Hasta La Ideas

No, I’m not singing a song composed by iconic French electronic duo Daft Punk, I’m describing the Saroléa ManX 7, designed by France-based Tryptik Studio and Serge Rosak. The ManX 7, for Saroléa aims to be what the brand describes as an “electricon”, or a symbol of electric motorbike perfection.

The ManX 7’s design was made to push boundaries in performance as well as cater to Saroléa’s obsession with having the highest performance to weight ratio. The resulting bike boasts of carbon-fiber fairings, a Plexiglas body, and even weight-cutting by using lightweight titanium and aluminum screws and bolts. Even the wheels come in a carbon fiber variant! The Belgian manufacturer says, “Saroléa’s advanced electric drivetrain delivers exhilarating performance. Unlike a gasoline internal combustion engine with hundreds of moving parts, Saroléa electric motors have only one moving piece: the rotor. As a result, Saroléa MANX7 acceleration is instantaneous, silent and smooth: Twist the throttle and in as little as 3.0 seconds it’s traveling at 100 km per hour, without hesitation, and without a drop of gasoline.”

The aesthetic of the 204 horsepower electric beast may seem bulky, given the way the body clads the bike, but it uses color distribution to cut the weight. Look at the renders above and below, at the way the bike shows off only its highlights to appear incredibly sleek, streamlined and desirable. Scroll further down to view the body, that looks stunning in black, and even comes with a golden belt, that breaks the bike’s mass into three groups. The choice of color, the vertical “straightforward” division of mass, and its slick look make you take the bike seriously, because the ManX 7, like its name suggests, isn’t for boys…

Designer: Serge Rosak and Tryptik Design for Saroléa

Architect Miguel Quismondo has transformed a 1960s warehouse in the Hudson River Valley and created a new concrete addition to house a collection of work from the Italian Arte Povera, or “Poor Art”, movement.

Taking its name from the Italian word for “warehouse”, Magazzino is located in Cold Springs – a village in the Hudson Valley situated about an hour outside of Manhattan.

The project entailed the full renovation of an 11,000-square-foot warehouse (1,022 square metres), along with the creation of a new building encompassing 14,000 square feet (1,300 square metres).

The project was commissioned by Olnick Spanu, an organisation led by husband-and-wife collectors Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. Spain-born and New York-based architect Miguel Quismondo, who serves as the organisation’s director of architecture and construction, oversaw the design.

The gallery presents work by members of Arte Povera, or “Poor Art” – a radical art movement that emerged in Italy in the 1960s. The artists were known for using mundane materials such as rags and tree branches, which influenced the building’s design.

“While the artists worked with elements considered to be poor, low-quality or readily available, we wanted to pursue this philosophy by using simple components and building techniques,” the team said.

The existing steel-and-concrete building, which is L-shaped in plan, was constructed in 1964 to serve as a distribution centre for dairy products. For the inner side of the “L”, the team created a courtyard and then placed the rectangular addition alongside it. The old and new buildings are linked by glass corridors, which help reinforce a sense of “lightness”.

“The juxtaposition of the two volumes makes the central courtyard became a virtual room, an extension of the lobby, while the reflecting pool that regularises its geometry facilitates the transition between the existing building and the addition,” the team said.

The addition rises higher than the older building, enabling it to accommodate larger pieces of art. For the exterior walls, the team used concrete with a weathered appearance.

“The ‘in situ’ formwork concrete wall, shaped with phenol-treated wood panels, makes up the skin of the new container,” the team said. “The roof cover is solved by using a simple structure involving metal gable trusses.”

Within the building, quality of light was a central concern. Skylights in the repurposed warehouse bring in “specific, solid light”, while the new addition offers light that is “uniform and faint”. Artificial track lighting was also integrated into the galleries.

The interior circulation is meant to feel fluid and comfortable, with certain areas offering a view of the outdoors.

“The flow was reduced to a simple circle in order to make the visitors follow an intuitive sequence of rooms,” the team said. “To keep guests from being weighed down by the burst of art, the spaces open to the exterior to help people rest their eyes throughout the tour.”

A number of art galleries and museums in the US are housed in old industrial buildings. Others include the SO-IL designed Tina Kim Gallery in Manhattan, which occupies a century-old structure in the Chelsea neighbourhood, and a contemporary art gallery in New Mexico designed by SHoP Architects, housed in a former beer warehouse.

Photography is by Javier Callejas.

Project credits:

Architect: Miguel Quismondo
Project architect: Jesús Aparicio Alfaro
Collaborators: Rocío Calzado López and Miguel Bello Escribano, students
Structural engineer: Michael Carr
Mechanical, electrical, plumbing: CES Engineers
Lighting consultant: M.a.p. Design Studio
Cost consultant: Stuart-Lynn Company
Civil engineer: Badey & Watson
Surveying and Engineering: PC
Graphic design: Waterhouse Cifuentes Design
Construction manager: Miguel Quismondo
Construction supervision: Mario Gregorio
Concrete contractor: Malt Construction
Earthwork: Harold Lyons and Sons
Masonry: Gregorio & Gregorio
Framing and carpentry: Van der Koos Construction
Steel contractor: 301 East
Skylight roof: Glassolutions
Curtain walls: Proinller
Roofing contractor: Vanguard

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Herzog & de Meuron has unveiled plans for two apartments blocks built on stilts, as part of its redevelopment of an abandoned brewery on the banks of the Moscow River.

The Swiss architects plans to restore the Badaevskiy Brewery in the centre of the Russian capital will include building two residential blocks raised 35 metres above the ground.

Dubbed “horizontal skyscrapers” by the practice, the apartment blocks’ form results from the protected status of the former brewery, which meant a building height limit was set at 75 metres.

Described by Herzog & de Meuron as “a piece of city lifted up in the air”, the new platform-raised structure is designed to be sympathetic to both the modern cluster of skyscrapers across the river and its historic location.

Fully glazed facades will give panoramic views over the river and the city, and each residence will have its own private balcony.

Eight “sky villas” on the uppermost levels will have access to their own rooftop gardens. Three underground levels beneath the complex will house parking.

Along with the residential blocks the surviving clusters of 19th century industrial buildings are set to be renovated and repurposed. A new public park beneath the raised apartments will connect the historic site with the river.

“Moscow is a city with a rich and controversial cultural and political heritage, with architectures reflecting avant-garde as well as conservative trends in the course of history,” said Jacques Herzog, co-founder of Herzog & de Meuron.

“Our project for the redevelopment of Badaevskiy factory inserts itself in this very history and tradition of Moscow urbanism – it respects and re-uses existing industrial buildings while adding and overlaying them with radically contemporary structures.”

The Basel-based firm has form in transforming former industrial sites. Herzog & de Meuron recently revealed plans to develop a former gasworks complete with a new residential tower, in Stockholm, Sweden.

The design is reminiscent or the Wolkenbügel, or “cloud-irons”, which was a conceptual project of horizontal skyscrapers cantilevered from a central pylon designed by Russian avant-garde architect El Lissitzky in the early 1920s.

“We were hesitant to come up with a building typology, which is so remindful of the Wolkenbügel, one of the most heroic icons of the Russian avant-garde,” read the architects statement.

“But here it didn’t look heroic or monumental. The building does not fly; it rather sits on many slender stilts like an elevated lodge in the forest. The stilts connect the building with the ground and the park like trunks of trees.”

The site’s original brick buildings, some that date back to 1875 when a factory was founded on the site, will also be restored as part of the development.

A pair of Russian romantic revival arcaded buildings on the eastern side of the plot are due to be turned into a food market, fashion store, co-working space with conference centre and gym.

The cluster of English-style industrial buildings on the western side, including a neo-gothic water tower, silos and cupolas will be transformed into apartments, a traditional banya, or bath house, and an arts centre.

A central building that is missing will be rebuilt in matching brick according to the original designs. It will house a grand hall space and a small local brewery. The area by the river will become a promenade lined with shops and restaurants.

“We found it extraordinary and especially appealing to use the opportunity to push such a radically different urbanistic approach in a city which has traditionally preferred tabula rasa concepts, in the Soviet as well as the post-Soviet periods,” continued the architects.

In Berlin, David Chipperfield Architects are masterplanning an £185 million project to restore 19th century brewery damaged in the second world war and add three new volumes to formed a mixed use development, while in London artistic due Gilbert & George are turning an old brewery into a gallery.

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In the latest edition of Cut’s “Lineup” series, three people from Seattle, Washington interview a group eight strangers to try and figure out which of the strangers are U.S. citizens…(Read…)