Hasta La Ideas

The only way to watch a film at this unconventional cinema in Guimarães, Portugal, is by manoeuvring your upper body into one of 16 downward-pointing nozzles.

The project was conceived by Bartlett School of Architecture professor Colin Fournier, who teamed up with Polish artist Marysia Lewandowska and London studio NEON to build it.

Open this week, the structure is named the Centipede Cinema because the protruding lower bodies of viewers give it a similar form to one of the many-legged creepy crawlies.

Cork covers the exterior and interior walls. “We wanted to show that cork can be used for architectural purposes, explained Fournier. “We used cork for the outer skin and a special dark cork to create the ‘black out’ effect needed for the cinema.”

Viewers that have ducked inside the cinema can rest their arms on the base of the structure while enjoying a one-hour film made of of three-minute-long trailers.

The project was constructed to coincide with the city’s designation as the 2012 European Capital of Culture and was inspired by a controversial local cinema club that started up during the authoritarian political regime of Estado Novo in the 1950s. “The CineClube is one of the few groups that were able to offer a radical political critique of society and they survive to this day as a left-wing cultural club, said Fournier. “We wanted to create something that celebrated such an important contribution.”

Other cinemas on Dezeen include one beneath a motorway flyover and one on a narrowboat.

See more cinemas on Dezeen »

Here’s a some more information from the Bartlett School of Architecture:

‘Centipede’ cinema opens in European Capital of Culture

A new free-standing ‘centipede’ cinema designed by an academic at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UK – will open this week in Guimarães, Portugal as part of celebrations for the 2012 European Capital of Culture.

The centipede cinema conceived by Professor Colin Fournier in collaboration with artist Marysia Lewandowska, was commissioned by the 2012 European Capital of Culture as a ‘public intervention’ for the Portuguese city. The design team led by Professor Fournier included two former graduates from Diploma Unit 18 at the Bartlett School of Architecture, George King and Mark Nixon, founding partners of a London based design firm called “Neon”.

The cinema invites film-viewers to enter its canvas and cork structure via one of 16 nozzles so that their upper bodies are part of the cinematic experience whilst their legs are rooted in the outside world.

The alien-like structure creates a stark contrast with the historical streets of Guimarães, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. This contrast is echoed in the playful juxtaposition of reality and the world of fiction.

The authors were inspired by the Guimarães CineClube (CCG) when conceiving the cinema project. The CCG was founded in 1953 during the authoritarian Portuguese regime Estado Novo, led by António de Oliveira Salazar, which started in 1933.

Professor Fournier explained: “The CineClube brought international films to the city, some of them popular films broadly available from commercial distributors, but also many classic “cinéma d’auteur” art films by directors such as Jean-Luc Godard or Fellini, that often openly conflicted with the right-wing ideology of Salazar’s regime.

The cinema is also influenced by the local environment and the area’s traditional industries. The cinema is made from a steel frame and covered in local cork to promote the diversity of the material. Portugal is the world’s premier producer of cork, but with the increasing use of synthetic cork in wine bottling, the industry is looking at ways to diversify.

Inside, viewers will be treated to an hour-long film made up of 20 3-minute trailers selected by local workers. The structure will be revealed on the streets of Guimarães on Saturday 20 October.

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Marysia Lewandowska and NEON appeared first on Dezeen.

Architects Estudio BaBO clad these three wooden houses in Patagonia, Argentina, with black-painted cypress so that they would look “as monolithic as possible” (+ slideshow).

“Some of the traditional wooden houses of the area are painted black, and we tried to replicate that effect,” architect Francisco Kocourek told Dezeen.

All three houses have pine frames and wooden walls, and only the roofing is metal. “We used to live and work in Norway where building entirely with wood is quite common,” explained Kocourek.

The rectangular houses are joined to one another, but are staggered to frame outdoor spaces at the front and rear.

Intersecting angled roofs disguise the boundaries between the different dwellings and create sloping ceilings in some of the rooms.

Entrances are located beneath recessed porches, which give each house a partially sheltered driveway.

More cypress wood can be found inside the houses, where it is used for flooring, skirting boards, doors and window frames.

Ground-floor living rooms and kitchens face each other across small, partially covered patios that are walled on three sides and open out to the gardens.

Upstairs, bedrooms and bathroom sit beneath the slanted ceilings, which are covered with chunky chipboard.

Located in a neighbourhood sparsely populated with detached houses, the units were built according to new planning regulations instated to encourage row houses.

Other projects clad in blackened wood that we’ve featured include a pointy gallery and studio in Japan and a sauna that can be towed like a sled.

See all our stories about blackened wood »

See all our stories about Argentina »

The information below is from the architects:

CLF Houses

The project is located on a plot along a low density residential street in the neighborhood of “El Once”, approximately 400 meters off the principal boulevard of Villa La Angostura. In spite of its apparent centric location, there is a predominance of small isolated and unaligned single family houses, empty “urban” plots and large private properties. In addition to these characteristics you will find the compacted rubble of the street, the absence of sidewalks, urban furniture and light points and the great profusion of trees give the area an unstructured and open character. A recent change in the regulations was made to modify this situation. The goal is to achieve a higher density in the area, without intention of creating an urban street section, by encouraging the construction of new row houses. This change comes with a very strict set of rules regarding the choice of materials, the use of colors in the facade and the angles of the roof.

Isometric diagram

The assignment was to design and build three units of row houses, each one of two floors. The program consists of a living room, dining room, kitchen, toilet, and laundry room on the ground floor and two bedrooms and a complete bathroom on the upper floor. A patio is incorporated in each of the units to enrich the visual connections and to open up the ground floor. It also allows a solution for the heights in the project to satisfy both the program and the regulations. The decision is also taken to step the units linearly freeing one of the sides of the patio. These operations guarantee a greater and more homogeneous natural lighting of the units and allow the visual impact of the project and its immediate environment to be minimized. Indirectly a greater privacy in the garden expansions is achieved, and the visuals from the living rooms are controlled. Volumetrically the project is articulated to be understood as one unit. The inclined planes of the roofs link the units together and the walls are understood as a result.

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image

One of the challenges presented was to build the whole project entirely of wood, including the structure and all enclosures and finishes. Despite the profusion of wood as a material in the south of Argentina, the lack of specialized knowledge and of a specialized industry narrow its uses to isolated structural elements and interior and exterior finishes, often presenting pathologies caused by their poor implementation. An integral system used in Norway based on the indications and experience of the “Norges Byggforskningsinstitutt” (Research Institute of the Construction of Norway) was chosen for the project. The system was adapted to the climatic (higher temperatures, more intense rain, less accumulation of snow), the physical (need for calculating seismic proof structures, different types and quality of wood) and human (unskilled labor, need to assemble a workshop under construction) reality of Argentina.

First floor plan – click above for larger image

The system is based on a structure entirely made of wood which extends to its wooden finished facade. Between the layers a contiguous, controlled air chamber the constant ventilation of the wood is guaranteed, keeping it from rotting, prolonging exponentially the life of the project and the materials. The system also ensures a continuous and substantial layer of insulation, avoiding any cold bridges and providing high interior comfort and energy saving. The windows are solved with double glazing. The heating in the project is solved with a combination of a radiant floor and a strategically located, high-performance salamander. The material palette and colors are reduced to a minimum of black, white, wood and metal. The facade is made of cypress painted black and the separation of the planks is based on the module of the metal plate covering the roof. All interior walls are white, the floors are made in black granite on the ground floor and parquet made of cypress on the upper floor. All the rest of the woodwork is made in natural cypress.

Cross section – click above for larger image

The objective was to analyze and understand the potential of this type of program and the different typologies regarding their placement and appropriation of the land and the resolution of the spatial relationship established between the different units. The approach to the materialization of the project from the details and from the adaptation of a constructive system borrowed from a different background was a unique consequence of the desire to use local materials. For this the application of the system on the site had to be carefully considered in order to be able to transcend the abstraction of our drawn intentions.

Type: Row houses
Architecture: Estudio BaBO
Team: Francisco Kocourek, Francesc Planas Penadés, Marit Haugen Stabell
Collaborators: Marcos Buceta
Construction: Arq. Francisco P. Kocourek
Structure: Ing. Julio C. Pacini
Location: Villa la Angostura, Neuquén, Argentina
Plot Area: 1040 m2
Built Area: 310 m2
Project Year: 2009
Construction Year: Jan 2010 – May 2011

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Estudio BaBO appeared first on Dezeen.

This weekend fishing retreat by Ian Shaw Architekten hangs over the edge of a lake in Siegen, Germany (+ slideshow).

Built from exposed concrete, the building has a cantilevered base and roof that stretch six metres across the surface of the lake, creating a sheltered terrace where the client can set up his fishing equipment.

A glazed room overlooks the water at the front of the building, creating a space for reading or entertaining.

Large square panels fold away from the rear facade, revealing a garage for storing three classic cars.

The only other rooms are a small toilet and a storage area for angling equipment.

Other retreats we’ve featured include a wooden holiday cabin in Sweden and a waterside summerhouse in Norway. See more holiday homes on Dezeen »

Plan – click above for larger image

Photography is by Felix Krumholz.

Here’s some more information from Ian Shaw Architekten:

Pavilion Siegen, 2012

The pavilion’s unique, planar form articulates an assured, yet subtle compression of space, framing views of the lake and the local topography; its tectonic rigour enables the floor plate and ceiling to cantilever some 6m beyond the lakeshore.

Side elevation

The scheme is both a weekend fishing retreat and a garage for three classic cars. A toilet and washroom facility is also included, as is a storage area for the client’s angling equipment. Detailing is measured throughout – from the integrated lighting to the fully glazed internal area.

Front elevation

The 12 x 12 m structure conforms to a strict proportional grid that determines both the position and heights of the walls, as well as the shuttering joints and fenestration divisions. The 3 x 3m door panels – built by the client’s engineering company, and weighing 340 kilos per door – pivot on bespoke spindles, enabling each to be opened with the push of a single finger.

Side elevation

Throughout the building process the concrete mix was carefully monitored so as to achieve a deliberate off white finish. This tone was felt to be essential in order to refine the pavilion’s dialogue with the surrounding terrain.

Rear elevation

Structurally, the scheme’s main floor plate comprises precast concrete slabs, tied back to massive drum foundations; a finishing layer of in-situ concrete applied from above avoided the need for under floor shuttering and, just as importantly, ensured uniformity in the concrete’s appearance. The cantilevered platform formed the base for the in-situ cast walls and ceiling. Special, non-oiled shuttering ensured that no harm came to lake’s fish population during the pavilion’s construction.

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Ian Shaw Architekten appeared first on Dezeen.

This terrace of eight houses by Peter Barber Architects is clad with timber shingles to match the neighbouring fences and sheds of a housing estate in east London (+ slideshow).

“The building sits at the rear of a 1960s council estate, where there are little rear gardens, rickety sheds and a patchwork of wooden fences,” Peter Barber told Dezeen. “Our building shares a similar aesthetic.”

The timber shingles also create an analogous pattern and texture to the brick walls of the surrounding residences, which face onto the same community garden as the new houses.

Each house has at least two small terraces, whether on the roof or at ground level, and Barber hopes over time these will “get planted and personalised by the people that live there”.

The largest residence has seven bedrooms, while one has six and the others have either three or four.

Half of the houses will be allocated to social housing tenants, while the other half will be sold.

Isometric diagram – click above for larger image

Other housing projects on Dezeen by Peter Barber Architects include 25 new houses elsewhere in east London and a new urban quarter in west London.

Site plan – click above for larger image

See more projects by Peter Barber Architects »

Floor plans – click above for larger image

Photography is by Morley von Sternberg

Here’s a few details from Peter Barber Architects:

Hannibal Road Gardens/Beveridge Mews

Hannibal Road Gardens is a social housing project set around a community garden in Stepney.

The proposal replaces a problematic strip of garages and creates a fourth side to a square within an existing housing estate with 3 slab blocks forming the other sides.

Typical ground floor plan – click above for larger image

The newly landscaped and densely planted community garden created in the centre of the square will be overlooked by a delightful new terrace of eight contemporary family houses.

The new row of houses is conceived as a continuation of the timber garden fences of the existing housing blocks, being constructed from timber and configured as a series of stepped and notched south east facing garden terraces.

Typical first floor plan – click above for larger image

The accommodation is predominantly made up of large family houses (3, 4, 6 bedrooms). These will be 100% affordable, 50% of which are to be socially rented.

Typical second floor plan – click above for larger image

Key features:

» High density, large houses created on a difficult, single-aspect site;
» Innovative notched terrace typology, creating a variety of amenity spaces and outlooks;
» All courtyard houses have their own front door and a minimum of two large courtyards / roof terraces;
» Great example of collaborative approach to planning, working closely with Tower Hamlets Planners and Highways Officers.

Typical roof plan – click above for larger image

Client: Southern Housing Group
Contract Value: c£1.5 million
London Borough of Tower Hamlets

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by Peter Barber Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Last week in Istanbul a six month long discourse on the future of mobility in our megacities culminated an impressive showing of concepts from five international architecture firms visualizing their home cities in the year 2030. Organized as a competition by the Audi Urban Future Initiative, the program began…

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