Lindenlei 38 is located on the banks of the River Leie in Ghent on a site that has been home to religious, military and, most recently, educational institutions since the fifteenth century. The main surviving school buildings were constructed between 1857 and 1912 in the representative Rundbogenstil, and today are listed as heritage assets. Over the years the relationship of the school with the wider neighbourhood has been lost, with some later additions compromising the coherence and connectivity. The site, which has been underused for many years since the closure of the school, will be opened up and redeveloped as a residential-led development with a mix of public uses on the ground floor. Selected more recent additions will be removed, and the other buildings restored and converted, while two new structures will complement and expand the complex.
The River Leie runs along the eastern boundary of the site and the most richly decorated façades of the complex face Lindenlei, a tree lined street on the riverside. Two long, former school blocks extended parallel to each other from east to west to the rear of this frontage, defining a central courtyard. All the historically significant buildings are retained along with two other volumes which, although not recognised as heritage assets, have a positive impact on the ensemble. The historic condition is largely restored and opportunities to improve the porosity are created. In the northern part of the site space is created for two new additions, completing the city block. The corner volume terminates the formal frontage on Lindenlei while a linear building stretches out to create a third parallel wing with associated urban corridors.
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OMA
Leyja.
70% of the Earth’s land has been altered by human activity, with 40% already damaged beyond repair. Things may not stop here. The more we transform the planet in the name of comfort and security, the more we degrade it. And the more we degrade the planet, the more we long for the Earth’s primordial state.
At its northern edge, the Red Sea bifurcates into two regions that were once similar but are now profoundly different because of human intervention: the Gulf of Suez with its canal, one of the world’s busiest transportation corridors, and the Gulf of Aqaba, which still preserves its rich marine ecosystems. On Aqaba’s eastern coast, NEOM is inviting tourists to adventure into its unspoiled mountainous landscape.
A narrow inlet, or wadi, reachable through a one-hour hike from the nearest road and three kilometers away from the sea, is the site chosen by NEOM to unfold its tourism strategy for the region. Our project is a balancing act between architecture and topography: 40 hotel rooms suspended from the cliff with minimal contact to the rock, their shape and configuration forming an abstract extension of the terrain’s natural lines. The volumes are purposely devoid of large openings onto the landscape, encouraging the visitors to be in direct contact with their surroundings.
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Proctor & Shaw
Minimax Tower
A speculative research project into high density, sustainable, residential development that deliberately antagonizes current statutory guidance on national space standards and timber construction.
25m2 micro-apartments are stacked in a mid-rise tower that embraces cutting edge timber construction methods and pre-fabrication.
The design is built on the premise that mini can be maxi-mised through high quality design. Minimum footprint, material use, waste and expense. Maximum quality, sustainability, and connectivity.
In a post-Covid world the design encourages a layered approach to community interaction. The compact home provides a sanctuary for home working with digital connectivity. Terraces and balconies engage with shared sky gardens designed around 4-unit ‘clusters’. Each tower then has larger facilities; roof top gardens, gyms and shared work spaces, to support community level engagement.
An off grid ‘power to gas/gas to power’ hydrogen energy supply system can be scaled for viability and efficiency, achieving truly sustainable levels of high density urban living in a variety of parkland or suburban city sites.
Engineer:
Constant Structural Design
CGI:
Filippo Bolognese Images
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Bajet Giramé . Nil Brullet
2nd prize for our project “CONGOST VERMELL” for the Manresa Nou Congost basketball pavilion’s extension.
The proposal celebrates the material and cultural legacy of a rather dull pre-existing construction, preserving its brick volume, trusses and concrete structure, even if cutting through and distorting them. A new reddish airy envelope performs as a façade and structural thickness, to lure visitants, organise circulations and hang two semi-circular stands over the old building. Visuals by Jordi M. d’Estarca.
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