Hasta La Ideas

Nick Willson Architects have completed a house in south-east London with sections of the facade clad in flint, timber and lead.

The joinery, flint wall and lead cladding were all hand-crafted on site.

The house is arranged into four parts linked via a central library and circulation route.

A large garden has been retained behind the house to allow for a vegetable patch and chickens.

Completed late last year, the house is sited within a conservation area and is the first built project by Nick Willson Architects.

Photography is by Gareth Gardner.

Other residential projects in London featured on Dezeen include King’s Grove by Duggan Morris Architects, Hearth House by AOC and 51A Gloucester Crescent by John Glew.

Here is some text from the architects:

Flint House, 11 Morden Road Mews

Nick Willson Architects have recently completed their first built work since setting up their small Shoreditch-based practice in January 2010.

We were appointed as architects by the clients and our brief was to design a beautiful new sustainable home for their imminent family at 11 Morden Road Mews in Blackheath, south- east London.

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The key component of ‘Flint House’ was to combine new technology with an element of craft, which all too often is lost in new build houses. The house brings together a rich mixture of crafted elements: the flint wall, lead cladding and timber joinery, which are all made by hand, employing specialist trades people. We have created a completely bespoke home for the clients; we have designed unique windows and doors, distinctive kitchen joinery, specially integrated baby gates and custom-made door handles. A sustainable prefabricated timber frame created with a 3mm tolerance using a BIM model, also creates a highly insulated interior. From this large element to the infinitely small, every detail has been carefully considered, including a one-off dining table for the kitchen. This level of care and detail, creates a new home which is both sustainable and a perfect fit for the family.

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For us, architecture is storytelling, from the evolution of a first sketch into a finished building – the client is central to this process and we develop the narrative together. During the early stages, the clients were keen to retain some of the existing 50’s cottage and build a traditional-looking house. However, as we pursued various design options, we convinced the clients that the existing, inefficient buildings should be demolished and replaced with a new- build, sustainable house. In response to the client’s concerns over the house being too contemporary and merely just another glass box, we proposed a pitched roof and the use of traditional crafted materials.

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On plan, the house is divided into four wings – two to the west and two to the east. All four areas are linked by a central circulation route and library space, visually connected by a large glazed element next to the entrance. Externally, these different elements are expressed with a subtle palette of materials, which are in harmony with the surrounding buildings and reflect their orientation and function. The two west wings are clad in a mixture of split flint and render. Unifying the overall composition, the warm render is a constant background to the flint, which only covers the rear of the house. The east elevation, which brings together the landscape, home and garden, is enclosed in a ribbon of vertical oak cladding that runs from the ground floor, along the terrace and first floor walls. The house therefore has a strong element of texture and materiality, from the rough flint of the exterior to the smooth resin and white tongue and groove joinery, which wraps around the interior.

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In a nod to Alvar Aalto, we wanted to bring the exterior into the interior with a strong connection to the garden and first floor balcony. To maximize natural light and to reinforce visual connections with the natural garden, all the windows and roof lights frame a view of the exterior trees and vegetation. This simple concept allows different levels of light to permeate the house as the seasons change. The reading seat in the library, which was conceived as a calm and contemplative space, faces the large chestnut tree in the garden. Although the house is situated just on the outskirts of London, this gives the feeling that you have escaped to the countryside.

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One of our key philosophies of sustainability was realised in Flint House, with the use of the highly insulated timber frame, combining finn forest I joists and robust details for air tightness. The oak is English and A star rated in terms of FSC. In addition, solar thermal panels were fitted with smart meters to provide the house with sustainable heating. The house also makes use of natural ventilation and a sedum roof above the new garage.

Start date on site: August 2009
Completion: December 2010
Form of contract: JCT IFC 2005
Gross external floor area: 170 sqm
Construction costs: £600,000
Client: Private

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Structural Engineer: Trevor Millea
Cost Consultant: Bonfield Ltd
Main Contractor: Modernarc Annual
CO2 Emission: awaiting confirmation

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Ty Hedfan by Featherstone Young	Ty Pren by Feilden Fowles	Apartment building by Znamení Čtyř

Arguably the most eagerly anticipated new museum opening this year in one of the most unexpected places, is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, which will officially throw open its doors on November 11th. The first the museum started getting a notable amount of press was around this time last year, when it played a part in the controversy over Fisk University‘s attempt to sell its Georgia O’Keeffe collection. Since then, attention (of a far more positive sort) has ramped up considerably, with news of construction of massive Moshe Safdie-designed complex, the hundreds of millions of dollars poured into the project, its gigantic collection, and even a New Yorker profile of its founder, Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton. Now as we’re just a month out from its opening, the Washington Post‘s Philip Kennicott has gotten a sneak peek at the new museum and has filed a review of the space. He certainly doesn’t like the Crystal Bridges name, calling it “unfortunate,” though his view of the building is a bit more positive (though just a bit). Writing that there is “a substantial ‘wow’ factor” to the museum, nestled deep inside an Arkansas forest, he finds Safdie’s design “often sloppy, with elements that feel provisional, afterthoughts or improvisations,” and that’s largely the theme of the whole review, that the nice elements are far overshadowed by its flaws. This being the first major architecture review, we’re looking forward to more (reviews of its art as well), as the museum is sure to be flocked to as its opening date nears.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Light glitters through thousands of tiny perforations in the bumpy steel exterior of a railway control centre in Spain.

Designed by Madrid architects Moreno del Valle, the two-storey building near Albacete station houses the control room for a high-speed railway between Madrid and Levante.

A single-storey L-shaped building adjoins the steel-clad block and is contrastingly constructed from concrete.

Vertical ridges texture the walls of this ancillary block, which surrounds a grass courtyard where the main entrance is located.

Inside the centre, a line of meeting rooms occupies a first-floor mezzanine that overlooks the double-height control room.

Desks in this room all face a single wall, where live information is charted.

Other buildings on Dezeen with perforated metal exteriors include one museum punctured by bullet-sized holes and another that moss is expected to grow on.

Photography is by Fernando Alda – see more images on the photographer’s website.

Here’s a little more from the architects:

Railway Control Centre

High Speed Line Madrid-Levante

“…wise as the serpents, simple as the doves” (matthew 10:16)

The building is categorical on its implantation, an auxiliar plot nearby the albacete station railways.

The proposal gets presence without stridencies, with discretion.

The building has to solve a multiuse program, it also has to be a very symbolical landmark.

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This independent volume integration has allowed its distribution on the plot, in relation with its nearest surroundings; the highest block is situated in front of the railways, and now it’s been a referent from every point of view.

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The rest of the blocks, lower from the first, establish a relation with the rest of the technical buildings and help to reorder the area.

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Materials: Prefab concrete and steel in the ventilated façade.
Client: ADIF

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Situation: railways station, Albacete, Spain.
Author: David Moreno del Valle (Moreno del Valle Arquitectos).

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Collaborators: Daniel Vazquez Míguez, Arquitecto, Borja Martin Melchor, Arquitecto, Antonio Pascual Ciudad, ICCP, Jose Zamora Garcia, Aisin Simarro Levia.

Quantity surveyor: Mariano Oviedo Oviedo.

Engineers: Javier Ruiz López, Jorge Álvarez Garcia, Francisco Garcia Fernandez, Carlos Díaz Palacios

Construction company: Thales.

Built surface: 2.031,13m²

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GR230 by Code	Airport Control by b720 Architects	Bus Centre by ECDM architects

A glistening aluminium canopy undulates above the heads of waiting passengers at a bus station in Slough, England.

Designed by London architects Bblur, the curved structure also provides a sheltered route for pedestrians walking between the adjacent railway station and the town centre.

The 130 metre-long canopy folds down at one end to wrap a glazed two-storey building that accommodates bus driver facilities, a cafe, a newsagent, toilets, a waiting room and a ticket office.

The bus station is part of a masterplan for the area and will eventually be surrounded by five new office towers of between eight and fourteen stories.

Preceding this bus station on Dezeen, we also recently published a metro station with a hovering UFO-like roof  – see our earlier story here.

Photography is by Hufton + Crow.

Here’s some more text from Bblur:

Slough Bus Station

Bblur architecture is delighted to have completed the new Bus Station for Slough. The scheme, won in limited competition, is the first element of Slough Borough Council’s vision for the wider regeneration of the centre of Slough, known as ’The Heart of Slough’ with which the Council is seeking to change the perception of Slough and provide It’s young,multi cultural population with a high quality urban environment.

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The project has been led by Matthew Bedward founding partner of bblur, “We took the opportunity to significantly improve pedestrian permeability between the train station and the town centre. Our client tasked us to create a memorable front door for Slough. The form of the building derives from the idea of different wavelengths of light inspired by Astronomer Royal, William Herschel’s discovery of infra-red waves in 1800 while a resident of Slough.”

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The bus station site is north of Wellington Street (A4) and opposite the listed mainline railway station on Brunel Way. The site was occupied by a derelict office building, an outdated bus station and a large multi storey car park, which created a significant urban barrier between the rail station and town centre.

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The bus station scheme has two distinct functions. The primary function is to create a transport interchange with the rail station providing new, safe, efficient and enjoyable public transport facilities.
The second function improves the pedestrian permeability and legibility of the urban realm by creating a new north-south covered public route from the rail station through to the centre of Slough.

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The scheme consists of a 130m canopy and pedestrian walkway anchored at its northern end with a 660m2 accommodation building which looks out onto the rail station. This building provides flexible space over two levels. The ground floor has a public cafe and waiting area, newsagent, bus operator facilities, information and a ticket office. The first floor contains the staff canteen, toilets and bus operator’s administration offices.

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The building is clad in aluminium shingles creating a softly textured metallic surface which constantly changes character with the varying light conditions.
When the Heart of Slough master plan is complete the bus station will be surrounded by five 8 to 14 storey office buildings. The Bus Station is an urban object with the design considered from all aspects, passengers underneath and office workers viewing from above. Its sculptural form and the design of the hard landscaping will provide a counterpoint to the rectilinear corporate architecture. It will create an identifiable place within Slough that is a celebration of public transport and is a memorable first and last impression of Slough.

The associated public realm and infrastructure works are currently on site and due for completion early in 2012

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Project Design Team:
Client: Slough Borough Council
Architect: bblur architecture – Matthew Bedward, Daniel Bérubé,
Clayton Blackman, Mike Dempsey, John Fookes, Hayley Jordan, Matthew Kennedy, Andrew Leckenby, Antonio Martins Jeff Mcfadyen ,Cristina Rodriguez, Matthew Scammels.

Project Manager; Fitton Associates
Structure & M&E Engineer: Buro Happold
Landscape: SpaceHub
Quantity Surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald
Planning Consultant: Deloitte Drivers Jonas

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Tram Stop in Alicante by Subarquitectura	Thiais Bus Centre by ECDM architects	Viamala Raststätte Thusis by Iseppi/Kurath

French studio Explorations Architecture have completed a social housing block beside one of the narrowest streets in Paris.

The five-storey building provides eighteen apartments in a rundown neighbourhood in the centre of the city.

Timber box-frame windows are staggered across a white stucco exterior to maximise natural light into each flat.

Timber-lined balconies occupy recesses in the facade and overlook a shared courtyard.

This is the second building by Explorations Architecture recently featured on Dezeen – see our earlier story about a sports hall with a curving timber roof that sags in the middle here.

Photography is by Michel Denancé.

Here’s a few more words from the architects:

‘Passage de la Brie’ Housing by Explorations Architecture

Explorations architecture has just completed a high density social housing project in the ‘Passage de la brie’ in downtown historic Paris (19ème arrondissement).

The Passage de la brie is one of the narrowest street in Paris (only 4m across).

In 2005, Explorations won the competition to redevelop what had become a real slum in the middle of the City. It took 6 years to complete due to complex planning and construction issues.

The scheme is a contemporary variation on the “immeuble parisien de faubourg” with its white stucco and timber windows. The windows seem randomly arranged in order to maximize views and lighting.

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Design team: Explorations architecture + Integrale 4 engineers

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Client: City of Paris (Siemp)

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Brief: 18 apartments

Net Area: 2000 m²

Cost: 3m €

Timeframe: 2005-2011

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Maison Leguay by Moussafir Architectes	Apartment building by Znamení Čtyř	Housing and gallery by [BP] Architectures