2
stéphane maupin: M building
first image 'M building' by stéphane maupin, paris, france all images courtesy of stéphane maupin paris-based stéphane maupin architectes have recently completed 'M building', an apartment block containing 20 residences on rue rebière in paris, france. positioned upon a 600 meter long and 25 meter wide plot, a split building form responds to urban zoning constraints due to its positioning next to a cemetery. eliminating a prominent front elevation, the cascading flats are oriented towards the middle of the narrow site, opening each unit to sunlight throughout the year and multiple sight lines into the canopies of nearby mature trees. the 45 degree slopes of the internal faces incline to create a centrally located and shared rooftop terrace that is illuminated at all times of the day.You can’t miss this bright red psychiatric centre in Spain, where the differently pitched roofs are meant to reveal how much mental activity takes place in each room. Completed by Spanish architect José Javier Gallardo of ///g.bang/// , the new youth facility in Zaragoza connects to the existing Nuestra Señora del Carmen Neuropsychiatric Centre through an underground tunnel. Roofs with the steepest pitches are located above shared common rooms, while shallow gables correspond to patient bedrooms and staff quarters are located beneath flat roofs. The red powder-coated zinc sheets cover the entire exterior, interrupted only by frameless windows.
Young Disabled Modules and Workshop Pavillions by José Javier Gallardo ///g.bang///
London studio Gundry & Ducker have added oak booths and stencilled tree-like graphics to the interior of an Italian chain restaurant in Hertfordshire, England. Bauble-shaped pendant lights are clustered in each of the three dining rooms of ASK Hertford, two of which feature deep green walls. Oak tables and chairs are either laminated or painted in green and white, arranged randomly around the restaurant.
ASK Hertford by Gundry & Ducker
Pombal Castle Hill by Comoco Architects
Portuguese architects Comoco have added a weathered steel cafe and a wooden gazebo on the hill of a castle in the town of Pombal. The two new structures accompany a set of repaved pathways, as well as a new castle entrance and reconfigured parking area. The two-storey cafe is clad in Corten steel and features large windows that overlook the surrounding town. Located near the bottom of the hill, the rectangular timber pavilion is constructed from evenly spaced wooden slats.
Macquarie Group Offices - London
Last year, we covered Macquarie Group's massive Sydney headquarters designed by West Hollywood-based Clive Wilkinson Architects. Earlier this year, the same two players completed another spectacular office project, this time in London. Macquarie, a global provider of banking and investment services, gathered up its various divisions from several buildings under one roof in the brand-new Ropemaker Place . Macquarie occupies 217,500 square feet (20,207 square meters) on six floors in the 20-storey, LEED Platinum building designed by Arup Associates . Wilkinson's team took its cues from the new trend of transparency in financial services and balanced that with the more traditional and practical needs of prestige and privacy. The beautiful, open space is a triumph of simplicity.After several months of construction, Red Bull’s Dutch subsidiary, Red Bull Netherlands, has settled into its new headquarters on the North side of Amsterdam’s Port area. The almost 1000 square-meter (about 10,763 square feet) office is part of the 7800 square-meter (83,958 square feet) Media Wharf complex at the NDSM Wharf , on the shores of the river IJ. The office was designed by Sid Lee Architecture of Montreal and Amsterdam.
Red Bull's New Headquarters - Amsterdam
ANZ Centre - Melbourne
We are cautiously nursing a glimmer of hope that even the most corporate of the corporate world could start taking design seriously. And that they could really start understanding and taking advantage of the effects that great head-office design has on staff creativity, productivity and comfort; which, in turn, leads to either staff loyalty or revolving doors. And, most important, that all of this inevitably filters down to how the customers experience the company. Some banks in Australia are giving us reason for this hope.
Azure Office
This streamlined and crisp office environment in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is the work of Sergey Makhno’s design and architecture firm. The play between soft and hard, round and angular, plain and colorful creates a sense of whimsy and energy, but does not overpower the space. The Kiev-based Makhno and his partner Vasily Butenko have used their own distinctive furniture throughout the interior. The wine-colored, square-form Origami chairs in the small meeting room contrast beautifully with the azure walls and simple, white table. Black, padded Blobby office chairs give a soft touch to the sparse individual office areas, while the shiny blue rounded sofas add a playful touch to a flexible, multi-use area. Corian walls “buckle” on top of wood paneling, exposing the wood and creating nooks for storage and soft, undulating features for the eye to follow.
The interior design of Bank of Moscow’s offices in central Moscow’s Kuznetsky Most area (Kuznetsky Most street 13) retains the building’s great historical bones and matches customized adornments to them. The office — one of the Bank’s many offices — occupies 7,000 square metres on the third floor and in the previously unused mansard (attic) space. Moscow-based designer, Alexey Kuzmin , retained by architectural office Sretenka for this assignment, used the space’s key feature, the large, hexagon-shaped central hall, as the defining point.
Bank of Moscow’s Offices
As recently as in October 2010, the Luxembourg-based Skype’s Stockholm office in Slussen housed only 35 employees. But the video- and audio-focused team’s digs were bursting at the seams and new offices were needed. Skype found its next Stockholm home in a completely restored massive historical building, Münchenbryggeriet , a landmark of Stockholm’s skyline. Built in 1846 as a clothing factory, the building became Sweden’s largest brewery in 1857 and operated as a brewery until 1971. Skype’s new offices in the München Brewery now have room for 100 employees. Head architect Mette Larsson-Wedborn of PS Arkitektur with team members Peter Sahlin, Thérèse Svalling, Beata Denton and Erika Janunger, was charged with expressing the Skype brand’s playful spirit and its mission to connect the world in the working environment.
Skype's On Cloud Nine In A Historical Brewery, Stockholm, Sweden
Villa BH’s Transparency Leading To A Freeing Lifestyle [Video]
Rotterdam-based studio Whim Architecture created a stunning semi-transparent residence in Burgh-Haamstede, the Netherlands. Known for their persistent lack of curtains, the Dutch people enjoy a freeing lifestyle. This particular residence – Villa BH – although nestled between three other residence and surrounded by trees, displays a stress-free transparency and an inviting interior design. The 2,874 square feet contemporary residence is home to a couple 60+ of age, who are lucky enough to enjoy a splendid display of space, light and surrounding nature. The single level floor plan allows the inhabitants to move freely around the bright spaces.Willy Wonka House - Tribeca, New York
This six-floor, 15,500-square-foot warehouse built in 1915 in TriBeCa does not match everyone’s idea of a perfect family home. Mixed Greens gallery owner Paige West, her husband and their three sons thought otherwise. They summoned their many-time design magician Ghislaine Viñas to create their most imaginative project yet while Peter Guthrie handled the renovation of the actual structure. This is the kind of home where you imagine Willy Wonka to live, or some other out-there character who throws crazy dinner parties that are talked about months afterwards.Math professor Dr. James Stewart, who is also a former violinist with the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra near Toronto, Ontario, has made millions writing calculus textbooks. When he decided to spend most of his fortune on a residence, he could have used any architect anywhere in the world.
Integral House, Toronto - Canada
This residence was completed in January this year, yet it exudes a classic, modernist elegance that will ensure it will look just as timeless 50 years from now. Located in Buenos Aires, the “L House” by architect Mathias Klotz and associate architect Edgar Minond is the main residence of a small family. Although this could be categorized as yet another grouping of concrete boxes representing the tiresome trend that just does not seem to want to die, this residence avoids all of the pitfalls most of such houses fall into. In contrast to the stacked-concrete-boxes syndrome, not one section of this residence sticks out over anything, nor jut in an odd angle.