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Amin Taha's studio Groupwork has completed a terrace in Islington, London, with a block designed as a misremembered copy of a lost four-storey building.

Named 168 Upper Street, the terracotta-coloured concrete block was designed by Groupwork to be a deliberately distorted version of a previous end pavilion that was destroyed during the second world war.

It contains a showroom for contemporary furniture and design company Aria on the ground floor, with three apartments above.

It was recreated by carrying out an archival and digital study of the lost block's mirror at the other end of the parade of buildings. Using photographs and a laser survey of this building a virtual model of the bombed building was created.

Groupwork used this digital model to create a cast from 300 expanded-polystyrene panels, which was used to pour terracotta-coloured concrete and form the shell of the building.

This hollow half-metre-thick cast-concrete shell is the building's load-bearing structure, as well as forming the external and internal finishes.

The facade maintains the pilasters, capitals, pediments, cornices, windows and doorways of the destroyed building, but the studio didn't want the new building to be a perfect visual replica.

"We weren't interested in rebuilding something even the original Victorian pattern-book builders would have regarded as a watered down and weak interpretation of a Palladian Palazzo, built not using the highest quality materials of that time and ultimately leaving an unremarkable street presence with little social historical value," Jason Coe, the project architect told Dezeen.

So as not to perfectly mimic the previous building, the studio created a series of accidental and deliberate errors throughout the facade.

The digital file was altered to move selected architectural details, while the concrete casting was designed to be imperfect to show the human process.

"The errors reinforce the theme that the memories from which we reconstruct are as flawed and selective as the narratives which we attempt to project from that past," said Coe.

Inside, the form of the building has also been cast with window openings and wallpaper replicated in concrete.

The building is divided using exposed cross-laminated timber floors and walls, with the shop on the ground floor and a storage area in the basement.

The three apartments are accessed by a side door. A two-bedroom home is on the first floor, with larger apartments each occupying the two floors above.

The larger apartments each have a double-height living space, with the entire top floor of the home in the roof dedicated to a kitchen and living space, which opens out onto terrace.

Bedrooms are divided from the living spaces with floor-to-ceiling timber storage units. Doors are designed to fold directly into the walls to save space.

Windows are determined by the internal use and punched through the building's structure, often cutting into the older window or neoclassical details on the facade.

Alongside some of the windows, openable panels have been created to let the residents naturally ventilate the homes.

The studio hopes that the building, which combines neoclassical elements with a modern method of construction, will contribute to conversations on the appropriate use of architecture styles.

Amin Taha ordered to demolish his RIBA Award-winning home and office 15 Clerkenwell Close

"For too long the debate of interpreting and using pre-modern styles has been caught up with an understanding that this is at best Charles Jencks' late-20th-century definition of post-modern style and at worst simply anti-progressive," he said.

By treating classic architecture in a playful manner the studio believes it is moving the discussion forward.

"Neither Borromini, Michelangelo nor Bernini could be accused of slavishly following the classical language but developed and contorted it, making it plastic and significantly different from the classical period," continued Coe.

"Perhaps Romano's Palazzo del Te is a better example in understanding the structural abstraction of the classical language then playing with it to tell another story."

Like his own home at 15 Clerkenwell Close, which has a structural stone frame, the building at 168 Upper Street is part of the studio's drive to further understand materials.

"Apart from making basic structural sense and being more intelligently put-together, by building with compositional permutations of materials you can transcend these to form a poetry of any number of visual outcomes and therefore meanings, as well as being greener and cheaper," said Coe.

"It's really up to all architects to understand that materials are their vocabulary and tell whatever story they wish."

Groupwork are based below Taha's home at 15 Clerkenwell Close. The building is currently under threat of demolition, with the architect ordered to demolish the building last year.

The building is one of several RIBA award-winning projects created by the studio, which includes a six-storey gabled block in north London that was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.

Photography is by Tim Soar.
Project credits:
Architect: Amin Taha + Groupwork
Client: Aria
Structural engineer: Webb Yates
M&E consultant: Syntegra Group
QS: Cumming Europe
Acoustics: Syntegra Group
Sustainability: Syntegra Group
Specialist metalwork: Intuitive Engineering
Internal architectural steelwork: Suckley Engineering
Project manager: Groupwork
CDM coordinator: Goddard Consulting
Approved building inspector: MLM
Main contractor: Talina

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Amin Taha creates distorted replica of 19th-century London terrace block

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Amin Taha's studio Groupwork has completed a terrace in Islington, London, with a block designed as a misremembered copy of a lost four-storey building. Named 168 Upper Street, the terracotta-coloured concrete block was designed by Groupwork to be a deliberately distorted version of a previous end pavilion that was destroyed during the second world war.

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Help us swim against the tide.

Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media.

Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture. Instead of a quick, distracted web, we want a slow, attentive one. Instead of hastily perused information, we prefer knowledge calmly absorbed. This is why Divisare is a place to perceive architecture slowly, without distractions. No click - like - tweet - share, no advertising, banners, pop-ups. Just architecture, no more and no less. If you like what we're doing, please Subscribe. You will get full access to divisare archive and you will help us keep the lights on.

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Critical Conservation & Transformative Reuse

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Help us swim against the tide. Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media. Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture.

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Client
Victoria & Albert Museum

Location
Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA

Graphic designers
Graphic Thought Facility

Digital media designer
Harmonic Kinetic

Materials expert
FranklinTill

Gallery lighting designer
ZNA studio

Project Manager
Lockerdell Consulting

Quantity Surveyor
Greenways

Base build architect
De Matos Ryan

Structural engineer
Price & Myers

Acoustic Engineer
Gillieron Scott Acoustic Design

Access & Inclusion Consultant
GOSS

Heritage consultant
James Edgar

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Client Victoria & Albert Museum Location Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA Graphic designers Graphic Thought Facility Digital media designer Harmonic Kinetic Materials expert FranklinTill Gallery lighting designer ZNA studio Project Manager Lockerdell Consulting Quantity Surveyor Greenways Base build architect De Matos Ryan Structural engineer Price & Myers Acoustic Engineer Gillieron Scott Acoustic Design Access & Inclusion Consultant GOSS Heritage consultant James Edgar

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Public Space
muf worked with Karakusevic Carson Architects and Henley Halebrown from the masterplanning stage on the RIBA and AJ Award-wining Kings Crescent.

The centrepiece of the public realm is a new playable street that runs the length of the site, named Murrain Road after the late resident who ran a local youth club. Both route and destination, the street makes a new connection to Clissold Park, and is a shared resource for residents and neighbours from the wider area - settled and incoming, young and old.

The design puts the local generation of children at its centre, both formally and through use. It challenges the perception of a street as a utilitarian space by introducing natural materials and a theatrical atmosphere. In doing so it prompts debate about the potential of our urban fabric to be adapted, and density interpreted as an intensification of use.

Murrain Road makes space for a multitude of recreation types: traditional play equipment combined with natural elements such as logs, rocks and water; props for imaginative play such as a theatre and a large table; and amenity areas for all ages such as bespoke seating that caters to the elderly as well as it does to teenagers.

It provides a space where a child can learn to ride a bike, invent new games with friends, or draw on asphalt with chalk. The street is complemented by a series of communal courtyards that make provision for community flower and vegetable growing, alongside further opportunities for play, socialising and respite from domestic life.

Client
London Borough of Hackney

Master planning team
Karakusevic Carson Architects, Henley Halebrown Rorrison Architects

Public realm team
Dekka lighting, blacksheepscape soft landscaping

Links
Kings Crescent Garden, Wildlife Garden, Furnitubes
Project Dirt: UK environmental and community projects

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Public Space muf worked with Karakusevic Carson Architects and Henley Halebrown from the masterplanning stage on the RIBA and AJ Award-wining Kings Crescent. The centrepiece of the public realm is a new playable street that runs the length of the site, named Murrain Road after the late resident who ran a local youth club.

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designboom | architecture & design magazine

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plans for the museum of london's new home at west smithfield have been approved by local authorities. the project, which was first unveiled in 2016, is now set to move ahead with a completion date scheduled for 2024. designed by stanton williams and asif khan, with conservation architect julian harrap, the project seeks to actively engage with its surroundings and communities by bringing a new vibrancy to a historic part of central london.

image by secchi smith

'this is a pivotal milestone not just for an ambitious architectural scheme for london, but also a testament to the vital importance that culture and education play for the evolution and resilience of our global city,' says paul williams, principal director at stanton williams. 'because london's story is a story of renewal, reinvention and cultural diversity - a story that will be actively told by the museum of london from its new home at west smithfield for generations to come.'

image by secchi smith
'in front of the museum of london docklands stood a statue of slaver robert milligan,' continues asif khan. 'just over a week ago it was removed. the recent protests across the globe for equality and respect of black lives, have called into question how we are taught our history and how then we understand our present. it feels we are finally at a turning point, and to design a new museum at this moment, particularly one inside a victorian market hall, is a great responsibility. it demands from us a vision of how we should shape our future city and citizenry.'

image by secchi smith

the news coincides with the reveal of new images illustrating the future appearance of the site. through its collection of seven million objects and vibrant programming, the museum of london seeks to tell the story of london and londoners in new ways. 'from a world-class learning offer that will engage every london school child to having 24-hour access, the museum will at once be both a place to reflect and learn as well as a shared space for enjoyment and contemporary discussion,' says the institution.

image by MIR

the approved plans mean a secure, sustainable future for the historic market buildings that make up the site, most of which date back to the victorian era and have fallen into significant disrepair. much of the historic fabric of the buildings will be preserved to create cavernous and atmospheric spaces both above and below ground, capable of hosting a broader range of displays, exhibitions, learning activity, and events.

image by MIR

the concept for the museum includes a new lifted landmark dome which would create a light-filled entrance, while escalators transport visitors down to the exhibition galleries in a vast excavated underground chamber. meanwhile, quiet spaces provide pockets of tranquillity. read more about the vision on the museum's website here.

image by secchi smith

image by atelier78

image by secchi smith
project info:

image by stale eriksen

name: museum of london west smithfield
location: london, UK
client: museum of london
value: confidential
architect: stanton williams and asif khan
conservation architect: julian harrap architects
landscape architect: J&L gibbons
design manager: plan A
structural engineer: AKT II
MEP engineer: arup
quantity surveyors: gardiner & theobald
project manager: buro four
principal designer: bureau veritas london
planning consultant: gerald eve
transport and logistics engineers: momentum
images: secchi smith, MIR, atelier78
model photograph: stale eriksen

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stanton williams + asif khan's plans for the new museum of london

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plans for the museum of london's new home at west smithfield have been approved by local authorities. the project, which was first unveiled in 2016 , is now set to move ahead with a completion date scheduled for 2024.

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DILLER SCOFIDIO + RENFRO is an interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture, the visual arts, and the performing arts

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The fragmented gables that make up this children's centre by Danish studio CEBRA feature matching dormer windows that in some places have been extruded, inverted or turned upside down (+ slideshow).

Located in Kerteminde, a rural town on the Danish island of Funen, the Children's Home of the Future was designed by CEBRA to provide a 24-hour care centre for children and teenagers with special needs.

CEBRA's Løgstør sports hall is built like Meccano

The Aarhus-based architects, whose past projects vary from a low-cost sports hall to a snowflake-shaped ski dome, worked with the gabled profile of the archetypal house to create a building that they think occupants will find "homely".

"Whether you look at children's drawings or a web browser's stylised icon, at all ages we recognise and use the rectangular pitched-roof building with a chimney as a sign for home. It is the visual essence of the functions it contains," they said.

The team combined and abstracted four gabled volumes to create the basic form of the complex. They then added extensions and recesses that offer different takes on the traditional dormer window.

Some are extended upwards or downwards, and one has even been turned upside down.

"The design takes the familiar basic shapes of the typical Danish home as its natural starting point," said the architects.

"The two elements are used in their most simplified form to create a recognisable exterior appearance and integrate the building into the surrounding residential area."

This is reinforced by the use of domestic building materials, including clay tiles that resemble brickwork and vertical lengths of wood reminiscent of conventional weatherboarding.

Internally, the 1,500-square-metre building is organised over two main floors and one basement level. The upper and lower levels house most of the staff rooms and storage areas, freeing up the ground floor to offer facilities for children with behavioural, social and mental health problems.

Areas are divided up by age range, so younger children occupy a space orientated towards the garden and playground, and teenagers use a space that faces out towards the street.

"The layout aims at providing the residents with a sense of belonging to their unit - a homely base where they can retreat alone or in smaller groups," said the architects.

The dormer window areas, described as "bonus spaces", give each age group spaces for more intimate activities that include reading, watching films, painting or completing homework.

"The Children's Home of the Future combines the traditional home's safe environment with new pedagogical ideas and conceptions of what a modern children's home is and which needs it should fulfil," added the team.

The entrance occupies the middle volume and is slightly set back, meaning that a regular influx of visitors and deliveries would cause as little disruption to the neighbourhood as possible.

Photography is by Mikkel Frost/CEBRA.
Project credits:
Client: Kerteminde Municipality
Architect: CEBRA
Landscape architect: PK3
Engineer: Søren Jensen

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CEBRA's children's centre forms a cluster of house silhouettes

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The fragmented gables that make up this children's centre by Danish studio CEBRA feature matching dormer windows that in some places have been extruded, inverted or turned upside down (+ slideshow). Located in Kerteminde, a rural town on the Danish island of Funen, the Children's Home of the Future was designed by CEBRA to provide a 24-hour care centre for children and teenagers with special needs.

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Balancing the realisation of a spectacular gallery with the need to clearly communicate scientific principles, the Science Museum's new gallery, Wonderlab, provides an immersive and playground-like experience of scientific discovery.

Wonderlab challenges the the generic bright, wipe clean, panelled architecture of many schools and public spaces, instead muf has created a robust, hardworking space which also delivers a sense of grandeur and delight. muf's design draws on well known spaces of scientific discovery and learning - Faraday's lecture hall can be seen in the show space, the orrery recalls George Wright of Derby's famous painting, and a visit to the still-in-use chemistry labs in Oxford inspired the Chemistry Bar.

muf has designed the gallery and much of its contents in collaboration with the Science Museum, crafts people, artists, contractors, engineers, lighting designers, graphic designers, cost consultants and project managers, including: Siobhan Liddell, Felix de Pass, Luke Jones, Michael Grubb, Arnout Visser, Will Yates Johnson, Swedish design practice Front, graphic design practice Objectif, furniture makers Benchmark, interior designers Paragon, engineers Arup, and Ramboll.

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Balancing the realisation of a spectacular gallery with the need to clearly communicate scientific principles, the Science Museum's new gallery, Wonderlab, provides an immersive and playground-like experience of scientific discovery. Wonderlab challenges the the generic bright, wipe clean, panelled architecture of many schools and public spaces, instead muf has created a robust, hardworking space which also delivers a sense of grandeur and delight.

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Office S&M is an award winning architecture practice which delivers buildings that are an experience.

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We have been appointed to lead the design team to oversee the transformation of The Africa Centre's new Southwark home.

We were selected ahead of a number of practices shortlisted through an open competition to design and deliver the institution's development which is backed by the Mayor of London's Good Growth Fund.

The project will transform the building, known as Gunpowder House, into a cafe, bar & lounge, a gallery and performance space, a digital learning & research centre and a business suite. This will complement the existing use of the two railway arches, with Arch 28 serving as The Africa Centre offices and The Hub (a co-working space for creatives and entrepreneurs), and Arch 29 as a pop-up performance/event space.

Our vision for the project is to consider the 'ambassadorial role' the organisation can play in celebrating Pan-African culture on the global stage. Focusing on the essential elements that connect and bind the continent rather than on strict representation, this sees the Centre serve as a forum for ideas, a platform for exchange, and an embassy of optimism.

We want to draw from the provenance of the organisation over the last 50 years, whilst looking ahead to ensure its new home in Southwark has the same impact and cultural resonance for the next 50 years.

'Africa isn't a country' is a response, often born of frustration at a dismissal of the breadth in peoples, cultures and traditions that span the African continent. We want to turn this misnomer into a strength and envisage what an embassy for a continent might look like in the 21st century; a space that demonstrates what connects us and binds us to one another, whilst celebrating the dynamism of the continent.

We will be working closely with The Africa Centre to develop the building design, which will be informed by a series of public conversations and events.

Amongst this programme of events, there was a conversation between Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE, director of The Africa Centre, and Freehaus director Jonathan Hagos, as part of London Design Festival and a radio interview for the BBC Radio. The next public events are soon to be announced.

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We have been appointed to lead the design team to oversee the transformation of The Africa Centre's new Southwark home. We were selected ahead of a number of practices shortlisted through an open competition to design and deliver the institution's development which is backed by the Mayor of London's Good Growth Fund.

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Sign language for the built environment - Sign Strokes 

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Sign language for the built environment - Sign Strokes 

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Architectural Association School of Architecture's website homepage is the online entrance into the AA; to its courses from Foundation to PhD for undergraduate and postgraduate students; its open public programme; to application; to what's on and what's new in central London, Dorset and global school venues.

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Help us swim against the tide.

Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media.

Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture. Instead of a quick, distracted web, we want a slow, attentive one. Instead of hastily perused information, we prefer knowledge calmly absorbed. This is why Divisare is a place to perceive architecture slowly, without distractions. No click - like - tweet - share, no advertising, banners, pop-ups. Just architecture, no more and no less. If you like what we're doing, please Subscribe. You will get full access to divisare archive and you will help us keep the lights on.

Divisare subscription is free for teachers & students

No Ads. Ever.

Find out more about why divisare exists, what guide us and what our readers say about us

Submit your projects or photo essays

Do you have a project or a photographic report you would like to see published on Divisare?
Good! Please send it and we will give it serious attention. But first read these instructions to be sure of doing it right.

Divisare Journal

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Divisare Journal is a curated newsletter, containing highlights from Divisare. We will only use your email address to send you the newsletters you have requested. We will never give your details to anyone else without your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email. If you experience difficulty with the "unsubscribe" process, please contact us

Divisare is proudly made in rome

Our postal address is Divisare srl, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano 3, 00196 Roma, Italy - PI 15244481006
For questions or comments, please write us at: divisare@divisare.com We will respond quickly! And that's a promise.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Help us swim against the tide. Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media. Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture.

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Re-use of materials - Clerkenwell Close by Amin Taha/Groupwork

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Re-use of materials - Clerkenwell Close by Amin Taha/Groupwork

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Architect Amin Taha has been served a demolition order for his stone-framed 15 Clerkenwell Close housing block in London, which is shortlisted for a Dezeen Award, and has already won an RIBA Award.

Islington Council issued the order to demolish the six-storey building, because the natural stone used on its facade is not fully detailed in the planning documents.

Taha - who was the architect and developer for the project, and also lives in one of the flats - has launched an appeal against the order, which will be heard in March 2019.

It is the second enforcement notice issued for the building. An initial order to demolish the building was issued in 2017, following confusion caused by the council only uploading some of the planning documents to its online portal.
Decision based "entirely on opinion of the councillor"
Taha believes the decision to issue the demolition notice is part of a campaign led by the chair of Islington Council's planning committee, who has a personal dislike of the building.

"[The decision is based] entirely on the initial opinion of the councillor and a handful of neighbours," Taha told Dezeen.

"It has now escalated from an error in not uploading the stone approval - so that it was evident for anyone who cared to look - to the mistaken first demolition notice, to the now face-saving second notice entirely driven by someone's opinion that it's ugly."

The housing block in Clerkwell contains eight apartments, including Taha's own home, as well as an office for his architecture practice Amin Taha + Groupwork.

The building has a structural exoskeleton made from raw quarried limestone, dotted with fossils.

The design has divided opinion. The project won an RIBA National Award and is shortlisted for a Dezeen Award in the housing category. But it was almost nominated for the Carbuncle Cup - an annual competition to find the worst buildings in the UK.
First demolition order issued after plans not uploaded
Taha first received complaints about the building after the scaffolding was removed from the block and neighbours noticed that the facade did not match the drawings available on the council's online portal.

Slender apartment block by Amin Taha Architects features a timber structure and wicker balconies

Following the initial application for a building with a brick facade, Taha had submitted alterations to the building's height and facade, which were approved by the council, but not placed online.

"The neighbours could only see a brick approval as planning hadn't uploaded the later stone approval notices and drawings, similarly the head of enforcement and the councillor. However the latter should know better," continued Taha.

Islington Council issued an enforcement notice to demolish the building and replace it with brick in June 2017, despite Taha's protests that the paper files were available in the planning office.

This initial order to demolish was later withdrawn after Taha's solicitor sent a letter to the enforcement department requesting the report and the details of the council committee that sanctioned the notice.
Second demolition order "to justify the original incompetency"
The second order to demolish was issued in February 2018.

"After an investigation, the council has come to the view that the building at 15 Clerkenwell Close does not reflect the building that was granted planning permission and conservation area consent in 2013," an Islington Council spokesperson said.

"In the council's view, the existing building does not benefit from planning permission, and the council issued an enforcement notice on 26 February 2018, to take effect on 9 April 2018."

According to Taha this enforcement order was issued as "the exact fossil locations are rough, hap-hazard and therefore deleterious to the conservation area and listed buildings", along with nine other points.

"After having withdrawn the initial and wrong enforcement notice requesting to rebuild in brick, and realising that they had missed the more recent stone approval, the head of enforcement and the councillor are looking to justify the original incompetency and ignorance voiced in the press with another notice altogether," said Taha.

Along with appealing the demolition notice, Taha is submitting a new application detailing the locations of all the fossils on the building's facade.

"It has to be appealed and in the meantime as the second notice concedes that stone superstructure was approved but states that they hadn't realised the fossils would look rough and are therefore ugly in their opinion, we are submitting a new application highlighting where fossils exist precisely to each column and beam," continued Taha.

Islington Council choose not respond to Taha's allegations of bias.

London-based Taha received RIBA Awards for both 15 Clerkenwell Close and Flexible House in 2018. The architect's housing at Barrett's Grove in Stoke Newington, London, was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2017.

Photography is by Timothy Soar.

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Amin Taha ordered to demolish his RIBA Award-winning home and office 15 Clerkenwell Close

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Architect Amin Taha has been served a demolition order for his stone-framed 15 Clerkenwell Close housing block in London, which is shortlisted for a Dezeen Award, and has already won an RIBA Award.

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Feilden Fowles Architects, J&L Gibbons Landscape , Arup; Max Fordham; Deloitte; Michael Grubb Studio; Nomad Projects; Fossil Plants; Fanshawe; Sarah Couch Historic Landscapes; A Practice for Everyday Life; The Ecology Consultancy; JA Projects and Shared Assets. Drawing by Feilden Fowles
JA Projects, as part of a consortium led by Feilden Fowles and J & L Gibbons, have been named as one of five finalists in an international competition for a £35 million raised linear park connecting Camden Town to King's Cross.

The Camden High Line competition - organised by Colander Associates on behalf of the Camden Highline Charity - will select a design-led practice 'to create a new 'park for everybody, connecting people in the area both physically and with new community activities.' The scheme aims to regenerate a 1.1km stretch of abandoned railway, formerly part of the North London Railway, creating a 10-minute pedestrian link between Kentish Town Road in Camden Town and Camley Street in King's Cross, bypassing eight busy roads using eight existing bridges.

Read the full article in the Architect's Journal

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Shortlisted for Camden High Line - JA Projects

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JA Projects, as part of a consortium led by Feilden Fowles and J & L Gibbons , have been named as one of five finalists in an international competition for a £35 million raised linear park connecting Camden Town to King's Cross.

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The temporary transformation of an abandoned space underneath Brixton Station passageway into a temporary platform for local artists and entrepreneurs. This project aimed to explore questions of 'value' in urban markets today: how are our markets socially, culturally, politically and environmentally valuable in our increasingly valorized cities?

We staged events such as 'The Food Journey' workshop with Mama D of Community Centred Knowledge, and a launch event for local food groups Dapaah Group, a Ghanaian vegan chocolate company, and Samosa Shack, Pakistani samosa company. The space adapted with each event, from adjustable hanging tables to a 'night-mode'.

On invitation from the Brixton Design Trail, we took over the passageway for three weeks, initially collaborating with local designer Carolyne Hill, founder of Brixton Chill Create, and Brixton-based artist Farouk Agoro. With a team of young volunteers and a non-existent budget, the collective erected the space in a week.

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The temporary transformation of an abandoned space underneath Brixton Station passageway into a temporary platform for local artists and entrepreneurs. This project aimed to explore questions of 'value' in urban markets today: how are our markets socially, culturally, politically and environmentally

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Jewish Museum of Belgium renovation by Barozzi Veiga

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Jewish Museum of Belgium renovation by Barozzi Veiga

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Gallery of Barozzi Veiga Wins Competition to Design and Renovate the Jewish Museum of Belgium - 2

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Image 2 of 6 from gallery of Barozzi Veiga Wins Competition to Design and Renovate the Jewish Museum of Belgium. Courtesy of BarozziVeiga+TabArchitects+BarbaraVanDerWee

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PUP Architects has installed a "subversive" duct-shaped pavilion on the roof of a canal-side warehouse in east London, to provoke local planning authorities to reconsider the area's development.

The London studio run by Theo Molloy, Chloe Leen and Steve Wilkinson drew up the design for the Architecture Foundation's new Antepavilion programme, an annual commission sponsored by the property developer Shiva.

The structure joins a collection of other pavilions commissioned by Shiva in recent years for the roof of its Columbia Wharf studios.

These buildings have all been designed as prototypes for alternative ways to live in the city. They aim to challenge decisions by the local planning department to allow a spate of luxury housing blocks to be built along Regent's Canal - while other types of projects are very difficult to win approval for.

For instance, Shiva was denied planning permission to build a simple "beach house" on the roof back in 2016 - although it went ahead and built it anyway.

PUP Architects decided to model the pavilion on a duct after finding a loop-hole in local planning laws that allowed for a two-storey service structure to be affixed to the top of the roof.

"We wanted to provoke a conversation about why, if you can build this type of strange plant equipment on the rooftop, why can we not use it in a more positive way, to inhabit and liberate all these hundreds of thousands of square metres of rooftop space?" the architects explained during a press preview of the pavilion.

"It's a sort of hypocrisy that rooftop plants or things which support buildings that end up on or around them are not subject to the same stringent scrutiny of design - even if it's a huge ugly thing, it's seen as a practical thing, you can just put it there, no one cares," they continued. "But to say, I'd love to build a little fun summer house on my roof, you're not allowed to do that."

"The project is meant to provoke conversation around these issues. For that reason it will be interesting if Hackney [council] come back to us and try to challenge the idea because, what is it? Is it inhabitable, is it servicing the building?"

"[Shiva] is quite provocative, they're opposite a building - the 19th-century Haggerston Baths - which is now out of use and has fallen into disrepair, and I think their mindset is that perhaps council attention could be better used on that than challenging these prototype buildings on the rooftop."

The timber-framed pavilion is covered in a skin of silvery shingles made from recycled Tetra Pak, a material more typically used for drinks cartons.

Molloy discovered the laminated paper, metal and plastic material could be used as a rainscreen while leading a student building project at a Latvian brewery.

Pieces of the Tetra Pak material are folded into squares to conceal raw edges and overlapped like scales to cover the outer walls.

The lower corner of each shingle is left loose, allowing the breeze and natural light into the pavilion. The inner walls may later be insulated and a kitchenette installed to make the space habitable for longer periods of time.

A hung staircase leads up a second-floor artist's studio through a snaking corridor to a viewpoint at the top of the pavilion, where "jumbo proportioned" louvres open to allow visitors to take in views of the canal and the apartment blocks that are replacing smaller houses and pubs along its banks.

"Although it was a practical aspect to enter from below, it really added to our concept of the structure being something a little bit subverting what a roof duct is, and this idea of covertness and secrecy," said the architects.

"It means that you can use it without ever going on the roof, which is obviously not made to be accessible."

"It's provoking local authorities in general about how open-minded they are to good ideas," the Architecture Foundations's deputy director Phineas Harper told Dezeen.

"It's a legal project, but it's pointing out all these problems with the planning system in a hopefully quite a fun and friendly way. But you can't get away from those problems."

"We thought if you're going to build a pavilion you might as well give it a political slant. Hopefully another impact of the Antepavilion project will be that other pavilion projects will start to take on a bit of a attitude," he added.

"The Serpentine Pavilion programme has been an amazing programme for a long time but it does feel like it's run its course or run out of a steam a little bit, and people are looking for something a bit more vigorous in its political outlook."

Antepavilion is open to the public at 55 Hoxton Docks on 6-7 August and again on 16-17 September during Open House London.

London-based think-tank The Architecture Foundation and Shiva plan to continue the Antepavilion Commission annually, to give emerging architects, artists and designers the chance to create further experimental rooftop structures.

Photography is by Jim Stephenson. Drone footage is by Tapio Snellman.

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PUP Architects builds rooftop pavilion disguised as warehouse air duct

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PUP Architects has installed a "subversive" duct-shaped pavilion on the roof of a canal-side warehouse in east London, to provoke local planning authorities to reconsider the area's development. The London studio run by Theo Molloy, Chloe Leen and Steve Wilkinson drew up the design for the Architecture Foundation's new Antepavilion programme, an annual commission sponsored by the property developer Shiva.

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US firm Studio Gang has completed its transformation of a coal-burning power plant into the wellness-focused student union for Beloit College in Wisconsin with a suspended running track looping through the building.

The 100-year-old plant building, which is located between the campus of the liberal arts college and Rock River in Beloit, was updated to include a fitness centre and a gymnasium with a three-lane track and an eight-lane swimming pool.

Originally called Blackhawk Generating Station, the plant was first built in 1913 by Wisconsin Power and Light. It was expanded in 1927 and again in the mid-1940s before being decommissioned in 2010.

Studio Gang's project for Beloit College, called Powerhouse, retained and updated the original red brick, yellow brick and concrete structures, and added a new 17,000-square-foot (1,579-square-metre) volume made from translucent polycarbonate walls and steel framing.

As such, Powerhouse is segmented into three volumes that form the arrangement of three key facilities: the swimming pool, the track and the field house.

The translucent structure on the northern side contains a field house. The panels are arranged at angles to one another to create slender long gaps for windows in between. At night, when artificial lights are turned on, the entire structure glows up.

In the middle, a larger brickwork volume hosts a suspended, three-lane running track that loops around the first floor of the building partially extending into the field house and the swimming pool on either side.

In addition to the sports facilities, Powerhouse includes a number of recreational spaces for students, like a coffee shop, lounges, a conference centre, a lecture hall and a theatre.

Studio Gang also added a new pedestrian bridge that punctures the brickwork structure to connect Powerhouse to the existing campus, and created a link from the college and the town to the Rock River.

Innovation Powerhouse is a creative hub in a former Eindhoven power station

Inside, the firm chose a stripped-back industrial palette that pays homage to the history of the building - including existing weathered brickwork and steel structures.

Another key element of the project is that, rather than using air for heating and cooling, it uses water-supplied radiant panels.

"Buildings usually use air for heating and cooling; however, water, which is much denser, is actually more efficient," said Studio Gang.

"Radiant panels integrated into the building's surfaces are able to use energy from the river water for most of the Powerhouse's heating and cooling needs, improving comfort within the building and maintaining the highest quality of air, while also significantly minimising total energy use."

Other power plants that have been adaptively reused include the former Philips power plant in Eindhoven, which has been transformed into an innovation hub by young architect Janne van Berlo.

London's decommissioned Battersea Power Station is also undergoing redevelopment and will become the centrepiece of a 17-hectare Thames-side masterplan by Rafael Viñoly.

The project is set to include a public square designed by BIG, and housing designed by Ian Simpson Architects, dRMM, Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners.
Project credits:
Associate architect: Angus Young Associates
Civil engineer: RHBatterman & Co
Lighting and mechanical/environmental engineer: dbHMS
Landscape architect dbHMS
Landscape architect: Applied Ecological Services
Acoustics and A/V consultant: Threshold
Signage, wayfinding consultant: 3st/Span
Pool consultant: Ramaker & Associates
Athletic consultant Hastings+Chivetta Architects
IT consultant True North Consulting Group
Cost consultant: Dharam

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Studio Gang transforms Wisconsin power plant into Beloit College student union

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US firm Studio Gang has completed its transformation of a coal-burning power plant into the wellness-focused student union for Beloit College in Wisconsin with a suspended running track looping through the building.

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Maidstone Museum by Hugh Broughton Architects

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Maidstone Museum by Hugh Broughton Architects

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Text: Detail Daily
published 02.05.2012

A Tudor manor house from 1561 is at the heart of the Maidstone Museum. Established as a museum in 1858 by the local council, it has had a number of extensions and alterations over the years resulting in an eclectic architectural basket of styles and ideas reflecting the collection itself. That tradition is continued and celebrated with Hugh Broughton Architects' East Wing extension that resulted from an RIBA competition win.

The copper alloy shingles that clad the building are arranged in a dia-grid and carefully tread an aesthetic line between the gaudy and tasteful, firmly evoking the latter. They also evoke the precious nature of the museum's mixed collection of artefacts. The other principal material used for the external cladding is bonded glazing. It is the interplay between the glazing and shingles that is particularly convincing and both sit well with the brick and stonework of the older buildings.

The facilities add new gallery spaces, a public meeting room, shop and above all architectural credibility. Congratulations to the town Burghers in their brave and ultimately vindicated decision not to play it safe.

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Brave in the face of history: Maidstone Museum extension by Hugh Broughton Architects.

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Text: Detail Daily published 02.05.2012 A Tudor manor house from 1561 is at the heart of the Maidstone Museum. Established as a museum in 1858 by the local council, it has had a number of extensions and alterations over the years resulting in an eclectic architectural basket of styles and ideas reflecting the collection itself.

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Lucca's urban fabric shows the stratification of its historical stages: each phase defines different and unique open public spaces. The city is denser within the historical walls, but also the area out of the ring, where the train station is situated, has a strong identity and quality. The station, with its people and things flows, even though less than in other Italian cities, produces a sense of negligence and abandon in the district.

The main purpose of the project consists in the preservation of the proportion of the urban fabric, to define in a contemporary way an answer to the current functional needs, by reducing the railroad barrier effect. The project provide the division of the area in different functional zones connected each other and with their urban context. The northern part of the area is dedicated to the bus stops, the eastern part to the car parking, while the southern one is a pedestrian zone connected with the railway station.

The infrastructural intended purpose gives the opportunity to design two new recognizable elements, clearly contemporary but never disturbing among their surrounding architectural context.
The project is connected to the eastern side of the railway station and provides the complete demolition of the existing walls, in order to involve the adjacent built blocks into the new system of relations.

The open spaces define human-sized areas designed according to their use, often connected by each other in an ambiguous and unexpected way.
The bus terminal is completely open and accessible; the existing buildings, where part of the roof is already collapsed, hold/encase protected gardens; the pedestrian square is concluded with some convivial steps towards the car parking.

For the three existing buildings the project provides three special functions, in order to generate new flows ad energies: one of them hosts the ticket office and a coffee bar toward the protected garden; another one hosts workstations for offices and co-working; the last one hosts a bike shop and a restaurant. A new design of the open spaces, the new flooring , the public furniture, the lightening and the organization of the green spaces, complete the equilibrium between elements and new energies.

A new part of the town thought with the equilibrium of the historical public spaces, but suitable for today's needs, a new interchange point between different private and public transport systems, and at the same time a place that allows the switch between different ideas and social proposals.

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studio elementare _ Paolo Pasquini Architetti · SWITCH _ Lucca [S]cambia

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Lucca's urban fabric shows the stratification of its historical stages: each phase defines different and unique open public spaces. The city is denser within the historical walls, but also the area out of the ring, where the train station is situated, has a strong identity and quality.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CKQ-gQtjvN5/

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Like many European cities, Amsterdam started out as a village in support of a local economy. Over time, the village and harbour developed together, overlapping and interweaving. The canals served the ships while providing a mode of transportation, the square in front of the town hall hosted the daily market and the blacksmith's workshop sat alongside the local theater. The city was a productive world capable of sustaining itself.

Unfortunately, the marriage between city and production came to an end. The construction of the Noordzee Kanaal in 1876 saw the harbour moving westwards, out of the city, gradually decreasing its level of production and becoming more just a vessel for goods. Furthermore, globalisation, amplified by the introduction of Schiphol Airport after WW1, encouraged the city of Amsterdam to reinvent itself as a creative knowledge economy.

Today, city, harbour and airport make up Amsterdam's economic landscape, but their geographical divorce prevents interaction, and this comes at a price. For example, energy supplies for electricity and heat are import and fossil fuel dependent, recycled waste is down-cycled and an average dinner has traveled 30,000 kilometers.

Amsterdam now functions as a three-poled non-productive city. So how do we turn the tide? By exploiting the incredible potential of Amsterdam's rail and road infrastructure! This existing network with its nodes and left over spaces presents itself as the ideal carrier for re-connecting city, harbour and airport.
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A network of productive villages, each with its own character, resulting in a poly-centric productive city capable of re-introducing Amsterdam's circular economy.

With a daily passenger rate of 50,000 people, Piarcoplein is the ideal test ground for the first productive village. Today, the square consists of a landscape of infrastructures; a series of beautiful columns and bridges. Celebrating these two key elements as catalysts for spatial layout, Piarco's productive village weaves around and between columns and bridges, breaking up the site's vastness and introducing a sequence of human scale landscapes.
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The principle of "induced demand" proves that the provision of car parking simply generates car traffic. Reducing car parking will therefore decrease car traffic. This change in human behavior cannot be established overnight, but calls for a gradual implementation - an approach that is adopted by an increasing amount of cities around the world.

In each phase of Piarco's transformation, the productive village works differently according to the extent of parking space. Exploiting the limitation of opportunities to build between existing and future bridges allows the village to peek up to train level to announce itself and catch the eye of numerous by-passers. Reduced car traffic will eventually allow the opportunity to create fast lanes throughout Amsterdam's highways connecting the productive villages of the poly-centric city.

Hybrid typologies - a symbiosis of the civic world and the productive world as we know it - will populate Piarco Village. These typologies provide spaces in a variety of shapes and scales, a permanent base capable of adapting to an extremely flexible productive programme.

Word will spread soon, establishing a platform for Piarco's users to showcase their productive experiments. Existing initiatives are empowered while new ones are initiated - Fairphone, Scrap Connection and Vandebron were only the beginning. A new strong visual identity and a highly productive programme counterweight Piarco's surrounding blandness and anonymity with a joy for life that was previously unimaginable.

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Boano Prišmontas, Valentine Gruwez, Lieve Smout · Piarcoplein | E14 Shortlisted Project

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Amsterdam now functions as a three-poled non-productive city. So how do we turn the tide? By exploiting the incredible potential of Amsterdam's rail and road infrastructure! This existing network with its nodes and left over spaces presents itself as the

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Surrey Docks Farm refurbishment/extension by PUP Architects

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Surrey Docks Farm refurbishment/extension by PUP Architects

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PUP Architects has refurbished Surrey Docks Farm in London, reinstating a three-storey tower clad in black timber and topped by a golden pig weathervane.

Surrey Docks Farm has occupied this site along the River Thames in Rotherhithe, south-east London, since 1986.

It sits on a 2.2 acre site that provides space for rearing animals, along with community and education facilities.

The refurbishment, which was funded through grants, is to help extend the farm's community outreach.

London practice PUP Architects was appointed through competitive tender in 2014.

The new development adds a glazed orangery and new landscaped public realm that creates a new "front door" for the farm, opening it out towards the adjacent Thames Path.

"The farm had previously turned its back to the river, with the Thames Path fronted by tall bushes and the derelict tower," explained the studio.

"[Our] response involved a mini-masterplan for this frontage. Rather than whole-scale demolition and rebuilding, a series of careful interventions and additions were proposed."

This new river frontage comprises three elements - the orangery, the tower and a new toilet and storage block extension attached to an existing forge on the site operated by a blacksmith.

Topped by a sawtooth roof, the glass orangery is attached to the river room.

It can be used either as a spacious foyer for this space or as a separate classroom.

The adjacent tower houses a community kitchen in its ground floor, and an office and meeting room with a balcony in the two storeys above, connected by an external metal staircase.

Drawing on an existing Walter Segal-designed building on the farm, the timber used to construct the new structures has been left exposed.

It is complemented by bursts of colour in the river room's fittings, and translucent corrugated panels that clad the toilet block.

"The choice of materials aims to carefully mediate between existing and new architecture whilst creating light and fresh spaces," said the studio.

"Reflecting the hybrid agricultural, educational and social function of the farm, simple robust materials are left in their natural stage: galvanised steel, zinc, aluminium, concrete, pine and Douglas fir."

The black wood-clad tower, informed by the barns of Sussex and Kent as well as the site's history as a timber wharf, subtly changes as it moves up the tower, with the panels becoming wider as they reach the top.

Floating Farm in Rotterdam is now home to 32 cows

"The patterning of the cladding reflects a subtle shift from agricultural use at ground level to a more civic role of the tower as viewed from a distance," said the studio.

The weathervane atop the tower is modelled on the farm's pigs, which are a rare breed called Oxford Sandy and Black.

Young firm PUP Architects garnered much attention with their winning entry to The Architecture Foundation's inaugural Antepavilion competition in 2017, designing a rooftop pavilion designed as an air duct and covered in Tetra Pac tiles.

Photography is by Simone Bossi.
Project credits:
Architect: Pup Architects
Contractor: John Perkins Projects
Structural engineer: Structure Workshop
Client: Surrey Docks Farm

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PUP Architects extends Surrey Docks Farm with a glazed orangery and black tower

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PUP Architects has refurbished Surrey Docks Farm in London, reinstating a three-storey tower clad in black timber and topped by a golden pig weathervane. Surrey Docks Farm has occupied this site along the River Thames in Rotherhithe, south-east London, since 1986.

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Client
Charles Dickens Primary School

Location
Toulmin St, London SE1 1AF

Structural Engineer
Engineers HRW

Contractor
Interserve

Gate contractor
Robyland

Photography
David Grandorge

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Client Charles Dickens Primary School Location Toulmin St, London SE1 1AF Structural Engineer Engineers HRW Contractor Interserve Gate contractor Robyland Photography David Grandorge

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V&A Collection & Research Centre
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, 2018
An open museum store, home to the V&A's world-class collection of 2.3 million objects, in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Designed in collaboration with Haworth Tompkins and a broad team including theatre designers, collection experts and graphic designers.

Contemporary storage sheds present a challenge: How to humanise a vastly scaled space, whilst ensuring the functional efficiency of the collections storage and day to day operations are not compromised?

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V&A Collection & Research Centre Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, 2018 An open museum store, home to the V&A's world-class collection of 2.3 million objects, in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. Designed in collaboration with Haworth Tompkins and a broad team including theatre designers, collection experts and graphic designers.

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The redevelopment of the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing creates two new public spaces in the Château de Versailles. The old administrative offices have now made way for a new reception area between the Cour Royale (Royal Courtyard) and the Cour des Princes (Princes' Courtyard), as well as a large staircase leading to the gardens. Visitors to the Palace are invited to follow a loop, just like in most of the world's greatest museums.
The feeling of "narrowness" has now disappeared: by digging a trench under the buildings and the Cour des Princes, the redevelopment opens up new spaces on the ground level and creates larger volumes on the garden level.

The new reception area, entirely dedicated to enhancing visitor experience, starts in the Galerie des Lustres (Chandeliers Gallery) on the ground floor of the Old Wing. This high-ceilinged space, which opens on to the Cour Royale and the Cour des Princes, is the first room visitors see as they make their way into the Palace. The Versailles they discover - draped in metal, elegant and modern - echoes the stone and woodwork of the historic buildings.
The gallery allows immediate access to the Cour Royale, where the visit begins. Before they exit, visitors follow a lower path on the garden level, underneath the Cour des Princes, which takes them to a string of new rooms including a bookstore in refurbished tanks, restrooms, a checkroom and a cloakroom.

The main attraction on this level is the natural light brought into the new space by a gold-colored glass corridor. Acting like a large prism, the glass panels reveal the facades of the Old Wing and the wide marble staircase which connects the inside to the outside, and the Château to its gardens.
The loop begins and ends with the reception area and the marble staircase alongside its golden prism: the two new spaces are thus connected like the clasp on a necklace.
The Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing are revived on their upper levels as well as their foundations. On the se- cond floor, a new restaurant and adjoining tea rooms in gold and listed wood paneling, now welcome visitors. Finally, the third floor now hosts a new auditorium, covered in wood sheathing like an upside-down boat hull and surrounded with period rooms on either side.

This redevelopment evidences the intrinsic qualities of classical architecture: under the guise of stillness and symmetry, everything remains the same and yet everything changes. Historical heritage is entirely preserved, while allowing for new contemporary usages that remain to be invented. The Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing of the Palace are part of a whole, and yet they also exist as an independent area, separate from the rest of the Château. By working "under the skin" of the buildings, the redevelopment offers a functional, sustainable and efficient solution while preserving the larger layout of the Palace and the outline of its wings.
Throughout each era in its long history, the Château de Versailles has acted as a showcase for modern talents. With the Pavilion Dufour, the Old Wing and the Perrault Staircase, the Château remains faithful to its heritage.

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Dominique Perrault Architecture, Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost, André Morin, Patrick Tourneboeuf · Pavilion Dufour at the Château de Versailles

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The redevelopment of the Pavilion Dufour and the Old Wing creates two new public spaces in the Château de Versailles. The old administrative offices have now made way for a new reception area between the Cour Royale (Royal Courtyard) and the Cour des Pri

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The entirely transparent façade of a high-end flagship store on Amsterdam's upmarket shopping street, PC Hooftstraat, uses glass bricks, glass windows frames and glass architraves in a way to evoke the vernacular of the area with the goal to maintain the character of the site. The 620 m2 of retail and 220 m2 of housing, were designed for investor Warenar. The design unites the ambition of Amsterdam to have large distinctive flagship stores without compromising the historical ensemble. The project, conceptualised by MVRDV, was developed and constructed as part of a multi-team collaboration including Gietermans & Van Dijk Architects, Delft University of Technology, Brouwer & Kok engineers, ABT consulting engineers, Poesia (brand of Vetreria Resanese) glass manufacturers from Italy and contractor Wessels Zeist.

The design hopes to provide a solution to the loss of local character in shopping areas around the world. The increased globalisation of retail has led to the homogenisation of high-end shopping streets. Crystal Houses offer the store a window surface that contemporary stores need, whilst maintaining architectural character and individuality, resulting in a flagship store that hopes to stand out amongst the rest.

"We said to the client, 'Let's bring back what will be demolished but develop it further'" explains Winy Maas, architect and co-founder of MVRDV. "Crystal Houses make space for a remarkable flagship store, respect the structure of the surroundings and bring a poetic innovation in glass construction. It enables global brands to combine the overwhelming desire of transparency with a couleur locale and modernity with heritage. It can thus be applied everywhere in our historic centres."

After conceiving the initial idea MVRDV worked closely with a number of partners to develop the technologies to make it possible. Solid glass bricks were individually cast and crafted by Poesia in Resana, near Venice. Research undertaken by the Delft University of Technology, in partnership with engineering firm ABT and contractor Wessels Zeist, led to the development of structural solutions and fabrication techniques, with the use of a high-strength, UV bonded, transparent adhesive from Delo Industrial Adhesives in Germany to cement the bricks together without the need for a more traditional mortar.

Six to ten experts worked every day for a whole year in a place that bore more resemblance to a laboratory than a construction site. Due to the sensitivity of the materials, an extremely high level of accuracy and craftsmanship was required and a technical development team was onsite throughout the process. Since this construction is the first of its kind, new construction methods and tools had to be utilised: from high-tech lasers and laboratory grade UV-lamps, to slightly lower-tech Dutch full-fat milk, which, with its low transparency, proved to be an ideal liquid to function as a reflective surface for the levelling of the first layer of bricks. Despite its delicate looks, strength tests by the Delft University of Technology team proved that the glass-construction was in many ways stronger than concrete. The full-glass architrave, for instance, could withstand a force of up to 42.000 Newton; the equivalent to two full-sized SUVs.

The development of new construction methods unearthed additional possibilities for future building, such as the minimisation of waste materials. In essence, all of the glass components are completely recyclable. Waste materials from the project, such as imperfect bricks, could simply be (and were) melted down and re-moulded or entirely repurposed. Such is also true for the entire façade itself, once the building has reached the end of its life span, the whole facade can be melted down and given a new life. The only exceptions to this rule are added features which ensure the security of the building, such as a concrete ram-raid defence plinth, hidden in a blend of reflective and translucent materials and built to withstand the force of a car crashing into the building. Repair-protocols were developed in the event of any damage, allowing for the replacement of individual bricks.

With a façade made primarily out of glass it was important to ensure that energy requirements were supplied through renewable sources. Therefore, the building was designed around a ground source heat pump, its pipes leading up to 170 metres underground, allowing for an optimal indoor climate throughout the year. A crucial element when dealing with delicate, sophisticated detailing while striving for a proper energy balance at the same time.

The store is currently operated by French fashion house Chanel which will return later to their previous location on the PC Hooftstraat, also owned by Warenar. MVRDV worked in close partnership with professors and PhD researchers from the Delft University of Technology, alongside engineering firm ABT, with special mention going to Fred Veer, Rob Nijsse, Faidra Oikonomopoulou, Telesilla Bristogianni and Kees Baardolf. Poesia developed and manufactured the glass bricks, whilst Gietermans & van Dijk aided in the architectural design of the project. Also involved in the development and construction of the project were structural engineers Brouwer & Kok and contractor Wessels Zeist, of whom the brothers Van de Poppe played a vital role in the innovation of the adhesive and the glass brick laying on site. Energy conservation and renewable energy experts CCS Energy Advice aided with the development of sustainable solutions and energy production. Contributors to glass elements include Siko who supplied several types of the Delo adhesives and advised how to apply them, Cura Glass for the doors and Van Tetterode Glass Studio.

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MVRDV, Scagliola/Brakkee · Crystal Houses

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The entirely transparent façade of a high-end flagship store on Amsterdam's upmarket shopping street, PC Hooftstraat, uses glass bricks, glass windows frames and glass architraves in a way to evoke the vernacular of the area with the goal to maintain the character of the site.

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Salmen House

Finalist in The Architects'
Journal "Small Projects" Awards

Completed : December 2017
Location : Newham, London
Client : My Property and Home

"Office S&M were easy to work with and came up with some great designs, both interesting and practical. I had a small budget and it was built as a rental property, which the team kept in mind throughout. Office S&M worked with me from concept, planning and tendering, through to build and completion, where they acted as Project Managers and delivered the project on-time and to-budget."
Isla, Client

This new build-to-rent house, with textured render and terrazzo details, contains generous vertical spaces on a constrained corner site.

Bookending a mid-century terrace in Plaistow this three bed, three bath house makes effective use of a tight corner plot. Salmen House was designed by the architects Office S&M to be built and let by professional landlord My Property & Home, who had purchased an end of terrace garden suitable for a two-storey infill house.

The house is generous to the street, rather than being overly polite to its mish-mash context of late Victorian, mid-century, and post big-bang housing. The millennial pink exterior breaks away from the traditional design and biscuit-colour of rented accommodation. The complimentary external colours, salmon pink and lush green, visually push apart to create a feeling of greater volume - the pink moving forwards and the green stepping back. The stippled render and textured terrazzo have a material richness to them, catching changing shadows on the long flank wall throughout the afternoon. Surrounding the windows, polished terrazzo reveals bounce additional light inside, as well as mirroring the window details found along the mid-century terrace.

Though rented, the house is designed as a unique home, so that tenants feel ownership of the property. The acute angle of the corner site is celebrated throughout the design, in both plan and section, to give spaces that accentuate their volume, while disguising their efficient footprint. Each space has natural light and views from two directions, and views from, into, and through these corners create multiple outlooks within each room. The horizontal circulation is one continuous view from the cranked front door through to the rear garden, while the staircase opens into a generous triple height space that pulls your gaze upwards.

This generosity has not come at a price. The house was built for £205,000 and to a lasting specification. While clearly opposing the New London Vernacular, the solid wall construction with a single skin of blockwork meant that the superstructure was erected rapidly, and the entire project took just over six months to complete. By working closely with the structural engineer to take structure away, rather than adding it in, space was maximised to create four-meter-tall bedrooms, exposed beam ceilings, and a triple height staircase.

From the front door, a ground floor bedroom and accessible shower room occupy the front of the house, with an open plan kitchen, living and dining room facing the rear garden. On the first floor are two more bedrooms, one with an en suite, and one next to the main family bathroom. This flexible layout, with an ample bathroom for each bedroom, can easily accommodate young professionals on a room by room basis, or a nuclear or inter-generational family.

"One-off houses are a rare breed in London but there are still some fine examples. This new addition to a terrace in Plaistow by Office S&M is a modest but clever design." - Marcus Field writing in the Evening Standard

Print
Front cover of The Architects' Journal Magazine
Front cover of the RIBA Journal Magazine
Grand Designs Magazine
Architecture Today Magazine
Blueprint Magazine
SelfBuild & Design Magazine
Evening Standard Newspaper
Financial Times Newspaper
E Housing Magazine (Korea)

Online
Dezeen
Elle Decor (Italy)
City AM
Arch Daily
Divisare
Subtilitas
New Generations
Dwell
Futurist architecture
88 Design Box

Photos by French + Tye

Contractor : Catalin London Ltd
Structural engineer : Structuremode
Approved Inspector : Wilkinson Construction Consultants
M&E consultant : Michael Popper Associates
Client CDM Advisor : CDRM Services
Principle Designer : Office S&M

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Salmen House Finalist in The Architects' Journal "Small Projects" Awards Completed : December 2017 Location : Newham, London Client : My Property and Home "Office S&M were easy to work with and came up with some great designs, both interesting and practical.

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Il nuovo WOPA rimane, come in passato, una fabbrica: l'industria lascia il posto ad un luogo di produzione creativo,di sperimentazione, di ricerca e sviluppo. Le linee guida progettuali partono dalla volontà di creare un sistema altamente flessibile ed in grado di sapersi adattare e rinnovare ai futuri potenziali cambiamenti economici e sociali; una sfida che non sempre è riuscita al settore industriale.
L'approccio sperimentale utilizzato negli ultimi anni al Wopa, risultato efficace nel suo processo, in questo progetto viene applicato anche per gli spazi esterni. Il quartiere residenziale, già ricco di users, viene ripensato con l'obiettivo finale di organizzare attraverso interventi a basso costo lo spazio pubblico affinché i cittadini se ne riapproprino (riconoscendone nuovamente il giusto valore), attrezzandolo con elementi flessibili che possano connettere fasce di età diversa durante tutto l'arco della giornata. Ogni scelta è basata sull'idea che l'atto progettuale non debba essere slegato dai bisogni dei fruitori; anzi, mira alla definizione di spazi flessibili che, con poca spesa, possano accogliere gli usi più diversi e soddisfare le necessità degli utenti.
Lo stesso approccio si riflette all'interno: gli spazi sono regolati e organizzati attraverso dispositivi architettonici che consentono un'alternanza di funzioni diverse al loro interno, massimizzando così le tipologie di utenti alle quali sono rivolte.

L'intero complesso rimane uno spazio attivo, ricco di eventi, di offerte culturali, capace di attrarre investimenti e risorse, ed in grado di rinnovarsi costantemente grazie alla duttilità dei suoi allestimenti; il nuovo Wopa si rivolgerà anche alle realtà culturali già presenti e consolidate sul territorio, creando nuove sinergie ed attivando nuovi processi di collaborazione.
In parallelo, l'applicazione di tecnologie innovative (talvolta sperimentali o che potranno essere sviluppate all'interno della struttura stessa con le officine creative) per la produzione di energia pulita e un uso consapevole delle risorse, contribuisce a sensibilizzare gli utenti sul tema della sostenibilità ambientale.

La strategia adottata per gli interventi di riqualificazione ha lo scopo di mantenere l'edificio vivo in modo costante e senza interferire con le funzioni già sviluppate fino ad oggi dal WOPA Temporary. Per questo motivo si sono suddivisi gli stralci funzionali in due sotto fasi, per definire l'intervento in porzioni ridotte dell'edificio. Il mantenimento e l' implementazione degli usi sono garantiti dalle molteplici funzionalità dei singoli interventi che ne permettono la contemporaneità e variazione nel tempo e nello spazio. In generale si sono concentrate le demolizioni nel solo blocco centrale, liberandolo dalle strutture esistenti che ne limitavano il potenziale utilizzo. Nella fase 1a si prevede la realizzazione della nuova lobby al cui interno si trova la struttura gradonata, il blocco ascensori e servizi; sulla sua copertura trovano posizione gli impianti per gli spazi realizzati e la predisposizione per i futuri interventi d'implementazione. A completamento della prima fase, trova luogo la realizzazione della torre landmark per rimarcare il nuovo ingresso principale e la nuova immagine del comparto. La sotto fase 1b si concentra sulla realizzazione delle officine creative e del coworking al primo piano, riattivando così la manica a nord verso la piazza e ampliando da subito l'offerta di attività. In questi spazi si potrà prevedere un primo insediamento del laboratorio di analisi del territorio, che fungerà da presidio e attentatore per l'intero quartiere.

La seconda fase si concentra sulla realizzazione delle strutture nella sala Nervi (fase 2a) che manterranno l'unità spaziale del padiglione e ospiteranno botteghe artigianali e gastronomiche, emeroteca e spazi per uffici ed atelier. Le due maniche laterali, che verranno realizzate, permetteranno di sfruttare lo spazio centrale per mercati ed eventi dando al padiglione un'identità di piazza urbana coperta. Nella fase 2b verranno realizzati gli interventi nella sala carroponte che prevedono la costruzione di una parete mobile in grado di modulare l'ambiente in modo flessibile e permettere di adibire lo spazio a convegni, attività sportive, mercato o come ampliamento della caffetteria.

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ACC Cristiana Catino, PlaC · Workout Pasubio

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Il nuovo WOPA rimane, come in passato, una fabbrica: l'industria lascia il posto ad un luogo di produzione creativo,di sperimentazione, di ricerca e sviluppo. Le linee guida progettuali partono dalla volontà di creare un sistema altamente flessibile ed in grado di sapersi adattare e rinnovare ai futuri potenziali cambiamenti economici e sociali; una sfida che non sempre è riuscita al settore industriale.

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Help us swim against the tide. Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media. Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture.

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Help us swim against the tide.

Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media.

Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture. Instead of a quick, distracted web, we want a slow, attentive one. Instead of hastily perused information, we prefer knowledge calmly absorbed. This is why Divisare is a place to perceive architecture slowly, without distractions. No click - like - tweet - share, no advertising, banners, pop-ups. Just architecture, no more and no less. If you like what we're doing, please Subscribe. You will get full access to divisare archive and you will help us keep the lights on.

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Help us swim against the tide. Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media. Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture.

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