|
Dear ArchitectureWeek Readers,
Gap House meets the street in a facade slot 2.4 meters — just under 8 feet — wide and three and a half stories tall, then widens and steps lower behind the adjacent row houses. Photo: Nick Kane
|
Gap House, London
by John A. Flannery and Karen M. Smith
Placed improbably between a pair of historical listed
buildings, the contemporary facade of Gap House is a
mere 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) wide. This new-build
four-bedroom family home, winner of the RIBA Manser
Medal for residential architecture, was designed by
architect Luke Tozer of Pitman Tozer Architects for
himself and his family.
Placed improbably between a pair of historical listed
buildings, the contemporary facade of Gap House is a
mere 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) wide. This new-build
four-bedroom family home, winner of the RIBA Manser
Medal for residential architecture, was designed by
architect Luke Tozer of Pitman Tozer Architects for
himself and his family.
Situated in a conservation area in west London, the
challenging site was used by the firm as a case study in
energy conservation. Because the plot was constrained
— it was originally an alleyway and a rear garden
— the considered use of space was vital to the
creation of a functional dwelling.
The innovative design stacks three individual bedrooms
in the narrowest section of the plot. These sleeping
quarters are located on the street elevation. The
natural light and ventilation to these rooms is directed
and controlled by operable windows and louvered
shutters.
The stucco rendered finish allows Gap House to blend
seamlessly into the terraced street. However, the
property's distinctive fenestration, shutters, and front
door provide the new building with a deserved individual
architectural identity.
Bedrooms and bathrooms are accessed by a central
stairwell, which also acts as a light shaft. There is a
gap between the stairs and the walls to enhance light
transmission.
To the rear of the plot, the property is arranged as a
series of cascading, projecting cubes, descending to a
ground-floor reception area. This space, accommodating
the kitchen, dining area, lounge, and study, merges with
a light-filled outdoor courtyard.
>>>
Reflections at Keppel Bay, a residential development designed by Daniel Libeskind, was recently completed in Singapore. Photo: Courtesy Keppel Bay Pte Ltd - a Keppel Land Company
|
People and Places
by Nancy Novitski
Wang Shu Pritzker Prize - Breaking News - Click to Story —
Daniel Libeskind in Singapore —
MVE Institutional in Los Angeles, California —
SOM in Beijing, China —
BIG with Architectural Nexus in Park City, Utah —
Stéphane Maupin and Nicolas Hugon in Paris, France
Singapore — 2012.0209
Reflections at Keppel Bay, a high-end residential development designed by Daniel Libeskind, was recently completed in Singapore. Located on a 20-acre (eight-hectare) site at the entrance to historic Keppel Harbor, the project comprises 1,129 apartments divided among 11 low-rise waterfront "villas" and six high-rise towers behind them.
The gently curving towers vary in form. Each of three 41-story towers stands adjacent to a 24-story tower to which it is connected by landscaped skybridges. No two floors are alike in shape in size, infusing this high-density development with a sense of variety.
The towers' patterned facades combine anodized aluminum panels with large windows. Rooftop gardens provide expansive views of nearby Mount Faber, Labrador Park, and Keppel Bay.
Completed in December 2011, the project has already received the BCA Green Mark Gold Award from Singapore's Building and Construction Authority. The architect of record for the project was DCA Architects Pte Ltd, and the client was Keppel Land
>>>
|
The curving, stepping Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center (2004), located on the University of Cincinnati campus in Cincinnati, Ohio, was designed by Moore Ruble Yudell, with associate architect glaserworks. Photo: © Alan Karchmer
|
Cincinnati Student Center by Moore Ruble Yudell
by Ron Kull
As architects, we generally consider how a building meets the ground — in essence, we design a base that holds the building in place. But we seldom have to design this base while traversing a change in grade some 50 feet (15 meters) along nearly 500 feet (150 meters) of a building's length.
Yet one building on the campus of the University of Cincinnati creatively demonstrates that a building's base can be much more than just a meeting between building and ground.
The Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center by Moore Ruble Yudell makes a beautiful and varied connection to grade as it extends down Main Street, the winding thoroughfare that is the center of campus.
Sometimes the connection to the ground is simple — for example, red brick meeting concrete pavers — and sometimes it is complex, as when a row of columns lifts the facade of the building and creates an arcade for pedestrians.
The Steger Center's south face rambles along Main Street, which bisects the campus from top to bottom. At its back, on the north side, is a classic quadrangle formed by Swift, Baldwin, and Rhodes Halls.
The southern facade, in particular, has a dynamic character that contributes greatly to the quintessentially urban nature of the University of Cincinnati campus.
At one end, stadium-style seating carved from Carnelian granite provides numerous places for students to sit and converse with friends, watch passersby, or simply enjoy the warmth of the midday sun. The seats also provide a viewing platform for events and programs taking place on Bearcat Plaza, the center of campus.
>>>
|
Channel Glass Wall Systems
Bendheim Wall Systems, Inc. is North America's leading channel
glass wall systems supplier. The company's award-winning
projects include Steven Holl's Bloch Building/Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art, the Shaw Center for the Arts by Schwartz/Silver,
the Boston ICA by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Moore Ruble
Yudell's Santa Monica Civic Center Parking Structure.
|
It's fast, easy, private, and secure.
Technology Update
Flexible LED Module
The new GE Infusion(TM) LED module offers a flexible,
long-lasting, energy-saving lighting solution for commercial
environments. Available in a range of lumen packages with high
CRI and color temperature options, the modules provide
consistent, stable, dimmable white light. Easily maintained and
upgraded, with a simple twist-and-lock fit.
|
Improving Construction Efficiency and Productivity with Modular Construction
The Modular Building Institute has published a white paper
citing a report by the National Research Council (NRC) that
identifies modular construction as an underutilized resource for
significantly advancing the competitiveness and efficiency of
the U.S. construction industry in the next 20 years.
|
AutoCAD 2013 - What's New? - Blog Nauseam, 2012.0224
AEC Technology Updates - AECbytes, 2012.0223
A Mobile CAD Reality Check - Cadalyst, 2012.0222
Windows on the iPad, and Speedy - New York Times, 2012.0222
Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion - PCMag, 2012.0216
Product News - Taliesin Cabinet Hardware
Reveal Designs® introduces the Taliesin
Design™ collection of cabinet hardware, designed
by the students and faculty of Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd
Wright School of Architecture. The Series 632
rectangular pull (pictured) features an elegant dovetail
joint where the materials meet, and can be installed
either vertically or horizontally. The pull is finished
in anodized aluminum with a choice of beech, walnut,
oil-rubbed bronze, or darker sandblasted aluminum for
the grip...
See our comprehensive visual catalog of architectural products, powered by DesignGuide!
|
"Detailed plans and sections are especially helpful."
— JP, San Luis Obispo, California
In the metric system, the values of live and dead loads
on floors, and wind loads on walls, are expressed in
what units?
Four nondestructive methods for examining welds are dye
penetrant, magnetic particle, radiographic, and
ultrasonic. What is the fifth and simplest
nondestructive way to examine welds?
Classic Home 039 — English country style house by Frederick L. Ackerman
"Here is another of the popular English type of houses with exterior walls of stucco. A porch, entirely glazed in and included under the sweep of the main roof, becomes really a sixth room and is usable the year round. The layout is almost square and the simple treatment of the exterior, and sound construction, make it an economical house. The five rooms are of good average size, and in addition there is a large storage space in the attic.
"
|
The latest architectural headlines, linking across the Web:
Design
• Context
• Building Culture
• Technology
Continuing dimensions...
Daily Building, Directory of Architects, Architecture Books,
Building of the Week, Free Classifieds, Great Buildings, the
ArchitectureWeek Online Library, Web Directory, Archiplanet,
For any subscription-related questions, just drop us a line at
"subscriptions at architectureweek.com".
Disagree, agree, have some to add, or get inspired, with something
with best wishes,
Kevin Matthews
Editor in Chief
ArchWeek Green - sustainable design and building news
ArchWeek Residential - housing news and analysis
publication. By publishing this professional design and building
magazine online-only, we save about 48 tons of paper monthly,
50 large trees every week, or 2500 trees (a dozen or more acres
of mature conifer forest, representing over 100 tons a year of
biological carbon sequestration) each year, compared to reaching
a similar readership on paper - not counting these newsletters!
We provide ongoing pro-bono services to local non-profit
sustainability organizations, and our company offices are powered
by a green mix of 98% wind energy and 2% solar power through our
local electric utilities.
Reduce your carbon footprint... Switch those old paper-based
monthly subscriptions - and read ArchitectureWeek online!
Leading professional architecture magazine online, with
beautiful photos, detailed drawings, and compelling stories
delivered 47 times a year to 400,000 monthly visitors.
Flagship of the Artifice group of architecture sites with
millions of monthly unique design and building-related visitors,
foundation of the Artifice transformational communications
network with six million monthly unique visitors overall.
The way of architecture... Artifice, Inc.
541-345-7421 vox . 541-345-7438 fax . 800-203-8324 USA toll free
Artifice. "1534. [a. F., ad. L. artificium] 1. The action of an
artificer, construction, workmanship. 2. The product of art. 3.
Mode or style of workmanship. 4. Constructive skill. 5. Human
skill. 6. Skill in expedients. 7. An ingenious expedient."
-- The Oxford Universal Dictionary, Third Edition
Please add "editor@architectureweek.com" to your address book
to help ensure successful delivery of these newsletters.
+ - - Copyright (c) 2012 Artifice, Inc. - All Rights Reserved. - - +
Click Forward in your email -- Share ArchWeek Notes with a friend!
|
