http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10489

http://shremmuseum.ucdavis.edu/museum-design/index.html

The renovation of the façade bears specific constraints such as the limited additional load capacity of the existing structure, the technical complexity of improving the condition of the façade, and the importance of minimal disturbance to the hospital’s operation. Taking these as opportunities rather than obstacles, and leveraging the latest construction technologies, we proposed a phased, composite solution – an innovative multi-layered system of light and air.

Rather than a thick layer of “make up” we proposed a sustaining translucent layer, a“cocoon” nurturing a transformation; a new form of abstraction conversing with the old one, recovering its legacy without being over-burdened by it. Behind this layer, the decaying old façade is allowed to gradually and gracefully complete its cycle without posing a public hazard or being exposed to further stress while on the same time surgically performed renovations can take place. This layer consists of lightweight cylindrical ETFE pillows held by a steel structure and performs both as a weather barrier for the existing facade of the hospital and also provides a new image for the hospital.

We propose a text change amendment that offers a path toward a CPC Authorization for relief from height and setback regulations for projects that achieve Micro-unit density, conform to Quality Housing regulations, and don’t adversely impact neighboring properties, making tiNY Housing adaptable for a variety of site typologies.

tiNY Housing at 335 East 27th Street delivers identical 236 SF homes in a single-loaded corridor tower. The approach affords a unique building identity and an opportunity to make small homes desirable.

tiNY Housing proposes limiting the developer return and redirecting free market demand to subsidize increasingly affordable homes. Ground floor bike parking, community room, convenience kiosk, and full time super with cellar level storage lockers, laundry and short term office space support 96 homes on floors 2-17 with accessible green roof above.

Ample southern exposure and cross ventilated homes in a highly sealed and insulated tower establishes a building that will be LEED Platinum, achieve over 90 Green Community Points and exceed Passive House Standards when measured per occupant.

Alloy, CAMBA, and SO — IL share a proven track record of executing quality, meaningful development in complex contexts.

96 homes

7% limited developer return

20% @50% AMI

30% @maximum 100% AMI

94 green communites points

$0 hpd subsidy

In this fleeting environment, architecture can insert itself at two distinct levels. Advancements in technology triggered the evaporation of the office as a static typology. Software and tools allow for flexible hierarchies and connections, while assuring work gets done on time. If the virtual architecture keeps this fluid world in check – if it has become the space of reason, of planning, of system – its physical counterpart can relax. Liberated from having to follow function, architectural form should counter-balance this new order by offering an adventurous and tactile real – a enticing space that inspires, offers non-linear insights and heightened awareness of or direct surroundings. The office space can become a sensorial oasis in a saturated, digitized environment. Especially work in the creative industry (and wouldn’t Richard Florida claim we are all creatives?), in the absence of traditional workplaces, it is important to have a place that responds to and reflects the nature of the work we do.

The same technologies that are relaxing our physical structures are sharpening our social orders to hyper precision. Hierarchies are getting more complex and dynamic, the relation between us and our coworkers, colleagues, consultants, friends and frenemies, becomes unimaginable intricate–as we friend, like, and retweet. Where in past office planning strategies as the corridor vs. closed office, the open plan and the cubicle were able to structure there more rudimentary hierarchies, the current complexity of our interconnectedness requires a more precise framing. Careful consideration of positions, dimensions and layered material use can translate these unstable relationships and fluid organizations in a lucid environment. Through study of the workings of an organization and an anticipation of how they will work in the future, architecture can offer a multitude of spatial relationships and environments in which the organization can develop, offering flexibility without endlessly moving furniture around; an anticipatory environment that highlight the physical connections between people and between them and their environment.

Z33 takes pride in its non-monumental brick building from 1958. Rather than being an icon for the city, the museum treats its structure as a canvas for curators and artists, allowing them to cut through walls, paint over floors, and add on to its exterior. Rather than a polished plinth for the arts, the building is an active participant in the process of exhibition-making.

Instead of grafting a singular icon onto the idiosyncratic existing building, this proposal inherits its infrastructural qualities by offering a collection of flexible halls, laid out on an extension of the existing building grid.

A logic of corner openings applied to both old and new rooms, creates a systematic way of moving through the joined buildings. Both buildings differ in material character, but are united in a consistent concept of movement. The corner openings allow for surprising views through the building to the garden behind, and offer and endless combination of exhibition layouts, easily accommodating multiple small shows or fewer large ones.

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The University of California at Davis is tapping three innovative architect-contractor teams to compete in the creation of a design for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. SO – IL has partnered with Whiting Turner and BCJ and has been selected as one of three finalists. press release