Hasta La Ideas

Our second project this week from British studio Simon Conder Associates is a timber-clad house built around a nineteenth-century railway carriage on Dungeness beach in Kent, England.

Simon Conder Associates designed El Ray beach house as the summer home for a family, who had previously lived in just the old carriage.

“We were asked by our clients to increase the accommodation area by approximately 50 percent and dramatically improve the environmental performance of the house,” said Simon Conder.

Completed in 2008, the house is located between two other shacks near the Dungeness power station. It features a bell-shaped plan, incorporating a sheltered front terrace and a pair of recessed courtyards that are protected from the prevailing winds.

The railway carriage is contained at the centre of house and accommodates a kitchen within its worn shell. A living room surrounds and opens out to all three terraces.

Different tones give a striped pattern to the hardwood exterior cladding. There are also ramps leading into the house from the surface of the beach.

A flat sloping roof acts as an observation deck with sweeping 360-degree views of the surrounding beach and ocean.

The walls, roof and floor are insulated using recycled newspaper, meaning very little energy is needed for heating, lights and ventilation.

In extremely cold weather, electric heating is powered by a rooftop wind turbine to heat beneath the floorboards in the two bedrooms and bathroom.

Simon Conder more recently completed a pair of timber-clad houses built on a steep hill in the town Porthtowan.

Other seaside houses in the UK include a shingle-clad house elsewhere on Dungeness beach, a small wooden house on the tip of the Isle of Skye and an experimental beach house at Maldon. See more British houses »

Here’s a project description from the architects:

El Ray, Dungeness Beach, Kent

Dungeness beach is a classic example of ‘Non-Plan’ and the houses that populate the beach have developed through improvisation and bodge. This scheme develops this tradition in a way that responds to the drama and harshness of the landscape.

El Ray is part of a group of five beach houses located immediately to the east of the huge Dungeness A power station. The original house consisted of a 19th century railway carriage with flimsy lean tos to the north and south. It was in extremely poor condition and too small to accommodate our clients and their growing family. We were asked by our clients to increase the accommodation area by approximately 50%, and dramatically improve the environmental performance of the house.

The new house incorporates the old railway carriage inside a highly insulated timber structure. The carriage forms the centre point of the main living area and accommodates the kitchen. A fully glazed southern elevation gives views out over the channel and a series of smaller slot windows on the other elevations give focused views of the adjacent lighthouse, coastguard station and nuclear power station.

The sloping roof deck acts as an observation platform with extraordinary 360 degree views of the beach and the sea. The plan incorporates two courtyards to provide shelter from the constant wind.

Environmental Performance

Environmental control is achieved through a combination of super insulation, passive solar gain, cross ventilation and a wind turbine.

The high levels of insulation in the walls, roof and floor ensure that heat loss from the building is minimal and very little energy is required for heating, lighting and ventilation. External glazing consists of a combination of double-glazed, low ‘E’, argon- filled frameless fixed lights and thermally-broken, aluminium sliding doors. The structural timber frame is constructed from lightweight engineered timber I-Joists, braced inside and out with a sheathing material manufactured entirely from wood waste. The insulation between the I-joists and studs is made from recycled newspaper. The external cladding and decking is made from an FSC certified hardwood called Itauba and the internal wall linings, floors and all joinery are constructed from FSC certified birch plywood.

A canopy projects out over the south deck to shade the living areas from the high summer sun, but allows the low winter sun to warm the house. When necessary a wood-burning stove, using drift wood from the beach, is used to supplement the passive solar gain in the winter months and in extremely cold conditions electric under floor heating, powered by the wind turbine, will heat the two bedrooms and the bathroom.

It is anticipated that the during the year the wind turbine will generate more electricity than the house will consume, meaning that the house can be run at carbon negative. The client intends to sell any surplus electricity generated by the wind turbine back to the National Grid.

Architects: Simon Conder Associates
Design Team: Simon Conder, Pippa Smith
Structural Engineer: Fluid Structures
Environmental Engineer: ZEF
Contractor: Ecolibrium Solutions
Construction cost per m2: £1,780.00
Completed: July 2008

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by Simon Conder Associates appeared first on Dezeen.

Double-height glass doors slide back to open up an entire facade of this house in Israel by architect Pitsou Kedem (+ slideshow).

Israel-based Pitsou Kedem placed the open-plan lounge, dining areas and kitchen between two outdoor spaces so they would receive light from both east and west.

“This provides a feeling that the space is constantly enveloped by natural light and the greenery of the trees in the courtyard,” said the architect.

The six-metre-high living area is fronted with giant sheets of glass, which slide open on an electric motor to connect the inside to an expansive terrace.

From the end of the back garden, a long thin infinity pool looks like it extends into the house.

A courtyard at the front of the property is sunk to the basement level, with terraced planters stepping down to the excavated area from the boundary wall.

Floating steps lead up from the front gate to a bridge, which connects to the entrance in the three-storey volume parallel to the street.

The home comprises two perpendicular intersecting volumes and the smaller cuboid housing the bedrooms protrudes into the kitchen space, next to the swivelling front door.

Staircases on the other side go down to the children’s living room and up to a mezzanine balcony.

Apart from heavy concrete and white rendered end walls, all rooms are glazed from floor to ceiling but can be veiled with white curtains. Shutters roll down in front of the huge glass wall for privacy and security.

Pitsou Kedem’s other projects include a family house with timber screens that fold back in all different directions and a furniture showroom inside an industrial warehouse.

See more residential architecture »
See more architecture by Pitsou Kedem »
See more architecture and design in Israel »

Photography is by Amit Geron.

Read on for more information from the architects:

Between two courtyards

A private residence, built between two, central courtyards.

A frontal courtyard excavated to a depth of three meters and the second courtyard at the level of the building’s ground floor.

This topographical interface creates a unique cross section to the building’s mass with each part of the building, even the section constructed as a basement, being open to its own courtyard.

The central space of the kitchen, the dining room and the living room is open in two directions – to the west and to the east. This provides a feeling that the space is constantly enveloped by natural light and the greenery of the trees in the courtyard.

The structure’s central space, set in the centre of the plot, is accessed via a long bridge that crosses the sunken courtyard and leads to the front door.

From the bridge, we can see the children’s living rooms which open into the basement.

The house’s central space rises to a height of six meters and is 17 metres long.

There are no pillars in the space and the entire front is transparent with glass windows that slide apart with the aid of an electric motor.

Thus, the entire interior of the home opens into the courtyard and the border between inside and outside is cancelled.

The swimming pool seems as if it extends into the structure and, when looking into the house from the courtyard, the house in reflected in the pool which strengthens our impression of the building’s mass.

The master bedroom is set on the second floor and opens onto the double space and the courtyard allowing for a view of the entire plot.

The structures two supporting side walls have been emphasised, one was poured from exposed, architectural concrete and on the other a large library reaches to its full height.

Architecture: Pitsou Kedem Architects
Design team: Pitsou Kedem, Nurit Ben Yosef

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by Pitsou Kedem appeared first on Dezeen.

Pastel gradients spread up the walls of this languages school in Valencia by local design studio Masquespacio (+ slideshow).

Masquespacio completed the interior design and brand identity at the 2Day Languages school for learning Spanish, inside a neoclassical building.

“We wanted to limit our intervention to a minimum,” said the studio’s creative director Ana Milena Hernández Palacios, “without forgetting the importance of equalising the mix between modern decoration and the beauty of the neoclassical architecture of the building.”

Decorative cornices and mouldings around doors, windows and columns were kept alongside new pine wood flooring and furniture.

Each classroom is colour coded with pastel blue, yellow or pink on the walls, metal chair legs and pendant light cages.

“Every classroom contains a different colour that is fading as if presenting the progress in language learning,” the designer said.

Wooden box lights overlap at right angles above study tables and are positioned in cross shapes over the reception desk.

There’s also a communal lounge for students to relax in, decorated sparingly with a combination of shades used elsewhere, plus a staff room.

Visitors can follow the colourful signs around the buildings to find the right room.

Small plant boxes have been attached to the walls, while other foliage grows in pots that dangle from the ceiling.

Thin samba wood slats form undulating ribbons that hide lights along the corridor ceilings.

The branding uses the same colour scheme and patterns as the interior, paired with bold fonts.

Other interiors of educational facilities we’ve posted include a public school in Amstelveen that uses poetry as a design device and the economics department at the ROC professional training school in Apeldoorn, both in the Netherlands.

Photographs are by David Rodríguez from Cualiti.

See more design for education »
See more architecture and design in Valencia »

Read on for Masquespacio’s project description:

Masquespacio present their last project done in a central area from Valencia, Spain. The studio specialised in interior design and communication created in this case the interior and the identity of 2Day Languages, a new Spanish school in Valencia.

This project in first case is based on the identity of 2Day Languages represented by a flag that is fused with a text bubble including the three fundamental characteristics of language learning: the levels, the goal and the conversation.

On the other hand it integrates the historic values from the city of Valencia that mixes modern and old architecture. A fusion symbolised in this new Spanish school through its neoclassical architecture and the intervention from Masquespacio’s designers. The space is developed on an area of 183 m2 that contains three classrooms, a staff room and a lounge. Each of the classrooms and common rooms are a defragmentation from the brand identity of 2Day Languages and also incorporate parts of the Spanish language and the architecture of Valencia.

In first place it can be seen that the classrooms are containing the three brand colours, which in turn are a representation of the three levels A, B and C established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, here seen as the colours blue, yellow and pink. Every classroom contains a different colour that is fading as if presenting the progress in language learning. On the other hand the sculptural lamps are another defragmentation from the graphical elements.

Ana Milena Hernández Palacios, creative director of Masquespacio comments: “As in the classrooms the students and their teachers are the protagonists, we wanted to limit our intervention to a minimum, without forgetting the freshness and ‘good feeling’ that needed to breathe each space, as well as the importance to equalise the mix between modern decoration and the beauty of the neoclassical architecture of the building. We opted for warm materials like pine to generate pleasurable sensations with functional features to make easier the school operations. Two tables instead of one in each classroom were chosen to be separated and stacked during activities. Also the chairs were chosen to offer maximum comfort to the students and with stack options for better circulation during activities.”

Getting out of the classrooms in the common areas, where the students of the different levels meet each other, levels and colours are mixed up together. This happens in the reception, but also in the hall through little shreds from the gradient colours added to the bottom part of the wooden ceiling. Last but not least the lounge room follows the same unity of colours, but this time merged into the decorative elements subtracted from the brand identity. Undoubtedly this part of the project is the one where the decoration has a more prominent role, faithful to the design established in other parts of the school. Headliner here is the representation of the communication elements, relevant words of the Spanish language and some icons from the architecture of Valencia, using a technique of knitting with wool and nails.

Masquespacio in this project wanted to remain true to its philosophy traduced into creativity, identity and democratic design always under the concept of designing a space to live and enjoy with a freshness that makes the users feel comfortable while being overwhelmed by emotions generated by the space itself.

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by Masquespacio appeared first on Dezeen.

An austere concrete pavilion in Lisbon with a staggered corridor and a hidden courtyard will host events and exhibitions during the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, which kicks off next month (+ slideshow).

Designed by Portuguese architect João Quintela and German architect Tim Simon, the Kairos Pavilion is a permanent structure built from prefabricated concrete blocks that slot together without any adhesives or fixings.

A single large window punctures every elevation of the rectilinear structure, each leading into a corridor that lines the perimeter. This walkway steps both up and down, transforming from a sunken shelter into a raised viewpoint.

The highest points of the walkway offer views down into the centre of the pavilion, where a square courtyard functions as a stage for exhibitions, speakers or musical performances.

The floor of this space is also set down by 20 centimetres to accommodate a shallow pool of water, forming a mirror that reflects an image of the sky above.

The architects describe the project as an experiment with scale, light and time. “It’s an investigation about proportions and the relationship between the small scale of the isolated module and the large scale of the whole building itself in relation with the context,” they said.

Named Kairos, the building first opened in 2012 and has been used to host projects and talks by architects such as Alberto Campo Baeza, Aires Mateus and Pezo von Ellrichshausen. It will also feature in the Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2013, which runs from 12 September to 15 December – more details in our earlier story.

Other concrete pavilions featured on Dezeen include a ribbed structure at the University of Porto and a playground pavilion in Dallas, Texas.

See more pavilions on Dezeen »
See more concrete architecture and design »

Photography is by Diana Quintela.

Read on for more information from the design team:

KAIROS Pavilion, Lisbon, Portugal

Synopsis

KAIROS is a project created in 2012 by the architects João Quintela and Tim Simon in partnership with the company’s prefab concrete Gracifer and with the Lisbon Architecture Triennale’s support as an answer to an inhibitor and unsustainable social and economic context, with the aim of encouraging, generating and presenting exhibitions in which Space appears as the central theme.

It’s a pavilion – non-profit project – that intends to receive site-specific installations proposed by architects and artists. These projects should be created as an original work developed for this space exploiting its characteristics and dialoguing with the ambiences through their own and personal research.

Following this concept, and moving away from the institutional circuit of museums and galleries, the space is intended to be public, free and open to all the participants and proposals that want to integrate the exhibition’s calendar and by this generate the meeting and interaction between different and multidisciplinary projects.

The invitation to participate and submit proposals in KAIROS Pavilion is open to architecture, fine arts, performance, theatre, music and other artistic languages in which the participants feel that fits inside this concept contributing to approach creators and public.

Project

To the linear and chronological time ‘CHRONOS’ opposes ‘KAIROS’, an undefined and symbolic time which cannot be measured except by its quality.

The building wants to put two apparently irreconcilable times in dialogue. Since the very ancient periods buildings aspire to the idea of the ‘eternal’ through a spatiality and materiality able to resist time. The great temples and cathedrals, completely made out of natural stone, continue to coexist with the contemporaneity. Concrete constructions represent undoubtedly the legacy of modernity and they recover as well this symbolic idea of eternity.

This confront between the temporary and the eternal is something worth researching through a general view to the possibilities that our time can offer us. This prefab solution is capable to deal simultaneously with these two aspects as it allows us working with a durable and resistant material dialoguing with continuous Time, through a modular construction and an easy assembly or disassembly.

KAIROS, created by João Quintela and Tim Simon, appears as a result of a spatial research referenced in history through the use of Matter, Light and Time. The Matter of the Concrete, the Light of the Sun and the Time built from both. It’s an investigation about proportions and the relationship between the small scale of the isolated module and the large scale of the whole building itself in relation with the context.

The space is built by a very easy and primitive constructive system of overlapping and joining pieces, taking advantage of their own weight without using any glue or screws. It’s a square plan building with an inside square patio. Thus, there exists a perimeter all around that consists in a path developed both on the lower and upper level, generating two similar spaces with completely antagonistic ambiences. One is covered and black while the other is exterior and bright.

The inner patio is defined by the mirror created through the water inside which reflects the sky and duplicates the space. This becomes the central element, inaccessible and contemplative, able to freeze time and build an intimate moment, a dialogue with the past. Becomes the most significant space and acquires symbolism due to his impossible conquer.

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and Tim Simon appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch studio Personal Architecture has renovated one of Piet Bloms’ iconic Cube Houses in Rotterdam to create a residence for delinquents in their final stages of detention (+ slideshow).

The Supercube is one of 40 houses in the 1980s housing complex, which features cube-shaped volumes perched atop large hexagonal columns. While some of the buildings contain apartments or hotel rooms, this four-storey block has been mostly vacant since its construction.

Identifying the main problems with the interior as being “the discontinuity between floors, the tedious vertical progress and the dark, inconvenient middle floor,” Personal Architecture decided to insert an atrium to bring natural light through the house and to rationalise the circulation.

“The building was dark, it warmed up quickly and there was no relation whatsoever between the floors,” explained architects Sander van Schaik and Maarten Polkamp.

A new staircase was added around the sides of the atrium to create a coherent route between floors, while small rooms such as the kitchen, bathrooms, and reception were tucked into its sides.

“The void raises the transparency and coherence of the building and adds a great deal of sunlight from the tip to the underlying levels,” said the architects.

This full-height space also helps to regulate temperatures throughout the four-storey structure by functioning as a chimney that draws cool air up to the warmer upper levels.

Bedrooms for 21 individuals surround the atrium on the two middle floors, each with their own en suite.

An open-plan upper floor offers a space for different activities. The kitchen is positioned next to a communal dining area, while computer stations wrap one edge of the atrium and an area beyond functions as a lounge.

Personal Architecture also recently renovated a townhouse in The Hague, adding mezzanine floors, a glass elevation, a triple-height kitchen and a spiral staircase.

See more houses in the Netherlands »
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Photography is by René de Wit.

Here’s more information from Personal Architecture:

Living Together in a Giant Cube

Renovation of the ‘Supercube’ into a twenty-room residence for former convicts by Personal Architecture

After thirty years of vacancy the Supercube, being part of Piet Bloms world famous cube complex in Rotterdam, gets its first real destination. Under the guidance of the Exodus foundation the Cube is inhabited by 20 delinquents in the final stage of their detention.

Since its completion in 1982 the Supercube has been mostly vacant, some parts of the building weren’t even fully completed. According to the architects, Sander van Schaik and Maarten Polkamp, this is explicable: ‘the building was dark, it warmed up quickly and there was no relation whatsoever between the floors’. Not the ideal circumstances for the new function either, where transparency, social control and facilitating encounters between its inhabitants are vital conditions for the success of re-integration.

The discontinuity between floors, the tedious vertical progress and the dark, inconvenient middle floor are considered the three problematic issues in the original building. To carry out the proposed program, a twenty-room residence complex, these issues are tackled by means of a single intervention. To this end, a rectangular shaft is inserted into the heart of the building, creating a void of 3×3 meters throughout the entire height. The void raises the transparency and coherence of the building and adds a great deal of sunlight from the tip to the underlying levels. In addition, the element plays a part in thermally regulating the building; the ‘chimney effect’ created by the new shaft, means cool air from the underlying floors rises up and cools the warmer tip of the cube. Several functions such as reception, pantry, laundry / bathrooms, storage and kitchen are located inside the shaft wall. Furthermore, this ‘service wall’ supports the stairs that wind up through the floors.

With the realisation of the nearby Stayokay Hostel in another part of the cube complex, Personal Architecture already upgraded a part of the iconic and world famous cube complex. Placing this new function within a tight community like the cube complex was a daring enterprise but it is expected that the Exodus foundation and its inhabitants will have a positive influence on the atmosphere of the total complex and that the social control and supervision will increase. Cooperations between the Exodus foundation, the inhabitants of the regular dwellings, volunteers and the companies in the surroundings are gradually taking shape.

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by Personal Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.