Hasta La Ideas

The TreeHugger tourist information office in Bressanone, northern Italy, features smooth concrete walls that curve around the trunk of a tree.

Designed by local studio MoDus Architects, the small building sits adjacent to the Bishop’s Palace, a 13th-century villa that is one the town’s main tourist attractions.

The building is named TreeHugger, because its shape responds to a pair of established trees – the only obstacles on what would otherwise have been an empty, triangular plot.

One tree stands at the far north corner, out of the way. But the second proved more of an challenge, taking up a chunk of space in the southwest portion of the site.

MoDus Architects, led by Matteo Scagnol and Sandy Attia, decided to embrace rather than avoid the trees.

They wrapped the building around the second tree, creating a circular cutaway in the building volume that translates to the walls. They then designed a curved concrete wall as the north facade, subtly framing the first tree.

As the building has two storeys, the architects were able to create setbacks at ground level, allowing plenty of open space around the perimeter.

All glazing sits behind the concrete, sometimes close but other times far away, making it look like a glass box is enclosed within the building. The effect carries through upstairs, where windows take the form of round-cornered openings.

The architects hope visitors will find similarities between their building and the Chinese and Japanese pavilions in the palace garden. The design also references the many other tourist offices that previously stood on this site.

They describe TreeHugger as “the most recent episode in a series of architectural homicides”, all featuring sculptural overhangs and delicate proportions.

“Historical documentation reveals a lineage of eccentric and remarkable pavilions at the service of visitors, which have met their unfortunate demise through demolition, making way for the next victim,” said the studio.

“The project takes on the qualities of airiness and levity that characterise these pavilions.”

The 430-square-metre building opened to the public in September 2019.

Its open-plan ground floor contains a series of counters and seating areas, while the upper level is divided up into private offices and workspaces. There is also a basement level.

A spiral staircase connects the floors.

Photography is by Oskar Da Riz.

Project credits:

Client: Bressanone Tourist Association
Architect: MoDusArchitects (Sandy Attia, Matteo Scagnol)
Project team: Irene Braito, Filippo Pesavento
Structural engineer: Luca Bragagna
Contractor: Unionbau
Site works: Goller Bögl
Electrical installations: Elektro Josef Graber
Thermo–hydraulic installations: Pezzei

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Red brick archways define the lower and topmost levels of Cadence, a housing development designed by Alison Brooks Architects next to Coal Drops Yard at King’s Cross, London.

A total of 103 homes will be built behind the terracotta-coloured facades.

Dramatic brick archways will form a colonnade along the ground floor, reflected back in a water feature in a central courtyard. White-washed vaulted communal spaces will feature at the entrance.

Arches will also feature at the top of a multi-storey block of apartments that will have a row of recessed balconies.

“We’ve created a new language of brick arches and vaulted spaces that echo the exuberant architecture of King’s Cross and St Pancras stations,” said architect Alison Brooks, founder of Alison Brooks Architects.

“It will reveal itself slowly as you move around and through it.”

Designed for developer Argent, the 103 homes will be a combination of studios, and one, two and three bedroom apartments.

Conran and Partners, the architecture firm that recently converted Centre Point tower into housing, will be designing the interiors for 53 of the Cadence homes.

Small homes developer Pocket Living will be managing the other 60 units in the development, renting them out to local workers on middle incomes.

Pocket Living collaborated with architecture studio Metropolitan Workshop to build a 27-storey tower of 86 apartments in Wandsworth.

Cadence, which is due to complete in 2022, will be located in London King’s Cross area, close to the Thomas Heatherwick-designed shopping centre Coal Drops Yard.

Heatherwick converted two 19th-century coal houses for the project, adding swooping slate roofs that meet in the middle.

A large swathe of land behind the King’s Cross railway station is under redevelopment. Victorian gas holders have been turned into housing by WilkinsonEyre, and both Facebook and Google are building office blocks.

Alison Brooks founded her eponymous architecture studio in 1996 The studio was a finalist for the Mies van der Rohe Award for a development of 44 homes that is part of the  South Kilburn Estate Regeneration Masterplan.

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Many members of a certain generation will likely get misty eyed at the mention of the melodrama-packed gaming terms Space Harrier, Thunder Blade and Power Drift. These were just some of the Sega Taiken ‘body sensation’ arcade games people went loopy for when they launched in the 1980s, six of which are now being celebrated in a new book titled SEGA Arcade: Pop-Up History.

The title is published by Read Only Memory, the publisher focused on gaming history which was founded by Darren Wall, who acts as editor-in-chief helming all aspects of production including commissioning and editorial coordination, art direction and brand development. “I grew up playing these games during the late 80s heyday of the video game arcade,” says Wall. “They were noisy (and quite often smelly) places where gaudy cabinets jockeyed for your attention — and as young as I was, it was always clear that Sega was the most innovative company in this area. Their cabinets for titles like Space Harrier and After Burner looked more like military flight simulators than video game cabinets, and the games themselves were frenetic and heart-pounding experiences.”

As such, Wall had always wanted to make a book about these machines, “and a sober documentary style book just didn’t feel quite right,” he says. That’s why SEGA Arcade: Pop-Up History takes an unusual approach to presenting Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run, After Burner, Thunder Blade and Power Drift. Not only do we see images of the games in specially restored production artwork and reproduced in-game screens, alongside a written history from Guardian games writer and novelist Keith Stuarand — they’re also brought to life in 3D.

Paper engineer Helen Friel has recreated the games as six large scale pop-up paper sculptures to give a miniature representation of how they were configured; something for both those fascinated with the machinations of such things, and likely a nostalgia-inducing curiosity for those who remember the games IRL. “The most challenging aspect of creating the models, and the painstaking recreations of the original artworks that cover them — courtesy of Kam Tang — was getting detailed information on the nuances of the cabinets themselves, which are in large part now in the possession of Sega superfans,” says Wall. But thanks to the book’s successful crowdfunding campaign, he and Friel were contacted by cabinet owners “who were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable”, he says, and provided photographs and measurements to help ensure each model was as accurate as possible.

Design-wise, Wall says he was keen that, despite this being a pop-up book, it “retained the ‘gallery feel’” of other visual history titles published by Read-Only Memory. “The typical aesthetic of a pop-up book is driven by the fact they are aimed at children, whereas I wanted this book to feel slick, stripped back and somewhat timeless,” he says. “I’d always seen this as an ‘exhibition in a book’ so the models themselves feel like ‘the artworks’ and the texts and images that form the rest of the book feel like investigating a gallery space.”

For the book jacket, Wall has opted to use a simple, striking red, with a black outline of the motorbike central to Hang-On — a game released in 1985, which sees players race against time and other virtual bikers. The typeface used is the condensed, all caps sans serif Coign 47 by Colophon Foundry, aligned to the left and giving a sense of modernity while hinting at the retro nature of the book’s subject. The same type style also appears as a headline font throughout the book, with body copy set in Atlas Grotesk Light by Commercial Type.

The hardcover book also features contributions from arcade game innovator Yu Suzuki, who offers his own first-hand insights into how these specific games were developed and created, as well as a broader look at the birth of the Taiken cabinet phenomenon.

Read-Only Memory is no stranger to the world of Sega: in 2014 it released SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works, which was followed by SEGA Dreamcast: Collected Works, a history of the cult games console, produced in collaboration with Sega and released late last year.

readonlymemory.vg; darrenwall.co

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Writer and Dezeen columnist Phineas Harper has become director of London-based charity Open City, which organises open house events in over 40 cities around the world.

In his new role Harper, who joined Open City after working as deputy director of the Architecture Foundation for five years, wants to encourage people to be more involved in decisions that impact their cities.

“I believe a good city is one in which all its citizens have a voice in how it is made,” he told Dezeen.

“Open City has for years been a pioneer of diversity in the built environment, creating educational programmes which expand who is able to study architecture and create the city we live in. All organisations who want to help create better cities must now have diversity at the heart of their agenda and practice.”

“I hope to help Open City lead debate about London’s future”

In London, where Open City is based and the Open House London event opens over 800 buildings to the public each year, Harper wants to organisation to lead discussions about the city’s future.

“I hope to help Open City lead debate about London’s future, making the propositional case for a truly equitable, adventurous and open city,” he told Dezeen.

“Buffeted by the climate crisis and political change, I believe the UK faces an uncertain future intrinsically connected to the key question of its openness. Simultaneously, it is without doubt that cities and towns, rather than nation-states, will be the centres of ambitious social and economic thinking and innovation in the coming decades,” he continued.

“Against these intersecting challenges, Open City is at the centre of some of the most dynamic discussions in urban thinking today.”

Open City’s “strength is the incredible volunteers”

Harper hopes that Open City’s huge network of volunteers can be encouraged to collaborate on other ethical projects that benefit the city.

“Open City’s unique strength is the incredible volunteers who give their time to organising the Open House festival every year. It is an extraordinary event and testament to what is possible when like-minded people come together behind a meaningful project,” he explained.

“I wonder what else Londoners who care about ethical city-making, from young architects to veteran planners, could accomplish by using the Open City network to collaborate on something together that would be impossible alone.”

Beyond London, Harper wants the organisation to help connect people with architects, planners and designers to help create more open cities.

“Over a quarter-century, the Open House Worldwide network has given citizens from Lagos to London greater ownership and access to their cities,” he explained.

“In the crucial years ahead, our network of 40 sister organisations has a key role to play connecting people with policy-makers and urban practitioners exploring what real openness should mean in the twenty twenties.”

Harper replaces former Architects’ Journal editor Rory Olcayto as director. He will take up his position at the end of March 2019.

Open City was established in 1992 and is best known for running Open House London, which it describes as the largest architecture festival in the country.

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Here is some food for thought – what if our leftovers could be turned to functional furniture that looked food? I mean good, that looked good! Phillipe Starck is a French designer which means he eats really good food and has managed to turn the leftovers into some really good chairs called the Broom for Emeco. Global food waste (aka leftovers) is twice as high as predicted reports CNN but leftovers don’t necessarily mean just food – it is any waste that ends up in the trash and the solution to waste management lies in creative, sustainable design. The Broom is a fine example of just that! Recycled, recyclable and designed to last – this is where rubbish becomes responsible.

The relationship between Phillipe Starck and Emeco is what turned the company from just a US Navy supplier to a coveted furniture design brand. “Working with Emeco has allowed me to use recycled material and transform it into something that never needs to be discarded – a tireless and unbreakable chair to use and enjoy for a lifetime,” says Starck who believes every creator has a duty to the society. Emeco uses recycled aluminum, recycled PET, reclaimed wood polypropylene, eco-concrete, and cork. In fact, the Broom chair is made of 90% reclaimed waste polypropylene and wood fiber that would normally be swept into the trash – hence the name!

Broom is the ingenious result of a design collaboration that both avoids and eliminates waste. It is made from a compound of industrial waste from lumber factories and industrial plastic plants – 75% waste polypropylene and 15% reclaimed wood that usually ends up in the trash. It checks all the boxes for sustainable furniture with its three-fold environmental impact – less energy, less waste, and less carbon. “With the Broom chair, it is about less and more. We chose less – less “style”, less “design”, less material, less waste, less energy. And so, the Broom chair became so much more” says Starck when talking about the design process to make a chair that does more than being a surface to sit on.

The Broom comes in 6 colors, can be stacked easily, perfect for outdoor use and very low maintenance (honestly, just clean with soapy water and wipe with a soft cloth).  The wood particles create a speckled texture that gives the surface a warmer, more natural touch, each chair will have its own unique textured pattern. Wood is good, polypropylene is not so good, but the combination made from the two gives us a material that lasts like synthetic but has the spirit of nature. This is sourced from woodshops and plastic producing worksites, it is then cleaned, compressed and transformed into a wood composite that works for the environment instead of harming it.

“Imagine”, says Philippe Starck, “a guy who takes a humble broom and starts to clean the workshop and with this dust he makes new magic” and we bet JK Rowling will agree that brooms are truly magic.

Designer: Philippe Starck for Emeco.