Hasta La Ideas

Almost everything is pristinely white inside this dental clinic in Sicily by architecture studio Bureauhub, from the walls and floors to furniture, equipment and staff uniforms (photos by Roland Halbe + slideshow).

Aptly named White Space, the interior was designed by Bureauhub for a pre-existing orthodontic practice located in the city of Catania.

The architects began their renovation by installing a large Corian volume that wraps around several rooms inside the clinic to accommodate a variety of different functions and activities.

It integrates information screens and pull-out coat hooks in the reception area, and also curves down on one side to provide patient seating and magazine storage.

Elsewhere, it accommodates touch screens and remote controls for X-rays and medical information systems, as well as display walls for dental photography and other pin-up items.

“We envisioned an implant concept, based on the typical orthodontic use of high-precision medical devices, as a design principle throughout the space,” explained the architects.

The clinic has a clientele of mostly children, so Bureauhub also installed a piece of custom-designed furniture that combines a desk for writing and drawing with a grotto containing bubble-shaped hiding places.

“We aimed to tickle senses and curiosity, reversing the typical expectations of a waiting area into a self-exploration environment,” said the architects.

A signage system comprising 21 different symbols was developed to aid orientation around the clinic. Each symbol is milled into the Corian at children’s eye level, while a back-lit wall offers a guide to what each one means.

Photography is by Roland Halbe.

Here’s a project description from Bureauhub:

White Space

White Space is an private orthodontic clinic for an opinion leader and luminary who is applying and researching most advanced techniques and materials in his discipline.

We envisioned an implant concept, based on the typical orthodontic use of high-precision medical devices, as a design principle throughout the space. Interior wall surfaces and furniture merge seamlessly into a continuous white shell of DuPontTM Corian® where cutting edge medical technology are implanted.

The plug-in components are ranging from ergonomic deformations like coat hangers or toothbrush holder folded out of the Corian® cladding up to technical implants like a touch screen and remote button for x-ray control or TV screens for medical information.

Since 80% of the clinic patients are represented by children, we aimed to tickle senses and curiosity, reversing the typical expectations of a waiting area into a self-exploration environment.

Core of the patient lounges is a multifunctional furniture designed ad-hoc to entertain with pedagogical value: on one side three intersecting void spheres form a grotto-like space to be explored by children, while on the other side a surface equipped with niches for pencils and comic strips is dedicated to study and sketching.

A playful signage graphic with custom designed icons CNC milled into the white Corian® skin is positioned intentionally at children’s eye level. It refers to the softly glowing backlit graphic panel indicating the spatial organisation of the clinic. Here backlighting is created by pioneer use of OLED lighting modules, next generation sustainable light source produced with organic electroluminescent material that will help reduce CO2 emissions.

Main focus of the futuristic environment is based upon all handcrafted built-in components meticulously designed up to the smallest details and recalling the precision and craftsmanship of orthodontics. Every single detail experiences a subtle spatial presence, accentuating the abstraction and scalelessness of the ephemeral, monochromatic environment in a playful and poetical way.

Project Name: White Space Orthodontic Clinic
Architect: bureauhub architecture
Location: Via Teseo 13, 95126 Catania, Italy
Building Type: Private Orthodontic Clinic
Building Area: 220 m2 (NFA) / 257 m2 (GFA)
Client: Dr. Davide Agatino Mirabella

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Corian walls by Bureauhub appeared first on Dezeen.

Italian architects Scape have modernised an apartment in one of Rome‘s oldest neighbourhoods by adding faceted ceilings and a boxy wooden staircase.

The residence occupies the uppermost floors of a detached house on Oppian Hill – one of the seven hills that forms the historic centre of the Italian capital city – and is positioned just east of the Colosseum.

Scape were tasked with rationalising an incongruous interior created by numerous extensions and renovations, but were bound by strict planning laws governing the historic architectural fabric.

“Not only was it a situation that was functionally and spatially compromised, but added to this were the difficulties related to intervening architecturally in a city where the law tends to protect pre-existing elements that are easier to control, thus unfortunately often ignoring aspects of quality that might be improved upon,” they explained.

The interior is arranged around a double-height living room, above which the architects have installed a system of suspended ceilings with angular facets, intended to emphasise the joints of the roof.

“The objective of the project was that of reconstructing the interior of the dwelling to produce a spatially coherent and unified entity while taking advantage of and enhancing aspects of the house,” added the architects.

A separate kitchen and dining room is also located on this main floor, alongside a pair of bedrooms with en suite bathrooms.

New wooden storage closets have been added along the walls and match up with the wooden staircase that ascends to a guest bedroom on the mezzanine floor, as well as to a smaller level above.

Located in the building’s turret, this top floor now functions as a study room and opens out to rooftop balconies on two sides.

Photography is by Francesco Mattuzzi.

Here’s a project description from the architects:

Renovation of an apartment in Rome

The transformation of the two top floors of a freestanding house in Colle Oppio is a project that, as is often the case working with the ancient fabric of Rome, involved numerous complex factors.

The apartment, measuring a little over 200 msq, was distributed over three levels; two main floors and a mezzanine, the fruit of numerous interventions that had been carried out in a disorderly and incoherent manner over the last twenty years.

Not only was it a situation that was functionally and spatially compromised, but added to this were the difficulties related to intervening architecturally in a city where the law tends to protect pre-existing elements that are easier to control, thus unfortunately often ignoring aspects of quality that might be improved upon. Finally, the building had static problems that forced the owners to carry out a considerable consolidation of the floor slabs and roofing.

The objective of the project was that of reconstructing the interior of the dwelling to produce a spatially coherent and unified entity while taking advantage of and enhancing aspects of the house such as the high ceilings in certain areas and the presence of several outside spaces, which, although small, are on different levels and provide splendid views of the city.

Two main structural operations dictated the organisation of the various areas of the house: integrating a large body of wood for the internal staircase to connect the various levels and all the cupboard and storage space necessary for the easy running of a house, as well as the homogenisation of the ceilings that were arranged with layered roofing that was interesting but compromised by irrational and disorganised load-bearing elements.

The first operation allowed the redistribution of the various living spaces in the house. On the first floor, the living room takes advantage of the building’s high ceilings and the best views of Colle Oppio.

The sleeping quarters on the other hand are smaller spaces: two bedrooms with their respective bathrooms. Large four-metre high cupboards introduce a connecting element between these two areas of the apartment.

The new positioning of the staircase presented the possibility of introducing visual interaction between the various levels. The mezzanine, which comprises a small area dedicated to the ironing, the guest bedroom and the boiler room, faces onto the living room on one side and the kitchen on the other, bringing to the fore qualities of height and shape in the spaces.

On the top floor, the landing at the top of the stairs links the two upper terraces, one on each side, and the splendid altana or large turret room that will be used as a study.

The second considerable alteration involved the roofing. A new system of false ceilings accentuates the articulation of the joints in the roof, highlighting the movement and interaction with the spaces beneath. It was an intervention inspired by the existing shapes of the roof while strengthening and reinforcing those shapes in a contemporary way.

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News: an island in the Venetian Lagoon used as a landfill site could be transformed into a huge theme park under controversial plans by Italian fairground designers Zamperla.

Zamperla, the company responsible for the latest rides on New York’s Coney Island, plans to invest €80 million (£68 million) converting the uninhabited San Biagio island into a four-hectare park that will feature a 55-metre-high Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, other rides and an exhibition that illustrates the history and ecology of Venice.

“We’re talking about the history of Venice – one of my passions – but done my way,” company founder Alberto Zamperla told news agency AFP, explaining that his plans are for a cultural attraction, not just “an amusement park”.

The artificial island is currently filled with waste from an incinerator that closed in 1985. Zamperla says the project will involve decontaminating the toxic site, creating as many as 500 jobs.

However the project has already proved contentious among both residents and city officials, who fear that the rising number of tourists will overwhelm the city’s economy.

“We are completely against it,” Matteo Secchi of community organisation Venessia told AFP. “I am not criticising the idea of renovating a degraded area. But we do not need more attractions, we have enough. Venice has other priorities. Its inhabitants are leaving, it has already become an amusement park.”

City mayor Giorgio Orsoni told the Telegraph: “The environmental rehabilitation of San Biagio should go ahead, but it must be done with respect for this city. Venice is not a theme park, and everyone must take account of that.”

The park, known as L’isola San Biagio, is expected to attract up to 11,000 visitors a day within two years. Without opposition it could be open by late 2015, according to reports.

Venice residents have already managed to prevent one major project from going ahead this year: fashion tycoon Pierre Cardin cancelled his plans for a futuristic skyscraper on Venice’s mainland, after failing to gain support from the public bodies involved.

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abandoned landfill island appeared first on Dezeen.

by Heather Stewart Feldman From a distance it looks like any other city block in Milan, but a closer look reveals it’s anything but average. Rapidly taking shape in the heart of the Isola neighborhood of North Milan is Europe’s first …

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Japanese architect Tadao Ando has added an auditorium with a curving concrete interior to the Palazzo Grassi – a contemporary arts centre inside an eighteenth-century palace in Venice (+ slideshow).

The Teatrino is the third phase of Tadao Ando’s renovation of the Palazzo Grassi, which is now owned by luxury goods tycoon François Pinault. After converting both the main building and the accompanying Punta della Dogana into contemporary art galleries, Ando added this extra building as a venue for conferences and performances.

Curving concrete walls separate the 220-seat auditorium from reception areas, dressing rooms and storage areas, providing a blank canvas for hanging artwork or film projection.

Lighting fixtures are tucked around the edges of a suspended ceiling in the main lobby, while triangular skylights offer a source of daylight.

The Teatrino occupies a space that once served as the palace’s garden. More recently it had functioned as a theatre, but has been closed to the public since 1983.

Only the facade of the original building remains, with the new structure erected behind.

Another designer to have worked on spaces at the Palazzo Grassi is Philippe Starck, who completed the adjacent Palazzina Grassi hotel in 2010. See more stories about Venice »

Other recent projects by Tadao Ando include a school of art, design and architecture at the University of Monterrey in Mexico. See more architecture by Tadao Ando »

Photography is by Orsenigo Chemollo.

Here’s a project description from the design team:

The Teatrino of Palazzo Grassi

The François Pinault Foundation is strengthening its implementation within the artistic and cultural life of Venice. A new site, created for conferences, meetings, projections, concerts, etc., will be added to the ensemble of Palazzo Grassi-Punta della Dogana-François Pinault Foundation: the Teatrino, which will open its doors to the public in June 2013.

After the restoration of Palazzo Grassi in 2006, followed by that of Punta della Dogana, inaugurated in 2009, the rehabilitation of the Teatrino in 2013 constitutes the third step of François Pinault’s broad cultural project for Venice. Conceived and conducted by Tadao Ando in close collaboration with the Municipality of Venice and the competent authorities and services (including the Superintendent of Architectural Assets and Landscapes of Venice), this restoration will maintain the spirit of architectural continuity of the preceding renovations. Work will begin in summer 2012 and last ten months.

Spread over a surface of 1,000 square meters, the Teatrino will be equipped with an auditorium of 220 seats, completed by reception areas and spaces for technical equipment (boxes, equipment for stage management and simultaneous translation, etc.). Thus, it will provide Palazzo Grassi-Punta della Dogana-François Pinault Foundation with optimal technical conditions (including acoustics) in a comfortable setting, in order to develop more fully the cultural dimension of its activities: meetings, conferences, workshops, lectures, concerts, performances, research, … with an emphasis on the moving image (cinema, artist, films, video, video installations, …). It will also reinforce the Foundation’s role as a forum of exchange, meeting, and openness towards the city.

Located on the Calle delle Carrozze, alongside Palazzo Grassi, the Teatrino was conceived in 1857 to serve as the palace’s garden. A century later, it was transformed into an open-air theatre, which was renovated and covered in 1961. It was abandoned in 1983 and has been closed to the public ever since.

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by Tadao Ando appeared first on Dezeen.