Lantern Pavilion - AWP and Atelier Oslo

Architects: AWP and Atelier Oslo
Location: Langgata, Sandnes, Norway
Project area: 140 sqm
Project year: 2006 – 2010
Photographs: Jonas Adolfsen

When Sandnes and Stavanger were chosen as cultural capitals of Europe 2008, the Norwegian Wood competitions were launched to promote innovative, timber architecture contributing to make the region an international showcase for it.

Sandnes asked for the design a new square and a sculptural object in wood in pedestrian district Langgata aiming at revitalizing the area, and creating a place where many different activities could take place: a meeting point, markets, informal music concerts and other happenings.

A place able to shelter, invite and encourage more social events and to sustain new practices.

Since the site is visible from afar, and from the railway separating thèse two distinct areas of the city it was essential to create an object that could be experienced from distance and reveal the square.

Homely but looking at the future, our ambition was to create a manifesto for public space design: not just a decoration, but an urban strategy; The proposal used the iconographic shape of and old, uplifted wooden house. By the redefinition of its traditional construction and by making it glow in the dark, a new landmark for the city was created, a symbol of the old city upscaled to the new city’s dimensions, dealing with the Norwegian wood ancient architecture motives to design a contemporary object.

This public Lantern aimed at providing a space where to enjoy light and weather changes if/when nothing else takes place. And if there is always something happening, on account of the Lantern, more will happen: creativity calls for creativity.

Text and images taken from ArchDaily.

Catherine Taylor and the Virgin Annunciate Spinning

Catherine Taylor is officially joining the blogging world - congrats Sis! Follow her blog here. Catherine is in her last year of her PhD at the University of Manchester, UK where she is researching images of the Virgin Annunciate Spinning and blogging about her journey. In addition, Catherine is a full time mother and wife, and a part-time lecturer at two American Universities where she had taught courses in Islamic Art and Architecture, Survey of Western Art, Critical Approaches to Art History and Art History Survey to the Renaissance.

A small ivory pyxis jar
This object would have been used to hold ointment, make-up or perfume and was probably owned by a woman. I adore these domestic kinds of objects the most because they are tangible evidence that home, family and spiritual iconography were important to women during this period (3rd - 7th centuries).

Information taken from Catherine's blog, Oxford Chic.

HOW IT IS - Miroslaw Balka

Miroslaw Balka’s box of darkness is disturbing in its historical echoes but beautiful as well.
The Times

Miroslaw Balka's black hole at Tate Modern is terrifying, awe-inspiring and throught-provoking. It embraces you with a velvet chill.
The Guardian

The latest commission in The Unilever Series How It Is by Polish artist Miroslaw Balka is a giant grey steel structure with a vast dark chamber, which in construction reflects the surrounding architecture - almost as if the interior space of the Turbine Hall has been turned inside out. Hovering somewhere between sculpture and architecture, on 2 metre stilts, it stands 13 metres high and 30 metres long. Visitors can walk underneath it, listening to the echoing sound of footsteps on steel, or enter via a ramp into a pitch black interior, creating a sense of unease.

Underlying this chamber is a number of allusions to recent Polish history – the ramp at the entrance to the Ghetto in Warsaw, or the trucks which took Jews away to the camps of Treblinka or Auschwitz, for example. By entering the dark space, visitors place considerable trust in the organisation, something that could also be seen in relation to the recent risks often taken by immigrants travelling. Balka intends to provide an experience for visitors which is both personal and collective, creating a range of sensory and emotional experiences through sound, contrasting light and shade, individual experience and awareness of others, perhaps provoking feelings of apprehension, excitement or intrigue.
Text taken from the Tate Modern website.

See another video of HOW IT IS here.

Office Building In Istanbul - Tago Architects

Architects: Tago Architects
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Design team: Gökhan Aktan Altuğ, Mevlüt Duymaz, Müge Eker Eryayar, Müge Turgay
Project area: 1,139 sqm
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Gürkan Akay

The office building sits on a hillside in a way people can percieve the façade of the building. This office primarily design as a sales office of the high-rised residential complex which is located next to it. Later on, building is going to be the head office of the construction company.

The building has 2182 m2 closed area,consist of 3 floors which are two basement floor and one ground floor. Ground floor is arranged for sales /administration units and exhibition space. Representative flats are placed on 1st basement floor, technical units and parking are placed on 2nd basement floor.

The reason why, building will be the first impression of the high-rised residential units, it has to have a spectacular architectural language.Building is designed as a prismatic mass which is ranging to a gap by the help of the cantilevers that lyed on the south and west façades.

South façade is placed in front of a glass surface as a seconday façade. Geometric wooden panels strengthen the perception of the building from the main road and the solid-void relationship brings a comfortable office ambiance by the control of sunlight and sound.

The space which is in between with wooden panels and glass façade, turns into terraces that provide natural air condition. North façade,which is a side facing to residential complex, is designed more transparent in order to see the construction site easiliy for visitors.

By the sharp geometric combination of the materials; natural stone,glass and wood, are creating the general character of the building and this characteristic features are reflected on landscape desing.