Architects love finding new uses for old materials. With the design world becoming ever more eco-conscious, repurposing discarded pieces from architectural and infrastructural projects helps architects create some pretty imaginative buildings without having to deplete precious natural resources. Recycling used parts in new projects is often welcomed enthusiastically by the public—just take a look the …Continue Reading
Archivo de la etiqueta: Australia
GPT / Woods Bagot
Architects: Woods Bagot
Location: Sydney, Australia
Project Team: Alissandra Johnston, Tessa Melick
Project Manager: Buildcorp Group
Area: 3,700 sqm
Year: 2011
Photographs: Tyrone Branigan
Interior Designer: Amanda Stanaway
Client: GPT Group
Spurred by a vision to design a workplace that is more business lounge than office, Woods Bagot transformed three floors within Sydney’s iconic Seidler-designed MLC building into an innovative environment for GPT, providing a flexible platform for business reinvigoration. Woods Bagot’s design solution delivers a non-allocated, task orientated environment which simply integrates technology and a range of work settings to complement a diversity of tasks ranging from quiet to collaborative.
A key component of the planning was creating a three-dimensional stack to overcome the restraints of a central core building. Two stairs have been introduced to increase interaction and ease of access. The north stair, as part of the client experience, is a sweeping form that sits dramatically against the backdrop of the building geometry and skyline, and is coupled with a set of free-form meeting pods that cantilever within a three-storey void.
The design philosophy was to remain authentic and to respond to cues from the base building. The pods are extruded from the base building Nervi structure, and the sinuous language of the stair references forms created by Seidler. GPT is a carbon-neutral office with a 6-star Green Star Interiors rating. The MLC Centre, itself with a 5-star NABERS rating, had not undergone a major base building refurbishment in its history.
The project exemplifies how innovative interior design can assist in challenging the restraints of smaller and non-contiguous floor plates and revitalise older building stock. The existing fit-out was stripped back and the existing VAV system was replaced with a new chilled beam system. Retaining, reusing and recycling materials from the old fit-out and selecting recycled materials, significantly reduced the environmental footprint of the project. Changes to the work method of employees, with the introduction of activity based working allowed a far more productive use of space. The workplace boasts energy savings of around 50%, paper savings of over 70%, an increase in fresh air to 11.25 litres/sec/person pushing deliver to 50% above requirements and a self-reported increase in productivity from staff of more than 10%.
The project sits as an industry-wide reference of the seamless integration of design and business change and illustrates a tempered approach to a new way of working without the overt aesthetics of many activity-based environments.
GPT / Woods Bagot originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 12 Jun 2013.
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Royal Botanic Garden Sustainable Masterplan Proposal / Grant Associates
Grant Associates, the UK landscape architects behind Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, has just been appointed by the Royal Botanics and Domain Trust in Sydney to help develop a new sustainable masterplan for the historic Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney and adjacent public Domain. Working alongside Cox Richardson Architects and Planners, Grant Associates will be responsible for developing the landscape strategy and public realm elements of the new masterplan which includes an area of 64 hectares on a spectacular location bordering the iconic Sydney Harbor waterfront. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney and public Domain is the largest single site in the Sydney Central Business District. Ongoing management of the space is crucial for the future development and direction of Sydney as a cultural and tourist destination. Due to celebrate its bicentenary in 2016, and as Australia’s oldest research and scientific institution, the Garden holds a unique place in the nation’s intellectual life and as a popular recreation and visitor destination.
The new integrated masterplan is due to be unveiled in November 2013. It will address the heritage of the Garden and its role, structure and future form; identify the means by which research and education can flourish; address the physical environment, facilities and character; and seek to establish a framework for a resilient and sustainable financial future for the Garden.
Keith French, director, Grant Associates said: “We’re delighted to be involved in this fascinating project. As the primary role of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust is for scientific research, we have to ensure a sustainable financial future and funding for this work, is balanced against the needs of heritage, education, recreation and as a tourist destination. It’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to play a small part in the future role of this amazing historic site.”
Architects: Grant Associates
Location: Sydney, Australia
Collaborators: Cox Richardson Architects and Planners
Client: Royal Botanics and Domain Trust
Year: 2013
Photographs: Courtesy of Grant Associates
Royal Botanic Garden Sustainable Masterplan Proposal / Grant Associates originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 12 Jun 2013.
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Prahran Hotel / Techne Architects
Architects: Techne Architects
Location: Victoria, Australia
Project/Design Director: Justin Northrop
Project Architect: Steve McKeag
Architect In Charge: Alex Lake
Area: 550 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: Peter Clarke
Structural Engineer: Parkhill Freeman
Lighting: Light Projects
Landscaping: Ayus Botanical
Building Surveyor: Retro Building Surveyors
Geotechnical Engineer: NSP Geotechnics Pty Ltd
Acoustic Engineer: Burton Acoustic Group
Draftsperson: Melita Kei, Francois Claassens
Interior Designer: Bianca Baldi
The Prahran Hotel is a substantial two storey corner pub with a striking streamlined art deco facade. The rear of the venue had a poorly proportioned, internalised single storey extension and the clients brief for the project called to demolish and replace it with a dramatic double height space with a central courtyard.
The use of large stacked concrete pipes for the street facade of the addition struck a chord for multiple reasons: they have a depth and can be interactive, they have a dramatic, sculptural quality, they reference existing internal circular motifs and they suggest stacked kegs or barrels.
A steel glazed courtyard cuts through the interior, connecting both levels and allowing ample natural light to flood the space. A floating booth made of half pipes is supported on steel posts and accessed via a steel gantry that traverses the room. Much of the steel structure is exposed and the concrete finish of the pipes and precast form the base of the interior palette of materials, contrasting this is the warmth of recycled spotted gum and leather upholstery and the freshness of the planting that is woven throughout the interior.
Whilst the space has the appeal of some spatial drama, the design’s success will be measured by the quality of the ambience and intimacy of the interior. Much effort was made to ensure that patrons have a variety of ways of gathering: private spaces contrast more social areas, there are places for couples and larger groups, and the circulation loops through both levels which encourages a voyeuristic procession through the old and new areas of the pub.
Prahran Hotel / Techne Architects originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 12 Jun 2013.
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‘The Lodge on the Lake’ Third Prize Winning Proposal / Nic Moore + Monica Earl
Designed by architects Nic Moore and Monica Earl, in collaboration with Lea Fernandez, Darryl Chandler, and Terence Yong, their third prize winning proposal for the Lodge on the Lake understands that a new Lodge needs both to fulfill the requirements of a complex brief, but also to be a strong symbol of Australian domestic and political values. This scheme is sited at the tip of Attunga Point and requires the sculpting of the Lake’s shore in order to bury a low landscape building in the ridge of the promontory. This building is made by fingers of heavy earthen walls, which project into the Lake. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Lake Burley Griffin required massive civil works. Two meters of soil was scraped from a river valley; beach sand, retaining walls and boulders were brought to an imagined shore and a sluice gate was shut to impound the Molonglo river. The Lake’s level is presently held constant to this carefully crafted shoreline by manipulations of the Scrivener and Googong dams, but this level can fluctuate with rainfall and climate.
There are eight walls in total. Where these walls terminate, ghats of stone step down to the water, whatever its level. Between these walls, the Lake’s water is held in ponds for thermal stability, bouncing light and creating calm. The proposed ghats and alluvial gardens associated with the scheme reshape the shoreline of the Lake, creating places to sit and places to fish. Siting the Lodge at the tip of Attunga Point was important because by becoming part of the Lake’s shore, the building becomes part of Canberra.
These heavy earthen walls are rammed from 425 million year old sedimentary rock belonging to the Yarralumla Formation, found on site. These walls variously enclose formal rooms, create courtyards, hold water and define paths of circulation. The heaviest and tallest wall is to the east and has one opening, the symbolic front door. The lowest and most open wall is to the west and forms a threshold to the symbolic back yard of the Lodge. These walls align with the rock on site to point towards midday in the northeastern sky. These walls frame views of the city for visitors to the Lodge and views of visitors to the Lodge for the city.
The Prime Minister’s private lodgings are held above, but perpendicular to the walls, orienting to the northwest. By orienting this way, these private lodgings find tranquility in the little bay and prospect towards Black Mountain and the National Arboretum. Private outdoor space is held within walled terraces, which step downwards for privacy and security, and become part of the symbolic back yard.
A delicate leaf-form roof is held above the earthen walls and serves simultaneously as an operable shading device, a collector of water, a collector of solar energy and, over the years, a collector of many interesting people and stories. As an equivalent to the White House, the Lodge must be the hearth of the nation – a command post, an event space, a sanctuary and an icon.
‘The Lodge on the Lake’ Third Prize Winning Proposal / Nic Moore + Monica Earl originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 12 Jun 2013.
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Fremantle Additions / Jonathan Lake Architects
Architects: Jonathan Lake Architects
Location: Western Australian, Australia
Year: 2012
Photographs: Robert Frith
This project is a highly crafted and tactile addition to a beautiful limestone colonial bungalow. It is an addition that draws heavily on the physical and material character of the existing house and sought to provide a contemporary re-presentation of these elements.
The original house faces a main road and sits on a subdivided block with shared vehicular access to a contemporary house built at the rear. Ideas about where to locate the new addition were pre-determined by the heritage character of the house and minimal space available at the rear because of the vehicle access. The brief requested a simple replacement of the existing fibro lean-to at the rear that contained the kitchen, dining, bathroom and laundry. The only additional request was for a separate ensuite off the main bedroom. Formally the original house is a corrugated iron roof over rough heavy walls with dark interiors and no connection to the external environment. The limestone rubble walls create a striking roughness and texture to the exterior while internally creating deep thresholds between spaces.
The new addition takes these qualities of material, light and tactility and reinterprets them to create a series of spaces that are designed to elevate the experience of living. Rammed Limestone walls were created to continue the weightiness of the existing but to introduce a more tactile surface. Over the walls a dynamic metal clad roof structure has been carefully placed. The profile of the roof reflects its role in opening up the interior bringing light and ventilation deep within. The texture of the cladding gives the roof a visual tactility through the play of light and shadow over its surface.
A significant problem in additions and alterations is how to connect the new and old together. Because of the strength of character of the existing the new roof and walls have been pulled away from the existing house in order to emphasize the qualities of each. Where the two forms touch the materials have been reduced to almost nothing. The roof has been flattened to tuck underneath the existing and the walls stop short and glass has been introduced.
This project is a careful exploration of materials and restraint in order to create a generous living environment. The new internal living spaces have been augmented by the introduction of external deck and garden spaces. Cavity sliding doors open up to allow for the boundary between these two spaces to be erased. The creation of the decking also allows for the introduction of green spaces and landscaping which previously was not possible.
Fremantle Additions / Jonathan Lake Architects originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 10 Jun 2013.
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Emergency Shelter Winning Design / Nic Gonsalves + Nic Martoo
Young Australian designers, Nic Gonsalves and Nic Martoo from leading architecture firm Conrad Gargett Riddel, have won an international award for their innovative emergency shelter design for victims of natural and man-made disasters. Showcased in Brisbane’s King George Square last year and having recently toured to Melbourne’s Federation Square last month, their design provides ease of fabrication without the use mechanical tools; a place to house both occupants and their belongings; and the ability to control the level of engagement with the outside world through a flexible skin of solid, translucent and transparent shingles. More images and the designers’ description after the break.
Natural disasters inherently cause much more than just physical damage and destruction of property to those who live in affected areas. Victims are reminded of the fragility of human existence and will endure a tough emotional recovery, facing a loss of comfort, security and control over their surrounding environment.
The shelter has been conceived as a retreat that will return to victims a sense of control, facilitating the recovery process through its inhabitation. The core ideas behind the shelter design are: Ease of assembly without mechanical tools; Elevation above the ground plane; To provide a place for both the occupants and their belongings; The ability to control the level of engagement with the outside world; Flexibility to allow personalization and to create a sense of ownership; and the ability for transportation and reuse.
The design employs a flat-pack solution using a simple kit of parts. The shelter is designed as a cube so that each vertical face is identical, resulting in a repetitious assembly sequence. Each face is made up of an intersecting grid of plywood members, consisting of only two repeated components. Each face is assembled through the process of notching these plywood elements. The six faces then slot together to form a cube. A timber dowel fixed by a pin threads through each edge to hold the cube together.
The shelter sits on seven supports which are assembled through a similar process of notching timber, plywood and dowelling. This creates a physical separation from the debris of potentially a surrounding disaster zone. The roof consists of a translucent plastic membrane to allow natural light in.This is tied in place to the timber dowels. The shelter is enclosed with a skin of plywood and plastic shingles. Pre-drilled holes in the horizontal members allow the shingles to be hooked onto the structure.
The flexible skin of shingles may be unhooked, rearranged and propped open, allowing the occupant to personalize the shelter according to their individual needs, and to reconfigure as conditions change over time. The occupant is able to control the level of engagement with the outside world through the arrangement of solid, translucent and transparent shingles, and the degree to which they are propped open for ventilation. This arrangement also allows the occupant to express their individuality and facilitates a sense of ownership. The shingles have been sized to be light enough that a child may assist in their hanging and arrangement. Internally, the structure becomes a wall of shelves that provide a home for salvaged belongings.
The absence of mechanical fixings means the shelter may be completely disassembled and reassembled with ease. The entire shelter uses less than a cubic metre of material and may be easily transported on a small vehicle. The intention has been to return a sense of control to the occupant, and facilitate the recovery process through the act of inhabitation.
Gonsalves and Martoo were awarded first prize in the International Award for Young Architects by the Turkish Chamber of Architects on 25 May following an international ideas competition focusing on temporary sheltering spaces.
Emergency Shelter Winning Design / Nic Gonsalves + Nic Martoo originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 10 Jun 2013.
send to Twitter | Share on Facebook | What do you think about this?
Emergency Shelter Winning Design / Nic Gonsalves + Nic Martoo
Young Australian designers, Nic Gonsalves and Nic Martoo from leading architecture firm Conrad Gargett Riddel, have won an international award for their innovative emergency shelter design for victims of natural and man-made disasters. Showcased in Brisbane’s King George Square last year and having recently toured to Melbourne’s Federation Square last month, their design provides ease of fabrication without the use mechanical tools; a place to house both occupants and their belongings; and the ability to control the level of engagement with the outside world through a flexible skin of solid, translucent and transparent shingles. More images and the designers’ description after the break.
Natural disasters inherently cause much more than just physical damage and destruction of property to those who live in affected areas. Victims are reminded of the fragility of human existence and will endure a tough emotional recovery, facing a loss of comfort, security and control over their surrounding environment.
The shelter has been conceived as a retreat that will return to victims a sense of control, facilitating the recovery process through its inhabitation. The core ideas behind the shelter design are: Ease of assembly without mechanical tools; Elevation above the ground plane; To provide a place for both the occupants and their belongings; The ability to control the level of engagement with the outside world; Flexibility to allow personalization and to create a sense of ownership; and the ability for transportation and reuse.
The design employs a flat-pack solution using a simple kit of parts. The shelter is designed as a cube so that each vertical face is identical, resulting in a repetitious assembly sequence. Each face is made up of an intersecting grid of plywood members, consisting of only two repeated components. Each face is assembled through the process of notching these plywood elements. The six faces then slot together to form a cube. A timber dowel fixed by a pin threads through each edge to hold the cube together.
The shelter sits on seven supports which are assembled through a similar process of notching timber, plywood and dowelling. This creates a physical separation from the debris of potentially a surrounding disaster zone. The roof consists of a translucent plastic membrane to allow natural light in.This is tied in place to the timber dowels. The shelter is enclosed with a skin of plywood and plastic shingles. Pre-drilled holes in the horizontal members allow the shingles to be hooked onto the structure.
The flexible skin of shingles may be unhooked, rearranged and propped open, allowing the occupant to personalize the shelter according to their individual needs, and to reconfigure as conditions change over time. The occupant is able to control the level of engagement with the outside world through the arrangement of solid, translucent and transparent shingles, and the degree to which they are propped open for ventilation. This arrangement also allows the occupant to express their individuality and facilitates a sense of ownership. The shingles have been sized to be light enough that a child may assist in their hanging and arrangement. Internally, the structure becomes a wall of shelves that provide a home for salvaged belongings.
The absence of mechanical fixings means the shelter may be completely disassembled and reassembled with ease. The entire shelter uses less than a cubic metre of material and may be easily transported on a small vehicle. The intention has been to return a sense of control to the occupant, and facilitate the recovery process through the act of inhabitation.
Gonsalves and Martoo were awarded first prize in the International Award for Young Architects by the Turkish Chamber of Architects on 25 May following an international ideas competition focusing on temporary sheltering spaces.
Emergency Shelter Winning Design / Nic Gonsalves + Nic Martoo originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 10 Jun 2013.
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