Platform to Nowhere

There's something amazingly simple and death-defying about the detailing of this project by Todd Saunders & Tommie Wilhelmsen in a picturesque location in Aurland, Norway. Some text via Arch Daily: "The landscape is so fantastic that it is difficult to improve the place, but at the same time very easy to destroy the atmosphere by inserting too many elements into the site. Even though we have chosen an expressive form, the concept is a form of minimalism, in an attempt to conserve and complement the existing nature."


:: image via Arch Daily

It's a simple structure, definitely aiming for a light footprint. Again via Arch Daily: "We have managed to behold all of the large pine trees on the site. This allows us to create an interaction between the structure and nature. One can walk out into the air through the treetops, helping dramatise the experience of nature and the larger landscape room."


:: image via Arch Daily

But obviously the payoff is the infinity-pool like edge that both dares you to walk to the edge - as well as test your blood-pressure (see white haired man). There is something unsettling... imagine this without the railing... how close would you get - as it no only ends... which would provide some visual termination - but it actually slides away, like an eroded slope. It's a trip, even in photographs.


:: image via Arch Daily

Dwell had some more photos showing the changing nature of the material - particularly it seems some greying or silvering of the wood as it is exposed to the elements - which I think probably makes it blend more seamlessly into the landscape and gives it some more interesting texture.




:: images via Dwell

And another photo that makes one question the strength of plate glass... it would have been really interesting to see if they could have detailed this to hide the metal brackets for the glass plate - giving you an even less obstructed view over the abyss. If you can't tell - I love this.

Materiality: Grab Bag

It's been a long while since I've posted anything on materials... perhaps due to the work I've been engaged in, and the fact that little of it is dealing with material selection, or the recent focus on evaluating the more sustainable materiality - sans aesthetics. That is not to say that materials don't constantly play a role in our design - and here's a range of some great examples of landscape, architectural, and micro-materials that offer a little design inspiration to us all...

Let's start with the more natural - a range of projects with woody representation, each with its own individual beauty. For starters, Camping Service, is an open-air facade by Archea Associati, uses bamboo for a variety of uses. Via Coolboom: "...the colors and materials that define the edges of the main volumes are borrowed from the natural surroundings, like the faded ochre of the bamboo canes that interact with the color and vertical extension of the ancient pine trees, decking the exterior and interior walls with a luminous, lightweight quality. The ceiling, also finished in bamboo, is pierced by skylights defined by the sun that subtly lights the interiors, highlighting small green oases."






:: images via Coolboom

The Boh Visitor Center (via Arch Daily) offers a different wood grain, with end-oriented rounds arrayed in architectural panels, which, frankly, are pretty amazing.




:: images via Arch Daily

A very interesting exterior showcases the EDF national archives by LAN Architecture: Via Designboom: "...nature’s reflection on the patterned mirror exterior of the EDF archives center is a signal of the building environmental considerations. a double concrete façade provides insulation for the 5 story building. the building’s isolated location made it necessary to also implement a wastewater treatment system to maintain a supply of fresh water. photovoltaic panels and hot air pump were added to make it self-sufficient with regards to energy. these steps help this building have minimal environmental impact, while the alluring façade only encourages a greater appreciation for the surrounding environment."




:: images via Designboom

Another zoomy facade patterning...


:: image via BDonline

Some more architectural texturing, via Archidose, this time for The NYU Department of Philosophy in New York City by Steven Holl Architects.


:: image via Archidose

A more regular patterning, the hexagon, is the basis for the Altamirano Walk in Chile via Arch Daily. "A simple prefabricated hexagon-shaped concrete slab became the constructive base for the project, with variations of texture and composition. The shades follow the same principle dictated by the hexagon, maximazing the commercial format of the material which, in this case, is steel."






:: images via Arch Daily

An organic material essence drapes the interior by Architect Nobuhiro Nakamura of A-Asterisk has for Leafy Shade an interior project that abstracts vegetative forms.






:: images via Dezeen

Switching to metal... MoCo Loco has an interesting detail for metal bracing for a simple piece of furniture by Donald Corey. Simple and sweet - with an organic form.


:: image via MoCo Loco

Flip This Strip...

Perhaps the timing is perfect amidst our current economic downturn - the award winners have been announced for the very interesting Flip a Strip competition sponsored by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (smoca). These entries expand the conversation and definitely deliver in potential opportunities and visions for these zones of urban and sub-urban blight, such as this example from Phoenix (see below), and their potential for adaptive reuse.


:: image via Flip a Strip

From the competition site: "This competition, Flip a Strip, asks how we can reject numbness. How might we re-think and newly envision the potential of the Strip Mall (a building stock of which we have a cross-continental abundance)? With collective energy and creative design expertise, we know there are many ways to transcend the non-descript status quo of the Strip Mall—ways that are aesthetically compelling, economically feasible and communally smart. What models, complementary mixed-usages and social experiences might result?"

The winning entry by MOS from New Haven, CT definitely takes the approach of visible verticality, particularly with a curtain of algae filled pockets (via Bustler): "...Urban Battery is a physical structure similar to a power station, vertical greenhouse, and a billboard, all rolled into one. ... Urban Battery acts as an energy producer, filtering air, housing oxygen regenerating plants, providing bike paths, public gardens within the structure, and stores bioproducts."




:: images via Bustler

More on the technical side, via Treehugger: "A 300’ by 300’ lightweight structure supports a series of thin glass channels housing a net- work of pipes, tubes, and algae to produce filtered, clean air and gases for biofuel."


:: image via Bustler

Definitely check out Bustler for the full range of winners... such as some of my favorite selections below, including a great one mentioned previous by Seattle firm MillerHull which uses some inventive rooftop ag for solar shading and economic productivity... More on this soon.


:: AEDS, New Orleans - image via Bustler


:: Miller Hull Partnership - Seattle - image via Bustler


:: Gould Evans - Phoenix- image via Bustler


:: Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects, Phoenix - image via Bustler