20 January 2019

A perforated and folded steel sheet characterizes the new façade of the Edogawa Garage Club in Tokyo. The exterior is inspired by the movement of the waves, a second skin that iridescent wraps entirely the old building and makes it current. The new metal screen exterior is composed of a series of modular perforated metal plates that allow natural light to filter through the ventilation panels. Colour variations are marked by changes in brightness that produce an unexpected play of colours, gold and silver that enrich the versatile nature of the façade. No demolition of the old buildings, but a work of makeover that gets old and renews it. Designed by Japan Jun’ichi Ito Architect & Associates firm, this is an innovative and green project, because it does not generate waste due to decommissioning.   www.ito-jun.com

Edoardo Croci

Messe Frankfurt si prepara ad ospitare, dal 9 al 13 Febbraio, "Ambiente The Show": fiera leader internazionale e appuntamento numero uno al mondo dedicato ai beni di consumo.
Si tratta dell’evento più grande al mondo dedicato ai beni di consumo per il dining, giving e living. La fiera è riservata ai professionisti ed accoglie esperti di settore. Ospiterà più di 4.400 espositori provenienti da oltre 94 Paesi. Le quattro giornate di Fiera saranno arricchite da eventi, incontri e conferenze.
Non mancheranno articoli per la ristorazione, complementi d’arredo per la casa e il settore contract. Quest’anno il paese partner della manifestazione saranno i Paesi Bassi con la mostra nella galleria 1 curata dal designer olandese Robert Bronwasser. 
Ad Ambiente 2018 quattro nuove tendenze stilistiche sviluppate e allestite in una mostra a cura dell’ufficio stile bora.herke.palmisano: Modest regenerations, Colourful intentions, Technological emotions, Opulent narrations. Per rappresentarle gli esperti hanno scelto i concetti “Fusion, Link, Connection”, poiché “ognuno dei quattro temi di tendenza contiene aspetti diversi e talvolta apparentemente contrastanti” - ha spiegato Annetta Palmisano – “si tratta sempre di più della ricerca del benessere, dei valori, delle alternative e in ciò l’attenzione si focalizza sul quotidiano, sulla lavorazione a mano, sulla sostenibilità e sulla futuribilità”. 
Le quattro giornate di fiera saranno arricchite inoltre da un vasto programma di eventi, conferenze e momenti d’incontro con i principali players internazionali.
L’azienda organizzatrice della fiera rende noto che è possibile acquistare online i biglietti d’ingresso ad un prezzo di prevendita agevolato e di poter usufruire della convenzione con Lufthansa per volare a Francoforte. Con lo stesso biglietto d’ingresso sarà anche possibile viaggiare gratuitamente sui mezzi pubblici della città. Inoltre sul sito di Messe Frankfurt Italia si possono consultare le linee guida per organizzare al meglio la propria visita.

12 January 2019

For the Walker Art Center Expansion, the client – represented by Director Kathy Halbreich and Chief Curator Richard Flood – did not aim simply to increase the exhibition area, like so many other museums did in the nineties, but primarily to give the public more room, more room for urban living inspired by the variety and richness of contemporary art.

The Walker Art Center (WAC), as one of the most progressive poles for the transmission of contemporary art, is indeed a "center" and not just a "museum." Its name is an agenda, which is why plans for expansion also include more leeway for electronic media and the performing arts. The intention of the museum and the trustees to enhance urban life at the WAC is especially meaningful and necessary because there is essentially no street life in Minneapolis, due not only to the city's climate but also to the Skyway system of elevated pedestrian walkways.

Initial planning therefore targeted a repositioning of the WAC in relation to existing urban infrastructures. The demolition of the Guthrie Theater will make room for a larger Sculpture Garden, the main entrance will be moved around Vineland Place (back) to Hennepin Avenue, and a second tower will complement the existing tower by Edward Barnes, while also establishing a visual link with the downtown skyline as well as the church spires along Hennepin Avenue.

This second tower is essential not only as an urban landmark; it also expresses the increased importance of the performing arts in the WAC program. Inside the tower there will be a theater encased in a balcony-like, three-story zone for the audience, somewhat like a down-sized version of the Scala in Milan or the open-air Globe theater of Shakespeare's day. This audience zone can also be used as an exhibition area for all kinds of art installations. Pictorial and performing arts can be interwoven here in entirely unexpected and innovative ways. The architecture thus fosters an intensification of the various activities with a view to the targeted urbanism of the new WAC. In contrast to the solid brick of the existing building, the walls are completely glazed, which will allow direct eye contact between the busy thoroughfare of Hennepin Avenue, the new interior of the WAC, and the new enlarged Sculpture Garden. This glazed street level running parallel to the slightly angled street will function like a "Town Square" open to everyone as a meeting point, a place to exchange information and news or to have a cup of coffee. People can also circulate here without going to an exhibition or attending an event. The new exhibitions spaces will be freely arranged within this glazed public area so that the "Town Square" will include cozier spaces, like side streets or alley ways.

This loose arrangement of galleries is a necessary modification of and addition to the rigid shape of the existing brick tower, which looks today like a pragmatic version of Wright's Guggenheim Museum. Edward Barnes' gallery concept along with his choice of materials, especially the terrazzo floors, have clearly stood the test of time and ensured remarkable curatorial freedom. On looking at the new WAC from outside, one is immediately struck by the huge, irregular windows. They look accidental but are homologous forms, showing a kinship in value and structure, somewhat like the shapes of a silhouette cutting. The papery appearance of the façade – also resembling a silhouette – consists of panels, which can simply be folded up along the slanted edges of the openings. Fragile and papery cladding will also be used for the inside of the theater, with its stud-wall construction so typical of US-American buildings that it is the inevitable fate of every architect. (Fabiana Cambiaso, Università La Sapienza) Credits: www.herzogdemeuron.com Figures: © Herzog & de Meuron; © Cameron Wittig.

Marco Mignatti

The Metaphone® is the contemporary keystone of the whole project, embodying the site’s new musical and acoustic role. An architecture of materials, sound and light, it is the emblematic space of 9 – 9bis: a building to be looked at and listened to, an immense instrument played by musicians who are alternately invisible or in the limelight. The musical flow of the site strikes its walls and makes them sing. And like music, it evolves in time, in the passing of time: it is transformed into harmonies of sound and colour, fluid, fleeting, but constantly renewed, which will become the spirit of the place.

The Metaphone® is both concert hall and “urban musical instrument”, whose walls produce and diffuse sounds, in harmony with the play of light. The concert hall and its annexes (technical rooms and audience boxes) are contained within a volume of black concrete, itself wrapped in a light skin made of scales of different materials: ground glass, steel, wood... This scaly skin extends outwards and opens above the concourse, forming a great porch protecting the entrance and terrace. Between the concrete mass and the scaly skin, attached to a metallic structure, technical walkways are provided for installing and maintaining the sound and lighting equipment. On the roof, the lattice of scales extends into a sheet of integrated photovoltaic cells. The instrumental elements are made up of plates of different materials, whose acoustic properties have been calculated to produce musical sound. There are two principles of sound production: mechanical or electroacoustic, with vibrating bowls mounted on the plates to form loudspeaker membranes (this technique is commonly used in the car industry). These systems have been developed and tested by making a prototype of the musical facade, composed of 8 modules measuring 1.2 m, half fitted with an acoustic instrument, the other half with vibrating plates.

What can be composed with such an instrument? Obviously, it is not a tool for producing special effects. On the contrary, the aim is to give a totally and resolutely musical shape to a concert hall built on a site dedicated to music. Undoubtably unique. The principles of composition include factors relating to architectural space, materials and light. Factors relating to environment and use, to maintenance and cost... One can only imagine the variety of timbres that can be produced. In addition, the dimensions of the hall offer a playing area great enough for an orchestra bigger than Berlioz himself could ever have dreamed of. It is an exceptional space which will make it possible to invent musical forms commensurate with the architecture. Composers from all over the world will be invited to create works for this auditorium. This is how the originality and power of the project will be maintained.

For the public, the Metaphone® is likely to be a “curiosity”. People will come to Oignies to see and hear it. It will serve as a secular bell, marking the hours, midday or sunset. It will signal the beginning of a concert or the interval, produce a peripheral sound space, discreet so as not to inconvenience the neighbours … It could also be used as an instrument in an orchestral composition, with the musicians playing beneath the porch.

(Fabiana Cambiaso, Università La Sapienza) Credits: www.herault-arnod.fr Figures: © André Morin; © Marie Clérin   Concert Hall, Oignies (Pas-de-Calais), France Hérault Arnod Architectes Site: 1 980 m² Completed: 2013 Materials: Frosted Glass, Wood, Corten Steel Applications: Envelope  

06 March 2019

An “energy-smart façade” that generates and stores energy throughout the year makes this house, designed by zillerplus Architekten und Stadtplaner München, an “efficient house plus” – a building that is capable of generating more energy than its residents use. This is made possible by techniques such as the use of particularly clever phase-change materials (PCMs), which are also used in “pocket warmers”.

One Façade, Three Layers: all the Better for the Climate   The outer shell of the Smart is Green building is made up of layers including a vertical garden façade that acts as a heat shield during summer, along with insulating glazing, which protects from both heat and cold, and a PCM “curtain”. PCMs are in a constant aggregate state between solid and liquid. Like “pocket warmers”, which absorb heat when immersed in hot water and can be used to warm freezing hands when it is cold, these materials can absorb the warmth from the sun’s energy and release it later. Excess heat is thus removed from the area during the day, preventing the apartments from overheating. This stored heat is then released during the cooler hours of the night.

Peak temperatures during both summer and winter can thus be intercepted and balanced out, resulting in a very pleasant interior climate. PCMs are also used for the building’s central heating storage facility, with a volume that is only half that of a conventional storage tank. The surplus heat from the solar thermal facility is stored here and maintained at the right temperature for under-floor heating. If there is a significant excess of solar energy, it is fed into the Wilhelmsburg local Energy Network.

In return, this ensures a sustainable heat supply, especially in long periods of cold weather. Both the exterior cladding and the roof are mounted with photovoltaic surfaces that transform energy from sunlight into electrical energy, and solar thermal surfaces, which convert solar power into heat energy. The façade and roof therefore play an active role in the building’s ingenious engineering concept, using innovative forms of technology to generate energy that can be consumed within the house itself. Moreover, such technologies are integrated into the very architectural concept behind the building.   Tomorrow’s Properties Will Help their Residents to Get Around   Like all of the concepts behind the Smart Material Houses, the façade with its clever materials is not the only innovative element – the integrated concept for the whole project is also groundbreaking. In Smart is Green this can be seen in the ground plan and the way in which it can be accessed, with various entrances to the individual apartments via stairs or lifts. The house is laid out so that the apartments can be configured or modified in a versatile way, allowing them to be partitioned or extended in order to meet the needs and changing living arrangements of their inhabitants. The attractiveness of “green living” is also embodied by the spacious terraces on each landing, each containing a small garden, between the planted and glazed areas on the southern side of the building.   The Technical Innovation Doesn’t Stop with the Building   Just in front of the green façade are facilities for providing green energy for getting around in the future, in the form of a fast charging station for electric cars. Surplus energy can be offloaded onto vehicles, which act as energy storage devices and can thus make an important contribution to the energy design of the building. E-cars also form a natural part of the mobility concept, as a car-sharing system is planned for the residents. All of this will make car-sharing among neighbours an attractive alternative to owning private vehicles. Extra charging devices for electric bicycles and scooters can also be installed in combi-boxes on the ground floor upon request. (Fabiana Cambiaso - Università La Sapienza) www.zillerplus.de   Smart Green, Zillerplus Architekten Prototype IBA 2013 Hamburg Completed: 2013 Site: Hamburg, Germany Materials: Phase change Materials (PCM), Steel, Concrete Applications: Curtains, Solar Shading Figures: © Zillerplus Architekten.

Marco Mignatti  

Upcycle House is an experimental project, aimed at exposing potential carbon-emission reductions through the use of recycled and upcycled building materials. In the case of Upcycle House, the reduction has been 86% compared to a benchmark house. With increasing building performance in regards to operational energy consumption, focus has now shifted towards CO2-emissions related to construction.

Upcycling is the process of converting waste-materials or waste products into new materials or products of higher quality resulting in a reduction in production and therefore CO2-emissions. When building houses, it is therefore environmentally beneficial to think in terms of material recycling, since the materials have already emitted CO2. It is even better to develop processes where garbage or useless materials can be upcycled and reused for new building materials of higher utility value than they had originally. Upcycle House. Realdania Byg (a Danish foundation that promotes innovation and good practice in the building sector) has developed and constructed a single-family house with Lendager Architects called Upcycle House conveying the principles of upcycling in a tangible and clear example. The house is built of processed recycled materials and Upcycle House investigates how much it’s actually possible to reduce the CO2 footprint by using upcycled materials to the extent possible.

The loadbearing structure consists of two prefabricated shipping containers, while the roof and facade cladding is made from recycled aluminium soda-cans. Facade panels, consist of post-consumer recycled granulated paper, which is pressed together and heat-treated. The kitchen floor is clad in tiled champagne cork-leftovers, and the bath tiles are made from recycled glass. Walls and floors are covered with OSB-panels consisting of wood-chips that are bi-products of various production sites, pressed together without glue. The recycled materials are not very visible and the house does not radiate a recycled look – The house looks and functions like a contemporary house built of conventional materials.

The initial work on Upcycle House takes place in the workshop where window holes are cut, and the containers are fitted with plumbing and wiring for the bathroom and the kitchen. The containers only serve as the constructive frame of the house.Upon arrival at the site in Nyborg, the containers are placed apart, shaping a central living space, dining space and master bedroom. The two shipping containers are insulated on the outside, making the recycled structural framework invisible. The result is a 129 sq. meter (1390 sq. feet) house that is designed to create the optimal setting for a family’s everyday life. The house features a large living room connected to a spacious kitchen, a master bedroom, three smaller rooms, bathroom, utility room and a passive cooling chamber. In addition to this the house is also fitted with a large greenhouse adjacent to the kitchen and a large south-facing terrace. Anders Lendager (owner of Lendager Architects) comments on the results of using recycled materials: “We initially thought that a reduction of 65% CO2 was unrealistic, but when we ran the LCA (Life Cycle Assesment) on all materials throughout the entire project, it turned out that we had reduced the CO2 emissions associated with construction with 86%, compared to a benchmark house. With that in mind, we are surprised that no one else is working on this. Why is it not included in everything we do as architects? Why is it not included in the building code that a certain percentage of building materials have to be recycled?” Passive sustainability. Besides the material approach, Upcycle House aims to reduce emissions through an array of sustainable features. Due to the limited economy of the project (1,7 Mil Dkr.) a special emphasis has been put on the house’s passive properties. Therefore Upcycle House is designed with orientation, temperature zones, daylight optimization, shading and natural ventilation in mind. This makes for a single family house with a significant reduction in emissions, that is also well within economic reach of the average family. To illustrate the potential of this house, the team did a rough calculation: The CO2 emission from Upcycle House is 0,7 KG CO2/M2/YR compared to 5,0 KG CO2/M2/YR for a benchmark house. In Denmark 10.000 single family homes are built every year. With a reduction of 4,3 KG CO2/M2/YR and an average floor area well over 130 sq. meter this makes for a potential reduction of 5590 tons of CO2 – per year. Area: 129 sqm Completion: 2013 Materials: Wood, Aluminium, Glass, Plastic, Paper, Applications: Envelope, Structure lendagerark.dk Figures: © Jesper Ray; © Polfoto

02 February 2019

Tvzeb is an experimental zero energy building brought to fruition by virtue of a cooperative endeavour between the traverso-vighy architecture studio and the University of Padua’s Department of Technical Physics.

The goal of the project was to develop a low-impact building that blended seamlessly into the surrounding natural setting and exemplified the visual, renewable energy and user well-being resources of its context both in form and function. The building structure was designed and manufactured in parts by a network of small industrial and craft companies, combining CNC machined and handcrafted components.

This reflects the project’s firm relationship to the concept of potential reversibility and respect for the land: the building can be disassembled at the end of its life cycle and its materials can be separated and recycled, restoring the site to the natural landscape. TVZEB reflects a strong relationship to sustainable practices and environmental awareness, concepts which are not limited to zero-energy measures: its location imposed a natural connection with the land through the use of materials that were produced by local craftsmen and industries, and through the selection of chromatic nuances and materials that would blend easily into the surrounding natural context. Natural light is integrated by an accurate and efficient indirect lighting system that involves a sequence of LED bars, developed by COEMAR, recessed into the floor. The light from this source is reflected off the internal walls fitted with aluminum panels. Each bar combines light from three different LED sources dynamically supplementing and emulating the natural light spectrum that penetrates the building envelope from outdoors.

16 “sunpower” photovoltaic panels are integrated in the building’s design. The 5.6 kWh produced by the system supplies the annual energy demand of all the building’s functions.

The metal cladding in cor-ten steel blends the building into the wooded surroundings. The metal roofing system was created by patient craftsmen, using the traditional crimping technique. The minor building block is clad with untreated larch boards. Larch is valued for its weather resistant qualities and is traditionally used as exterior cladding of Veneto rural and mountain buildings. The interior ambient lighting will change continuously both in quantity and color, as occurs in nature. The external walls and the building roof are insulated with a double layer of 90 mm polyester fiber wadding manufactured by ORV that derives from approximately 40,000 recycled plastic bottles. Besides providing excellent thermal and acoustic insulation, this material – unlike mineral wool – is produced with very low energy consumption.The quick assembly time was possible thanks to careful planning of all structural nodes. 55mm- thick larch planks cover the building structure’s roof and external wings. Xlam panels cover the longitudinal walls to provide bracing. It was assembled in 3 days with the aid of a crane truck. The precision joints between the timber and the metal plates were achieved by using self-centering lathed metal pins. The base plate rests suspended on the ground mimicking the deck of a ship. The floor is made using Hi-Bond corrugated sheets with a collaborating overlying concrete slab. The main structure of the building is made of laminated larch wood . The 450×200 mm. beams have been processed with a five-axis milling machine. The 15 mm. metal plates are laser cut and  pre-assembled on the timber structure. Tvzeb is suspended on the ground and connected to the foundation with just 18  steel spacers.

The metal base was manufactured in parts. Following pre-assembly carpentry, it was galvanized and installed onsite. This reflects the project’s firm relationship to the concept of potential reversibility and respect for the land: the building can be disassembled at the end of its life cycle and its materials can be separated and recycled, restoring the site to the natural landscape. (Fabiana Cambiaso, Università La Sapienza) Credits: www.tvzeb.org www.traverso-vighy.com TVZEB, an experimental project for sustainable architecture Prototype between University of Padua’s Department of Technical Physics - Traverso-Vighy Architecture Studio Completed: 2013 Site: Veneto Materials: Lamellar larch, Galvanized Steel; Cor-ten Steel, Larch boards, Xlam panels Applications: Structure, Cladding Figures: © Traverso Vighy.

Carlo Bardelli