Hasta La Ideas

Rural Studio alumni Marie and Keith Zawistowski led 17 students of the Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design in the design and assembly of a farmers market shelter in Covington, Virginia.

All produce sold at the market is sourced from within 100 miles and the same principle was applied when selecting construction materials.

The structures comprises a long canopy shaped like the wing of a plane.

The faceted pine roof is covered with sheets of steel, while reclaimed oak and pine were used to fabricate the frame.

An office, storage room and toilets are located beneath the canopy at the rear of the timber deck and are coated in blackboard paint.

The pioneering undergraduate programme Rural Studio was co-founded by the late architect Samuel Mockbee, who is the subject of a 60-minute documentary released last year – see our earlier Dezeen Wire here.

Here’s a more detailed description of the project from design/buildLAB:

Covington Farmers Market
134 W Main Street, Covington, VA 24426

Program Description

The design/buildLAB is a third year architecture studio at the Virginia Tech, School of Architecture + Design focused on the research, development and implementation of innovative construction methods and architectural designs. Students collaborate with local communities and experts to develop concepts and propose solutions to real world problems.

The goal of this course is to teach students the skills necessary to confront the design and realization of architecture projects, with a consciousness for social and environmental issues. By removing the abstraction from the making of architecture, the course engages students’ initiative and encourages them to ask fundamental questions about the nature of practice and the role of the architect.

By framing the opportunity for architecture students to make a difference in the life of a community, the hope is to show them the positive impact Architecture can make and inspire them to high professional ethics.

Program Funding

The project budget was $150,000 which was primarily funded by a $119,000 grant from the Alleghany Foundation.

In addition, substantial contributions were made in support of the project by local contractors and material suppliers, as well as national and international companies. These include material donations, in-kind contributions or substantial discounts on the purchase of products or materials. The students solicited donations, ordered materials, and managed the project budget.

Project Design

During the fall semester, the students spent a number of weeks studying existing Farmers Markets around Virginia – which they visited – and around the world – which they studied through publications, drawings and photographs. Using that information, a list of requirements given to them by the client and their own interviews of the Covington Farmers Market vendors, the students were able to establish guidelines and specific requirements for the project.

All 17 students first made individual design propositions for the project. From those, a master plan was determined then a design for the building. In this way, all of the students contributed ideas to the discussion. It was very important from a pedagogical perspective that not one “scheme” was chosen. Rather, they collaborated to develop the final design for the project.

The project is conceived as 3 parts: Ground Plane, Occupied Space, and Pavilion Roof. All component parts are based on a 10’ wide module to facilitate prefabrication and transportation to the site. At the scale of the town, the building reads as a seamless gesture. At the scale of the occupant, the details express the modular construction. A locust deck serves as the market floor. It folds up to allow the nesting of an office, storage room and toilet room. It extends beyond the market and into a sloped earth park to provide a stage and seating. A sculptural roof and ceiling of reclaimed heart-pine and galvanized sheet steel floats over-head.

This market pavilion is the modern expression of timeless agrarian sensibilities.

Sustainability

Because all goods sold at this market are required to be produced within a 100 mile radius, this distance became a goal for the procurement of construction materials. Essential to this approach was the use of recycled building material in the construction, in particular the re-use of wood salvaged from an old barn in a neighboring town. Additional, new lumber, including locust decking and yellow pine cladding for the project were sourced from locally sawn timbers.

Digital fabrication played a substantial role in the sustainability of the project by maximizing structural efficiency and minimizing waste.

In terms of limiting water and energy use, the project incorporates a rain water collection system, LED lighting and natural ventilation. A 1200 gallon cistern collects water from the roof and is used for watering the park and flushing toilets. LED lighting ensures long bulb life and extremely low energy consumption. Further, the pavilion roof was designed with an inverted ceiling to facilitate stack effect ventilation and eliminate the need for mechanical cooling.

Finally, the asphalt surface from the site’s previous parking lot was milled and stored through construction to be repurposed as a new permeable, compacted, parking area.

Prefabrication

The students prefabricated the Market structure, including floor, conditioned buildings, and pavilion roof at VA Tech’s Environmental Systems Laboratory. A local contractor was hired to complete the foundations and utility connections. This allowed for two phases of construction, site work and framing, to happen simultaneously. In total, the students prefabricated and assembled the structure in less than four months. The efficiency of working in a controlled environment, with easy access to tools and equipment was essential in achieving the schedule of one academic year.

Project Recognition

The Covington Farmers Market was awarded a 2011 Design Excellence Award from the Virginia Society AIA.

Design and Construction: design/buildLAB

Student Design Team: Anne Agan, Emily Angell, Zachary Britton, Chris Cromer, German Delgadillo, Chris Drudick, Cody Ellis, Jacob Geffert, Rachel Gresham, Shannon Hughes, Elizabeth Madden, Ryan McCloskey, Andrew McLaughlin, Brett Miller, Elizabeth Roop, Erin Sanchez, Sara Woolf

Professors: Marie Zawistowski, Architecte DPLG – Professor of Practice, Keith Zawistowski, Assoc. AIA, GC – Professor of Practice

Structural Engineer: Draper Aden and Associates – Dave Spriggs, PE

Owner: City of Covington, 333 W Locust Street, Covington, VA 24426

Project Timeline: Design – Fall 2010, Construction – Spring 2011

Major Materials: Locally Sawn Locust Decking, Reclaimed Heart Pine Ceiling, Reclaimed Oak and Pine Framing, Flat-Lock Galvalume Metal Roofing, Traxon LED Lighting, Toto Plumbing Fixtures, VT Industries Doors, Assa Abloy Hardware, Marvin Windows

Project Budget: $150,000 ($119,000 grant was provided by the Alleghany Foundation)
Software: Rhino 3D (Educational Version), AutoCAD 2011 (Educational Version)

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Metropol Parasol by J. Mayer H.	Forest School by Robert Gaukroger	Holiday Cabana by Damith Premathilake

A music recital room resembling a Japanese tea house hangs like a lantern in the garden of a residence northwest of Washington DC.

The glass and bronze pavilion was completed by American architect David Jameson back in 2009 and is suspended from a pair of steel arms.

A ten centimetre-thick wooden door leads inside, where a faceted timber ceiling points down into the centre of the room.

A planted garden of bamboo surrounds the pavilion, which is illuminated at night by lights in the floor.

The client’s family use the room for music performances, dining and as a quiet space for contemplation.

Other teahouses on Dezeen include one built atop two chestnut trees and another with a tall hat-like roof – see all our stories about tea houses here.

David Jameson also recently completed a house with a barcode on its facade – see our earlier story here.

Photography is by Paul Warchol.

Here are some more details from the architect:

Tea House

A hanging bronze and glass object inhabits the backyard of a suburban home.

The structure, which evokes the image of a Japanese lantern, acts as a tea house, meditation space, and stage for the family’s musical recitals.

After experiencing the image of the lantern as a singular gem floating in the landscape, one is funneled into a curated procession space between strands of bamboo that is conceived to cleanse the mind and prepare one to enter the object.

After ascending an origami stair, the visitor is confronted with the last natural element: a four inch thick, opaque wood entry door.

At this point the visitor occupies the structure as a performer with a sense of otherworldliness meditation.

Architect: David Jameson Architect

Structural Engineer: Linton Engineering

Completed: 2009

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Paper Tea House by Shigeru Ban	Tea house by David Maštálka	Souan Tea House by Toshihiko Suzuki

UK studio a:b:i:r Architects have redesigned the traditional English beach hut to be accessible for wheelchair users.

Four separate huts are contained inside a single building on the seafront in Bournemouth.

Brightly coloured stripes of yellow, green and blue are painted onto plywood fins that wrap the seaside cabins.

Ramps give access to the huts from the promenade, while a sloping pathway provides a route onto the beach.

A shared drinking water fountain is located between the two pairs of cabins, which are divided internally by removable partitions.

An electrical charging point for mobility scooters is provided nearby, as are accessible toilets.

Design consultant Peter Lewis collaborated with the architects on the competition-winning design.

Other British seaside projects from the Dezeen archive include a cafe that resembles a rock and a 324 metre-long seafront bench.

Photography is by Richard Rowland.

Here are some more details from the architects:

Brighton architects deliver UK’s first accessible beach huts

New accessible beach huts designed by a:b:i:r architects and Peter Lewis will be unveiled later this month in Boscombe (Bournemouth) as the UK’s first designed specifically for people with disabilities.

‘The Seagull and the Windbreak’, which draws upon traditional seaside imagery of a line drawn seagull and multi coloured stripes of the traditional windbreak, beat off worldwide competition from 173 international entries. Voted for by the public, disabled beach users and a panel of seven expert judges, the buildings combine ergonomics with contemporary design. Funded with a grant from the Commission for Architecture & Built Environment (CABE) the Boscombe beach huts are designed to promote inclusion, health and wellbeing.

Facilities include high colour contrast surfaces and flooring to assist the visually impaired, dual height kitchen units with a gas stove and a communal outside area with a fresh water fountain. An electric charging point for mobility scooters is also available as well as improved accessible toilets, parking and a wooden beach trackway to enable easy access onto the beach. The four huts, designed as two pairs with retractable partition walls for increased flexibility, each accommodate up to four wheelchair users.

a:b:i:r architects, who are developing a reputation for seaside architecture following the award winning £1million refurbishment of the Brighton ‘Birdcage’ Bandstand, assembled a team which included Eastbourne based contractor Push Studios to deliver the project. The huts were constructed under factory conditions and delivered to site for quick installation.

Overlooking Bournemouth’s award-winning sandy beaches demand is high for the Dorset seaside retreats; each one is already fully booked. Linda Nelson from Bournemouth was quick to rent a hut for the entire season. She said: “The new beach huts are brilliant. Having been involved in the development and consultation process it is great to be able to reap the benefits. I had trouble getting in and around the old beach huts and was constantly worried about falling over. These new huts take away all those old problems; they are a tremendous asset for the area and a fantastic facility for disabled people.”

The Bournemouth suburb’s visitor numbers have soared following £13.5 million regeneration works and in 2010 Boscombe Pier was crowned Pier of the Year by the National Piers Society. The regeneration scheme has since won a number of national awards for regeneration including the Local Government Chronicle regeneration project of the year award. Andrew Emery, Boscombe Sea Change Project Manager for Bournemouth Borough Council, says the resort’s vision is ambitious but simple: “Continuing with the theme of regeneration in the vibrant Boscombe area the new huts incorporate high quality design, visual flair and unique function. We believe that they will become iconic symbols of the continuing renaissance of the British seaside resort and will open up our award-winning seafront area to new visitors.”

Construction team Architect: a:b:i:r architects
Collaborator Designer: Peter Lewis
Structural Engineers: IE Structural Engineers
Design & Build Contractor: Push Studios
Materials: Steel framed structure, Trespa board & plywood infill, Plywood fins finished with high performance, marine grade paine, Single ply membrane roof

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Dri Dri by Elips Design	Lords South Beach by BHDM	The Longest Bench by Studio Weave

The first-ever building to have a carbon fibre structure is a mobile studio-cum-stage by Japanese architects Atelier Bow-Wow, which just opened in New York.

The BMW Guggenheim Lab comprises a black mesh-clad box, elevated by the lightweight framework that makes it easily transportable.

Nestled between two existing buildings, the structure shelters a courtyard studio that is open to the street at both ends.

A rigging of lighting, screens, audio equipment and other tools is suspended behind the mesh and can be lowered into the studio for different activities.

A timber hut provides a cafe for visitors where picnic benches are sheltered beneath a fabric canopy.

The lab is hosting a series of programs around the theme of comfort in the city, including talks, exhibitions, discussions, screenings, workshops and games.

As part of a six-year tour of mobile studios, the lab will later be relocated to Berlin and Mumbai, before being replaced by a new structure and theme.

The project was commissioned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and is sponsored by automotive company BMW.

Two other projects by Atelier Bow-Wow from the Dezeen archive include a townhouse renovation and a gallery of stacked concrete boxes – see both projects here.

Photography is by Paul Warchol.

Here are some more details from the BMW Guggenheim Lab:

BMW Guggenheim Lab Opens Aug 3 in New York, Launching Six-Year Worldwide Tour

Berlin and Mumbai are Next Stops in Nine-City Global Initiative

New York, NY, August 2, 2011 – The BMW Guggenheim Lab launches its nine-city worldwide tour tomorrow in Manhattan’s East Village. A combination of think tank, public forum, and community center, the BMW Guggenheim Lab will offer free programs that explore the challenges of today’s cities within a mobile structure that was designed to house this urban experiment. Over the next six years, the BMW Guggenheim Lab will go through three successive cycles, each with its own theme and specially designed mobile structure. Each structure will travel to three different locations, building on-site and online communities around the BMW Guggenheim Lab that raise awareness of important issues, generate ideas specific to each urban situation, and engage with innovative and sustainable designs, yielding lasting benefits for cities around the world. At the conclusion of the first cycle, in 2013, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York will present a special exhibition of the findings of the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s inaugural three-city tour—to New York, Berlin, and Mumbai. The itineraries of the subsequent two-year cycles will be announced at a later date.

The inaugural BMW Guggenheim Lab is located at First Park, Houston at 2nd Avenue, a New York City Parks property, and is open free of charge Wednesdays to Sundays, from August 3 through October 16. A diverse range of more than 100 programs will address the theme for the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s first cycle, Confronting Comfort, exploring how urban environments can be made more responsive to people’s needs, how a balance can be found between notions of individual versus collective comfort, and how the urgent need for environmental and social responsibility can be met. Programs include Urbanology, a large-scale interactive group game that can be played both on-site and online, as well as workshops, experiments, discussions, screenings, and off-site tours.

The BMW Guggenheim Lab website and blog at bmwguggenheimlab.org offer a global audience a variety of ways to participate in this multidisciplinary urban project. Activities at the BMW Guggenheim Lab will be reported on through the blog, which will also feature posts by notable guest writers and regular interviews with the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s collaborators. Members of the public are invited to join the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s dedicated social communities on Twitter (@BMWGuggLab, use hashtag #BGLab), Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and foursquare.

“New York City has long been an urban laboratory for new ideas and innovative enterprises, so we are pleased to host the inaugural BMW Guggenheim Lab experiment,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “This creative project provides an important opportunity for New Yorkers to connect and share ideas, and we look forward to the conversations that will take place when the Lab travels around the world.”

“Tomorrow’s launch of the BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York City is just the beginning of what we expect to be an incredible journey,” stated Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. “The Guggenheim is taking its commitment to education, scholarship, and design innovation one step further. We’re taking it on the road. From New York to Berlin to Mumbai and beyond, we will address the enormously important issues our major cities are facing today and engage others along the way. We sincerely thank BMW for collaborating with us on this worthy endeavor.”

“As a company, we like to take action,” said Harald Krüger, Member of the Board of Management BMW AG. “We are interested in fostering an open dialogue about the challenges ahead for all of us. The world premiere of the global, six-year BMW Guggenheim Lab initiative is a true milestone for BMW, building upon our experience in both sustainability and cultural engagement. We are thrilled to support a multidisciplinary platform for forward-looking ideas and new solutions for megacities. With a great collaborator like the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, we are confident the BMW Guggenheim Lab will thrive.”

BMW Guggenheim Lab Programming in New York

The BMW Guggenheim Lab addresses issues of contemporary urban life through free programs designed to spark curiosity and interaction, encouraging visitors to participate in the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s research by generating questions, answers, ideas, and dialogue.

A central component of the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s programming in New York is Urbanology, a large group game that can be played on-site, in an interactive installation, as well as online at bmwguggenheimlab.org/urbanology. Participants role-play scenarios for city transformation and become advocates for education, housing, health care, sustainability, infrastructure, and mobility as they build a city that matches their specific needs and values. The game experience for Urbanology was developed by Local Projects, and the physical design was created by ZUS [Zones Urbaines Sensibles].

Leading architects, academics, innovators, and entrepreneurs who will give public talks at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York include BMW Guggenheim Lab design architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (co-principal of Atelier Bow-Wow); BMW Guggenheim Lab Advisory Committee members Elizabeth Diller (founding principal of Diller Scofidio + Renfro), Nicholas Humphrey (emeritus professor of psychology at the London School of Economics), and Juliet Schor (professor of sociology at Boston College); Saskia Sassen (Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University); and Gabrielle Hamilton (chef and owner of the restaurant Prune).

An ongoing series of off-site experiments will allow participants to use special equipment to measure the effect that different areas of the city have on the brain and body. Another series, organized by spurse, a creative consulting and design collaborative, will explore the complexities of comfort through a multiweek series of on- and off-site programs with public participation.

Screenings will take place at the BMW Guggenheim Lab on Wednesdays and Sundays. The first two screenings will feature Blank City by Celine Danhier (2011, USA/France, 94 min.) on August 3; and Last Address by Ira Sachs (2010, USA, 9 min.) and Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell by Matt Wolf (2008, USA, 71 min.) on August 7.

Architecture and Graphic Design

The mobile structure for the first cycle of the BMW Guggenheim Lab has been designed by the Tokyo-based Atelier Bow-Wow as a lightweight and compact “traveling toolbox.” The 2,200-square-foot structure can easily fit into dense neighborhoods and be transported from city to city. In New York, the two-story structure is nestled between two buildings on a three-quarter-acre T-shaped site; at its southern end, it opens out onto an inviting landscaped public space and cafe.

The lower half of the BMW Guggenheim Lab structure is an open space that can be configured to meet the particular needs of the various programs, shifting from a formal lecture setting with a stage to the scene for a celebratory gathering or a workshop. The upper, “toolbox” portion of the structure is loosely wrapped in two layers of semitransparent mesh, which creates a shimmering moiré effect and allows visitors to catch glimpses of the extensive apparatus of “tools” that can be raised or lowered on a rigging system to configure the lower space for the different programs. Remarkably, the BMW Guggenheim Lab is the first building designed with a structural framework composed of carbon fiber. Videos and images of the structure and the construction process can be viewed at youtube.com/bmwguggenheimlab and flickr.com/bmwguggenheimlab.

“Rather than architects educating the public on how to behave within spaces, it is the public who should have the autonomy of spatial practice in their cities,” stated Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima of Atelier Bow-Wow. “We have always been advocates of people regaining ownership in order to shape the city around them, and are very pleased to participate in the launch of the BMW Guggenheim Lab. We always conceived the Lab as a public space without enclosure.”

The inaugural BMW Guggenheim Lab will leave behind permanent improvements to the once-vacant East Village lot on which it sits, including the stabilization and paving of the site, replacement of sidewalks, and new wrought-iron fencing and gates.

The graphic identity of the BMW Guggenheim Lab has been developed by Seoul-based graphic designers Sulki & Min.

BMW Guggenheim Lab Team

The BMW Guggenheim Lab is organized by David van der Leer, Assistant Curator, Architecture and Urban Studies, and Maria Nicanor, Assistant Curator, Architecture, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Selected by an international Advisory Committee composed of experts from various disciplines, the members of the New York Lab Team are: Omar Freilla, a Bronx, New York–based environmental justice activist, cooperative developer, and founder and coordinator of Green Worker Cooperatives; Charles Montgomery, Canadian journalist and urban experimentalist, who investigates the link between urban design and well-being; Olatunbosun Obayomi, Nigerian microbiologist and inventor and 2010 TEDGlobal Fellow; and architects and urbanists Elma van Boxel and Kristian Koreman of the Rotterdam-based architecture studio ZUS [Zones Urbaines Sensibles].

Public Information and Amenities

The BMW Guggenheim Lab and all programs are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis during operating hours. Advance registration for selected programs will be available online. Hours of operation are 1 to 9 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 10 pm on Fridays, and 10 am to 10 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The 42-seat BMW Guggenheim Lab cafe, operated by the Brooklyn-based restaurant Roberta’s, is open 1 to 9 pm on Wednesdays to Fridays and 10 am to 9 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Future Venues

Following the New York presentation, the BMW Guggenheim Lab will move on to Berlin in the spring of 2012, where it will be presented in collaboration with the ANCB Metropolitan Laboratory in Pfefferberg, a former industrial complex. In winter 2012–13, the first three-city cycle will be completed when the BMW Guggenheim Lab travels to Mumbai. The Mumbai presentation will be organized in collaboration with the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum.

Dezeen Screen: BMW Guggenheim Lab by Atelier Bow-Wow

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Nomad by 1/100	New Amsterdam Pavilion by UNStudio	Flockr by SO-IL

French architect Jean-Luc Fugier has designed a contorted timber hut to house a parking ticket machine.

Located in a car park outside Aix-en-Provence, the small building also houses a parking attendants office, a kiosk window, a restroom and a bin.

Horizontal timber batons wrap the exterior of the hut and an integrated canopy shelters ticket-purchasers.

A few other small projects featuring timber batons have been recently featured on Dezeen – see also a temporary theatre in Estonia and a pavilion of offcuts in Atlanta, Georgia.

Photography is by Philippe Piron.

More information is provided by the architects:

Parking Attendant’s Pavilion

The Story of a Parabolic Hyperboloid in Provence, France

The Task

To reduce downtown traffic congestion, the Communauté du Pays d’Aix (CPA) developed a strategy to encourage the use of public transit through drop-off parking lots in strategic locations around Aix-en-Provence. The first two parking lots used a simple prefabricated building that reflects the Provencal cabin, equipped with all of the characteristics meant to guarantee their local identity. For their third parking lot in the north-east area of the city known as The Pinchitats, the CPA decided to commission an architect to design the parking attendant’s pavilion instead of using that of the Planning Department.

Delighted by this opportunity of change, we were inspired to work with a reputable city open to contemporary architecture. Typical of design, the project emerged out of concern for the cultural context of the city. Is there place for a contemporary architectural project? What can we do to open their minds?

The interest in such a project proved to be much more than its small size, as it was quickly considered to be an amazing experimental opportunity. A bit of research on micro-architecture revealed that we were voyaging into a line of work called architectural follies.

How can a building so modest in size, with such dense program requirements and site restrictions find its identity? It must develop its own image while exhibiting to the project’s environmental concern and maintaining the simplistic quality of similar small-scale public buildings.

The Project

The parking lot is situated outside of the city centre surrounded by a lush landscape, placing the building in isolation and consequently it is highly visible against the flat parking lot. The presence of the original parking program forced us to design on a cramped piece of pavement at the entrance. These conditions prompted us to focus on the value of the project as a symbol as well as its morphological autonomy.

The objective is simple: control the entrance and exit, guide the vehicles, ensure a clear view of the entire parking lot, all while offering the public a welcoming and informational space. The architectural expression of the pavilion was found in the contradiction between controlling and welcoming the public, forming a duality between a plain building that groups the necessary mechanisms for control while realizing that which is necessary to create a welcoming public atmosphere.

To create a presence on the plot between a fence and the parking lot, we had to start by finding our place and a way to profit from the traces of the original building and its restrictions. In plan, the building respects the existing guides of the site by running parallel to the road and the fence. It begins to twist at grade to direct the reception area towards the pedestrian walkway. The goal was to reinforce the opening of the building towards the public through a simple and clear visual context. The twist heavily influenced the project by materializing the programmatic tension between controlling and welcoming the public, resulting in a hyperbolic paraboloid shape.

A single lowered corner allows the roofline over the entrance to project, creating a unique slope. The apparently simple geometric form hides the kinetic game at play, influencing the way in which one perceives the building and making it difficult to understand. The contortion attempts to go along with the flux in circulation that encircles it. It is in this simple distortion that a complex shape is generated, achieving the project’s objective: a discrete yet intriguing contemporary form found in the diversity of its perceptive approaches.

We chose an L shaped plan that optimizes the attendant’s view of the parking lot with openings on every facade. The layout creates a large area that is both open and protected from the elements. A canopy which is lit at night reinforces the presence of the structure and its program after dark. This space assembles and shelters the group of public services in such a way that all of the amenities such as the restroom and attendants office are easily accessible, while the exterior service fixtures (automated ticket machine, waste receptacle, newspaper dispenser, alarm, climate control and lighting) are integrated into the wall.

Constructed entirely in wood, the building presents its geometric form through the use of materials. The rough cladding sets up rows of identical lines of the same size that materializes the function of the building as an environmentally friendly service pavilion. They are successively contorted by a slight rotation that helps one perceive the movement of the building. The filtered envelope controls what one sees, allowing the attendant to see without being entirely seen. Although it is relatively simple, the cladding groups the dense variety of programs into a single exterior treatment, guaranteeing it’s symbol as a public building and addressing the wishes of the city. It is necessary to disguise the windows and ventilation, to design the blinds, lights, waste receptacle, displays and hardware in such a way that everything is integrated and protected.

The envelope system ensures the protection of the glazing in terms of thermal heat loss and security. It functions as a brise-soleil and helps with the ventilation, addressing the need for comfort during summer months. Inside, the cladding is composed of bakelised plywood. This material is used in the form of strips placed horizontally along the geometry defined by the structure. Backlit polycarbonate alveolar panels for the ceiling laminated flooring, and a natural resin complete the interior materials used to contrast with the rough exterior envelope.

Driven by the environmental context from which the project is derived as well as the surrounding landscape, we looked at the concept of a cabin. Natural and environmentally friendly materials from local industry that were acquired from nearby businesses and carried out by local labour with remarkable skill demonstrate a real approach to sustainable architecture, from concept to construction. It’s about giving meaning to architecture that is capable of expressing the environmental goals established by vehicle drop-off programs.

Client: Communauté du Pays d’Aix – Displacement Services
Project team: Jean-Luc Fugier lead architect, FeST Architecture associates
Location: Drop-off parking lot on Sisteron Road, Aix-en-Provence
Program:

• Parking attendant kiosk equipped with office for surveillance, restroom and kitchen
• Public reception area equipped with an accessible restroom, ticket machine, information and payment window

Type of mission: Complète limitée au bâtiment
Cost of the works: 62 500 Euros HT
Project area: 30 m²
Duration of Research: 9 months
Duration of Design: 3 months (including 3 weeks on the construction site)
Project year: December 2010

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Centre d’Examen du Permis by Samuel Delmas	GE WattStation by fuseproject	Café/day by Suppose Design Office