Hasta La Ideas

Photographer Edmund Sumner has sent us these images of a shimmering steel visitors centre at a Mumbai museum.

RMA Architects designed the elliptical building at the entrance to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum), where historical Indian artefacts and artworks are exhibited.

Thin steel columns support a curving roof that overhangs the exterior walls of the centre to shelter a surrounding terrace.

Existing trees grow through holes in this roof, which also shelters a separate circular baggage kiosk.

The remaining portion of the visitors centre contains a 200-seat auditorium, a ticket-office, a shop, a cafe and toilets.

Edmund Sumner has photographed a number of buildings in Mumbai – see our earlier stories about a corporate office block beside a slum and a wood-clad temple.

The following text is from RMA Architects:

A visitor’s center located at the entrance of the Prince of Wales Museum, a Grade I heritage structure in Mumbai.

The contemporary structure expands upon the footprint of a previously existing multipurpose hall, and is a part of an expansion plan for this prestigious urban landmark.

The center fulfills various programmatic functions, ranging from the integration of baggage collection and storage, to ticketing and security, as well as a museum shop, two hundred seat auditorium, and rest rooms.

A lightweight, stainless steel clad elliptical roof creates a covered verandah for circulation, integrating disparate visitor programs into a consolidated and modest, yet contemporary form.

Click above for larger image

Glass and metal surfaces exist as a visual counterpoint to stout basalt stone of local heritage structures. Reflective material planes create a paradoxical visual poetry in which archaic forms of the adjacent museum are recast and distorted in a new perspective.

The pre-defined footprint is organically punctured by existing trees that project through openings in the roof, yielding localized deviations in the otherwise low-key scale spaces.

Integration of natural textures with modern means and materials further expands the defining narrative of the center, that of a culturally meaningful intervention within a monumental historic context.

See also:

.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by SANAA	Size + Matter by David Chipperfield	firstsite by Rafael Viñoly Architects

Architect Li Xiaodong has completed a library in China that’s covered in firewood.

Located on the outskirts of Beijing, the single-storey Liyuan Library houses its collection of books within a chunky timber frame.

Stepped platforms integrate low level shelves and provide seating areas for readers.

The sticks cover a glazed shell that encases the library.

We’ve also featured a library in Japan with an exterior of timber bookshelves covered by glass and another in Germany with a golden facade – see more stories about libraries here.

Photography is by Li Xiaodong

Here’s some more text from Li Xiaodong:

Liyuan Library

This project is modest addition to the small village of Huairou on the outskirts of Beijing, just under a two hours drive from busy Beijing urban life.

On the one hand it forms a modern programmatic complement to the village by adding a small library and reading space within a setting of quiet contemplation. On the other hand we wanted to use architecture to enhance the appreciation of the natural landscaping qualities.

So instead of adding a new building inside the village center, we chose this particular site in the nearby mountains, a pleasant five minute walk from the village center. In doing so we could provide a setting of clear thoughts when one consciously takes the effort to head for the reading room.

Because of the overwhelming beauty of the surrounding nature our intervention is modest in its outward expression. We can’t compete with nature’s splendor. The building blends into the landscape through the delicate choice of materials and the careful placement of the building volume. Especially the choice of material is crucial in blending with the regional characteristics. After analyzing the local material characteristics in the village we found large amounts of locally sourced wooden sticks piled around each house. The villagers gather these sticks all year round to fuel their cooking stoves. Thus we decided to use this ordinary material in an extraordinary way, cladding the building in familiar textures in a way that is strikingly sensitive.

The inside of the building has a very expressive character though; its interior is spatially diverse by using steps and small level changes to create distinct places. It frames views towards the surrounding landscape and acts as an embracing shelter. The building is fully glazed to allow for a fully daylight space. The wooden sticks temper the bright light and spread it evenly throughout the space to provide for a perfect reading ambience.

Architect: Li Xiaodong/Atelier
Team: Li Xiaodong; Liu Yayun; Huang Chenwen; Pan Xi
Location: Jiaojiehe village, Huairou county, Beijing, China
Floor area: 175 sqm
Client: Jiaojiehe village
Construction period: Mar 2011 – Oct 2011

See also:

.

University Library by Sou Fujimoto Architects	Livraria de Vila by Isay Weinfeld Arquitecto	Book Mountain by MVRDV

Portuguese photographer José Campos has sent us these photos of Herzog & de Meuron’s Elbphilharmonie concert hall, which is currently under construction in Hamburg and due for completion in 2013.

The building will comprise a new glass structure atop an existing brick warehouse built in 1963 by Hamburg architect Werner Kallmorgen.

The building will comprise three concert halls, a hotel, apartments, and a public square elevated 37 metres above the adjacent river Elbe.

Once open, the main auditorium at the heart of the building will accommodate over 2000 spectators.

We published visualisations of the Swiss architects’ proposals on Dezeen last year – see our early story here.

Other projects by Herzog & de Meuron on Dezeen include a furniture showroom composed of five barn-like blocks and the proposed extension to London’s Tate Modern art gallery – see all our stories about Herzog & de Meuron here.

See more photography on Dezeen by José Campos here.

See also:

.

Stade Bordeaux Atlantique by Herzog & de Meuron	1111 Lincoln Road by Herzog & de Meuron	More stories about Herzog & de Meuron

New York architect Daniel Libeskind has driven a pointed steel and glass shard through the heart of the war museum in Dresden, which reopens on October 14 after a 22-year closure.

The five-storey triangular wedge extends the existing galleries of the Museum of Military History, making it the largest museum in Germany.

The sharp tip of the structure points eastwards, to the source of firebombs dropped during the war, while a 30 metre-high rooftop viewing platform provides a view towards the city skyline in the west.

Inside the building, exposed concrete walls separate the new exhibition areas from the historic galleries.

Lectures and screening will take place inside the building’s auditorium.

Daniel Libeskind also recently completed a media centre for the University of Hong Kong – see our earlier story here and see all our stories about Libeskind here.

Photography is by Bitter Bredt.

Here’s some more information from Libeskind:

“It was not my intention to preserve the museum’s facade and just add an invisible extension in the back. I wanted to create a bold interruption, a fundamental dislocation, to penetrate the historic arsenal and create a new experience. The architecture will engage the public in the deepest issue of how organized violence and how military history and the fate of the city are intertwined.”—Daniel Libeskind

The redesigned Dresden Museum of Military History is now the official central museum of the German Armed Forces. It will house an exhibition area of roughly 21,000 square feet, making it Germany’s largest museum.

Since its 1897 founding, the Dresden Museum of Military History has been a Saxon armory and museum, a Nazi museum, a Soviet museum and an East German museum. Today it is the military history museum of a unified and democratic Germany, its location outside the historic center of Dresden having allowed the building to survive the allied bombing campaign at the end of World War II.

In 1989, unsure how the museum would fit into a newly unified German state, the government decided to shut it down. By 2001 feelings had shifted and an architectural competition was held for an extension that would facilitate a reconsideration of the way we think about war.

Daniel Libeskind’s winning design boldly interrupts the original building’s symmetry. The extension, a massive, five-story 140-ton wedge of glass, concrete and steel, cuts through the 135-year-old former arsenal’s structural order. A 98-foot high viewing platform provides breathtaking views of modern Dresden while pointing in the opposite direction toward the source of the fire-bombs, creating a dramatic space for reflection.

The new façade’s openness and transparency contrasts with the opacity and rigidity of the existing building. The latter represents the severity of the authoritarian past while the former reflects the openness of the democratic society in which it has been reimagined.

The interplay between these perspectives forms the character of the new Military History Museum.

“The dramatic extension is a symbol of the resurrection of Dresden from its ashes. It is about the juxtaposition of tradition and innovation, of the new and the old. Dresden is a city that has been fundamentally altered; the events of the past are not just a footnote; they are central to the transformation of the city today.”- Daniel Libeskind

1. CHANGING PERSPECTIVE – The MHM offers different perspectives on German military history. The architecture, the new thematic exhibition and the redesigned permanent (chronological) exhibition represent both traditional and new forms of perception and expression. The juxtaposition of tradition and innovation, of old and new interpretations of military history, is the cornerstone of the new approach.

2. CULTURAL HISTORY OF VIOLENCE – The MHM offers visitors a history of the German military. But it goes beyond uniforms and weapons in its investigation state-controlled violence, offering new ways of assessing that history and the culture of violence that gave rise to it.

Click above for larger image

3. THE CENTRAL THEME IS THE HUMAN BEING – The central theme of the MHM’s architecture and exhibition design is an anthropological consideration of the nature of violence. The museum closely examines the fears, hopes, passions, memories, motivations and instances of courage, rationality and aggression that have precipitated violence and, all too often, war.

4. MUSEUM AS FORUM – In addition to presenting current and historical topics in special exhibitions and events, the MHM will host screenings, lectures and international symposia.

Click above for larger image

5. A NEW MUSEUM DISTRICT – Once a prosperous and heavily visited area, Dresden’s Albertstodt district, in which the museum is located, , has been deserted for some time. The new MHM will be the catalyst that turns the district into an international destination, a cultural center and a museum district. Made add’l change

See also:

.

Creative Media Centre by Daniel Libeskind	Jewish Museum Extension by Daniel Libeskind	Royal Ontario Museum by Daniel Libeskind

Architect Rafael Viñoly has completed a visual arts centre in Colchester, England, that is wrapped in polished golden metal.

These copper-aluminium panels create diagonal stripes across the curved exterior walls of the single-storey gallery.

The building is entitled Firstsite, as it is located on the site of one of the first Roman settlements in the UK.

A restored mosaic embedded in the floor of one room will be the gallery’s only permanent exhibit.

Visitors enter the crescent-shaped building through a tall glazed wall at one end.

A reception here leads through to the galleries and to an auditorium lined with fabric diamonds and lengths of timber.

Beyond the galleries, a café leads to an outdoor terrace.

Other shiny metal-covered buildings from the Dezeen archive include a copper-clad hair salon and an office with a face of aluminium shingles.

Photography is by Richard Bryant.

Here are some more details from the architects:

Firstsite, Colchester

The Building

The building plan is a modified crescent that wraps around a D-shaped eighteenth-century garden. It slopes upwards in line with the site topography, culminating in a monumental portico which frames the lobby with full-height glazing. Contemporary in both form and cladding, built on a steel frame and wrapped in TECU Gold (a copper-aluminum alloy), the building engages with the site’s axial geometry and the preexisting period architecture.

All construction took place at elevations above the Scheduled Ancient Monument datum line because buried archaeological artefacts precluded excavation. The building therefore floats on a concrete raft foundation which required no deep excavation. One of those artefacts, the Berryfield Mosaic, is set into the floor beneath protective glass, providing a glimpse of the history buried under the building. Internal levels work with the contours of the site; twelve different floor slab levels create subtle slopes that draw people through the building.

An interior promenade carries visitors from the vast entrance space through to the auditorium, University and Mosaic spaces, learning areas and main exhibition spaces, ending up at the café restaurant, MUSA. The curved form of the building creates the sense of a journey that allows visitors to encounter artwork as they walk through the building. The café restaurant at the end of this promenade provides social space lit by overhead clerestory windows; it includes an outdoor terrace which overlooks the adjacent gardens. Administrative space and galleries aligned on the inside arc of the building feature wide glazing that provides natural light and views of the adjacent eighteenth-century garden. Sensitive landscaping animates the open garden spaces, including artwork designed by artist Simon Periton installed September 2011.

In accordance with the design mandate to turn the traditional white cube gallery inside-out, extensive natural lighting and clear internal orientation is maintained by preserving sightlines to the outdoors. Floor-level strips of windows animate the design by revealing to visitors in the garden the movement of people inside, while also providing diffused light to the interior; clerestory windows give further natural light.

The Site

The site, near the town centre of one of Britain’s first Roman settlements, sits on Scheduled Ancient Monument land, with an intact Roman wall defining the southern boundary. Because archaeological remains are scattered throughout the site, maximum loads on the ground and a no-dig policy, the building had to impose a minimum load on the existing topography.

As the first project in the revitalisation of Colchester’s historic St Botolph’s Quarter, firstsite anchors the long-term development plan of an underused district. Rafael Viñoly Architects PC proposed a number of revisions to the original St Botolph’s Quarter master plan, all of which were subsequently adopted. The proposed building site was moved eastward, away from the town centre, redistributing the area of redevelopment. This faciliated a more sensitive relationship between the building and the historic assets of Colchester; specifically, by preserving the character of the north-south Queen Street/St Botolph’s Street corridor, which connects the Colchester Castle Museum (to the north) and the Colchester Town train station (to the south) with a gently curving street of historical buildings.

The new location situates the building in a park, creating new public space as an appropriate setting for a cultural destination. (A bus station was relocated to accommodate this new construction.) The site is now directly south of the eighteenth-century Grade I Listed East Hill House, which firstsite faces across a D-shaped garden that lends it its crescent shape, and whose Grade II gothic folly was separated from the house in the mid twentieth century by the construction of a bus station. Views from the museum to the first-century Roman wall emphasise the historical importance of this ancient structure. Other prominent nearby structures include Grade II Listed twelfth century St James’s Church and the Minories Art Gallery, the latter a red-brick Georgian townhouse that served as firstsite’s original home, and which has been a gallery since the 1950s.

Spaces

The auditorium is clad internally with diamond-patterned, suede-like acoustic fabric and overlapping European cherry timber shells. It will be used for film screenings, performances, lectures and presentations. Situated behind the Entrance space, it leads visitors on to the main gallery areas which are defined by a varied materials palette of an ammonia-fumed oak floor and angled/curving plasterboard walls. The Foundation for Sport and the Arts Gallery, a climate-controlled, museum-quality hanging space, is accompanied by many adaptable display opportunities. The flexible spatial configuration promotes interaction between visitors and artists, as spaces can be opened up to the galleries to encompass learning, artist residencies, and exhibitions. Programmed spaces are clustered, with the learning spaces in one area, conference and administration facilities in another, the galleries are concentrated near the centre of the building, and the café restaurant MUSA at the far eastern end.

The newly restored Berryfield Roman Mosaic is located at the heart of the firstsite building. Dating from around AD200, the mosaic was unearthed in 1923 by a local tenant on the site where firstsite now stands. The Mosaic originally formed part of the dining room floor of a wealthy Roman townhouse. After 80 years in Colchester Castle, the Mosaic has been painstakingly restored and returned to its rightful home, as firstsiteÊs only permanent exhibit. Its design consists of a central rose motif surrounded by four panels depicting sea monsters chasing Dolphins.
The Mosaic, which has been carefully cleaned and now benefits from a new lightweight backing, is displayed horizontally in a case embedded into the floor of the building.

MUSA, firstsiteÊs contemporary café restaurant will be open every day to gallery visitors and the general public. Award winning chef Paul Boorman will lead a talented young team in the kitchen to create an innovative modern British menu, applying cutting-edge techniques to traditionally inspired dishes. Open 8am ! 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10am ! 5pm on Sunday, diners can enjoy a drink at the bar and eat inside or on the terrace. On Sundays, there will be an all-day brunch menu available, and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, MUSA will open from 7pm as a destination restaurant for Colchester and North Essex.

See also:

.

Carrasco Airport by Rafael Viñoly	Stem Cell Building by Rafael Viñoly	Cleveland Museum by Rafael Viñoly