Hasta La Ideas

A gigantic yellow giraffe pokes its heads out from the roof of this nursery and childcare centre in Paris by French studio Hondelatte Laporte Architectes (+ slideshow).

The larger-than-life statue appears to act as a supporting column, as its body pushes up through a cantilevered upper storey so that only legs, a long neck and a head can be spotted by passers-by.

“The idea is to animate the urban landscape by using a child’s imagination,” explains Hondelatte Laporte Architectes.

The aptly named Giraffe Childcare Centre accommodates a 60-bed childcare facility and a nursery for up to 20 children, in addition to playgrounds on each of its three levels.

As well as the giraffe, the playgrounds feature a white bear and a parade of huge ladybirds, all constructed from concrete. “Through their affable form, the lively animal sculptures invite us to live our dreams,” say the architects.

The centre is located beside Jean Nouvel’s Horizons offices, in the riverside Boulogne-Billancourt district in the south-west of the city.

The entrance is positioned at the end of the building so that visitors have to walk through the giraffe’s legs on their way inside.

The architects used corrugated metal cladding for the whole exterior, creating a series of bright white elevations.

Animal sculptures are a recurring feature in designs for children and we’ve previously featured a restaurant with a model elephant inside.

Giraffe fans may also enjoy a house with a front door tall enough to let one of the animals, or the giraffe enclosure at Rotterdam Zoo.

Photography is by Philippe Ruault.

Here’s some project details from the architects:

The Giraffe childcare centre is located in the C1 block of the Seguin Rives de Seine district in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburban area of Paris. The program houses a 60 bed childcare centre and 20 bed day nursery. The building has been awarded the green “zéro Energie Effinergie” label. This public building is located next to Jean Nouvel’s “Horizons” tower, at the junction between the “Vieux pont de Sèvres” neighbourhood, built in the 70s, and the new area called “le Trapèze”. The high density of this area gives it a rugged skyline. To be integrated into this particular urban landscape, the building is composed of three tiers. Each of the south-facing playgrounds is in continuity with the interior spaces and is identified by a unique concrete animal sculpture. Viewed from the surrounding towers, the regular sequence of terraces offers a real “fifth facade” to the neighbourhood.

The facades of the building are made out of white corrugated iron that provides a minimal background to the wild animal sculptures. The idea is to animate the urban landscape by using a child’s imagination. The wild animals appropriate the space; a giraffe appears to be peacefully eating the leaves of the trees from the neighbouring park, a polar bear tries to clamber up the steps, while a family of ladybirds climbs the façade in an attempt to reach the interior patio.

Architecture turns into storytelling. The building changes its identity and becomes a landscape in its own right, a metaphor for the urban jungle. The animals and the trees link the building to nature and motion. The giraffe has become a banner for the nursery since it is visible in the surrounding area from all angles. We walk through its legs to enter the building. Through their affable form, the lively animal sculptures invite us to live our dreams. These playful and dreamlike sculptures introduce a little bit of fantasy into the routine life of the town in order to inspire our lives with a bit of poetry.

Project name: Giraffe childcare centre
Architect(s): Hondelatte Laporte Architectes
Project manager: Virginie Davo
Project team: Charlotte Fagart (architect)
Engineering: Studetech
HEQ Engineering: GCB Gestion Conseil Bâtiment

Client: SAEM Val de Seine Aménagement
Program: 60 bed childcare centre and 20 bed day nursery.
Lieu/Location: Boulogne-Billancourt (92) – France
Competition: January 2009
Delivery: 2012
Area: 1450 sq m
Cost: 3 744 000€ HT
Construction companies): SPIE SCGPM (general contractor), AAB (animals sculpture)

Above: site plan – click above for larger image

Above: ground floor plan – click above for larger image

Above: first floor plan – click above for larger image

Above: second floor plan – click above for larger image

Above: roof  plan – click above for larger image

Above: side elevation – click above for larger image

Above: front elevation – click above for larger image

Above: side elevation – click above for larger image

Above: rear elevation – click above for larger image

Above: long sectional elevation – click above for larger image

Above: cross sectional elevation – click above for larger image

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Danish studio BIG has designed an observation tower shaped like a honey dipper for Phoenix, Arizona.

Rising above the downtown city rooftops, the spiralling structure is conceived as a tourist attraction that will contain a continuous series of exhibition spaces, shops and restaurants.

BIG has nicknamed the structure “The Pin” and the designs show a reinforced concrete tower with three glass elevators to transport visitors from the base of a narrow stalk to the summit of the sphere.

Just like the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the ArcelorMittal Orbit at London’s Olympic Park, visitors will be encouraged to take an elevator to the top then gradually work their way down whilst looking out across the city and nearby mountains.

“Like the monsoons, the haboobs and the mountains of the surrounding Arizonian landscape, the Pin becomes a point of reference and a mechanism to set the landscape in motion through the movement of the spectator,” commented BIG founder Bjarke Ingels. “The motion at the Pin is turned inside-out, allowing visitors to contemplate the surrounding city and landscape of Phoenix.”

To create the spherical shape, the spiralling open-air pathway will be widest at its centre and will taper away at the start and end of the route.

“Like a heavenly body hovering above the city the Pin will allow visitors to descend from pole to pole in a dynamic three dimensional experience seemingly suspended in midair,” said Ingels.

Restaurants will be located at the base of the sphere, while a new public square surrounded by shops will be positioned at the ground-level entrance.

In the last week BIG also unveiled plans for two twisted apartment blocks in Miami.

See all our stories about BIG »

Here’s some more information from the architects:

BIG unveils Phoenix Observation Tower

BIG is commissioned by Novawest to design a 420 ft tall mixed-use observation tower to serve as a symbol for the city of Phoenix, Arizona.

Located in downtown Phoenix, the 70,000 sf Observation Tower shall add a significant structure to the Phoenix skyline from which to enjoy the city’s spectacular views of the surrounding mountain ranges and dramatic sunsets. Phoenix-based developer Novawest, commissioned the team to create a destination event to provide tourists and citizens of Phoenix alike the chance to enjoy the unique features of the Valley of the Sun.

Above: simple concept diagram

The future observation tower is conceived as a tall core of reinforced concrete with an open-air spiral sphere at its top, resembling a metaphorical pin firmly marking a location on a map. The spiraling sphere contains flexible exhibition, retail and recreational spaces which are accessed via three glass elevators that connect the base with the summit and offer panoramic views of the city and the tower’s programs as visitors ascend or descend.

Walking downwards from the top through a continuous spiral promenade, the visitors of the observation tower experience all of the building’s programs in a constant motion, while enjoying dynamic 360 degree views of the city of Phoenix and the Arizonian landscape.

Above: design concept

The spiral layout combines the different programmatic elements and the circulation into a continuous dynamic twirling space which is proportioned according to the movement of the visitors, producing a unique viewing experience of the surroundings. Instead of a constant width, the spiraling promenade starts from zero at the point of arrival, reaches its maximum width at the middle, and shrinks back to zero at the point of departure. Separation between the programmatic elements within the sphere happens not through physical vertical barrier-walls, but softly through the slope and the height difference to preserve a total continuity and create a flexible space for exhibitions and events.

Once the visitors reach the middle of the sphere, they can choose to either conclude their journey by taking the elevator back to the ground, or continue to the restaurant levels at the lower hemisphere. The motion resembles a journey through the center of a planet, and a travel from the north to the south pole.

The base of the tower will serve as a public plaza offering shade, water features and a small amount of retail together with a subterranean queuing area. The tower will serve as a working model of sustainable energy practices, incorporating a blend of solar and other technologies.

Above: accommodation diagram

Name: Phoenix Observation Tower
Type: Commission
Size: 70,000 square feet
Client: Novawest
Collaborators: MKA (structure), Atelier10 (sustainability), Gensler (local architect), TenEyck (landscape)
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Country: USA

Partner in Charge: Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Christoffersen
Project Leader: Iannis Kandyliaris
Team: Thomas Fagan, Aaron Hales, Ola Hariri, Dennis Harvey, Beat Schenk

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by BIG appeared first on Dezeen.

News: UK firm Foster + Partners has unveiled plans to overhaul New York Public Library’s flagship branch on Fifth Avenue by inserting a contemporary lending library into unused reading rooms and stacks at the back of the building.

At present only a third of the the Stephen A Schwarzman Building is accessible to the public, but Foster + Partners plans to insert a new corridor that will connect the main entrance with a new four-level atrium at the rear, where visitors can browse collections whilst enjoying a view of Bryant Park through the existing tall windows.

“We are reasserting the Library’s main axis and its very special sequence of spaces, from the main Fifth Avenue entrance and the Astor Hall, through the Gottesman Hall, into the dramatic volume of the new circulating library, with views through to the park,” said Norman Foster.

Located beneath the Rose Reading Room, the new section will replace seven relocated floors of closed stacks, while a 300-person workspace for students and researchers will take the place of several offices and storage areas.

Floorplates will be pulled back from the exterior wall to create a series of tiered balconies and visitors will enter the space via a grand staircase that descends from above.

Proposed materials include bronze, wood and stone, which the architects claims will age gracefully and fit in with the existing beaux-arts building designed by Carrère and Hastings in the early twentieth century.

The New York Public Library launched its £185 million renovation strategy earlier this year, but faced criticism as scholars and writers claimed the plans would comprise the library’s existing facilities.

Foster commented: “Our design does not seek to alter the character of the building, which will remain unmistakably a library in its feel, in its details, materials, and lighting. It will remain a wonderful place to study. The parts that are currently inaccessible will be opened up, inviting the whole of the community – it is a strategy that reflects the principles of a free institution upon which the library was first founded.”

Construction is scheduled to commence in the summer and is expected to complete in 2018.

Foster + Partners has been working on a number of projects in New York in recent months, including a vision for the future of Grand Central Terminal and a competition-winning design for a Park Avenue skyscraper.

See more stories about Foster + Partners »
See more stories about New York »

Here’s some more information from Foster + Partners:

Designs for the New York Public Library revealed

The New York Public Library today unveiled proposals for the integration of the Circulating Library into its flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street – Lord Foster presented the plans at the launch of the public exhibition.

The project aims to safeguard the building’s legacy and precious books for future generations. The existing research library will be retained as it is today, with more space for researchers, as will many of the public spaces – the project will open twice as much of the building to the public and will restore the logic of the Neo-Classical design to improve the experience of the library’s historic halls. The two circulating collections will be housed in a spectacular new space previously occupied by book stacks.

The centrepiece of the 5th Avenue and 42nd Street building is the magnificent Rose Reading Room, below which are seven storeys of book stacks. However, these stacks are inaccessible to the public and no longer meet the needs of the books they contain, in terms of capacity, fire safety or preservation. The books will be moved to a large humidity-controlled chamber under Bryant Park, which was created in 1989 as part of the Bryant Park project, and provides the ideal environment for their conservation. Thus the stack space is freed to create a new ‘library within a library’ comprised of the Mid-Manhattan collections and the Science, Industry and Business Library – reinstating a circulating library to the NYPL main building, as had originally existed until the 1980s.

The 13,000 structural points of the existing stacks will be replaced with an innovative new vaulted stone and steel cradle. This move will free the floors from the west façade, allowing them to be peeled back to form a series of balconies – in the process revealing the full height of the slender windows internally for the first time. New study areas will line the perimeter of the balconies and new reading platforms will sit beneath the vaulted ceilings, which are carefully attuned to ensure excellent acoustic performance. The materials palette and design of the interiors will evolve with further development. The current combination shows bronze, wood and stone, which will age gracefully with the passage of time and use. A new internal atrium runs the full length of the base of the circulation library, connecting the visitor facilities to the building’s accessible entrance on 42nd Street.

Just 30 percent of the library is currently accessible to the public – the project will more than double this, opening 66 percent of the building by utilising unused reading rooms, back of house spaces, offices and book stacks. The design aims to make the building more inviting, more permeable and to bring the books to the fore rather than hide them away. Starting with the circulation strategy, the central axis through the Neo-Classical building will be reasserted. Visitors will be able to walk in a straight line through the grand Fifth Avenue portico and the majestic Astor Hall into Gottesman Hall, where a permanent treasures gallery will display some of the most important pieces from the collection. For the fist time, the westerly doors of the Gottesman Hall will be opened up, restoring a sense of symmetry and intuitive circulation across the building. Visitors will enter the new circulation library on a balcony in the centre of the former book stack space, where they will face elevated views of Bryant Park. From here, a grand staircase will sweep down to the main level, aligned with the park, and further to the state-of-the-art education and business library below.

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UK studio NEX has won a competition to design a cafe outside the Saatchi Gallery in London’s Chelsea with plans for a spiralling pavilion and rooftop garden.

The Cadogan Cafe will be constructed in the Duke of York Square beside the gallery’s brick perimeter wall, which originally formed the perimeter of a nineteenth century army barracks. NEX drew inspiration from this curved structure to plan a building formed of a single coiled wall.

“After thorough analysis, we were convinced that the best approach was an architecture which resonated with the architectural heritage of the site, while providing a contemporary space that has flexibility for year round use,” said NEX Director Alan Dempsey.

The wall will be cut in places to form a colonnade for sheltered outdoor seating and retractable glass panels will allow the indoor space to be opened up in the summer. Meanwhile, a staircase will wind around the exterior to lead customers up to the garden and terrace on the roof.

“It was a challenging brief to respond to, and we were fascinated by the opportunity of mixing leisure and public realm uses in such a concentrated form,” added Dempsey.

The architects will now work with clients Cadogan Estate to develop the design and submit an application to build.

Above: proposed site plan – click above for larger image

NEX Architects are a small practice based in London and previous projects include a timber pavilion inspired by the structure of leaves for the Chelsea Flower Show.

See more cafes on Dezeen »

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by NEX appeared first on Dezeen.

Zaha Hadid Architects has designed a swirling complex of apartments, offices and leisure facilities on the abandoned site of an old textile factory in Belgrade, Serbia (+ slideshow).

Covering an area of around 94,000 square metres, the Beko complex will give the historic Dorcol quarter a new destination on a site that is just 500 metres from the city centre but is currently unused and inaccessible.

The proposed cluster of building will also accommodate a five-star hotel, a congress centre, galleries and shops, as well as underground parking facilities for visitors and residents.

Zaha Hadid Architects took influence from the twentieth century Modernist architecture that is typical in the capital and combined it with the studio’s signature Parametric style to design a cluster of buildings that will appear to flow into one another.

“The masterplan follows the region’s strong Modernist traditions and has applied new concepts and methods that examine and organize the programs of the site; defining a composition of buildings with the elegance of coherence that addresses the complexity of twenty-first century living patterns,” said Zaha Hadid.

The curved walls of the buildings will fold around a series of new squares and gardens. ”The design for Beko is embedded within the surrounding landscape of Belgrade’s cultural axis and incorporates essential public spaces,” said Hadid.

“It is absolutely critical to invest in these public spaces that engage with the city. They are a vital component of a rich urban life and cityscape, uniting the city and tying the urban fabric together,” she added.

Above: the existing site 

The complex will be delivered as part of a £168 million regeneration project that includes a new waterfront public space by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, as well as a new bridge across the Sava river.

Above: the existing site 

The architects will present the detailed proposals at the 2013 Belgrade Design Week, which takes place in June.

Above: the existing site 

Zaha Hadid Architects has also just been selected to design a new national stadium for Japan and completed an art gallery at Michigan State University.

See all our stories about Zaha Hadid Architects »

Here’s some more information from the Belgrade Design Week Organisers:

Zaha Hadid regenerates Belgrade’s key historic site

The new contemporary development at the location of the former Beko textile factory, designed by Zaha Hadid, will mark the continuance of Belgrade’s signature “Modernist” movement, which was abruptly discontinued in the 1980s. The new multifunctional complex near Kalemegdan will awaken Belgrade’s spirit of modernism – the iconic style of the Serbian capital in the thirties, fifties and seventies.

Each of these decades was marked by key buildings which are, to this day, the landmarks of Belgrade and the region: The iconic Albania Palace and Radio Belgrade in the Thirties, the entire New Belgrade development with its crown jewel – the Palace of Serbia in the Fifties, Sava Center and the “25th of May” Sports Center in the Seventies… However, the development of such an progressive spirit was brutally cut short with the crisis after the death of Tito in the Eighties and the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the ensuing economic sanctions in the Nineties.

Belgrade went through a difficult struggle in the first decade of the XXI century trying to find its lost path, and now, with joint efforts of private and public investors, in the ‘10’s of the new millennium, the city finally caught an exiting momentum with first designs which are worthy successors of the famous modernist past, such as the “Ada” Bridge, the Port of Sava “Cloud”, the new “BEKO”, the “Center for the Promotion of Science”, Zira, Falkensteiner and Square Nine Hotels, the “Museum of Science and Technology” and the new urban plan for the Port of Belgrade, the “West 57” development… With the new world quality contests, designs and built environment, Belgrade saw also the return of leading global architects such Daniel Libeskind, Boris Podrecca, Wolfgang Tschapeller, Isay Weinfeld, Sou Fujimoto and last but not least Zaha Hadid. The engagement of Santiago Calatrava for a new Belgrade Philharmonic is also announced.

Regardless of opinions about the commission of “starchitects”, Belgrade will become the first city in the South East European region to have a building designed by the arguably world’s most successful architecture studio at the moment: Zaha Hadid Architects from London, UK. A unique multifunctional complex at the location of the former Beko factory at the Danube riverside, jointly with the proposed “Cloud” by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto on the adjoining Sava waterfront, will mark the revitalization of an entire area key to Belgrade’s development and history – the Confluence waterfront crescent from Small Kalemegdan to Beton Hala.

Poised to become the city’s new and happening center, the BEKO complex will cover the area of 94,000 square meters and include cutting edge residential spaces, galleries, offices, a five-star hotel, a (much needed for Belgrade) state-of-art congress center, retail spaces and a department store… The residential part will consist of top-quality finishes and building systems and the complex will also include a huge underground parking lot, maintenance service and security. The project is designed as a complex which offers a complete variety of services to the users who live or work there, to hotel guests and visitors. The immediate vicinity to the confluence riverside, with the pedestrian connection to the “Cloud”, will contribute to never before seen residential conditions in Belgrade, almost comparable to seaside marinas. In fact, this currently abandoned part of the city, will infuse a completely new life to the historical quarter of Dorcol – daily visitors, residents and tenants will be able to walk from the modern complex by a new planned bridge to Novak Djokovic’s adjacent tennis club and all the other recreational contents of the 25th May Sports Centre and then continue the pedestrians and bicycle paths to the restaurants and bars in the Beton Hala and Savamala area.

The Greek company Lamda Development bought the BEKO factory building and the plot in 2007, for EUR 55.8 million at a public auction.

Having in mind the complexity of the project, the new innovative materials and cutting edge systems which will be used during the construction, the total investment is expected to exceed EUR 200 million. From the beginning of the project planning to the realization of the project more than 2000 people will be involved, while the complex will permanently create about 1000 new jobs from all sorts of professions.

This complex will certainly set new standards in the Serbian and SEE market primarily living standards, but also in the field of architecture and construction. Considering several solutions by invited leading global architectural bureau, Lamda development finally chose the proposal by Zaha Hadid Architects. Thanks to the experience in constructing modern buildings in the vicinity of historic buildings and pushing the boundaries of architecture and urban planning, Zaha Hadid’s projects have become recognized all over the world. The main idea of the Zaha Hadid’s signature style, Parametricism, is introducing fluid forms into architecture, the forms and shapes existing in nature, in the flora and fauna. The buildings designed by Zaha Hadid transcend construction stereotypes: there are no rigid forms, no straight lines, no symmetry, no repetition, no standard function-based divisions of space. The buildings look different from every angle, the forms are round and fluid and the space is not segmented, it flows seamlessly from one room to another.

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Zaha Hadid Architects appeared first on Dezeen.