More images of Zaha Hadid’s Jazz superyacht

Here’s a full set of images showing the Jazz superyacht Zaha Hadid is designing for German shipbuilders Blohm+Voss, including new interior shots (+ slideshow).

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

Hadid first designed a concept for a 128-metre yacht, which informed the design of five 90-metre vessels called Unique Circle yachts.

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

These will retain the sinuous design aesthetic of the original, but be pared back and engineered by Blohm+Voss to meet the technical specifications required for ocean crossings.

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

The first 90-metre craft in the range, shown here, will be the Jazz yacht.

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

It will feature a sharp solid prow, becoming more open towards the back where terraces and lounge areas will be sheltered by curving forms.

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

Zaha Hadid Architects say the five Unique Circle yachts “creatively explore the design philosophies of the master prototype within the technical requirements of a fully engineered yacht design.”

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

The remaining four boats will be customised according to the needs of their owners.

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

Hadid was previously commissioned to design a limited-edition speedboat for American art dealer Kenny Schachter.

Jazz Unique Circle Superyacht by Zaha Hadid for Blohm and Voss

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House Unimog stores a truck within its translucent base

This black house by German studios Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur is raised up over a translucent base where the client’s truck can be stored (+ slideshow).

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

Located on a busy street near Tübingen, Germany, the building needed to accommodate both a residence and a workshop, so Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur decided to lift all the living spaces off the ground and create a garage underneath with a parking space for the client’s Unimog – a cult four-wheel drive vehicle produced by Mercedes Benz.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

This prompted the architects to name the project House Unimog.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

“The concept was to stack the two different uses on top of each other in order to minimise the footprint on the site and to orient the living rooms from the street towards the landscape,” said Fabian Evers.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

Opaque corrugated cladding covers the first-floor walls and roof, while the lower level is surrounded by translucent polycarbonate with matching ridges, allowing daylight to permeate the workshop.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

“The workspace is filled with filtered natural light during the daytime, and turns at night into a light box which glows into the neighbourhood,” said Evers.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

A staircase extends up along one of the outer walls, leading through to the domestic spaces via a sheltered south-facing terrace that can be used for various activities, from al fresco dining to chopping wood for the fire.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

Glass doors connect the terrace with an open-plan living and dining area, with a bathroom and bedroom positioned beyond.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

Oriented strand board lines the walls and ceilings of all three rooms, and a wood-burning stove provides heating.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

Here’s some more information from Fabian Evers:


House Unimog


The unusual task and the difficult building site was at one hand a big challenge but on the other a big potential. The owner requested a workshop for his Unimog and a small residential unit.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

The site is located directly next to a street with heavy traffic and is surrounded by small private houses and farm buildings. A crucial parameter was the very tight cost frame.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

The concept was to stack the two different uses on top of each other in order to minimise the footprint on the site and to orient the living rooms from the street towards the landscape. The result is a vertically developed house. The variation of the two different uses reflects itself through the facade: The lower part of the workshop is clad with translucent polycarbonate elements.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

The workspace is filled with filtered natural light during the daytime, and turns at night into a light box which glows into the neighbourhood. The living space presents itself with its anthracite facade as a monolithic volume. Precise set windows and a generous south-oriented loggia enables beautiful views into the surrounding landscape.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

The chosen materials for the facade and inside the building underlines the pragmatic and reduced design concept: a house which is rather located in the typology of a rational farmhouse or of a workshop than a classical residential house.

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur

Project: low budget house – private house with mit workshop
Client: private
Period: 2011 – 2012
Floor area: 120 m2
Costs: 170.000 Euros

House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur
Site plan
House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur
Ground floor plan
House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur
First floor plan
House Unimog by Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur
Cross section

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Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects features squid fishing lamps

Metal pipes and lightbulbs previously used on squid fishing boats are used to make a sculptural light that hangs from a double-height space in the centre of this Aesop skincare store in Kyoto (+ slideshow).

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

The refurbished interior by Torafu Architects for Australian brand Aesop reuses lightbulbs originally utilised at sea to attract squid.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

“By utilising the height of the vaulted ceiling, we hung squid fishing boat pendant lights like a mobile and filled the space with light,” said the architects.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

Aesop Kawaramachi comprises a narrow 3.2-metre-wide retail space with exposed concrete walls, roughly covered with white paint along the top and bottom of the ground floor.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

Products are displayed on shelves made from textured grey board that are hung next to turquoise sinks.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

Alow bench lines the right side of the store and a counter sits in the middle of the space below the cluster of lights.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

A staircase at the rear leads to a first-floor gallery space, which overlooks the front of the store and the lighting feature.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

This is the studio’s fourth collaboration with Aesop in Japan. Torafu Architects also designed Aesop Shin-Marunouchi, Aesop Yokohama Bay Quarter and Aesop Shibuya. Each Aesop store differs and in an interview with Aesop founder Dennis Paphitis, he told Dezeen that he was “horrified at the thought of a soulless chain”.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

Photography is by Takumi Ota.

Here is some more information from the architects:


Aesop Kawaramachi

For Australian skin care brand Aesop, we planned the interior and exterior of the new store in Kawaramachi, Kyoto. The store is located on the 1st floor of a building on a busy shopping street. A narrow 3.2m width, 19.7m depth with a spatial height of 6.2m vaulted ceiling.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

We approached the project by making the most out of the original building structure with the addition of careful alteration. We brought functional part of the store compactly to the narrow space by the entrance, the back space will be a hospitality area consisting of sizeable counter and long bench, where customer can relax.

By utilising the height of the vaulted ceiling, we hung squid fishing boat pendant lights like a mobile and filled the space with light. As you go upstairs, you will find the 2nd floor as a gallery space, providing opportunity for customers to meet new people.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

Flexible board, used for the product shelf is made unburnable and has texture of mortar, taking advantage of its original unique feature. Together with the porous Ōya stone used for flooring, it provides a soft, natural palette that lends a pervasive sense of calm from the moment of entry.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

For the façade, we covered entirely with flexible board, using interior elements, such as accent green colour and squid fishing boat lamp, in order for people to realise continuity in space, letting the store stand out even in the colourful shopping street.

Due to the location on the busy street where many travellers and locals come by, our store design is aimed to blend as part of new Kyoto culture by providing casual yet cosy store space.

Aesop Kawaramachi by Torafu Architects

Principle use: SHOP
Facility design: ENDO-Lighting, maxray (Lightings)
Production: &S
Credit: Graphics: Aesop
Site area: Kawaramachi, Kyoto
Total floor area: 86m2
Design period: 2013.09-2013.11
Construction period: 2013.11-12

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House in Normandy with blackened timber walls by Beckmann-N’Thépé Architectes

Black-painted timber contrasts with clean white window frames on the walls of this cube-shaped weekend home in Normandy, France, by Paris studio Beckmann-N’Thépé Architectes (+ slideshow).

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

Located on a quiet countryside plot in Bellavilliers, Beckmann-N’Thépé‘s House in Normandy is surrounded by little but woodland and fields.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

The architects designed the house as a “minimalist object”, with a simple geometric shape and only one pronounced opening on each side.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

Horizontal timber panels clad each wall and are painted black, giving the facade the appearance of charcoal.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

“A line diagram cube with a 50 square-metre base on the ground, [the house’s] black-tinted wooden wall panelling responds to the woodland environment,” said the architects.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

Small square windows puncture three elevations, while the fourth has glazed doors that lead out to a small terrace.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

There’s also a fifth opening – a front door that is camouflaged within the cladding but revealed by a simple canopy.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

A combined living room, dining area and kitchen takes up one half of the ground floor and features a double-height ceiling.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

One bedroom is tucked away behind, alongside the bathroom, and a second occupies a mezzanine floor above.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

The house was completed in 2009 and functions as the holiday home for a family of four.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

Photography is by Stephan Lucas.

Read on for more information from Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé:


House in Normandy
Bellavilliers, France

The house is located in the Normandy Bocage, surrounded by hedgerows and looking out over Bellême Forest. Set on the first third of a plot of land 150 m long, it stands in an isolated residential area in the Perche countryside.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

A minimalist object, a line diagram cube with 50 m2 base on the ground, its black tinted wooden wall panelling responds to the woodland environment. With just one opening on each side judiciously oriented and highlighted with white, the front is made up of a wooden frame lined with high performance thermal insulation.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

The double height in the living-room, also lit through a large bay window opening onto the south side, tends to expand the space.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

The strict comfort needed is provided – a living space comprising a living-room with fireplace, open-plan kitchen, bathroom and cupboard space; and a night-time area with two bedrooms, one treated as a large open loft space, and a bathroom.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

A few trees decorate the driveway and create a filter between the house and the lane outside.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

The dormant partners’ requirement, the desired originality in the response, and the €120,000 budget together defined this simple volume, combining a good floor surface area to frontage ratio. The qualitative approach to the project in terms of materials and energy performance was the key here.

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes

Program: Secondary residence for 4 people
Architects: Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé (Paris)
Client: Private
Area: 80 m2 net floor area
Cost: EUR 120 000 excl. VAT

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
Ground floor plan

Project manager: Nicolas Gaudard
Architect: Laura Giovannetti
Assistant architects: Mathilde Billet, Arthur Billaut, Thimothée Kazmierczak

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
First floor plan

Masonry, wood structure: GUILLET S.A. Excavation : ZUNINO
Plastery: Nicobat
Electricity: Leon
Plumbing, ventilation: Chardel

House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
North elevation
House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
West elevation
House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
South elevation
House in Normandy by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
East elevation

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Ryo Matsui’s Hairdo salon has a transparent house-shaped facade

In our second story today from Japanese firm Ryo Matsui Architects, a glazed facade reveals the two-storey interior of a house-shaped hair salon in Chiba, Japan (+ slideshow).

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

Ryo Matsui Architects designed the Hairdo beauty salon with a simple interior of plain white walls and timber surfaces, leaving roof trusses and other structural elements exposed.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

Located next to Chiba’s train station, the salon’s transparent frontage allows pedestrians to look straight through and see what’s happening on both floors of the building.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

“The big glass facade viewed from the frontal road raises the internal aspect and contributes a sense of unity,” the architects explained.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

Glass entrance doors lead into a reception and waiting area that occupies the front half of the ground floor.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

A row of mirrors and chairs are fixed down the side of the far wall, while a shampoo and colour area is tucked away at the rear along with a small courtyard.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

Upstairs, a styling area covers much of the large open-plan space, with a staff room and extra shampoo area towards the back.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

Photography is by Daici Ano.

Here’s a project description from the architects:


Hairdo hair salon

This salon is located in the prefectural road in front of Chiba Station where a monorail comes and goes.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

We planned the two-story hair salon. In a condition called the ten years fixed-term land leasehold, it is required the coexistence as an intelligent architecture and effective interior.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

In the big roof covering the second floor as a main, it is made from a gabled roof-shaped by the warren truss with a light steel frame.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

It is matched up steel materials as thin as possible, for example chord members of 60×60mm, lattices of 40×40mm, and roof purlins of 60×30mm.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

The contrast of the structure painted white and sheathing boards, applying to the furniture and fixtures, let them fused their visual expression.

Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects

The facade of the big glass viewed from the frontal road, raises the internal aspect contributed a sense of unity.

Ground and first floor plans of Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects
Ground and first floor plans – click for larger image

In restrictive temporal axis, it is expected that the salon is integrated into as a picture frame of the city to contribute to local activation.

Section of Hairdo by Ryo Matsui Architects
Section – click for larger image

Building Site: Chiba-shi, Chiba
Principal Use: Hair salon
Architect: Ryo Matsui Architects Inc.
Structural Design: Ryo Kuwako
Construction: Nichinan Iron Corporation
Site Area: 141.99 m² Shampoo Area
Architectural Area: 106.7 m²
Total Floor Area: 220.8 m²
1st Floor Area: 113.41 m²
2nd Floor Area: 106.67 m²
Structure: Steel construction

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Four-storey house with tree-lined balconies by Ryo Matsui Architects

Trees line the protruding balconies of this concrete house in Nagoya, Japan, by Tokyo studio Ryo Matsui Architects (+ slideshow).

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects

Named Balcony House, the four-storey dwelling was designed by Ryo Matsui Architects with three large balconies and a roof terrace that give views of the surrounding city, but are also screened behind planted trees.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_3

“The two metre wide balcony becomes the buffer area with the road and takes on the function of eaves,” said the architect. “We suggest that the balconies have a beneficial influence, not only for the interior, but they become part of the new cityscape.”

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_4

Trees planted on the first and the second floor balconies can grow taller through openings in the floor slabs above.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_6

A side entrance leads into the house and ascends directly upstairs, bypassing two parking spaces and a study on the ground floor.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_1

A child’s playroom is located towards the rear of the first floor, while a glass wall exposes the stairwell and an en suite bedroom lined with wooden panels opens out onto the first balcony.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_7

On the second floor, dark wooden panels cover the walls and ceilings of the kitchen and living room, contrasting with sections of exposed concrete that shows the marks of its timber formwork.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_2

The third floor features a bathroom and a walk-in-wardrobe, accessed by a central corridor. An L-shaped balcony with timber decking wraps around the front bedroom.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_8

A outdoor staircase lead up from the third balcony to the roof terrace, which features an al fresco dining area with plants built into the decking.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_5

Photography is by Daici Ano.

Here is some more information from the architect:


The Balcony House

The balconies and new cityscape

In the residential area which have a low-rise building apartment complex and new houses with small balconies, we designed RC 4-floor house.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects

In Japan, especially the centre of Tokyo, the house next to each other extremely approaches the site boundary.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_11
Axonometric showing balcony exterior

Although it is the place where we want to expect the openness to the frontal road necessarily, the site facing each other is the same condition.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_12
Ground floor

There are small balconies, and the planters for blindfolds.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_13
First floor

It is not exaggeration even if it is said that balconies influence the cityscape in the crowd place of the residential area. The two-metre wide balcony becomes the buffer area with the road and takes on the function of eaves.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_14
Second floor

Getting plants grown wild by keeping enough depth of the balconies, it is higher than an upper balcony and brought it up. We suggest that the balconies have a beneficial influence not only for the interior, but they become part of the new cityscape.

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_15
Third floor

Project name: Balcony House
Building Site: Minato-ku
Tokyo Architect: Ryo Matsui Architects Inc.
Structure Design: Akira Suzuki / ASA
Principal use: Private house

Balcony House by Ryo Matsui Architects_dezeen_16
Rooftop balcony

Architectural Area: 118.58 m²
Total Floor Area: 202.6 m²
1st Floor Area: 113.41 m²
2nd Floor Area: 106.67 m²
3rd Floor Area: 113.41 m²
4th Floor Area: 106.67 m²
Main Structure: Reinforced Concrete
Design Period: 2011.7-2012.6
Construction Period: 2012.7-2013.2

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Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

A faceted roof made from a shimmering copper-bronze alloy covers this extension by British firm Emrys Architects to a pair of Georgian townhouses in London (+ slideshow).

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

Emrys Architects was asked by property management firm GMS Estates to modernise and extend its offices, which occupy two former residential properties on Great James Street in Bloomsbury.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

The architects installed a new two-storey structure at the rear of the buildings to create additional rooms and improve connections between existing workspaces.

Great James Street by Emrys Architects

“The client wished to break out from the confined spaces of the Georgian terrace to allow easier communication between each other whilst retaining some delineation between departments,” explained the architects.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

“Our solution was to retain and enhance the grandeur of the terrace and to introduce an entirely new structure in the tight land-locked space to the rear to create a dramatic transition from old to the new,” they added.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

The triangular sections of the metal roof angle up and down to create varying ceiling heights inside the new structure, lining up with different parts of the old brick buildings.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

“We took the existing heights of key points around the perimeter and used this for inspiration for an unusual triangulated roof form,” said the architects.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

Inside, recessed lighting highlights the edges of each plane, while triangular skylights bring daylight into the space from the corners.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

A cantilevered wooden staircase leads down to the lower level, where wooden ceiling joists have been left exposed.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

A meeting room is contained at the centre of this floor and occupies an old barrel-vaulted brick structure that was formerly used as a vault.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

Glass doors help to bring in extra daylight and lead out to small courtyards, plus both levels feature oak parquet flooring.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

Photography is by Alan Williams.

Here’s a project description from Emrys Architects:


Great James Street

Two Grade II* listed Georgian properties that have been the head offices of GMS Estates for generations have been redeveloped for the 21st Century. A melee of unconnected post-war extensions and dank lower ground spaces has been replaced with two storeys of striking contemporary work space.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

Background

32-33 Great James Street comprises two five storey terraced townhouses built between 1720 and 1724. The terrace is one of the few remaining intact Georgian streets in London, close to Grays Inn in Bloomsbury. The properties suffered bomb and fire damage during the Second World War and were patched-up shortly after with a series of rear extensions. This annex contained poor office accommodation and some areas were in such bad condition that they were only suitable for storage.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

GMS Estates are landowners and landlords who own many properties in Central London and take pride in keeping them to a high standard. Having recently completed several refurbishments of residences and offices for the rental market, they realised that their own accommodation was hampering their productivity and staff well-being.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

The boardroom at 32 Great James Street was spectacular with original oak panelling and portraits of previous company chairmen, accessed from an oak panelled staircase. However, other areas of the building were jammed with staff in various rooms on different levels. Internal communication involved moving up and down the stairs, opening fire doors and bumping into tired office furniture and trailing wires. The team felt disconnected from each other. Many rooms lacked adequate natural light and felt oppressive. Some of the post-war extensions were damp and warren-like. Furthermore, the organisation was growing and could not easily be contained within the existing structure.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

The GMS brief to Emrys Architects was to identify ways of better utilising the property within the constraints of the existing listed buildings and their outbuildings. They required Great James Street to be a flagship headquarters and although steeped in tradition, GMS happily embrace contemporary architecture.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects

Interiors

The client wished to break out from the confined spaces of the Georgian terrace to allow easier communication between each other whilst retaining some delineation between departments.

Our solution was to retain and enhance the grandeur of the listed terrace and to introduce an entirely new structure in the tight land-locked space to the rear to create a dramatic transition from old to the new.

Following an audit of the existing outbuildings, it was agreed with the local authority to retain some elements. The most notable feature was the existing silver vault, a brick barrel-arched structure that included a heavy steel door. Whilst this was not ideally located, it was used as the starting point for the space plan of the lower floors and became an unconventional meeting room.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects
Lower ground floor plan – click for larger image

The new structure is on two levels and is accessible from the Georgian terrace at both lower ground and ground floors.

The work spaces have been configured to allow departments to occupy clearly demised areas, yet still allow full connectivity between groups. Departments are positioned in areas that have the best natural light and access to the external courtyards. There are no physical divisions between each place.

An asymmetric lofted ceiling sits under the new roof with recessed lighting accentuating the geometric planes. A double height void is cut out at the rear and a cantilevered timber staircase rises through to connect the floors. Use of roof lights and glazed access to courtyard areas has ensured that the building is flooded with light.

Chevron oak parquet floor runs throughout the new offices and timber joists on the lower floor have been left exposed and lime washed.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects
Upper ground floor plan – click for larger image

Roof Design

Faced with the restriction of the land-locked site, we took the existing heights of key points around the perimeter to the rear of the listed building and used this for inspiration for an unusual triangulated roof form.

In order to maximise the potential of the space and introduce drama, certain elements of the roof shape were pulled upward increasing the internal floor-to-ceiling heights. The contemporary folded roof form is complemented by the use of a copper bronze alloy in a flush rain screen arrangement, the patina selected to harmonise with the existing townhouse.

The walls adjacent to the light wells are fully glazed and additional windows and roof lights added to maximise light penetration into the plan.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects
First floor and roof plan – click for larger image

Structural Design

The structure is made up of a series of folded triangular plates that are self-supporting when all panels are in place. These are retained by a continuous light-weight steel ring beam that ties all the panels together and prevents them from sliding away. Triangular roof lights are placed outside this ring beam and allow light to penetrate down to the lower ground floor.

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects
Long section

Outcome

“Emrys Architects have taken unusable areas and created stunning new offices that have transformed our working day.” – Tom Gibbon, Managing Director, GMS Estates

Great James Street Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects
Cross section

Architects: Emrys Architects
Location: Bloomsbury, London WC1
Type Of Project: Refurbishment and Extension
Structural Engineers: Elliott Wood Partnership
Project Architect: Gwilym Jones
Design Team: Glyn Emrys, Matt Blackden, Nuno Meira, Gwilym Jones
Client: GMS Estates
Funding: Private
Tender date: December 2012
Start on site date: 4th March 2013
Contract duration: 36 Weeks
Gross internal floor area: 440sqm – 4,734sqft
Form of contract and/or procurement: Traditional /JCT Standard Form of Building Contract
Total cost: £1m

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Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

Graduate designer Aaron Dunkerton has developed an expandable clothing airer that unfolds into a star shape to create more space for hanging wet garments (+ slideshow).

Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

Aaron Dunkerton‘s Clothes Horse has 36 arms, 10 more than a conventional airer, and when in use it takes the form of a 12-pointed star.

Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

“The shape of my clothes horse when erect allows for good air circulation around the clothes, which will help them to dry faster,” said the designer.

Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

The piece is made from narrow strips of beach plywood, connected by brushed aluminium rods. Small openings create hooks that allow the structure to be locked into position, or collapsed when not it use.

Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

“When it’s collapsed it is a lot smaller than conventional airers, but when expanded it has more drying arms, as well as having a more interesting form,” Dunkerton told Dezeen.

Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

Dunkerton designed the Clothes Horse as part of a product and furniture design degree at Kingston University. His other projects include a cavity brick fitting that allows endangered birds to nest in new buildings and garden walls.

Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

Here’s a project description from the designer:


Clothes Horse

The dimensions of my clothes horse are 56cm long, 32 wide and 23cm high when it is collapsed so it is much easier to store than a conventional clothes airer which are normally awkward sizes and hard to hide when not in use. When in use its dimensions are 56cm deep, 112cm wide and 112cm tall. The shape of my clothes horse when erect allows for good air circulation around the clothes, which will help them to dry faster.

The design comprises a locking arm which keeps the clothes horse in it collapsed form so that when it is being moved and stored between uses it is easier to carry.

Star-shaped clothes horse by Aaron Dunkerton

Whilst my design does have a bigger footprint when it is being used, it is much more interesting to look at than normal airers.

It has 36 drying arms which is around 10 more than normal airers. It is made from brushed aluminium rod and beach plywood. The wood is cut using a CNC router. The aluminium rod is threaded at the end and then fastened with domed nuts and washers.

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by Aaron Dunkerton
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Angular steel canopy covers refurbished community centre by Collins and Turner

An angular steel canopy covered in plants wraps around this refurbished youth and community centre in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo by Australian architects Collins and Turner (+ slideshow).

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_8

Collins and Turner extended an amenities block for urban housing and health association Weave by adding a central courtyard and landscaped roof garden, which overlooks the skate park at Waterloo Oval.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_1

The angular frame comprises structural poles and mesh made from galvanised steel, designed to support foliage.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_5

“As the plants mature and grow across the canopy, the building will gradually merge with its park setting, becoming an abstract and sculptural green land-form that punctuates the park boundary and visually merges with the adjacent tree canopies,” said the architects.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_17

The tubular metal structure hides a landscaped roof garden on top of the community centre building.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_6

The garden looks down to a rectangular courtyard on the floor below, paved with timber from reclaimed city power poles. This allows daylight and ventilation to permeate through the building, which was designed specifically for low environmental impact.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_16

“Internally, comfort conditions are passively controlled using natural cross ventilation, exposed thermal mass, and a building envelope shaded by the canopy structure and climbing plants,” said the architects.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_7

Glass doors surrounding the courtyard open into the interior open-plan workspace, designed for 14 staff members. The space is subdivided to accommodate amenities such as two counselling rooms, a manager’s office and a kitchenette.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_10

Retained brick walls from the previous structure are white-washed, and new concrete soffits and structural columns have been added.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_14

On the exterior, the plant-covered protruding triangular sections provide a backdrop for the skate park.

Here’s a project description from Collins and Turner:


Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre

The building has been transformed into a welcoming counselling facility and communal workspace for Weave.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_15

The refurbished building has additionally become an extension of its landscape setting, combining architecture and horticulture in a unique way to create a new sculptural form that enlivens the southern area of the Waterloo Oval site.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_13

Where possible, elements of the existing amenities block structure have been retained and re-used in the new plan, now focussed around a new central courtyard and crowned by a planted roof structure.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_4

The landscaped roof garden is veiled by a dramatic steel canopy structure that has been designed to support a variety of native climbing and fruiting plants. The canopy is star shaped in plan – the points of the star mark the entry and newly constructed bay window areas in the four corners of the building.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_2

The building is also partially submerged in its setting, as a result of subtle adjustments in the adjacent landscape levels, reducing its apparent size.

As the plants mature and grow across the canopy, the building will gradually merge with its park setting, becoming an abstract and sculptural green land-form that punctuates the park boundary and visually merges with the adjacent tree canopies.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_9

Inspiration

The building design takes inspiration from a number of diverse sources. amongst them, the grass covered iron-age forts of Celtic Wales; the aviary at London Zoo designed by Cedric Price; and the work of John Krubsack an american naturalist who experimented with growing and grafting plants into shapes, creating the first chair that was grown rather than made.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_11

The buildings unusual angular form evokes both the folded planes of Origami, and the triangulated surfaces of invisible stealth planes and boats.

Planning

The interior is arranged in a pin-wheel plan around the central courtyard, and includes a largely open and flexible plan with workspaces for 14 staff.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_20
Plan showing covered steel canopy – click for larger image

A reception area, two counselling rooms, a chill out room, managers office, kitchenette, and a small facility for a visiting general practitioner complete the program. Integrated joinery elements and staff amenities subdivide the space and functions.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_22
Plan showing steel canopy and internal structure – click for larger image

Materials

Robust galvanised steel is utilised throughout the exterior form in structural sections, grillages, and meshes – such elements and finishes are familiar in the urban landscape of the inner city, seen regularly as railings, crash barriers, shutters and gratings.

Internally, materials are paired back and simply detailed. The retained existing brick walls are white- washed, and contrasted against off form concrete expressed in soffits and new structural columns, and solid timber in floors and handcrafted joinery. Additional colour is provided by furnishings, and the variety of rooftop and courtyard plants which are visible from the majority of spaces.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_21
Site plan – click for larger image

The resulting interior is clean-lined, light filled and neutral, and will form a simple but functional backdrop to the colour provided by the art and day to day activities of the young people who work-in and visit the Weave facility.

Environment

The building is designed to be robust, low maintenance and long lasting, and will have a low environmental impact, due to minimal use of natural resources and passive means of comfort conditioning. The building is a refurbishment of an existing facility, and has been planned to maintain where possible the existing wall and slab structures.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_25
Site section – click for larger image

Internally, comfort conditions are passively controlled using natural cross ventilation, exposed thermal mass, and a building envelope shaded by the canopy structure and climbing plants. The new courtyard brings daylight and fresh air into the depths of the building, minimising reliance on artificial lighting and negating the need for air conditioning. Exposed thermal mass in the concrete super structure enables free cooling. Ceiling fans amplify air movement on still days.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_23
Perspective showing steel canopy – click for larger image

The building also incorporates recycled materials including a wooden block courtyard floor utilising timber from reclaimed city power poles; concrete and pavers that utilise a high percentage of recycled material and fly ash for cement and aggregate replacement; and reclaimed roofing slate crushed as mulch for planting beds. LED lighting is used extensively in the building.

Waterloo Youth Family and Community Centre by Collins and Turner_dezeen_24
Axonometric showing steel canopy, plan, internal structure – click for larger image

Rainwater is drawn from roof and paved areas and collected in an underground tank adjacent to the structure for use in the irrigation of the plants. The steel canopy structure has been designed as an interlocking but self-supported element, allowing the future demounting and relocation of the structure.

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community centre by Collins and Turner
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Passive timber house in Austria by Juri Troy Architects

Architecture studio Juri Troy has designed this eco-friendly timber house as a family home in rural Austria (+ slideshow).

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

The wooden box of House Under the Oaks by Austrian studio Juri Troy is supported by six columns as it projects out from a hilltop, in the countryside west of Vienna.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

Photovoltaic panels on the roof and a ground-source heat pump provide the wooden building with an ecological source of energy, while natural insulation keeps in the warmth.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

“The whole structure was done in prefabricated timber with all ecological wood with wool insulation of up to 60 centimetres,” said the architects. “It is a new prototype for affordable living on minimal energy in Austria.”

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

The single-floor dwelling is entered through an L-shaped veranda to the back, which is fenced in by wooden slats.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

The veranda provides access to the open-plan kitchen and dining area via a row of full-height sliding glass windows, as well as a separate door leading to a wide corridor with built-in storage space.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

A bathroom is located at the centre of the house, behind which a bedroom is positioned with access to the veranda.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

The entire interior is finished in local wood coated in a white pigmented oil.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

Ribbon windows encompass the front room, offering views out to the surrounding countryside.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

Photography is by the architects.

Here is some more information from the architects:


House under the oaks

The house under the oaks is a low budget passive house concept developed for an Austrian family.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

With a minimum footprint and a wide outstretching wooden box on six columns it offers a living area of about 100 square metres.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

The whole structure was done in prefabricated timber with all ecological wood with wool insulation of up to 60 cm.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

The interior is done all in local wood as well with a simple white pigmented oil cover.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

A heat pump with ground collector, a controlled ventilation system with heat exchange and photovoltaic panels on the roof offer a perfect energy concept with a minimum of required external energy – which is provided by eco electricity.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects

Like this it is a new prototype for affordable living on minimal energy standard in Austria.

House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects
Site plan
House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects
Basement floor plan
House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects
Ground floor plan
House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects
Long section
House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects
Cross section
House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects
Elevation
House Under the Oaks by Juri Troy Architects
Elevation

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by Juri Troy Architects
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