* Architecture: Royal Gold Medal 2013 Lecture: Peter Zumthor

Architecture: Royal Gold Medal 2013 Lecture: Peter Zumthor: “..It’s a rarity that the architecture community is presented a chance to indulge in a Peter Zumthor lecture. Often referred to a architecture’s reclusive “man of mystery”, the Swiss legend has produced a handful of projects so eloquently designed that they have captured the attention of the world. In honor of his mastery, RIBA awarded Zumthor with the institute’s prestigious Royal Gold Medal in February. In this video, he gives the 2013 Royal Gold Medal Lecture at the RIBA, focused on the theme of Presence in Architecture..”

See our posts on work by Peter Zumthor:

•  Architecture: Steilneset Memorial by Peter Zumthor and Louise Bourgeois, photographed by Andrew Meredith
• Pritzker Prize Architect Peter Zumthor’s Design for Serpentine Pavilion Secret Garden
• Peter Zumthor – Architecture & the Essentialist of the Sensual
• Peter Zumthor: Discretion, Beauty And The 2009 Pritzker Prize For Architecture

designalog : contact

image: RIBA; article: Rosenfield , Karissa. “Royal Gold Medal 2013 Lecture: Peter Zumthor” 30 Mar 2013. ArchDaily

* Residential Architecture: Casa Mirador by Matias Zegers by Cristobal Palma

Residential Architecture: Casa Mirador by Matias Zegers by Cristobal Palma: “..After collaborating with Rick Joy on projects all over the US for over three years, Matías Zegers went back to Chile and founded Matías Zegers Architects. Last year, this Guest Pavilion, located in the Casas del Bosque winery in the Casablanca Valley, was finished. Cristobal Palma has filmed this beautiful video, showing how the simple yet very powerful house overlooks the vineyards..

Cristobal Palma (1974, Oxford, UK): Based in Santiago, Chile, Cristobal’s work spans architecture, urban and documentary photography. He studied at London’s Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA), and his work has been published in numerous titles internationally, with recent commissions by: The New York Times, Monocle, Wallpaper, Domus, Dwell and Architectural Digest. He lives in Santiago, Chile, and works both with architects in Chile and abroad. Follow Cristobal on twitter @EstudioPalma and his new and renovated Facebook Fan Page..”

designalog : contact

image: Cristobal Palma; article: Saieh , Nico. “Casa Mirador / Matias Zegers by Cristobal Palma” 10 Jan 2013. ArchDaily. http://www.archdaily.com/316651>

* Residential Architecture: Sycamore House by Kovac Architects

Residential Architecture: Sycamore House by Kovac Architects: “..Designed as the home of firm Principal Michael Kovac, Sycamore House serves as a laboratory for the firm’s ongoing research into sustainable architecture and a showcase for Kovac’s design philosophy. The home’s seamless integration of environmental systems and green materials has made it one of the first in California to garner Platinum Certification from the USGBC LEED for Homes Program..Sycamore House takes its name from three beautiful trees on the site that originally attracted Kovac to the property; the simple geometry of the house is driven by the steeply descending site. Nestled into the downhill side of a ridge top street, the 3,400 square-foot home presents a deceptively modest one-story face to the street, while a view from below reveals a series of sculpted volumes over three floors. Inspired by the surrounding sycamores, Kovac commissioned artist Jill Sykes to turn the minimal street facade of recycled fiber cement panels into a canvas into which her subtle shadow patterns were etched..A 23-foot tall interior concrete wall anchors Sycamore House to its site and organizes the house formally and functionally. The wall’s weighty presence provides an elegant counterpoint to a delicate cantilevered stair connecting the upper living spaces to private spaces below. Its thermal mass helps to regulate air temperature while its vertical expanse encourages natural ventilation, both guiding warm air to clerestory windows and drawing cool canyon breezes from below..Photovoltaic panels provide for nearly all of the house’s power needs, and a green roof insulates the home and reduces storm water runoff. The house also employs an array of sustainable materials, including high fly ash content concrete, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified woods, reclaimed wood flooring, zero-VOC paints, recycled glass tile, formaldehyde-free plywood, and high efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliances..The effort toward maximum sustainability extended beyond the design of the new home to encompass the ‘deconstruction’ of the existing house on the site. Prior to its removal, site vegetation was cleared by a herd of grazing goats. Interior fixtures and appliances were removed and donated to Habitat for Humanity, while framing lumber was re-used elsewhere in low-income construction. Overseen by The Reuse People, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to keeping usable building materials out of landfills, the process repurposed a minimum 75% of the existing building material..”   Interesting form, interior volumes; ample glazing, natural light; sustainability; LEED certification..  Article includes a 5 minute video..

designalog : contact

image: © Lisa Romerein; article: “Sycamore House / Kovac Architects” 05 Dec 2012. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/302288&gt;

* Architecture: 1111 Lincoln Road by Herzog & de Meuron

Architecture: 1111 Lincoln Road by Herzog & de Meuron: “..Herzog & de Meuron’s 1111 Lincoln Road multi-storey car park in Miami Beach, Florida, US, also plays host to parties, yoga classes and weddings, explains proprietor Robert Wennett in this movie produced by filmmaker Elizabeth Priore..Named 1111 Lincoln Road, the concrete building with floor slabs supported on wedge-shaped columns was completed in 2010 to offer naturally lit parking levels that can also be used for other activities above a row of shops and restaurants..“I had the opportunity to change people’s perception of what parking is and to build a type of building that becomes a social gathering space and a public space” says Wennett. “Everything we do in the garage is not what you expect in a parking garage.”..He goes on to explain how the building contains “a grand central staircase” rather than an enclosed stairwell and is also filled with public art. “To want to go to a parking garage, versus wanting to exit it as soon as possible becomes a new paradigm,” he declares..Finally, Wennett explains that he lives in an apartment on the top floor of the building. “People always ask me ‘why would you want to live inside of a parking garage?’ but the moment they arrive they never ask me the question again,” he says..Directed and produced by Elizabeth Priore, the movie is a semi-finalist in the Focus Forward filmmaker competition. Five winners are due to be announced in January..” Article includes a 3 minute video, and photos by Hufton + Crow..

See some of our posts on other work by Herzog & de Meuron:

• Architecture: The Tanks at Tate Modern by Herzog & de Meuron
• Residential Architecture: Beirut Terraces by Herzog & de Meuron
• Architecture: Slideshow: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei
• Architecture: Video: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London by Herzog & de Meuron + Ai Weiwei
• Architecture: 2012 Serpentine Pavilion Complete by Herzog & de Meuron + Ai Weiwei
• Architecture: Elbphilharmonie Hamburg by Herzog & de Meuron

designalog : contact

image: Hufton + Crow; article; Dezeen