Hasta La Ideas

Architecture collective Cityförster have completed a wooden house in the Netherlands with a black rubber skin.

The two-storey family residence is located in the experimental housing area of De Eenvoud, outside the city of Almere.

A decked terrace bites into the side of the building, revealing the timber structure behind the rubber cladding.

Glass doors lead in from this terrace to a double-height living room and kitchen with a pivoting fireplace.

The other side of the house is split into two single-height storeys, with bathrooms, offices and storage on the ground floor and bedrooms upstairs.

Other buildings from the Dezeen archive with rubber exteriors include a one-man pavilion with a slit for an entrance and a music studio clad in buttoned rubber – see more stories featuring rubber.

Photography is by Arne Hansen and Nils Nolting.

The following text is from Cityförster:

De Eenvoud: Cityförster hands over RUBBERHOUSE to future residents

The RUBBERHOUSE is an experimental single family house built in energy efficient and sustainable cross laminated timber construction, clad in a black EPDM rubber skin. Being awarded first prize group in the 2006 competition “Eenvoud” (Simplicity), the RUBBERHOUSE has been designed as core and shell and is now one of 12 houses in the experimental new development “De Eenvoud” in Almere (NL).

De Eenvoud is a follow-on settlement to the experimental housing settlements De Fantasie and De Realiteit developed in the 1980’s and therefore stands in a long tradition of experimental, free and self-determined building. Originally these were developed to promote the model of privately financed housing in the Netherlands.

The new settlement is located on a clearing adjacent to a natural conservation area and is only accessible by a small residential road. The city centre and the nearby Ijmeer are easily accessible via a well developed network of cycle paths. Especially the edge of the surrounding forest creates an exclusive and nature-orientated site for the detached houses.

Vision

Simplicity in the sense of simple living is not something suppressing or restricting, but rather when performed as a voluntary act enables one to experience life aside from life styles driven by status. Simplicity negates the imitation of predetermined and unachievable images. Simplicity demands a certain degree of modesty, though simplicity is not meant ascetic, but it is a way to increase ones quality of life. Simplicity does not deny luxury, but can even evoke a different richer kind of luxury. This luxury can only be produced through impartiality towards things. Simplicity means realising potentials and transforming meaning.

Design

In its sculptural shape the RUBBERHOUSE is derived from the archetypical and simple form of dutch barn architecture. The cross laminated timber building consists of a double height space covered by an asymmetrical gabled roof and a single storey space covered by a shed roof.

The external skin is clad in black EPDM foil, which is commonly used as a single ply membrane for flat roofs. The material generates an immaterial and rough aesthetic, which stands in stark contrast to the cut out forming the buildings generous terrace. The cut out generating the terrace is clad in untreated larchwood, transporting the habitable atmosphere of the inside into an external habitable space. In contrast to the rough external appearance the internal rooms are determined by the warm charm of the treated timber surfaces.

The RUBBERHOUSE consist of a two storey part with lower ceiling heights, which is connected via a split level element to the single storey main living area. The concept sets smaller private rooms against a generous open living area, whereby ceiling levels vary from 2.30m at entrance level up to 4.80m in the main living room.

At ground floor level of the 2 storey section an office, WC, bathroom and cloakroom are located. The open plan kitchen and a pivoting fireplace form part of the generous living area. The upper level consists of bedroom with en- suite bathroom and walk in wardrobe.

Large sliding doors allow the extension of the living area onto the 40 m² terrace. The raised terrace is slightly elevated, thereby offering a good view across to the new neighbourhood, whilst at the same time providing some distance and privacy.

Clear visual axes and relationships throughout the whole building strengthen the robust and open layout, enhancing the visual connection with the surrounding landscape. The nearby forest can be experienced throughout the entire house.

Construction

The building is grounded on a partly pre-fabricated ring foundation on top of 12 concrete piles. The ground bearing slab is made of pre- cast, highly insulated hollow core slabs. Using a high degree of prefabrication already during foundation works enabled a fast and efficient programme.

The load bearing facade as well as the few load bearing partitions are constructed of cross laminated timber panels. The untreated surfaces of these walls are left fair faced to completion. The roof is constructed of large, pre- fabricated and highly insulated timber frame panels and was installed within just one day. The high amount of pre- fabrication not only enabled an extremely short programme on site of just 3 months, but also significantly reduced man hours.

The facade has been designed as a highly insulated ventilated cavity construction. Bar the terrace walls, which are clad in larch, all external wall and roof surfaces are clad in EPDM. This common single ply membrane is usually used as a sealant for flat roofs. The double glazed windows are part fixed and part open able, their timber frames being painted in grey.

Interiors

In stark contrast to the external black appearance the warm fair faced surfaces of the timber panels dominate internally. The house has been designed as part self build, whereby internal finishes are being applied by the client himself. Within this concept the robust aesthetics plays a large role, where future fixtures and furniture will substitute themselves. Although mainly industrial products were used and none withstanding the rough external appearance the timber surfaces provide a comfortable atmosphere and internal climate.

As per the concept of enabling self build finishing’s no conduit trenches were cut into the timber panels. All MEP services and installations are concentrated in a few plasterboard partitions and sockets are recessed into the concrete floor. According to the industrial appearance and to guarantee a high degree of flexibility some conduits have been surface mounted to walls and ceilings.

The building is heated by under floor heating which is connected to the community heating network. Additional heating can be provided via a wood stove. Bathrooms and WC’s are ventilated via controlled extract ductwork, some windows in habitable rooms are equipped with automatic opening vents.

Client: At Kasbergen, Alet Breugom
Design: CITYFÖRSTER – architecture + urbanism
Project architects: Arne Hansen, Nils Nolting
Local support: SPRIKK, Johan van Sprundel
Site management: JOS ABBO ARCHITECTS, B.v.Leeuwen
Structural engineer: B²CO; Richard Fielt

General contractor: Bouw en Aannemingsbedrijf Schoonderbeek B.V.
Ground works: Eijva werken bv
Piles: Speerstra
Prefab Fundament: Prefunko
Roof elements: DeMar Houtkonstukties
Walls: Lenotec FinnForrest.
Plumbing: De Graag installaties
Electric inst: Erik van Dunschoten
Roofing: WH van de Kamp

CITYFOERSTER is responsible for project developement, design and construction design.

Amsterdam architects UNStudio have designed a new international airport for Kutaisi, Georgia.

The airport will serve the growing number of tourists to the city, as well as politicians and diplomats visiting the country’s parliament, which is moving from the capital Tbilisi to Kutaisi next year.

The terminal will include three departure gates, as well as a departure lounge with a large private garden.

Arriving and departing passengers will each use a different side of the airport, while the lobby will double-up as a gallery for local artworks.

The project is scheduled for completion by September next year.

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This is the second project in Georgia that we’ve featured recently – see our earlier story here about a checkpoint with a knobbly observation tower.

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Here’s a longer explanation from UNStudio:

Ben van Berkel / UNStudio’s design for the new Kutaisi Airport officially presented yesterday by the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili

UNStudio’s design for the new Transfer Terminal and Air Traffic Control Tower for Kutaisi Airport was officially presented yesterday by the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who personally demolished one of the walls of the old airport yesterday announced, “”We will build an international airport here, which will take aircraft from Munich, Rome, Baku and other cities as of next year.”

UNStudio has designed the new Kutaisi Airport which will serve domestic and international flights for use by international diplomats, national politicians and for tourism.

Georgia, a young state in the Caucasus which has undergone considerable development in recent years, is moving its Parliament from the capital Tbilisi to the city of Kutaisi. A new parliament building is currently under construction in Kutaisi and in 2012 the first parliamentary meeting will take place.

In recent years growing numbers of tourists have been discovering Georgia, a country with an ancient and engaging history. As a result there is increasing demand from airlines to fly to Georgia. By virtue of its geographical advantages and the nearby location of two of Georgia’s most important Unesco monuments, Kutaisi was selected as the destination for a new airport. The new Kutaisi airport will in addition provide an economic impulse to Georgia’s second city and its new seat of Parliament.

Ben van Berkel: “The design for the new terminal in Kutaisi focuses first and foremost on the experience of the traveller by creating an inviting, safe, transparent and user-friendly airport. The desire to provide for and communicate equally with both international visitors and the local community is paramount. ”

UNStudio’s design for the new Kutaisi Airport incorporates both Georgia’s historic landscape and its architecture. In Georgia public buildings and private houses employ their entrance lobbies as showcases for their individual identities. In the design for the new airport UNStudio embraces this architectural concept in order to manifest Georgia’s young and dynamic democracy, along with its rapid development as a main crossing point in the region. Georgia is located on a crossroads of rich cultures, with a history of travellers passing through the Caucasus or arriving from the Black Sea.

Ben van Berkel: “It was particularly exciting for me to be able to design an airport which is not only linked to the new seat of parliament in Kutaisi, but which also creates an entrance condition which functions as a port for the international community. The airport presents a symbolic infrastructural gateway to Georgia and, from there, to the rest of the world.”

The 4,000 m2 terminal building will house a central arrivals hall, a check-in area with lounge, cafe and car rental facilities, three gates for departure with retail, cafes, a CIP lounge area and exterior garden, an arrival area with customs and offices for the border police and an administration area with staff rooms and press conference facilities.

The architecture of the terminal refers to a pavilion; a gateway, in which a clear structural layout creates an all encompassing and protective volume. The volume is structured around a central exterior space which is used for departing passengers. The transparent space around this central point is designed to ensure that flows of passengers are smooth and that departure and arrival flows do not coincide. These axes incorporate views from the plaza to the apron and to the Caucasus on the horizon. The design organises the logistical processes, provides optimal security and ensures that the traveler has sufficient space to circulate comfortably. Serving as a lobby to Georgia, the terminal could in addition operate as an art gallery, displaying works by Georgian artists and thereby presenting a further identifier of contemporary Georgian culture.

The 55m high, 300 m2 Air Traffic Control Tower is designed to compliment the design of the terminal. The traffic control cabin on the top level forms the focal point of the tower, with a spacious and comfortable interior ensuring a workspace of optimal concentration. 1,500 m2 of supporting office spaces are housed in a nearby building. The exterior of the tower is clad with a transparent skin with the potential to change color whenever there is a fluctuation in traffic. The Air Traffic Control Tower will function as a light beacon to the sky for the international airport, but also from the road to and from Georgia’s new parliamentary city Kutaisi.

Ben van Berkel: “The design for the new airport embraces the traveller by embodying the circumstance of the site. Moments of both leaving and returning are celebrated by the large span, open spaces and high ceiling of the terminal structure – reflecting the ways in which such gestures were employed in the great railway stations of the past.”

The design for the new airport aims to incorporate local and international sustainable elements. An onsite underground source of natural water provides the basis for the reduction of energy consumption through concrete core activation. The floors of both the Terminal and the ATCT will utilise this water for maintaining a regulated temperature in the two volumes. In the Terminal building cantilevered roofs provide sun shading on south and southwest zones. A hybrid low pressure ventilation system will be integrated into the terminal’s main structure and there will be a grey water collection system in the floor underneath the terminal building. To further lower energy consumption there is the possibility to implement large areas of PV-cells on the roof surface. Kustaisi airport will be Georgia’s first airport to incorporate a strict segregation of waste. The aim is to establish a recycling system which could be further implemented into new and existing projects in Georgia.

Construction on the new Kutaisi Airport will begin in December 2011. The airport is scheduled to be operational in September 2012.

Walking along this elevated pathway by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth is like being on a roller coaster.

The 21-metre-high sculptural walkway is named Tiger and Turtle – Magic Mountain and is positioned upon a hilltop in Duisburg, Germany.

A staircase winds across the surface of the steel structure, which spirals around itself just like the fairground ride.

Above: photograph is by Werner Hannappel

Visitors can climb onto the sculpture where it meets the ground, but a loop-the-loop at the centre prevents anyone being able to walk a full circuit.

We also recently published a pavilion that snakes like the tracks of a roller coaster – see that project here.

Photography is by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s some more information from the artists:

Since 13th of November the large-scale sculpture “Tiger and Turtle – Magic Mountain” by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth is accessible for the public. Lately, the sleek curved shape of a rollercoaster highlights widely visible the highest peak of the park-­‐like designed Heinrich Hildebrand Höhe in the South of Duisburg.

The dynamic sweeps and curves of the construction inscribe themselves like a signature into the scenery and soar till the height of 21 meters. From a distance the metallic glossy track creates the impression of speed and exceeding acceleration. Viewed from close up, the supposed lane turns out to be a stairway which, elaborately winding, follows the course of the rollercoaster.

The visitor can climb the art work by foot. Although the course describes a closed loop, it is impossible to accomplish it as the looping emerges to be a physical barrier.  On top, at the highest point of the sculpture – 45 meters above ground – the visitor is rewarded with an extraordinary view over the landscape of the Western Ruhr.

Above: photograph is by Werner Hannappel

“Tiger and Turtle” refers with its immanent dialectic of speed and deadlock to the situation of change in the region and its turn towards renaturation and restructuring. While the sculpture conveys an absurd twist regarding the inherent expectation of the image created by a rollercoaster, it reflects its own role as potential trans-­‐regional lanmark which will be inevitably pocketed as image.

It counters the logic of permanent growth with an absurd-­‐contradictory sculpture that refuses a definite interpretation.With 44 x 37 meters base and 21 meters construction height the sculpture is not only one of the largest in Germany, but also a masterpiece of engineering.  Especially the draft of the stairs (developed in collaboration with Arnold Walz) consequentially and elegantly winds along the three-­‐ dimensional shape that is in every spot different and therefore harbours a so far never accomplished challenge.

Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth create together artistic projects in public space and exhibition venues since eight years. Their works are site-­‐ specifically and contextually developed and reflect in a magnifold way the conditions of publicness. Since 2007 the artist duo lives and works in Hamburg where Heike Mutter holds professorship at the Hochschule für bildende Künste.

The raised corner of this house in Hiroshima by Japanese architects Suppose Design Office allows light to creep into the interior.

A cantilevered staircase leads down to the sunken main entrance.

The ceiling of the entrance thrusts outward over a small courtyard.

The external structure wraps around three courtyards, shielding them from the street outside while allowing light to enter through the gaps underneath.

Trees planted at ground level can be seen from windows in the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom.

The angular interior spaces are dictated by the building’s restricted footprint.

Suppose Design Office have completed a number of other homes in Hiroshima including one with wooden volumes sprouting from a central core and one with triangular terraces squeezed into the space between the inner and outer walls.

See all of our stories about Suppose Design Office.

Click above for larger image

Click above for larger image

Click above for larger image

Paris architects Béal & Blanckaert have completed a Corten-clad library in the grounds of a monastery in northern France (photography by Julien Lanoo).

The weathered steel panels cover both the faceted exterior walls and roof of the single-storey Médiathèque Corbie.

The building has a cross-shaped plan with a reception desk at its centre and an entrance on the west side.

A children’s library, an adult section, an activities room and a storage area are located inside the four wings, which all feature white walls and white furniture.

Bright purple chairs are positioned behind the library’s glass-fronted south facade and face the town of Corbie beyond.

Antoine Béal and Ludovic Blanckaert also recently completed a colourfully-striped nursery in Paris – read about it here.

Here’s some more text from the architects:

Médiathèque de Corbie

The Corbie media library is built in the enclosure of the Corbie monastery built a few miles away from Amiens and its Cathedral. It incorporates one of the monastery’s fabulous eighteenth century stone walls in its design. Built on the edge of a strong hill, the media library overlooks Corbie and its classified gothic historic architecture and monuments. The Project includes itself in the enclosure as a building, a sculpture, and an object that captures the surrounding landscape and crystalizes it. However it is also a cultural container that closely examines the qualities of this particular and sensible site.

The media library is open to the diverse landscape; to the south, a large window and an open terrace display the city of Corbie, whilst to the west and the north, the project marries itself with the monasterie’s gardens, placing specific attention the the trees and vegetal surfaces. The media library is also closed on itself, preserving some areas of intimacy.

The building finds its form from the search for a certain functional rationality within an expressive framework. It is the result of an intelligent combination of a simple and stable form: a star, or rather a four branch cross, and facades and roofings of various inclinations.

From this cross-shaped plan, the building’s functions are formed by hard geometric walls and rigorous facets exteriorly covered by panels of Cor-ten steel. This material assures the link between architecture and sculpture.

On the interior, however, a neutral white covering reflects an abstract unity, a clarity of usage, and compliments the value of both the interior gardens and the large panoramic view of the city of Corbie and its architectural history.

Name of the project: Médiathèque Corbie Adress : L’enclos – Corbie – France
Architectes: Antoine Béal et Ludovic Blanckaert Collaborateurs : E.Veauvy – C.Jossien
Client: Ville de Corbie