JTS engineering blog

Il Presidente di JTS Renato Simoncelli è lieto di comunicare l’ottenimento, insieme al gruppo di lavoro assemblato da Habitech, dei finanziamenti necessari allo sviluppo del progetto “Architettura della performance”.

“Mi sento di ringraziare Habitech per la fiducia concessa alla nostra azienda, abbiamo sempre creduto al perseguimento della sostenibilità e l’utilizzo della tecnologia in diverse forme, tra le quali rientra a pieno titolo questo blog. Questi sono piccoli passi verso il nostro obbiettivo che è quello di arrivare ad essere una delle aziende leader nel settore della progettazione, volutamente trascuro di aggiungere l’aggettivo sostenibile, perché per noi è stato e resterà l’unico modo di fare progettazione. Ringrazio inoltre i numerosi ( ormai più di 3000 al mese) visitatori italiani e non che passano dal nostro blog permettendoci di veicolare così la nostra filosofia e il nostro credo, proprio a testimoniare questo duro lavoro arriva puntuale la lettera del Ministero dello Sviluppo ad Habitech che conferma l’ottenimento dei finanziamenti da parte del Progetto Made in Italy.”

Grazie a tutti.        Renato Simoncelli

Architettura della performance
“Nuove tecnologie per il Made in Italy”
“Progetti di innovazione industriale”
“Industria 2015”
Proposta di legge per la nuova politica industriale
Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico
Novembre 2009

Il progetto

“Made in Italy – Architettura della performance”

L’idea di progetto prevede la realizzazione all’estero di un prototipo di sopraelevazione su un edificio esistente, attraverso l’utilizzo della tecnologia a pannelli di legno strutturali XLam (Cross-Lam), autonomo dal punta di vista energetico e composto di moduli innovativi, comprensivo delle relative piattaforme tecnologiche e degli strumenti di gestione. L’obiettivo è sviluppare un centro promozionale e di vendita dove saranno esposti prototipi, parziali o in scala, dei “modelli” di “sopraelevazione” progettati dalla filiera di aziende partner. Il centro intende da un lato fornire informazioni, consulenze e formazione, dall’altro giocare un ruolo strategico nell’acquisire contratti, sviluppare accordi commerciali e/o di joint venture e nel vendere specifiche competenze e prodotti.
Il principale approccio che si vuole esplorare è quello di aggiungere valore al sistema delle competenze artigianali dell’edilizia italiana (e delle attività collegate), coniugando in modo esplicito e sinergico il design del Made in Italy alle prestazioni ambientali, di sostenibilità e di sicurezza.

Cos’è il bando “Made in Italy – Industria 2015”?
“Industria 2015” è il disegno di legge sulla nuova politica industriale, varato dal Governo Italiano il 22.09.2006, le cui previsioni sono state recepite dalla Finanziaria 2007. All’interno di “Industria 2015”, l’obiettivo dei “Progetti di innovazione industriale” è quello di incrementare la competitività del sistema delle PMI italiane, salvaguardandone la presenza sui mercati internazionali. “Architettura della performance” è la proposta di progetto presentata da un gruppo di soggetti, facenti capo ad Habitech – Distretto Tecnologico Trentino, per il bando relativo ai programmi di ricerca, sviluppo e innovazione, per il bando 2008 “Nuove tecnologie per il Made in Italy”, lanciato nell’ambito di “Industria 2015”.

I partner
Il gruppo di soggetti proponenti comprende, oltre ad Habitech,
10 aziende, molte delle quali socie del Distretto: Areatecnica, Artuso Legnami, Baunatur, Distretto Tecnologico Trentino, ELIMP, Fanti Davide, Interplay Software, JTS Engineering, Martinatti Costruzioni, Moratelli Impiantistica, Trentina Calore;
5 CENTRI DI RICERCA: CNR-IVALSA, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Green Building Council Italia, Politecnico di Milano – Dipartimento INDACO, Università degli Studii di Trento – Facoltà di Ingegneria.
per maggiori informazioni: carlo.battisti@dttn.it

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Areatecnica http://www.areatecnica.org
Artuso Legnami http://www.artusolegnami.it
Baunatur
ELIMP http://www.elimp.net
Fanti Davide http://www.fantilegnami.it
Interplay Software http://www.ipsoft.it
JTS Engineering http://www.jts.vr.it
Martinatti Costruzioni http://www.martinatti.it
Moratelli Impiantistica http://www.moratelli.eu
Trentina Calore http://www.trentinacalore.it
CNR-IVALSA http://www.ivalsa.cnr.it
Fondazione Bruno Kessler http://www.fbk.eu
Green Building Council Italia http://www.gbcitalia.org
Politecnico di Milano | Dipartimento INDACO http://www.design.polimi.it
Università degli Studi di Trento | Facoltà di Ingegneria Civile
http://portale.unitn.it/cl/civile

A questo link viene riportata la lettera del Ministero

La notizia sul sito del Ministero dello Sviluppo

_____________________________________________________________________

JTS GAIN  MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDS

JTS c.e.o. Renato Simoncelli is proud to communicate that the company with the Team assembled by Habitech obtains the  government funds for the ambitious project “Performance Architecture”.

“I feel to thank Habitech for trusting us, we’ve always believed  in sustainability and technology in different ways, this blog can prove that. These are little steps in order to reach our goal, which is to bring our company to a leader position in the design field. I didn’t use adjective “sustainable” after design because we believe that it has to be the same thing. I want to thank also all blog visitors (now 3000 per month) that permit us to convey our philosophy and motto all around the world. The letter that Habitech received from the Ministry of Development is the proof of how JTS has always been committed to the quest for sustainability and technology.”

Thank you all.          Renato Simoncelli

Here a description of the  project “Performance Architecture”

Performance Architecture
“New technologies for the Made in Italy”
“Industrial innovation projects”
“Industry 2015”
draft law on new industrial politic
Ministry of Economic Development
November 2009

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The project

“Made in Italy – Performance Architecture”

The project issue is the realization outside Italy of a prototype for heightening  an existing building using structural wood X-lam (Cross-Lam) panel technology. The buildings have to be energy independent and composed by innovative modules, upgraded with technological platforms and management systems. Our target is to create a promotional and sales center  where will be exposed prototypes or heightening models projected by  our companies inside the team. The Center wants to give information, consultancy and training  and by the way  to stipulate new contracts, develop commercial synergies and/or Joint venture, in order to sell specific knowledge and products. Our goal is to add value to Italian construction manufacture (and related activities) joining  Made in Italy Design with high energy performances, sustainability and safety tightly.

What is  “Made in Italy – Industria 2015” contract notice?

“Industria 2015” is a draft law in new industrial politics, promoted by Italian government on 09.22.2006, which was included in 2007 government finance act. “Industria 2015” aim at improving competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises on international markets. “Performance Architecture” is the project proposed by a companies team  leaded by Habitech – Distretto Tecnologico Trentino, for the research and development contract notice “ New technologies for the Made in Italy “ launched with “Industria 2015” initiative.

The partners
The group leaded by Habitech, is composed by 10 companies, most of them are Distretto Tecnologico Trentino partners

Areatecnica, Artuso Legnami, Baunatur, Distretto Tecnologico Trentino, ELIMP, Fanti Davide, Interplay Software, JTS Engineering, Martinatti Costruzioni, Moratelli Impiantistica, Trentina Calore;
5 RESEARCH CENTERS: CNR-IVALSA, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Green Building Council Italia, Politecnico di Milano – INDACO department, Università degli Studi di Trento – Facoltà di Ingegneria.

————————————————————————-
Areatecnica http://www.areatecnica.org
Artuso Legnami http://www.artusolegnami.it
Baunatur
ELIMP http://www.elimp.net
Fanti Davide http://www.fantilegnami.it
Interplay Software http://www.ipsoft.it
JTS Engineering http://www.jts.vr.it
Martinatti Costruzioni http://www.martinatti.it
Moratelli Impiantistica http://www.moratelli.eu
Trentina Calore http://www.trentinacalore.it
CNR-IVALSA http://www.ivalsa.cnr.it
Fondazione Bruno Kessler http://www.fbk.eu
Green Building Council Italia http://www.gbcitalia.org
Politecnico di Milano | Dipartimento INDACO http://www.design.polimi.it
Università degli Studi di Trento | Facoltà di Ingegneria Civile
http://portale.unitn.it/cl/civile

blogged by: Filippo Simoncelli

Danish architects BIG have completed their 8 House residential project with a figure-of-eight plan in Copenhagen.

The building features a continuous cycle path and pedestrian walkway, winding up to the tenth floor and back down to ground level, and providing access to all residences.

The structure wraps around two courtyards connected by a tunnel through the central cross, which houses communal facilities.

Its height is lower on the south-west corner and higher at the north-east side to make best use of daylight.

See our earlier story about the project’s green roofs here.

See all our stories about BIG »

Photographs are by Jens Lind unless stated otherwise.

The text that follows is from the architects:

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BIG COMPLETES ITS TRILOGY OF HOUSING WITH THE 8 HOUSE IN COPENHAGEN

Celebrating its third project with the same development team in the maturing neighborhood of Orestad, the construction of the 61,000 m2 8 House has come to an end, allowing people to bike all the way from the street up to its 10th level penthouses alongside terraced gardens where the first residents have already moved in.

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

The bowtie-shaped 61,000 m2 mixed-use building of three different types of residential housing and 10,000 m2 of retail and offices comprises Denmark’s largest private development ever undertaken.

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

Commissioned by St. Frederikslund and Per Hopfner in 2006, the 8 House sits on the outer edge of the city as the southern most outpost of Orestad.

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

Rather than a traditional block, the 8 House stacks all ingredients of a lively urban neighborhood into horizontal layers of typologies connected by a continuous promenade and cycling path up to the 10th floor creating a three-dimensional urban neighborhood where suburban life merges with the energy of a big city, where business and housing co-exist.

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

“We have now completed three remarkable buildings in Orestad, the VM Houses, The Mountain and finally the 8 House – which is the sole result of a good and constructive collaboration with talented young architects who had a good understanding for the economical aspects,” Per Hopfner, Hopfner Partners

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

The 8 House creates two intimate interior courtyards, separated by the centre of the cross which houses 500 m2 of communal facilities available for all residents.

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

At the very same spot, the building is penetrated by a 9 meter wide passage that allows people to easily move from the park area on its western edge to the water filled canals to the east. Instead of dividing the different functions of the building – for both habitation and trade – into separate blocks, the various functions have been spread out horizontally.

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

“The apartments are placed at the top while the commercial programme unfolds at the base of the building.

Above photograph is by Ty Stange

As a result, the different horizontal layers have achieved a quality of their own: the apartments benefit from the view, sunlight and fresh air, while the office leases merge with life on the street.

This is emphasized by the shape of 8 House which is literally hoisted up in the Northeast corner and pushed down at the Southwest corner, allowing light and air to enter the southern courtyard,” Thomas Christoffersen, Partner in Charge, 8 House, BIG

A continuous public path stretches from street level to the penthouses and allows people to bike all the way from the ground floor to the top, moving alongside townhouses with gardens, winding through an urban perimeter block.

Two sloping green roofs totaling 1,700 m2 are strategically placed to reduce the urban heat island effect as well as providing the visual identity to the project and tying it back to the adjacent farmlands towards the south.

“8 House is a three-dimensional neighborhood rather than an architectural object.

An alley of 150 rowhouses stretches through the entire block and twists all the way from street level to the top and down again.

Where social life, the spontaneous encounter and neighbor interaction traditionally is restricted to the ground level, the 8 House allows it to expand all the way to the top,” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG

The 8 House uses size to its advantage by creating immense differences in height thereby creating a unique sense of community with small gardens and pathways that remind you of the intimacy of an Italian hill town.

With spectacular views towards the Copenhagen Canal and Kalvebod Faelled’s protected open spaces, 8 House provides residences to people in all of life’s stages through its 476 housing units, including apartments of varied sizes, penthouses and townhouses as well as office spaces to the city’s business and trade in one single building.

“8 House is our second realized example of architectural alchemy – the idea that by mixing traditional ingredients, retail, row- houses and apartments in untraditional ways – you create added value if not gold.

The mix allows the individual activities to find their way to the most ideal location within the common framework – the retail facing street, the offices towards northern light and the residences with sun and views to the open spaces.

8 House is a perimeter block that morphs into a knot, twisting and turning to maximize the life quality of its many inhabitants,” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG

PROJECT 8 HOUSE
CLIENT ST. FREDERIKSLUND HOLDING
ARCHITECT BIG-BJARKE INGELS GROUP
COLLABORATION HOPFNER PARTNERS, MOE & BRODSGAARD, KLAR
SIZE 61,000 M2, 476 RESIDENCES
COST EUR 92,000,000
LOCATION COPENHAGEN, DK
STATUS COMPLETED 2010

Partner-In-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Christoffersen Project Leader: Ole Elkjaer-Larsen, Henrick Poulsen Project Manager: Finn Norkjaer, Henrik Lund

Team: Dennis Rasmussen, Rune Hansen, Agustin Perez Torres, Annette Jensen, Carolien Schippers, Caroline Vogelius Wiener, Claus Tversted, David Duffus, Hans Larsen, Jan Magasanik, Anders Nissen, Christian Alvarez Gomez, Hjalti Gestsson, Johan Cool, James Duggan Schrader, Jakob Lange, Kirstine Ragnhild, Jakob Monefeldt, Jeppe Marling Kiib, Joost Van Nes, Kasia Brzusnian, Kasper Broendum Larsen, Louise Heboell, Maria Sole Bravo, Ole Nannberg, Pablo Labra, Pernille Uglvig Jessen, Peter Rieff, Peter Voigt Albertsen, Peter Larsson, Rasmus Kragh Bjerregaard, Richard Howis, Soeren Lambertsen, Eduardo Perez, Ondrej Tichy, Sara Sosio, Karsten Hammer Hansen, Christer Nesvik, Soeren Peter Kristensen, Lacin Karaoz, Marcello Cova, Luis Felipe González Delgado, Janghee Yoo, SunMing Lee

blogged by: Jake Shea

A collective of Colombian architects have designed a memorial museum for Medellín, Colombia, to commemorate victims of conflict.

Architects on the project include Juan David Botero, Maria Fernanda Vasco, Carla Cristina Gil, Jorge Adrian Gaviria, Catalina Jaramillo, Daniel Santiago Herrera, Elías José Gomez, Víctor Hugo Rodriguez, Alejandro Naranjo and Oscar Santana.

Separated into three floors, the building’s main exhibition spaces will be located at ground level, with archives on the first floor and an auditorium, cafe, workshop spaces and offices in the basement.

The building will be supported internally by portico and concrete slabs, with an outer metallic skeleton supporting the facades and roof.

The roof lights will allow indirect natural light to enter the top-level archive space.

The museum will form part of a larger park commissioned to commemorate the country’s 200th year of independence.

Centred on the Santa Elena Stream around which the city developed, new leisure facilities will include an open theatre and an interactive cascade of water.

The scheme has been commissioned by EDU, the Urban Development Corporation of Medellin.

Construction of the museum is due to start next year.

The following text is from EDU:

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In commemoration of Colombia’s 200 years of independence, rises a proposal to develop an urban project with aims to generate a social and environmental impact in a city’s sector which through the years has been deteriorating by housing invasion and the constant misuse of natural resources.

The project makes part of a master plan called Central-PUI, and it is located in Boston’s neighbourhood, in the 10th district of Medellín, Colombia; between the 39th and 36th Carrera, and the 54th and 51st street.

The design criteria for this project responds to the need to restore a historical and natural element such as the Santa Elena Stream, an important water source for the collective memory of the inhabitants of the city.

Along this stream the first settlements where originated, which later led to the development of the city as known today.

This element intends to be the main and guiding axis of the project by the recovery of its historical meaning.

The Project intervention develops 21,620 m2 of new public space, through which it seeks a physical and environmental recovery of the Santa Elena Stream.

As said before, this project will trigger the environmental and spatial recovery of the stream, with the streams borders as the structure and primary target for public space generation.

This will be done by a considerable amount of native flora planting, landscape design, strengthening of the sector as a new area of recreation with leisure facilities, including an open theatre with natural grass and an interactive digital display of water.

Within this proposal, a cultural facility of 3,619 m2 called “Museo Casa de la Memoria” is included, which seeks to assign a special place for the remembrance of victims of the violent conflict in Colombia and all around the world.

Promoted in its enclosures are spaces and exhibits to recreate historical events, with the aim of transforming violent acts into social learning.

The museum is another good excuse to find a place in the city where people meet to review our history and be able to assimilate the transition from the darkness of the death that swept our streets for decades, into the light of hope of living in a city less violent and with more public spaces for social interaction.

Starting from this premise, the building is like a tunnel, looking torevive a descending journey, pretending with this, to recreate sensations of the so called transition from darkness to light, supported by itinerant or permanent educational scripts, which will tell stories of our conflict that has been present for over 40 years.

The building’s program is divided into three levels. The intermediate level is the museum’s principal access, where we can find the ticket office and two large exposition rooms. The exposition rooms can be divided depending the museum’s need of space for each exhibit.

A higher level houses the Documentation Centre, an adequate space for files and documentation to be consulted by the community.

The building will use two different structural methods. Porticos and concrete slabs will hold the inside program, meanwhile a metallic skeleton structure will surround and sustain the building facades and inside roofing.

And finally at a lower level it is establish de following: an educational workshops, an auditorium for 270 people, administrative offices, a children’s gallery, the 3rd Gallery or exit, the Reflection Chamber , the restaurant, a small shop and technical areas.

This last structure is like a big folded double skin, which will act as an air chamber for thermal control, adequate for natural ventilation and for hot air evacuation.

It will also have deep bays available to prevent direct incidence of sunrays and skylights designed with the same geometry as of the building for an excellent and efficient indirect natural lighting.

The park is in its first phase of construction with work on the museum beginning in early January 2011.

blogged by: Jake Shea

This staircase curls between two floors of an apartment designed by Hong Kong studio Davidclovers.

Called Barker Residence, the home commands a view over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.

Twisting and sloping walls join together storage, entertainment systems and a fireplace, with the floor and lower part of the walls finished in wood.

See all our stories featuring spectacular staircases »

Photographs are by Almond Chu.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

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BARKER RESIDENCE (2010) by davidclovers

At eye-level with the top of IFC, the tallest building in Hong Kong, the Barker Residence holds stunning views of Victoria Harbor.

The project is the first of a series of projects designed by davidclovers for a developer of residential properties in Hong Kong.

The basic approach is to hone in on the most potent areas of the existing layout, and enhance them.

At Barker Residence, davidclovers reworks the unit horizontally and vertically using a series of subtly inflected walls and artificially-lit ceilings to bend space around corners and through floors.

The design thoughtfully subdues the palatial scale of the flat while delicately intensifying its hidden potentials.

The existing vestibule is broken open to the full panorama of the skyscrapers along the “fragrant harbor”, gently combining the living area and entry. Subtly twisting walls organize various elements such as cabinetry, fireplace, desk and TV.

A stair unfurls to interlock the lower and upper levels. It is washed in an effervescent glow from a custom-designed chandelier above. Previously cave-like bathrooms are thrust into spaces capturing views.

The kitchen, bar and dining areas are cracked open and lit above by textured glowing ceilings.

Design: davidclovers
Design Team: David Erdman, Clover Lee, Mui Fuk Man, Jason Dembski, Damien Hannigan, Katrina Lee, Spencer Mak
CLIENT: Ample Source Holdings Ltd.
LOCATION: The Peak, Hong Kong
TYPE: 4000 sf townhouse renovation

blogged by: Jake Shea

This espresso bar to be located near Grand Central Station in New York was designed by New York studio Nemaworkshop to resemble a library turned on its side.

Called D’espresso, the interior has been rotated 90 degrees so that one wall features herringbone-pattern wooden flooring while the opposite wall will have pendent lights protruding horizontally.

A photograph of bookshelves printed on custom tiles will line the floor, end wall and ceiling.

Images are by David Joseph.

The information below is from Nemaworkshop:

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Located on Madison Avenue, the espresso bar conceptually and literally turns a normal room sideways, creating a striking identity for the emerging brand.

The client approached nemaworkshop with an ambition to build a unique espresso brand and to develop a creative environment that connects to its location on Madison Avenue near Grand Central Station. Inspired by the nearby Bryant Park Library, nemaworkshop designed a store that is straightforward in a simple twisted way – Take a library and turn it SIDEWAYS.

The book-lined shelves become the floor and ceilings and wood floor ends up on the walls meanwhile the pendants protrude sideways from the wall. To achieve the books shelves on the floor, the space is lined with sepia-toned full size photograph of books printed on custom tiles.

The custom tiles run along the floor, up the 15’ foot wall and across the ceiling. The frosted glass wall behind the service counter illuminates the space and the wall directly opposite is clad in dark brown herringbone. The thrust of this concept finds expression in the lighting and materiality, and ultimately the space gives definition to the emerging brand. The concept itself is bold and receptive to future locations.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Here are some photographs by Edmund Sumner of the completed Balancing Barn holiday home in Suffolk, UK, by MVRDV and Mole Architects, including a swing under the 15 metre cantilever.

The project is the first of five in Alain de Botton’s Living Architecture project and available for rent from 22 October.

The building is clad in reflective panels and the interior was created by Dutch designers Studio Makkink & Bey.

More about the project here.

Photographs are by Edmund Sumner.

The information below is from MVRDV:

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Balancing Barn, a cantilevered holiday home near the village of Thorington in Suffolk, England, was completed last Tuesday. The Barn is 30 meters long, with a 15 meters cantilever over a slope, plunging the house headlong into nature. Living Architecture, an organization devoted to the experience of modern architecture, commissioned MVRDV in 2008. Mole Architects from Cambridge were executive architects and Studio Makkink & Bey from Amsterdam collaborated on the interior. The Barn is now available for holiday rentals.

Balancing Barn is situated on a beautiful site by a small lake in the English countryside near Thorington in Suffolk. The Barn responds through its architecture and engineering to the site condition and natural setting. The traditional barn shape and reflective metal sheeting take their references from the local building vernacular. In this sense the Balancing Barn aims to live up to its educational goal in re-evaluating the countryside and making modern architecture accessible. Additionally, it is both a restful and exciting holiday home. Furnished to a high standard of comfort and elegance, set in a quintessentially English landscape, it engages its temporary inhabitants in an experience.

Approaching along the 300 meter driveway, Balancing Barn looks like a small, two-person house. It is only when visitors reach the end of the track that they suddenly experience the full length of the volume and the cantilever. The Barn is 30 meters long, with a 15 meters cantilever over a slope, plunging the house headlong into nature. The reason for this spectacular setting is the linear experience of nature. As the site slopes, and the landscape with it, the visitor experiences nature first at ground level and ultimately at tree height. The linear structure provides the stage for a changing outdoor experience.

At the midpoint the Barn starts to cantilever over the descending slope, a balancing act made possible by the rigid structure of the building, resulting in 50% of the barn being in free space. The structure balances on a central concrete core, with the section that sits on the ground constructed from heavier materials than the cantilevered section. The long sides of the structure are well concealed by trees, offering privacy inside and around the Barn.

Click above for larger image

The exterior is covered in reflective metal sheeting, which, like the pitched roof, takes its references from the local building vernacular and reflects the surrounding nature and changing seasons.

Click above for larger image

On entering the Barn, one steps into a kitchen and a large dining room. A series of four double bedrooms follows, each with separate bathroom and toilet. In the very centre of the barn the bedroom sequence is interrupted by a hidden staircase providing access to the garden beneath. In the far, cantilevered end of the barn, there is a large living space with windows in three of its walls, floor and ceiling.

Click above for larger image

The addition of a fireplace makes it possible to experience all four elements on a rainy day. Full height sliding windows and roof lights throughout the house ensure continuous views of, access to and connectivity with nature.

Click above for larger image

The interior is based on two main objectives:

• The house is an archetypical two-person home, expanded in shape and content so that it can equally comfortably accommodate eight. Two will not feel lost in the space, and a group of eight will not feel too cramped.
• A neutral, timeless timber is the backdrop for the interior, in which Studio Makkink & Bey have created a range of furnishings that reflect the design concept of the Barn.

Click above for larger image

The rooms are themed. Partly pixilated and enlarged cloud studies by John Constable and country scenes by Thomas Gainsborough are used as connecting elements between the past and contemporary Britain, as carpets, wall papers and mounted textile wall-elements.

Click above for larger image

The crockery is made up of a set of English classics for two, and a modern series for a further six guests, making an endless series of combinations possible and adding the character of a private residence to the home.

Click above for larger image

The Barn is highly insulated, ventilated by a heat recovery system, warmed by a ground source heat pump, resulting in a high energy efficient building.

blogged by:  Jake Shea

The Skyroom is a rooftop event space designed by David Kohn Architects above the Architecture Foundation’s London offices.

Opened to coincide with the London Design Festival last month, the steel structure is enclosed by copper mesh walls and topped with transparent plastic.

The mixture of enclosed and open-air spaces will be used for lectures, performances and parties.

Photographs are by Will Pryce.

The information that follows is from David Kohn Architects:

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Skyroom

The Skyroom is a new rooftop venue to host events programmed by the Architecture Foundation. Sitting above their offices on Tooley Street, the structure offers a range of rooms, both covered and open to the sky, for different occasions and uses ranging from lectures and performances to dinner parties and sun-bathing. The project opened to coincide with London Design Week on 20th September 2010.

The project features a central courtyard open to the sky, framing the rising form of The Shard being built high above London Bridge Station. A balcony cantilevered over Tooley Street offers breathtaking views through the More London development to the Thames and the Tower of London beyond.

Akin to a small theatre space, the proportions of Skyroom enable it to be occupied in a variety of different arrangements. Four niche spaces extend from the courtyard to provide an intimate setting for meeting and relaxing. On the south facade a louvred screen frames a Black Tupelo tree with purple autumnal leaves which will eventually turn an intense bright scarlet, affirming the rooftop as a new ground and a site available to be colonised by nature.

With a bespoke structure constructed of steel with copper mesh facades and larch flooring, Skyroom is topped with six Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) cushions.

The structure and materials used throughout the scheme have been chosen for their lightness and varieties of transparency: the white steel structure is like a drawing in space, marking out the territory of the rooftop and framing key views of the site and sky.

The stainless steel and copper mesh panels create moiré patterns that lightly obscure their surroundings. ETFE, a material originally designed by NASA to create enclosures on the moon, is used here in sizes ranging from 2m sq to 8m x 3m. Stippled with sun-blocking silver dots, this continues the fabric-like quality of the enclosure across the roof.

The design of Skyroom is a response to a number of major constraints: the limited structural capacity of the existing roof; location of the building within a conservation area with strict guidelines on the appearance of developments; building to a limited budget; and access to the roof for construction.

As the roof was not able to support any additional load of either materials or people, the creation of a new structure above it was crucial. In order to transfer load into the existing steel columns, a new steel deck was created, passing through the roof to connect to the heads of the columns below. Newly built large steel sections enable the transfer of load through the steel deck into the existing structure.

Excluding the cantilevered balcony, the scheme is set back from the building perimeter to negate the need for expensive scaffolding on all sides as well as to comply with planning regulations to limit the amount of the structure visible from the street and consequent change in appearance to the overall building.

Additionally, materials used throughout were selected to satisfy the local authority’s requirement for quality finishes that would age well and compliment the conservation area.

Both points reveal that there are indeed opportunities to adapt the capital’s skyline even when faced with the rigorous planning control of a conservation area.

A limited budget and tight programme were additional factors that steered the design of Skyroom, which went from detailed design to completion in just eight weeks. The project, commissioned and funded by the landlord of Magdalen House, Lake Estates, demonstrates an imaginative re-use of one of London’s neglected roofscapes and is in keeping with the Mayor of London’s policy to encourage the occupation of the city’s rooftops.

blogged by: Jake Shea

This house by Suppose Design Office in Hiroshima, Japan, is nestled into the hillside beneath a road and commands views over the city of Fukuyama.

Rooms requiring privacy, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, are concealed in two towers, while the living and dining room occupy glazed plateaus in between.

See all our stories about Suppose Design Office »

The information that follows is from Suppose Design Office:

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House in Fukuyama

The house in Fukuyama is standing at rising of a brae where it has a panoramic view of Fukuyama city.

The client wanted their house to open to the great view of the city, and on the same time, to close from surroundings for privacy.

For the two opposite requests, we designed the house considering a form of the site and its material use.

Because the site was placed at lower level of a street, all rooms were put at the level to block neighbors eyes, and at the opposite side, it is fully open to the Fukuyama city.

At the open side, living room and dining room is placed, and they have same finishes as exterior walls.

For rooms that are for private like a bathroom, they have more clean and smooth finishes.

Because of the differences of the site uses and material finishes, there are more varieties of atmosphere inside.

Moreover, through the same finish walls with outside, trees in a mountain and a courtyard are reflected to the inside. The shadows of the trees connect inside and outside more closely and open as if the interior is a part of the hill.

We hope the house is creating space that has well harmonize between privacy and open in reconsidering the condition of the site and the meaning of material of architecture.

blogged by: Jake Shea

This shopping centre and apartment block by Slovenian architects OFIS Arhitekti is due to begin construction in Ljubljana, Slovenia, next year.

The seven-storey building will be wrapped in sweeping trellises made from layers of mesh.

Called Shopping Pillow Terraces, the building will have a passageway running through the first two floors that will connect a main thoroughfare on one side to a park on the other.

The first four storeys will accommodate shops and restaurants connected to an adjacent shopping mall, while the three above will be filled with apartments.

See all our stories about OFIS Arhitekti »

Here’s some more from the designers:

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The complex is located in the heart of Ljubljana, between the park and main Ljubljana pedestrian commercial street. 
The program is a mixture of boutique shops, caffe and residences.

The street and the park will be connected with public passage perforating the building. Since the street and the park are in different levels the building has two ground floors connected with a passage.

Lower 4 floors are shops connected with a mall. Top three floors are reserved for apartments; partly also inside existing historical atrium. The building is formed in terraces between low-rise historical line in the park towards recent extension of the Post office on the border of the plot.

Terraces offer beautiful views towards the old city and the castle. Lower large terrace plateau is formed as open air caffee, higher terraces are designed as apartments. 
Teraces are enclosed with green pillows; organic layered metal mesh with implanted greenery inside.

Like the fashion also the building is changing through the season: fall winter appearance is covered in silver and sometimes covered in snow. On the other hand spring summer appearance is green and sometimes in flowers. 
Project will go on site in 2011.

Location: Ljubljana
Type: commecial and residences
Client: LE nepremicnineAreas:5.474 m2 commercial program 3.222 m2 apartments
Structure: metal, reinforced concrete
Max. Height: 7 floors (1 underground), 24.0 m above ground
Budget: 20 mio EUR 
Exterior Finish: metal, stone, glass, green
Project team:
Rok Oman, Spela Videcnik, Janja del Linz,
Janez Martinčič, Katja Aljaz, Andrej Gregorič, 
Verena Smahel

blogged by: Jake Shea