Divisare - Projects — Top Favorites of the Week

Pier was part of the “lift 11” urban installations festival (www.lift11.ee). The aim of the installation was to encourage temporary uses and bring out beauty of decaying place.

Photo by Margit Argus. Published on September 11, 2014.

The installation explores the territory before its “real” and official use. Time has weathered and deformed the pier over decades. It does not fit for landing boats any more. However, it would be perfect for sitting, relaxing and having a good time. The constantly changing surface is living a life of its own – a fact that is underlined by covering the concrete pier with wooden boarding. Thus a desolate crumbling object has been returned to the contemporary urban space.

The boarded surfaces reflect exact shapes of concrete slabs created upon disintegration. Contemporary architects make efforts to create spaces and surfaces that look unstable. Here this situation is found and can be used as a test ground.

From 12 June to 22 October 2011
Total cost of the project: 5000.eur

Photo by Margit Argus. Published on September 11, 2014.

Photo by Tarvo Hanno Varres. Published on September 11, 2014.

Photo by Grete Veskivali. Published on September 11, 2014.

Karuizawa is a resort town surrounded by the forest, well known as a bijou town for the summer retreat and favored by weekenders from Tokyo and the region. The Villa is located in the forest, perched on a steep slope wrapped by the snow in the winter and by the foliage in the summer, oriented to the south, looking out the magnificent views of mountains.

Photo: Koichi TORIMURA. Published on September 12, 2014.

The Villa is one story of a polygonal building for a couple of musicians. They wanted a flexible space that could work as a villa; as a gallery for contemporary art – mainly sculptures; as a salon for music concerts; and as a place to entertain friends. To fulfill the functions, the ‘blank space’ was required. The kitchen and the bathroom, which are needed for functioning as a house, are built into the floor. Use of materials are requested as all wooden materials should be invisible, and as glass, mirrors and polished stainless steels reflect the light. The light flows into the interior space where no obstacles are found. The impression of the space is uniquely expanded – the white space with a plenty of void.

Photo: Koichi TORIMURA. Published on September 12, 2014.

The main decision has been to construct the new building under the old existing garden and not to occupy a part of this space. The motto with which the project was presented in the ideas competition was “Garden of Light”. These two words sum up the two ideas of the project: maintaining and improving the existing garden, while at the same time providing joyful and well lit spaces.  The library inserts under the garden of Vil·la Florida civic center under the shade of its trees. Inside, a landscape in itself, articulated and changing, where each use and each user find their place. It is a personalized and unique space.  The building will be primarily connected to Sant Gervasi de Cassoles Street. The unevenness between the garden and Sant Gervasi Street naturally provides access to the new facilities. On the other hand, the gardened roof will be on the same level as the old garden, so that the construction of the new facility will mean the restoration of the civic center garden at its maximum dimension, where Vil·la Florida is the building dominating the complex.  The building is shaped by “light and silence patios” and “books and knowledge patios”. The first, surrounded by glass, light and ventilate the interior while isolating the library from the street. The second, solid prisms filled with books, are part of the supporting structure of the library.

Among the courtyards and the volumes, indoor reading and work spaces are articulated. Areas that should be small, seeking to provide a comfortable feeling of domesticity to their users. The interior is solved easily with little textures; ceiling, floor, furniture and walls are white in general, while the face that hide concrete retaining walls and structures of the building are covered with clay tiles. This porous material, sound absorbent and warm, reminds us that it is a half-buried building carved into the earth.

To link the library with the upper garden area two volumes stand out. One is a supported space of the library with direct access from the hall, located in a privileged spot. The other is an entry of skylight to the children’s area.  The existing garden extends through the roof of the new library to the street of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles, where is planned a new access point to the gardens (next to the entrance to the hall of the library). The old garden’s original trees have been replanted on the roof of the new library.  

A seguito dell’acquisto della grande area della ex stazione ferroviaria, situata tra lo stabilimento enologico della SS 115 e l’imbottigliamento, la CANTINE SETTESOLI s.c.a. ha programmato la realizzazione dei “lavori di sistemazione delle aree esterne al servizio della struttura di trasformazione e confezionamento vini e l’ampliamento dell’edificio direzionale dell’azienda. L’area interessata dall’intervento di riqualificazione ricade al centro dello stabilimento enologico, costituendo una netta separazione tra la zona dove sorge il complesso edilizio che accoglie le fasi di vinificazione e l’area più a est dove sorge l’edificio che ospita l’impianto di imbottigliamento. Il luogo di intervento consiste in una grande spianata sterrata della superficie di circa 15.000 mq che è stata sede della ex stazione ferroviaria di Menfi. All’interno infatti vi ricadono il fabbricato dell’ex stazione viaggiatori, oggi destinato a sede di alcuni uffici della Settesoli, ed il magazzino merci, oggi destinato a punto vendita dell’azienda. L’edificio di ampliamento della sede direzionale ha un carattere architettonico contemporaneo ed è stato pensato con un “linguaggio” teso a sottolineare il nuovo intervento che si inserisce nel contesto cercando di bilanciare, dal punto di vista volumetrico, l’edificio esistente. Un prisma bianco a base rettangolare a due livelli, “scavato” da ampie logge sui fronti principali è la sede, a piano terra, del laboratorio enologico e degli uffici di pertinenza mentre, a primo piano, è stato destinato a sala riunioni e ad open space di lavoro per l’ufficio marketing. Il nuovo edificio si collega all’esistente tramite una struttura in acciaio vetrata che costituisce il fondale dalla grande scalinata diventando il sistema di ingresso. All’interno della struttura di collegamento si trova una reception ed una ampia hall a doppia altezza al primo livello mentre al secondo ci sono un bar e una piccola sala riunioni. L’edificio è stato costruito con materiali, tecniche e impianti atti a contenere al massimo il consumo energetico; un impianto fotovoltaico integra il fabbisogno elettrico, l’acqua calda sanitaria è prodotta da un impianto solare termico e l’involucro è stato realizzato con una muratura ad alta inerzia termica. Le ampie vetrate della struttura di collegamento sono realizzate con vetri a controllo solare schermati da brise soleil in alluminio i quali in base all’inclinazione solare si orientano automaticamente per evitare l’irraggiamento diretto. Un altro aspetto importante per la riqualificazione dell’azienda è stato il progetto del verde; su tutta l’area di intervento sono state piantumate secondo un disegno che è stato oggetto di numerose consulenze specifiche, una serie di essenze (agrumi, ulivi, vigne, piante aromatiche), con l’obiettivo, da parte della committenza, di riproporre la campagna menfitana all’interno dell’azienda.

Fabio Gambina. Published on September 08, 2014.

Fabio Gambina. Published on September 05, 2014.

The project is the result of an invited competition that called for the refurbishing of, and addition to the administrative and logistical headquarters of the wood-building company Damiani Holz&Ko located in the light industrial zone of Bressanone along the Isarco River. The competition brief outlined the need for a structure that embodied not only the company’s activity but also the company’s philosophy; the company designs and develops building systems in wood and pursues the use of environmentally conscientious wood-building products and techniques. As a result, the addition uses multiple construction systems in wood and showcases the use of ‘raw’, industry-grade wood as a finished material in many different forms.