This tute session we went through everyone's blog and each person gave a talk on some buildings which were inspirational to them.
some of my favourite exemplars were:
NYU Department of Philosophy (Steven Holl)
http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?type=educational&id=21&page=0
The facility includes faculty and graduate student offices, seminar rooms, a periodicals library & lounge and a ground floor 120-seat cork auditorium. Steven Holl Architects organized the 30,000 square feet of interiors around a concept of the phenomenal properties of light and materials.
This vertical connection in light is activated by the presence of faculty members and students and by a prismatic film splitting the available sunlight periodically. The light effect in the stairwell changes according to the seasons and the time of day.
This building caught my attention mainly due to the use of light which was obviously planned and considered during the design of the building. Its deliberate and intended affect on the spaces in conjunction with the materials, textures and colour pallette works so well to create such interesting spaces.
Orestad High School Copenhagen
http://www.archinnovations.com/featured-projects/academic/orestad-college/
The college is interconnected vertically and horizontally. Four boomerang shaped floor plans are rotated to create the powerful super structure which forms the overall frame of the building – simple and highly flexible. Four study zones occupy one floor plan each. Avoiding level changes makes the organizational flexibility as high as possible, and enables the different teaching and learning spaces to overlap and interact with no distinct borders. The rotation opens a part of each floor to the vertical tall central atrium and forms a zone that provides community and expresses the college’s ambition for interdisciplinary education. The storey decks are open towards a central core, where a broad main staircase winds its way upwards to the roof terrace. The main staircase is the heart of college educational and social life; the primary connection up an down, but also a place to stay, watch and be seen. Three ‘mega columns’ form the primary load bearing system, supplemented by a number of smaller columns positioned according to structural requirement, not as part of a regular grid
The rotated decks are mirrored in the facades. Due to their rotation, the decks create openings double- and triple high while drawing lines on the façade. As a rule, the glass is smooth with the deck fronts, but on each floor, one façade is withdrawn to create an outdoor space. These outdoor spaces are connected from ground to roof. In front of the glass facades, a series of coloured semi-transparent glass louvers can open or close to protect from the sun, while adding dashes of colour to the indoor environment.
This building was of interest to me, due to the way in which relaxed study/reading/group areas were of high importance in the layout of the building.
I love the way that large areas have been dedicated to ensuring the comfort of the users. Paticular attention has been paid to the age groups that would use these spaces.
Now may be a good time to elaborate on the exemplars that I posted last time on my blog.
Seattle Public Library (Rem Koolhaas)
http://oma.eu/search-results?searchword=seattle+library
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
Rem Koolhaas is a Dutch architect whose main approach is to let the buildings required functions dictate what the builing should look like, rather than imposing a structure and making the functions conform to it.
An early design method discussed in his book Delirious, was 'Cross-programming' whereby unexpected functions were introduced into room programmes. An example of this was running tracks in skyscrapers.
At one stage Koolhaas proposed the inclusion of hospital units for the homeless into the Seattle Public Libary.
Seattle Public Library is one that I know a little about and has been one library that has stuck in my memory, not just for some particularly interesting design features, but also because of the story behind the design of the library. During the time that the idea of creating a library in Seattle was occuring, so too was a shift in thinking about the way a library should be designed and built.
For many years the library has been considered a place that houses just books alone, and those that used the library for research etc were to remain as quiet as mice.
http://www.spl.org/about-the-library
Some features of the library include:
- Creation of reading rooms which inute contemplation, reflection and information exchange across media types
- Abandonment of the sterile, silent world of the typical library
- An iconic structure.
