AASARCHITECTURE
House 1 by O1A
House 1 is the design of a 4953 square feet residence located in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. This house belongs to a series of houses that explore spatial and conceptual volumetric configurations of the frame and the box. The major architectural investigation in this house is how a single extruded frame, a continuous and interdependent unit composed of wall, roof and floor and opened on opposite ends, behaves as a homogenous system that resolves a number of fundamental architectural components such as program, space, interior versus exterior, public versus private, light, ventilation, materiality, economy of means and structure.
This all in one approach of the frame is achieved by implementing two actions, subtraction and insertion, which transforms the frame into a versatile volumetric configuration. First and foremost, the frame incorporates all the public functions of the house, entry, living, dining, kitchen, family, garden, terrace, and pool, under the single roof extruded frame. By way of subtraction and insertion we are able to further the develop the program. Subtraction allows us to reveal the sky and create space for the kitchen and study rooms, patios, and pools. Insertion allows us to incorporate the kitchen and study rooms by sliding the wood clad box as well as an exterior garden/screen by sliding the floating concrete cube.
In doing so it creates an open, continuous loft like space that fuses both interior and exterior space. Both the private and public domains are addressed by presenting a more opaque façade toward the street, an abstract composition made up of a wood wall and a floating concrete cube, and wall to wall glass surface facing the back yard, establishing a continuous flow between the house and nature. Even though the frame is 50′ feet long by 60′-0″ wide, light filters into the interior through the series of incisions and patios, which, in turn, generate cross ventilation and work together with the clearstories of the 11′-0″ high ceiling to ventilate hot air rising.
The frame’s exposed concrete ceiling and walls with wood floor creates the backdrop of the space and is alternated with smooth white plaster, wood and exposed concrete walls in the rest of the volumes to add a tactile quality to the space in order to engage the senses of the human beings experiencing the space. Economy of means is achieved by using the abundant local source of concrete as well as the compact form of the frame facilitates the formwork’s construction. The frame allows for the neutralization of structure by using steel columns spaced at simple spans of 14′-0″ in the long dimension.
ARCH ART DESIGNS
House 2 by Office One Architecture in Aguada, Puerto Rico
House 2 is the design of a 3,500 square feet courtyard residence to be located in Aguada, Puerto Rico. This house belongs to a series of houses that explore spatial and conceptual volumetric configurations of the frame and the box.
Essentially, three extruded frames and a box are reconfigured volumetrically to define the public spaces of the house. The configuration is initiated by connecting two extruded frames with a box, resulting in a continuous open plan. The intersection of these two elements transforms the volumetric configuration in order to merge the spaces. This transformation is later connected to a perpendicular extruded frame that, on the one hand, creates a fluid space and, on the other hand, defines each space locally through the articulation of the frame and box. The front porch and terrace form part of one subdivided frame as they slide the outdoor space into the configuration.
The resulting rotary plan results in a sort of central courtyard in which the public functions of the house revolve around the pool. From every point of this area the resident has visual access to nature, water and sky, highlighting the sensual experience at the same time the space is filled with daylight. The volume’s exposed concrete alternated with smooth white plaster adds a tactile quality to the space. The single room deep space volumes allow for cross ventilation and multiple ceiling heights provide clearstories to ventilate hot air rising. Bedrooms and garage simple volumes, attached to the main volumetric configuration through secondary transitional volumes, are purposefully devoid of complexity to ease the construction and therefore reduce construction costs.
FLORIDA /C ARCHITECT
RIMA House, Residential Addition located in San Marino Island near Miami Beach, Fl designed by Architect Arnaldo Sanchez of Miami Architects O1A
RIMA House was designed by Architect Arnaldo Sanchez of Miami Architects O1A as a 1,400 sq. ft. addition to an existing traditional residence built in 1935 on San Marino Island. The island is a neighborhood of South Beach in the city of Miami Beach, FL. It is one of a chain of six man-made islands in Biscayne Bay known as the Venetian Islands and home to residential neighborhoods and a portion of the Venetian Causeway.
ARCHDAILY
32 “Discarded” Helsinki Guggenheim Proposals You Should Know About
The search for a design for Helsinki’s new Guggenheim Museum is well under way. Over a thousand entrants submitted anonymous proposals for the harbor-side museum, and though six finalists have now been chosen, the incredible wealth of talent and effort present in the submissions is hard to ignore. We celebrate that talent here, showcasing 32 great designs-that-could-have-been for the Helsinki Guggenheim. Learn more about all of them, after the break!
Office One’s proposal is a group of two buildings, a “bar” and a “tower.” The bar, which holds the museum’s private and administrative functions, takes the form of a parallelogram sunken into the ground. The shape of the building is based off existing site boundaries, and is orientated to face the northern half of the site while maintaining a view of the harbor. The top of the bar acts as an extension of the adjacent Tähtitorninvuoren Park, with a sloped green roof that can be used for outdoor exhibitions. The two are connected via a footbridge.
The tower is the public space of the proposal, and holds the museum’s galleries. It is conceived as a glass box with a flexible wooden core. This core is composed of open and closed exhibition spaces, creating a checkered pattern that, according to the architects, will “emphasize the relationships and links established among those spaces.” The rooms within the core have movable partitions that allow curators to expand and rearrange gallery space to best fit the art being displayed. The rooms are also designed with white-washed walls and glass ceilings, providing a neutral canvas and excellent light for exhibited work.
DESIGNBOOM
Guggenheim helsinki design entry by O1A proposes movable museum walls
for their approach towards the brief of the guggenheim helsinki design competition, office one architects has developed a strategy around of a three-dimensional field of public amenities and art galleries to receive LEED gold certification. these functions are contained within two major components: a tower and a bar. the former houses the museum while the latter houses the rest of the program.
the parallelogram geometry results from the projection of site lines, thus allowing the building to face north while remaining parallel to the port. the taller massing is aligned with the existing structures on the southern portion of etelainen makasiinikatu so as to provide an uninterrupted visual of the bay and relate to the urban fabric. in terms of materiality, it will be covered with a glass envelope that protects the interior. the transparency of the skin will create a free flowing pathway along the harbor, bringing the artwork to the everyday life of the citizens.
the inside is clad in wood with white walls and suspended ceilings to evoke a neutral atmosphere open to interpretation. these areas are paired in a checkered organization that are later modified according to programmatic and spatial needs to elaborate a flexible, changeable plan. movable partitions ingrained in the construction grant for a collection of organizations that shift from one module to geometrical variants that expand its dimension
this circuit of exhibition and different single, double, triple and quadruple height spaces allows for interaction between these two realms throughout the museum. the civic functions presents both generous and modest dimensions, assigning rooms at times with monumentality and at others a private character.
the lower part of the complex is located in front of the park to make way for an extension of the green space. a sloped roof doubles as a ramp to access this vegetation, which in turn can be transformed into a sculpture outdoor garden. connections to existing programs such as the olympia terminal deck occur through this feature with an elevated bridge toward the south of the site.
PATTERNED SKINS
Patterned Skins/ Arnaldo Sanchez/ Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Intro
In Parametric Patterns, Patrik Schumacher explores patterns’ potentials as an articulation device that depends upon differentiation and correlation. As one of many possible differentiation methods, of interest for this exhibit, are those which respond to the natural environment and are found in “adaptive differentiation.” Schumacher states, “Another powerful opportunity is the adaptive differentiation of facades with respect to environmental parameters that vary widely according with the orientation of the surface. Here, functional and formal variation go hand in hand. The gradual variation of sunlight intensity on a curved surface translates into a gradient transformation of the component formation.” 1 It is within this framework that the first year first semester design studio titled Patterned Skins at the Pontifical Catholic School of Architecture is developed. Patterns’ potential in relation to a skin’s reactive capabilities is seen as an artistic device. The process is developed in three main exercises: Pattern Generation, Space Generation/Reactive Response, Garden Pavilion.
Pattern Generation
Understanding pattern as an “arrangement of repeated or corresponding parts,”2 pattern generation offers an alternative and contemporary insight of composition. Through pattern generation a set of guiding principles and rules are established in creating new potentialities in architectural design; Potentialities that deal with geometric modeling techniques in surface generation and structuring. Pattern generation explores the two dimensional complexities of repetitive systems. As a first step, students selected a pattern from Italian and Arabian mosaics and studied their hidden geometries and concepts through analytical drawings. Secondly, they designed a new pattern based on the ideas discovered from the reference pattern.
Space Generation/Reactive Response
The second phase explored patterns’ potentialities in space definition. A bi-dimensional pattern can become the set of guiding principles
in the development of a skin that functions as both structure and surface. Its surface qualities, such as transparency and texture, can be manipulated in order to react to different conditions and levels of information. Patterns’ potential to react to light, visual access, scale,
among others, allows the pattern to transform geometrically through subtle differentiation. As a first step, students developed a space and fabricated it using rhino paneling tools to apply the patterns designed in the previous phase. Secondly, students explored surface qualities by manipulating pattern in terms of light filtration and visual access.
Garden Pavilion
The third phase of the project focused on the application of patterned skins in a real site. The selection of the site was Plaza de Las Delicias in Ponce, Puerto Rico and the program to resolve was a Plant Pavillion. Students analyzed sunlight patterns and applied passive design strategies in order to correlate both the external light resources and interior light requisites established by the content of plants. Different plants required of more sun as other required less, and therefore a correlative relationship was established among
the different design components.
Notes
1 Patrik Schumacher. “Parametric Patterns”, AD Patterns of Architecture 79, No 6 (November / December 2009): 36.
2 pattern. Dictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pattern(accessed: May 20, 2012).
AREA
Casa Patio, Casa Perfecta, Arquitectura Contemporanea diseñada por Arquitecto radicado en Miami.
El peculiar diseño del arquitecto Arnaldo Sánchez junto a Eugenio Ramírez Ballagas, y bautizado como Casa Patio 1, fue galardonado con el Premio de Honor 2013 por la American Institute of Architects (AIA), Capítulo de la Florida y el Caribe. El mismo, que compitió en la categoría Obra No Construida, consiste en una propuesta arquitectónica que luce sencilla y sofisticada a la vez. En ella se abarcan elementos esenciales para sacarle partido a la naturaleza y a la iluminación natural, sin sacrificar la seguridad. “Es la propuesta de una Vivienda unifamiliar de 5,500 pies cuadrados en Aguadilla. Lo más importante en el plano es que se distribuye de manera aleatoria. Se parean los cuartos con patios para establecer una unidad que se repite un sinnúmero de veces a lo largo de la trama espacial”, detalla Sánchez Núñez, el principal de Office One Architecture, situada en Aguadilla. Sí, todas las habitaciones de circulación o funcionalidad tienen su propio patio, además de dimensiones y proporciones individuales. En ellas Esta propuesta también fue reconocida con el premio Honor de AIA, Capítulo de Puerto Rico, en el 2009. se destaca la claridad y la iluminación que permiten el disfrute de la naturaleza desde cualquier rincón en su área interior. “La superficie tiene un muro de cristal que permite la comunicación directa con la naturaleza y con la luz cenital del cielo. Me inspiré en la estructura tradicional de las casas del Viejo San Juan con patios interiores. En este caso, ese elemento se lleva más allá”, describe el aguadillano, que tiene un bachillerato de la Universidad de Miami y una maestría de la Universidad de Harvard. El patio se convierte en la variable más importante en la definición de los aspectos fundamentales de la estructura. Permite el establecimiento de una relación directa entre arquitectura y naturaleza. Una fachada con “código de barras” El tema del ornamento se aprecia en la fachada, que simula el efecto de un código de barras, o barcode. Según el urbanista Sánchez, la misma distingue las formas y figuras de una manera irregular. La fachada y primera impresión de los renderings de la casa (que no está construida), es de un element arquitectónico que se percibe como una pantalla de acero ortogonal, compuesta por placas verticals delgadas, que varían sutilmente en anchura y disposición. La composición creada por el arquitecto permite diferentes niveles de transparencia. “Estos movimientos sutiles se sincronizan con los espacios interiors para mostrar u ocultar la información, aumentando o reduciendo la visibilidad al exterior”, declara el profesor de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ponce. Gran seguridad La fachada de Casa Patio 1 también funciona como un dispositivo de protección ante el clima local, y además ante la llegada de intrusos. La pantalla de acero permite la protección de los proyectiles que vuelan durante un huracán y que pondrían en peligro las superficies de cristal de la pared trasera. La eficiencia Explica Sánchez que su propuesta explora estrategias energéticas pasivas mediante la incorporación de la luz natural, y ventilación. El patio funciona como un mecanismo que introduce luz cenital y ventila los espacios interiores. “La economía se logra mediante el uso de los métodos más rudimentarios de construcción proporcionados por la industria local (estructura de hormigón armado) y mediante el control de las dimensiones que abarcan losas y aberturas en las ventanas”. El concepto, que Sánchez está esperanzado en construir próximamente, resuelve los espacios cerrados y oscuros con
AIA FLORIDA
Design Award Winning Architects/ Unbuilt Awards/ Honor
Casa Patio, Aguadilla/ Arnaldo Sanchez, AIA
“This is the most original project to be submitted this year. It exhibits remarkable originality and absolute control of space. The design turns every part of the plan into it’s own island and is the ultimate example of outside-in planning.”- The Jury
This house represents a reorganized typology of the single family patio house.Here, the patio is the single most important variable in defining the fundamental aspects of a habitable structure. There is a direct relationship between architecture and nature in a dense, cluttered environment.
DOMUS
Casa Patio, Modern Residential Architecture in Puerto Rico.
In a single family residence, designed by local architects Arnaldo Sanchez and Eugenio Ramirez, the patio allows a direct relationship between architecture and nature.
The typology of the patio house is re-conceptualized by organizing and distributing patios in an aleatory, non hierarchical fashion so as to resolve site, programmatic, economic and sustainable design issues. The patio becomes the single most important variable in defining the fundamental aspects of the habitable structure. First and foremost, the patio allows for the establishment of a direct relationship between architecture and nature otherwise not realized in the dense and cluttered environment created once the immediate context is fully developed. Understood as an expansion device it resolves closed and dark spaces created by the dense single plan project. Program and Nature are fused in an interdependent manner to define a continuous spatial sequence, yet resolving conflict through the subtle transformation of space in dimension, proportion and use. The spatial sequence is characterized by the discovery and encounter of the patios. On the other hand, the proposal explores passive energy strategies by incorporating natural light, natural ventilation, and economy of means. The patio functions as a mechanism which introduces zenithal light and ventilates interior spaces. Economy of means is achieved by using the most rudimentary methods of construction provided by local industry, Reinforced Concrete Structure, and by controlling span dimensions of slabs and window openings.
The main architectural element of the house is composed of a steel plate skin that wraps around the front patio. Perceived as an orthogonal steel screen, it is composed of thin vertical plates varying only subtly in width and arrangement. Three basic dimensions of steel plates are spread through two layered planes of different arrangement. The outermost layer spans the entire width of the skin while the interior layer is fragmented and spans only in a segmental fashion in order to densify the skin and allow for different levels of transparency. These subtle moves are synchronized with the interior spaces so as to reveal or hide information, increasing or decreasing visibility to the exterior according to the program and spatial sequence.
Conceived as a shading device, the skin not only filters tropical light but it is thought of as an in between and habitable space, gaining the characteristics of an interior patio. This three dimensional quality of the space allows for various scenarios. On the one hand, this frontal patio allows for an extension of the living room and, on the other, it can serve as a buffer zone between the interior and exterior spaces with the function of a patio. The skin also functions as a protection device from local climate and foreign intrusion. The steel screen allows for protection of flying projectiles during a hurricane that would put in danger the glass surfaces of the glass wall behind. This new added skin allows for a major integration between inside and outside in a Caribbean climate without sacrificing practical considerations
FRAME
Miami Residential Architect designs Casa Patio located in Puerto Rico.
