Twenty-two years after completing the exhibition venue in its home city, OMA returned to improve the energy efficiency of the building, rework some of the circulation routes and implement new security measures to prevent further break-ins.
“The renovation demonstrates the possibility of updating the building to meet contemporary requirements, whilst retaining the original concept of an exhibition machine,” said OMA partner Ellen van Loon, who led the project.
The refurbishment included adding a second entrance, making it possible to access auditorium and exhibition spaces independently.
Existing reception, restaurant and shop areas were integrated into the main route through the building, which OMA says “will enable the Kunsthal to evolve with the growing need for economic independence of cultural institutions”.
High-performance insulation materials were installed around the iconic glass facades and the roof, while other improvements include energy-efficient lighting, climate-regulating systems and sub-dividing partitions.
Voici la maison la plus étroite du monde. Elle porte le nom de « Keret House » et elle a été conçue par l’architecte polonais Jakub Szczesny (Centrala). Construite entre 2 autres bâtiments, la taille de sa largeur se situe entre 72 et 122 centimètres maximum. Une maison fonctionnelle à découvrir dans la suite.
Swedish design studio Visiondivision has come up with a proposal for a sheltered promenade, outdoor cinema and art gallery for the redundant space within the structure of Stockholm‘s Tranebergsbron bridge.
Anders Berensson and Ulf Mejergren of Visiondivison developed the Under the Bridge strategy to shorten the time it takes for pedestrians to cross the waters between the city island Kungsholmen and the western suburb of Bromma.
According to the designers, the walk currently takes 15 minutes and involves following a noisy highway. They believe this time could be reduced to just three minutes by adding a new walkway that follows the arch of one of the existing concrete vaults.
“We looked at the bridge as a whole and saw that the beautiful concrete vaults were ideal to make a more rapid connection between the two sides, and that connecting these two hotspots would also allow a much greater potential in creating activities,” the designers told Dezeen.
The passageway would pass through a series of pre-existing doorways in the concrete pillars that support the bridge. The main construction needed would be the addition of stairs on the vault, new lighting and balustrades.
“Since it is relatively cheap to build and will have a huge effect on the site, we really hope to see this realised,” added Berensson and Mejergren.
The designers suggest that the huge concrete pillars could also be used as projection walls for occasional movie screenings, or could function as exhibition spaces for hanging artwork.
Red concrete paving tiles would be added to encourage people to follow the path, and small kiosks could be set up in the abutments.
Here’s a project description from Visiondivision:
Under the Bridge
Stockholm’s many islands has created a beautiful city to live in but it has also created barriers between the inner city and the suburbs. Large scale bridges connects many of these places to each other, often built with the car in mind.
Tranebergsbron is one of the most beautiful bridges in Stockholm and connects the city island Kungsholmen with the western suburbs. It was completed in 1934, at that time having the world’s largest bridge vaults in concrete.
Location map
In 2005 an identical bridge vault was added to the two original ones, allowing more cars on the bridge. As many bridges that is predominantly built for cars, the construction begins to incline many hundreds of metres on land on both sides the shore, this means that if you want to walk over the bridge it will involve a strenuous 15 minute walk in a noisy environment considering that you will walk just next to a busy highway.
We therefore propose to use the actual concrete vault of the recently built bridge to cater to the neglected pedestrian traffic between these two important areas in Stockholm and to dramatically shorten the time between the two shores and make the journey into a pleasant three minute walk in a beautiful and relaxed setting. To do this, only a minimal intervention is required.
Existing aerial view
The concrete pillars that connects the vault with the surface of the bridge already has holes in them, so the only thing that is necessary to do is to extend the upper part of the vault to allow passage and to add stairs on to the vault, proper lighting and a protective fence. The ground before the arc begins could also be treated with red concrete tiles to highlight the new path better and make it more accessible.
The two shores would benefit tremendously from being better connected to each other and they are both major gateways that are currently undergoing a great expansion with new housing and services.
Existing structure
With the underworld of the bridge suddenly being used, this would also mean that the beautiful space underneath the bridge will be better activated, which leaves room for new functions and ideas. The impressive concrete pillars would be perfect to use as a temporary art gallery and the stairs on the vaults can have a double use as seating to watch film screenings on the pillars.
The two abutments would be attractive spots where small kiosks could be set up when weather permits.
A bulky concrete apartment appears to hover above the glass roof of a patisserie at this combined home and workplace in Chiba Prefecture by Japanese studio Yuko Nagayama & Associates (+ slideshow).
Yoko Nayagama & Associates designed Katsutadai House to accommodate both the home and business of a family, but wanted the different functions to appear as two separate entities.
To achieve this, the architects recessed the middle floor of the three-storey building, creating a large void between the patisserie and the living and dining room of the apartment above.
They then added a glass roof over the patisserie and a window in the floor of the living room, allowing light to enter the building and letting residents peer down to catch a glimpse of the activities taking place below.
“During the daytime it will be a lightwell for a patisserie, and at night time the lights leaking from this aperture make it look like a treasure box has been opened,” explained the studio.
While the upper level has a windowless facade of exposed concrete, the walls of the patisserie have been rendered white to create a marbled effect.
Wooden doors slide back to invite customers inside the shop. A serving counter runs along the back wall of the space, while a kitchen and food preparation area are tucked away at the back.
A separate staircase leads up to the residence above, where a master bedroom and bathroom comprise the small first floor. The childrens’ room and extra bathroom are located above.
Yuko Nagayama & Associates sent us this project description:
Katsutadai House
A dwelling with shop at Katsutadai, Chiba prefecture, Japan. The outer part of 1st floor is a patisserie and the inner part is a cuisine, 2nd and 3rd floor is a dwelling for a family of four people. This house has an aerial wedge in between 1st and 3rd floor, so that the upper part of dwelling is looks like floating above a patisserie as a view on street.
This aerial wedge will be changing its character as the photic layer with different times – during the daytime it will be a light-well for a patisserie, and the nighttime the lights leaking from this aperture look like a treasure box is opened. And we can see a sole of dwelling volume in a patisserie based on its transparent glass roof. The wall of shop along the street is planned to 1.8 metres height and it is gradually being higher toward the inside. That is based on our intention to create a familiar open space like an empty-lot where is just surrounded by low wall.
This house has an inter-observing relationship between a shop and a floating dwelling space that makes different independent existence in a single building simultaneously. Each space has a particular sense of distance to the surrounding environment.
A shop space is a kind of continuous exterior with the street scape where is only surrounded by low wall. And a dwelling space is more separated form the surroundings where is floating above the street and has non-openings along the street, so that dwellers cannot see other houses directly and vice versa.
Additionally, we put a kind of wind-path in a dwelling part that brings the wind and the sounds form the outside to the inside space, and then dwellers can be feel an atmosphere of the street. When we went their previous house for the first time (1st floor was a shop and 2nd floor was a dwelling), a curtain is closed due to concerning about the eyes from street, and they also troubled with the noise of their child’s footstep form upstairs to patisserie. Therefore, we also attempted a solution of those problems in the schematic design.
The approach is planed to have an attractive appearance with long length to change the mood between a shop and a dwelling. We intended to change a sense of distance to the surroundings with the situations – such as high public patisserie space and more independent dwelling space, and those senses of distance change the flow of time between the spaces in their life.
Voici cette conception des architectes Selina Walder et Georg Nikisch (Nickisch Sano Walder Architekten) pour « The Refugi Lieptgas » qui se situe en Suisse à Flims. Il s’agit d’une vieille grange qui a été recouverte de béton, à l’apparence de bois. Une maison de vacances originale à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.
The latest project to complete in Toyo Ito‘s Home For All community rebuilding initiative is this timber and concrete pavilion in a Japanese fishing village, designed by Kazuyo Sejima‘s protégé Yang Zhao (+ slideshow).
Home For All in Kesennuma is the ninth building in the Home For All project, which was initiated by Japanese architect Toyo Ito just days after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and involves the construction of new community buildings in the worst-hit areas.
Photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
Under the supervision of SANAA principal Kazuyo Sejima, Japanese Chinese architect Yang Zhao designed his building for the coastline of the Kesennuma fishing community in north-west Japan, creating a structure that can be used as a market hall, a meeting place or a performance area.
Photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
“It’s a shelter in which fishermen can take a rest, a place where the wives would wait for their husbands to return with the catch and sometimes a marketplace,” explained Zhao.
Photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
The structure was built with a hexagonal plan. Concrete walls support a large pitched roof and also frame a trio of wooden platforms that accommodate different activities.
Photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
The first platform accommodates a kitchen and can be enclosed behind sliding glass doors. The second is based on the engawa, a traditional Japanese veranda, while the third includes both toilet facilities and a seating area.
Photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
A multi-purpose space at the centre of the pavilion is exposed to the elements and features a timber-lined ceiling punctured by a large triangular skylight.
Photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
“At night, the building glows warmly from within, like a lighthouse, waiting for fishermen to come back from the sea,” said Zhao.
Photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
The floor inside the pavilion is set at the same level as the surrounding pavement so that forklift trucks can drive into the building on market days.
The home-for-all in Kesennuma is designed and built as a gathering space for a fishing community that severely suffered from the Tsunami in 2011. It is located at Kesennuma’s Oya fishing harbour that serves as a centre for the local fishing activities and community life. It’s a shelter in which fishermen can take a rest, a place where the wives would wait for their husbands to return with the catch and sometimes a marketplace.
Kazuyo Sejima and Yang Zhao at the launch event – photograph by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
Most part of the space opens to the exterior. A roof, supported by 3 “rooms”, covers an area of 117 square metres. At the centre is a triangular-shaped hole in the ceiling that allows people to gaze directly at the sky. The “rooms” with lifted benches are oriented toward the centre and, at the same time, towards views of the surrounding landscape through the three entrances from different sides. The kitchen room is glazed by glass sliding doors and can be slide open in pleasant weathers. The room nearest to the water can be enjoyed as an engawa (a space underneath the eaves, an important space for Japanese architecture and daily life). The toilets are accessed and ventilated from the outside, while oriented towards the centre and the sky through the slanted glazing. The surrounding ground will be paved to the same level as the space inside, allowing forklifts to enter in market hours.
Photograph by Hisao Suzuki
The elemental geometry of the roof creates a dome-like space underneath. Together with the plywood (Japanese cypress) materiality, it generates a warm and protective atmosphere. At the same time, the transparency of the supporting structure creates an open and welcoming character. At night, the building glows warmly from within, like a lighthouse, waiting for fishermen to come back from the sea.
Photograph by Hisao Suzuki
The project was the collaboration between architect Yang Zhao and his mentor Kazuyo Sejima during the 6th cycle of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Art Initiative. The architects had three workshops with the local community to discuss about the design and get their approval to build. The completion and transfer ceremony took place on Oct. 27, 2013. The photos were taken on the ceremony day.
Photograph by Hisao Suzuki
Architect: Yang Zhao Advisor: Kazuyo Sejima Local Architect: Masanori Watase Design team: Ruofan Chen, Zhou Wu Structural engineering: Hideaki Hamada Site supervision: Takezou Murakoshi
Photograph by Hisao Suzuki
Client: People of Ohya district in Kesennuma-city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan Site area: 419.21m2 Built area or Total floor area: 93.45m2 Cost: 10,0000 euros Design phase: Dec 2012 – Jun 2013 Construction phase: Jul 2013 – Oct 2013
Cette maison située à Linescio en Suisse, a 200 ans et elle a été rénovée de l’intérieur exclusivement en 2011 par Buchner Bründler Architekten. Les architectes ont pensé à faire un style minimaliste en travaillant les textures du béton qui apparaît sous différentes formes. Les photos sont signées Ruedi Walti.
Proposed for a site between Hackescher Markt, Friedrichshain and Berlin-Mitte, the building is conceived as a cluster of distorted cuboids that have been rotated away from one another to relate to some of the city’s main focal points, particularly the nearby Karl-Marx-Allee.
Three hundred apartments and a hotel will be located within the building, while the exterior will be clad with stone.
“Gehry’s design is strong in visual expression and introduces an unusually eccentric, new pattern for this location. Nevertheless, the facade radiates agreeable tranquility,” commented Regula Lüscher, director of the city’s urban development department and one of the competition judges.
“The design blends well with the neighbourhood and conveys all aspects of metropolitan living,” she added.
This will be the third time that Gehry has collaborated with Hines. The firm was his client for the DZ Bank in Berlin and acted as development manager for his New World Center in Miami Beach.
“The quality of the designs submitted was extremely high and reflected the importance of this prominent location in the centre of Berlin,” commented Christoph Reschke, one of Hines’ managing directors.
“This place has a strong symbolic character and will develop into a metropolitan residential and retail area. In order to transform the square, we want to take a chance on something new and exceptional,” he said.
This tiny seaside home in Kanagawa by Japanese office Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects is contained within little more than a pair of oversized windows raised up on stilts (+ slideshow).
Yasutaka Yoshimura designed the small building as a weekend house for a single resident and positioned it on a site measuring just three by eight metres on the edge of Sagami Bay.
Named Window House, the residence holds all its living spaces in the narrow gap between two framed windows, which offer views west towards the distant Mount Fuji from both inside the house and behind it.
“It seemed too difficult to avoid blocking the view of the neighbourhood behind. So I designed a large opening of the same size as the sea side on the road side in order to keep the view passing through the building in the absence of the owner,” said Yoshimura.
“It stands between land and sea and became a house as a window to see through,” he added.
The house is raised off the ground on concrete pilotis to protect it from high tides. This creates a sheltered patio underneath with a view of the shoreline.
Concrete blocks with triangular profiles lead up into the house, arriving at a dining room and kitchen on the first floor. An indoor staircase ascends to a living room and then on to a tiny bedroom.
There’s also a small storage loft slotted beneath a floor, which can be accessed using a ladder that is fixed in a vertical position.
Depuis 2006, le directeur artistique basé à Paris, Alexander Jacques, a décidé de photographier les façades des architectures de grandes villes comme Paris, Brisbane et New York, afin d’en faire ressortir des motifs. Ce projet consiste à porter un nouveau regard porté sur l’architecture, vue d’un autre angle.
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