“The building is a naked structure; everything you see is at the same time carrying, so structural, and space-making, so spaces defining and containing,” Herzog tells Dezeen.
“There is no inside/outside, there is nothing that is masked, so everything you get is doing all you expect from architecture. In that sense it’s a very honest or very archaic architecture.”
Veranda – photograph by Iwan Baan
Herzog & de Meuron‘s Pérez Art Museum Miami opened to the public last week in downtown Miami and accommodates 3000 square-metres of galleries within a three-storey complex with a huge elevated veranda.
A car park is on show beneath the building, while a single roof shelters both indoor and outdoor spaces.
View from the veranda. Copyright Dezeen.
“Typologically you could say that this is a building built on stilts,” says the architect. “Layers end with a trellis-like roof and start with a platform which is also kind of a trellis, under which you can park your car and that also is open to the elements. Literally everything is visible, is part of the whole.”
Exhibition galleries – photograph by Iwan Baan
The architect describes how galleries were designed to open out to the veranda so that “landscape would walk inside the building”.
“We wanted to do buildings that are transparent or permeable, so that inside/outside would not be a strict barrier,” he explains.
Exhibition galleries – photograph by Iwan Baan
Exhibition galleries occupy the two lower floors of the museum and were organised to encourage a fluid transition between spaces.
“The special concept of the museum is this kind of sequence of spaces, which are more fluid,” says Herzog. “It’s a new kind of museum typology, which we believe was right to do here.”
Auditorium staircase. Copyright Dezeen.
The building also features an auditorium that doubles up as a connecting staircase.
Auditorium staircase. Copyright Dezeen.
“The auditorium staircase is an attempt to do more than just an auditorium – that would be a space that is closed and only used when there is a performance or conference – but to introduce it so that you have a grand stair leading people up to the main gallery floor,” says the architect.
He continues: “By means of curtains it can be subdivided, so it gives more opportunities to the curators and directors, and the people here.”
Jacques Herzog and Dezeen’s Marcus Fairs in a bay window. Copyright: Dezeen
Bay windows puncture the walls of the first-floor galleries and contain benches that visitors can use to take a break from exhibitions.
“This is to give the windows more than just the role of being a hole in the facade,” adds Herzog. “This again is a transitional element between inside and outside, inviting people to rest, sit and warm up a little bit.”
Paris architects Lacaton & Vassal have designed a translucent structure to house an international art collection that is a mirror image of the adjoining former shipbuilding workshop (+ slideshow).
Lacaton & Vassal won a competition organised by FRAC (France’s regional contemporary art fund) to transform the derelict workshop in the port area of Dunkirk into a new home for the archives and exhibition spaces of the Nord-Pas de Calais region.
Instead of overhauling the existing workshop, which was built in 1949 and is known as halle AP2, the architects chose to conduct minor renovations and leave it empty so it can be used to host events, exhibitions and house large-scale artworks. In addition, they proposed constructing an extension of identical dimensions alongside it.
“The halle AP2 is a singular and symbolic object. Its internal volume is immense, bright, impressive: its potential for uses is exceptional,” explained the architects. “The new building juxtaposes delicately without competing nor fading. The duplication is the attentive response to the identity of the halle.”
The new structure extends from the side of the renovated warehouse and provides an additional 9,357 square metres of floor space alongside the 1,953 square metres of usable space inside halle AP2.
A translucent skin of corrugated polycarbonate covers most of the new structure’s exterior and surrounds a solid concrete core in which a collection of over 1,500 artworks are stored in protective conditions.
“Under a light and bioclimatic envelope, a prefabricated and efficient structure determines free, flexible and evolutionary platforms, with few constraints, fit to the needs of the program,” said the architects. “The transparency of the skin allows to see the background vision of the opaque volume of the artworks reserves.”
Artworks are delivered to a loading bay and transit areas on the ground floor and then transferred using a lift at the centre of the building to archives on three further storeys. The ground floor also houses a reception and cafeteria that looks into the halle AP2, and the first of several exhibition spaces spread throughout the building.
Above the cafeteria, an internal street fills the void between the old and new structures, and there are plans to connect this space to an elevated walkway that would traverse the canal that currently separates the port from the adjacent beach. Exhibition halls, education facilities, administration and event spaces are accessed using lifts at the front of the building.
On top of the concrete core is an open event space that sits beneath the gabled steel framework, which is fitted with clear EFTE pillows to allow a view of the port and the nearby town.
FRAC (Regional Contemporary Artwork Collection) of the North region
The FRAC houses regionally assembled public collections of contemporary art.
These collections are conserved, archived and presented to the public through on site exhibitions and by loans to both galleries and museums.
The North region FRAC is located on the site of Dunkerque port in an old boat warehouse called Halle AP2. The halle AP2 is a singular and symbolic object.
Its internal volume is immense, bright, impressive. Its potential for uses is exceptional.
To achieve this concept, the project creates a double of the halle, of the same dimension, attached to the existing building, on the side which faces the sea, and which contains the program of the FRAC.
Under a light and bioclimatic envelope, a prefabricated and efficient structure determines free, flexible and evolutionary platforms, with few constraints, fit to the needs of the program.
The public footbridge (previously planned along the facade) which crosses the building becomes a covered street entering the halle and the internal facade of the FRAC.
The halle AP2 will remain a completely available space, which can work either with the FRAC, in extension of its activities, (exceptional temporary exhibitions, creation of large scale works, particular handlings) or independently to welcome public events (concert, fairs, shows, circus, sport) and which enriches the possibilities of the area.
The functioning of each of the buildings is separated, or combined. The architecture of the halle and its current quality make sufficient minimal, targeted and limited interventions.
Thanks to the optimisation of the project, the budget allows the realisation of the FRAC and the setting up of conditions and equipment for public use of the halle AP2.
The project so creates an ambitious public resource, of flexible capacity, which allows work at several scales from everyday exhibitions to large-scale artistic events, of regional but also european and international resonance, which consolidates the redevelopment of the port of Dunkerque.
Site : Dunkerque, France Date : competition 2009, design 2010,completiion scheduled in 2012 – 2013 Client : Communauté Urbaine de Dunkerque Architects : Anne Lacaton & Jean Philippe Vassal with Florian de Pous, chief project, Camille Gravellier, Yuko Ohashi, Juan Azcona and for the competition, Sandrine Puech, David Pradel, Simon Durand Engineers : Secotrap, structure, mechanical systems, CESMA, metal structure, Vincent Pourtau Program : artwork reserves, exhibition rooms, education Area : 11 129 m2 net : – 9 157 m2 new building – 1 972 m2 existing halle Cost :12 M Euros net (2011)
News: American firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has revealed designs for a skyscraper in Jakarta that will be over 500 metres high and will harvest wind energy through an opening at its peak.
With a proposed height of approximately 530 metres, the Pertamina Energy Tower will be twice as high as Wisma 46, currently the tallest building in Indonesia, and will feature an integrated “wind funnel” that generates energy from prevailing air currents.
SOM designed the building as a headquarters for state-owned oil and gas corporation Pertamina and it will be constructed as part of a proposed campus that also includes a mosque, a performing arts and exhibition centre, sports facilities and an energy plant.
The exterior of the tower will be glazed and will gently taper towards the top to frame the opening of the wind funnel. This curved facade will feature solar shades to allow natural light to enter, without the problems of solar heat gain.
“Pertamina Energy Tower’s iconic presence will stand as a model of sustainability and efficiency, as well as collaborative workplace design,” said SOM director Scott Duncan.
“The headquarters’ performance-driven design supports and reflects the ambition of Pertamina’s mission and forges an innovative model of green development in Jakarta.”
The building is scheduled for completion in 2020 in Jakarta’s Rasuna Epicentrum neighbourhood and will accommodate up to 20,000 Pertamina employees.
Pertamina reveals plans for SOM-designed tower in Jakarta
Plans were unveiled on Monday for Pertamina Energy Tower, a highly sustainable corporate headquarters in Jakarta, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), the renowned architecture, engineering, interiors and planning firm. Created for the state-owned energy company, Pertamina, the large-scale project will feature a performing arts and exhibition pavilion, a mosque, and a central energy plant in addition to the office tower. Rising more than 500 metres above Jakarta, the tower will be a new landmark on the capitol’s skyline.
The architectural expression of Pertamina Energy Tower reinforces the sustainable strategies at the core of its design. Gently tapering towards a rounded top, the tower opens up at the crown, revealing a ‘wind funnel’ that will take advantage of the prevailing winds and increased wind speeds at the upper floors to generate energy. Precisely calibrated for Jakarta’s proximity to the equator, the tower’s curved facade will mitigate solar heat gain throughout the year. Exterior sun shades will dramatically improve the workplace environment and save energy by reducing the need for artificial lighting in the office interiors.
The 99-story tower will accommodate 20,000 employees and will be the centrepiece of the Pertamina campus in Jakarta’s Rasuna Epicentrum neighbourhood. Conceived as a city within a city, the campus design endeavours to create a new model for a corporate headquarters – one that is more like a bustling city – with vibrant public spaces and communal meeting areas, such as a 2,000-seat auditorium for lectures and performances and a public mosque. A central energy plant will serve as the energy production hub for the campus, a literal and figurative “heart” from which energy and services will be distributed. A covered walkway known as the “Energy Ribbon” will knit together the constellation of campus programs and span across land bridges and gardens to create an array of accessible public spaces. The project is slated for completion in 2020.
This movie shows how a redundant Second World War bunker in the Netherlands was turned into a sculptural visitor attraction by slicing it down the middle to reveal its insides.
The bunker was built in 1940 to shelter up to 13 soldiers during bombing raids and the intervention by Dutch studios RAAAF and Atelier de Lyon reveals the small, dark spaces inside, which are normally hidden from view.
The movie shows a diamond wire saw being used to cut a straight section through the centre of the monolithic structure, and a crane lifting it away to create a narrow slit.
It took 40 days to slice through the solid concrete bunker, which was one of 700 constructed along the New Dutch Waterline, a series of water-based defences used between 1815 and 1940 to protect the cities of Muiden, Utrecht, Vreeswijk and Gorinchem.
“Our aim with the project was to question the policies on monuments by doing this intervention,” Ronald Rietveld of RAAAF told Dezeen, adding that the bunker was subsequently elevated from a municipal monument to a national monument and is now part of the New Dutch Waterline’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage status.
The designers also constructed a set of stairs to connect the nearby road to a path that leads through the centre of the bunker onto a wooden boardwalk raised above the flooded area.
“The pier and the piles supporting it remind them that the water surrounding them is not caused by e.g. the removal of sand but rather is a shallow water plain characteristic of the inundations in times of war,” said Rietveld in a statement about the project.
Visible from the busy A2 motorway, the bunker is part of a 20-year masterplan begun in 2000 to transform the Dutch Waterline into a national park. It was completed in 2010 but was officially opened last year and recently won the Architectural Review Award 2013 for Emerging Architecture.
Here’s a project description from RAAAF:
Bunker 599
In a radical way this intervention sheds new light on the Dutch policy on cultural heritage. At the same, it time makes people look at their surroundings in a new way. The project lays bare two secrets of the New Dutch Waterline (NDW), a military line of defence in use from 1815 until 1940 protecting the cities of Muiden, Utrecht, Vreeswijk and Gorinchem by means of intentional flooding.
A seemingly indestructible bunker with monumental status is sliced open. The design thereby opens up the minuscule interior of one of NDW’s 700 bunkers, the insides of which are normally cut off from view completely. In addition, a long wooden boardwalk cuts through the extremely heavy construction. It leads visitors to a flooded area and to the footpaths of the adjacent natural reserve. The pier and the piles supporting it remind them that the water surrounding them is not caused by e.g. the removal of sand but rather is a shallow water plain characteristic of the inundations in times of war.
The sliced up bunker forms a publicly accessible attraction for visitors of the NDW. It is moreover visible from the A2 highway and can thus also be seen by tens of thousands of passers-by each day. The project is part of the overall strategy of RAAAF | Atelier de Lyon to make this unique part of Dutch history accessible and tangible for a wide variety of visitors. Paradoxically, after the intervention Bunker 599 became a Dutch national monument.
Curving iridescent structures resembling the scaled bodies of a pair of dragons slump over the top of this new wing created by French studio Agence Jouin Manku at an office campus outside Paris (+ slideshow).
Agence Jouin Manku was asked to design a new amenities wing for the headquarters of Société Foncière Lyonnaise, France’s oldest property company, which is housed within a converted 1920s factory building on the banks of the Seine in Boulogne-Billancourt.
Entitled In/Out, the new wing comprises a curving three-storey building that revolves around a tube-shaped concrete tower. Blocks extend out from both sides of the tower and are both topped with curving structures clad with shimmering stainless-steel shingles.
“The roof is designed like a shell made of scales,” Aude Planterose of Agence Jouin Manku told Dezeen. “We can’t ignore the reference to an animal; it could be a beetle or a dragon.”
The iridescent tiles appear green when viewed straight on, but change colour from blue to purple when viewed at an angle.
“The building changes each time that you look at it,” said Planterose. “These tiles are perfect for facade or roof, and it is actually the same technique used for the slate tiles you find on all Parisian rooftops.”
Below the tiles, the glazed exterior walls are screened with vertical timber slats that vary in density depending of the lighting requirements of the rooms behind, which include cafe and restaurant facilities for the offices, as well as new boardrooms and a 200-seat auditorium.
A staircase connecting the floors of both blocks is contained within the central concrete tower, while a footbridge creates a link between the new and old buildings at first-floor level.
Agence Jouin Manku also renovated the lobby of the original building, adding new seating areas and a large oval reception deck.
This space leads through to a courtyard, where the architects have constructed a glazed pavilion supported by a lattice of branch-like wooden beams that meets the ground at only one point.
Photography is by Thierry Lewenberg-Sturm.
Here’s a project description from Jouin Manku:
IN/OUT by Agence Jouin Manku
An office “campus”, for Société Foncière Lyonnaise, an ambitious architectural project including the transformation of the lobby with the construction of a glass microarchitecture as well as the creation of a new wing.
80 years of history
Built in 1927 by the architect Adolphe Bocage, this building, a landmark of the golden age of industry, had long been used to produce telephone control units. Located on the banks of the Seine, the site, with nearly 7 acres and a 6-storey building, used to hold the lMT society (le Matériel Téléphonique). The building soon became a symbol of industrial innovation.
The site had been designed in keeping with the great principles of the Modern Movement in architecture using simple geometrical shapes, and reinforced concrete. In 1976, Thomson-CsF took control over lMT, who, at the time, employed 10 000 people.
In 1988, seventy years after its construction, Thomson Multimedia transformed the factory into offices and set up its headquarters in the building, until 2009. SFL then decided to restructure the building, aiming for it to become a benchmark in the tertiary sector, focusing on innovation as well as on wellbeing at work. It is this ambitious decision that gave birth to the major IN/OUT project.
The site’s new organisation
After our first commission to design a series of spaces for the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Paris, Société Foncière Lyonnaise (SFL), has asked us once again to embark on another adventure. This time, they have commissioned us to design a new amenities wing of their ambitious In/Out office campus, a landmark office project that is re-defining work spaces in France which houses a cafe, restaurant, board rooms, an auditorium as well as various technical spaces and the lobby, with his pavilion, of the historical building.
The IN/OUT project involves an office campus of more than 387 500 square feet. It is located on a former industrial site in Boulogne, at the West of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine River. This factory, which used to manufacture telephone tools in the 1930s, underwent a complete rehabilitation done by DTACC Architecture, such as many industrial sites in Boulogne.
Visitors enter the historical building and are welcomed into a large vast space similar to a hotel lobby. At the entrance lies a large oval desk that leads visitors to what used to be an exterior courtyard. In the courtyard one discovers a surprising micro-architecture: a glass pavilion that is held up by a series of intertwined and woven wood beams. An ethereal floating lattice which at one point swoops down and gently balances on the floor below on just one point. This new glass canopy in the central courtyard, creates a natural transition between the lobby of the historical building and the amenities wing.
This new amenities wing is nearly 40 000 sq ft.including the interiors. This building was further developed in collaboration with the engineering office TESS for the structural elements and the skin of the building and with architectural agency DTACC for the technical development and architectural execution.
The amenities wing
Agence Jouin Manku has conceived the new amenities wing (nearly 40 000 sq ft.), as well as the interior design of the wing. The building has been further developed in collaboration with the engineering office TESS and DTACC. The new wing also holds a series of services and amenities, alongside the workspaces within the ‘Bocage’ building (thus completing the IN/OUT campus). The wing holds: a 103 seats cafe, a 462 seats restaurant, a 200 seats auditorium, as well as corporate board rooms, lounges, 2 large terraces and a fitness centre.
A dynamic shape, symbol of an avant-garde building
How can workspaces in big companies be improved? What is missing? This interrogation has guided the design of the amenities wing. Agence Jouin Manku decided to create a very different atmosphere to complement the ‘Bocage’ building. This gives employees a healthy balance between formal and informal, as well as between work and play, an idea at the heart of the In/Out Campus.
The structure of the ‘Bocage’ building evokes nostalgia, professionalism and rigour. In contrast, the new wing has been conceived as a building of contemporary architecture, designed around the idea of movement and flow. Its shape has been made to create a series of intertwined spaces. The building is organised around the idea of passage: passing of people, light and air. It is also a place which evokes movement, production, action and dynamism.
The concrete heart: the centre of the building
The building is organised around a central tower, made of bush hammered concrete, which holds all vertical circulation. The choice to use concrete for the centre of the building was to create a coherence and dialogue with the neighbouring ‘Bocage’ building, which is made of the same material and clearly shows its original industrial character. Two wings revolve and wrap around the central tower, but they never meet. Their architectural lines are softer and each wing is a curved form, made of curved glass and vertical wood cladding. The spaces between the concrete centre and the wood wings are filled with glass, which allows light to penetrate almost everywhere in the building, vertically or horizontally.
On the outside, the density of the vertical wood cladding increases and decreases, depending on its position, and which indoor space it corresponds to. The pattern starts out smoothly, then its texture, created by adding chamfers, changes. These edges catch light differently and create a sense of depth on the facade. Inside, the main materials are wood, bush hammered concrete, plaster and curved glass. The curved wood that wraps a large part of the interior adds to the sense of warmth, while the simple use of glass and concrete add a crisp modernity to the project. A footbridge connects the two buildings. This bridge, made of white painted steel and wood, makes access easy between the two buildings, and acts as a symbolic link betweenthe two architectural signatures, and the birth of a common project.
An architecture inspired By nature: an inside out and outside in design
Inspired by the Saint-Cloud park, the Seine river and the lush nature just close to the site, the amenities pavilion has been designed to allow these elements to penetrate the building, as well as to create spaces that would allow one to enjoy the gardens and terraces, created as an extension of the building. The flowing shapes of the project recall the movements of nature. To underline this idea, the roof of the wing has been designed as a coloured envelope wrapping the building. The coloured stainless steel tiles were chosen for their particular iridescent character. In front view, the tiles are green, but their colour changes as the angle and light move. This gives the building a dynamic and always changing character, echoing the variations in the sky and sunlight.
The insides
The interior design and furniture have been thought out as a continuation of the outside lines of the building. While the central concrete core holds the curved staircase that links the various levels of the building, each level opens out on spaces filled with light: simple yet warm spaces, spaces that open out on terraces and gardens, as well as spaces that invite one to discover the next room. The circulation is therefore fluid, and the connection between each space is harmonious. Employees can thus enjoy each space, and will always be invited to discover the next one.
The transformation of the lobby: a micro architecture at the heart of the ‘Bocage’ building
On the outside, the ‘Bocage’ building still looks like an industrial fortress from the 1930s. Yet inside, gently perched in the space of the old atrium, Agence Jouin Manku has designed a ‘soft’ space, filled with light, which is one of their trademarks.
Visitors enter the building and are welcomed into a vast space, similar to a hotel lobby. at the entrance lies a large oval desk, which leads visitors to what used to be an indoor atrium. In the newly created courtyard, one discovers a surprising micro-architecture: a glass canopy, held up by a series of intertwined wood beams, an ethereal floating lattice, which at one point swoops down and gently balances above the floor.
This structural frame was a complex element that required the expertise of TESS, an engineering firm with whom Agence Jouin Manku regularly works.
This lobby is the new heart of the ‘Bocage’ building. It is a central meeting point between different spaces. It also invites visitors or employees to have a break. Both simple in its design and complex in its realisation, the glass pavilion foretells the bold amenities wing designed by the agence Jouin Manku.
The vertical circulation spaces
The other major architectural work is the transformation of the office spaces, especially through the vertical circulation spaces and service points, which now stand on the inside corners of the courtyard.
This has created new circulation spaces around the lobby. In the upper floors, natural light now floods largely into the workspaces. Corridors and stairs are highlighted by a strong yellow colour. This creates a contrast with the rest of the building and encourages one to use the stairs as well as the elevators.
Conclusion
IN/OUT is an ambitious architectural project by DTaCC architecture and agence Jouin Manku; together, they created two unique buildings for SFL. The campus offers a new approach to workspace based on the ideas of sharing, wellbeing and collective activities. The renovation and construction have greatly improved the campus’ amenities, for the benefit of the future users. This project also transforms a typical scenery of the Seine river.
Situés à San Francisco, les nouveaux bureaux de la startup Dropbox ont été pensés par Boor Bridges Architecture et Geremia Interior Design. Cherchant à créer une émulation entre les équipes avec des espaces collaboratifs, ces locaux sont à découvrir grâce à une série de Bruce Damonte.
Ma Yansong of Chinese studio MAD presents a masterplan for Nanjing, China, where buildings are designed to look like mountains and public spaces overlap with the natural landscape, as part of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture.
The Nanjing Zendai Thumb Plaza proposal is the latest in a series of projects by MAD based on Yansong’s Shan-Shui City concept – an urban strategy based on a style of Chinese landscape painting and named after the Chinese words for mountains and water.
The masterplan, which encompasses an area of approximately 60 hectares, envisions an assortment of buildings and spaces that mediate between the city’s urban centre and its surrounding landscape of mountains and lakes.
“We need to rethink how to define the boundary between the nature and the urban on this piece of empty plot in the new city development area,” says MAD. “Is it possible to combine the high-density city with the atmosphere of the nature to create an energetic urban public space for the future, so people will reconnect their emotion with the nature?”
Expected to complete by 2017, the masterplan includes a set of high-rise buildings with unique curving profiles intended to avoid the “height competition” associated with most skyscrapers.
At ground level, pathways and plazas will be integrated with a mixture of manmade and natural landscaping.
Ma Yansong Featuring ‘Nanjing Zendai Thumb Plaza’ in Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture 2013 in Shenzhen
Ma Yansong presented his work, ‘Shanshui Experiment Complex’ in the Border Warehouse of Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture 2013 in Shenzhen. This is an artwork in-between architecture model and landscape installation, created based on MAD’s latest project, ‘Nanjing Zendai Thumb Plaza’. The total area of this urban design project is about 600,000 sqm and it is expected to be completed in 2017.
The historic city Nanjing is famous for the mountain and water landscape around the city, as well as its modern prosperities. With the culture, nature and history considered, we need to rethink how to define the boundary between the nature and the urban on this piece of empty plot in the new city development area. Is it possible to combine the high-density city with the atmosphere of the nature to create an energetic urban public space for the future, so people will re-connected their emotion with the nature?
The installation approaches those issues by creating a green open space spreading on the ground level of the city, where the natural and man-made landscape cross over with each other, existing in different dimensions both indoors and outdoors. The clear boundary of the site thus becomes blurred. While walking to their urban destination, people will feel as if they are sometimes walking in the nature. Above that, a series of buildings rise in the fog with flowing lines, changing smoothly as integrity, resolving the vertical power and the height competition, and the city skyline that used to be controlled by technology and power is now back to the artistic mood of faraway-so-close that our ancients have perceived in the nature.
News: wellness entrepreneur Nell Waters is attempting to raise £146,000 on crowdfunding website Kickstarter to build a prototypal ecological urban bathhouse from shipping containers in San Francisco.
Waters wants to create an “urban bathhouse for healthy hedonists” that could pop up on any available lot in the city and operate autonomously from the municipal power and water supplies.
The design of the SOAK spa was developed by San Francisco design studio Rebar, and consists of stacked containers arranged around a courtyard that house changing rooms, toilets, a lounge, a sauna, hot tubs and a roof deck.
Diagram showing water irrigation
“This container-spa joins the wave of tactical urbanism currently happening in San Francisco and other cargotecture projects that have created a local zeitgeist around the recognisably corrugated exterior,” said the project team in a statement. “No city is better positioned to launch this first iteration of the mobile, pop-up spa.”
Diagram showing solar energy needed to heat water
A small garden next to the entrance would lead to an internal courtyard housing the reception, enclosed showers and two cold plunge buckets. Stairs would provide access to the roof lounge and an additional hot tub.
Diagram showing water irrigation and solar energy needed
Rainwater would provide half of the spa’s water, while greywater would be filtered through plants and particle filers and used to irrigate a garden on the rear patio. All of the water used would be heated by solar hot water heaters and photovoltaic panels on the roof.
“The challenge that we set out in developing this proof of concept prototype is to use absolutely the least amount of water possible, use the least amount of energy possible – we try to catch as much as we can from the sky,” explained Blaine Merker from Rebar in a video on the project’s Kickstarter page.
The project team has engaged engineers to analyse the spa’s energy performance and, if it achieves its funding target by 1 January 2014, will work on refining the structural criteria of the containers and assessing water usage with the aim of realising a two-container prototype sometime in 2014.
More details from the project’s co-ordinators follows:
Soak – an urban bathhouse for healthy hedonists
Designed to be modular and self-contained, the urban bathhouse called SOAK identifies with a changing urban landscape and literally pops-up where there is interim use for creative activity, simultaneously taking advantage of lower real estate costs and incubating activity in up-and-coming neighbourhoods. With its unique anti-spa ethos, SOAK creates an experiential bridge between the ancient practice of ritual ablutions and a modern approach to wellness that makes “soaking” a social practice.
SOAK provides a dynamic space for personal wellness, connected experiences, and healthy hedonist gatherings. Built from repurposed shipping containers, the structure of SOAK helps reframe an answer to the question: what is wellness? In part, SOAK’s aim is to change the way we think about water-intensive day spas, instead substituting a creatively designed ecological bathhouse for a modern, urban environment. This container-spa joins the wave of tactical urbanism currently happening in San Francisco and other cargotecture projects that have created a local zeitgeist around the recognisably corrugated exterior. No city is better positioned to launch this first iteration of the mobile, pop-up spa.
Inspired by saunas in Amsterdam, Japanese bathing culture, and San Francisco’s former Sutro Baths, SOAK’s founder, Nell Waters, consulted designers about building a truly ecological urban bathhouse. Was there a way to scale back the opulent use of natural resources? Could they redefine the meaning of wellness through the materials used? Could social interaction replace meditative silence? At SOAK, sustainability, sociability, and healthy hedonism are the guiding principles.
Its structure demonstrates its flexibility. Two shipping containers surround an interior courtyard, one housing the changing facilities, lounge and restrooms, the other housing the hot tubs, a roof deck and sauna. The bathhouse seamlessly transitions between interior space and garden, inviting visitors to soak in the heat, cool off under a cold plunge bucket in the garden, rest among the plants, and lounge with a view of the city on the roof deck. Greywater from hot tubs, sinks and showers is collected and filtered through surge tanks, purifying plants and particle filters. Filtered water is then used to irrigate the siteʼs permanent garden.
Take the urban bathhouse concept to its extreme, and you get SOAK: a pop-up spa inside of shipping containers. Mobile, autonomous, and sleek. One step further and you get something more. An urban bathhouse for healthy hedonists. SOAK hired the San Francisco based Rebar Design Studio and principal Blaine Merker to design the urban bathhouse because of their smart creative process, and award winning reputation.
News: Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron have designed a 56-storey cylindrical skyscraper as part of a nine-hectare masterplan proposed for London’s Canary Wharf.
The residential tower is one of five new buildings proposed at Wood Wharf, the eastern end of Canary Wharf, in the first phase of a major mixed-used development submitted for planning approval today by London architecture firm Allies and Morrison.
Herzog & de Meuron and London studio Stanton Williams are working on the three residential buildings of the proposal, providing a total of 884 homes, while Allies and Morrison has designed two office blocks targeted at creative media, technology and telecommunications companies.
Later phases of the masterplan aim to surround the new buildings with a network of public squares and parks, as well as over 100 shops, restaurants and cafes at street level. Additional buildings will accommodate education and healthcare facilities, while more residential accommodation will bring the total of new homes up to 3100.
George Iacobescu of property developer Canary Wharf Group commented: “This is an exciting new project for Canary Wharf Group which represents the continued redevelopment of east London almost 30 years after the original transformation of Canary Wharf began.”
“The revised masterplan will create a strong and complementary mix of uses, and provide new homes, offices and retail spaces set within a network of streets and public spaces, designed to support the social life of new residents, employees and the surrounding community,” he added.
If planning approval is granted, construction of the phase one buildings is set to commence next year, with completion scheduled for 2017.
Here’s the full press release from Canary Wharf Group:
Canary Wharf Group submits new Planning Application for Mixed Use Urban Neighbourhood on Canary Wharf’s Eastern Edge
» Revised masterplan by Allies and Morrison will broaden Canary Wharf’s appeal as a working and living urban district
» New Wood Wharf neighbourhood will be defined by a network of high quality parks and public squares with a kilometre of dock-edge walkways
» The new neighbourhood will offer a range of homes from park-side townhouses and affordable housing to luxury penthouses in some of London’s tallest residential buildings designed by world-class architects
» New offices will appeal to a range of tenants but with a focus on creative media, technology and telecommunications
» Over 100 new shops, restaurants and cafes are planned at street level that will attract a range of new concepts and products
» The Masterplan provides for: – 3,100 residential units – 240,000 sqm (2.57 million sq.ft.) (GIA) of commercial offices – 31,000 sqm (340,000 sq.ft.) (GIA) of shops, cafes and restaurants – 3.6 hectares (8.9 acres) of interconnected public spaces
» Illustrative design information for Phase I to include 884 residential units in 3 buildings designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Stanton Williams totalling 100,379 sq. m (1,080,179 sq ft) (GIA); and 2 office buildings totalling over 20,000 sq. m (216,000 sq.ft.) (GIA) designed by Allies and Morrison. All three architectural practices are internationally acclaimed and award winning firms of the highest calibre (see notes below).
– Planning application submitted today to London Borough of Tower Hamlets – Extensive public consultation has been undertaken over the last 12 months – Details can be found at www.shapingwoodwharf.com – New images of development released alongside revised plans
Continuing the redevelopment of East London
Canary Wharf Group plc (“Canary Wharf Group”) today announces that it has submitted planning applications for, a new 9.23 hectares (22.8 acres) mixed-use urban neighbourhood immediately east of Canary Wharf in central London. The new masterplan proposes the development of more than 3,000 homes and over 240,000 sq. m (2.57 million sq.ft.) (GIA) of commercial offices offering a range of floor plates that will appeal to a wide array of occupiers including the fast expanding TMT sector.
Commenting on the plans, Sir George Iacobescu, Chairman and Chief Executive of Canary Wharf Group plc, said:
“This is an exciting new project for Canary Wharf Group which represents the continued redevelopment of East London almost 30 years after the original transformation of Canary Wharf began. The revised masterplan will create a strong and complementary mix of uses, and provide new homes, offices and retail spaces set within a network of streets and public spaces, designed to support the social life of new residents, employees and the surrounding community. It is a reflection of the demand we are seeing in the market, and is an opportunity for us to further expand the appeal of Canary Wharf by creating a new and exciting mixed use neighbourhood at Wood Wharf which will offer greater diversity and amenity and a richer urban fabric for the fast emerging City Centre of Canary Wharf.”
A range of house types are proposed for 3,100 residential units, including town houses and mid and high-rise apartment buildings. Housing tenure will include private housing for sale and rent and intermediate and affordable housing for rent. The planned offices will be capable of accommodating a wide range of company sizes and types, in line with the mixture of demand we anticipate including the expanding TMT sector in East London. This vibrant, new development is expected to create over 17,000 new jobs, of which we expect around 3,500 will be taken by local residents.
Building a Community
The broad range of public spaces, homes, offices and shops is designed to offer a rich and diverse working and living environment. This diversity is a key element of the new Masterplan. The shops and restaurants will include a range of names new to London to further expand Canary Wharf’s broad retail offer. The Masterplan provides for two hotels and serviced apartments. The scheme also includes 3.6 hectares of interconnected public spaces with two squares and two parks, one based on a typical London square, the other lining the southern dock edge of Wood Wharf with 1km of dockside boardwalks.
Plans for Wood Wharf include a two-form entry primary school, a multi-purpose sports hall and a healthcare facility. The highly successful Arts and Events Programme at Canary Wharf will be expanded and will offer a range of cultural activities and events in new venues and the planned public spaces at Wood Wharf.
Transport considerations include the installation of London Cycle Hire bicycles, a new bus route through the site and improved pedestrian connectivity to London Underground, DLR & Crossrail. Two car clubs are planned along with parking for 1,100 spaces.
On the importance of public space, Robert Maguire, Project Director for Wood Wharf said:
“With an extensive new network of public spaces and water’s edge boardwalks, the Wood Wharf masterplan places high quality public space at the heart of the design process. The principle achievement of the masterplan – the ‘glue’ which holds the neighbourhood together – will always be its well-considered network of streetscapes, squares, parks and water spaces. We are building a community that will both support, and be supported by, the success of Canary Wharf and the 110,000 people that work and visit Canary Wharf each day.”
Next Steps
Herzog & de Meuron and Stanton Williams have been appointed to work alongside Allies and Morrison in designing the first phase buildings within Wood Wharf. If planning permission is granted, construction is expected to start in Q4 2014 with the first buildings to be completed in 2017.
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