Architects in Residence

News

bjorn — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:31:39 +0000

2008-AiR has been long listed for Building Design YAYA 2008. Work will be exhibited at NLA 26 Store Street, WC1E 7BT from 9th Octorber to 5th November

2008-AiR was invited to take part in Open House Green Sky Studios where we gave a talk on Degrees of Sustainability alongside EcoFrame Systems, a Kent based timber manufacturer who we are working alongside on a Passive House.

2008-HEDY’S WAY has been shortlisted for AJ 2008 selection of Small Projects.

2008-AIR have been included in the Kielder Partnership’s framework agreement to be considered for future projects.

2008-AIR has won their planning appeal for a sustainable prefabricated timber frame family house in Chelsfield, Kent. This will commence on site summer 2008.

2007 - AIR have been selected, along with 46 other architectural Practices, for the Panel of Architects to work on the Athletes Village for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. To find out more please see the announcement in Building Design Magazine (Friday August 10th).a

Slipped House

bjorn — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:26:37 +0000

A manufacturer of timber framed houses has commissioned AiR to develop an affordable Zero Carbon Concept House for individual one off houses. Still at concept stage, AiR is looking at evolving a strong form to the building that allows the footprint to be enlarged or shrunk to suit an individual client whilst retaining the essential aesthetic and spatial composition of the house. Flexibility is the essence of the project. The ‘Z’ shaped plan, derived from a slipped wedge, allows for gardens to be created front and back and dual aspect to all rooms giving flexibility in the placement of windows and so flexibility of the orientation of the house. The house will be flexible and adaptable both at design stage and once built in order to address the needs of family life for the future, both from changing working and living trends and also suitable for lifetime use remaining accessible as mobility decreases. There is complete flexibility in the layout of the rooms to suit a clients needs: living space can be split up and down with a linking mezzanine or reverted between the two sides. A mezzanine could be added to the double height space to gain an extra room or the two wings can be extended to add extra rooms. Presently the designs are looking to suit a suburban or rural location working with a form that evolves the vernacular motif of a large pitched roof.

a. Lower Brook Street

bjorn — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:06:52 +0000

AiR was commissioned to make a feasibility study for a brownfield site in Winchester. The land lying to the North of the site sits along the main incoming road to Winchester and so needs to have a strong identity. AiR choose to make a dynamic, tessellated facade emphasised by the use of only one material to the elevation, white glazed bricks. The bricks would shimmer and the peripheral vision of a driver catching the tessellations would imply speed and excitement of arrival to the town. The tessellated terraced housing sets a rhythm to the street with the set backs defining entrance into and separation from each 3-storey, 4-bed house. These will be sold on the open market. The six 3-bed Mews Houses will be affordable homes. The dynamic form is derived from the need to maximize both southern light and privacy with the surrounding houses.

b. Alma Grove

bjorn — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:21:41 +0000

AiR looked at a dense brownfield site to maximise housing to achieve Code 3-4. The scheme consists of 5no. two storey domestic dwellings with roof terraces. The site lies within Flood Zone 3 on the EA flood maps and so prohibiting bedrooms on the ground floor, leading to a more traditional room arrangement of downstairs living spaces. However being such a tight site, there was not the space for a traditional garden so these have been raised to roof level, where an English grass lawn will be sown. A front porch acts as a heat buffer and a place to store bikes. Through colour and numbering it forms a new identity for the end of terrace. Flexibility has been designed in by minimising internal walls on the ground floor and with a second bedroom that can become a home office if preferred. Concerned by the cost to the environment by the manufactue of individual components, we are looking at the viability of shared rainwater harvesting and renewable heating systems.

d. River Douglas Crossing

bjorn — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:00:30 +0000

Competition entry for a new footbridge to link a new cycle path and bridleway. The disused railway track forms a distinct line cutting through the surrounding landscape. The bridge acts as a simple but clear connection, linking the break in this line. The original bridge had a swinging central section. The new bridge alludes to this by articulating the middle of the river. Made in two parts with a shelter formed at the mid-point, passer-bys are enticed to stop and inhabit the bridge; watch passing boats, eat a sandwich and gaze at the surrounding birdlife. Historically used as a train line, speed is integral to the use of the new bridge. Being used by pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, people will have a changing experience of the views of the surrounding landscaped, dependent on the speed they travel at and accentuated by varying permeability in the balustrade. The experience of crossing the bridge is as important as the view of it as an object within the landscape.

l. Modular Steel Housing

bjorn — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:08:13 +0000

Air and Built have played with applying steel to housing projects by designing with modular containers. These are reliant on a steel skin over a steel frame, which has felt inefficient at the scale of a single house. This has led us to formulate the idea of making a composite structural skin, which would gain its strength from being a continuous surface. Initially looking at sheet pile walls we wanted to form a flat 25m thick structure. All openings would be formed from laser cutting 3 sides and folding on the fourth to provide both lateral strength and solar shading , cills, lintols etc. This in turn led to thinking of the envelope as a rain catcher collecting water from both horizontal and vertical surfaces along the ground plane, no longer at the eaves. The steel sheet could be laser cut into forming a 5mm groove to act as a route for controlled tracking of water beads to avoid discolouration under windows and doors and make for a less industrial appearance to the building by applying pattern to the surface, more appropriate to the personal nature of housing.

However we feel that the cost of this would be more appropriate to a bespoke house. For Living Steel 2008 we want to research structurally insulated panels using steel. Insulated steel panels exist but are only used as cladding. We were concerned about cold bridging through intermediate floors and this led us to design single storey housing. This feels appropriate to the site reducing issues of wind uplift and retaining the impressive tree line as the horizon line.

The research will require understanding the extent of the spans possible, the thickness of the steel, that is required internally & externally, the extent of the size of openings possible to cut from a continuous skin, the application of steel to a climate with extreme temperature differences and the application of steel materials to the domestic market allowing for a poetic interpretation of the product.

Bjorn’s Playlist

bjorn — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:20:25 +0000

SOME FAVORITE TUNES AT THE MOMENT

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Radka Toneff - Odin

Olhos Coloridos - Sandra Sà - Som Livre

I Rio De Janeiro - Cornelis Wreeswijk - Metronome

You Know? - Asayake Production feat. Marleys - High Contrast

Bark Peat - Kira Neris - Refine

Quer Queira Quer Nao Queira -In Your Face Elegance 12″ - Brazil Beat

Many Moods of… - La Guepe vol 4 - Pulp Flavor

A Night In Barcelona - Kjellerockjazzbandet (NRK Sessions) - Plastic Strip/NRK

Come On - Jazz Juice/Messin around sampler - Freestyle

A Night In Tunisia - Toshio Maatsuura Group/ Blue Note Street 12″ nr2 - Blue Note

Son Montuno - Una Mas Trio - Agogo

Get Your Point Over - Mr. Day - Favorite

She Who Dares - Colman Brothers - WahWah 45

Come Back To ME - Cheyenne’s Comin’ - Shady Brook

The Beat Goes On - The Buddy Rich Big Band - Pacific Jazz

Soul Sauce III - Cal Tjader - Fantasy

Mysterious Maiden - Chico Hamilton - Joyous Shout!

Saturn (Alister Johnson Remix) - Lost (Remixes) - Public Transit

Junior Is Back (Sunga T Experience Remix) - Idea 6 Remix - Commodo Depot Japan

Get Yong’un - Akwaaba - Discfunction

Let Me Be Your Fantasy - Love Symphony Orchestra - Talpro

Straight Ahead - Pleasure - Fantasy

777.9311 - The TIme - WB

Cosmic Lust - Mass Production - Cotillion

Mr. Funky Samba - Banda Black Rio - Blue Note

The Message - Blue Mitchell - Mainstream

c. St Leger Homes, Doncaster

bjorn — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:19:23 +0000

Invited competition for designing an innovative solution for the extension and adaptation of 3000 one bedroom bungalows across the Doncaster Area for St Leger Homes. AiR took a holistic approach to the brief, taking into consideration the wider analysis of the townscape of on-going Pathfinder and Decent Homes programmes with the aim of using any extension as a way of bringing a cohesive neighbourhood identity to the location, increasing variety to the streetscape to break-up the existing blandness and articulating individual properties within the streetscape.

Working with the existing problematic Radburn Layout in which vehicular and pedestrian access are separated from one another, AiR’s proposal looked to increase the legibility of the front of the house from the back by designing the front as a cohesive formal streetscape which has a defined defensible space from the public realm without enclosing a private zone, whilst the back elevations allowed for more individual expression and informality.

c. Cleopatras Kiosk, Victoria Embankment, London

bjorn — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:54:12 +0000

Project Description

Competition for a kiosk, situated under the Embankment rail & footbridge along the Victoria Embankment, to sell London Souvenirs to tourists. The structure was conceived as an unfolded plane to hang the wares from, much like pop-out books, origami and other ideas used to make souvenirs of buildings.

j. Alleyn Road, Dulwich, London

bjorn — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:05:11 +0000

Client: Private
Completion Date: March 2008
Contract sum: £350,000

Project Description

Refurbishment and extension of a large family house, currently on site. The ambition is to bring to a standard 1980’s house design some of the attention to detail and craftmanship seen in surrounding properties from the Arts & Crafts Period.