Hasta La Ideas

Architecture studio Piercy & Company has slotted a family house behind a nineteenth-century stable facade in south-west London, creating a pair of rusted gable walls with a glazed stairwell in between (+ slideshow).

Located within a conservation zone near Kew Gardens, the three-storey Kew House was designed by London studio Piercy & Company to respect the scale and massing of its historic surroundings, but also create a generous modern home for a family.

To achieve this, the architect retained the ageing stable wall at the front of the property, then replicated its shape to create a pair of matching two-storey wings behind.

Both of these were then clad with pre-weathered steel, providing a counterpoint to the old brickwork. In some places the steel covers the windows, but is speckled with irregular perforations that allow an exchange of light and views.

“The deep orange tones of the weathering steel and the perforations within this skin echo the dappled light and autumnal palette of nearby Kew Gardens,” said the architect in a statement.

A glazed stairwell connects the two wings, framing an entrance patio at the front of the property and a secluded courtyard at the rear. There’s also a large basement that spans the site to unite the wings on the lowest level.

The interior layout was arranged according to how the family expected to use the space, which the architect says “ranged over imagining the children running about the house, summer dinners spilling outside and the balance of quiet nooks with social spaces, to pragmatic concerns like drying laundry and how to build a boat in the basement.”

Both wings contain living rooms on the ground floor and bedroom spaces upstairs. The kitchen and family dining room is located on the northern side, with a laundry room and pantry, while a lounge sits at the southern end and is sunken below ground by a metre.

Referred to as “the snug”, this room also features exposed brickwork, built-in oak-veneer cupboards and a narrow curving lightwell.

“The [rooms] are intended to be informal but rich with incidental spaces, unexpected light and complex vertical volumes,” said the architect.

The large basement allowed the architects to establish an on-site joinery workshop during the build. This allowed the team to experiment with different construction techniques and put together bespoke panelling and furniture.

The space now functions as a place where one of the residents, who works as an engineer, can focus on personal projects.

Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.

Here’s the project description from Piercy & Company:

Kew House

Set within the Kew Green Conservation Area of south-west London, the four bedroom family house is formed of two sculptural weathering steel volumes inserted behind a retained nineteenth century stable wall. The brief evolved through a series of conversations with clients Tim and Jo Lucas, which ranged over imagining the children running about the house, summer dinners spilling outside and the balance of quiet nooks with social spaces, to pragmatic concerns like drying laundry and how to build a boat in the basement. In response, Piercy&Company designed the house as a built diagram of the way the family wanted to use the spaces, with an internal landscape of alternative routes and levels connecting expressive spaces aimed at creating moments of delight for adults and children alike.

First and foremost a family home, the spaces are intended to be informal but rich with incidental spaces, unexpected light and complex vertical volumes. The house is formed of a simple plan to make the most of the constrained site, reduce the building’s mass in the streetscape and respond to the living patterns of the family. Consisting of two rectangles; one slightly smaller, set back and sunken 1m lower, the wings each have living spaces on the ground floor and bedrooms above. Connecting the wings is a glass encased circulation link which allows light to pour into the house whilst providing breathing space between internal spaces.

The two shells housing the main living and sleeping areas are formed of 4mm weathering steel, a hardworking combination of structure and facade. The weathering steel is maintenance free, essential for the enclosed site, and is softened by a patchwork of expressed welds and perforated panels. The deep orange tones of the weathering steel and the perforations within this skin echo the dappled light and autumnal palette of nearby Kew Gardens. Inside, oak veneer panelling and Dinesen flooring are the basis of a light, natural and refined palette of materials.

A list of planning constraints – including a conservation area context, a change of use and no access on three sides – formed a backdrop to the project. To overcome these challenges Piercy & Company inserted the house behind a retained 19th century brick gable end and split the house into twin gabled forms in keeping with local massing. The natural patina of the weathering steel with its marks, stains and perforations giving the surfaces different characters depending on the exposure and orientation, anchor the form into its context and impart a sense of permanence.

Kew House was an experimental build, driven by the architect’s and client’s shared interest in a kit-of-parts approach and the self-build possibilities emerging from digital fabrication. The weathering steel shells were prefabricated in Hull and then craned into place and welded together.

CNC milling and the on-site joinery workshop were used to create bespoke panelling, furniture and cabinetwork that could be fitted by the client and a small team of architecture graduates, testing the theory that digital fabrication can reduce the distance between design and production. The implications of this technology for house building are manifold with bespoke fit-out on a budget becoming increasingly viable.

Client: Tim & Jo Lucas
Architect: Piercy & Company
Structural Engineer: Tim Lucas (Price & Myers)
M&E Engineer: Arup
Sustainability Consultant: Price & Myers
Key Sub-Contractors: Commercial Systems International (CSI), Estbury Basements

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at Kew House by Piercy & Company appeared first on Dezeen.

This office building in the Netherlands was designed for property developers called Orangerock, so architects Möhn + Bouman gave it a faceted orange facade made from sheets of Corten steel (+ slideshow).

Located in the town of Emmen, the building forms part of a site that Orangerock plans to develop in the next ten years. The client asked Dutch architects Möhn + Bouman to convert an abandoned house into a short-term office until then.

“The temporary character of the design allowed us to refrain from renovation and adapting,” said the architects. “Instead we designed a Corten steel screen that masks the old building.”

The new Corten steel facade wraps around the front and sides of the former house, completely hiding the original architecture behind an asymmetric volume with a large tinted-glass shopfront.

Strips of lighting sit within narrow recesses in the walls, intended by the architects to look like raindrops. Gutters are hidden behind the facade, while one section has been cut away to avoid colliding with a group of large rocks.

“The abstraction of the material and details emphasises the folded geometry,” added the architects.

The interior of the house was cleaned but most spaces were left intact, apart from a series of recent extensions that have been removed.

Photography is by Sarah Blee.

Here’s a project description from Möhn Bouman Architects:

Steel Screen, Emmen, Netherlands

The project is situated in a former rural town that grew over the last decades into a medium-sized regional city. As a result of this process large parts of the city are transforming gradually towards a more urban character. The client is an innovative project developer, keen to play an active role in this process. Recently they acquired a piece of land close to the city centre for future redevelopment. On the site some old buildings with a rural character can still be found. Once the redevelopment takes place, expected within ten years, these buildings will be demolished. Until that moment the developer decided to use one of them, an old house, as his office.

The challenge was to design an intervention to turn the house in a more representative office. The temporary character of the design allowed us to refrain from renovation and adapting. Instead we designed a Corten steel screen that masks the old building. Corten steel rapidly develops an equal layer of rust which protects it from further decay.

As a start the building was stripped of more recent extensions and cleaned. Precise measurements were then taken and translated into a 3D drawing, providing the basis for the design. The measurements included some large rocks that were found on the site, residues of the ice age, placed at a corner of the house.

Based on the resulting 3D files the steel of the screen was completely computer-cut, allowing a sophisticated detailing. In the roof small strips of blue light were introduced, like raindrops, and the name of the client was cut out of the steel. To blend with the rusted steel a special glass laminate was developed, combining coated glass and color layers. The abstraction of the material and details are emphasising the folded geometry, which in turn reacts on the shape of the house. To prevent staining the glass, rusty water from the roof is guided to a hidden gutter. The gutter ends above a massive rock, gradually turning into an Orange Rock over the years.

Location: Emmen, the Netherlands
Client: Orangerock Projectontwikkeling
Design: 2011
Status: completed
Architect: Möhn Bouman Architects

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News: Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen has won a competition to design a theatre and cultural centre in Hjørring, Denmark, with plans for a series of buildings clad in Corten steel (+ slideshow).

Working alongside local firm Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard, Schmidt Hammer Lassen will design a 4200 square-metre complex named the Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre, which is set to open in 2016.

The development will be made up of several rectilinear blocks, with walls of Corten steel and glass intended to fit in with the brick and plaster facades that typify the town’s architecture.

“We have designed a project where the architectural and functional concept has five main themes: integration in the city, openness, functionality, flexibility and materiality,” said architect John Foldbjerg Lassen, who is one of the founding partners of Schmidt Hammer Lassen.

“We have designed a significant building which relates to its function in a pragmatic way,” he added. “It invites both active use and quiet breaks. It is a building that radiates its cultural meaning – it dares to be different, without stealing the focus from the existing qualities in the city.”

The architects propose an open-plan layout that will allow corridors to be repurposed as backstage facilities.

“The open plan ensures a high level of flexibility in the building, and only your imagination sets the limit for where and how the theatre productions can take place,” said architect Rasmus Kierkegaard.

“Actors and staff are visible to the visitors in the building, and the building will appear vibrant even with only a few persons present,” he added.

Here’s some more information from Schmidt Hammer Lassen:

Schmidt Hammer Lassen architects wins competition for Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre

As part of a team, schmidt hammer lassen architects has won the competition to design Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre in Hjørring, Denmark. With this 4,200 square metre building, Hjørring gains a vibrant cultural hub in which to feature the city’s various cultural activities. The winning design was submitted by a team including schmidt hammer lassen architects, Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard, Brix & Kamp, ALECTIA, Gade & Mortensen Akustik, AIX Arkitekter, Filippa Berglund scenography, and LIW Planning.

The architectural ambition for the new Theatre and Experience Centre has been to create a building which blends into the surrounding environment while standing out as a new, vibrant organism in the city.

The Theatre and Experience Centre consists of a complex of buildings – a city within the city. Its characteristic corten steel façade, with its warm rusty red colours, corresponds well with the area’s existing plaster and brick façades; thereby creating an aesthetic whole between the city, the front plaza and the theatre building. A vibrant building with a glimpse of the backstage.

Inside, an open plan solution ensures visual and physical connections across the building. The boundaries between publicly accessible areas and the more traditional theatre functions are blurred. In the building layout special attention has been paid to making sure that all functions can operate optimally. At the same time many areas can be joined and the circulation areas can be used as backstage facilities.

Completion of Vendsyssel Theatre and Experience Centre is expected in 2016.

Architects: schmidt hammer lassen architects and Arkitektfirmaet Finn Østergaard A/S
Client: Municipality of Hjørring, Realdania
Area: 4,200m²
Construction cost: €16.5 million excl. VAT
Competition: 2013, 1st prize in restricted competition
Full-service consultant: schmidt hammer lassen architects
Engineer: Brix & Kamp A/S and ALECTIA A/S
Landscape architect: LIW Planning Aps
Other consultants: Gade & Mortensen Akustik A/S, AIX Arkitekter AB, Filippa Berglund, scenograf, arkitekt maa

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This volcano museum in western Hungary features walls of dark concrete and Corten steel designed by Budapest studio Foldes Architects to reference the colours of volcanic rock and lava (+ slideshow).

Located on a flat plain between the city of Celldomolk and a former volcano, the Kemenes Volcanopark Visitor Centre tells the history of the surrounding region, which five million years ago was home to many volcanoes.

Foldes Architects won a competition to design the museum, using materials and forms that subtly reference the shapes and colours of volcanoes.

“Instead of the straight translation of the brief, such as creating a volcano-shaped museum building, we wanted to capture the true substance of the location,” said architect Laszlo Foldes.

“The raw materials, the homogeneous grey of the concrete, the lava-inspired colour of the Corten steel and the flue-like arrangement of the space deliver the spirit and essence of a volcano,” he added.

Corten steel boxes puncture the rectilinear volume of the five-storey building, forming self-contained screening rooms and exhibition spaces that project out towards the landscape.

The entrance leads into a full-height atrium. A small skylight five storeys above lets in a beam of light and is intended to recreate the feeling of being inside a volcano.

Concrete walls are left exposed inside the building, while steel staircases ascend to exhibition spaces on all four upper floors.

Other buildings we’ve featured from Hungary include an extension to a Renaissance palace and a library with an egg-shaped dome at its centre. See more architecture in Hungary »

Photography is by Tamas Bujnovszky.

Here’s some more information from Foldes Architects:

Volcano Visitor Centre opened in Hungary, designed by Foldes Architects

Though Hungary, located in Central Eastern Europe, is not rich in active volcanos, a large expanse of the country used to be volcanic some 5 million years ago. However, this does help ensure good quality soil for high level wine production, one of Hungary’s largest export products.

The iconic Kemenes Volcanopark Visitor Centre lays 200 km west of the capital Budapest, and has been realised following a national architectural contest announced in 2009 by the Celldomolk City Council, when Foldes Architects celebrated their winning entry from the competing 44 projects. The chosen plot for the centre highlighted a flat area between the city of Celldomolk and the 5 million year old Sag Hill, a former volcano.

“Instead of the straight translation of the brief, such as creating a volcano-shaped museum building, we wanted to capture the true substance of the location. According to our concept, the raw materials, the homogeneous grey of the concrete, the lava-inspired colour of the Corten steel, and the flue-like arrangement of the space, deliver the spirit and essence of a volcano.” – Laszlo Foldes, chief designer of Foldes Architects.

Upon entering the vast interior of the building, the visitor meets two engaging attractions. At first sight the vertically open space captures the eye. Five floors above, a small window lets in a beam of light offering the ‘eruption’ point on the flat roof. On the opposite side, the industrial materials of the facade appear consistent with the interior: naked concrete walls, dark grey resin flooring, steel staircase and corridor, and the Corten steel cubes also visible from the outside. The varied height and location of bridges link the different sizes and positions of the Corten boxes. These offer a range of functions, from screening rooms to interactive installations area, and present the fascinating history and typology of volcanos. To create a more refined interior, the exhibition texts are situated directly on the wall without any supporting board.

If you ever wanted to imagine walking through a cubist painting, this building is a great example of how it might feel to wander into Picasso’s Guernica. While passing below the red cubes, grey walls and bridges of the building, you have a real opportunity to comprehend the transience and vulnerability of human existence bracketed by such a formidable force of nature.

Project name: Kemenes Volcanopark Visitor Center
Location: Celldomolk, Vas County, Hungary
Program: Specific museum building to represent the volcanic history of the territory
Type: competition commission

Area/Size: 965 sqm
Cost: 1.238.000.EUR
Client: Celldomolk City Council
Project by: Foldes Architects

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Spanish firm GRAS arquitectos has extended a traditional detached house in Mallorca by adding a series of contrasting Corten steel boxes.

The existing white-painted building was left intact, with the extensions joined to external walls or added to gaps between the structures.

The steel volumes contain new facilities including an indoor pool, spa and game room, while a roof deck provides additional outdoor space with views of the nearby bay.

An elongated extension housing the game room and a new bedroom projects into the garden and the spa area is buried in the side of a hill.

The walls, ceiling and floors in the spa are covered with ipe wood (also known as Brazilian walnut) which adds warmth to the subterranean space, while south facing windows admit plentiful daylight.

The architects explain that the the Corten volumes “surround and embrace the old house, generating an innovative combination between the existing building and the new ‘boxes’ of steel.”

As well as creating an aesthetic contrast, Corten steel was chosen because it is “a ‘living’ material that changes over the years; acquiring the patina that [the] test of time provides to noble materials.”

We recently featured a landscape architecture project comprising several Corten steel structures scattered across a Spanish hillside.

See all of our stories about Corten steel and check out our Pinterest board dedicated to the material.

Photography is by José Hevia.

Here are some more details from the architects:

Kubik extension

Extreme contrast: extension of a single-family detached home in Mallorca.

The intervention in an existing building, and even more so with the ambition of this project, is always a delicate matter.

In this case the client wanted to add many programme requirements to the current house: an indoor pool, a game room and several rooms in addition to reorganizing the existing dwelling.

It was chosen, after much research, to extend the house through an exercise of Extreme Contrast.

The possibility of intervening in the façades of the existing house to adjust them to a more current aesthetic was cast aside; instead the contemporary language of the new volumes was emphasized to maximise contrast.

The result is a series of “boxes” that surround and embrace the old house, generating an innovative combination between the existing building and the new “boxes” of steel. This combination enhances both architectures: the framing of the new volumes highlights the old, of little value and the new stands out greatly in contrast to the former.

The materialisation of the project was in line with the concept; the original building was left in the same state, painted white, with sloping Arab tile roofs and wood carpentry, whilst the extension was done with Corten steel searching for rotundity of the elements.

Corten steel is a material that clearly contrasts with the already existing dwelling, as required by the concept. It is also a “living” material that changes over the years; acquiring the patina that test of time provides to noble materials.

The combination of both languages creates interesting situations and new programmes for the dwelling. The entrance sequence, which is essential in a house, is enhanced by architectural intervention: a new volume conceived as porch wraps-up arrivals; and the volume that houses the new bathroom of the main room projects over the garden creating a new porch which emphasises the exit to the garden, as well as it offers spectacular views over the bay of Palma. At the far ends of the house both the new bedroom as well as the game room project from the main volume stretching the house and spanning more garden and providing further views. Finally the indoor pool and spa are below ground level.

This unique space features a swimming pool, a small spa area and gym. A large window to the south maximizes the relationship with the surroundings and views, so that the SPA can become a semi-outdoor space. Aiming to provide this space with the maximum warmth, close attention has been paid to the materials in this area: the volume of concrete that forms the SPA is covered with IPE wood on both ground and ceiling, creating a continuous space that surrounds the pools, these in turn mollify in white marble to brighten the space. This way, users forget that they are in a buried space.

The result is a very cosy environment suitable for the purpose for which it is intended.

The house is situated on a plot within a pine forest, with a steep slope facing south and offers extensive views over the bay of Palma. By placing the semi-buried SPA volume in front of the house, advantage is taken of the SPA’s roof deck to extend the garden; thus the dwelling obtains a space it was lacking: a large landscaped horizontal surface.

KUBIK EXTENSION is a GRAS arquitectos project, Guillermo Reynes with Alvaro Perez

Architects: GRAS arquitectos, Guillermo Reynés con Álvaro Perez
Location: Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Area: 950 m2
Year: 2013
Photography:  José Hevia

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GRAS arquitectos appeared first on Dezeen.