Cd Architect Studio

[Helen Drewski]

Thechief aim of alchemy - a pseudo-science practiced in the Middle Ages - was to turn base metals into gold. As modern-day architects/alchemists, we embrace the ordinary programs, left-over sites and modest construction budgets of our practice and seek to extract extraordinary and memorable results.

Choreography involves planning arranged movement through space. We arrange paths of movement through sequential or serial space to enhance the experience of occupation. We favor mystery over expediency, preferring discovery through visual contrast, tactility, sound, and temperature.

We find that buildings that respond to climate are both an environmental benefit and a more uplifting place to inhabit. We employ simple, time-honored techniques that reduce energy consumption and connect people to the natural phenomena of their place.

We strive to create buildings and public spaces that transcend program to provide comfortable places to live ones life. Ideally, our buildings anticipate and accommodate change, reuse, and adaptation. We offer them as "frameworks" to inhabit, as places of possibility.

The act of building is primarily concerned with the creation of places for people. Community results from collective spaces that invite shared participation. Our buildings define the public realm, shape open spaces, mark thresholds and create transitions.

The accommodation of the automobile at the expense of almost all else characterizes most contemporary planning. Our site plans insist that cars be convenient but contained, balancing their impacts with other considerations. Where possible parking areas are co-opted for other activities: Plaza, grove, marketplace, play yard.

We are opportunists. Each project begins with a careful investigation of the uniqueness of its setting: culture, climate, geography, built context, and landscape. We seek the idiosyncratic and particular. Our work rejects generic solutions, grounding itself instead in the specifics of place.

At Studio Architects we believe that every home, every structure should enrich the human spirit. Our mission is to create projects and homes that truly and beautifully reflect the individual client. In guiding each project to fruition, we are committed to interpreting the client's vision, and fulfilling their personal dreams and aspirations. With our foundation of passion, experience and integrity, we are dedicated to offering boutique service and architectural excellence.

The greenest buildings are those that already exist. The Beloit Powerhouse demonstrates how architects can be advocates for reuse, transforming a decommissioned powerplant into student center for recreation and health.

The roofs at NOT A HOTEL Setouchi are covered on all sides with solar tiles, representing a technological and modern interpretation of a traditional Japanese roof. Rainwater collected by the elevated roofs is used to irrigate the landscaping, while the operable faades and overhangs promote passive cooling in spring and summer.

Located in an industrial area near Copenhagen city center, CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is an exemplary model in the field of waste management and energy production, as well as an architectural landmark in the cityscape of Copenhagen. The building replaces the 50-year-old Amagerforbraending plant and is the single largest environmental initiative in Denmark.

The public can enjoy the rooftop bar, cross-fit area, or the highest observation deck in the city before descending the 490 m tree-lined hiking and running trail within the lush, mountainous terrain. The 10,000 m2 green roof, 85 m high up in the air, features a biodiverse landscape while absorbing heat, removing air particulates, and minimizing storm-water runoff.

At the bottom of the ski slope, an aprs-ski bar welcomes locals and visitors to wind down once the boots are off. Formerly a piece of infrastructure in an industrial zone, CopenHill is now a destination for all citizens and visitors of Copenhagen.

Floors one through six will function as an office space for the 350 employees of the Occitanie Region. The roof, composed of photovoltaics, is punctured by skylights, allowing in natural light. Local plants and trees are planted in the building and bike station to echo the vegetation of the Haute-Garonne region.

The Pavilion is primarily made from locally sourced materials with walls constructed in rammed earth, which includes 90% soil and 10% cement for binding. The roof structure is formed by wooden beams topped with palm leaves for shading and limestone rocks are used for paving surfaces.

Upon entering the main entrance through a 3 m tall glass door, BIGsters and guests will find themselves in a dramatic Piranesian space, where the inner life of the building reveals

itself through diagonal views all the way up to the top floor.

A series of half floor plates overlap to create a cascading environment of interconnected levels that unite the entire seven-storey building visually and physically into a single space. The floor plates are carried by 20-meter-long concrete beams stacked on top of each other, which make the exterior faade appear as a checkerboard of interchanging solid beams and transparent windows.

Each floor has direct access to a balcony connected to the balcony above and below, forming a continuous ribbon of outdoor spaces, spiraling from the roof to the quayside like a mountain path. The ribbon doubles as the additional fire escape freeing up the interior from the obstruction of the traditional core.

The Hopkins Student Center will form a new social engagement hub for all members of the Johns Hopkins University community. The 143,000 sq ft building includes spaces for relaxation and socializing, student resources and support, a digital media center, performance space with seating for 200 people, and a dining hall.

Located at the intersection of 33rd and Charles Streets, the Hopkins Student Center will foster greater connectivity between the campus and the neighboring community by creating a prominent point of entry. As a natural gateway, the area will connect Charles Village and the 3,500+ Johns Hopkins students who live in the neighborhood to the heart of the Homewood campus.

The design transforms the landscape around the building to create outdoor spaces for student activities and events. A central plaza can host pop-up exhibits or performances, as well as vendors and food trucks to enliven the North Charles Street corridor.

The Twist is a contemporary art museum situated in the Kistefos Sculpture Park, located around a one hour drive from Oslo. The sculpture park, built around an old paper mill, occupies both embankments of the Randselva river and features sculptures by Olafur Eliasson, Lynda Benglis, Yayoi Kusama, Jeppe Hein, and Anish Kapoor, among others.

BIG was invited to design an intimate art museum to transform the visitor experience and add 1,000 m2 of indoor exhibition space to the park. After a careful study of the site, BIG proposed a raw and simple sculptural building across the Randselva river to tie the area together and create a natural circulation for a continuous art tour through the park.

As a continuous path in the landscape, both sides of the building serve as the main entrance. From the south entry, visitors cross a 16 m aluminum-clad steel bridge to reach the double-height space, with a clear view to the north end, similarly linked with a 9 m pedestrian bridge.

The museum is comprised of a series of generic gallery spaces where, due to the curved form of the glass windows, the variety of daylight entering the museum creates three distinctive galleries. Stacked vertical, dark galleries with artificial lighting are found to the south, and a large horizontal, naturally-lit gallery with panoramic views is located on the north side. In between these spaces is the sculptural gesture, creating a twisted sliver of roof light.

The panoramic gallery is a large open space suitable for sculptures and large installations, with the ability to be subdivided for special occasions and events. On the north end, a full-height glass wall offering panoramic views to the pulp mill and river tapers while curving upwards to form a 25 cm-wide strip of skylight. A caf is situated at this end of the gallery, where guests can enjoy snacks while taking in the view of the historic pulp mill and surrounding landscape. During the summer months, the caf service area spills onto the plateau just outside.

The art delivery and reception area is shared with the main entrance. Art can be delivered discreetly and securely after hours, and the art shipping crates are stored in the exhibition storage room once the art has been installed in its respective gallery.

The ballpark is currently designed to feature an 18,000-sq-ft jumbotron, which would make it the largest screen in Major League Baseball. An air-conditioning system distributes at the seats rather than from above, making cooling more efficient and energy conscious.

The Athletics Ballpark will have the potential to double as a venue for hosting concerts, conferences and other events. Future development is expected to surround the venue, including an onsite hotel and casino.

Informed by the shaded plazas and streets of Seville, BIG proposes to cover the entire project site with a cloud of solar canopies sheltering the plaza, garden, and research building underneath, akin to the pergolas typical to Seville. The canopies consist of square lightweight PV sheets supported by slender columns. The roofscape cascades down from the center to a human-scale height at its periphery, creating a variety of public spaces underneath.

Inside, the functions of the new JRC building are organized with public program and amenities such as dining, a conference center and social spaces on the ground floor, while the offices and research units occupy the upper floors for privacy and security. The collaborative workplaces face the plaza, while the deep-focus workspaces face the garden. The proposed layout is designed to be entirely flexible and adaptable according to any future needs of the JRC.

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