12 d esi gn s from a ro und the wor l d don e wi t h Vec to r wo r k s
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CONTENTS 04 EELES TRELEASE • AUSTRALIA 06 TV COUSSÉE & GORIS ARCHITECTEN AND RCR ARQUITECTES • BELGIUM 08 ACTON OSTRY ARCHITECTS INC. • CANADA 10 SÉQUENCES ARCHITECTURE ET URBANISME • FRANCE 12 ALLMANN SATTLER WAPPNER ARCHITEKTEN • GERMANY 14 ISHIBASHI TOKUGAWA & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS • JAPAN 16 WIEL ARETS • NETHERLANDS 18 BARKOW LEIBINGER WITH ARTCHITECTURE • POLAND 20 BRF ARCHITECTURE • PORTUGAL 22 ITTEN+BRECHBÜHL AG • SWITZERLAND 24 BPR ARCHITECTS • UK 26 BWARCHITECTS • USA The Anchorage Woolloomooloo
Crematorium Hofheide
York House Senior School
Car Park in Toulouse
High-rise Residential Buildings AM Hirschgarten
Konan Building
Europaallee Site D
Technology Center, Warsaw
Wood Chapel
Scott Sports’ New Headquarters
Middlesex University – Ritterman Building
The Riverhouse
PUBLISHING COMPANY TechLimits Avenida das Acácias 175, C 2775-342 Parede Portugal +351 21 465 8267 info@modusnews.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jorge Matos CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Shelly Ginenthal CONTRIBUTORS Alice Lowy - Vectorworks, Inc. Andreas Thierer - ComputerWorks GmbH Andreas Kling - ComputerWorks AG Bart Rammeloo - Design Express Bertrand Moinault - CESYAM Carlos Lüthy - ComputerWorks GmbH Emilee Romano - Vectorworks, Inc. Lisa Lance - Vectorworks, Inc. Luc Janssens - Design Express Lucas Vandersanden - Design Express Martina Moellinger - ComputerWorks GmbH Shige Shiozawa - A&A Co., LTD Sue Carr - OzCAD Pty Limited Sue Collins - Vectorworks, Inc. Takashi Yokota - A&A Co., LTD Tara Grant - Vectorworks, Inc. EDITORIAL TRANSLATIONS Bertrand Moinault (French) Christoph Köbelin (German) Kazutaka Satoh (Japanese) Sylwia Bylica (Polish) DESIGN AND LAYOUT Isabel Oliveira - TechLimits PRINT JG Artes Gráficas, Publicidade e Marketing, Lda, Portugal CIRCULATION Total circulation - 17 700 English editorial - 8 200 French editorial - 1 500 German editorial - 4 500 Japanese editorial - 2 500 Polish editorial - 1 000 COPYRIGHTS ©2017 TechLimits and Vectorworks, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of TechLimits or Vectorworks, Inc. Vectorworks is a registered trademark of Vectorworks, Inc. FRONT PAGE Crematorium Hofheide Project by TV COUSSÉE & GORIS architecten and RCR Arquitectes Photograph @Hisao Suzuki
Editorial Der MODUS-Redaktion werden Projekte zahlreicher VectorworksAnwender vorgelegt, darunter auch eine zunehmende Anzahl von Büros, die nach BIM-Prinzipien planen. Die wachsende Nachfrage nach BIM-Know-how der Anwender und von Behördenseite veranlasst uns, das Thema aufzugreifen. Sie finden daher in dieser MODUS-Ausgabe ausgewählte öffentliche, Geschäfts- und Wohnbauprojekte aus zwölf verschiedenen Ländern, darunter mehrere von Architekten, die mit Vectorworks einen BIM-Prozess umgesetzt haben. „Die technologischen Fortschritte, die wir bei der Weiterentwicklung von Vectorworks erzielen, beruhen auf der Kenntnis der Bedürfnisse und Wünsche unserer Kunden“, sagt Dr. Biplab Sarkar, CEO von Vectorworks, Inc. „Wie jedes Jahr freue ich mich auf die inspirierende Wirkung, die von den Projekte in den MODUS news ausgeht, denn es sind Paradebeispiele für die außergewöhnliche Arbeit, die von Vectorworks-Anwender auf der ganzen Welt geleistet wird.“ Während Architektur, besonders das aktuelle Architekturschaffen, stark von globalen Trends geprägt wird, ist es interessant zu beobachten, wie sich lokale Einflüsse in den Projekten widerspiegeln. MODUS news wählt daher bewusst Gebäude aus, die unterschiedliche Ansätze verfolgen. Senden Sie uns weiterhin Ihre Entwürfe, damit wir die Vielfalt der Projekte aufzeigen können, die den unterschiedlichen Ansprüchen und Vorgehensweisen in verschiedenen Ländern entspringt und die nur eines gemeinsam haben – die Planung mit Vectorworks.
Jorge Matos
ISBN 978-989-8623-61-4
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Anchorage The
Woolloomooloo The site was a former gas station, opposite the famous Woolloomooloo Bay Finger Wharf on Cowper Wharf Roadway. It is within walking distance of Sydney’s Central Business District and has dramatic views of the city, the Botanic Gardens, and the Naval Base to the east. The surrounding buildings are generally five-story warehouses now converted to apartments. The new five-story building has 15 apartments and a penthouse addressing three street frontages. Cars are parked in a basement car stacker built using a state‑of‑the‑art construction method, designed specifically for Sydney waterside conditions. The north-west façade of the building follows the gentle curve of Cowper Wharf Roadway around the bay. With full floor-to-ceiling windows, the façade is protected by sunshades that filter the western sun while maintaining the view. Projecting floor slabs ‘ground’ the apartments and frame the horizontal and vertical sunshades — the elements all combine
to reflect filtered light deep into the interior of each apartment. The sense of space in the apartments is remarkable, due partly to the exceptional light quality, but also due to large retractable walls which extend the vistas from within the apartments far beyond the edges of each room. The east and west façades both front onto smaller roads and are articulated to accommodate balconies and retractable Louvre blinds. These manage the low, hot eastern and western sun as well as provide privacy to the apartments. The penthouse occupies the entire top level and has spectacular views of the city and Sydney Harbor. The penthouse terrace has a roof precisely profiled to retain existing sunlight access to the adjacent buildings. The building is an elegant, well-mannered addition to the curving street wall of Cowper Wharf Roadway at Woolloomooloo Bay.
Eeles Trelease is an award-winning design practice that has led innovation in Sydney architecture, urban design, and adaptive re-use for over 30 years. Founded in 1984, the practice has a firmly established reputation for design excellence and innovative, sustainable solutions across all typologies. Their work ranges from small projects, often in remote areas, to very large projects, such as the apartment precinct for the Sydney Olympics in 2000. www.eelestrelease.com
Architects’ photographs and site plan by Eeles Trelease. All other photographs by Rowan Turner
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COUSSÉE & GORIS architecten In 1998 Ralf Coussée and Klaas Goris founded COUSSÉE & GORIS architecten in Ghent, Belgium. Their work has been distinguished in numerous projects in areas diversified by a modesty of language and a great constructive precision reduced to the very essence of space. They don’t seek to achieve radical or innovative modernity at all costs. Their portfolio highlights an authentic, not spectacular, architecture that reveals both “doing and thinking” that underlies every project. In 2017 Coussée & Goris architecten won the “Flemish Culture Prize” in Architecture. www.coussee-goris.com
RCR ARQUITECTES Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta finished their studies in Architecture at the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura del Vallès in 1987, and have been working together since 1988 at RCR ARQUITECTES, in Olot, Spain. Since 1989, they have been consultant architects to the Natural Park of National Interest in the Volcanic Zone of La Garrotxa, and during their careers they have also tutored in urbanism and landscape architecture. Since 2008, they have been promoting and leading an International Summer Workshop in their studio, RCR LAB·A, based on the laboratory structure of the ancient foundry Barberí. Their work has been internationally recognized with many prizes, including the prestigious 2017 Pritzker Architecture Prize. www.rcrarquitectes.es
Coussée & Goris architecten photograph by Coussée & Goris architecten, RCR Architectes photograph by RCR Architectes, site plan by TV Coussée & Goris architecten and RCR Architectes. All other photographs @Hisao Suzuki
Crematorium
Hofheide Architecture takes on a very distinct character when death is involved. Death confronts architecture with the passage of time and the eternal. Through the centuries, architecture has faced up to this challenge with works of stone, marble, and granite: durable materials that withstand the test of time. The monumental expressiveness of funerary architecture depends not solely on the immanent strength of natural stone, however. The materials of building seem no less vulnerable than the human frame, and although stone will ultimately crumble into dust, natural elements retain their powerful symbolism of regeneration. Architecture often achieves a mature expressiveness only when natural elements such as water and light cast their sparkle on the dead mass of stone or concrete. This control of material, light, and water, and the reshaping of an extended landscape was realized by COUSSÉE & GORIS architecten, for which they used Vectorworks
software, in collaboration with the Spanish architects RCR Arquitectes in their competition design for the Hofheide Crematorium in Holsbeek, Belgium. The setting for the Crematorium is a plain in the Flanders region, which puts visitors as close to nature as possible and facilitates the feeling that they are a part of the natural world. The structure is built of stone‑colored concrete and strips of steel, which create a textured screen around the top two thirds of the building. A pond brings the natural surroundings closer and serves as part of the building’s water management system. The building provides spaces for viewings and services, private rooms for family gatherings, and a café, and the surrounding land includes a field for scattering ashes. The resulting design offers a balance of permanence and transience in an environment that allows for tranquil contemplation.
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York House Senior School
Founded in 1932, York House is a leading independent K‑12 school for girls located in the Shaughnessy neighborhood of Vancouver. Completed in 2013, the Senior School addition provides a symbolic entry point to the greater York House campus through a soaring colored-glass portal and skylit-atrium circulation crossroads that connects the various wings of the school. Vivid, vertical sunshades accentuate the striking presence of the school in the neighborhood. Drawing on the rich history of West Coast Modernism, the 3 350 square meter addition includes classrooms, administration, and social and study spaces. State-of-the-art, 21st-century learning and teaching spaces are collaborative, adaptable, and flexible with places for informal student and teacher interaction. The central atrium features a generous, day-lit concourse that provides a unified circulation system for the campus that facilitates dynamic interactions throughout the school day. Finishes are simple and spare throughout: board-formed concrete, natural wood, glass, and limestone. A donor recognition program features the names of thousands of women, selected by the students, that are screen-printed onto the myriad glass guards that delineate the circulation routes throughout the atrium crossroads. The names include inspirational alumnae and famous women that serve to connect the historic continuity of the school and the students’ aspirations for the global community. Surfaces are designed to promote multiple uses. Continuous, sliding glass writing surfaces screen storage recesses. Painted whiteboard walls provide extensive areas for student work and displays. Social locker zones feature vibrant, glass-clad lockers. The project follows best practices in sustainable design and is built to the equivalent of LEED Gold® certification.
Acton Ostry Architects Inc Since its inception in 1992, Acton Ostry Architects has demonstrated a continuing commitment to the making of architecture that thoughtfully responds to topography, climate, culture, and lessons learned from buildings inherited from the past. The firm’s design approach incorporates new technologies and materials that contribute to the realization of projects rooted in a considered, modernist idiom that offers sustenance to those that experience them. www.actonostry.ca
Russell Acton and Mark Ostry, Principals of Acton Ostry Architects Inc photograph by Josh Berson. Courtesy of Acton Ostry Architects Inc. Level 2 plan by Acton Ostry Architects Inc, and building photographs by Michael Elkan
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Séquences Architecture et Urbanisme Born of a meeting around the competition to design the first Toulouse Metro subway line, Séquences has been constantly expanding, adapting, and opening its doors to new skills, to draw its strength and wealth from the team of which it is composed today. The multidisciplinarity of its managers and the diversity of its employees bring a contemporary and international vision of architecture, combining youth and experience, constructive rigor and creativity, learning and project mastery. www.sequences.fr
Photographs by Sylvain MILLE and site plan by Séquences Architecture et urbanisme
Car park Toulouse The idea for this multi-story car park commissioned by the city of Toulouse is to replace all street parking spaces by condensing them into shared car parks — a small step towards a car-free city with an efficient public transportation system. The new “Cartoucherie” eco-district of Toulouse, with this new car park, is the first experimentation of what could be a future housing district with no stationary cars visible on the streets. During the day, the car park is intended for office use, but after work and during the weekend the district residents use it. The project carried out by Séquences, along with civil engineering company Eiffage, had several goals, such as working with a single material (concrete), using post-tension as the main structural system, and affirming the function and structure of the building without concealing it behind a costly façade cladding. From these goals emerged a work of sculpture. The edges of the concrete slabs follow stretched lines and induce feelings of both tension
and relief with the surroundings. Underneath, the concrete posts support one, two, or three different levels, confusing the viewer’s perception of scale. This work with vertical and horizontal lines, as well as the geometric complexity, was facilitated and supported by 3D modeling done in Vectorworks software, which was used from the first sketches as a communication tool. It seemed, therefore, natural to use a BIM approach in order to apprehend the technical, economical, structural, and aesthetic challenges that Séquences and Eiffage would face on site. It also enabled Séquences to have a better integration of the technical interfaces revealed by the model. The luminous, colorful, and permeable atmosphere of the car park gives these parking spaces a new, almost surprising, warm and open quality.
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Am Hirschgarten High-Rise Residential Buildings Am Hirschgarten These residential high-rise buildings present a concept that reimagines the future of urban living. As a prototype of modern city dwelling, their residential and communal spaces interconnect, and their striking façades give the entire block a unique character. The design was a direct commission from the first prize in a 2008 competition. Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten’s design searched for a context-related dialogue with the surroundings while offering structural flexibility. Based on an integrated approach, the design team used a BIM workflow to work closely with engineers, artists, and specialists from other fields with the objective of developing a model for living in the city of the future. The building design optimizes the experience of the space and the quality of life for residents, while also creating a visual landmark. The protruding alcoves, in particular, make the design so distinctive. The alcove theme gives the building a three-dimensional shell with a highly sculptural aspect. For the residents, the living spaces expand from within and their views become 180-degree cityscapes without intruding on the neighbors. The design of these residential high-rise buildings offers an architectural rendering of the “sharing economy”: the roof terraces are open to all residents and communal “kitchen lounges” provide spaces for entertaining outside the apartments. The public sphere is no longer relegated to the outside, but welcomed within the building’s four walls. The residential layout arranges each living space efficiently around a centrally located hub called the “cube,” which includes the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room. The result is an apartment block that makes the most of city living as well as interior spaces.
Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten photograph and site plan by Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten. All other photographs ©Brigida González
Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten is an internationally operating company based in Munich with 90 employees from 14 countries under the leadership of the three founding partners, Prof. Markus Allmann, Amandus Samsøe Sattler, and Prof. Ludwig Wappner. With designs in urban planning; public, residential, and commercial buildings; and product design, its architecture has been commended on numerous occasions, winning the German Architecture Award, the Hugo Häring Award, the German Steel Design Award, the Lighting Design Award, the LEAF Award, and the ECOLA Award. www.allmannsattlerwappner.de
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Konan Building The south area of Tokyo’s Shinagawa district has been redeveloped since the late 1980s, resulting in an urban environment where the new townscape is formed by connecting pedestrian walkways with skyscrapers. The Konan Building, located near the south exit of the station, generates a high-quality sustainable environment as a green building. The space configuration offers a high degree of multi-purpose flexibility, with an office area of over 500 square meters and 2.9 meter ceiling height with no columns in an open space. Circulation and services are located along the office area; this zoning allows for the separation of the entire office area with partition walls. This forms a separate core within the building, where maintenance is easily accomplished. The building offers some of the latest technologies, providing workers a comfortable environment with systems like desiccant air conditioning, which
allows temperature and humidity to be controlled separately. This system allows for the use of a higher cooling temperature and a lower heating temperature, making this an efficient and low-energy-loss system that can be controlled on a span-by-span basis. A photocatalyst sterilization and deodorant system was installed to clear airborne viruses, bacteria, and fungus and prevent pandemics. To reduce environment load, curtain walls have lower panels of glass with electric big screens, which reduce direct sunlight. LED lighting fixtures produce energy and maintenance savings. The Konan Building connects to the surrounding environment with an active landscape design. The building is placed on pilotis, and plants on the ground accentuate the building’s depth. Pedestrians can see through the pilotis because of the building’s corner location, while many green roofs provide refreshing spaces and function as an urban garden when viewed from surrounding skyscrapers.
Toshihiko Ishibashi and Kotoko Tokugawa photographs and site plan by Ishibashi Tokugawa & Associates Architects. All other photographs ŠOsamu Murai
Ishibashi Tokugawa & Associates Architects is a Tokyo-based design firm established by Toshihiko Ishibashi and Kotoko Tokugawa in 1985. The firm works in a wide range of design disciplines, from interior and residential design to office and university research buildings. The firm has garnered many design awards, including the recently received Good Design Award. www.it-arch.co.jp
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Architect photograph, renderings, and site plan by Wiel Arets
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Wiel Arets is an internationally renowned architect. He graduated from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands in 1983, where he received a Master of Science in architecture. He established his own office that same year, which later expanded throughout Europe. His writings and projects have been published globally. Since 1989 he has continually taught at the world’s most distinguished universities, and as an eminent critic he has been the president of several international recognized Architecture awards. www.wielaretsarchitects.com
Europaallee
‘Site D’
This new building is an integral component of Europaallee, an emerging district adjacent to Zürich’s central train station. The ground floor of the building consists of several retail shops, and its upper floors include flexible office spaces that, due to their shallow depth and efficiently gridded façade, can be occupied by several individual companies or a larger, singular tenant.
These dual purposes posed the challenge to create two unique lighting and spatial requirements within this prominently sited building with 25 000 square meters in construction. The main entry is located along the parallel Europaallee, and opens onto the ground floor’s main retail and circulation spaces. From the ground floor, a central staircase and two ramping escalators traverse and connect these areas.
The building’s flexible structure was designed to allow for a possible future conversion into residential units. The resulting silhouette, and the alignment of its highest points with the trackside façades of the two adjacent plots, result in a powerful and unified building, further defining the distinguished context of the surrounding Europaallee. This building shares a basement and parking garage that are interconnected with three other buildings. The window shading is achieved by a computer‑controlled system of curtains inside the building. With the sustainable design, construction, and use of the building, Europaallee Site D has a “Vorzertifikat” preliminary certificate from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), with a goal to receive one of the first platinum SGNI/DGNB (Swiss Sustainable Building Council) sustainability certificates.
BARKOW LEIBINGER WITH ARTCHITEC TURE P
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Barkow Leibinger Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH In 1993 Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger founded their practice in Berlin, characterized by the interaction of practice, research, and teaching. Their interdisciplinary, discursive attitude allows their work to expand and respond to advancing knowledge and technology. Important milestones are, amongst others, the Biosphere in Potsdam, the Trutec Building in Seoul, the Tour Total office high-rise in Berlin, and the “Smart Factory” in Chicago. www.barkowleibinger.com
Artchitecture is a high-quality design consultancy that offers office, industrial, commercial, and residential design. The company also provides interior, urban, and master planning services for mixed-use and leisure projects. Artchitecture’s aim is to create timeless architecture that shapes the human experience of the built environment and introduces intelligent, innovative solutions that add substantial social value. www.artchitecture.eu
Barkow Leibinger portrait by Corinne Rose, Berlin. Artchitecture portrait by Artchitecture. First floor plan by Barkow Leibinger. Building photographs by David Franck, Ostfildern.
Technology Center
Warsaw Trumpf Poland’s new headquarters in Warsaw houses offices and exhibition areas and represents a prototype for an economically constructed industrial building, combining a simple form with complex surfaces and differentiated interior spaces. The new building pulls from this heterogeneous context with a corresponding internal organization and a somewhat prototypical outward appearance: its box-like exterior is defined by the strong stainless steel façades on the north and south sides of the building, facing the roads like billboards, presenting an image that is notably powerful, yet graphically elegant at the same time. A courtyard-like roof garden is carved out of the interior upper floor, creating an unexpectedly charming and intimate space for work breaks and small customer events. A warm, dark grey granite floor and large potted Juneberry plants create a welcoming atmosphere. The building’s interior configuration
is oriented circumferentially around the slightly off-centered courtyard garden on the upper floor and an enclosed block with utility and storage rooms lies beneath it. Towards the north and east stands a double-height, L-shaped showroom, while towards the south and west the building is split into two levels that house offices, conference rooms, and an employee cafeteria. At the intersection of these differentiated zones, the southeast corner of the building houses the foyer with the reception desk. Opposite, in the northwest corner, the open showroom is stepped down into a single-height space displaying an array of products and machining heads alongside examples of their applications. Above this, reachable via an open staircase, a glass‑enclosed gallery provides a spacious room for client meetings and receptions, allowing views into the showroom below. The space is also connected to the upstairs offices and courtyard. The showroom’s double height connects it visually with the courtyard garden and thus it constantly receives light from two sides.
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Chapel This wooden chapel is 19 meters long, seven meters wide, and 17 meters high, creating an interesting proportion of space. The relationship between man and any god is always defined by the boundaries of belief and faith. These elements are responsible for the execution of a design that explores the differences between the human and the divine. Michel Foucault defines the consciousness in humans as a recent invention, less than two centuries old, with a juxtaposition between reason and belief. Reason is defined as a scientific method based in constant analysis of gathered knowledge, while belief and faith rely only on the fuel of emotions. In a general way, the scale, light, and structure of the building assume important roles in the creation of these mixed feelings between reason and belief. The scale of this building is manipulated in two ways. The first is its setting in nature. The lateral wide openings help visitors relate to the outside world. The two modular wooden façades filter the light to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere. The second is the approach to the building and the way one must descend two meters to access the chapel; this movement accentuates the uncomfortable feeling between human and divine scale.
Bruno Ramos Ferraz photograph, renderings, site plan, and elevation by BRF Architecture
BRF Architecture Shifting between Lisbon and Geneva, and after several years of collaboration and partnerships with international architectural practices, Bruno Ramos Ferraz has been responsible for the creation and development of cultural, residential, and commercial projects as well as technology and security facilities. His experimental approach while designing each project, which includes protection towards the local cultural knowledge in construction and the need to improve green strategies, results in a more balanced ecosystem. www.brfarc.com
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Scott Sports Scott Sports’ New Headquarters Scott Sports has seen many successes over the decades. To accommodate its worldwide growth, the company is building a new headquarters for up to 600 employees in the commercial district of Givisiez, Switzerland. The new structure has a central atrium as high as the building. This atrium is accessed by an impressive staircase leading in one flowing motion from the entrance to the auditorium along a curved wall. The public areas are arranged at the sides of this gathering place. The ground‑floor cafeteria and restaurant are complemented by an opposing showroom and a spectacular view of the pump track, where newly developed bikes are tested. The offices are located on four upper floors. An open layout promotes lively exchange and idea development, while
enclosed rooms are available for concentrated work. The chosen grid system is flexible to accommodate future changes. The micro‑perforated, sun-controlled aluminium façade directs pleasingly filtered daylight into the interior. The innovative, convertible glass of the ground floor façade makes for a fluid transition between interior to exterior. The dynamic sun shading on the upper floors and the high-tech plinth façade reveal the activity inside and pique the viewer’s curiosity. The new building and surrounding grounds convey a strong sense of identity. The generous daylight accentuates the wood panels and the rough concrete floor, while natural, classic tones impart calm in the offices.
Itten+Brechbühl AG has been practicing architecture and general planning since 1922. The team serves as both generalists and specialists for complex projects from design to handover. Based in Switzerland, the firm is active throughout Europe. As the demands made of buildings are becoming ever more complex, Itten+Brechbühl’s solutions for projects ranging from hospitals, to laboratories, to airports, to residential buildings, are tailor-made and enriched by one essential element: good design. www.ittenbrechbuehl.ch
Architects photograph, renderings, and site plan by Itten+Brechbühl AG
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bpr architects is an employee-owned business with a dynamic team of architects and technologists based in West London, providing full architectural and design management services. They have a strong portfolio of work within the education and transport sectors, which is complemented by their work in urban regeneration. As an employee-owned company they have a collaborative design culture that enables easy adoption of new technologies in BIM and sustainability. www.bprarchitects.com
Lizzie Dodwell photograph, renderings, and site plan by bpr architects
Middlesex University
Middlesex University – Ritterman Building The new five-story Ritterman Building offers innovative teaching space for the School of Science Technology and the Creative Industries. bpr worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop spaces for learning which respond to their individual requirements alongside the evolving pedagogical environment. The building provides adaptable teaching spaces that can be reconfigured to suit the changing demands of the Hendon Campus. The project acted as a BIM Level-2 prototype for Middlesex University and has been warmly received by staff and students alike. “The building, which achieved BREEAM excellent status, incorporates several sustainable technologies,“ said Lizzie Dodwell, architect. “For example, there are four living walls incorporated into the design, alongside two bio-diverse roofs and solar panels. A rainwater harvesting system feeds the living walls and bio-diverse roofs, as well as supplying water to the WC system within the building.” The state-of-the-art teaching facility is embedded within a high-quality landscape developed as part of the project. This work included the addition of new external terraced deck areas and articulation of the pedestrian routes across the campus. The Ritterman Building forms a bookend to one end of the Forum Terrace, emulating the massing of the existing Real Tennis Centre. At the lower level a shared external landscape is created between the Ritterman and Vine Building.
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Riverhouse Perched atop a shale ridge overlooking the Hudson River in New York, the L-shaped modernist house is part of a former farm, boasting a serene landscape with stunning views of the river.
The intricate project included the design of several extremely technical spaces, such as a high-end audiophile sound room that required collaborative acoustic-software modeling with outside consultants. The client’s desire to capture views of the river posed structural challenges, requiring the house to cantilever out over the cliffs. The construction also faced site-access issues due to an old, stone bridge leading up to the property. The building envelope consists of a modular façade with a concrete-and-reclaimed-wood-paneled rain screen. The façade features two layers: the outer rain screen, and a covered timber-lined inner portico that wraps around the house. In addition to coordinating the elevations in the design, during the installation process the team had to integrate domestic products with a specialized window system imported from Germany.
Every architectural drawing for the project, from schematics through construction documents, was completed in Vectorworks software. The initial design was developed using a combination of physical models and sketches. Then the architects turned to digital modeling to coordinate and execute the design. Environmental strategies were incorporated into the residence. Seven geothermal wells serve the radiant heating and cooling for the home. Overhanging eaves double as exterior deck space, and shield the interior spaces from the summer sun while allowing light to enter during the winter months. Other details that improve the energy performance of the building include the installation of an array of solar panels, a green roof to minimize storm water runoff, and an integrated home control system. The result is an environmentally conscious retreat that takes full advantage of its natural surroundings.
BWArchitects is a multi-disciplinary global architecture and design firm. Integrating an appreciation of history and the built environment with state‑of‑the‑art technologies, BWArchitects creates innovative spaces that transcend functional and environmental considerations. Understanding the lifestyle needs of clients is prioritized equally with time and budget parameters towards the realization of informed designs to stand the test of time. bw-architects.com
Floor plan by BWArchitects, all other photographs by Scott Benedict
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