JTS engineering blog

In collaboration with Italian architect Barbara Berni, this mixed-use residential project was conceived as a large-scale, green building development on nearly 12 acres in the province of Caserta in southern Italy. The design and site plan, reflecting a direct response to the needs of this tightly knit community in which environmental regulations are becoming increasingly strict, is intended to be sustainable and improve its inhabitants’ comfort and standard of living.

Thirteen buildings are planned to be constructed on the site, while preserving existing public amenities and green areas. Commercial and retail spaces on the ground floors of each building would enhance the social life of the residents, creating opportunities for interaction based on shopping and business. This project is also intended to show how developers with private patronage can: a) commission buildings of high quality and adopt innovative technologies and design guidelines; and b) demonstrate the way they are becoming conscious of how inhabitants of new buildings are more educated and sensitive to sustainable architecture benefits and issues.

Each building has 20 units, equally distributed, on five floors — four 2&3-bedroom units on each floor – with ground floors used as commercial spaces and a lobby. Underground parking garages serve each building and connect to the ground floor level with a ramp. Seismic resistant steel structure: given the active seismic condition of the area, the buildings’ steel frame construction is designed to guard against damage and related consequences in case of earthquake. The total collapse of steel-framed buildings appears to be an extremely rare event, even when large earthquakes are involved.

Because of the number of buildings slated for the site, and with an eye toward cost-effectiveness and design cohesion, each building is a repetition of the same core design, varying only in façade materials (Corten steel, zinc and vertical garden details are projected) as well as in architectural details. One such detail is a system of light panels (attached perpendicularly to the facades) which change pattern in the facades and illuminate at night through solar power, creating a dramatic, rhythmic visual effect at dark.
Ground floor plan

Typical plan

The vertical gardens follow the example of other architectural applications of this living, green façade, such as French botanist Patrick Blanc’s designs, Jean Nouvel’s Musée du Quai Branly in Paris and the recent indoor application in the Harmony Atrium at Lincoln Center in New York, where its purpose is cited as a “theatrical garden,” featuring 20-foot-high walls of plants and cascades of falling water. Another goal for this project is to integrate and extend the existing greenspace, making sure to give back twofold in green where the built space has been claimed. Contemporary architecture is evolving more and more to minimize its footprint on existing landscapes, where possible. In this sense, even the aforementioned vertical gardens would act as an extension, albeit abstract, to the existing landscape.

Both front and back main facades of the building are articulated (patterned) in a grid of large balconies where the sunlight is regulated by adjustable, brise-soleil sliding panels. As each resident adjusts his own brise-soleil in response to light needs or preference, the result is a continuously changing, random pattern on the facades. Also, the steel frame structure is partially extended in elevation at the roof line in order to accentuate the height of the building, without adding to it in volume.

Continuous glass surfaces wrap the perimeters of the entire ground (commercial) floors, emphasizing the suspended effect of the buildings, which are supported by pilotis. This suspension design creates recessed porticos as a sheltered gathering place for the residents and their community – recalling a traditional feature of Italian architecture. The glass surface is visually interrupted by the stark element of a sculptural, metal folding-gate system that at night – after business hours – encloses its perimeter for security. The visual result is of an architectural screen with a natural pattern that it is also used as a decorative element in the common areas of the building.

In order to achieve the best level of comfortable living at an effective cost, this green building project is intended to be as self-sufficient as possible in energy and water savings, featuring also passive cooling and natural climatization, to single out two distinctive categories:

· Empowering the “passive” performance (or energy behaviour) of the building creates a natural ventilation, via brise-soleil and insulated wall/roof systems;

· Adopting high-performance energy and heating systems such as solar panels (photovoltaic and solar thermal panels placed on the roof).

Other key features are:
· A natural ventilation chimney by the stairwell, designed to extract outside air and pass it through the building while cooling at ground-floor level;

· A veranda serra (greenhouse balcony) system to reduce the quantity of heat generated by the heating system during the winter months, supported by solar screens that control any direct irradiation and outside thermal exposure of the rooms during summer months;

· A rainwater recovery collection system which recycles also grey water;

· An insulated façade and roof system also using the aforementioned vertical garden application for lower energy consumption;

· Energy efficiency approaches to building orientation and passive solar design;

· Adjustable, sliding brise-soleil sunscreen panel systems (sun-louvers) designed to allow the infiltration of light – while being comfortably regulated from within;

· Adjustable ventilation louvers by the building lobby’s entrance and stairwell.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Asymptote’s design for the PGCC complex is centered on the idea of creating a new and powerful image for the city of Penang and the new initatives associated with the development of the Northern Corridor of Malaysia. The design achieves its elegance and stature through the simultaneous embrace of natural landscapes and contemporary urbanism.

The PGCC will become a vital new precinct that complements and enhances the unique characteristics that typify Penang as a remarkable island metropolis. The design of the iconic towers in particular draws inspiration from not only the lushness and drama of the surrounding mountains and seascapes, but also from the rich and diverse cultural heritage that makes up the Malaysian nation and Penang in particular.

The forms of the two towers are comprised of both horizontal and vertical elements: sculpted horizontal components move across the plinth, rise up and transform into articulated vertical structures.

Set against the backdrop of the nature reserve of Penang Hill, the twisting, glass façades of the towers “perform” various surface effects—reflecting, refracting and distorting views of Penang, the surrounding landscape and the seascape beyond.

The vast, cascading plinth, which functions as a public plaza with multiple gathering spaces, are venues for the performing arts center, convention center and various facilities for residential, office and urban life.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Early designs for Zaha Hadid Architects’ winning proposal for the King Abdullah II House of Culture & Art were released yesterday as the design contracts were signed by the Greater Amman Municipality. Hadid and partner Patrik Schumacher have developed another grandiose design which is scheduled to commence construction in early 2012.

The project includes a 1600-seat concert theatre, 400-seat theatre, educational centre, rehearsal rooms, and galleries. Inspired by the ‘uniqely beautiful monument of Petra’, the building is designed as an artificial oasis and sanctuary for contemporary culture.

“Contemporary architecture is striving to emulate nature and imbue architecture with the intricate complexity and elegance of natural forms. In Petra we admire the way the rose-colored mountain walls have been fi ssured, eroded, carved and polished to reveal the strata of sedimentation along the fl uid lines of the fl uvial erosions,” said Hadid. “We are applying the principle of fluid erosion and carving to the mass of the building for the performing arts centre. This principle of erosion is the sole means of articulating the public spaces in the building. There can be no doubt that this inviting design will wash away the threshold anxiety that sometimes is felt in front of monumental cultural buildings. While the erosion creates the public foyer spaces the remaining mass represents the performance spaces.”

A new urban plaza has been created by shifting the building mass, roughly the same as the current building occupying the site, to the east. A wide and open underpass creates a fluid link into the plaza providing both functional and safe passage under vehicular routes and a continuation of the cultural centre’s architecture.

Generous transparency is provided by meandering glazing wrapping horizontally around one corner from ground level to the top of the building. Hadid’s signature sinuous lines dominate the interior and the transition from outside in, right through to the four tiers of the main theatre.

The House is being promoted by The Greater Amman Municipality as the premiere venue for theatre, music and dance performance and education in Jordan.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Piling works have begun at Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island. Work will progress over the following 20 weeks with German construction company Bauer International FZE driving a total of 5,638 piles into the ground. 4,298 steel piles and 1,340 concrete piles will be set, amounting to 94.2km in length.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is the centrepiece of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District which will be home to the world’s largest concentration of cultural institutions in the world and will also include Norman Foster’s Zayed National Museum and Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum as well as projects by Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando.

“We are very excited about the Louvre Abu Dhabi project and how it is progressing so rapidly. This development is indeed one-of-a-kind – from design aesthetics to constructions mechanisms – it is a piece of art in the making.

Taking the development aspect into perspective, our requirements for contractors are very demanding and we are proud to work with the world’s leading construction firms as we build these top-class museums,” commented Lee Tabler, CEO for the Tourism Development and Investment Company.

Once completed in 2013 the Louvre Abu Dhabi will feature a distinctive 180 metres lattice-like dome and contain 8,000 sq m of gallery space.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Kieran Timberlake staved off competition from Richard Meier, Morphosis Architects and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners to be announced as the winner of the Embassy of the U.S. London design competition. The Philadelphia architect’s design will bring a new landmark to rival Battersea Power Station on the banks of the Thames.

37 architectural submissions were narrowed to a shortlist of 9 by the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations and both American and British leaders in the fields of architecture, academia and diplomacy selected four firms for the final phase of the competition.

The design was said to have, “most fully satisfied the requirements outlined in the design competition’s mission statement. The concept holds the greatest potential for developing a truly iconic embassy and is on the leading edge of sustainable design”, according to the Embassy. The criteria outlined were for a ‘modern, welcoming, timeless, safe and energy efficient’ building.

What Timberlake has delivered in his design is a bold transparent box with surrounding public landscaping and paths on varying levels. Dramatic solar shading articulates the facade of the building from the second level leaving the ground level free from obstruction and transparent to passers by.

Moving forward with the design Timberlake will now work closely with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations in engaging in the consultation and planning process to include the Mayor’s office, the Wandsworth Borough Council, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, and residents.

The anticipated ground breaking on this landmark embassy will be in 2013 with a goal to complete the construction in 2017.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Mumbai firm Planet 3 Studios Architecture Pvt. Ltd. has won an invited competition for the design of the new Panoramic Hotel at Karnala in Mumbai, India.

Their dramatic, spiraling design won approval on its ability to maximise views into the lush green surroundings that form a local bird sanctuary.

While local building codes restricted the structure to ground plus one floor, the client requirement of an iconic property that combined the best of a dispersed format resort and a monolithic hotel provided the point of inspiration for this remarkable design.

Radiating from a central core with restaurants, spa, health club, café, a large pool and suites on the upper level, five arms extend into the landscape with out-facing rooms on two floors. Balconies connected with each room have privacy and a unique view of the outdoors.

The building skin is engineered in horizontal louvers to moderate harsh tropical sun. At night, some of these louvers will light up in subtle colours, suggesting magical lanterns that float in air.

blogged by: Jake Shea

The Cooper Union’ s new building at 41 Cooper Square in New York City, is an academic facility located on the east side of Third Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets. It houses the college’s Albert Nerken School of Engineering and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences along with additional facilities for the School of Art and the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture.

Thom Mayne and the Morphosis team designed the nine-story, 175,000 square foot, full-block building to replace more than 40 percent of the academic space at the college with reconfigurable, state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, studios and public spaces.

As explained by Thom Mayne, the new academic building for The Cooper Union, aspires to manifest the character, culture and vibrancy of both the 150 year-old institution and of the city in which it was founded.

All photographs © Iwan Baan

Site plan

The institution remains committed to Peter Cooper’s radically optimistic intention to provide an education “as free as water and air” and has subsequently grown to become a renowned intellectual and cultural center for the City of New York. 41 Cooper Square aspires to reflect the institution’s stated goal to create an iconic building – one that reflects its values and aspirations as a center for advanced and innovative education in Art, Architecture and Engineering.

Internally, the building is conceived as a vehicle to foster collaboration and cross-disciplinary dialogue among the college’s three schools, previously housed in separate buildings. A vertical piazza—the central space for informal social, intellectual and creative exchange—forms the heart of the new academic building.

An undulating lattice envelopes a 20-foot wide grand stair which ascends four stories from the ground level through the sky-lit central atrium, which itself reaches to the full height of the building.

This vertical piazza is the social heart of the building, providing a place for impromptu and planned meetings, student gatherings, lectures, and for the intellectual debate that defines the academic environment.

From the double-high entry lobby, the grand stair ascends four stories to terminate in a glazed double-high student lounge overlooking the city.

On the fifth through ninth floors, sky lobbies and meeting places—including a student lounge, seminar rooms, lockers, and seating areas overlooking the cityscape—are organized around the central atrium.

Sky bridges span the atrium to create connections between these informal spaces. Further reinforcement of the strategy to create a vibrant intellectual space is provided by the “skip-stop” circulation strategy which allows for both increased physical activity and for more impromptu meeting opportunities.

The primary skip-stop elevators, which make stops at the first, fifth and eighth floors, encourage occupants to use the grand stairs and sky bridges. Secondary elevators stop at each floor, both for ADA compliance and for the practical tasks of moving materials, artworks, and equipment.

In the spirit of the institution’s dedication to free, open and accessible education, the building itself is symbolically open to the city. Visual transparencies and accessible public spaces connect the institution to the physical, social and cultural fabric of its urban context. At street level, the transparent facade invites the neighborhood to observe and to take part in the intensity of activity contained within. Many of the public functions – an exhibition gallery, board room and a two-hundred-seat auditorium – are easily accessible one level below grade.

The building reverberates with light, shadow and transparency via a high performance exterior double skin whose semi-transparent layer of perforated stainless steel wraps the building’s glazed envelope to provide critical interior environmental control, while also allowing for transparencies to reveal the creative activity occurring within. Responding to its urban context, the sculpted facade establishes a distinctive identity for Cooper Square. The building’s corner entry lifts up to draw people into the lobby in a deferential gesture towards the institution’s historic Foundation Building. The façade registers the iconic, curving profile of the central atrium as a glazed figure that appears to be carved out of the Third Avenue façade, connecting the creative and social heart of the building to the street.

Green Features
Built to LEED Gold standards, , 41 Cooper Square has achieved LEED Platinum rating, the first LEED-certified academic laboratory building in New York City. Advanced green building initiatives include:

• An operable building skin made of perforated stainless steel panels offset from a glass and aluminum window wall. The panels reduce the impact of heat radiation during the summer and insulate interior spaces during the winter.

• Radiant heating and cooling ceiling panels introduce innovative HVAC technology that will boost energy efficiency. This contributes to making the new building 40 percent more energy efficient than a standard building of its type.

• A full-height atrium enables unique circulation for building occupants, improves the flow of air and provides increased interior day lighting.

• Seventy-five percent of the building’s regularly occupied spaces are lit by natural daylight.

• A green roof insulates the building, reduces city “heat island” effect, storm water runoff and pollutants; harvested water is reused.

• A cogeneration plant provides additional power to the building, recovers waste heat and effectively cuts energy costs.

• Flexible state-of-the-art laboratories, studios and classrooms are specifically designed to accommodate pedagogical objectives, as well as current and future research activities.

This aggregation of progressive green building initiatives combines with the building’s social spaces and urban connectivity to support Cooper Union in advancing its legacy of innovative ideas, cross-disciplinary knowledge, and creative practices well into the future.

Building Facts
Construction start: November 13, 2006
Ribbon Cutting: September 15, 2009
Total space: 175,000 gross sq. ft., (nine stories plus two below grade; height: 135 ft.)
Laboratories: 39,000 sq. ft.
Studios: 10,000 sq. ft.
Classrooms: 15,400 sq. ft.
Student space: 5,080 sq. ft.
Public spaces (Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, Menschel Board Room, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Exhibition Foyer and Gallery): 8,800 sq. ft.

blogged by: Jake Shea

Appena arrivato a New York per la ristrutturazione del MoMA, Yoshio Taniguchi disse ammirato: “Manhattan ha edifici notevoli, ma il suo splendore architettonico è dato dall’insieme, dalla giustapposizione di eccellente e mediocre, del residenziale e commerciale, del piccolo e gigantesco. Il risultato è un’isola di architetture“. È questo lo spirito con cui un angolo di Chelsea tra la High Line e l’Hudson River, lungo la 19esima strada, sta per diventare un concentrato di architettura d’autore senza precedenti, o, come dicono i newyorchesi con un po’ d’enfasi: “The most beautiful block in the world”, l’angolo più bello del mondo. I nomi sono il Gotha delle star internazionali: Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Shigeru Ban, a cui si aggiunge Annabelle Selldorf (per lei, tedesca di nascita, è la consacrazione definitiva). L’idea è quella di vestire una zona di Manhattan con abiti nuovi disegnati dai più bravi e sicuramente più trendy architetti del momento. Ed è un modo, per New York, di rilanciare la sfida delle altre città (da Los Angeles a Londra) per rimanere, anche nel XXI secolo il luogo in cui, per dirla con Scott Fitzgerald, “si decide ciò che è bello e ciò che è di moda”.

Designed as a direct descendent of French architect Jean Nouvel’s Parisian landmark Arab World Institute building, his new 23-storey residential tower overlooking the Hudson River is nearing completion. Previously known as 100 11th, the tower has now been named Nouvel Chelsea in admiration of the architect’s prestige but the architect himself has called it his ‘vision machine’.

Nel Chelsea è stata giù ultimata la costruzione della sede di IAC/InterActiveCorp, primo edificio a Manhattan di Frank Gehry. L’esterno, stupendo secondo i critici, sembra un drappeggio di vetro. Accanto (sul lato sud della 19esima strada) sorgerà Metal Shutter Houses, un condominio di 11 piani firmato da Shigeru Ban. Si prosegue con 520 West Chelsea, un palazzo di Annabelle Selldorf che reinterpreta, in modo creativo con l’uso del vetro e della terracotta, lo stile dei depositi industriali del Chelsea anni ’30. Basterà attraversare la strada, o semplicemente volgere lo sguardo, per vedere sul lato nord la

David Zwirner Gallery, testa di ponte dell’avanguardia europea in America. Anche questo è un edificio disegnato dalla Selldorf. All’angolo (100 Eleventh Avenue) sorgerà poi l’imponente torre residenziale di 23 piani di Jean Nouvel. Sul lato est dell’isolato, a chiudere l’operato di questo dream team, ci sarà un parco pedonale che restituirà ai newyorchesi l’uso della High Line, una sopraelevata abbandonata da trent’anni.

Nouvel’s own input in the luxury condominium block has been felt to the very last detail, from bathroom fixtures to the clever light enhancing technique of adding an extra layer of nearly imperceptible transparent gloss under the windows to boost incoming sunlight. Almost 1700 individually sized colourless glass panes are set at unique angles and torques to create a glimmering pixilated façade and frame some of the most spectacular views in the city, making each of the 72 residences distinctive from the next. Some windows reach as much as16 ft tall or 37 ft across.

Si direbbe, tanti nomi celebri non possono che garantire un’altissima qualità. Vero. Ma ridisegnare un angolo di una città da una così forte personalità architettonica come è New York è cosa diversa che costruire ex novo ad Abu Dhabi o nella periferia di Shanghai. Ecco perché ognuno degli architetti ha tentato di integrare il proprio edificio con la memoria storica del quartiere. Ci sono riusciti? A giudicare dal parere dei critici, sì. E come? Gehry e Nouvel hanno studiato soluzioni audaci e talvolta subliminali per risolvere la contraddizione tra il carattere di icone dei loro edifici e la necessità di dialogo con quelli già esistenti. Shigeru Ban e la Selldorf, invece, hanno scelto una soluzione soft: rivisitando in chiave modernista lo stile di Chelsea. E basta guardare i rendering per capire che l’effetto complessivo sarà più dirompente della somma dei singoli progetti.

Quello che sta nascendo è la dimostrazione di quanto teorizzava Rem Koolhaas: “Ciò che rende Manhattan architettonicamente unica è la sua velocità delle trasformazioni, la densità e l’imprevedibilità”. Durante gli ultimi dieci anni, il compianto critico di architettura del ‘New York Times’, Herbert Muschamp, lamentava che, a differenza di Londra o Pechino, New York non investiva in architettura di qualità. Tutto questo è ora cambiato, e ciò che avviene sulla 19esima strada si inserisce in un trend che sta cambiando il volto della metropoli. Le torri di Richard Meier nel West Village, i palazzi di Nouvel a Soho e di fianco al MoMA, il Blue Building di Bernard Tschumi nella Lower East Side, la sede del ‘New York Times’ di Renzo Piano, il New Museum di Sejima e Nishizawa o la Beekman Tower con i suoi 70 piani rivestiti in titanio di Gehry, ridisegneranno lo skyline più famoso del mondo.

Split into one, two and three bedroom apartments and five penthouses, prices for the exclusive development ranged from $1.6 million to $22 million when construction commenced on site in March 2007, timed in conjunction with the Arab World Institute building’s 20th anniversary. Originally expected to be fit for occupancy by the end of 2008, however, the building is still undergoing its final preparations.

Visti da vicino, ognuno degli edifici della 19esima strada ha caratteristiche uniche. Per la sede di IAC, Gehry ha costruito il suo primo edificio il cui esterno è interamente ricoperto di vetro trattato. È un materiale innovativo che resiste alla furia dei più forti uragani. Il vetro appare cosparso di un pulviscolo biancastro che lo rende cangiante a seconda della luce. Le serigrafie bianche sul vetro delle facciate hanno toni lattiginosi e trasformano la materia trasparente in una massa traslucida e scultorea. Una soluzione brillante. Affacciato sull’Hudson River, da lontano, l’edificio sembra un veliero a vele spiegate.

The lobby, which contains customized millwork desks designed by Nouvel, also provides access to the apartments’ gardens and private gym, spa and 70 ft mirror canopied pool, one of the largest in Manhattan.

At ground level Nouvel has devised a mullioned glass screen rising seven stories high encasing a maturely planted atrium named The Loggia which can be enjoyed exclusively by the residents on these seven floors via apartment terraces, some open, some closed to the atrium.

La torre di Nouvel, considerato dal ‘New York Times’ l’architetto più originale della sua generazione, è il suo progetto più importante negli Usa. “Oggi l’architettura è una macchina per sognare. Vivere in un edificio d’autore è un’ambizione sempre più diffusa tra chi può permetterselo”, spiega James Lansill, del Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group incaricato della gestione delle vendite degli appartamenti targati Nouvel. Anche qui, la facciata ricurva che dà sul fiume è rivestita di vetro, ma con effetti del tutto diversi da quella di Gehry. Una griglia di acciaio regge 1.650 ‘finestre’ di varie misure che sembrano tessere di un mosaico dalla trasparenza variabile. L’idea è di sfruttare al massimo la luce che proviene da sud-ovest, catturandola e amplificandola con l’angolazione dei vetri. Per Nouvel le finestre che si aprono alternativamente dall’alto, dal basso, da sinistra o da destra, “costituiscono la lente attraverso cui i residenti si affacceranno sul mondo”. Ci saranno 72 appartamenti su 23 piani, ognuno con vista sul fiume Hudson. I prezzi andranno da 1.6 milioni di dollari per un monolocale fino un’esorbitante 22 milioni di dollari per gli attici, con quattro camere da letto. La torre è stata classificata come ‘edificio ecologico’ dal l’US Green Building Council. E se la facciata di Gehry è all’insegna dell’opacità cangiante, quella di Nouvel avrà l’aspetto scintillante di uno specchio sul fiume.

While designed as an exclusive development, its uncompromisingly unique exterior joins that of Frank Gehry’s recent headquarters for the InterActive Corporation, making 19th Street and Westside junction a hive of architectural promise for passers-by to ponder.

The tower was designed by Atelier Jean Nouvel with Beyer Blinder Belle.

C’è poi una spasmodica attesa per Metal Shutter Houses, il primo progetto a New York di Shigeru Ban, l’architetto giapponese noto per il suo design eco-sostenibile. Maestro di trasparenza e leggerezza, Ban si è affermato con l’uso di carta e cartone come materiali per architetture temporanee e rifugi per profughi. Il suo edificio di 11 piani è uno dei più innovativi al mondo. La caratteristica principale è un meccanismo che consente alle due pareti di vetro – le facciate anteriori e posteriori – di aprirsi come saracinesche alla luce del giorno (e agli occhi dei vicini), oppure di chiudersi rivestendosi di una cortina metallica perforata. Evidente il richiamo ai garage e ai depositi industriali della zona. In posizione chiusa dall’esterno, ogni appartamento diventa un cubo impenetrabile e misterioso. Quando la cortina invece si alza, gli appartamenti sembrano galleggiare nell’aria. Anche gli interni sono dotati di pareti rimovibili di vetro che consentono diverse configurazioni.

Infine Annabelle Selldorf. Figlia d’arte (il padre è l’architetto e designer Herbert Selldorf) a Chelsea sta costruendo due edifici. Quello sulla 19esima strada è stretto a ovest dal Metal Shutter Houses di Ban e a est dal The Kitchen, uno spazio di performance, ospitato in un ex edificio industriale. “L’architettura non deve essere un gesto fine a se stesso”, spiega la Selldorf: “Ma dev’essere una interazione con ciò che la circonda per aiutare le persone a vivere meglio”. Il suo palazzo, anch’esso di 11 piani, è pieno di citazioni dell’edilizia prebellica. La struttura di vetro è interrotta da strisce di terracotta laccata in un suggestivo blu notte a ogni piano della facciata, tra gli ampi finestroni che dal pavimento raggiungono il soffitto. L’altro palazzo sarà un condominio di 16 appartamenti, ognuno su due piani. Una delle innovazioni è la ‘rain screen’, una sorta di pelle in acciaio di cui è rivestito l’esterno dell’edificio, e anche qui, l’uso evocativo della terracotta smaltata. Una soluzione geniale è quella trovata per il parcheggio. Dato che il sito non consentiva un seminterrato per il garage, la Selldorf ha previsto un parcheggio individuale al piano di ogni appartamento. L’automobile verrà trasportata da un montacarichi al piano di residenza di ogni inquilino. I lavori nei vari edifici di questo nuovo angolo di Chelsea dovrebbero essere completati entro il 2008. Sarà una nuovissima New York.

blogged by: Jake Shea

BoKlok is a groundbreaking concept to housing that involves providing space-saving, functional and high quality housing at a price that enables as many people as possible to afford a stylish and comfortable home.

Pioneered by IKEA and Skanska, BoKlok homes have been created through a fruitful collaboration between skilled architects who know how to create comfortable homes and IKEA interior designers who understand how people want to live. They have been designed around factory processes which enables them to be far more efficiently constructed in quality-controlled conditions than would be possible through site-based construction.

The BoKlok products are straightforward and designed to attract many people. They are full of cost efficient and smart solutions. All products have a wooden construction. Wood is the only renewable construction material. Smart design together with modern and sustainable productions methods guarantee low energy consumption.

The open space solution of the kitchen and living room offer the customer flexibility to adapt the home to their specific needs. The light and airy rooms can be used for different functions at the same time. The kitchen and some other interior features of the dwellings are from IKEA. A BoKlok principle when designing the homes is that you always should meet light when you enter a home or a room. That’s why the BoKlok apartments have windows in up to three directions!

BoKlok is owned jointly by Skanska and IKEA. BoKlok AB is a concept company with its head office in Malmö, Sweden. It owns the brand and develops the successful business concepts. The company also awards licences, i.e. the right to build and sell BoKlok on a specific market. The licensee is granted the right to run the business under the BoKlok brand, and is given access to the licensor’s know-how and administrative and commercial assistance.

BoKlok is active on five markets: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Great Britain.

Our brand values steer our work within the company and is how we want BoKlok to be interpreted externally as a concept. The target group shall associate our brand values positively. This will help us strengthen long-term relationships and build the brand identity of BoKlok.

Courtesy of: Bo Klok

blogged by: Jake Shea