Hasta La Ideas

Slovenian studio Dekleva Gregoric Arhitekti have completed a metal-recycling plant in Pivka, Slovenia.

Top image is by Miran Kambič

The site features two rectangular buildings, one concrete and the other a steel structure, perched on a concrete wall that surrounds the site.

The office is clad in steel mesh and forms a sort of control deck to oversee processing in the yard below, also providing car parking space underneath.

Photographs are by Matevz Paternoster unless otherwise stated.

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Above image is by Miran Kambič

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Above image is by Miran Kambič

The following information is from the architects:

Metal recycling plant, ODPAD PIVKA

What is long-lasting and what is recycle friendly was one of the key questions we were able to follow in the project for a metal recycle plant, where they first accumulate and then separate different waste metals and prepare them for reuse.

The project consists of an immense production plateau and two small buildings on the edge of it.

Above image is by Miran Kambič

We clearly divided the generic base, flexible for multiple-use and the very specific, non-flexible, therefore ephemeral and recycle friendly by its activity.

In these terms the huge concrete plateau with a definition wall and attached concrete service building define the core of the current production, however they easily allow for change of program within the industrial zone.

Above image is by Miran Kambič

This huge part of the project required careful placing of the plateau in the environment ensuring least earth works and lowest possible concrete wall.

On the other hand, the small 100% metal office building works as a very specific control deck supervising the weighing of the incoming waste and out-coming metals.

Since this specificity means non-adaptability we had to allow for easy and clear on-site recycling when this building is not needed anymore.

Above image is by Miran Kambič

In contrast to the very rough production that goes on at the site we have embedded some abstract or we like to think “poetic” content in the project.

Above image is by Miran Kambič

The two buildings are of the same volume, but materially very different: one is made entirely out of concrete, whereas the other is all steel – from structure to cladding.

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Thus the two buildings speak about the context of material separation process of the metal recycle plant.

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“The integral architectural/landscape concept expresses a great measure of thoughtful, humorous, interpretation and character.

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The elementary Karst with land bounded by walls is here expressed as a strict demarcation of traffic and function, public and private, and as articulation of the dominant architecture.

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This is an architecture that, also due to its function, can tell it’s story to a greater extent in primary language: in one place the views are focused, in another they are total but dispersed; here the material is brutal, elementary, there it wants to be sophisticated and ecological in character; one time it grows out of the wall, another time it retreats from it (or vice versa).

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Above all the whole appears to be a nice “ticket office” for certain works of 21st century art, which are loaded and processed on the area behind the wall, so to speak in a yard bounded by wall, characteristic of Karst.”

From an essay by Tomaz Brate

architects: dekleva gregoric arhitekti
design team: Aljoša Dekleva u.d.i.a. M.Arch. (AA Dist), Tina Gregoric u.d.i.a. M.Arch. (AA Dist), Lea Kovic u.d.i.a.

location: industrial zone, Pivka, Slovenija

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client: Andrej Dolenc, Odpad d.o.o. Pivka

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project: 2005
completion: 2007

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Cultural Center of European Space Technologies	Chemical Laboratory by Héctor Fernández-Elorza	CRAM Foundation by Hidalgo Hartmann

This cedar-panelled box in Shiga, Japan, is a family house by Japanese studio TOFU architects.

Called N House, the exterior is clad in cedar panels in three different shades.

A second-floor terrace has been created by cutting out a cube-shaped portion from the volume.

The traditional layout of a family house has been reversed, with the bedrooms and bathrooms arranged on the ground floor, while the living spaces and an extra bedroom are on the second.

Photographs are by Yohei Sasakura.

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The following informations if from the architects:

N-HOUSE

This residence is located in villa subdivision areas in Otsu, Shiga, Japan.

There are  rich natural environments with Lake Biwa in thesoutheast and Mount Hira in the northwest,so in the first stage,we have decided to use cedar panels as exterior materials.

The exterior wall is colored with three colors and attached gradation patterns,therefore the abstract wood texture comes and gives us a massive impression.

As Forest side,we have arranged a semi-outdoor terrace inside,so that there could have an coherent exterior space.

Also in the living room, we observed the sky and forests around it and we have made graceful sunlights come in various directions through the windows.

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Architects: TOFU
Location: Otsu, Shiga, Japan
Project Architect: Fumiya Ogawa+Tomonobu Higashino

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Site Area: 240.01 sqm
Project Area: 107.23 sqm
Project Year: 2010

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V21K07 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects	Casa 205 by H Arquitectes	Ogaki House by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates

This white rectangular box with an array of windows on three sides is a family retreat located in the mountains in Pernink, Czech Republic, designed by Czech studio FAM Architekten.

The windows on the Mountain House are of varying sizes and positioned in order to achieve the best views of the surroundings and optimum sunlight inside.

Due to the location of the house and the harsh weather conditions, the external walls are made of thick insulated clay blocks.

Inside the house the materials have been left untreated, including the exposed concrete floors and ceilings and hand-applied stucco rendering on the walls.

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The following information is from the architects:

2011 Mountain House in Pernink, Czech Republic
Pavel Nasadil, FAM Architects

A house has been built in the village of Pernink in the Krusne Mountains in west Bohemia, Czech Republic. The house is located 820 metres above sea level near the German border in a valley which is defined by a wild water stream.

The client imposed a free brief right at the start of the design which evolved over a long period. The house represents a hybrid typology of a small residential retreat and a guest house with facilities for local skiing and nature hiking.

The form and scale of the house are largely defined by topography and the orientation towards views of landscape and towards sunlight. The prevailing western winds are tackled with a narrow gable end to minimise their impact.

A small budget and harsh local climate have determined a simple method of construction which has been buildable in two short building seasons.

The external walls are made of 500mm thick superinsulated prefabricated clay blocks, which are also used for the main loadbearing wall.

A sense of a cave like protection against climate is supported by the journey from entrance lobby to the upper living space which winds itself twice through this thick internal wall.

The floor to ceiling height differs in hierarchy with the staircase zone being of minimal height and the living space being increased to 3m, which strengthens the effect of the landscape entering the building interior through large glazed openings.

The materials used are of high constructional standard and are left in their natural appearance without further treatment – hand applied stucco renderings, masive wood, exposed concrete ceilings and floors and aluminium windows.

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The heating is built within the floors and powered by gas, with additional option of wood burning stove in the living space. The client was in charge of organizing the construction herself with the final costs added to a complete sum of 100.000 EUR inclusive of the plot and internal fittings and furniture.

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Location – Pernink, Czech Republic
Architect – Pavel Nasadil / FAM Architekti

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Co-operation – Marek Nábělek, Hana Svobodova, Tomas Straka

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Client – private
Construction costs – CZK 2.5 mil. inclusive of interior fittings and furniture

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Built-up area – 66 m2
Cubic volume – 470 m3

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Main contractor – self contracted
Project – 2006
Construction – 2008–2010

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A Small Tobacco Shop by Avehideshi Architects	Small House by Avehideshi Architects	V21K07 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects

The v-shaped roof of this Illinois tea house by architect Jeffery Poss funnels rainwater to a spout over the adjacent pond.

Called Victor, the wood-panelled hut sits on four stilts and is accessed via a ramp.

A full-height window provides views of the surrounding trees, while the interior contains a cabinet for making tea and three tatami mats.

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Here’s some more information from the architect:

Meditation Hut III “Victor”
Champaign, Illinois, 2008-10

The owners of a forested property wanted a quiet space to observe the surrounding nature and have a cup of tea. A naturalized understory leads to a visually kinetic approach ramp that contrasts to the subtle interior. Entry to the hut is through an obscured door detailed like the cedar walls.

Inside an oversized window opposite the entrance immediately pulls the view back outside to a composed view of mature trees. Adjacent to this is a miniature tea cabinet. A raised platform in the main space supports three tatami mats.

The location along the north pond edge allowed the development of several effluvial sensations. Throughout the day water reflections are projected onto the soffit. The roof channels rainwater to a central spout over the pond. A horizontal window in the tatami room frames a meditative fragment of water. The floor of glossy ebonized birch has the sensation of a deep still pool – the grass tatami mats become and island within an island. The result is an interior volume that is protective and serene but alive with subtle energy.

The client, Dr. Mary Kalantzis, Dean of the University of Illinois College of Education writes: “I wake up to the vision of your hut every day. There is something about the proportions that makes it appear heavenly like a Greek temple”.

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Tea house by David Maštálka	Takasugi-an by Terunobu Fujimori	Meditation House by Pascal Arquitectos

Roughly two and a half years after a flood ravaged the area, the University of Iowa is still finding itself fighting an uphill battle in trying to restore its UI Museum of Art. The building it had been housed in was damaged by the swelling Iowa River during a disastrous flood in the summer of 2008. After the water level had returned to normal and damages were assessed, the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to help finance the repair and restoration of the building. This would have been ideal were it not for the insurance issues that arose post-flood. Insurer of the museum’s collection, Lloyd’s of London, told the museum that given the chance of another flood, they would not take the risk of offering insurance again in the museum’s current location. When the University approached FEMA last year with a request to not simply repair the building, but to move to a new, less water-adjacent area, they were denied the funds. Six months later, the University’s appeal of that decision has also been rejected, with FEMA still arguing, despite receiving information about the insurance issue, that “the UIMA suffered less than 50 percent damage and that it could be restored to use as a museum.” Still putting up a fight, the university is now planning on taking the case to both the state-level Homeland Security office as well as FEMA’s headquarters in Washington.

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