Hasta La Ideas

A pair of buildings once used to house bulls in rural Argentina have been transformed into a countryside home by architecture studio Adamo-Faiden.

Located in Lobos, 60 miles south of Buenos Aires, the old agricultural structures were abandoned after advances in livestock production rendered them surplus.

Adamo-Faiden, a studio led by architects Sebastián Adamo and Marcelo Faiden, were asked to convert it into a domestic space. But the client requested for the building to remain in harnony with the rural landscape of its setting.

The result, Macchi House, was formed by linking the ends of the two original structures together above ground level to form what the architects describe as an “aerial patio”.

The U-shaped first floor is reached via a staircase that leads to the glazed gallery suspended between the conjoined buildings.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing runs along the inner walls of the horseshoe-shaped home, making an overlooked courtyard space of the grassy area below.

There are no walls dividing the aerial patio area, which is one continuous space with an open-plan kitchen at one end. A second staircase connects the ground floor at the corner nearest the kitchen.

“The position of the staircase proposes a longitudinal circuit that ends in a viewpoint that precedes the entrance,” said the architects.

The most private rooms are built into the turrets at either end: a bathroom and three white-walled bedrooms.

A new roof spans the U-shaped building, supported by rafters angled towards the centre.

“A system of converging rafters links the structure of the new roof with the enclosure of the central space, producing a fluid spatial effect, a horizontal dialogue between present and past that invites us to imagine an open future for this intervention,” added the architects.

Buenos Aires-based Adamo-Faiden has garnered a reputation for beautifully adapting unused structures and spaces to create homes, often with clever introduction of glazing.

In Buenos Aires it added a greenhouse-like extension on the rooftops of three 20th-century houses to carve out more space for the residents below. It also transformed the vacant roof of a 15-storey block into a home for a young couple by constructing a glass pavilion surrounded by foliage.

For the refurbishment of a 1970s home in the city, the studio added a three level glass-and-white-frame extension at the back, creating a cage-like structure overlooking a swimming pool.

Photos are by Adamo-Faiden.

Project credits:

Architects: Sebastián Adamo, Marcelo Faiden.
Collaborators: Javier Gómez, Esteban Lamm, Darío Graschinsky
Client: Jorge Macchi
Construction: Costructora del Salado.

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Newborns remain highly susceptible to jaundice, given that their liver cannot completely break down the high levels of bilirubin in their system. Exposing a newborn to UV rays, however, helps build their immunity to jaundice, and in most equatorial countries, newborns are kept in direct sunlight to help them absorb UV rays and build immunity towards jaundice.

In countries that don’t experience the powerful direct rays of the sun, babies are advised to be kept around UV lights for long intervals, helping their body break down the bilirubin in its system. SvetTex Nest is a phototherapy blanket that helps cure and/or keep jaundice at bay. The soft blanket comes woven from cotton and optical fiber yarns to be flexible, permeable and easy to sterilize. The optical fibers help evenly distribute UV light directly to the baby’s body without heating up, or emitting radiations that may be harmful for the child. The UV light source sits at the base of the Nest, with a cushion separating it from the feet of the baby, while a blanket surrounds the entire nest itself, so that the light doesn’t shine in the guardian or parent’s eyes. Designed to allow the baby to be placed in any position, the Nest delivers UV light to the baby from the top and the bottom, helping it fight off diseases like jaundice that cause problems in the developmental stages of the child.

Designer: Ioulia Kamalova for SvetTex

Cities are in a constant state of flux as new neighborhoods are developed, gentrification quickly changes areas and demographics, and people come and go. There are few cities where the old and the new live side by side quite as much as in London……

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A colourful interactive frame that Baxendale created as part of Scotland‘s contribution to the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 has been saved from being dismantled.

Originally due to be taken down at the end of June – as the Scottish budget didn’t cover renting the space at Palazzo Zenobio for the entire length of the biennale – the all-ages playground has proved too popular to lose.

The Armenian Mekhitarist Fathers of Venice, the organisation hosting the structure, bought it from the Glasgow-based architecture studio for a token amount of one euro and one cent.

A small team is now taking care of the structure until the biennale finishes in November, with local groups taking charge of happenings on the site.

“The way that local people and groups have taken up the invitation provided by the project has been truly humbling and inspiring,” Baxendale co-founder Lee Ivett told Dezeen.

Freespace was the theme chosen by this years biennale directors, Grafton Architects founders Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.

“The project has become a freespace in every sense of the word and provided something meaningful and useful to local people within the context of the biennale, which in many ways often creates a kind of noise that many ordinary Venetians are not interested in hearing,” continued Ivett.

As part of the wider Scottish programme of events at Venice, called Happenstance, the structure has hosted a musical, film screenings, community meetings, activist groups, local schools and families.

“The project is one of never ending potentially and having passed it’s first ‘deadline’ it is interesting to see what happens within the space from now until November and beyond,” said Ivett.

“Every new event and happening that we hear about is a fantastic surprise.”

Baxendale designed the the Happenstance structure as part of Scotland’s Year of Young People, collaborating with Glasgow-based art organisation WAVEparticle and local youth groups to put together a “living library of ideas” to bring to Venice.

An interconnected frame of raised walkways, latticed walls and towers topped by colourful and irregular-shaped roofs sits in the palazzo garden surrounded by deckchairs. Part meeting place, part playground, the project was designed to appeal to both adults and children.

“The design of the armature was intended to test ideas that myself and Ambrose [Gillic, Baxendale co-founder] had about the role of design for facilitating peoples’ agency within public space,” said Ivett.

“We are interested in what constitutes successful public space and how to enact design that suggests rather than dictates behaviour.”

Although its future beyond November is uncertain, Baxendale designed the Happenstance frame as a kit of parts that could be reused, adapted or replicated to to suit a multitude of public spaces.

“Our hope is this model for activating and animating space through a unique collaboration of architects and artists and local people is what lasts. Working in a way that creates momentum, develops local capacity, creates local agency and tests multiple possibilities.”

The Venice Biennale will run until 25 November 2018. Discover more interactive installations at the exhibition with Dezeen’s guide to the top 10.

Photos by Basharat Khan.

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Guests stay in candy-coloured rooms at this art-deco-influenced hotel in Ibiza, while artists in residence are offered a transparent suite in the lobby.

The Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel opened last month on the Balearic island’s northwest coast, not far from the infamous nightlife in the resort of San Antonio.

Its mission is to offer an alternative to other accommodation options on the party island, by hosting a comprehensive arts programme for guests and other tourists to enjoy during their stay.

“Devoted to art and contemporary creation, and borrowing inspiration from the aesthetics of MiMo – Miami Modern – the new hotel introduces a whole new way of visiting the island, surrounded by high-quality art,” said a statement from Concept Hotel Group, which operates the property.

Designed by Spanish studio Ilmiodesign, the hotel’s stark white exterior and simple shapes – enhanced by coloured lighting – is reminiscent of the art deco architecture found along Miami Beach.

Meanwhile, the candy hues and scalloped details found inside are more akin to the 1980s Memphis design movement.

This style is evident in the guest rooms, which are decorated pink, yellow or green depending on which level they are situated.

The suites vary in size – some offer lounge and kitchen areas populated with furniture in clashing colours, and others afforded access to balconies that continues the hues found inside.

Hung in the rooms are works by artists affiliated with the hotel’s art programme, directed by artist and curator Iñaki Domingo, and photographer and filmmaker Diana Kunst.

“Guests will be completely surrounded by art in a unique setting, with works by contemporary artists installed in all the hotel’s Art Rooms,” said the hotel’s statement.

One of the rooms stands out even more than the rest. Situated in the lobby, a glass-enclosed sleeping area known as Zero Suite is reserved for artists that can complete “micro residencies” at the hotel.

Available one weekend per month, the residencies encourage international participants to create site-specific interventions during their stay in the bright yellow area.

Continuing the focus on art, the hotel has its own gallery that will host three exhibitions during each high season, and an Art Library that allow guests to browse contemporary works year-round. “Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel aspires to become a benchmark for the local art scene,” the hotel said.

Elsewhere, the lobby features pink mosaic tiles laid across the floor to match the painted walls and ceiling. Stripes of green run through the central area, around the reception desk and a banquette upholstered in bright red.

Outside, the pool area continues the pale pink and purple tones. Two rectangular swimming pools are positioned either side of a circular bar, which echoes the building’s art-deco flavour, and is topped with lettering that spells out Paradiso in a similarly 1920s-esque typeface.

Cabanas and loungers are placed around the water, while a pool table and cafe seating beside the building are shaded from the Mediterranean sun.

Hotels around the world use art to provide unique experiences for their guests. Casa Malca in Tulum, At Six in Stockholm and The Jackalope on Australia’s Mornington Peninsula all boast impressive collections for those staying to appreciate.

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