Hasta La Ideas

An angular roof wrapped in translucent red-mesh panels crowns this Y-shaped pavilion in Sydney, designed by local studio Sam Crawford Architects.

Located on the disused lawn of a bowls club in Hurlstone Memorial Reserve, the timber-clad structure is designed as a flexible community centre with uninterrupted connections to the surrounding park.

The pavilion hosts a multipurpose function room, kitchen, bathrooms and sheltered outdoor area bounded by low-lying landscaping and loosely defined public courtyards.

By utilising a sculptural Y-shaped layout, Sam Crawford Architects avoided creating a back to the building, ensuring a sense of openness from all directions.

“The building is experienced in the round, with a playful and inviting form, drawing people towards and around it,” said the studio’s founder Sam Crawford.

“We wanted to create a building with a siting and form that promoted different pockets of space for different community use, as well as defining various park entry points and promoting park-user safety,” he continued.

The red-mesh roof pitches towards the building edges and is designed to provide solar protection to clerestory windows along the facade.

By layering screens over the roof and integrating glass doors around the function room, the pavilion’s transparency changes across the day and takes on a shape-shifting quality as visitors move around it.

At night, the centre is designed to “glow in the dark”, becoming a lantern-like beacon within Hurlstone Park Reserve.

“The use of mesh gives an ephemerality to the building as it changes across the day and night with lighting and weather conditions and seasons,” Crawford explained.

“From dusk, the mesh allows a gentle glow from the interior lighting to enhance visibility and safety for people utilising the park’s pathways and public transport connections.”

In response to the topography and flood zone constraints, the community centre is raised on a concrete plinth that also demarcates the building edge and creates an elevated viewpoint.

“The form responds to the sloping ground, including the lost creek line,” Crawford said. “A raised floor provides a freeboard for significant stormwater events, as well as spectator seating around the edge of the covered area.”

“It is also a fun edge for kids, and naturally draws people for gathering play, recreation, and ceremony,” he continued.

The pavilion’s material palette references the natural colours of the park reserve, with pink columns and panels made from spotted gum informed by the nearby angophora plants and trees.

Pared-back internal finishes are intended to be low maintenance and durable, while also acting as a canvas for the community to personalise.

“Spotted gum plywood wraps around the base of the function room, providing a tactile and sturdy material for a space that will constantly see furniture being moved around,” said Crawford. “Grey pinboard lines the mid-section of the wall to allow for those hiring the space to temporarily decorate.”

Crawford established his eponymous Sydney-based studio in 1999.

The studio has previously completed a home renovation topped with a hidden garden oasis in Sydney and a restaurant pavilion sheltered by a large steel-framed roof in Parramatta.

The photography is by Brett Boardman. 

The post Sam Crawford Architects creates red-roofed community pavilion in Sydney appeared first on Dezeen.

This week on Dezeen, plans were announced to expand the Hudson Yards development in New York with a series of supertall skyscrapers and a casino.

Developer Related Companies and Wynn Resorts released a series of renderings showing what the potential skyscrapers could look like, following proposals submitted to the city in February.

The renders show three skyscrapers directly west of the current Hudson Yards development, one of which will have a casino at its base.

This week also saw Saudi development Neom unveil its latest hotel resort planned for the Gulf of Aqaba coast, which is being designed by US studio Mark Foster Gage Architects.

Named Treyam, the 250-room hotel will be contained within a 450-metre-long bridge that will be topped with an infinity pool along its entire length.

Following the release of Dune: Part Two, we interviewed production designer Patrice Vermette about the films sets, which we published alongside a set of exclusive images.

According to Vermette, he put himself “in the position of the architect” when designing the film sets.

In architecture news, it was revealed that Foster + Partners and Sasaki Associates are designing a smart city for up to a million people in Sierra Leone for actor Idris Elba.

Also this week, Foster + Partners unveiled renderings of an office tower set to be built in Hollywood that will be wrapped in spiralling, plant-filled terraces.

We continued our Social Housing Revival series with an opinion written by Owen Hatherley, who wrote that “social housing has become a matter of enclaves and micro-sites”.

Also, we interviewed Californian politician Alex Lee, who said that social housing is America’s “missing tool” to solve the housing crisis.

In Japan, US studio Pelli Clarke & Partners unveiled the country’s tallest skyscraper, which forms part of the Azabudai Hills development in Tokyo.

Named Mori JP Tower, the skyscraper overtook the 300-metre-tall Abeno Harukas in Osaka to become the country’s tallest building.

In other architecture news, Adjaye Associates appointed three CEOs – Kofi Bio, Lucy Tilley and Pascale Sablan – to lead the studio into its “next chapter”.

The revamped leadership structure was announced eight months after the studio lost numerous projects in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against its founder.

Popular projects this week include a family home set within an old mill in Slovakia, a house designed to stand up to wildfires in California and a cork-block house in Spain.

Our latest lookbooks featured Mexican holiday homes characterised by earthy hues and interiors where full-length curtains add a touch of drama.

This week on Dezeen

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The post This week we revealed plans for supertall skyscrapers and a casino at Hudson Yards appeared first on Dezeen.

From cantilevered shelves to customisable pegboards, our latest lookbook rounds up eight examples of garden studios with storage designed to make the most of limited space.

Garden studios are becoming increasingly popular in homes around the world, prompted largely by the evergrowing trend of remote work.

Often slotted into small spaces, these structures typically have compact footprints and require efficient storage solutions to keep them clutter-free.

The examples in this lookbook demonstrate some of the ways storage can be suitably integrated within a garden studio, helping save valuable space within their small footprints.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring Mexican holiday homes, full-length curtains and living spaces with swings.

Cork Study, UK, by Surman Weston

Birch shelves and twin desks cantilever from the walls of Cork Study, which Surman Weston created in the narrow garden of a home in north London.

The set-up was designed to help maximise space within the compact studio, which measures just 13 square metres and was created as a workspace for a musician and a seamstress.

The two desks, complete with their own cubby holes, are broken by a long vertical window in the rear wall, illuminating the workspaces with natural light.

Find out more about Cork Study ›

Nightlight, New Zealand, by Fabric

Green storage boxes on wheels slot neatly below the workbench of this outbuilding in New Zealand, which occupies the future garden of a home being developed on the site.

There are also slender slats mounted to the wooden framework of the 10-square-metre structure, forming minimalist shelves from which tools can be hung.

Find out more about Nightlight ›

The Garden Studio, Canada, by Six Four Five A

The founder of architecture studio Six Four Five A built storage into the wooden shell of his tiny studio, which he created in the garden of his Toronto home.

Exposed vertical studs double as supports for shelves and a large standing desk made from birch plywood along one side, preventing cluttering up the 9.3-square-metre space.

Find out more about The Garden Studio ›

Writer’s Cottage, Norway, by Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects

This cabin-like studio sits at the end of a garden in Oslo, where it acts as a compact and secluded workspace for the owner who is a writer.

Among its storage solutions is a plywood staircase that incorporates a shelving system beneath it, leading up to a mezzanine sleeping area that tucks beneath its pitched roof.

Find out more about Writer’s Cottage ›

Writer’s Shed, UK, by Surman Weston

Another project by Surman Weston on the list is the Writer’s Shed, a shingle-clad garden studio designed as a writing retreat for an author.

Inside, a cluster of shelves has been built around the chimney of the wood-burning stove, which is used to heat the compact structure. While providing valuable storage space, they are also intended as “a centrepiece for the client to store his library of books”, Surman Weston said.

Find out more about Writer’s Shed ›

Terrazzo Studio, UK, by Sonn

In east London, architect Tim Robinson designed and built himself a little studio and workshop at the end of his garden.

The narrow workshop contains a line of storage units raised above the floor, alongside a large pegboard for storing tools. Next door in the studio space, a rear wall of cabinets incorporates a concealed fold-down bed, enabling the space to become a guest bedroom.

Find out more about Terrazzo Studio ›

My Room in the Garden, UK, by Boano Prišmontas

This modular pod is a prototype for a garden studio, developed by London studio Boano Prišmontas in response to an increase in people working from home prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Inside, the plywood structure can be fitted out with customisable elements including pegboards from which desks, shelves and storage can be hung.

“My Room in the Garden was created with comfort and customisability in mind,” said the studio. “We wanted to allow people to be able to decide what their interior would look like or how much storage they would have, and we do that by creating a system of interchangeable elements.”

Find out more about My Room in the Garden ›

Writer’s Shed, Australia, by Matt Gibson

This deceptively spacious garden studio that architect Matt Gibson created in Melbourne is hidden behind ivy-covered walls.

An angular desk slots into one corner, with one side nestled below two generous high-level shelving units on the walls. Plywood was used across all of the surfaces, giving the interior a unified look that adds to the sense of spaciousness.

Find out more about Writer’s Shed ›

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring Mexican holiday homes, full-length curtains and living spaces with swings.

The post Eight compact garden studios with neat storage solutions appeared first on Dezeen.

Dubbed the Telescope House, this cabin in Arizona is designed by Wendell Burnette Architects, and is created to capture the stunning views while slowly merging into the landscape like a “dark shadow”. This well-designed home is located in Sedona, a high-desert town located around two hours north of Phoenix by car. This area is popular for its red-colored rock formations, arts scene, and outdoor activities.

Designer: Wendell Burnette Architects

Providing framed views of Sedona, the cabin occupies 1600 square feet and is designed for a couple who plans to live there full-time soon. It is a cozy nature retreat, which is rented out when the client isn’t staying at home. “This home is designed to recede into the landscape as a dark shadow,” said Phoenix-based studio Wendell Burnette Architects. The home is rectangular, and is perched on a gently sloping site, and was constructed atop the footprint of another building.

The Telescope House is fitted between rows of old Juniper trees which frame picture-perfect views of Munds Mountain, and a butte called the Cathedral Rock. The home functions as a “land-based telescope”, and it flows towards the framed views in the plan and section.

“The Corten cladding is made of standard-size sheets lapped downslope and folded down N-S elevations as full-height flashing,” the team said. “It is naturally fireproof along with steel-plate window frames.” The exterior walls of the home are wrapped in weathering steel, which protects the home against wildfires.

The interior of the home has a segregation between the private and public spaces. The western side of the home includes two bedrooms and a primary suite, as well as a carport. The eastern side of the home contains a kitchen, living room, and dining area. “At night, the interior and exterior combine to comfortably recede even further into this dark-sky valley community,” said the team. The walls, ceilings, floor, doors, and cabinets have all been crafted from recycled wood panels infused with a dark pigment and then buffed and waxed, which allows the interiors to seamlessly merge with the exterior and the surrounding landscape.

The post The Telescope Home Merges Into The Sedona Landscape Like A Dark Shadow At Night first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Obama Foundation and US architecture studio Moody Nolan have released images of an athletic facility to be built on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago.

Called Home Court, the building will host a regulation-size NBA basketball court, sports facilities and community spaces and serve as a wellness and gathering hub.

Located on the southwest corner of the in-progress, 19.3-acre (7.8 hectare) Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the athletics centre will be the first space to open on the campus.

“The Home Court will support the Center’s mission as a forum for community, connection, and civic engagement with a focus on promoting well-being – inspiring hope and improving lives for generations to come,” said Moody Nolan director of Chicago operations Renauld Deandre Mitchell.

“The process of architectural design embodies these values, for it is an act of hope – the outcome of which endures as a conversation between what is seen and how it is experienced.”

Moody Nolan designed the 45,000-square-foot (4,180 square metres) facility to reflect two “personal passions” of former US President Barack Obama.

“The Home Court design is inspired by two of President Obama’s personal passions – basketball and building community – with a sleek metal and glass panel exterior patterned to be a metaphor for a basketball net and community connection,” said the team.

Renderings show a rectangular, winged building where each side dips to meet at the centre. On either end, the facades are glazed, with a two-tiered terrace at the front and a double-height space clad in a curtain wall at the back.

Wedges of textured metal fold over the building’s exterior.

The facility’s basketball court will be located at the back, with the expansive curtain wall looking out over the neighbouring lagoon and Lake Michigan.

The court will be lined with a second-floor mezzanine.

Visitors will enter the building through a double-height lobby and other programming will include training spaces, exercise equipment, and community spaces.

Interior renderings show a variety of rooms marked with a grey and black palette and lined with light wood panelling throughout.

The Obama Foundation is working with local chapters of institutions such as the YMCA and Girls in the Game to inform the interior programming, with participants requesting spaces for physical fitness activities, team sports and career development with after-school and weekend accessibility.

Sustainable design strategies include geothermal heating and cooling, according to the team and an array of solar panels are pictured on the roof.

“Designing the Home Court for the Obama Foundation is not just about creating a building,” said Moody Nolan founder Curt Moody. “This project represents an opportunity to contribute to the narrative of progress and unity that defines our nation’s history.”

Moody Nolan will work with builders Elevate Design Builders and AECOM Hunt on the building, which is expected to open in late 2025.

It is part of the larger Obama Presidential Center campus designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects with Interactive Design Architects (IDEA).

Currently under construction with an opening date set for 2026, the campus will include a monolithic stone-clad museum, the Obama Presidential Library and a public forum building with an L-shaped footprint.

Greenspaces and other work, such as a recently announced sculpture by artist Maya Lin, will infill the exterior spaces.

The designs for the campus were revealed in 2017 after Obama invited New York studios Diller Scofidio + Renfro, SHoP Architects and Scandinavian firm Snøhetta to pitch for the project.

At the time of the project’s presentation to the Chicago City Council in 2018,  Cultural Landscape Foundation president Charles A Birnbaum discussed the repercussions of the campus being built on top of a Fredrick Law Olmsted-designed park.

A most recent construction update notes that the “crews continue to make steady progress on the concrete structure of the Museum Building” and both the forum and library are in progress.

The images are courtesy of the Obama Foundation

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