Hasta La Ideas

Brooklyn studio Interboro Partners have won this year’s MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program competition to design a temporary installation in the courtyard of the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre in New York.

The installation, entitled Holding Pattern, will feature a twisted rope canopy stretched over the courtyard.

The space below will feature benches, mirrors, ping-pong tables and floodlights, creating a temporary urban landscape where the MoMA/P.S.1 Warm Up summer music series will be hosted. Holding Pattern will open in June this year.

MoMA and P.S.1 are also partnering with the Zaha Hadid-designed MAXXI museum in Rome to create the first international edition of the Young Architects Program, with Italian studio stARTT chosen to create an event space in the museum’s piazza. More information to follow.

See last year’s installation by SO-IL in our earlier story.

See all our stories on past winners of the Young Architect Program »

The following information is from The Museum of Modern Art:

INTERBORO PARTNERS SELECTED AS WINNER OF THE 2011 YOUNG ARCHITECTS PROGRAM AT MoMA PS1 IN NEW YORK

Interboro Partners’ Holding Pattern to open in the Courtyard of MoMA PS1 in June

NEW YORK, February 16, 2011—The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1 announce Interboro Partners of Brooklyn, NY, as the winner of the 12th annual Young Architects Program in New York. Now in its 12th edition, the Young Architects Program at MoMA and MoMA PS1 has been committed to offering emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and present innovative projects, challenging each year’s winners to develop highly innovative designs for a temporary, outdoor installation at MoMA PS1 that provides shade, seating, and water. The architects must also work within guidelines that address environmental issues, including sustainability and recycling. For the first time, MoMA and MoMA PS1 are partnering with another institution, MAXXI in Rome, to create the first international edition of the Young Architects Program.

Interboro Partners, drawn from among five finalists, will design a temporary urban landscape for the 2011 Warm Up summer music series in MoMA PS1’s outdoor courtyard.

Interboro Partners’ Holding Pattern brings an eclectic collection of objects including benches, mirrors, ping-pong tables, and floodlights, all disposed under a very elegant and taut canopy of rope strung from MoMA PS1’s wall to the parapet across the courtyard. Creating an unobstructed space, the design incorporates for the first time the entire space of MoMA PS1’s courtyard under a single grand structure, while creating an environment focusing on the audience as much as the Warm Up performance. A key component of the theme is recycling; objects in the space will be donated to the community at the conclusion of the summer. The designers met with local businesses and organizations including a taxi cab company, senior and day care centers, high schools, settlement houses, the local YMCA, library, and a greenmarket to determine what components of their installation could be used by those organizations following the Warm Up summer music series.

Incorporating objects that can subsequently be used by these organizations is a means of strengthening MoMA PS1’s ties to the local Long Island City community.
The other finalists for this year’s MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program were FormlessFinder (New Haven, CT/Brooklyn, NY, Julian Rose and Garrett Ricciardi), MASS Design Group (Boston, MA, Michael Murphy), Matter Architecture Practice (Brooklyn, NY, Sandra Wheeler and Alfred Zollinger), and IJP (London/Cambridge, MA, George L. Legendre). An exhibition of the five finalists’ proposed projects as well as YAP_MAXXI’s five finalists’ proposed projects will be on view at MoMA over the summer. It will be organized by Barry Bergdoll, MoMA Philip Johnson Chief Curator, with Whitney May, Department Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.

Mr. Bergdoll explains, “Simple materials that transform a space to create a kind of public living room and rec room are trademarks of this young Brooklyn firm. Interboro is interested in creating elegant and unpretentious spaces with common materials. Their work has both a modesty and a commitment quite at odds with the luxury and complex computer-generated form that has prevailed in the city in recent years. With a few gestures they transform parts of the city to achieve new temporary atmospheres and attract new participants.”

Klaus Biesenbach, MoMA PS1 Director and MoMA Chief Curator at Large, adds, “MoMA PS1 is very excited about the innovative architecture of Interboro, which describes the famous MoMA PS1 courtyard as one architectural volume, especially since the YAP 2011 opening will coincide with the much anticipated opening of the new MoMA PS1 entrance kiosk by Andrew Berman Architects.”

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Pole Dance by SO-IL at P.S.1	Afterparty by MOS at P.S.1	Public Farm One by Work Architecture Company

Even though it’s supposed to be nearly 60 degrees here in Chicago today, we know it’s but a cruel tease the winter plays on us. So while we bask in this temporary warmth, we have also enjoyed thinking about a much sunnier, more comfortable season with the news of who has won PS1‘s annual Young Architects Program. You’ll recall that every year, since 2000, the MoMA offshoot has held a contest inviting up-and-coming architects or firms to submit ideas for what to do with the museum’s courtyard in the summer. This year’s winner is Interboro, a firm consisting of partners Tobias Armborst, Daniel D’Oca and Georgeen Theodore. Their winning concept is called “Holding Pattern” and plays off the original plans for the building itself, utilizing spaces that had been encroached upon the nearly 100-year old structure over its decades. Their plan involves a number of ropes strung above the courtyard, while also trying to invite the essence of the neighborhood in. Here’s a bit from their description of the plan:

“Holding Pattern” reveals this situation by stringing ropes from holes in MoMA PS1′s concrete wall to the parapet across the courtyard. In the same way that Hugh Ferris reveals the potential of New York City’s 1916 zoning code by drawing the theoretical building envelope, we reveal the very odd, idiosyncratic space of the courtyard and simultaneously create an inexpensive and column-free space for the activity below. From the ground, the experience is of a soaring hyperboloid surface.

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Rotterdam studio Pasel Kuenzel Architects have completed another house for MVRDV‘s masterplan in Leiden, the Netherlands (see the other houses here).

Called V35K18, the residence is separated from the house behind by a narrow glazed section, which forms the entrance.

The glazing covers a corridor extending the full height of the building, sandwiched between the two houses.

A long staircase reaches from the entrance at ground level right up to the second floor, with landings leading off into each level.

A work space is located at ground level, living spaces on the first floor and bedrooms on the top floor.

The architects have designed 10 other houses on this former industrial site and this residence sits opposite the zinc-clad V36K08/09 house in our earlier story.

Photographs are by Marcel van der Burg.

All our stories on this series of houses by Pasel Kuenzel Architects »

More residential architecture on Dezeen »

More architecture on Dezeen »

Here’s some more information from the architects:

RESIDENCE * V35K18, the Netherlands

V35K18 residence is located on the southern corner of an urban block comprising 18 utterly different houses. Due to its distinct design, clear materialisation and dark color the compact building forms a dominant ‘corner stone’ within the existing urban fabric.

All architectural details are subordinate to this principle. The massive brick volume is detached from the adjacent neighbour building by a glazed void and the square floor-to-ceiling windows are detailed flush into the facade. The smaller but longer ‘Hilversum-format’ of the bricks allows for an surprising elegancy and noblesse, and at the same time the black color of the facade associates directly with the traditional Dutch buildings dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th century.

Functional, the residence is set up in a classical Dutch way: work related program is located on the ground floor, living on the bel-etage and sleeping on the upper floor. The spectacular cascade stairwell situated in the glazed void on the long side of the building, generates an overwhelming space between the public and private realm.

Architect: pasel.kuenzel architects, Rotterdam , NL
Team: R. Pasel, F. Künzel
Client: Private
Location: Leiden, NL

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V36K08/09 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects	V21K07 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects	V21K01 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects

Quickly making the rounds at the end of last week and over the weekend is the public launch of BOOM, a proposed development near Palm Springs that will feature residences spread across several unique neighborhoods, an open air market, countless amenities, and a “boutique hotel,” all intended to cater to gay clientele. As Architizer reports, what had originally began as planning for a totally new township for retirees, plopped down into the middle of the California desert, has branched out into “an encompassing residence for all ages with a mission of ‘inclusion, not seclusion; about living, not retiring.’” Inclusion, of course, as long as you can afford to live there. The estimated $250 million first section of the development will feature 8 neighborhoods designed by a veritable who’s who in architecture, bringing in the likes of J. Mayer H. Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and the Israeli firm L2 Tsionov-Vitkon. How they’ll actually build a town from the ground up with just $250 million and that stable of firms is beyond us (wouldn’t just the planning and rendering fees add up to about that cost?), but we’re eager to see it get built. Ground will reportedly be broken sometime in 2012. In the interim, have a fun time digging around on their Bruce Mau-designed website.

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Slate roof tiles extend down the exposed north facade of this house in Wales by London studio Feilden Fowles.

Called Ty Pren, the gabled timber-framed building is clad on three sides in larch felled from the owners’ land.

More trees have been planted nearby in anticipation of replacing the larch cladding in 25 years’ time.

The Welsh slate used for the roof and north wall was reclaimed from demolished houses on the estate.

More residential architecture on Dezeen »

The following information is from the architects:

TY PREN, Trallong, South Wales

Situated in the midst of the Brecon Beacons, this linear Greenfield site in the village of Trallong has a southerly aspect and fine views towards Pen Y Fan. The rich local vernacular inspired the concept of a modern ‘long house’, following the contours of the land, embedding itself in the slope of the hill and responding to the prevailing conditions.

We spent two years researching and developing this design through site visits, models and prototypes. The design evolved into a crisp extrusion using skilled craftsmen to deliver a high-tech building. This period was used to procure local materials, research and to develop our Welsh vernacular adaptation. The typology of the long house leant itself to a passive solar plan, enhanced by the topography and aspect of the site.

Contemporary construction techniques have delivered a thoroughly modern and high performance building, which responds to the landscape. The design was environmentally driven throughout. The passive solar design strategy uses every natural energy source available, and supplements these with active features such as the log boiler.

Project History/ Background

Ty Pren was first conceived in 2005 by our clients, Gavin and Vina Hogg, committed environmentalists responsible for managing the Penpont Estate (recently awarded the Forestry Commission’s ‘Wales Business and Sustainability’ award), with the desire to create a uniquely environmental building drawing strongly from the welsh vernacular.

They placed their faith in Feilden Fowles, a young design team straight out of Part 1 and embarking on our first major project. This precedent of mutual trust and good will underpinned by a shared commitment to sustainability and green design, was shown by the entire design and construction team. This enabled the delivery of an exceptional building, small in scale but with huge ambitions.

The client, acting as a construction manager, had an holistic environmental approach that facilitated the efficient delivery of a sustainable building within a tight budget, and ensured both the design and its delivery remained under continued scrutiny. The embodied energy of materials was under constant review and often took precedent over cost.

Design Approach

Due to the particularly sensitive location, situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons national park, discussions on the vernacular were numerous throughout the early stages of design. Phrases like ‘sense of space’ and ‘local identity’ are abundant in the current debate regarding Welsh Architecture. Mathew Griffith’s suggested in ‘About Wales’ that ‘…the concept of ‘place’ is located at the heart of a fresh way of doing things. We need to be more effective in defining both the character of places and the value and significance that people attach to them…’

The real strength and identity of the Welsh culture is found in their simple plain chapels and vernacular buildings embedded in the counrtyside, gradually added to and elaborated. We were keen to take reference from these while avoiding simply reproducing an explicit version of the historic vernacular, an approach that would devalue the original. Instead we hoped to reinterpret, not necessarily by imitating historic details or using authentic materials, but through a subtle reinterpretation of familiar forms and ideas coupled with an holistic approach to environmental sustainabilty.

Passive Solar Design

Analysis of the seasonal sun paths determined the building’s location in order to maximise solar gain, views over the valley, and provide a south-facing garden to grow produce. The radical design was backed by a forward-looking planning department, who recognised the potential for the building to set a precedent for future sustainable housing. The compact design is 20m long and 6m deep, forming a sealed box that opens to the south and selectively frames the northern views. Internally, the building is less than 6m deep, enabling natural light and optimal cross and stack ventilation throughout.

The 1 m deep north wall creates a buffer that runs the length of building and accommodates the services, stairs, storage and en-suite bathrooms. The south facing elevation and fenestration use optimal proportions of glazing; approximately 30% of the south elevation is glazed compared with about 5% of the northern elevation. Deep window reveals and sliding shutters prevent excessive solar gain in the summer, while the flush north windows emphasise the building’s clean form. All these measures are designed to maximise solar gain in the winter and minimise overheating during the summer.

Active Design Features

From the outset, we collaborated with “Green Earth Energy” environmental engineers who helped design and fit the services. Over £25,000 was invested in green technologies; nearly 10% of the overall budget, with a further £20,000 on high performance Danish windows. The active heating strategy combines hot water from the 8KW log boiler and the solar collectors in a 500 litre accumulator tank located in the north wall.

The collectors supply all domestic hot water needs and supplement the under floor heating system. A Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) system efficiently ventilates every space during the winter months. A Klargestor Biodisk operates as a sealed ‘waste water processing plant’ in the garden.

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Materials

Ty Pren translates literally as ‘House of Wood’, as timber drove the design strategy throughout. The building was clad in larch, sourced and felled from the client’s estate 2 miles away, and subsequently milled on site. The untreated cladding has a predicted life of 25 years, 8 larch trees have been planted on the client’s estate to replace this when necessary. The removed cladding will be burnt to heat the house. Recycled welsh slates from derelict buildings on the estate wrap over the roof and down the exposed north wall.

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The east, south and west ‘Solar Elevations’ incorporate a more filigree larch skin. The use of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) coupled with the high performing windows has resulted in a super airtight building. Secondary insulation (Thermafleece) made from a sheep’s wool blend was used to reach a U-Value of 0.15W/m2K in the walls. Internally, locally sourced oak was used on the fit-out, and the entire north wall constructed from sustainably sourced birch faced plywood. Lime based plasters and paints from Ty Mawr lime were used throughout. These natural materials are non-toxic and have a low embodied energy.

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Exterior

The low embodied energy, flexibility and character of larch lent itself perfectly to this environmental house; particularly given that the client, an arboriculturalist, was able to source much of the timber from within his woodlands. The larch was felled just two miles away and sawn on site with a mobile sawmill. It was fitted green in order to naturally weather to a silver-grey, complementing the moorland backdrop. New trees were planted within the client’s woodland when the original cladding was felled, starting a rolling 25-year timber life cycle. The discarded cladding will then be burnt to heat the house, harnessing the last of its energy.

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The solar facades include deep-set window reveals that prevent excessive solar gain, while sliding shutters avoid overheating to the first floor spaces. The larch was sawn into chamfered battens, mounted 10 mm apart and set out on 100 mm vertical studs. This improves ventilation, produces a filigree appearance to the rain screen cladding and incorporates flush eaves details that emphasise the crisp ‘long house’ typology. Larch boards are inserted into the window reveals, covering the window frames and highlighting the punched openings.

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Interior

The plan is modernist in its simplicity, set out on a 1.2 m grid, driven by the standard SIP panel and sheet material size. The continuous birch-faced ply north wall incorporates all the services and utilities, including bathrooms, stair, pantry, storage and solar thermal store. This wall is articulated by home-grown oak studs with shadow gaps running along the datum lines of the house.

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The pop fit doors deliver a seamless and subtle wall, structuring the space. The stair is recessed into the depth of the back wall, emerging on the viewing gallery with direct views north, west, east and framing Pen Y Fan to the south. Welsh oak floorboards run the length of the upper gallery and throughout the lower ground floor expressing, the linear design.

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Performance

We achieved a SAP rating of 79 and Dwelling CO2 emissions rate 5.5KgCO2/m2/ year  – six times more efficient than the government’s target emissions rate for a home of this size. Overall, this 175m2 house produces 968.9kg of carbon annually. Further testing is intended. With a small amount of energy generation on site, this home has the potential to be zero carbon. The logs for heating the house are already produced on the client’s estate. Unfortunately however, the ratings do not account for sustainable timber fuel.

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The dwelling has been occupied for one year now and initial user feedback has been excellent. The building only requires active heating throughout 2 months of the year, and sustains internal temperatures through passive solar heating in the shoulder seasons. We intend to carry out further detailed analysis to determine if the performance meets the projections. A BREEAM assessment is due to be carried out in the Autumn.

Ty Pren is an exceptionally sustainable house, which came about through the close collaboration of the client, design team and contractors to deliver a uniquely local and sustainable building. The intention has been to push the environmental debate surrounding green homes and will hopefully set a precedent of excellence for future developments in Welsh housing.

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Het Entreehuis by Bureau B+B	Hunsett Mill by Acme	Wooden House by Atelier Martel