Medo Brundo Kindergarten by njiric+ arhitekti

How to design a kindergarten on a too small plot ? What if the plot is overshadowed by a massive nine-story block on it’s south side ? What if the plot is surrounded by the heavy traffic?

The kindergarten is initially conceived as a single-story mat building – compact, introverted, autocatalytic, with clearly defined borders. Due to the context, the mat is pushed away from the shadow and folded up towards the sun.

Local suburban matrix is echoed in the repetitive small-scale structure of units and patios. This chequered board of solids and voids is bent into vertical plane – gardens become terraces, corridor transforms into staircase. The outline of the building is continuous and closed, except on the west side which is “stripped” and treated like a glazed section to interact socially with a frequent neighbourhood path. An hommage to the american artist Dan Graham (”An Alteration of the Suburban House”, 1978).

Such a layout offers a variety of open-air spaces – patios, covered (winter) terraces and a roof-top garden. There is a big playground in the non-buildable area at the back side of the house.

Interior is organized as a sequence of spaces linked with “The Children Street”. It’s meandering character and a multitude of in-between spaces, supported by the intensive transparency and colour coding, attempt to create a scenery of a true “urban” experience for the child.

The children and staff premises are completely intertwined. This typological innovation mirrors a series of didactic relations. A child can see a woman typing on a computer, the other ones counting money, sewing linen or cooking their meal. There is a man who receives the new goods, the other ones control the heating or repair the furniture. Walking down “The Children Street” and seeing all the professions lined up left and right – like an everyday situation in the city. An introduction to the real life.

Architects: njiric+ arhitekti doo
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
Architects in Charge: Hrvoje Njirić, Davor Busnja
Structure: G&F – Eugen Gajsak, Zagreb
Services: SM Inzenjering – Slavko Mamic / HIT Projekt – Slavko Simunovic / ELAG – Zvonimir Gajsak
Client: Grad Zagreb
Contractor: Jelacic d.o.o.
Project Area: 2,300 sqm
Budget: 900 €/sqm
Project Year: 2005
Construction Year: 2006-2008
Photographs: Domagoj Blazevic & njiric+ arhitekti

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Orchid House by Andres Remy Arquitectos

The Orchid was a challenging project, committed by a young couple with two sons, enthusiastic about sustainable architecture. After consulting several architects, they gave the commission to Andrés Remy, who had investigated these concepts in New York at Rafael Viñoly’s Studio for four years.

Sustainability implies a lot of varieties, such as efficient and rational use of energy and water, natural ventilation and lighting, and low-environment-impact materials.

The house has the best orientation, possible thanks to the large lot.

The concept came from the client’s hobby, growing orchids. The house is based on the different parts of the orchid: the roots, the stem and the flower.

The sun rays impact in the interior of each room, were also studied, to determine the optimal depth to place the windows. This gives a unique volumetric outcome to the project. Taking advantage of sun rays in winter increases the interior temperature up to a comfortable level. The design includes glazed volumes with good thermal insulation and small windows in the worst orientation, such as the south facade.

The windows consist of aluminum frames supplied with thermal bridge breaker and double-hermetic-glass. A wide variety of insulating materials were also used, as well as water based paint and wall and roof air chambers.

In the lower floor, the convenient location of the opening windows allows natural air flow helping to decrease the humidity in the room. What’s more, the big thresholds create a good distribution of fresh air.

All this, gives account of the complexity of the house, a glass and concrete flower, designed according to a program of needs and the client’s concerns.

Architects: Andres Remy Arquitectos
Location: Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Project Team: Andrés Remy, Hernán Pardillos, Paula Mancini, Lucila Lopez, Julieta Rafel, Lilian Kandus, Coral Banegas
Site Area: 3,640 sqm
Project Area: 465 sqm
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Andres Remy Arquitectos

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Nautilus lamp by Rebecca Asquith

Rebecca Asquith design this cute lamp.

Based on a nautilus sea shell, the kit-set Nautilus hanging lamp shade uses an industrial sheet material in an innovative way to create a complex organic form.

When the lamp is switched on the warm light penetrates the layers of wood to make it glow.

Light pours through the spaces between the wood and creates a pattern on surrounding surfaces.

The Nautilus lamp can be easily assembled in minutes from its flat packed state to create a stunning illuminated lamp shade.

Lovejoy Bakers Lighting by Pigeon Toe Ceramics & Fix Studio

Created by Pigeon Toe Ceramics in collaboration with Fix Studio.

The first photo of the porcelain shades we made in collaboration with the design studio Fix for Lovejoy Bakers (a new venture opening tomorrow in the Pearl district of Portland)! Hand-thrown on the wheel, then warped and glazed with an airbrush to give them a powder-coated (looking) exterior. We’re pleased as punch with the outcome.

IKO by Monsieur+Madame Design

French designers Cécile Makowski and Pierre Schwenke of Monsieur+Madame Design have created the IKO seat for the Paris based manufacturer, Steiner.

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The Ravine Residence by Cindy Rendely Architexture

Cindy Rendely Architexture have designed the Ravine Residence in Toronto, Canada.

Situated in North Toronto, where the streets are lined with neo-historical châteaus in beige brick and taupe stucco, the Ravine Residence contrasts with its neighbours. The house was created as a multigenerational home for grandparents, parents and three children, as well as for a caregiver and her husband. The objective was to build a house that would take advantage of its spectacular ravine setting; comfortably provide community and privacy as desired; and reflect the contemporary attitude and lifestyle of its owners.

Architectural designer Cindy Rendely has created a stepped arrangement of volumes that open forthrightly into the landscape. Openness to the ravine and awareness of the changing seasons are reinforced by the many full-height glazed walls and doors at various vantage points, which also bring light, motion and sound into the interior.

A U-shaped plan of three volumes, the house wraps around an outdoor courtyard /dining room and a wide, feature staircase that unfolds into the back garden. The main wing of metal and stone houses the family of five and the caregiver suite. It hovers on top of a horizontal, stone volume that establishes an
entrance hall at the front of the house. This is nestled beside a small, single storey brick volume that contains the garage and a small, ground floor apartment for the grandparents. The plan provides each family with privacy, but fully glazed walls and strategically placed entrances and amenities bring them together, ensuring that everyone participates in the daily activities of the household.

The house is further distinguished by its consistent palette of local materials from exterior to interior. One stone and one wood ensure a harmonious aesthetic throughout. White washed natural white oak was used for flooring, millwork and furniture and Eramosa limestone was used in an array of forms: honed, sandblasted, polished, acid-etched, split-faced and bush-hammered – highlighting the remarkable and transformative qualities latent in one material. Details are articulated in aluminum, brick and stainless steel, as well as some mirror and blue and green leather – colours chosen to emulate sky, water and grass.

Visit the website of Cindy Rendely Architexture – here.

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Santander-Totta University Bank Agency by LGLS Architects

The Campus of the Setúbal Polytechnic Institute lies in the outskirts of the town of Setúbal, with various schools built during the eighties and nineties (including Alvaro Siza’s well known Teacher’s College) in a typical southern Portugal landscape of gently rolling slopes and patches of cork trees, all bathed in strong southern sunlight.

In 2007, while envisioning the construction of two new buildings (an Health Sciences School and a Canteen), the Institute’s direction decided to confer a greater sense of unity to the exterior spaces of the Campus. Stage 1 of the resulting project included the completion of a pathway linking an existing neighborhood (South of the Campus) to bus stops on the Northern side of the Campus (linking to the town centre).

At the (northern) end of this pathway, a small structure was proposed, to serve as a resting and meeting point for students arriving or leaving the Campus and as an announcement of the Campus presence to those passing on the road.

Alongside an existing cobblestone path, a simple white volume was “carved” so as to allow for a oblique crossing through its mass, recognizing existing pedestrian trails on site. A shaded passage, a bench and an enclosed usable area were thus “revealed” from the original mass. A “light box” was added, above the volume’s roof, to be seen from the North at night.

Although the structure was designed at first without a specific functional use (it could be a coffee shop, a guardhouse or a small convenience store), it ended up being built as an agency for the Santander-Totta Bank with little modifications to the original layout.

The strong red color of the bank’s visual code helped to emphasize the formal intentions of the project, revealing the “excavation” of the original volume. This combination, in turn, allowed for a very strong expression of the bank’s identity in this place. Both the Polytechnic and the Bank were pleased with this symbiosis and pushed for a rapid construction of this structure.

After 45 days of construction during a hot summer, a “red shade” was born at the Campus.

Architects: LGLS Arquitectos / Antonio Santos, Pedro Gaspar and Nuno Gaspar
Location: Setúbal, Portugal
Collaborators: André Rodrigues, Joana Lousada, Sara Oliveira
Enginnering: PTV Ltd (Structure, Lighting, HVAC, Fluids, Communication)
Promotor: SANTANDER-TOTTA BANK
Built Area: 120 sqm (65 sqm enclosed)
Project year: 2008
Photographs: FG + SG – Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra

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Lofts @ Cherokee Studios by Pugh + Scarpa

Cherokee Lofts will be the most advanced and distinctive building of its kind in Los Angeles. It will be the first “green” LEED (Leadership in Energy and En- vironmental Design) Gold Certified building in Hollywood per the U.S. Green Building Council certification system and it will be the first LEED Gold Certi- fied mixed-use or market-rate multifamily building in Southern California.

The development will pay homage to the significant musical and Hollywood history of Cherokee Recording Studios, MGM Studios before it, and all the artists who recorded music on the site from Frank Sinatra to David Bowie to Dave Mathews. Its unique architectural form and integrated function create a high performing building that is an expression of the environmental and cultural context in which it is built. Simply put, Cherokee Lofts will represent the preeminent realization of green design, form, and function in the epicenter of the entertainment capital of the world. It is the 2007 Westside Urban Forum Westside Prize Winner.

The lofts will range in size from 1,000 square feet to 2,000 square feet, with unique and distinctive floor plans. Seven of the lofts will be two-story town homes perched 30 to 50 feet above street level. The living space, consisting of a state-of- the-art kitchen, great room, bathroom, and home recording studio or office will be on the 4th floor, 38 feet above street level, so as to maximize city skyline views, daylight, and energy efficiency. 3 of the lofts will have 17 foot high ceilings with mezzanines and open to a lushly landscaped courtyard. Finally two loft flats will have 10 foot high ceilings also open- ing to the landscaped courtyard. All lofts will have 2 to 3 bathrooms and 1 to 4 bedrooms. Interiors including kitchens, baths, and finishes will all be ‘eco-luxury,’ with high-end ap- pointments that have simple and modern lines while being environmentally friendly.

Architects: Pugh + Scarpa
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Client: REthink Development Corp.
MEP Engineers: Cobalt Engineering
Structural Engineers: BPA Group
Builders: JT Builders
Landscape: FormLA Landscape
Project Area: 1,905 sqm
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Tara Wujcik

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NZI Centre by Jasmax

Introduction
The NZI Centre is a commercial office building located in Auckland’s CBD. It is an integrated design, with the architectural and interior/workplace elements both designed by Jasmax alongside one another, but with two different clients.

The NZI Centre is leading the way in New Zealand for the new generation of socially responsible developments that place the occupant environment at the centre of the design. While the focus has been internal, there has been a holistic attitude and a balance struck between the internal spaces and urban design issues.

Architectural Concept
The concept began as a unique response to the complex urban environment that surrounded the site. The challenge was to create an internal environment that captured the energy of the busy intersection and the city, but which also provided a quiet sanctuary that a single tenant could use as a diverse workplace.

The first step was the creation of a void that opened out towards the city and the mature trees on the opposite side of Market Place. This created an arc shaped floor plate along the Western side of the building. This basic form creates a number of benefits including efficient building floor plates, the placement of the building’s primary transparent façade away from significant solar gain and embracing the outside environment as if with ‘out stretched arms’.

The void created by this gesture – which stretches between the arc floor plate and the façade – forms the atrium. This becomes a key element in the building.

Fitout Concept
‘Organisation as living entity’ was the main concept for the fitout. During briefing workshops the idea of the building being related to a greenhouse due to it’s largely glass façades was picked up. With this strongly established the fitout was then aligned to become the growing entity within. The language of the tree was translated into places within the building and was influential in organising the business. The roots or anchors of the company (training, shared cafes, public interaction) were located on the ground level. The vertical and horizontal circulation of the stair, lifts and walkways were described as the trunks and branches with nodes along the way for opportunities for bumping into people. And the foliage expressed the changing nature of the team’s immediate working environment.

Along with the initial ‘living entity’ concept there were overlapping rationales which included the following:

Simple structure – the base building acts as an exo-skeleton, and the interior elements become insertions within it.

Sit within – Interior elements sit within, resting lightly, not quite touching the building structure
See it all – the fitout is to create filtering, layering and allowing occupants to sight through so as not to allow silos or cul-de-sacs

For all of us – Celebrating the variety of individuality and the diversity of community and team.

Sustainability
Jasmax’s brief was to design a building that would meet, as a minimum, the NZ Green Building Council’s Greenstar NZ 5 star rating for Office Design.

Several strategies to achieve this rating were explored and the building reflects several initiatives that have never before been built locally.

The building is designed with Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) principles at the core of every decision and with the aim of achieving NZ Green Building Council’s Greenstar NZ 5 star rating for Office Design and a Green Star NZ 5 Star – Interiors 2009 Pilot Certified Rating,

This innovative building shows a step up in quality as well as a commitment to the green initiatives within the New Zealand market. Internally it is light and airy, while the external fabric texturally enriches the city and sophisticatedly responds to the surrounding environment. The result is a finely tuned and engineered building that has been crafted to excel in design and performance.

Architects: Jasmax
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Client: IAG New Zealand
Building Owner: M6 Investments
Project Area: 9,250 sqm
Project Completed: 2009
Photographer: Simon Devitt

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Dwelling transformation by Inarchitecten

In an old warehouse, in 2000 transformed to lofts by Claus and Kaan, INarchitecten made one big city-residence out of two appartments. The concept of the loft-dwelling developed into a more spacialplan. From each position you allway look towards the light and by putting the stairs after each other you can look, diagonal through the whole dwelling for over 30 meters.

All this accentuated by a 18 meters long and 3 stores high closet paralel to the stairs. Everything is designed by INarchitecten: closets, bathtub and hand basins in Corian, kitchenbench and ledarmatures.

Architects: Inarchitecten / Ruben van den Boogaard and Mark Hekkert
Location: Entrepotdok, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Site area: 400 sqm
Budget: 1,15 million Euro
Photographs: Rutger Vos

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