activities. The convergence of all these islands and usages promotes the very cause of the design. Framing the water matrix is an outline of soft boundaries. Its inclusion leads to a buffering allowance of the landscape to submerge in case of water flooding. A functional aspect, it also renders a visual aesthetic owing to the seasonal changing of the landscape. In summers, the boundary supports a peripheral green border and when the water rises, the facet establishes oneness with the river.
The waterfront convenes as an epicentre for leisure activities.
The contrasting topography of the masterplan forges a relationship between the islands, water and dykes beautifully. The buildings in the whole plan express individuality yet intentionally speak as a ‘cluster’, remarkably shaping an innovative city development.
FACT FILE: Location Architect Client Status of Project
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Xinjin, China, near Chengdu MVRDV Chengdu Life-City Investment, China Under construction
52 IA&B - AUG 2010 Parag Warerkar, Principal, M. R. Warerkar & Associates Pvt Ltd,initiated the evening as the eminent Guest of Honour in Delhi on 19 th March 2010.
Kumar Ravindra, Design Director, Venkataramanan Associates, explains structural innovations by a runthrough of his projects in Delhi.
Vinay Gupta CEO, Tandon Consultants entralled the audience in Delhi through his engaging presentation.
M. L. Gupta, Managing Director, Everest Industries Limited shares his expert opinions and views about PEB building solutions at the seminar in MUmbai on 25 th June 2010.
Engineered Inspirations Pioneering a series on complete building solutions, Everest Industries Limited organised seminars ‘End to End In Pre-Engineered Building Solutions’ at a multi-city level in India.
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verest Industries Limited in collaboration with Indian Architect & Builder Magazine commenced a seminar series ‘End to End In PreEngineered Building Solutions’ across two cities in India. The seminar series was initiated in Delhi on 19 th March 2010. Mr. Parag Warerkar, Principal, M. R. Warerkar & Associates Pvt Ltd,marked the beginning of the seminar as the eminent Guest of Honour of the evening. The speakers, Vinay Gupta, CEO, Tandon Consultants Pvt Ltd and Kumar Ravindra, Design Director, Venkatramanan Associates enlightened the
audience on building solutions through their engaging addresses. Building on the success of the seminar in Delhi, the series continued its informative undertaking in Mumbai on 25th June 2010. M.L.Gupta, Managing Director, Everest Industries Limited elaborated on the company’s contribution in the Pre-Engineered Building (PEB) sector to the AEC industry. Taking this framework forward, speakers—Kamal N. Hadker, Managing Director, Sterling Engineering Consultancy
Services Pvt. Ltd.; Dhananjay Dake, Founder & Director, Construction Catalysers and Mahesh Tandon, Managing Director, Tandon Consultants Pvt. Ltd. presented their expert views on prominent structural solutions by walking through their projects. Highlighting the premier aspects of engineering solutions, the seminar series expounds on expert opinions and views to scale out to the maximum possible outreach. It also sets the benchmark for excellence in the emerging PEB trends and typologies and generates an innovative understanding in people.
post event
Dhananjay Dake, Founder & Director, Construction Catyalysers expresses his thoughts about new age architectural engineering in Mumbai.
Kamal N. Hadker, Managing Director, Sterling Engineering Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd. elaborates on efficient structural solutions that define his projects at the seminar in Mumbai.
Mahesh Tandon, Managing Director , Tandon Consultants Pvt. Ltd., the keynote speaker at the seminar in Mumbai, talked about the emerging trends in PEB Building solutions.
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Farming Sky High Rahul Surin, an architect based in Delhi has proposed a ‘farmscraper’—Oasis Tower vertical farm that behaves like a functional eco-system, to grace the skyline of Dubai. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy the architects
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he current demographic trends may lead to a future crisis of an impending food shortage. The increasing spread of the building footprint in comparison to the diminishing arable land is building up to this predicament. As an answer to this crisis, the recent times have seen ‘Vertical Farming’ as an emerging concept. Ideating on this concept, Rahul Surin’s spiralling ‘Oasis Tower’ interprets itself as a solution for urban farming amidst Dubai’s other problems like arid climate and overgrowing land use. The inventive introduction of vertical farming will ensure an estimated food supply sufficient for 40,000 people each year.w The entire structure of 168m comprises of a central core encircled by three towers which wind upwards towards a converging apex. The form-finding was evolved through a sequential analysis of the relationship between the contextual wind flow and various shapes. The chosen lines offered maximum wind resistance. The building envelope expounds on the symbolism of a hexagram. A combination of two equilateral triangles, the geometry of hexagram is considered sacred in cultures across the world. The metaphorical stability, balanced by the two opposing triangles, makes up the bracing of the structural skin. The voids created in between the bracings are composed
The tower comprises of three towers winding around a central core.
technology
SITE PLAN
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Floor Plans
Ground Floor
Third Floor
Ninteenth Floor
Twenty Fifth Floor
Secondary Stress Member
Fractal Patterns From The Hexagram
Primary Stress Member
Complete Hexagram Fractal Patterns From The Hexagram
Paraboloid Interbracing
Arched Truss
The lattice framework structurally comprises of paraboloid bracings and arched trusses.
Sixth Floor
Twenty Ninth Floor
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Tenth Floor
Thirty Second Floor
Twelth Floor
Sixteenth Floor
Thirty Sixth Floor
Thirty Eith Floor
Beyond the EFTE skin, the floors encompass gravity-based ‘corsuels’ for urban farming. Winds (Including Shamal Wind Storm)
of ETFE cushions. Highly resistant to extreme temperatures and insulators by nature, the ETFE cushions perfectly respond to the harsh arid climate of Dubai. The need for the architecture to also correspond to a low environmental impact led to the inclusion of photo-voltaic paint dots on the panels.
Solar Penetration and Collection from Photovoltaic Paint Dots on Etfe Panels
The form-finding of the structure responded to the wind analysis of the area. It also integrated sustainable features like photo-voltaic dots on EFTE panels.
The skin aesthetic is a pattern derivation of various fractal formations of these panels. The three towers are structurally bound by interlacing of parabolic bracings and arched trusses at their intersecting junctions. Surrounded by a vast unbuilt expanse of land, the base of the complex is framed by ponds and water bodies. The mosaic-clad façade encloses multiple levels of mixed use functionality. Looking beyond the conventional housing amenities, the architect has envisioned gravity-based ‘corsuels’ as part of its program. These green additions reverse the traditional agricultural trends and advent the ushering of a new kind of social and systematic ecosystem. Nested within its layered floors, are added sustainable assets like wind turbines. The energy produced by the vertical axis turbines will configure energy sourcing for the entire structure on the basis of advanced renewable technologies. The collective ‘green’ concepts also integrate grey water recycling and a methane
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Rotor
Generator
Usable Electrical Energy
Control Electronics
Used wind from all directions without requirement to track the winds, therefore maximising efficiency Foundation
Details of the wind turbines
ETFE Cusions
details of the efte cushions on the external facade
digester to enable the conversion of on-site waste to more power. Refining urban architecture, the form of the building to its very core elemental detailing formulates a unified approach to sustain a greener housing. Unlike proposals which merely touch the sky, this complex, if successfully implemented, will scale new heights to establish a purpose contributing to the context and work towards thwarting an emerging global crisis. It will reshape the notion of urban lifestyles by being an epicentre for productive urban living.
FACT FILE: Project
Location Architect Status of Project
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Oasis Tower vertical farm Zabeel Park, Dubai Rahul Surin Conceptual
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‘Regionalised’ approach Set on place that is away from city crowds and traffic is a contemporary cottage, modest and simple in its expression yet luxurious and stylish in usage. Text: Ritu Sharma Photographs: courtesy the architect
The House reflects its image as rustic yet urban and oddly authentic, all at the same time.
architecture
Detail of wooden column adhered to the base.
Decorative and elaborate shisham wood columns characterise the entrance.
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urrounded by fields of seasonal crops and marigolds, where romanticising nature is most appropriate, manmade connections with nature itself have been established by giving utmost importance to the natural landscape and setting. In this instance, it is the view of the fields, as well as a desire to maximise the outdoor living possible in both winter and summer season, which permeates the design of a peaceful house to relax and to reconnect with the family and with nature. The two and a half acre of agricultural land, in Sadrana village, near Delhi, is a stone’s throw away from Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary where many bird watchers spend their time.
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site plan
With ‘regionalised architecture’ as a basic philosophy, the concept was further explored as to produce architecture that is a combination of old, which is traditional and new, which is modern. It is contextually relevant with respect to place and people that fosters the use of local material, art and crafts and works within the broader definitions of contemporary architecture. This farm house idea came up in response to the strong appeal of the site whereas, the design objective was to deal with diverse scales, functions, and views: from gathering in the expansive living cum dining ex tending out to a deep verandah overlooking the fields to spend some time reading alone in a cozy corner. Thus, the house is laid out in an open plan with unified interior space instead of segregated isolated rooms.
The floor plan comprises of the main lounge and dining area that are the prime features with appropriate rest room facility associated with it. There is a kitchen along with all allied services that caters to the living areas and also an outdoor dining provision on the deck looking over the fields. The house is divided into two sections linked by a bridge which accompanies the scaling of the house. One experiences an intimate court which leads to an interesting journey through a subtle connection between the living and kitchen. A small bedroom belies the living spaces beyond which are generous wardrobe cum change room leading to a luxurious bathroom with an outdoor shower and court. An elaborately carved marble elephant wash basin from Jaipur was especially designed by Ayush Kasliwal as the focus of the bathroom.
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Spacious verandahs overlook the landscape.
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ROOF DETAILS
The spaces create a system of framed views, which draws in the nature visually. Spacious verandahs overlook the landscape, whereas a series of perforations in the enclosure blurs the edge between indoor and outdoor, seamlessly integrating both. Decorative and elaborate shisham wood columns characterise the entrance. The inside reveals as an element of surprise with simple geometry, whose language is based on local materials and resolves the roof with a sculptural gesture. This large covering made of bamboo roof (Bambusa balcooa, sourced from the Northeast of India), articulates the space, lending the house its particular identity. The bamboo roof with a sculptural gesture.
This roof is designed by Simon Velez, the Colombian architect who is a proponent of bamboo architecture around the world.
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An open plan with unified interior space: the main lounge and dining area.
With elegant lounge furniture reminiscent of the days of the Raj, each detail and custom furnishing is designed to make mundane rituals into thoughtful events. Environmental design plays an integral role in achieving a network of green and open spaces. The house is imagined as porous object whereby air movement and visual connectivity permeate into the built form. The bamboo framework has thatch on top of it for insulation while roof overhangs provides some shade from the hot afternoon sun. The essential concept of the house reflects the way in which the designer, who also happens to be the owner, look forward to the architectural practice. Rustic yet urban and oddly authentic, all at the same time, the unique Farm House makes modern, the approach of rural home building.
FACT FILE:
Project Location Client Architect Design team Project Area Civil Contractors Carpentry Contractors Project Estimate Completion of project
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House by the Bamboo Grove Sadrana Village, Gurgaon Pradeep Sachdeva Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates Pradeep Sachdeva & Simon Velez Site area –14,074sqm Built up Area –201sqm Direct employed workers The full Cycle Interior Workshop ` 2 million 2009
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The Desert Wing While much of the surrounding homes echo themes from distant European cultures of centuries past, the Kendle house by Arizona-based Kendle Design Collaborative speaks of its specific place in the Sonoran Desert in North America. Text: Ritu Sharma Photographs: courtesy Rick Brazil
The structure resonates with its context. It seems to be evolved to reflect the environmental context in which it exists.
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The house rises up from the desert floor echoing the forms of the surrounding mountain range.
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he design brief called for a residential concept to serve two types of user viz. the couple as owners, preferred a very low maintenance lifestyle and their extensive family and friends as the visitors. The way of life of building occupants, and the way they use their shelter, was of great influence on this build form. Thus, the house comprises of two major zones, built to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies and ways of life of the users. Located in Sonoran Desert of Arizone, the structure resonates with its context, as an
intelligent, innovative response to local conditions. It seems to be evolved to reflect the environmental context in which it exists. Designed in sync with the environment and resources, one of the most significant influences is the macro climate of the area in which the building is constructed, whereas the local environment and the construction materials it can provide governed many aspect of design. Forms derived by programmatic and climatic forces shaped this home, while the materials are chosen not just for their inherent beauty and low
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Shaded by deep overhangs of roof, a clean transparent skin of glass seamlessly merge indoor with outdoor.
maintenance but for their indigenous qualities as well. Rooted in this initial concept, solid walls of concrete mixed rammed earth processed from soil excavated from the site together, insulate the house from the harsh desert sun and screen the views of surrounding structures. Adding to the green quotient, folded planar roof forms catch rain water and disperse it to surrounding vegetation. Copper, mined in the Arizona desert, clad bold roof forms that appear to float above indoor and outdoor living spaces. Thus, the house rises up from the desert floor echoing the forms of the surrounding mountain range.
The water feature: as a microclimate generator and landscape element.
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The strong straight and clean lines of overall interiors emerge into a homogeneity that harmonises with the context.
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Shaded by deep overhangs of roof, a clean transparent skin of glass seamlessly merge indoor with outdoor and frames near and distant views of nature as well as the wonder of city lights in the distant valley. The water feature lower down the ambient temperature hence performs the multifunction of being a microclimate generator and landscape element symbolising life in nature. The planning through unfolding of spaces in sequence, material use as well as detailing have adhered to the concept of creating modern expression of a site sensitive architecture. The strong straight and clean lines of overall interiors emerge into a homogeneity that harmonises with the context. Valuable insights on building morphology, use of material and climatic appropriateness - which today are all major issues - can be gleaned from this structure. The Residence is more than receptacles for its occupants; it goes beyond providing spaces to live, and forms ‘architecture’–one that reflects the needs and aspirations of the clients and one that is truly in harmony with its site and is expressive of its unique existence.
FACT FILE: Project
Location Architect Design Team Interior Designer Project Area
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Desert Wing Scottsdale, Arizona Kendle Design Collaborative Brent Kendle, Aia, Leed Ap Jack Wozniak, Palm Springs, CA 8300Sqft
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Architectural divulgence Working within the client’s requirement, Bengaluru-based DKA Architects have judiciously designed PMR residence in Hyderabad, by integrating existing site topography with the built mass and revealing the spaces at different intervals. Text: Rati Singh Photographs and drawings: courtesy the architects
The muted entrance of PMR Residence
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of privacy along with creating well-defined congenial spaces for the social interactions.
The brief from the client, a prominent political figure, was simple and precise—a joint family home, which should have public spaces for entertainment of guests and still have complete privacy for its residents, and must be designed in accordance to Vastu. The architects have thus induced the building with simple and logical theories to attain the privacy within the house with the concept of revelation. The concept floats throughout the built form and creates an essence
The client, in addition to his requirements, wanted to build on a site with an existing house, without disrupting the existing landscape. To work in harmony with the requirements, the architects worked on creating a new base instead of using the existing house premises because of the numerous functions. The residence was conceptualised around trees without any disruption to natural landscape and laid out the functions as per the requirement along with complete integration of Vastu and at the same time not conciliating on the design features. PMR residence is truly an example of architect’s inventive ideas merging coherently with the client’s stipulations, experimenting with detail while dealing with the site constraints.
MR Residence in Hyderabad offers a unique experience. Designed by Bengaluru-based DKA architects, the house reveals a new perspective at every point. DKA, an award winning architectural practice lead by Indraneel Dutta and Brinda Kannan, is known for experimenting in architecture and interior design for over a decade and PMR residence is one such experimentation.
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Buddha backdrop creating an essence of hospitality and enigmatic beauty.
Dressing 11’10” x 10’9”
Toilet 12’9” x 11’0”
Toilet 7’8” x 7’9”
LVL: +2’0”
Dressing 7’8” x 9’10”
Bed Room 17’0” x 18’1”
Toilet 6’8” x 5’6”
LVL: +2’0”
Chane Room 6’8” x 6’6” Gym 12’9” x 18’1”
Master Bedroom 25’1” x 17’9” LVL: +2’0” UP LVL: +2’0”
Dinning 19’4” x 16’6”
Living Room 25’2” x 27’4”
LVL: +2’0” LVL: +1’6” UP
LVL: +3’0”
Dry Kitchen 19’4” x 18’3”
Public Living 25’2” x 11’2”
LVL: +2’0”
LVL: +2’0”
Store 5’6” x 8’3”
Dirty Kitchen 19’4” x 5’6”
LVL: +2’0” LVL: +1’6”
Pergola
Ground Floor Plan
Entrance
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Simplistic interior of main lobby area connecting naturally with the landscape outside.
Dressing 12’0” x 11’0”
Toilet 12’9” x 11’0”
Study 7’6” x 14’10”
Dressing 10’3” x 12’1” Toilet 8’5” x 12’1”
Master Bedroom 18’3” x 19’8”
Deck Master Bedroom 20’6” x 18’0”
DN
Living Room 19’7” x 17’5”
Informal Living 20’0” x 21’4” Pooja Room 19’5” x 8’5” Balcony
Home Theatre 19’7” x 20’7”
First Floor Plan
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Contrasting furniture of dining with the stucco white plaster continuous throughout the residence.
Upon entering the site, with the innovative use of patterns on the floor adhering with retained existing trees, ribbon windows, pergola and other features, everything neatly stitches with the fabric of the built mass and the surroundings. With minimal use of fenestrations and ‘false wall’ or the ‘feature wall’, the façade defines an introvert built mass, which conversely creates a sense of surprise and later is revealed at different intervals. Internally, the residence is intentionally formulated into a public, semi-public and a private zone where each function is located with respect to both requirements and necessity and reveals as per the convention. Spread spaciously over two floors with an area of 8500sqft, the ground floor constitutes of foyer, public living, pool with deck and bar, dining, kitchen (wet and dry), utility, two bedrooms and gymnasium.
First floor defining its own area and retains privacy by means of strategically placed functions
As conceptualised, there is succession in revelation of spaces because of the defined areas and the arrangement of various functions creating a sense of privacy within the house despite of its volume and integration with landscape. The entrance
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Family living lounge on the first floor, connecting with landscape by large framed glass windows.
lobby faces east responding to Vastu, creating a sense of convivial by virtue of placing a 12ft high statue of Buddha as a backdrop. The two layered living room beautifully filters the vision with an intention to be seen by visitors entering the main living area. The vastness of the area extends the vision across, however only limited to immediate landscape and some internal openings, retaining its enigmatic identity. There seems to be an unseen mystery created within the space, which reveals the uniqueness of the residence completely. The double height roof and the spaces create distinctiveness within and amalgamate different expressions and compositions naturally which embody the architecture of the house. Upon entering further, one can feel the depth of spaces and the volumes, which is extended to the outdoors from the main living areas retaining the connectivity ahead by means of large pergola which is continued towards the main entrance. Simplistically designed pergola, with over 60ft span, covers the pool and appears to be leading to the landscape naturally. The false wall or the Blend of simplicity and elegance in the bedroom.
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Pool side with feature wall, breaking the element of surprise.
feature wall, tapered in shape with a ribbon window breaks the element of surprise by edifying its identity and purpose, which one developed while entering the residence. The integration of the landscape both inside and outside creates a sense of continuity between the internal and the external movement. Ahead of pool, stone paved path niches out from landscape and leads to a wooden lounge surrounded by a water body and bar. One can feel the solace and calmness in the space with the merging of this space naturally within landscape. The unique dĂŠcor within the living area continues throughout the residence, creating an essence of unique style with use of minimum colours and materials. The dark panelled walls at some areas are in contrast with the floor and other finishes by virtue of its own characteristics. The sense of colour application within the living areas, with contrasting use of dark panelled walls and light coloured flooring creates an intriguing appearance, fabricating the spaces with new invention and creation. Despite the large volume with double heighted space in the living area, there is complete privacy maintained on the first
floor. The first floor constitutes the family living space, media room, two bedrooms, study room and a puja room. The areas on the first floor are munificently designed with an absolute unity to the environment. The flow within the spaces prolong on the similar lines with the colour and materials followed completely throughout the residence. Minimally designed bedrooms divulge simple concepts, blending simplicity with elegance. Complete under the traditional conventions of Vastu, the areas are fitted with modern systems and inclusive with the latest technologies. With an aim of integrating landscape within the first floor areas, there are large framed glass windows which create a sense of openness on the higher level. As one moves from one space to another, the articulation of the spaces beautifully knits the spaces and still retains an individual identity on our mind along with the privacy of each space. With regard to the materials, the structure is built on RCC framework, with concrete blocks work and stucco white plaster. For the cladding, ‘sadarahalli’ stone is used along with fundermax wood cladding. The pool side, taking into account the function and the usage
is finished with real wood and Italian marble flooring inside along with veneer panelling on the walls. The residence is a complete combination of unique aesthetics with each architectural feature expressing a new language. The architects have created a modern residence en suite with contemporary technologies, simple perceptions and amalgamating the traditional belief of Vastu within, revealing each space differently with diverse perspectives.
FACT FILE: Project
Location Architect Design team Client Interior design Civil Contractors Project Area Project Estimate Interior design Initiation of Project Completion of project
: : : : : : : : : : : :
PMR Residence Kompally, Hyderabad Dutta+Kannan Architects Indraneel Dutta, Brinda Kannan, Rajesh, Vardhan PM Reddy Aamir Shah PMR 8500sqft 4 crores Aamir Shah Aug 2007 April 2010
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interiors
Luxuriant Retrospective Illuminating the classic elements of a bungalow, Mumbai-based S+PS architects have infused informality and openness in a triplex apartment of a high-rise in Mumbai. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy the architect, Sebastian Zachariah
Innovative interiors are dime a dozen but it is the eye-catching details that ensure the uniqueness of this design.
86 Terrace
Light Well
Wooden Frame Work
Concrete Panels
Wooden Shutters
exploded axonometric conceptual diagram
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n Mumbai’s incompressible dimensions of its buildings’ footprints, there are millions of emerging apartments that shape the skyline. Merging with this conventional background, the design approach taken by Mumbai-based S+PS architects, led by Shilpa Gore-Shah and Pinkish Shah, defies the logical continuity of planning to develop a language of its own. Simulating their design adhering to the client’s brief, the aesthetic generated by the designers was to revive the sense of living in a bungalow which the family spanning three generations, had enjoyed for years. The design response was to overlay an approach that evolved not only as a shared home but portrayed cocooned spaces that retained individual privacy. Putting forward a customised shelter for everyday living as an architectural response to an exclusive setting may seem like a paradox, but it is precisely this move that sets the project apart from others of its type. By reinvigorating the vibrancy in a 10-storey apartment building, Triplex N lives unto the reminiscence of a bungalow in its truest sense. Lofted in the top two and a half floors of the apartment building that rises from the same plot of their previous bungalow, the 6000sqft space reciprocates a stacked effect of re-arranged spaces. What is not immediately apparent from the outside is that the stepped profile of the design enfolds to contain fluidly intersecting living spaces and terraces by breaking the constraints of the original building fabric. These two simple ideas taken together produce the form of the house. The vibrant and ambitious structural transformation of the house is underpinned by the introduction of the architects to the design in
the initial stages of construction. The conceptive emergence of the project stemmed from the resourcefulness of the designers to build on the client’s requirements and a skilful manipulation of scale and mass. Simple transformative changes extend over the rigid structural framework of the existing building, delineating the key intention of breathing flexibility that will enhance a relatively relaxed environ. The upper three floors expanded on a cohesive profile to accommodate three terraces—a large one to connect living and dining spaces and two private ones for the master suites. The multi-utilitarian levels are placed strategically to bring forth an exclusion of the typical claustrophobic element found in apartments and simultaneously cater to the circulation. These levels are strategically connected to focus on the rooms’ ability to blur the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. Continuing a living eclectic design tradition, the elemental connectivity between the terraces and spaces is used to complement a fluid circulation. Sophisticated design, the integrity of the choicest materials and an easygoing style define the movement that shapes the spaces. The building envelope follows the natural planning of a domesticated living space. The entrance approach of the house was formulated at the midlevel that is a singular synthesis of the public functional scopes like the living room, dining, kitchen and tuition room. A nod to the traditional Indian three-generation social structure of the family, the living matrix speaks of a fusion of informal and formal seating spaces. The presence of the generation span is acknowledged
87 by the design by updating the traditional building forms with a modern refined finish. Authentic forms like the informal ‘diwan’ with its ambient area extruding vertically above to a double-heighted stretch are used functionally to annihilate the compactness. Further to this, intricate stonework carved by temple builders from Kutch, adorns the two-storeyed wall as a design expression of the family’s native heritage. The stone infill is illuminated by a sculptural formation of
incandescent bare bulbs. The ephemeral quality, visible through the muted colour accents, extends to the garden terraces and dining area.The private areas are retreated to the upper and lower levels. Unwinding in a linear fashion, the staircase advantages a connection to the master suites on the upper levels and rooms for the grandparents, children and guests on the lower one. On the lower level, each room’s dynamics are an insight to its occupant’s lifestyle. A cut-out
8th Floor 1. Lift Lobby 2. Entry 3. Void Above 4. Guest Room 1 5. Toilet 6. Guest Room 2 7. Hydraulic Lift
8. Storage 9. Pooja Room 10. Bedroom 1 11. Pantry 12. Bedroom 2 13. Bedroom 3 14. Servant’s Room
8 th floor plan
9th Floor 1. Lift 2. Entry 3. Shoe Rack 4. Waiting 5. Void 6. Dining 7. Pantry 8. Kitchen 9. Store 10. Utility
11. Tution Rrrom 12. Handwash 13. Toilet 14. Hydraulic Lift 15. Servant’s Toilet 16. Study 17. Powder Room 18. Family Room 19. Living Room 20. Family Room
9 th floor plan
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10th Floor
10 th floor plan
1. Lift Lobby 2. Entry 3. Void 4. Bedroom Suit 01 5. Walk in Wardrobe 6. Bedroom Suit 02 7. Verandah 8. Terrace Garden 9. Store
The staircase not only serves as a functional connector but as a sculturesque elegant d’art.
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The living room reflects the residents’ tastes incorporating both contemporary and vintage elements.
Each room is furnished as an inspiration evolved from the inhabitant’s lifestyle.
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One of the suite bedrooms on the topmost floor open out to a terraced courtyard replete with seatings and greenery.
The second suite on the topmost floor opens out to a lawn that presents a rare sight captured in an apartment design.
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The terraces are aligned with an interplay of level changes that enhance the visual connectivity and appeal to the eye.
in the lobby slabs emphasised an interactive relationship between the floors and converse with the natural light. The master suites on the topmost level sustain an imagery of the two couples through nuanced skill and compositional harmony of versatile elements. Reflective of the individuality of the couples, the suites hint at a subtle shift of materials. One suite endows a solidified entity concluded from enhanced use of Jaisalmer stone. The space carves out to encompass a paved terrace court, a wooden walk-in and toilet. Contrasting and complementary in the same instance, the other suite is a reflection of river washed black granite finish with a custom made wooden & brass four poster bed and a set of wooden shutters that visual connect to a private lawn. The colour of luxury is elegant and subdued. The little details, in each of the bedrooms in the house chosen by the designer as refined cues of the family’s personal tastes and backgrounds, transpire as an imprint of the family’s identity in their domain. The place is characterised by both an understated luxury of the rooms and airy quality rendered by the terraces.
house, owing to the combination of two-storey concrete panels patterned with coloured glass infill, large glass panels with wooden framework and smaller wooden shutters. The varied palette of materials used on the exterior captures an individual presence, distinctive from the building’s language.
The main assets of the design—the terraced court, private law and the mid-level terrace, covering a sizeable area of 200sqft, thread a connection relevant to the same façade of the building, opening out onto same neighbourhood boulevard. The circulation core of the house highlighted by the adjunct terrace evolves as the artistic centrepiece of the zoning of the
The interiors embrace a distinctive dialogue through its monolithic approach. In Mumbai, where demand and space often come in conflict with each other, the rustic details of the house captivate an epitome of suburban style amidst simplicity. It capitalises on and extends the ethos of the three-storey enclave, while its expression, mood and colour fit in seamlessly with the collection of sculptural and native paraphernalia artfully scattered around. The transforming design succeeds in disguising a boxy apartment living by offering a glimpse of an involved interpretation of a bungalow—in the sky.
FACT FILE: Project Location Architect Design Team Client
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Triplex N Mumbai, India S+PS architects Shilpa Gore Shah – Design Principal, Akshada Kakani, Shrutika Nirgun Narsey’s
92 IA&B - AUG 2010 The entry to the office premises reveals extensive use of glass which frame the activities transcending beyond.
Contemporary Retake Compact but refined, NewsWire 18 by Mumbai-based architectural firm Puran Kumar Architects adapts a compelling facelift to illustrate an idealised contemporary workplace. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy the architect
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outh Mumbai is historically home to some of the oldest grandiose properties of Mumbai. Tucked away in the prime locality of Kala Ghoda of Mumbai, amidst these faded facades, the place that Network18 Group leased was in a derelict state. Mumbai-based architectural firm Puran Kumar Architects have turned a part of this historical heritage structure built during the Raj, into an innovative office premises for NewsWire 18. Whilst the vintage envelope was preserved, the designed effectuated a series of aesthetic makeovers translating into the modern character of the space. Elaborating on the client’s brief, the architects refurbished the
unassuming charm and used the expansive area of 10,000sqft to encompass the newsroom business requirements & CNBC’s live studios. The relatively contemporary design afforded flexibility to a range of ideas that refined the functionality and ambience of the place. Retaining clear sightlines, the newsroom office is an open space reminiscent of the original volumetric dialogue of the building. In respect to this feature, the first introduction of the office rendered by the architect is the openness of the elongated height and exposed ceiling. The exposed circular steel A.C. Ducts, painted in hues of fluorescent green and hanging light system form
interiors
Plan A Mezzanine HT-86’
Plan B Mezzanine HT-86’
Legend T. W. Partition With Gypsum On Both Sides Full HT Glazed Partition - 8’(G)+3’ (G)+6’ (G) Full HT Slanting Partition - 2’-6’(G)+5’ -6’(G)+3’ -0’(G)+6’-0’ (G) Full HT Partition - 4’(G)
plan
Sectional Elevation BB
Sectional Elevation BB
Sectional Elevation At CC
Sectional Elevations
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The design displays an efficiency in planning which visually increases the space and also serves multiple purposes.
an exceptional backdrop, enhancing the stark appeal of the work environ. The entrance of the office is a simplified imagery of figurative furniture and intriguing use of glass which reveal the activities transcending beyond. The planning steps forward to follow a discerning office layout wherein the customised furniture is used to generate the contemporary feel of the ambience. The repetitive symmetry of the plan works to create a sense of comfort and interaction within the sections of the workstations. The presence of NewsWire 18’s work is integrated through allocation of multifunctional places like meeting rooms, conference rooms and two live studios of CNBC TV18. The design fluidity is so efficient and direct that the extensive use of glass facilitates the office vistas to develop as exceptional backdrops for live telecast in the studios. The compositional skill of the architect is reinforced through the apparent play of levels. Inclusions of part mezzanine floors boldly delineate the spaces, visually increasing the existing space and allowing the room to take on multiple uses at the same time. One of the mezzanines configures as a work area and the other one evolves as an in-house cafeteria—a temporal dialectic that overlooks the
work area. The connectivity of these level changes has been provisioned through cast-iron spiral staircases. The materiality used is both tactile and retrospective. Where a contemporary agenda is applied, a suburban character like the use of the original restored wooden windows and doors, add to the ambience. The transitory visual experience between the ceiling and the other areas is dramatic and divergent in terms of the colour palette. The severe black columns, standing tall in the halls and a seemingly endless ceiling stretch signify the architect’s intention to reinvigorate the endless scope of the area. The multiple pitches of primary shades, used to paint the furniture on the other hand, balance this duality and repurpose the space as an edition of contrasts. While its expression and mood blend in seamlessly with the identity of NewsWire 18 as a brand, it is such details that ensure the eclectic nature of the design. With a bold use of colour and willingness to re-interpret the essence of a historical building, the architects have infused new energy and versatility
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The openness of the design plays upto the advantage of repurposing as an exceptional backdrop for live telecasts in the studios.
into the space. An exemplar of what can be accomplished with the existing building stock, the NewsWire 18 interiors transformation set a benchmark for adaptive re-use.
FACT FILE:
The cafeteria which overlooks the office space, is secluded on the mezzanine floor.
Project : Location : Client : Architect : Design Team : Project Area : Civil Contractors : Carpentry Contractors : Completion of Project :
Newsroom / Studios in Mumbai Kala Ghoda, Mumbai NewsWire 18 Ltd Puran Kumar Architects Puran Kumar, Sonali Mehta, Pooja Modani 10,000sqft Mehta Associates Vishal Woods Works 2008
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Imperceptible architecture Dutch-based MVRDV architects design competition’s entry for a new luxury resort in Montenegro, named as Galije is an architectural proposal with an effort to create a reverence towards the existing environment. Text: Rati Singh Photographs & drawings: courtesy the architect
off-beat
Manifestation of spaces in Galije.
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uilding manifestation is what one reminisces later on - Galije is one such building which leaves its natural imprint upon our mind creating an effort to build an unrealistic world in today’s time. Founded by Winy Maas, Jacob Van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries in 1993, MVRDV is an architectural firm practising in architecture, urbanism and research, and treating these as tools for the future innovation. Believing in radical methodological research, the architects have beautifully created a proposal for the luxury resort by combining architecture with a sustainable response to the environment, which is untouched by the ravages of man.
Located 2km away from a monumental village, Sveti Stefan, is a small fisher peninsula in the touristy town of Montenegro, which is the projected site for the proposal. The client demanded of an iconic building on this site, with a combination of a new language and sustainable surrounding to maintain the existing beauty. Since the site was located with a close proximity to the untouched coastline, the architects worked on the concept of materialising the integration between the natural landscape and the architecture. A concept of ‘blanket’ was thus evolved—defined as a green blanket which covers the architecture and is magnificently contoured depending upon the functions tucked in.
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Natural landscape blanket over profuse amalgamation of functions.
typical plan of the hotel rooms
building sections.
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Luxurious resort rooms blending with environment.
This natural blanket is intended to beautifully accommodate various functions invisibly, which constitute of 115 apartments, 87 hotel rooms, a restaurant, a pool, a parking lot and a retail space. The areas are located within the site naturally, all blending into one. The hotel rooms are designed as an iconic structure, covered underneath the natural landscape in the shape of a hill – with round windows as only distinguished feature, providing an undulating view of the sea and creating a spectacular view because of the form. The private villas completely blend within the natural sheath and have personal open spaces in between. Even though the construction seems to be invisible, both the villas and the hotel are strategically placed so as to receive incredible views of the surroundings and sea. As for the execution of the project, the construction once started will be divided into three phases, initially starting with the laying of the
foundation for 115 apartments and parking space. Later, during the second phase construction 87 hotel rooms along with 111 apartments, restaurant and pool along with parking is to be executed. And lastly, will take place the construction for villas along with additional apartments, retail and parking lot to serve the function. Thereafter, the construction of all the functions and amenities which will constitute the main functioning of the enigmatic resort, will close. The architects have successfully created an answer to sustainability of the environment, by placing the functions under the sheath of natural landscape. Galije, upon completion will be an iconic project which promises to blend with the surrounding impeccably – and will create an experience of a clandestine resort.
FACT FILE:
Project Location Architect Design Team Client Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 to 5 Status
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Holiday Exclusive Luxury Hotel Resort, Galije Montenegro MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries with Raymond van den Broek, Marta Pozo and Mikel Mugica DC Invest, Petar Petrovic Apartments (115) - 11, 900sqm, Parking-5,500 sqm Hotel - 9000sqm (87 hotel rooms + restaurant + pool), Apartments (111) - 11,500sqm, Parking - 5,500sqm Apartments / Villas - 33,100sqm, Parking - 15,200sqm, Retail - 500sqm Design competition
102 IA&B - AUG 2010 A view of the renovated structure.
Getting Under The Skin An old warehouse transformed into a multi-use workspace by Aidlin Darling Design gave San Francisco its first gold level LEED NC building.
Text: Hina Nitesh Photographs: courtesy the architect
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hen an old warehouse in San Francisco was to don a new avatar as a multi-tenant workspace, the architects decided to retain the original timber and concrete frame while renovating the interior spaces. The 14,000sqft, 355 11 �� th was built around 1912 and functioned as a bottle-storage facility for a brewery located nearby. As part of the new mixed-use program, it was proposed that the first floor and the exterior courtyard be occupied by a LEED Platinum Candidate Restaurant and Bar. The second floor was for the owner and the contractor’s office while the third floor was to be leased to design professionals. Matarozzi/Pelsinger, the contractors for the project, view green construction as an important part of their working philosophy. Their new headquarters needed to embody these values and hence a range of sustainable strategies were employed in the project.
New steel/glass apertures
international
New perforated metal skin
New operable window wall
Restored historic facade
Restored historic facade
Existing structural frame
New operable window wall
New perforated metal skin
New metal/glass apertures
According to Joshua Aidlin of Aidlin Darling Design, “From the beginning, we asked ourselves, ‘What should be preserved?’ The building has a beautiful concrete foundation and a beautiful Douglas-fir, post-and-beam structure. So our challenge was to design around these great elements.” For the space to be used as an office, the interiors required more air and light than what was already available. However, due to the historic status of the structure, the San Francisco Planning Department placed limitations on the introduction of new fenestration. Also, it required the architects to preserve the industrial character of the building by replacing the structure’s original corrugated siding ‘in-kind’. Renovation of the building would include a new exterior envelope along with interior spaces, revamping of the seismic structural system and vertical circulation, a living roof
An exploded view showing the restoration process
and landscaping. With the aim of retaining the historic post-and-beam structure, the original fenestration of the building’s north façade was preserved and refurbished. The existing timber and concrete frame was carefully sandblasted to reveal the warmth and texture of the original materials. The structure needed seismic retrofitting, which involved sinking 78 new steel piers underneath the building and adding steel ‘Z’ braces. The architects felt that the key to transforming the structure lay in the skin of the building as it would resolve a number of issues that the city’s planning department had regarding a monolithic façade. The result was replacement of existing panels which contained lead with new corrugated panels containing zinc. The double-skin façade served dual purpose; it retained the industrial character and also mitigated solar heat
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RENEWABLE ENERGY NATURAL VENTILATION ADAPTIVE RE-USE LIVING ROOF BREATHABLE SKIN BAMBOO FLOORS PERVIOUS PAVERS GRASS PAVERS FSC CERTIFIED WOOD VEGETATED AREAS REUSED/RECLAIMED WOOD HIGH-ALBEDO ROOF CONCRETE RECYCLED STEEL WORKSTATIONS
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
30kw solar array produces 70 per cent of the building electricity operable window & skylights allow passive cooling original timber frame and concrete structure have been reused insulates building, filters stormwater, drought-resistant native plant species require no irrigation perforated facade reduces solar gain while enabling natural ventilation technically a grass, bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource micro-perforations reduces runoff while light coloure helps reflect heat 50 per cent planted area reduces run off, lowers surface temperature and is drivable over 50 per cent of all wood products used are FSC certified 20 per cent of site has been restored with drought- resistant native vegetation that require no irrigation wood reclaimed from the existing structure or nearby sources is reused as interior finishes & furniture reflects heat, reduces cooling loads, mitigates urban heat-island effect 20 per cent fly ash used instead of Portland cement 50 per cent of all steel used in the project is recycled workstations & task chairs have MBDC Gold or Silver level Cradle certifications
A diagrammatic representation of the sustainable strategies used in the renovation
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At night the juxtaposition of the historic post–and– beam structure with the modern facade is clearly visible.
gains while enabling cross ventilation in the interior space. The design of the skin provides a solar shade for windows on the south west enabling passive cooling of the building. Variations in the size of the perforations added texture to the skin while the placement of solid panels, where there were no windows created different levels of transparency. The perforated panels, set in front of the operable windows, reduce solar loads and create a pocket of tempered air which gets circulated inside. Sensitively inserted metal and glass apertures function as access points while letting in light necessary for the building’s new mixed-use program. The largest of these apertures unfolds within the interior to become a bridge traversing the two-storey lobby, finally terminating as a reception desk for the second floor offices. During day time, the skin acts as a curtain and keeps the unsightly views at bay. However, after dark, when the lights inside the building comes in, the skin reveals the juxtaposition of the historic column beam structure with the modern façade. The skin also breaks down the scale of the structure by stacking two fields of diverging and inversely converging series of perforations. The new fence surrounding the dining patio on Eleventh Street is a patterned bar-relief of wood panels, recessed light pockets and view slots. The sectional profile of each light pocket reflects light from a single, hidden fixture toward both sides of the fence, thus maximising the efficiency and phenomenal effect of each bulb. The dark colour of the fence serves as a muted backdrop for the vivid hues of the surrounding plantings. Major sustainable strategies were used while renovating the structure. Sensitive planning and design
Porous ceramic based pavers allow storm water to seep in through the ground.
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old Elevation
resulted in maintenance of more than 75 per cent of the original structural fabric. The new windows and skylights ensured cross ventilation and also allows an outlet for the warm air. A 30kw photovoltaic array, which is a renewable source of energy provides for 70 per cent of the building’s electricity requirements. Over 85 per cent of the non-built area of the site has permeable surfaces to allow storm water to add to the underground water table rather than entering the city sewers. Naturally sandy soil in the immediate area absorbs water readily, discouraging saturation. Over 90 per cent of the site surfaces are either planted or high-albedo, serving to lower surface temperatures and thus help to mitigate the urban heat-island effect. The roof that has been planted with drought-resistant plants serves dual purpose of filtering storm water and insulating the building. The landscape too consists of native plant species that will not require supplemental irrigation after the initial one year establishment period. The architects and builders have maximised the use of recycled materials. Almost half the steel is recycled and the wood salvaged from the building’s timber frame is used for interior finishes and furniture. Eco-friendly building materials like bamboo for flooring , concrete with 20 per cent fly ash and ceramic-based porous pavers have been used in the building. All paints and coating are low-VOC and most are 100 per cent acrylic. For countertops inside the building, the architects used a special concrete mixture with crushed recycled glass as aggregate. Customised CNC milling allowed the creation of a seamless, building-scale gradient that ranged from opaque to over 50 per cent open across the entire façade. This smooth gradient functions to dematerialise the industrial
The porous fenestration conceals behind it’s operable windows which let in both light and air.
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SOLAR SHADING PASSIVE COOLING EXTERIOR VIEWS NATURAL LIGHTING
perforatd facade reduces solar heat gain operable windows allow natural ventilation clear glazing provides views to the city perforated facade filters natural sunlight
A diagrammatic representation of the skin facilitating shading and cooling.
surface of the corrugated metal. The amount of detailing that the architects went into is evident by the research done by them with the CAD/CAM fabricator. This revealed that up to 4 corrugated panels could be stacked and cut simultaneously without increasing either milling time or cost. This feedback was exploited in the panel design and resulted in 12 unique panel types that repeat 4 times each. Maintaining consistent panel size and hole spacing allows the gradient to be flipped about the horizontal midpoint of the façade, creating a visual shear that amplifies the impact of the graduating hole sizes. Though the original structure for the warehouse had not been aesthetic in its looks, the architects had to preserve the original fenestration on the northern and southern façade. They also had the task of convincing the planning authorities that the new western façade respected its history. The steel sleeves projecting beyond the glazed opening are a reminder of the building’s past as does the use of industrial materials like corrugated zinc and rolled steel. The project is a culmination of a design process focused on the simple goals of reducing the need for energy consumption and maximising the use and application of renewable energy sources. The result is a sustainable and eco-friendly building.
FACT FILE:
The roof is planted with drought resistant plants which decrease the heat island effect.
Project Location Architect Structural Engineer Green Consultant
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355 11 th Street 355 11 th Street, San Francisco Aidlin Darling Design Bill Lynch, Berkeley Structural Design Bill Worthen, Simon & Associates
109 IA&B - AUG 2010
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esponsive & esponsible
Through the ‘do it yourself ’ approach, the installation stands as a new social architecture crafted with trash. Text: Ritu Sharma Photographs: courtesy the designers
‘Experimental architecture’- All production and construction methods have been based on innovation.
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ith the given material of leftovers from the building industry, ‘Best out of waste’ is the keyword for this pavilion design with specific consideration to the aspects of three dimensional rational forms, organic metaphors, material sustainability, and to carve a new role of architecture in the urban setting. “When the major proportion of the local building industry has been paralysed with shortage of projects, it was the time to explore new opportunities and make new things happen” says the designer. Regardless of economic conditions, the call to design is what compelled the designers to make use of the ‘shortage of work’ status.
The piece evolves as an experiment to build a form designed in 3D programs that do not understand the problems of craftsmanship. All production and construction methods were based on innovation rather than tried-and-true solutions. The structure consists of 1000 pieces of 1.5mm aluminium triangles that were cut out of a traditional aluminium cladding material. Aluminium was chosen as a material for construction, for its recyclability possibilities and because of its common and abundant availability as a building material. “Sustainability is not about avoiding the use of materials like aluminium, but how we use it and how well we recycle it”, says the designer. This architectural piece has been freed from the conventional limitations of architecture, instead focusing on fascination and beauty. Something other than fending off the wind
art
and the rain, this piece is designed to enliven the conventional experiences of people in the urban environment. All design decisions are made on the basis of one’s experience and participation in one’s environment, rather than the stereotypical simplicity of production and craft. With the belief that in developing awareness within a community and creating chances to become more involved in shaping the surrounding environment, will not only lead to better designed buildings and places emerging, but also nurture a greater sense of community ownership and social interaction. The community participation played a significant role for the completion of the project. The work gained contribution and support of companies, design professionals and people in the form of material sponsorship, borrowed equipments, services
and expertise, food sponsorships or workspaces, making the project as an ‘architecture of participation’ . Thus, there is no owner of the work besides the general public and society at large. The overall conceptual and design approach along with execution of this structure illustrates some main aspects viz., • Engagement of a diverse range of people in the design of public spaces and buildings can facilitate creative participation in architecture. • It reflects upon the importance of the active participation architects (and designers in general) that can enable to share knowledge and insights amongst the construction industry, the clients and the end-users, more efficiently and allow the designers to facilitate better option generation and solution modelling.
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PLAN
Materials Used: Leftover 1.5mm aluminium, 2mm aluminium for flooring, Fasteners: aluminium rivets.
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Exploring new opportunities and make new things happen.
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• Finally, it broadly concludes that innovative and non- conventional techniques or ‘tools’ can result in better, more sustainable, more co- owned social, cultural and even commercially viable public buildings and spaces. Thus, the structure serves as a model of effective ways to address the difficult challenges and threats that are faced as significant contemporary concerns of architecture.
FACT FILE:
This piece is designed to enliven the conventional experiences of people in the urban environment.
Project Location Client Architect Design team
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Carpentry contractors
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Material Sponsors LaserShop Engineering Project Sponsorship Project Estimate Completion of project
: : : : : :
DIY Pavilion Reykjavik, Iceland Initiated by architect Shift Architects Arnaldur Schram, Simon Stigsby, Angelica Biddle, Erick Carcamo, Sigurdur Gunnarsson Islenskir Verktakar + Friends and Family joined in the construction Sindri Geislataekni Almenna Verkfraedistofan Alcoa Iceland $5.000 May 2009
114 IA&B - AUG 2010
Ingenious Metaphoric Expressions Germany-based Media Design Studio, ART+ COM have creatively induced a beautiful dynamic floating plane—Kinetic Sculpture for the BMW Museum within space to illustrate the design process of BMW vehicles. Text: Rati Singh Photographs: courtesy the designers
Intricate perceptions expressed via the Art Sculpture.
Preliminary conceptual sketches explaining formulation of conception.
Preliminary conceptual sketches explaining formulation of conception.
art
Preliminary conceptual sketches explaining formulation of conception.
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Suspended 714 sphere metal balls.
Mind indulging form created during the process.
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One of the numerous views generated during the process.
ave you ever experienced functioning of a car illustratively or could you imagine a complete art piece displaying the functioning of a vehicle? Well, this is achieved in the Kinetic Sculpture for the BMW Museum by the Art + COM Media Design Studio in Germany. Founded in 1988, ART + COM Studio is a specialised firm which researches and develops interactive media to create stunning experiences. Being one of the topmost companies, it deals with numerous categories of projects, ranging from media design, art and technology to research and experiment with each and every project. BMW is one such dynamic creative experiment, where an art form metaphorically elucidates the process of vehicles. BMW, one of world’s renowned automobile industries, urged to showcase the complete design and technology required to create
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Coherent BMW illustration emerging from the complete process.
an automobile for the BMW Museum in Munich. The ART+ COM designers, as a typical approach could simply exemplify the project by means of factual installations, which would break the innovativeness BMW wanted to create. Thus the designers worked on creating a dynamic sculpture which aims to represent the process in a simple and literal way. The concept evolved further and formulated into installation of sphere balls from ceiling which created various forms and finally an art masterpiece electronically. The innovative idea being dejected by the Museum and even by the BMW engineers carved it way across after various stipulations. With speculations to formulate the project successfully, the BMW team finally led the way forward and initiated the concept further and turned it out to be
a reality. The dynamic art piece constructed with 714 moving sphere metal balls is a combined interplay of mechanics and electronics. Covering an area of 6000sqft, the metal balls are suspended from the ceiling with a thin invisible 0.2mm wire and move with a computerised individual controller. From the tumultuous movement, the light spheres gradually slow down, creating numerous ideas on the minds of people and finally shapes into a BMW automobile after innovatively creating various forms. The complete process intricate the users and creates numerous visions and transcripts during the whole process. The display outlines various BMW models ranging from 327, 1500, Z4 coupe and the 2006 concept car Mile Miglia. The interplay of technology along with design creates an articulated image of the complete process with impact on the viewers by a single coherent
picture which emerges from the complete process. Truly a beautiful piece of art, Kinetic Sculpture is a rare motion sculpture which has proved the scale of combined creative ideas together with technology and turning out to be a successful piece of art. Once felt visually, this art piece would leave its impact on mind leaving it to create numerous perceptions.
FACT FILE: Project
Location Client Design Team Conduction of Technology Project Completion
: : : :
Kinetic Sculpture for BMW Museum Munich, Germany BMW Group Prof. Joachim Sauter, Patrick Kochlik, Petra Trefzger, Sussane Traeger, Jussi Angesleva
:
MKT AG
:
2008
Suspended 714 sphere metal balls
118 IA&B - AUG 2010
Mesmerising Impressions
Multinational art-based design studio Urban Art Projects is collaborating with American artist Ned Kahn to dress the building of Brisbane Domestic Terminal Carpark in a shimmering artwork by simulating a wind-swept grass look, powered in essence by the atmosphere. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy Urban Art Projects
Simulating an undulating imagery, the kinetic facade will trace the wind patterns to enthral the visitors of Brisbane.
art
I
t takes a couple of creative minds to figure out a scupturesque way to combine their talents and commemorate a memorable experience for the millions of visitors that pass through the Brisbane airport crossover. American artist Ned Kahn and Urban Art projects, a multinational art-based design studio have innovated a great way to inspire people’s imaginations in the form of a 5000sqm undulating façade for the new Domestic Terminal short-term car parking for Brisbane, Australia. Dubbed ‘Turbulent Line’ by the artist, it perfectly replicates the notions of fluid dynamics. The overall expansion and upgrading of the Domestic Terminal precinct is being fostered by Hassell Architects and Arup Team. Appointed by Hassell Architects, Urban Art Projects undertook the manifestation of the ‘public art’ aspect of the project. Transforming the perception of facades, Turbulent Line is developed as a multi-disciplinary arts agenda. Chosen as the winning entry amongst many in a competition, the concept explored notions of air travel from the aesthetics of aviation to the broader concepts of transportation, the experience of arrival and departure, technological innovation, and flight. This incredible undertaking will converge as a response to the increasing tourism of Queensland. Re-breathing new-life and perspective to Brisbane’s emerging urbane character, it shows off a versatile ideation of the designers. Composed of 2,50,000 suspended panels of clear anodised aluminium, the artists have fabricated a transient momentary envelope by applying technology to activate movements reminiscent of water and wind. The fragmented fluidity reflects the rippling of the Brisbane River and captures the very essence of the wind pathways. Aspiring to resemble a wind-swept grass field aligned to a vertical plane, the elemental components are formed of metallic squares hinged to the wall. The artwork comprises of 70 per cent perforated panels and 30 per cent solid panels. The hinges swivel along rods to facilitate the open-close of the surface elements. The visual oasis aspires to have a universal application yet adaptive to its typology. After immense research, the artist fixated upon a composition that adhered to the ventilation requirements. The consistency of the repetitive assemblage of solid and perforated panels is differentiated according to the functional needs. The configuration corresponded to the analysis that Levels 3 and 4 require 49 per cent open area minimum and the remaining levels require 42 per cent minimum open area culminating into overall 49 per cent ventilation. The pores are thus, a randomised geometry that cater to ventilation and light both. At places where the surface is pierced with many regular small holes and the open area is about 40 percent or greater, the surface effectuates as a screen. The mesh-like wall animate a play of light in the interiors through the movement of its perforations. The rippling façade allows angular light stream in to recreate transient environments from time to time. A striking synergy of metal and light, the patterns and hole spacings illustrate variegated illumination. Responding to outside light in the day, at night the metallic façade displays a solid silent posture reflecting light within. The expanse of the façade is minimised to ensure scrutinised reflectivity of the screen and the panel sizes are increased to achieve more coverage of material. The inventive and logical assemblage of the metallic squares comprises of replaceable modules incase of any damage. Though there are minimal chances of any
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SITE plan
East elevation
98% Perforated 02% Solid Panel Types 5200 x 2900 - 287 req. Typical Panel Assembly Unit 5200 x 2900
5200 x 3750 - 45 req. 2900 x 3000 - 11 req. 3750 x 3000 - 1 req.
screen details
SITE DESCRIPTION
The BDTX carpark facade will be located along the eastern side of the building, facing the arrival entrance and domestic terminal building. The location is highly visible for both pedestrians and passing traffic within and around the terminal.
109 121
PROCUREMENT METHODOLOGy
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Given the significant scale and high profile nature of this site a selection of three artists have been invited to develop artwork concepts for this signature artwork opportunity.
A dramatic flair is rendered in the interiors by the shadowy impulses of the moving panels.
The metallic squares are composed of perforated and solid panels that can swivel about a metallic rod.
breakage, as the artwork has been designed with a structural sensibility to withstand ice storms and extreme winds. The wave-like matrix will classify as a varied surface which is a symbolic greeting not only to the visitors to the Brisbane boroughs but also to the ever-changing light panorama of the day. The designers aspire to materialise a momentary envelope that blurs boundaries between perception, wind, light and technology to orchestrate an immersive visual symphony.
FACT FILE:
Project Location Designer Artist Client Completion of Project
: : : : : :
Brisbane Domestic Terminal Carpark Brisbane, Australia Urban Art Projects, Daniel Clifford Ned Kahn Brisbane Airport Corporation 2011
122 IA&B - AUG 2010
A
tower
in the Sky
Periscope by Matter Design is a temporary installation that won the 10UP National Architecture Competition. Text: Hina Nitesh Photographs: courtesy the architects
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Tension Cables 7/16â&#x20AC;? Diameter Cable
Eps Foam Sub-Assembly 2LB Density sized for 2 person carrying capacity
Water
Blending homogeneously into its context, the vertical installation resembles an event similar to searchlights in the nightsky.
2020 Gallons 16,500 LBS
Ballast Box Glass Fiber reinforced EPS Foam, additional steel waffle frame to distribute load at base
EXPLODED AXONOIMMETRIC VIEW
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Top Of Ballast Elevation 3’ - 6” Ground Elevation 0’ - 0”
east elevation - Scale 1/8” = 1’ - 0”
Compressive Eps Foam Tension Cables
Compression Arch
structural diagrams
Compression Rods Tension Cables
Compression Foam Tension Cables
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EPS Foam UnitHeight: 8’-0” Width: 4’-0” Depth: 12” Weight: 32 LBS
Standard CMU Height: 8” Width: 16” Depth: 8” Weight: 32 LBS
scale of unit diagram Scale: 1/2” = 1’-0”
D
esigned by Matter Design, Periscope is a temporary installation that creates a unique spatial experience. The Young Architects Forum Atlanta (YAF) partnered with Modern Atlanta and White Provisions to develop 10UP! National Architecture Competition. The competition aimed at advocating architecture and encouraging artistic endeavours. It challenged young architects to construct an installation during the MA10 “Design is HUMAN” week in June 2010. The competition laid down a 10’ x 10’ footprint as the buildable area. The height was to be determined by the participants with full consideration to the aspect of public safety. Materials and construction techniques were also another important aspect with emphasis on prefabrication, modularity and the ability to carry the pieces and assemble them at some other location. The independently standing structure was to have the ability to be assembled
within 24 hours. The participants were also encouraged to engage systems and ideas of sustainability as well as innovative program types. The winner of the first edition of this competition was Periscope by Matter Design. This tower of foam was a result of the task of designing a rapidly deployable, temporary installation, on a limited budget, with a limited plot. The designers conceptualised this as a rough vertical expansion that will engage a broader audience, inviting them to the event similar to searchlights in the night sky. At first glance, the tower appears to be a tensile fabric pulled vertically by compressive rods just like a deployable tent. In fact, the tower functions in opposition to the initial reading. What is conceived as tensile fabric is actually compressive foam while compressive rods perform as tensile
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Deceptive in its appearance, the tower initially looks like it is made of tensile fabric whereas it is actually compressive foam.
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Compressive rods perform as tensile cables to make this tower structurally sound.
A closer inspection reveals that the tower is not constructed from thin surfaces but carved from solid blocks of EPS foam.
cables. This rhetorical inversion invites spectators in for closer inspection which leads them to discover that the tower is not constructed of thin surfaces but carved from solid blocks of EPS foam. EPS foam, the backbone of this design is 90 per cent air by volume making it inherently volumetric, inexpensive, and lightweight. It takes a few people to handle large assemblies made out of this extremely lightweight foam making it rapidly deployable. Also it contains no CFC’s and is 100 per cent recyclable/reusable. Unlike many digital fabrication exercises which result in enormous material waste, the fabrication method used in this tower produced minimal waste. The design itself is an assembly of nesting blocks which reduces wastage. Added to this the robotic hotwire used for cutting the blocks produces no kerf waste and result in 100% recyclable material. The research and development behind the means and methods of fabrication is a consequence of the firm’s design approach–reciprocity between drawing and making. This installation has succeeded in accomplishing the aim of the competition to heighten the purpose and exposure of architecture, in order to construct a more educated and encouraging public.
FACT FILE: Project
: :
Design Team
The tower contains no CFC’s,is 100 per cent recyclable and works towards constructing a more educated and encouraging public.
Structural Build Team Rigging Fabrication Year
: : : : :
Periscope Matter Design-Brandon Clifford, Wesley McGee in collaboration with Supermanoeuvre-Dave Pigram Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Matthew Johnson Matter Design-Brandon Clifford, Wesley McGee, Johanna Lobdell, Deniz McGee, Kris Walters, Maciej Kaczynski Boutte Tree-Tierson Boutte University of Michigan; Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning June 2010
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Speakers Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner
In 1993, Alfredo Brillenbourg founded the Urban Think Tank (UTT) in Caracas, Venezuela, a multi-disciplinary design practice dedicated to high-level research and design on a variety of subjects, concerned with a contemporary architecture and urbanism. The philosophy of the UTT is to deliver innovative yet practical solutions through the combined skills of architects, civil engineers, environmental planners, landscape architects and communication specialists. Their designs reflect a sensibility to economic efficiency, social and cultural benefits. Hubert Klumpner joined UTT in 1998 as a Principal. A Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design Degree from Columbia University, New York: he has been a member of the German Chamber of Architects, since 1997. He has lectured at institutions in Europe, North and South America and taught at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna, the International Summer Academy in Salzburg and has been a guest professor at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV). Since
2001, he has been the Urbanism Consultant of the International Program for Social and Cultural Development in Latin America (OEA and UNESCO).
Arc h i te c t u re ( E TS A B ) . He wa s a Pro f e s s o r at the UPB and direc tor of the UPB Architec tural St u d i e s G ro u p a s we l l a s Vi s i t i n g Pro f e s s o r i n U r b a n St u d i e s at E TS A B s i n ce 1 9 9 9 . H i s wo r k re ce i ve d re co gn i t i o n i n 1 9 9 6 , w h e n h e wa s awa rd e d t h e Fe rn a n d o M a r t i n ez S a n a b ri a Nat i o n a l Arc h i te c t u re Pri ze i n 1 9 9 6 f ro m t h e Co l o m b i a n Arc h i te c t u re S o c i e t y, t h e s a m e ye a r i n w h i c h h e wo n h o n o u ra b l e m e nt i o n at t h e X Pa n a m e ri ca n B i e n n i a l Arc h i te c t u re E x h i b i t i o n i n Q u i to, Ec u a d o r. He wa s t h e D i re c to r o f U r b a n Planning for the municipality of Medellín f ro m 2 0 0 5 to 2 0 0 7 a n d G e n e ra l D i re c to r o f t h e Ente rp ris e f o r U r b a n D e ve l o p m e nt ( E D U ) o f t h e m u n i c i p a l i t y o f M e d e l l í n f ro m 2 0 0 4 to 2 0 0 5 , d u ri n g t h e a d m i n i s t rat i o n o f M ayo r S e rgi o Fa j a rd o. Arif Hasan
Alejandro Echeverri
He gra d u ate d i n 1 9 8 7 f ro m t h e U n i ve r s i d a d Po nt i f i c i a B o l i va ri a n a ( U P B ) i n M e d e l l í n , Co l o m b i a a n d s t u d i e d f ro m 1 9 9 8 to 2 0 0 0 i n t h e U r b a n St u d i e s D o c to ra l Pro gra m at t h e B a rce l o n a Adva n ce d Te c h n i ca l S c h o o l o f
A Pa ki s t a n i Arc h i te c t a n d P l a n n e r, Ha s a n co m p l e te d h i s a rc h i te c t u re e d u cat i o n f ro m Ox f o rd Po ly te c h n i c, En g l a n d a n d e s t a b l i s h e d h i s p ra c t i ce i n Ka ra c h i i n 1 9 6 8 . He i s re n ow n e d f o r h i s i nvo lve m e nt w i t h l ow- i n co m e s e t t l e m e nt p ro gra m s a n d i s t h e a rc h i te c t o f a l a rg e n u m b e r o f re s i d e nt i a l, co m m e rc i a l a n d e d u cat i o n a l
130 facilities in Pakistan. He has been a Consultant to various United Nations agencies, international organisations, non- governmental organisations and communit y groups. The O rangi Pilot Projec t, to which he is Consultant, has attrac ted international attention. He is the Chairman of the Urban R esource Centre in Karachi, one of the most impor tant institutions in the cit y whi ch conduc ts research and is ac tive in advocating issues which affec t all those who live there. Aromar Revi
He is a researcher, international consultant and practitioner with extensive inter-disciplinary experience in public policy development, technology and sustainability and is also the Founding Director of TARU, a leading South Asian research consulting firm. He has been a Senior Advisor to various ministries of the government of India and consultant with a wide range of multilateral and bilateral development institutions including the World Bank, UNEP, UNU and DFID. O ver the last t wo years, he has worked with a research team on the dynamics of decentralised governance in India. He has made significant contributions to human settlements development in India, for which he was elec ted an Ashoka Fellow in 1990. He is one of south Asia’s leading disaster mitigation and management exper ts, who firmly believes that a successful sustainabilit y transition in S outh Asia, will tip the balance in favour of a more humane global future.
David Satterhwaite
He is a D evelopment Planner specialising in integrating environmental health and resource management into urban plans and policies. He works as a Senior Fellow with the Human Settlements Programme at the International Institute for Environment and D evelopment (IIED). He has been the Editor of the international journal Environment and Urbanisation and co -author of several Ear th scan books including Environmental Problems in an Urbanizing World: Local Solutions for Cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America (with Jorge E. Hardoy & Diana Mitlin), Ear thscan, 2000. He was awarded the Volvo Environment Prize in 2004. Dr. Liza Weinstein An Assistant Professor of Sociology, she recently received her Ph.D. from the Universit y of Chicago specialising in the study of urban communities and globalisation. Dr. Weinstein is the author of several ar ticles and book chapters on the social and political conflic ts that often accompany urban planning within developing societies. Her most recent projec t rests on many months of ethnographic research in the slums of Mumbai, India that has led to such publications as Mumbai’s D evelopment Mafias: Organised Crime, Land D evelopment and Globalisation and The Changing R ight to the Cit y: Urban Renewal and Housing R ights in Globalising Shanghai and Mumbai (with Xuefei Ren) and Cit y & Communit y (September 2009) R ight to the Cit y: Urban Renewal and Housing R ights in Globalising Shanghai and Mumbai (with Xuefei Ren) and Cit y & Communit y (September 2009).
Eyal Weizmann
Based in London, he holds a PhD from the London Consortium, Birkbeck College. He is the Director of the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths College. Since 2007, he is a member of the architectural collective ‘decolonising architecture’ in Beit Sahour, Palestine. Weizman has taught, lectured, curated and organised conferences in many institutions worldwide. Having published many books including The Lesser Evil (Nottetempo, 2009), Hollow Land (Verso Books, 2007) and the series Territories 1,2 and 3, he is a member of editorial boards of several journals and magazines. Weizman is the recipient of the James Stirling Memorial Lecture Prize for 2006–2007. GAUTAM BHAN
He is a gay rights activist and writer based in New Delhi who writes extensively on homosexual issues and social movements. He is a member of PRISM, Voices against Section 377 and the Nigah Media Collective. He is a writer and researcher on urban systems. He received Ph.D. in Urban Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
131 JOCKIN ARPUTHAM
Born in 1947 to Tamilian parents in the Kolar district of Karnataka, India, he moved to Mumbai in 1963, where he worked as a carpenter and building contractor. He is the President and founder of National Slum Dwellers Federation. He has worked for more than 40 years in slums and shanty towns, building representative organisations into powerful partners with governments and international agencies for the betterment of urban living. Arputham is also the President of Slum Dwellers International and was the winner of the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding. Peter Head
He is Director of Arup and leads the newly integrated business of Planning and Integrated Urbanism. He graduated in Civil Engineering from Imperial College, London in 1969 and has become a recognised world leader in major bridges, advanced composite technology, consulting engineering management and now in sustainable development in cities. He became Project Director for major crossings such as the Second Severn Crossing between England and Wales, receiving the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for ser vices to the industr y for delivering projects. He has won many awards for his work, including the Royal Academy Silver Medal, Award of Merit of IABSE and the Prince Philip Award for Polymers in the Ser vice of Mankind.
Rahul Mehrotra
Teddy Cruz
He is an Indian Architect and Urban Designer trained at the School of Architecture, Ahmedabad and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Professor Mehrotra is Executive Director of the Urban Design Research Institute, which promotes awareness and research on the city of Mumbai. He has also written several books on Mumbai, including ‘Bombay, the Cities Within’ and has lectured extensively on urban design, conservation and architecture in India. His most recent book is ‘The Architecture of the 20th Century in the South Asian Region.’ Rahul Mehrotra teaches at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he is an Associate Professor.
His work dwells at the border between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, inspiring a practice and pedagogy that emerges out of the particularities of this bicultural territory and the integration of theoretical research and design production. He has taught and lectured in various universities in the US and Latin America and in 1994 he conceived and began the LA/LA Latin America / Los Angeles studio, an experimental summer workshop at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles.
Sheela Patel
Wes Janz
She leads the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), an Indian civil society organisation that aims to improve the living conditions and promote the rights of millions of urban slum dwellers and homeless people. She is also Chair of Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI), a confederation of slum dweller organisations from over 20 countries in the global south. SDI and its members help move urban policy away from reactive interventions toward long-term solutions, with the urban poor – particularly women playing a key role in this process. They engage communities, government at many levels, other civil society groups, the private sector, academia and international institutions in this work.
An Architectural Educator at Ball State University, Janz unites his professional education—MArch, UW–Milwaukee, 1978; PhD, University of Michigan, 1995 with building activities for the world’s working and urban poor. He is also co-Director of CapAsia, a 11-week immersive program that provides a cross section of world architecture, urbanism and planning for graduate and undergraduate students in selected South Asian regions and cities. With students, faculty colleagues and his collaborators in 26262625 Architects, he has constructed nocost installations built of scavenged materials in Argentina, Sri Lanka and the US.