WAN Adaptive Reuse Award 2016 

The Torsby Finnskogscentrum project by Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter has been announced as the winner of the WAN Adaptive Reuse Award 2016 

It is with great pleasure that World Architecture News Awards champions Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter as the winner of the WAN Adaptive Reuse Award 2016 for their Torsby Finnskogscentrum project – Congratulations! 

The winner was selected from six shortlisted projects which were chosen by an esteemed jury panel: Nina Rappaport, Publications Director at Yale School of Architecture & Project Director at Vertical Urban Factory, Michael Booth, Associate Partner at Pollard Thomas Edwards, Mat Cash, Architect and Group Leader at Heatherwick Studio, David Jennings, Director at EPR Architects and Ziona Strelitz, Founder Director at ZZA Responsive User Environments.

The judges felt that the shortlisted projects highlighted the range of possibilities within Adaptive Reuse, highlighting fantastic examples of what’s possible in this category. They were all in agreement that there was one clear winner on the day.

Bornstein Lyckefors Architects has transformed a modest school building in the deep forests of Värmland, Sweden, into a public museum celebrating the slash-burn agriculture Finns who settled in the very same forests in the early 1600s. By acknowledging the qualities of the original building, resources could be used to address communicative challenges stressed by the client. An outer facade was erected, signalling the new purpose of the building. Conceived as a wooden palisade this new layer defines an envelope within which the museum can continue to expand, converting class rooms into new exhibition spaces as additional funds are raised.

In 2013, Värmland’s Museum decided to invest in new premises for its branch Torsby Finnskogscentrum. Commissioned to tell the story of the Finns who settled in the forests of Värmland, Sweden, the museum saw an increased relevance in this story, relating it to today’s narrative of global migration. Having previously shared facilities with other institutions they now looked forward to having a building of their own. An old elementary school was found in Lekvattnet in the heart of the old Finn territory, and Bornstein Lyckefors Architects was involved to find a strategy for its physical transformation.

David was impressed with the simple but strong concept: “I think it’s understood how an existing building might be adapted in the future, but addresses the fact that you want to make the building different. It’s an incredibly simple but very strong concept. I feel the architects have fully understood the brief and actually taken it a step further, by allowing the building to be adapted further overtime.” 

The fact that the project was achieved on a low budget also impressed the judges with Ziona saying: “I love the fact that this project is so low cost but has such high impact.” Mat continued: “It’s a very low cost, quite innovative approach to an existing building.”

Nina particularly liked the combination of old and new styles: “The new raw timber cladding provides a view through to the historic building that becomes a shadow in the form, allowing for integration of old and new in a clever and composed design. The interior surprises while it also attests to the historic value of the site.”

David concluded by saying: “I think the concept is so clear and so strong, it takes this project to another level.”

The brief asked for exhibition spaces for permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well library and archives. Further, the architects were asked to alter the appearance of the building to clearly signal its new purpose as an outward public institution. The original building had, in its central positioning, some public qualities, but it clearly wasn’t a museum. These communicative challenges proved to be what informed the design and the strategy for future development.

WAN Residential Award 2016 Winner Announced

The PATCH22 project by FRANTZEN et al. has been announced as the winner of the WAN Residential Award 2016 

It is with great pleasure that World Architecture News Awards champions FRANTZEN et al. as the winners of the WAN Residential Award 2016 for their PATCH22 – Congratulations! 

The winner was selected from six shortlisted projects which were chosen by an esteemed jury panel: Julian Anderson, Studio Director at Bates Smart, Jo McCafferty, Director at Levitt Bernstein, Brendon Moss, Project Director at Qatari Diar and Adam Tither, Director at EPR Architects.

The judges felt that the shortlisted projects highlighted the range of possibilities within residential design, showcasing fantastic examples of what’s achievable within this sector. They were all in agreement that there was one clear winner on the day.

PATCH22, a 30m tall high-rise in wood, was one of the successful plans in the Buiksloterham Sustainability Tender in 2009. The initiators, the architect Tom Frantzen and building-manager Claus Oussoren, wanted to achieve independently what they had never been able to manage when working on commissions for their previous clients: an outsized wooden building with a great degree of flexibility, striking architecture and a high level of sustainability, not because that was what was required but because that is what ought to be done.

Julian was impressed with the building’s flexibility: “4m floor to ceiling heights allow the building to function for commercial or residential use. To avoid objections to change of use, a new kind of land-lease contract was drawn up in cooperation with the city. It appears to have created an ‘attractor’ or beacon which will contribute to stimulating development in the area.”

Jo went on to say: “I think it’s a really interesting project actually on lots of levels from the point about the flexibility between office and residential in this new part of the city which hasn’t sort of been developed so far, so its enabling you to become this interesting mix of office/residential. It’s future proofing it if the bottom falls out of the housing market but it’s enabling a new community to grow. It’s inventive in terms of its architectural handling and constructions, it’s really clever.”

Brendon was impressed by the flexibility of the building and potential for future use: “It’s setting out for residential but in the future it could be used for commercial, so really it’s sustainable and you’re not going to have to knock it down. When reflecting on the façade: I think it really adds some character to it. If the brief was to create a space that was either office or residential and to make it look clearly ‘office’ is not the right approach to it, so maybe it should be ‘unisex’ in its appearance.”  

Adam went on to discuss the interiors: “It’s spectacular. There’s a lovely story in terms of flexibility and personally I really like the interiors which are ‘super cool’. It feels like they’ve made a warehouse and converted it which creates wonderful light, space. It is striking and is a beacon for new generations.” 

Jo agreed with Adam’s comments on warehouse space: “It’s sort of an industrial space isn’t it? A raw industrial space. If you imagine that whole façade opened up and windows opened up with plants growing it could be an amazing façade couldn’t it? It’s sort of a nice frame work for something, which is what the project is all about.”

The most unusual feature of the building is the use of a wood as the main structure for the 30m-tall building. Moreover, the wood has largely been left visible, making this a key factor in the ambience of the apartments and the exterior.

WAN Mixed Use Award 2016 Winner Announced

Clichy-Batignolles eco-neighbourhood project by Atelier du Pont and Jean Bocabeille Architects has been announced the winner of the WAN Mixed Use Award 2016 

It is with great pleasure that World Architecture News Awards champions Atelier du Pont and Jean Bocabeille Architects as the winners of the WAN Mixed Use Award 2016 for their Clichy-Batignolles eco-neighbourhood project -Congratulations! 

The winner was selected from six shortlisted projects which were chosen by an esteemed jury panel: David Barnett, Founder & CEO at Londonewcastle, Cristina Garcia, Principal at KPF, Michael Taylor, Senior Partner at Hopkins Architects and Pascal Wensink, Main Board Director of EPR Architects.

The judges felt that the shortlisted projects highlighted the range of possibilities within Mixed Use, highlighting fantastic examples of what’s possible in this category. They were all in agreement that there was one clear winner on the day.

The Clichy-Batignolles eco-neighbourhood is reconquering a forgotten piece of Parisian ground. This major municipal project was envisioned as a response to the elevated need for housing while paving the way for a durable, mixed-use 21st century city. The buildings must therefore observe a rigorous set of environmental specifications to develop responsible energy processes and unique projects.

This project is responsible in an environmental as well as a social sense. It proposes a program diversity and equity of treatment. There is horizontal as well as vertical diversity: programs overlap one another, sit next to one another, stick to one another, and face one another.

The nursing home is located at the very centre of the block, which allows its residents to live in the heart of the “city” and benefit from its vitality.

The social housing and nursing home share a continuous façade along the new rue René Blum. Joined like Siamese twins, they wrap around the open centre of the block. The ground level retail businesses are located on rue Cardinet, which helps enliven the neighbourhood. The private housing building, which is connected to the nursing home by the garden, extends towards the parc Martin Luther King, the neighbourhood’s green lung.

Mike liked the way that the different uses mutually benefitted one another: “This was an architecturally challenging brief to combine an interesting and socially beneficial mix of uses; social and private housing, a religious centre and a nursing home all on a tight urban site at a high density. What I like about this scheme is the mutual benefit that the uses bring to each other and how they have been made to work at high density. The energetic geometric forms with their angular facades give the project a distinctively Parisian look.”

Cristina was also impressed saying: “This is the “happiest” development of the entries. Massing is overly complex, trying too hard to be interesting. Great freshness and colourful/cheerful treatment of the façade and the volumes. However, many façade accessories will likely be difficult to maintain over the years.”

Atelier du Pont and Jean Bocabeille Architects have accepted the challenge of creating a coherent and unique architectural complex that will have its own identity within the city. The project provides a strong architectural response to the challenges of urban density and new environmental requirements by creating collective strategies for the entire block.