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MVRDV, Orange Architects, and LOLA Unveil WrtZ Masterplan in the Netherlands

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MVRDV has just announced the WrtZ masterplan, that repurposes a former business park near the railway station into a dynamic innovation hub. Developed by AM and designed by a team including MVRDV, Orange Architects, and LOLA Landscape Architect, the scheme introduces residential homes, creative workspaces, dining establishments, and various neighborhood amenities. At the core of the new design is the newly renovated Wrtsil hall, a former factory redesigned with a signature undulating roof topped by a hovering wooden apartment block.

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Initially designed by Gert Grosfeld in 1998, the Wrtsil Hall is positioned as the district's focal point. After MVRDVs renovation, the hall is set to become the place for creative businesses, forward-thinking entrepreneurs, and research and educational organizations. Above the Wrtsil hall, a wooden apartment block hovers, providing the new neighborhood with a centering point.

The WrtZ masterplan is situated in the heart of Zwolle, The Netherlands, and was inspired by the Wrtsil hall. The 9.5-hectare WrtZ was created following the Municipality of Zwolle's station zone development framework and the guidelines provided by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the Dutch railway company. The three areas that make up the WrtZ masterplan are Spoorpark to the east, Lurelei to the west, and Werkplaatsen in the middle.

The WrtZ scheme incorporates shared mobility options, a bicycle innovation center, multipurpose parking hubs, slow-traffic paths, and priority parking for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users. In line with the goals of NS and the Municipality of Zwolle, the plan aims to create a car-free, healthy community surrounding the station. Taking advantage of its current proximity to Zwolles station, the scheme hopes to create a vibrant second city center that highlights pedestrians.

I consider WrtZ as the daring sister of the historic city centre.The mix of housing typologies, education, facilities, and functions ensures a strong social fabric and opportunities for everyone.--Doeschka Bos, development manager AM.

The WrtZ district hopes to bring Zwolle closer to realizing its goal of having the greenest inner-city station area in the Netherlands, serving as a national example. With its low-carbon, circular policies and sustainable transportation efforts, WrtZ aims to establish a benchmark for other "station zones" nationwide. It is anticipated that the WrtZ innovation district will begin to take shape gradually around 2025.

In December, BIG unveiled Gelephu, an envisioned master plan that draws from Bhutanese culture, Gross National Happiness principles, and spiritual heritage. Additionally, CHYBIK+KRISTOF has won an international competition to design a multifunctional tower as a significant part of Tiranas evolving landscape. Finally, Global Architecture Development (GAD) has presented the New Tashkent City master plan, shortlisted in the Master planning category at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2023. This comprehensive vision hopes to propel Tashkent, Uzbekistan, into a new development phase through their design strategies.

Excerpt from:
MVRDV, Orange Architects, and LOLA Unveil WrtZ Masterplan in the Netherlands - ArchDaily

The film Perfect Days, directed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders, has been presented in cinemas. The lead actor, Koji Yakusho, was awarded Best Actor at the last Cannes Film Festival.

The movie is set in Tokyo and depicts the ordinary and monotonous life of Hirayama, a janitor at the public toilets of The Tokyo Toilet, located in one of the city's most famous neighbourhoods, Shibuya.

One of the peculiarities of the film lies precisely in these toilets, renowned for their architectural design, which the protagonist cleans with excellent method and precision. The creation of 'Perfect Days' originated from a request by the Shibuya administration, asking Wenders to make a documentary dedicated to these bathrooms.

Toilets have always been a symbol of worldwide renowned Japanese hospitality culture, and The Tokyo Toilet reaffirmed this characteristic.

The project was initiated in 2018 by The Nippon Foundation, an influential charitable organization supporting welfare projects. The project aims to promote public toilets, debunking the common misconception that they are dark, dirty, smelly, and unsafe places. Instead, the goal is to turn them into new symbols of hospitality, spaces focused on accessibility and inclusion.

To achieve this, the Foundation commissioned a team of 16 international creatives, including renowned architects like Kengo Kuma and Tadao Ando, to design 17 new public toilets. The result is a perfect synthesis of aesthetics, functionality, and, above all, accessibility.

The Tokyo Toilet | Jingu-Dori Park | AMAYADORI,Tadao Ando Architect & Associates-From'Perfect days'byWim Wenders

The Tokyo Toilet | Ebisu Park | Modern KawayabyMasamichi Katayama -From'Perfect days'byWim Wenders

The Tokyo Toilet | Nabeshima Shoto Park | A Walk in the WoodsbyKengo Kuma and associates-From'Perfect days'byWim Wenders

Among the architects involved in The Tokyo Toilet is the winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize 2014, Shigeru Ban, who created what could be considered the most iconic bathrooms of the project.

Shigeru Ban-designed toilets in Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park and Haru-no-Ogawa Community Parkfeature walls made of coloured and transparent glass that turns opaque when the door-closing mechanism is activated. This technology might seem unusual, and indeed, in a scene from the film, a foreign woman approaches these facilities with a certain perplexity and asks Hirayama to explain how they work.

The Tokyo Toilet | Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park, Shigeru Ban Architects -From'Perfect days'by Wim Wenders

The architect explains the concept behind his design for the structures: There are two things we worry about when entering a public toilet, especially those located at a park. The first is cleanliness, and the second is whether anyone is inside. Using the latest technology, the exterior glass turns opaque when locked. This allows users to check the cleanliness and whether anyone is using the toilet from the outside. At night, the facility lights up the park like a beautiful lantern.

The studios involved in The Tokyo Toilet project, in alphabetical order, are Fumihiko Maki, Junko Kobayashi, Kashiwa Sato, Kazoo Sato, Kengo Kuma, Marc Newson, Masamichi Katayama, Miles Pennington, Nao Tamura, NIGO, Shigeru Ban, Sou Fujimoto, Tadao Ando, Takenosuke Sakakura, Tomohito Ushiro, Toyo Ito.

>Discover all The Tokyo Toilet Projects

Continued here:
Why Architects Should Watch "Perfect Days by Wim Wenders - Archilovers.com

Chilean architecture studio Croxatto and Opazo Architects has created a holiday home outside of Santiago with a rotated, wedge-shaped terrace at its front.

At just 22 feet by 22 feet (7 metres by 7 metres) and 16 feet (5.5 metres) high, the cube-shaped Casa Lagunita contains a kitchen, living and dining room, two bathrooms and two bedrooms across two levels.

Located on a hilly site in Laguna Zapalla two hours outside of Santiago, Croxatto and Opazo Architects integrated the house into a 25-degree slope by splitting the program into three "platforms".

"The project's approach aims to make full use of the terrain by dividing the entire surface into three main platforms, contained by two concrete walls that shape and support the hillside," said the team.

The first platform contains parking spaces, which are located on ground level and face the structure's concrete foundation.

An exterior wooden staircase leads to a second platform that supports the house.

The entrance was placed on the side of the structure, and visitors enter the first-floor living and dining area, which also contains a kitchen running along the far side.

A bathroom was tucked into a corner of the space, facing a steep wooden staircase that leads to the house's top-floor sleeping area.

The majority of the staircase was lined in planed pine wood, while its top section was made of metal. Floor-to-ceiling windows span its height, while astorage cupboard sits underneath.

Next to the staircase's first-floor landing, a door leads to a small terrace that juts out from the facade and is enclosed by a rectangular concrete volume.

"The large window facing south and west extends toward the street through a roofed, rotated terrace, turning toward the sea, becoming a large beacon that gently incorporates afternoon light, warmly bathing the wooden walls inside the house," said the team.

The top level contains two bedrooms and a second bathroom which was placed in the same corner as the one below.

Both the bedrooms and living area are located along the back side of the house, facing the slope.

Large windows on this side of the house look out over a backyard.

"To the north, six large Oregon pine windows open, incorporating a small decorative courtyard, expanding the spatial sensation and dressing the interior with vegetation," said the team.

The third platform of the house, a spacious terrace, was placed at the highest point of land.

Accessed by a second exterior staircase, it looks out over the surrounding town and beach.

The team finished the exterior in white-washed concrete, with the majority of the interior lined with 1 by 4 inch pine wood panelling.

Previously, Croxatto and Opazo Architects perched two timber-clad cabins on the Chilean coast.

The photography is by Cristbal Palma.

Project credits:

Project team: Nicols Opazo, Felipe Croxatto, Martin Dellatorre, Jos Pablo O`Ryan, Maximiliano Valle

More here:
Croxatto and Opazo Architects front Chilean home with rotated terrace - Dezeen

In marketing, akin to the fable of the undressed king, we find ourselves traversing a landscape shrouded in illusions of effectiveness. Much like the king convinced of his regal attire, businesses often adhere to outdated marketing playbooks, unaware of their diminishing impact.

How can businesses summon the courage to discard old strategies and become the narrative architects of the future?

In an era marked by perpetual technological evolution, the traditional approach to marketing has met its demise. The once tried-and-true methods, characterized by banal advertisements and cookie-cutter strategies, are no longer effective. As we bid farewell to the age-old practices, its time to embrace a new paradigm: the era of narrative architects.

The Death of Traditional Marketing: A Paradigm Shift

Why is marketing declared dead? The landscape has changed drastically, rendering traditional marketing obsolete. Platforms like LinkedIn, once a hub for professional connections, have become saturated with uninspiring ads that fail to capture the attention of the audience. Conversion key performance indicators (KPIs) have blurred, and the old marketing playbook is proving futile in an environment that demands innovation.

In this brave new world of marketing, businesses are challenged to metamorphose into narrative architects. The key to capturing attention in a saturated content universe lies in crafting compelling stories that resonate with the audiences emotions and aspirations. Storytelling becomes the bridge that transcends the limitations of traditional marketing, offering an immersive experience that forges a profound connection between consumers and brands.

LinkedIns Quandary - The Ineffectiveness of Banal Ads

LinkedIn, hailed as the professional networking haven, is now cluttered with generic ads that struggle to resonate. The audience, bombarded by indistinguishable promotions, has developed a resistance to traditional marketing ploys. Users scroll past these mundane advertisements, rendering them ineffective in generating meaningful engagement or conversions.

The Need for Evolution and the Power of Storytelling

To navigate this new marketing landscape, businesses must transform into narrative architects. Crafting compelling stories that resonate with the audiences emotions and aspirations is the key to capturing attention in a world saturated with content. Storytelling transcends the limitations of traditional marketing, creating an immersive experience that connects consumers with brands on a deeper level.

Hyper-Personalization? Tailoring Experiences for Individuals

One-size-fits-all marketing no longer suffices. The future belongs to hyper-personalization, where brands curate unique experiences for each individual. Utilizing data-driven insights, businesses can tailor their narratives to align with the specific interests, preferences, and needs of their target audience, fostering a sense of personal connection.

Engaging Beyond the Scroll

Static ads fail to engage todays tech-savvy audience. Interactive content, such as augmented reality experiences and immersive campaigns, breaks through the monotony, encouraging active participation. This hands-on approach not only captures attention but also leaves a lasting impression, creating a memorable brand experience.

Embracing New Technologies: AI, AR, and Beyond

The arsenal of a narrative architect includes cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR). These tools enable businesses to create futuristic, interactive campaigns that seamlessly blend the digital and physical worlds, providing a unique and memorable brand experience.

Metrics Redefined: Measuring Engagement Over Conversions

As traditional conversion metrics become obsolete, measuring engagement becomes paramount. Metrics should focus on the depth of audience interaction, the resonance of the narrative, and the overall brand experience. The success of a campaign lies not just in immediate conversions, but in building a community of engaged and loyal followers.

Embrace the Future or Fade Away

Marketing, as we once knew it, is indeed dead. Long live the narrative architects who understand the pulse of the modern consumer. To succeed in this ever-evolving landscape, businesses must shed the old marketing playbooks, embrace storytelling, leverage technology, and redefine success metrics. The future belongs to those who can adapt, innovate, and create experiences that transcend the mundane. Its time to evolve or risk becoming irrelevant in the age of narrative-driven marketing.

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Rethinking Marketing? The Rise of Narrative Architects | by Meir Amarin | Jan, 2024 - Medium

Exploring the Legacy of Modernist Landscape Architect Dan Kiley

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As a landscape architect, Dan Kiley has significantly contributed to the world of design. The designer worked with influential architects such as Louis Kahn, I.M. Pei, and Eero Saarinen. Influenced by the timeless landscapes of Andr Le Ntre, most of his designs are well-known for their manner of merging grids and alles, striking a balance between natural and organized beauty.

Opening January 18th, The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley exhibition is a traveling photographic exhibition honoring one of the most critical Modernist landscape architects. Curated by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, the display aims to explore and spread awareness of the architects profound impact. Showcased at The Exhibition Space @ ABC Stone in Brooklyn, the show offers a captivating journey through 27 carefully chosen designs by Dan Kiley.

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On display until April 30, 2024, the exhibition offers a journey through 27 designs by the world-renowned Dan Kiley. These include iconic locations such as the Rockefeller University and the Ford Foundation Atrium in New York, Kenjockety in Westport, the Art Institute of Chicagos South Garden, and Patterns, a garden in Wilmington, DE, crafted for Gov. & Mrs. Pierre S. Pete du Pont IV.

Kileys visionary approach and philosophy are narrated through a collection of photographs by renowned artists like Marion Benner, Todd Eberle, and Alan Ward. Additionally, the exhibition features insights into Kileys collaborations, featuring recollections from his colleagues and details about the architects creative process.

Dan Kiley worked on many significant projects throughout his career, but the design of Columbus, Indiana's Miller House and Garden is among his most well-known and iconic creations. This 1957 project, which was completed, is frequently regarded as a masterwork of modernist landscape architecture. Praised for blending indoor and outdoor spaces, the design combines geometric shapes with vegetation pools.

The architect is also remembered for the South Garden at the Art Institute of Chicago. Designed in collaboration with architect Eero Saarinen, the South Garden showcases the designers modernist philosophy and approach. Completed in 1962, the garden boasts clean lines, geometric patterns, and carefully placed plantings. The design uses a grid layout with other integrated elements of order and symmetry.

Landscape architecture shapes our environments and fosters relationships between people and their surroundings. This week, the Danish Landscape Award 2023 was awarded to the H.C. Andersen Garden designed by MASU Planning. Last month, BIG unveiled Gelephu, an envisioned master plan that draws from Bhutanese culture. The plan is filled with green spaces, adhering to the sustainable standards of the worlds first official carbon-negative country, Bhutan. Additionally, Archi-Tectonics NYX has completed the masterplan transformation for the Hangzhou Asian Games Park 2022. Spanning 116 Acres, the project includes an expansive Eco-Park and seven buildings, charting a new path for the citys environmental future.

Excerpt from:
Exploring the Legacy of Modernist Landscape Architect Dan Kiley - ArchDaily

16 Materials Every Architect Needs to Know (And Where to Learn About Them)

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A buildings materiality is what our bodies make direct contact with; the cold metal handle, the warm wooden wall, and the hard glass window would all create an entirely different atmosphere if they were, say, a hard glass handle, a cold metal wall and a warm wooden window (which with KTHs new translucent wood, is not as absurd as it might sound). Materiality is of just as much importance as form, function, and locationor rather, inseparable from all three.

Here weve compiled a selection of 16 materials that should be part of the design vocabulary of all architects, ranging from the very familiar (such as concrete and steel) to materials that may be unknown to some of our readers, as well as links to comprehensive resources to learn more about many of them.

Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world, making it a good starting material to get to know. However, it also has significant environmental impacts, including a carbon footprint of up to 5% of worldwide emissions. To get to know all about designing with concrete, the Concrete Center has a collection of useful reports, many of which are free with registration.

One of the oldest, most traditional building materials around the world is of course timber. The material is beginning to take on new forms thanks to engineered wood products, and with high-rise buildings and even translucent properties, this diverse material is being taken to new heights. reThink Wood has a great collection of resources to learn about, and help architects design with, wood.

The city skylines as we know them exploded out of our discovery of steel, commonly used for reinforcement but serving as a beautiful skin in several examples. The wiki SteelConstruction.info offers everything you need to know about designing with steel.

Although this may seem like a cheap, unsustainable material to some, one should not be so quick to judge the possibilities that plastic holds. We produce so much of it; why not recycle it in the form of architecture or bioplastics? What about the whole new world that comes with 3D printing? The American Chemistry Council has a great overview of plastics as a material, as well as a rundown of their major uses in architecture, with links to further resources for each.

Another material used over generations in certain geographical locations around the world, stone has a wide diversity of textures, colors, and strengths. Despite its heavy, solid materiality, one can still work with it to achieve diverse forms. The Building Stone Institute has a variety of resources including fact sheets and specification sheets for many of the most common types of stone used in construction.

Textiles have been explored most commonly using tensile structures, however, theres a whole range of opportunities using this material: load-bearing chairs, inflatable spaces, fabric casting, and wooden fabrics amongst others. Fabric Architecture Magazine has a collection of technical articles for architects, while their resource guide provides a comprehensive overview of the products on the market in this category.

Our most used material to achieve transparency and light is without a doubt glass, one of the most commonly used faade elements in contemporary architecture. Some are taking it a step further, attempting to extend its properties to create "intelligent" responsive glass. The PPG Glass Education Center is a great place to learn more.

Despite its rigid, rectangular shape made to fit in your hand, brick architecture has been shown to create beautiful structures with the right craftsmanship. Innovative thinkers are also finding new ways to incorporate active sustainability into the small building elements. The Brick Development Association has a collection of resources for learning more about brick.

A material stronger than metal body armor, with awesome tensile strength, Kevlar is certainly an asset when building large structures. With a less rigid composition than steel, however, it could reform the way we think of large load-bearing structures. As a still relatively new material, there are few comprehensive information sources on Kevlar's architectural applications, but this article and this snippet from the book Material Architecture by John Fernandez are good places to start.

Bamboo usage is generally dictated by the geographical location of the architectural project. In locations where bamboo makes sense, it is an incredibly flexible, strong, sustainable material that can be useful in many ways.

Reflecting everything about our new material endeavors is carbon fiber: "five times stronger than steel, twice as stiff, weighing significantly less." The composition of carbon fiber makes it flexible to work with, allowing it to take shapes from surfaces to rods, depending on your requirements.

With all the high-rises soaring high above the earth, its a wonder photovoltaic facades havent become a norm. Due to the evolution of photovoltaic technology, cells may no longer have to be locked in place on the roof. The International Energy Agency's design handbook for photovoltaics in buildings is available for free online.

Earth is among the oldest building materials we can think of due to its almost universal accessibility and relative ease of use at small scales. Its capable of being compressed into modules, as well as creating freeform surfaces, all of which can eventually return to the earth with ease.

We produce a huge amount of waste covering a huge range of materials, but getting to know your waste is an excellent idea for future architects. Whether its converting cigarette butts into building material or plastic bottles to earthquake-resistant walls, recycling is something to be admired.

Creating a passive thermal environment, shielding from rain, and blending into similar natural surroundings are just a few things that straw is good at. Its no wonder thatched roofs were so popular in the past.

With the massive loss of habitats happening around the world, getting to know organic structures created by animals is something thats best to do sooner rather than later. Not only can we learn from their use of materials, it also opens up opportunities for us to coexist by incorporating their organic materials into our architecture.

As with all materials, accessibility and cost plays a huge role. There are sure to be materials not on the list that would be the obvious option in certain parts of the world, so be sure to get to know the materials around you in addition to these and youll be sure to have a complete resource.

Finally, if you're looking for a resource to specify products for a project, why not try ArchDaily's Product Catalog?

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on December 19, 2016.

See the original post:
16 Materials Every Architect Needs to Know (And Where to Learn About Them) - ArchDaily

A pedestrian bridge has been 3D-printed in Lyon by a team that included Swiss cement-maker Holcim, British designer Zaha Hadid Architects, ETH Zrich and Austrian printing specialist Incremental3D.

The precursor project to the Phoenix bridge was announced in 2021 and carried out at Holcims French Innovation Hub.

The bridge gains its structural strength from compression, which means that it needs no mortar or reinforcement, and the material required to make can be cut by about half. The concrete blocks it is made from contain recycled materials and they can be disassembled and recycled, making the building process circular.

Edelio Bermejo, Holcims head of research and development, said: Phoenix is the result of a fruitful collaboration with our partners to meet a common goal: demonstrating that essential infrastructure can be designed and built in a way that is circular and low-carbon.

Philippe Block, the co-director of ETH Zurichs Block Research Group, said: Concrete is an artificial stone, and like stone, it does not want to be a straight beam, it wants to be a masonry arch.

Following these historical principles allows us to keep materials separated for easy recycling and to dry-assemble the structure for easy deconstruction and reuse. 3D concrete printing allows us to use material only and exactly where needed."

Holcim will carry out further tests and look for way to scale up the printing process.

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Holcim and Zaha Hadid Architects team up to print circular bridge - Global Construction Review

Japanese studio Kooo Architects has completed a collection of hotel cottages in China that draw on the local vernacular to integrate into the surrounding village.

Named Ningshan LuZhai Cottages, the hotel was designed to appear like a series of cottages alongside terraced farmland at the foot of a small mountain in Yuwancun, Ankang City.

Spanning across a narrow L-shaped footprint, the hotel scheme consists of eight rooms connected across two storeys and configured to overlook rice paddies to the front of the site.

The upper level rooms were arranged around private "garden-like" entrances nestled within a gap between each structure. By breaking down the upper level form of the building, the studio aimed to harmonise the design with the scale of the neighbouring houses.

"The architectural plan and layout of the first and second floors were influenced by the panoramic fields at the foot of the mountain and along the river, and we wanted guests to be able to experience the landscape from their rooms as much as possible," the studio explained.

"Although it is a single two-storey building, this design was intended to make the building look like a single-storey villa built on a base of Nozura-zumi [retaining] walls."

Kooo Architects used traditional construction and material techniques to match the building's exterior with the distinctive regional character.

"We decided to design and plan the hotel to make maximum use of locally available building materials and to incorporate as many of the construction methods that have long been used in the area," Kooo Architects told Dezeen.

"So as not to disturb the landscape visually, we also aimed for the hotel to blend in with its surroundings and the neighbouring village."

By following the elevation changes across the site, the studio also sought to achieve efficient circulation for guests entering the hotel from the village.

"Guests approach the hotel from the reception area at the entrance to the village looking out over the magnificent rice fields and head to the guest rooms via the 'gap' space on the second floor above the retaining wall," the studio said.

"By taking advantage of the differences in elevation and entry approach from the second floor, the hotel succeeds in securing the privacy of each guest room."

Characterised by external finishes of white lime and ash tiles, Kooo Architects contrasted traditional construction methods for the facade and roof against a streamlined interior strategy.

"Many of the retaining walls in the vicinity are made using 'Nozura-zumi', a technique of stacking natural stones 'as they are' to create walls," the studio said. "This influenced how we approached our choice of materials and building techniques."

"We focused on using locally sourced materials that were easy for local craftspeople to handle. Stone familiar to the area and accessible locally was used for the external walls, blending in with the appearance of the surrounding landscape, while also matching the stone of the local retaining walls."

"We also incorporated wooden roofs with log rafters, beams and 'Dougong' a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets in China all characteristic of the local building construction methods."

Kooo Architects was founded in 2015 by Shinya Kojima and Ayaka Kojima and has offices in Tokyo and Shanghai.

Other projects by the studio include the conversion of a 1970s textile factory in Shanghai into a Freitag store and the transformation of a concrete structure into a guesthouse in China.

The photography is by Keishin Horikoshi

Visit link:
Kooo Architects designs rural hotel to blend with village in China - Dezeen

British studio Will Gamble Architects has completed an extension and refurbishment to a family home in Croydon, London, defined by a contemporary colonnade spanning across the rear facade.

Designed for a growing family with a desire to improve their home's versatility, Will Gamble Architects sought to preserve elements of the existing architecture while delineating a new ground floor living space and revamped upper level primary bedroom.

"The overarching concept was to reinvent the ground floor to provide a multifunctional living space capable of catering for extended family and guests, as well as providing more intimate spaces for the immediate family," Will Gamble Architects associate Miles Kelsey told Dezeen.

"The project retains key characteristics of the existing architecture, including a traditional reception room and ornate fireplaces and mouldings, whilst accommodating more contemporary spaces that allow it to cater for 21st-century living."

The external colonnade, flanked by deep brown ash slats, was conceived to frame a visual link to the rear garden and finished in a textured microcement to reference the rough cast render of the local vernacular.

Large pivot doors and floor-to-ceiling glazing fit between each column, providing direct access to the outdoors from the ground floor communal spaces.

"[The home] lacked a significant visual or physical connection to this natural outlook," Kelsey explained. "A contemporary interpretation of a colonnade, with deep vertical fins and an angled fascia, was used across the rear elevation to establish this missing connection."

"The distance between these fins varies across the elevation's width and responds to the different uses internally to help create a subtle visual separation," Kelsey continued. "The wider opening defines the dining area whilst the smaller, narrower apertures enclose the kitchen space."

"The fins of the colonnade are linked by a steeply angled fascia which emphasises the height of the glazed openings, increasing the amount of natural light entering the building."

Following the client's brief, Will Gamble Architects aimed to break down the rigidity of the pre-existing spaces to create greater internal flexibility. The resulting open plan layout of the lower level extension was subtly divided by walnut fin screens, mirroring the verticality of the colonnade.

"The open-plan living arrangement at ground floor has been designed to accommodate large family gatherings, whilst including more private, 'snug-like' spaces," Kelsey said.

"This has been achieved through the use of floor-to-ceiling slatted partitions which help [to] zone the space, whilst maintaining a degree of transparency with the spaces adjacent. A level change compartmentalises the spaces even further."

The studio continued the microcement language internally to the kitchen, alongside polished concrete floors and contrasted against black Valchromat and walnut cabinetry.

"The chosen materials have unique textural qualities and offer warmth and character," Kelsey explained.

"These materials are applied across various surfaces including walls, floors, bespoke furniture, worktops and slatted screens. The consistent material palette creates a cohesive language across the entire scheme."

An inset angular dormer defines the renovated main bedroom at the second floor and was finished in red zinc to blend with the original red clay roof tiles.

The dormer's internal walnut reveals host a large window seat and desk with floor-to-ceiling glazing overlooking the site's context.

Will Gamble Architects was established in London by Will Gamble in 2018. The studio has previously completed an extension for a Grade II-listed house in north London informed by desert modernism and a renovation for a heritage-listed terrace house in south London.

The photography is by Chris Wharton

See original here:
Deep-finned colonnade frames home extension by Will Gamble Architects - Dezeen

American-Israeli designer, artist, and academic Neri Oxman allegedly plagiarized passages from Wikipedia, academic papers, and other scholarly sources in more than two dozen instances, including her doctoral dissertation, according to reports from Business Insider published on Thursday and Friday last week. The articles came out in short succession after the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay following national backlash against accusations of plagiarism against her led in part by Oxmans billionaire husband Bill Ackman.

In its first report, Business Insider found four instances in which Oxman allegedly violated the universitys academic integrity guidelines by omitting quotation marks around passages she had lifted from scholarly sources for her doctoral dissertation. The next day, the media outlet reported an additional 28 cases of plagiarism committed by Oxman, who allegedly copied material from Wikipedia, peer-reviewed academic papers, websites, and a textbook without attribution.

A former tenured professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Oxman is known as the founding director of MITs Mediated Matter a research group focusing on the field of material ecology or the crossover of computer engineering and biological design in order to strengthen the relationship between human-made and natural structures and environments. In 2020 and 2022, Oxmans work was the subject of solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, respectively.

Last Thursday, January 4, Oxman published a statement on X apologizing for the plagiarism, writing that she is committed to reviewing the missed citations and is requesting that MIT make any necessary corrections. She also used the post to promote her new New York City-based design company, Oxman. Oxman and MIT have not yet responded to Hyperallergics requests for comment.

Ackman, her spouse, also commented on the plagiarism accusations, decrying what he viewed as a lack of due process by Business Insider in posts on X, though he did not raise factual issues with the stories. The high-profile hedge fund managers comments quickly garnered scrutiny from users who pointed out his recent campaign to expel Gay from her position as Harvards president, as well as university leaders Sally Kornbluth of MIT and Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, in response to the congressional hearings on reported antisemitism at university campuses. After Gays resignation, Ackman further criticized the news that Gay would remain a highly paid faculty member on account of her serious plagiarism issues.

Responding to Ackmans criticism, a spokesperson forBusiness Insiders owner Axel Springer stated toSemaforthat although the reports on Oxmans alleged plagiarism have not been contested, the news outlet will review the processes around these stories to ensure that [its] standards as well as journalistic values have been upheld.

In recent years, Oxman and the institutions supporting her work have also been the subject of criticism for her acceptance of donations from convicted pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Over two decades, Epstein gave $800,000 to the universitys MediaLab, including a gift of $125,000 to Oxmans lab in October 2015.

As part of my job at the Media Lab, I give presentations to sponsors and potential donors typically several times a week, Oxman said in a past statement, adding that she only met Epstein once along with other MIT faculty members during one of these presentations.

From Epsteins gifts to the Media Lab, my group received $125,000 with MITs requirement that it be kept confidential so as to not enhance his reputation by association with MIT, and with the understanding that he would not be considered a sponsor of our groups research or have any involvement in how the funds were spent. I regret having received funds from Epstein, and deeply apologize to my students for their inadvertent involvement in this mess, Oxman said.

At the time of the donation, Epstein was a registered sex offender and had previously served a 13-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Two years later, Oxman complied with instructions from MediaLabs then-director Joi Ito to send Epstein a marble sculpture along with a pair of gloves as a sign of appreciation for his donations, the Boston Globe reported in 2019. In another case of Ackman entangling himself in his Oxmans affairs, the billionaire reportedly raised concerns with Ito in an effort to keep Epsteins donations to Oxmans lab out of the public eye.

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Designer and Architect Neri Oxman Accused of Plagiarism - Hyperallergic