Magazine 2021 | The Plan

The Plan 132 [09-2021]

Mutations, metabolisms, or metamorphoses – how are cities transforming at the crossroads of the new century? This question, made more topical than ever by the pandemic, is the subject of the editorial that opens THE PLAN 132. The piece was written by Carmen Andriani, an architect and professor specializing in urban regeneration at the University of Genoa. Next comes Michael Webb’s Highlights column, in which he looks at an initiative of the city of Los Angeles that, to solve the problem of the shortage of affordable housing, asked architects to present designs for ADUs, Accessory Dwelling Units. Numerous ideas were submitted, including Pebble House by studio SO–IL. Also in the field of social housing, but this time in Italy, MAB Architettura and Beretta Associati worked on the Moneta Milano project. The two studios won the Progetto 10.000 contest for this 310-apartment coliving development, conceived with the idea of community at its heart. Returning to the United States, the iconic Tribeca neighborhood in Lower Manhattan is the setting for the renovation of an apartment in the Jenga Tower. Studio Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has redesigned the interiors of the residence, reflecting the dynamic forces expressed by the concrete and glass tower itself, the work of Herzog & de Meuron. The home-studio of architects Takaaki and Yuko Fuji in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, on the other hand, features a steel structure and timber interiors. Hallmarks of the building are its bay windows, which, stacked together, define the volume and the interior spaces. Moving from the built to the natural environment, an integration between architecture and nature forms the basis of McLeod Bovell Modern Houses’ concept for BlackCliff House in West Vancouver. Perched on a clifftop, the home is situated between the coastal mountains and the Pacific Ocean, offering views over the latter through its large windows. The cover of THE PLAN 132 is dedicated to Frank O. Ghery’s The Tower, a building that, standing 184 feet (56 m), towers over the skyline of Arles, France. Built using over ten thousand stainless steel blocks and fifty glass boxes, the tower houses exhibition spaces, offices, a library, and a cafeteria. By contrast, Kéré Architecture’s design of the Burkina Institute of Technology in Koudougou has a village-like composition of several low buildings that feature local building materials and techniques, all arranged within an open enclosure. Marking the twentieth anniversary of the death of Catalan architect Enric Miralles, the exhibition MIRALLES. Perpetuum Mobile is entirely dedicated to wood and design. The event is curated by Benedetta Tagliabue and Joan Roig i Duran, and is taking place at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona. The exhibition brings together over twenty furniture pieces, all of them wood, that Miralles designed for his last home, conceived as a space in constant motion.

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The Plan 131 [06-2021]

Manuelle Gautrand and her studio were invited to take part in the 2022 Saint-Étienne International Design Biennial, which this year is themed “Bifurcations.” In our editorial, the architect tells us about the seven projects she’ll be exhibiting in the Church of Saint Pierre in Firminy, discussing for each the issues of urban evolution, environmental challenges, and public space. In Viaggio in Italia, Valerio Paolo Mosco showcases the Piuarch studio, examining its origins and projects. The four founding architects all echo the style of Vittorio Gregotti, with whom they trained in the ’90s. However, as often occurs in eclectic Italian architecture, this continuity seems to be fueled more by departures from the style they inherited than by blindly following it: eclecticism in continuity.  In contrast with the high-density urbanization projects typical of China’s cities, the Yang Liping Center for Performing Arts creates a relationship with its setting. The project by Studio Zhu-Pei seeks to make material connections with the surrounding natural environment so as to preserve and promote the spirit and cultural identity of the region. The 2021 masterplan for the revitalization of the Los Angeles River aims to restore the area by creating healthy, interconnected ecosystems. To achieve all this, the mayor of Los Angeles turned to a group of remarkable professionals: Gehry Partners, Geosyntec Consultants, and OLIN.  The SO–IL studio has put its name to a project in Mexico for the development of vertical dwellings designed to counteract the unbridled expansion of its city. Las Americas Social Housing aims to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of the residents of León by pegging back uncontrolled urban sprawl. Designed by Thom Mayne, director of Morphosis, Hanking Center Tower is a project that challenges both the laws of physics and the record books. At 1,180 feet (360 m) high, it not only ranks as China’s tallest steel tower but has also become an icon for Shenzhen’s thriving Nanshan district.  Prototipo TELCA, the work of MC A Mario Cucinella Architects, is a groundbreaking project. On the one hand, the building demonstrates just how far 3D printing technology for the construction industry has come. On the other, it’s a testament to the viability of creating circular economies in architecture. The Pantheon House, designed by Labics, uses Japanese-style frames to achieve a blend of linear geometric lightness and a sense of materiality and Romanesque chiaroscuro.  Labarca Marttinex designed Casa Trancura so that the owners could enjoy the natural beauty of its setting, from the Trancura River to the Villarrica Nature Reserve, in Pucón, Chile.

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The Plan 130 [05-2021]

This issue opens with an Editorial Critique by Jeanne Gang about the need to reassess brutalist architecture, partly because it’s frequently the environmentally responsible thing to do. In Highlights, Michael Webb explores the close relationship between architecture and community through the lens of the 1500 Granville project in Los Angeles by LOHA (Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects). NADAAA collaborated with Bidard & Raissi to design a residence that features several interrelating faces within a whole that combines visions of inviting familiarity with real and abstract monumentality. Innovation in healthcare is the cornerstone of John McAslan + Partners’ design of the Health Innovation Hub at Lancaster University. Takeshi Hirobe Architects is behind the Phase Dance residence in Shizuoka, Japan. This project strikes a novel balance between the natural and artificial, the result is a design that pays homage to the flows of nature. When working on Villa Ca’ Gioia, Francesco Pascali Architetto examined both history and the local area. Created by dell’agnolo kelderer architekturbüro, the Cantina Bolzano winery could be summed up as a cube in the middle of an oval-shaped plaza. AREA (Architecture Research Athens) has reinvented the vacation home with a design intended to offer leisure time perfection. ML Architettura designed the new headquarters of Golden Goose, a kind of architectural metamorphosis, the project has cleverly capitalized on the structural possibilities of two existing warehouses, transforming them into a work of contemporary architecture.

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The Plan 129 [04-2021]

Is it still possible for architecture and nature to coexist? This is the question posed by Tony Joseph from STAPATI in the #THEPLAN129 editorial. In Viaggio in Italia, Valerio Paolo Mosco looks at the autonomous architecture of Labics, opening a discussion with international relevance. But sustainability and nature are the focus of this issue. We look at the Biodome, a living museum redesigned by Canadian studio KANVA with NEUF architect(e)s, as well as the Xia Dynasty Museum in Erlitou, the work of TJAD and Rurban Studio. Also featured are a project by Piraccini+Potente Architettura that innovatively reinterprets the traditions of Italy’s Cesena area. Malfona Petrini Architetti reworks modern compositional traditions in its “house in the woods,” while the project by Robert Hutchison Architecture and JSa sets out to find a complete symbiosis between the built and natural environments. Our focus also extends to art, with Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture’s design for Pace Gallery, an example of living, monumental art gallery design that rewrites the Manhattan lexicon. We also look at an extraordinary project by Steven Holl Architects’ that balances light and lightness: Winter Visual Arts Building, Franklin & Marshall College.

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The Plan 128 [03-2021]

Issue 128 of The Plan opens with an analysis by Lorcan O’Herlihy of the relationship between the domestic and social spaces. Barreca & La Varra then offers a thoughtful design lesson on ideal performance levels in the art of construction. But the main focus of this month’s issue is educational architecture. Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia outlines what the architectural vision will be for the Italian school of tomorrow. With its project in Shanghai, OPEN Architecture demonstrates how it’s possible to deconstruct a school into a village-like campus. In its design for Harvard University’s Science and Engineering Complex, Behnisch Architekten has created high-performance architecture that replicates nature. The work of RMA Architects, the design of the School of Arts and Sciences, University of Ahmedabad, focuses on permeability, through both its materials and composition. Henley Halebrown embraces an orderly formalism with a hybrid project in the United Kingdom that showcases the firm’s unique style. Shinberg.Levinas has placed the emphasis on the public dimension in its contemporary urban design for an elementary school in Washington DC. Facilitating self-sufficiency, independence, and feelings of familiarity for students are all key elements in PBDW Architects’ design of the Cooke School & Institute. Finally, Marx / Ladurner Architekten balances the domestic dimension with the old and the new in its design of an elementary school in a small South Tyrolean community.

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