This is a project of two individual houses grouped. A family from Aix-en-Provence living abroad but very attached to its motherland wanted to build two contemporary houses able to accommodate all or part of this family. Two independent houses responding to versatile uses: partial occupation, partial or complete rent, permanent or seasonal, future extensions.

Designing a stand-out wooden roof

The architectural response consists in proposing a large simple and homogeneous roof able to unify the different and separate components of the program: a « figure capable » at the site scale that houses both dwellings and their future developments. The imaginary evoked is that of a protective shelter, a “common roof” for the whole family (three generations under the same roof). Shelter, unify and protect to free the architecture and its uses, this is the universe of the project.

Volumetric arrangement

The fruitful ambiguity of the project lies in the dialogue between this out-of-scale figure of the roof and the free splitting of the volumes it houses, explicitly referring to a domestic scale. The relationship between the inside and the outside looks here for a singular expression by the fractioning and addition of volumes. Houses are made of diversified spaces, in simple volumetric games (stacking, juxtaposition, shift) able to create situations and varied spaces questioning the limits of inside and outside.

Layout design

The layout and composition come from a careful reading of the site and its valley situation oriented from East to West. Architectural expression is a response to the opening, clearing and light qualities of the site. The roof rises to the West to accompany and enhance the framing on the large landscape. It houses the main house (T 7) on two levels. In the central part it is lowered (H sewer 4.5 m) to break the scale and overall linearity. It houses the functions of reception and parking in outdoor spaces between two, around a dry garden. Finally, in the East, the roof opens again to look for the favorable orientation of the apartment and to mark its independence compared to the main house.

PAN Architecture

The post Wooden double residence Aix-en-Provence was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

This 170 m² hybrid barn house on a narrow piece of land dialogues in harmony and in contrast with the traditional surroundings.

Once upon a time in Audierne, in Britanny, lived a local fisherman nicknamed “Sentinel”. He observed the sea from the hills towering the village harbor. One century later, his descendants bought a piece of land in Audierne, up on a hill and facing the same ocean horizon their ancestor used to gaze at.

The project is located on a narrow and irregular piece of land, at the edge of a block and at the entrance of the village. Considering the peculiarity of this location, a traditional compact house would have had a strong impact on the surrounding landscape. Therefore, the architect chose to split the house into three volumes, each one being parallel to one edge of the plot of land. The main house, a barn house-like wooden structure, is situated below while two lower blocks occupy the upper part of the land.

The three-slope roof and the different levels optimize spaces while minimizing the size of the building, providing a view on the ocean with a minimal impact on the surrounding landscape.

More than being a mere reinterpretation of the local traditional barn house, this project is an answer to a very particular and irregular piece of land, and to a very specific urban tissue with a wide range of architectural typologies. The project is dynamic, and its perspectives are consistently changing. Seen from its South side, the house echoes with the traditional barn houses, while from the North side, it shows very contemporary lines.

The different materials composing the house are echoing with the diversity of the surrounding colors and elements: western red cedar cladding, mixed slate/zinc roofing, white wall coating and black stained wood.

The functional layout is based on bioclimatic design principles and site conditions: the car park at North side creates an acoustic and climatic screen, the main spaces face the ocean towards South, while the bedrooms face the East.

A skylight is located in the middle of the house bringing natural light to most of the space, and steel mesh along the stairs creates a transparency that keeps changing together with the motion of the clouds above.

This very specific steel mesh is used by local fishermen to catch local seashells.

The wood structure – visible from the inside – was digitally prefabricated in order to get complete control over the construction process.

Aurelien Chen

The post Sentinel House was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The final decisions on the best architects 21 award are in. With almost 400 entries, the number of participants was higher than ever before. The diversity and range of the projects submitted was impressive, but at the same time a challenge for this year’s jury.

«It is exciting to see the vibrant way in which architecture is developing. Architects are meeting new challenges with a good deal of creativity and courage and are producing some surprising new solutions as a result. Most are guided by a strong concept that goes beyond formal approaches and does justice to the durability of the architecture and the often changing use over time. That development was recognised with this year’s award-winning projects.»

(Tobias Schwarzer, founder of the best architects award)

The jury consisting of Professor Johannes Modersohn (Berlin), Yves Moreau (Paris) and Patrick Schmid (Zurich) honoured 80 projects with the «best architects 21» award. An additional 11 projects received the distinction «best architects 21 in Gold» for their outstanding quality.

«With almost 400 project entries, it is not easy to set the evaluation criteria. The spectrum of submissions ranged from the largely faithful renovation of a stellar architectural residential building from the 1960s to an investors’ urban office complex and an architectural sculpture that ostensibly has no function. Is it even possible to define criteria that allow for the comparison of such diverse interventions? And whose achievement should win an award? Of course, the best architects award is primarily aimed at architects, but every architect knows that their work alone is not enough to create a good building. The role that the developers and authorities play is just as critical. A building of exceptional quality is therefore also always evidence of the particularly constructive collaboration of all parties concerned.

If we now consider the results of our adjudication process, then it is obvious that all the award-winning projects are characterised by exactly that kind of interaction between all participants. But they not only satisfy the original requirements by means a good compromise. Instead they manage to achieve something at a higher level on the basis of strong ideas. These projects thus make a contribution to our society.»

(Patrick Schmid / Schmid Schärer Architekten, Zurich)

The Gold winners of the best architects 21 award

In the «Residential single-family» category, the gold winners were the architectural firms Aretz Dürr Architekten from Cologne (DE) with their project «House D // 6» as well as Kast Kaeppeli Architekten from Bern (CH) and their project «Jurastrasse 58» and the Lukas Lenherr Architektur practice from Zurich (CH) for their project «Small house».

For their exceptionally creative and innovative residential buildings in the «Residential multi-family» category, the firms Atelier EGR Architectes from Marseille (FR) and their project «Jouques», BS+EMI Architektenpartner from Zurich (CH) and their project «Am Katzenbach IV/V Residential Complex», the Michael Meier und Marius Hug Architekten practice from Zurich (CH) with their project «Allenmoosstrasse Residential Building» and the firm Rapin Saiz Architectes from Vevey (CH) with their «Renovation and Elevation of a Residential Building» project also received a gold award.

A further gold distinction in the «Office and Administrative Buildings» category went to the «Hilti Office Mitte» project by the Giuliani Hönger Architekten practice from Zurich (CH).

In the «Commercial and Industrial Buildings» category, the SLIK Architekten firm from Zurich (CH) won a gold award with the project «Yond».

Additional gold awards in the «Educational Buildings» category went to the ARGE Architekten Hull Inoue Radlinsky + Wolfgang Rossbauer consortium from Zurich (CH) for its «Marzili Primary School» project.

In the «Public Buildings» category, the consortium ARGE Joos & Mathys Architekten / Daniel Nyffeler Architekten from Zurich (CH) scored a gold with its «Rüti ZH Parish Hall» project.

All the award-winning projects can be seen at www.bestarchitects.de.

About the Best Architects Award

The best architects award was created in 2006 to filter out the best and most interesting architectural projects the German-speaking countries have to offer in order to present them to a broad, interested public. In 2015, the award competition was opened up to participants across Europe.

The award is conferred each year on completed architecture projects that are distinguished by outstanding architectural quality. An independent jury of prominent architects awards the «best architects» label and the «best architects in gold» label for exceptional quality.

Due to the constantly increasing number of participants and the exceptionally high standard of submissions, the award has become a significant event in the world of architecture. The award, and the lavish publication that documents all the award-winning projects in depth, offer potential developers guidance and contribute to the dialogue concerning architectural culture. The award also allows award-winning architects and/or architectural firms to stand out in the market place and to position themselves at the forefront of the international architectural scene.

Best Architects 21

The post Best Architects 21 Award Results was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.