Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design by Stanton Williams

Architects Stanton Williams have completed a new campus for art and design college Central Saint Martins in and around a Victorian granary and two former transit sheds in London. To the north of King’s Cross and St Pancras International railway stations, 67-acres of derelict land are being transformed in what is one of Europe’s largest urban regeneration projects. The result will be a vibrant mixed-use quarter, at the physical and creative heart of which will be the new University of the Arts London campus, home of Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design.

Two new four-storey buildings provide studio blocks between the two 180 metre-long sheds, one of which now houses workshops. Cycle stores are located in historic horse stables below this eastern shed, while shops and bars now occupy the ground floor of the western shed. Four-storey-high concrete walls frame the main entrance to the college, which leads into an internal street with overhead bridges and an arched, clear plastic roof. A performing arts centre located at the end of this street contains a 350-seat theatre for student performances. The refurbished former granary now houses a library and faces a public square currently under construction.

Stay Residence by Studio Loop

Stay Residence is a three-story building located in a distinctively dense area of Tokyo, Japan. Designed by StudioLOOP for a family with a newborn baby. The 4.5m(15ft.) wide and 13.5m(45ft.) long narrow site was provided and sandwiched between 3-story houses.
The clients requested a parking area, vanity near the bedroom, two offices, a living room sharing a Japanese room, pantry space in the kitchen, and a roof terrace.
The structure was built with diminishing walls toward the upper space, and more open windows and overt regions. The upper floors attracted more natural light and served as a primary source of ventilation. The box-shaped exterior is constructed of white stucco, and the only color used is orange for the entrance.
The overall design of the home’s interior is incomparable to any western or European home I’ve seen. The amount of light that penetrates through the top floor is staggering, and illuminates the beautiful wood that outlines the windows, floors, and staircase. I love how there are different levels within each level. The spiral staircase is also a great design within this narrow home as a way to save space.

L41 220-square-foot home

The L41 220-square-foot home ( 20,4 m²) by architect Michael Katz and designer Janet Corne is a beautiful example of their dedication to sustainability.
For Katz and Corne, it was important that they didn’t just set out to design the smallest possible house, but to find out how small they could build a house that was still delightful. In their words “we didn’t set out to design a 220 sqft house – we set out to design a delightful house, then measure it.”
They began with where they spend time in their home, and for them the kitchen and family room type area is what they believe is the heart of the home, and that’s what they focused on. They designed a fully functional kitchen and dining area that feels much larger than it really is. The kitchen features all the appliances you would normally expect, a dishwasher, convection oven and microwave, an under-the-counter fridge and freezer, and a washing machine/dryer combo. It also features a state-of-the art magnetic induction stove and a slide out overhead fan.
The living room features a couch that folds out to a bed, a coffee table, chairs, lots of storage, and a computer desk — a custom designed glass sliding door that disappears into the side of the unit gives full access to a outdoor deck and additional storage.
The roof of the L41 generates and stores solar electricity through photovoltaic and solar thermal heating and cooling cells on its green roof. It also happens to be the perfect place for a small garden.
This is the 220 sqft studio unit, but they have a one-bedroom unit that is 350 sqft, and a two-bedroom which is 450 sqft. The units are all modular and can be stacked or arranged in many configurations; Katz is currently working on a 12-story building, and he believes that it will be a great example of how density can be increased in low-density single family zones.
One of the advantages of building something so small like the L41, is that it is realistically possible to mass produce. Katz says that there have been many efforts to mass produce buildings but have largely failed; prefabbing large buildings has been problematic to mass production.
The house is built from cross-laminated timber (CLT) that is manufactured in Vancouver, BC Canada. CLT has many of the same properties as concrete, which allows them to stack the units; the biggest difference between concrete and cross-laminated timber is the CLT is completely sustainable. Katz believes that CLT is the world’s most important building material.
The L41 is a model of sustainability and a wonderful example of how design results in innovation without having to sacrifice quality and, in this case, delight.

Mr.Button

Mr.Button is putting a serious smile on my face. Produced by John Caswell Design.

Evelyn Grace Academy in London by Zaha Hadid Architects wins the RIBA Stirling Prize 2011

Evelyn Grace Academy by Zaha Hadid Architects has won this year’s RIBAStirling Prize for the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year. The prize was awarded at a ceremony held this evening at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham.

Click for other constestants.

Here is some more information from the RIBA

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Evelyn Grace Academy in London by Zaha Hadid Architects wins the RIBA Stirling Prize 2011 for the best building of the year
The Evelyn Grace Academy, a cutting-edge new secondary school in Brixton, south London by Zaha Hadid Architects has won the prestigious £20,000 RIBA Stirling Prize 2011 for the best new European building built or designed in the United Kingdom. This is the second year running that Zaha Hadid Architects have won the RIBA Stirling Prize; last year they won the award for their MAXXI Museum of 21st Century Art in Rome; this year they have put the practice’s formidable reputation to great use by breaking new ground in school design. Now in its 16th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is presented in association with The Architects Journal and Kingspan Benchmark

The presentation of the UK’s premier architectural award took place at a special ceremony this evening (Saturday 1 October) at the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning (2001) Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, and will be televised tomorrow (Sunday 2 October 2011) on BBC TWO’s The Culture Show at 5pm.

A highly stylized zig-zag of steel and glass, the Evelyn Grace Academy is squeezed on to the tightest of urban sites (1.4 hectares – the average secondary school is 8/9 hectares). The architects received a complex brief: four schools under a single academy umbrella with the need to express both independence and unity. The architects were strongly encouraged by the client to ‘think outside the box’. With such a small space and with sport being one of the Academy’s ‘special subjects’ (each Academy school has one), the architects needed to be highly inventive. They succeeded, for instance by cleverly inserting a 100m running track into the heart of the site taking pupils right up to the front door. By dramatically celebrating the school’s specialism, the RIBA Stirling Prize judges noted ‘this is a design that literally makes kids run to get into school in the morning’.

The Evelyn Grace Academy is the first school to win the RIBA Stirling Prize, with seven schools shortlisted in previous years. It is the first time that Zaha Hadid Architects have designed a school and their first large-scale project in the UK. Previously they designed a Maggie’s Centre in Scotland and more recently they have completed the Riverside Museum in Glasgow and the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympics.

Speaking tonight, RIBA President Angela Brady, Chair of the judges, said:
“The Evelyn Grace Academy is an exceptional example of what can be achieved when we invest carefully in a well-designed new school building. The result – a highly imaginative, exciting Academy that shows the students, staff and local residents that they are valued – is what every school should and could be. The unique design, expertly inserted into an extremely tight site, celebrates the school’s sports specialism throughout its fabric, with drama and views of student participation at every contortion and turn. Evelyn Grace Academy is a very worthy winner of architecture’s most prestigious award and I am delighted to present Zaha Hadid Architects with this accolade.”
The Evelyn Grace Academy is run by ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) Academy organisation, a charity set up by Arpad “Arki” Busson, the hedge-fund multimillionaire. ARK aims to offer exceptional opportunities to local children in inner cities with the aim of helping to close the achievement gap between children from disadvantaged and more affluent backgrounds.

Peter Walker, Principal of the Evelyn Grace Academy said:
“This visually stunning building makes a powerful statement to our students every day they attend school. As a new academy setting the highest expectations for all students, it is fitting that we have such an aspirational environment. The internal structure of the building supports the innovative nature of Evelyn Grace Academy’s small school system exceptionally well.”

Zaha Hadid said:
“It is very significant that our first project in London is the Evelyn Grace. Schools are among the first examples of architecture that everyone experiences and have a profound impact on all children as they grow up. I am delighted that the Evelyn Grace Academy has been so well received by all its students and staff.”

Evelyn Grace Academy was chosen from the following outstanding shortlisted entries:

• An Gaelaras, Derry by O’Donnell and Tuomey
• The Angel Building, London by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM)
• Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects
• Olympic Velodrome London 2012 by Hopkins Architects, supported by the Olympic Delivery Authority
• Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres, Stratford by Bennetts Associates

RIBA President Angela Brady announced the winner, editor of The Architects’ Journal, Christine Murray, awarded the £20,000 cheque and Peter Santo, Head of Benchmark presented the certificate to architects Patrik Schumacher and Lars Teichman, and school principal Peter Walker.

The 2011 RIBA Stirling Prize judges were RIBA President and Chair of the judges, Angela Brady; Sir Peter Cook – architect and academic, formerly of Royal Gold Medal winning Archigram; Hanif Kara – engineer, Adams Kara Taylor; Dan Pearson – landscape designer and RIBA Honorary Fellow and Alison Brooks – architect and winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2008 with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Maccreanor Lavington for the Accordia housing scheme.

The winners of the RIBA Lubetkin Prize and two special awards were also announced this evening:

• The Met, a sixty-six storey residential skyscraper in Bangkok, Thailand by WOHA architects won the prestigious RIBA Lubetkin Prize for the most outstanding work of international architecture outside the EU by a member of the RIBA.
• St. Patrick’s School Library and Music Room in north-west London by Coffey Architects won the RIBA’s 2011 Stephen Lawrence Prize. Set up in memory of Stephen Lawrence who was setting out on the road to becoming an architect when he was murdered in 1993 and funded by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation, the prize rewards the best examples of projects that have a construction budget of less than £1 million and is intended to encourage fresh talent working with smaller budgets.
• The Royal Shakespeare Company won the 2011 RIBA Client of the Year supported by the Bloxham Charitable Trust. The award recognizes the role good clients play in the delivery of fine architecture.

Basurita

I love multifunctional furniture like this piece called Basurita. It’s a room divider, wardrobe and bed, all in one. Congrats to fraupawlik c/o Katharina Pawlik.

Ark Nova by Arata Isozaki and Anish Kapoor

Here are some images of an inflatable concert hall designed by architect Arata Isozaki and artist Anish Kapoor to tour parts of Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. Once complete, the mobile Ark Nova pavilion will stage music and dance performances for victims of the disaster.

The red stretchy skin of the hall is modelled on Kapoor’s orb-like Leviathan sculptures. The venue will seat between 500 and 700 spectators and is designed to enable quick erection and dismantling. The Lucerne Festival in Switzerland initiated the project, alongside music management agency Kajimoto.

Polymorphic kinetic bench

Ten architecture students from Columbia University GSAPP have recently completed Polymorphic, a kinetic installation in the form of a bench.
Utilizing an innovative design and engineering solution inspired by the kinetic action of a see-saw and the reverberating motion of a slinky, the double-sided bench is made of a series of 119 interconnected sections and an interactive balance board. The sections are connected via an inventive pivot and bolt system, allowing the vertical movement of one section to be picked up by others down the line. Together, this motion allows the installation to transform from a series of leveled sections into an undulating form that becomes activated through interaction with its occupants.
The Columbia University GSAPP design group consists of Charlie Able, Alexis Burson, Ivy Chan, Jennifer Chang, Aaron Harris, Trevor Hollyn Taub, Brian Lee, Eliza Montgomery, Vernon Roether, and David Zhai.

Peephole covers

How cute are these peephole covers from Cocobohème?

Split Decision Pie Pan

If dessert time at your house sounds like this, “I want apple pie”. “No’ let’s have pecan pie!” … then you’ll need the Split Decision Pie Pan. Why bake one, when you can do two at the same time. The ingenious Split Decision Pie Pan includes two inserts for creating either a traditional full size pie, or two halves.