French designers Zébra3/Buy-Sellf have designed a prefabricated holiday home in the shape of a cloud that sits next to a lake in south-west France (+ slideshow).
Le Nuage (The Cloud) cabin by Zébra3/Buy-Sellf was designed for the Urban Community of Bordeaux (CUB) and is located in the Lormont commune just outside the French city of Bordeaux in south-western France.
It was originally designed as an art installation and is now used as a rural shelter for holidaymakers. “Sleeping in a comic-style hut […] is a unique urban experience,” said Zebra3.
The cabin is made from softwood, plywood, plexiglas and glass‐fibre reinforced plastic. It is painted white to look like a fluffy cloud and has thin slanted windows that offer views across the countryside.
Sitting on the side of the French lake and surrounded by leafy hills, the playful cabin shelters up to seven people.
It provides only bare essentials such as bedding. The cabin does not provide any electricity or water.
Graduate designer Katharina Unger has designed a table-top insect breeding farm that allows people to produce edible fly larvae in their homes (+ slideshow).
“Farm 432 enables people to turn against the dysfunctional system of current meat production by growing their own protein source,” said Unger.
As part of the project, she bred and ate black soldier fly larvae in a prototype system, then designed a machine to replicate the process on a domestic scale. “I ordered larvae and built up my own fly colony to see if the process works,” she told Dezeen. It was very exciting to watch the larvae migrating up the ramp, new flies emerging, mating and laying eggs.”
In her design for the farm, soldier fly larvae are dropped into a chamber at the top of the appliance, where they develop into adult flies and move to a larger chamber. Here they mate and produce larvae, which fall down into a “kindergarten” area, mature and become trapped in a harvesting pot, ready for consumption. A few of the harvested larvae are selected to be dropped back into the top of the machine and start the cycle again.
“Black soldier fly larvae are one of the most efficient protein converters in insects, containing up to 42% of protein, a lot of calcium and amino acids,” the designer adds. After 432 hours, 1 gram of black soldier fly eggs turns into 2.4 kilograms of larvae protein, so Unger predicts that people could harvest approximately 500 grams of larvae a week, producing two meals.
“The larvae I bred have a very distinctive taste,” she told us. When you cook them, they smell a bit like cooked potatoes. The consistency is a bit harder on the outside and like soft meat on the inside. The taste is nutty and a bit meaty.”
Her favourite recipe with the insects so far is larvae and tomato risotto: “I like to mix parboiled rice with wild rice together with the larvae, put a lot of tomato sauce in it and a bit of parmesan cheese. A bit of parsley or basil on top and you have a perfect meal.”
Above movie shows breeding of fly larvae in the prototype system
“With my design I am proposing a new lifestyle,” the designer told Dezeen. “It’s about a potential new western culture of insect eating and breeding… It is really about making people see that there is a great variety of food on our planet that we rarely consider.”
Unger explained that by 2050 meat production will need to increase by 50 percent to meet population increase, predicting that because we already use one third of croplands for the production of animal feed, it will be necessary to develop alternative food sources and production methods.
Above movie shows cooking and eating insects
She added that her system so far uses just one out of 1000 edible insects in the world and she wants to develop the idea further in collaborations with manufacturers and researchers.
Above movie shows how the proposed appliance would work
Grafton Architects added the four new buildings to the main campus of the University of Limerick, which straddles the River Shannon in the west of Ireland. Alongside the existing sports pavilion, world music academy and health sciences facility, the structures frame a new student plaza on the north side of the campus.
The architects selected different materials for the two types of building. “The language of the medical school is that of an educational institution while the student residences appear like three large houses,” they explain.
For the four-storey medical school, they added a facade of cool grey limestone that references the local architectural vernacular. An angled colonnade directs visitors into the building, where a full-height atrium leads through to laboratories and lecture rooms.
“[The atrium is] designed as a social space with enough room to stop and chat or lean on a balustrade/shelf and view the activity of the entrance and other spaces above and below,” say the architects.
The three student housing buildings zigzag along the northern perimeter of the plaza. Each block has a brickwork exterior with recessed windows and concrete sills.
Inside, floors are laid out with living rooms and kitchens overlooking the public square in front, while bedrooms face back to the quieter northern border of the campus. There are also sheltered meeting places carved out of the base of each block, leading through to the laundry room and bicycle store beyond.
As well as these buildings, the architects also added a new concrete bus shelter to the campus, with steps and ramps that negotiate the sloping ground.
Photography is by Denis Gilbert, apart from where stated otherwise.
Here’s a project description from Grafton Architects:
Medical School, Student Residences and Bus Shelter at the University of Limerick
The University of Limerick, in the South West of Ireland occupies a large territory, formerly a Demesne, and is situated on both sides of the lower reaches of the river Shannon, the longest and largest river in Ireland. Part of its most recent expansion to the north of this great river, accessible by pedestrian bridge from the existing campus, provides for the construction of a new medical school building and accommodation buildings for students attending the facility. These new buildings are also intended to address a large public open space which will ultimately become the focal point for this expansion of the campus to the North.
The aspiration is to combine faculty buildings and residences in a manner which encourages overlap and contributes to the life of the public spaces at the University. Aspects of the formal character are derived from an interpretation of the campus master plan which requires an organic approach to the making of public spaces on the north side of the river Shannon. Here the ground is sloping and remnants of the agrarian landscape pattern are still evident in the form of old field patterns and hedgerows.
This new suite of buildings combines with three existing, neighbouring institutions, the Sports Pavillion, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and the Health Sciences Building, in order to make a new public space. The new buildings consist of a medical school, three blocks of student housing and a canopy/pergola forming a bus and bicycle shelter.
The Medical School, the last in a series of set pieces, acts as an anchor around which the other buildings now loosely rotate. The language of the medical school is that of an educational institution while the student residences appear like three large houses. The concrete bus shelter, together with the residences combine with the medical school to form a loose edge to the public space. The bus shelter canopy, steps and ramps negotiate the level change to the sports pavilion beyond.
The central space slopes gently to the west. Three oak trees, stone seats and steps occupy a central level platform subtly providing a focal point before the space moves out, fracturing at the edges to connect to the residences, car parking and other faculty buildings. The surfaces of the public space move from hard to soft, south sloping grassed spaces, designed with and without furniture to provide for leisure and lingering. The buildings stand guard facing the public space, distinguished by their material.
Limestone is used to represent the ‘formal’ central medical school, making reference to the limestone territory of County Clare in which this side of the campus is located. The stone wall is folded, profiled and layered in response to orientation, sun , wind, rain and public activity. A colonnade to the south and west corner acts as a gathering and entrance space. In contrast the north and east walls are more mute.
In response to the deep plan, the roof-form is modulated to light multiple spaces, including the central circulation space, the clinical skills labs, the corridors, and a small roof terrace.
An open central stair connecting all of the primary spaces, threads through all levels of the interior, designed as a social space with enough room to stop and chat or lean on a balustrade/shelf and view the activity of the entrance and other spaces above and below.
Brick follows through to the residences from the existing accommodation buildings behind. Here the material is given depth and the facades deeply carved providing a form of threshold between the domestic interior and the public space that they overlook. All living spaces address the public space to the south east with the more private study bedrooms facing north east or north west.
The undercroft of the residences is carved away providing archways allowing pedestrian movement from the carpark and bus park to the north as well as forming sheltered social spaces for students. Large gateways open into the entrance courts of the housing blocks where stairs, lift, bicycles bins and common laundry facilities are.
Client: Plassey Campus Developments Contractor: P.J Hegarty and Sons
Size: Medical School 4300m2, Student Housing 3,600m2, Pergola 180m2, Piazza 1.2ha, Date: Completed December 2012 Location: University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Project Managers: Kerin Contract Management Structural and Civil Engineers: PUNCH Consulting Engineers Mechanical and Electrical: Don O’Malley & Partners Quantity Surveyors: Nolan Ryan Tweed Health & Safety: Willis Consulting Fire Safety and Access: G. Sexton & Partners
Lisbon studio ARX Portugal has extended a secondary school in Odivelas, Portugal, by adding angular concrete structures amongst the existing classroom blocks (+ slideshow).
Caneças High School previously comprised a series of rectilinear two-storey buildings, each containing approximately 12 classrooms. For the extension, ARX Portugal sought to tie these existing spaces together with a network of pathways, courtyards and informal study areas.
“The proposal is structured [using] a double interpretation of the learning concept: formal learning and informal learning,” say the architects, explaining how they perceive their additions as “collective spaces” for group studies and activities.
The entrance to the campus is located on the east side, where a large concrete entranceway is imprinted with a selection of large letters and numbers.
A second entrance can be found along the south side of the complex and leads into a grass courtyard surrounded by arcades. These spaces are sheltered beneath angled concrete canopies, supported by a mixture of both regular and wonky columns.
New indoor spaces feature a monochrome colour palette and include a number of casual seating areas that bring activity into the corridors. There’s also a new library, student lounge and auditorium.
The existent school is located in the outskirts of Caneças, Odivelas, in a territory of intense discontinuities. The proposal is structured beginning in a double interpretation of the learning concept: formal learning and informal learning. Those two types are translated in the building in two different architectural approaches, maintaining a dialogue between them. In consequence, the stiffness of the existent blocks, where the classrooms are placed, are structured like “learning machines”, in contrast with the informality of the new parts, enabling the “informal learning” in the collective spaces.
Considering that in the school, every spaces are teaching spaces, that each one as its own importance, the organisation and articulation between spaces is meant to fluid, with physical and visual permeability, allowing a more spontaneous and creative appropriation, leading to the willing of learn through space.
The human relations and activities are, in the end, in the base of all knowledge. From a tectonic point of view, the solutions adopted give the building an idea of matter unity and grant the space an elementary and abstract character.
Owner: Parque Escolar EPE Location: Rua da Escola Secundária, Caneças, Portugal Architecture: ARX PORTUGAL, Arquitectos Lda. Nuno Mateus and José Mateus Work Team: Ricardo Guerreiro, Fábio Cortês, Ana Fontes, João Dantas, Sofia Raposo, Mariana Sá, Emanuel Rebelo, Diana Afonso, Miguel Torres, Filipe Cardoso, Bruno Martins, Marc Anguill, Gaia Pelizzari, Rodrigo Henriques
Landscape Architecture: Traços na Paisagem Graphic Design: Pedro Falcão Engeneerings: SAFRE, Estudos e Projectos de Engenharia Lda; PEN Engenharia; CTQ, Lda.; SOLGEN; GEOTEST 3D Modeling: Traços na Paisagem
School Building: 11 600 m2 Total Intervention Area: 32 600 m2
Japanese studio Noiz Architects has created a colourless clubhouse in China with patterned walls, a jumble of doorways and a chandelier that mimics a starry sky.
Designed to house the events and meetings of a private Chinese company, the Zhengzhou Clubhouse is a two-storey building with a triangular plan that centres around a double-height atrium.
Surfaces and objects throughout the building are finished in shades of white, cream and grey. The only splashes of colour come from golden door handles and the occasional painting.
“To make a contrast with the busy building exterior and surroundings, we decided to make the interior palette as colourless as possible,” says Noiz Architects.
A series of meeting rooms, dining areas and guest bedrooms wrap the central atrium, where an LED chandelier made from scores of glass beads hangs down from the centre of the ceiling.
A selection of differently styled doorways lead through to each of these rooms and are intended to reference both historic and contemporary architecture from the west as well as the east. Some appear as three-dimensional forms, while others are created from printed outlines.
“These images are intentionally treated as ‘fake’ information, and randomly mixed as 2D and 3D representations to provoke a unique experience between material and information, real and fake,” says the studio.
Behind the doors, every room is surrounded by curved walls with a variety of textured wallpapers.
Other additions include bespoke furniture pieces, from a smoothly curving bench to a glass table with its base shaped like a cluster of little trees.
Photography is by Kyle Yu.
Here’s some text from the architects:
Zhengzhou Clubhouse
A large private company based in China commissioned noiz to design a special clubhouse near their headquarters in Zhengzhou. The required program include VIP reception, meeting, dining, and recreational areas, as well as private suites for the owner and for guests of the company.
The unique triangular shape of the existing floor plan and its core distribution restricted the design and functional layout, making it difficult to distribute rooms within a standard grid-geometry. Noiz decided to make the new plan as free-form as possible to flexibly accommodate the existing structure and requirement changes during the design period.
To make a contrast with the busy building exterior and surroundings, we decided to make the interior palette as colourless as possible, making everything white to remove the sense of weight and ‘busy-ness” of the outside. However, within this all-white palette, we introduced a vivid variety of materiality and texture to express variation in space and atmosphere.
Each room has a unique form, and each is given a different texture and pattern within the white palette. We carefully cataloged multiple material options for all surfaces – floor, wall, ceiling, furniture – and coordinated them while considering the various scales and functions of each room.
The largest room is the main hall, with its double-height atrium; it doubles as a reception area and an event space. We treated the surface of the lower level ceiling as an upside-down landscape that flows continuously towards a large opening in the centre, like a hole in a golf course, deliberately punching through an uneven surface. A special LED chandelier installed at the upper level maintains a continuous flow to the lower level ceiling.
We also introduced a set of gate/threshold using images of historic and contemporary styles throughout the rooms, compiled from various Eastern and Western references, in order to establish an off-beat sensibility and focal points in the overall space. These images are intentionally treated as ‘fake’ information, and randomly mixed as 2D and 3D representations to provoke a unique experience between material and information, real and fake.
Location: Zhenzhou, China Client: Union Investment Design: Aug. 2011–Nov. 2011 Construction: Nov. 2011–May. 2012 Building Type: Clubhouse (Interior)
Floor Area: 1,700 sqm Construction Cost: About 2M USD (13M RMB) Contractor: KeRui construction company Furniture Manufacturer: Shanghai Fulin Funiture Company Chandelier Maker: Fany-Mini Lighiting Company Mechanical Engineering and Plumbing and Structural Engineering: TSC Engineers Construction Management: People Tech Consulting
Aerial photographs reveal the angular geometries of this rooftop swimming pool in Bangkok by Thai landscape architects T.R.O.P. (+ slideshow)
The swimming pool is positioned over the podium of a 42-storey residential complex close to the city’s main station. Both residents and passing travellers look down on the pool from above, so T.R.O.P. added a canopy of concrete frames that appear from above to slice the water up into different sections.
“Most pools in Bangkok […] are called ‘Sky Pool’, because of a location on top of the roof,” said designer Pok Kobkongsanti. “The first couple of ones sounded very exciting, but, after a while, it got boring.”
He continued: “To make our pool different than the others, the ‘Skeleton’, a light cladded structure, was proposed to frame the swimming pool three-dimensionally.”
The outline of the pool is made up of straight lines with curved edges. The team avoided perpendicular lines where possible and arranged wooden decks and planting areas around the perimeter.
“Instead of a typical rectangular pool deck, we proposed a series of smaller terraces integrated with the swimming pool,” added Kobkongsanti.
Low-level lighting lines the edges of the space, creating a welcoming environment for nighttime swimmers.
Bangkok has changed. So have her people. In the past, we may prefer to live in small houses outside the city areas, and commute in and out the city daily. Not anymore. To fit the present time’s fast life style, New generation keeps moving in many condominiums inside the developed areas instead. Horizontal living is out. Vertical one is the thing to do.
As a result, Thai developers are competing hard for the perfect plots of land in town. No, they do not care much about how big the plot is, or how great the view it would get. As long as it is right next to the BTS (Bangkok’s Sky Train) station, it is perfect. In 2010, Trop got a commission to design the Pool of Pyne by Sansiri, a high-end condominium in Bangkok. Its site is ideal. Located right in the middle of busy urban district, just 5 mins walk from the city’s biggest shopping malls, the plot is about the right size, 2,900 sqm. To make it even better, it also has a BTS station right in front of the property.
Architecture-wise, most condominiums in Bangkok are quite similar. The residential tower is built on top of parking structure. Normally the parking part has a bigger floor plan than the tower, leaving the left over area as its swimming pool. The Pool @ Pyne by Sansiri is no different. It is designated to be on the 8th floor, which is also the roof of the parking structure. The area is a rectangular shape terrace, around 370 sqm.
Having the train station right in front really helps selling residential units (sold out in 1 day). However, space-wise, the station is a nightmare for designers. It is designed as a huge structure, about a hundred metre long, 3-4 storey high. Basically, it is like placing a huge building right in front of your door steps. Together with other surrounding old buildings, our project is trapped among concrete boxes by all 4 sides.
In order to get rid of that boxy feeling space, our first move is to create a “loosed” floor plan. Instead of a typical rectangular pool deck, we proposed a series of smaller terraces integrated with the swimming pool. Perpendicular lines were avoided, replaced by angled ones with round corners. A series of “green” planters were also inserted here and there, combining all 3 elements, water, terraces and plantings seamlessly.
Again, most pools in Bangkok share the same name. They are called “Sky Pool”, because of a location on top of the roof. The first couple of ones sounded very exciting, but, after a while, it got boring. Our design task was not only to design a pretty swimming pool, but we also wanted to created a unique landscape feature that can identify the character of our residents.
To make our pool different than others, the “Skeleton”, a light cladded structure, was proposed to “frame” the swimming pool 3-dimensionally. Before, the so-called sky pool is just flat piece of water on top of the building. Sure, swimmers can enjoy a great prospect view outside, but, looking back to the building, nobody recognise the presence of that pool from below. With the “Skeleton”, the pool was fully integrated into the architecture. Now the BTS passengers can look up and see the special space inside the frame. At night, the “Skeleton” glows, giving the architecture some “lightness” it needs badly in the crowded surrounding.
Architects Hawkins\Brown and urban designers Studio Egret West were commissioned by property developer Urban Splash to take on the renovation of the notorious social housing estate, which is one of the most famous examples of the “streets in the sky” typology that typified many post-war UK developments in the 1960s and 70s.
Influenced by projects such as Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation, architects at that time thought large housing blocks with communal open-air walkways would foster communities, but they instead became associated with antisocial behaviour, vandalism and crime.
In spite of its problems, the complex was Grade II* listed in 1998 for its architectural significance, as well as for its role as part of the city’s identity. This prompted Urban Splash to embark on a redevelopment to create a mix of social housing and private apartments, alongside offices, shops, restaurants and bars.
The design team began by stripping the building back to its gridded concrete framework. They then added a new facade made of simple glazing and brightly coloured panels.
By reducing the width of the “streets”, the architects were able to extend the size of the apartments, creating new street-facing windows and much-needed additional storage.
Giving residents a sense of ownership was an important part of the project, so patterned floor tiles and stained plywood details were added around the entrances to each home to provide a more domestic appearance. These details also vary between different clusters of homes, helping residents to orientate themselves.
Landscape architecture studio Grant Associates also worked on the project, designing gardens, courtyards and a large public square.
The first phase of 78 apartments is now complete and the first residents began moving in during January. Phase two is currently underway.
Photography is by Daniel Hopkinson, apart from where otherwise stated.
Here’s a project description from Hawkins\Brown:
Park Hill
Working in collaboration with our client, Urban Splash, and design team members Studio Egret West and Grant Associates, we are bringing love, life and pride back to the Sheffield icon to make it a genuinely vibrant and sustainable community for the 21st century.
The first phase of 78 apartments has been completed and has been given a thorough face-lift and remodelled to 21st Century standards. The existing concrete frame has been repaired and a new façade installed and the iconic ‘Streets In The Sky’ have new balustrading. As well as saving an icon, figures compiled show that refurbishing the scheme has prevented 4 football stadia of material being taken to landfill and that the embodied energy in the concrete frame is equivalent to 3 weeks energy output from a power station.
At the lower levels of the building, the essential ingredients of a proper community will be combined with a new ‘high street’ of local shops, bars, pubs and restaurants.
A new landscape will revitalise the public realm for residents and visitors alike and reconnect Park Hill with the city.
This high-profile project hosted the RIBA Stirling Prize “after party” and has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale.
In January 2013 the first new residents and commercial tenants moved in, and with this defining moment the building started a new phase in its life.
This shimmering metal-clad factory in Osaka was designed by Japanese architect Takeshi Hamada to echo the clean and fashionable style of the company’s employees (+ slideshow)
The D Labo factory houses a printing company, whose products include manuals for electronic products and brochures for construction material manufacturers. Takeshi Hamada was asked to create a building that would suit the company image, but also fit in with the the surrounding residential neighbourhood.
“The client’s company […] has an image quite different to the usual image of a printing factory”, said Hamada. “When I visited their main factory, I saw fashionably dressed company employees at Macintosh computers working on graphic design. I decided that a simple, sharp design would be best suited to their corporate image.”
The architect clad the exterior with white metal panels. The only embellishments are the black letters that spell out the company name.
Unlike its neighbours, the building has a flat roof, intended to maximise space inside for storage and unpacking.
The interior is completely white, with a large entrance at one end and a small office in the rear corner.
Strip windows run along the front and rear elevations to reduce the reliance on artificial light. “The design focuses on the lines formed by the wall panels and the position of lighting to create an orderly interior,” added Hamada.
Here’s a brief project description by Takeshi Hamada:
D Labo
The property is in Tsurumi Ward in Osaka City, a zone for industrial use. One road over to the east is zoned for light industry, and the tone of the area is quite different. There are rows of houses from where one can hear the sounds of children playing innocently. Although the land to be constructed on is zoned exclusively for industry, the design needed to be adapted as much as possible to fit the residential environment.
The client company is a printing company engaged in work such as planning instruction manuals for major electronics manufacturers and construction materials manufacturers. They have an image quite different to the usual image of a printing factory.
When I visited their main factory, I saw fashionably-dressed company employees at Macintosh computers working on graphic design. The overall impression was that of a modern IT corporation.
I decided that a simple, sharp design would be best suited to the corporate image of this printing company and the sophisticated precision work they perform, such as fine-tuning the design of instruction manuals and other documentation for precise electronic devices. This decision was reflected in the choice of metal sandwich panels (Isoband) surrounding a cuboid space, the desired space for storage and unpacking of materials was achieved. A minimum of signage on the front completes the design.
The interior is entirely, including the panel framework, painted pure white. The space is stark, containing nothing other than printing machinery, so the design focuses on the lines formed by the wall panels and the position of lighting to create an orderly interior.
Name of construction: D Labo Location: Osaka City, Tsurumi Ward Period of construction: April, 2012 to September, 2012 Extent of structure: steel-frame construction, single-storey Purpose of use: printing factory Land area: 284.46 sqm Building area: 170.00 sqm Total floor area: 157.55 sqm
Japanese architect Kazuhiko Kishimoto has combined a doctor’s surgery and a courtyard house in a bulky building with tapered concrete feet (+ slideshow).
Located in Kanagawa, Japan, Lifted-Garden House was designed by Kazuhiko Kishimoto with a two-storey clinic on one side, a first-floor doctor’s apartment opposite and a courtyard and roof terrace inbetween.
“The clinic and dwelling place are placed across from each other with the inner courtyard in the middle, however the direction of the eyes would not meet since they are on different levels,” says the architect.
The exterior walls feature a mixture of bare concrete and timber slats, with the solid concrete pillars supporting the overhanging first floor.
The courtyard beyond is filled with trees and shrubs, while the first-floor terrace is covered in timber decking and features plants that sprout from pockets of gravel.
This deck can be accessed from both the apartment and the clinic, plus its timber surface continues into the building to create a consistent ground plane.
White-painted bars divide up the spaces within the residence, continuing the vertical rhythm of the timber slats on the facade.
The clinic features frosted glass screens that partially cover the windows, creating privacy while allowing views out to the greenery.
“We expect the trees to grow big and to provide nice leafy shade in summer, making a place of relief for the doctor and patients,” says Kishimoto.
We previously featured another house by Kazuhiko Kishimoto, with a rear facade that slides open to reveal a graduated terrace with a sweeping view of the sea.
This is the complex building with clinic on the first floor and the doctor’s dwelling place on the second floor. With the tree planting that bring better feeling to patients in the inner courtyard, they can be viewed from the lobby and entrance of the clinic.
Furthermore, as the trees can also be seen from outside of the building through the deck, people walking by should also be able to feel the seasons change.
The dwelling place on the second floor is placed as if it is floating above the parking space. The dwelling place is L-shaped opposite to the clinic. The clinic and dwelling place are placed across each other with the inner courtyard in the middle however the directions of the eyes would not meet since they are in the different levels.
The roof of the clinic is an open area as the rooftop garden. Various types of plants and trees are established on the stair-like wood deck with different levels. The floor of the dwelling place continuing flat to wood deck is the outcome of the careful consideration into details.
The deep and low canopy top makes the proportion of the beautiful building. It also relates immensely to producing the sense of openness to the rooftop. We expect the trees to grow big and to provide nice leafy shade in summer, making a place of relief for the doctor and patients.
Clean white buildings with identical doors and windows are arranged around a courtyard at this social housing complex in Mallorca by Spanish architects RipollTizon (+ slideshow).
Located on the outskirts of a small town, the three storey development was designed by RipollTizon with 19 units, comprising a mixture of apartments and maisonettes with either two or three bedrooms.
Both shutters and doors have the same wooden finish, intended as a reinterpretation of the fenestration found on other local buildings. “The layout and movement of these shutters by the users creates a changing and vibrant image that reflects the use of the building,” architect Pablo Garcia told Dezeen.
Elsewhere, materials have been kept simple and understated with white plastered walls and exposed concrete finishes. “The white coated surface of the facade provides unity and coherence to the complex,” Garcia continues.
The layout of the development is determined via a modular system, where smaller units for bedrooms, bathrooms and storage areas are added to larger units comprising living, dining and kitchen spaces.
“[The modular arrangement] allows us to create a varied landscape, rich in shades and tailored to its physical context without losing the quality, rigour and standardisation that the social housing development requires.” explain the architects.
Each unit is organised around a central courtyard and connected via a network of ground-level pathways and elevated walkways.
Square openings punch through the walls of the development, framing views both in and out of the complex.
The elements with which to develop the project are not far away. They are features that tell us about the climate, the context and the way we live. Simply walking around the place and looking at the courtyards, the filters, the light, the plots configuration, the small scale of the buildings, the singularity of each of the houses and the amazing configurations that emerge when they are grouped, not really knowing where one house ends and the next one begins. The aim is to give significance to the nuances and tangible scale of the domesticity and the details. Search the surprise.
Housing clusters – aggregation rules
We developed a catalogue of houses that were grouped three-dimensionally (aggregation) following rules that were precise and simple, but also open enough to solve a housing complex adapted to the diversity of situations that the programme and the context required.
From an urban point of view, the proposal complies with the street alignment and puts in value the depth of the plot exploiting its land use possibilities. The volume of the housing complex is stretched between the boundaries, playing with the party walls that limit the plot (obliterating some and putting others in value) and wrapping an interior courtyard that organizes the circulations and public areas, like a square.
Housing Catalogue
The housing units are generated from base module of single or double height (module living-dining-kitchen) to which other smaller spaces are added (modules bedroom-bathroom / bedroom-storage). The different possibilities of aggregation result either in different spatial configurations for a similar group of modules or in different house sizes depending on the number of modules added.
This spatial aggregation logic allows a flexible design process in which each house is considered simultaneously as a unit and in relation to the whole group. It allows to create a varied landscape, rich in shades and tailored to its physical context without losing the quality, rigor and standardization that the social housing development requires.
Use of materials in respect of the context
One of the main strategies of the project is to establish a careful dialogue with its context. The mentioned spatial values of the project are implemented throughout the use of raw materials that contribute to anchor the project to its surroundings. The white coated surface of the facade provides unity and coherence to the complex throughout a modest material that puts in value the space.
In contrast, the exposed materials balance these spaces (exposed concrete structure/slotted concrete blocks/perforated ceramic bricks/hydraulic concrete tile paving) creating textures and material qualities that relate he project to the context.
The use of window shutters in the houses, so characteristic in the area, is reinterpreted in the project using high-pressure compact laminate panels with colourful wooden finish. The layout and movement of these shutters by the users creates an changing and vibrant image that reflects the use of the building.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.