Le Projet Triangle, Paris, France

For over thirty years Paris has laid low in the building stakes with a ban on buildings over 37 m in height brought in under Jacques Chirac’s rule when he was Mayor of Paris in 1977. But yesterday the first tower to be built in the French capital’s inner city, following the lifting of the ban in July, was revealed.

Officials in Paris voted to lift a ban on high rise buildings in the French capital in a bid to combat the city’s housing shortage and invigorate the city’s economic status. This decision has left the path clear for 20 high-rise designs, first flaunted by the current Mayor Bertrand Delanoe in Novemeber last year, to be approved.

The first of these designs to be approved is Herzog & de Meuron’s Le Projet Triangle which will stand at Porte de Versailles in Southern Paris. The design was showcased by Deputy Mayor, Anne Hidalgo yesterday who said in her blog: “Paris is indeed now part of the first world capitals in tourism business, trade fairs and exhibitions. Since 2001, the City of Paris has always radiated at the heart of its priorities economic development, employment and innovation. In a context of European and global competition increased, this ambition must now be translated in concrete by reinforcing its economic attractiveness.”

The design features a pyramidal block structure which will rise to 200 m and Hidalgo hopes that this design will “provide the city of Paris a true symbol commensurate with its economic vitality”. Others may be less excited about the prospect of a tower in the heart of the city however with 62% of the Parisian population opposed to high rises in the city. While Paris holds three regions for tall buildings on the outskirts, including La Defense to the West, the Triangle will be the third tallest structure in the inner city after the Eiffel Tower and Tour Montparnasse in the Montparnasse region. Due to be completed in 2012 the tower will contain offices a conference centre and a 400 bedroom hotel.

By Niki May Young / WAN

10 Incredible Mud Structures and Citadels

For years, and still in some places, people build their own houses, mud brick by mud brick, creating a dwelling to be proud of, something of their own. This style of vernacular architecture is common place throughout much of the world yet is seen as something of a fad in the western world, especially among those who aren’t convinced sustainable living is the way forward.

If you’re thinking of building your own mud hut, take a load of these images we’ve complied for you. The workmanship is second to none, and enough to put most of us to shame!

1. Dejenne Mosque in Mali is the world’s largest mud structure. Built on the ruins of the first great mosque, which dated back to the 13th century, this current structure was built in just one year and is now a proud UNESCO World Heritage site.

2. This grand old Kasbah stands proud in the southern Moroccan town of Ouarzazate.

3. Dijinguere Ber Mosque, in Timbuktu, was built to resemble a pyramid as its creator Mansa Musa had not long returned from Egypt and wanted to build something to remind him of the country. It was constructed bewteen the years 1324 and 1327.

4. The Citadel of Rayen, in Iran, was constructed in between 224 - 652 AD and is quite similar to the Citadel of Bam, which is some 20 miles away.

5. Arg e Bam, in Iran, dates back at least 2000 years and is, or rather was, one of the most amazing complete mud towns. Unfortunately, much of it was destroyed in the earthquake of 2003, which killed an estimated 26,000 people.

6. Pimp up your hut. This one is in Earthaven, Black Mountain, NC. We’re not sure what style they were going for but it’s definitely individual!

7. The city of Shibam in Yemen is made up of towering mud skyscrapers, many of which are around 500 years old. The area has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982.

8. This intriguing African mud building in Burkina Faso shares many qualities we now aspire to when building our homes – sustainability, sculptural design and participation of the community.

9. These wonderful beehive huts in Sarouj, Syria, and show off talented ancient building practices that are still used to this day.

10. Hand-made mud bricks lying out to dry in Nyeleni, Mali. Judging from the huts in the background of the pic, they produce mighty fine huts, too.

Blackfriars Station, London, United Kingdom

London’s Blackfriars Station redesign will bridge the North and South banks of the Thames.

Work has now started on the £350m redevelopment that will make London’s Blackfriars the first station to span the river Thames.

Two architects are involved in the project, (Jacobs designing the building and Tony Gee & Partners designing the bridge), which forms part of the £5.5bn Thameslink Programme to ease rail congestion and to cope with a predicted growth in commuters.

Although Blackfriars station used to contain an entrance on the South Bank in the 19th century, the present entrance is on the north side of the river. The redevelopment will extend the current platforms across the Thames, with entrances on both sides of the river.

The new South Bank entrance will provide direct access to major attractions such as Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre.

The existing entrance on the north side will be replaced with a curvaceous glass building containing a shared ticket hall for National Rail and London Underground services and a mezzanine level.

Richard Parry, London Underground’s director of strategy and service development, said: “Once the works are complete, customers will get a new upgraded station with step free access, increased capacity and better interchange facilities between the Tube and National Rail services.”

A spokesman for Network Rail told WAN: “As well as spanning the entire length of the Thames, the scheme will accommodate a set of disused piers from an old railway bridge that was built in 1864. It’s a very interesting build.”

Blackfriars’ overground section will remain operational but the Tube station will be closed from March 2 2009 until work completes in late 2011.

The Thameslink Programme also includes a revamp of Kings Cross St Pancras, London Bridge and Farringdon station.

Jacobs | www.jacobsbabtie.com

Oliver Ephgrave, Reporter (WAN)

Kew House - Melbourne, Australia

No one told Jackson Clements Burrows Architects they weren’t supposed to play with stacking blocks on a tennis court—and the Australian firm’s clients are glad. Before the Kew House, in Victoria, Australia, came to be, the clients, family friends with firm principal Tim Jackson, came to the architect with an interesting site condition—they had purchased a subdivided lot that gave them a tennis court on which to build. “The clients, a married couple at retirement age, had previously lived in a stuffy period home not far away from this site,” says project architect Andrew Bos. “They approached Tim with a program that called for better access to light, fresh air, and views. They wanted to retire into this home and eliminate steps wherever possible.” As well as living areas on one floor for the couple, Bos says the clients also wanted a third bedroom and a large playroom on another floor for family and friends.

Located at the end of a cul de sac in the coveted Yarra Boulevard neighborhood—a residential area following the flow of the Yarra River—the land falls away 11.5 feet from street level to the former tennis court below. The hill falls again beyond this area, creating a precipice from which the river and a golf course can be seen. “The dramatic fall of the land puts you at eye level with the canopies of eucalyptus trees and abundant birdlife and bushland,” says Bos. “We saw the ground plane as an artificial scar on the landscape, and wanted the new building to effect a new condition that repaired and reconnected with the landscape.”

The architects created a three-part, two-toned, steel-and-copper-titanium-alloy-clad form for the house that would telescope progressively from front to back. The three shells that make up the horizontal stacking-block form contain an entry shell with study and garage, a middle shell with bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry, and an end shell with kitchen, dining, and living areas. The three forms are suspended in the tree canopy with a supporting structure of circular two-tone columns. Beneath this platform level is a glazed area with an additional bedroom, bathroom, storage, and living areas, a floor of synthetic grass (the last vestige of the tennis court) and a children’s play area. “We saw the cladding as evoking the alternate colors of new and old growth bark of the once-dominant indigenous red river gum trees,” says Bos. “The satin finish of the Colorbond contrasts with the dull matte of the Rheinzink, like the top and underside and of a leaf sweeping backwards and forwards in the wind.” More practical is the fact that the house uses passive thermal heating and cooling techniques, with a northern orientation, overhangs and minimal openings to the west, as well as operable windows in all rooms and a main hallway acting as a breezeway corridor.

“Perhaps the biggest surprise about this project when completed was the scale of the home from the street frontage,” says Bos. “The fanning of the shells is only apparent when viewed obliquely from up and down the street. Viewed from the front the house nestles into the site and appears as a single-level residence.” Bos says that from this vantage point it’s impossible to tell that the house has been built on a tennis court below the footpath level. “That fact remains undisclosed to everyone other than those invited beyond the black steel mesh security door,” he says.

By Ingrid Spencer (Architectural Record)

Mt Baker Residence, Seattle, United States

Overlooking downtown Seattle, Mt Baker Residence adds modern panache to the mountain-side.

The Mt. Baker Residence is perched on a steep slope high above street level. Massive façade windows and a 400 sq ft roof top deck capture sweeping views of the Rainier Valley to Downtown Seattle. Column-like windows on side elevations of the home provide vertically-strong views, placed to respect the privacy of the adjacent neighbors.

The 2,470 sq ft home includes four bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a large open living floor. On the top level, 12 ft tall ceilings and walls of glass allow large amounts of natural light to create a grand space for kitchen, dining, and living.

Additionally, the home includes a separate one bedroom apartment unit (635 sq ft) on the lower level, complete with a wrap-around patio. The structure was conceived as the juxtaposition of three pure volumes, each containing a unique programmatic element. Each element is emphasized by material cladding; cedar panel, cement board, concrete, and marine plywood. — WorldArchitectureNews

Pb Elemental Architecture | www.elementalarchitecture.com

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