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Monday, December 29, 2014

Singe-family residence near Paris

The house in question, an old one picturesquely situated at the top of a 2,400-square-metre sloping site, is located not far from the historic town centre of Germain-en-Laye in the western environs of Paris. The buyer needed more than the 100 square metres of living space that the building could provide for his large family, yet the grounds, which include a huge old lime tree at their heart, were not designated for development. The task of the architects was thus to resolve this conflict.

Architects: Hertweck Devernois Architectes Urbanistes, Versailles
Location: Saint Germain-en-Laye, Paris, France

Photo: Léo Caillard

The planners came up with a design that practically disappears into the earth, and thus managed to fulfil the client's wish while reconciling it with the need to preserve nature and keep the property unbuilt. The information that it would barely be possible to see the house extension from public areas or on Google Earth swayed the local planning authority, and a building permit was duly granted.

Photo: Siméon Levaillant

Topografic situation: Hertweck Devernois

Extension of a Singe-family residence near Paris by Hertweck Devernois Architectes Urbanistes, Vertical section

Vertical section: Hertweck Devernois

Extension of a Singe-family residence near Paris by Hertweck Devernois Architectes Urbanistes, Upper floor plan

Upper floor plan: Hertweck Devernois

Extension of a Singe-family residence near Paris by Hertweck Devernois Architectes Urbanistes, Floor plan basement

Floor plan basement: Hertweck Devernois

The design was realised as put forward in the plan. As a result, a single clean incision sweeps along the slope, the earth rising towards the top and falling to the bottom to form a narrow fissure closed by a continuous band of windows. The glazed façade zigzags in a semi-circle around the old tree for a kind of protected green courtyard situation. The south-west alignment is ideal for the cave-like building in solar heat gain terms while the covering in earth protects its interior from undue heat and cold.

Photo: Siméon Levaillant

The weight of the reinforced concrete ceiling and the 60 cm of earth above it are borne by 25 slender steel pillars that have been integrated into the 32-metre-long glass façade. Despite free spans up to 8 metres in length, no load-carrying intermediate walls or further pillars were required.

Photo: Léo Caillard

Photo: Siméon Levaillant

The entrance to the extension is at street level and dips into the earth next to the garage, leading downwards via a staircase behind which a bathroom, toilet and technical installations room are situated – the only rooms without daylight illumination. The rest of the building is a fluid series of spaces with cooking, eating, living and playing facilities. A staircase at the eastern end leads up to the main house, which is where the bedrooms and further bathrooms of the five-member family are located.

Photo: Léo Caillard

Project data
Origian usable space: 100 m²
Usable space of extension: 320 m²
Structural engineer: Bollinger Grohmann Ingenieure, Paris
Completion: 2013
Costs without VAT: Euro 600,000

Row house rehabilitation in Shanghai

The architects wanted to keep the "spirit" of the house alive on the one hand, and yet replace the historic facade with room-high panorama glazing on the other. In their translation of Shanghai's 30s typology into a contemporary architectural idiom, Neri & Hu have taken a different approach to that in other row house rehabilitation projects.
Architect: Neri & Hu Design and Research Office, Shanghai
Location: No.27, Lane 255, Ruijin No. 2 Road, Shanghai, China

Rethinking the Split House, Neri & Hu, China, 2014

Photo: Pedro Pegenaute

With its narrow three-storey row houses, the Tianzifang quarter of Shanghai is a significant example of a housing typology that emerged with the high-density developments of the early 20th century. Due to their poor condition and the demands of population growth, some of these row houses have long been replaced in major construction projects; others have been reconstructed and rehabilitated under preservation orders. While in the latter case the historical facades are usually retained or restored, Neri & Hu have gone a step further in their design, bringing the old typology back to life in a modern interpretation of their own.

Rethinking the Split House, Neri & Hu, China, 2014, Ground floor plan

Ground floor plan: Entrance (1), Lobby (2), Public stairway (3), Private stairway (4), Toilette (5), Living room (6), Courtyard (7), Sleeping room (8), Open space (9). Diagram: Neri & Hu Design and Research Office

Rethinking the Split House, Neri & Hu, China, 2014, Second floor plan

Second floor plan: Living room (1), Public stairway (2), Private stairway (3), Toilette (4), Sleeping room (5), Skylight (6). Diagram: Neri & Hu Design and Research Office

Rethinking the Split House, Neri & Hu, China, 2014, Third floor plan

Third floor plan: Living room (1), Public stairway (2), Private stairway (3), Toilette (4), Sleeping room (5), Skylight (6), Laundry room (7), Terrace (8). Diagram: Neri & Hu Design and Research Office

Rethinking the Split House, Neri & Hu, China, 2014, Longitudinal section

Longitudinal section: Neri & Hu Design and Research Office

To this day the row houses are generally entered from small lanes at their rear, where secondary rooms such as the kitchen and servants' quarters of the past are located. The front of a typical row house is where the actual living areas are to be found, and being its public face, has a significantly more distinctive look than the rear side where the entrance door is located. It was most likely for this reason that the architects chose glass for the frontage, since the material does justice to the tradition of demonstrating status in two respects, enabling the façade to take its place in its surroundings in a totally different way to its neighbours and thus form a visually attractive counterpoint while providing views into the house at the same time. Unlike buildings that conceal themselves behind their facades in presenting themselves to the world, the transparent row house practically divulges its contents to the public eye, turning its historic typology inside out, as it were.

Such houses were generally the home of single families in earlier times but today are typically occupied by several families due to growing population density. As a result, access and circulation within the building has had to take on the character of a semi-public space, as seen in the staircase that forms the centrepiece of the building and links its two staggered halves. In this the wooden staircase has been replaced by a new one out of steel and topped by a skylight, thus transforming the stairway into a communal area leading to the roof terrace.

Photo: Pedro Pegenaute

Private stairway (left) and semi-public stairway (right). Photo: Pedro Pegenaute

The three apartment units have an internal staircase of their own to connect their front and rear parts, each set half a level apart. The sanitary rooms are separated from the semi-public staircases by a mere glass divider. Any lack of privacy in the house is thus not a consequence of the usual overcrowding but a deliberate design decision.

Photo: Pedro Pegenaute

Room-high, building-wide, non-openable windows with black frames have been installed in place of the historical facade, with merely small elements in the corner areas providing an idea of the original state. The gigantic glass facade at the front of the building enables views into the rooms of an almost forgotten housing type.
At the rear, a punctuated facade in black stucco makes the building practically disappear at night, and contrasts it during the day to the light-coloured, classical plaster frontages to its sides.

Photo: Pedro Pegenaute

In the interior spaces, materials such as concrete, wood, steel and glass seem to merge seamlessly, bearing witness to great precision in the planning and execution of details. Yet in terms of functionalities, the possibility for natural ventilation as well as the occasional area for withdrawal and privacy leave to be desired.

Be that as it may, the planners have achieved a clear and above all legible architectural idiom thanks to attention to detail and an almost fanatical degree of perfection. The close correspondence of concept and implementation in this building awakens hopes for more architecture beyond gigantic and less "attractive" developments.

Wohnhausrenovierung in Schanghai, Rethinking the Split House, Neri & Hu, China, 2014, Blick von der gemeinschaftlichen Dachterrasse auf die Stadt, Foto Pedro Pegenaute

Foto: Pedro Pegenaute

Project data
Team: Rosana Hu, Lydon Neri, Tony Schonhardt (Partner), Xiao lei, Zhao Lei, Guo Peng
Total area: 193 m² inkluding courtyard and terrace
Completion: 2012

A Gallery at 1,800 metres

All photos: ©arlberg1800

When a feeling for the fun inherent in art and culture comes together with the right touch and a good local opportunity, striking projects can result. This is the case with the highest gallery in the Alps, currently under construction in St. Christoph, a town at the Arlberg.

The arlberg1800 project, which arose from a private initiative, was planned by the Tyrolese architecture studio Jürgen Kitzmüller. The initiator is Florian Werner, who is a collector, patron of the arts, gallery owner and manager of the 5-star Arlberg Hospiz Hotel St. Christoph. Two-thirds of the new building are located underground; the above-ground areas have been designed as flexible spaces for congresses and seminars.
The centre of the structure houses the White Space, an exhibition hall measuring about 600 m² in area and 8 metres in height. This is where exhibitions curated by section.a will take place. Further plans are under way for a 250 m² concert hall with excellent acoustics and space for 160 people, an art lounge, a project room for smaller shows and two studios for artists in residence. The artist-in-residence program, which has been running for several years, takes on a professional continuation here and will offer young contemporary artists a great opportunity to work at lofty heights and raise their own profiles.
Austrian Biennale artist Hans Schabus has won the international Kunst am Bau competition, which is overseen by a specialist jury. His winning work Tunic, Staff, World is a reference to St. Christopher, the town’s namesake. The opening of the new building is planned for autumn 2015.

by editorial office Detail Daily on 12/02/2014

Residential building in the Rhine valley

The modern single-family home in Bacharach offers clear forms, powerful gestures and materials such as glass, natural stone and concrete, all embedded in a wonderful sloping landscape. The building combines the massivity and security of a stone house with the elegance and light and airy feel of modern contemporary glass architecture.

Architects: pape+pape (formerly known as Pool 2 Architects) Location: 55422 Bacharach, Germany