Architects: Andy Wen – Aedas Location: Suzhou, PRC, China Project team: Larry Wen, Johnson Ma, Kevin Wang, David Fung, Kevin Yan, Hui Liu, Jessica Cao, Lily Xin, Anthony Ruan, Weiwei Wei, Huiying Huang & Elizabeth Tse Client: Suzhou Industrial Park Education Development & Investment Company Civil Engineer: Suzhou Architecture Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. Design year: 2008 Rendering: Silkroad Digital Technology Co., Ltd
Architect: Zecc Architecten Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands Project Architects: Rolf Bruggink, Marnix van der Meer Collaborators: René de Korte, Marc Brummelhuis, Thijs Toxopeus Project area: 250 sqm Project year: 2006-2007 Photographs: Cornbread Works
Architects: JSª / Javier Sánchez Project team: Aisha Ballesteros, Juan I. Reyes, Gerardo Fonseca, Juan Manuel Soler, Juan Pablo Victal, Laura Ivanschitz, Jair Navarrete Location: Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China Design year: 2008 Construction year: 2009-2010 Curator: Ai Weiwei, Beijing, China Client: Jiang Yuan Water Engineering Ltd, Inner Mongolia, China Constructed Area: 1,000 sqm aprox
Architects: Taller Territorial de Mexico Location: Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China Design year: 2008 Construction year: 2009-2010 Curator: Ai Weiwei, Beijing, China Client: Jiang Yuan Water Engineering Ltd, Inner Mongolia, China Constructed Area: 1,000 sqm aprox
Architects: Rojkind Arquitectos / Michel Rojkind + ESRAWE Studio / Hector Esrawe Location: Mexico City, Mexico Project team: Rojkind [Tere Levy, Agustín Pereyra, Raúl Araiza, Carlos Alberto Ríos, Isaac Smeke Jaber, Enrique F. de la Barrera] / ESRAWE [Ricardo Casas, Basia Pineda, Ian Castillo, Karianne Rygh, Alejandra Castelao, Jorge Bracho] Program: Japanese Restaurant Client: Dr. Katsumi Kumoto Kawasaki Project Area: 629 sqm Design year: 2008 Construction year: 2010 Images: Glessner Group & ESRAWE Studio
Yazdani Studio shared with us the Ordos Restaurant they are building in the Mongolian Desert. As I told you before on our interview with Mehrdad Yazdani, Yazdani Studio was one of the first practices working on the new city, with one villa finishing construction and also a Concert Hall and this restaurant (also nearing completion), public programs required by this huge development.
During the interview, Mehrdad told us about the importance of the central courtyard for passive cooling, required on this harsh climate. More details about the project after the break:
For the Tic-Tac House, FGMF based their work on a simple everyday object, the clock. “It expresses the constant need for change: nobody acts the same way in the morning, afternoon or evening. No one even reacts the same way to different seasons… so why should our houses be always the same?” they explain. The building is a light pre-fab structure, made up of five modules. The central module acts as the kitchen and bathroom core of the house, while the remaining four rotate and can be reconfigured independently to suit the owner’s mood and the demands of the weather.
Take a look at all the model images and some renders after the break.
Architects: Tatiana Bilbao Location: Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China Design year: 2008 Construction year: 2009-2010 Curator: Ai Weiwei, Beijing, China Client: Jiang Yuan Water Engineering Ltd, Inner Mongolia, China Constructed Area: 1,000 sqm aprox
Architects: AMID (Cero9) Cristina Díaz Moreno + Efrén García Grinda Location: San Agustín del Guadalix, Madrid, Spain Project Leader: Jorge Saz Semolino Project Team: Iñigo González-Haba, José A. Quintanar, Julia Gómez Candela, Mireia Luzárraga, Alejandro Muiño, Jaime Bartolomé, Javier Casado, Paula Ferruz, Ana Miret, Miguel Paredes, Marta Alonso, Bruno Gomes y Giacomo Beccari Structure: BOMA (Brufau, Obiol, Moya & Ass, sl). Robert Brufau, Xavier Aguiló, María José Camporro, Raquel Álvarez Client: Diagonal 80 SL Program: Exhibition and Production Building for Diagonal 80 Project Year: 2006-2008 Photographs: Ignacio Bisbal & AMID (Cero9)
Architects: Rojkind Arquitectos Project Principal: Michel Rojkind Project leader: Agustin Pereyra Location: Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China Project team: Juan Carlos Vidals (3D massing) Alejandro Biguria, Moritz Melchert, Mónica Orozco, Phillip Jung, José Moreno, Laura Rodriguez , Roberto Gil Will, Tere Levy, Alan Rahmane Structural Engineer: Juan Felipe Heredia Design year: 2008 Construction year: 2009-2010 Curator: Ai Weiwei, Beijing, China Client: Jiang Yuan Water Engineering Ltd, Inner Mongolia, China Constructed Area: 1,000 sqm aprox
The initial idea was thought provoking: construct a covering using 400 red umbrellas (outside of their intended purpose) suspended over the new pedestrian mall in the city of Talca to create a visual impression of the inhabitants of a city in which it is uncommon to see daring displays in public spaces.
This lack of innovation seems to come in part, from others creating similar urban displays based only on previously proved ideas as well as the minute demand for this type of “product” by the local population. This could explain why businesses are reluctant to fund innovative displays or events. Or perhaps, it’s the stunted competitive environment that hinders creativity.
Architect: Schleifer & Milczanowski Architekci s.c. Location: Gdynia, ul. Krasickiego 30,Poland Design Team: Tomasz Milczanowski, Stefan Schleifer, Agnieszka Schleifer, Agnieszka Majkowska, Anna Niedzielska, Hanna Zamorska, Roksana Czartopolska, Michal Treder Structure Engineer: Studio R Roman Radowski Client: Polskie Pierze i Puch Sp. z o.o. Area: 2092 sqm Project Year: 2006-2007 Construction Year: 2009 Photographs: Schleifer & Milczanowski Architekci