Ready for the Boating Season of 2009!
15 years ago
Congratulations to Jeanne Gang!
Last year this blog profiled recent work by Studio Gang so it was with particular delight to hear this morning that the firm's founder, Jeanne Gang, was honored with a MacArthur grant for 2011. The so-call "genius grant" is an unrestricted award of $500,000 to individuals who have shown remarkable talent and self-directed vision in their chosen field. For more information on the MacArthur Foundation and this year's fellows visit www.macfound.org.
Adaptive Re-use
Today, while doing my daily search for all things architectural, I encountered an interesting project in California. The 747 Wing House, designed by David Hertz Architects, uses airplane wings to span the large open interior spaces to create fantastic mountain views. Instead of finding old-growth timber, or shopping the steel yards for new I-beams, the architect instead purchased an entire 747. The cockpit windows were turned into skylights, the cabin deck was used for the guest house roof, and then of course there are the wings,
Image Credit: http://www.archdaily.com/165172/747-wing-house-david-hertz-architects/web-12/
By selecting the plane, Hertz also re-used material that used substaintial resources and energy to produce. Also, a 747 is able to withstand the extreme conditions experienced at 40,000 feet so the weather of California should not be too much of a problem. Expect this house to last a long time.
Image Credit: http://www.archdaily.com/165172/747-wing-house-david-hertz-architects/web-3-2/
This lead to more internet searching and I encountered many different types of adaptive re-use. There is the common product re-use like the 747 House, but with a much more ubiquitous material.
Image Credit: http://www.archdaily.com/127570/container-guest-house-poteet-architects/21-container-guest-house_credit-chris-cooper/
The shipping container structure has been a common theme recently and the possible outcomes of these little structures are amazing. For example, a mass housing crisis, like the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, or Japanese tsunami, could be alleviated by shipping thousands of prefabricated container houses to the afflicted areas.
Image Credit: http://www.archdaily.com/127570/container-guest-house-poteet-architects/6-container-guest-house_credit-chris-cooper/
There is also historic re-use, or a project that takes a run-down or just generally old building and re-purposes the structure. Personally, this may be my favorite type of project as there are ample opportunities to display the historic significance of the building while simultaneously creating new spaces within. The Musée de l'Orangerie is a wonderful example.
Image Credit: http://www.worldtoptop.com/musee-de-lorangerie/
Originally a "hot-house" for orange trees, the building was used by French royalty during the mid-19th century. The building went into disarray during and after the French Revolution but was re-purposed by Claude Monet to house his famous "Les Nymphéas" paintings. Recently, the structure was again renovated to add additional gallery space and to better protect Monet's paintings from harmful UV light. The building itself is built with classical proportions and columns, but once inside exhibits a simple contemporary style. In plan, the galleries resemble lily pads and almost literally float within the building as they hang over the new gallery spaces.
Image Credit: http://www.worldtoptop.com/musee-de-lorangerie/
Another historic example is The Mint, a project by FJMT in Sydney, Australia. Originally the Mint Coining Factory, the building was re-purposed to be the headquarters for the Historic Houses Trust. Contemporary buildings and additions were inserted into the old, crumbling structure. Within the building are great old v. new details.
Image Credit: http://www.archdaily.com/59430/the-mint-fjmt/mint_john-gollings_fjmt_09/
Image Credit: http://www.archdaily.com/59430/the-mint-fjmt/mint_john-gollings_fjmt_11/
The projects above show the other side of architecture that is not as widely publicized, but can obviously be just as great, if not better, than brand new buildings. Here at Venture, we recently completed an adaptive re-use project for Harding & Shelton in Oklahoma City. Located in historic "Brick Town" the offices make use of an old, abandoned brick building.
By selecting the plane, Hertz also re-used material that used substaintial resources and energy to produce. Also, a 747 is able to withstand the extreme conditions experienced at 40,000 feet so the weather of California should not be too much of a problem. Expect this house to last a long time.
This lead to more internet searching and I encountered many different types of adaptive re-use. There is the common product re-use like the 747 House, but with a much more ubiquitous material.
The shipping container structure has been a common theme recently and the possible outcomes of these little structures are amazing. For example, a mass housing crisis, like the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, or Japanese tsunami, could be alleviated by shipping thousands of prefabricated container houses to the afflicted areas.
There is also historic re-use, or a project that takes a run-down or just generally old building and re-purposes the structure. Personally, this may be my favorite type of project as there are ample opportunities to display the historic significance of the building while simultaneously creating new spaces within. The Musée de l'Orangerie is a wonderful example.
Originally a "hot-house" for orange trees, the building was used by French royalty during the mid-19th century. The building went into disarray during and after the French Revolution but was re-purposed by Claude Monet to house his famous "Les Nymphéas" paintings. Recently, the structure was again renovated to add additional gallery space and to better protect Monet's paintings from harmful UV light. The building itself is built with classical proportions and columns, but once inside exhibits a simple contemporary style. In plan, the galleries resemble lily pads and almost literally float within the building as they hang over the new gallery spaces.
Another historic example is The Mint, a project by FJMT in Sydney, Australia. Originally the Mint Coining Factory, the building was re-purposed to be the headquarters for the Historic Houses Trust. Contemporary buildings and additions were inserted into the old, crumbling structure. Within the building are great old v. new details.
The projects above show the other side of architecture that is not as widely publicized, but can obviously be just as great, if not better, than brand new buildings. Here at Venture, we recently completed an adaptive re-use project for Harding & Shelton in Oklahoma City. Located in historic "Brick Town" the offices make use of an old, abandoned brick building.
Before
After
By exposing the existing brick walls and decorative concrete columns, keeping the large punched out windows, and repairing the brick exterior, the building maintains its historic character while creating a unique work environment. The exterior remains similar to its neighbors and will fit in nicely as Oklahoma City continues re-developing Brick Town. The Harding & Shelton project has been entered into two design competitions. Stay tuned to see how we fared!
Learn more at www.venturearchitecture.com
Learn more at www.venturearchitecture.com
How many miles does your lettuce have?
How many miles does your lettuce have? How about your cucumbers, peppers or tomatoes? These may seem like odd questions, but with gas prices rising and world oil production peaking, they are more relevant than ever. Here in Denver, where we typically see 12-15in of precipitation in a year, most of the produce we see can come from thousands of miles away.
English cucumbers from Mexico? Irony aside, the answer is "yes."
Brightfarms, a new company based out of New York City, may have the solution. Specializing in greenhouses, Brightfarms hopes to bring locally grown produce to your local grocery store rooftop . The above ground greenhouses, which could be the size of your local supermarket, will produce all of the staple vegetables you would find in your local store without using any extra land. Lettuce, bell peppers, hot peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, varieties of leafy greens, and multitudes of herbs are all included. The produce is completely organic, can be grown year-round, and will use 95% less water compared with a standard farm. The vegetables will also remain fresher for longer as they do not have to endure vast shipping distances. This will all be done without turning on a fossil-fuel powered engine and therefore, prices will not be tied to world-wide oil prices.
photo credit: http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/topics/food-dining/hyper-local-produce-this-manhattan-company-wants-supermarkets-to-raise-on-the-roof/
Sounds great right? It gets even better...
Brightfarms also aims to build their greenhouses on large-scale housing projects. For example, their Forest Houses garden has added a 10,000 square foot greenhouse to the top of a low-income housing project. The greenhouse uses leftover heat from the building and collected rainwater to sustain the produce and will provide the annual vegetable needs for over 4500 people. For many low income neighborhoods, especially this one in the South Bronx, high produce prices leaves many without their daily vegetable needs. This project aims to fix this situation by providing fresh and affordable produce to thousands.
photo credit: http://www.good.is/post/new-company-brings-produce-from-the-roof-to-the-supermarket-aisle/
While they are definitely not the only answer to stabilizing food prices, Brightfarms has created a wonderful business plan and will surely help thousands of people eat healthier. Lets hope the idea catches on and rooftop greenhouses become more common. Then, when you ask yourself "how many miles does this lettuce have?"
... you can answer "ZERO!"
For additional information check out www.brightfarms.com
Check out Venture Architecture's website here
English cucumbers from Mexico? Irony aside, the answer is "yes."
Brightfarms, a new company based out of New York City, may have the solution. Specializing in greenhouses, Brightfarms hopes to bring locally grown produce to your local grocery store rooftop . The above ground greenhouses, which could be the size of your local supermarket, will produce all of the staple vegetables you would find in your local store without using any extra land. Lettuce, bell peppers, hot peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, varieties of leafy greens, and multitudes of herbs are all included. The produce is completely organic, can be grown year-round, and will use 95% less water compared with a standard farm. The vegetables will also remain fresher for longer as they do not have to endure vast shipping distances. This will all be done without turning on a fossil-fuel powered engine and therefore, prices will not be tied to world-wide oil prices.
Sounds great right? It gets even better...
Brightfarms also aims to build their greenhouses on large-scale housing projects. For example, their Forest Houses garden has added a 10,000 square foot greenhouse to the top of a low-income housing project. The greenhouse uses leftover heat from the building and collected rainwater to sustain the produce and will provide the annual vegetable needs for over 4500 people. For many low income neighborhoods, especially this one in the South Bronx, high produce prices leaves many without their daily vegetable needs. This project aims to fix this situation by providing fresh and affordable produce to thousands.
photo credit: http://www.good.is/post/new-company-brings-produce-from-the-roof-to-the-supermarket-aisle/
While they are definitely not the only answer to stabilizing food prices, Brightfarms has created a wonderful business plan and will surely help thousands of people eat healthier. Lets hope the idea catches on and rooftop greenhouses become more common. Then, when you ask yourself "how many miles does this lettuce have?"
... you can answer "ZERO!"
For additional information check out www.brightfarms.com
Check out Venture Architecture's website here
3rd Annual Architecture + Design Film Series
Brothers and sisters in design, try and find some time in your busy schedules this fall for the 3rd Annual Architecture + Design Film Series at the Denver Film Center. The series will run September 8th to October 1st, showing 9 different documentary films on Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons at the Center's relatively new digs on Colfax. Single show tickets are available or series passes can be purchased at the Denver Film Society website. In light of the recent controversy over the Harmon Hotel in Las Vegas, one film that may be of particular interest is "How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?" showing on opening night.
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