Hasta La Ideas

The two parts of this house near Oslo by Schjelderup Trondahl Architects are joined at an angle, with their gabled roofs meeting to form a distorted M-shape (+ slideshow).

Oslo firm Schjelderup Trondahl Architects designed the family home for a site overlooking the city of Holmestrand and the adjacent fjords.

The house’s two wings are angled at 22 degrees to one another, creating a concave facade facing the access road and opening up on the other side to provide different views of the landscape.

“The challenge in sites like this is usually to refine the views rather than exposing everything everywhere, switching between distant and close views, glimpses and different sources of light and reflections,” said the architects.

“Because of its complex form, cantilevered roofs, shifting facades and intersecting spaces, the house offers a spacial experience, a number of different views and randomly occurring reflections” they added.

The topography of the plot influenced the layout of the plan, which rises over a rocky outcrop and is nestled among existing trees.

The exterior of the ground floor is clad in brick and juxtaposed against the angular wooden box above, which cantilevers outwards to create sheltered porches and balconies.

Heartwood fir boards that cover the walls of the upper storey, as well as the roofs, are burnt and brushed in a process that protects them and will cause them to fade to a pale, silvery grey.

Spaces inside the home correspond to the complex angles of the exterior, with gabled ceilings in several of the first floor rooms, and a kink in the wall of the staircase clearly showing where the two wings of the house are joined.

The same brick used for the exterior of the ground floor covers some of the internal walls and forms a breakfast bar in the kitchen.

Walls and ceilings are covered in oiled poplar plywood, with white ash floor boards helping to maintain a bright and airy feeling inside the house.

Windows with chunky oak frames look out on the surrounding forest and across the fjord, while internal glass partitions provide views between some of the rooms.

Photography is by Jonas Adolfsen.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

House Off/Ramberg – Holmestrand, Norway

Location

The city of Holmestrand is divided by a characteristic 120m vertical cliff, separating urban functions at the lower sea side from the housing estate on the upper level. Holmestrand is under constant transformation being a part of suburban Oslo and important for commuting and regional business. The Norwegian State Railways are currently building new tracks to the city with a new elevator shaft between upper and lower levels, thereby improving the connection further.

The single family house is situated on the edge of this prominent cliff edge overlooking Holmestrand and the fjords. The site has a spectacular 180 degree view towards the sea to the east and an open cultural landscape to the west. The challenge in sites like this is usually to refine the views rather than exposing everything everywhere, switching between distant and close views, glimpses and different sources of light and reflections.

Adapting to site

The house was planned merged with the terrain with the least possible intervention, based on extensive analysis of program, strict municipal regulation, landscape characteristics, views (both distant and close) and the vegetation/location. The site was measured down to 10cm accuracy allowing untouched terrain and existing trees to be planned right up next to the building.

The volume has a distinct duality with its compact, west façade facing towards the access road and the more extroverted and fragmented façade opening up to the great eastern view. The two main wings are bent 22 degrees relative to each other to adapt to the terrain and capture different views. Because of its complex form, cantilevered roofs, shifting facades and intersecting spaces the house offers a spacial experience, a number of different views and randomly occurring reflections.

House specifics

The ground floor body is made from site-typical colored tile stone diaphragm walls (two sided) and light concrete floors. The upper part of the house is a wooden box climbing and cantilevering over the heavy base. The walls, external ceilings and roofs are covered with burnt and brushed heartwood fir to make them maintenancefree for generations – a Norwegian style of the Japanese method Shou-Sugi-Ban. The patination process will continue. With time the soft parts of the surface will stay burnt and the harder winter grain will have become silvery gray resulting in a rough but refined expression.

The interior wooden walls and ceilings are clad with white oiled poplar plywood boards and white ash floor boards are used introducing a light softness to the interior. The internal geometry represents necessary constructions for the cantilevered roofs in addition to defining spaces. Integrated furnishings are made on site from white fiber cement boards or bronze colored Glimmerdesign lacquered MDF depending on their placement and function. All windows and doors are made from massive oak.

Location: Holmestrand, Norway
Building type: Single family house
Constructor: Larsen Bygg AS/Lars Arnulf Finden
Consultant: Frederiksen AS / Håkon Bergsrud
Size: 273m2 (gross)
Architect: Schjelderup Trondahl Architects AS
Primary Architects: Stian Schjelderup, Øystein Trondahl, Katrine Skavlan

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fjord by Schjelderup Trondahl Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Architects including Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura and Kengo Kuma have taken over the galleries of London’s Royal Academy of Arts for an architecture exhibition that features a labyrinth of sticks, an inhabitable timber monument and a web of scented bamboo (+ slideshow).

Opening to the public later this week, Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined comprises a series of site-specific installations inserted into the main galleries and front courtyard of the Royal Academy, which are designed to explore the most fundamental elements of architectural space.

“Unlike almost any other art form, architecture is part of our everyday life, but its ability to dramatically affect the way we think, feel and interact with one another is often overlooked,” said curator Kate Goodwin.

The first installation is a towering wooden structure by Chilean architects Pezo von Ellrichshausen intended to reveal parts of the gallery that are usually left unseen.

Four chunky columns each contain spiral staircases, leading up to a viewing platform positioned at the height of the gallery’s cornices. Here, visitors are offered a framed view of the room’s ornamental ceiling, before descending via a gently sloping ramp hidden within the rear wall.

Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura has added a pair of concrete arches to two galleries within the exhibition. Constructed from a high-performance reinforced concrete, the arches mirror two existing doorways, but are positioned at an angle to align with buildings located outside the gallery.

“This installation is about the permanence of form and continuity in architecture,” Souto de Moura told Dezeen at the press launch earlier today. “What changes are the materials, the construction system and, of course, the architectural language.

The piece by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma also occupies two rooms within the gallery. Designed to emphasise the importance of smell in architecture, the intricate bamboo structures are infused with aromas that Kuma associates with the house he grew up in. “The concept was to minimise materials but to maximise senses,” the architect told Dezeen.

The first structure is positioned in the centre of the gallery and takes on the smell of hinoki, a kind of Japanese cedar often used in construction, while the second wraps around the edges of a small room and is infused with the smell of tatami, the traditional straw mats used as flooring in most Japanese houses.

Li Xiaodong of China constructed a maze of hazel for his section of the exhibition. Visitors weave their way through narrow pathways with illuminated floors, eventually finding various wooden hideaways.

Further on, the space opens out to a pool of pebbles. A mirrored wall allows the space to appear larger than it really is, while a small window offers an opportunity for a second glance on the way out.

The spatial qualities of light and shadow shaped the installation by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Irish firm Grafton Architects. The architects suspended large wooden structures from the ceilings of two galleries to recreate the experiences of both sun and moonlight.

Concealed lighting moves gently across the ceilings to subtly change the conditions of the rooms at different times, while benches encourage visitors to sit down for prolonged periods of time.

The sixth structure in the show was designed by architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, who works between Germany and Burkina Faso in Africa. Rather than using clay, a material Kéré is more familiar with, the architect chose to construct a tunnel using a plastic honeycomb panels.

Colourful straws are positioned around the installation allowing visitors to make their own additions to its form, so that over the course of the exhibition its surface will transform into a mass of spikes.

Álvaro Siza‘s installation is located outside the galleries in the Royal Academy’s entrance courtyard and consists of three concrete columns that have been coloured with yellow pigment. Only one of the columns is complete and mimics the architectural piers of the historical Burlington House facade.

The exhibition was curated by Kate Goodwin. It also features a 15-minute film where all seven architects describe their designs for the exhibition and introduce their previous work.

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at the Royal Academy appeared first on Dezeen.

Japanese studio Torafu Architects has designed a collection of small and lightweight wooden furniture (+ slideshow).

Torafu Architects created items in the Cobrina collection so they can be easily rearranged, in collaboration with manufacturer Hida Sangyo.

“We designed a series of small-sized pieces of furniture that allow space to be used more effectively,” the designers said.

The name Cobrina derives from the Japanese expression “koburi-na”, used to describe things that are small or undersized.

The nine oak pieces all feature angled legs and surfaces with rounded edges.

Chairs with winged backrests that point up or down are low enough to tuck under the table and can be ordered with upholstered seats.

These chairs are available stained grey, black or bright blue, as well as in natural oak.

A coat stand has a bowl on the top for storing keys, small change and other pocket-sized items.

Removable cushions rest against the wooden back of the two-seater sofa, which doesn’t have armrests.

Dining and coffee tables both have semi-circular tops and the small stools double as side tables.

There are also two storage units: a low stand that has two shelves and a taller design with four.

Other furniture by the architects includes wooden storage boxes that stack up to make little trolleys, stools that can be grouped together to form a bench and shelves that feature hidden drawers.

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wooden furniture collection appeared first on Dezeen.

A rectilinear belfry towers above the geometric white volume of this church congregation hall in Hungary by local firm SAGRA Architects (+ slideshow).

The Szolnok Reformed Church Congregation House is the first of two buildings by SAGRA Architects to be completed on the site in Szolnok, central Hungary, following a competition to design a new church complex.

The single-storey building contains a hall capable of accommodating around 30-40 people, an office and kitchen facilities, providing spaces that can be used for either worship or other community activities.

A wall extends out from the eastern side of the building, connecting the structure with the bell tower and creating a secluded terrace in front of the glazed southern facade.

This facade is also slightly recessed to allow part of the gabled roof to function as a canopy across the entrance.

“The basis of our concept was to create an open, clear and transparent space that still represents protection,” explained architect Gábor Sajtos.

Exterior walls are rendered white, while the roof is clad with black slate tiles and windows are framed by stained wood.

“The materials used reflect the spirituality of the building,” said Sajitos. “The white plastered walls and black slate roof suit its austerity and noble simplicity.”

Construction on the neighbouring church has not yet begun, due to problems securing funding. Once complete, it will be positioned on the northern boundary of the site, while remaining spaces between the two buildings will feature flower gardens.

Read on for more information from Sagra Architects:

Congregation House – SAGRA Architects

“… but love builds people up” – 1 Corinthians 8

The design process was preceded by an architectural competition. The SAGRA Architects’ design was rewarded as the winning proposal.

The congregation house is multifunctional: besides operating as congregation hall it houses catechism classes and programmes, fulfils social duties and charity tasks. As the building is also an eco-point, its programmes play part in spreading ecological thinking and teaching sustainable behaviour.

The basis of our concept during the design of Szolnok Reformed Church Congregation House was to create an open, clear and transparent space that still represents protection. Due to its architecture the building serves as a suitable place for worship and community occasions.

The building complex has two parts: the single-storey, cantilevered volume of the congregation house with gabled roof and the Bell tower. The bell tower is an organic part of the complex. The wooden terrace, inserted between the congregation house and the tower extends and opens up the internal community space through a fully openable glass wall. The cantilevered roof creates a transition zone between inside and outside. The south facade is shaded by the strongly cantilevered roof in summer, while it lets in the sharp angled sunbeams in winter.

The composition of the buildings is completed by the lavender garden, the floral garden and the lawn garden with seating and water surface.

The main access to the building is from south, from the street. Here the visitor is led through a pulled back, transition entrance area. The bell tower’s volume leads into the site. The walls, built on the southern and western site boundaries are the integral parts of the complex, symbols of protection, but open up and lead in at the same time. Placing the buildings on the site boundaries is also part of the local building regulations. Through these walls open up, the site becomes private but still open for passing through from all directions.

The congregation hall is extendable towards the wooden terrace. The terrace becomes the full, open-air part of the hall in summer.

The materials used reflect the spirituality of the building. The white plastered walls and black slate roof suit to its austerity and noble simplicity. The doors, windows and the south facade of the building are covered with stained wood, as well as the underside of the cantilevered roof.

As the building is also an eco-point, its programmes play part in spreading ecological thinking and teaching sustainable behaviour, so we considered this aspect during the design process.

The heating and hot water supply of this low energy, economical building is solved by an air to water heat pump. The heating is radiating surface heating (heated floor and ceiling), the cooling is provided by radiating surface cooling from the ceiling. The temperature of the spaces is controlled by thermostatic valves.

The south facade is shaded by the strongly cantilevered roof in summer, while it lets in the sharp angled sunbeams in winter.

Future

The church complex contains three main masses: the church, the congregation house with pastor’s office and the bell tower. The three volumes form an inseparable unity.

Until now the congregation house and the bell tower were built. The congregation is aiming to construct the church too in the future, but the financial background for it is still missing.

Architects: Sagra Architects
Architect in Charge: Sajtos Gábor
Design team: Sajtos Gábor, Grand Gabriella, Páll András, Virág Péter, Németh Regina
Year: 2012
Location: Szolnok, Hungary
Photographs: Szentirmai Tamás

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features a towering white belfry appeared first on Dezeen.

Vienna design collective Mostlikely modelled this Alpine lodge on the wooden agricultural barns of surrounding mountain villages.

Mostlikely wanted to design a building that would be suited to a modern family lifestyle, but that also wouldn’t look out of place amongst the traditional architecture of its locality in Kitzbühel, Austria.

“This coherent architectural landscape allows for a romantic identity as well as regional authenticity and serves as the layer stone of the tourism industry in this area,” said the designers.

Rather than replicating the design of the local houses, they took the form of an old barn as the model for the house’s shape and appearance.

“The typology of the barn with its brick-built, massive socket that contrasts its open hayloft seemed to suit today’s needs better than the traditionally poor-lit farmers house of the old days,” added the designers.

Named The Barn, the three-storey house comprises a base of bare concrete rather than brickwork, and a wooden upper section with a gently sloping roof that helps prevent a large build-up of snow.

The architects collaborated with sculptor Stefan Buxbaum on the design of the concrete, using a corrosive chemical to engrave images of flowers and fishes into the surface to reference the “myths of the mountains”.

Living and dining rooms occupy the middle floor of the building and include double-height spaces with views up to the exposed wooden roof beams. A wood-burning stove sits between the kitchen and dining room, while glass doors lead out a large balcony terrace.

A metal staircase ascends to a top-floor mezzanine and descends to three bedrooms located on the ground floor.

Photography is by Mostlikely and Maik Perfahl.

Here’s a project description from Mostlikely:

The Barn – Edition Kitzbühel 2012. Living like a wild emperor. Staged Authenticity.

To build a one family house in the region of Kitzbühel architect Mark Neuner and the team of mostlikely took a better part of the design process as a research quest on how to build in a contemporary way without neglecting the historic traditions. Questions with great significance in an area where tradition not only weighs heavily on old houses but hardly any new houses that are more daring are to be found at all.

This coherent architectural landscape allows for a romantic identity as well as regional authenticity and serves as the layer stone of the tourism industry in this area. To respect and preserve the substance of the idyllic mountain village Going am Wilden Kaiser (the name of the mountain which literally translates to “Wild Emperor”) mostlikely chose to stage the well-known and proven in a new way.

The ideal model

Numerous walks through the environment and a deep dive into the history as well as the cliches associated with the area helped to analyse, measure and document the surroundings. These physical and mental excursions would then lead to a visualised outline of the plan that was full of variety and complexity. This way of “working in pictures” at the beginning of the design process enabled us to get a stronger connection with the space. This approach eventually led mostlikely to the barn instead of the traditional house to play the model for the further development. The typology of the barn with its brick-built, massive socket that contrasts its open hayloft seemed to suit today’s needs better than the traditionally poor-lit farmers house of the old days.

Concrete Flowers (or Fable and Flora)

The point of culmination for the idea of the barn was the socket. Instead of brick, concrete was the material of choice and the magic could take place: flowers and creatures that would slightly remind the myths of the mountains would grow – thanks to a corrosion technique – on the especially designed and each separately cast concrete panels. Moreover in an almost manic cooperation with the sculptor Stefan Buxbaum mostlikely was able to create panels of concrete almost as light as a feather so that even the automatic garage door would open and thus be integrated invisibly in the facade of the building.

Proven but progressive

In the living areas of the house especially designed furniture, walls made from exposed concrete and most prominently the wooden roof timbering that would dominate the shape and feel of the upper floors would connect the shapes of the past with modern living styles just naturally without insinuating.

Unpretentious and natural as a barn should be, a new typology of housing in the mountains was born: “Scheune Edition Kitzbühel 2012” its name.

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based on an agricultural barn appeared first on Dezeen.