20th Street Residence by SFOSL

This rooftop house extension by Californian architects SFOSL has a metal bridge at its entrance and a facade that folds open.

20th STREET by SFOSL

The architects weren’t permitted to adapt the volume of the derelict house, so instead designed a rooftop living room that is barely visible from the street but offers residents a view out over the San Francisco bay.

20th STREET by SFOSL

“The box on top incorporates the maximum allowable zoning volume,” said architect Andreas Tingulstad. Other restrictions included a necessary 4.5 metre setback from the facade and a maximum total height of 10 metres.

20th STREET by SFOSL

A perforated screen folds down over the south-facing facade of the new room to prevent it overheating during the day.

20th STREET by SFOSL

“The operable sunshade is perforated by an abstraction of the blocks’ facades, integrating the context of the neighbourhood into the building,” explained Tingulstad.

20th STREET by SFOSL

A wooden staircase provides a route down to rooms on the first floor, while the metal bridge stretches back to meet a patio that steps down to the same level.

20th STREET by SFOSL

The exterior of the house is painted black to set it apart from its white, grey and cream-coloured neighbours.

20th STREET by SFOSL

Other American houses we’ve featured on Dezeen recently include a country house clad in shimmering aluminium panels and a writer’s hideaway clad in black-stained cedar.

20th STREET by SFOSL

See more stories about residential extensions »

20th STREET by SFOSL

Photography is by Bruce Damonte.

20th STREET by SFOSL

Here’s a project description from SFOSL:


20th Street – San Francisco

The client came to us with a derelict home on 20th Street by Potrero Hill.

20th STREET by SFOSL

The client’s had a basic need for an upgrade but also more space – to achieve this it soon became evident that expanding up through the roof was our only way.

20th STREET by SFOSL

This would not only meet their needs, but could potentially take advantage of the view overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

20th STREET by SFOSL

The existing 1575 sq. ft became 2225 sq ft – the private domain would remain on the 2nd floor – while the public functions would rise to an addition on the roof – a classic but clear programmatic division.

20th STREET by SFOSL

We chose to fully comply with all the zoning regulations, and let that be the solution to our design strategies.

20th STREET by SFOSL

We maneuvered through many City issues, but managed to solve the project requirements within the required setback of 15 feet, extending 32 feet in height, all within 175 dollars per sq ft.

20th STREET by SFOSL

We were not allowed to change the existing façade other than replacing windows and cladding due to the fact that the city had designated this block as historic.

20th STREET by SFOSL

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image

Although we felt that the building itself had no particular historical significance – it was first and foremost a volume – but we felt the block could make sense. We proceeded by distilling the façade components in order to highlight the common denominator of the individual houses.

As the home faces south, the new dining and living space would be excessively hot in the sun during the San Francisco’s Indian summer. We naturally wanted to capture as much of the view as possible, but also ensure that privacy and cooling issues were resolved.

20th STREET by SFOSL

First floor plan – click above for larger image

The extension would become an outdoor / indoor space enabling the free roaming from the deck in front, through the public space and back to a formerly unappreciated terraced garden in the rear. We wanted as big of an expanse as possible, but simultaneously we wanted to allow for privacy – the solution was a flexible sunscreen. By perforating the skate-ramp cladding with a pixilated image of the street we combined the city setback guidelines, the shading- and the privacy strategy with the City’s wish to embrace the character of this block.

20th STREET by SFOSL

Second floor plan – Click above for larger image

The once obsolete and underutilized backyard was given new meaning by enabling a continuous loop in-between the private and public functions. The new indoor stair and the outdoors catwalk bridge now connect the private and secluded 2nd floor to the living area on the 3rd level. This allows the owners’ two dogs a free passage to the rear yard 24-7. Our only other injection apart from the color black and the bridge connection was an aim of the highest possible degree of floral diversity – to give the backyard that oasis feeling.

20th STREET by SFOSL

Roof plan – click above for larger image

For the interior we embraced the client’s love of raw construction materials. They especially wished for many visible and unpainted wooden surfaces combined with brightness and gloss. We recycled wooden roof joists and custom-built a shelving system. PSL beams were used for the stair connecting the old house to the new, and OSB sheets connected the 2nd floor to the entry.

20th STREET by SFOSL

Section – click above for larger image

To weave the house into the urban fabric the building was clad in the inexpensive Ramp Armor material, used to make skateboard ramps. This material, with its precision, makes the building autonomous and differentiates it from the neighboring houses – while simultaneously enhancing the original design by pinpointing the primary components of the original vernacular – in that sense the building once and for all reaches its full potential within the historic envelope.

Sustainable Design is imperative to us. For this project we installed solar panels, and reused existing materials and minimized new materials to minimize waste. Our take on sustainability is foremost about the use of square footage. In every project – and maybe especially in this renovation and extension, every square foot has been thought through in its intention and objective. If we detect a spatial blind spot – we make sure it goes away or comes to life.

20th STREET by SFOSL

Front elevation – click above for larger image

Architect: Casper Mork Ulnes, Andreas Tingulstad, Grygoriy Ladigin.
Location: 1330 20th Street, San Francisco
Year Completed: 2012
General Contractor: Natal Modica Construction, Inc.
Engineer: Double D Engineering
Metal Work: Defauw Design & Fabrication
Landscape Architects: Flora Grubb
Area: 2225 sq ft (remodel + upward extension)

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by SFOSL
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Foster + Partners to build Park Avenue skyscraper for Lehman Brothers

425 Park Avenue by Foster + Partners

News: Foster + Partners has won a competition to design a 200-metre skyscraper for collapsed real estate company Lehman Brothers Holdings and partner L&L Holding Company on Park Avenue in New York.

425 Park Avenue by Foster + Partners

Lehman Brothers famously kickstarted a global financial crisis when they filed for bankruptcy protection back in 2008, but four years on the estate of the bank still controls more than $10 billion of real estate assets.

According to developers, the office tower will be the first new building on Park Avenue in over 50 years and is conceived as a tapered structure of steel and glass.

“Our aim is to create an exceptional building, both of its time and timeless, as well as being respectful of this context,” said architect Norman Foster. Citing Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson as inspitations, he explained how the building will “set a new standard for office design and provide an enduring landmark that befits its world-famous location.”

The tower will be split into three tiers, separated by landscaped terraces, and each section will feature column-free floors.

Other projects in progress by Foster + Partners include a pair of towers beside the Seine in Paris and an art museum with four overlapping peaks in China.

See more stories about Foster + Partners »

Here’s some extra information from the architects:


Foster + Partners wins competition for new tower at 425 Park Avenue, New York

Foster + Partners is delighted to be selected by a partnership of L&L Holding Company and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI) to design their new office tower at 425 Park Avenue. The new building will create an enduring landmark that befits its exclusive location, and is uniquely of its time and its place.

The project presents an outstanding opportunity to contribute to the existing character of Park Avenue and responds to the scale and datum of the Avenue and neighbouring buildings. Clearly expressing the geometry of its structure, the tapered steel-frame tower rises to meet three shear walls that will be illuminated, adding to the vibrant New York City skyline. Its elegant facade seamlessly integrates with the innovative internal arrangement that allows for three gradated tiers of column-free floors.

Offering world-class sustainable office accommodation, the new building anticipates changing needs in the workplace with large, open spaces that encompass flexible use. Each of the three tiers – low, medium and high-rise – is defined by a landscaped terrace that provides an excellent amenity for tenants and offers panoramic views across Manhattan and Central Park. At the street level, the conceptual design for 425 Park Avenue gives as much to the City as to the people that will work in it with the potential for a large civic plaza marked by significant works of art.

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for Lehman Brothers
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Prayer Chapel by Gensler

A wave-like wooden ceiling undulates above the heads of students at this chapel by architects Gensler in the basement of a Los Angeles university.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

Despite being located within the rectangular confines of an old classroom, the chapel has curved walls and not a single corner.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

Architect David Herjeczki explains how he was inspired by the thick black outlines of poché-style plans. “The design is conceived as a ‘heavy’ space deliberately set apart from, but fully formed within, the host classroom building,” he said.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

Recycled strips of timber were mixed with wood harvested from olive trees around the campus to create the uneven finish of the chapel’s timber ceiling.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

“The choice of such recycled wood is consistent with the poor and primitive sensibility of the chapel, but materially it provides a rich contrast to the fundamental nature of the space,” said Herjeczki.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

A narrow skylight creates a band of light across the ceiling at one end and illuminated glass blocks create brightly coloured windows in the curved interior walls, but offer no views to the rooms beyond.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

Other chapels we’ve featured include one in a school for friars in Portugal and one constructed by students in Istanbul.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

3D diagrams – click above for larger image

See more stories about chapels »

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

Building plan – click above for larger image and key

Photography is by Ryan Gobuty, Gensler.

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

Floor plan and alternative layout

Project details:
Client: Biola University, La Mirada, CA USA
Design: David Herjeczki, Gensler Los Angeles

Prayer Chapel by Gensler

Conceptual section

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by Gensler
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Aberdeen Library

Récemment inaugurée par la reine Élisabeth II, la nouvelle bibliothèque de l’Université d’Aberdeen réalisée par Schmidt Hammer Lassen se dévoile en images. D’une superficie de 15 500 m2, ce bâtiment situé en Écosse propose une façade en verre impressionnante pour consulter près de 250 000 livres et manuscrits.

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Beauty of Desolated Spaces

Voici « Fragments » le nom de ce court-métrage sans narration qui cherche à capturer la beauté et le mystère de différents endroits isolés et abandonnés. Des images splendides de Monika Delgado et Mickey Todiwala sur le morceau « Lament » de Jacaszek, à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

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New York

Newyork-flag

{nope that is not me in the picture but jewlery designer Zelda from the Netherlands}

Let me start with some personal words about my trip to NY last August.
The last time I was there was in August 2001 when we were getting ready to move back to Amsterdam….
yes, about a month or so before 9/11…in a way I felt lucky that I had experienced NY at its
best…or had I…? Truly incredible how this city has rebounded after going through such a traumatic episode…NY remains one of the most fascinating places that I know…

Living in NY has changed my life … it gave me confidence and I
started believing in myself.

It all started when I got this idea to develop my own stationery
line. After 1 year of learning the basic Adobe illutrator skills and with the help of an illustrator my first collection was born and was sold via some
great department stores. But even more importantly, I finally knew then what I wanted to do in life…so I have a lot to thank NY for… my business blossomed and organically grew to the launch of Bloesem in 2006…………………………………..[READ MORE]

Irenehoofsamsterdam

Irenehoofs
{cards from my own greeting cards collection back in 2002}

Back to NY … and knowing how important this city has been for me
… a little heartbroken my husband and I left the city, always
telling each other that one day we will come back … almost 10 years later I finally dared
to go back. In an impulsive response to one of Jurianne's tweets I replied ..
'shall I join you?' I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to go
back to the city I've held so dear in my heart all these years.

It was Jurianne’s first time in the Big Apple. Unfortunately, we
arrived in one of the not so nice neighborhoods somewhere in Brooklyn. Driving through Brooklyn it all looked so nice but we kept on driving
and suddenly the whole atmosphere on the street started to change, when we
arrived at the B&B that we booked on-line…I decided not to step out of the car and asked the cab driver
what to do … he only nodded his head … (recall the movie Coming to America… I am sure Jurianne must have felt this way on her first visit to NY…)… so we headed back to the nicer parts
of Brooklyn and found ourselves a room at a wonderful boutique hotel… super friendly personnel…so we decided to spend the night (we could not stay the entire week…) and perhaps look for something closer to the convention center the next day… 

After sending out an "emergency" email to blog friends and old friends, Joanna
Goddard
 from A cup of Jo was the first to respond and offered her home to us while she was away for the weekend. Thank you so much Joanna for being so generous… and we received several other offers…it made me realize once more why I love this city and its people (and blogging…) so much…very welcoming and always ready to help…we ended up staying in an apartment of friends (who I met when they were living in KL…) at the upper east side for the entire week … Thank you Hickey family, we cannot beging to tell you how grateful we are…you are the best!

After our little adventure in Brooklyn it was time to focus on the New York
Gift Fair… after all that was why we came to NY in the first place. But not before Jurinanne and I visited the High Line. In one word: FANTASTIC! Also fun to see how the meatpacking district has changed enormously over the years.
I remember only Pastis being there when it had just opened…

Eating genuine raw food in one of the many great restaurants you find in the city was a fantastic
experience and changed my perspective on raw food completely…admittedly, I started out as a bit of a raw food sceptic…. but I am a convert now and even downloaded some raw food recipes
since I came back to KL and felt how different you feel after eating this fresh
and healthy food… 

Back to the NYGF…my plan was to meet people and discover new designs. And I think I managed these objectives reasonably well…:) 

Meeting people was easy given the fact that we came with Tuttobene, meaning 16 Dutch designers sharing one booth together … too many interesting people to introduce to you in one single post so I will be sharing my new friends and their work in the following two weeks with you…

NYIGF-tuttobene

Janhabraken 

During the following week I will introduce you to some of the wonderful people and designers I met at the NYIGF. 

..Tuttobene booth designed by Jan Habraken

 

 

National Pavilions

Three nations exemplify a “Common Ground” at the Biennale Architettura 2012 in Venice

National Pavilions

“Common Ground”—the theme this year for Venice’s Biennale Architettura 2012—covers all exhibition spaces from Giardini to Arsenale, as well as the vast range of venues spread out all over town. Fitting into this larger concept while presenting their own respective themes were a number of national participants. Here are…

Continue Reading…


RAMP Sports

Rapid prototyping and Kevlar construction underscore a line of handmade skis

RAMP Sports

Based out of Park City, Utah RAMP Sports (AKA “Riders Artists Musicians Project”) has just released a line of skis using next-generation rapid prototyping and vacuum molding to create their boards. Their modern equipment has allowed them to create unique molds and build prototypes in record time by making…

Continue Reading…


Frank Lloyd Wright house in Arizona faces demolition

David and Gladys Wright house in Arizona

Dezeen Wire: a house in Phoenix, Arizona designed by the influential American architect Frank Lloyd Wright could be bulldozed unless a new buyer is found or the city agrees to grant landmark status to the property.

Property developers 8081 Meridian, the current owners of the house, are still considering offers from interested buyers even though a 60-day period to find a new owner passed on 21 August.

If no new buyer can be found, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy hopes to persuade the City of Phoenix to grant the building landmark status, thereby protecting it from demolition for a few vital years. The Conservancy is asking supporters to write letters to the city’s council and planning committees.

If it cannot be saved, the house will be the first Wright building intentionally demolished in nearly 40 years, according to Janet Halstead, executive director of the Conservancy.

The David and Gladys Wright House was designed by Wright for his son and completed in 1952. The house is laid out in the same spiral plan as Wright’s iconic Guggenheim Museum in New York.

See other stories about Frank Lloyd Wright »

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faces demolition
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Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Shimmering aluminium panels are ridged like the top surfaces of bricks on the exterior of this country house in upstate New York by architects Grzywinski + Pons (+ slideshow).

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Ipe wood screens and painted yellow doors contrast with the silvery cladding, which subtly reflects the colours of the surrounding woodland.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

The wooden screens fasten across glass doors and windows to secure the two-storey residence when it is unoccupied.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

The house was designed as a weekend retreat and is accompanied by a smaller building that can be privately rented or used as a family guesthouse.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Only the master bedroom is located on the top floor of the house and opens out onto a large balcony.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Other American houses on Dezeen include a writer’s retreat elsewhere in New York and a 4.5 metre-wide house in Los Angeles.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

See more stories about holiday homes »

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Photography is by Floto + Warner.

Here’s some text from Grzywinski + Pons:


Dutchess House No. 1

When Grzywinski + Pons was commissioned to design this house we were excited by a brief and directive from the client that was very specific programmatically and where budget had primacy but open to whatever form that might manifest from our process in addressing their requests.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

The house was conceived as country home initially used as a complement to and reprieve from their apartment in the city that could ultimately evolve into a primary residence. They wanted a detached cottage or guest house that could accommodate their visiting elderly parents for extended stays from the west coast and be available to rent out on a nightly basis at their discretion to help defray costs.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Another request was to create a place that felt very open to it’s beautiful surroundings yet could be battened down and secured during any extended periods when it was unoccupied. Furthermore, the client – when anticipating stays in the house alone – requested we create a master bedroom suite that allowed unfettered access to the outdoors (both physically and visually) from a safe “perch” when the ground floor was secured for the night.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

We paid special attention to sightlines, exposures, seasonal variations in the quality and direction of light and the flow and integration of interior and exterior spaces.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

We also were focused on making the home very sustainable and energy efficient – while this informed the design of the home in a significant way we didn’t want the house and cottage to wear their green credentials on their sleeve as an aesthetic.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

The house was built with ICFs, strategically glazed with low-e assemblies and clad in high albedo mill finish aluminum. We designed deep eaves into the largest expanses of glass based on our solar studies.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

The home and cottage ended up being so well insulated that we needed to specify an EVR unit for fresh air exchange. An on demand hot water system precludes any wasted energy on water heaters when the home is unoccupied and also heats the home through a hydronic radiant slab. Low flow fixtures, dual flush toilets, LED lighting, high efficiency appliances and sustainably grown lumber were all specified and employed.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

We wanted to make sure that the house felt very warm and happy – a truly convivial environment – while unabashedly modern and durable. The natural environment is the star of the show and each room or interior space is predicated on celebrating that. Even the exterior cladding, specified for performance – matte aluminum and ipe – was designed to amplify the progression of hues both throughout the day and throughout the seasons.

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Architects: Grzywinski+Pons
Project completed: 2012
Location: Millerton, NY
Design Team: Matthew Grzywinski, Amador Pons

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Ground floor detail plan 1 – click above for larger image

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

Ground floor detail plan 2 – click above for larger image

Dutchess House No. 1 by Grzywinski + Pons

First floor detail plan – click above for larger image

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by Grzywinski + Pons
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