House in a church | Ruud Visser. Architect. Along the river De Rotte in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) stands a wooden church from 1930. The 1930's church had ended its career as a religious sanctuary and was being used as a garage for fixing and selling cars. The church was totally covered with metal plates and looked like a hangar. A family came along and wanted to transform it. With the help of Ruud Visser Architects and Peter Boer, the church was adapted into a home fit for a family of four. With a volume of 3000 cube, the church is as big as six average family houses. Their starting point was to design a ‘luxurious house, of normal measurements’ for a family with two children. The last part of the church is the transept or cross-ship. Situated on the back of the church, directly behind the transept, a smaller volume was placed. Ruud Visser Architects replaced the church-choir with a new modern volume, with exactly the same form as the original choir, but shorter. Design team: Ruud Visser.
UKUMBI NGO Using architecture to mitigate poverty Ukumbi ry is a Finnish non-governmental organisation established in 2007 by three Finnish architects. Saija Hollmén, Jenni Reuter and Helena Sandman have all extensive experience of development cooperation projects in several African countries. The mission of Ukumbi is to offer architectural planning and design for underprivileged groups. In addition to cultural sustainability, Ukumbi also seeks to create ecologically sustainable architecture. * ) Ukumbi is a Swahili word that denotes a public meeting place or forum.
Housing Revolution: Better, safer, smarter, more sustainable dwellings Public Architecture Green Prefab Shed Homes: Small Space Living by Design Sheds do not sound like something you would want to live in, but as modern modular, mobile and miniature houses become increasingly popular sustainable living space options, well, even products dubbed with titles like the Big Shed and Little Shed is not such a bad idea. There is an art to designing smalls-space structures so they are convenient and compact but also comfortable and livable – and a certain lifestyle of simplicity sought by many that makes them a good match for some people.Plus, these designs by Dwelle are relatively affordable as home prices go: you can buy ones of these all-in-one buildings (and not worry about the hassles of construction) for between fifty and eighty thousand dollars. This surprisingly cheap and simple-yet-modern shed home is has its own living area complete with fireplace, elevated bedroom loft space and separated restroom and cooking areas.
green architecture notes » Favela-Bairro project: Jorge Mario Jauregui Rio de Janiero Sustainable cities require sustainable communities as well as care for the environment. Brazilian architect, Jorge Mario Jauregui has been working in Rio de Janiero for the last fifteen years to use his skills as an architect to bring infrastructure and community facilities to the informal communities throughout the city known as favelas. Favelas, which house about 20% of the city’s population, have been growing in pockets of unclaimed land throughout the city for the past 100 years. However, since unplanned and originally unsanctioned by the government, these communities lack infrastructure and public social spaces. Jorge has coined the phrase “favela-barrio” to describe his approach to urban design in the favelas. In a project currently underway, Jorge is creating public space in the Manguinhos favela on existing train tracks that bound the community on one side. Read more on Jorge’s website at: Bridgett Shank works at Feldman Architecture.
The Rainwater Harvesting Community :: HarvestH2O.com Architecture for Humanity