Hasta La Ideas

Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled designs for a complex of towers in Bratislava’s city centre (+ slideshow).

The architects won a competition in 2010 to design the mixed-use masterplan, which proposes seven curving tower blocks surrounding a public plaza in the east of the Slovakian capital.

A decommissioned coal-fire power station sits at the centre of the site and will be converted into an art gallery as part of the project, while a series of additional pavilions will be constructed alongside.

The plans are laid out as a network of circular and elliptical patterns, with pathways weaving between residential and commercial buildings, plus landscaped seating areas stepping up over the rooftops of shop units.

An underground parking area will be included on a basement floor and will be accessed by raised entrances around the site perimeter.

Also this month, Zaha Hadid has been appointed by the Mayor of London to develop plans for a major new airport and launched a range of twisting auditorium seats. See more design by Zaha Hadid.

Here’s a project description from Zaha Hadid Architects:

Bratislava Culenova New City Centre

The design is based on a dynamic field strategy which organises the new city centre’s program along a gradient of circular and elliptical patterns. A fluid field emerges from the underlying matrix in a series of larger tower extrusions towards the site’s perimeter and intermediate scale pavilion-like structures surrounding the cultural plaza adjacent to an existing decommissioned power station.

Above: building design diagram

To activate the ground throughout the whole site and provide public spaces of the highest quality, the underground car parking is covered by a one storey high modulated platform, which is perforated at strategic points for day-lit spaces that accommodate retailing, landscaped parks and various points of interest such as the cultural centre, museum shop, conference space and event halls.

Above: landscape design diagram

Towards the site’s perimeter the platform is slightly raised at specific points to define the site’s edge and accommodate programmatic points of interest, access points to the parking levels below and access to office and residential towers above. At other strategic zones, the platform lowers to merge with the surrounding city level to link the new urban parks and plazas with the surrounding city fabric.

Above: concept masterplan – click for larger image

The scheme creates density via efficient high-rise structures while providing a generous and highly activated ground level with public spaces that are gradually differentiated within a 3-dimensional field condition.

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by Zaha Hadid Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

An uncompromising grid of square rooms and courtyards makes up this dental clinic in Gunma, Japan, in our third story in the last week from architect Hironaka Ogawa (+ slideshow).

A total of 55 squares give the building its rectangular plan. Large square doorways open rooms out to one another, creating a layering of spaces that can be used in various configurations.

Ten square courtyards are dotted around the building and are visible through square windows that match the proportions of the doorways.

“While aiming for a functional and rational plan, I encountered ambiguous relationships between outside and inside conditions that generated a mysterious depth in the space,” explains Hironaka Ogawa. “The diversity in light and space was created unintentionally by the 55 cells inside of the structure.”

Three treatment rooms sit in a row through the centre of the grid, while offices and waiting rooms run along either side. The flexibility of this layout allows for more treatment rooms to be added at a later date.

The roof of the building pitches upwards towards one end to create a variety of ceiling heights.

“One can experience diverse feelings in each and every space because of the dissimilarities in each cell’s heights, natural lighting and volume,” adds the architect.

A two-storey residence is also included in the building and sits beneath the peak of the roof. Here, rooms wrap around an additional rectangular courtyard.

Hironaka Ogawa set up his studio in 2005. His projects include a wedding chapel in Gunma and a house with trees inside in Kagawa.

See more dental surgeries on Dezeen, including a clinic filled with stripy glass screens.

Photography is by Daici Ano.

Here’s the full project description from Hironaka Ogawa:

Chiyodanomori Dental Clinic

This is a dental clinic accompanied with a housing project.

The conditions required were: to make the clinic and housing into one building, to create three individual treatment rooms and a couple of rooms that are able to alter into treatment rooms in the future for the clinic, and to provide the treatment area wide spread feelings while keeping its privacy.

For the housing section, the client wanted to have a pleasant view of the sky. Other than these conditions, locating openings also needed particular attention in order to maintain enough natural lighting levels in the building; the site suffers from strong winter wind and is famous for the hottest temperature record in Japan during the summer.

First of all, I made a rule to create a 2.7m x 2.7m cell that is needed for the individual treatment area. I placed the cells in grid inside of a walled box and located a couple of courtyards to get sunlight while considering their relations to each cell.

By doing so, fifty-five cells were created on the plane. I let the building be seen as one volume by employing a hip roof and laid the second floor of the housing in the hipped or inclined section.

The clinic and a part of the housing have different ceiling heights created by the slanted roof, and the courtyards’ varying depth creates natural light gradations. Therefore, there would be diversities in spaces.

The plan is fairly ruled by a 2.7m grid. However, one can experience diverse feelings in each and every space because of the dissimilarities in each cell’s heights, natural lighting and volume.

While aiming for a functional and rational plan, I encountered ambiguous relationships between outside and inside conditions that generated a mysterious depth in the space. The diversity in light and space was created unintentionally by the fifty-five cells inside of the structure.

Above: site plan – click for larger image

Above: ground floor plan – click for larger image

Above: first floor plan – click for larger image

Above: section one – click for larger image

Above: section two – click for larger image

Above: exploded isometric – click for larger image

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by Hironaka Ogawa appeared first on Dezeen.

A mysterious dark tunnel leads into the boardroom of these offices in London by architects Studio Octopi (+ slideshow).

As the UK headquarters for advertising agency 18 Feet & Rising, the offices were designed with a utilitarian aesthetic that can easily be replaced in a few years as the company grows.

Studio Octopi were asked to incorporate four qualities into the space; emergence, vortex, action and illusion. “Inspired by the client’s four words, the project took on a theatrical approach,” architect Chris Romer-Lee told Dezeen. “Surprise, anticipation, unease, fear and relief were all discussed in connection to the client’s journey from arriving in the agency to getting into the boardroom.”

The architects divided the office into three zones – designated for working, socialising and pitching – and differentiated them using low plywood screens and woven flooring with different patterns.

The dark-stained plywood tunnel is the largest installation in the space. With a tapered volume, it sticks out like a large funnel to announce the zone where client presentations take place.

“The tunnel acts as a cleansing device. All preconceptions of the agency are wiped before entering the boardroom,” explained Romer-Lee.

Outside the boardroom, the workspaces are arranged in a curved strip that stretches from the entrance to the far wall. The steel-framed desks were designed by Studio Octopi last year and each one integrates power sockets and a lamp.

A kitchen and cafe area for staff is positioned at the centre of the curve, while informal areas for meetings or relaxing wrap around the perimeter as a series of window seats.

Romer-Lee runs Studio Octopi alongside co-director James Lowe. They also recently completed a courtyard house in the south-west of England. See more design by Studio Octopi.

Dezeen columnist Sam Jacob discussed offices designed for creative agencies in this week’s Opinion piece, saying that “offices designed as fun palaces are fundamentally sinister”. See more creative office interiors on Dezeen.

Photography is by Petr Krejčí.

Here’s a project description from Studio Octopi:

After designing 18 Feet & Rising’s work desks, Studio Octopi were commissioned to work on the fit-out of their new 5,300sqft offices in central London.

Appointment to completion of the fit-out was only a period of two months which was quicker than the time it took to design and build the 18 Feet & Rising work desks. To achieve this timeframe the client transferred full creative control to Studio Octopi. Only a brief four words were issued by the client; emergence, vortex, action and illusion.

CEO, Jonathan Trimble stated that all final approval decisions were granted to Studio Octopi. 18 Feet would collaborate as equal creative partner but not as client. It was agreed that the project would emerge on site.

We identified three principle zones within the agency: work, socialise and pitch. Each zone was then supported by a secondary tier of: read, make and plan. The zones were defined by black stained plywood walls and woven vinyl flooring. These act as theatrical devices in function and appearance. As with theatre the design enhances the presence and immediacy of the experience.

The work desks were arranged within a cog form. On entering the agency, the end of the cog disappears out of view. It is difficult to perceive the space denoted as a work zone, there is an illusionary aspect to the design. Power and data was taken off the existing overhead supply and distributed to the desks throughout the low plywood walls. Break out spaces are scattered to the perimeter provide views across neighbouring buildings. To the inside of the cog, the kitchen opens onto a central café seating area. There is no reception; the café area fulfils this role.

Above: floor plan – click for larger image

Joining the two units is a small opening. Views through the opening reveal the tunnel, the entrance to the boardroom. Approaching the entrance to the tunnel reveals more theatrics. The tunnel walls and sloping soffit are lined in ply however the supporting timber structure is visible on the other side. The tunnel reduces in height and width over its 7m length. The strong light at the end of the tunnel picks out the plywood grain and woven vinyl flooring. Within the boardroom the plywood stained walls form a backdrop for the imposing views of the Post Office Tower.

The client embraced the temporary appearance of utilitarian construction materials. As London’s fastest growing independent ad agency, it’s likely the design will be replaced within a few years. On this basis the fit-out is surprising, a little unnerving, and in places whimsical.

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by Studio Octopi appeared first on Dezeen.

UK firm Mole Architects extended a protected farmhouse in south-east England by adding an extension with a barrel-vaulted roof that references local agricultural buildings (+ slideshow).

Located in the High Weald area of the Sussex Downs, the Hawthbush extension replaced several earlier additions constructed in the 1970s.

The new structure was placed at an angle to the existing house and visually separated from it by a glass link to replicate the layout of traditional local farmsteads, according to recent research carried out using historical maps of the area.

Associating the design with this research allowed them to gain planning permission where previous proposals had failed. This apparent separation also helps to reduce the scale of the additional volume, giving prominence to the original house.

When briefing Mole Architects, one of their clients presented the designers with a pot instead of a room schedule, underlining their wish to gain “a beautifully finished object carefully made from ‘natural’ materials”.

A coated steel roof arches over courses of bricks reclaimed from a nearby farmhouse, reinterpreting the barrelled structural language of local agricultural buildings.

The concave ceiling that results from the unusually shaped roof is emphasised by internal horizontal cladding, directing attention towards a semi-circular window at the end of the master bedroom on the first floor.

Whilst the bedroom’s picture window frames the sunrise, the kitchen on the ground floor benefits from the skewed angle of the extension, which orientates the kitchen on the ground floor towards the south so it’s flooded with sunlight during the day. The kitchen can be opened up to the garden with timber-framed glass doors that concertina out onto the patio.

This ongoing project also includes spatial reorganisation of the interior of the old farmhouse as well as a sustainable development strategy that affects a broader collection of buildings in the farmyard.

Hawthbush farmhouse extension was shortlisted for AJ Small Projects award 2013, which was won by Laura Dewe Mathews for her Gingerbread House. The Forest Pond House folly by TDO was also nominated for this award.

Other projects by Mole Architects include a refurbishment of a 1960s bungalow in Cambridgeshire and a house set within the Suffolk dunes designed in collabouration with Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects.

Photography is by David Butler.

Here’s some more information from Mole Architects:

In place of an existing 70’s extension, the clients required an extension that was sympathetic to the integrity of the original Grade II listed 17th century farmhouse, but which provided additional space and a spacious kitchen diner with lots of glazing providing views out. They weren’t keen on creating a ‘radical’ ultra-modern extension but did want to avoid a pastiche of the old. They wanted a modern space with ‘good flow,’ ideal for a growing family and a practical addition to a working farm.

They identified an appreciation for natural materials – wood cladding, glass, lead, copper and definitely wanted sustainability. When asked to produce a list of rooms Lisa (one of the clients) instead presented MOLE with a pot she had made, saying, “I don’t know what I mean by it, but there’s something about this pot that conveys what I feel about the extension.”

Above: site plan

Planning Constraints

The scheme is located in the within the Low Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, close the boundary of the High Wield. It won approval following a site history of refusals. The scheme was designed following research into the historic development of farmyards within the Weald – well documented/published by Forum Heritage Services for the Joint Advisory Committee of the High Weald AONB (JCA 122), based on 3500 farmstead sites analysed on historic maps.

Both High and Low Weald are characterised by high densities of isolated farmsteads, which comprise small scale groups of individual farmyard structures. These historic farmsteads are characterised by: ‘Loose Courtyards,’ ‘L-plans’ and ‘Dispursed Clusters.’.

Above: ground floor plan

JCA 122 notes that Dispersed Cluster is most prevalent in the High Weald, and the scheme adopts this formal pattern. The extension is designed to be redolent of an agricultural building adjacent to the farmhouse. This form decreases the extension’s apparent scale, allowing greater prominence to the farmhouse. Two meetings held at pre-application stage with planners from Wealden District Council, suggested that further thought/background was required on the location of the extension, and relationship to existing house.

These comments were considered and alternative locations tested in CAD model form and discussed at a further meeting, during which it was agreed that the logic of the original location was acceptable, and difficulties in the revised location (in terms of sunlight penetration and incorporation into the plan) made it less feasible.

Above: first floor plan

Materials & Methods of Construction

Attached while visually separated from the existing farmhouse, the extension provides a contemporary reinterpretation of local farmsteads. It is constructed from reclaimed brick from a nearby farmhouse, with a glulam timber frame barrel-vaulted roof structure covered in terne-coated steel.

Above: long section

A glass link provides access into the farmhouse while giving breathing space to the new extension. The ground floor of the extension contains a generous south-facing family kitchen and above, a master bedroom enjoys the vault. Alongside other alterations carried out by the client to the existing house, including a revised entry for a more accessible drop off, the extension helps make the original building function better as a family home. Ultimately, the overall plan, including the extension, makes use of the site, the sun, the revised entry, and organises the house better.

Above: short section

The clients project managed construction and the extension forms part of a broader ongoing sustainable development strategy organised across the larger collection of buildings that make up Hawthbush farmyard. While this strategy is not part of the project £220K budget, it is worth noting as it forms the framework within which the project sits.

Above: southern elevation

This strategy includes a 50KW woodchip boiler, 10KW array of solar PV, MHRV system and a borehole for house water. The Client ensured all hardcore was provided on site and all soil disposal dealt with on site. The solar PV and boiler fuelled by woodchip generated on-site and installed by the client as part of the larger strategy generate all electrical and heating requirements for the house and extension.

Above: northern elevation

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Mole Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Israeli ceramics designer Shlomit Bauman combined white porcelain with the very last batch of clay from a local pit to make these stretched and distorted objects (+ slideshow).

The objects in the Ran Out collection combine porcelain with a type of Israeli terracotta that has almost been used up completely.

“The local authorities realised that mining this clay would cause it to become completely extinct, so they closed the mine,” Shlomit Bauman told Dezeen. “I bought that last ton of clay from the suppliers.”

Bauman turned a variety of everyday objects into moulds, including a mobile phone, a television and a megaphone.

Two of the moulds – a teapot and a fish – were salvaged from a ceramics factory in Tel Aviv that had closed down in the 1990s.

Bauman then combined the moulds by casting them one on top of the other or by attaching them after casting. “The broken appearance is a result of the different shrinkage characteristics of the materials,” she explained. “But for me, it symbolises the distortion of the process of trying to mix two different cultures together.”

Bauman teaches ceramic design at Holon Institute of Technology in Israel.

Other similar designs we’ve featured include a set of crockery made from roughly carved moulds and a project to make tableware from muddy clay found on the banks of the River Thames – see all ceramics.

Here’s some more information from the designer:

Ran Out is a ceramic design project that raises a discussion concerning the extinction of natural resources, of conception or objects that are running out. The project brings together local clay – a ceramic material that ran out in Israel and abroad (S5), and porcelain – the fashionable and noblest ceramic material. This project makes use of historical molds and materials from closed Israeli ceramic factories.

The different characteristics of these materials in cultural, technological and formal terms result in contrast, cracking and distortion of objects. This creates a tension between the desire for likeness and connection, and the exposure of the differences and the distorted. These works deal with the loaded field of the extinction of natural, cultural and personal resources.

Shlomit Bauman is an Israeli ceramic designer that relates to the ceramic design field as a “cultural research lab” by dealing with cultural, technological and traditional aspects. Along her work she explores the methods and strategies of action in the wide context of material culture. Her creative activity covers many fields that include design, art, education and curation as a way of life.

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Shlomit Bauman appeared first on Dezeen.