Exhibition

Exhibition

Exhibition

How can construction be an instrument of peace? Post-conflict cities share many problems such as spontaneous construction and a lack of strong civil governance, thus even well-intended projects under these conditions risk fixing inequalities permanently or introducing new ones in the built environment. Can architecture, beyond solving a direct need or problem, add to stability and peace? The Good Cause: Architecture of Peace considers cases that suggest how peace can be materialized.

Complementing the exhibition Architecture in Uniform: Designing and Building for the Second World War, NAi, the Netherlands Architecture Institute, presents The Good Cause, an experimental research lab that explores the possibilities for architecture to strengthen the transformation of post-conflict urban areas. Gathering statistical data, graphics, maps, movies, publications, fragments of real life, pictures and interviews this temporary experimental space surveys the controversial thin line between the architecture of war and the architecture of peace within the unstable condition of ‘reconstruction’.

For the full press release click here.

Host:

Canadian Centre for Architecture | Centre Canadien d’Architecture

Venue/Contact:

1920, rue Baile
Montréal, Québec
Canada H3H 2S6
t 514 939 7000
f 514 939 7020

Exterior

Exterior Side View

Exterior Street View

Facade close-up

Facade detail

Interior

Interior Detail

Staircase

The Deck

About the Project:

Architect’s Statement

An architectonic punctuation at an exposed site of the city – a new and distinctive Entree to the city – a future oriented potential for development for the whole area.

Putting a company into the spotlight means transforming a philosophy into architecture. The ‘black panther’s does not only recount the story of the company but he emotionalises, he describes a vision and makes it physically and sculpturally ascertainable. Where Design and shape evolve, ideas emerge and become manifest in mass. Elegant and smooth, the ‘black Panther’s composes eagerness and speed to the urban architecture. His watchful eyes attend the street – movement and silhouette merge in the dance of the forces and the night.

The office-building MP09, named after the owner of the firm, Michael Pachleitner, also called Black Panther, was intended as a landmark to the city-entrance of Graz.

In 2006 the Pachleitner Group, which specialises in the design and marketing of spectacles and jewellery and Wegraz, (Graz-based company for urban renewal and refurbishment), set up competitions for an office and hotel building, as well as a headquarters building with a wing to be rented out, a flagship store and restaurant. Both projects established 2006 at a 2stepped competition among alltogether 9 offices decided unanimously by the jury. During the competition phase the client offices photographs of airplanes, ships and cars that expressed the feeling he wanted the building to convey. We derived from them the guiding idea of a crouching black panther, poised ready to spring, which provided a metaphor that accurately describes both building parts and which committed them to a goal: to create an appearance that would be both powerful and elegant. The detail planning for the project, and the scheduled completion date was started immediately afterwards. Construction of the 32-million euro project began in summer 2007, it was completed in May 2010: a free-standing building in a setting defined in very diverse ways by the UPC arena, ice sports stadium, Murpark, housing blocks and single-family houses. It is located directly on the Liebenau ring-road, which has a high volume of traffic and is a source of emissions, on an approximately triangular-shaped site that originally sloped to the southwest. The main part of this provocatively conspicuous office building contains the headquarters of a local company designing eyeglasses and jewellery and distributing them worldwide.

Its a hard shaped sculpture covered with a black glass facade erected over a concrete base develops from a compact tail to a more and more resolving head cantelevering towards the city. The different directions of the building structure are retrieved in the inside structure of the spaces. From almost every position there are vistas through the whole building to the outdoor spaces. A special quality of the building evolves out of the individually designed technical solutions concerning the facade, partition walls, doors, staircases and many other components. Accurate details and few colors in various surfaces and materials define the interior. Even the whole furniture was custom-made by the architects and is consequently congruent to the architecture.

The desired expression of concentrated tension and dynamism, amplified by long window strips, suits the company’s philosophy that enabled a small family business from the post-war years to develop into a company of global reach.

* Images © GSarchitects and Text via Architecture News Plus, for more info visit GS Architects

Exterior

Exterior

Side View

Entrance VIew

Interior - Supermarket

Opposite View - Supermarket

Interior - Coffe Shop

Exterior Facade

Rear View

Facade Detail

Before and After Conversion

Ground Floor Plan

About the Project:

Architect’s Statement

In this project of conversion of an old workshop to a shopping center, the design concept is about wrapping. The bright colored material wraps around the old building without negating its basic formal and structural characteristics.

The façade is like an elegant night gown, showing off the exotic curvature of the body, hidden behind it. A sexy tailor-cut dress, though, not too tight that leaves some to the imagination of the observer. One feels the burning urge to tear the whole thing apart just to find out what is beneath this flashy cover. The wrap tears apart at points to let the openings and cut-through take shape. Yet, the design is not just about introducing a colourful, eye catching project, which differs the existing fabric with its architectural form to attract the prospective customers.

It is the start of an architectural movement at a regional scale. From the designers’ point of view, it is a design statement, which hopefully, will set the guidelines for renovation and conversion of the aging commercial fabric in the adjacent properties. This is about introducing new design culture for the forth-coming revitalization projects of the region, which can be implemented as a prototype for any commercial strip along the arterial roads, passing by or through marginal small cities in the area north of Iran which serves as a national resort and tourist attraction. It is about finding ways to actualize architectural concepts despite the limitations that are imposed because of the financial constraints and technical and technological deficiencies.

Financial and technical feasibility were two major concerns trough out both schematic and construction phase. One aspects of the project that is worth pointing out is the fact that the construction teams, involved in the site work were not professional well-trained technicians and as a result communicating the design concepts and construction details with the working teams was an ever lasting challenge for the design team.

*Images © Kamran Adl and Text via Architecture News Plus, for more information visit Arsh Design Studio

Exterior Front

Ground Floor

Interior Space

Interior Space, Opposite View

Interior

Exterior Rear

Staircase

Bedroom

Bathroom

Second Floor Staircase

Rooftop Terrace

About the Project:

Architect’s Statement

This large site in a dense residential neighborhood in Setagaya-Ku district in Tokyo provides a rare opportunity to open the house completely to the landscape and environment, like a retreat villa in the countryside. Occupying only 20% of the site, the house leaves ample space around it for a truly open, continuous space, a wall-less house.

Using a lightweight steel, load bearing frame structure, the axial loads are distributed through only a utility core in the center and two thin columns, therefore opening the living space to the outside completely on all sides. The floors thus float in air, surrounded by the trees for greenery and privacy.

*Images © Katsuhisa Kida / FOTOTECA and Text courtesy of Tezuka Architects

Exterior

Exterior

Side View

Property View

Backyard

Living Space

Loft Bedroom

Loft Bedroom Facing Outside

Interior

Deck

About the Project:

Architect’s Statement

The guest residence, located on a barrier island, is set within a mature oak hammock along Sarasota Bay. The structure is inspired by the character of the live oaks, which have been shaped by the prevailing coastal winds from the west.

The Owner requested a design that was a “house in the trees”. A small program, including one bedroom, bath, living area with kitchenette, and a loft is organized to provide privacy between a neighboring property to the north, while offering broad views of the oak hammock to the south and west, and the intercoastal waterway to the east.

Curved glulam pine beams, which are anchored to the elevated concrete slab at their base, curve up and over the entire space, reflect the arching quality of the live oak limbs. Ship lap cypress siding is used to clad the exterior walls and the interior walls between the glulam beams.

The design is intended to evoke an organic architecture that is influenced by, and reflective of its site.

* Images (© George Cott and William Speer) and Text courtesy of TOTeMS Architecture

Dining Area

Wall detail

Dining Area

Entrance View

Dining Area

Ceiling to Floor

Kitchen

Dining Area Corridor

Floor Plan

*Images courtesy IN/OUT arh studio

Exterior

Exterior Side View

Exterior Rear View

Backyard in Daylight

Exterior Detail in Daylight

Backyard Terrace

Interior

Second Level

Full View Interior

Kitchen/Dining Space

Staircase detail

About the project:

Architect’s Statement

The context is agricultural, a plateau with sandstone walls to divide the various portions of property. Once marked by the productive outposts of the “masserie”, farms with cultivated fields and cattle, today the Ibleo territory has changed its look. Instead of scattered farmhouses, isolated and divided by farmlands, construction has gradually filled spaces, erasing the network of isolated architectural complexes gathered around courtyards, like ‘pacific forts’. Nevertheless, the site of this project has partially conserved that precious idea of ‘isolation’, and the whole design comes to grips with this context, constructing a direct relationship with the landscape, faced openly on two sides, while emerging from it thanks to an eloquent contemporary design.

The program of the compositional process is that of a large single-family house, alone at the center of a meadow, bordered by the free, linear horizon of the plateau. Here, in the midst of the grassy terrain, treated as virgin land for construction, the architecture stands out clearly as a complete entity with definite limits. But its borders are not ‘introverted’, they are open to visual enjoyment of the outside world, through the creation of outdoor living spaces, rooms without walls that become parts of the overall solution. The relationship with the context and the sequence of the three stacked floors relies on a sort of continuous architectural ribbon that reinterprets the flavor of the Mediterranean home, developing, bending to form rooms and the roof, outdoor zones raised from the meadow like platforms, porticos and overhangs, balconies and terraces.

A solid façade clad in stone, to the north, is flanked by the harmonious antithesis of the southern and eastern façades, fully glazed and open to the greenery. They reveal the two-storey height of the living area, with the mono-beam staircase leading to the first floor, containing a studio zone and a bedroom. The daytime area is joined to the kitchen, located in the lower volume, while the luminous living and dining area emphasizes the double height of the construction, with its large pitched roof. The master bedroom zone with bath and closet is located behind the living area. The sequence living-dining-kitchen encounters two outdoor spaces: on one side, facing the living room, a terrace at ground level connects to a recessed patio faced by the underground spaces, with two bedrooms and a den, shaded for cool comfort. Behind the kitchen, connected by a full-height glazing, an external portico is like a room without walls, open to the surrounding lawn.

The white stucco and stone facings that wrap the forceful geometric design, highlighted by a red floor marker that interrupts the high corner glazing, the planes that combine, in a dynamic way, around the sloping roof, reveal the pursuit of a ‘possible Mediterranean style’ that pays attention to local history, but without copying, ready for experimentation with new possibilities.

*Images © Umberto Agnello and Text via Architecture News Plus, for more information visit Architrend Architecture

Exterior

Exterior

Exterior

Exterior

Exterior

Exterior detail

Exterior detail

Exterior detail

Interior

Interior

Interior

Bodega

Interior

Interior

Evening View

Evening View

About the Project:

Architect’s Statement

There are some exceptional wines in the world. Cheval Blanc is one of them. When referring to it, people sometimes speak of absolute art.

When Baron Frère and Bernard Arnault (the client) decided to endow the estate with a new winery, they aspired to excellence and sought to break new ground.

The vinification of Cheval Blanc is a traditional business consistent with a perpetual quest for harmony and balance. It involves parcel management and respect for the cycle of the vine, constant adaptation to the nature of the grape and thoughtful, measured and considered attention to every action. The programme takes account of the specific features of individual parcels, as well as exacting standards and respect for nature.

But the owners also wanted something that would anticipate the future while blending into a historic landscape, since Saint-Émilion is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a challenging mission that called for a rare combination of talents.

This challenge was taken up by Christian de Portzamparc, who considers that the truth of space cannot be dissociated from the imprint of time. The harmonious relationship between inside and outside has also been a constant source of inspiration.

In the heart of the vineyard, the “winery under the hill” initially looks like a promontory extending the château, a lifting of the earth, raised by sails of concrete towards the light and the sky. From a vantage point that seems to float in the air, the eye takes in the swathes of vines and the age-old history of the landscape.

A hill or a hanging garden floating over the vines? What gives the site a certain grace is a discreet cantilever effect suggestive of a pendulum, the geometry of the curved surfaces and their living substance of muted white moulded concrete, the unique atmosphere that derives from the natural light descending earthwards inside the vat house, between the contours of the great concrete vats. This refusal of enclosure, even though inherent in the material, is a remarkable innovation: the “winery under the hill” is a place of concentration, almost of meditation, and yet open to what surrounds it, being as permeable to the light of the vineyard as to the coming and going of workers and visitors. Between inside and outside, the winery is a place of transmutation and human interaction.

That grace also derives from the desire, in evidence all around, for perfect harmony between the place and its purpose. And that is probably where the elegance comes from: we are in the place where an exceptional wine is made, among the sublimated instruments of a highly demanding task that calls for skills to match. No line here is superfluous: everything contributes to the perfection of the actions involved, and it shows.

The technology is therefore treated as such: necessary facilities, not objects of ostentation. There are 52 vats because that is what parcel selection requires, and they are made of concrete. If the walls are of mashrabiya, it is to facilitate natural ventilation. The lighting is sober because it does not seek display or decoration. In fact, everything has been designed to replace energy-hungry systems with economical solutions. As a result, the winery is one of the few buildings in the wine business to have High Environmental Quality (HQE) certification, meeting particularly demanding criteria relating not only to the environment but also to the type of materials used, to water, energy and waste management, controlled hygrometry, acoustic, visual and olfactory comfort and the well-being of the people who work there.

It is the brand-new vision of a place and a long tradition. With boldness, high talent and a sensuality made visible, Cheval Blanc looks to the future.

*Images © Erick Saillet and Gerard Uferas and text via Architecture News Plus, more information at Atelier Christian de Portzamparc

Exterior

Exterior

Exterior

Rear Deck

Front Balcony

Front Balcony, from below

Interior Staircase

Interior Staircase

Interior Detail, ceiling

Interior

Interior

Digital Slice

About the Project:

Architect’s Statement

Situated in the East End of Aspen, this small property is part of a Lot Split and was required to ‘respond’ to its immediate Historical Swiss-Style neighbor in its massing, proportions and materials. The challenge was to pay homage to this ‘City of Aspen Historically Deemed’ neighboring house, while still creating an original concept that catered to a cleaner, modern gesture that fit the clients. The house is three levels with a floating stair linking them and also serves as a light shaft to the lower level with its open detailing and light.

Since the neighboring house is less than 15 feet away, as well as being surrounded by dense trees and other smaller structures; creating a sense of privacy and home while still allowing the spaces to be wide open to accept as much light and views as possible became a very important aspect of this design. One way that this was achieved was by maximizing deck space, but to have the solid railing dissipate and change in areas; so as to let the openness of the house breathe all the way through.

The public upper level is wrapped by a large walkway serving two decks and there is a spiral staircase from the rear deck that accesses the rooftop terrace. The Kendrick House was completed in late summer of 2010.

*Images © Raul J. Garcia + Derek Skalko and text courtesy of Studio B Architects

Exterior

Aerial View

Entrance

Façade detail

Interior

Interior

About the Project:

Architect’s Statement

Located in the cultural center of Nanjing and in the immediate proximity of the historical Presidential Palace of today’s provincial capital, the new Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum is one of the most important museums in south-east China. It has space for temporary exhibitions and houses a permanent collection featuring traditional Chinese art, which illustrates the cultural wealth of Nanjing – one of the oldest cities in southern China. The sizeable collection is kept in archive rooms in the Museum, which meet today’s technical and strict conservation requirements. Having previously designed the National Library of China in Beijing, the German company KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten has now completed its second significant cultural building in China.

The eye-catching new museum, which won first prize in a competition in 2006, takes up several urban references from its deeply historical location. The main entrance faces the main city square, Daxing Gong Shi Min Square. In addition, the two structures of the Museum that stand at slight angles to one another follow the two flanking thoroughfares: Zhongshan (or Revolution) Road, and Changjiang (or Culture) Road.

The two interlocking u-shaped buildings also create a space that is modeled on a canyon to function as the access zone between two soaring walls of natural stone. It is lit from above and covered with a light glass roof. This 17-meter high access area, which narrows at its two main entrances, links the two stone halves of the building and guides visitors into the Museum. In the northern building, clear exhibition rooms of varying sizes offer ideal conditions for presenting the works of art. Two bridges spanning the glass-covered intermediate space connect the exhibition area with the southern element. In addition to training, conference and office space, this building also contains the VIP area and the auditorium with seating for around 400 people.

The travertine natural stone facing with its narrow window indentations obscures the sheer number of storeys and as such reinforces the overall monolithic impression of the museum building. Simultaneously, the alternation between vertical stone panels and window slits with sheet metal jutting out at the sides creates rhythm in the façade. The structural frame and the delicate construction of the glass roof were developed in collaboration with Stuttgart-based German engineers Breuninger.

Images (by Shuhe Photography) and Text courtesy of KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten