Another Architecture N°61 April — May 2016

Viewing
tower by
Frá
Ar nek
ch
Touring a Norwegian ite
island with c ts
Ghilardi+Hellsten

Rocking a Polish
concert hall with
Fernando Menis

+
11 houses
8 parliament buildings
2 museums
1 church

EUR 19.95 GBP 14 CHF 30 CAD 29.50

USD 19.95 JPY 3.990 KRW 40.000

BP
 ARCHITECT
@WORK
DENMARK

Forum
København
25.-26. maj
2016
2. udgave - 11:00-18:00
EKSKLUSIVT ERHVERVSARRENGEMENT
med mere end 200 innovationer
af producenter og forhandlere
STRENGE UDVÆLGELSESKRITERIER for
et ikke før set antal af produkter af høj kvalitet
NETVÆRKSARRANGEMENT
i en eksklusiv atmosfære
FORPLEJNING gratis drinks og snacks
i lounge-områderne

SIDELØBENDE EVENTS
< SEMINARER af Stylepark
< BILLEDUDSTILLING
af Scandinavian-Architects.com
< SÆRUDSTILLING af raumPROBE r
istré
< BILLEDER af DAPh Reg e for
onlin ntré
fri e Kode
med 852
@ATW_INTL #ATWNL F
WWW.ARCHITECTATWORK.DK

MEDIEPARTNERE

SPONSORER

ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT

@WORK @WORK @WORK @WORK @WORK @WORK
BELGIUM THE NETHERLANDS LUXEMBOURG FRANCE UNITED KINGDOM GERMANY

ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT ARCHITECT

@WORK @WORK @WORK @WORK @WORK @WORK
AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND ITALY SPAIN DENMARK TURKEY
 Private residence, Toronto @ Ditz Fejer

öko skin - neither painting nor staining

| sustainable glassfibre reinforced concrete
| non-combustible and maintenance free
| natural and durable material, authentic appearance
| various colours, vivid surface

www.rieder.cc
June 1 - 2 - 3 2016
TAETS-ZAANDAM

www.designdistrict.nl
Make Subscribe today and receive 6

Your issues packed with the world’s

best architecture for just €99.

Mark
Order before 31 May 2016
and receive a free copy of
This Is Not a House.

The Editors
rs of Mark - Anoth
Ano
A other Archite
Archi
hitec
h tect e with
ecture w Dan Rubinstein

FREE
this
BOOK
is

not

a house

Order your subscription

at frameweb.com/mark
Photo Boys Play Nice
 Mark 61 Apr — May 2016 005

Plan 042

012 Notice Board

026 Cross Section

028 Gonzalo Mardones Totihue

030 Drake — Director X
032 Front Office Too
034 Bethesda Game Studios
036 Von M Ludwigsburg
038 Encore Heureux Paris
040 Koizumi Sekkei Shizuoka Orange Architects
042 Orange Beirut Housing in Beirut
Photo Mahijs van Roon
044 TNA Too
046 Infographic
048 Staab Bayreuth 038
050 Donis Dubai
052 Mjölk Pardubice
054 A-cero Getafe
056 Suppose Nagoya
058 XML — Jurgen Bey Brussels
Encore Heureux
Pavilion in Paris
Photo Cyrus Cornut
060 Pers ective
Parliaments 062

062 XML has been conducting

an international research
project on spaces of
political assembly.

Le Corbusier
Punjab Legislative Assembly in Chandigarh
Photo XML
006 Mark 61 Apr — May 2016

080 Lon Section

082 Fernando Menis’s cultural

complex in Toruń echoes both 092
the local medieval architecture
and the rued volcanic landscape
of his own Canarian homeland.
092 Rudy Riccio i’s Rivesaltes
Memorial Museum is an eloquent
epitaph on the darker episodes
of modern history.
104 Mass Design Group helps to reduce
Malawi’s maternal mortali rate.
114 Ken Takahashi’s two new houses
illustrate his concept of ‘smallness’. Rudy Riccio i
Museum in Rivesaltes
126 Marc Koehler conjures up a pair Photo Kevin Dolmaire

of spatially adventurous houses.

138 Paul De Meyer designed an
Antwerp penthouse in the early
1970s that has recently been 160
photographed for the very first time.
148 L3P ingeniously fits three
apartments into an old half-
timbered house.
160 Fránek Architects’ S Walk is
less about the view and more about
upstaging the dramatic mountain
landscape.
168 Ghilardi+Hellsten realized a
floating pedestrian path that snakes
over a Norwegian island.
178 Stig L. Andersson’s book collection
inspires the concepts and methods
on which he bases his studio.

182 Tools

192 Exit

Fránek Architects
Viewing platform in Dolní Morava
Photo Boys Play Nice
©FLC/ ADAGP

“Man needs colour to live.”

Le Corbusier, Architect (1887–1965)

The Switch Classic LS 990

in Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier.

Colour: 32121 terre sienne brique

JUNG.DE
008 Mark 61 Apr — May 2016

Mark is published Cover photography

6 times a year by Boys Play Nice

Frame Publishers Publishing Back Issues

Laan der Hesperiden 68 Directors Buy online at store.frameweb.com
1076 DX Amsterdam Robert iemann
T +31 20 330 0630 [email protected]
F +31 20 428 0653 Rudolf van Wezel
[email protected] [email protected]
.frameweb.com
Sales and Marketing Director
Editorial Margreet Nanning
Editor in Chief [email protected]
Arthur Wortmann
[email protected] Distribution and Logistics
Manager
Editors Nick van Oppenraaij
David Keuning [email protected]
[email protected]
Jane Szita Brand Manager
[email protected] Benjamin Verheijden
[email protected]
Editorial Intern
Emily Downing Account Managers
[email protected] Nikki Brandenburg
[email protected]
Contributing Editors Sarah Maisey
omas Daniell, Grant Gibson, [email protected]
Florian Heilmeyer, Cathelijne
Nuijsink, Ka a Tylevich, Finance
Michael Webb Cedric Isselt
[email protected]
Contributing Photographer Pearl Yssel
Sergio Pirrone [email protected]

Copy Editors Advertising Representatives

InOtherWords (D’Laine Camp, Italy
Donna de Vries-Hermansader) Studio Mitos
Michele Tosato
Design Director [email protected]
Barbara Iwanicka T +39 0422 894 868

Designers Turkey
Cathelijn Kruunenberg Titajans
Vincent Hammingh Hilmi Zafer Erdem
[email protected]
Translators T +90 212 257 76 66
InOtherWords (Donna de Vries-
Hermansader, Christine Gardner, Subscriptions
Jesse van der Hoeven, Rachel [email protected]
Keeton, Maria van Tol) T +31 20 4233 717 (Option 1)

Contributors to this issue Subscription Rates

Hausatu Abdul-Karim, John Bezold, Including VAT and postage.
Sofia Borges, Max Cohen de Lara, To subscribe, visit
Liam Cooke, Stefano Corbo, eo .frameweb.com/mark
Deutinger, Marc Dubois, Andrea
Eschbach, Stefanos Filippas, Rafael 1-year (6 issues): € 99
Gómez-Moriana, Bartosz Haduch, 1-year student* (6 issues): € 79 Mark (ISSN: 1574-6453, USPS
Michał Haduch, Marianne Lie Berg, 2-year (12 issues): € 188 No: 019-372) is published bi-
Pulane Mpotokwane, David Mulder, * valid only with a copy of your student monthly by Frame Publishers NL
Terri Peters, Adam Štěch, Masaaki registration form and distributed in the USA by
Takahashi, Oliver Zeller Asendia USA, 17B S Middlesex
Bookstore Distributors Ave, Monroe NJ 08831. Periodicals
Printing Mark is available at sales points postage paid New Brunswick, NJ
Tuijtel worldwide. Please see frameweb. and additional mailing offices.
com/magazines/where-to-buy Postmaster: send address changes
Lithography to Mark, 701C Ashland Ave,
Edward de Nijs Folcro PA 19032.
 Frame Books
Find the most inspiring trade fair stands in
Grand Stand 5, the latest trend-setting workspaces
in The Other Office 2 and get to know the
fundamental principles of CMF Design.

NEW

CMF DESIGN
The Fundamental Principles of Colour, Material and Finish Design
This irst book on the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of CMF – colour, material and
inish – design, and how this discipline can be applied to consumer goods
and industrially-designed products. By introducing the CMF process,
this book serves as a valuable source of information about this emerging
professional discipline and its fundamental principles.
€29
 THE OTHER OFFICE 2 GRAND STAND 5
Creative Workplace Design Design for Trade Fair Stands
Extensively illustrating 80 cutting-edge workplace A visual feast of 100+ tempting temporary spaces,
designs from concept to realisation, the latest trends and a must-have reference tool for everyone involved
in oice design are highlighted. with branding, exhibitions and trade fair design.
€69 €69

GOODS 2 BRIGHT 2 HOLISTIC RETAIL DESIGN

Interior Products from Sketch to Use Architectural Illumination Reshaping Shopping for the Digital Era
Showcasing the journey of Illustrating 44 projects by a number Setting out a new theory that reshapes
contemporary furniture products, this of top-level artists, designers and shopping with fresh strategies and
inspiring volume unravels the design manufacturers, all of whom are setting improvements of retail experiences,
process of 46 contemporary objects. trends in the creative use of light. written by leading professors in the ield.
€59 €59 €29

Use discount code M61B at checkout

to receive a 10% discount on your order!*
Go to store.frameweb.com/books
*Offer is valid only until 31 May 2016
 012

Notice
Mark 61

Board
 Notice Board 013

‘Buildin
on rooo s
is workin
a ainst
the urban
s rawl’
Stéphane Malka on his design
proposal for prefabricated
housing units in Paris, page 019
014 Mark 61 Notice Board

3
Rendering by Beau & the Bit

4
 015

1 e Nolli Gardens
Jyväslä–Finland
Freyke Hartemink, Jarrik Ouburg,
Maciej Abramczyk
— Urban plan and two housing
blocks in the modernist
neighbourhood of Kortephohja
Competition entry, 1st prize, expected
completion 2017
freyh.nl
jarrikouburg.com

2 West Shanghai Workers’

Cultural Palace
Shanghai–China
Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
— Shanghai Labour Union cultural
complex including a theatre, a
cinema, art and exhibition spaces,
offices, sports facilities, commercial
space and a transport hub
Competition entry, 1st prize, expected
completion undisclosed
shl.dk

3 Parkopera
Antalya–Turkey
Alper Derinboğaz (Salon)
— Opera house with a 400-seat
auditorium, a lounge and a studio in
Antalya Muratpaşa
Expected completion undisclosed
salonarchitects.com

4 Asean
Jakarta–Indonesia
Studio Kota (Erick Kristanto,
Esther Wahyuni, Gerrits Udjung)
— Office building for the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic
of Indonesia
5 Competition entry, honourable mention
studiokota.com

5 Hudson Americano
New York–NY–USA
M-Rad
— A 160-room boutique hotel with
15 condos in the Hudson Yards area
of Manha an
Expected completion 2019
m-rad.com
016 Mark 61 Notice Board

1 ATC
Istanbul–Turkey
Pininfarina
— Air traffic control tower for
Istanbul New Airport, with a
1
shape inspired by a tulip
Expected completion undisclosed
pininfarina.com

2 Porsgrunn Church
Porsgrunn–Norway
Espen Surnevik and Trodahl
Arkitekter
— Church designed to replace
Porsgrunn’s main church, built in
1760 and damaged by fire in 2011;
new façades and interior are clad
in white porcelain tiles
Invited competition, 1st prize,
expected completion spring 2018
espensurnevik.no
troark.no

3 Temple Universi Library

Philadelphia–PA–USA
Snøhe a
— Universi library with arched
timber entrances carved from
a stone volume; white terrazzo
floors highlight the lobby of the
three-storey domed atrium
Expected completion 2018
snohea.com

4 Paris by us, Paris for us

Paris–France
Peripheriques Marin+Tro in
Architectes
— Innovative 12-floor apartment
building with façades of white
clay brick
Competition entry
mt.peripheriques-architectes.com

2
 017

Renderings by Mir
3

Rendering by L’Autre Image

4
018 Mark 61 Notice Board

1 Lahofer Winery
Dobšice–Czech Republic
Chybik+Kristof Architects
— Winery in the South Moravian
countryside
Design proposal
chybik-kristof.com

2 KaDeWe
Berlin–Germany
OMA (Ippolito Pestellini
Laparelli)
— Renovation and rooop
extension of Kauaus
des Westens, a 90,000-m2
department store
Expected completion undisclosed
oma.eu

3 3Box
Paris–France
Studio Malka Architecture
— Housing units made possible
by la loi Alur, a law permiing
the vertical extension of an
existing building in exchange for
a contribution to the building’s
renovation
Design proposal
stephanemalka.com 2

4 Paradis Express
Liège–Belgium
A2M, Jaspers-Eyers and BAG
— Situated between the
Calatrava railway station and
the Tour des Finances, Paradis
Express has 160 housing units,
350 m² of shops, 750 m² of
services and a 21,000-m² office
building
Expected completion 2019
a2m.be
 019

Rendering by Tristan Spella

4
020 Mark 61 Notice Board

Rendering by Lights CG
1

1 Houston Library and Exhibition

Complex
Houston–TX–USA
MA2 (Michael Arellanes II)
— A 9,000-m2 library along the
axis of Hardy and Burne Streets,
just north of the ci centre
Concept proposal
m-a-2.com

2 Regional Library
Varna–Bulgaria
YTAU Yannick Troubat
Architecture Urbanisme
— Building designed to replace
the six locations that currently
house the library’s collection
Competition entry
ytau.fr
022 Mark 61 Notice Board

1
1 Coal Drops Yard
London–UK
Heatherwick Studio
— Entertainment area with 65
shops and restaurants at King’s
Cross railway station
Expected completion 2018
heatherwick.com Renderings by Mir

2 Christiansholm
Copenhagen–Denmark
COBE, Inside Outside, Via Trafik
and Transsolar
— A series of halls, including an
event hall and a swimming hall,
around a courard, with private
housing on top
Expected ground-breaking 2018
cobe.dk

Rendering by Luxigon
In the beginning there were columns.
And to this day they are a classic staple of architecture. We don’t use them.
They clutter up the work environment. So we kick them out of the way to
make room for space. Useful space without visual noise. Optimum space way
up to the ceiling. So bid those classics goodbye. Because once you design
with our advanced construction system, you can have your space. All of it.

g e o m e t r i c a . c o m / a rc h i t e c t u r a l
024 Mark 61 Notice Board

Reinventing Paris
In November 2014, Mayor
of Paris Anne Hidalgo
launched a major architecture
competition. e first of
its kind, Reinventing Paris
encompassed 23 neglected
sites, scaered throughout
– and owned by – the ci.
An initial 815 applications
ultimately yielded 360
competition entries, from
which 75 projects were
selected to compete in the
final phase. e 23 winners,
1
each accompanied by a
Renderings by Splann
developer willing to pay for
the project, were announced
in January 2016. Some of these
will have the opportuni
to execute their projects.
Two striking designs, which
happen to be located next to
each other, are shown here.

1 e Multi-Layered Ci
Ternes-Villiers
Jacques Ferrier Architectures,
Chartier Dalix Architectes and
SLA Landscape
— Landscaped bridge over the
Boulevard Périphérique, with
housing and offices above and
interconnected rooops for
urban agriculture
2
jacques-ferrier.com
chartier-dalix.com
sla.dk

2 ousand Trees
Pershing
Manal Rachdi OXO Architects
and Sou Fujimoto Architects
— Complex spanning the
Boulevard Périphérique and
creating a public passage between
Paris and Neuilly; the project
comprises 127 dwellings, 27,589 m²
of office space, a 250-room four-
star hotel and a bus station
oxoarch.com
sou-jimoto.net
Essence
of a surface
— Outdoor
Fluxmans
Building,
Johannesburg

Location:
Johannesburg, SA
S 26° 12' 14" E 28° 02' 50"
Surface: Collection
Ì -%2co Lucidato

Laminam S.p.A
Via Ghiarola Nuova 258
41042 Fiorano Modenese
Modena /Italy
Showroom: Via Mercato 3
20121 Milano /Italy
www.laminam.it
 026

Cross
Mark 61

Section
 Cross Section 027

‘At six eo le
er
s uare metre,
bodies
eo Deutinger, Stefanos
Filippas and Liam Cooke on
crowd control, page 046

be in to
behave
like a fluid’
028 Mark 61 Cross Section

Sanctuary in the Silo

Gonzalo Mardones restores and

expands a church in Chile.

Text Emily Downing

Photos Nicolás Saieh

A small communi situated in a cohesive complex. To ensure a

the picturesque Chilean landscape balance between old and new, the
had been using an old silo as its architects took the dimensions
chapel for almost 40 years, until of the existing structure into
the building was le in ruins
following a destructive earthquake
consideration. In their words:
‘ e silo, with a base diameter
Long Section
that shook the country in of 10.5 m and a height of 10.5 m,
February 2010. determines the size of the new
When Santiago-based firm chapel, whose base is also 10.5 m
Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto wide. e height of the new chapel
asked the townspeople what they is 7 m, which allows the silo to be
envisioned for their church, they the main element of the site.’
had only one request – that what A contrast to the industrial
lile remained of their treasured shell is an interior that resonates
silo be salvaged and converted with soness and harmony.
into a new religious centre. e Delicately finished in light pine,
firm responded by repairing the a timber donated by the local
brile structure and cladding communi, the new chapel offers P an
it in metal panelling to prevent a vibrant, open space for religious
rther damage. Although the new services and events. e epitome
surface of the building alters its of the ensemble is still the silo,
outer appearance, its proportions however, with its simply designed
and inherent characteristics are a interior, filled with a hushed air
clear echo of what existed before of sereni. It’s easy to see why the
the earthquake. Gonzalo Mardones communi wished to preserve
added a new chapel and belfry to this precious space.
the site and covered both in the gonzalomardonesv.cl
same metal panelling to create
Gonzalo Mardones Arquitecto Totihue — Chile 029

e chapel that once occupied the

silo now nctions as a neral
parlour and communi centre.
030 Mark 61 Cross Section

Mastering the Art of the Meme

e minimal world of
Drake’s Hotline Bling
Stills taken from the video clip.
triers the imagination.
Text Sofia Borges
Images Creative Soul

When ‘Hotline Bling’ first hit installation artist Do-Ho Suh, the
the airwaves last summer, it was colour-saturated clip holds the
popular, but not that popular. e eye through its bold chromatic
infectious song didn’t reach its transitions. Drake finds himself
now ubiquitous presence until isolated within an unadorned
the release of the music video by box that is continually refreshed,
Hype Williams disciple Director shi ing from lemon yellow to
X. In an act of deceptive simplici, shamrock green to icy blue – and
Canadian rapper Drake shuffles between two oblique planes that
and shimmies his idiosyncratic frame a mercurial s . A floating
dance moves through a series of neon-tinted stairway becomes
starkly geometric backdrops aglow a portal that connects Drake’s
with vibrant light. e gesture- minimal universe to the call
filled sets occupy a liminal space centre. More interesting than
on the opposite side of a 1990s the video has been its public
call centre staffed by women in reception. Stripping architecture
matching skinny jeans and crop to a few sketchy lines, the
tops. While neither legendary pared-down world of Hotline
light artist James Turrell nor ‘any Bling begs for appropriation.
of his woes’ was involved in the Its sophisticatedly strategic
making of the video, his influence open-endedness makes the video
is undeniable. At times resembling a blank canvas that invites the
a fictional collaboration between meme generation to fill in the
Drake, Turrell and Korean gaps with their imagination.
DESEO

Deseo is a beautiful, intelligent thermostat with a simple and

innovative user interface. Besides temperature, Deseo can control
lights, shades, scenes and music.

The innovative touch technology, allows the control of all these

functions with extreme ease of use in a sleek and refined design,
using high-quality materials.

Deseo is designed to work with KNX, the international standard

for home automation.

www.basalte.be [email protected]
032 Mark 61 Cross Section

Open Up Front Office Too opts for

maximum extroversion.

X-braces set half inside and half outside

the house reflect the architects’ desire to
externalize the frame of the residence.
 Front Office Too Too — Japan 033

Text Cathelijne Nuijsink

Photos Takumi Ota

Designed by Front Office Too, it would be brilliant to see more

Oyamadai House responds to its people live this way. Because
exposed, overlooked location with nearby houses turn away from
lly glazed openness. Architect each other, Oyamadai House
Will Galloway explains. is actually more private than it
seems at first glance. It is really
Why this bold statement? the openness of our clients and not
WILL GALLOWAY (Front Office the amount of glass we used that
Too): e location, on a flag- makes it work.
shaped plot, is surrounded on all
sides by neighbours, with only To accommodate the clients’ Roof
a narrow connection to the main desire for a house whose interior
road. ere is no natural direction connects it to the surroundings,
towards which you could orientate you came up with a rather original
this home and have privacy not structural solution.
be a problem, especially if your e large X-shaped elements stem
clients are keen on absolute from the ndamental challenge
seclusion. So we took the to make the house really open.
opposite approach and accepted A timber frame requires a certain
the crowded urban conditions – number of shear walls, but
treating them as though they were conceptually speaking, we wanted
the environs of a country estate. none. During the design process,
Any other choice would have
required extreme introversion.
we aimed for a framework that
would extend beyond the walls
+1
and be visible from outside –
Introversion seems to be the think of flying buresses. at
approach that neighbouring idea, however, was constrained
houses have taken. If they weren’t by setback rules, so we opted for
all closed and inward-looking, an alternative: X-braces, which
would your open, all-glazed house are set half outside and half
still work? inside the house.
e best ci must necessarily frontofficetoo.com
contain a mix of pologies, and

Cross Section
034 Mark 61 Cross Section

Bethesda Game Studios offers

Building Hope optimism in a post-nuclear world.

Text Oliver Zeller

Image Bethesda Game Studios

Fallout 4 takes players on an the vertical plane, resembling advanced robotics group – e of temporary humanitarian
immersive excursion into the post- at times what Marine Corps Institute – resides in a stunning re ge – from the New Orleans
nuclear wasteland that is Boston Brigadier General Julian Alford hermetic subterranean complex Superdome to the abandoned
in 2287. e familiar resides in defines as ‘the four-floor war’. that simultaneously recalls Mogadishu Stadium – but beyond
derelict remnants, yet this is an Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG William Cameron Menzies’ the Colosseum in Rome, they
alternate reali with a slistic writes about ‘the entire spectrum science-fiction film, ings to are rarely a basis for residential
sensibili that emerged from of tactical challenges’ that can Come; the organic designs of Zaha architectural revitalization.
the early Cold War. A time when now be experienced within Hadid and Santiago Calatrava; and In an effort to build
the car tailfin was still in vogue four floors of a single high-rise. photographer Vincent Fournier’s se lements across the wasteland,
and the dream of robotic butlers When ‘everyday surroundings Space Project. players are able to take on the
became manifest, only for them to are modelled and war-gamed However, where the roles of architects and builders,
be le behind roaming the ruins of as sites of speculative combat’, architecture of Fallout 4 excels is a first among mainstream role-
white-picket-fenced homes. he continues, they capture how in its imaginative repurposing, playing games. Lacking game
In a departure from its ‘terri ing ll-scale architectural which is highlighted by Diamond modifications and forced to use
predecessors – set in Washington, warfare can be’. e destruction Ci, a grandiose safe haven mainly scrap, intrepid designers
DC, and various West Coast within this vertical architecture, established within the remnants of have defied systems limitations
locales – Fallout 4 features multi- however, more oen resembles the the ci’s famed baseball stadium: to create surprising objects, from
tiered highways and sline- work of Gordon Ma a-Clark run Fenway Park. A marketplace in brutalist sscrapers to impossible
piercing towers, haphazardly amok, replete with excisions that the outfield clusters around a constructions that evoke the work
interconnected at great heights form looped pathways and sights spire and noodle bar that houses of Filip Dujardin.
through a combination of conducive to gameplay. the town’s reactor, with cables Even in the wastelands,
happenstance and resource lness. Not all of Fallout’s fanning out above the lly fledged architecture provides a beacon
e fight for survival against architecture is stuck in the past. communi, eternally illuminated of hope.
marauding raider factions and In a nod to the history of Boston’s by the stadium lights. Sports
super mutants oen occurs in technological excellence, an arenas have long been sources
036 Mark 61 Cross Section

High
Five
Von M
multiplies
a roof.

Text Jane Szita

Photos Zooey Braun
Photo Dennis Mueller

Called upon to design a new

kindergarten and family centre
for the Poppenweiler district of
the German ci of Ludwigsburg,
Stugart-based office Von M
found a context that was more or
less rural – at least architecturally.
e job called for the renovation
of an existing farmhouse building
(the family centre) while adding
a new, 1248-m2 block on one
side to house the kindergarten.
In order to harmonize with the
surroundings, Von M gave the
new addition a rustic touch by
dividing it into five sections, each
one with its own pitched roof. e
resulting angular roo op rhythm
makes for a lively silhouee while
keeping to the scale of the original,
stucco-covered farmhouse, whose
form the architects simplified by
stripping it of bay windows and
overhanging eaves.
Cladding the new
extension in wooden slats
provides a material contrast
with the older structure while
su esting a series of barns added
to the original farmhouse. Inside
the new kindergarten, where the
five roof partitions are reflected
in interior walls, white-painted
pine and custom rnishings, also
designed by Von M, lend a calm
consistency to the spaces. e
office wanted to avoid ‘a mess of
primary colours and ridiculous
forms’, says Von M’s Dennis
Mueller. ‘Our aim was to provide a
friendly, generous and light-filled,
but also restrained, space for the
children so that they can develop
it for themselves.’
vonm.de
 Von M Ludwigsburg — Germany 037

0 +1 +2

Long Section Cross Section

038 Mark 61 Cross Section

Circular
Economy
‘One person's waste
becomes another’s perk’
in Encore Heureux’s
pavilion design.

Plan

Long Section
 Encore Heureux Paris — France 039

Text Emily Downing

Photos Cyrus Cornut

e Circular Pavilion could be and debates. By sourcing materials the interior space, enhancing Change Conference, Encore
considered a questionable title for from construction sites, botched its light, airy atmosphere. Heureux encourages fellow
an entirely angular construction. orders, unused stocks and the like, Mineral wool removed from architects and designers to
e name refers to the concept the team accumulated a bank of a supermarket roof makes for embrace circular-economic
behind the project, however, which supplies for the project. perfect insulation, and exhibition principles. In the architects’ own
was the creation of a structure Façades are characterized panelling on interior surfaces words: ‘An improved focus on
that ‘follows the principles of the by a configuration of doors – 180 adds a clean finish. Following its existing resources and materials
circular economy’, in which ‘one of them to be exact – repurposed three-month stay in the heart of would allow us to reduce
person’s waste becomes another’s from a housing development. the ci, the pavilion moved to a our consumption of primary
perk’. Parisian architecture Working with the rectangular more permanent location in the resources, as well as to avoid the
practice Encore Heureux designed proportions of the doors, the firm 14th arrondissement, where it’s production and accumulation
the ingenious pavilion – originally devised the dynamic timber- used as the clubhouse of a sports of waste that then needs to be
situated at the steps of the adorned paern. A sawtooth roof association. dealt with.’
Hôtel de Ville – as a space for featuring Plexiglas panels permits Influenced by the encoreheureux.org
exhibitions, lectures, workshops a maximum of light to inse 2015 United Nations Climate
040 Mark 61 Cross Section
 Koizumi Sekkei Shizuoka — Japan 041

Slam
Dunk
Koizumi Sekkei
wraps a house
around a
basketball court.

+1

0
Text Cathelijne Nuijsink
Photos Toshiyuki Yano

Basketball Court House in fan. ey have three children: space changes. If you add a long
Shizuoka, Japan, was designed by two sons, aged four and two, and table, the court turns into a dining
local office Koizumi Sekkei. e a seven-year-old daughter. e room. If you add a net, it becomes
family home includes a quarter- four-year-old plays basketball a badminton court. And if you
scale basketball court, complete every day. set up tents, it transforms into an
with standard 3-m-high hoops. indoor campsite.
A sliding mesh screen protects With everything in this house
the kitchen and dining areas from dictated by basketball, including Does the meaning of the Japanese
rogue balls. Architect Shuichiro the dining area and kitchen, what house change when you put a
Koizumi tells the story. is the impact on the family’s client’s hobby centre stage?
lifesle? I don’t think so. Space is precious
Your clients’ request for a e house was always intended in Japan, and we are constantly
Cross Section basketball court inside their new to be a flexible, multipurpose exploring new methods of using it.
home is rather unusual. How crazy space. Basketball is symbolic e country’s current social issues
are they about the sport? of my clients, which explains require more flexibili in terms
SHUICHIRO KOIZUMI: We the inclusion of a court in their of open space and other places for
designed the house for the house. Because it’s at the centre people to gather. Since the family
family of my brother-in-law, who of the home, it can be used as an moved into Basketball Court
coaches the basketball team at extension of the dining area, for House, they’ve had friends visit
the universi he aended as a instance, or as a large guest room. them more frequently.
student. His wife, my younger And depending on the pe of koizumisekkei.com
sister, is also a great basketball rniture used, the meaning of the
042 Mark 61 Cross Section

Stack ’em High Construction Scheme

Orange Architects
piles up apartments.

Text Stefano Corbo

Photos Mahijs van Roon

e Cube, a sculptural tower by and staircases passes through the

Orange Architects, a Dutch firm centre of each apartment. Around
with offices in Amsterdam and this core, space flows freely,
Roerdam, rises 50 m above the allowing a maximum degree of
ground in Sin el Fil, an eastern flexibili and customization.
district of Beirut. Commissioned In contrast, e Cube’s
by Lebanese development external design is irregular,
company Masharii, the project resembling a stack of carelessly + 13
consists of an entrance-level lobby, placed books or boxes. Calculated
an underground parking garage displacements and movements
for 25 cars, and 19 apartments between the single units break
ranging from 117 to 234 m2 in size. up the expected monolithic profile
In its formal configuration, of a tower building to create a
e Cube aempts to rethink lively, three-dimensional form.
the traditional pology of the To achieve this, Orange Architects
residential tower and so overcome rotated the load-bearing girders
the rigidi and repetitiveness 90 degrees at every level. Each
to which the design is generally floor has two structural walls
prone. e internal organization and two glazed sides, enabling
of the tower is, in fact, absolutely all occupants to enjoy vast views
constant: a vertical concrete core of Beirut.
containing technical areas, lis orangearchitects.nl
Orange Architects Beirut — Lebanon 043
044 Mark 61 Cross Section

In the
Loop
TNA’s Helix
House does
away with
stairs.

Long Section +2

+1

Text Cathelijne Nuijsink

Photos Daici Ano

A lea residential neighbourhood TNA’s Makoto Takei and Chie Liing the house above street – a slide, depending on the
dating from the 1920s, Too’s Nabeshima noticed that the level allowed for the creation of user’s mood.
Denenchō was modelled on original suburban boundaries – an ambiguously defined outdoor Although a glazed façade
Ebenezer Howard’s garden- low hedges – had been replaced space beneath the dwelling. is brings the outdoors inside when
ci initiative and is still over the years by high walls, space is a cross between a public desired, the family can opt for
considered one of Japan’s most fences and even carports, pocket park and a private sandpit privacy by closing the teak-
scenic suburban areas. Setback hindering communication between surrounded by plants. A wooden louvred panels that cover every
regulations and strict maintenance neighbours and hiding private ramp, which lends access to the inch of it. A seamless match for
of the neighbourhood’s gingko- properties from the street. ey house, starts outside at street TNA’s custom-made rniture and
lined streets offer spatial luxury, proposed a radical alternative. level and spirals its way through other purpose-designed features,
at least by Too standards. A Instead of adding yet the interior all the way to the these panels can transform
new addition to the suburb, another wall or gate to Denenchō , roof. More than a substitute the glass house into a warm,
Helix House, is the work of Takei the architects le Helix House and for conventional stairs, the comfortable retreat.
Nabeshima Architects (TNA) its premises open to the immediate multi nctional ramp provides tna-arch.com
and a response to Denenchō ’s surroundings, in an effort to re- the family of five with a place to
landscape of single-family homes establish a human connection by gather, becoming a bench, a table
in a green communi se ing. means of their design. and – as the children demonstrate
 TNA Architects Too — Japan 045

A teak ramp leads to the entrance of Helix House and

continues inside, where it replaces conventional stairs.
 046 Mark 61 Cross Section

Crowd Control
Text and graphics eo Deutinger, Stefanos Filippas and Liam Cooke
live

Currently, the positive powers of avoiding disastrous media coverage.

the masses are praised and discussed Police officers have to be aware
extensively. Swarm-intelligence, that demonstrators, for instance,
mobile surveillance
crowd-nding, crowd-sourcing and are monitoring them continuously VII
crowd-innovation are just some of by means of smartphones, helmet
the keywords that promise economic cameras and even drones. What’s
and social progress as a result of more, a sense of safe is top of the 4B
individuals uniting to achieve a goal. list for people choosing to visit or live €
Social-media platforms that make in a specific place. Crowd control is VIP
it easy to se individuals into masses important, not only for those who
are reinforced by a plenitude of cheap make up the crowd but also – and VIP
international transportation, and perhaps even more – for people not €
both of them mobilize masses around directly involved in, but potentially
the world. bothered by, the phenomenon. side protest
10
On the flipside, mass tourism One outcome is an
causes chaotic situations at major increasingly refined and sophisticated 7
sights; the threat of terrorism in set of crowd-control strategies, as
crowded urban spots puts pressure implemented by event organizers,
13
on urban securi; and mass tourist boards and especially police
urbanization combined with mass forces. e least sign of an unusual
migration demands constantly gathering rings alarm bells, and
improved methods for managing and even the smallest demonstration
VIP
controlling people flows. requires a substantial police
Six people per square metre operation. Orchestrated handling and
represents the threshold at which professional communication aimed at €
bodies are jammed so tightly that both participants and general public
VIP
they begin to behave like a fluid. are vital. To restore public confidence
Pressure waves moving through in a safe environment, people need to
2
them can lead to a loss of control. be assured that everything is under
VIP
In most cases, however, crowd control at any given moment – and
control is not about avoiding disaster ‘people’ is a term that includes each
through overcrowding, but about and every one of us. €
< 3m 250 VIP escort
100

110

98

1 Stanchions. Used to create 2 Temporary barriers. Used 3 Turnstile. Used

barricaded lines with adequate to limit movement outside at entrances and
breaks and turns at regular dedicated areas. Working exits to limit entry
intervals to maintain an physically and psychologically, and restrict flow, Sources: wikipedia.org / theguardian.com / jnlwp.defense.gov/
orderly flow and reduce the they interlock to prevent thus preventing theprepperjournal.com / hse.gov.uk / btselem.org / globalsecuri.org
risk of harm. displacement or tipping. overcrowding inside
a building or venue.
D

car res barbed wire riot shields

4A Water cannon. Projects high-pressure water. D=<90 m. 5 Improvised barriers. Vehicles, 6 Barbed-wire barriers. Metal 7 Unit formation. Based on an
traffic blocks and items such as car barriers that physically ancient Roman war tactic, this tight
4B Long-range acoustic device. Projects amplified sound. D=<3.5 km. res create barricades that block deny access to a suspected formation comprises a compact unit
or channel crowd movement. protest target. of officers protected by riot shields.
4 C Active denial system. Projects intense heat. D=<1 km.
< 35 m < 20 - 100 m
baton < 9m

leash
canister

8 Police dogs. Dogs are 9 Baton charge. A coordinated 10 Gas fired from guns in grenade 11 Stun grenades. A diversionary measure 12 Baton rounds. Non-lethal
used to help disperse tactic in which police officers canisters, resulting in severe eye, with an explosion that combines bright projectiles fired from a weapon
crowds and to support charge with batons and o en riot skin and respiratory irritation. light and noise: about 175 dB. Causes and intended to strike the target
police cordons. shields; the purpose is to cause Used to disperse crowds. temporary loss of hearing and sight, as with sufficient force to cause
pain and disperse the crowd. well as con sion. pain and subsequent compliance.
 Infographic 047

drone surveillance
drone HC14J footage
15:42 08.02.16
VIP

dispersal of main
crowd
IP
government building

16 4A
side entrance
for VIP

14B
9
monument VI 8
leader 12

6 9 VI
15
VIP 4c

14 A
VIP VI
main protest
VIP

11 1

dispersal of main
VI crowd

theatre crowd
unaware of
€ 3 protest

7
VIP

wall/blank building façade

wall/blank building façade
direction of
crowd splits in two movement

crowd forced to echelon hostile

command crowd
one side team
police
may use
riot shields
new
direction of
movement
armoured police
w/ riot shields
arrest police
teams cordon
commander armoured police mounted police
armoured police support cordon

13 Echelon. An offensive formation 14A Wedge. An offensive formation used to penetrate crowds 15 Diamond. As a defensive formation, it is used 16 Ke ling. Police officers protected by riot
featuring a diagonal line of police and split them into smaller groups. Also used to move when all-round securi is required in open gear advance slowly in formation, using
officers. Used to turn or divert VIPs, for instance, through crowds. areas. As an offensive formation, it is used their bodies to form a cordon to contain
groups in open or built-up areas mainly by extraction teams to enter a crowd. a group of hostile protesters, who are
and to move crowds away from 14B Snatch-squad wedge. Used to extract a crowd’s ringleaders. e symmetrical shape enables a quick then forcibly held until release or arrest.
buildings, fences and walls. change of the direction of movement. Riot shields, batons and mounted officers
are o en used in the process.
048 Mark 61 Cross Section

- 1

Silent
Observer

Staab Architekten
hides a new
extension to the
Richard Wagner
Museum behind a
historic building.
 Staab Architekten Bayreuth — Germany 049

Text Florian Heilmeyer

Photos Marcus Ebener

Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth turned the building into the first addition does not disturb the an aempt to understand what
may be a small building, but it’s Richard Wagner Museum. For heavy, bul impression you you’ve discovered.
bursting with German history. decades, however, it was more get when approaching Villa Once inside the new
King Ludwig II of Bavaria, an of a pilgrimage site than an actual Wahnfried along the strictly building, you descend into an
admirer of Richard Wagner, museum, a dark and dus place symmetrical tree-lined road with exhibition space that lies mostly
had the mansion erected for the with only a hand l of relics its view of the imposing façade. underground. A subterranean
composer in 1874. Wagner, who on display in the grand rooms. Nevertheless, you are led around corridor takes you deeper before
died in 1883, was buried on the Although these artefacts sent the right side of the house, a leading you back up and into
grounds of Villa Wahnfried, and shivers down visitors’ spines, detour that subtly breaks up the the old villa – the last station on
it’s his grave that makes the house they failed to tackle issues like heavy symmetry, and into the new your tour. In a congenial union of
an important destination for his racism and anti-Semitism, building, which is now the main cooperation, the new architecture
admirers. Visitors to the annual which appeared in some of entrance. Like a silent observer, and the underground displays
Wagner Festival, held in a nearby Wagner’s work. the distinctly modern extension sharpen both eye and mind before
theatre, included Wagnerians like Having drawn more and keeps its distance from the villa. inviting you to enter rooms filled
Arturo Toscanini, Richard Strauss more criticism, the museum was Because of its position at the back with almost fairy-tale frills and
and Adolf Hitler, many of whom finally scheduled to be modernized of the house, it offers the visitor faint echoes of Wagner, Strauss
stayed in the villa overnight. and expanded. Berlin-based Staab fresh perspectives and ideas. As and Hitler. If you’re looking for
Following the Second World Architekten won a competition you follow the new route, Villa a perfect example of ‘less is more’,
War, Villa Wahnfried served as for the overhaul by proposing a Wahnfried transforms from it lies behind a regal residence
headquarters, casino and brothel light, transparent, pavilion-like a mysterious, slightly spoo in Bayreuth.
for US troops. Members of the building behind the gardener’s place into an exhibition piece – staab-architekten.com
Wagner family moved into the house. Almost completely hidden comparable to a found object that
mansion in 1957 and, in 1976, by the historical complex, Staab’s you examine with your fingers in
050 Mark 61 Cross Section

e Great
Frame-Up
Donis won a design
competition – only to
be pushed out of the
picture by the client.

Text Hausatu Abdul-Karim

Photo Hendry Soetardjo Nanuru

In 2009, Roerdam-based Donis we proposed to frame them all: to won the yssenKrupp Elevator competition, Dubai Municipali
won a design competition for an frame the ci. Instead of building International Award 2009. offered us a contract that waived
emblematic building that would a massive structure, the purpose all our copyrights – we could never
promote ‘the new face of Dubai’. of the project was to build a So what went wrong? talk about our project or publish
Seven years later, the project is void. is void of 150 × 105 m Protected by the International it as our project – a clear breach of
nearing completion. So why isn’t would continuously frame the Union of Architects and UNESCO, the UNESCO-protected regulations.
the architect happy? development of the past, current the competition included e contract also stated that we
and ture Dubai. It would become regulations stipulating that ‘the could be terminated anytime, at
What’s the story behind the the structure that celebrates yet author of the preliminary design their discretion. Needless to say we
competition? constrains the ci. placed first will keep his copyright did not sign the contract.
FERNANDO DONIS: Soon aer e Dubai Frame was and his work may only be used by ey then took the project,
starting Donis in 2009, we entered meant to become an abstract and Dubai Municipali when he has resed to pay, resed to credit
an international competition modern monument, to frame the signed the corresponding contract us and proceeded to construct the
for a new Dubai landmark. As ci’s thousand landmarks – all for draing the corresponding building without consultation. Now
I had travelled there at least 20 competing in height, decor and design with the former’. the project is about to be completed
times while working for OMA, I extravagance. By aiming not Unfortunately, this clause was not and turned into one of the region’s
knew the context well, and it was to be an icon but to frame the respected by the client. next great tourist aractions –
clear to me what the ci needed. ci of icons, the Dubai Frame without reference either to us or
Dubai is a place ll of emblems. would stand out. Out of 926 What has happened since then? the competition.
Rather than adding another one, proposals, it was our project that Following the completion of the donis.org
 Donis Dubai — UAE 051

e Dubai Frame under construction.

Rendering of the competition-winning entry. e Dubai government has changed Donis’s original design,
e structure houses an art gallery, a café and a to resemble a traditional picture frame with mitred corners,
150-m-high sightseeing platform. bevelled edges and a gold finish.
052 Mark 61 Cross Section

+1

Cross Section 0
 Mjölk Pardubice — Czech Republic 053

At Home in
Suburbia

Mjölk’s gently
nonconformist
house sits behind
a wooden fence.

Text Adam Štěch

Photos Boys Play Nice

In a suburban neighbourhood the house and provides it with be stored in a smarter, cheaper composition comprising several
of the Czech ci of Pardubice, an intimate environment. e way, they embraced the idea. units that have different shapes,
Mjölk completed a single-family ground-floor living space is at We discussed the colour of the colours and nctions.
home that consists of several units the centre of the dwelling, and container at every meeting aer
linked by one long roof. the children’s rooms are on either that. e final choice was blue, Can you describe the bespoke
side. e master bedroom, which and they painted the container elements you designed for the
What was your concept for this is upstairs, is in a volume that themselves. interior?
house, and how does it respond looks like a small house with a e interior is an integral part
to the site? pitched roof. It rises from the flat Do the individual elements of the of the scheme. We like to design
JAN VONDRÁK (Mjölk): Our overhanging roof that unites the house have a symbolic meaning? all built-in elements – such as
clients’ small plot of land is in whole structure. at’s not the way we think when kitchen, wardrobes and library
a new development; the site is doing a project like this modest – and choose the materials
bordered by close neighbours Do you have an explanation for house, which doesn’t need to ourselves. Most of the pieces of
and a road. We positioned the the blue shipping container? ‘mean’ anything. Its form is based rniture for this house are made
house right behind a fence at the e initial brief included a garage, on a well-designed layout and of slender steel frames and wood.
back edge of the proper, leaving but in the end our clients couldn’t the common aesthetic of all those mjolk.cz
the biest part of the plot for afford it. When we suested that who participated in the design.
the garden. e fence protects garden tools and other stuff could e result is a compact overall
054 Mark 61 Cross Section

Adaptive
Overhaul
A-cero turned a partly ruined
market hall into a cultural centre
by encasing it in aluminium.

0
A-cero Getafe — Spain 055

Text Emily Downing

Photos Rubén P. Bescós / Inés Mollá
for RecordUs

A-cero transformed a derelict site is black and white aluminium

into a striking cultural centre for panelling obscures the existing
the Spanish ci of Getafe, near structure, leaving mere glimpses
Madrid. To quote the architects: of the historical fabric within. e
‘e existing building was nearly interior follows a more sensitive
in ruins, and the ci council approach to the old market hall
came up with a proposal for a by allowing the original brick
multinctional centre for the walls and a laice of concrete roof
townspeople, with a main focus on trusses to characterize the space.
cultural events.’ Sleek contemporary additions
Not just an adaptive transform the fragmented hall
reuse project but the result of into a habitable venue for the
an adaptive overhaul scheme, communi.
the current complex embraces roughout the cultural
a bold juxtaposition of old and centre, refererences are made
new, which is visible both outside to the old building, such as the
and inside. e façades are an architects’ exposure of the original
eye-catching complement to the entrance on the main façade, a
surrounding, more traditionally token of the past. Although the
designed Spanish architecture. building has undergone a major
Vast vertical ribs interspersed transformation, such mementos
with smaller protruding ‘pieces’ signi respect for the site, its
encase the former market hall, previous nctions and the value it
wrapping the whole building in holds for the local communi.
an interesting new skin. a-cero.com

Before and aer.

056 Mark 61 Cross Section

Cross Section
Parallel
Universe
Suppose Design Office
lines up 18 interior walls.
Plan
Suppose Design Office
Nagoya — Japan 057

Text Cathelijne Nuijsink

Photos Toshiyuki Yano

In the densely populated raising the house above the road you cannot see inside the house.
Omoteyama neighbourhood in and shunning a frontal view, Meanwhile, the position of the
Nagoya, Japan’s fourth largest ci, focusing instead on framing the interior walls allows the residents
a new house by Suppose aempts greener areas visible at either end. to enjoy undisturbed views of
to address one of the downsides of ese more restl views the outdoors.’
the modern urban condition: the can be enjoyed throughout the Although this is a
tendency for people to lose contact house, thanks to the fact that all custom-designed house for a
with their surroundings. 18 interior walls, in different sizes specific family, Suppose reckons
Residents in built-up areas and thicknesses, run lengthwise its solution has a wider currency,
like this one are oen tempted to through the building, parallel to according to the office’s Toshinori
draw the curtains, close off the one another. ‘It’s a space where Iwatake: ‘We hope it challenges
outside world and protect their the normally contradictory the idea that the south-facing
privacy. In creating a new home for concepts of open and closed can window is always the best option,
a couple with one child, Suppose live comfortably together,’ says even when destined to be covered
aimed to re-establish the connection Suppose director Makoto Tanijiri. by curtains.’
between inside and outside by ‘If you look up from the road, suppose.jp
058 Mark 61 Cross Section

Euro Trip
XML and Jurgen Bey give the European
Council an interactive interior.

Text Arthur Wortmann

Photos XML

Twice a year the European Union entrance hall and covered the of meeting. At the end of the of national identi: ‘What do you
gets a new president. e member floor with a gigantic blue carpet Dutch presidency, each of the 28 do if the bo le with water from
state that assumes the six-month made from artificial turf. e member states may take one of your country is emp?’
role presides over meetings of the grass nctions as a ‘blue screen’. these elements home. (Idea for a e changes that XML and
European Council, which take As heads of state passing through ture creative enterprise: send a Bey have made to the building are
place in the Justus Lipsius building the atrium are filmed, the blue photographer to all 28 countries not going to solve the crises that
in Brussels. During the period backdrop is manipulated in such five years from now to document face the EU at the moment. But
of authori, a member state has a way that they appear to be where the ‘gis’ ended up. And to surely a touch of playlness is
permission to redesign the interior walking across well-known public boost the feasibili of this project, not going to make the wheels of
of the building, but few countries spaces in other European cities. equip all seats with a tracking bureaucracy grind more slowly.
take advantage of this opportuni. ey might look at the video wall device before shipping them.) x-m-l.org
studiomakkinkbey.nl
e Netherlands, which took over and see themselves, for example, in A third intervention in
the presidency at the beginning of Amsterdam, Paris or Venice. the interior design is a water *Turn to page 62 to see XML’s study
of parliamentary chambers
January, opted for a change in the For the presidential bar. ‘e bar offers water from
normal routine. Enter architecture chambers, XML and Bey designed 28 bo les, each filled with water
firm XML and designer Jurgen a seating system made up of 28 originating from one of the 28 EU
Bey, who were asked to make a interlocking elements that can member states,’ says David Mulder
number of interventions. be arranged in a varie of ways. of XML. e bar is not only a place
e designers installed A suitable configuration of seats for informal get-togethers, he
a video wall in the building’s is possible for virtually any pe adds; it also raises the question
XML — Jurgen Bey Brussels — Belgium 059

‘e sculptural form of the meeting

room for the European Council –
built out of 28 unique interlocking
pieces forming a single space – is a
reference to “United in Diversi”,
the moo of the European Union,’
says Max Cohen de Lara of XML.
 060
Mark 61

Per-
spective
 Perspective 061

‘Parliament
is the s ace
where olitics
literal
Max Cohen de Lara and David
Mulder van der Vegt on spaces of
political congregation, page 062

takes sha e’
062 Mark 61 Perspective

Designing Democracy How does architecture influence our governments?

In its forthcoming book Parliaments, architecture
office XML analyses 193 spaces of political assembly
around the world, in an aempt to answer that
question. e preview published here showcases
some significant examples.

Text and Photos

XML / Max Cohen de Lara
and David Mulder van der Ve t

Parliament is the space where of spatial pologies exists for Kahn-designed chamber for the
politics literally takes shape. the plenary chambers of these Jatiyo Sangshad in Bangladesh.
Here, collective decisions take assemblies. e most common e fourth and final pology is
form in a specific seing where is the semicircle, which refers the classroom, where MPs siing
the relationships between to classical antiqui and which in regimented rows focus on a
various political actors are made its neoclassical comeback single speaker in the hall. Among
organized through architecture. with the French Revolution and others, the Chinese People’s
e architecture of spaces of the subsequently created National Congress and the Russian Duma
political congregation is more Assembly. A second, distinctly meet in this seing. e assembly
than an abstract expression of different, pology is the agonistic hall of the Brazilian parliament
political culture – it participates in British model of opposing benches. is also organized in a classroom
politics. Whether the members of It dates back to the pews of St seing, a choice in which designer
parliament are positioned ‘at arm’s Stephen’s chapel, where medieval Oscar Niemeyer’s sympathy for
length’ from each other (the United English kings called a form of communism shines through.
Kingdom), or in comfortable chairs parliament for the first time. In 2014, XML’s research
(the Netherlands), in each instance Because of its historical ties with was presented in the main
the debate will evolve in a totally Britain, this pology is also found exhibition of the International
different atmosphere. How do in the Commonwealth countries. Architecture Biennale in Venice.
the seings of political assembly Le Corbusier used it, for example, is spring sees the publication of
spaces, such as the plenary halls in the round plenary chamber of the book Parliament, containing
of parliaments, structure decision- the regional parliament building an overview of the meeting
making practices? How do they in Chandigarh. chambers of the parliaments of all
characterize the different polities In many Commonwealth 193 member states of the United
of our time? countries, we also see a hybrid Nations. In parallel, a digital
Although each of the 193 arrangement of the semicircle publication (parliamentbook.com)
United Nations member states and opposing benches: here, the explores some of the halls that
has a form of parliament – and benches curve towards each other were visited and documented
varying degrees of democracy at the ends, forming a horseshoe. by XML. _
– only a very limited number is is present in the Louis x-m-l.org
 Parliaments Various Places 063

Democracy Index
39 Latvia 103 Cambodia
e Democracy Index is compiled 40 Poland 105 Nepal
by the Economist Intelligence Unit 41 Greece 106 Palestine
42 Cyprus 107 Mozambique
and measures the state of democracy
43 Jamaica 108 Pakistan
in 167 countries, of which 166 are 44 Brazil → p. 064 109 Sierra Leone
sovereign states and 165 are United 45 Slovakia 110 Madagascar
Nations member states. e index 46 Timor-Leste 111 Iraq
is based on 60 indicators grouped 47 Panama 112 Mauritania
48 Trinidad and Tobago 113 Armenia
in five categories that measure
49 Indonesia 114 Burkina Faso
pluralism, civil liberties, and political 50 Croatia 115 Niger
culture. In addition to a numeric 51 Hungary
score and a ranking, the index 52 Argentina AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES
categorizes countries as one of four 53 Suriname 116 Morocco
53 Philippines 117 Algeria
regime pes: ll democracies,
55 Bulgaria 118 Haiti
flawed democracies, hybrid regimes 56 Serbia 119 Libya
and authoritarian regimes. e 57 Romania 120 Kuwait
parliamentary chambers of countries 57 Mexico 121 Jordan
appearing here in bold font are 59 Dominican Republic 121 Gabon
60 Lesotho 121 Nigeria
documented on the following pages.
61 Mongolia 124 Ethiopia
Countries sharing the same numbers 62 Colombia 125 Belarus
are equally placed in the index. 63 Peru 126 Côte d’Ivoire
64 El Salvador 127 Cuba
FULL DEMOCRACIES 65 Malaysia 127 Comoros
1 Norway 66 Hong Kong 129 Togo
2 Sweden 67 Zambia 130 Vietnam
3 Iceland 68 Ghana 130 Cameroon
4 New Zealand 69 Moldova 132 Russia → p. 070
5 Denmark 70 Tunisia 133 Angola
6 Switzerland 71 Paraguay 134 Burundi
7 Canada 72 Macedonia 135 Rwanda
8 Finland 73 Namibia 136 Qatar
9 Australia 74 Senegal 137 Kazakhstan
10 Netherlands → p. 076 75 PNG 138 Egypt
11 Luxembourg 75 Singapore 139 Oman
12 Ireland 140 Swaziland
13 Germany HYBRID REGIMES 141 Myanmar
14 Austria 77 Montenegro 141 Gambia
15 Malta 78 Guyana 143 Guinea
16 UK 79 Ecuador 144 China
17 Uruguay 80 Honduras 145 Djibouti
17 Mauritius 81 Georgia 146 Congo (Brazzaville)
19 USA 82 Guatemala 147 Bahrain
20 Japan → p. 074 83 Bolivia 148 Azerbaijan
21 South Korea 83 Mali 149 Yemen
22 Spain 85 Bangladesh → p. 068 150 Zimbabwe
23 France → p. 072 86 Tanzania 151 Afghanistan
24 Costa Rica 87 Sri Lanka 152 United Arab Emirates
88 Albania 153 Sudan
FLAWED DEMOCRACIES 89 Malawi 154 Uzbekistan
25 Czech Republic 90 Benin 155 Eritrea
26 Belgium 91 Fiji 156 Tajikistan
27 India → p. 066 92 Ukraine 157 Laos
28 Botswana 93 ailand 158 Iran
29 Italy 94 Nicaragua 159 Guinea-Bissau
30 South Africa 95 Kyrgyz Republic 160 Turkmenistan
31 Cape Verde 96 Uganda 161 Saudi Arabia
32 Chile 97 Kenya 162 DCR
33 Portugal 98 Turkey 163 Syria
34 Estonia 98 Lebanon 164 Equatorial Guinea
35 Taiwan 100 Venezuela 165 Chad
36 Israel 101 Liberia 166 CAR
37 Slovenia 102 Bhutan 167 North Korea
38 Lithuania 103 Bosnia and Hercegovina
 064

Câmara dos Deputados

Brasilia — Brazil
Architect Oscar Niemeyer
Year 1960
Seats 513
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 065
 066

Punjab Legislative Assembly

Chandigarh — India
Architect Le Corbusier
Year 1963
Seats 117
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 067
 068

Jatiyo Sangshad
Dhaka — Bangladesh
Architect Louis Kahn
Year 1982
Seats 350
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 069
 070

Duma
Moscow — Russia
Architect Arkady Langman
Year 1935
Seats 450
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 071
 072

Assemblée Nationale
Paris — France
Architect Jules de Joly
Year 1832
Seats 577
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 073
 074

Diet
Too — Japan
Architect Watanabe Fukuzo and Takeuchi Shinshichi
Year 1936
Seats 480
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 075
 076

Tweede Kamer
e Hague — Netherlands
Architect Pi de Bruijn
Year 1992
Seats 150
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 077
 078

European Parliament
Strasbourg — France
Architect Architecture-Studio
Year 1999
Seats 751
Mark 61
Perspective
Parliaments Various Places 079
 080
Mark 61

Long
Section
 Long Section 081

‘We
for et we
are on
a ti
molecule
in the
Zdeněk Fránek on the way humans
interact with nature, page 160

cosmos’
082 Mark 61 Long Section

Toruń
Rocks
Fernando Menis’s
high-impact cultural
complex in Toruń
echoes both the local
medieval architecture
and the rued volcanic
landscape of his own
Canarian homeland.

Text
Michał Haduch
and Bartosz Haduch

Photos
Iwan Baan
Menis Arquitectos Toruń — Poland 083
084 Mark 61 Long Section

Irregular and massive, the building’s four

distinct volumes suest rock formations.
Menis Arquitectos Toruń — Poland 085

Located

on the banks of the Vistula River in northern A er more than four years of preparation
Poland, halfway between Warsaw and (including a substantial extension of the
Gdańsk, the ci of Toruń (population: original nctional programme) and almost
200,000) aracts thousands of tourists each three years of construction, Toruń unveiled its
year on account of its beautilly preserved CKK Jordanki culture and congress centre last
medieval Old Town. e birthplace of December. Close to the Old Town and facing
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, Toruń’s red- an important local thoroughfare, the building
brick Gothic architecture has won it a place rises from a picturesque 1.4-hectare stretch of
on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Recently, land – once the site of a medieval moat, more
however, the ci has acquired some new recently occupied by tennis courts, a sports
aractions, including a museum of modern pavilion and an outdoor swimming pool. e
art, a speedway stadium and an indoor sports new five-storey complex is surrounded by a
arena, and a new kind of visitor to go with vast park whose name it has inherited, and
them. e need for a proper concert hall and is largely sunk into the ground so as not to
contemporary landmark to cement this new interfere with the ci’s historical panorama.
image prompted the municipal authorities to e building consists of four long, distinct
plan an ambitious new culture centre. ey modules, made out of Menis’s signature
found the right architect for the job some material – concrete, in this case produced on-
4,000 km from home – on the volcanic island, site from rare white melaphyre a regate and
and new architectural hotspot, of Tenerife in imprinted with the natural grain of timber
the Canaries. boards. e different parts of the complex are
Fernando Menis is the co-author connected with each other by glass corridors
of several remarkable recent buildings on which, together with numerous slights,
Tenerife, including the Holy Redeemer allow natural daylight to penetrate the
Church in San Cristóbal de la Laguna, the interiors. e corridors are complemented
Magma Art & Congress centre in Adeje with public passageways and terraces.
and the Insular Athletics Stadium in Santa e irregular massive volumes
Cruz de Tenerife. His work typically shows resemble the hardened lava flows and volcanic
a profound respect for the local context, rock formations pical of the architect’s
combined with an incessant search for native Tenerife, but also the local medieval
new forms of expression. In recent years, fortifications. e narrow corridors cuing
Menis and his team have embarked on an their way through the building in turn evoke
international journey, working on projects the ancient alleyways of the neighbouring
in Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan. Their Old Town. e spectacular picado – a kind of
biggest overseas adventure so far, however, crushed red-brick mosaic cast in concrete –
started in 2008 in Poland, when they won that covers a majori of the interiors is another
the first prize in the international design intelligent reinterpretation of Toruń’s medieval
competition for Toruń’s new culture complex. architecture. Outside, the sculptural elevations →
086 Mark 61 Long Section

show cracks here and there, revealing the red- with asymmetrical sculptural forms recalling
brick interior and enticing passers-by to enter. both caves (the traditional homes of the
is symbolic architectural gesture brings to Guanches, Tenerife’s indigenous inhabitants)
mind archaeological discovery, and the ci’s and Gothic vaults, like the one in the nearby
material heritage revealed in the strata of Church of the Assumption of the Blessed
consecutive historical layers. Virgin Mary. e irregular geometric shapes
With an area of roughly 20,000 m2, the and the use of raw, unfinished materials
new cultural centre houses a rich and diverse may also bring to mind the works of famous
nctional programme including conference Spanish architects and artists like Antoni
rooms, a recording studio and a restaurant Gaudí, César Manrique or Eduardo Chillida.
as well as offices, a reception, rehearsal and anks to its innovative technical
storage facilities, and underground parking for solutions, a diversified nctional programme
185 cars. Pride of place, however, goes to the and some intriguing expressive architecture,
two auditoriums, the main concert hall with CKK Jordanki looks set to become Toruń’s new
882 seats and the smaller chamber music hall eye catcher, aracting even more visitors to
for 300 people. e two spaces are separated by the ci. And that for the relatively moderate
a retractable wall and can therefore be merged cost of around €50 million. Fernando Menis
for bi er events. anks to removable seats, has managed to create a highly original and
rolling curtains and mobile ceiling panels, each thoroughly modern form that establishes
space can take on different configurations a fruitl dialogue with the ci’s rich past
(including a possible reversal of the traditional and promises to age well, just like the local
relationship of stage and audience) and the medieval architecture. He has succeeded in
resulting variable acoustics can adapt to music integrating the seemingly irreconcilable: old
concerts, film projections, congresses, fairs, and new, Canarian and local, emotion and
theatre performances and opera spectacles. reason, creating a landmark in which music,
e stage of the main concert hall can even be sculpture and architecture have come together
opened to the exterior, facilitating open-air in an impressive eruption of the arts. _
events. Both auditoriums share a similar sle, menis.es

e foyer echoes the material treatment of the

façade, with white concrete, imprinted with
the natural grain of timber boards, alternating
with red-brick picado.
 Menis Arquitectos Toruń — Poland 087

Outdoor Event Central Stage

Banquet Symphonic

Above Some of the ten different

modes of use for the versatile
main concert hall.

Right e symphonic
configuration in action.
088 Mark 61 Long Section

Asymmetrical and sculptural, the

arresting forms of the concert hall
evoke both caverns and Gothic vaults.
Menis Arquitectos Toruń — Poland 089
090 Mark 61 Long Section

04

01

05

01

06

03 02

0
01 Foyer
02 Cafeteria
03 Reception
04 Wardrobe
05 Main concert hall
06 Chamber hall

03

02

05

01

04

04

–1 06

01 Foyer
02 Wardrobe
03 Nursery
04 Locker rooms
05 Buffet
06 Parking
 Menis Arquitectos Toruń — Poland 091

01

03

01

02

+2
01 Balcony, main concert hall
02 Offices
03 Foyer

Long Section

Cross Section
092 Mark 61 Long Section

Monolith
of Memory
 Rudy Riccioi Rivesaltes — France 093

A statement of massive horizontali in a crudely excavated

trench, Rudy Riccioi’s Rivesaltes Memorial Museum is an
eloquent epitaph on the darker episodes of modern history.

Text Photos
Rafael Gómez-Moriana Kevin Dolmaire

Photo M. Hédelin / Région Languedoc-Roussillon

094 Mark 61 Long Section

e
Camp de Rivesaltes, a sprawling military a memorial museum whose avowed aim is
base built in 1938 near Perpignan, southern ‘to raise public awareness of the dangers of
France, has the kind of history that some weakened democratic values’. e Mémorial de
governments would prefer to erase. Before Rivesaltes, or Rivesaltes Memorial Museum,
finally closing in 2007, it was mainly used as was inaugurated in October 2015.
a detention centre for so-called ‘undesirables’. e task of any memorial is
e camp’s 150 barracks, evenly distributed to commemorate, which is to say, to
over a 6-km2 grid, were used during or aer communicate. In this case, French Republican
major conflicts of the 20th century, detaining values of freedom and democracy are
regees fleeing Franco’s dictatorship in communicated by architecturally showcasing
Spain, and Jews, gypsies and communists on a specific historical site of official repression.
their way to Nazi death camps. In the 1960s, is is no easy task for contemporary
the camp held regees from the Algerian architecture. Since the invention of the
Revolution, while more recently, it was used printing press, it has been relieved of
as a detention centre for illegal immigrants. the du of recounting history, and since
In 2005, architect and engineer Rudy Riccioi modernism, it has become abstract rather
won a competition to convert the site into than representational. Yet the need for places
 Rudy Riccioi Rivesaltes — France 095

Le e ochre concrete structure inserts itself

enigmatically into the desolate camp landscape,
which it showcases rather than obliterates.

Below A pair of rather forbidding concrete doors

greets visitors to the Rivesaltes Memorial Museum.

of commemoration continues, and when museum can also be seen as a statement longer required to understand the building
architecture cannot resort to figuration, other on architecture, or as a sort of manifesto materials that give shape to their works.
ways of communicating must be found. in favour of a set of architectural values: Rudy Riccioi takes exception to this
In this case, Rudy Riccioi’s answer specifically the ndamental importance of tendency. Materials are, for him, a ndamental
seems to be to use a highly abstract form materiali in architecture, in this case cast- point of departure in architecture. In his
in a figurative way. He takes the monolith, in-place concrete. provocatively titled book, L’Architecture est
a structural symbol capable of conveying With the advent of digitization and un sport de combat (Architecture is a Combat
notions of power and violence, and combines generative or so-called parametric design, Sport), Riccioi defends architecture as a local,
it with a ground plane – Mother Earth – building materials have increasingly become sensual and physical endeavour, declaring
that is abstractly and violently scarred. e an aerthought rather than a starting point war on bureaucrats, bean counters, and the
resulting building is succinct, powerl and in the design process. Today, we can import globalization of everything. His material of
moving. e ways in which materials are any material we want from anywhere on the choice is concrete. For Riccioi, cast-in-place
employed, spaces organized and illuminated, planet, and the only consideration we need concrete is a local material because it cannot
and movement orchestrated throughout the to give it is an aesthetic one, since suppliers, simply be imported from elsewhere and
building and the site as a whole also help consultants and construction workers are assembled on site with nuts and bolts. Cast-in-
to reinforce the message and to deliver a increasingly the only ones who handle place concrete must always be prepared within
potent user experience. In this regard, the building materials. Architects, alas, are no a certain distance of the construction site, →
096 Mark 61 Long Section

Almost buried in its trench, barely emerging

from the arid plain, the building only gradually
reveals its three-dimensionali.

‘From a distance, the memorial looks

 Rudy Riccioi Rivesaltes — France 097

more like a runway than a building’

098 Mark 61 Long Section

Above Sunken courards allow daylight to enter the complex

and offer the museum’s only external views. With their
different surfaces and touches of greenery, they contrast
with the concrete used for the rest of the building.

Opposite e sombre atmosphere of the visitor experience

is enhanced by the long narrow corridor that leads to the
permanent exhibition space.

and its use demands local expertise in order it becomes increasingly three-dimensional, the tough living conditions in the camp, as
to adapt it success lly to local climatic and taking on the appearance of an elongated well as archival photographs and detainees’
geological conditions. Moreover, building with monolith lying slightly off kilter in a trench. personal belongings. e overall atmosphere is
concrete is relatively labour intensive, which It is a mysterious sight, oddly reminiscent of sombre. Other nctions enclosed within the
for Riccioi is an important way of resisting the opening scene in Stanley Kubrick’s classic monolith are a 145-seat auditorium, a 400-m2
the blows dealt by the multinational business film 2001: A Space Odyssey, except that here temporary exhibition space, a café, a research
interests that run the global economy. the monolith is horizontal. You can’t help facili, a learning centre and offices.
Rivesaltes Memorial Museum is but look nervously around for signs of angry e strong, brutally simple form of
‘concrete’ not only in the sense that it is apes. Other possible analogies that come to the building, together with its monolithic
constructed of this particular building mind are an oversized coffin lowered into a materiali and its placement in a trench
material. It also communicates its intention grave, or an old bunker being heaved out of that has been crudely excavated, make it
– namely, that it is here to stay – concretely, the ground by movements of the earth, not resemble an unfinished, ongoing construction
squarely and straightforwardly. As a grounded unlike those celebrated by Paul Virilio in his site, or perhaps a concrete foundation of a
monolith of immense proportions, it sets out book Bunker Archaeology. ture structure. Riccioi himself describes
to be a permanent reminder of the official e approach to the 240-m-long the building as being ‘oppressive’ and
injustice this camp represents, and to tell the museum is via a long, gently sloping ramp demonstrating ‘formal violence’ in order to
stories of those who suffered here. culminating in a tunnel that leads to an make forgeing impossible. In an everyday
When you arrive at the camp’s parking entrance forecourt at the level of the trench urban context, such architectural violence
area, at the end of a rural road that passes boom. A pair of concrete – of course – doors might be questionable. In the context of a
through an industrial park as well as a leads you inside, where a large foyer receives site of violent history, however, serving as a
wind farm, the first sight is a panorama of daylight via two sunken patio courards. With reminder of the horrors that even democratic
ramshackle barracks. From a distance, the their different surfaces, plants and rnishings, governments can inflict on people, it seems
museum looks more like a runway than a including a water fountain, these patios not only allowable, but essential – and today,
building; much of its mass is below ground break with the homogenei of the rest of the more than ever. _
level, and remains out of sight until you get building, which offers no other exterior views. rudyriccioi.com
closer. The landscape is a flat, arid plain e heart of the monolith is a 1000-m2
surrounded by hills, while further in the permanent exhibition space that is reached via
distance you see the snow-capped peak of Pic a long, narrow corridor designed to markedly
du Canigou looming nearly 3000 m above the separate this space from other spaces. e
Mediterranean. As you approach the building, artefacts on display include leers describing
Rudy Riccioi Rivesaltes — France 099
100 Mark 61 Long Section

A 1000-m2 permanent exhibition space lies at the

heart of the interior, its display recounting the
human tragedies behind the camp’s history.
Rudy Riccioi Rivesaltes — France 101
102 Mark 61 Long Section

Long Section

01

Plan

02
04 06
05
03

03
 Rudy Riccio i Rivesaltes — France 103

In concrete and wood, the 145-seat auditorium is

austere and bunker-like.
Photo M. Hédelin / Région Languedoc-Roussillon

‘Riccioi describes the

building as demonstrating
formal violence in order to
make forgeing impossible’

01 Ramp leading to entrance

02 Entrance
03 Patio
04 Toilets
05 Auditorium
06 Café
07 Long corridor leading to
permanent exhibition space
08 Permanent exhibition space

03 08

07
104 Mark 61 Long Section

Expect
e purpose of the Materni Waiting Village realized by Mass
Design Group is to reduce Malawi’s maternal mortali rate.
 Mass Design Group Kasungu — Malawi 105

the Best
Text Photos
Pulane Mpotokwane Iwan Baan
106 Mark 61 Long Section

Joyce
Banda – Malawi’s first female president –
established the Presidential Initiative on
Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood in
2012. e initiative aimed to reduce Malawi’s
maternal mortali rate, which is the 12th
highest globally and the highest in Southern
Africa according to 2015 World Health
Organization figures. Part of the remit of
Banda’s initiative was to build 150 Materni
Waiting Homes (MWHs) close to healthcare
facilities around the country. Expectant
mothers can stay at an MWH aer the 36th
week of pregnancy, where they are a ended
by healthcare workers until delivery and then
transferred to district hospitals. So far, some
ten MWHs have been constructed in Malawi.
In collaboration with the Malawi
Ministry of Health, University of North
Carolina-Malawi and the Gates Foundation,
and in response to the president’s initiative,
Mass Design Group realized a Maternity
Waiting Village in Kasungu, a town in
central Malawi.
Mass’s Materni Waiting Village
centres on the idea of building physical and
social relationships around communal spaces,
a concept borrowed from the local system for
domestic spatial organization. In this case,
small private sleeping rooms are arranged of locally sourced and produced materials, the Clean construction allows the material to
around large communal areas. e village use of local labour, and continual engagement express itself and to perform effectively as
is not a protope, say the architects, but a with the local communi (including mothers- a thermal store.
protopal strategy that can be reimagined and to-be, nurses and even the chief). CSEB colonnades and concrete
reconfigured on sites across the country. Jean Paul Sebuhayi, site manager for beams capture foreground and background
e project was driven by its the project, oversaw local masons’ training scenes in the frames they form, resulting in
specific environmental, socioeconomic and in brick-making, cement-mixing and joinery. unexpected cinematic dioramas throughout
developmental context. ree social-design Masons made compressed stabilized earth the site. ese vistas and frames, which
principles establish and sustain the ‘cycle of blocks (CSEBs) on site. The structural CSEB visually connect communal areas, su est
empowerment’ that project architect Patricia columns that articulate building edges possibilities for private and group interaction.
Gruits hopes the village will generate: the use demanded quality construction techniques. Benches integrated into exterior walls soen
 Mass Design Group Kasungu — Malawi 107

Two roof pes – buerfly and

gable – were designed to receive
winter sunlight, block summer sun
and facilitate rainwater collection.

and humanize the brick surfaces, while collective, while maintaining individual does not rely on state service provision has
inviting residents to enjoy a long chat or a expression, just like the women they house. a huge advantage. The roofs undulate and
short nap. e built configuration makes Bold structural columns balance the overlap at different heights, creating a wholly
ture expansion easy to imagine, whether visual lightness of the roof. Two roof types covered walkway that runs from one end of
through additional benches or new building – butterfly and gable – were designed to the complex to the other.
clusters. Benches mediate between private receive winter sunlight, block summer sun Bedrooms are sparsely detailed,
indoor and communal outdoor spaces, which and facilitate rainwater collection. These compact and clearly meant for sleeping,
are activated by changing levels, nooks and functions are significant. A recent survey consistent with the village’s encouragement of
overhangs that afford opportunities for chance reported that 13 per cent of Malawian health outdoor interaction. at said, close sleeping
encounters and a seemingly endless diversi facilities have no source of electricity and 26 quarters likely facilitate bonding, or at least
of spatial qualities. e buildings form a per cent lack running water. A facility that plen of interaction, among mothers-to-be. →
108 Mark 61 Long Section

Integrated benches invite residents and

staff to sit and chat or to take a nap.
Mass Design Group Kasungu — Malawi 109
110 Mark 61 Long Section

System Taxonomy

Arcade.

Wall.

Wall with window.

Wall with door.

Storage bench.

Open storage.

Closed storage.

Bench alcove.

Variable-width bench.

Long bench.

Bed alcove.
Outdoor areas – which will eventually be Waiting Village gives the expectant mother,
used to grow edible plants – range from experiencing one of the most stressful times
large courtyards to cosy open-air living in a woman’s life, empowering choices in
rooms. Building and roof geometry creates activity and environment.
Sink alcove. variations in light and shadow, exposure Malawi’s high maternal mortality
and shade, open and shielded spaces, giving rate has several causes, including a poorly
occupants a variety of experiential options functioning referral system; a lack of water
from which to choose. Research shows that and electricity at health facilities; inadequate
simply providing people with such options health-seeking behaviour; malnutrition; high
increases their perception of comfort and fertility rates; shortages in staff, equipment
Chimney alcove.
control. Through design, Mass’s Maternity and medicines; poor health; and poverty.
 Mass Design Group Kasungu — Malawi 111

e aim of the MWH initiative is

to keep expectant mothers close
to a healthcare centre or hospital.

obstacles standing between a woman and the

nearest MWH or prenatal-healthcare clinic,
‘not the design of the building’.
Wie thinks that spending money on
well-designed complexes like the Materni
Waiting Village – which cost 25 to 35 per
cent more to construct than a pical MWH
– is an irresponsible use of government
healthcare nds, which could be beer used
for necessities such as medicines or medical
equipment.
Michael Murphy, cofounder and
executive director of Mass, would disagree. He
believes that discussing the direct and indirect
impacts of a healthcare facili purely in terms
of cost per square metre yields a problematic
and inaccurate estimate that ignores such a
project’s developmental potential. Murphy’s
philosophy, and that of Mass in general, is
that designers should be aspirational rather
than sparing in their approach to healthcare
infrastructure. Rather than looking for the
lowest cost, he recommends looking for ‘the
best outcome with the most efficient cost’.
For Murphy, thought l design is not
a fancy extra but an indispensable tool that
can help to improve health in the long term, as
Mass has discovered in its design research for
hospitals in Rwanda and Haiti. If healthcare
facilities are well-designed and facilitate good
experiences, more people are likely to use
them and receive the medical care they need.
Helen Wie, a midwife working with Malawi’s Wie works in four Malawian districts, where Murphy says MWHs and similar
Ministry of Health and implementing she believes expectant mothers are content projects are ‘a representation of a country’s
mentorship programmes for midwives, with existing MWHs: utilitarian, single- government and its healthcare system’. If that
identifies several challenges in convincing volume spaces arranged like hospital wards. is the case, doctors, designers and developers
pregnant women to stay at the country’s She describes them as ‘basic cost-effective should start viewing healthcare provision,
MWHs. ese challenges, or social barriers, structures’. She believes expectant mothers are particularly in developing countries, as a
include husbands who do not want their satisfied with existing MWHs because they multidisciplinary effort to improve services,
wives to be away from home for extended live their day-to-day lives in extreme pover systems and spaces. In Murphy’s words: ‘We
periods, household duties, the indirect costs and do not expect anything but the bare have a responsibili to push developers and
of relocating to a MWH, safe and securi at minimum from heath facilities. Wie sees the not to accept the bare minimum.’ _
night, and existing childcare responsibilities. aforementioned social barriers as the main massdesigngroup.org
112 Mark 61 Long Section

Sections
Mass Design Group Kasungu — Malawi 113

e Materni Waiting Village has

room for 45 mothers-to-be. ey share
bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens.

Plan

01
03

02
05

02

05

03 03

02

03
04

05

02

01 Education / reception
02 Unit A
03 Unit B
04 Kitchen 03
05 Latrine
114 Mark 61 Long Section

Smal
is
Beau
 Ken Takahashi Too — Japan 115

lness
Two new houses by Ken Takahashi
illustrate his concept of ‘smallness’,
dynamically balancing the demands of
context with a playl approach to form.

til
116 Mark 61 Long Section

When
we experience space, we do so without using
all the information available to us. Instead,
we form our own picture based on certain
visual clues – the lines where walls meet
floors and ceilings, for example. is is a fact
that architect Ken Takahashi lly exploits
in his latest pair of residential projects in
Too. As he puts it himself, ‘People grasp
the space they are in imaginatively. In the
case of a small house, a single perspective is
destined to become the dominant one.’ In these
two compact houses, therefore, he seeks to
determine that perspective, leading the viewer
into imagining a more expansive space than
really exists by emphasizing long, continuous
walls and voids that radiate light. ‘Walls and
openings themselves constitute the space in an
autonomous three-dimensional way,’ he says.
Although the first of the pair, Noritama
House, is a tiny wooden residential building, it
was big enough for the architect to showcase
his design principles. e house was built for
a literary critic and his opera-director wife,
and the husband’s mother, who lives with
them. Husband and wife each needed their e house’s ‘real’ openings do not
own workspace, although each of the house’s face the street but ‘borrow’ the
three floors measures less than 40 m2. A greenery in the neighbour’s garden.

conventional solution, with small, subdivided

spaces, would have been cramped and stressl.
e husband, who is knowledgeable about
architecture, recruited Takahashi to avoid
this, asking the architect for curved lines. He
obliged by cladding the whole house with
a skin with rounded corners, which is cut
vertically here and there to create openings
that admit light and air. e northern corner the northwest corner has a real opening, which
of the building was reinforced with embedded ‘borrows’ the neighbour’s trees as a pleasant
H-beams in order to withstand strong winds. background. So the house has two sorts of
It contains a void penetrating the building’s opening, real and unreal, which nction
three levels, where light from the slight and harmoniously with each other. is method of
windows merges to dispel shadows. While architectural design is based on Takahashi’s
these openings are tucked away, the light – solutions in earlier works, and he believes it to
which appears to emanate from the wall with be especially effective in the case of extremely
its curving corners – reaches into every nook small houses like these.
and cranny of the house. So, although the e ground floor contains the
void is framed by built-in rniture and the husband’s mother’s room and the husband’s
ceiling boundary of each floor, it becomes, in study. Although the la er is small, a feeling of
the architect’s words, ‘a phenomenal opening, claustrophobia is prevented by the three-tiered
in a paradoxical sense, where one may project void. e first floor houses the wife’s studio and
any kind of image’. ere is no need to create a a dining kitchen. e second floor is dedicated
huge opening on the side facing the street, but to the couple’s bedroom. e family can easily →
 Ken Takahashi Too — Japan 117

Noritama House
Too–2014
Photos Daici Ano
A small house, with three
floors each measuring
less than 40 m2, needed
to accommodate separate
working spaces for the
creative couple that
inhabits it – sacrificing
the possibili of a large
living room and risking
fragmenting an already
small space into even
smaller ones. e clients’
request for curved lines
suested the solution,
which was to enclose the
whole structure within
a surrounding skin, cut
to introduce light and
air to the design, while
concealing the source
through its overlapping
design. Light from the
slights and windows
blends and disperses
shadows, and the wall itself
acquires a luminescent
look. e architect likens
the effect of the resulting
illusion of space to looking
at a clear blue s.
118 Mark 61 Long Section

‘e house has

two openings,
real and unreal,
which nction
harmoniously
with each other’
anks to the void, Noritama House,
which is shared by three people,
becomes one unified space.

Light from the windows and slight

is diffused via a void that runs from
the top to the boom of the building.
 Ken Takahashi To o — Japan 119

+1 +2

06
04

05

02
07

0 Cross Section

02

03

01

01 Entrance
02 Studio
03 Bedroom
04 Living/dining room
05 Kitchen
06 Master bedroom
07 Walk-in closet
120 Mark 61 Long Section

Rather than presenting a façade of rigid walls

and random windows, the Takanawa House
turns openings into spaces that create extra
depth, both vertically and horizontally.
Photo Katsushi Matsuo

Takanawa House
Too–2015
e inner-ci house, which demands the maximum site use and
volume, inevitably gravitates towards a plot-filling solid design,
punctuated by random windows. Takanawa House aempts to
establish a more sophisticated relationship between interior and
exterior space, by creating a series of buffer zones and openings –
initially dictated by the need for an outdoor space for a pet parrot.
e buffer zone, with its unglazed openings, adds a dynamic
aspect to the house: seen from the inside, it becomes part of the
outside; while seen from outdoors, the space seems to belong to
the interior, eliminating the effect of a hard boundary.
 Ken Takahashi Too — Japan 121

communicate with each other by means of exterior walls are always in plain sight. at’s
the void. e house is a seamless whole, a why, it seems, interventions need to be of
single space. Yet it can also be partitioned by the order of direct manipulation, rather than
positioning rniture so as to enclose part of the merely conceptual, in order to ensure a
it. ‘One of the main features of this house is pleasant living space.
the way it suests “a space beyond”, to add Smallness, unlike bigness, must
the illusion of additional depth,’ says Ken also respect context. ‘In designing an urban
Takahashi. ‘is is a small house, but the light house, the architect is required to observe
coming from the back of the space makes us the surrounding conditions with the clearest
feel as if there is more space beyond that. When analysis possible’, says Takahashi. ‘Designing
there is a recess and natural light comes in, the architecture means giving consistency to the
space begins to expand rather than contract. enormous amount of data obtained from that
It can be a kind of phenomenal opening. analysis and then fixing it solidly into forms.
Interestingly, it’s a similar phenomenon to Zen Architecture is not playing autonomously with
meditation: when I sit facing a blank wall, forms, but it’s also far from an easy calculation
meditating, the wall seems to change gradually based on context. As an architect, I’m, trying
and its depth to appear. In the case of Noritama to walk the line between the autonomous and
House, finishing the wall with a paint and the heteronomous – however narrow that
stucco mixture helps to change the resolution might be.’ _
e original idea behind the buffer zone was
of its surface.’ kenkenken.jp to provide an outdoor space for the client’s pet
e second building, Takanawa House, parrot, but it also provides light and ventilation.
is a small residence on a corner of a densely Photo Katsushi Matsuo

populated area in the heart of Too. e

shape of this house is determined by the size
of the client’s car and by Japanese building
codes – and also by a pet Eleonora cockatoo.
A rather unusual element is the first-floor
external space on the south side, a playground
for the parrot. is area, with its unglazed
square ‘window’, was a decisive element in
the house’s spatial composition from the
beginning, designed as a buffer zone to supply
ventilation and light for the kitchen and the
main room on the first floor, as well as for
the bathroom on the ground floor. On the
opposite (north) side, a staircase is also treated
as a buffer zone, counterbalancing the other
with a similar modulation between outside
and inside. is three-dimensional reciprocal
interaction is unique in the urban Japanese
house. Seen from inside, the real outdoors
seems to be beyond this buffer zone, creating
a sense of comfort and insulation within. e
Takanawa House leads us naturally to explore
the subtle nuances of space that are seldom
apparent in conventional buildings, which
tend to separate the inside and outside by rigid
walls with random windows. In this case,
the opening is turned into space and given
extra depth, both vertically and horizontally.
In consequence, every other space becomes
connected to the expanded opening. In his
essay, ‘On alternatives to openings in urban
residences’, Takahashi, who formerly worked
for Jun Aoki before starting his own office in
2000, contrasts Rem Koolhaas’s ‘bigness’ with
a Japanese spatial concept he identifies as
‘smallness’, which operates in compact homes
like this one. Whereas in large buildings
the relationship between the façade and the
interior space diminishes, in smaller ones the
122 Mark 61 Long Section

Seen from inside, the buffer zone is a

reassuring, insulating layer between
the interior and the ‘real’ outdoors.
Photo Ken Takahashi

‘e shape of
this house is
determined by
the size of the
client’s car –
In the Takanawa House, an exterior buffer
zone filters natural light into the interior,
so that it almost seems to emanate from
and by a pet
the walls.
Photo Ken Takahashi cockatoo’
Opposite On the opposite side of the
exterior buffer zone, a staircase is treated
in the same way, adding balance and
strengthening the effect of the zone.
Photo Ken Takahashi
Ken Takahashi Too — Japan 123
124 Mark 61 Long Section

01 Entrance

+2 02
03
Garage
Bathroom
04 Bedroom
05 Walk-in closet
06 Outside space for parrot
07 Living space
08 Kitchen

04

04

+1

08
07

06

01
02
03

–1
‘In compact
homes, exterior
04 05

walls are
always in sight’
 Ken Takahashi Too — Japan 125

Sections
126 Mark 61 Long Section

Views to
Using radically different strategies, Marc Koehler
conjures up a pair of spatially adventurous houses.
Marc Koehler Architects Amsterdam — Netherlands 127

Volumes
Text Photos
John Bezold Filip Dujardin
128 Mark 61 Long Section

A
Dutch ci abundant in uniformi, families passive solar heating. Angled northwest on
with children and suburban housing, Almere its narrow site, the ‘extruded box’ of a house
is nevertheless a place where, every now has few openings at the front, where a lone
and then, a gem of a private home appears window looks down on a large sliding door
among otherwise ordinary developments. Its and stairs that descend from the main level to
latest jewel is a new house by Marc Koehler a quir front garden.
Architects (MKA) from nearby Amsterdam, Inside, all floors are made of ma e-
a growing practice noted for its compact yet grey polyurethane and most walls are white;
voluminous private housing. an exception is the slate-grey wall next to
‘Almere is known for its Dutch light,’ the staircase on every floor. Windows are
says office founder Marc Koehler, ‘a low omnipresent. e lack of openings on the south
daylight glow that occurs because of the vast façade is overcompensated for on the north
expanses of flat horizon.’ We’re on our way façade, which features 11 big picture windows.
to see his recently completed House with 11 Some are more play l than others, with sills
Views, driving along seemingly endless roads lowered to floor level or built-in benches
before arriving rather suddenly in a densely for s gazing and a ernoon reading. e
planned Dutch suburb. Situated on an island, dimensions of the windows, so the story goes,
the rectangular house is surrounded by 15 were derived from those of famous landscape
other single-family homes. Four storeys tall, paintings from the Dutch Golden Age,
the 240-m2 building has corrugated aluminium including works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan van
cladding on its main façade and, on the Goyen, and Cornelis Vroom. e idea was that
opposite side, panels of black siding that enable each window would be a living painting. →
 Marc Koehler Architects Amsterdam — Netherlands 129

House with 11 Views

Almere–Netherlands–2015
To meet the clients’ wishes for a lo-like look, with maximum
floor area and a minimum budget, MKA used a building
method normally seen in industrial construction: the architects
clad a steel frame in corrugated steel; sandwiched between
frame and cladding is polyurethane insulation. Each of the
four floors has its own character and nction. Designed like a
boathouse, the ground floor accommodates the garage; living
spaces and kitchen are on the first floor; bedrooms occupy
the second floor; and the top floor serves as a multinctional
penthouse. Huge windows offer impressive views of the
Noorderplassen and the IJsselmeer; the dimensions of the
Opposite In contrast to the rear exterior window frames are modelled on 17th-century Dutch landscape
wall, which is punctuated by no fewer than
11 windows, the main façade presents an
paintings. Because of a layer of insulation, windowsills are
enigmatically closed face to the world. extra deep and afford the experience of siing inside the view.
Below Keeping interior treatments simple
allows the views to shine.
130 Mark 61 Long Section

Above Fied sunscreens are printed

with Dutch landscape paintings, but
not necessarily the ones on which the
windows’ dimensions are based.

Opposite Insulated walls produce

unusually wide windowsills – perfect
for siing inside the view. 0
As a student of Dutch Golden Age painting, I’m a flat barren field to the east, four windows
sceptical about these dimensions, not wanting on the uppermost level – some with reading
to see such Haarlem-specific landscapes benches – encourage relaxation, as does the
geographically misappropriated in Almere. Yet canal below. In fact, most of the windows
I become half-convinced by MKA’s inventive prove worthy of time spent unwinding, which
application of cultural heritage during our is precisely what the architects had in mind.
late-aernoon midwinter visit to the Almere In some rooms, including the cosy nursery, a
house. As dusk falls, the sunset is nothing short singular window defines the space. Elsewhere,
they work in tandem to produce elongated 01
of spectacular. Crepuscular rays cast columns
of sunlight throughout the main living area, views of low, billowing clouds. ere are
streaming through the windows and the door no actual paintings, of course. A Ruisdael
that connects kitchen to terrace. landscape might cost as much or more than the
e owners boast that they have entire house. ‘e windows let in as much light 02
complete energy efficiency (and no bills) as possible,’ says Koehler, ‘and the front façade
thanks to the solar panels. ey clearly take provides privacy, together with the garden.’
pride in their expansive residence. Its lowest If Koehler looked to the façade of the
level opens onto a private dock with direct Almere project for creative freedom, he looked
access to the adjacent canal and opportunities to another of the firm’s single-family homes,
for swimming, lounging and boating. e top recently erected in Amsterdam, for cleverly
floor of the house is a free-for-all space where considered circulation. Lohouse 1 occupies a
most of the painting-inspired windows are to south-facing corner site, which predetermined
be found. Overlooking a lake to the north and its envelope. ‘I don’t have one sle or →
 Marc Koehler Architects Amsterdam — Netherlands 131

Cross Section

‘Huge picture windows

define the space’
01 Entrance
02 Garage
03 Kitchen
04 Dining area
05 Living area
06 Terrace
07 Master bedroom
08 Bedroom
09 Bathroom
10 Multi nctional space

+1 +2 +3

03
08

04
09
06

10

05 07
132 Mark 61 Long Section
Marc Koehler Architects Amsterdam — Netherlands 133

Lohouse I
Amsterdam–Netherlands
2015
In this corner house, the clients asked
for all floors to be interconnected in
a continuous flow. A staircase-cum-
atrium is the central design element
that makes their request possible.
anks to the atrium, every vertical
journey is an aractive adventure,
while a split-level organization of the
interior, with each floor a half-level
higher than the one below, creates a
gradual transition from one storey
to the next, unlike the clean breaks
between floors in a standard terraced
house. e owners sleep downstairs
and live upstairs, an arrangement that
allows them to enjoy uninterrupted
harbour views from kitchen, lounge
and dining room. e house is based
on a prefab timber-construction
concept by MKA called Superlos,
which cuts construction time. e
façade is clad in a sowood (Pinus
radiata) that needs no treatment.

Looking through the glazed exterior wall

at the back of the house, occupants can
enjoy uninterrupted harbour views.
134 Mark 61 Long Section
 Marc Koehler Architects Amsterdam — Netherlands 135

‘I don’t have a singular

sle or design trademark’
a singular design trademark,’ says Koehler. a willingness to place detail above material
‘I am still finding my way with each new luxury are elements incorporated into
project.’ Materiali, circulation, daylight: his Koehler’s projects. Surely in time one of
work is not about an isolated quali but about them – site, form or materiali – will emerge
a carelly nuanced balance of the three. His as the firm’s signature characteristic.
earlier Dune House and House in a House (both Until then, MKA’s output, especially
in Mark 54) also revealed differences in aim, the single-family houses in its portfolio, can be
materials and, therefore, feel. seen as whimsical experiments in volumetric
e same diversi is apparent in exploration and division – with a focus on
Lohouse 1, a single-family timber-clad home cleverly choreographed converging staircases,
in Amsterdam North, where a former urban oversized picture windows seeking to resemble
harbour has been converted to a residential 17th-century landscape paintings, or a sly
neighbourhood, in sharp contrast to suburban enmeshing of building and site. Koehler’s
Almere. Both steel-framed houses offer private residential projects recall the material
Above A split-level arrangement – each floor
unobstructed views of the surroundings, twists and interlocking spaces that define the is a half-level higher than the one below –
yet in Amsterdam MKA opted for an atrium houses of the mid-1990s building boom in creates a gradual transition that promotes
that is divided by crisscrossing sets of Amsterdam’s Eastern Harbour District. Perhaps the desired flow.

staircases and positioned living areas on they’re a more appropriate national legacy to
Opposite e principal design element is a
higher levels. A subtle integration of site, an reference than old master paintings. _ staircase-cum-atrium that interconnects
empathetic adherence to the client’s brief and marckoehler.nl the various floors in a continuous flow.
136 Mark 61 Long Section

+1 +3

05
04

09

05

0 +2

01

07 06

02 03
08

01 Entrance
02
03
Study
Storage
Long Section
04 Master Bedroom
05 Bedroom
06 Kitchen
07 Dining room
08 Terrace
09 Living room

‘Crisscrossing
sets of staircases
help to achieve a
continuous flow’
Marc Koehler Architects Amsterdam — Netherlands 137

A living area at the top of the house

makes the most of daylight and
provides splendid views.
138 Mark 61 Long Section

Long a hidden gem, the Antwerp

penthouse designed by Paul De Meyer
in the early 1970s has recently been
photographed for the very first time.

Stairway
to the
Seventies
Text
Marc Dubois

Photos
Filip Dujardin

Photo courtesy APA / Archief Paul De Meyer

Paul De Meyer Antwerp — Belgium 139
140 Mark 61 Long Section

In At the foot of the ramp to the living room

is a small siing room with bar, rnished
with white Wassily chairs by Marcel Breuer.

1933, Le Corbusier entered an urban design De Meyer’s response was negative: he and his department, who complained that what he
competition for Antwerp’s Le Bank. It was an wife insisted on their privacy. He told me that saw on the roofs of all those new residential
interesting design, with beautil perspective over time, he had received several requests towers was nothing but junk, li shas and
drawings, but nothing came of it. In the 1960s, to use the house as a film set, but renting it chimneys. I was given permission to design a
architects Léon S nen (1899-1990) and Paul De out for such purposes was out of the question beer “fih” façade for the tower.’
Meyer (1922-2011) were commissioned to build as far as the architect was concerned. e Riverside Tower is one of the most
a residential tower in the same location, in a penthouse remained largely unknown until interesting 1960s residential towers in Belgium,
bend of the Scheldt River. S nen had already his death in 2011. comprising, among other things, duplex
designed a number of notable modernist What gave him the idea of living on apartments and small studios. As in many
buildings in the 1930s. In 1947, the young De top of a residential tower? De Meyer: ‘We modernist buildings, the plinth of the tower is
Meyer became his partner and right-hand man. were commissioned in 1966 by the Brachfeld highly transparent. e lly glazed connection
e collaboration ended in 1977, when S nen family to design the Riverside Tower and between the two li shas creates a pleasant
retired. e tower was completed in 1972, with construction began in late 1968. We lived in interior. e façades are made of concrete.
a rooop penthouse in which De Meyer would Lier and wanted to move to Antwerp. Our e penthouse design grew gradually
live for the rest of his life. first idea was to buy an apartment on the 20th during the construction phase. e many
I first visited the penthouse in 2004, and top floor, with possibly a spiral staircase sketches and photographs of the two models
for an interview with the architect and to the roof. However, I was challenged by show a travail patient. e formwork plans
with the intention of publishing the project. the director of the ci ’s urban planning were drawn only in early 1972, when the →
Paul De Meyer Antwerp — Belgium 141

e ramps contribute to the Corbusian

character of the dwelling.

‘Publishing the
penthouse or renting
it out as a film set was
out of the question’
142 Mark 61 Long Section

tower itself was almost completed. To De (1930-1931). e difference in level with the with ever-changing views. All the interior
Meyer, this was a unique opportuni to outside world was maximized in this Paris walls are made of concrete and De Meyer
design a rooop garden, a toit-jardin, which penthouse as well. ere is, however, one chose deep-pile carpet for acoustic reasons.
Le Corbusier saw as one of the five basic ndamental difference between Paris and The changing views of the city and the port
elements of a new modern architecture: an Antwerp. De Beistegui asked for a place to enrich the design. From the living room, a
outdoor space with not only a terrace, but entertain guests, to celebrate with abandon and metal spiral staircase leads to the library and
also a lly-fledged garden including trees. To to impress the high bourgeoisie. De Meyer was study one floor down, an intimate corner
protect it from the wind, the garden is partly all about a sheltered place for his family to live, where De Meyer could sketch and work on
surrounded by high walls on three sides. e where only intimate friends were received. new projects, surrounded by his books. The
result is a sequence of green outdoor spaces De Meyer succeeded in turning a writing table by the window overlooks the
with different atmospheres. technical problem to his advantage. He Antwerp skyline, an urban landscape framed
Of course, the idea of giving the situated the living room of the penthouse by an opening in the garden wall.
roof a pronounced plastici goes back to Le on top of one of the two lift and ventilation e garden plays an important part as
Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation. As outspoken shafts. The shaft remains accessible for an intermediate zone between house and ci.
admirers of the architect, Snen and De Meyer maintenance through an entrance on the It has not been placed on top of the roof of the
visited this residential building in Marseille. roof terrace. The bedrooms in the north and residential tower like some glass aquarium.
Its roof, as a collection of volumes, certainly the small library to the south are situated e garden has a wall provided with carelly
had an impact on the Antwerp project. De lower. The difference in level is bridged by dimensioned openings. Effort has been put
Meyer had a lot of Le Corbusier books in his ramps rather than stairs, which contributes into finding the right balance between the
library, for instance the second part of his to the Corbusian character. There are a total intimacy of the interior and the sweeping
Œuvre complète, which extensively documents of four ramps that end on the roof of the views of the environment. e dining table
the rooop apartment for Charles de Beistegui penthouse: a true promenade architecturale has a panoramic view of both the towers of →

‘On the roofs of all those

new residential towers
was nothing but junk,
li shas and chimneys’

Inside the house, time seems to have

stood still since 1973.

Opposite e small study adjoining

the library is enriched by a perfectly
framed view of the sline of Antwerp.
Paul De Meyer Antwerp — Belgium 143
144 Mark 61 Long Section

e penthouse with its garden

is 70 m above street level.
Paul De Meyer Antwerp — Belgium 145
146 Mark 61 Long Section
 Paul De Meyer Antwerp — Belgium 147

Antwerp and the port area in the north. is is

about staging views.
De Meyer did not want his home to
become a Le Corbusier showroom. He bought
designer rniture and lamps that came onto
the market around 1970, such as leather seating
by De Sede and stackable chairs by Achille
Castiglioni. For the bar area at the entrance,
he chose white Wassily tubular chairs by
Marcel Breuer. Above the table he hung a lamp
designed by Joe Colombo, and for the wall
cabinet he selected the Swedish system String,
a design by Nils Strinning. He also bought floor
lamps in the shape of boulders designed by
André Cazenave, and the Pipistrello lamp by
Gae Aulenti, for the interior.
Aer Paul De Meyer’s death, his wife
Geneviève stayed on until early 2015. e
penthouse became too big for her and when
the opportuni presented itself, she decided
to sell it and move into a smaller apartment
in the same residential tower. She donated
all the design sketches and photographs
documenting the creation of the Riverside e eastern core with li and
staircase has a large window that
Tower to the Architecture Archive of the
overlooks part of the garden.
Province of Antwerp (APA), along with other
dossiers pertaining to the S nen-De Meyer 01 Entrance
02 Cloakroom
collaboration. I was able to use this valuable
03 Lounge
source material to study the genesis of this 04 Bar
residential tower, resulting in a presentation 05 Living room
that I gave last year during the international 06 Dining room
07 Kitchen
Le Corbusier conference in Valencia. e story
08 Storage
shows how an architect gathers influences and 09 Terrace
subsequently manages to transform them into 10 Garden
a new whole, thus avoiding a formal collage of 11 Bedroom
12 Study
references. It is precisely this growing process
13 Library
that shows the capaci of the architect to
combine a large number of existing ideas with
+ 22
a given location to create a new result.
Since the couple insisted on
their privacy, the penthouse was never 09 10
photographed professionally. As a farewell
07
to the place where they lived for 40 years, 08
05
Filip Dujardin was given the opportunity 06
to photograph this extraordinary creation
01
in detail. The proper documentation of our
recent past is necessary. The shots show a
space that has changed little since 1973. This 09 03
04 02
unity between the year of completion and 10 10
furniture of the same period will become a 09

thing of the past in 2016. The new owner will

furnish the interior in accordance with his
own affinities. This exceptional penthouse is
starting its second life. _
+ 21

11 11 11 11

13

08
12
Opposite e outside staircase on the west
side of the house is very reminiscent of
one of the staircases of Le Corbusier’s
1931 penthouse for Charles de Beistegui. Plans courtesy APA / Archief Paul De Meyer
148 Mark 61 Long Section

L3P ingeniously fits three apartments

into an old half-timbered house.
h
Text Photos
Andrea Eschbach Sabrina Scheja
L3P Architekten Regensberg — Switzerland 149
150 Mark 61 Long Section
 L3P Architekten Regensberg — Switzerland 151

garment, including approximately 800

hand-milled ornaments scattered irregularly
over the façade.
A fireplace, a large protruding window
and a balcony were added to the original
building volume. ese additions also refer to
and reinterpret distinctive regional features.
e protruding window on the east façade,
with its large opening, recalls the stables
that are commonly built onto local village

e
farmhouses. e balcony is also pical of
Regensberg: balconies were added later to
the houses in the high fortress, ‘like lile
e grey spruce façade wraps around backpacks,’ says Beumer.
the new parts of the building, But not only the façades are interesting;
incorporating the preserved façade
the interior is also convincing. e rooms
and reshaping the original volume.
are built on the foundation of an ancient,
Russian prince Grigory Potemkin would have vaulted cellar that also has protected status
found it beautil: aer the renovation just one as a monument. ‘We played Tetris from the
and a half façades of the original Lendenmann deepest point of the house,’ says Beumer.
house remained in Regensberg, Switzerland. Bright white spaces fan out from this point,
But unlike Potemkin villages ll of emp with large windows making the landscape
façades (founded by the prince, according to into a panorama. By making use of different
tradition, on the banks of the Dnieper when levels and varying the height of the rooms,
Empress Catherine II came to inspect the area the transitions between the spaces turn into
by boat in 1787), there is no deception here. an architectural game with new perspectives
On the contrary: Swiss architecture firm L3P and variations in light. In each home, there are
has designed a renovation where tradition also small rooms finished completely in wood.
and moderni interlock seamlessly. Behind ese feel cosy and secure. ‘ese safe spots
the remnants of a historical half-timbered refer to bedrooms of the past that were clad
façade, a sculptural new construction has been in wood,’ says Beumer. e rooms have low
audaciously positioned. ceilings and create a strong contrast with the
Built in 1765, the Lendenmann house high white spaces.
is part of Regensberg’s historical centre. ‘Each of the three apartments has
Located in the Swiss canton of Zurich, this its own characteristics and challenges,’ says
medieval town has a rich history. The barons Schäfer. On the top floor, for instance, the east-
of Regensberg founded the settlement in west orientation of the roofline made the light
the eastern foothills of the Jura in 1244. problematic. at was solved by adding a new
Today, 500 people live in the tight, circular, ‘chimney’ that doesn’t actually have a discharge
hilltop fortress and the adjacent lower area nction, but instead allows daylight into the
at the city gates. Like the other houses, the middle of the living space. Furthermore, this
renovation project at 15 Untersburg is also a apartment has no balcony. e solution: a
protected monument. Together with Frank large glass window on the east façade that is
Schäfer, Mareike Beumer was the project also a huge sliding door – a reference to the
architect: ‘We soon realized that a small sliding doors on local barns. ‘We just pretend
alteration was not enough.’ At the start of it’s a balcony,’ says Schäfer. When the door is
the five-year project, according to Beumer: closed, the milled ornaments conjure up the
‘The building was in poor condition, the impression of a starry s. ‘e whole project is
timber was damaged by termites.’ In close aimed at making a virtue out of necessi,’ says
consultation with the municipality and the architect. e project succeeds in the most
preservation board, it was decided to pursue beautil way possible. _
partial demolition. The two half-timbered l3p.ch
façades on the street remained standing, and
were again declared a protected monument.
Situated on a steep, south-facing
hill in the lower part of the fortress, the
building had two floors before renovation
began. It was converted into a building with
three floors (plus a basement) and three
apartments. In stark contrast to the north
façade, which has an intricate half-timbered
pattern in red, stands the magnificent south
façade, overlooking a valley. Made of pre-aged
softwood, the new façade includes sawed-
out ornaments. ‘We were inspired by the
ornamentation of the barns that are typical
of this area,’ says 35-year-old Beumer. The
new façade envelopes the property like a
152 Mark 61 Long Section

0 +2 + 2.5

05
05
04
05 04
04 04
05 12

09

01 06

03

04 02 03
06

02

–1 +1 Cross Section

04
05
02
03

10
04

07 03

05 06 04

07

11

08

01 Entrance
02 Kitchen
03 Living room
04 Bedroom
05 Bathroom
06 Storage
07 Cellar
08 Technical room
09 Void
10 Balcony
11 Garden
12 Gallery
 L3P Architekten Regensberg — Switzerland 153

‘We were inspired by the barns

that are pical of this area’
A large window is hidden behind the wood
cladding on the façade. Part of this façade
slides away to reveal the opening.
154 Mark 61 Long Section

lower
L3P Architekten Regensberg — Switzerland 155

Above At the base of the building, a vaulted

cellar is one of the monumental elements
from the original house that needed to be
preserved.

Opposite Numerous level changes in the

apartments provide spatial diversi.
156 Mark 61 Long Section

Top e lly-tiled bathrooms add to

the apartments’ distinct atmosphere.

Boom Just as in the other two, the

apartment on the first floor has a modern,
white living space, bathed in light.

e spacious bedroom of the apartment

on the first floor has a freestanding bath
and a balcony with views over the valley.

middle
L3P Architekten Regensberg — Switzerland 157
158 Mark 61 Long Section

upper

At certain points, the wood pieces that

clad the façade pass in front of the
windows. e most extreme example can
be seen in the top-floor apartment.
L3P Architekten Regensberg — Switzerland 159

e kitchen has a slight to introduce

extra light in the top apartment. From
the outside, it appears to be a chimney.

In addition to modern, white

spaces, the three apartments
also have small, intimate rooms,
clad completely in wood.
160 Mark 61 Long Section

‘We forget we
are only a tiny
molecule in
the cosmos’

Fránek Architects’ S Walk is less about the view and

more about upstaging the dramatic mountain landscape.

Text Photos
Adam Štěch Boys Play Nice
Fránek Architects Dolní Morava — Czech Republic 161
162 Mark 61 Long Section

Opposite Wooden walkways, which

coil irregularly around S Walk’s
towerlike volumes, are interspersed
with platforms, nests and tunnels.

In
the romantic seing of the Czech mountains, was inspired by several recent projects, some
watchtowers and viewing platforms have of which are patented designs that you can
been a fixture ever since the first tourists basically order. But I went the other way.
ventured here in the 19th century. In recent What I had in mind was an outstanding,
years, however, there have been signs that highly unusual building, so I opted for an
the traditional tower has had its day. Instead, organic asymmetric shape. I conceived it in a
a whole new pology has started to emerge, very sculptural way. For me, this project was
replacing the tower with a kind of artificial not about reflecting the landscape, but about
landscape-within-a-landscape. is new pe making a monumental object that would
of structure, exemplified elsewhere by Carsten amaze visitors just as much as the majestic
Höller’s Vitra Slide Tower and the ArcelorMial mountains around it.’
Orbit by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond, e 55-m-high S Walk is a
as well as by a range of recent projects in technically accomplished yet organic structure
Norway (see the latest example on page 168), that features a wooden walkway, which coils
aims to mediate a different perspective of the around the three main towerlike volumes,
landscape. It replaces the single view with and a 101-m-long stainless-steel slide that
an elevated pedestrian trail that multiplies runs from top to boom. It’s composed of
sightseeing and spatial possibilities. e rectangular wooden beams mounted on steel
architecture involved embodies human trusses, and it has concrete foundations.
spontanei, a sense of freedom and n, Taros Nova did the construction work. ‘Our
independence from the Earth’s gravi – and collaboration went really well,’ says Fránek.
more than a lile adrenaline. ‘We used local larch and did not cut down a
One of the more interesting single tree to build S Walk.’ At an altitude
realizations of this new breed of viewing of 1,116 m above sea level, the impressively
tower was completed late last year by Brno- complex edifice resembles a cloud, or a giant
based studio Fránek Architects. Close to the clockwork mechanism designed to propel
popular ski resort of Dolní Morava in the visitors through the many twists and turns.
Orlické Mountains, S Walk is a lesson in e architect explains that he
unconventional sculptural architecture. approached the project as an abstract object
‘A private investor approached me, wanting with architectural and philosophical references,
to create something truly unexpected and rather than as a romantic addition to the
n,’ says studio founder Zdeněk Fránek. ‘He landscape, a sentiment pically applied to →
Fránek Architects Dolní Morava — Czech Republic 163
164 Mark 61 Long Section

‘S Walk is basically a monster’

 Fránek Architects Dolní Morava — Czech Republic 165

Opposite Local larch was used to

build both towers and walkway.

Below A 101-m-long stainless-steel

slide affords a quick way to reach
the ground again.
166 Mark 61 Long Section
 Fránek Architects Dolní Morava — Czech Republic 167

Opposite Meandering walkways earlier viewing towers. ‘I admire the engravings intense sensation of walking in the clouds and
provide a continuous sequence of Giovanni Baista Piranesi, who inspired me experiencing space far above the landscape
of constantly changing views.
with his visionary perspectives on architecture,’ in a different, dynamic way,’ says Fránek. A
he says. ‘In them, we are oen not sure what sure sign of its success as an araction is a
is real and what is not. We get lost in his similar tower that Fránek is now working on
intertwined staircases and arcades. I wanted to in Zvolen, a town in central Slovakia.
reproduce this feeling with my project.’ Not that S Walk hasn’t had its critics.
Since the opening, thousands of e ostentatious structure stands on the
visitors have flocked to S Walk, on foot or most visible spot for miles. Even though it is
via the nicular link. On their way to the not the highest point in the area, its location
top viewing platform, 45 m above the ground, on the edge of the Králický Snĕžník massif
they climb looping walkways that yield means it cannot be missed. S Walk provides
constantly changing views of the surrounding Orlické Mountains with a prominent new
mountains. Besides this scenic trail, they landmark that is not to everyone’s taste, as
encounter more unanticipated aractions, Fránek admits. ‘I wanted to create a contrast
including several resting places, tunnels and to the surroundings in the form of an abstract
wooden nests. A rther surprise awaits them symbol,’ he says. ‘I oen experiment with
at the top: the net, which offers the vertigo- things that are provocative and controversial.
inducing experience of hanging suspended S Walk is basically a monster, a structure
over the terrain below. From here, taking the that represents how humans interact with
stainless-steel slide back down is another nature. We sometimes forget that we are only
adrenaline-pumping option. ‘S Walk is a a tiny molecule in the cosmos.’ _
conceptual building, and it gives visitors the franekarchitects.cz

Plan

Section
168 Mark 61 Long Section

Flying Visit
Ghilardi+Hellsten Eldhusøya — Norway 169

A floating pedestrian path snakes over a Norwegian

island, allowing visitors to enjoy its fragile beau
without actually seing foot on it.

Text Photos
Marianne Lie Berg Roland Halbe
170 Mark 61 Long Section

Rarely does a road rate as a national architectural

treasure. In 2005, however, the Norwegian
people voted for the country’s best 20th-
century architectural construction, and the
winner was the Atlantic Road. One of the
highlights along this spectacular 8-km-long
coastal route is the Storseisundet Bridge,
described by British journalist James White
as ‘the road to nowhere’. His article was
illustrated by a photo taken from the car park
on a tiny island called Eldhusøya, a popular
spot from which to view the optical illusion
caused by the curve of the bridge, which
seems to end in midair. So popular is it, in
 Ghilardi+Hellsten Eldhusøya — Norway 171

e café building, with its 150-m-long

façade, barely registers as architecture.

fact, that pedestrian traffic has badly damaged that initiates and finances viewpoints and the parking area next to the Atlantic Road,
the natural vegetation of the island. picnic areas along the country’s scenic routes. Ghilardi+Hellsten took the whole island
‘is is a major tourist araction,’ Some have won international acclaim for their into consideration. A structure stretching
says Erik Stenman of Ghilardi+Hellsten, striking designs. Ghilardi+Hellsten’s proposal all the way around Eldhusøya would enable
the architecture office that won the design focused on the idea of a steel footpath snaking management of tourist traffic flow while
competition for a new parking area and around the island of Eldhusøya. improving access to nature.
viewing platform on Eldhusøya. ‘Everybody ‘The brief was open,’ says Franco The completed steel structure hovers
goes to the island. Everyone wants to take Ghilardi, one of the firm’s two founding over the ground without touching it. Wind,
pictures of the bridge and gaze at the ocean, partners. ‘They needed extra parking light and rain pass through the footpath’s
but the vegetation is super-sensitive and space, more viewing spots and a small mesh deck, which makes the underlying
not very resilient.’ café with tourist information. The idea of terrain visible to users. Yet the mesh is
e competition was organized by one continuous loop – and of a building strong and stable enough to be suitable for
National Tourist Routes in Norway, a branch embedded in the landscape – was our wheelchairs, kids and the elderly. ‘We worked
of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration contribution.’ Instead of concentrating on really hard to get the slope right, to make →
172 Mark 61 Long Section

‘You it really smooth,’ says Ghilardi, who also

mentions that ‘the whole concept is based
on universal design’.
with telescopic elements that you can enlarge,
li or compress. It was a very complex process
that required continuous design optimization,

always e site was suffering from more than

just tourist overload. e construction of the
Atlantic Road between 1983 and 1989 had
but it was the only way. Fortunately, we had
the time and the budget.’
Norwegian company Trondheim Stål
want to caused considerable damage. A lot of infill
for the bridge was taken from the island,
was selected to transform the drawings into
an actual construction. Each flexible beam

know and huge landfill sites remained aer the

job was completed, covering up parts of the
original terrain. Nonindigenous plant species
and column had to be adjusted on site and
bolted into the right position. e toughest
part of this phase was laying the concrete

what’s started to grow at the site, disturbing the

local ecosystem. e new project was seen as
foundations, a chore that relied on the creation
of a small canvas maintenance road lined with

beyond an opportuni to restore the island’s natural

ecology by returning the landscape to its
original condition. e Norwegian Public
a bed of gravel, which permi ed small vehicles
to carry materials to and from the site. e use
of prefabricated elements made the rest of the

that Roads Administration weeded out Eldhusøya’s

alien plants and replaced them with native
flora from a nearby donor site.
construction even easier than anticipated.
To keep the design as minimal as
possible, the team employed side rails only
stone Installing the path without rther
harming the environment was a major
at essential points of the path, where it runs
high above sudden drops in the terrain. At

or that challenge. ‘We managed to build it with

minimal damage to the terrain, because we
had an incredibly accurate 3D model to work
places where the deck is close to the ground,
no side rails appear.
In accordance with Ghilardi’s concept

hill’ from,’ says Stenman. e model provided the

team with precise measurements for both
of universal design, ramps are not overly
steep; the path rises and falls just enough
terrain and vegetation, allowing them to to offer an interesting experience, without
design a construction that would be flexible becoming too physically challenging. ‘e
enough to be mounted over drops of up to 4 m. height of the path varies a lot as you walk
‘e path is a prefabricated around the island, and that’s part of the magic,’
construction, and it’s totally flexible,’ says says Ghilardi. ‘You think: oh, I’m flying! en
Ghilardi. ‘ink of Lego or of gym equipment you’re back on the ground.’ →

anks to its curved contours, the car park

can accommodate vehicles of different sizes.
Ghilardi+Hellsten Eldhusøya — Norway 173

e path follows a winding but fairly level

course over the rued terrain, even when
confronted with sudden drops of up to 4 m.
174 Mark 61 Long Section

e project’s sole decorative touch is a slized

herring motif, which adorns the café façade.
 Ghilardi+Hellsten Eldhusøya — Norway 175

e construction lends access to spots that transport infrastructure,’ comments Ghilardi. design in Norway.’ Indeed, Scandinavian
were formerly unreachable. ‘Very early on ‘ere is very lile architecture.’ landscape design o en carries a whiff of
in this project, we stopped calling the path e nearly 150-m-long façade of the sentimentali that is reflected in the use of
a route and started calling it a continuous café bears a motif that is based on herring, natural materials, and many of the country’s
viewing platform,’ says Ghilardi. He adds that a local fish that has long been important to designers take a warm, touchy-feely approach
visitors invariably do the ll circuit; nobody the traditional fisheries of the Norwegian to architecture. Ghilardi comes from Argentina
stops in the middle and turns around. ‘You coast. Windows and doors integrated into the and Stenman from Finland, giving them just
always want to know what’s beyond that stone decorative surface are almost invisible, although the right amount of distance from the culture
or that hill, and you just keep on going until people seem to know where to enter – probably in which they live and work.
you arrive back where you started.’ thanks to the internet. e cave-like building is ‘Norway is a big actor in the
e café building does not detract a rege from the raw climate: on the ocean side, exploitation of nature, with its oil industry,
from the new landmark’s endless views, waves can reach a height of 6 m. Vehicles of all subsea development, forestry and now
because it was designed to be practically shapes and sizes, from mobile homes to compact windfarms,’ says Ghilardi. ‘Norway is ahead
invisible. Besides its nction as a place for cars, fit neatly into the adjacent car park, owing in these fields, and that creates its own
refreshments, it serves as a retaining wall that to its curvilinear contours. aesthetic. It’s another side of Scandinavian
borders the parking area, and the footpath ‘We use a lot of so terms to describe design – not so well known abroad, but still
runs over its roof. e café, which looks like a the project,’ says Stenman, ‘but it is very firm, very powerl.’ _
curved wall, speaks the language of the bridge very precise, and different from the normal ghilardihellsten.com
and the road. ‘e project draws entirely on impression that people have of landscape

‘Our project shows another

side of Scandinavian design’

e café provides a cave-like

retreat from the elements.
176 Mark 61 Long Section

Site
 Ghilardi+Hellsten Eldhusøya — Norway 177

e island’s most famous view, the ‘road

to nowhere’ bridge, can be seen from the
footpath as it crosses the roof of the café.

Plan

‘e height of the path

varies dramatically as
you walk around the
island, and that’s part
of the magic’

Section
178 Mark 61 Long Section

Stig L. Andersson.
 Stig L. Andersson Bookmark 179

e rare books in Stig L. Andersson’s collection inspire the

concepts and methods on which he bases his studio, SLA.

Text Photos
Terri Peters Torben Petersen

‘My library is
the foundation
of my office’
180 Mark 61 Long Section

Stig
L. Andersson is the principal of Copenhagen- Who uses the library?
based studio SLA. With its roots in landscape e library is available to all of our employees.
design, SLA now specializes in consultancy, We have a librarian who keeps it tidy and
embracing landscape, urban design and ci organizes the books. e books have to stay
planning. Andersson founded the office in 1994. at the SLA office and we are not allowed to
As well as training as an architect, he studied take them home, so they remain available for
nuclear physics, Japanese culture and chemistry. everyone at the office and don’t disappear.
His office is known for its sensuous, space- e library is the foundation of SLA.
defining design, such as the zigzag paths and In the start-up phase of a design competition,
terraces leading up to Ci Dune in Copenhagen; for example, the kick-off meeting with our
the bulbous mud and clay sculptures doing team oen takes place in the library. For
the Yellow Mud Garden in Xian, China; and the the competition for the new Hans Christian
public gardens that define the buildings around Andersen House of Fairytales, for instance,
Bjørvika Harbour in Oslo. I found an old book of Andersen’s papercuts
Andersson was the curator of Denmark’s to inspire the team. Our planting expert,
e Empowerment of Aesthetics pavilion at Morten, was inspired by the book Meadows
the 2014 Venice Biennale, for which he created by Christopher Lloyd. For Scandinavians, this
a provocative multisensory installation of book takes a completely different approach
natural forms and textures, including bark, to working with meadows, based on the
boulders and moss, as well as sound. ese were old English cultural landscape. Mixing rare,
displayed next to documents such as a yellowing endangered species of orchids with meadow
1927 leer from scientist Niels Bohr to his wildflowers, for example, is something that
friend Albert Einstein, pages of contemporary we have been taught is impossible to do, yet
regulations, such as the Danish Nature it’s an interesting way of combining a natural
Protection Act, and books from Andersson’s own aesthetic with nature preservation.
collection. He also produced his own title for Kant calls ‘the free play of the imagination’,
the occasion: a manifesto published by Danish We asked you to select a list of books from the great poetry. ese two together make
art press Wunderbuch. In an oversized format your collection. You’ve included some complementari. In our work at SLA, we
on creamy heavyweight paper, it reflected SLA’s familiar volumes, including Filarete’s 1464 explore the complementari between the
trademark approach, or ‘complementari’ as Treatise on Architecture, and Italo Calvino’s built and the grown environment. e built
Andersson calls it: the idea that architects must Six Memos for the Next Millennium. Others are environment is what architects usually do,
reinstate aesthetics as an equal partner of the perhaps less expected, like the poetry book the rational things like the building, the
rational approach to design. Sommergledalen. nction and the structure. When you add the
Underpinning ideas like these is Sommergledalen (Buerfly Valley) is a grown environment, you arrive at a holistic
Andersson’s massive collection of over collection of verses by the great Danish poet architecture. But if you only focus on the built
5,000 books, which form the heart of his Inger Christiansen. One of her last books, it’s environment, then you have only half a solution.
Copenhagen studio. So vast and valuable is a series of sonnets, designed in a specific way. is is the main problem with moderni.
it that it requires its own librarian to sort and e last line of each poem becomes the first
catalogue the books and maintain its digital line of the next, and then at the end you get e head office for multinational
database. Only a selection is available in the all the first lines again. Within this restrictive pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which
main library at any one time. Mark joined system, wonderl poetry unfolds in which you recently completed with Henning Larsen
Andersson in his library to leaf through his she details the colours, smells, light and all the Architects, expresses this idea.
curious and ambitious collection. other elements of nature. In fact, a recording of We designed Novo Nordisk Nature Park as
Christiansen reading the book could be heard in a sensory environment outdoors, a place for
ere are plen of rare, first-edition books the pavilion of e Empowerment of Aesthetics. aesthetic contemplation, for employees who
here. Is that your strategy as a collector? have a rational built environment indoors
STIG L. ANDERSSON: ere’s no system to how Because her poems embody the concept of for their work. We worked with the grown
I collect. I started as a kid before I could even complementari? environment, the atmosphere, the aesthetics
read. I just love beautil books, bindings and Exactly. In aesthetics, you have to have both and the architecture, and at the same time we
leers. Everything here reflects a certain interest a rigorous organizational system and what also worked for the climate and the ecology
I have, it’s an encyclopedia of my thinking.
It’s not that I go in there and read everything,
but rather that I know I can go in and look
something up whenever I need to. I have the
whole world here. For the Venice Biennale
installation, I took some of the books from my
library and put them in exhibition cases. ‘Books are an encyclopedia of
 Stig L. Andersson Bookmark 181

Stig L. Andersson’s ten

office-building books
Tachibana no Toshitsuna, Sakuteiki
(Records of Garden Making),
Town & Ci Planners, Too, 1976

Filarete (Antonio di Pietro Averlino),

Treatise on Architecture, Yale Universi
Press, New Haven (CT), 1965

Italo Calvino, Six Memos for the

Next Millennium, Tiderne Skier,
Copenhagen, 1995
nature, where there is no symmetry or other
Inger Christensen, Sommergledalen: ideal geometrical shape. e order of nature
et requiem (Buerfly Valley: A Requiem), is the launch pad.
Brøndum, Copenhagen, 1991

Stig L. Andersson, e Empowerment How do you find the books in your collection?
of Aesthetics, Forlaget Wunderbach, For the Japanese books, I have a very good
Copenhagen 2014 friend, who is Swiss but lived in Japan for
many years, who has helped me gather
Kenya Hara, White, Lars Müller
Publishers, Zurich, 2010 them together. They are also first editions
of course. I now use the internet, too, but
Mirei Shigamori, Kanto Shigamori, I know a lot of good bookshops. There is
Haruzō Ōhashi, Nihon Teienshi Taikei
one called Kirkegaards Antikvariat, about
(A Historical Overview of Japanese Gardens),
Shakai Shisōsha, Too, 1973-1976 100 m from the office. It is probably the
best bookshop in Denmark for art and
C.C.L. Hirschfeld, eorie der architecture books. The owner gets the
Gartenkunst, M.G. Weidmanns Erben
books from old artists or architects who are
und Reich, Leipzig, 1779 &1780
selling them on because they are closing
Christopher Lloyd, Meadows, their studio. He knows exactly what I am
Cassell, London, 2004 looking for and he sends me lists.

You have a collection of German landscape

books here that looks very old and fragile.
is is another important set of books. ese
are from the 1780s and the five volumes
are the key books on European landscape
of the site. In projects like this, we use nature items. Sakuteiki (Records of Garden Making) architecture. eorie der Gartenkunst was
in two very rational ways: we design the site by Tachibana no Toshitsuna is a fascinating wri en by professor and author C.C.L.
to be climate adaptive, using trees to clean 11th-century book, a description of how to do Hirschfeld. e text is in German, but it is
the water and land to move the water away, something without any images. fantastic just to touch these volumes, with
and to enrich people’s daily lives. How can When you create a Japanese garden, you their pages and pages of beautil drawings.
people enjoy the feeling of being in nature have to follow rules, but there is no decision ere is a section in one of the books showing
when they are at work in the city? Another at the beginning as to what it should look like. diagrams of ways to organize trees in new
example is in our climate-adaptive master You have a manual, a set of ways to do it, but plantings. He found groups of 3, 5, 7 and 9
plan for Bryggervangen and Skt. Kjelds Plads, the aim is for an atmosphere, a certain feeling trees especially interesting. I have developed
which is in the consultation phase. These that you sense when you are there. Many kinds these diagrams into a series of large-format
will be the first of 300 climate-adaptation of expression can lfil that, so it’s not about drawings. e diagrams – together with our
projects to be undertaken by the city of starting with an image, like many architects do. selection of Japanese combinatorics that I
Copenhagen over the next 10 years. The Instead, maybe there’s a very weak image with described earlier – inspired the method we
tactics that we develop for this project will a strong sensuali about it. use to create planting plans at SLA.
inform the others. en there’s Nihon Teienshi Taikei, by Theorie der Gartenkunst describes the
Mirei Shigamori. It’s a set of 36 historical meaning and use of the English landscape
An important part of your education was the books about Japanese gardens. For each one garden, and this has had a great influence
three years you spent studying in Japan, aer there are plans, drawings, photos, sketches in Germany and Denmark. The English
you graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine and a short text. ese are most of Japan’s landscape garden carries traces of Eastern
Arts’ School of Architecture in Copenhagen. important gardens, many of which I have philosophy combined with the interest of the
So can we talk about the Japanese books that visited. ey feature depictions of the garden, time in creating moods and the atmosphere
feature in your list? short essays by Shigamori and drawings. of melancholy – and strongly sensuous
Kenya Hara’s White is there because it is deeply ese are just fantastic books. ey have had a experiences. In our library, I have a first
connected to my own thinking about colours. huge impact on my understanding of Japanese edition and there is writing inscribed on the
Others are really rare books that are collector’s culture and aesthetics, and how we can use front page by Hirschfeld himself, dated 1795.
these concepts in our own work. Between the pages, I found a little yellow
From these books we have derived folded drawing. Books can surprise you with
what I call our ‘Japanese combinatorics’, by their small secrets, like this drawing. Even
which I mean a way of creating a balance in though they are always the same every time
the composition of planting – not based on a you look at them, depending on what you

my thinking’ mathematical matrix but by creating a visual

balance, pleasing to our aesthetic feeling for
are looking for, you can find different things
inside them. _
182 Mark 61

Tools
 Tools 183

‘e exchan e
of ideas
with
Wolfgang Rieder on building a shelter
in the Slovenian Alps, page 188

talented
oun eo le
is vital’
184 Mark 61 Tools

Structural Systems

Structural Glass
Glas Marte
During the reconstruction of the Silesian Museum in
Katowice, a new building situated mostly underground was
erected on top of a former coal mine. Apart from exhibitions,
it is used for conferences and seminars. Dominating the
exterior of the complex are five abstract glass cubes whose
clever dimensions blend harmoniously with the existing
ensemble. ese transparent geometric boxes allow sunlight
to penetrate the deeper levels, and their well-considered
design adds spatial emphasis to the museum complex.
e project is the work of Riegler Riewe Architekten
of Graz, a firm that made extensive use of ICE-H®, a
structural glass manufactured by long-standing Vorarlberg
company Glas Marte. e Silesian Museum features ICE-H®
as façade glazing.
e glass has an interesting, uniquely fractured
surface structure with a cool but lively appearance. e
material excites not only the eye, but also the sense of touch.
ICE-H® gives every exterior and interior space an exceptional
character all its own. By combining a century-old processing
method with the latest technological developments, Glas
Marte was able to adapt the product to the requirements of
today’s markets and to ensure its application to a wide varie
of uses.
glasmarte.at
Structural Systems 185

House of Beams
Rubner Holzbau
Last year, in the run-up to Karlsruhe’s 300th anniversary
celebration, Rubner Holzbau and architecture office J. Mayer
H. and Partners were awarded the commission for the design
and construction of a temporary Jubilee Pavilion in the ci’s
palace gardens.
e openwork construction of Pavilion KA2015
includes 164 light-grey glulam beams, some slanted, some
horizontal (220 m³). e beams create a spatial grid whose
forward-reaching moderni is a deliberate contrast to the
baroque palace.
e pavilion has a surface area of some 1,000 m² and
is 16.4 m at its highest point. Inside are a nction hall (250
seats or 500 standing places), a stage, a cafeteria, an exhibition
space and two viewing platforms. During the anniversary
festivities, which took place from June to September 2015, the
pavilion served as a central meeting point and was used for
numerous events.
In March and April of 2015, the pavilion was
constructed by Rubner Holzbau, the company that is now
preparing to dismantle the structure and to recycle all timber
and steel elements.
holzbau.rubner.com
186 Mark 61 Tools

High-quali materials and state-of-the-art

production techniques are united in FAKRO’s
durable, safe and nctional roof windows,
which boast unrivalled insulation properties
as well as a streamlined modern design.
 FAKRO Nowy Sącz — Poland 187

FAKRO
Twen-five years
of innovation in the
roof-windows sector.

Sławomir Gawlik: ‘Our brand is built on FTT U8 ermo windows meet Passive
the basis of our broad product offering.’ House standards, thanks to their
exceptional levels of thermal insulation.

As Poland’s FAKRO Group the architect of our success, to for flat roofs, which we debuted markets throughout Europe and
celebrates a quarter century in the every member of our passionate, last year. Apart from their high the USA.
business, we talk to marketing energetic staff. Our R&D insulation parameters, they
director Sławomir Gawlik. department cooperates with feature a unique design and a slip- How are you celebrating your
over 100 constructors and has resistant coating that makes them silver jubilee this year?
FAKRO produced its first roof made 140 patent applications. We safe to walk on. e extension of In January we hosted our Jubilee
window in 1991. Where is the follow current trends in the trade, our product range to include aic Conference and Gala, welcoming
company today? listen to customers’ needs and ladders in 2003 was an important 500 guests from 31 countries
SŁAWOMIR GAWLIK: Aer 25 constantly invest 100 per cent in moment in FAKRO’s history. to Jachranka near Warsaw. is
years, we have 12 production sites the development of the company. festive event was a huge success.
and 16 distribution companies. We How have your marketing and During the remainder of 2016,
sell our products in 50 countries Tell us about FAKRO’s milestone promotional activities evolved we have many more celebrations
worldwide. So far we’ve sold over products. since 1991? and special initiatives coming up
seven million roof windows. It’s impossible to mention all our When we started out, we had to for our partners and customers.
is year we’re extending our breakthrough products in a short learn quickly. We took our first Examples are our #25FAKRO
line to include new products for interview, but among the most marketing campaign to the trade contest on Instagram and
flat roofs. We also plan to start significant is our preSelect top- fair in Poznań in 1991, but we loery draws for customers
the production of wood- and hung and pivot window, which couldn’t afford a stand inside and distributors. ese actions
aluminium-framed vertical is characterized by high utili the exhibition pavilion, so we are meant to thank the people
windows. and ease of control, thanks to its hosted our own presentation to whom we owe our success.
construction. e separate ways outside, in the form of a small Making customers happy is what
You’ve gone from a small family of opening this window guarantee timber house that showcased motivates our development.
firm to become an international the stabili of the sash and safe our roof windows. Nowadays we
player. What’s the secret of your in use. Our energy-saving FTT communicate with customers in How do you see the next 25 years?
success? roof window is another milestone. different ways, from traditional I believe we will continue to show
Our brand is built on the basis of Its innovative design provides to digital. We run competitions commitment, enthusiasm and
a broad product offering, satisfied significant thermal-energy that target distributors, architects passion, so that customers will
customers and the people who savings. e FAKRO FTT U8 and individual customers, and we continue to be happy with our
make up our company – our ermo window has a U-value of organize workshops: in just five products and services – and that
innovative solutions would be 0.58 W/m2K and is the ‘warmest’ years, we’ve trained over 50,000 we will increase our share of the
impossible without them. I’m window on the market with a representatives of the construction global market.
talking about everyone from single glazing unit. We’re also sector. We also take part in about fakro.com
Ryszard Florek, our director and proud of our new DXW windows 18 trade fairs each year, in major
188 Mark 61 Tools

anks to the colour and texture of öko skin,

the shelter blends into its environment.
Photos OFIS Architects
 Rieder Mount Skuta — Slovenia 189

Rieder
A concrete skin to withstand
the harshest conditions

Just because a building is small, it’s conditions, material requirements materials by the company, which sponsored the substructure and
not necessarily easier to design or and programmatic considerations. has developed a special competence helped the students develop
to construct than one many times Of these, the design by Frederick centre for façade claddings. the modular design. Rieder’s
larger. at’s doubly true when the Kim, Katie MacDonald and Erin Rieder’s involvement support allowed the hut to be
tiny structure in question perches Pellegrino was selected for rther with the project began with an manufactured off-site and then
on a mountain, like the Alpine development with OFIS. invitation to company owner airlied in three sections to the
shelter built by OFIS Architects, Inspired by traditional Wolfgang Rieder from the dean mountain face by helicopter,
students from Harvard Graduate Alpine architecture, the of Harvard Universi to a end courtesy of the Slovenian army
School of Design, and Austrian shelter, which provides basic the GSD Talks in Cambridge, MA, and the local mountain rescue
concrete company Rieder. An accommodation for eight climbers, to talk about innovations and team. Transport and on-site
inaccessible location, coupled is divided into three sections, cross-disciplinary changes construction took only one day –
with the hostile climate, multiplied each with its own pitched roof. in architecture. ‘e exchange time being of the essence in such
the challenges involved in the Glazed gables allow for spectacular, of ideas with talented young an inhospitable location. ‘It was
project and called for some vertigo-inducing views. e outer people is vital,’ says Wolfgang wonderl to see this building,
radical solutions. shell, in Rieder’s silvery grey, glass- Rieder. ‘We can learn a lot from designed at Harvard, come to
e shelter replaces a fibre-reinforced öko skin concrete them.’ He emphasizes that Rieder life in the Slovenian mountains,’
50-year-old structure made from panels, harmonizes with the ru ed is not only a product supplier, says Wolfgang Rieder. ‘e whole
iron sheet that stood in the same landscape in colour and texture but also a provider of solutions, project contributes to our aim
location: some 2,118 m up on while wrapping the building offering comprehensive services to build a global network of
the face of Mount Skuta in the in a highly weather-resistant, in the areas of substructure, academics, researchers, designers
Kamnik–Savinja Alps in Slovenia. protective skin. Although only mounting and logistics. ‘It has and architects to develop a be er
e new version started life in 13 mm thick, and thus relatively always been our quest,’ he says, world. Merely adding a new
an architectural-design studio lightweight and easy to transport, ‘to tackle the problems faced by colour or a new surface to our
at the Harvard Graduate School öko skin offers excellent protection the world of architecture and product range is not enough.
of Design, led by Rok Oman and from the elements while needing to find solutions together with rough our network, we are
Spela Videcnik of Slovenian studio li le to no maintenance for a architects and planners.’ developing some really innovative
OFIS Architects. Several student period of up to 50 years. It is the e Alpine shelter is no ideas, and we hope to bring them
groups working on the challenge result of 55 years of experience exception to this approach. In to the market soon.’
produced 12 proposals that met site and experimentation in concrete addition to the façade, Rieder rieder.cc
190 Mark 61 Tools
 Laminam Johannesburg — South Africa 191

Laminam
Collection ceramic slabs
boost climate control
In designing 30 Jellicoe, a cover a large wing entirely with resulting in a crisply executed and can withstand all weather
prestigious office building in Laminam’s high-performance surface pa ern. conditions, including frost. e
Johannesburg, South Africa, ceramic Collection slabs. Laminam launched product has a high heat tolerance
Paragon Architects faced the Paragon Architects chose Collection in 2002 as a and fire-resistant properties.
challenge of a subtropical climate Laminam Collection for its aesthetic revolutionary ceramic cladding If exposed to flame, Collection
with variable temperatures. e and technical qualities. e solution, and the slabs went slabs release no smoke or toxic
firm’s design for the 10,000-m² polished Collection façade creates a on to become something of a substances; they are safe to use in
complex, located in the Rosebank strong and effective contrast to the contemporary classic. Available combination with foodstuffs and
area, is characterized by large rest of the largely glazed structure, in two thicknesses and in slabs inhibit the formation of mildew,
glass surfaces. To reduce thermal as well as lfilling a nctional of 1000 × 3000 mm, Collection bacteria and mould. A completely
gain and boost both comfort and role. In white, the Collection slabs is suitable for both exterior and natural product, Laminam
energy efficiency, the architects greatly contribute to the passive interior, and for private and public, Collection does not release
needed to employ various shading solar-screening systems of the uses. A wide array of colours – no chemicals into the environment
tactics, including vertically building, while also playing a key fewer than 19 tints and tones, and can easily be ground down
oriented louvres on the east and design role. e slabs, with their including white and black – and recycled in its entire for use
west façades, and horizontal smooth finish, are laid horizontally heightens its appeal. in other manufacturing processes.
screens on the north. A major and interspersed with ribbon Collection is highly laminam.it
part of their strategy was to windows of the same proportions, resistant to scratches and abrasion
192 Mark 61 Exit

Exit
Mark 62
June – July 2016

Christ & Gantenbein

e Landesmuseum in Zurich,
inaugurated in 1898, was built
as a monument to the 1848
unification of Switzerland. Like
a collage, suesting the different
epochs and regions that gathered
to form the new federalist state,
the building consolidated a
range of architectural s les –
ecclesiastical, bourgeois and
aristocratic – to represent an
assemblage of church, palace
and ci gate. More than 100
years later, when the original
museum was deemed outdated,
a competition was organized
to modernize and extend the
building. e winning proposal
by Christ & Gantenbein is
nearing completion. e new
Swiss National Museum will
open its doors in July.

Also
Amanda Levete’s Central
Embassy shopping mall
in Bangkok

A selection of research
projects by Philadelphia-based
KieranTimberlake

And
An interview with Dubai
specialist Yasser Elsheshtawy
 PRESENTS

WHAT’S THE MATTER?

Design for a phygital world
Image Zeitguised

Milan Design Week 2016

12 – 17 April
La Posteria, Via Giuseppe Sacchi 5/7
Brera District
POWERED BY

PARTNERS
events.frameweb.com
S PAC E
FOR THINGS
T H I NG S
FOR LIVE
L I V I NG
S PA C E

KIN is a family of cabinets with each member in a Come see the collection at
specific format. Regardless of their field of application Salone del Mobile . Milano
they create room for the things that matter. Fiera Milano – Rho 12-17 April, 2016

D E S I G N BY M AT H I A S H A H N , 2 016 PA D 7, S TA N D H 18

zeitraum-moebel.de