A house attic does not evoke images of style and chic design.
Rather, we find ourselves thinking of dark, cobweb-infested, damp and
dreary crawl spaces. We think of attics as leftover space under the
roof where we abandon unwanted stuff – outdated clothing, old books,
grandma’s hat boxes, grandpa’s hunting gear, coin collections and bags
of seashells from that long-ago beach holiday.
But as space in our urban areas is at a premium - not a square metre
can go to waste. Architects and designers are starting to see the
potential of this extra space, and offer solutions that meet the needs
of the most demanding style freaks. Sunlight, additional rooms, extra
bathrooms — it is all possible in the attic. Starchitects around the
world have made dramatic rooflines trendy, so we can all give up on our
visions of the embarrassing drywalled and pine-paneled disasters that
attics tended to morph into, every time we tried to make them livable.
Within very few square metres, designers are finding space for
sleeping, cooking and eating, and using the sloping rooflines to create
impressive skylight windows.
We can all see the delightful benefits of maximising the amount of
livable and usable space – even if it involves clearing away the
precious collections of bric-a-brac we’ve spent generations
accumulating. Ample sunlight penetrating the attic apartment means than
even nocturnal arachnids are sent packing. By Andrew J Wiener and Tuija Seipell
The office of Zaha Hadid, the sometimes controversial and always bold
Baghdad-born, London-based architect, has revealed design plans for a
striking new building in the most traditional and affluent of places,
Oxford.
The new composite-glass structure, to be named the Softbridge Building,
is an extension to the Middle East Centre at St Anthony’s College. It
will link the 66 and 68 Woodstock Road buildings, one a Victorian mock
Tudor and the other Edwardian.
The new, concave, shiny structure looks like a modern sculpture that
fell from the sky and wedged itself between the two sleepy oldies. The
exuberant and dynamic Softbridge appears to have known that, against
all odds, the old buildings will not buckle, the mature trees will not
die and the limited space into which the newcomer must settle, will be
just enough.
The Softbridge will house a lecture theatre and the library, taking
pressure off the old, bursting-at-the-seams facilities. Other goals are
to provide a better research environment for students and to connect
the academic and public functions of the institute. The above-ground
floors house the reception and exhibition areas, the main archive
reading room, library storage and the main library. The lecture theatre
and additional storage will be located in the basement.
The outspoken Hadid continues to produce bold design work,
characterized by rounded shapes and unconventional approaches, in spite
of the widely publicized controversies surrounding some of her
buildings in Britain, including the Olympic Aquatic Centre. In an
Oxford Times article, Hadid was quoted as saying, “As a woman, I’m
expected to want everything to be nice and to be nice myself. A very
English thing. I don’t design nice buildings. I don’t like them. I like
architecture to have some raw, vital, earthy quality.” By Tuija Seipell.
In an attempt to revolutionise the process of car design, David Hilton, founder of Motorcity Europe,
along with C2P Automotive, created the MC1 Supercar in just three
months. Hilton, who spent much of the formative part of his career
working for Ford, believes the MC1 will be production-ready by 2011, if
he finds the right client. Presently, the mid-engine, V10-powered
supercar has no set identity or branding. We’re willing to bet a
recognisable logo will soon sit neatly within its grill.
By quickly translating computer-based design into engineering,
Motorcity Europe achieved a radically different approach to supercar
design in regard to its proportions and manufacturing processes. While
certain aspects of the exterior appear entirely futuristic from nearly
every angle, the MC1 looks like one of those cars we always dreamed we
could afford. Fortunately, all anyone can see right now is the outside
– the interior will be ready this spring. By Andrew J Wiener
Publicity stunts don't come on much of a larger scale than this. To celebrate the launch of the new Fiat 500 in London last night, one of the vehicles was placed into a pod on the London Eye where it will live for the next 2 weeks.
The launch of this 'time capsule' was at 8pm, exactly 500 hours into the year and as one would expect for such an event, was a star-studded affair and included a light show that lit up the river Thames, and performances by Mika and The Feeling.
The car itself is a remodel of the original version which was first presented 50 years ago, and is Fiat's go at re-releasing a retro classic, as VW (Beetle) and BMW (Mini) have arguably both done quite successfully in recent years.
The 500 was recently named the 2008 Car of the Year and has been praised in numerous auto publications. By Brendan McKnight
We came across this clever print ad for Vespa scooters. Visually
effective and well executed, it is playful, simple and gets the point
across fast (no pun intended). Nice work team Vespa. By Brendan McKnight
We wish we could tell you the details about this thrill but we must
remain mum (well, almost...). This dramatic, "dark ride"(as in not
open-air) is an exhilarating waterslide illuminated with super-cool LED
lighting. It is one of those experiences you hesitate to try but
when you do, you cannot wait to do it again. As lightheaded and dizzy
as you may feel, do not close your eyes or you'll miss the best part -
the after-effect of the LED lights you just zoomed through. Wait for
the Coolhunter TV, launching later this year, to see this in action. By Tuija Seipell
An architect’s house could be his ultimate expression of his relationship to the surrounding world. Arthur Casas positioned
his own House in Iporanga outside of Sao Paulo deep in the Atlantic
forest — the quintessential Brazilian landscape according to Casas.
Two symmetrical rectangular cubes face one another on the north and
south sides of the site. Two retractable 36 foot-high glass walls
connect the cubes and frame the main living and dining rooms of the
house. The entire exterior is panelled in Cumaru wood that blends
effortlessly into the surrounding forest.
Cumaru is also used inside as flooring where it stands out against
the stark white walls – the only “colour” found in the minimalist space.
To an architect, one of the defining features of the overall design of
a structure is effective interior spatial division. In his own house,
Casas successfully divided the ground floor into distinct public and
private areas. The kitchen and service area — including a separate
bedroom and bathroom — were placed in the north cube structure. A
studio and a guest bedroom and bathroom are located on the opposite
side. The entire space is connected by the vast living room flanked by
wood terraces on both ends. An infinity pool appears to be spilling
over to soak the surrounding flora.
A floating Cumaru stairway leads to the first level, where one
finds the master suite in the southern cube. A narrow bridge crosses
over the middle of the living room and leads to an additional guest
bedroom, bathroom and a home theater.
The main objective of Casas’s design brief for the House in Iporanga
was to provide an escape into the Brazilian forest. He has accomplished
the creation of a personal retreat, a place where he is able to relax
and recharge. By Andrew J Wiener
Here at TCH, we’ve been noticing architects around the world
transforming church buildings into various types of structures
including houses, retail stores, hotels, libraries, and well, cooler
churches.
After successfully converting a water tower into a living space, Marnix
Van Der Meer and Rolf Bruggink’s Utrecht-based architecture studio,
Zecc has done it again – this time perhaps a little more controversial.
Here they transformed an old chapel into a spacious house – carefully
respecting and enhancing the character of the original building.
The design team chose to keep many of the original features – including
the high gothic stained glass windows and the original choir
organ. To allow more light to enter the space, they cut a
Mondrian-inspired glass window into the front of the house facing the
street – perhaps paying homage to Rietveld’s nearby infamous Schroder
House. The entire living area has been whitewashed, whilst the
private spaces above were painted dark.
And only 150km away in Maastricht an 800 year old Dominican church was
transformed into the newest addition to the Selexyz book store chain –
the Selexyz Dominicanen – housing an impressive collection of books not
only in Dutch, but in English as well.
The challenge for the Amsterdam based architects Merkx + Girod was
staying true to the original character and charm of the church, whilst
also achieving a desirable amount of commercial space. A
multi-storey steel structure that houses the majority of the books was
constructed and placed along the central nave of the church under the
vaulted ceiling.
Located in Finland in the Ostrobothnia region, near the campus of
Helsinki University on the eastern side of the city, JKMM Architects
won a national competition to design the Vikkii Urban Centre. The focal
point of the Centre is a church clad in aspen shingles that have turned
gray since construction was completed in 2005. Throughout Europe
new church design is not synonymous with modernity, so when the Parish
of Helsinki approached the architects at JKMM, they welcomed the
opportunity to contribute to a newly developed urban area housing
approximately 13,000 residents.
Many Scandinavian churches serve as civic spaces for the surrounding
community to gather. Of course sacral characteristics are still
present, and the Viikki Church’s central space and adjoining
congregation hall have a light-filled cathedral-like appearance.
The
architects chose timber for practically every surface of the interior
space as well: oaken doors, spruce ceiling and walls, and aspen
furniture allow the congregation to feel as though they are gathering
within a forest. Large windows open the space even further onto
the surrounding landscape of the countryside. The church does not
sit in isolation, however a new market was built to the north and an
urban park sits to the south.
Divisive as it may be to alter houses built for God, these architects
do not need to preach to the choir about their immaculate conceptions
in renovations, we’re sold. By Andrew J Wiener and Brendan McKnight.
To celebrate the 3rd annual PARK(ing) Day, San Francisco based art collective Rebar decided to take things a little further, with their pedal-powered park on wheels; the Parkcycle.
This one-day global event encourages artists, activists and everyday
citizens to temporarily transform parking spots into "PARK(ing)"
spaces: temporary public parks. This time around an astounding 180
parks in 47 cities were created.
"The process of rethinking the ways streets are used is an important
first step in making permanent changes in our cities to improve the
quality of urban human habitat," says John Bela, cofounder of Rebar.
The Parkcycle, which can be cycled by a team of three, but enjoyed by
many more on it's 7m lawn, features a 5m tall tree and solar charged
battery which run's the cycles breaks.
With a top speed of 5mph, it is hardy going to get a yellow jersey in
the Tour de France, but makes for an incredibly scenic picnic. By Brendan McKnight
Unworldly spaces with equally unworldly names, like the topsy-turvy
boutique And A, Beams T or Foot Soldier, shops that feature little
conveyor belts for the display of merchandise, or Nowhere *A Bathing
Ape 'Busy Work Shop', a Tokyo boutique that stocks and displays
garments in an oversized refrigerator that resembles the familiar unit
in everybody's local supermarket - all recent additions to Japan's
shopping streets - are the work of Masamichi Katayama, founder of
Tokyo-based WonderWall. More than just attempts to be futuristic or
extravagant, they are highly sophisticated retail outlets. Not to
mention great fun! Katayama is the consummate consumer. With his shop
designs for *A Bathing Ape, a charismatic apparel brand, Katayama has
ventured beyond the streets of Japan to enrich shopping experience in
London and New York. By Lisa Evans
Annoying as it is to admit but we did not invent this device. This
hangover of a clothes rack, this marvel of a loss-prevention tool, this
clothes line with an attitude, this hallway accessory that we all — at
least in theory — could make at home. A couple of things worry us about
this potential nightmare, though. With the Christmas season still in
fresh memory, we all know how tangled up a string of anything can get.
So this could really drive you mad. And when the cab’s waiting outside,
how do you quickly grab your coat and run? By Tuija Seipell
Opened just a few days ago by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the new
VIP centre at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport could potentially resurrect
your impressions of airline travel as something to look forward to.
However, the centre - also called the Royal Centre - is only open to
Royalty, Ministers and state secretaries, diplomats, trade delegations
and top directors in international business. So, unless you qualify,
you'll need to just suffer the regular airport torture.
The new space has already become the pride and joy of Dutch design.
Overall design of the space is by Amsterdam-based concrete architectural associates bv, known for a huge number cool retail,
hospitality, entertainment and exhibition environments around the world.
Schiphol's new VIP-centre replaces an old, much smaller VIP area. The
new centre contains a separate Royal Lounge for members of the Royal
Family, a press centre, a Company Lounge, plus various reception and
meeting rooms. The Royal Lounge is an enormous living room with lounge
sofas, and Royal Family pictures on the bookshelves. The wall paper in
the room is created from 5,500 mini reproductions of the national coat
of arms. By Tuija Seipell
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