Opera House Design for Izmir

This competition entry for an Opera building, designed by Nüvist, is set in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir. The embodied energy of the Gulf, which fronts the site, seems to reach out and swoop up into a highly sculptural building shell. One might also imagine an operatic crescendo, growing from deep warblings to a triumphant high G. This shell contains both a Main Hall seating 1200 and a Small Hall which seats 400. Also present are support spaces as well as spaces for the teaching and practicing of ballet and opera. At the building’s front, under the weight of the shell, is an Artistic Foyer which folds overhead to welcome and envelope concert-goers into the space, creating flow and a dynamism of stance

Now I love fluidity and futurism, but I have some doubts. This is a competition entry and thus the idea is often more important to get across than the nitty-gritty-spoiling structural questions. However, since this is certainly not the only building with a fantastic(al) form, it is probably a good thing to discuss. How do buildings of this form become reality? Steel is your friend, young Jedi. Trussing and space-frames make all possible. If it’s made of triangular bracing, it can be made. That said, I would have liked to see evidence of this or a similar solution in the section, but its absence hasn’t ruined my day.

http://www.arch2o.com/opera-house-design-for-izmir-nuvist/

Zaha Hadid’s winning proposal of Saudi Metro Station Competition

Renowned architect Zaha Hadid has won the competition to design the new metro station on the edge of the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Zaha Hadid Architects has beaten Henning Larsen and HOK to bag the new metro station for the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, the station is planned to be on the edge of the King Abdullah Financial District and will function as a linking node between three of the city’s six new metro lines. Other stations on the rail network will be designed by Norway’s Snøhetta and Germany’s Gerber Architekten

The 20,434m² proposal at first glance looks something like a cruise ship spread over four public floors and will include two levels of underground car parking. The project will have four public floors with six platforms, while the walls and roof of the building will appear as a series of undulating waves interspersed with curved Mashrabiya screens. Zaha describes it as “a three-dimensional lattice defined by a sequence of opposing sine-waves”. 

The air-conditioned building will feature glass ‘train pipes’ similar to the stations on the Jubilee Line in London. A network of pedestrian pathways will snake through the building, designed to minimise congestion, plus it will be linked to the surrounding district by pathways and skybridges and create a ‘dynamic, multi-functional public space’. Passengers will be able to access the city’s monorail network via new bridge.

The the urban fabric is set to become a prime area for distinct architectural projects, while this project is set to complete in 2017. Below is the project description from Zaha Hadid Architects:

The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station will serve as a key interchange on the new Riyadh Metro network for Line 1, as well as the terminus of Line 4 (for passengers to the airport) and Line 6. The local monorail can also be accessed from the station via a skybridge. With six platforms over four public floors and two levels of underground car parking, the KAFD Metro Station will be integrated within the urban context of the financial district, responding to the functional requirements of a multimodal transport centre and the district’s future vision. The project extends beyond the simple station typology to emphasise the building’s importance as a dynamic, multi-functional public space; not only an intermediate place perceived through quick transitions, but also a dramatic public space for the city.

http://www.arch2o.com/zaha-hadids-winning-proposal-of-saudi-metro-station-competition/

Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus Hong Kong - Aedas

One more impressive design from Aedas, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus in Hong Kong is a new rail station that connects the city to the National High Speed Rail Network, and it is expected to strengthen the city’s strategic position as the southern gateway of China. The project won the Best Futura Mega Project in MIPIM Awards 2012, and the construction will be completed in 2015 to be largest under ground terminus station in the world

The Terminus is a 430.000 square meter structure, equipped with 15 high speed rail tracks, the terminus will access an underground tunnel to connect to the Pearl River Delta and the rest of the mainland. The design is characterized by arching fins, abundant natural day-lighting, and covered with pedestrian paths and green roofs. For more images and architects description continue after the jump:

The West Kowloon Terminus functions as an indicator of how relations have improved between Hong Kong and mainland China. The high-speed rail terminus station will connect Hong Kong to Beijing with the largest rail network in our history.  Located centrally in Hong Kong within the city’s urban realm, the 430,000 square meter facility, equipped with fifteen tracks, will be the largest below ground terminus station in the world.

 

The WKT will function more like an international airport than a rail station as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region maintains economic and political differences from P.R.C. This means that the facility needs to have both custom and immigration controls for departing and arriving passengers. What is highly unusual in this facility is that the West Kowloon Terminus will have immigration domains for both Hong Kong and China in the same facility, as opposed to how immigration works in a typical international airport, which only serves the host country.

The site’s proximity to the future West Kowloon Cultural District and to VictoriaHarbor required a design which was highly influenced by civic demand. Adding to the challenge was the construction of a 400,000 square meters of commercial development on top of the station, which would be auctioned off to a developer at a later date.

 

As the “gateway” to Hong Kong, it was considered vital to connect the station with the surrounding urban context and make one aware of the city’s character whether arriving or departing. In order to do this, the design efficiently compacted all of the supporting space to allow for a large void down into the departure hall below, with added apertures going down to the track platforms. The outside ground plane bends down to the hall and the roof structure above gestures toward the harbor. The result is a 45 meter high volume which focuses all attention to the south façade with views of the Hong Kong Central skyline, Victoria Peak and beyond.

 

The terminus station has both regional commuter trains and long-haul high speed trains. The commuter trains go across Hong Kong to Shenzhen, a booming Chinese border city, and further North to Guangzhou, the capital of Canton. Research performed on civil engineering concluded that based on the urban make-up and internal site restrictions, the short haul tracks needed to be placed on the western side of the site, and the long-haul on the eastern side. The locations of these tracks were thus fixed. In addition, research showed that 80% of the station users are short-haul commuters, pressuring the design to reduce travel times for these passengers as much as possible.

 

The “baseline” scheme had segregated immigration, which seemed to make sense from a territorial point of view. However, this caused great inefficiencies within the planning diagram. The solution was to stack territories so that all immigration facilities for arrivals would be on one floor and all departure facilities on another.  This made the inner workings easier and more efficient. Locating the immigration facilities over the short-haul tracks significantly reduced station travel time for short-haul passengers. Their location being well beneath the density of the future commercial spaces optimizes the openness of the void and the entrance building on the opposite side of the site. 

The converging tracks coming into the terminus station becomes a metaphor forHong Kong’s own converging forces. The project maximizes civic gestures both internally and externally. The station is sculpted out of the energy of these moves and strongly defines the design’s focus toward Victoria Harbor and the Hong Kongskyline. The West Kowloon Cultural District is invited into the site. A large “Civic Square” opens up toward the cultural district and is defined on the other side with its own outdoor performance amphitheatre.

 

The pedestrian flow into this amphitheatre continues up onto the roof top of the station where there is a highly vegetated sculpture garden, an extension of the green below. The resulting open space is almost five times the area of the already ambitious mandate in the master plan. The green space provides links flowing through the site to a Public Transport Interchange to the North, the Austin MTR Station to the East, the Kowloon Station Development and the Elements shopping mall to the West, as well as internal connections into the WKT itself and its future commercial development on top.

 

This commercial development aspires to be seamlessly knitted into the overall flow of the project even though the success of the development is not dependent on this integration. The station will be situated in the southeast corner of the site. The Civic Square will be defined by the station entrances and facilities on the east and west sides as well as adjacent paths moving up to the top of the station, into the green “roofscape”.  

 

The culmination of these ideas is an an observation deck on top of the entrance building’s crest, twenty five meters above the Civic Square and forty five meters above the Departure Hall below. At the top, the perfect view acts as an extension of the journey into Hong Kong – into and beyond the West Kowloon Cultural District;Victoria Harbor and the concrete jungle of Hong Kong. The station may be visible below as a reminder of where one came from but the future paths of discovery present themselves invitingly beyond…

Credits:

Structural, Fire Safety, Civil and Geotechnical Engineer: Aecom
Building Services Engineer: Meinhardt
Structural Engineer, Façade Performance – Entrance Building: Buro Happold
Sustainability Consultant: Buro Happold
Landscape Architect: Aecom
Quantity Surveyor: Widnell
Traffic and Transport Engineer: MVA
Rail and Transport Planning Advisor: Systra

Project: Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus Hong Kong
Designed by Andrew Bromberg of Aedas
Project Manager: Aecom
Area: 430 000 sqm
Location: Hong Kong, China
Website: www.aedas.com

http://www.arch2o.com/express-rail-link-west-kowloon-terminus-hong-kong-aedas/

Tschuggen Bergoase Hotel - Mario Botta Architetto

Located in the beautiful and serene area of Arosa, Switzerland and completed in 2006, this wellness center, hotel, and spa designed by Mario Botta Architetto takes relaxation to a new level, creating a wonderful piece of architecture that effortlessly connects itself with the surrounding environment. Part of the inspiration arrived from the extraordinary geographic configuration of Arosa and the idea of a natural basin surrounded by mountains. The building was imagined to assert the presence of the new through the emergent parts and to leave interred the great volume with the functional program.

Most of the structure of the building disappears into the earth, where only the “trees of light” emerge, marking the recreational and collective character of the structure. These “trees of light” are abstract geometric vegetal presences designed mostly to rouse visitor’s curiosity and at night become signs of the in-house life of the resort which, through artificial lighting, gains a magical atmosphere. The incorporation of these structures also guarantees natural lighting as well as an extraordinary sight towards the landscape. The inner space appears as a terraced continuum with a modular design to allow the maximum of flexibility in the organization of the different functions.

The interior space is divided into four levels and the external sauna and solarium are reachable directly from the swimming pools and set on an attractive terracing, dipped into nature. From the nearby existing hotel the new building is accessible through a glass walkway, and a great wall in natural stone helps to resolve the relationship between the two structures. In the end the simple combination of materials including Canadian maple and duke white granite, with a relaxed plan and layout, allowed for the cozy atmosphere this space provides that further reflects the nature of the site.

http://www.arch2o.com/tschuggen-bergoase-hotel-mario-botta-architetto/

MoCA/PE - Tom Wiscombe Design

Poised on its site like an ultra-contemporary, faceted wasp, is the proposal by Tom Wiscombe Design for the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art in China. The main volume of the MoCA/PE lies situated within a massive main body which culminates in a large cantilevered roof overhanging a glassed-in atrium space. This glassed space acts as an environmental buffer zone, offering climate control through convective currents created in conjuncture with ground-source heat pumps and radiant floors.

The overall layout is meant as a subtle mirroring of the L-shaped YAH which situates adjacent the site. This move creates the possibility for an expansive Garden Plaza, partially covered, which acts as a point of meeting and entry to the interior. Pedestrian walkways connect this point of access with surrounding structures already in existence such as the Central Library and the YAH. The space within this plaza steps downward, creating a specific locale while remaining permeable and accessible to all who approach. Here one can find gift and bookshops as well as cafes to offer respites from the bustle of the surrounding city.

Within the main, L-shaped volume of the MoCA/PE the exhibition spaces are located in an open-plan setup along four loft-like levels. Featuring high ceiling heights and the aforementioned open plans, these spaces are versatile, able to be changed easily for new exhibitions without headache. In support of these galleries, one finds administrative offices, the PE Library, and a restaurant also contained within the walls of this museum/destination point.

http://www.arch2o.com/mocape-tom-wiscombe-design/

Szervita Square Tower - Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid and her studio have certainly come a long way from Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center. Yet viewing their proposal for the Szervita Square Tower in Budapest, Hungary, I couldn’t help but be drawn back to that place. Something was explored in that breakout project- that now, after so many years and designs, appears again- refined, distilled, made really good. And that is the transition of ground to wall without the traditional architect’s favourite instrument: the joint.

The two projects, the CAC and the Szervita Square Tower, are vastly different in form and style- but in both, exists that ‘quarter pipe’ transition from ground to building. In the CAC, it is only briefly exposed to the outside, spending most of its time within the safety of the museum’s enclosure. Turn this on its head, and you’ve got Szervita Square. Here the building fronts to the world with its gentle transition, one that seems to grow organically from the square’s paving lines and into the translucent, mesh-like facade. The architects state that ‘…Szervita Square moves away from closed forms and perimeter blocks to create a building and urban landscape that is porous, accessible and welcoming.’

The tower handles this nicely, set down within a roughly triangular square. The building rests atop its own defined plaza, thus making its presence and station known, yet open to the public. At places, this plaza deforms to create instances of seating and rest for visitors and city dwellers alike. The urban square becomes more than a void, or a space surrounding buildings; it is its own build

http://www.arch2o.com/szervita-square-tower-zaha-hadid-architects/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=szervita-square-tower-zaha-hadid-architects

14 Facts You Didn’t Know About Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965) will forever be known as an icon of Modernism, but did you know that the man who changed the face of architecture led quite the colorful personal life?

In honor of his 125th birthday, take a moment to check out some Corbu classics (perhaps Convent of La Tourette, Ronchamp, Villa Savoye, Unite d’Habitation, or Villa Roche) and read on to learn more about the man behind the myth – Charles-Édouard Jeanneret.

Fun Facts About Le Corbusier (including what Salvador Dalí had to say about him. It isn’t pretty) after the break!

After meeting Josephine Baker on an ocean liner to Europe from South America, Le Corbusier drew nude sketches of the famous actress.
While Le Corbusier married a fashion model by the name of Yvonne Gallis, he maintained a long-term affair with Swedish-American heiress Marguerite Tjader Harris.Le Corbusier and Urban Planning

Le Corbusier’s plans for Ville Contemporaine, a series of sixty-story, cruciform skyscrapers (never built) included plans for rooftop airports so commercial airliners could fly between skyscrapers.
Le Corbusier designed the first planned city in India – Chandigarh. The layout was based on the plans he conceptualized in his book La Ville Radieuse (The Radiant City), which itself was an update on ideas for Ville Contemporaine.
Le Corbusier’s theories as an Urban Planner have been hotly contested, perhaps none more so than by Jane Jacobs: ”Le Corbusier’s Utopia was a condition of what he called maximum liberty, by which he seems to have meant not liberty to do anything much, but liberty from ordinary responsibility.”

Le Corbusier’s famous saying, “Architecture or Revolution,” came from his belief that an efficient, industrialized architecture was the only way to avoid class-based revolution. His arguments would solidify in his book, Vers une architecture (Toward an Architecture) and culminate in his most famous work, Villa Savoye.
In 1934, he was invited by Benito Mussolini to lecture in Rome.
In the early 1940s, Le Corbusier was given an urban planning position by the Vichy government to oversee designs for various cities, including Algiers. When his plans were rejected, Le Corbusier withdrew from political life.

Le Corbusier adopted his pseudonym (a derivative of his grandmother’s last name) after publishing a manifesto, co-written with artist Amédée Ozenfant, called “Aprés le Cubisme.” Although he was working as a Cubist painter at the time, he felt that Cubism had grown too romantic; thus, the manifesto was his ode to a new artistic movement: Purism.
Although Salvador Dalí at one point considered Le Corbusier a “friend,” he was far from complimentary about him upon his death in 1965. He was quoted calling Le Corbusier‘s buildings “the ugliest and most unacceptable buildings in the world” and said that Le Corbusier’s “ death filled me with an immense joy. [...] Le corbusier was a pitiable creature working in reinforced concrete.” However, Dalí’s disdain didn’t stop him from putting flowers on Le Corbusier’s grave, as, in his words, “on the one hand I detested him but on the other hand I am an absolute coward.”
Le Corbusier collaborated with the architect Charlotte Perriand and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret to design iconic, modernist furniture. He was quoted as saying: ”Chairs are architecture, sofas are bourgeois.”

Le Corbusier was taken with the image of the Open Hand, constructing many sculptures of it over his lifetime. He called it a ”sign of peace and of reconciliation[...] meant to receive the created riches, and to distribute them to the peoples of the world. That should be the symbol of our epoch.” See this cool interview with him discussing the 28-meter Open Hand sculpture in Chandigarh.
Le Corbusier’s design philosophy was heavily inspired by mathematical concepts used by Leonard daVinci, such as the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series, which he used as the basis for his architectural proportions.

On August 27, 1965, Le Corbusier went for a swim, against his doctor’s orders, in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of his beloved summer home in the south of France. His body was found by bathers.
“Architecture is the masterly, correct, and magnificent play of masses brought together in light.”

http://www.iam-architect.com/14-facts-you-didnt-know-about-le-corbusier/

Busan Opera House Proposal - Diana Q. de Saul & Alejendro Munevar

The effortless curves and flow of the Busan Opera House by Diana Quintero De Saul is representative of many architectural concepts that have found priority in recent pursuits of architecture. The idea of creating an environment for recreational and educational activities through a cultural iconic form is something most architects strive for, hoping their proposed building becomes a hallmark for the city it’s located in.

The design was organized around three principal wavelengths generated parametrically based on pre-existing local tensions. The site in which the building is located connects to a stunning ocean view to the west, a bustling city to the east, and a thriving cultural district to the south, all of which played a part in the final form. The building emerges as a whole, but is essentially a product of three analogical volumes designed to function independently while interconnected through smooth special transitions. The three programs include an opera house with a capacity of 2000 people, a multi-purpose theater with a capacity of 1500, and an art exposition room for exhibits and rehearsals.

The general meeting point would be located at the central plaza, home not only for public space and gatherings but for social activities as well, including a multi-use amphitheater for various events. The roof gardens follow the contours of the waves emphasizing the gesture. The green roof was integrated into the design as a way to integrate green energy technology into the design as well as begin to bring the lush regional environment with the city Opera. Although the main ideas about creating an iconic piece of architecture inspired by its surrounding environment that is concerned about multi-use space and green technology isn’t very original, most things in architecture hardly are. Yet the beautiful execution of this project not only shows the grace and elegance of architecture, pushing it more into the realms of art rather than design, and assures us that we are asking the right questions when it comes to architecture and that the solutions are endless.

http://www.arch2o.com/busan-opera-house-proposal-diana-q-de-saul-alejendro-munevar/

Dove of Peace Church - WEAVA Architects

WEAVA Architects have a clear concept derived from the dove of peace, a strong and early Christian symbol that is still relevant and universally noted. The dove is not only inspiration for the form and façade, but also for the organization, circulation, and general aspirations WEAVA and the clients have for this building.

One of the main aspirations for the building is to serve as a landmark for the city, thus it is a representation of the city’s people. Accessibility is key. The form is curved. Visually, the curved façade unlike an orthogonal one allows views from all sides that invite the eye to go around. Physically, the surrounding park makes accessibility open-ended and possible from anywhere, giving pedestrians full freedom in approach. The Dove’s bowed walls are meant to be embracive. The surrounding landscape is meant to nestle the Dove, furthering the idea of an embrace

The building is nested in the ground, but the building also projects onto the ground and towards the sky. The clearest projection is that of the cross seeming to protrude from the ground itself, extending the earth upward and reaching for the cosmos. This way, the cross is meant as a visual way finding tool, a way to help orient oneself from within the city. Being a congregational space of social importance, it is also meant to be a landmark for the city.

The other projection happens onto the ground, extending from and celebrating the entrance, but also marking the main axis of the building, that marks the two main volumes, the ‘body’ and ‘wing.’ It is also the vertical axis of the building, where stairways are situated

Given the city center it aspires to be, it not only serves as a house of God but also houses other functions, linking the earthly with the celestial. Many churches seek to lift the person’s experience closer to the cosmos, but Dove of Peace seeks to lift a people’s experience.

This is shown in the way the building extends from the earth, but also from how people-oriented the design is, and how it houses other functions like: library, media room, training room, multiple office spaces, a restaurant, and a shop. As opposed to focusing on a single person’s experience it accommodates for different uses and users.

http://www.arch2o.com/dove-of-peace-church-weava-architects/