Gemini Residence

Gemini Residence is a residential building on the Islands Brygge waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark. Built to the design of MVRDV, the building has been created by converting two former seed silos. It is located at the end of Bryggebroen, connecting Amager-side Islands Brygge to Zealand-sideVesterbro across the harbour, and close to the southern end of Havneparken.

With a reference to the twin silos that have given the building its shape, Gemini Residence takes its name from the Astrological sign Gemini, the Latinname of the Zodiac sign The Twins.

The converted twin silos were raw concrete cylinders, standing 42 metres tall and 25 metres wide. The hollow cores of the silos are used for the infrastructure of the building, stairs, elevators and hallways. The two silos are connected on each floor, giving the building a basic layout resemblying the infinity symbol, ∞. The two rotundas are capped with a Texlon roof for natural light, creating a lobby area as tall as the building itself, within which residents and visitors can move up and down.

The apartments have been clipped to the exterior of the silos. The apartments have floor to ceiling windows and balconies along their entire length. At the foot of the silos, the raw concrete has been left uncovered to highlight the origin and history of the structure. This creates a marked horizontal overhang above the quayside esplenade passing below, while the narrow chasm it leaves at ground level creates a passage between dockside and streetside.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Frank W. Thomas House

Frank W. Thomas House, 210 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, USA

The Frank W. Thomas House was commissioned by James C. Rogers for his daughter and her husband, Frank Wright Thomas. In some ways, it resembles the Heurtley House: both homes have leaded glass windows, an arched entryway, and a low, long profile. The Thomas house is widely considered Wright's first Prairie Style home in Oak Park. It is also his first all stuccohome in Oak Park. Using stucco instead of wood meant that Wright could design clear, geometric forms.

The main rooms of the Thomas House are raised a full story above a high basement. The L-shaped floor plan of the house gives it an open view to the north and west, while obscuring a brick wall located on the south side. A "false door" is located just above the arched entryway.

Source: architecture.about.com

Drawing of the day - 02

Here's another one for your viewing pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXt3slWL-KU

Hope you like it!

You can also subscribe to this channel because more cool and nice stuff are on their way. :)

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Drawing of the day 01

Hi again!
I decided to upload my drawing videos on my new channel.

So here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpT7VEAQf4A

Hope you like it :)

Kettle Hole House

Kettle Hole House by Robert Young

Architects: Robert Young
Location: East Hampton, New York, USA
Architect In Charge: Robert Young
Design Team: Mara Indra, Marlene Toerper, Shea Murdock
Project Architect: Kiyomi Troemner
Year: 2008
Photographs: Frank Oudeman

This project developed organically to respond to our client’s seven acre site, which was sheltered by white pines, offered unobstructed views of the water, and housed a beautiful kettle pond. The property contained an existing house, c 1982, which was in need of a major renovation. Because of serious rot and the low quality of the initial construction, it was not clear that a restoration would cost less than a new house. Our instinct is always to save and reuse things rather than throw them away, so we were keen to find ways to keep the house economically. Surveys of the property indicated that the house was closer to the kettle pond than current town setbacks would allow; if we were to build a new house rather than renovate, it would have to be pushed back closer to the property line, compromising the privacy and water views that made this parcel so appealing.
While the existing house was full of quirky layout moments, such as dark narrow halls and high windows facing the view, the basic parti of the house worked quite well — living spaces bookended by the master suite and guest bedrooms. By filling in a windowless courtyard and carport, we were able to enlarge the kitchen and dining areas, and add a den and a screened porch without extending the actual footprint of the house. This not only allowed for extra space, but also dramatically improved the awkward flow between the existing spaces. Without moving load-bearing walls, we merged the kitchen, living and dining areas into an open, flowing plan.
We transformed the appearance of the house with an economy of means using new siding and windows with accenting cement panels. The windowless ‘silo’ stairwell was replaced with a rectangular stair tower with a simple but delicate stair of blackened steel. Wide expanses of glass and exterior materials that cross over into the interiors, such as the cedar siding and cement panels, blur the line between inside and out. The interior palette of natural materials, colors, and fabrics is juxtaposed with occasional strong contrasting elements, complementing the surrounding woodlands.

Source: archdaily.com

Museum for Architectural Drawing

Museum for Architectural Drawing by Speech

Architectural sketches and motifs are etched across the concrete walls of the Museum for Architectural Drawing in Berlin by Russian architecture collective SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov.

Architects Sergei Tchoban and Sergey Kuznetsov of SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov designed the building to house the collections of the Tchoban Foundation, which the architect founded in 2009 as an archive of architectural drawings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Located on the site of a former brewery, the five-storey museum will be the foundation's first address and comprises a stack of overlapping concrete volumes with a glass penthouse positioned on top.

Architectural reliefs cover all three of the yellowish-grey concrete facades and form repetitive patterns. The surfaces are also broken up into groups of gently angled planes, intended to mimic overlapping sheets of paper.

"This artistic touch is supposed to emphasise the function and contents of the exposition in the museum's architectural look," explain the architects.

The ground floor of the building accommodates an entrance hall, shop and library. The collections will be housed on the three middle floors and will only be accessible by appointment, while the the glass penthouse and roof terrace will function as an events space.

The Museum for Architectural Drawing is set to open in June and will present both a permanent drawing collection and loans from international collections.

Architects Sergei Tchoban and Sergey Kuznetsov have worked together on various projects as SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov. Their past collaborations include curating the Russian Pavilion at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Source: dezeen.com

Santa Ana and San Joaquin Church

Santa Ana and San Joaquín Church by RGRM Arquitectos

Architects: RGRM Arquitectos
Location: Roquetas, Almería, Spain
Project Architects: Juan José Ruiz Martín, Dolores Victoria Ruiz Garrido
Area: 1,888 sqm
Photographs: Jesús Granada

Collaborators: Jesús Granada, Andrés Salmerón
Technical Architect: José Manuel Lobo Rull
Budget: 1.200.000 euros
Contractor: Ferrovial, Agroman, S.A.
Client: Obispado De Almería
Cost: 635.29 euros/m2
Liturgical Furnishings: Silestone. COSENTINO
Natural Stone: TINO

People and place, place and people and light and sea…

The commission was to substitute the old church of El Puerto, a modest building that had welcomed the parishioners of this area of the city for 30 years, and which the people of the neighborhood understood as their parish. Understanding the link between parishioners and the sea and to translate it into the project has been a starting point for the project, to create an understanding between people and the architecture.

Rooting architecture in the places it belongs, this is an approach we defend. The identity of the place giving shape to the architecture.

The sea of the sailors that we have known personally and who year after year take the Virgin and Saint Anne in procession, the light from Almeria, white, everything generates a palpable whole in our work, to create links and complicities with the new building.

The program is simple: a meeting and celebration space for at least 400 people, classrooms for catechesis, meeting rooms for the parish and a home for the pastor. The plan is laid out from a continuous wall that folds on itself to form the central nave. It houses the sacristy and rectory, and becomes the bell tower. The chapels are grouped within a stone volume, an intimate area, wrapped by the outer wall. The nave, fractured by a crack, is flooded with light. It is this axis that “pulls” the altar to the streets in a gesture of calling. When the door is opened, the altar is seen from the square, powered by the light axis.

Source: archdaily.com

Hawthorn Residence

Hawthorn Residence by Canny

The initial client brief was to create a home that would allow independent living zones for the needs of the growing family. With three teenage boys the home allows ample breakout spaces for the children to be active and yet still enjoy the togetherness of combined family areas. The clients required a new home with a traditional façade to the compliment the streetscape, yet a more contemporary feel as one moved through to the rear of the home. The front rooms took on a traditional feel, whilst the rear presented more modern attributes.

The rear of the home showcases a distinctive curved pool house with expansive pool outlook. Dual outdoor entertaining areas with canopy skylights and recessed alfresco heaters allow for continuous enjoyment throughout all seasons. All of these elements were carefully integrated and designed with the landscape.

The highly detailed cellar is perhaps the standout feature of this residence. Complete with 2,000 unit wine storage, Vintec wine fridge, tasting bench, sink and luxe wooden joinery, the room carries an understated opulence and serves as a unique entertaining area for intimate dinner parties and tastings.

Source canny.com.au

Casa el Pangue

Casa el Pangue | Elton + Leniz Arquitectos | Chile

Architects: Elton+Leniz Arquitectos Asociados
Location: El Pangue, Chile
Associated Architects: Mirene Elton, Mauricio Leniz
Colaborator Architect: Germán Rodríguez Olivo
Builder: Beranda
Area: 437 sqm
Year: 2009
Photographs: Natalia Vial

El Pangue House stands on a steep slope facing the ocean. The house is organized with a central vertical circulation, connecting the 4 levels and 3 terraces, in order to get as much of the view of the pacific ocean as possible, taking advantage of the height offered by the natural slope of the site.

Each level contains a different part of the program; access is through the lower level, where you find parking, storage and an open shower. The next level houses the public zones of the house, such as the kitchen, play room, dining room and living room. The third level features bedrooms and the family room, and the fourth the main bedroom.

The constructive system is generated upon sustaining concrete walls that terraces the site in three levels. The fourth level was designed as a lightweight structure with wood siding. The living room level appears as a great terrace surrounded by planters, which replace the railings.

Source: archdaily.com

Hemispheric Theater

Santiago Calatrava's Hemispheric Theater from Valencia, Spain, an Imax cinema, Planetarium and Laserium.

• L'Hemisfèric — an Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium. The building is meant to resemble a giant eye, and has an approximate surface of 13,000 m². The Hemesferic also known as the planetarium or the “eye of knowledge,” is the centerpiece of the City of Arts and Sciences. It was the first building completed in 1998. Its design resembles an eyelid that opens to access the surrounding water pool. The bottom of the pool is glass, creating the illusion of the eye as a whole. This planetarium is a half-sphere composed of concrete 110 meters long and 55.5 meters wide. The shutter is built of elongated aluminum awnings that fold upward collectively to form a brise soleil roof that opens along the curved axis of the eye. It opens to reveal the dome, the pupil of the eye, which is the Ominax theater. The City of Arts and Sciences is divided in half by a set of stairs that descend into the vaulted concrete lobby. The underground spaces are illuminated with the use of translucent glass panels within the walking path. The transparent roof is supported by concrete arches that connect to the sunken gallery. There is a miraculous echo inside of the building and if two people stay on the two opposite pillars inside of the eye they can seamlessly speak with each other.

Source: wikipedia.org

Updates

Heya everyone. I will stop making Drawing of the Day videos for a short period of time, not because I don't have time but because my YouTube account acts very strange and doesn't save the changes I do to my videos. I'll move to another channel and hopefully this won't happen again.

Also I have some new and nice ideas to experiment.
See you soon!

Wuxi Grand Theatre

Wuxi Grand Theatre by PES-Architects
(Source: archinect.com)

Wuxi Grand Theatre is a one of the key cultural projects in Wuxi, China. Wuxi Grand Theater stands on the south bank of Taihu Lake and covers a total area of more than 70,000 square meters. The building is designed by Finnish architect Pekka Salminen.

The main idea of Wuxi Grand Theatre is based on its location. The manmade peninsula on the northern shore area of Taihu Lake and the highway bridge nearby make this location comparable to that of Sydney Opera House. Due to this location the building is an impressive landmark, rising up to a total height of 50 meters like a big sculpture from the terraced base. Its eight gigantic roof wings stretch far over the facades, giving the building a character of a butterfly, while protecting the building from the heat of the sun.

The architectural concept is unique: inside the steel wings are thousands of LED lights, which make it possible to change the colour of the wings according to the character of the performances. This is possible, because the underside of the wings is covered by perforated aluminium panels. Another special feature is the “forest” of 50 light columns, each 9 meter high, which start from the main entrance square, support the roof of the central lobby and continue outside of the lakeside entrance into the lake.

A strong Chinese feature that runs throughout the whole building is the large scale use of bamboo, both a traditional and a modern Chinese material. Recently new methods for the production and use of bamboo have made it possible to cover the Main Theatre Auditorium with over fifteen thousand solid bamboo blocks, all individually shaped according to acoustic needs and architectural image. The Main Auditorium counts 1680 seats split up in main stalls and two balconies. The horseshoe shape and compact volume combined with variable acoustics creates a flexible venue which can host traditional western style operas, Chinese operas, theatre performances, classical concerts, and even conferences. The main auditorium is combined with a smaller 700 seat auditorium which is designed as a multifunctional black box theatre with retractable seats and multiple options for seating layout.

(Source: wikipedia.org)

Dar al-Hajar, the Rock Palace

Dar al-Hajar stands atop a protruding rock formation in Wadi Dhahr, a fertile and pleasant valley of small villages and clay-walled orchards. Pictured in many books about Yemen, it has become a symbol of the country itself.

Imam Yahya (1911-48) built the five-storey palace in the 1930s as a summer residence. Building a palace in such an extraordinary place was not his idea; there were already ruins of a prehistoric building on top of the hill. The well penetrating the rocks next to the house is said to date from then. This summer palace of Imam Yahya is actually a group of palaces famous for its delightful location and its beautiful gypsum ornamentation in the Sana'a style.

(Source: wikimapia.org)

Dar Al-Hajar – is a historical monument, considered one of the symbols of Yemen. It is located in the village of Souk Al Wadi, and often referred to as the Palace of Islam. The exact date of the original construction of the castle is unknown. However, there is a perception that the first buildings appeared long before the advent of Islam. In the Middle Ages the castle was completely destroyed by the Turks, and only in the eighteenth century, partially restored.

(Source: freeyork.org)

Europaallee Zurich

Europaallee Zurich by Max Dudler Architekt

Eurogate Zurich – originally HB-Südwest, later Stadtraum HB, and today under construction as Europaallee (Europaallee Zurich) – is one of the urban developments on the southwest side of the Zurich Central Station, otherwise known as Zurich Hauptbahnhof, or Zurich HB. For decades, various commercial uses were discussed for above and next to this central-Zurich site owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFC).

The previous developments under the name HB-Südwest changed to the Eurogate projects with the entrance of a new investor in October 1996 - the major Swiss bank, UBS (UBS Fund Management AG, Basel).

Also at this time, the corporation HB-Südwest, which had been founded in March of 1995 with the task of working through the overall project for HB-Südwest and the residential development for the Lagerstrasse in Zurich until start of construction, was renamed as Eurogate Zürich AG. With this change, the tasks were expanded to include the developing the entire project until completion.

Eurogate/HB-Südwest includes two major projects in Zurich:

• Development along Railway Tracks, Eurogate Zurich (Cost ca. 1.5billion Swiss Francs, planned since 1980)
• Residential Development along Lagerstrasse (Study 2000, 350 der 500 Wohnungen sowie Büro-, Gewerbe-, Freizeitflächen und Ersatzflächen für SBB-Anlagen)

The competition for the urban planning was won by the Zurich architectural office Ralph Bänziger Architekten. In the 1970s, Luigi Snozzi and Mario Botta had participated in the original competition with a design for a slender bridge-construction over the tracks, but their project was not further developed. Ralph Bänziger proposed a massive construction along the tracks.

The work on both designs and the many changes to the project lasted from 1980 until 2001.

Currently, various parts of the project, Europaallee, are under construction in central Zurich.

(Source: wikipedia.org)

Protestant Temple

Protestant Temple by Ciel Rouge

Architects: Ciel Rouge
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Project area: 1100 sqm
Project year: 2006
Photographs: Henri Gueydan

The architecture for this Protestant Church is centered by a wide nave arranged with six arches and a bell tower that symbolically lay importance on the seven elements, the seven days of creation, the seven churches of the Orient… We create the impression of a biblical open sky image from which the light amid the Holy Spirit descends upon the followers and worshippers.

The softly curved arches specifically designed for fine acoustics also remind of a hand overwhelming the crowd. For the use as an authentic concert hall facility the temple displays the comfort of lodges discreetly positioned right from within the arches.

(Source: archdaily.com)