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Studio Gang nestles Kresge College expansion in Pacific forest
CategoriesArchitecture

Studio Gang nestles Kresge College expansion in Pacific forest

By Zarkon Group,

Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang has expanded a California college through the addition of mass-timber structures that were informed by how fungi grow in the wild.

Kresge College is a part of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Most of its campus was originally designed by American architects Charles Moore and William Turnbull in the early 1970s.

White topped roofs of buildings in California forestWhite topped roofs of buildings in California forest
Studio Gang has created an expansion of Kresge College in California

Studio Gang was tasked with expanding the footprint of the project along the northwest extent of its property, nestled in a lush Pacific forest.

Four buildings were designed to complement the existing structures – California modern-style buildings with stucco walls and splashes of colour – and the woodland environment. All of the buildings feature concrete podiums, which support load-bearing timber walls.

Glass window back lit with trees in the forestGlass window back lit with trees in the forest
The expansion includes four structures with mass-timber elements

“Our goal was to add new qualities to the sense of place offered by Moore and Turnbull’s design, rather than to replicate the architecture,” said studio founding principal Jeanne Gang.

“We wanted our expansion to retain the qualities of surprise and free-spiritedness that have defined Kresge College, while at the same time opening it up to students of all abilities, the incredible natural ecology of its site, and the larger university community beyond.”

The expansion’s centrepiece is an academic centre with a series of protrusions that jut out asymmetrically from a core. Three simple, bow-shaped structures were placed to its southeast to house students.

Timber facing Timber facing
The residential buildings were clad in timber

The Kresge College Academic Center sits on an uneven site next to a steep ravine. To navigate this site, the studio used methods it said were inspired by the growth patterns of polypore fungi, by simultaneously “stepping down the slope and flaring out”.

The centre’s flared form was clad in a metal curtain wall, rendered in a light colour to reflect the mid-century buildings, while the faces of each protrusion feature floor-to-ceiling glass trimmed with timber.

Wooden buildings among the treesWooden buildings among the trees
The residential buildings have a bow-form to preserve trees

At the centre is a large lecture hall, surrounded by a triple-space atrium with smooth concrete hallways and elevated walkways that connect to the four protruding spaces.

These hold classrooms and utilise the slope with three storeys that line up with the two-storey central structure.

The largest of these protrusions features a smaller lecture hall on the top level, with a roof that slopes up and out in a sizeable lip.

Three storey atriumThree storey atrium
The academic centre has a three-storey atrium

The smaller residential buildings are all bow-shaped, a move the studio said was implemented to preserve as much of the redwood tree groves on the site as possible.

These buildings are five storeys tall and have a central core set back from the wood-clad exterior, with large window boxes on each end that create sheltered patios on the second storey.

The recesses between the window and the facade were painted bright yellow, which resonates with the colours used in the Moore and Turnbull designs.

Like the academic centre, these structures have concrete podiums with load-bearing timber walls. However, cross-laminated ceilings were included and in many places, these elements were left exposed.

The bottom floors of these residential structures were left open for social spaces and amenities, while the top floors hold habitations: about 100 students can live in each structure.

Mass timber student centerMass timber student center
Mass-timber elements were left exposed

Studio Gang also made interventions in the landscape, restoring and expanding the paths already connecting the campus and a long pedestrian bridge that crosses the ravine next to the academic centre. It also added a square at the building’s primary entry.

Studio Gang has completed a number of high-profile projects this year, including museum expansions in Arkansas and New York City. Kresge College is part of the studio’s move towards using more mass timber, and it has been selected to complete a theatre using this material in the Hudson Valley.

The photography is by Jason O’Rear.

Project credits: 

Design architect and architect of record: Studio Gang
Contractor: Swinterton
Expansion plan associate architect: TEF Design
Interior designer: Studio Gang
Structural engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Structural engineer: MME Civil + Structural Engineering
Landscape architect: Joni L Janecki and Associates Landscape Architects
Landscape architect: Office of Cheryl Barton
Civil engineer: Sherwood Design Engineers
MEPFP: Introba
Sustainability consultant: Atelier Ten
Lighting consultant: Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design
Acoustic consultant: Salter
Envelope consultant: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Wayfinding and graphics: Cheng+Snyder
Code consultant: Holmes Fire
Quantity surveyor: Directional Logic
Accessibility consultant: Jensen Hughes
Elevator consultant: Elevator Consulting Associates
Technology consultant: TEECOM
Theater consultant (for Kresge College Academic Center): The Shalleck Collaborative
Food service consultant (for residential buildings): Ricca Design Studios

Reference

Balzar Arquitectos nestles La Casa de los Olivos into Valencian olive grove
CategoriesArchitecture

Balzar Arquitectos nestles La Casa de los Olivos into Valencian olive grove

By Zarkon Group,

Spanish studio Balzar Arquitectos has added a copper-toned family house named La Casa de los Olivos to an olive grove in Valencia, Spain.

Aiming to blend into its site in the town of Quesa, the long and low-lying home has been finished with a red-hued lime mortar that mimics the surrounding soil.

Balzar Arquitectos also preserved as much of the existing planting as possible by designing the house with a linear form that fits within a grid of trees.

Swimming pool outside of La Casa de los Olivos in Valencia by Balzar Arquitectos
Balzar Arquitectos has added a copper-toned house to an olive grove

“The landscape was already wonderful as it was, so when it came to the intervention, we wanted to respect this place, trying to keep as many olive trees as possible,” said studio co-founder Laura Moreno Albuixech.

“We wanted to create a dialogue between the natural and the artificial, between the olive trees and the house,” Moreno Albuizech told Dezeen.

Built with a steel frame, the copper-toned home is nestled into the gaps of the eight-by-eight-metre grid of trees. Inside, rooms are arranged across a single floor.

Person standing on opening of red-toned house in Spain
La Casa de los Olivos is designed to blend in with its surroundings

“The olive trees are arranged in a perfect grid of eight by eight metres and this was a key factor in the geometry of the house,” said Moreno Albuixech.

“Both the house and the swimming pool take advantage of the free spaces left in the grid of olive trees and insert themselves between them.”

Patio outside La Casa de los Olivos in Valencia
Its red exterior mimics the colour of soil nearby

Running down the centre of a gravelled courtyard is a long swimming pool. It extends towards the main building, curving to meet a porch that is covered by an overhang perforated with a circular skylight.

A large glass door separates this porch from the open living space, which extends into a dining area and kitchen with green-toned cupboards and brass surfaces.

“The muted green colour of the leaves of the olive trees was used for the woodwork and the gold of the sun at sunset was reinterpreted in the kitchen with natural brass,” said Moreno Albuixech.

Throughout the home, red walls and accents mimic the soil-informed colour of the exterior, including terracotta-toned floors and Iranian travertine marble surfaces that feature in the bathrooms and interior pool.

Interior of Spanish house by Balzar Arquitectos
The reddish tones continue inside the home

“The choice of materials and colours was clear from the beginning,” said Moreno Albuixech. “Both the clients and we were looking for colours that respected the chromatic range that the plot already had when we visited it for the first time.”

Two ensuite bedrooms branch off from the main living space and open onto private patios that frame views of the surrounding olive trees.

Bedroom of La Casa de los Olivos in Valencia
Green elements mirror the leaves of the olive trees

“The home integrates with the rural environment through patios that embrace the existing olive trees and a longitudinal platform that reinforces the linear perspective towards the horizon,” said the studio.

“Through the patios, the olive trees and the wide terrain become part of the dwelling and lives of the people.”

Other Spanish homes recently featured on Dezeen include a narrow home designed for indoor and outdoor living and a house spread across six pavilions arranged around a courtyard.

The photography is by David Zarzoso.

Reference

ecological wooden cabin nestles in rural finland’s lakeside setting
CategoriesArchitecture

ecological wooden cabin nestles in rural finland’s lakeside setting

By Zarkon Group,

Villa K by Saukkonen+Partners stands on a remote Finnish island

Architectural firm Saukkonen + Partners designs an escape retreat located on a remote island in lakeside Finland, surrounded by nature. Dedicated to a couple’s occasional stay in the rural site, the hideaway cabin is a thought-through entity that adapts to the changing seasons and landscapes. The main cottage and a separate sauna building are carefully positioned on the island. The two separated volumes are connected by their overlapping roof structures. A bridge leading to the island is also a part of the designed whole. The beautiful views of the lake are generally westwards where the sun sets in the evening. The building’s main living spaces and generated views are developed following the sun’s patterns.

ecological wooden cabin nestles in rural finland's lakeside setting
all images by Timo Pyykönen

material selection and color scheme reflect the natural setting

The design is based on respect for the surrounding nature, aiming to place the buildings on the terrain as naturally as possible, without overpowering the environment. Thereby, the villa aims to become one with the lake scenery. The design team opts for the effective maximizing of all available building permits to allow for a practical and desired program for leisure purposes. The intention is to create a design that would be as maintenance-free as possible while bringing the surrounding nature into the atmosphere of the spaces. From a technical point of view, the buildings are formed to be ecological and low-energy-consuming. The material selection and color scheme of the building merge the architecture with its natural environment. The villa is made to be as long-lasting and durable as possible.

ecological wooden cabin nestles in rural finland's lakeside setting
the hideaway cabin is a thought-through entity that adapts to its landscape

ecological wooden cabin nestles in rural finland's lakeside setting
the main cottage and a separate sauna building are carefully positioned on the island

ecological wooden cabin nestles in rural finland's lakeside setting
the villa aims to become one with the lake scenery

ecological wooden cabin nestles in rural finland's lakeside setting
the buildings are placed on the terrain as naturally as possible, without overpowering the environment

Reference