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Thursday 10 November 2011

Warrnambool Campus Building by Lyons


South West TAFE by Lyons
Australian firm Lyons’ new campus building for a college in Warrnambool, Australia, has a glazed façade made up of hexagonal apertures tilted down towards the street.
South West TAFE by Lyons
The new building acts as a threshold between the town and private campus, and will house accommodation, offices, lecture theatres and meeting rooms.
South West TAFE by Lyons
The glazed apertures have a steel structure finished with zinc, and provide solar shading and natural ventilation.
South West TAFE by Lyons
The main entrance is through a glazed wall underneath the apertures.
South West TAFE by Lyons
To the rear of building is an enclosed courtyard.
South West TAFE by Lyons
The college, near Victoria, is one of five across Australia that form South West TAFE, a further education institution.
South West TAFE by Lyons
Here’s some more from the architect:

This project is the third stage in the redevelopment of South West TAFE’s Warrnambool Campus, and meditates between the civic space of the town, and the private interior space of the campus.
South West TAFE by Lyons
The building is approximately 2,870sqm of floor space, over three levels, and accommodates a diverse brief including; campus student services on the ground level, the campus administration and directorate on the first floor, and a conference centre and other general learning spaces on the third or upper level.
South West TAFE by Lyons
The project required a permit from the Heritage Council of Victoria, due to its adjacency to the heritage listed Warrnambool Court House.
South West TAFE by Lyons
The principal entry façade to Timor Street faces due north, and its context and orientation suggested a couple of key design strategies.
South West TAFE by Lyons
Firstly the primary circulation of the building is located on the street, as an extension of the civic space – like the footpath repeated across three levels. This is combined with the concept of the self shading wall, accommodating the parameters for environmental performance of both shading and natural ventilation; and allows the street façade to be both shaded and transparent, making the circulation visible onto the street.
South West TAFE by Lyons
To achieve these objectives materials were sourced for the shading geometries. The profile of expanded metal was expanded to a gigantic scale – one that works with the street. The finished profile is clad in zinc, in order to negotiate the valleys and peaks of the geometry.
South West TAFE by Lyons
At an urban design scale, the rhythm of the geometry can be seen to stitch up the street and the two adjacent heritage buildings.
South West TAFE by Lyons
At the scale of the building, the internal circulation stairs are co-ordinated to the geometry of the façade, further amplifying the sensation of connecting the circulation with the street.
South West TAFE by Lyons
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The building is entered via a glazed wall formed underneath the major circulation stair, and leads to the student service centre, and then continues through to the rear campus courtyard space.
South West TAFE by Lyons
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From the foyer, the stairs rise up through the street wall to a series of student spaces, where students self organize into informally learning activities.
South West TAFE by Lyons
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The interior courtyard space, to which this project provides half the boundary, (previous redevelopments provide the other half), is designed as a quiet space, with primarily solid walls in metal cladding, contains figurative windows which echo the generating geometry to the north.
South West TAFE by Lyons
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The building contains core sustainability practices. These include the design concept of the northern façade, the use of natural ventilation and mixed mode for the circulation spaces and storm water harvested off the roof and landscape works for use in irrigation across the campus.

Taastrup Theatre by COBE


Taastrup Theatre by COBE
Dutch Danish architects COBE have extended this theatre in Taastrup, Copenhagen, by wrapping it in a curtain of translucent prisms that slope away from the existing building.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
The new space has a triangular plan that houses an entrance foyer and cafe, and looks out onto a green courtyard to the south of the theatre.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
The prisms are made up of translucent and clear acrylic and have red lights behind them that illuminate when the theatre is sold out.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
COBE were initially commissioned to improve the building’s energy consumption but also took the opportunity to improve its functionality and refurbish the interior with the introduction of crystal chandeliers, mirrored tiles and new furniture.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
Here’s more info from the architects:

The project for the extension and renovation of Taastrup Theatre seeks to improve the communication of the building with its environment – a social housing neighborhood.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
Formally we were commissioned to improve the energy consumption of the 1970s local community theatre in the Copenhagen neighborhood of Taastrup.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
Yet, we use this opportunity to improve the general appeal and functionality of the building by introducing a second (isolating) theatre curtain around the rough concrete structure.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
Above: the original exterior
By adding this new layer in front of the existing rough concrete structure, the building is extended and opened as wide as possible towards Kjeld Abels Plads north.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
The new translucent facade subtly reminds us of a theatre curtain about to open when the play starts. In fact, when the tickets are outsold or the show is on, red lights underneath the facade broadcast the special atmosphere of this magic moment towards the square.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
This new composition underlines the unity of the old building and its extension as one piece of architecture. The facade is conceived as a translucent curtain of acrylic prisms elegantly embracing the existing building, and creating a new open foyer, arrival area, and café.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
A whole new spatial dimension is added to the building newly connecting the formerly enclosed interior with the outside. Now the theatre visually and spatially connects to both Kjeld Abels Plads north and the protected green courtyard south of the theatre.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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With this overall concept, the theatre now has the possibility to involve the surroundings by exposing its activities. The facade is assembled from acrylic prisms.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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The material is very robust and because of its shape it has an exciting effect at day and night time, when the light from inside will glow out to the surroundings. The prisms vary from totally clear and transparent over translucent to opaque.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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Because of the many elements of irregular shapes and the variance in translucency, the facade is a beautiful play of shadows and reflections. The facade of the theatre includes a number of gates creating connection and access between the foyer and the theatre space.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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These gates can be opened or closed depending on the arrangement. So the theatre has the possibility to work as one coherent floating space, or separately as a theatre space and a foyer.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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With the renovation of the interior we pay reference to the aesthetics of classical theaters in order to soften the appearance of the rough concrete structure. Gold colours, mirror pixel tiles, crystal chandeliers – all things that not only children associate with theatre – are mixed with fluorescent lamps, an RGB bar, and modern design chairs by Paustian.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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The theatre’s service functions are upgraded: Restrooms and café are moved from the basement to the first floor, which means that now all non-technical functions are gathered on the ground floor.Bar, box office, and administration are consolidated as a functional block that can now be run by one person. Hereby, the staff flow is optimized so that capacities become available for theatre work.
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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The modernisation considerably improves the theatre’s logistics. The new facade wraps the theatre in new dramatic apparels. Together, interior renovation and the exterior curtain help establishing a solid project that improves the organization and communication of the building significantly – we proudly present Taastrup Theatre!
Taastrup Theatre by COBE
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Location: Taastrup, Denmark
Client: Realdania and Taastrup Municipality
Program: Renovation and extension of existing theater
Size: Renovation 1.400 m2, new building 250 m2
Status: Completed
Co-operator: COWI A/S