diller scofidio + renfro: broad art foundation

'the broad art foundation' bydiller scofidio + renfro in los angeles, california
all images courtesy the broad art foundation


philanthropists eli and edyth broad and architect elizabeth diller of internationally
renowned firm diller scofidio + renfro has unveiled the design of 'the broad art foundation',
a new contemporary art museum in downtown los angeles. located across the street from
walt disney concert hall and the museum of contemporary art, the three-storey project features
a honeycomb-like 'veil' that asymmetrically wraps the surface of the building,
resulting in a filtered effect for the interior gallery space.



public lobby along grand avenue


the public entry off of grand avenue is led into the museum by a lift in the veil,
exposing a fully glazed base set in contrast to the opaque mass of the foundation's
archive and storage. unlike traditional museum designs, the latter plays a dominant
role in the visitor's experience: hovering midway in the building, its carved underbelly
shapes the form of the lobby while its top surface serves as the floor of the exhibition space.



column-free, sky-lit gallery


allowing filtered natural daylight into the top floor exhibition space, the three-dimensional
veil is a cellular exoskeleton structure that envelops the museum on all sides.
in addition to almost an acre of column-free gallery space, the museum hosts a lecture hall
for up to 200 people, a ground floor multimedia gallery and a public lobby with
display space and a museum shop.






rendering of the 'veil'



exploded rendering of major design components

sou fujimoto: forest, cloud, mountains exhibition

sou fujimoto
'forest, cloud, mountain'
the watari museum of contemporary art, tokyo
on now until january 16, 2011



'forest, cloud, mountain' exhibition by sou fujimoto at the watari museum of contemporary art, tokyo, japan
image courtesy the watari museum of contemporary art


japanese architect sou fujimoto has put together an exhibition entitled, 'forest, cloud, mountain'
at tokyo's watari museum of contemporary art. recognizing the complex role architects must
play within today's modern society, the exhibited work explores the idea of the city
by re-imagining its potential beyond what traditional architecture has thus far attributed it.
the title, 'forest, cloud, mountain' is the three thematic concepts investigated through
the exhibited installations:

'forest-like architecture may be something between artificial and natural; perhaps when
we speak about a cloud-like architecture, we could imagine architecture made up of air
and light rather than a wall. mountain-like architecture may dial up a new relationship
between the human body and the building.' - sou fujimoto



exhibition view
image courtesy the watari museum of contemporary art


created in a large enough scale for the viewers to walk around and discern,
the exhibited projects range from an arrangement of transparent polycarbonate
pieces to a growing stack of polyhedral objects stippled with tree-like interventions.



image courtesy the watari museum of contemporary art


a collection of sou fujimoto's most recent works:



'primitive future house' by sou fujimoto as seen at the 2010 venice architecture biennale
for more images of the project, click here
image © designboom



image © designboom



'OM house' by sou fujimoto
to see our coverage of the project, click here
image © iwan baan



physical model of 'tokyo apartments'



exterior view of 'tokyo apartments' by sou fujimoto
image courtesy guen-k



'house before house' by sou fujimoto for the sumika housing project
photo courtesy swych



photo courtesy claudia márques

prechteck: national library of austria extension

'national library of austria extension' by prechteck in vienna
all images courtesy prechteck


architect chris precht has sent us images of his design for the extension of
the national library of austria located at the hofburg in vienna. straddling the border of a nearby park,
the project is a continuous spiral form that houses its core exhibition hall underground.



open plaza


pulling up out of the urban landscape, the seamless structure features a mosaic form of
crystal-like excisions along its body, allowing natural daylight to filter through to the interior.
public circulation on the street level is not damaged by the extension, which arches off
the ground to create a curvilinear roof garden on its roof. drop-off and fire emergency line
is placed under the arch, allowing cars to drive under the structure to access the main entrance.



roof garden


the extension features a number of cultural facilities including a 1200 m2 underground
exhibition hall, a 600 m2 multifunctional hall, creative studios, a restaurant and shops.



rendered interior



central spiral staircase






overall perspective



roof and site plan



floor plan / level -2



floor plan / level -1



floor plan / level 0



floor plan / level +1


section

BIG architects: west 57th residential building, new york

'west 67th' by bjarke ingels group in new york city
all images courtesy bjarke ingels group


internationally renowned danish architects bjarke ingels group has revealed their design of 'west 57th',
a new 600-unit residential building in new york city. located between 11th and 12th avenues adjacent
to the hudson river, the building is the firm's first project in norther america.

'new york is rapidly becoming an increasingly green and livable city. the transformation of the hudson river
waterfront and the highline into green parks, the ongoing effort to plant a million trees, the pedestrianization
of broadway and the creation of more miles of bicycle lanes than the entire city of my native copenhagen
are all evidence of urban oases appearing all over the city. with west 57th, we attempt to continue this
transformation into the heart of the city fabric - into the center of a city block,' says bjarke ingels, founder of BIG.



street view


sampling from both european and american typologies of density housing, the design explores
a new hybrid standard that combines a traditional courtyard building with manhattan's highrise form.
after compactness and efficiency is achieved through a perimeter block organization, the north-east corner
is pulled up vertically to a height of 142 m. by keeping the other three corners low to street level,
the courtyard is opened towards the hudson river, providing views and sunlight into every unit.





the dynamic form of the building shifts dramatically according to the viewer's vantage point:
from the west site highway, the building takes on a warped pyramid-like appearance while on
west 58th street, the residential complex resembles a slender glass spire. the courtyard remains
visually accessible from the street to serve as an extension from the adjacent greenery of
the hudson river park.



hudson river park



view from a unit












view from west 58th street



street front



night view



a cross between a traditional manhattan high-rise with a european perimeter block



schematic diagrams



resulting form facilitates natural daylight and views



physical model






from the hudson river

jakob + macfarlane: orange cube

'orange cube' by jakob + macfarlane architects in quai rambaud, lyon, france
all images courtesy jakob + macfarlane
image © roland halbe


paris-based jakob + macfarlane architects (dominique jakob, brendan macfarlane) has sent us
images of 'orange cube', their soon-to-be-complete commercial and cultural complex in lyon, france.
designed as a part of an urban planning project to replenish the docks of lyon, the five-storey
orthogonal cube plays off the fluid movement of the river saône, exploring the effects of subtraction
and voids on the quality and generation of space.



elevation
image courtesy RBC


built on a regular framework of 29 x 33 m, the structure stands autonomously on the site,
a wharf with a predominantly industrial background. the most noticeable element of the design -
its bright orange shade - is an abstraction of lead paint, an industrial color often used for harbor zones.
the external skin is a light facade, punctured with a pixilated pattern that resembles trailing droplets,
a reference to the adjacent river's flow. this porous envelope allows sightlines and natural daylighting
while establishing a distinct identity for the building. 



in context of the river and surrounding structures
image © roland halbe


the structural regularity of the cube is broken on the north-west corner which faces the river.
conic in form, the large, diagonally-running void generates new space: a large atrium is created
which is circumscribed by a series of outdoor corridors that connect the office platforms together.
the facade is pulled into the depth of the volume, resulting in a shift in interior/exterior relations,
as well as facilitating light and views. another volumetric subtraction on the entry and roof level
establish direct relations between the building, its users, and the site.



view of the void from an outdoor terrace space
image © roland halbe




roof top terrace
image © roland halbe



interior view of the design showroom
image © nicolas borel


featuring a double-height layout, the ground floor accommodates a design showroom. the display concept,
which was also created by jacob + macfarlane architects, was developed as an extrapolation of the 'orange cube's
architectural language. taking the treatment of the facade, a three-dimensional volume was generated for an
L-shaped wall that wraps around the space. sixty 'alvéoles' are used to display furniture pieces,
while the unit as a whole define the circulation of the floor.



display wall
image © nicolas borel



image © nicolas borel




image courtesy RBC



office floor
image © nicolas borel



staircase
images © nicolas borel



detail of light facade
image © nicolas borel



3D rendering of display wall units



floor plan / level 0



floor plan / level +4



section



project info:

client: rhône saône développement
surface: 6,300 m2
commercial program: headquarters cardinal group
cultural program: design showroom, RBC
cost consultant: michel forgue
electrical engineering: alto ingénierie
acoustic: avel acoustique
structure: RFR GO+
facade: T.E.S.S.