Hasta La Ideas

The renovation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe‘s Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, Germany, has been completed by British practice David Chipperfield Architects.

David Chipperfield Architects‘ overhaul, which began in 2012, involved refurbishing the building’s ageing concrete structure and steel, glass exterior while modernising its services.

The studio’s intervention, which it described as “surgical”, preserves Mies van der Rohe’s original vision for the gallery as far as possible, ensuring that any new additions are subordinate to it.

“Taking apart a building of such unquestionable authority has been a strange experience but a privilege,” said the studio’s founder David Chipperfield.

“The Neue Nationalgalerie is a touchstone for myself and many other architects. Seeing behind its exterior has revealed both its genius and its flaws, but overall it has only deepened my admiration for Mies’ vision,” Chipperfield explained.

“Our work was therefore surgical in nature, addressing technical issues to protect this vision,” he continued. “Certainly carrying out such a task in a building that leaves no place to hide is daunting, but we hope to have returned this beloved patient seemingly untouched except for it running more smoothly.”

Completed in 1968, the Neue Nationalgalerie is one of Mies van der Rohe’s last major projects and the only building he designed in Europe after his emigration to the USA.

This is the first time in the building’s history that it has undergone a major renovation.

David Chipperfield Architects’ updates to the building’s envelope involved improving insulation, replacing glazing and refreshing the steel frame of its distinctive canopy.

Its reinforced concrete shell was also repaired. This process required temporarily removing 35,000 original building components, such as the podium’s stone cladding and all interior fittings, in order to expose the structure.

Alongside the renovation of the building envelope, David Chipperfield Architects has updated the building’s air-conditioning and artificial lighting to improve energy performance.

The lower level has been partially reconfigured to maximise storage space and improve access to visitor facilities, which include the cloakroom, cafe, bathrooms and museum shop.

Some storage and technical spaces have been relocated to a new underground space below the gallery’s podium terrace, which has freed up space for an “exhibition preparation area”.

Completing the renovation is a ramp on the southeast of the building, which leads to the terrace and main entrance, making the museum “barrier-free” for the first time.

Neue Nationalgalerie is expected to reopen to the public in August 2021. A museum by the Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron is currently being developed for a site beside it. The design, unveiled in 2018, will involve linking the buildings by a tunnel.

Other recent projects by David Chipperfield Architects include The Bryant concrete skyscraper in New York and the limestone-clad extension to Kunsthaus Zurich.

Photography is by Simon Menges.

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Dezeen Showroom: Italian brand Lualdi has released the Altaj swing door, created in collaboration with design studio SBGA Blengini Ghirardelli, which doesn’t disappear into the surrounding walls but stands out thanks to its gridded, three-dimensional profile.

With a distinctive relief pattern, the Altaj door is set within a thin, lightweight aluminium frame that has a minimum thickness of 1.5 centimetres.

“Altaj was born from the desire to combine the simplicity of the forms with technological research and performance, pushing to the limits the expressive potential of this object and its possibilities for customisation,” said SBGA Blengini Ghirardelli co-founder Giuseppe Blengini.

The door itself is available in a range of finishes including wood, leather and three kinds of marble.

Product: Altaj swing door
Designer: SBGA Blengini Ghirardelli
Brand: Lualdi
Contact: team@lualdi.com

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Dezeen Showroom: Spanish brand Porcelanosa has launched a marble-effect finish called Paonazzo Biondo that can be used as both a wall covering and flooring.

Paonazzo Biondo, designed by Porcelanosa as part of its XTone series, has an ivory backdrop decorated with delicate veining in hues of gold, caramel, sage and deep merlot red.

Alongside wall and floor coverings, the product can be used to decorate countertops, tables and furniture.

“Innovative digital printing has allowed us to create a product that is reminiscent of palatial opulence yet still remains contemporary,” says Porcelanosa’s managing director Juan Bodi.

“What’s more, this series offers endless possibilities to create a unique space.”

According to Porcelanosa, Paonazzo Biondo surfaces are made using 40 per cent recycled materials and can also be fully recycled at the end of their life.

To ensure longevity, the finish is resistant to water, scratches and stains, making it ideally suited for use in bathrooms and kitchens.

The surfacing comes in panels of four different formats, ranging from square units to longer rectangular ones.

All are available with silk or polished finishes and can be installed as an “infinite horizontal continuous design” – meaning the marble-like veins align to create a seamless transition between panels.

Product: Paonazzo Biondo
Brand: Porcelanosa
Contact: group@porcelanosa.co.uk

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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LMN Architects has built a viewpoint on top of the concrete and weathering steel New Grand Avenue Park Bridge in Everett, Washington.

The asymmetrical bridge spans a railway and a road, projecting from a hillside at one end and meeting a concrete tower at the other.

Seattle-based LMN Architects designed the 257-foot-long (78 metre) bridge to doubles as a viewing platform that frames views of the sunset over the waterfront.

Visitors can now cross between the historic Grand Avenue Park and the sea, easily traversing an 80-foot (24 metre) drop, freight rail tracks and a five-lane highway.

The truss form of the bridge is designed to echo traditional railway architecture across the Pacific Northwest.

Made from weathering steel, the beams will naturally rust over time to form a protective layer and make the bridge easier to maintain.

A guardrail made from 400 perforated steel panels contrasts with the weathering steel. Designed to act as a wayfinding tool for pedestrians, the steel screen is covered in intricate geometric patterns that throw patterns of light and shade onto the walkways.

The architects used a computer script to generate the pattern and automate the layout of the panels for cutting with the fabricator’s CNC machine, after testing the process in-house.

“LMN’s experimentation with our own CNC machine to fabricate full-scale mockups was essential for refining the scale of the pattern, adjusting the amount of area for the light reflection, and testing the digital cut files,” said LMN principal Scott Crawford

“This close collaboration allowed for a solution that is finely tuned to its context.”

The pattern extends to the tower, where it has been blasted into the concrete walls. A staircase wraps around the tower, and an elevator leads down to ground level.

With the ramping accessway at the other end, New Grand Avenue Park Bridge is designed to be accessible by people with more limited mobility.

“As designers, we found these circumstances the perfect opportunity to create a place where the accessible features would define the experience,” said LMN partner Stephen Van Dyck.

“In its design, the Grand Avenue Park Bridge is also a destination. The bridge’s paths, stairs and spaces create a variety of views beyond and within that make it a place of discovery.”

Based in Washington, LMN is led by Julie Adams, John Chau, Sam Miller, Walt Niehoff, Osama Quotah, Mark Reddington, George Shaw, Pamela Trevithick, Stephen Van Dyck, and Rafael Viñoly-Menendez.

Recent projects from the firm include a performing arts centre for the University of Iowa and an extension for an art museum in Seattle.

Photography is by Adam Hunter.

Project credits:

Bridge architect: LMN Architects
Project team: Scott Crawford, Kyle Kiser, Mark La Venture, Kathy Stallings, Stephen Van Dyck, John Woloszyn
Structural engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Civil engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Landscape design: Everett Parks & Recreation
Mechanical engineer: Tres West Engineers
Electrical engineer: Stantec
Lighting concept: Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design
Plumbing engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Elevator: The Greenbusch Group
Geotechnical: HWA GeoSciences
Geotechnical: Landau Associates

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What’s the threshold for when a multitool exceeds its mandate? Victorinox, manufacturer of Swiss Army Knives, produces at least one unit that is apparently meant to be shared by an entire battalion. Don’t let the profiles shots fool you…

…because this angle reveals this probably won’t live in your pocket:

So, the $316 Swiss Champ XXL is advertised as having 73 functions split across 61 tools:

1. toothpick

2. pressurized ballpoint pen

3. pin, stainless steel

4. reamer, punch and sewing awl

5. can opener

6. screwdriver 3 mm

7. bottle opener

8. screwdriver 6 mm

9. wire stripper

10. key ring

11. universal wrench M3, M4, M5

12. Phillips screwdriver 1/2

13. magnifying glass

14. pliers

15. wire cutter

16. wire crimping tool

17. bit wrench

18. fish scaler

19. hook disgorger

20. ruler (cm)

21. ruler (inches)

22. nail file

23. large blade with wavy edge

24. reamer, punch

25. wood saw

26. scissors

27. multipurpose hook

28. screwdriver 2.5 mm

29. pruning blade

30. electrician’s blade

31. wire scraper

32. pharmaceutical spatula

33. watch opener

34. screwdriver 5 mm

35. nail cleaner

36. metal saw

37. metal file

38. chisel 4 mm

39. large blade

40. small blade

41. bit slotted 3

42. bit slotted 4

43. bit Torx 6

44. bit Torx 8

45. bit Hex 1.2

46. bit Hex 1.5

47. bit Hex 2

48. bit Hex 2,5

49. bit case

50. female Hex drive 5 mm for D-SUB connectors

51. female Hex drive 4 mm for bits

52. LED

53. tweezers

54. bit Phillips 2

55. bit Phillips 0 (Pozidrive)

56. bit Phillips 1 (Pozidrive)

57. bit Torx 10

58. bit Torx 15

59. bit Hex 4

60. mini screwdriver

61. corkscrew

Finally, a tool that lets you scale fish while also providing a convenient pharmaceutical spatula.

The 12.5-ounce tool measures 2.5″ high and 3.6″ long. Pointedly, they don’t list the width; the number is either too ridiculous to print, or even Switzerland lacks the technology to measure something that wide.