Arkitekt-ur : 2014-02-02

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Arab World Institute by Jean Nouvel

Arab World Institute © Flickr- username: roryrory

A cultural position in architecture is a necessity. This involves refusing ready-made or facile solutions in favor of an approach that is both global and specific. The Arab World Institute is a showcase for the Arab World in Paris. It is therefore not an Arab building but an occidental one. The representatives of the 19 Arab states that commissioned it were surprised by it. Some had wished for something more pastiche-like, like the Paris Mosque. But certain symbolic elements pleased them, like the “moucharabiehs” whose polygons of varying shapes and sizes create a geometric effect recalling the Alhambra. From an urban point of view the Institute is a hinge between two cultures and two histories. If the south side of the building, with its motorized diaphragms, is a contemporary expression of eastern culture, the north side is a literal mirror of western culture: images of the Parisian cityscape across the Seine are enamelled on the exterior glass like chemicals over a photographic plate. These patterns of lines and markings on the same façade are an echo of contemporary art. The frontiers between architecture, interior design, and furniture design are to my mind a total fiction. For that reason I designed the whole of the museum, including the showcases, seating, and display furniture. At the Arab World Institute I also began to consider the question of light. The theme of light is reflected in the southern wall, which consists entirely of camera-like diaphragms, and reappears in the stacking of the stairs, the blurring of contours, the superimpositions, in reverberations and reflections and shadows.
Jean Nouvel ( Paris, France, 1981-1987 )

Thursday, February 6, 2014

The New Milan Trade Fair by Massimiliano Fuksas Architetto

New Milan Trade Fair © Flickr- username: 準建築人手札網站 Forgemind ArchiMedia

The New Milan Trade Fair is an impressive construction, with a 5-kilometer perimeter and a 1.000.000 mq built surface that rises on a 2.000.000 mq land surface.
The New Trade Fair is made of eight big monoplanar and biplanar pavilions that, together, make a gross expositive surface of about 345.000 mq, plus 60.000 mq outdoors.
The whole route is on two areas, the one of the East entrance and the one of the West entrance. All the accesses and the exits to the Fair are organized through them. The buildings have got different functions (services, snack points, offices, hotel, commercial gallery, receptions of the pavilions, smaller expositive spaces). The placement of the buildings on the central axis is on different surfaces among water pools, green areas and epoxy resin floorings.
As background there are the big pavilion fa栤es made of glass and mirror stainless steel. Above this space there is the big cover named “Veil”. The flow of this veil is made of constant arithmetic variations that refer to natural landscape: “craters”, ''waves'', ''dunes'', ''hills''. This spine (1,500 m in length and 32 m in width) is the symbol of the project: a ''spinal column'' that covers about 47.000 mq.
This is a construction thought for affairs, but not only. Indeed, the Fair finds its natural prolongation on a structure thought for communication and exchange of ideas: a Congress Centre subdivided into ten rooms (for a total of 2600 seats). Close to the Congress Centre, in the central point of the veil, there is the multifunctional service Centre.
Lastly, a 9-hectar park and a green internal route surround the expositive pavilions on North West. Together, they represent a relax area of about 180.000 mq.
Massimilano Fuksas Architetto ( Milan, Italy, 2002-2005 )

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Church of Santo Volto by Mario Botta Architetto

Church of Santo Volto © Flickr- username: iJuliAn

Church of Santo Volto © Flickr- username: pietroizzo

Church of Santo Volto © Flickr- username: iJuliAn

In commissioning the Church of Santo Volto in Turin , His Eminence Cardinal Severino Poletto was well aware of the reasons, risks and hopes that a church can elicit today in its particular relation with the city. Like many other European cities, Turin has focused over the past several decades on the image of its historical layout, while new urbanisation work has rarely managed to become an active part of the city texture. The opportunity to design a new church recalls the great hopes of the past, “when the cathedral were white” – to borrow from Le Corbusier. Consequently, a new ecclesial structure to replace abandoned industrial areas has become an important commitment to link different urban districts and establish a new hub for both social and religious life. Because of its position, clearly visible from Piazza Piero della Francesca, the new church engenders a monumental layout. It is a powerfully plastic symbol that draws the visitor’s attention towards a centripetal space, and its presence will indubitably become a landmark for the environs. At the same time, it is a sign alluding to the commitment to construct the city through its most significant monuments, creating an image that can bear positive witness while also reflecting the contradictory nature of contemporary life. Its design plies today’s language, yet it seeks grounds for self-expression in the history of church architecture. Indeed, this is the architect’s challenge, and it must be acknowledged as hope in that need for spirituality which sustains our daily actions. The challenge is to ensure that the emotions evoked by the Church of Santo Volto in Turin will not remain the legacy of the architect alone, but that they will instead also be shared by the Turin community, for the architect’s prime role is to interpret the hopes of the era in which he lives.

Mario Botta Architetto ( Turin, Italy, 2001-2006 )

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Blue Residential Tower by Bernard Tschumi

Blue Residential Tower © Flickr- username: wallyg

Blue Residential Tower © Flickr- username: Scott Beale

The building's base occupies a lot zoned for residential use and cantilevers over an existing building designated for commercial use. The slightly angled walls facing the street and rear yard artfully negotiate the varying setback rules, crossing the line between the commercial and residential zoning districts. The sloped top of the building integrates the zoning district's two sky exposure plane requirements. The cantilever over the commercial space on the southern portion of the building is also angled from base to top, thus enlarging the size of the units located on the upper floors, which have stunning views of Lower Manhattan from river to river. This strategy also maximizes the amount of allowable residential square footage. The pixelated facades reflect both the internal arrangement of spaces and the multi-faceted character of the neighborhood below.
The building consists of 32 residences ranging from one- and two-bedroom units near the base to full-floor units with large terraces higher up, crowned by a duplex penthouse. The sloped window wall is a feature of many units. All units have full-height windows in the living and dining rooms. The apartments are outfitted with sustainable materials, including bamboo floors and wall panels, palm flooring, and river-pebble bathroom tiles. BLUE also recycles unused space on top of a neighboring commercial structure as an urban garden that provides communal space for residents and guests and broad views of the Williamsburg Bridge.

Cit. Bernard Tschumi Architects ( New York, 2004-2007 )

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid Architects

"At the heart of Guangzhou's cultural sites development, a lasting, state-of-the-art monument to the new millennium overlooking the Pearl River. Its contoured profile, unique twin boulder design and approach promenade enhances urban function, opens access to the riverside and dock areas and creates a new dialogue with the emerging town."

Cit. Zaha Hadid Architects

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