UNStudio

VilLA NM is a family summerhouse situated in a hilly and woody area, some two hours drive from NYC. This area of up-state New York used to be a destination for the elite during the twenties and thirties and became world famous during the summer of ‘69 with the Woodstock festival. In subsequent years the area suffered a decline in popularity, but now more thirty years on the area once again open for new developments and is regaining its popularity amongst the younger people of NYC who like to escape the bustle of the big city.The house is situated on a plot of 7000m² with a tremendous 360º view of the forests and meadows. The sloping site is used as device for the programmatic and volumetric organization of the house. A single box-like volume bifurcates into two separate volumes; one seamlessly following the Northern slope; the other lifted above the hill creating a covered parking and generating a split-level internal organization.The volumetric transition is generated by a set of five parallel walls that rotate along a horizontal axis from vertical to horizontal. The walls become floor and vice versa. The ruled surface maintaining this transition is repeated five times in the building. Standardizing and pre-fabricating of this structural element lowered the building costs without reducing the spatial quality of the interior. The interior space also takes advantage of the split-level organization. The kitchen and dining area on the ground floor are connected by a ramp to the living space above, the 1.5-meter height change allowing for a tremendous view over the valley. A similar ramp connects the living area to the master and the children’s bedrooms on the second floor.All the functional facilities such as the bathroom, kitchen and fireplace are situated in the vertical axis of the house. This organization allows the freeing up of the outer walls. Rooms that require a higher level of privacy are partly closed of to the exterior. All other rooms are provided with large glassed windows.The materialization of the design is a combination of concrete and glass with a light metal construction. The intelligent transformation of a geometric form and the standardization of the structural elements enabled the economical production of a highly individual building with strong spatial qualities.

UNStudio (formerly van Berkel & Bos) is a Dutch architectural practice specializing in architecture, urban development and infrastructural projects. The practice was founded in 1998 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos. The name UNStudio stands for United Network, referring to the collaborative nature of the practice. The office comprises individuals from all over the world with backgrounds and technical training in numerous fields. UNStudio has an average work-force of 60 employees and a management team made up of two directors, one partner and two associates.
Based in Amsterdam, UNStudio has worked internationally since its inception and has produced a wide range of work ranging from public buildings, infrastructure, offices, living, products, to urban masterplans. Pivotal UNStudio projects within these fields include: the New Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart (2001-2006), the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam (1990-1996), the Office complex La Defense in Almere (1999-2004), the Möbius House in the Gooi area (1993-1998) and Theatre Agora in Lelystad (2002-2007)

Buscan la mejor campaña pro imagen de Tijuana

Para fortalecer la identidad, respeto y cariño por la ciudad, y rechazar la cultura de la violencia y el narcotráfico, el Instituto Municipal de la Juventud (Imjuv) lanza la convocatoria para realizar la mejor campaña preventiva de imagen de Tijuana. Podrán participar estudiantes, organismos de la sociedad civil, medios de comunicación y empresas para crear su propia campaña de amor a Tijuana. La intención es que en cada rincón de la ciudad, un mensaje, imagen o acción muestren los valores positivos de la ciudad y el orgullo de habitar en ella. Los criterios que se evaluarán son grado de impacto del mensaje, creatividad, imagen visual, métodos alternativos utilizados e relación con la sociedad. El ganador obtendrá un premio de 50 mil pesos y sólo deben registrar su campaña en la oficina del Imjuv, ubicada en el CREA o llamar al 683 62 31.

14 d Feb

Thom Mayne: Architecture is a new way to connect to the world

Thom Mayne (b. January 19, 1944 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a widely recognized Los Angeles based architect. Educated at University of Southern California (1969)[1] and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) in 1972. Since then he has held teaching positions at both SCI-ARC and UCLA. He is principal of Morphosis, a renowned architectural office located in Santa Monica, California. Mayne received the Pritzker Prize in March 2005.

Thom Mayne, with Michael Rotondi, founded Morphosis in 1972 to develop an architecture that would eschew the normal bounds of traditional forms. Beginning as an informal collaboration of designers that survived on non-architectural projects, its first official commission was a school in Pasadena, attended by Mayne's son. Publicity resulting from the publication of this project led to a number of residential commissions, including the Lawrence Residence.
Since then, Morphosis has grown into one of the most prominent design practices in the United States, with completed projects worldwide. Recent projects include: graduate housing at the University of Toronto; the San Francisco Federal Building; the University of Cincinnati Student Recreation Center; the Science Center School in Los Angeles, Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, California; and the Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon.

Morphosis’s design philosophy arises from an interest in producing work with a meaning that can be understood by absorbing the culture for which it was made. This is in opposition to typical architectural philosophies which overlay meaning from outside influences and are distant from the question at hand.
The word “metamorphosis” (from which the name Morphosis is derived) means a “change in form or transformation.” For Morphosis this reflects a design process intuitively embedded within an increasingly groundless modern society that is exemplified by the shifting landscape of Los Angeles (the firm’s home). Their working method values contradiction, conflict, and change, and understands each project as a dynamic entity.
The work of Morphosis has a layered quality. The designs often include multiple organizational systems which find unique expression while contributing to a coherent whole. Visually, the firm’s architecture includes sculptural forms which often appear to arise effortlessly from the landscape. In recent years this has been increasingly made possible through the use of computational design techniques which simplify the construction of complex forms.

Jean Nouvel en UCLA 8 Feb 2008

Jean Nouvel

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 6:30 PM, Perloff Hall, (Decafe) Room 1302 // Free
Principal, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Paris
Jean Nouvel is one of the world, leading architects. Principal of Ateliers Jean Nouvel based in Paris, he was the co-founder of the French Architect Movement Mars in 1976. Nouvel is an architect of concept and context, of dematerialization and image. His designs engage and respond to contemporary culture. Nouvel, most celebrated works include the Arab World Institute in Paris, the Lyon Opera House and the Cartier Foundation headquarters. The recipient of many distinguished awards including the Grand Prix d'Architecture 1987, the Equerre d'Argent (french building of the year) in 1987 and 1993, and in 2006 he won 'creator of the year' from Maison and Objet exhibition and the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture.

Sin duda alguna la escuela UCLA se viste de gala con la presencia de Jean Nouvel, es una lastima el no poder asistir a dicha conferencia, soy gran admirador de su obra y nunca he tenido la oportunidad de verlo en persona, tampoco he tenido la oportunidad de estar presente en una de sus obras, no pierdo las esperanzas de ir a una de sus obras o una de sus conferencias.

Hoy hace un año

Hoy hace un año, perdio la vida uno de mis mas grandes amigos, Jack Aria Habif "Mi cuñis" Una persona como pocas. De esas que tienen angel, de las que no saben una cosa pero ellos la inventan y se acercaba a lo cierto. Ha sido una gran influencia en mi vida de adulto, me ayudo abrir mas mi vision de la vida, a tener mas opciones, a disfrutar de la familia.... Se te extraña muchisimo jacko.