tamu aias

Parisian architects LAN Architecture have completed the company headquarters for packaging manufacturer Marchesini France in Paris, France. The building is composed of two main volumes, designed to separate the office space from the workshops. The entrance is located at the intersection of the volumes. It is constructed from concrete and painted black.

The primary intention of the programme is to explore the relationship between the building and its surroundings and between the building users and the landscape. One of the main design concerns was the building’s environmental adaptation and appropriation. The site slopes down three metres towards the west, offering attractive views over the neighbouring hills. Our solution was to create two hierarchically related volumes placed perpendicular to one another along a north-south axis and follow the slope of the site. One of the volumes contains flexible workspaces while the other encloses a workshop, exhibition space and storage areas. The offices occupy the upper area of the site and are raised above ground level to provide an impression of lightness. The idea was also to erase distinctions between the different kinds of work by avoiding the use of corridors. The result is that the transition areas also act as settings where people can meet one another or as waiting spaces with pleasant views looking out over the countryside. The workshop volume is located at a lower level and gives the appearance of being solidly anchored to the ground. The intersection of the two volumes serves as the entrance, with a sloped ramp rising up into the building. The elevations and roof are completely constructed from black painted concrete. The roof finish allow it be read as the building’s fifth elevation.

PROGRAMME: Design and construction of a company headquarters
CLIENT: Marchesini France
LOCATION: rue Royale, Saint Mesmes, France
NET PLAN AREA: 1250 m²
COMPLETION: 2008

From Dezeen

via ted

Visit the Texas A&M College of Architecture website at Archone.tamu.edu

Come to Downtown Bryan this Saturday for Doomsday.

Council of Doom is a bicycle collective & crew based out of Costa Mesa, CA. Comprised of close knit friends, they ride to push the boundaries and expectations of fixed-gear bicycles while having as much fun as possible.

find out more info and watch a kool video here. Above image from here.

Science Commons. Imagine if there were an Architecture Commons … there already are things kind of like that going on at Open Architecture Network. Go check it out. Get involved.

being a bit biased i couldn’t resist.

Here at Brunello we are unashamed at the fact that we are Apple fanboys (and girls). These apples with Apple logos and products are the handiwork of a Japanese Apple fan who covered Fuji apples with custom Apple stickers, then waited a month them for to mature. 

Sophie Berthelier, a designer at the French architecture firm Berthelier Fichet Triboullet, will kick off the exhibit Dec. 5 with a 3:30 p.m. public lecture on contemporary architecture. - come and see – or read about it at archone first. An excerpt from the archone article:

The exhibition, specifically tailored for international presentation, focuses on architecture in tune with current urban situations, territorial or program-related issues that are relevant throughout the world.

Through a critical mass effect, the 40 projects presented show that “good” architecture is not as rare as it seems, and that if we do not see it, it is because it is not where we expect it, or because it’s simpler, more modest or simply less preoccupied with its durability than we might imagine.