Le photographe belge Filip Dujardin parvient à montrer son attirance pour l’architecture à travers ses superbes clichés. Avec des compositions étranges, ses photographies architecturales impressionnent en imaginant des structures et formes nouvelles. Plus d’images dans la suite.
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Shigeru Ban Architects have designed temporary homes for Japanese disaster victims inside a chequerboard of stacked shipping containers.
Above and below: prototype unit
Once the Multi-storey Temporary Housing is constructed it will provide 188 homes in Onagawa for those left homeless by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
The containers can be placed on unlevel terrain or narrow sites and should be able to withstand future earthquakes.
Containers can be stacked up to three storeys high, with open spaces between each apartment.
The architects, who have constructed one prototype apartment, suggest that temporary residents may choose to stay in the containers permanently.
Since the disaster in Japan, Dezeen has published a few projects by designers to raise money for victims – see all the stories here.
Another recent story on Dezeen features shipping containers that provide a sea-facing observation deck – click here for more stories about container architecture.
Images are from Shigeru Ban Architects
Here’s some more information is proved by the architects:
Multistorey Container Temporary Housing
Temporary housing are starting to be deployed disaster areas.
However, the number of the amount of housing required is insufficient. The main reason is that most of the damaged coast areas are not on level terrain.
Usually, temporary housing is suitable for flatlands, and providing the required number of units is difficult.
Click above for larger image
Our project to Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture is to use existing shipping containers (20 feet) and stack them in a checkerboard pattern up to three stories.
Click above for larger image
The Characteristics of multistory temporary housing:
» shorten the construction period by usage of existing containers
» possible to build up tp 3 stories and to be build in narrow sites or slope lands
» placing containers in a checkerboard pattern and create a open living space in between
» excellent seismic performance
» can be used as a permanent apartment
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| Housing for New Orleans | Sand-bag houses by MMA Architects 3 | Pallet House by I-Beam |
Dezeen Screen: here’s a movie by photographer Luke Hayes that shows the making of Carmody Groarke‘s Indian Ocean Tsunami Memorial, which was quarried in France installed outside London’s Natural History Museum. Watch the movie »
Dezeen Wire: the latest Future Trends Survey by the Royal Institute of British Architects reports little change confidence levels among UK architects in the last two months.
See past RIBA Future Trends Survey results here.
RIBA Future Trends Survey results for June 2011
The Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) has published the latest results of the monthly Future Trends Survey for June 2011.
The number of practices expecting more work in June remained constant at 26%; those expecting a drop in workload fell from 24% in May to 22% in June. Fewer practices expected a drop in staff levels, falling from 15% in May to 11% in June; 8% of practices expected staff levels to increase, compared to 7% in May. 24% of architects reported that they have personally been under-employed in June 2011, a significant improvement from the figure of 29% returned in May 2011.
The sector forecasts remain virtually unchanged this month. The private housing sector forecast (balance figure +7) remains the most positive with 64% of practices expecting work levels to stay the same, compared to 60% in May; the percentage of practices expecting a reduced workload fell from 17% in May to 15% in June. The commercial sector forecast is neutral (balance figure zero); the number of practices expecting workload to remain constant rose from 60% in May to 69% in June, and 16% of practices predicted less work compared to 21% in May. The outlook for the public sector workload (balance figure -23) remains the most pessimistic, with only 4% of practices expecting a rise in workload (compared to 7% in May); 80% of practices predicted that workload would remain the same, compared to 77% in May.
The statistical analysis of the survey enables the RIBA to regularly report on two key confidence tracking indices relating to future workloads and staffing levels. For June 2011, the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index is +4 (compared to +2 in May), and the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index is -3 (compared to -8 in May).
Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice said:
‘The RIBA Future Trends Workload Index for June 2011 is +4, a slight increase from +2 in May 2011, suggesting little overall change in confidence levels this month but remaining in positive territory.
‘Small practices (1 – 10 staff) see the best short term growth prospects in the housing sector, whilst larger practices (51+ staff) predict growth in the next quarter to come mainly from the commercial sector. Medium sized practices (10 -50 staff) see their future growth being in both the housing and commercial markets. No practice size category currently perceives immediate growth opportunities in the community and public sectors. Our practices report that 59% of their current workload involves conservation, refurbishment or adaptive re-use of existing buildings; this illustrates the significant role that work to existing buildings plays in the market for architectural services.
‘In their anecdotal comments, our practices continue to report intense economic pressure, resulting in a very competitive fee environment and evidence of reduced levels of specification for many of those projects which are progressing. Uncertainty of funding in the public sector remains a significant concern. Some conservation specialists noted the negative impact of the changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which means that VAT can no longer be re-claimed in relation to professional fees on these projects. A number of smaller practices cited the importance of detailed knowledge of local markets and local reputation in maintaining workflows. Some larger practices commented on an increase in the requirements for BIM capability as a pre-qualification criterion on larger projects.’
German architects GMP Architekten designed three stadiums for the World Aquatics Championships currently taking place in Shanghai.
The Shanghai Oriental Sports Centre complex includes a multi-purpose stadium, a dedicated indoor aquatics centre, an outdoor swimming venue and a media centre.
Rows of aluminium sails cover the exteriors of the stadiums, which are raised up on artificial islands and surrounded by newly created lakes.
The championships are run by international swimming federation FINA and finish at the end of July.
After the event, the main stadium will be used for boxing, basketball, badminton, ice-hockey and concerts.
Celebrated sports venue architects GMP also designed three football stadiums for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year – see the projects »here.
More stories about sports architecture and design on Dezeen »
Photography is by Marcus Bredt.
The following information is from FMP Architekten:
Opening of the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center FINA World Swimming Championships, 16th – 31st July
The sports complex was designed and built by architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), who won the competitive bidding in 2008, and constructed it in under two and a half years. It consists of a hall stadium for several sports and cultural events, a natatorium (swimming hall), an outdoor swimming pool and a media centre. In keeping with a sustainable urban development policy, the SOSC was built on former industrial brownfield land along the Huangpu River. The individual venues are designed so that after the Swimming Championships, they can be used for a variety of other purposes.
Water is the overarching theme of both the park and the architecture of the stadiums and the media centre. It is the connecting element between the buildings, which stand on raised platforms in specially constructed lakes. Thus the round stadiums have a curved lakeside shore round them, while the rectangular Natatorium has a straight lakeside shore. Design affinities and a shared formal idiom and use of materials give the three stadiums structural unity. The steel structures of broad arches with large-format triangular elements made of coated aluminium sheet form double-sided curved surfaces along the frame of the sub-structures, thus evoking sails in the wind.
Hall Stadium
During the FINA World Swimming Championships, pool events and synchronized swimming championships will take place in the Hall Stadium, which later can be used for boxing matches, basketball, badminton or ice-hockey matches and concerts. The hall has a crowd-capacity of 14,000, which can be increased to 18,000 by the use of mobile seating.
The main structure of the closed building with a round ground plan consists of reinforced concrete, while the roof is a steel structure with a 170 m span with aluminium cladding. The parallel steel girders create 35 m-high arcades and include the glass façades of the encircling open foyer.
Natatorium
The Natatorium contains four pools arrayed in a row: two standard-sized, one for diving and a leisure pool. It has over 3,500 fixed seats, which will be expanded to 5,000 for the world championships, to meet FINA requirements. The swimming hall is a closed building with a rectangular ground plan, a main structure of reinforced concrete and a roof structure of sectional steel girders. The roof structure with triangular glass surfaces is around 210 m long, 120 m wide and 22 m high. Direct, intrusive sunlight is forestalled by means of narrow toplights along the beams, without preventing natural daylighting.
Outdoor pool
This swimming complex is located in the open on an artificial island and offers 2,000 fixed stadium seats. For the World Swimming Championships and other outstanding events, capacity will be increased to 5,000 seats. The competition-size diving pool and diving towers are complemented by a competition pool. As in the other stadiums, the roof structure with its external diameter of c. 130 m reflects the round ground-plan of the shell of the building. The inner diameter is around 90m. The roof trusses are carried by the building structure. A lightweight membrane between the modules provides protection against sun and rain.
Media centre
The 80 m high high-rise building is on the northern side of the sports complex. Its 15 floors include a fitness centre, conference rooms and medical care centre, plus VIP and office areas. Because of the even 8.4m grid, the building can be used flexibly. With its external shell of white, perforated aluminium panels, the building inter- prets the undulating shape of the adjacent lake.
Competition 2008 – 1st prize Design Meinhard von Gerkan and Nikolaus Goetze with Magdalene Weiss
Project leader – Chen Ying
Team – Jan Blasko, Lü Cha, Lü Miao, Jörn Ortmann, Sun Gaoyang, Yan Lüji, Jin Zhan, Fang Hua, Martin Friedrich, Fu Chen, Ilse Gull, Kong Rui, Lin Yi, Katrin Löser, Ren Yunping, Alexander Schober, Nina Svensson, Tian Jinghai, Zhang Yan, Zhou Yunkai, Zhu Honghao
Structural engineers – Schlaich Bergermann and Partners
International installations – ARUP
Landscaping – WES & Partner
Chinese partner firm – SIADR, Tongji Design Institute
Capacity, Hall stadium – 18,000 seats
Natatorium – 5,000 seats
Outdoor swimming pool – 5,000 seats
Client – Shanghai Administration of Sports
Construction period – 2009–2011
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| London Olympic Stadium by Populous | Dalian Football Stadium by UNStudio | Moses Mabhida Stadium by GMP Architekten |
German studio Archifaktur has inserted felt-lined caves and green-floored playrooms into the loft of a 1930s primary school (photographs by Zooey Braun).
Five new attic rooms at the Alte Schule Winterbach provide childcare facilities both inside and outside of teaching hours.
Teachers use one of the green rubber-floored rooms as an office, whilst the other four accommodate activities that include cooking, crafts, music and games.
Behind the playrooms are recessed “caves” – felt-lined compartments that children can hide in.
A series of removable screens allow flexible levels of privacy between the rooms and the 50 metre-long corridor that connects them.
Two other schools recently featured on Dezeen also integrate folding screens and panels – see also a Japanese school with integrated furniture and an Italian kindergarten with removable wall blocks.
More information is provided by Archifaktur:
Kernzeitbetreuung Alte Schule Winterbach
Terms and definitions: ,Alte Schule Winterbach‘ is the name of the building and means Old School Winterbach. ,Kernzeitbetreuung‘ is childcare during the daytime (from 7 am to 4 pm).
Through the transformation of society and its forms arise new demands on classrooms and their peripheral areas.
The model of integrated childcare in primary school aged from 6 to 10 years called for new space. To counteract the unrestrained use of land and to preserve the centrality of the primary function an extension of the childcare was provided in the untapped attic of the school building from 1935.
Dropped boxes should implement the necessary space, light and an extraordinary atmosphere.
The new structures are following the typical of that period stringent grid facade in a 3-1-3-rhythm.
Five cubes brace themselves out on the eastern side of the 50-meter- long roof – self confident and at the same time with respect to the inventory.
The goal was to leave the western view of the building as an identification attribute in original appearance. The spatial concept of different height zones in the cross-section and a meandering layout that allows a flexible division of space into zones of different sizes.
The central corridor develops all the zones in the north-south direction, gives children space to run and it is -cause of a sloped ceiling reflector- a link to the different elevation zones in east-west axis.
The cubes are divided into a teacher’s room and four modules – each module with a little cave: the multifunction module with a variety of games, the art module for painting and handicrafts, the supply module for cooking and baking, the multimedia module for music and dance.
In the south towards the emergency exit there is another multifunctional space, changing rooms and sanitary units to the north. In the caves, lined with soft felt, children can retire while other children participate exciting activities.
The coloring of the interior was limited to a few sensitive coordinated colors and materials: natural white color for built-in furniture, walls and ceilings, happy green rubber floor, dark gray wool felt and natural oak wood.
The integrated sanitary zone rises optically out of the floor and is kept consequent in happygreen. This is to bring foothold, harmony and wellbeing to the offspring. Staged openings allow fantastic views to the village with the church from 1309 and to the valley slopes in the distance.
Location: 73650 Winterbach, Germany
Construction phase: March 2010 – March 2011
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| School of the Sacred Heart by Atelier SNS | Kindergarten Kekec by Arhitektura Jure Kotnik | Kindergarten Terenten by Feld72 |
It’s perhaps too early to tell, because who knows what else might be in store either positive or negative, but thus far, 2011 is shaping up to the be the year that the French decided to irritate Frank Gehry. Back in April, you might recall, the famous architect’s Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation project on the outskirts of Paris was put on hold for two months after neighboring residents there fought to stop the building. Eventually, after some particularly terse words by Gehry, wherein he called the detractors “individualistic, uncouth philistines,” the powers that be eventually pushed the project forward and work resumed. Who knows what sort of language he’ll use this time, as just a few months later, another stop work order has been put in place, this time on his Luma/Parc des Ateliers. That project was the belle of the ball at last year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, with spectators swooning all over his plans for a park in Arles that features a new cultural center all gussied up in typical Gehry fashion, with lots of crooked-metal-on-metal action. The Art Newspaper reports that the hold up on building all of it comes at the hands of the French National Commission for Historical Sites and Monument who rejected “two out of five building permit applications.” They have called for Gehry’s buildings to be relocated elsewhere in the park for two reasons: a) they would obscure a medieval bell tower, and b) their construction in the current planned location “would disturb the underground Roman-Gallo Sarcophagi” (echoes of Gehry’s Museum of Tolerance problems there, eh?). So far it appears that the architect won’t be verbally lashing out this time, but has accepted the Commission’s findings and will readjust their plans. However, in doing so, it’s expected to add on six more months before construction can begin.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Because we’re occasionally stricken with bouts of foolish optimism, we’ve kept expecting that the American Institute of Architect‘s Architecture Billings Index would eventually stop falling and the past six months of stagnation and then heading steadily south was just some sort of crazy fluke that would eventually right itself. But now we’re into July and there’s no good news in that direction. Once again, the Index has moved downward, just shy of a full point below the month before, and there it sits, currently standing at 46.3 (anything above 50 indicates an increase in billings and a general idea of how the building business is faring). All the worse, you know things are lousy when the AIA’s traditionally reserved man of numbers sounds down:
“This seems to be a case of not thinking it can’t get any worse – and then it does,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “While a modest turn around appeared to be on the way earlier in the year, the overall concern about both domestic and global economies is seeping into design and construction industry and adding yet another element that is preventing recovery. Furthermore, the threat of the federal government failing to resolve the debt ceiling issue is leading to higher borrowing rates for real estate projects and should there actually be a default, we are likely looking at a catastrophic situation for a sector that accounts for more than ten percent of overall GDP.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Hopkins’ hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped Velodrome for the London 2012 Olympics (above) is one of six projects shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2011.
Top and above: Olympic Velodrome London 2012 by Hopkins – photography by Richard Davies
The shortlisted projects are:
» An Gaelaras, Derry by O’Donnell and Tuomey
» The Angel Building, London by Alfred Hall Monaghan Morris
» Evelyn Grace Academy, London by Zaha Hadid Architects (see our earlier story)
» Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects (see our earlier story)
» Olympic Velodrome London 2012 by Hopkins (see our earlier story)
» Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford by Bennetts Associates
Above: Olympic Velodrome London 2012 by Hopkins – photography by Richard Davies
The prize is awarded annually to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year.
Above: Evelyn Grace Academy, London by Zaha Hadid Architects – photography by Luke Hayes
The shortlist is drawn from the winners of the RIBA Awards (see our earlier story).
Above: Evelyn Grace Academy, London by Zaha Hadid Architects – photography by Luke Hayes
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on 1 October and broadcast in the UK on BBC 2 programme The Culture Show on 2 October.
Above: Evelyn Grace Academy, London by Zaha Hadid Architects – photography by Luke Hayes
Last year’s winning project was the National Museum of XXI Century Arts by Zaha Hadid Architects (see our earlier story).
Above: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford by Bennetts Associates – photography by Peter Cook
See recent winners of the Stirling Prize on Dezeen »
Here’s some more information from the RIBA:
RIBA Stirling Prize 2011 shortlist announced
The beautifully simple Velodrome in London’s Olympic Park, the carefully crafted remodelling of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres in Stratford upon Avon, a highly imaginative London school on a tight urban site, an innovative and vibrant cultural centre in Derry, the transformation of an unremarkable 1980s office building in London into an elegant new office and retail space, and the breathtaking extension of a significant museum in Germany, form the shortlist for the prestigious £20,000 RIBA Stirling Prize.
Above: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford by Bennetts Associates – photography by Peter Cook
Now in its sixteenth year, the RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects’ Journal and Benchmark is awarded to the architects of the best new European building ‘built or designed in Britain’.
Above: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford by Bennetts Associates – photography by Peter Cook
The winner will be announced on Saturday 1 October at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham and will be broadcast on a special edition of BBC TWO’s The Culture Show on Sunday 2 October, presented by Kevin McCloud.
Above: Folkwang Museum, Essen, by David Chipperfield Architects – photography by Christian Richters/VIEW
This year is the first time the shortlist includes practices who have all previously been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize; and also includes two RIBA Stirling Prize winners: David Chipperfield Architects and Zaha Hadid Architects.
Above: Folkwang Museum, Essen, by David Chipperfield Architects – photography by Christian Richters/VIEW
William Hill is again offering odds on the shortlisted buildings. The six buildings competing for this year’s title and their odds according to William Hill are:
» An Gaelaras, Derry by O’Donnell and Tuomey (8/1)
» The Angel Building, London by Alfred Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) (7/1)
» Evelyn Grace Academy, London by Zaha Hadid Architects (5/2)
» Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects (5/1)
» Olympic Velodrome London 2012 by Hopkins (2/1)
» Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford by Bennetts Associates (4/1)
Above: Folkwang Museum, Essen, by David Chipperfield Architects – photography by Christian Richters/VIEW
Ruth Reed, RIBA President, said:
“The RIBA Stirling Prize celebrates architectural excellence and this year we have another outstanding collection of culturally significant buildings on the shortlist; projects that have each made a significant contribution to the evolution of architecture.
Above: An Gaelaras, Derry by O’Donnell and Tuomey
“Creative redevelopment is a strong theme in this year’s list, with a major museum extension, a remodelled theatre complex and the innovative retrofit of an old office building featured, showing how even with tight planning and building constraints, talent and imagination can totally transform existing structures and sites. From recycling to cycling: this year’s shortlist features the first Olympic venue, a beautifully clever exemplar for the UK’s Games. Another ‘first’ is a significant cultural centre in Derry, Northern Ireland’s first building to make it onto the shortlist.
Above: An Gaelaras, Derry by O’Donnell and Tuomey
“Finally I am delighted to see a brilliant academy on a tight urban site completing the list; a school project that demonstrates what can be achieved when the architect and clients ‘think outside the box’. I look forward to seeing which project the judges select as the worthy winner.”
Above: An Gaelaras, Derry by O’Donnell and Tuomey
The 2011 RIBA Stirling Prize judges who will visit the six shortlisted buildings and meet for a final time on the day of the presentation to pick the winner include: Angela Brady, Chair of the judges and RIBA President (commencing September 2011); Sir Peter Cook – architect and academic, formerly of Royal Gold Medal winning Achigram; Hanif Kara – engineer, Adams Kara Taylor and Dan Pearson – landscape designer and RIBA Honorary Fellow.
Above: The Angel Building, London by Alfred Hall Monaghan Morris – photography by Tim Soar
Previous winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize include: MAXXI Museum, Rome by Zaha Hadid Architects (2010); Maggie’s Centre at Charing Cross Hospital, London by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (2009); Accordia housing development by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios/Alison Brooks Architects/Maccreanor Lavington (2008); The Museum of Modern Literature, Marbach am Neckar, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects (2007).
Above: The Angel Building, London by Alfred Hall Monaghan Morris – photography by Tim Soar
The RIBA Stirling Prize principal sponsors are The Architects’ Journal and Benchmark; associate sponsors: Ibstock, NBS and SIV.
Above: The Angel Building, London by Alfred Hall Monaghan Morris – photography by Tim Soar
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| MAXXI National Museum wins Stirling Prize 2010 | Maggie’s Centre wins Stirling Prize 2009 | Accordia wins Stirling Prize 2008 |
French architect Jean-Luc Fugier has designed a contorted timber hut to house a parking ticket machine.
Located in a car park outside Aix-en-Provence, the small building also houses a parking attendants office, a kiosk window, a restroom and a bin.
Horizontal timber batons wrap the exterior of the hut and an integrated canopy shelters ticket-purchasers.
A few other small projects featuring timber batons have been recently featured on Dezeen – see also a temporary theatre in Estonia and a pavilion of offcuts in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photography is by Philippe Piron.
More information is provided by the architects:
Parking Attendant’s Pavilion
The Story of a Parabolic Hyperboloid in Provence, France
The Task
To reduce downtown traffic congestion, the Communauté du Pays d’Aix (CPA) developed a strategy to encourage the use of public transit through drop-off parking lots in strategic locations around Aix-en-Provence. The first two parking lots used a simple prefabricated building that reflects the Provencal cabin, equipped with all of the characteristics meant to guarantee their local identity. For their third parking lot in the north-east area of the city known as The Pinchitats, the CPA decided to commission an architect to design the parking attendant’s pavilion instead of using that of the Planning Department.
Delighted by this opportunity of change, we were inspired to work with a reputable city open to contemporary architecture. Typical of design, the project emerged out of concern for the cultural context of the city. Is there place for a contemporary architectural project? What can we do to open their minds?
The interest in such a project proved to be much more than its small size, as it was quickly considered to be an amazing experimental opportunity. A bit of research on micro-architecture revealed that we were voyaging into a line of work called architectural follies.
How can a building so modest in size, with such dense program requirements and site restrictions find its identity? It must develop its own image while exhibiting to the project’s environmental concern and maintaining the simplistic quality of similar small-scale public buildings.
The Project
The parking lot is situated outside of the city centre surrounded by a lush landscape, placing the building in isolation and consequently it is highly visible against the flat parking lot. The presence of the original parking program forced us to design on a cramped piece of pavement at the entrance. These conditions prompted us to focus on the value of the project as a symbol as well as its morphological autonomy.
The objective is simple: control the entrance and exit, guide the vehicles, ensure a clear view of the entire parking lot, all while offering the public a welcoming and informational space. The architectural expression of the pavilion was found in the contradiction between controlling and welcoming the public, forming a duality between a plain building that groups the necessary mechanisms for control while realizing that which is necessary to create a welcoming public atmosphere.
To create a presence on the plot between a fence and the parking lot, we had to start by finding our place and a way to profit from the traces of the original building and its restrictions. In plan, the building respects the existing guides of the site by running parallel to the road and the fence. It begins to twist at grade to direct the reception area towards the pedestrian walkway. The goal was to reinforce the opening of the building towards the public through a simple and clear visual context. The twist heavily influenced the project by materializing the programmatic tension between controlling and welcoming the public, resulting in a hyperbolic paraboloid shape.
A single lowered corner allows the roofline over the entrance to project, creating a unique slope. The apparently simple geometric form hides the kinetic game at play, influencing the way in which one perceives the building and making it difficult to understand. The contortion attempts to go along with the flux in circulation that encircles it. It is in this simple distortion that a complex shape is generated, achieving the project’s objective: a discrete yet intriguing contemporary form found in the diversity of its perceptive approaches.
We chose an L shaped plan that optimizes the attendant’s view of the parking lot with openings on every facade. The layout creates a large area that is both open and protected from the elements. A canopy which is lit at night reinforces the presence of the structure and its program after dark. This space assembles and shelters the group of public services in such a way that all of the amenities such as the restroom and attendants office are easily accessible, while the exterior service fixtures (automated ticket machine, waste receptacle, newspaper dispenser, alarm, climate control and lighting) are integrated into the wall.
Constructed entirely in wood, the building presents its geometric form through the use of materials. The rough cladding sets up rows of identical lines of the same size that materializes the function of the building as an environmentally friendly service pavilion. They are successively contorted by a slight rotation that helps one perceive the movement of the building. The filtered envelope controls what one sees, allowing the attendant to see without being entirely seen. Although it is relatively simple, the cladding groups the dense variety of programs into a single exterior treatment, guaranteeing it’s symbol as a public building and addressing the wishes of the city. It is necessary to disguise the windows and ventilation, to design the blinds, lights, waste receptacle, displays and hardware in such a way that everything is integrated and protected.
The envelope system ensures the protection of the glazing in terms of thermal heat loss and security. It functions as a brise-soleil and helps with the ventilation, addressing the need for comfort during summer months. Inside, the cladding is composed of bakelised plywood. This material is used in the form of strips placed horizontally along the geometry defined by the structure. Backlit polycarbonate alveolar panels for the ceiling laminated flooring, and a natural resin complete the interior materials used to contrast with the rough exterior envelope.
Driven by the environmental context from which the project is derived as well as the surrounding landscape, we looked at the concept of a cabin. Natural and environmentally friendly materials from local industry that were acquired from nearby businesses and carried out by local labour with remarkable skill demonstrate a real approach to sustainable architecture, from concept to construction. It’s about giving meaning to architecture that is capable of expressing the environmental goals established by vehicle drop-off programs.
Client: Communauté du Pays d’Aix – Displacement Services
Project team: Jean-Luc Fugier lead architect, FeST Architecture associates
Location: Drop-off parking lot on Sisteron Road, Aix-en-Provence
Program:
Type of mission: Complète limitée au bâtiment
Cost of the works: 62 500 Euros HT
Project area: 30 m²
Duration of Research: 9 months
Duration of Design: 3 months (including 3 weeks on the construction site)
Project year: December 2010
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| Centre d’Examen du Permis by Samuel Delmas | GE WattStation by fuseproject | Café/day by Suppose Design Office |
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