Hasta La Ideas

Thousands of hexagonal skylights bring natural light into this new terminal that Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have completed at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in China (+ slideshow).

Terminal 3 more than doubles the capacity of the existing airport, which is located 32 kilometres north-west of Shenzhen’s city centre. It is set to open later this week and will facilitate up to 45 million passengers per year.

Studio Fuksas looked at the shapes of various living creatures when planning the layout of the complex. “The concept of the plan for Terminal 3 of Shenzen Bao’an international airport evokes the image of a manta ray, a fish that breathes and changes its own shape, undergoes variations, [and] turns into a bird to celebrate the emotion and fantasy of a flight,” said the architects.

A curving roof canopy constructed from steel and glass wraps around the airport, accommodating spans of up to 80 metres. Hexagonal skylights perforate the surface of this roof, allowing natural light to filter through the entire terminal.

This pattern, which the architects describe as a honeycomb, is reflected in the polished tile floor, as well as on the stainless steel check-in desks and gates designed especially for the airport by Studio Fuksas.

“The interiors have a sober profile and a stainless steel finish that reflects and multiplies the honeycomb motif of the internal skin,” said the architects.

The concourse is divided across three levels, allowing separate floors for arrivals, departures and servicing, and voids in the floor-plates create a series of double- and triple-height spaces.

Cylindrical white columns are positioned at intervals to support the arching roof and sit alongside air-conditioning vents designed to look like chunky trees.

This is the first airport by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, whose previous projects include the Lycée Georges Frêche school for hotel management in France and Foligno Church in Italy. The architects are now working on two further extensions to the airport, which will complete in 2025 and 2035.

Read on for more information from the design team:

Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, Terminal 3

The highly anticipated new terminal at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, Guangdong, China, will be operational from the 28 November, 2013.

The first airport by acclaimed architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas it is set to become an iconic landmark that will boost the economic development of Shenzhen – one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

Won by international competition, it has undergone a remarkably rapid process of design and construction, completing within 3 years.

The client, Shenzhen Airport (Group) Co., is so pleased with the striking design that it is taking the unusual step of trying to copyright it.

The terminal – the largest single public building to be built to date in Shenzhen – encompasses 63 contact gates, with a further 15 remote gates and significant retail space. It will increase the capacity of the airport by 58%, allowing the airport to handle up to 45 million passengers per year.

The sculptural 500,000 sq.m. / 5,381,955 sq.ft (approx) terminal, evokes the image of a manta ray and features a striking internal and external double ‘skin’ honeycomb motif that wraps the structure. At 1.5 km long, with roof spans of up to 80m, honeycomb shaped metal and glass panels punctuate the façade of the terminal allowing natural light to filter through. On the interior, the terminal is characterised by distinctive white conical supporting columns that rise to touch the roof at a cathedral-like scale.

The focal point of the design is the concourse located at the intersection of the building. Consisting of three levels – departure, arrivals and services – they vertically connect to create full height voids, allowing natural light to filter from the highest level down to the lowest.

Studio Fuksas has created an interior, as striking and elegant as the exterior. The spatial concept is one of fluidity and combines two different ideas: the idea of movement and the idea of pause. Carefully considering the human experience of such environments, Studio Fuksas focused on processing times, walking distances, ease of orientation, crowding, and availability of desired amenities.

Stand-out features of the interior design include stylised white ‘trees’ that serve as air conditioning vents, and check-in ‘islands’, gates and passport-check areas with a stainless steel finish that beautifully reflect the honeycomb patterns from above.

The honeycomb motif translates through into many aspects of the interior and at different scales – from the larger retail boxes to smaller 3D imprints in the wall cover.

The Studio Fuksas designed Terminal 3 is of critical importance to the future of Shenzhen as a booming business and tourist destination, and will bring benefits to the region as a whole.

Studio Fuksas are engaged on two further phases of the airport extension, scheduled to complete in 2025 and 2035 respectively.

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Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport appeared first on Dezeen.

News: Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have won a competition for the Moscow Polytechnic Museum and Educational Centre with a design consisting of four copper-clad elements that appear to have been “cut by the wind”.

The $180 million centre will be built at the Sparrow Hills district of the Russian capital, close to Soviet-era monuments including Moscow State University and the Luzkniki Stadium.

“It’s one of my most beautiful projects and it is an Italian victory,” said Massimiliano Fuksas. “The museum and educational center must become a milestone and reflect the image of the new generation.”

Fuksas will work with Russian studio Speech on the centre, which is due to be completed in 2017.

Moscow is experiencing a building boom, with plans to double the size of the city announced last year and the 339 metre Mercury City tower recently overtaking London’s Shard to become Europe’s tallest tower. See all our stories about Moscow.

See all our stories about architecture by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas.

The following information is from the architects:

International competition for the “Moscow Polytechnic Museum and Educational Centre”, Russia, won by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas architects + Speech

March 2013

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas + Speech have won the prestigious international competition for the design of the “Moscow Polytechnic Museum and Educational Centre” in Moscow which should be realized by 2017. After the historic season of Italian architects, centuries later, an Italian architect returns to realize an important public work in Moscow.

“It’s one of my most beautiful projects and it is an Italian victory, the museum and educational center must become a milestone and reflect the image of the new generation.” Massimiliano Fuksas

The “Moscow Polytechnic Museum and Educational Centre” in Moscow (about 31,403 square meters) will be located in the “Sparrow Hills”, about 10 km from the Red Square, at a cost of 180 million dollars. Near the site there are several buildings built during the “socialist classicism”, monumental buildings, among which the library of Moscow State University.

The project is composed of four elements that make up a sculpture of irregular geometry, as cut by the wind, entirely covered by copper pre-oxidized that sends back streaks of green and blue. The elements are connected to each other through the internal levels. They develop across and lay on a transparent case that looks at the city.

The project idea came from the desire to communicate with the architecture of the past and at the same time come into conflict with it. The monumental architecture of the surrounding buildings is in contrast with this new building that is imposing but expresses a formal complexity underlined by the color of copper pre-oxidized that covers it.

The volume of the case, having a regular layout, is functional for loading and unloading the artworks between the level -1, which include the parking, ground floor and upper levels of the four sculptural elements. The transparent case consists of two levels. The area open to the public is situated on the ground floor and it includes the lobby that can accommodate several art installations, a cafe, a shop, two auditoriums of different sizes (between 500 and 800 seats) designed as parallelepiped made of red wood and three winter gardens with a sliding roof.

On the ground floor  three structural volumes made of copper pre-oxidized stand out housing the vertical connections, in contrast with the formal geometry of the surrounding space. At the top level, the mezzanine, there are the offices. The cover made of stone of the case is conceived as a “square suspended” for the public. The sculptural part of the project is laid on it.

The sculptural elements  made of copper pre-oxidized develop on three main levels. Each level corresponds to a function. Interior spaces are designed on the basis of functional flows, deliberately in contrast with the complexity of the geometry of the exterior.

The first level is dedicated to a space related to communication. There are mainly placed several conference / auditorium rooms and the Science and Technology Center with support services.

The second level is dedicated to the exhibition: exhibition halls, science / art gallery, exhibition area of the Museum’s collection, exhibition Maths, cinema / auditorium. On the third level there are several laboratories, a library, a workshop, the exhibition area of the Science and Technology Museum Center.

Natural light enters the museum through three major cuts, two arranged vertically, one on the front side and another at the rear overlooking the near park, while a large skylight at the ceiling dominates all levels of the museum.

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Polytechnic Museum and Education Centre appeared first on Dezeen.

Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have won a competition to build a cultural complex in Chengdu, China, with designs for spiralling buildings inspired by the city’s ancient emblem.

The symbol, which depicts a sun with whirling rays, is reinterpreted by Studio Fuksas as four elliptical buildings with swirling, ribbon-like outer walls. These walls will be clad in metal and perforated with a grid of triangular windows.

“The elliptical shape of each building gives the impression of a perpetual motion and continuous vibration,” explain the architects.

The two largest buildings will accommodate a performing arts centre and a cultural centre, with the former housing two theatres and a music hall, and the latter containing another theatre and an exhibition gallery. The remaining buildings will provide offices for a literary association and housing for resident artists, plus a series of gardens and public spaces will surround the buildings.

Construction is set to commence early next year.

This year Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas also completed a school for hotel management in France and a public services hall in Georgia with a mushroom-like structure.

See more stories about Studio Fuksas »
See more stories about architecture in China »

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Chengdu Tianfu Cultural and Performance Centre, Chengdu, China

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have won the international competition for the construction of the first cultural center in the city of Chengdu. This city is the capital of Sichuan province and was hit by a terrible earthquake in 2008.

Studio Fuksas has other projects still going on in China and precisely in Shenzhen: the Guosen Tower and the Terminal 3 of the Bao’an International Airport that will be completed by next summer. Besides these projects Studio FUKSAS is preparing to realize this new one in the People’s Republic of China whose worth is 1 billion and 200 million yuan (150 million euro). The cultural complex consists of four buildings of elliptical shape with a spiral structure. The design concept is inspired by ancient symbol of the city of Chengdu (a circle with a sun with rays spiral) and demonstrates the willingness of the Chinese community to look at the future, focusing on art and culture. The project of Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas was conceived as a symphony of architectural volumes, creating the effect of a music that you can listen to with your eyes. On a total area of about 110,000 square meters, the elliptical shape of each building gives the impression of a perpetual motion and continuous vibration. The surface of the facade is a continuous ribbon coated with a metal skin with openings geometric design that allow natural light to enter the interior of the four volumes. The complex is made up of a center for the performing arts that houses two theaters for a total of 1800 seats and a music hall (600 seats), a cultural center that includes a theater with 2600-3000 seats and an exhibition gallery, offices Writer and Literary Association, an apartment building for artists. All surrounded by green gardens that evoke the eastern hills of Sichuan, with their colorful vegetation. The construction should start early 2013, reflecting the dynamism and desire to grow of the big community of Chengdu, which is the fifth most populous city in China.

Project: Chengdu Tianfu Cultural and Performance Centre
Site: Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Period: Won competition 2012
Client: Sichuan Culture Centre, Literary and Writer
Architects: Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas
Chinese partner: CSWADI

Project team
Project leader: Antonio Nardozzi
Art director: Serena Mignatti
Project team: Marco Bonucci, Martin Firera Alessandri, Eloisa Susanna, Vasiliki Maltezaki, Cristina Ferrete, Marco Roma, Haoliang Fan, Ilya Evstigneev
Assistants: Maria Dolores Del Sol Ontalba, Miruna Pavoni
Model: Nicola Cabiati (art director), Cheng Wen Wei, Daniele Bochicchio
Project manager in China: Jorge Gonzalez Ferrer
Shenzhen coordinator: Fang Tian

Area: 110,000 sq. m.
Program: Cultural Performance Center (theatre 1400 seats, music hall 600 seats, other theatre 400 seats); Public Cultural Center (theatre 2600/3000 seats, exhibition hall, mediateca); Literateur and Artist House e Research Institute (offices, archive, mediateca, atelier); residences for artists.
Cost: 1 billion and 200 million yuan (150 million euro).

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Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have completed a school for hotel management in Montepellier, France, clad in anodized aluminum triangles and punctured by 5000 unique triangular windows.

The Lycée Georges Frêche occupies two curvy cast-concrete buildings connected by footbridges over a courtyard.

Above image is by Studio Fuksas

The facade is pulled up on one side to create a tunnel through which students and staff enter.

Above image is by Studio Fuksas

As well as classrooms, offices and accommodation for students and staff, the complex includes a hotel and three restaurants that are open to the public, accessed from the opposite side of the campus.

The walls of the school and student accommodation are painted in a different colour on each floor.

Other projects by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas we’ve featured on Dezeen include a concrete church in Italy and a glowing orange music hall in France.

See all our stories about Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas »
See all our stories about Montpellier »

Photography is by Moreno Maggi unless otherwise stated.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas inaugurated a new public building in France: the Georges-Freche School of Hotel Management in Montpellier. Besides the architectural project that won the competition launched by the Région Languedoc-Roussillon in 2007, Fuksas architects have realized the interior of the spaces open to public: a hotel and three restaurants. Built on 3.95 acres in the ZAC Port Marianne area to the East of Montpellier, the hotel-school Lycée Georges Frêche transforms the landscape and provides it with a distinct urban identity.

Above image is by Studio Fuksas

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas’ project, which is developed horizontally, comes across as a single entity. It has a formal diversity, compact volumes and sculptural shapes. The volumetric complexity, which can be seen even inside the building, gives every room its own spatial individuality.

The School includes:

– Two main buildings connected by footbridges that cross a tree planted central courtyard
– Accommodation for students (75 beds spread over three floors)
– Housing for management (10 apartments over 5 floors)
– Gym
– Athletic Track and sports ground situated outside

The entrance for the students and the professors is through an arch while the entrance for the clients is on an opposite side. The two buildings that form the edifice make up the sculptural mass around which the gym, the students’ residence and the management’s housing gravitate. The first building, situated on the Titien Road, has three floors and includes: the multi-purpose room, the exhibition gallery, the administrative offices, the classrooms and the canteen that has exits leading towards the recreational areas outside.

The second building is distinguished by its Y form and is on two floors. Here, there are the spaces for the vocational teaching as well the areas dedicated to the hotel and the gastronomic restaurant: a hotel that is open to the public (12 rooms, 6 of which are two/three star, 4 four star and 2 suites); three restaurants, one of which is a gastronomic restaurant (50 places), a brasserie and a teaching restaurant (200 places in total), a bread-making workshop and a pastry making classroom. The gastronomic restaurant, the brasserie and the 4 star hotel showcase the School’s excellence and are the most important areas of the project.

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have designed the interior, the areas accessible to the public and the spaces devoted to the gastronomic sector and to the hotel. In the entrance hall leading to the gastronomic restaurant and to the hotel, there is a reception desk: a white lacquered sculptural object, mirroring the fluid forms and the solid character of the structure. The desk is covered with materials that are used for making boat hulls. Different types of originally designed tables and chairs define the spaces dedicated to the interaction between the public and the students. There is also the limited edition furniture specially made for the hotel.

The School walls and those of the students’ residence are painted in a different colour on each floor, with the shades ranging from yellow to green to magenta and orange. The colours serve as signage to distinguish the different spaces and activities. The project can be called “experimental” as much for its triangular shaped aluminium façade as for the use of reinforced concrete. Both materials have been adapted in order to be able to adopt specific shapes – curved and fluid – as required by the structure.

The facades of the building have been constructed using 17,000 cases of anodized aluminum in triangular shapes. Each aluminum case is unique and bears its own specific bar code in order that it can be identified for its specific situation on the façade. The interaction between the facades reinforces the dynamic tension between the solid materials and the cavities, the light and the shadows, that are an inherent part of the project. The geometric design of the aluminum “skin” is developed further to apply to the 5,000 triangular glass frames that are mounted on metal nets. Each of these is different.

The structure of the building is made from reinforced concrete. To reproduce the curves of the volumes, the project has used “shotcrete” technology. Photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof of the first building (multi-purpose room, exhibition gallery, administrative offices, classrooms, canteen) as well as on the roof of the apartments for the management.

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Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas appeared first on Dezeen.