Style of Design

© James Ostrand

Architects: Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects
Location: Tampa, FL, USA
Project team: Stanley Saitowitz, John Winder, Neil Kaye, Markus Bischoff
General Contractor: Skanska USA Building
Civil Engineering: WilsonMiller, Inc.
Structural Engineering: Walter P. Moore and Associates, Inc.
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Richard Barnes & James Ostrand

Museums began in ancient times as Temples, dedicated to the muses, where the privileged went to be amused, to witness beauty, and to learn. After the Renaissance museums went public with palatial structures where the idea of the gallery arose, a space to display paintings and sculpture. Later, museums became centers of education, researching, collecting, and actively provoking thought and the exchange of ideas. By presenting the highest achievements of culture, museums became a stabilizing and regenerative force, crusading for quality and excellence. The role of the modern museum is both aesthetic and didactic, both Temple and Forum.

© Richard Barnes

The design of contemporary museum can be characterized by two polar approaches. On the one-hand buildings which aim to be works of art in themselves, independent sculptural objects as signatures of their architects. The new Rome Museum is the most extreme example, where the building opened empty, without any art to compromise its architecture. On the opposite end of the spectrum are museums as containers, as beautiful jewel boxes, treasure chests whose sole purpose is to be filled with art, like the Tampa Museum.

© Richard Barnes

This museum is a neutral frame for the display of art, an empty canvass to be filled with paintings. It is a beautiful but blank container, a scaffold, to be completed by its contents. We are interested in openness, in unknown possibilities in the future, in Architecture as infrastructure. We have created compelling space in the most discreet way, avoiding the building as an independent sculptural object, and using space and light to produce form.

© Richard Barnes

A glass pedestal supports the jewelbox of art above. The building floats in the park, embracing it with its overhanging shelter and reflective walls. It is a hovering abstraction, gliding above the ground. The building is not only in the landscape, but is the landscape, reflecting the greenery, shimmering like the water, flickering like clouds. It blurs and unifies, making the museum a park, the park a museum.

© Richard Barnes

The long building is sliced in the center. This cut divides the programs in two, the one public and open, the other support and closed. Each of the two sections is organized around a court, one the lobby, the other a courtyard surrounded by the offices and curatorial areas.

sections 01

The 40’ cantilever provides a huge public porch for the city, raising all the art programs above the flood plane. The walk along this porch, flanked by the park, focussed on the river, leads to the lobby. The procession through this quiet and levitating space is the preparation for viewing art.

© Richard Barnes

The lobby is at first horizontal, with entirely glass walls, two clear, two etched. The clear walls allow the site to run through the space, linking the Performing Art Building on the north with the turrets and domes of the University of Tampa on the south. Above the glass, the perforated ceiling wraps from the exterior into vertical perforated walls that turn into an upper ceiling, perforated again by a series of skylights. The galleries are reached from the lobby below via a dramatic cinematic stair reaching up. Below the stair is a bed of river rock.

Off the lobby is a long glass room that houses the café and bookstore in a storefront along the riverwalk.

© Richard Barnes

We have built the most expansive and generous field of galleries as instruments to enable, through curation, a world to expose art. They are arranged in a circuit, surrounding the vertical courtyard void. The galleries are blank, walls, floor and ceiling all shades of white, silent like the unifying presence of snow. The floors are ground white concrete with a saw cut grid to echo the illuminated white fabric ceiling above. Linear gaps in the ceiling conceal sprinklers, air distribution and lighting.

© Richard Barnes

The second segment, around the open court, contains all the support for the museum. Offices surround the court on three sides. A bridge on the lower level is a secondary crossing from preparation to storage, a place for museum staff to be outside.

The image of the museum results from the nature of its surface – it does not symbolize or describe. It disengages through neutral form, providing a kind of pit stop in the attempt to represent. It is a moment to savor things in themselves.

By day the surfaces appear to vary almost, but never quite. They are smudged and stammering, with moray like images of clouds or water or vegetation, a shimmering mirage of reflections. It is an expansive and illusive image of a museum about things we don’t quite know, about things we don’t quite see.

By day, light reflects on the surfaces.

© Richard Barnes

© Richard Barnes

By night, light emanates from the surfaces.

By night the exterior become a canvass for a show of light. The art from within bleeds out onto the walls and escapes into the darkness. By night it is the magical illumination of the skin changing colors and patterns in endless variations which turn the building inside out, revealing it secrets as it broadcasts light, color and form into the city, duplicated in its reflection in the water.

This museum is both timeless and of our time, an electronic jewel box, floating on a glass pedestal, a billboard to the future, and a container to house works inspired with vision and able to show us other ways to see our world. The museum hovers in the park, a hyphen between ground and sky.

© James Ostrand

Architects: Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects
Location: Tampa, FL, USA
Project team: Stanley Saitowitz, John Winder, Neil Kaye, Markus Bischoff
General Contractor: Skanska USA Building
Civil Engineering: WilsonMiller, Inc.
Structural Engineering: Walter P. Moore and Associates, Inc.
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Richard Barnes & James Ostrand

Museums began in ancient times as Temples, dedicated to the muses, where the privileged went to be amused, to witness beauty, and to learn. After the Renaissance museums went public with palatial structures where the idea of the gallery arose, a space to display paintings and sculpture. Later, museums became centers of education, researching, collecting, and actively provoking thought and the exchange of ideas. By presenting the highest achievements of culture, museums became a stabilizing and regenerative force, crusading for quality and excellence. The role of the modern museum is both aesthetic and didactic, both Temple and Forum.

© Richard Barnes

The design of contemporary museum can be characterized by two polar approaches. On the one-hand buildings which aim to be works of art in themselves, independent sculptural objects as signatures of their architects. The new Rome Museum is the most extreme example, where the building opened empty, without any art to compromise its architecture. On the opposite end of the spectrum are museums as containers, as beautiful jewel boxes, treasure chests whose sole purpose is to be filled with art, like the Tampa Museum.

© Richard Barnes

This museum is a neutral frame for the display of art, an empty canvass to be filled with paintings. It is a beautiful but blank container, a scaffold, to be completed by its contents. We are interested in openness, in unknown possibilities in the future, in Architecture as infrastructure. We have created compelling space in the most discreet way, avoiding the building as an independent sculptural object, and using space and light to produce form.

© Richard Barnes

A glass pedestal supports the jewelbox of art above. The building floats in the park, embracing it with its overhanging shelter and reflective walls. It is a hovering abstraction, gliding above the ground. The building is not only in the landscape, but is the landscape, reflecting the greenery, shimmering like the water, flickering like clouds. It blurs and unifies, making the museum a park, the park a museum.

© Richard Barnes

The long building is sliced in the center. This cut divides the programs in two, the one public and open, the other support and closed. Each of the two sections is organized around a court, one the lobby, the other a courtyard surrounded by the offices and curatorial areas.

sections 01

The 40’ cantilever provides a huge public porch for the city, raising all the art programs above the flood plane. The walk along this porch, flanked by the park, focussed on the river, leads to the lobby. The procession through this quiet and levitating space is the preparation for viewing art.

© Richard Barnes

The lobby is at first horizontal, with entirely glass walls, two clear, two etched. The clear walls allow the site to run through the space, linking the Performing Art Building on the north with the turrets and domes of the University of Tampa on the south. Above the glass, the perforated ceiling wraps from the exterior into vertical perforated walls that turn into an upper ceiling, perforated again by a series of skylights. The galleries are reached from the lobby below via a dramatic cinematic stair reaching up. Below the stair is a bed of river rock.

Off the lobby is a long glass room that houses the café and bookstore in a storefront along the riverwalk.

© Richard Barnes

We have built the most expansive and generous field of galleries as instruments to enable, through curation, a world to expose art. They are arranged in a circuit, surrounding the vertical courtyard void. The galleries are blank, walls, floor and ceiling all shades of white, silent like the unifying presence of snow. The floors are ground white concrete with a saw cut grid to echo the illuminated white fabric ceiling above. Linear gaps in the ceiling conceal sprinklers, air distribution and lighting.

© Richard Barnes

The second segment, around the open court, contains all the support for the museum. Offices surround the court on three sides. A bridge on the lower level is a secondary crossing from preparation to storage, a place for museum staff to be outside.

The image of the museum results from the nature of its surface – it does not symbolize or describe. It disengages through neutral form, providing a kind of pit stop in the attempt to represent. It is a moment to savor things in themselves.

By day the surfaces appear to vary almost, but never quite. They are smudged and stammering, with moray like images of clouds or water or vegetation, a shimmering mirage of reflections. It is an expansive and illusive image of a museum about things we don’t quite know, about things we don’t quite see.

By day, light reflects on the surfaces.

© Richard Barnes

© Richard Barnes

By night, light emanates from the surfaces.

By night the exterior become a canvass for a show of light. The art from within bleeds out onto the walls and escapes into the darkness. By night it is the magical illumination of the skin changing colors and patterns in endless variations which turn the building inside out, revealing it secrets as it broadcasts light, color and form into the city, duplicated in its reflection in the water.

This museum is both timeless and of our time, an electronic jewel box, floating on a glass pedestal, a billboard to the future, and a container to house works inspired with vision and able to show us other ways to see our world. The museum hovers in the park, a hyphen between ground and sky.

© James Ostrand

Architects: Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects
Location: Tampa, FL, USA
Project team: Stanley Saitowitz, John Winder, Neil Kaye, Markus Bischoff
General Contractor: Skanska USA Building
Civil Engineering: WilsonMiller, Inc.
Structural Engineering: Walter P. Moore and Associates, Inc.
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Richard Barnes & James Ostrand

Museums began in ancient times as Temples, dedicated to the muses, where the privileged went to be amused, to witness beauty, and to learn. After the Renaissance museums went public with palatial structures where the idea of the gallery arose, a space to display paintings and sculpture. Later, museums became centers of education, researching, collecting, and actively provoking thought and the exchange of ideas. By presenting the highest achievements of culture, museums became a stabilizing and regenerative force, crusading for quality and excellence. The role of the modern museum is both aesthetic and didactic, both Temple and Forum.

© Richard Barnes

The design of contemporary museum can be characterized by two polar approaches. On the one-hand buildings which aim to be works of art in themselves, independent sculptural objects as signatures of their architects. The new Rome Museum is the most extreme example, where the building opened empty, without any art to compromise its architecture. On the opposite end of the spectrum are museums as containers, as beautiful jewel boxes, treasure chests whose sole purpose is to be filled with art, like the Tampa Museum.

This museum is a neutral frame for the display of art, an empty canvass to be filled with paintings. It is a beautiful but blank container, a scaffold, to be completed by its contents. We are interested in openness, in unknown possibilities in the future, in Architecture as infrastructure. We have created compelling space in the most discreet way, avoiding the building as an independent sculptural object, and using space and light to produce form.

© Richard Barnes

A glass pedestal supports the jewelbox of art above. The building floats in the park, embracing it with its overhanging shelter and reflective walls. It is a hovering abstraction, gliding above the ground. The building is not only in the landscape, but is the landscape, reflecting the greenery, shimmering like the water, flickering like clouds. It blurs and unifies, making the museum a park, the park a museum.

The long building is sliced in the center. This cut divides the programs in two, the one public and open, the other support and closed. Each of the two sections is organized around a court, one the lobby, the other a courtyard surrounded by the offices and curatorial areas.

sections 01

The 40’ cantilever provides a huge public porch for the city, raising all the art programs above the flood plane. The walk along this porch, flanked by the park, focussed on the river, leads to the lobby. The procession through this quiet and levitating space is the preparation for viewing art.

© Richard Barnes

The lobby is at first horizontal, with entirely glass walls, two clear, two etched. The clear walls allow the site to run through the space, linking the Performing Art Building on the north with the turrets and domes of the University of Tampa on the south. Above the glass, the perforated ceiling wraps from the exterior into vertical perforated walls that turn into an upper ceiling, perforated again by a series of skylights. The galleries are reached from the lobby below via a dramatic cinematic stair reaching up. Below the stair is a bed of river rock.

Off the lobby is a long glass room that houses the café and bookstore in a storefront along the riverwalk.

We have built the most expansive and generous field of galleries as instruments to enable, through curation, a world to expose art. They are arranged in a circuit, surrounding the vertical courtyard void. The galleries are blank, walls, floor and ceiling all shades of white, silent like the unifying presence of snow. The floors are ground white concrete with a saw cut grid to echo the illuminated white fabric ceiling above. Linear gaps in the ceiling conceal sprinklers, air distribution and lighting.

© Richard Barnes

The second segment, around the open court, contains all the support for the museum. Offices surround the court on three sides. A bridge on the lower level is a secondary crossing from preparation to storage, a place for museum staff to be outside.

The image of the museum results from the nature of its surface – it does not symbolize or describe. It disengages through neutral form, providing a kind of pit stop in the attempt to represent. It is a moment to savor things in themselves.

By day the surfaces appear to vary almost, but never quite. They are smudged and stammering, with moray like images of clouds or water or vegetation, a shimmering mirage of reflections. It is an expansive and illusive image of a museum about things we don’t quite know, about things we don’t quite see.

By day, light reflects on the surfaces.

© Richard Barnes

© Richard Barnes

By night, light emanates from the surfaces.

By night the exterior become a canvass for a show of light. The art from within bleeds out onto the walls and escapes into the darkness. By night it is the magical illumination of the skin changing colors and patterns in endless variations which turn the building inside out, revealing it secrets as it broadcasts light, color and form into the city, duplicated in its reflection in the water.

This museum is both timeless and of our time, an electronic jewel box, floating on a glass pedestal, a billboard to the future, and a container to house works inspired with vision and able to show us other ways to see our world. The museum hovers in the park, a hyphen between ground and sky.

© Kurt Hoerbst

Architects: Anna Heringer & Eike Roswag
Location: Rudrapur, Dinajpur district, Bangladesh
Structural Engineering: Ziegert
 Roswag
 Seiler
 Architekten 
Ingenieure
 Bürogemeinschaft
Construction: Dipshikha / METI
 (Modern 
Education
 and
 Trainig
 Institute)
 with
 local 
labourers
 and
 own
 training 
workshop
Footprint Area: 275 sqm
Floor Area: 325 sqm
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Kurt Hoerbst

Context

Bangladesh is a fertile alluvial land in the Gulf of Bengal and the land with the highest population density in the world. On average nearly 1000 people live in every square kilometre and over 80% of the population live in rural areas. Much of the vernacular built tradition uses earth and bamboo as a building material, however, construction techniques are error-prone and many buildings lack foundations and damp proof coursing. Such buildings require regular mainte- nance, are often prone to damage and last on average only 10 years.

site plan

Project aims

It is particularly important to improve the quality of living in the rural areas in order to counteract the continuing popula- tion migration to the cities. The primary potential for developing building in the rural areas is the low cost of labour and locally available resources such as earth and bamboo.

The project’s main strategy is to communicate and develop knowledge and skills within the local population so that they can make the best possible use of their available resources. Historic building techniques are developed and improved and the skills passed on to local tradesmen transforming in the process the image of the building techniques.

© Kurt Hoerbst

Concept and Design

METI aims to promote individual abilities and interests taking into account the different learning speeds of the schoolchil- dren and trainees in a free and open form of learning. It offers an alternative to the typical frontal approach to lessons. The architecture of the new school reflects this principle and provides different kinds of spaces and uses to support this approach to teaching and learning.

On the ground floor with its thick earth walls, three classrooms are located each with their own access opening to an organically shaped system of ‘caves’ to the rear of the classroom. The soft interiors of theses spaces are for touching, for nestling up against, for retreating into for exploration or concentration, on one’s own or in a group.

The upper floor is by contrast light and open, the openings in its bamboo walls offering sweeping views across the sur- roundings, its large interior providing space for movement. The view expands across the treetops and the village pond. Light and shadows from the bamboo strips play across the earth floor and contrast with the colourful materials of the saris on the ceiling.

section sketch

Building construction and techniques

The building rests on a 50cm deep brick masonry foundation rendered with a facing cement plaster. Bricks are the most common product of Bangladesh’s building manufacturing industry. Bangladesh has almost no natural reserves of stone and as an alternative the clayey alluvial sand is fired in open circular kilns into bricks. These are used for building or are broken down for use as an aggregrate for concrete or as ballast chippings. Imported coal is used to fire the kilns.

Aside from the foundation, the damp proof course was the other most fundamental addition to local earthen building skills. The damp proof course is a double layer of locally available PE-film. The ground floor is realised as load-bearing walls using a technique similar to cob walling. A straw-earth mixture with a low straw content was manufactured with the help of cows and water buffalo and then heaped on top of the foundation wall to a height of 65cm per layer. Excess material extending beyond the width of the wall is trimmed off using sharp spades after a few days. After a drying period of about a week the next layer of cob can be applied. In the third and fourth layers the door and window lintels and jambs were integrated as well as a ring beam made of thick bamboo canes as a wall plate for the ceiling.

© Kurt Hoerbst

The ceiling of the ground floor is a triple layer of bamboo canes with the central layer arranged perpendicular to the layers above and beneath to provide lateral stabilisation and a connection between the supporting beams. A layer of planking made of split bamboo canes was laid on the central layer and filled with the earthen mixture analogue to the technique often used in the ceilings of European timber-frame constructions.

The upper storey is a frame construction of four-layer bamboo beams and vertical and diagonal members arranged at right angles to the building. The end of the frames at the short ends of the building and the stair also serve to stiffen the building. These are connected via additional structural members with the upper and lower sides of the main beams and equipped with additional windbracing on the upper surface of the frame. A series of bamboo rafters at half the interval of the frame construction beneath provide support for the corrugated iron roof construction and are covered with timber panelling and adjusted in height to provide sufficient run-off.

Finishes and fittings

The exterior surface of the earth walls remains visible and the window jambs are rendered with a lime plaster. The framework constructon of the green façade to the rear is made of bamboo canes seated in footings made of old well pipe and with split horizontal timbers as latticework. The interior surfaces are plastered with a clay paster and painted with a lime-based paint. The ‘cave’s are made of a straw-earth daub applied to a supporting structure of bamboo canes and plastered with a red earth plaster. The upper storey façades are clad with window frames covered with bamboo strips and coupling elements hung onto the columns of the frame construction. A fifth layer of cob walling provides a parapet around the upper storey forming a bench run- ning around the perimeter of the building and anchoring the upper storey frame construction and roof against wind from beneath. A textile ceiling is hung beneath the roof is lit from behind in the evening. The cavity behind the textiles ventilates the roof space.

elevations sketch

On-site labour using and training the local workforce

The masonry foundation was constructed by a company from the regional capital Dinajpur around 20km from Rudrapur. The earth building works and bamboo construction was undertaken by local labourers. The building techniques were implemented and developed on the job together with architects and tradesmen from Germany and Austria. 25 local tradesmen from the vicinity were trained during the building works creating new jobs and providing professional “help for self-help”.

Exemplary nature, transferability, follow-on projects

School handmade showcases the potential of good planning and design, from the arrangement of the building on the site to the realisation of aspects in detail. Furthermore it demonstrates the possibilities of building with earth and bamboo using simple methods as the continua- tion of a local rural building tradition and can serve as an example for future building developments in the area.

A stable foundation and a damp proof course are the primary technical prerequisites for building with earth, making the buildings last longer and reducing maintenance requirements. For smaller room spans, the newly developed bamboo ceiling construction can be made entirely out of local materials using handmade jute rope and bamboo dowelling.

METI, Modern Education and Training Institute

METI enables children and young people in the region to take classes up to the age of 14 and provides workshops for trade-oriented professions. The idea is to provide the rural population with access to good, holistically-oriented educa- tion. The children and young people are encouraged to develop into responsible, motivated and creative personalities and to use their skills to improve and develop their immediate rural environment. Reading, writing and arithmetic as well as languages are offered in a free environment and through open forms of learning. Meditation, dance and creative writ- ing are part of everyday learning at the METI School as are discussions, learning as part of a group and self-critical and social behaviour.

© Kurt Hoerbst

Dipshikha, Bangladesh

Dipshikha is an NGO dedicated to supporting development in the particularly poor regions of northern Bangladesh and has been active in this area for nearly 25 years. Paul Tigga, director of Dipshikha explains that the aim is to open up pos- sibilities in the villages to make people aware of the potential at home in an attempt to strengthen the region and reduce outward migration to the cities.

Partnerschaft Shanti Bangladesch e.V.

Shanti e.V. has been the German partner for Dipshikha since its foundation and supports the financing, planning and implementation of development and educational work. A central aspect of their work is the implementation of integrated village development programmes for education, health, strengthening the position of women in society, nutrition, agricul- ture and trade skills. Shanti also provides support in emergency situations and exchange and volunteer programmes.

Päpstliches Missionswerk der Kinder (PMK, Papal Children’s Mission)

The PMK has supported METI for many years and was a partner for the school building together with Shanti and Dip- shikha.

© Kurt Hoerbst

Architects: Anna Heringer & Eike Roswag
Location: Rudrapur, Dinajpur district, Bangladesh
Structural Engineering: Ziegert
 Roswag
 Seiler
 Architekten 
Ingenieure
 Bürogemeinschaft
Construction: Dipshikha / METI
 (Modern 
Education
 and
 Trainig
 Institute)
 with
 local 
labourers
 and
 own
 training 
workshop
Footprint Area: 275 sqm
Floor Area: 325 sqm
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Kurt Hoerbst

Context

Bangladesh is a fertile alluvial land in the Gulf of Bengal and the land with the highest population density in the world. On average nearly 1000 people live in every square kilometre and over 80% of the population live in rural areas. Much of the vernacular built tradition uses earth and bamboo as a building material, however, construction techniques are error-prone and many buildings lack foundations and damp proof coursing. Such buildings require regular mainte- nance, are often prone to damage and last on average only 10 years.

site plan

Project aims

It is particularly important to improve the quality of living in the rural areas in order to counteract the continuing popula- tion migration to the cities. The primary potential for developing building in the rural areas is the low cost of labour and locally available resources such as earth and bamboo.

The project’s main strategy is to communicate and develop knowledge and skills within the local population so that they can make the best possible use of their available resources. Historic building techniques are developed and improved and the skills passed on to local tradesmen transforming in the process the image of the building techniques.

© Kurt Hoerbst

Concept and Design

METI aims to promote individual abilities and interests taking into account the different learning speeds of the schoolchil- dren and trainees in a free and open form of learning. It offers an alternative to the typical frontal approach to lessons. The architecture of the new school reflects this principle and provides different kinds of spaces and uses to support this approach to teaching and learning.

On the ground floor with its thick earth walls, three classrooms are located each with their own access opening to an organically shaped system of ‘caves’ to the rear of the classroom. The soft interiors of theses spaces are for touching, for nestling up against, for retreating into for exploration or concentration, on one’s own or in a group.

The upper floor is by contrast light and open, the openings in its bamboo walls offering sweeping views across the sur- roundings, its large interior providing space for movement. The view expands across the treetops and the village pond. Light and shadows from the bamboo strips play across the earth floor and contrast with the colourful materials of the saris on the ceiling.

section sketch

Building construction and techniques

The building rests on a 50cm deep brick masonry foundation rendered with a facing cement plaster. Bricks are the most common product of Bangladesh’s building manufacturing industry. Bangladesh has almost no natural reserves of stone and as an alternative the clayey alluvial sand is fired in open circular kilns into bricks. These are used for building or are broken down for use as an aggregrate for concrete or as ballast chippings. Imported coal is used to fire the kilns.

Aside from the foundation, the damp proof course was the other most fundamental addition to local earthen building skills. The damp proof course is a double layer of locally available PE-film. The ground floor is realised as load-bearing walls using a technique similar to cob walling. A straw-earth mixture with a low straw content was manufactured with the help of cows and water buffalo and then heaped on top of the foundation wall to a height of 65cm per layer. Excess material extending beyond the width of the wall is trimmed off using sharp spades after a few days. After a drying period of about a week the next layer of cob can be applied. In the third and fourth layers the door and window lintels and jambs were integrated as well as a ring beam made of thick bamboo canes as a wall plate for the ceiling.

© Kurt Hoerbst

The ceiling of the ground floor is a triple layer of bamboo canes with the central layer arranged perpendicular to the layers above and beneath to provide lateral stabilisation and a connection between the supporting beams. A layer of planking made of split bamboo canes was laid on the central layer and filled with the earthen mixture analogue to the technique often used in the ceilings of European timber-frame constructions.

The upper storey is a frame construction of four-layer bamboo beams and vertical and diagonal members arranged at right angles to the building. The end of the frames at the short ends of the building and the stair also serve to stiffen the building. These are connected via additional structural members with the upper and lower sides of the main beams and equipped with additional windbracing on the upper surface of the frame. A series of bamboo rafters at half the interval of the frame construction beneath provide support for the corrugated iron roof construction and are covered with timber panelling and adjusted in height to provide sufficient run-off.

Finishes and fittings

The exterior surface of the earth walls remains visible and the window jambs are rendered with a lime plaster. The framework constructon of the green façade to the rear is made of bamboo canes seated in footings made of old well pipe and with split horizontal timbers as latticework. The interior surfaces are plastered with a clay paster and painted with a lime-based paint. The ‘cave’s are made of a straw-earth daub applied to a supporting structure of bamboo canes and plastered with a red earth plaster. The upper storey façades are clad with window frames covered with bamboo strips and coupling elements hung onto the columns of the frame construction. A fifth layer of cob walling provides a parapet around the upper storey forming a bench run- ning around the perimeter of the building and anchoring the upper storey frame construction and roof against wind from beneath. A textile ceiling is hung beneath the roof is lit from behind in the evening. The cavity behind the textiles ventilates the roof space.

elevations sketch

On-site labour using and training the local workforce

The masonry foundation was constructed by a company from the regional capital Dinajpur around 20km from Rudrapur. The earth building works and bamboo construction was undertaken by local labourers. The building techniques were implemented and developed on the job together with architects and tradesmen from Germany and Austria. 25 local tradesmen from the vicinity were trained during the building works creating new jobs and providing professional “help for self-help”.

Exemplary nature, transferability, follow-on projects

School handmade showcases the potential of good planning and design, from the arrangement of the building on the site to the realisation of aspects in detail. Furthermore it demonstrates the possibilities of building with earth and bamboo using simple methods as the continua- tion of a local rural building tradition and can serve as an example for future building developments in the area.

A stable foundation and a damp proof course are the primary technical prerequisites for building with earth, making the buildings last longer and reducing maintenance requirements. For smaller room spans, the newly developed bamboo ceiling construction can be made entirely out of local materials using handmade jute rope and bamboo dowelling.

METI, Modern Education and Training Institute

METI enables children and young people in the region to take classes up to the age of 14 and provides workshops for trade-oriented professions. The idea is to provide the rural population with access to good, holistically-oriented educa- tion. The children and young people are encouraged to develop into responsible, motivated and creative personalities and to use their skills to improve and develop their immediate rural environment. Reading, writing and arithmetic as well as languages are offered in a free environment and through open forms of learning. Meditation, dance and creative writ- ing are part of everyday learning at the METI School as are discussions, learning as part of a group and self-critical and social behaviour.

© Kurt Hoerbst

Dipshikha, Bangladesh

Dipshikha is an NGO dedicated to supporting development in the particularly poor regions of northern Bangladesh and has been active in this area for nearly 25 years. Paul Tigga, director of Dipshikha explains that the aim is to open up pos- sibilities in the villages to make people aware of the potential at home in an attempt to strengthen the region and reduce outward migration to the cities.

Partnerschaft Shanti Bangladesch e.V.

Shanti e.V. has been the German partner for Dipshikha since its foundation and supports the financing, planning and implementation of development and educational work. A central aspect of their work is the implementation of integrated village development programmes for education, health, strengthening the position of women in society, nutrition, agricul- ture and trade skills. Shanti also provides support in emergency situations and exchange and volunteer programmes.

Päpstliches Missionswerk der Kinder (PMK, Papal Children’s Mission)

The PMK has supported METI for many years and was a partner for the school building together with Shanti and Dip- shikha.

Architects: SOLID architecture
Location: Vienna, Austria
Project Team: Christine Horner, Christoph Hinterreitner
Structural Engineering: RWTplus ZT GmbH
Client: Österreichische Lotterien GmbH
Competition Year: 2008
Completion Year: 2009
Photographs: Günter Kresser

The bridge is enclosed on all sides and connects the two buildings Rennweg 44 and 46 at the fifth upper floor, 17 metres above the Kleistgasse (in the third Vienna district). The span length of the bridge is 22 metres.

Outward Appearance of the Bridge

In reference to its outward appearance, the bridge adds a third and formally individual element to the two existing buildings dating back to the 1980’s. The fair grey metallic colour of the exterior surfaces of the bridge assimilates with the grey-green colour spectrum of the two already existing building structures.

Large-area glazed sidewalls make the supporting construction of the bridge, which is arranged inside, visible from the outside, and they make the bridge appear light and transparent.

Experiencing the Bridge from the Inside

© Günter Kresser

The interior area of the bridge has its own individual character, independent of the two already existing buildings.

If you cross the bridge, you will experience space that is dominated by the dynamic alignments of the supporting construction and the bottom and top plate. There may also be made out a colour difference between the interior area of the bridge on the one and the existing building structure on the other side. With the exception of the fair grey floor, all surfaces are white.

© Günter Kresser

Extending from the building Rennweg 46, there is created a horizontal plane into the road space, 17 metres above ground level of the Kleistgasse. From this horizontal area, there is presented a wonderful view onto the road space situated beyond and as far as the towers of the Arsenal. Following a bend in the botton plate, a slightly inclined ramp counterbalances the difference in height between the two building structures and leads into the building Rennweg 44.

geometry diagrams

In ground view, the bridge is tapering from 2.70m down to a width of 2.35m at the middle of the bridge. In combination with the bends in the roof and the bottom plate there is created a bridge structure, which extends across the road space in a rather elegant way; furthermore, its interior area is clearly dominated by the perspective dynamics of the strongly aligned lines.

Architects: SOLID architecture

Location: Vienna, Austria

Project Team: Christine Horner, Christoph Hinterreitner

Structural Engineering: RWTplus ZT GmbH

Client: Österreichische Lotterien GmbH

Competition Year: 2008

Completion Year: 2009

Photographs: Günter Kresser

The bridge is enclosed on all sides and connects the two buildings Rennweg 44 and 46 at the fifth upper floor, 17 metres above the Kleistgasse (in the third Vienna district). The span length of the bridge is 22 metres.

Outward Appearance of the Bridge

In reference to its outward appearance, the bridge adds a third and formally individual element to the two existing buildings dating back to the 1980’s. The fair grey metallic colour of the exterior surfaces of the bridge assimilates with the grey-green colour spectrum of the two already existing building structures.

Large-area glazed sidewalls make the supporting construction of the bridge, which is arranged inside, visible from the outside, and they make the bridge appear light and transparent.

Experiencing the Bridge from the Inside

© Günter Kresser

The interior area of the bridge has its own individual character, independent of the two already existing buildings.

If you cross the bridge, you will experience space that is dominated by the dynamic alignments of the supporting construction and the bottom and top plate. There may also be made out a colour difference between the interior area of the bridge on the one and the existing building structure on the other side. With the exception of the fair grey floor, all surfaces are white.

© Günter Kresser

Extending from the building Rennweg 46, there is created a horizontal plane into the road space, 17 metres above ground level of the Kleistgasse. From this horizontal area, there is presented a wonderful view onto the road space situated beyond and as far as the towers of the Arsenal. Following a bend in the botton plate, a slightly inclined ramp counterbalances the difference in height between the two building structures and leads into the building Rennweg 44.

geometry diagrams

In ground view, the bridge is tapering from 2.70m down to a width of 2.35m at the middle of the bridge. In combination with the bends in the roof and the bottom plate there is created a bridge structure, which extends across the road space in a rather elegant way; furthermore, its interior area is clearly dominated by the perspective dynamics of the strongly aligned lines.

© Hisao Suzuki

Architect: Sebastian Mariscal Studio
Location: San Diego, California, USA
Designer & Builder: Sebastian Mariscal Studio
Design Team: Sebastian Mariscal & Dominique Houriet
Structural Engineering: Omar Mobayed
Project Area: 472 sqm
Project year: 2006
Photographs: Hisao Suzuki

Small urban infill projects such as ‘On Grape’ add diversity to the city; providing contrast and scale to the multitude of whole city block buildings that are being constructed in San Diego during its current state of fast-paced redevelopment.

ground & second floor plan

© Hisao Suzuki

A project of this nature comes with a host of inconveniences that become a challenge in not only design, but also construction, including: small lot size, busy streets, zero setbacks from property lines, and a complete lack of space for construction storage and scaffolding. The initial approach for ‘On Grape’ was to subdivide the land into two parcels producing two single-family residences that maximize the enclosed, narrow, and linear space. The main goal was to maintain an interior-exterior connection in design while creating a spacious and quiet living environment in the city. To do so, the design focused on the planes of space throughout the project, and was achieved by constructing continuous spaces horizontally from one property line to the other and keeping the interior void open vertically to the sky.

© Hisao Suzuki

Within the urban context, the building exists as dual volumes separated by an interior courtyard of bamboo and light. The wood frame structure receives a floating exterior skin of engineered stone and COR-TEN steel that is separated by an internal air chamber, providing thermal and acoustic insulation. Spatially, the residences offer a quiet respite within the city core. Materially, the dark stone, the steel and the IPE wood accentuate the diverse urban fabric of San Diego.

© Hisao Suzuki

Architect: Sebastian Mariscal Studio
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
Designer & Builder: Sebastian Mariscal Studio
Design Team: Sebastian Mariscal & Jeff Svitak
Structural Engineering: Omar Mobayed
Project Area: 1,546 sqm
Project year: 2007
Photographs: Hisao Suzuki

ground floor plan

Conceived as a series of town residences, SIX in La Jolla combines clear form with continuous indoor/outdoor spaces, elevating to the views of the Pacific Ocean. Stepping down the sloped site, the six town homes create a visual rhythm of contrasting volumes and projecting balconies, extending towards the ocean views. Front patios, defined with greenery, filter the street and lead to the main living/dining/kitchen spaces where full height sliding glass panels open the space completely to the exterior, creating a continuous outdoor experience. Floating above are the IPE wood clad boxes that house the bedrooms and screen the private decks, alternating with the light stone volumes that define circulation and service spaces. The protruding stainless steel viewing balconies accent the sunset washed street facades, set against the Southern California sky.

© Hisao Suzuki

Sebastian Mariscal Studio has been slowly building a portfolio of well-regarded contemporary housing projects throughout the city of San Diego. Their latest is Six, a row-house project just a block from the beach in La Jolla, one of San Diego’s most desirable and expensive neighborhoods. As with all of these projects, Mariscal is the developer, architect, and contractor.

elevation 01

Six sits on a sloping lot on a curving street, a topographic condition made subtly evident as the apparently identical units curve and drop with the terrain. The row-houses sit atop an underground garage accessible from the side street on the low side of the site; they address the sidewalk through a small gate in a hedge that provides privacy to the open units beyond.

© Hisao Suzuki

Each row-house is composed of two parts that are expressed in their finish materials. Service elements (stairs, elevators, storage, and the like) are placed in limestone-clad pylons that act as sound gaskets between the units. All living spaces are contained in wood boxes that bridge between the stone pylons. The wood boxes—clad completely in IPE—contain bedrooms at the second and third floors. Under the wood box, a large loft-like space for the kitchen and living areas extends into gardens on both ends. This connection is made seamless by the use of fold-away glass doors that completely open both ends of the room. IPE flooring runs outside as decking in both directions, connecting the garden and terrace areas to the interior. In fact, this “slipping” of inside to out is so effective that, when the doors are folded back, you feel as though you are in a covered exterior space. Six is a quintessentially Southern California housing scheme that builds on a legacy of seamless connections between house and garden. The real genius of Six is that it accomplishes this with such a deceptively simple kit-of-parts.

© Isabel Ourique

Architects: [N2X] Arquitectos
Location: Azores Island, Portugal
Project Leader: Pedro Furtado
Project Team: Bruno Pinto, Isabel Ourique, Pedro Furtado
Graphical Design: Raquel Fernandes
Structural Engineering: Joao Serpa
Area: 265,00 sqm
Project Year: 2008-2009
Photographs: Isabel Ourique

The restaurant and bakery is located in a farm composed of different arborean species of a certain age. Its main purpose was for the visitors to enjoy nature’s changeable and irreverent environment during their stay. For this reason, the area’s history and the existing species’ location was respected and a building was drawn so that it coexists and dialogs with its surroundings, allowing for the present and human experience’s concept and language evolution to be revealed.

floor plan

© Isabel Ourique

Based upon the environment and landscape components of the area, the construction seems simple yet aims to stress out a significant amount of elements that make up for its sustainability. The building is divided into two boxes: one for restaurant support and the other for food preparation and holds the dining room. Both volumes are connected by a cover piece, the result being an external area partially covered, bringing into life the volumetric unit between both boxes and allowing for light, water and nature to invade this space built in an abundant and permissive fashion.

© Isabel Ourique