Hasta La Ideas

Double-height studios bring art and architecture students together in the new college of architecture at Clemson University, South Carolina, by New York office Thomas Phifer and Partners (+ slideshow).

Lee Hall College of Architecture accommodates students from 12 different degree programmes across the departments of art, architecture, construction science and landscape architecture at Clemson University.

Thomas Phifer and Partners designed the building as a place where students on different courses can see into each other’s studios and share some of their workspaces, intended to increase “cross pollination” between disciplines.

“The process of making this work is such a celebratory testament to the collaborative spirit in architecture,” said Thomas Phifer. “These are the very principles that form the foundation for interdisciplinary learning at Lee Hall.”

Rooms on the ground floor feature glazed partitions to afford views from one area of the building to another. A sequence of first floor mezzanines are suspended above, where students and tutors can observe the activities below, plus more glazed studios are sandwiched between.

Huge doughnut-shaped skylights direct natural light into the double-height spaces, while glazed elevations to the north and south offer views out across the campus.

A terrace is positioned to the north of the building to provide a place where students can build large-scale models.

Lee Hall was one of 28 projects to receive an Institute Honor Award from the AIA earlier this year. Other projects recognised included another university building designed by OMA and a mile-long urban park by BIG. See all 28 winners of the Institute Honor Awards.

Other university buildings to complete in recent years include the factory-like Dyson Building at the Royal College of Art in London and the X-shaped scientific research centre at the Australian National University in Canberra. See more universities on Dezeen.

Photography is by Scott Frances.

Here’s some more inforamtion from the Thomas Phifer and Partners:

Clemson University, Lee Hall College of Architecture

Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in upstate South Carolina, the addition to the Lee Hall College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities at Clemson University is carefully sited adjacent to a green belt of open spaces that runs through the center of campus.

Above: ground floor plan – click for larger image

An ultra-energy efficient building, the 55,000 sf addition was conceived to accommodate the expanding needs of the college which includes 12 professional degree programs in the 4 departments of Art, Architecture, Construction Science + Management, and Planning + Landscape Architecture.

We discovered early in the design process that all programs form a close community with a rich culture of collaboration. To cultivate this sense of community within the new addition, program elements are intermingled to generate an environment for “cross pollination” between programs and disciplines through adjacency, allowing students to learn from other students and faculty though informal creative exchanges.

Proximity and transparency are supported with carefully detailed glazing between interior program elements. Transparency is also employed on the exterior facades to blur the line between the natural world and the interior environment. This connection to the exterior is enhanced through operable and motorized windows which are opened when exterior conditions permit. The exterior space to the north of the Lee Hall addition is carefully proportioned and intentionally flexible to foster full scale fabrications.

Above: first floor plan – click for larger image

Location: Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina
Date: 2011
Client: Clemson University College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities
Size: 55,000 sf
Project Team: Thomas Phifer AIA – Managing Partner, Eric Richey – Project Architect, Robert Chan Katie Bennett

Architect: Thomas Phifer and Partners
Associate Architect: McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
Structural Engineering: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Mechanical Engineer: Talbot and Associates
Landscape Architect: Pond and Company
Civil Engineer: Dutton Engineering
Environmental Consultant: Transsolar Inc.
General Contractor: Holder Construction

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by Thomas Phifer and Partners 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.

by Stephen Pulvirent Buckminster Fuller’s utopian design vision, unrivaled in the 20th century and anchored by his famous reinvention of geodesic domes, reflected the polymath’s philosophy that flexible thinking, good design and an honest desire for progress could solve humanity’s woes once and…

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Czech studio Stempel & Tesar has completed a house that looks likes it’s being swallowed up by the landscape (+ slideshow).

The family house is located in Český ráj, an 18,000-hectare nature reserve also known as Bohemian Paradise, and the house nestles against a hillside blanketed with grass.

Stempel & Tesar tunneled down into the landscape to make room for a sauna that had been requested by the client. “We decided to add a basement rather than increase the footprint of the house,” architect Jan Tesar told Dezeen. “It wasn’t too complicated to build because of the sloping site.”

The rest of the three-storey house is designed to reflect the traditional local vernacular, as planning conditions in the area are strict. Three elevations are clad with timber, while the fourth is covered with stone – a nod to the old Bohemian residences that also contained workshops or barns.

Design guidelines stipulated that no more than four windows could be added to each elevation, plus each one had to follow precise size and proportion guidelines. The architects got around this by designing large timber shutters, which slide across larger glazing panels on the north-east walls.

A steeply pitched roof oversails the walls and is clad with pre-weathered sheets of titanium-zinc.

Rooms inside the house follow a basic linear arrangement and are divided into two rows by a central corridor.

Other residences completed recently in the Czech Republic include a gabled lodge with a first-floor observatory. See more Czech architecture on Dezeen.

Photography is by Fotes.

Here’s a project description from Stempel & Tesar:

Cesky raj – Stempel & Tesar architekti

The opportunity to construct a family house in Cesky raj turned out to be a very pleasant and unique one right from the very first moment when we met the client.

Unique location adjacent to a wood with view opportunities to rocks and forests was constraint by very prescriptive and challenging planning restrictions applicable in the location in protected natural area.

The guidance documents from the authorities outlined the design meticulously: main windows must be of rectangular shape, long edge vertical, subdivided into glass panes, fixed window height ratio of 2:3 up to 4:5, the typical width of windows between 0.7-1.2m, the number of windows in the front wall between 2-4 etc. Many other building elements were prescribed with the same precision to the same level of detail.

Our design proposal originated from characteristics of local historic architecture, hence half of the house is made of stone and other half of timber, this duality derives from original division between dwelling and a workshop or a barn. Traditional open barn entrances with in/out passage inspired the high clearance glazing. These opportunities for vistas bring desired southern light into the interior while opening unique view at forests in the north and peaks of mountains.

A simple pitched roof covers the entire building volume. For roof material we selected weathered titanium-zinc sheets resisting severe weather conditions. The roof is in 45dg and the ridge is oriented parallel to the entrance as well as the main building axes.

Building volume of the house is very simple and uncomplicated therefore the final design is a pure form without any additional architectural element. The final form is very respectful to the traditional building forms in the area and originates from principles of local vernacular architecture.

Building plans extends from ground floor to the attic space right above, both used as dwelling. The house is used as a terraced house with the entrance located in the centre of the building volume.

Above: site plan

Client: private clients
Location of site: Cesky Raj, Czech Republic
Program: housing 198 sqm
Project by (firm name): Stempel & Tesar architects
Principal designer: Jan Stempel, Jan Tesar
Site area: 2715 sqm
Building footprint: 189 sqm
Design and construction: 2010-2012

Above: basement floor plan

Above: ground floor plan

Above: first floor plan

Above: cross section

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by Stempel & Tesar appeared first on Dezeen.

News: architects and designers including Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Ross Lovegrove, and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have sent an open letter to Milan’s mayor calling for the reinstatement of architect and editor Stefano Boeri (above), who was sacked last week as the city’s councillor for design, fashion and culture.

In the letter, signatories including Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, French design duo Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Domus magazine editor-in-chief Joseph Grima expressed their “regret and disappointment” over Boeri’s sudden exit.

“This unmotivated dismissal seems to us inexplicable,” states the letter to Mayor Giuliano Pisapia, which was also signed by architects Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel and Bjarke Ingels of BIG.

“Stefano Boeri is one of Italy’s foremost cultural exponents: he has taught in universities in Italy and abroad, curated exhibitions, designed buildings and written books that have been translated into many languages.

“Thanks to Boeri’s many initiatives […] Milan had finally succeeded in reaffirming itself forcefully on the international stage as an epicentre of art, design, fashion and culture.

The letter closes by urging the mayor to “put personal differences aside” and reconsider his decision to dismiss Boeri.

Trained as an architect, Boeri had relinquished a teaching post at Politecnico di Milano and resigned as editor-in-chief of Abitare magazine in order to become a councillor for Mayor Pisapia, to whom he had narrowly lost in the primary round of the mayoral election.

Since taking up the role in June 2011, his efforts to promote Milan’s reputation for art, design and culture included Piano City, a scheme encouraging piano-playing residents to perform concerts in their living rooms, and Book City, a festival of readings, author talks and literary events.

He also organised major exhibitions of artists such as Picasso, Bramantino, Jeff Wall and Marina Abramovic, another of the letter’s signatories.

His unexpected departure comes just a fortnight before thousands of international guests descend on the city for the Salone del Mobile and numerous other design events and exhibitions taking place alongside it – see all news and products from Milan 2013.

We previously reported on a complex of buildings completed by Stefano Boeri Architetti in northern Sardinia.

Here is the letter and the full list of signatories:

March 27th, 2013

Dear Mayor Pisapia,

It is with regret and disappointment that we learn that Stefano Boeri was dismissed from his position as Councillor for Design, Fashion and Culture for the city of Milan.

Thanks to the energy and commitment of Boeri, and despite the deepening of the gravest crisis to have faced Italy since the postwar years, since 2011 Milan has succeded in projecting an image of renewed cultural vibrancy and dynamism onto the international stage. Thanks to Boeri’s many initiatives — citywide events such as Book City and Piano City, or international exhibitions of internationally renowned artists such as the Marina Abramovic, Picasso, Bramantino, Alberto Garutti and Jeff Wall — Milan had finally succeeded in reaffirming itself forcefully on the international stage as an epicentre of art, design, fashion and culture.

This unmotivated dismissal deprives Milan of one of its greatest assets—an individual who possesses the intelligence, energy, motivation and global network of relationships needed to make Milan an unrivaled protagonist of the European cultural scene of the 21st century. Stefano Boeri is one of Italy’s foremost cultural exponents: he has taught in universities in Italy and abroad, curated exhibitions, designed buildings and written books that have been translated into many languages. As such, this unmotivated dismissal seems to us inexplicable.

In this moment of grave crisis, we urge you to put personal differences aside and, for the good of the city, reconsider your decision.

Yours sincerely,

Marina Abramović – Artist, New York
Iwan Baan – Photographer, Amsterdam
Tatiana Bilbao – Architect, Tatiana Bilbao Architects, Ciudad de Mexico
Daniel Birnbaum – Director, Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Petra Blaisse – Landscape Architect, Inside Outside, Rotterdam
Erica Bolton and Jane Quinn – Directors, Bolton Quinn, London
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec – Designers, Paris
Maurizio Cattelan – Artist, Milan
Teddy Cruz – Architect, Teddy Cruz Architects, San Diego
Chris Dercon – Director, Tate Modern, London
Elizabeth Diller – Architect, New York
Jimmie Durham – Artist, Berlin
Okwui Enwezor – Curator, Munich
Amos Gitai – Film Director, Tel Aviv – Paris
Joseph Grima – Editor in chief, Domus, Milan
Zaha Hadid – Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects, London
Nikolaus Hirsch – Dean, Städelschule Frankfurt
Li Hu – Architect, Beijing
Bjarke Ingles – Architect, Bjarke Ingels Group Architects, Copenhagen
Rem Koolhaas – Architect, Rotterdam
Koyo Kouoh – Art Editor, Dakar
Armin Linke – Photographer, Berlin
Ross Lovegrove – Designer, London
Qingyun Ma – Architect, Shanghai
Michael Maltzan – Architect, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Los Angeles
Giancarlo Mazzanti – Architect, Mazzanti Arquitectos, Bogotà
Shelley McNamara & Yvonne Farrell – Architects, Grafton Architects, Dublin
Mohsen Mostafavi – Dean, GSD Harvard, Cambridge
Alexei Muratov – Journalist, Moscow
Jean Nouvel – Architect, Paris
Hans Ulrich Obrist – Co-director, Serpentine Gallery, London
Julia Peyton Jones – Director Serpentine Gallery, London
Bas Princen – Photographer, Amsterdam
Edi Rama – Artist and politician, Tirana
Anri Sala – Artist, Paris
Tomas Saraceno – Artist, Berlin
Milica Topalovic – Architect, Zurich

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dismissal of Milan councillor appeared first on Dezeen.