creating space

Architecture Monday

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The new Greek church near the WTC in NYC is interesting for a couple of reasons… for one, it’s designed Santiago Calatrava in a very restrained way that is decidedly uncharacteristic for him:

For two, it is clad in sections of translucent marble.  Which is always mind tweaking for me; whenever I think of stone the first thing that comes to mind is light passing through it such that it can become downright luminous, and yet, that is a thing that some stone amazingly can do. Such that, at night, this building very much becomes a lantern:

Unfortunately, this ends up not being carried through to be used in an interesting way on the interior.  Unlike the alabaster panels at the LA cathedral I visited some years ago, only a ring of fingerling arches around the base of the dome allows any of the light pass through into the inside:

Still, it is a nifty little architectural gimmick.

St Nicholas Church and Shrine, photos by Field Condition, by Santiago Calatrava.

Architecture Monday

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I will admit, my first thought was that this school was in a Nordic country.  Awesomely, it is not; it’s in Arkansas, with an amazing design that wraps a couple of buildings in a sculptural and continual roof that turns downward to become a screen wall.

And something about that matte grey metal really works here – it’s not a bland neutral, but instead subtlety reflects the hues of its surroundings and of the ever-changing sky.  It also pairs well with the wood of the building itself that resides behind the sheltered arcade/atrium created by the screen wall.  Then add in a sweet connection to its site (including on-site stormwater catching), a site replete with native plantings, and a couple of protected courtyards with playful water elements.  Good stuff.

Inside the spaces follow the bold lines of the roof to create dynamic and bold spaces that also tie themselves to the outside.  And that cafeteria!  Wood slat roof (with chandeliers) creating this striking and strong linear pull towards the grand vista.

Certainly, we all need an artistic photo of rain drops falling onto our educational pool…

High grade work!  And only one of several buildings on this property that follow the school’s teaching organization of Reels (narrative and visual communications through film), Wheels (physics and mechanics through bikes), and Meals (biology and chemistry through food).

Home Building at Thaden School by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple (and the master campus plan can be found here!)

Architecture Monday

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Another adaptive reuse!  This time in Amsterdam, with a rejuvenation of a former mercantile exchange.  While the outside’s been brought back to all its turreted pointiness, it’s the addition of the glass geodesic-like dome on top that caught my interest.

It’s not much of a presence from the street, and it’s not trying to be.  It even cuts into itself to avoid impinging on the turrets (while, as a bonus, creating an outdoor gathering space).  But it’s one wicked, column-fee space inside, a soaring crystal cover whose diagonal rib work offers dynamic windows onto the world.

And then, in one of those turrets, is this very cool time-infused room…

Sweet work.  The Diamond Exchange Capital C Amsterdam by ZJA + HEYLIGERS

Architecture Monday

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In keeping with the recent somewhat-theme… a home with a courtyard!  But with a circular twist… so even better it’s a tower/courtyard theme mashup…

But it’s not a round building.  The perimeter is fully rectangular to fit the site and the surroundings.  Only the wedge-shaped carport with rounded fence and the equally angular window on the front façade gives any hint of what’s within.  (Nicely, the box also is a rich grey stucco that both hides the wood within and the wedge cutout once again gives it away.)

Add in a few double height spaces and a few choice changes in levels to create different conditions within, all splaying from that central atrium, and you’ve got yourself a nifty little house.  Cool stuff.

The aptly named 360° house by YUUA Architects

Architecture Monday

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Is this a house for Rapunzel?  Sure, why not… but it’s even cooler than that!  Take a restored hull of and old mill as the literal core, add an airy addition to one side to compliment the heavy brick construction of the mill on the other, and you have a most intriguing place to live.

 

Not surprisingly given both living in a tower but also its smallish size, the tower, there’s a lot of vertical division going on within, with the library on the first floor, the bathroom on the second, bedroom on the third, and crowned with an office (with a view!).  All accessed by a sweeping stair that travels along the outer edge and punctuated with arched windows.

This photo shows off much of what I love here, including the way the heavy texture of the brick plays off the slickness of the floors and the steel and glass addition.  And the fun of tower living!  But also how much that arched opening into the brick tower it looks like a giant pizza oven…

Adaptive reuse, tower living, libraries, and more.  Great stuff.

House Wind by Architecten De Bruyn

Architecture Monday

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A fun little folly tonight, in the form of the Smile.  A temporary pavilion at the London Design Festival back in 2016.  Made of cross-laminated wood as a double cantilever structure, it seems to rest, precariously balanced, in the middle of the courtyard.  As a folly it’s akin mostly to spatial art, inhabited purely for the experience and joy it brings.

The Smile by Alison Brooks Architects

Architecture Monday

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There’s something quite appealing to me about the “simplicity” in this house design, with its solid, board-formed concrete base topped with an airy wood top that’s entirely ringed with windows.

Though the base is created in concrete, there’s plenty of openings, some with a perforated concrete screen, and similarly though the upper story is all windows, each has a shutter as well.  The mix of the concrete base, wood mid, and steel roof all are well proportioned and pair well into a most pleasing combination.

Oh, and it’s got a two-story courtyard down its centre, because apparently I am very much on a courtyard kick right now…

Unfortunately there aren’t too many photos of the inside that show the gamut of different spaces that the plans hint at, so we have to let our imaginations fill out what’s just offscreen.

On the whole, solid work!

House on Lake Zell by Steiner Architecture f/f

Architecture Monday

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There’s a couple of reasons to love this former power plant in the heart of London.  The first is the building itself, majestic, assertive, and positively iconic in all of its art deco glory (especially so from its use on the cover of a Pink Floyd album).

Sweet design with sweet detailing, and a great reminder that even industrial buildings warrant great design for those who both work within and live around it.

The second is the amazing mixed-use adaptive reuse of the building that was recently completed.  Retail and office spaces use most of the space within, including the cavernous turbine and boiler halls, while residential lines the periphery and, with a remarkable flair, as new glass and steel boxes set delicately atop the existing brick base.  Well-proportioned and taking cues from the existing conditions, the new apartments compliment the original design very well.  A trio of linear gardens join also the residences atop the building.

Even the old control rooms were given a chance to join in the fun, handsomely restored to their glory.

Reading up on the history, after the station was decommissioned there were some unfortunate twists and turns and false starts that resulted in a long dormancy and the whole thing falling into disrepair.  It’s fortunate and great to see this new form come to fruition, restoring the landmark design while also providing a great mixed-use addition to the neighborhood.  And it’s adaptive reuse, so you know I have to love it.  Great stuff.

The Battersea Power Station, originally by Giles Gilbert Scott, and one of the largest brick buildings in the world.  He also designed the Bankside power station, also the site of an amazing adaptive reuse into the Tate Modern art gallery!  Adaptive reuse design led by WilkinsonEyre (more pictures, videos, and historical photos at their site — and check out the jaw-droppingly interesting Chimney Lift, an elevating glass room the size of the inside of the chimney that emerges to give 360 views, wow).

Architecture Monday

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I live in a house that is sometimes known, fully tongue-in-cheek and delighted for the pun, as a “Likeler.”  That is, “like an Eichler.”  Eichler homes essentially defined the ‘California Modern’ house type of post-and-beam style construction, open floorplans, and access to light.

However, spend anytime in an actual Eichler house and the difference between them and my own is readily apparent.  The better design of an Eichler home is completely palpable.  The quality of the spaces and the connections between them, the connection between indoors and out, the play of light, all of those are often downright exquisite.

That includes one of the more common Eichler features, that of the private courtyard.  Sometimes bordering the front of the house, sometimes ensconced in the middle, this little garden could be seen and accessed from numerous places within the home.

These images are some mighty fine examples of the type.  They don’t really need much more description; their awesomeness speaks for themselves.  These are homes designed and built nearly 60 years ago, and their design still shines as an example… and, hopefully, as a reminder and lesson that great design is for everyone and ought to be afforded to everyone.

Courtyards of Eichler Homes, some designed by Robert Anshen as well as Claude Oakland & Associates.  Of note, Eichler also had an inviting and inclusive intent beyond the walls of the house – it’s pretty cool, read a bit more about their history here or here.