The old Town Hall of Buda is one of Hungary’s most important monuments. It is significant because the magistracy of the Hungarian capital operated here from 1688 (the end of 150 years of Turkish rule) until the late 19th century, and it is also unique because of the layering of its construction history both in time and space. The conglomerate of constructions consisting of several civil buildings from the 13-14 th century was formed during the 18th century in several periods to one unified, representative building reflecting Baroque architecture. In the middle ages, there were probably five smaller houses in place of today’s building, the fragments of which are preserved in the cellars and ground floor walls. In 1688, almost immediately after the 150 years of the Ottoman occupation, the Town of Buda designated this cluster of plots for the reconstruction of the former medieval houses. The construction history of the house consists of several periods. In the first of the two most important phases, from 1688 to 1891, the works were led by the emperor’s architect, Venerio Ceresola, who made the remains of the medieval building usable again. In 1770-71, Matthäus Nepauer, a significant Baroque builder of Buda carried out the most determinant construction that still dominates today: the uniform Baroque façade – integrating the medieval remains of the ground floor too – was finished at that time together with the corner balconies. The whole building became two-storey, the imposing Baroque main staircase was also built, creating a double-court inner space structure, together with the exterior corridors on the ground and the first floor.
This project is the interior design of a boutique for a new Japanese cosmetic brand. An old 18th century building in the center of Paris was chosen as first shop. This brand sells around 100 types of cosmetic essence products and each customer can create an original product by mixing products. The name of the brand “en” literally means “Beauty” in Japanese.
Concepts
The Japanese phoneme “en” means not only “Beauty” but also “Circle” and “Connection”. The design concept is inspired by these three meanings of “en“.
The Swedish town of Kiruna, 95 miles north of the Arctic Circle, sits atop the largest iron ore mine on the planet. The mine birthed Kiruna – And now, it threatens to erase it.
A century of mining operations has begun to destabilize the earth around Kiruna. The ground is breaking, splitting into deep rifts and falling into sinkholes – Within the century, these rifts threaten to swallow the town. In response to this threat, mining firm Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara (LKAB) has proposed a direct solution: Move Kiruna three kilometers east.
The project proposes a complete renovation of a poor architectural quality building from the beginning of the ‘80s, outdated in terms of energy and distribution. The refurbishment converts the building into a contemporary property suited to the developing surrounding area of Bicocca district.
Rather than implementing a restyling process, the building’s architecture was re-thought from scratch and the proportions and shapes of the massive volumes of the original building have been altered to achieve a much lighter and articulated configuration. The proportioning of the building’s volumes also allowed to create new large terraces on the rooftop further connecting ENGIE HQ with its surroundings: staring at the “artificial” skyline of downtown Milan, and at the Alps.
Client: GENERALI REAL ESTATE SGR S.P.A. -Effepi Real Estate Fund
Main Tenant: Engie Italia S.p.A.
Design Team: Filippo Pagliani, Michele Rossi, Alessandro Rossi (Project Leader), Marco Siciliano, Lorenzo Merloni, Antonio Cinquegrana, Davide Pojaga, Marco Vitalini, Elena Ghetti, Fabio Calciati (Rendering), Mario Frusca (Rendering)
Project Management: Generali Immobiliare Italia SGR S.p.A.
The project focuses on the client’s need to have a home that brings the feeling of being on a flat surface, reason why, the project needs to be created picturing a firm ground, a solid base, and a light construction (bearing in mind that the landscape is unleveled in 30m, from front to back. Therefore, an artificial plateau is created, respecting the side and rear setbacks, based on the tennis court and the garage, which are built on a solid surface. This way, the building respects the restrictions of the São Paulo City Hall and is inserted in the landscape in a balanced way between the entrance and the main courtyard (social part of the house), both having a similar relevance in area, each with its particular characteristic, both in function and in form. The house was designed seeking to provide nearby and distant views.
The aim of the competition is to propose new exhibition spaces for the Prague Congress Centre (KCP), that would be used for different purposes, such as conventions, concerts and other social events.
An important condition will be the modernisation – extension – of the convention facilities that will fully meet the high demands of the organising events. The proposal should aim to create a contemporary added value to a building belonging to the architectural heritage of the 1970 ́s. A key aspect therefore will be the connection between the proposed extension and the existing KCP building.
Located by the Yunlong Lake in Xuzhou, occupying over a million square metres, the launched project Vanke Future Town is a grand community with abundant landscape resources, wherein the demonstration area, as the first set of architectures to make an entrance to the land, will set the tone for the whole ongoing project.
The sales exhibition centre (which will later be converted into a community centre) is designed to be in proportion with and reflects the vast scale of Future Town and the geographical structure of the city.
Tags: China, Xuzhou Comments Off on A Reverie of Bridge – Vanke Future Town Demonstration Area Planning and Architecture Unit Design in Xuzhou, China by Continuation Studio
Three Aspects of the Reconstruction Strategy for the Building of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga
Considering the unique architecture of the building, its representational importance and significant contribution to the cultural heritage, the proposed extension strategy is based on:
– retention of the existing building capacity and authentic details;
– need for renewal and extension of museum functions in the clearly expressed modern volume and subtle minimal design of the additional spaces;
Flowing with the natural inclination of the terrain, general movement on the campus finds access to the array of services that are offered in the General Services Building. There can be found the Auditorium, Library and Nursery, as well as restaurants and exhibition rooms.
The expressive will that appears in the ways connecting the main courses on the campus with the General Services Building generates a facility that has a singular, organic shape in consonance with its uses. Such uses -library, museum, cafeteria, and so on- open to free open spaces that are at a lower level than the general height of the site and are delimited by elm plantations.
There had been a house and an almost 200 years old wine cellar on the same plot since the 1990s. We had to take these circumstances into consideration when setting up appropriate rooms for hosting events and operating a restaurant. The walls of the cellar are covered by climbing plants. On the basis of this, I envisioned a terrace which involves the green and invites it into an inner space. I would have liked to create a construction of steel, glass and wood which sets the mood being spectacular, and bears some resemblance to greenhouses and orangeries. This way, the plan actually lies upon a fusion of marketing and architectural basis, but relies on the existing potentials and conditions. I changed the original windows of the cellar for flat glass windows in steel frames in order to let more light into the restaurant from which visitors can see the wine cellar as well. The simplicity of the furnishing was an important aspect because of the convertibility: the restaurant is not permanently serving, but a catering one, so creation of rooms for a wedding with a personal touch was quite important.
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