Stones and shells from the seashore fill the walls of these eight contemporary British beach huts that London office Pedder & Scampton designed for the seaside town of Southend (+ slideshow).
Pedder & Scampton‘s design won a competition organised by Southend Council to develop “a new generation” of beach huts that offer a modern alternative to existing huts found along the local beaches.
“We have always enjoyed beach huts ourselves, and this fantastic site and simple project gave us a great opportunity to think imaginatively about materials and form,” architect Gill Scampton told Dezeen.
“We took the traditional elements of beach huts to be a strong rythmic repeating form, variation within an overall form, strong use of colour and individually customised spaces,” she added. “We wanted to propose an update for a traditional building form that responds to the very particular character of the site.”
The colourful doors and shutters of the eight huts reference the typical painted wooden structures that have been a popular fixture at many seaside resorts since the nineteenth century.
“The strong colours and industrial scale of the numbers respond to the scale and character of the Thames Estuary, which call for something more robust than the usual pastel colours,” Scampton explained.
Traditionally, beach huts are situated above the high tide mark and used as a place to shelter from the sun or wind, change into swimming gear and store personal belongings.
Rather than the linear formation found on many beaches, Pedder & Scampton’s huts are arranged along an existing concrete promenade at an angle to one another, creating individual private terraces in the spaces between each one.
The huts are constructed from prefabricated components that allowed them to be assembled quickly on site during the winter months.
Timber frames support walls made from recycled timber pallets, with plywood used to clad the internal surfaces and translucent polycarbonate sheeting covering the exterior.
The cavities between the two layers are filled with pebbles, gravel, glass chippings, shells and other recycled materials, which are arranged in layers to represent the tidal drift on the beach.
These materials provide thermal mass, as well as privacy and security, and can be seen through the translucent outer surfaces. They also provide additional strength and stability, which enabled the huts to withstand the strong winds of recent storms that damaged many of the traditional beach huts in the area.
Gaps left between the level of the infilled material and the roof create clerestory windows that introduce natural light into the huts.
The angled arrangement of the structures creates spaces through which the sea can still be seen from a promenade that runs along the rear of the site.
The sloping roofs create an irregular rhythm and are planted with sea-hardened sedum and other plants that can also be seen from the promenade.
Here’s a project description from Pedder & Scampton:
New beach huts at Southend on Sea
Brits are set to enjoy a late spring heatwave according to the Met office, which is good news for those lucky enough to have bagged one of the eight new beach huts at Southend, designed by London practice Pedder & Scampton.
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The British love affair with the beach hut has never been healthier. Bidding for the 7-year leases of the huts at East Beach was fierce given their location just an hour and a half’s drive away from London and perfect for last minute weekend getaways.
Pedder & Scampton’s competition-winning design responded to an ambitious brief from Southend Council calling for ‘a new generation’ of beach huts. It updates the traditional format with an eco-friendly design featuring green planted roofs, recycled materials and a distinctive slanted shape that gives each individual hut its own private terrace.
Elevation one
Coloured doors and shutters create variety and a feel-good vibe within the bold repetitive structure. The walls of the huts – which are built on the existing raised concrete promenade with great views of the sea – are formed from recycled timber pallets bolted into timber frames and faced with tough translucent polycarbonate sheeting to the outside and plywood to the inner faces.
The wall cavities are then filled with layers of pebbles, gravel, glass chippings and shells, laid in drift layers visible through the plastic, giving the huts a beautifully tactile seaside aesthetic.
The simple, robust interiors allow for customisation, and can be painted or fitted out by tenants, looking to create a home-from-home to make a brew or read the papers in, whist still enjoying the tang of the salty air.
Elevation two
The freeholds remain with Southend Borough Council who, through local agents Haart, are now actively seeking interest from prospective tenants for a potential Phase 2 of the development, which already has planning permission.
Pedder and Scampton beat more than 40 other entrants in the competition, which was launched in August 2012. The designs were developed with structural engineers StructureMode.
News:Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled images of a 40-storey hotel with an exposed exoskeleton that is under construction in Macau, China (+ movie).
The 780-room hotel was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for property developer and casino specialist Melco Crown Entertainment. It will be located at the company’s flagship City of Dreams resort in Cotai, an area that takes its visual cues from the Las Vegas Strip.
Conceived as a monolithic block with a series of voids carved through its centre, the hotel will be encased behind a latticed structure.
It will contain 150,000 square metres of floor space, and will also contain meeting and event facilities, restaurants, a spa and an elevated swimming pool.
“The design combines dramatic public spaces and generous guest rooms with innovative engineering and formal cohesion,” said the architects in a statement.
The building will be Melco Crown’s fifth hotel in Macau which, like Hong Kong, is a Special Administrative Region of China.
Construction started on the building in 2013 and is set to be completed by 2017.
Here are some more details from Zaha Hadid Architects:
The Fifth Hotel of City of Dreams Macau
Melco Crown Entertainment, a developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities in Asia, has unveiled the project details and design of the fifth hotel tower at City of Dreams, the company’s flagship property in Cotai, Macau.
With 40 floors and a gross floor area of 150,000 square metres, the tower houses approximately 780 guestrooms, suites and sky villas. The hotel also includes a variety of meeting and event facilities, gaming rooms, lobby atrium, restaurants, spa, and sky pool. Including extensive back of house areas and supporting ancillary facilities, the tower’s design resolves the many complex programs for the hotel within a single cohesive envelope.
The design combines dramatic public spaces and generous guest rooms with innovative engineering and formal cohesion. The rectangular outline of the site is extruded as a monolithic block with a series of voids which carve through the its centre of the tower, merging traditional architectural elements of roof, wall and ceiling to create a sculptural form that defines many of the hotel’s internal public spaces.
The tower’s exposed exoskeleton reinforces the dynamism of the design. Expressive and powerful, this external structure optimises the interior layouts and envelops the building, further defining its formal composition and establishing relationships with the new Cotai strip.
Development of the new hotel at City of Dreams commenced in 2013. The project is expected to open in early 2017.
Madrid studio Adam Bresnick Architects has revived the sixteenth-century interior of a chapel in Spain by reinstating a vaulted ceiling and building a timber-clad box that hovers above the floor.
Located in the small town of Brihuega, the former chapel was redesigned by American-born architect Adam Bresnick for use as a multi-purpose events space that can accommodate different community activities, or function as a wedding venue.
The main intervention is the addition of the new two-storey timber volume, which cantilevers into the space above the entrance lobby to create a modern alternative to the chapel’s former choir box.
The structure only makes contact with one original wall, as the design team didn’t want it to overpower the existing architecture. “The philosophy guiding the intervention was to respect time’s passing,” they said.
Glass balustrades surround the two suspended floors, but the entire volume is also clad with vertical pine slats that define its outline whilst allowing sound and light to pass between.
An original vaulted ceiling above had crumbled away, so was replaced with a matching construction of timber slats.
The chapel’s former nave is the building’s largest space. It sits below a domed ceiling, and is lit by a suspended fixture that mimics the ceiling’s size and circular shape.
On the opposite side of the lobby, a new four-storey structure was inserted to accommodate ancillary functions including toilets, staff areas, a kitchen and an elevator. A staircase also extends back into this space.
A beige marble floor runs through the interior. The team also restored the building’s exterior by repointing the stone walls, repairing tiled eaves and retaining original stone mouldings.
Here’s a project description from the architect:
Restoration and adaptation of a 16th century chapel in Brihuega, Spain
The chapel rehabilitation is for a new typology – a multi-purpose space for events ranging from a formal wedding to the mellow ambiance of a yoga retreat. The reconstruction involved resolving the complex pathologies suffered by the original structure since being abandoned in 1969.
Adam Bresnick Architects studied and restored the existing architecture as well as inserting new uses. The philosophy guiding the intervention was to respect time’s passing. From the exterior the stone facades were repointed, traditional tile eaves restored and stone mouldings left with their worn faults, including the original scarred Serlian entrance. In the interior three distinct areas are articulated, the refurbished dome where the original space is restored, the entrance into the nave is a mix of archaeological remains and new construction cantilevered over the space, minimally touching the original.
The fallen vaults that once covered this space are recalled by a new vaulted ceiling of pine slats. Plaster mouldings cutout over the bare masonry of the original wall also mark the shapes of the original vaults. The last third occupying the old choir area houses all modern uses, from the elevator allowing for handicapped access to all levels, to restrooms, kitchen, staff and storage areas. This four-story structure is inserted within the stone walls, a skylight in the stair accentuating its conceptual separation from the original container.
The materials used are the same as the original; beige marble main floor, white paint on the plaster mouldings, pine slats on the ceiling and to enclose the modern choir that floats within the volume of the nave.
The creation of new uses for historical spaces, and new employment possibilities in the context of rural Spain is an outstanding contribution to European culture. The innovation of the initiative has been recognised by the FADETA (Federación de Asociaciones para el Desarrollo Territorial del Tajo-Tajuña), a local program forming part of European Union FEADER (Fonds Européen Agricole pour le Développement Rural) program. The total construction cost is €852,000, and is privately funded. Nevertheless the quality of the intervention and its novelty has been awarded a subsidy of €200,000 by FADETA.
Principal architect: Adam Bresnick Team architects: Miguel Peña Martínez-Conde & Antonio Romeo Donlo Structural engineers: Juan F. de la Torre Calvo & Ana Fernández-Cuartero Paramio
Archaeologist: Olga Vallespín Gómez Construction coordinator: Joaquín Fernández González Clerk of the works: Federico Vega Ortega Industrial engineering: José de Andres Abad Contractor: José Lucas Hernández Foreman: Alberto Martínez Gamboa
Steel structure: Mariano del Olmo Marble: Incom Pastor Carpentry: Hermanos Esteban Electricity: Tabernero de Andres Circular chandelier: Ecoaneva
Twenty huge aluminium petals fold around this 42,000-seat stadium that sports architecture firm Populous has completed in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, ahead of the FIFA World Cup kicking off this summer (+ slideshow).
Arena das Dunas is one of six new stadiums constructed for the international football tournament in 2014 and will be used to host four group stage matches in the city of Natal. It also serves as a new home stadium for local football clubs ABC FC and América de Natal.
Photograph by Vinicius Sousa. Main image courtesy of Populous
Populous gave the stadium a steel truss structure made up of petal-shaped modules. Clad externally with aluminium tiles, these elements provide an asymmetric form intended to reference the sand dune landscape surrounding the city.
Translucent slices of polycarbonate fill the gaps between each petal, allowing more natural light to penetrate the stadium.
Image courtesy of Picasa
“We have designed a stadium and a masterplan that showcases the aesthetics of the beautiful surrounding area of das Dunas and will create a great atmosphere for the World Cup 2014,” said Populous senior principal Christopher Lee, who led the project.
Photograph by Vinicius Sousa
The stadium can seat 42,000 spectators, with the first row of stands just 15 metres away from the action. Up to 10,600 of these seats can be temporarily removed if necessary, plus four VIP lounges each create private viewing areas for 1000 guests.
Photograph by Vlademir Alexandre
The species of grass used for the pitch was selected for its suitability to the region’s hot climate. It can be irrigated using recycled rainwater, collected from the roof as part of an integral drainage system.
Photograph by Vinicius Sous
Once the tournament is over, the building is expected to host other sports events, music concerts and trade shows. It is also surrounded by a 22,000-square-metre plaza that could become a centre for activities.
Photograph by Vinicius Sous
“The arena is in the city centre and after the World Cup we can set up a commercial area between the access ways,” said stadium director Charles Maia. “Since the beginning, the arena was designed as a multipurpose venue that can be used year-round. Our goal is to make it profitable.”
Photograph by Vinicius Sous
Arena das Dunas was officially inaugurated at the end of January and is one of four all-new stadiums designed for the FIFA World Cup 2014. These will join two older venues that have been completely rebuilt and six others that have undergone extensive renovation.
Here’s a project description from Populous:
Populous designed Arena das Dunas officially opened ahead of 2014 World Cup
The Arena das Dunas in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, which will host four group stage matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, has been inaugurated by President Dilma Rousseff.
The world’s leading sports architecture practice, Populous, designed Arena das Dunas including the landscape and masterplan of the surrounding areas. The venue, which was inspired by the coastal city of Natal’s sand dune landscape, has a capacity of 42,000 with 10,600 removable seats and has been delivered on time.
The Dunas Arena is designed to be a multipurpose venue. The main stadium will host sports events, trade shows and concerts, and the stadium’s 22,000m2 outdoor plaza will also host events.
The first matches at the stadium took place on 26 January when the state of Rio Grande do Norte’s main soccer teams faced each other in a double round: América-RN vs. Confiança-SE for the Northeast Cup, and ABC vs. Alecrim for the Rio Grande do Norte State Championship.
The local soccer clubs ABC and América have signed an agreement with the Dunas Arenas management consortium to use the venue for their home games for the next 20 years.
The arena’s design is unique. Its facade and roof are integrated and made up of 20 petal-shaped modules, designed to be higher on one of the stadium’s sides, giving the impression that the sand dunes – which are common in the region – are moving. The design also enables more ventilation and light to come into the stadium.
The petal-shaped structures of the roof are made of steel trusses, covered on the outside with aluminium tiles, with thermal and acoustic insulation. Internally, they are coated with a PVC prestressed membrane. The parts are joined by translucent polycarbonate, which allows light to come through.
The Dunas Arena’s roof was also designed to capture rainwater. Gutters collect the water and take it to nine tanks below the lower stands. As a result, up to 3,000 cubic meters may be captured and reused in the lavatories and for irrigating the pitch.
Fans going to matches and events at the stadium will notice a new standard of comfort and safety. In total, there are 21 access ramps to reach each of the four stadium levels, in addition to elevators that connect the indoor car park directly with the 39 boxes. The Dunas Arena also has four lounges that can accommodate up to 1,000 people, 25 food and drink kiosks, as well as 30 restrooms.
There are four types of seats, identifiable by varying shades of blue: general public, hospitality, VIP and Executive VIP. In addition, 521 seats are reserved for people with disabilities.
A security team in the arena’s command and control centre is able to monitor images recorded by 200 cameras with facial-recognition capability in the ground’s external and internal areas. The PA system is integrated with the stadium’s two 64 square metre screens, allowing for information and match statistics to be clearly displayed to the crowd.
Players will also notice improved match conditions. The Bermuda Tifton 419 grass species used for the pitch is ideal for the region’s hot climate, and the drainage system allows for matches to be played even on extremely rainy days.
With the first row of stands only 15m away from the pitch, fans will be close to the action. In addition, the arena’s lighting system, which uses 306 floodlights, provides uniform and consistent visibility, eliminating shadows and facilitating TV broadcasts using Full HD technology.
Perched on an Alpine ridge 3256 metres above sea level, this shiny steel cabin by Swiss firm Savioz Fabrizzi Architectes creates a starting point for mountaineers climbing the Bishorn, Weisshorn or Tête de Milon (+ slideshow).
Savioz Fabrizzi Architectes designed Tracuit Mountain Hut to replace an existing climbers’ facility that had been constructed in 1929 in the Chaussy section of the Swiss Alpine Club.
The existing building had been subjected to a number of adaptions over the years and would have required extensive renovation to bring it up to modern standards, so a decision was made to simply knock it down and start from scratch.
Wrapping over the peak of a mountain and glacier, the building has an angular shape that is orientated south to make the most of solar heat and energy.
“The nature of the site, between a cliff and a glacier, defined the position and shape of the new hut, which is constructed along the ridge above the cliff, fitting in with the site’s topography,” said the architects.
Solar panels cover the south elevation and the roof, allowing the building to generate all of its own power. Larger windows are also located on this side of the building, where they can take advantage of solar heat gain.
The difficulty in transporting concrete to the remote location prompted the architects to use a timber frame for the building’s structure, which had to be prefabricated and airlifted to the site by helicopter.
Corrugated stainless-steel panels clad the west, north and east elevations, creating a shiny surface that offers a distorted reflection of the surroundings.
Four storeys of accommodation are contained within the building, including sleeping spaces for up to 116 guests and large canteen.
“From the refectory, guests enjoy an uninterrupted, plunging view over the Val de Zinal,” added the architects.
Here’s some project text from Savioz Fabrizzi Architectes:
New Tracuit Mountain Hut, Zinal
The Tracuit Mountain Hut (altitude 3256 metres) belongs to the Chaussy section of the Swiss Alpine Club and is situated in the Val d’Anniviers, in the heart of the Valaisan Alps. Its superb position makes it the ideal starting-point for climbing the Bishorn, the Weisshorn, and the Tête de Milon.
The hut was built in 1929 and enlarged several times to cope with a constant increase in guest numbers and expected levels of comfort. Current requirements concerning health and safety, staffing, facilities, and environmental protection meant that the hut needed to be enlarged and completely refurbished. As transforming the existing hut would have produced a significant cost overhead, the club decided to build a new one. The design was chosen via an architectural competition.
The nature of the site, between a cliff and a glacier, defined the position and shape of the new hut, which is constructed along the ridge above the cliff, fitting in with the site’s topography. The south facade of the building extends from the cliff and works like a large solar collector, being either glazed or covered with solar panels to make maximum use of solar energy. The other facades reflect the surrounding landscape. From the refectory, guests enjoy an uninterrupted, plunging view over the Val de Zinal.
At this altitude, the construction methods had to be adapted to the adverse weather conditions and to the means of transport available. As transporting concrete is particularly expensive, its use was minimised and restricted largely to individual footings.
The whole of the structural frame is of wood. The wall and floor components, consisting of studs/beams, insulation and cladding, were prefabricated in the factory and transported by helicopter for on-site assembly. Panels of stainless steel cladding protect the roof and outer walls from the elements.
The east, west and north walls have only a few openings, reducing heat loss while providing optimum natural ventilation. Larger windows on the south wall, which is exposed to the sun, enable passive solar energy to be stored, and this wall is also covered with solar panels.
During the work, the existing hut accommodated the usual guests and also the construction workers. At the end of the work, this outdated, energy-hungry building was taken down. The lower part of the walls remains, with the south wall delimiting the terrace and protecting its users from the wind.
Via its large area of solar panels and south-facing glazing, the building makes maximum use of solar radiation. The compact shape of the building and efficient wall insulation reduce heat loss. Low-tech ventilation is used to recover the significant amount of heat emitted by the building’s occupants, while making it more comfortable and preventing any problems with mould growth in premises that are closed for several months of the year.
Client: Swiss Alpine Club, section Chaussy Program: hut with 116 beds, (6 dorms with 12 places, 5 dorms with 4 places, 1 dorm with 24 places), refectory, professional kitchen, techniques Civil engineer: Alpatec SA HVAC engineer: Tecnoservice Engineering SA
News: work is nearing completion on an upgraded first floor for the Eiffel Tower that will offer visitors the opportunity to walk over a glass floor or host events and conferences 57 metres above the ground.
The first floor is currently the most spacious but least visited storey of the iconic Parisian structure, but this reconstruction by French studio Moatti-Rivière Architects – the first in 30 years – is set to transform it into an attractive destination filled with restaurants, shops and event spaces.
The architects conceived the 5000-square-metre floor as “a real urban space with its streets, its buildings and its central space, 57 metres above ground”, and are replacing existing pavilions with a series of new self-contained structures boasting modern facilities and impressive views.
An educational pathway will reveal the history of the building, while a glass floor will wrap the outside of the towers’s central opening to offer visitors a vertiginous experience.
The reconstruction will enable disabled access, which before now has been severely restricted. It also introduces sustainable technologies, such as solar power, rainwater harvesting and wind power and low-energy LED lighting.
Here’s a project description from Moatti-Rivière Architects:
The Eiffel Tower’s 1st floor is going to have a face-lift
New buildings and entirely redeveloped public spaces to make the Tower’s 1st floor once again one of Paris’ most spectacular and attractive locations, 57 meters above the city
Since the last transformation of the 1st floor 30 years ago, the Tower has welcomed more visitors than during its first century of existence! The pavilions and public spaces of the 1980s are obsolete and not adapted to the number of visitors, the visitors’ expectations and technical standards.
The floor reorganisation project includes: rebuilding the reception and conference rooms to turn it into one of Paris’ most attractive event spaces; rebuilding the pavilion dedicated to visitor services, particularly restaurants and shops; creating an entertaining and educational museographic path; and finally, creating two spectacular attractions: discovering space on the monument and its esplanade thanks to glass flooring and balustrades and an “immersion” film promising strong emotions.
Important goals linked to the sustainable development policy implemented at the Eiffel Tower: accessibility and reducing its carbon footprint.
Today, disabled people are unable to access most of the 1st floor of the Tower. With this reorganisation all visitors, regardless of their disability, will be able to enjoy the whole space and all its services and contents.
New building standards, solar energy for heating, wind energy, hydraulic energy, rainwater recovery, LED lighting: various techniques will be implemented to help improve the Tower’s energy performance.
An “influenced” architecture, designed entirely in diagonals and transparency by the architects Moatti-Rivière, providing an improved experience of the Tower and Paris and respect for the monument and its history.
The new pavilions are influenced by the pillars designed by Gustave Eiffel. They hug the Tower’s slant. The volumes are incorporated in the depths and curves of the pillars. Service areas are placed next to the gables to preserve the central transparency.
The floor is designed as a real urban space with its streets, its buildings and its central space, 57 meters above ground. It gives a close view of the city and of the Tower itself. It is a knowledge space where the inside of the “Tower object” can be explored.
The project offers an improved experience of the Tower and Paris, an entertaining sensory experience, a journey of the senses and knowledge.
The redevelopment has been designed and carried out by the architects Moatti-Rivière architects, in consortium with Bateg for the construction. The latter won the design-construction contract in October 2010.
This reflective metal-clad box containing a restaurant rises like a periscope above a small shopping complex in São Paulo by French-Brazilian architecture office Triptyque (+ slideshow).
Triptyque was asked to create a building that incorporates three shops, a bar, an art gallery and a restaurant with a VIP room, and decided to locate the latter inside a cantilevered metal box called the Observatory.
“Located in a street where the buildings are next to each other, the Observatory is not a stage in addition, it is a building on a building, the city on the city,” said the architects. “It opens a new dimension of growth straddling the shopping complex and overlooking the Oscar Freire neighbourhood of São Paulo.”
The reflective top-floor structure appears to hover above the rest of the three-storey building and is supported by a series of columns that reach to the ground level.
Stainless steel panels covering the exterior of the Observatory create distorted reflections of the surrounding streetscape, which can be seen up close from the open terrace on the storey below.
At street level, customers enter three shops contained in narrow units arranged in a staggered formation that step back from the pavement of the Rua Oscar Freire.
The restaurant’s main space is housed on the first floor, with the kitchens above and a lift providing access to the VIP room at the top of the building. A ramp leads from the street down to the basement level, which houses parking and services for the building.
Triptyque based the multi-storey arrangement of the complex on the Spatial City theory developed in 1959 by Hungarian-born French architect Yona Friedman, who imagined inhabitable structures raised on piles to free up space below.
“It is an artificial topography composed of megacities above ground responding to the problem of rapid population growth in large urban areas in the world,” said the architects.
The architecture agency Triptyque was commissioned to design a complex in São Paulo with three shops, a restaurant, a bar and an art gallery. The shops should have access to the city while the restaurant had to be housed in the upper floors.
The complex was designed as a binary metal structure: a “ground” level that receives the shops, and a “space” level called “the Observatory” which houses the restaurant where the group of Franco- Brazilian restaurateurs Chez Group has created its new meeting place: Chez Oscar.
Located on a street where the buildings are next to each other, the observatory is not a stage in addition, it is a building on a building, the city on the city. It opens a new dimension of growth spanning the shopping complex and overlooking the Oscar Freire neighbourhood of São Paulo.
Massive and cubic volume, the observatory is balanced on an asymmetric structure which imparts kinetic and operates a disruption between the street level and spatial scale effect. Completely covered with stainless steel, reflections are distorted and blurred over time and tropical storms.
In this design, the architects of the agency Triptych were strongly inspired by the concept of the space city of Yona Friedman created in 1959. It is an artificial topography composed of mega cities aboveground responding to the problem of rapid population growth in large urban areas in the world. It draws a three-dimensional city that multiplies the original surface of the city with elevated planes, and thus created a new map of the territory.
The building The Observatory Oscar Freire grasps architecture as a dynamic form, between materiality and potentiality, open to users interaction as well as environmental conditions. It was inaugurated in October 2013.
Project : Freud/Oscar Freire Localisation : R. Oscar Freire 1128, 1134, 1138 e 1142, Jardins São Paulo Start of project (year): 2010 Delivery (year): 2012 Surface: 675 sqm Built surface: 1400 sqm
News: French studio LAN has won a competition to revamp the Grand Palais exhibition centre in Paris with plans to restore galleries around the Grand Nave and insert a new entrance court.
LAN proposes to restructure and restore the “original coherence and sense of transparency” of the grand Beaux Arts building, which was constructed for the World’s Fair of 1900 at the eastern end of the Champs-Elysées, and which features a barrel-vaulted glass and iron roof.
The first intervention will be to adapt entrances on the northern and southern facades. A pair of gentle ramps will follow the curvature of the existing fountain to lead visitors to the main access on Avenue du Général-Eisenhower, while the riverside entrance will serve as a dedicated arrival point for special exhibitions and the restaurant.
Both entrances will lead through to a new two-storey ambulatory between the Grand Nave and the rotunda of the adjoining Palais d’Antin. Voids in the floorplates will create double-height ceilings and stairwells, allowing the space to function as the connecting area between all exhibitions.
Existing galleries will be re-planned to allow greater flexibility, while a new exhibition space for contemporary art and live performance will be created within the Palais d’Antin.
Old bay windows and passageways will be opened up throughout the building, plus visitors will be given the opportunity to explore the roof.
“These interventions represent a unique opportunity to rediscover the traces and ways in which the Grand Palais has withstood the test of time,” said the architects. “Our credo for the New Grand Palais is to complete and strengthen its formal logic through interventions that return a sense of modernity to its whole, all the while respecting its traditional identity.”
LAN will also add spaces for logistics and car parking within a new basement storey, install a climate-control system and modernise existing systems to bring the whole building in line with current building regulations.
Here’s a more detailed project description from LAN:
Grand-Palais
The new Grand Palais: an example of modernity
To our contemporary eyes, the Grand Palais is both an idea and a symbol of modernity. It is a hybrid building in terms of its architecture, its usage and its history. Neither a museum nor a simple monument, its architecture has an identity all its own, centred around the notion of a “culture machine”, a spatial means for hosting a vast diversity of events and audiences that exponentially exalts the site’s “universal” and “republican” vocation. The restoration and restructuring of the entire monument affords us the chance to reinforce this aspiration.
The coming restructuring foresees the implementation of a new circulation mechanism centred around the middle building, the restoration of the galleries surrounding the Grand Nave, the installation of a climate control system, the creation of a logistics centre, bringing the entire building up to code, and opening the large bay windows and passageways in order to restore the building’s original coherence and sense of transparency. These interventions represent a unique opportunity to re-discover the traces and ways in which the Grand Palais has withstood the test of time, survived changes in its function, to assert architecture as a point of departure, and the space as nurturing life and society.
Even though the initial reason for building the Grand Palais was to provide a site for presenting and promoting French artistic culture during the World’s Fair of 1900, the plan nevertheless envisioned durability and flexibility from the outset. Even though these many adaptations progressively complicated and depreciated certain parts of the Grand Palais, the intelligence of its general form and its original spatial intent have helped it survive these episodes and change with the times.
Our credo for the New Grand Palais is to complete and strengthen its formal logic through interventions that return a sense of modernity to its whole, all the while respecting its traditional identity.
The Jean Perrin Square and the ‘Jardin de la Reine’
The logical consequence of revamping the northern and southern access points, one of the challenges of the project, is that the middle building lies at the heart of our intervention. Our wish is to reinforce the sense of unity between the Grand Palais and the Palais d’Antin and to make the middle building the meeting point between the two. This approach respects the architects’ original intentions, namely to render the spaces and their development highly legible to users, such that they implicitly signify the building’s function.
The pure geometry of the rediscovered circle creates a new symbol and marker at the urban level for the entrance to the New Grand Palais. It will become a veritable place of its own that can host planned or spontaneous activities. Two ramps, designed on the basis of the geometric matrix provided by the steps and the fountain, will lead visitors from the level of the square at the base of the building towards the entrance. Facing the Seine there will be the entrance for specific audience and the independent access to the restaurant. The latter takes advantage of a large terrace orientated to the south, located below the Jardin de la Reine.
By creating a progressive transition from the urban space to that of the galleries, the first two floors of the middle building contain the ambulatory. It is a majestic, open volume with multiple levels that will allow the public to embrace the Grand Nave and the rotunda of the Palais d’Antin at the same time. In fact, it emphasizes the original east-west axis of the composition. Situated along the lower main level, ‘La Grande Rue des Palais’ organizes the different entrance phases in a clear sequence before leading the public to the various activities offered. The ambulatory will become the connecting platform for all exhibitions at the new Grand Palais. The materials chosen for la Grande Rue des Palais will link the exterior to the interior, the existing to the new. The dichotomy between the building’s foundation wall and the piano nobile, perceptible on the outside because of the change in stone colour, will continue inside the building.
Section C – click for larger image
The exhibition spaces
The restructuring of the National Galleries seeks to take into account the interdependence between comprehending a work and its formal and conceptual presentation. This becomes a unique opportunity to develop a vast range of diverse “situations” in terms of volumes, light, materials, and their relationship to the outside. It’s not simply a question of making the volumes flexible, but of giving them the ability to become an event in and of themselves. This process is not confined to the galleries; it can happen anywhere in the building, wherever the structure allows for it. By integrating innovative museographic concepts into the institution, the museum will be able to host works that, until now, have only been seen in alternative spaces for brief periods of time, and which have in fact not been commented on or valued enough.
The Palais de la Découverte will expose the public to other forms of culture, such as exhibitions, contemporary art, or high-quality live performances. Conversely, the public visiting the Grand Nave and the galleries will be exposed to new experiences upon visiting the Palais de la Découverte. The new temporary gallery in the Palais de la Découverte has been conceived with this in mind, as its central location concretises the link between these two realities.
For this project to become an effective way to hosting very diverse events and publics, it first of all demands a clear, flexible, and adaptable structuring of the spaces at hand. More than simply managing current needs, our proposal opens the door to the future evolutions of these needs. What is at stake is formulating a vision that in the long term can accept new parameters, evolutions in technology, and paradigm shifts.
The program led us to create an underground level, which will host the logistics spaces and the associated parking and loading spaces. These technical works will permit an increase in visitor capacity to the Grand Palais. The Grand Nave will thus be able to accommodate more than 11,000 persons compared to the current 5,200, and this will increase its total visitor capacity from the current 16,500 to more than 21,900 persons.
From the Grand Palais to the city – the flow of tourists and the observatory
The movement of visitors within the Grand Palais represents an opportunity for “showing off” the architecture. By drawing the visitor’s attention, these views will frame “details” in the architecture and the landscape, thereby giving them emphasis. These views reveal themselves progressively as one walks through the space. They disclose the connection of the spaces that allow visitors to locate themselves within the building and in relation to the city. The internal tourist itinerary continues outside, along the rooftop of the Grand Palais, allowing visitors to discover the roof, and it will provide them with unobstructed, totally new vistas of Paris.
The monument to the dawn of sustainable development
We made use of a philosophy based on five main design values: Effectiveness, Sobriety, Strengthening Cultural Heritage, Minimal and Passive Intervention, and Remaining at the Service of Users. By analysing what is already there, the project is able to resolve and transform the challenges into strengths while at the same time identifying and preserving the quality of the inherited resources. Users (and future uses) have been placed at the heart of the design process by attempting to understand the many activities exercised and also by taking into account comfort and environmental requirements, be they climatic, acoustic, lighting-related, hygrothermic, and so forth. This intersection of situations, inherited resources, practices and activities, comfort and environmental requirements constitute the multi-faceted basis for this intervention. To reveal what is already there means to draw on the inherited resources to construct micro-contextual responses. One must in the end be hyper-contextual.
Here are some wintery views of the new spotty stadium for Belarusian football club FC BATE Borisov designed by Slovenian firm OFIS Arhitekti, which is nearing completion and looks set to open later this year (+ slideshow).
The new Borisov Arena will replace FC BATE Borisov‘s existing home stadium, providing up to 13,000 seats for spectators on a new site to the south of the city centre.
OFIS Arhitekti designed the building with a domed shape, intended to resemble “fabric stretched over a skeleton”. The outer walls are clad with shimmering aluminium panels and are punctured by an assortment of blob-shaped windows.
Shops, bars and other visitor facilities will be located behind the facade at ground level, while staff offices, press rooms and VIP areas will occupy the level above.
The rounded shape of the arena is expected to improve acoustics during both training and matches.
Here’s a project description from OFIS Arhitekti:
Football Stadium Arena Borisov
The concept takes into account the natural advantages of the location and the existing interventions within the terrain, while maintaining as many of the existing trees on site as possible. Besides 13,000 seats there is additional 3,000 m2 of public space and are classified 4 stars according to UEFA categorisation. Traffic and parking is organised between the forest.
The arena forms a unified rounded dome, giving the impression of a single enclosed object. The skin of the dome gives an impression of a fragile stretched perforated textile pulled over the stadium skeleton. The covered space between the skin and the tribunes is a public street – a vestibule with public program (shops, bars, services, toilets) and galleries above (offices, VIP, press)
Internally, the rounded arena provides good acoustics and encourages an extrovert atmosphere from the players and the fans alike during the game, but focuses concentration during training time. The playing surface has N-S orientation, with a total area of 85 x 105m, on which 68 x 105m is used for playing. The remaining area allows enough space for the installation of advertising screens, photographers and cameras. The seats are arranged around the playing field in rows of 17 along the sides and rows of 27-28 along the short sides. The upper west gallery is reserved for press cabins, with seats and tables for 40 journalists and direct stair access to the press room and mix zone. In the east are the VIP stands, with 250 seats and bar and entertainment spaces. The VIP is accessed directly via an elevator from the entrance area with a car driveway. The athletes have a separate access on the lower platform, with passage to team buses and parking. At each entry point to the field are two dressing rooms, mix zone, physiotherapy and a space for doping control.
There are 4 floors with extra program and service facilities under the west stand area and 3 floors under the east side. The foyer for visitors is located on the first floor level and has 4 stairway access points. It is a covered plateau, naturally ventilated and unheated. Extending all around the inner stadium arena, this space contains the visitor’s toilets, bars, first-aid room and detention: it is a place to break during half-time. 3.000 m2 of public program is distributed at ground level on the north, south and east ends of the structure. In the east, a restaurant and bowling area are located. The restaurant prepares meals for the VIP during the match, with a service elevator for catering to the VIP lounge and bar within its public foyer. In the south, there are public fitness/gym studios. Other public area spaces are designed for various commercial activities. All restaurants have access from the public platform. Around the platform is a rounded pedestrian square, as a peripheral roundabout and meeting area. Parking pockets are organized into the existing forest area.
Architect: OFIS Arhitekti Engineering and local office: Magnus Group Client: FC Bate, County of Borisov
Location: Borisov, Belarus Status: commission 2010 Construction 2011 Completion 2014 Program: football stadium + public program Type: public + private Area: public program 3,628 m2, offices 480 m2, service 2,000 m2 Capacity: audience 13,000 seats, VIP 620 seats, press seats 100, parking spaces 800 Structure: steel, reinforced concrete; roof structure- metal beams with aluminium cladding
These photographs show the newly converted aquatics centre by Zaha Hadid Architects for the London 2012 Olympics, which will open to the public next week without the controversial wings that housed additional seating during the Games.
Now configured as it was originally designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the temporary stands constructed for the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been removed and replaced with glazing that fills the space between the spectator stands and the roof.
In its new “legacy mode,” the centre accommodates 2500 seats for future events including the 2014 World Diving Series and 2016 European Swimming Championships.
Two boxy temporary wings housing 15,000 temporary seats that were tacked onto either side of the building when it was originally opened ahead of the Games were removed in May last year.
In a statement released ahead of the centre’s reopening on 1 March, mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “After a post-Olympic makeover, London’s majestic aquatics centre is now flinging open its doors for everyone to enjoy, whether an elite athlete or enthusiastic amateur.”
“All of the world-class sporting venues on the magnificent Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park have secured bright futures, dispelling fears of white elephants and helping to drive our ambitious regeneration plans for east London,” Johnson added.
Aquatics centre in Olympic mode showing temporary seating
A diving pool, competition pool and training pool are arranged in a line along the centre of the building, with the training pool housed under Stratford City Bridge on the edge of the Olympic Park.
The centre’s internal layout remains largely unchanged, but daylight now enters the space through expansive glass surfaces replacing the banked seating that rose from behind the permanent stands.
As well as prestigious international events, the venue will also provide community facilities for swimming and diving lessons, fitness and family sessions, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving, triathlon, sub aqua, gym and dry diving.
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