The client, for whom we had previously designed a house in Nevada, wanted a modern four bedroom family house with large open plan living area, using the dramatic seaside site. There was a requirement to keep the cost of the house as low as reasonably possible.
A former Lisbon dock’s warehouse is to be converted in several lofts. The apartments will have different and personalized characteristics . Interior partitions in exposed concrete will separate the diverse units.
In this loft a series of elements are added to the relatively neutral existing shell, punctuating and ordering space: A stair / bookcase, a fireplace and a wood coated central volume, which contains all services, facilities and several retractable elements, enabling to control the degree of partitioning of space, depending on the needs at each moment. Circulation takes place all the way around the said central volume.
Located in Glen Echo, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC this new house is sited on a sloping, wooded lot with distant views of the Potomac River. The house is positioned to preserve a majority of mature trees and is oriented toward the river views and south facing slope. The house is organized into two volumes connected with glass bridges that span a reflecting pool which separates the volumes. Secondary volumes intersect and overlap the two larger structures rendering the composition more dynamic. Material changes in the various elements intensify the relationships. Expanses of glass open to a terrace organized around a swimming pool with two “infinity” edges reinforcing the connectivity to the wooded landscape.
Rolling pastures, bordered with dark, stained fences interspersed in woodlands define the Albemarle County, Virginia countryside where this project is located. The new house is sited at the edge of woodland on the crest of a hill, providing vantage view points of the pastures and distant treetops.
Mohawk College’s Fennell Campus developed organically over 30 years with multiple buildings incorporated in a functional manner, resulting in a complex plan without clear organization. When the firm was awarded the project, the College’s direction was to provide a Learning Commons / Library, and introduce a central organization to the campus. The result is a design, which provides a strong north-south link, from the new Fennell street entrance through the existing campus to the current main entrance at the south parking areas.
General Contractor /Construction Manager: Sub-contractors acquired by Mohawk College
Structural Engineers : Halcrow Yolles
Mechanical Engineers : MCW Consultants LTD
Electrical Engineers : MCW Consultants LTD
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
The courtyards are linked with pedestrian paths and landscaped with student movement in mind. Beneath the windmill generators, grassy sitting areas and pedestrian scale lighting are incorporated into the design, resulting in an outdoor space, which reinforces the College’s image as a “community-facing, modern and sustainable college”. (President Rob MacIsaac).
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
Area: 40,000 square feet
Completion: January 2011
Cost: $14.5 million
Client: Mohawk College
Sustainability Goals: LEED Gold
Annual energy consumption MJ / M2 year = 687 MJ / M2 year
Percentage of recycled content: 15%
Water consumption from municipal sources = litres / occupant / year = 8.2 M3
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
The impact on the site was reduced through a landscaping plan, which incorporates hearty, native species. This allows for minimal use of water, fertilizer, and pesticides on the green roof.
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
Heating is provided through a hydronic piping system embedded in the concrete slabs. This configuration takes advantage of the thermal mass of the slab itself, which allows for an even distribution of heat throughout the space. Additionally, as heat is radiated from below, the natural effects of convection ensures that the heat is provided directly to the occupied zone in the space (ie: near the floor), rather than from diffusers in the ceilings. This reduces fan power, energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuels.
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
Vibrantly coloured glazing creates a sense of warmth and contrast in the quiet student gathering and learning spaces. The brightly lit interior guides the students towards the building from the street on frigid winter days.
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
In the interior spaces daylight is maximized by incorporating glazing throughout the building, which reduces the use of electric lighting and saves on operating costs. Additionally, all lighting is equipped with either daylight sensors or occupancy sensors, or both, ensuring that the building responds to environmental and occupant conditions.
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
Close to 75% of the building provides usable space for students and staff. In an average building between 40- 50% is usable space. The creation of quiet learning spaces for students was a priority Mohawk students identified on key performance indicator surveys. The new library represents Mohawk’s vision to inspire learning, citizenship and innovation. Inspired by the ways in which modern mobile technology influence “plugged-in learning,” the spaces within the collaboratorium are flexible and fully wired to accommodate current technology. As part of the overall campus revitalization, the library forms the heart of its creative culture that will drive new generations of tomorrow’s skilled leaders.
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
The design established a new vernacular for the campus. Future renovation projects will build upon this ‘street’ framework and extend the architectural language established in the Mohawk Learning Exchange through the premises, creating clear circulation routes and an understandable, complete campus.
Image Courtesy Tom Arban
Project Specifications
A 30,000 sf, two-storey “link” building to be the iconic new image of the campus on Fennell. The new learning exchange building will connect to three existing surrounding buildings and will include 10, 60-seat classrooms and an E-Learning Centre. It will be minimum LEED Gold and will be on an extremely fast-track schedule.
Elevation
The interior of the building is primarily concrete to reduce the use of raw materials. Concrete was selected as the primary construction material for its durability and finishing characteristics.
Top View
Low-emitting adhesives, coatings, sealants, paints, and carpets were used to ensure optimal air quality.
A living wall graces the main entrance and acts as both a focal point and as a natural bio-filter, removing carbon dioxide and other contaminates from return air.
lower_level_plan
Heating is provided through a hydronic piping system embedded in the concrete slabs. This configuration takes advantage of the thermal mass of the slab itself, which allows for an even distribution of heat throughout the space. Additionally, as heat is radiated from below, the natural effects of convection ensures that the heat is provided directly to the occupied zone in the space (ie: near the floor), rather than from diffusers in the ceilings. This reduces fan power, energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuels.
upper_level_plan
In the interior spaces daylight is maximized by incorporating glazing throughout the building, which reduces the use of electric lighting and saves on operating costs. Additionally, all lighting is equipped with either daylight sensors, occupancy sensors, or both, ensuring that the building responds to environmental and occupant conditions.
This residence is for a family of four with a private Studio/Office attached for the husband. Located on the bluff of Yamate district in the seaport city of Yokohama, it commands a magnificent view of the townscape below on the South. Flanked by a garage on the right and the Studio/Office on the left, the entry is from the North.
The Great Rock was created during the major reconstruction of the Zoo between 1909 and 1912, based on the specialist instructions of the Zoo Construction Committee in the capital. The zoological tasks were supervised by the director of the zoo at the time, Dr Adolf Lendl, and the construction technology aspects by Dr Kornél Neuschloss. The primary purpose of the artificial rock was to help the Zoo, that already operated on a overly tight area, appear larger and provide greater space. Thus instead of the completely flat area, with the vertical elevation, a divided and at the same time larger surface would be created with the latest and most spectacular animal runs of the time.
The Project tries to integrate itself in the site through use of materials that have been used before and that are part of local historical background. House’s shape resembles typological archetypes used by country-men and cowboys that lived in the area. Stone, wood and metal are materials used for both structure and construction of the Project. The House have been designed in order to comfort seasonal stay, both during summer and winter, of inhabitants and to let them appreciate as much as possible natural environment surrounding them. This has been done through placement of many glazed frames that grant wider external views. This is the idea I [Designer] wanted to base the project upon: treat interior and external spaces as if they were the same [thing]. Furthermore I propose above mentioned house also like comfortable summer house and not only like winter one. Project is divided in two levels. At the ground level everyday life takes place and it is possible to see the garden from a glazed frame that opens onto a deck. In ‘Under the Moonlight’ House there are two bedrooms, on the second floor, a master bedroom with bathroom and spa.
Location of site: Dinner Plain – Mount Hotham – Victoria – Australia
Date of commencement of project (actual or projected date): 2005
Date of completion of project (actual or projected date): 2007
Site Area: 370 mq
Built-up Area: 250 mq
Image Courtesy Giovanni D'Ambrosio
The House has a sheltered (from snow and rain during winter season) Parking. ‘Under the Moonlight’ House has been designed with care in order to prevent damage to local vegetation and trees. Roof is made out of insulated metal and accomplishes with functionality of any climate. Its brownish colour matches well chromatic shades of Natural Reserve.
The Paris-Roubaix is a one-day, 260km cycling event in the north of France ridden mostly over bluestone cobbles, it is known as The Hell of the North for obvious reasons. With Parisian bistro references and plenty of historic Melbourne bluestone, the new Hell of the North has been crafted into and around an original 19th century hotel on the threshold of Fitzroy and Collingwood.
The new volume is positioned behind the existing villa with individual cut outs – “green bays” in function of the extended external park coming into the pavilion.
Inside they form divisions between internal spaces and create dynamic, light and calming atmosphere.
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