The idea is to reclaim a segment of the city territory previously occupied by infrastructure and to create a new green zone instead. The area under the railway bridge is to be planted and opened for public. New pedestrian routes are cutting across this territory to provide for better connectivity and easier access to public transportation.

The new square is planed as an extension of the existing pedestrian route cutting across the terrain over the height difference of eight meters to connect two main streets in the area. Series of smaller plateaus form complementary public space for gathering, play and rest. Building’s configuration takes advantage of the sloping terrain and relates to external pedestrian route.

A total of 1500m2 surface area is distributed across four levels. Above ground, and L shaped volume of the building is shielding the market square from neglected office blocks and contains amenities and vertical communication cores. First underground level is reserved for loading and services while its front side contains shops facing public plateau. Second underground level occupied by the public garage with an easy access to the lower street level. Additional commercial space is located at the front of this level.

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The project is done in partnership with Accent architectural practice from Lebanon. We have been working together on a number of built and not built projects in the past, and collaboration between us has always been the formative of the design process. The projects have never been split between the design and the execution, and information exchange has gone back and forth when buildings take shape.

For this particular one, we have worked predominantly on the massing and the envelope of the building in relation to the rocky landscape and pronounced topography of the surroundings. The project is situated in Faqra, Mount Lebanon at the altitude of 1500m and contains apartments planed as ski retreats for the people who live in the nearby city of Beirut.

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The area is under stringent planning regulations which have conditioned the configuration of three separate buildings on the site. We have continued the logic of segregation further to establish seven differentiated volumes in relation to the structure of the apartment units. Moreover, maximum height and inclined roof rule have both been influential to the overall geometry of the envelope, but have been adapted differently and accordingly to the site conditions to each of the volumes. In result the project becomes a group of clusters formed by related but not identical components.

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The project started as a competition entry for the Serbian Pavilion at 12^th Venice Biennale of Architecture. We are developing the idea further and would like to build amended version for Mixer Design Expo in Belgrade at the end of May 2010.

 Table tennis is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. A skilled player can impart several varieties of spin to the ball, altering its trajectory and limiting an opponent’s options to great advantage. Points are scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Nevertheless, table tennis is not only a completive sport; it is also a way of recreation and socialization present in a number of different environments.

  Ground Plan and Ceiling Plan

The game of table tennis is to unfold at the given room. It will be an informal way of acquaintance and socialisation. Tables, rackets and balls will be ready for use at the exhibition space as an invitation to play. In addition, new ceiling made of one hundred and thirty thousand hollow plastic balls, will be constructed to engage visitors with the game of table tennis. At the same time, gallery’s interior will be altered with the introduction of the structure. Its purpose is to reconfigure the existing space. Instead of the uniform room, the ceiling creates differentiated and polycentric spatial organisation. Its geometry of twenty one alcoves may define changing spatial boundaries in support of diverse activities. 

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The idea is to provide architectural means for spontaneous change of use throughout the exhibition lifecycle. The proposal seeks to establish connection between the human activity and its environment. Introduction of the well known sport is to become a starting point of the process. Engaging nature of the game is meant to make effect on the relation between the space and its users. A sequence of events taking place at the exhibition space starts with the construction process and continues with the opening ceremony and the inaugural tennis tournament. Any such happenings may be recorded and then projected as an integral part of the eighty five day exhibition programme. Other events are not determined and may be planed subsequently and spontaneously.

One possible definition of the architecture is about organizing space into the parts and wholes according to the nature of human activities taking place in that space. Over the time, formative influence between the human activity and its environment becomes mutual.

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Yet, this is contradictory to its deeply material nature. Once the partitions are materialised, they cannot go away easily. Built walls define the anatomy of the space, so that any adaptation demands hefty intervention. The challenge before today’s practice is to find means for flexible spatial organisations and enable diverse and simultaneous events within the same environment.

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Responsive solutions in the building industry are normally associated with high budgets. In contrast, this is a low-cost application of adaptable architecture. Proposed design is not site-specific; it is configured to suite different surroundings and varied demands. For practical reasons, it is based on the use of a single component designed for infinite growth within a recursive geometric pattern.

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The idea behind modular configuration is to define a spatial solution which would be able to grow and adapt according to the changing needs; or according to varied conditions at different locations. Notionally, if more and more modules were to be added, the clinic facilities could grow infinitely but always confined to the circular matrix, defined by three differently sized courtyards.

Use the green slider to reverse the growth sequence.

Use the green slider to explore relationship between the individual component and the overall geometric configuration.

Proposal for the phase one satellite clinic entails ten modules grouped around two circular courtyards, while phase two configuration will need twenty modules grouped around five circular courtyards.

Number and disposition of courtyards is associated with the organizational logic of the clinic and has formative influence on the relationship between outdoor and indoor space. Phase one proposal envisages one larger courtyard surrounded by childbirth (in-patient) facilities and disease prevention (out-patient) facilities; and another smaller courtyard to be surrounded by outdoor family area. We would like to encourage full use of the outdoor areas with and without shadow, as a natural extension of the indoor facilities. In our design we would like to promote ways of social interaction by planning for integration between spaces for education, recreation and living.

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All facilities are facing the courtyard to allow trouble-free orientation for the patients, and if needed to provide easily secured environment. With the single point of entry to the clinic and clearly defined belonging outdoor space, clinic facilities should help create strong sense of security for its users while presenting inviting appearance to the outside world.

Entire structure and shell envelope of the phase one clinic may be packed into a single container measuring 4mx3mx2.4m or volume of 28.8m³. Such package of corrugated steel sheets and I-beam structure could be easily delivered by land or air to most secluded locations. From thereon construction process will rely on very basic skill and gradual introduction of other components such as flooring, insulation, windows and doors, finishes, furniture, equipment……….

Our response to the design brief was to come up with an efficient proposal. As in disease treatment where success is directly dependant on the fast response, we thought of architecture which would be quick and straightforward to build by locally available skill and easily transportable material. Each one of the modular elements is made of corrugated steel shell and I-beam structure. Its polygonal footprint of 27m² has all of the nodes positioned on the perimeters of the two concentric circles. Set out and construction sequence is made easy via seven steps shown on the diagrams.

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Fenestration design is relative to the Sun and we plan for good air circulation to help against overheating and best possible use of daylight. Perforated steel sheets are used to provide mobile protection from the sun for doors and windows; and other particular walls which are there to define outdoor areas. Roof surface will host photovoltaic panels to generate electricity from solar radiation.

High surface-to-volume ratio of our proposal is geared for better rain water harvesting. Water is collected by entire roof surface and then channeled via gutters to storage tanks located in the courtyards.  Rainwater collection from roofs can be calculated using the formula: 1 millimeter of rain on a 1 square meter surface yields 1 liter of water. Therefore our proposal for phase one would generate 270 liters of water per 1 millimeter of rain. Such supplies could be used for drinking if suitably treated or domestic water, or water for small irrigation.

The building named ’Danube Flower’ was built some thirty-five years ago to become a landmark on the Belgrade waterfront. It used to house an exclusive restaurant which was a segment of a larger recreational centre accessible to the public. The project was sponsored by the socialist government of the time and endorsed by then ubiquitous president J.B.Tito, who was the first guest at the restaurant on November 22^nd 1973. It was a famed hangout spot until its decay in the nineties and its final closure which coincided with the start of the civil war in the country. For the period of fifteen years building was not in operation and has deteriorated considerably.

In many ways the building is particular but above all for its synthesis between architectural and structural reasoning. The building is raised some fifteen meters from the ground level to hover above the pedestrian esplanade and the river. The entire building’s volume is a triangular footprint of nine hundred square meters, rested on a sole concrete core sized to contain only two elevator shafts and double spiral staircase.

The levitating appearance is created with the trusses cantilevering twelve meters out. In addition one more structural move is essential to the organizational logic of the building. The concrete floor-slab is propped by three cantilevering trusses while ceiling shell is suspended from the central core. Structurally, they are not connected at the perimeter of the building, allowing for the continuity of the glass façade to the full extent. Uninterrupted glass strip, measuring hundred and fifty meters in total length, is wrapped around the building to bring constant presence of the Danube River within the interior, and to provide for sweeping views reaching far out, both upstream and downstream.

The ceiling is the backbone of the new interior: it is visible from the esplanade passing bellow the building. In the evening hours, when lights are on, the ceiling becomes another façade. It is designed as a sequence of geometric subdivisions and transformations applied to the grid of equilateral triangles used for space planning when the building was constructed in the seventies. The original grid presents itself through building’s organizational and structural regularity. When transformations are applied to it, the result is the novel but related geometry. The idea is to accept building’s legacy and use the very same mechanism in the creation of the spatial form. The ceiling’s geometry simultaneously relates to the original design principles of the building and to the new image of the interior.

Click on the OPTION button to explore  differences between the three ceiling configurations considered.

Our engagement with the project – the transformation of the existing building into the ‘wellness club’ – started only after several key decisions were made by the new owners, in relation to building’s internal organization. At the time when we first met with the client, mechanical and electrical drawings were done and the contractor was in the possession of the site. In spite of the decent budget available, things were unfolding in haphazard way making it impossible to structure a proper architectural involvement. We were faced with a dilemma if the project was worth doing at all and if we should take the responsibility for the final product. The decision was made to take the job, go along with the mess and adapt our working methods around the given situation. At the same time, we have decided to focus on the two key segments of the interior, the floor and the ceiling. A uniform resin finish, often used in the industrial buildings, is applied to the entire floor surface to reflect light and help create an airy impression of the gym. The suspended ceiling consists of the steel structure and translucent vinyl skin lit from the back. With such choice of materials, the entire interior becomes a background meant to expose shapes of the training equipment. The entire gym floor of nine hundred square meters, arranged as an open plan, is meant to become a sales display.

Dramatic temperature changes, sudden rainfall and rapid changes in pollutant levels – our cities’ climates are becoming more and more difficult to predict. Architects and planners are faced with increasingly complex and uncertain information when shaping tomorrow’s cities. Does this mean there should be a radical rethink of how we develop urban space? –Introduction from the Dana Centre – May 2008.

The landscape of Snow City is a representation of a world inundated with snow and reshaped accordingly. How might the world respond to various climatic conditions, and specifically to snow? In order to understand this premise, it is necessary to look to the natural environment and how geography is constantly transforming itself with the forces exerted in the course of seasonal and long-term changes.

Mountains form from constant erosion due to wind, rain, snow, glaciers and geologic shifts. They have their own dynamic forces attributable to the direction and grade of their surfaces in response to the constant of gravity. But the mountain itself is the structure upon which the heavy blanket of snow rests. The snow firmly settles onto the mountain but does not take its direct shape. It forms a new, more distributed landscape of smooth surface modulating the distinct geometry of the mountain below.

The city has formed a crystalline shape that does not enjoy the flexibility of natural geography. And naturally the heavy loads of snow are not welcome in the urban landscape of the city. Our cities disregard the qualities of such a landscape by flattening our experience. Snow City looks to explore the relationship created when a city is transformed into a smooth world transformed by the heavy load of snow. The city is then described by a different form of crystallization, one closer to smooth and continuous surfaces.

Snow City uses a faceted geometry to describe the smooth surface of the new urban condition. It uses the smooth surface to create continuous buildings and landscapes that would force a constant interaction.

The purpose with Snow City is to inject a cataclysmic climatic condition onto the ‘city’ in order to register an urban architectural response. The current fascination with the development of the city lies purely within the rules which govern its growth. Existing planning, legislation, political will, lines of sight and the flexibility of the open plan to absorb any potential tenant; all of this combined with an economic drive towards the indistinguishable office building form the backdrop of the cities’ development and design. Snow City takes the physical position that what determines the ‘architecture’ is a material organization based on an external force and condition. We have used snow as the exerting force as it embodies an immediate transformation as well as a continuous shift from one state to another. It is precisely because the problem is urban, climatic and external and embodies a range of forces that we have created Snow City. It is the formulation of the problem to help derive the understanding.

If a condition of climate could fundamentally shift the nature of a city then the city itself would need to re-understand its built form. In the Snow City model we re-create city with the new terrain of frozen geometry. The existing condition knows nothing of the impending changes, It has no relationship to the event and therefore no preparations have been made to adjust and understand the forces and geometry. As the storm settles upon the city at once it is transformed by an external force. It takes new shape and its logic becomes that of the terrain of the mountains and valleys. It has no choice but to immediately comprehend, reconfigure and absorb this new quality so that the city is still recognizable. While the city can still be seen as functioning, the architecture has now become a landscape of folds and geometries far beyond the realm of any urban policy.

Artificial landscapes are coherent spatial systems. They proliferate infinite variations rather than operating via the repetition of discreet types. The model of Snow City demonstrates how such a landscape would operate. At present our cities are not built as coherent spatial systems. They are in constant ignorance of the current condition in favour of the past although their geological relevance does not carry the information of ages past. Instead, they formulate a repetition of a nostalgic built form. Within Snow City we see a new possibility working its way forward. That possibility is that the city begins to understand its own configuration by creating itself as already deformed by the uncompromising forces of climate. It builds on the geological information, but does not follow repetition of elements or types in order to exist. This new geometry folds the surface into slopes of varying segments. They form an upper segment consisting more commonly of edges, a middle segment of more constant slope and a lower segment of concavity becoming an undulating valley of public configuration. The valley is understood as a constant space where the shifting material settles and forms the soft surface of public realm. The variations of the mid-slope are the most fluctuating as they receive and give away material in a constant exchange. Their ‘erosion’ provides the valleys with new material and themselves with a powerful means of reconfiguration. The craggy upper sections of Snow City are the identifiable edges within the soft surface. They help us understand position and orientation within the landscape.

Artificial landscapes produce extreme conditions with gravity defying formulations. They are spatial puzzles carrying a catalogue of possibilities where the architecture and landscape perform as an entity rather than a juxtaposition of two separate elements. The built becomes interwoven within landscape and landscape defines built form in a choreography of surface.  Nate Kolbe

Traditionally, mountain homes in this region are built on the same formula with characteristic roof geometry. This house takes the idea to the extreme; roof planes are dominant while external walls are omitted altogether. Front façade is the glass screen oriented toward hilly landscape. Existing planning code and client’s preferences are translated into the design rules for relational modeling resulting with several different configurations.

The house is located at the rim of the national park within the largest ski resource in the country. Planning code in this area is stringent and meant to preserve the dynamics of the nature and facilitate the development of the rural ambiance. Yet in reality, this concept has failed. The area is overcrowded with buildings producing a surreal catalogue of planning evasions, all due to the local authorities turning a blind eye to what is going on and also because the planning code itself is the nonsensical interpretation of what the traditional mountain habitat is. The straight-forward interpretation of this planning code leads to the production of pitched-roof houses with no contextual or environmental awareness. Just like any other planning code, this one stipulates the limitations on: the building height, relative occupancy of the lot, degree of inclination for the roof planes and the choice of several materials for the external finishing.

Just like any other architect, we have taken suggested constrains on board but have decided to look elsewhere for the incentive to start the project and we came across the traditional mountain homes scattered in the region, recognizable for their timber structure and characteristic roof geometry geared to provide usable attic space with no excessive volume. We thought that such model would be well-suited for our clients, keen skiers. The roof has become the dominant feature with its planes reaching the ground while the walls are omitted altogether. Its geometry shields the house from its neighbors while it frames the unobstructed view of the rolling hills on the southern side. Consequently, the entire building is oriented toward this side via large glass screen.

In the search for the perfect roof form, a design protocol was defined to accommodate changing values of its key parameters, taken as a combination of planning regulations and client’s preferences. The result is a series of models, regarded as a sequence of possible solutions varying in their shape but sharing the same characteristics. In the end, subtle differences did make the distinction and some models were more attractive than others. Naturally, a decision was based on the client’s preference. In parallel, and out of curiosity, we have opened a public poll on our blog with twelve models on display. Surprisingly, the public (possibly entirely made of architects) has endorsed a different model.

The building consists of two mirrored units, planed for two well-acquainted but independent owners and their families. Their insistence on two identical units causes the symmetry and the verticality of the internal organization with the central structural element acting as a divider. Both units are granted a complete privacy but large sliding door is left as a possibility of uniting their living rooms, for the purpose of a communal entertainment or large gatherings.

Structural concept places emphasis on the dividing wall to get lateral stability. Entire body is made of the visible timber structure, and laid on the concrete foundation. The building is sunk into the landscape, with the terrace platform resting on two massive girders cantilevering up to four meters.

Another mountain home project revokes experiences gained from the house at Kopaonik, but adopts different strategy. Internal space is organized around centrally positioned core with structural, heating and ventilating purpose. The building is oriented toward idyllic surroundings with its external walls and the roof seamlessly combined to form energy efficient envelope. The owners are calling it Yurt home in reference to a portable,  felt-covered and wood lattice-framed structure traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.

The design is developed on the intention to build a comfortable mountain home and numerous constructive debates we are having with the client. As a result, the building is being defined under the influence two extremes: architectural fanaticism on one side and the owner’s skepticism toward the unknown on the other.

At the very beginning the owners were keen on the centrally positioned fireplace to become a dominant feature of the interior, but also to provide heat to all rooms in the house. They have seen it working in the nearby building and thought they would like to have same. For us, the architects, this was a sensible departing point and an opportunity to develop energy efficient strategy in parallel with the basic principles defining the structural and organizational logic of the building. The building as designed with the fire place is in the center, its chimney being the main structural element providing for lateral stability and supporting radial configuration of the beams spanning toward the outer walls. Roof structure, including eight beams and numerous joists, is all made of wood and will be visible in the interior to emphasize the organizational logic. Accordingly, the building’s internal space is divided into rooms of which only the guest bedroom is permanently isolated. The main bedroom can be easily connected to the living and kitchen area when sliding partition is open. This way we have gained largeness of the interior in what a relatively small house: entire floor area is 76m2, excluding the terrace and the technical basement.

The building’s footprint is compact and its volume is compressed. Effectively, this is a way of dealing with the mountain climate: it reduces the heat exchange between the exterior and the interior. Extending the concept further we have omitted the roof eave, and have established seamless connection between the wall and the roof planes to form an envelope entirely clad with affordable but durable bangkirai, wood based product. The roof geometry consists of eight sloping planes with their creases coinciding with the position of the main beams. Such faceting configuration permits fluctuation of the building’s height according to the varied of use in its segments. For instance, living area is the highest while storage room on the diagonal end has the lowest ceiling. This way volume is reduced where appropriate to optimize the use of the heating energy.

The site is on the rim of the national park and builidng’s immediate relation to the surrounding nature is the most important motivation behind the project. Yet its immediate environment, now designated for development, is endangered with inappropriate building activity with the neighbors competing for the space. In these circumstances, views from the house became the leading preoccupation and means of capturing contextual benefits. A large corner window is facing west with the unobstructed view of the surrounding peaks covered with the pine forest. Glass corner, rather than two separate windows, is meant to provide spatial sensation instead of flat and two-dimensional views of the landscape.  Shear size of the opening, its floor-to-ceiling height and its width of almost four meters, is meant to increase the contact with the surrounding nature.

The compact envelope is designed to transform itself from completely open to entirely closed shape with the use of low-tech and affordable solutions. The corner window and all other fenestration are equipped with the sliding shutters for the use during the periods when building is not in use. Covered terrace, traditionally integral element of the mountain homes in this region, is contained within the envelope and protected with the porous partition. If weather permits the partition may be opened with the use of garage-like mechanism and terrace will extend into the lawn.

Moved by two motives, desire to achieve very dense development* and the need to create socially sustainable environment, we looked at the historic model of urbanization found in the neighboring towns, whereby network of narrow streets and squares is laid out in conjunction with the topographic conditions to result with the diversity of public spaces and formidable proximity of individual dwellings individual .

The competition brief called for an architectural solution for the public space with the changing use throughout the day. Exactly the topic we would choose to work with. According to the brief, green market was to occupy the place in the morning hours, and in the afternoon and evening this was meant to become a public square where different forms of street art would unfold and people would gather and socialize. We thought that either/or strategy doesn’t work, that market and any form of social or cultural activity would work much better in synergy and have developed proposal which provided for simultaneous events.

Endangered with the rise in mass production of food, so called farmers or green markets had the tendency to disappear in big cities, until recently. Yet with the development of environmental awareness, such places have revived and have grown their importance in the supply chain now. Bur more importantly, such places have become gathering hubs for mind like and green oriented folk. Best described as ‘middle class heaven’ of the present day, green market has become a public scene, whereby the role of social interaction outgrows its commercial purpose. An obvious manifestation of this process is the establishment of delis, restaurants and cafes along the market front or frequent occurrence of street artists amongst the crowds. Other spontaneous events are also possible due to high concentrations of people, but always dependent on their simultaneity and compatibility. We thought that a key to this project was to reinforce this condition by providing infrastructure and room for programmatic coexistence and varied use of the space.

Initially, the intent was to connect the lot with the surrounding fabric of the city and make it easily accessible. Each side of the triangular footprint offers a specific way of doing so. South edge is to be obliterated; seamless pavement treatment is to connect the existing street and the new square. East edge is to be altered; existing stairs are expanded to become a piece of urban furniture, inviting social activity along that edge. North side is to become more explicit; proposed building is to define an active street front along the busy road. Pedestrian traffic is given priority over the vehicles, with continuous routes cutting across the lot to stitch up between the existing ways.

Proposed timber canopy reconciles three edge conditions into one spatial form. Its purpose it to provide shelter form sun and rain, so that market and pubic space could operate thought the year. Its cladding consists of louvers, designed to control air circulation and provide protection from weather.

Two parking levels are located beneath the main market plateau. The first underground storey also contains storage facilities and commercial space accessible from the street level. Supply routes are segregated from other communication, and dedicated vertical cores provide for efficient transfer of people and goods. Simultaneously, such cores are structural and have defining role in the spatial organisation at the main level.

Pending on the time of the day, the amount of space used by the market fluctuates. Its foldable stalls are giving the way to open air cafés and restaurants as the day goes by. The idea is that relation between these two main uses is reciprocal but never the excluding one.

The entire surface area is 3690m2. Proposed building footprint is 1010m2 while reaming 2680m2 is open air space, of which 1318m2 is protected with the canopy. The dominant use is the one of a green market, but room for varied public activities is also incorporated. The most accessible corner of the site is equipped with furniture and greenery to provide a yard for the neighbouring school whose pupils come out in predetermined cycles to fuse with residents from surrounding buildings and random passers whose daily routes intersect here.