c.Luna

Architects: Steven Holl Architects
Location: Paradise Valley, AZ, USA
Architects: Steven Holl (design architect), Martin Cox (project architect), Tim Bade (schematic design), Robert Edmonds, Annette Goderbauer, Hideki Hirahara, Clark Manning (project team)
Project Year: 2002-2005
Structural Engineer: Rudow & Berry
Mechanical Engineer: Roy Otterbein
Civil Engineer: Fleet Fisher Engineering
Electrical Engineer: Associated Engineering
Landscape Architect: Steve Martino & Associates
Constructed Area: 308 sqm
Photographs: Bill Timmerman

Sited in Paradise Valley with a direct vista to Camelback Mountain, this house is to be a part of, and vessel for, a large contemporary art collection. Great 20th-century works by Bruce Nauman, Robert Ryman, Jeff Koons and Jannis Kounellis are part of the collection, which includes important video artworks.

Constructed of tilt-up concrete, the flat and rotated nature of the walls merges with the simple orthogonal requirements for displaying art. Shape extensions and light and air chimneys connected to cooling pools articulate the planar geometry. From a courtyard experienced at the entry of sequence, a ramp leads to a rooftop sculpture garden-a place of silence and reflection.

Architects: JM Architecture - Jacopo Mascheroni
Location: Dolomite Mountains, Italy
Construction year: 2005-2006
Collaborator: Pietro Borzini
Contractor: Hobag A.G., Campo Tures (BZ)
Structure Engineering: Planungsbüro Dr.Ing. Aichner, Brunico (BZ)
Mechanical Engineering: Thermostudio Bruneck, Brunico (BZ)
Construction Site Supervisors: Oskar Gartner (Hobag A.G.), Rudi Viehweider (Metris GmbH)
Landscape: Nippon Bonsai, Carate Brianza (MI)
Curtain Wall: Coges, Padova
Photographs: Hermann Gasser, Jacopo Mascheroni

The idea of remodelling this house in the Dolomite mountains at the border between Italy and Austria started because of an uncomfortable living situation. The existing building presented a very large and high entry hall with the rooms arranged around it, and it was always necessary to walk through it to move around the house. On the ground floor, the kitchen, dining room, living room and the stube were not proportioned to the size of the house and they couldn’t get enough light.

For this reason the entire ground floor has been demolished, and a new interior clear glass envelope with a gyp wall inserted is now the only separation among the different spaces. Few new volumes have been added around the house to extend the entry hall and the oversized family room, which include dining, relax and study areas.

To allow the maximum amount of light into the rooms, the façades have been replaced by a custom designed structural silicon curtain wall, with base and head mullions flush with the floor and ceiling, and large pop-out sliding doors to create interaction between indoor and outdoor. Because of the very low temperatures of the winter, the heating solution is the combination of radiant floor heating, perimeter floor radiators along the curtain wall, a gas see-through-the-outside fireplace and a wood one.

The house is controlled by a fully automated iBus system, and a particular attention has been given to the audio video equipment, which also includes invisible speakers plastered into walls or ceilings of different areas. Almost everything has been custom designed, from the entire kitchen to the tables, desks, gas and wood fireplaces. Since maple wood isn’t stable with radiant floor heating, the floor planks were custom built with 2.5mm Canadian maple top and back layers on a particle board. The 20cm width of the floor planks modulate the position of all the elements, from the walls to the millwork.

The garden is enclosed by a 2.5m tall wood wall with horizontal slats to emphasize the perspective and cast shadows of sunlight from above and of spotlights from below.

A wood deck made of 14cm wide Ipe wood planks surrounds the house, runs up a sunbathing platform with a Jacuzzi inserted, and covers two long desks.

The sun shading is an horizontal system that runs on tracks inserted in steel beams, as if the interior ground floor ceiling would be extended out. A steel framed wood canopy on one side allows to sit outdoor in a rainy day.

Yesterday, I was visiting the Skyscraper Museum in New York, and I saw an incredible aerial photo that shows the evolution of downtown Manhattan during the last century, from the water reclamation to the black towers to the new skyline without the twin towers. Undoubtedly, this city changes its shape very often.

And as of now, new residential buildings are bringing new forms to this skyline. First, we have OMA on the 23rd street with its structural facade and cantilevered volume, and now the 56 Leonard Street building by Herzog & de Meuron, which entered the construction phase.

This 57-story residential in the Tribeca area will house 145 residences, each one with its own unique floor plan and private outdoor space. This typology makes the building look like a stack of houses, away from the traditional skyscraper form. I wonder how the concrete structure works on this building, which was done by consultant firm WSP Cantor Seinuk (who also worked on the Freedom Tower).

With this height, it will surely impact the city skyline as you can see on the panoramic above.

The building features several interior design details done by Herzog & de Meuron, and also a sculpture comissioned to artist Anish Kapoor.

All photos  Copyright Herzog & de Meuron, Basel, 2008

Location
56 Leonard Street, between Church Street and West Broadway, in the Tribeca Historic District of Manhattan, New York City (map).

Schedule
Site Preparation:  Spring/Summer 2008
Construction Commences:  Fall 2008
Projected Occupancy:  Fall 2010

Developer/Sponsor
Alexico Group LLC, New York, NY
Principals:  Izak Senbahar, Simon Elias
Client Representative:  Eric Anderson

Design Architect
Herzog & de Meuron, Basel, Switzerland
Partners: Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Ascan Mergenthaler
Project Architects: Vladimir Pajkic (Associate), Philip Schmerbeck , Mehmet Noyan
Project Team: Zachary Vourlas, Jason Whiteley, Daniela     Zimmer,    Mark Chan, Simon Filler, Sara Jacinto, Jin Tack Lim, Mark Loughnan (Associate), Jaroslav Mach, Donald Mak, Hugo Moura, Jeremy Purcell,     James Richards, Heeri Song, Charles Stone (Associate)

Executive Architect
Costas Kondylis and Partners, New York, NY

Construction Management
Hunter Roberts, New York, NY
Site Area: 12,500 square feet

Building Footprint: 12,500 square feet

Building Dimensions
Width:  125 feet
Depth:  100 feet
Height:  830 feet

Gross Floor Area (GF): 425,000 square feet. plus technical, parking and structure

Floors: 57 above (+1 below)

Exterior Materials
Structure:  concrete
Facade:  glass, stainless steel, aluminium, concrete

Interior Materials:
Lobby:  granite floors, absolute granite tile walls, concrete ceilings
Elevators: terrazzo floor, stainless steel mosaic tile walls, polished stainless steel frame