BIG with CG Jensen + EKJ + Grontmij have completed a new multi-purpose hall for the Bjarke Ingels' former highschool Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium, north of Copenhagen, turning a courtyard into a new social meeting point and sports facility combined.

courtesy BIG

BIG conceived a large multifunctional space that could be used for sports, graduation ceremonies and social events.The new hall comprises a sunken 1,100 m2 space, placed five meters (16.5 feet) below the ground in the center of the school's courtyard, ensuring a good indoor climate, low environmental impact and high architectural quality. The hall, formed by bevelled concrete walls, is covered by a soft vaulted wooden roof formed by a series of uniquely curved glued laminated timber beams. The roof, serving two functions as an interior and exterior skin, is a welcome addition to the existing 1950's campus of yellow brick buildings. The hilly courtyard creates an informal meeting place that can host numerous activities from group work to larger gatherings.

courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

The exterior wooden decked surface consists of untreated oak wood and white enamel coated steel benches, also designed by BIG. The only light sources at night are the benches and BIG designed seating which are outfitted with tiny LED lights beneath lighting up the entire courtyard. The edge of the roof is designed as a long social bench, its lattice design ensures the penetration of daylight below. Solar panels placed strategically around the existing buildings provide heat for the hall.

courtesy BIG

Rather than placing the hall outside the school – and spread the social life further – we have created a new focal point and link between the school’s existing facilities. The roof forms a molehill that serves as a giant piece of informal furniture engaging and supporting student life. The main architectural idea emerged from the rules of handball as the soft curved roof takes its form from the mathematical equation of the trajectory of a thrown ball – Form follows Function. In an homage to my old math teacher, we used the mathematical formula for a ballistic arc to shape the geometry of the roof.

Bjarke Ingels

courtesy BIG

During the construction of the sports hall, BIG was further commissioned in a second phase to design another building on the campus that sits adjacent to the multi-purpose hall. The next phase will connect the courtyard and hall with the sports fields and parking areas located on the west side of the school. With a gross floor area of 1.400m2 (15.000 ft2), the future building consists of two levels of education facilities and classrooms for art and cultural activities – arts, music, drama, and student counseling. The design places the classrooms next to the facade to ensure abundant natural light and views out, while the secondary functions are all located to the rear and partially below ground level. The building will be constructed with a supporting column / beam system and stabilizing concrete walls. The selection of materials seeks to create a new visual unity for the school, taking its cues from the sports hall entrance by incorporating glass facades, a single sided sloped green roof and concrete paving. The next phase will be completed in Summer 2014.

+ Project facts

Address:
Gl. Hellerup Gymnasium
Svanemøllevej 87
2900 Hellerup

BIG Team Credit List:
Creative Director: Bjarke Ingels, Partners-in-Charge: Finn Nørkjær Project Leader: Ole Schrøder (concept), Ole Elkjær-Larsen (construction) Project Architect: Frederik Lyng Project Team: Narisara Ladawal Schröder, Henrick Poulsen, Dennis Rasmussen, Jeppe Ecklon, Rune Hansen, Riccardo Mariano, Christian Alvare Gomez, Xu Li, Jakob Lange, Thomas Juul-Jensen

Collaborators:
CG Jensen (contractor): Klaus Mels Nielsen, Dion Munksgaard
EKJ (engineering): Flemming Tagmose
Grontmij (client consultant): Anders Ring Petersen

+ All images courtesy BIG

Twenty-five years ago, two UC Berkeley PhDs founded Navis to solve operational challenges in storing containers on shipping vessels.

Eventually the founders developed a complete terminal operating system that can handle the logistics of an entire shipyard, tracking movement of containers from the ships to trucks and railcars. Today, Navis represents 25 to 30% of the world's market share in terminal operating systems software.

courtesy Michael O’Callahan

The company has always been headquartered in Oakland. When Navis decided to move to new headquarters to Oakland's Jack London Square, there was an opportunity to invigorate a company culture that flows between collaborative and heads-down work styles.

courtesy Michael O’Callahan

Working with a limited budget, RMW devised an interior build-out for the 32,411-square-foot space that uses simple architectural elements—accent paint, carpeting, and ceiling and wall scrims—to encourage a directional flow toward cooperative gathering spots and to stimulate interaction. The strong angles of the finishes simultaneously recall compass points, sails, and nautical flags.

courtesy Michael O’Callahan

The design is organized to provide gathering spaces, open workstations, private offices, meeting rooms, and heads-down "pods" that can be easily navigated. Glass-walled meeting rooms along the expansive lobby's ocean side allow daylight to spill through. A central copy room/mailroom on the sixth floor functions as a visual landing space, a nexus of pathways, accents, and angles. At the north end of the sixth floor, the cafeteria features a blue scrim that crests like a wave overhead.

courtesy Michael O’Callahan

As a reminder of the company's roots as a small start-up, the reception area incorporates a neon sign. Back in 1990, Navis had its offices on the second floor of a building on Franklin Street in Oakland, above a defunct office furniture store that had left behind a sign reading "DESKS." In 1995, when the company expanded into the former store space, it had the neon sign restored and altered to read "NAVIS." The shipping container doors featured in the current reception area are another relic from that time: acquired from a scrap metal yard, they were refurbished in Navis company colors to serve as a daily reminder for staff of the industry and purpose the company serves.

+ Project facts

Location: Oakland, California
Budget: $2.5 million ($77 per square foot)
Building Owner/Manager: Ellis Partners LLC/Jack London Square Ventures LLC
Client: Navis, a subsidiary of Cargotec Corp.
Architect: RMW architecture & interiors
General Contractor: Novo Construction, Inc.
Mechanical Engineers: Encon Energy Conservation Co.
Thermal Mechanical Inc.
Electrical Engineer: Libra Electric
Plumbing Engineer: Pribuss Engineering
Furniture: Vendor One Workplace
Photographer: Michael O’Callahan

+ All images courtesy RMW architecture & interiors \ photo by Michael O’Callahan

People are birds not seen, with wings raised within, knocking , floating, hovering, in cleaner air – which is the thought

Nichita Stanescu, romanian writer

The contest – The theme was based on the iconic landmarks of various cities: Paris – Eiffel Tower, Sydney – Sydney Opera House etc. Competitors had to design a specific iconic building for the city of Miami.

courtesy ARMARADA

Why Avis Magica?

Avis Magica in Latin means “the magic bird”. The term “magic” comes from the city of Miami which is known as “the magic city”. Considering that the population grew from 1,000 to one million residents in just 100 years, we can say that the city “took off” like a bird. The resulting concept of “magic bird”.Analyzing the work of Constantin Brancusi ‘Bird in Space’ we observed how he stylized the bird, making a simple but elegant form. Armarada did the same thing while integrating the human image thus resulting the final form of the building.

courtesy ARMARADA

courtesy ARMARADA

How does the building work?

“Avis Magica” was built as the tallest building in the area 335 meters ( 1099ft ) and proposes a new concept: “vertical nature”.

It incorporates: a museum at the below ground level, dedicated to the city’s wildlife, an outdoor concert stage, a 120m tall aquarium water which is pumped and filtered directly from the ocean, an area of islands with tropical vegetation located above the aquarium, an area that generates artificial rain clouds at a time, the observation deck and the “wings” of the building – made up of a multitude of “feathers” that vibrate at wind action, producing electricity.

courtesy ARMARADA

The feathers are made of semi-translucent material that allows sunlight to enter the building, necessary for photosynthesis process.They are mounted on a tension cable receiving vibrations, turning them into electricity.

The tower is like an oxygen tank for the city, the oxygen created by plants is removed through the gap between the feathers.

To see the entire spectacle of the three zones, the tower incorporates two lifts. Thus visitors pass through aquarium and admire the marine life, then the vegetation area populated with birds, and finally reach the artificial clouds.

Above the 3 areas is the observation deck.

Architect: ARMARADA – Alex Sandulescu | Dan Adrian Ionescu