Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Commercial Church

Urban stores have understood the power of window shopping. Somehow that knowledge never seems to reach the architecture of church buildings.
Amhult Church outside Gothenburg, Sweden, wants to attract 35 year old parents and their kids. If you want to attract young families, do like Mc Donald’s, show your product through a huge window and if you want to be even more attractive give some candy to the kids.
This church is designed to accomplish this demands still remaining its primal focus on being a sacral space. Through a system of curtains the church can be a sacral space for inner peace and one minute later transform into a basketball hall or a drive-in wedding. Its location next to the main street of Amhult with big panoramic window showing the church activity might help people to window shop God.
Plan
Section
Model
A transparent first floor to attract new potential clients
Fabric that can close selected spaces rapidly
Elevator from the upper floor for the priests

Friday, May 27, 2005

Planeto Perfecto



We made a proposal to an existing emergency ward that wanted to renovate its content to better handle its needs. The existing ward is grey, dull and looks sick itself.
We planted a colorful virus that would transform the boredom into a joyful and energizing place where one could actually become better and not be depressed by the instutional feeling that now reins in the corridors and the walls of this miserable place.


Virus


New plan with a better flow and program enhancements.

Exterior view with the new lobby in the foreground

3D-plan



Sections and 3d

Lobby

Material and flow diagram

Connection diagram

Suburb Habibi

City planning for a suburb with a strong identity.


Gamlestadstorget, a suburb to Gothenburg, is changing its infrastructure and connections with the surrounding suburbs and the city.


The strong identity (people, attitude, diversity and density) is preserved and intensified with a new villagelike building.



The building is laid out in a dense way according to the diagram above.



A sprawling compact building programed with diversity and 24H life.
Dense in its first floors and then defragmented on the higher levels.
Like a small village in the suburb, the best of gamlestadstorget collected to a superstructure that is greater than the sum of its parts.


Situated next to a new planned open square, that will also function as a big travel hub for this area, the structure will contrast to it with its windling narrow streets and small shops.


The square is mainly in white shiny medinastone with rubber parts that transforms down to the river and becomes pools, bbq and stages for performances and parties.
one part next to the new railwaystation is lit with extra strong lights so you can play basketball all night long.