3XN has unveiled its design for a multipurpose sports arena with a green roof that will merge into the landscape of Munich‘s Olympic park.
Danish architecture office 3XN is working with German landscape and urban planning firm Latz + Partner to design the 11,500-seater arena, which will become home to the city’s basketball and ice hockey teams.
A green roof will cover the oval structure, which will be built on the site of the former Olympic cycling track stadium that was designed by German architect Günther Behnisch for the 1972 Summer Olympics.
“During the design process, we continually thought about the park’s original design and asked ourselves how Günter Behnisch would have approached the task,” said Jan Ammundsen, head of design at 3XN
“It was important to us to create a flexible, multipurpose arena with a strong identity while respecting the history and vision of the original Olympic park and fitting in quite naturally. We want to create the perfect backdrop for a fantastic fan experience.”
The arena, which is owned by Red Bull Stadion München, will be home to the German ice hockey champions Munich Red Bulls and basketball champions FC Bayern Munich.
In addition to the arena, three more ice rinks will be built as training facilities next to the main building.
These will be sunk underground and covered with landscaping to create a hill covered with paths and trees to blends in with the existing park.
“The sports venues at the heart of the Olympic Park form an extraordinary ensemble and hence demanded a sensitive planning approach to the new sports arena,” added Christine Strobl, mayor of Munich.
“The new sports arena will integrate harmoniously with the existing park landscape, while its structured facade and roof greening will create elegant highlights.”
The arena currently has no name, but fans are being encouraged to enter a naming competition using the hashtag #NameGameOn. It is set to open on the in summer 2021.
Concrete-lined living spaces extend out onto angular balconies at this low-cost housing block in Zurich, designed by locally based studio Gus Wüstemann.
The monolithic block is surrounded by 1950s housing in the suburb of Albisrieden. It was designed by the Swiss architecture studio for the Baechi Foundation and contains nine apartments.
The new block is slotted in among its linear neighbours, with the aim of offering affordable housing with a high quality of living based on the provision of ample natural light, privacy and generosity of space.
Each floor of the angular building accommodates a three-bedroom units at its wider end and a smaller two-bedroom apartment at the other end. A one-bedroom residence occupies one side of the roof, with the other side providing a communal terrace.
A staircase and lift are positioned between the residential units, which feature living spaces occupying large openings carved into the solid concrete volume.
“Morphologically [the building] is a solid concrete block, organically formed, from which two courtyards were cut out,” explained Gus Wüstemann.
“In these courtyards the living spaces float like bridges, from the morning sun to the evening sun.”
Living areas of each apartment are lined on both sides by sliding glass doors that can be retracted to open the rooms up to the open air. Spaces are connected by cantilevered concrete balconies or terraces that are protected from the sun and unwanted overlooking by slatted roller blinds.
To reduce costs, the budget was focused on a couple of key interventions that define the overall quality of space: the sliding windows and the inclusion of built-in floating benches in the living areas.
The architecture studio described the cast-concrete interiors as a form of topography that defines the spaces and incorporates functional elements such as the benches and wardrobes.
Walls inside the apartments feature textured surfaces created by casting concrete in formwork made from oriented strand board.
Throughout the block concrete floors flow throughout the living spaces, bathrooms and into the bedrooms, where they contrast with an area floored with wood to give it a more intimate feel.
Wood is also used for details such as windows frames, doors and kitchen units, which incorporate a fold-out surface that provides extra worktop space.
In the three-bedroom apartments, a large sliding door that purposely does not touch the ground separates the bathroom from the common living space. A smaller concrete bench projects from the wall just outside the bathroom.
British fashion designer Anya Hindmarch has teamed up with design collective Numen/For Use to create a London Fashion Week installation that sees visitors clambering through woven, electric-blue tubes in a Soho car park.
Forming part of a showcase called The Weave Project, The Tube is an installation designed to recreate the excitement of a children’s playground for adults.
It comprises a series of twisting structures constructed from woven mesh and rope. Visitors can climb through the netted tunnels to experience the installation from all angles.
Installed in Brewer Street Car Park in Soho, The Tube has been open to the public for four days, from 16 to 19 February, to coincide with London Fashion Week.
It took three days for Numen/For Use – a trio of artists based between Croatia, Austria and Germany – to weave the structure. It then took seven days to erect, using 3,000 metres of rope for the suspension, and 11,000 square metres of net for the tunnel structures.
The Tube installation marks the global relaunch of Hindmarch’s Neeson bag collection, which provided the inspiration for the woven tunnels.
The new collection is an updated version of one of Hindmarch’s most recognisable styles – a lightweight woven tote and cross-body bag, which take almost a week to make and features the brand’s signature woven bow.
Hindmarch experimented with a big installation at London Fashion Week in September 2018, when she installed the “world’s biggest beanbag” inside London’s neo-classical 17th century Banqueting House.
“The Weave Project will be a completely immersive and playful installation that you can experience from the inside out,” said Hindmarch.
“Following on from the Chubby Cloud, we like to take our customers on the journey behind the inspiration for our collections, in this case The Neeson,” she added. “This is a beautiful sculpture and a complex project to bring to life but one that I can’t wait to share.”
The Weave Project also includes a themed cafe, plus a concept store stocking the Neeson collection and special-edition merchandise. Visitors can purchase the bags and have them personalised by on-site weavers, with hand-woven symbols, words and initials.
The Pool House is located in Sainte-Marthe, a village just west of Montreal. The building is situated at the base of a wooded slope, at the point where the hillside meets the Saint Lawrence River Valley.
The team took cues from a groundbreaking project by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe – the 1929 Barcelona Pavilion, which gained acclaim for its simple form and rich materials, such as marble and red onyx.
Similarly, the pool house is intended to be a minimalist and intricately crafted building.
The building consists of a glass-walled box, a shaded terrace with a fireplace, and a long, linear swimming pool that stretches toward the agrarian floodplain.
All elements are framed by an L-shaped wall made of board-formed concrete. Leading to the building is a pathway that cuts through a grassy field.
“The public facade of this project opens to the southwest to take full advantage of natural light, essential to this pool house’s programme,” said MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects.
The glazed box contains a gym and areas for changing and bathing. Interior walls and ceilings are clad in honey-toned wood, adding warmth to the austere space. Glass walls can be fully opened up, eliminating the boundary between inside and out.
The small building is shaded by an overhanging roof supported by slender columns.
“A monolithic roof floats above the glass box, with a cedar-board soffit that extends above an outdoor fireplace and the pool, offering protection from the elements,” the studio said. “This is an all-weather building, designed for use in all four seasons.”
Dezeen promotion: Ermenegildo Zegna has launched My Cesare, its first customisable sneaker collection “where the worlds of luxury and streetwear meet”.
Dubbed by Ermenegildo Zegna as “the future of luxury streetwear”, My Cesare range allows the wearer to personalise their sneaker in up to 10 different colours.
“The notion of a fully customised luxury streetwear sneaker is an incredibly unique and new one,” explained the Italian luxury menswear brand.
“My Cesare shows where the worlds of luxury and streetwear meet, and showcases how our hand-crafted skill has intertwined with hyper-detailed and athletic footwear.”
My Cesare is an extension of the brand’s Cesare sneaker range, which was first revealed in January as part of Ermenegildo Zegna’s AW19 show in Milan.
The ultra-light, versatile, shock-absorbing sneaker is characterised by its bold silhouette and multi-material construction, which makes it an easily modifiable design.
Wearers can personalise their trainers by choosing between 10 colours to apply in various combinations across its overlapping mesh and leather upper, as well as its midsole.
Other changeable elements include the brand’s handmade-leather XXX logo, and the choice of chunky patterned laces.
There is also the option for the back of the shoe to be personalised with lettering, which can be used to display the owner’s initials.
“Whether you craft a uniquely coloured midsole, change the XXX logo to your preferred colour, alter the look of the mesh, or personalise the font and letters on the back to your own initials – this is the future of luxury streetwear,” added the brand.
“We challenge conventions and we pioneer new sartorial techniques and visions, without losing sight of our roots as the quintessential Italian brand.”
Alongside the launch, Ermenegildo Zegna commissioned leading London-based creative directors DJA to create a campaign for My Cesare that supported the “incredibly unique” concept.
DJA’s campaign, which includes a video, marries Roman typography with Ermenegildo Zegna’s XXX logo, creating “a bold, playful, campaign that makes a modern-day icon from Zegna’s new statement sneaker”.
Founded in Italy in 1910, Ermenegildo Zegna first developed its reputation for its use of fine fabrics – for which it is now one of the biggest, and ethical, global producers.
Today, Ermenegildo Zegna is recognised as a leading luxury menswear fashion house. Alongside producing clothing and accessories for its own labels, it also manufactures suits for leading designers including Gucci and Tom Ford.
“Those are black shoes with little faces on them. Not “blackface” shoes,” argued Milton.
“I agree,” said Hani Santa. “Too sensitive – there is also a light version with exactly the same features. Clearly it’s not intended as racist, it’s just a style.”
Victor wasn’t so sure though: “The shoes play on racist stereotypes used in theatrical makeup, period! I highly doubt this was intentional but that doesn’t make it okay. Nobody is getting punished here, I am just glad they removed the shoes and apologised.”
Jam agreed, asking: “How are designers still making this mistake?”
This reader had their own reason for not buying the shoes:
“Has Harley-Davidson been emasculated?” asked Spadestick. “There’s no resemblance to a long time honoured tradition of producing classic bikes.”
Aint Yer Pa shared the sentiment: “Attract new customers at the expense of its old? Recipe for failure. There are ways to stay relevant without alienating the core set of people that made you successful.”
“I don’t really care for motorcycles but these two actually look really nice,” said Zea Newland, in contrast. “I find it brave of Harley-Davidson to reinvent itself like that in order to attract new customers.”
TKO went further: “The old customers are, literally, old! ‘True street bikers’ are an ageing demographic.”
One commenter was more concerned with the bike’s suitability as urban transport:
Skirting around the issue: readers are torn over Koichi Takada Architects’ proposal for Sky Trees, a Los Angeles tower boasting a splayed bottom inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “flying skirt”.
Hugh Janus was also quite impressed: “I like the form of the tower with subtle curves, angular roof and elegant window details. The Marilyn reference ruined it all though, taking attention away from what is a notable design.”
“It’s nice without the unnecessary narrative. Leave Marilyn Monroe in peace,” pleaded Spadestick.
Flight control:Layer’s prototype of Airbus’ economy class seating, featuring technology which would allow passengers to monitor and control their seat conditions using their phone, hasn’t gone down well with readers.Â
“Why do you need an app to monitor and control your seat, when the application needed to monitor and control your seat could also be put onto the screen in front of you?,” wondered She Grabs The Curtain.
The e-commerce platform – which sells furniture, jewellery, fashion, art and homeware sourced from acclaimed dealers and current designers – has opened the showroom in New York’s Chelsea neighbourhood.
Located on the seventh floor of a refurbished brick warehouse, Terminal Stores, it marks 1stdibs’ first standalone gallery for customers to review items before buying.
Local firm Davies Toews Architecture overhauled the space measuring 45,000 square feet (4,180 square metres).
Inside 1stdibs Gallery is a large collection of vintage pieces from different periods, such as antiques, mid-century modern, retro and contemporary designs. Products range from seating, lighting, tables, rugs and homeware objects.
Antique and vintage pieces are provided by dealers Orley Shabahang and Greenwich Living, along with other second-hand retailers. Works include crystal chandeliers, oriental rugs and vases.
One nook has golden tables, including the Melting Brass Console Table by sculptor Zhipeng Tan. Another section features a custom light installation by Italian company Flos, while a living-room style area is decorated by Brooklyn-based Chango & Co.
Temporary installations also feature in the showroom and will rotate during the year.
Among those currently on show are a set of 1970s surrealist pieces by Italian manufacturer Gufram, a group of arabesque busts by Los Angeles design firm The Archers, and a video installation by Milan gallery Rossana Orlandi.
The building is located in West Chelsea, an industrial hub that is rapidly developing with commercial enterprises, with both the High Line and one of Manhattan’s largest real estate developments, Hudson Yards, located nearby.
1stdibs is among a number of predominantly digital platforms that have recently opened showrooms in the US, following Danish brand Hay‘s Portland store, and Swedish furniture brand Hem‘s new outpost in Los Angeles.
Installations set against the arid landscape of California‘s Coachella Valley for the Desert X biennial art festival include a huge orange block and a rainbow-like arch.
Artists including Sterling Ruby, John Gerrard and Pia Camil have participated in the second edition of Desert X, which opened earlier this month, following the inaugural event in 2017.
Sterling Ruby’s Specter (also main image) is one of several dotted around the Coachella Valley as part of this year’s Desert X
Spread across the valley east of Los Angeles, famed for the annual Coachella music festival, the installations and sculptures offer moments of colour, pause and reflection in remote locations – from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea.
One of the boldest statements is American artist Ruby’s monolithic fluorescent orange block, titled Specter. The cuboid volume creates a gap in the mountain vistas, alluding to an edifice or an apparition, and is coloured like a safety warning.
“The bright, geometric sculpture creates a jarring optical illusion, resembling a Photoshopped composite or collage, as if something has been removed or erased from the landscape,” said a project description.
Dive-In by Superflex comprises blocks with a coral-like texture and colour
Also using coloured blocks, Danish collective Superflex’s Dive-In sculpture is a reminder that the valley was once underwater. Four cuboids are arranged in a Stonehenge-like fashion, with surfaces akin to marine coral in both texture and tone, and the structure occasionally acts as a venue for film screenings.
“Dive-In merges the recognition that global warming will drastically reshape the habitat of our planet with another more recent extinction: the outdoor movie theatre,” a project description said.
Lover’s Rainbow by Pia Camil has a twin on the other side of the US-Mexico border
Mexican artist Camil has installed one of two arches, formed from rebar and painted in rainbow hues, close to Rancho Mirage. The other is located on the other side of the US-Mexico border, in Baja, and the Lover’s Rainbow project is intended to shed light on current immigration policies.
A giant video screen erected by Irish artist Gerrard plays footage of his black-smoke flag – a digital simulation he produced in 2017 to highlight the threat of carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere.
Footage of John Gerrard’s digital simulation Western Flag mirrors the real time of day
The Western Flag footage is set against a barren oil field in Spindletop, Texas, and is aligned with the times of the day so it plays sunset at the same time as the real surroundings.
“The simulation has no beginning or end and runs by software that calculates each frame of the animation in real time as it is needed,” said a description.
Julian Hoeber built his Going Nowhere Pavilion #1 using concrete breeze blocks laid out as a Möbius strip
Terracotta-toned breeze blocks – some punched with circular holes – form a pair of oval-shaped paddocks that Julian Hoeber has built side by side.
Katie Ryan has made an industrial-looking palm tree with translucent fronds that move in the breeze, while Ivan Argote has placed sets of concrete steps to provide elevated views of the landscape.
Katie Ryan’s Ghost Palm echoes the natural flora in an ethereal interpretation
A total of 18 artists and groups have contributed to the biennial. The others include Armando Lerma, Steve Badgett and Chris Taylor, Cara Romero, Cecilia Bengolea, Eric Mack, Gary Simmons, Iman Issa, Mary Kelly, Nancy Baker Cahill, and Postcommodity.
The Desert X installations are on view from 9 February to 21 April 2019. Visitor information is available from hubs in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Indio, as well as online.
With Ivan Argote’s A Point of View staircases, visitors gain an elevated vantage of the Salton Sea
The Sidewalk Toronto update features a visual by Snøhetta that depicts two high-rises linked by a curved structure
Released 14 February 2019, the Project Update focuses on the development of the 12-acre (9.5-hectare) Quayside neighbourhood at Parliament Slip – east of the city’s Downtown area on the edge of Lake Ontario. The site makes up a small portion of the Sidewalk Toronto’s scheme, which was first unveiled last year and billed as a “future city”, and is intended as a test bed for later expansion.
Advancing on Sidewalk’s August 2018 update of the parcel, which revealed plans to construct buildings from local and renewable Canadian timber, Snøhetta and Heatherwick Studio’s designs are all wooden.
Snøhetta has also designed an interior courtyard detailed with a gridded wooden construction
Visuals by Snøhetta include an exterior image of a pair of high-rises linked by a curved structure. While their uses are not explicit, it is likely the buildings could form part of the housing that Sidewalk Labs plans to include in the new town.
These include models of co-living for singles and purpose-built family dwellings, as well as affordable housing totalling 80 per cent of the accommodation – much more than the average 26 per cent provided in Toronto developments. The amount would also be four times that typically offered in a waterfront development.
Heatherwick’s proposals include a design for Google’s Canadian HQ. Rendering by Picture PlaneÂ
Snøhetta’s interior view reveals an exposed gridded wooden construction that outlines a courtyard, showcasing one of the many public arenas intended for the site. A large tree grows up the centre, while translucent screens offer glimpses inside the buildings.
Meanwhile, Heatherwick Studio has produced designs for the Google Canadian headquarters at the site, following the firm’s work with BIG on the tech company’s new California campus and London HQ.
The Sidewalk Toronto HQ, which is intended to bring more Google jobs in the eastern waterfront, features a sunken circular courtyard topped with a bubbly roof, and curvilinear wooden balconies and a bubbly roof.
Similar organic forms can be found in Heatherwick’s proposal for another courtyard and a waterfront complex, where buildings are fronted with rounded, slatted balconies. Depicted in snowy conditions, the waterside site also features the “building coats” that would be drawn over to protect the woodwork from harsh weather conditions.
Curvaceous balconies front the proposal by the British studio, which spills onto the waterfront. Rendering by Picture PlaneÂ
Heatherwick Studio has also developed the Innovation Centre, which Sidewalk Labs intends as a hub for startups and tech companies.
Sidewalk Toronto, which was first unveiled in October 2017, aims to address many urban issues – like affordable housing, traffic congestion and safety, and environmental problems – with smart designs. Sidewalk Labs urban planner Rohit Aggarwala said it could provide a model for cities to use the latest technologies in urban design, in an interview with Dezeen last year.
Heatherwick Studio has also developed a scheme for the Innovation Centre, intended as an incubator for startups
Following this ethos, the company chose mass timber construction for the neighbourhood to provide an example of an affordable and sustainable built environment. The cradle-to-cradle construction forms part of a wider environmental strategy, along with comprehensive recycling and composting systems, and underground, robotic trash disposal.
The wooden construction would also support the Canada’s timber industry.
The proposal includes public spaces that are built “modular kit of parts” so that they could easily be rearranged for different uses. Other forward-thinking details in the proposed neighbourhood are the integration of autonomous vehicles and the introduction of larger curbs.
The duo’s designs focus on the development of the 12-acre (9.5-hectare) Quayside neighbourhood at Parliament Slip
In the latest update, the team developed plans for sourcing data from residents living in the neighbourhood. This had formed a point of contention for many, particularly after the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, which saw data allegedly used to influence voters in political campaigns.
However, the revised scheme suggests the establishment of an independent Civic Data Trust, which will de-identify all personal markers before using the data.
Featured images is by Picture Plane for Heatherwick Studio.
Brett Mahon, Joonas Parviainen, Saagar Tulshan, Shreyansh Sett have built a multi-level pavilion where people can gather and relax in Rijeka, Croatia.
Level Up is designed to be a new place for locals in the post industrial port city to socialise, and turns a previously disused rooftop area into a terrace.
The pavilion was built as an extension to Export Drvo, a 1950s industrial storage building by the Dead Canal. Rijeka is due to become Europe’s culture capital in 2020, and the Export Drvo is set to be one of the key venues in the celebrations.
The pavilion, which doubles as street furniture, is formed of a series of levels linking up to a elevated terrace built on the roof.
Different places and surfaces for visitors to sit, swing or relax in a hammock are placed all along the extended staircase to the top of the structure.
On the terrace a platform provides a raised vantage point to look over the city and doubles as a place for speakers to address a crowd.
Mahon, who is from Northern Ireland, Parviainen from Finland, and India-based Tulshan and Sett, drew up the design prior to EASA 2018, where they ran a workshop for participants who helped bring Level Up to life.
“Instead of creating new public urban area, Level Up puts focus on reclaiming existing space,” said the design team.
“It creates a balcony to the Delta with an industrial aesthetic, acting as a public frontage. In an era where permanence of the built form has been defining architecture, Level Up celebrates ephemeral urbanism, inviting everyone to ponder material and spatial impermanence.”
Steel scaffolding was used for the structural frame, with wooden boards and decking used to create the levels, steps and furniture. Plants sourced from a local garden centre were used to decorate the pavilion.
Others repurposing unused places for public space include Jordanian architects Sarah Abdul Majid and Sandra Hiari, who have designed a series of stackable wooden units that can turn abandoned areas into children’s playgrounds.
Photography is by Rahul Palagani.
Project credits:
Designers and tutors: Brett Mahon, Joonas Parviainen, Saagar Tulshan, Shreyansh Sett, Vanja Borovic Participants: Ana Mateos, Anna Opitz, Ð�​nton Fedin, Ã�sta MarÃa Thorsteinsdóttir​, AyÅŸe Tuğçe Pınar​, Birgit Fløystad, Caro Andrade​, Ciaran Magee​, Chloë Reyda, Felic Micallef, Gleb Rudenya​, Glenn McNamara​, Gustavs Grasis​, Ilia Bebi​, Joanna Lewanska, Julia Triches, Julien Hermant, Klemen Mraz​, Mattea Fenech​, Samúel Aron Laufdal Guðlaugsson​, Sebastian Bidault, Simona Svitkova​, Tadhg Spain.
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