Hasta La Ideas

This may look like a pair of barns in a field, but its actually the new home that Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron has completed for the Parrish Art Museum on Long Island (+ slideshow).

Herzog & de Meuron drew inspiration from the archetypal house to create the two gabled structures that comprise the building, which is reminiscent of the stacked volumes the architects created for the VitraHaus furniture gallery in Germany.

Above: photograph is by Matthu Placek

“Our design for the Parrish Art Museum is a reinterpretation of a very genuine Herzog & de Meuron typology, the traditional house form,”  said Jacques Herzog. “What we like about this typology is that it is open for many different functions, places and cultures. Each time this simple, almost banal form has become something very specific, precise and also fresh.”

Galleries and other rooms are arranged in two parallel rows beneath the shallow-pitched roofs, while a long corridor is sandwiched between to create a run of ten sub-divisible exhibition spaces at the centre.

“All galleries have large north-facing and small south-facing skylights, which fill the spaces with ever-changing daylight and allow direct views to the sky and the clouds passing by,” said Herzog & de Meuron senior partner Ascan Mergenthaler.

Overhanging eaves create sheltered terraces around the building’s perimeter, including a cafe terrace that the gallery hopes to use for events, workshops and performances.

Above: photograph is by Matthu Placek

Chairs and tables designed by Konstantin Grcic furnish this terrace and offer visitors a place to look out across the surrounding meadows.

Above: photograph is by Matthu Placek

The new building doubles the size of the museum’s previous Southampton home on Jobs Lane, where the arts institution had been based since it was first established in 1897.

Above: photograph is by Matthu Placek

The galleries open with a special exhibition celebrating the work of artist Malcolm Morley, while the permanent collection will contain artworks from the nineteenth century onwards.

The architects revealed the finalised designs for the building in 2009, following a series of budget cuts that forced them to reconsider their original concept.

See more stories about Herzog & de Meuron, including interviews we filmed with both Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron at the opening of their Serpentine Gallery Pavilion this summer.

Photography is by Clo’e Floirat, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s a design statement from Herzog & de Meuron:

The starting point for the new Parrish Art Museum is the artist’s studio in the East End of Long Island. We set the basic parameters for a single gallery space by distilling the studio’s proportions and adopting its simple house section with north-facing skylights. Two of these model galleries form wings around a central circulation spine that is then bracketed by two porches to form the basis of a straightforward building extrusion.

The floor plan of this extrusion is a direct translation of the ideal functional layout. A cluster of ten galleries defines the heart of the museum. The size and proportion of these galleries can be easily adapted by re-arranging partition walls within the given structural grid. To the east of the gallery core are located the back of house functions of administration, storage, workshops and loading dock. To the west of the galleries are housed the public program areas of the lobby, shop, and café with a flexible multi-purpose and educational space at the far western end.

An ordered sequence of post, beam and truss defines the unifying backbone of the building. Its materialisation is a direct expression of readily accessible building materials and local construction methods.

The exterior walls of in situ concrete act as long bookends to the overall building form, while the grand scale of these elemental walls is tempered with a continuous bench formed at its base for sitting and viewing the surrounding landscape. Large overhangs running the full length of the building provide shelter for outdoor porches and terraces.

The placement of the building is a direct result of the skylights facing towards the north. This east-west orientation, and its incidental diagonal relationship within the site, generates dramatically changing perspective views of the building and further emphasises the building’s extreme yet simple proportions. It lays in an extensive meadow of indigenous grasses that refers to the natural landscape of Long Island.

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Herzog & de Meuron appeared first on Dezeen.

Cornices are commonly used to decorate the junctions between walls and ceilings, but at the new Boston shop for skin and haircare brand Aesop, cornices cover the walls and form shelves for the brand’s signature brown bottles.

Designed by architect and university professor William O’Brien Jr, the Aesop Newbury Street’s interior was inspired by the nineteenth century ornamental architecture that originated in Paris and is common in the neighbourhood.

The oak mouldings are arranged in horizontal rows across each of the walls, as well as along the edges of the counter.

“The display shelves are formed through the accumulation of several different custom crown mouldings to produce an unexpected texture, one that defamiliarises the moulding and transforms its role from an architectural element that conventionally highlights edges to an element that produces a rich and varied surface texture,” explained O’Brien Jr.

A staircase leads down into the store from the entrance and features a wrought iron balustrade with an oak handrail.

Like all of Aesop’s stores, a wash basin is included, while reclaimed oak covers the floors.

Aesop regularly commissions designers to come up with unique concepts for its stores. Others we’ve featured recently include a London shop modelled on a medical laboratory and a Paris shop with iron nails for shelves.

See all our stories about Aesop »

Here’s some more information from Aesop:

Aesop takes pleasure in announcing the opening of its first Boston signature store at 172 Newbury Street, Back Bay. Nineteenth-century planners fashioned this borough to be the ‘ornament of the city’, inspired and influenced by Hausmann’s redesign of Paris. The impressive architectural legacy is richly reinterpreted in the new store.

For the interior, William O’Brien Jr., Assistant Professor of Architecture at Boston’s MIT School of Architecture, recast several historic design elements deeply characteristic of the area. The space is dressed in a combination of new and reclaimed antique white oak – the former used for highly articulated display shelves, the latter for flooring. The ingeniously conceived shelving is formed through the accumulation of several different custom crown moldings – a shift from colonial ornamentation to contemporary functionality that defamiliarises and transforms, producing a rich and varied surface texture.

The entry stair presents a delicate balustrade of wrought iron bars topped by an ornamental white oak rail that effects a second form of defamiliarisation – here, as a tactile experience. As its profile twists on descent, the rail announces via the hand a gentle transition from the exterior bustle of Newbury Street to a calming and intimate environment that characterises the spirit of Aesop.

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by William O’Brien Jr. appeared first on Dezeen.

Mexican firm Fernando Romero EnterprisE (FREE) has won a competition to design a chapel in Miami with plans modelled on the pleated fabric gown of religious figure the Lady of Guadalupe.

As a Roman Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary, the Lady of Guadalupe is a popular image in Mexican culture and the architects explain how they were invited to design a Catholic Church devoted to her image.

The proposals show a billowing concrete structure with an undulating skirt of 27 clearly defined pleats.

Above: the Lady of Guadalupe and all 27 Latin American virgins – click above for larger image

Inside the building, small sanctuaries will be framed within these pleats, each containing an effigy of one of the other 27 Latin American virgins. ”We preferred to open the proposal to other Latin American cultures as well, having represented all the 27 Latin American virgins,” said the architects.

Above: concept – click above for larger image and key

A twisted tower will provide a spire over the chapel’s altar and will feature a stained-glass skylight decorated with an image of the Lady of Guadalupe.

Above: plan concept – click above for larger image and key

The architects intend this image to project down onto visitors sat in the sunken assembly hall, to “stress the connection with the sky” and “represent the contrast between earth and heaven”.

Above: exploded axonometric diagram – click above for larger image

Additional rooms will be located beneath the seating areas and will include a sacristy, offices and a small library.

Above: sky connection concept – click above for larger image and key

FREE is best-known for the design of the anvil-shaped Museo Soumaya in Mexico, which opened last year.

Above: stack ventilation scheme – click above for larger image and key

See more places of worship on Dezeen, including a cross-shaped chapel in Brazil and a stark concrete church in China.

Above: roof light section – click above for larger image and key

Here’s some more information from FREE:

Miami Chapel, Florida, USA

Designing a congregation space for the Miami Catholic community requires an understanding of the identity of a multicultural group and the ability to translate it into a representative building.

Above: traditional plan comparison – click above for larger image and key

We were asked to design a Catholic Church devoted to the Mexican Virgin Our Lady of Guadalupe. FREE chose to incorporate other Latin American cultures as well, by representing all 27 Latin American Virgins.

Above: masterplan – click above for larger image

The 27 Virgins are accommodated around Our Lady of Guadalupe’s figure, creating 27 small sanctuaries.

Above: long section – click above for larger image

In a single gesture, the extrusion of this floor plan results in an organic, corrugated form; resembling the pleats of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s cloth.

Above: short section – click above for larger image

The vertical shape stands out of its context, and the volume is rotated towards the corner for more visibility.

Above: car circulation diagram – click above for larger image

A roof light at the top filters natural light into the congregation space, projecting the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the presbytery.

Above: pedestrian and bicycle circulation diagram – click above for larger image

The main entrance distributes to the main congregation space, ambulatory, confessionals and community service area in the level below. At the rear, a reserved area contains the sacristy, preparation and changing rooms, offices, small library and working spaces for the priest and personnel.

Above: structural analysis – click above for larger image

The iconic shape performs an acoustic filter and dramatizes the ecumenical atmosphere of the church, outlining its identity in the metropolitan area of Miami.

Above: facade texture – click above for larger image

Competition 1st. prize
Program: Cultural
Size: 3,500 m2
Date: 2012-2013
Collaborators: None
Status: Ongoing

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by FREE appeared first on Dezeen.

News: while Foster + Partners think simply increasing capacity is the way to improve New York’s Grand Central Terminal, architecture firm SOM has proposed adding a floating observation deck that slides up and down the sides of two new skyscrapers (+ slideshow).

The moving deck is one of several public realm strategies that the firm is promoting for the 100-year-old station, following an invitation from the Municipal Art Society of New York to re-think the spaces in and around the building.

SOM suggests that the hovering deck would would improve the quality of the public space around the building by offering an “iconic landmark” with a 360-degree panorama of the city skyline.

“Throughout the history of New York City, urban growth has been matched by grand civic gestures,” said SOM partner Roger Duffy.

The doughnut-shaped structure would be attached to the sides of two new office towers, which would fit in with the current rezoning proposals of the New York City planning department designating it as a commercial area.

The plans also include new pedestrian routes to help ease congestion, as well as a series of public spaces that are privately owned and managed.

SOM and Foster + Partners both presented their proposals last week at the third annual MAS Summit for New York City, alongside American firm WXY Architecture.

See Foster + Partners’ proposals in our earlier story.

See more stories about stations »

See more projects by SOM »

Here’s some more information from SOM:

SOM presents vision for Grand Central’s next 100 years

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) presented its vision for “Grand Central’s Next 100″ at the Municipal Art Society of New York’s third annual Summit for New York City. Led by partners Roger Duffy, FAIA, and T.J. Gottesdiener, FAIA, SOM’s design transforms the public spaces around Grand Central Terminal, creating new pedestrian corridors for increased circulation and visualizing innovative options for new public amenities.

The Municipal Art Society (MAS) challenged SOM to re-think the public spaces in and around Grand Central Terminal in celebration of the landmark’s centennial. The design challenge coincides with a rezoning proposal from the New York City Department of City Planning, which, if approved, would allow the development of new office towers in the area around Grand Central, thereby increasing the density around the station exponentially.

The proposed zoning would also require developers to donate to a fund that would make improvements to the infrastructure in the area, including additional access points to the subway platforms and a pedestrian mall on Vanderbilt Avenue. Along with Foster + Partners and WXY Architecture + Urban Design, SOM was one of three architecture firms invited by MAS to present ideas about the future of Grand Central Terminal’s public realm.

SOM’s vision proposes three solutions, all of which provide improvements – both quantitative and qualitative – to the quality of public space around the station. The first solution alleviates pedestrian congestion at street level by restructuring Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) to create pedestrian corridors through multiple city blocks, connecting Grand Central to nearby urban attractors.

The second is a condensing of the public realm through the creation of additional levels of public space that exist both above and below the existing spaces. These new strata would be funded privately but under public ownership – Privately Funded Public Space (PFPS).

The third proposal creates an active, 24-hour precinct around Grand Central Terminal in the form of an iconic circular pedestrian observation deck, suspended above Grand Central, which reveals a full, 360-degree panorama of the city. This grand public space moves vertically, bringing people from the cornice of Grand Central to the pinnacle of New York City’s skyline. It is a gesture at the scale of the city that acts both as a spectacular experience as well as an iconic landmark and a symbol of a 21st-century New York City.

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over Grand Central Terminal appeared first on Dezeen.

News: architecture firm Foster + Partners has unveiled proposals to increase the capacity of New York’s Grand Central Terminal by widening approach routes and pedestrianising streets (+ slideshow).

The architects were one of three teams invited by the Municipal Art Society of New York to re-think the public spaces in and around the 100-year-old station, which was designed to serve around 75,000 passengers a day but often sees as many as a million passing through.

Foster + Partners’ proposals include the pedestrianisation of Vanderbilt Avenue to the west of the station, creating a public square at the entrance to the new East Side Access lines, surrounded by trees, cafes and public art.

The plans also include wider pavements and trees on the southern approach from 42nd Street and along Lexington Avenue to the east, while larger underground spaces would lead into the terminal from Park Avenue to the north.

Inside the station, wider concourses would help to ease congestion for travellers on the 4, 5, 6 and 7 metro lines.

“The quality of a city’s public realm reflects the level of civic pride and has a direct impact on the quality of everyday life,” said Norman Foster. “With the advent of the Long Island Rail Road East Side Access, along with the plan to re-zone the district, there has never been a better opportunity to tackle the issues of public access and mobility around one of the greatest rail terminals in the world.”

Foster + Partners presented their proposals yesterday at the third annual MAS Summit for New York City, alongside American firms SOM and WXY Architecture.

In the last year the firm has also won a competition to design a high-speed rail station for Spain and presented proposals for an airport and transport hub on the estuary outside London.

See more stories about Foster + Partners »

Here’s some more information from Foster + Partners:

Foster + Partners re-imagines Grand Central Terminal for 2013 Centenary

Norman Foster presented proposals for a masterplan to bring clarity back to Grand Central Terminal at The Municipal Art Society of New York’s annual Summit in New York last night.

Masterplan – click above for larger image

Grand Central Terminal is one of New York’s greatest landmarks and contains perhaps the city’s finest civic space. However, over time it has become a victim of its own success. A building designed to be used by 75,000 people per day now routinely handles ten times that number with up to a million on peak days.

The result is acute overcrowding; connections to the rail and subway lines beneath the concourse are inadequate; and the arrival and departure experience is poor. Added to that, the surrounding streets are choked with traffic and pedestrians are marginalised. The rapid growth of tall buildings in the vicinity has all but consumed the Terminal.

Within the station, the proposal creates wider concourses, with new and improved entrances. Externally, streets will be reconfigured as shared vehicle/pedestrian routes, and Vanderbilt Avenue fully pedestrianised. The proposal also creates new civic spaces that will provide Grand Central with an appropriate urban setting for the next 100 years.

Wider masterplan

The 42nd street entrance to the south, where access is severely constrained, will be widened to fill the entire elevation by using existing openings, thus greatly easing accessibility. The access via tunnels on the northern approach from Park Avenue will be rebalanced in favour of pedestrians by creating grander, enlarged underground spaces through the Helmsley building. Lexington Avenue to the east will be tree-lined with wider sidewalks and will benefit from more prominent and enhanced tunnel access to Grand Central Terminal. The idea already mooted to pedestrianise Vanderbilt Avenue to the west would be extended. The street would be anchored to the south by a major new enlarged civic space between 43rd Street and the west entrance to the Terminal and to the north by a plaza accommodating new entrances to the East Side Access lines. Trees, sculpture and street cafes will bring life and new breathing space to Grand Central Terminal.

At platform and concourse levels where congestion is particularly acute for travellers on the 4, 5, 6 and 7 lines, we will radically enlarge the connecting public areas, to address the huge increase in passenger traffic in the last 100 years. This will transform the experience for arriving and departing commuters and passengers. A generous new concourse will be created beneath the west entrance plaza on Vanderbilt Avenue connecting directly into the main station concourse.

This visionary masterplan with its focus on pedestrians and travellers will allow Grand Central Terminal to regain the civic stature that it deserves as a major New York landmark and an appropriate twenty-first century transport hub.

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for Grand Central Terminal appeared first on Dezeen.