Hotel Atra Doftana, Prahova, Romania

The building is situated nearby a mountain lake and is configured with two major volumes, taking advantage of the natural form of the site, which presents two major level drops intercalated with two approximately flat areas: one volume that houses the rooms and reception, and the second volume  that contains living and dining spaces, the restaurant kitchen and and technical spaces, both volumes are thus articulated as to exploit at maximum the geometric configuration of the land, orientation and views the site has, considering the insertion in site and how the building creates a dialogue with the environment.

The first volume, which houses the rooms is located one level below the access on site, providing on the roof the necessary platform for parking. Thus arranged, the volume is in  an  undergroundground position (considering the access level), leaving intact the natural image. The building is maily  finished using site-specific materials, related  to functions, the accommodation is clad in wood while the living and dining zone is covered in stone at the exterior.

Location: Prahova
                   Romania

Type: Tourism - Hotel

Building status: built in 2011

A project by: TECON Architects

                         Architecture

Photo Gallery of Hotel Atra Doftana, Prahova, Romania

 

(Source: architizer.com)

Pull House, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 01230 United States

Volumetrically, this residence in Western Massachusetts begins with an existing ranch-home typology. Formally, this typology is sliced and pulled to create a loft area suspended above the first floor living area. The resulting space underneath this loft volume becomes a sunken, semi-private seating area.

The definition between public and private zones in the house is achieved with two organic surfaces that pull apart to create the living and dining areas, and slowly taper back together to create the more private hallway accessing the bedrooms. The overall house is also constructed using sustainable housing principles, utilizing eco-friendly glazing systems, sustainable or recycled finish materials, and energy-efficient lighting systems.

Location: Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 01230
                   United States

Building status: built in 2009

Site type: suburban

Building area: 2500 sqft

Type: Residential - Single family residence

A project by: Taylor and Miller Architecture and Design

                         Architecture, Interior

Photo Gallery of Pull House, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 01230 United States

 

(Source: architizer.com)

Eleanor Roosevelt College, California, USA

The Eleanor Roosevelt College, an undergraduate campus at University of California San Diego, creates a home for a college which had previously been spread throughout the campus, lacking a cohesive unity. The site is bound on the east by Ridge Walk, one of the University’s primary pedestrian thoroughfares, while Scholars Drive, a primary bus route, cuts the site in two.

The 450,000 square foot college includes residence halls, apartments, dining and meeting facilities, student lounges, academic offices, computer labs and a five-level parking garage for 1,000 cars. Main entry points to the campus are the Ridge Walk, on the northeast corner, and at the Great Hall on the southern edge.

© Timothy Hursley

The west side of the campus is organized around the Green, a large expanse of lawn intended as the campus’ main outdoor congregating area. The Green acts as the heart of the campus, anchored on the north by the Dining Hall and flanked by residence halls and apartments. A pedestrian bridge over Scholars Drive and a series of ramping and stepped walkways extending downhill through the site weave the two sides of the campus together. To preserve the site’s panoramic ocean views, buildings do not exceed four stories and step down the sloping site, and the parking garage is sunken.

The housing, which is all wood frame construction, includes space for 450 students in residence halls and 740 students in apartments, with a variety of unit types available including flats and townhouses. The Residence Halls are made up of 4-story buildings which flank the Green. The apartments, in suites of 4 students, include sizeable kitchens and living rooms; the lower levels with sunken gardens and upper levels with terraces.

Location: La Jolla, California, USA

Structural Engineer: Nabih Youssef Associates

MEP: ARUP

Civil Engineer: Flores Lund Consultants

Landscape: Wallace Roberts & Todd

Lighting: Robert Morrow

Project Area: 450,000 sqf

Photographs: Timothy Hursley

Architects: Safdie Rabines Architects and Moshe Safdie & Associates

Photo Gallery of Eleanor Roosevelt College, California, USA

© Timothy Hursley

© Timothy Hursley

© Timothy Hursley

© Timothy Hursley

© Timothy Hursley

(Source: archdaily.com)

Tram Stop in Alicante, Spain

TRAM STOP Sergio CardellPlaza, Alicante, SPAIN Light Alicante is a 400.000 inhabitants city of the southeast mediterranean spanish coast.  This line connects all the towns of the coast, ending in Denia, a northern city of the province, where ships departure to Ibiza. This stop, is the central stage of a new line of the tram, that links the centre of the city to the residential areas of San Juan beach. The construction of the Tram Stop was the opportunity to bring back a stolen space to the city: to turn a traffic circle into a public space.

Over the platforms, 2 empty boxes (36 m long, 3 m wide, 2,5 m high) create a floating void slightly over the travellers? heads. It matches the size of the train, creating an intermediate scale between buildings and urban elements. The holes reduce the weight as increase the resistance to normal tensions, and equally decrease wind pressures among the surfaces. Light and air pass through, smoothing the shadow and generating a soft breeze in summer months. At night the boxes are transformed into two giant lamps. Benchs are spread over the garden close to the vegetation and the paths, creating a public place overlaying the quiet of the seated people and the movement of the people walking.

Location: Glorieta Sergio Cardell
                   Alicante
                   Spain

Client: FGV

Building status: built in 2006

Type: Transport - Train station

Public - Park

Site size: 3000 m2

Site type: urban

Building area: 216 m2

Budget total: 915000 USD

A project by: Subarquitectura

                         Architecture, Landscape

Photo Gallery of Tram Stop in Alicante, Spain

(Source: architizer.com)

CASA MARTIN House, Valdetorres de Jarama, Spain

In this house we always fled to make “a nice home”. Beauty is something superficial and, in most cases, false. My obsession in this case was to make a total abstraction (which has nothing to do with minimalism), evoking the same mixed emotions we feel when we see the black monolith in “2001: A Sapce Odyssey”, Stonhenge, or the black smoke in “Lost”(tv serie). No proportion, its geometry is strictly demanded by the internal function. The lower floor, linked to the terrain, and the upper floor resting on it.

The terrain sloping slightly downwards, situating the area of the lounge-office-kitchen below the level of the road. Thanks to an elevated fold towards the road, it is possible to create an artificial skyline thus hiding the dwellings which surround the plot. This part is flexible, organic and open. Over it, a pure black steel parallelepiped, which lodges the rooms. This part is rigid, artificial and closed. The resulting effect is a pure enigmatic piece, which stands on a small artificial hill.

Location: Valdetorres de Jarama
                   Spain

Building status: built in 2010

Type: Residential - Single family residence

Site size: 1080 m2

Building area: 300 m2

Budget total: 350000 USD

A project by: ALT arquitectura

                         Architecture, Interior

Photo Gallery of CASA MARTIN House, Valdetorres de Jarama, Spain

(Source: architizer.com)