Hasta La Ideas

Speaking of MoMA, as we were in that earlier post, this weekend the museum’s PS1 branch kicked off two celebrity-heavy programs by the same two celebrities. The first is a collaboration between film director Gus Van Sant and actor-turned-everything-else called My Own Private River, which ” is comprised of unused footage and dailies from Van Sant’s 1991 film My Own Private Idaho.” The film reportedly focuses on River Phoenix‘s character and “is more observational and less linear than its original iteration.” The second project is the launch of the month-long Summer School series of master classes, taught by Van Sant, Franco, and media theorist and RISD professor, Francisco J. Ricardo. The classes will run, presumably at least once per week, for the whole of August, and of course its limited slots filled up in mere seconds, so don’t start planning your summer around getting schooled by Franco. Here’s a bit about how the program will function:

Modeled after European summer academies and especially relevant considering that MoMA PS1 is housed in a former school, Summer School makes the museum grounds a campus again with Master Classes taught by contemporary practitioners. The intimate space of the museum provides a setting for candid conversation, experimentation and practice. As a part of the program, students attending the first Master Class will be assigned “homework” for the subsequent sessions, establishing an ongoing, sustained dialogue between teachers and students, institution and visitor.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

American architect Daniel Libeskind has completed a media centre for the City University of Hong Kong.

The Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre houses laboratories, theatres, and classrooms for the school’s departments of computer engineering and media technology.

Like much of Libeskind’s body of work, the centre’s faceted volume shoots upward into a sharp point.

Glazed segments wrap around the building’s exterior while intersecting bands of lighting slice through the ceilings of the interior.

The media centre is slated to open in October.

Daniel Libeskind is best known for his Jewish Museum in Berlin as well as masterplanning the World Trade Center site, currently under construction in New York. See all our posts about Libeskind here.

See more stories about Hong Kong buildings here.

Photography is by Gollings Photography.

Here’s some more information provided by the architect:

THE RUN RUN SHAW CREATIVE MEDIA CENTRE

The Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre for the City University of Hong Kong will provide facilities that will enable the University to become the first in Asia to offer the highest level of education and training in the creative media fields. The Centre will house the Centre for Media Technology and the Department of Computer Engineering and Information Technology.

Address: City University of Hong Kong, Cornwall Street, Kowloon Tong

Technical Details
» Steel-reinforced concrete
» 263,000 square feet

Creative Team:
Design: Studio Daniel Libeskind
Joint Venture Partner: Leigh & Orange Ltd. (Hong Kong)
Structural Engineer: ARUP (London and Hong Kong)
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer: ARUP
Geotechnical/Civil Engineer: ARUP
Civil Engineering, Specialists, Environmental, IT & Communications, Audio Visual, Acoustics, Fire, Building Innovation, Traffic Engineering: ARUP (Hong Kong)
Contractor: China Resources Construction
Landscape Architect: ADI Limited (Hong Kong)

Facilities:
» Two sound stages (2,200 sq ft and 5,400 sq ft)
» Two THX screening rooms, one with dubbing facilities
» Three additional screening rooms
» Virtual reality immersive research lab
» Box-in-box sound recording studio
» Television studio
» Computer labs and classrooms for production and research
» Multipurpose theater
» Flexible event and exhibition spaces
» Three lecture rooms
» Wood /metal shop
» Electrical shop
» Restaurant
» Café
» Landscaped garden

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Made-to-order villa by Daniel Libeskind	Jewish Museum Extension by Daniel Libeskind	Royal Ontario Museum by Daniel Libeskind

When the artist Ai Weiwei was detained by Chinese authorities at the Beijing airport in early April his destination was Hong Kong, but it was believed that he would soon be leaving there and heading toward starting anew in Berlin. He even said as much himself, just five days before the arrest that would find him locked away from the world for three months. So it comes as something of a surprise to learn that Weiwei has accepted a teaching role at the Berlin University of the Arts, which had offered him a professorship shortly after his detainment. Certainly nice that they’ve kept the slot open for him and he’s eager to take it on, but doesn’t it almost sounds like the whole belabored and painful process is starting all over again? Granted, this time the artist has tax evasion charges to deal with, as well as being held on a tight leash when it comes to talking to the media, so perhaps he’ll skip heading to the airport this time and just wait out the Chinese government to allow him to travel again. Meanwhile, Weiwei has been given a hearing with the tax agency who claims his company owes nearly $2 million in back taxes and fines (and, as such, was the whole reason for his detainment), which seems like it must be a good, if minor win for the artist. While those conversations start up, those in Berlin will be waiting and seeing what happens. As a roughly translated copy of the university’s statement about Weiwei joining them says, “When is a departure from China will be possible, remains uncertain.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Beneath a wide skylight, a white spiralling staircase descends the three storeys of this high school in Lille by French architects Tank.

Although constructed entirely from brick, the College Levi-Strauss has no corners, only curved edges.

Three kinds of brickwork are used to create a facade that varies in colour.

Square windows of different sizes are scattered across the elevation and at lower level occasional bricks are painted in yellow, green and blue.

The building surrounds an enclosed courtyard playground, but classrooms face outward towards the city.

More stories about schools on Dezeen »

Photography is by Julien Lanoo.

The following information is from Tank Architectes:

College Levi Strauss, Lille

The college Levi Strauss is settled in the heart of a urban growth district, between its ancient housing, warehouses and the port district of Lille, North of France.

The main building’s settled on the urban boulevard, the main hall, highly transparent, is opened on the front square, this gives an institutional feature to the high school playing a major role within the district.

The main entrance is through a porch at the intersection of Boulevard de la Lorraine and Rue Lestiboudois.

Very sunny and sheltered from the winds, the playground’s mainly mineral and generously planted.

Opened on the playground, the entrance of the dining hall and club. Dedicated to the pupils facilities, those spaces have been thought like spaces in the bricks oriented towards the trees of the playground.

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On top of the covered playground situated on the southern side, the scientific classrooms offer a large view on the nearby urban environment. Connecting to these specialised classrooms, the library’s occupying a central position on the first floor with direct access to the school hall.

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The asymmetrical alignment of the variously sized square windows bring light into the classrooms and offer pupils large views of the city. On the southern part of the site outdoor sporting facilities and a gymnasium operate independently.

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As in many regions of northern Europe, the brick is the only material used for the facades. The architects wanted rounded corners, so that the high school looks soft, there’s no sharp angle. The bricks are rendered in 3 stratums corresponding to the 3 shifted levels of the building which create open spaces and identify the entrance of the pupils.

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Project managers:
Architects: TANK ARCHITECTES, Olivier Camus & Lydéric Veauvy
Mathieu Berteloot, collaborating architect

Engineering studies:
Structures, fluids, kitchen Pingat Ingéniérie,
Sustainable development Etamine
Road works Best VRD
Landscape : Paysages
Outdoor design : Atelier Télescopique

Client: Conseil Général du Nord
Total cost: 13 158 000 € ht
Area: 8 200 m2 SHON
Calendar: studies: june 2007-oct 2008
building: nov 2008-nov 2010
delivery: november 2010

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Primary school by Pereda and Pérez	The Sackler Building by Haworth Tompkins	County Elementary School by Vector Architects

Rectangular voids are carved out of the stone facade of this monolithic pavilion in the Netherlands by Rotterdam-based Shift architecture urbanism.

Sliding glass windows fill the voids, but are recessed to create sheltered terraces along the front and rear elevations.

As part of Tilburg University, the Faculty Club provides a restaurant, lounge and two conference rooms for the use of academic staff and their guests.

More education architecture on Dezeen »

Photography is by René de Wit.

Here is some more text from Harm Timmermans of Shift architecture urbanism:

Faculty Club, Tilburg University, by Shift architecture urbanism

Tilburg University has extended its campus with the Faculty Club, a multipurpose pavilion for the academic staff and their guests. Shift architecture urbanism took the initiative to reanimate the quintessential quality of the Tilburg campus: strong solitary buildings in the green. The monumental modernism of Jos Bedaux served as a frame of reference. Bedaux designed the first – still the best – buildings for the university in the sixties.

By creating a strong formal relation between the existing university buildings and the new Faculty Club, an ensemble of omni-directional solitaires is created. This enables one to recognize the Faculty Club as part of the university, despite its peripheral forest location and exclusive program.

The Faculty Club is designed as a carved-out-monolith, one simple box in which transparency and massiveness melt together. The central restaurant is carved out from the centre, creating a tunnel-effect in the front façade. In order to strengthen its solitaire character the building is lifted from the ground. The height difference is bridged by outside stairs and a ramp integrated within the front façade.

Each façade has only one window. By recessing each window, outdoor spaces are created within the front and rear façades. These mark the entrance in front and form a large covered terrace in the back. The simplicity and plasticity of the three-dimensional window treatment further contributes to the building’s sculptural qualities.

The primary program consists of a restaurant for eighty persons, a lounge and two conference rooms. The secondary program consists of a kitchen, storage space and other services. The further the functions are situated from the campus, the more intimate and informal the space becomes. The conference rooms look out over the campus, while the lounge completely relates to the forest and the garden. All main functions are physically linked by a transparent axis running the length of the building.

Both the lounge and the restaurant are connected to the carved-out terrace situated at the rear of the building. A four-rail system of sliding windows enables one to open up two-thirds of the total eighteen meters of glass façade. This intensifies the experience of the forest without the visitor having to step outside the building envelope.

The construction principles of the Faculty Club are deceptively simple. In order to emphasize contrasting space and mass, the structure, installations and details are integrated within walls and floors. The starting point for the engineering was the visual absence of technique. Key contractors and consultants were engaged early in the process of preliminary design, enabling the development of precise and project-specific details that consistently support the overall concept. Shift architecture urbanism was responsible for the design, including the execution drawings and the site supervision.

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The result is an integral, durable and engaging building. A monolith carved in such a way as to both profit and profit from the surrounding landscape while maintaining its distinct primary form. Its architecture refers to the heritage of Jos Bedaux by abstracting and updating his formal language. This makes the building into a solidary solitaire, sober and luxurious, massive and transparent, silent and outspoken.

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Project data:

Client: Tilburg University
Design: Shift architecture urbanism, Rotterdam
Project architects: Harm Timmermans and Pieter Heymans
Collaborators: Sabine Hogenhout, Bahar Akkoclu and Tjeerd Bloothoofd
Developer: Van der Weegen Bouwontwikkeling, Tilburg
Main contractor: Van der Weegen Bouwgroep, Tilburg

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Construction: Bartels, Eindhoven
Installations: Van Delft Installaties, Nieuwkuijk
Stone façade: Van Stokkum Natuursteen, Venlo
Glass façade: MHB, Herveld
Fixed interior: Smeulders IG, Nuenen
Concrete floor: Van Kempen Bedrijfsvloeren, Bergeijk
Garden: Van Helvoirt Groenprojecten, Berkel Enschot
Lighting: Philips Lighting and Living Projects
Furniture: Brokx Projectinrichting, Oosterhout with Vitra
Garden design: MTD, Den Bosch
Garden realisation: Van Helvoirt Groenprojecten, Berkel Enschot

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Gross area: Inside space: 518m2
Outside space: 110m2
Address: Warandelaan 3, Tilburg
Delivery: June 2011
Stone façade: Limestone, type: Muschelkalk
Glass façade: Anodized aluminium, type MHB-Skyframe with Saint Gobain glazing
Ceiling: Acoustic stucco, OWA
Lighting: LED, Philips
Furniture: Vitra

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School of Technology and Management	Pedagogic Resource Centre by Béal & Blanckaert	Haifa University Student Centre by Chyutin Architects