Spiral House by Powerhouse Company, Burgundy, France

01Copenhagen- and Rotterdam based architects Powerhouse Company have completed a spiral-shaped  extension to a house in Burgundy, France. Called Spiral House, the extension is arranged around a central patio, where the visitors can enter the structure.

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“We want a house with a twist, a house that has something something to say.”

The Spiral house is an extension of an existing house. Set amongst a generous property covering 13.000m2, crossed by a small river and planted with a wide variety of old ornamental trees, the Spiral House rests within the pastoral charm of the Burgundy landscape.

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Despite its traditional architecture the existing house struggled to inhabit and occupy the expansive garden. In contrast the Spiral House expands freely into the garden, seeking to create as many experiences of the garden as possible. 06

In a gentle lift from the ground floor to the roof level it creates a surprising variety of spaces that blur the boundaries between the house and the garden where the architecture and the landscape merge together.

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In wrapping the house around a planted patio the Spiral House is reminiscent of a french ‘Clos’: an enclosed vineyard common to the famous landscape of the region. In the Spiral House the ‘Clos’ is transformed into an inviting gesture, the peripheral wall is lifted and twisted to create a spiral. In turn it creates a continuous invitation from outside to inside and a continuous movement from the entrance to the more intimate rooms of the house.

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The patio, the covered terrace and the panoramic views serve to connect the house with the garden, inviting the guests to unwind and enjoy the garden’s tranquillity. Its geometry grew out of the internal organization of the house mixed with the particular requests of the client. Large and open rooms with high ceilings are used on the ground floor for the living room and library, while smaller, more intimate spaces are used for two guest suites. It also includes a multipurpose dorm/playroom for the kids and their friends.

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Visit villa 1 by Powerhouse Company on archiDE, here

Photographs are by Bas Princen. Drawings are by Charles Bessard, architect-in-charge and partner of Powerhouse Company.

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Open Air Library by KARO Architekten, Magdeburg, Germany

01German designers KARO have designed an interesting outdoor library in Magdeburg, Germany.

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We established in 2005 in an abandoned district center in East Germany. We started with a public intervention, using beercrates as building material. It took some some years to organise the money to build this so called “bookmark” for real. It opened in June this year.

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Beside the social aspects, the architectural kick is, that we re-used the facade of an old warehouse. Last year, in its project-phase, it has been shown at the Venice Biennale in the German pavillon (updating Germany). An installation of it has also been shown in 2006 in the exhibition “Talking Cities” curated by Francesca Fergueson.

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Photographs are by Anja Schlamann.

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KARO is a platform for communication, architecture and space organisation, the members work as architects, artists, critics and jounalists, as well as teachers.

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Hof Residence by Studio Granda in Skagafjörður Fjord, Iceland

01Hof is a (awesome) country residence in the Skagafjörður fjord, less than 100km from the Arctic Circle designed by Studio Granda from Iceland. The spectacle of the location, its remoteness and special program fuelled a unique rapport between the client, contractor and architect resulting in a building that is in every respect a direct consequence of that collaboration.

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The existing assemblage of buildings on the estate included a house, church, barn and cowshed clustered on a riverbank. Further inland are recently constructed horse stables. The wide fjörd has a mountainous rim punctuated with long valleys embracing the cliff islands of Drangey, Málmey and the graphic foreland Þórðarhöfði. The new residence is slightly removed from the old cluster on raised ground, with each room and space orientated to capture this magnificent panorama.

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Most internal walls are of raw or painted concrete and the ceilings, doors and other carpentry are predominately of oiled sawn oak with steel details; a rustic palette offset by smooth painted planes. In a gesture of refinement and escape the kitchen and bathrooms enjoy marble surfaces suggestive of more habitable latitudes whereas the larder’s glazed white tiles and basalt shelves reminds of the need to stash food for harsh winters.06

The house is highly insulated and thermally stable due to the massive concrete walls, stone floors and balanced fenestration. Geothermal water is used for the floor heating and radiators as well as for all domestic use. Electricity use is minimised by design and the little that is required is sourced from hydroelectric and geothermal sources.09

Although dramatic views fill the interior the ambience is augmented by a secondary system of clearstory lights and other roof penetrations that orchestrate daylight throughout the house. The exception is the dogleg route between the living and bedroom wings where lighting is reduced to a few pinpricks.

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Panta Rhei college interiors by i29 Interior Architects, Amstelveem, Netherland

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i29 Interior architects, designed this college interior, that is located in Amsterlveem, Netherlands. The interior design gives the spaces an identity that connects with the students’ environment and addresses them directly and personally. i29 let itself be inspired by the name of the school. Panta Rhei, meaning ‘everything flows’, ‘everything is in motion’. a2

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In the design for the new accommodations of public school Panta Rhei in Amstelveen (NL) there is a lot of attention on the balance between freedom and a sense of security. Snelder Architecten realised a building with many open multifunctional spaces where students can make themselves familiar with the teaching material. The interior design by i29 links up with that perfectly and gives the spaces an identity that connects with the students’ environment and addresses them directly and personally. i29 let itself be inspired by the name of the school. Panta Rhei, meaning ‘everything flows’, ‘everything is in motion’. This led to a design that leaves space for the imagination of the users, offering elements that can be used flexibly, which also propagates the school’s identity.

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Throughout the entire school poems have been applied to the linoleum floors and the furniture. The thought behind this is that there are moments outside of the classroom when you can learn and gain insights: often a casual setting is very inspiring. i29 commissioned the poet Erikjan Harmens for this. He worked out themes like insecurity and friendship together with the students. The open texts leave room for their own interpretation.a4‘We think in structures and rhythms and not in taste or style. You can look at it as music which deals with harmony and contrast. One tone is not unconnected to the next and silence is essential.’ i29 has realized a spatial composition which has been carried out without compromise. Over the neutral basis of tables and benches there is a fine fabric of black elements; consisting of the poems, the hassocks and the Magis One-chairs. The furniture is strong and robust, but does not look bulky, rather refined. Remarkable in this context is the choice of the Grcic chair. It matches well here because of its technical aura and it urges you to think about the design and production process. It is a vocational school after all. Just because this is not a university, does not mean you do not have to challenge the students.

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Photographs: Jeroen Musch

Other projects of I29 Interior architects on archiDE, click here!

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Field Chapel in Boedigheim by Students of the College of Architecture, Boedigheim, Germany

05Some students from the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Ecker Architekten, designed and executed the ecumenical church in Bödigheim, Germany. The project was led by professor Frank Flury and assisted on a pro bono basis by the firm of Ecker Architekten (Buchen, Germany) with the craftsmen, volunteer workers and townspeople of the Odenwald/Bauland, a rural region in northern Baden-Württemberg.
04 The task of the design was to create a place of spirituality. Professor Flury defined the project for the twelve students who come from Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Tennessee and China, as “an interdenominational chapel, a space for people who are in a search for God – a place for quiet reflection, but also one that welcomes hikers and cyclists who appreciate a rest stop that has a sense of beauty. ”

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The ecumenical chapel stands on a hill between the villages of Boedigheim, Seckach and Großeicholzheim.

The structure is visible from afar but can only reached by foot or by bicycle via a steep country lane. The students developed outdoor facilities and space as a logical consequence of interaction: when arriving at the site, a narrow footpath leads between an existing hedge and the blank tower facade to a small gravel forecourt, which is bounded on 2 sides with massive benches made of local limestone. This forecourt represents the secular realm. A brick platform rises from this forecourt, upon which visitors enter a closed patio and ultimately the sanctuary. This platform traverses the profane to the divine.

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03Surrounded by 4 closed walls, views are limited to the sky and the tower, which encloses the chapel sanctuary. “The courtyard and chapel are situated in a sea of faith,” according to the students. “The Secular and the Sacred touch each other, they are connected with one another.”

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Read the whole article here

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AND
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

Headvertising office by Corvin Cristian, Romania

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Architect Corvin Cristian has designed an office interior inside a former Romanian stock exchange building  that is located in Bucharest, Romania. The office was designed for a advertising company Headvertising.

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In the Old Romanian Stock Exchange Building, the shipping case themed furniture acts as: storage, dividing walls, dynamic company statement and reverence on the genius loci. Stock exchange>>moving goods
advertising agency>>moving brands, which is moving goods as well>>moving shipping cases. The meeting room has the proportions of a shipping container.

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The revamping of the building itself is the work of another team led by arch. Mario Kuibus. The chesterfields and the over sized lamps bring a homey feeling to the otherwise austere design.

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1 minute video on youtube!

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Gummo offices by i29 architects, Amsterdam, Netherland

04Dutch interior architects i29 have designed an office suite for an advertising agency using used furniture bought from online auction sites and charity shops. The offices, for Gummo in Amsterdam will be used for two years, that’s why they used second-hand furniture that had all been painted dark grey while the walls are white.
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05 As Gummo were only going to be renting the space on the first floor of the old Parool newspaper building in Amsterdam for two years, i29 convinced Gummo to embrace the mantra of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ to create a stylish office space that would impact as little as possible on the environment or their wallets. They developed a theme that reflects Gummo’s personality and design philosophy – simple, uncomplicated, no-nonsense, yet unquestionably stylish with a twist of humour.

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Everything in the office conforms to the new house style of white and grey. All the furniture was locally sourced via Marktplaats (the Dutch eBay), charity shops and whatever was left over at the old office. Everything was then spray painted with polyurea Hotspray (an environmentally friendly paint) to conform with the new colour scheme.

Even Jesus wasn’t immune, as you can see in the attached pictures. The new office is a perfect case study of a smart way to fill a temporary space stylishly and at minimal cost. The collection of old and repaired products in it’s new coating has given a new potential and soul to the old furniture.

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Gummo is an independent full service advertising agency based in Amsterdam. i29 l interior architects is a creative and versatile design studio whose aim is to create intelligent designs and striking images.

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All images and text courtesy i29  interior architects

Check also ‘power office’ by i29 architects, click here

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Petting farm by 70F Architecture, Almere, Netherland

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70F Architects, a office located in Netherland designed this petting farm in Almere, Netherland. 70F Architects got commissioned in 2005 to design a new petting farm. The building, almost built by only sponsored money, is a wooden box with an open facade system, that allows the wind to ventilate the space inside. The shutters in the facade can open manually or automatically, by example: on the upcoming sun.

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Most city parts of Almere, a city with almost 190.000 inhabitants, have a petting farm. In the ‘den Uyl’ park there used to be one, but it burned down in the early 80’s, leaving only its concrete foundation. Early 2005 we were commissioned by the municipality of Almere to design a new petting farm on the exact location and the remaining foundation. The building was finally built using almost only sponsored money, and finished late 2008.

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We designed a wooden box with an open facade system for the upper half of the building, allowing the wind to ventilate the whole farm continuously. Half of the building is stable; the other half consists of toilets, storage and on the second floor an office and storage. The stable itself has no second floor. As you walk lengthways through the building, you will pass the animals that are contained to the left and to the right behind fences. There are no doors in the building, but there are six shutters, two for the public on the short ends of the building and four for the animals, two on either long side of the building.

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These shutters will open manually or automatically in the morning, reacting on the upcoming sun, as they will close again at the end of the day, when the sun goes down. The animals will easily learn to be inside again on time, if they like. At night, the building becomes a light beacon in the park.

One could say that the box, a building extensively reduced in aesthetic violence, wakes up and goes to sleep every day.

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Photos by Luuk Kramer

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Clinic by Suppose Design Office, Hirosihima, Japan.

01Japanese architects Suppose Architects have completed a clinic in Kure city, Hirosihima, Japan.

“Instead of keeping places normally used for movement such as an elevator shaft or stair wells closed, we wanted to open them up to collect light, using them as lightwells to maintain the lighting coming in from above. As light travels downward through the lightwells, exterior ‘bar graph’ like apertures maintain lighting on the lower levels, and gradually decrease in number towards the upper levels. This lighting design, using the building’s positive-negative relationship between interior and exterior, makes uniform lighting on each floor possible.”

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Furthermore, much like a traditional Japanese lattice door, the placement of the structurally integral- walls and apertures makes the inside of the building difficult to see from the outside, while preserving- a clear view of the outside from within, allowing for both functionality and an ideal level of privacy on- each floor.

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By reconsidering the already in place elements of the construction,such as shape,hallways and stairwells, and lighting,we think we have created a new and highly functional standard for clinics, not through a- large operation but a very modest one. 03

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More project off Suppose Design Office on archiDE:

- House in Nagoya by SDO, click here
- House in Sakuragawa by SDO,
click here
- Nature Factory by SDO
, click here
- House in Nagoya2 by SDO,
click here

Via Archdaily

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Facebook Headquarters by Studio O+A, Palo Alto, California.

facebookheadquarters01San Fransisco designers Studio O+A have designed the new headquarters for social networking website Facebook in Palo Alto, California. The headquarters are located in a former laboratory that was constructed in the 1960′s, the offices houses over 700 employees. As you can see on the pictures, the designers re-used as many of the former lab and equipment for the new offices as can.

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Some info from the architects:

Employees of Facebook recently moved to a new headquarters that facilitates interaction and connection, reflecting the company’s mission as a social networking website provider.
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Formerly a laboratory facility for high-tech manufacturer Agilent Technologies, the 150,000-square-foot structure at Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park brings together more than 700 employees originally scattered throughout 10 locations in and around downtown Palo Alto.
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facebookheadquarters05 The design of the space relied heavily on input from the users, appropriate for a flatly structured company that weights every employee’s opinion equally. O+A designers interviewed employees about what they wanted from their new headquarters. facebookheadquarters06

The Facebook platform was used to conduct company-wide polls about design decisions, post construction photos and updates, and keep everyone informed of the thought process behind the project. An advisory board of employees from every department collaborated with the design team on the design process, from space planning to finishes to final move coordination.facebookheadquarters06

Because the new facility houses employees coming from various locations, the company wanted to maintain each division’s distinct identity. The design takes its inspiration from the patchwork nature of Facebook users and employees, bringing together seemingly disparate elements to form a cohesive pattern and using color and interior spacing to create neighborhoods within the open plan space.facebookheadquarters07

The company’s executives sit in central areas, accessible to all employees. Large lounges and open spaces provide venues for the community to come together.  A kitchen and café continue Facebook’s tradition of providing gourmet meals to staff at all hours, while drinks and snacks are available at micro-kitchens throughout the headquarters.
facebookheadquarters08 Reflecting employees’ desire for a green headquarters, the facility is the first commercial project completed under Palo Alto’s 2008 Green Building Ordinance, making extensive use of existing architectural features, recycling millwork from the original lab, and repurposing industrial components for post-industrial use.facebookheadquarters09

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Other sustainable features include high recycled-content carpet and energy-efficient lighting. The design goal for the new facility was to maintain the history and raw aesthetic of the building and create a fun dynamic appropriate for the company’s youthful staff.Many walls and spaces are left unfinished: employees are encouraged to write on the walls, add artwork, and move furniture as needed, allowing the building to evolve continuously.facebookheadquarters11

A bright orange industrial crane, left over from the building’s previous user, was repurposed by San Francisco sculptor Oliver DiCicco to support a table surface from its heavyweight hoist, offering maximum maneuverability. Referencing the industrial aesthetic of the building, a felt canopy spreads up one wall and onto the ceiling, defining a central meeting area that can double as an impromptu auditorium.facebookheadquarters12

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Photos and info from Studio O+A

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Blog op Wordpress.com.
Thema: Esquire door Matthew Buchanan.

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