c.Luna

Architects: Dieguez Fridman Arqutectos & Asociados
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Project Team: Tristán Dieguez, Axel Fridman, Brenda Levi, Maria Carranza, Odile L’Hardy
Contractor: Brunetta SA
Structural Engineering: Sebastián Berdichevsky
Lighting Consultant: Pablo Pizarro
Landscape: Cora Burgin
Client: Premier SRL
Project year: 2007
Photographs: Dieguez Fridman

In a residential district of Buenos Aires, this housing project seeks to incorporate to its’ apartments several spaces, elements and details from single-family houses.

The eight units are organized in two levels, with the living room as a double-height space that connects them. Both the main bedroom and the living room have wide terraces in front of them, one overlooking the other, closed by glass sunshades that reduce solar gain and transform the façade into an intermediate space between the interior and the exterior: an outdoor space protected from the wind, the rain and the views from the sidewalk.

The units are organized in a way they all have cross ventilation. The transit area, stairs and patio are in the middle of the units, which are divided into two sets of four apartments. All public circulation are outdoors, stressing the character of “little houses” of the apartments. Cars and people enter by the same place: a low platform with wooden floor, which serves as parking at night and as playground during the day.

The interior frosted glass divisions allow the light to pass from one room to the other and generate a reflections and shadows play that’s usually more frequent in commercial shops. These are also in composition with the solar shadings and the exterior and patio glass facades, which all constitute a series of veils that allow different types of light during the day.

Along the XX century, some of the biggest household building projects in the cit have proposed reflections or experiments over different problems, some related to houses and ways of living, and others more related to architecture’s relation with nature, constructive systems or climate. This project aims to go beyond the imposed regulations´ limitations and the need to maximize economic profits that these initiatives have nowadays, trying to step towards this aim for experimentation.

Architects: AFGH
Location: CH-7557 Vnà, GR, Switzerland
Project year: 2006-2007
Construction year: 2006-2007
Client: Eva Presenhuber
Planners: Jon Andrea Könz
Budget: 900.000 CHF (US $866.551)
Constructed Area: 224 sqm
Photographs: Valentin Jeck

This holiday house is located in the middle of the village of Vnà in the Lower Engadine. The particular challenge of the project was to bridge the divide between the old-world charm of the village and the modern flair embodied in a holiday house for an internationally successful art gallery owner. The aim was to develop a formal language which had a certain proximity to traditional Engadine architecture and yet remained immediately recognisable as contemporary without being conservatively romanticised.

In urban planning terms, the building closed a permanent gap in the village structure whilst the dimensions correspond to those of the adjacent houses.

Over time the village was periodically hit by fires, meaning that the original timber structures disappeared and were replaced by the stone houses that give the settlement its indigenous character today. The use of concrete as the main building material pays justice to this stone appearance. Only the inner walls and ceilings of the living and bedrooms are lined in plywood panelling to give the rooms a warmth and comfort and as an approximation of the traditional sheltered feeling of a mountain dwelling. The solidness of the of ground storey is likewise a common regional feature.

The archaic is also reflected in the construction with the use of gas concrete, allowing the walls to be erected homogenously without layering. The resulting massiveness of the walls has a great similarity with traditional means of building and enabled the typical corbels of the window reveals. The windows are arranged according to interior criteria, giving the façade an informal appearance typical of old Engadine houses. The depth of the reveals create an attractive play of shadows and roots the building firmly in the region.

Finally, the traditional and modernist elements of the sculptural volume blend into a unified whole. The interplay between simplicity, rural straightforwardness and contemporary comfort and architectural sophistication lend the house a very specific character, which pays respect to the village without being obsequious.

The Qantas Sydney First Lounge is a pre-flight departure lounge for premium Qantas customers. Located at the Sydney International Terminal, it offers 180 degree views of Sydney city and Botany Bay and welcomes more than 150,000 guests per year. Led by the vision of internationally renowned Australian designer Marc Newson in collaboration with his associate architect Sebastien Segers and Woods Bagot, the flagship Qantas First Lounge in Sydney sets an international benchmark in lounge design with the highest levels of comfort, service and luxury.

Lounge features include:
- a 48-seat open kitchen restaurant with menus by renowned Australian chef Neil Perry of Rockpool;
- lounge areas with comfortable seating and recliner chairs;
- a day-spa offering complimentary treatments;
- a private library with a diverse range of reading material;
- personal work suites, business facilities and conference capabilities; and
- a full concierge service.

Marc Newson’s acclaimed design aesthetic flows throughout the Lounge. He has sourced the finest materials and worked with luxury brands across the globe to create this heaven. The Lounge features leather recliners, sofas and lounge chairs and tables by Cappellini, Tai Ping wool carpets from Hong Kong, marble from Carrara and quartzite from Switzerland, and masterfully designed American oak sculptures.

A muted natural stone colour palate, open plan spaciousness and selection of world’s-best brands evoke a feeling of understated luxury from the moment guests enter.The focus was on harmonious design elements to ensure a sense of cohesiveness to the space, which spreads across 2,000 square metres and encompasses a range of zones from business to entertainment to spa.

The arrival area sets the scene for the customer experience with vertical gardens creating a tranquil transition from the chaotic departure halls to the lounge. International botanist Patrick Blanc designed the striking vertical gardens which line the walls of the entry hallway and Day Spa. A spectacular vertical garden-with 8,400 plants extends across 30 metres of the lounge wall, bringing nature indoors in a dramatic yet sustainable way, cleansing the air and invigorating the senses.

Soaring, specially commissioned American oak sculptures segment the lounge into exclusive zones for dining, relaxation, business, library and entertainment.

Marc Newson custom-designed many of the lounge pieces, including the leather lounge chairs, recliners and sofas made by world-renowned Italian leather manufacturer Poltrona Frau.

The dining area features more pieces custom designed by Cappellini, complemented by signature design items such as cutlery and crockery produced by Alessi and Noritake.

The lounge offers a Payot Paris day-spa - an Australian first-framed by an extension of the vertical garden and featuring natural elements.

The lounge is a flashy ultramodern creation: the sort of interior design you might expect aboard a luxury space cruiser in a futuristic fantasy world. But it also seems that Newson has gone to extraordinary lengths to bring nature and life into the place.Ultimately, what is most striking about Newson’s design, and the facilities within, is that the concept is so clearly targeted towards the desire for ‘human’ experiences.

Designer/architects: Marc Newson, Sebastien Segers, Woods Bagot

project location: sydney international airport, Australia

project date: 2007