HOKY MUSEUM BY NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD

The Hoki Museum is dedicated to the permanent display of over 300 Japanese realist artworks collected by the museum owner, Mr. Masao Hoki.

 

Approximately 160 works by around 40 artists are on display at any one time, including 32 paintings that form Japan's largest collection of works by Sousuke Morimoto, and others by artists such as Hiroshi Noda and Tadahiko Nakayama. Special displays feature the works of fifteen artists who have produced large-scale works for the museum's "My Best Work" series.

 

The Museum's building is located next to the verdant Showa-no-Mori Park, Chiba City's largest park, and consists of one above ground and two below ground stories featuring corridor-style galleries comprise 500 meters of exhibition space.

 

The museum's galleries were designed specifically for the optimum display and appreciation of Realist paintings, featuring picture rail-free walls and the latest technology LED lighting that is instrumental in establishing the perfect ambience for immersion in the museum's realist art collection.

The museum features a italian restaurant Hanau, a café, a wine cave, and a chamber music concert hall, all of which are designed to be completely integrated with the museum's gallery space. The steel-structured gallery skillfully balances and harmonizes structural, spatial, and engineering needs while catching the eye with a stunning 30-meter-long cantilevered section of the wider gallery.

Architects: T.Yamanashi + T.Nakamoto + T.Suzuki + M.Yano, Nikken Sekkei Ltd.

Owner: Hoki Museum Co., Ltd.
Location: Chiba, Japan
Site area: 3,862.72 sq.m.
Building area: 1602.39
Total floor: area 3,722.39 sq.m.
Structure: S / Part RC
Construction: Oct 2008 - Aug 2010
Photographs: Noda Gankohsha , Nacasa & Partners

DESIGN AWARDS 2012 PUBLIC BUILDING

Wallpaper announced the winners of their 2012 Design Awards. The international panel of judges, this year comprising Grayson Perry, Rafael Vinoly, Simon de Pury, Gerd Bulthaup, and Jean-Paul Goude, selected the top entries in eleven major design categories. Many more awards in highly specialized design categories were chosen by Wallpaper* editors and contributors. Below are the winners and shortlist candidates in the architectural categories Best New Public Building.

WALLPAPER SHORTLISTED - BEST NEW PUBLIC BUILDING 2012

1 - HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD BY DAVID CHIPPERFIELD ARCHITECTS

2 - TESHIMA ART MUSEUM BY RYUE NISHIZAWA

3 - MUSASHINO ART UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BY SOU FUJIMOTO

4 - METROPOL PARASOL BY J MAYER H.

5 - GIANT GROUP CAMPUS BY MORPHOSIS

HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD BY DAVID CHIPPERFIELD ARCHITECTS

The Hepworth Wakefield, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, opens to the public on Saturday 21 May 2011, putting the spotlight on Yorkshire as a world centre for sculpture, together with Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art Gallery.

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TESHIMA ART MUSEUM BY RYUE NISHIZAWA

Teshima Art Museum stands on a hill on the island of Teshima overlooking the Inland Sea. Shaped like a drop of water, the museum lies in a corner of the spacious grounds surrounded by once-fallow rice terraces that have been restored with help from local residents.

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MUSASHINO ART UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BY SOU FUJIMOTO

Evoking the atmosphere of a traditional reading room, this geometry resolved the two conflicting goals common to many libraries. While the labyrinthine paths between book-lined walls inspire the unguided exploration of the library’s sizable collection, the radial organization system cutting through the shelves enables the beeline search for a specific book.

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METROPOL PARASOL BY J MAYER H.

 

"Metropol Parasol" explores the potential of the Plaza de la Encarnacion to become the new contemporary urban center. Its role as a unique urban space within the dense fabric of the medieval inner city of Seville allows for a great variety of activities such as memory, leisure and commerce. A highly developed infrastructure helps to activate the square, making it an attractive destination for tourists and locals alike.

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GIANT GROUP CAMPUS BY MORPHOSIS

 

 

Situated amid existing canals and a new man made lake, the undulating office building interacts with an augmented ground plane, joining architecture to landscape, and environment to site.
The Giant Campus project is a compact village that accommodates diverse functions in a flexible framework of forms that move in and out of a folded landscape plane.

Source: wallpaper.com

WILD REINDEER CENTRE PAVILION IN NORWAY BY SNØHETTA

A shelter from which to observe nature and wild animals in their natural habitat in Norway's Dovrefjell National Park has been awarded the 2011 WAF prize in the Display category.

 

Dovrefjell National Park, a plateau that is home to reindeer herds, musk ox and arctic foxes, is a unique natural habitat which is not disturbed even by the presence of a shelter which fits harmoniously into its setting like a piece of wood sculpted by the wind. 

 

In this project, the Norwegian architectural practice provides a masterful example of how we can enjoy the beauty of nature with breathtaking views 1250 m above sea level, observing Snøhetta mountain, without being invasive.

Tverrfjellhytta is a 75 square metre rigid steel and glass container with an “soft” organic wooden core.

A fusion of traditional materials with modern construction technologies perfectly expressing the idea of sustainable integration, of buildings in an environment where the delicate balance of nature is preserved without renouncing a truly welcoming interior.

 
Design: Snøhetta Oslo, Norway, http://snoarc.no
Location: Hjerkinn, Dovre, Norvway
Photographs: Ketil Jacobsen (http://www.fotografica.no)

UBUD HANGING GARDENS

Ubud Hanging Gardens is situated in Ubud, surrounded by ancient trees and gravity-defying terraced gardens.
Perched adjacent to steep rice terraces with sweeping views across the Ayung river gorge to the ancient Pura Penataran Dalem Segara temple on the opposite hillside, Ubud Hanging Gardens has 38 villas, which are all constructed in contemporary Balinese style on gravity defying wooden pillars with thatched alang-alang roofs.

The resort’s garden was conceived by the landscape architect William Warren (author of “Balinese Garden”, Thames & Hudson), together with John Pettigrew, (another devotee of botanical gardens who created the garden at Begawan Giri). It is planted with exotic trees and tropical shrubs such as cocoa, coffee, fruit trees, durian, rambutan, lychees, a variety of tropical bamboos, flame trees, bird of paradise flowers and orchids.

The hotel has four categories of villa-style accommodation: 15 deluxe Pool villas, of approximately 100m², 15 panoramic view deluxe Pool villas, of approximately 100m², two panoramic view suite pool villas of 160m² and six 2-bedroom Family Pool villas of 160m². A private funicular permits easy access to the Villas, the restaurants, bars, boutique and library.

The villas were designed by Anglo/ French architect Gordon Shaw and all have king sized four poster beds, handmade batik cotton fabrics, an interior bathroom with hand moulded bath, terraces with open air showers and dramatic Java stone plunge pools with adjoining Bales (a traditional Balinese relaxation area). Shaw used precious woods throughout the property, including Merbau flooring for the interiors, Benkirai for the exteriors and wooden furniture with sculpted doors in the Balinese tradition.

source: www.adelto.co.uk

KOUTALAKI SKI VILLAGE BY BIG GROUP

Our design for the Loutalaki Ski Village seeks to create a new hybrid integrating distinct, identities such as village and resort, shelter and openness, cozy intimacy and natural majesty, unique character and careful continuity or simply - architecture and landscape.

 

The Ski Village is conceived as a gentle extension of the summit extending the existing cluster of buildings to create a new village square at the heart of the resort. The four buildings wrap around the central square to form a public pocket sheltered from the wind yet open and inviting to the sorrounding landascape. The majestic views from the the summit are contrasted by the intimate atmosphere of the spaces between the buildings. The gentle curves of the undulating roofs create a careful continuity of the natural landscape while lending the whole village the unique character of an architecture of ski slopes an inhabited mountain top.

In the municipality of Kittila, Laplan, the new resort will be located on the mountain ridge of the Levi ski center, overlooking  surrounding landscape and Sirkka village at the foot of the mountain. When first visiting the future Koutalaki village site you realize the proximity to the ski slopers but at the same time the importance of creating a connection for skiers as well. The gentle slope away from the main ski system seems to offer the solution for a unified proposal the creates maximum connectivity for skiers and pedestrians.

Client: KASSIOPEIR FINLAND
Size: 56.000 M2
Location: LEVI, FINLAND
Partner in Charge: BJARKE INGELS, JAKOB LANGE
Project Leader: HANNA JOHANSSON
Team: MAREN ALLEN, JEFF MIKOLAJEWSKY, ERIK DE HAAN, DAVID TAO, LUCIAN RACOVITAN, JESPER VICTOR HENRIKSSON, JEPPE ECKLON, FEDERIK LYNG, JOAO ALBUQUERQUE

THE “CLOUD” BY MVRDV

The design for proposed twin towers in Seoul has been slammed for mimicking the explosions caused by planes hitting New York's World Trade Center in 2001, however the project's South Korean developer says it will not alter the design.

The skyscrapers, designed by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV and "connected midway up by a cloud-shaped bridging section," will be built at the entrance to Seoul's redeveloped Yongsan business district by 2016, according to Agence France-Presse .

MVRDV has described the buildings' connected midsection as a "pixelated cloud" containing public gardens, sky lounges, a swimming pool and restaurants.

MVRDV, in a statement on its website, has apologized for any resemblance to the Twin Towers, saying that it did not see the similarities during their design process.

"It is one of many projects in which MVRDV experiments with a raised city level to reinvent the often solitary typology of the skyscraper," the statement read. "We sincerely apologize to anyone whose feelings we have hurt, it was not our intention."

Meanwhile, White Paik, spokesman for the Yongsan Development Corporation, reportedly said: "Allegations that it [the design] was inspired by the 9/11 attacks are groundless. There will be no revision or change in our project," he said, adding that construction would begin in January 2013 as scheduled."

In an ironic twist, the towers will be at the entrance of the Yongsan Dreamhub project, which was designed by Daniel Libeskind, who created the master plan of the rebuilt World Trade Center.

Premetto che non sono un moralista ne tantomeno un complottista, ma neppure un povero illuso che non riesce a cogliere l’evidente analogia tra il progetto “The Coud” di MVRDV e le immagini dell’attacco alle Torri Gemelle. Non solo l’immagine, ma anche l’impianto planimetrico sono identici e “stranamente” il progetto viene presentato dopo appena due mesi dalle celebrazioni del decimo anniversario, inserito nel masterplan redatto da Daniel Libeskind che è l’autore anche di quello per Ground Zero.

Troppe le analogie per giustificarsi con una banale comunicazione “It was not our intention to create an image resembling the attacks nor did we see the resemblance during the design process. We sincerely apologize to anyone whose feelings we have hurt, the design was not meant to provoke this” riporatta nella loro pagina di facebook ed ovviamente oggetto di aspre critiche. Tutto questo non può essere soltanto una strana combinazione progettuale che ha determinato una singolare somiglianza con quello che è stata definita da alcuni critici “una sede di Al Quaeda” come riporta il New York Post.

Non è una provocazione e ne un tributo ma un eccessivo desiderio di attirare attenzione e porsi al centro non solo del dibattito architettonico ma dell’intero sistema dei media, come riconosce onestamente anche il responsabile delle pubbliche relazione dello studio MVRDV “I have to admit that we also thought of the 9/11 attacks” e quindi “ovvero “devo ammettere che abbiamo pensato anche agli attacchi del 9/11”.

Anche il nostro post, seppur irrilevante nel panorama del dibattito architettonico nazionale ed internazionale, giustifica questa scelta di marketing. 

In fin dei conti se ne parla e si da risalto ad un progetto che sarebbe passato inosservato ed a cui nessuno avrebbe prestato attenzione.

C’è qualcosa di più che va sottolineato in questo caso ed è l’uso cinico e fuori luogo di far parlare di se in tutti mezzi di comunicazione per raggiungere la massima veicolazione dei propri progetti.

Penso che in questo caso si sia scritta una brutta pagina della storia dell’architettura contemporanea troppo spesso mezzo di espressione di grandi interessi economici che scelgono le metropoli asiatiche per sperimentare la loro idea di mercato globale.

RESEARCH CENTRE, PARIS PARC BY BIG GROUP

BIG GROUP WIN THE COMPETITION TO DESIGN THE RESEARCH CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF JUSSIEU IN PARIS

The new multidisciplinary research centre, Paris PARC, will become a significant addition to the campus, strengthening the international appeal and openness of the leading French University for Science and Medicine.

Paris PARC is located in the visual axis of the Notre Dame Cathedral in a dense context of university buildings from different historical periods. BIG proposes a building geometry that adapts to the specific conditions of all adjoining sides, optimized for daylight, views and accessibility. The three-dimensional envelope retracts from the neighboring facades, opens up towards the square Jean Nouvel’s of Institut du Monde Arabe and the park, and folds into a publicly accessible rooftop landscape, resulting in an adapted sculptural building  volume situated between the emblematic architectural monuments of the university.

“As a form of urban experiment the Paris PARC is the imprint of the pressures of its urban context. Wedged into a super dense context – in terms of space, public flows and architectural history – the PARC is conceived as a chain of reactions to the various external and internal forces acting upon it. Inflated to allow daylight and air to enter into the heart of the facility, compressed to ensure daylight and views for the neighboring classrooms and dormitories, lifted and decompressed to allow the public to enter from both plaza and park and finally tilted to reflect the spectacular view of the Paris skyline and the Notre Dame to the Parisians.” Bjarke Ingels, Founder, BIG.

A central canyon provides daylight and a visual connection between laboratories and offices. In the atrium a cascade of informal meeting spaces lead to the public rooftop terrace and faculty club. A public stair to the rooftop offers glimpses into the activities of the laboratories which are divided by transparent walls throughout the building to ensure visual connections between the working spaces. The upper levels have panoramic views towards the Notre Dame and the skyline of Paris.

“We propose a building that creates the optimum conditions for encounters and exchange among the academics and visitors of Paris PARC. Like a scientific incubator the new building will provide the physical environment for nurturing growth of cultures and sharing of ideas - through the internal mix of laboratories, research facilities and informal meeting spaces, and through a reunification with the public life of the city.” Andreas Klok Pedersen, Partner-in-Charge, BIG.

source:  www.e-architect.co.ukhttp://www.e-architect.co.uk/