Hasta La Ideas

Rem Koolhaas’ OMA has completed the new Amsterdam headquarters of Dutch denim brand G-Star RAW, which features a concrete shell, a glass core and a hangar-like facade that slides open (+ slideshow).

Located beside the A10 motorway in Amsterdam’s industrial Zuidoost district, the G-Star RAW HQ was designed by OMA to embody the rough-and-ready aesthetic of the brand’s military-inspired clothing, using stark materials and bulky volumes.

The 140-metre-long building sits over a large plinth that raises it up to the level of the road. It is wrapped by a dark concrete frame that houses the supporting facilities, while the central section is a row of glass boxes that contain the company’s creative departments.

Described by the architects as a “creative nucleus”, this section comprises a number of staggered floor plates and double-height spaces.

It also includes a flexible multi-purpose zone that the brand can use for large-scale production, fashion shows or parties.

This 20-metre-high space is fronted by sliding glass doors – sourced from an aircraft hangar manufacturer – that allow it to be either fully contained or exposed to the outside.

“The shifting facade and changing uses of the RAW Space, together with the various possible uses of the plinth, will create a constantly varying appearance reflecting the inner dynamism of G-Star RAW,” said OMA in a statement.

One glass box projects out from the facade to cantilever over the building’s entrance, creating a series of showrooms. This is surrounded by visitor facilities that offer framed views into the creative areas beyond.

The building is completed by a large G-Star RAW logo that stretches across the facade as if it were a billboard.

Photography is courtesy of OMA.

Here’s the project description from the architects:

G-Star RAW HQ

Situated next to the A10 in the industrial Zuidoost area of Amsterdam, the new HQ for G-Star RAW will consolidate G-Star RAW’s disparate facilities into a single building that aims to stimulate interaction between various departments.

The 27,500m2 horizontal building – 140 metres long – consists of a creative nucleus containing the core departments of G-Star RAW, which are enveloped by a ring of offices, parking and support facilities. The distinction between the support activities and the creative core is heightened through contrasting materials – a monolithic solidity rendered in black concrete for the ring, while the creative core is visible through the glass facade. The lower part of the ring forms a plinth for parking and drop off; the plinth also provides a location for installations and events.

The main entrance is situated at the level of the plinth and is underneath a cantilevered glass box that houses G-Star’s showrooms. This end of the building, distinct from the inner workings of G-Star, is dedicated to visitors; however there is still exposure of these inner workings through controlled views and access.

Inside the creative core of the building, staggered floor plates and double-height spaces promote a dynamic exchange between the different creative departments allowing for cross communication. The RAW-space, a flexible multi-use zone, either open to the outside or concealed behind sliding hangar-type doors, provides a space for work and production, parties, and fashion shows. Oriented towards the A10, the shifting facade and changing uses of the RAW-space, together with the various possible uses of the plinth, will create a constantly varying appearance reflecting the inner dynamism of G-Star RAW.

Project: headquarters for Dutch international fashion brand G-Star Status: Construction
Clients: G-Star RAW C.V.
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Site: industrial regeneration area in southeast Amsterdam next to A10 ring road
Program: offices and creative spaces (19,000m2) and parking (8,500m2)

Partners-in-charge: Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon

Current team (construction + interiors): Katrien van Dijk (project leader), Tjeerd van de
Sandt, Saskia Simon, Marina Cogliani, Jung-Won Yoon

Team (interiors concept): Saskia Simon (project leader), Marlies Boterman, Marina Cogliani, Karolina Czeczek, Green van Gogh, Sarah Moylan, Mafalda Rangel, Tjeerd van de Sandt

Team (SD/DD/TD): Richard Hollington III (associate in charge), Tjeerd van de Sandt (project leader), Fred Awty, Philippe Braun, Kaveh Dabiri, Katrien van Dijk, Hans Hammink, Mariano Sagasta, Koen Stockbroekx

Team (competition): Richard Hollington III (associate in charge), Fred Awty, Philippe Braun, Rob Daurio, David Gianotten, Shabnam Hosseini, Andreas Kofler, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Lawrence Siu

Tender documents: ABT
Structure consultant: ABT
MEP consultant: ABT
Building physics: DGMR
Contractor: Pleijsier Bouw

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for G-Star RAW in Amsterdam appeared first on Dezeen.

News: architecture firm OMA is working on designs for a 167-metre skyscraper on Folsom Street in San Francisco.

OMA has teamed up with property developer Related California and non-profit organisation Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation to plan the tower as part of a residential development offering a mix of homes for sale and rent, of which 27 percent will be affordable.

Led by OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu, the design also features a pair of podium buildings and a row of townhouses.

The development will be constructed on a city-owned plot between First Street and Fremont Street – one of 11 sites being sold off to pay for the $4.2 billion Transbay Transit Centre housing development nearby.

The OMA team is understood to have offered San Francisco’s Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure $72 million for the plot, coming in ahead of bids from developers Millennium Partners and Golub & Co.

The project is OMA’s second recent appointment in California, following a commission for a major mixed-use public building for downtown Santa Monica.

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Dutch architecture studio OMA installed tessellated wood curtains as part of its design of the Paris flagship store for French fashion label Maison Ullens (+ slideshow).

The curtains at the Maison Ullens boutique are made from tiny tessellated triangles of wood and were created by German designer Elisa Strozyk, who has previously made a rug made from wood-veneer offcuts.

Maison Ullens’ first Paris store was designed closely with the brand’s founder to ensure the interior complimented the attire on show.

“The project was developed through a close and personal relationship with Mrs Ullens,” OMA partner David Gianotten told Dezeen. “Therefore the interior design of the store became a good combination of the modern architectural style of OMA and the brand philosophy of Maison Ullens.”

The designers divided the space into public and private areas using a wall covered in ivory-coloured onyx stone. In the entrance space, a single statement garment is hung from a brass hook on a section of the onyx wall below the brand’s logo.

Golden panels line the doorway between the two display rooms on one side of the wall. Garments are on show in the first central area and accessories are presented in the other room.

The tones in these spaces are muted to show off the clothing and so the interior remains appropriate for future fashion trends. “The colours of the materials were kept neutral, except for the brass accent,” said Gianotten. “Therefore the collection and the interior will shape and re-invent the identity of the space based on the fashion seasons.”

Surrounded by dark wood walls, the area at the back of the store is divided into a series of small spaces that contain a fitting room, a small bar and a lounge for entertaining private clients. The store opened this week on Rue de Marignan in central Paris, to coincide with the city’s haute couture fashion week.

Last month Viktor & Rolf opened its first flagship store in Paris, which is covered in grey felt to muffle the noise of browsing shoppers.

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Maison Ullens flagship store appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture firm OMA has designed a temporary auditorium for the basement of London department store Selfridges (+ slideshow).

Called the Imaginarium, the space will be used to host talks, debates and lectures during the Festival of Imagination, which opens in the store on 16 January.

The installation will feature a circular “amphitheatre” contained within a polycarbonate wall. Other walls in the space will be clad in mirrors while the floor will be painted in an Op Art-style pattern of black and white stripes, which will be applied using a road-painting machine.

“We asked Rem [Koolhaas of OMA] to do it and he said yes,” said Carlotta Jacoby, senior visual project manager at Selfridges. “It’s quite a simple design but with the mirrored walls it’s going to be pretty bonkers”.

The stepped amphitheatre will seat up to 72 people. OMA has also designed the furniture for the space and a folding screen that will be used during talks. Columns will be painted with green-screen paint.

The Imaginarium will host daily events during the Festival of Imagination – a store-wide festival that will “explore the nature, power and positive impact of imagination”. It will occupy the Ultralounge in the basement of the store, which is located on Oxford Street in central London.

The festival also features the Imagine Shop, a pop-up store curated by Dezeen that will showcase future-facing products and will contain an augmented reality watch store and an augmented reality model of a yacht designed by Zaha Hadid.

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features mirrored walls and an Op Art floor appeared first on Dezeen.

News: architects Rem Koolhaas and Foster + Partners will work alongside Hollywood power-couple Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin to create a new ocean-side cultural quarter at Miami Beach in Florida (+ slideshow).

Faena Miami Beach will include an arts centre by Rem Koolhaas/OMA, a beachside condominium tower by Foster + Partners, and a restoration of the landmark Saxony Hotel by husband-and-wife team Luhrmann and Martin.

The all-star cast has been assembled by Argentinian hotelier and property developer Alan Faena, who presented the plans during the Art Basel and Design Miami fairs in the city earlier this month.

“In Miami Beach we are creating a new epicenter for the city,” Faena said. “Acting as curators, we are commissioning a group of standout talents to create an urban installation without equal.”

Faena Miami Beach will stretch six blocks along Collins Avenue, between 32 Street and 37 Street, and extend from the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Creek waterway.

Koolhaas’ Faena Arts Center, due to open next year, consists of a cubic volume and a cylindrical volume, both featuring diagonally banded facades.

The development will also include two further projects by Koolhaas: the Faena Bazaar retail building and Artists-in-Residence Center and Faena Park, an automated car parking garage.

“We were invited to design three buildings – an arts center, retail bazaar and car park,” said Koolhaas. “These distinct functions are linked by a sequence of public domains including a plaza, courtyard and marina dock.”

“Culture is at the core of Faena’s vision, and has been the driving force for our collaboration in Miami Beach,” Koolhaas added. “By curating their neighborhood with programmatic diversity, Alan’s sphere of influence will likely extend beyond this development to the rest of Miami Beach.”

Foster + Partners’ 18-storey residential tower, Faena House, will feature distinctive wraparound, Argentinian-style “alero” covered terraces on each floor (“alero” is the Spanish term for a projecting eave).

“We were talking about the nature of indoor and outdoor living, remarking on how much one used the alero, the outdoor terrace,” said Brandon Haw, senior partner at Foster + Partners. “This really became very much the leitmotif of the project.”

The aleros will be up to 37 feet (3.3 metres) deep and the glazed walls of the apartments will feature sliding glass doors up to 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 metres) wide, allowing the terraces and interior spaces to be used seamlessly.

The building will also feature a lobby with water pools to help cool the ground floor.

Film director Luhrmann and production designer Martin, whose credits include The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge, will oversee the renovation of the Saxony Hotel. Built in 1947, this was once one of the most glamorous luxury hotels at Miami Beach. Luhrmann and Martin will oversee the design of the 168-suite hotel – including the interiors and the staff uniforms – as well as curating entertainment in the theatre, cinema and public spaces. The hotel is due to reopen in December 2014.

The project is the latest in a string of new developments by high-profile European architects in Miami, which is rapidly establishing itself as the most architecturally progressive city in the USA. New apartment towers by Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron and Bjarke Ingels Group have been announced this year, while OMA recently won a competition to rebuild the Miami Beach convention centre.

Faena Miami Beach is the first project outside Argentina by Faena, who previously turned a stretch of abandoned docklands at Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires into a thriving arts-led urban quarter, featuring the Faena Hotel designed by Philippe Starck and the Faena Aleph residential buildings by Foster + Partners.

Visualisations are by Hayes Davidson.

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Hollywood duo on Miami Beach appeared first on Dezeen.