Saturday, September 24, 2011

The Under World


Adaptive reuse is everywhere, even under the train tracks...

Im Viadukt
Adaptive reuse is everywhere, even under the train tracks. At Zurich's Im Viadukt, dozens of shops and restaurants occupy vaults beneath a 19th-century railway viaduct that's still operational. The latest arrival, luxury accessories boutique Komplementair, was designed by Aekae to capitalize on the landmarked stone arches. However, since building anything that touches them is strictly verboten, Aekae devised an internal steel-beam system to support the 1,400-square-foot, two-level interior independently.

Im Viadukt
Echoing the historic nature of the surroundings, vintage wooden furniture of all shapes and sizes serves as a well-worn counterpoint to swank shoes and bags for men and women. The ground-level's gleaming white concrete flooring keeps the effect from veering into flea-market muddle. Overhead, adjustable brass rods support a constel­lation of conical black lamp shades, plus the occasional clothes hanger. The lacquered cash-wrap counter is likewise black, and an industrial-style steel staircase leads to the skylit second level. In other words, all is in keeping with Aekae's official credo: Respect for the past but passion for the future.

firm: riccardo barthel & c
site: florence, italy

Historical site that it is, Florence sees precious little new construction. But in the hills overlooking the Italian city is a charming structure that can only be described as contemporary. A tree house-complete with a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen-bears witness to a couple's long-held dream and designer Riccardo Barthel's ability to transform fantasy into reality.
When Barthel was building the couple's main house, in the 1980's, the plan entailed building a tree house for their two children to play in. However, that never happened at the time. Barthel takes up the narrative: "Years passed, and now the children are grown." So, reviving the concept, he also revised it. "The house to play in became a house for guests to stay in," he explains. 

Since the property had no tree with what he calls "the right character," not to mention the physical strength, he built a support structure of his own amid a coppice of pines and olives. His overall inspiration was the water tower, ubiquitous throughout the world.


For more info go to:
http://www.interiordesign.net/article/540293-Playing_House.php

Friday, September 9, 2011



The Botanical Garden of Medellín is full of surprises, none greater than the Orquideorama
The Orquideorama is a competition-winning design by the ad hoc team of Felipe Mesa/Plan:B + J.Paul and Camilo Restrepo/JPRCR Arquitectos. Ten hexagonal ‘trees’ of steel tubes rise up to support a space frame that is covered by glass and screened by wooden slats. Orchids are planted at the base of each tree. Over the past four years, this all-weather enclosure has hosted weddings and concerts, in addition to its everyday role as a public plaza. It’s the perfect symbol of the city’s regeneration.