Tiled facade wraps curved convention centre by Woods Bagot and Warren & Mahoney

A curved facade clad in herringbone tiles encloses the Te Pae Convention and Exhibition Centre, which Australian studio Woods Bagot and New Zealand studio Warren & Mahoney have completed in Christchurch.

The sinuous building, which overlooks New Zealand's River Avon, is intended to eschew the common "big box" appearance of conference centres.

Woods Bagot and Warren & Mahoney have completed a convention centre in Christchurch

Te Pae Convention and Exhibition Centre comprises a 2,000 seat hall and exhibition space as well as catering spaces and meeting rooms.

Pushing these functional areas to the centre, Woods Bagot and Warren & Mahoney lined the building's edge with glazed foyers that frame outward views.

The Te Pae Convention and Exhibition Centre has a curved exterior

"Unlike conventional convention centres, which tend to be a generic 'big box', the building is smaller in scale and wrapped in a fluid facade," said Woods Bagot.

"Views from the function room back to Cathedral Square; the opening out onto Victoria Square; the leaning toward the river – these were very specific moves to make the building engage strongly with what's around it."

The exterior is clad in 43,000 tiles

Similarly to much of the reconstruction that has followed the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the Te Pae Convention and Exhibition Centre's design nods to the heritage of New Zealand's indigenous Ngāi Tahu people.

"The new Ōtautahi (Christchurch) reflects both its Ngāi Tahu and European history," explained Puamiria Parata-Goodall, a consultant at the Matapopore Charitable Trust who advised on the project.

A plaza features outside

"Māori language, art and stories are recognised and celebrated like they haven't been before," Parata-Goodall added.

To this end, the centre's tiled exterior, irregular curved sections and windows that cut across its form reference the braided riverbeds of the Canterbury Plains and the form of New Zealand's Southern Alps – both important sites in Ngāi Tahu history.

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Deakin Law School by Woods Bagot features zinc cladding and fluted concrete towers

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"Nearly 43,000 facade tiles – in five variations, individually numbered and placed – evoke the expansive river landscapes that formed the Canterbury Plains," added Woods Bagot.

A plaza outside the building links to the centre's entrances, which lead into a bright foyer with fluted wooded walls and a large reception desk made from stone.

Fluted wooded walls feature in the reception

Te Pae Convention and Exhibition Centre's foyer extends to form an "organic route" around the southern side of the building, where escalators and stairs lead up to the auditorium and hall.

Inside the auditorium, the curving forms of the building's exterior are reflected in sweeping white panels that cover the walls.

The auditorium mimics the curved exterior

Woods Bagot was founded in 1869 by Edward John Woods and Walter Bagot, while Warren & Mahoney was established in 1955 by Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney.

Other projects by the studios from Dezeen's archive include the zinc-clad Deakin Law School in Melbourne by Woods Bagot and the Point Resolution Bridge by Warren & Mahoney.

The photography is byDennis Radermacher.

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UNStudio to revamp conference centre for Brainport technology region

Dutch architecture office UNStudio is renovating and expanding the Elysion Congress Centre in Eindhoven by adding a cantilevered auditorium and vertical gardens.

Along with expanding the original floorplan, the practice will add a wood-and-steel auditorium with a capacity of 1,500 as well as a foyer and catering spaces to the congress centre in Eindhoven's technology region, Brainport.

The auditorium will cantilever over the existing buildings, so the original hotel and conference facilities can remain in operation.

UNStudio will add a cantilevering auditorium

UNStudio said the foyer would feature a wooden staircase and "vertical green gardens". The practice plans to integrate technological innovations into the project to improve the centre's sustainability.

"The facade of the congress centre is principally made from wood and glass," explained UNStudio.

"The ambition is to couple this with nitrogen-dioxide absorbing surfaces – an innovative new nano-technology that can capture pollutants from its surroundings."

The studio is working on a research project into applying nanotechnologies to construction materials such as concrete and paint.

Nitrogen dioxide is released by cars and the burning of fossil fuels, and can be harmful to human health.

In addition, UNStudio will look at greener transport options as part of the Elysion Congress Centre expansion, adding more electric car charging ports along with bicycle parking space.

The new auditorium will be made from wood and steel

UNStudio will also build a tower with hotel and leisure facilities to host international guests.

The practice won a competition to redesign the conference centre as part of a project to increase the Brainport region's international appeal.

"Brainport Eindhoven is currently one of the leading innovative technology regions in Europe," said UNStudio.

"To enhance its international positioning as an inspiring region of technology, design and knowledge, the Dutch city of Eindhoven has the ambition to realise a clearly identifiable, new, state of the art congress and conference centre."

The project, which is expected to complete in 2025, is part of a €7 million programme to invest in Brainport.

Dutch multinational company Philips was founded in Eindhoven, and the city's Brainport region attracts technology companies and startups such as Lightyear, which makes road-legal solar-powered cars, and chip developers EFFECT Photonics.

UNStudio is already involved in developing the Brainport Smart District in Helmond, a city in the same region that is 10 minutes from Eindhoven by train.

In a lecture screened exclusively for Dezeen's VDF x reSITE collaboration, UNStudio associate director Marianthi Tatari said the development would "become the smartest neighbourhood in the world".

Visualisations are by Flying Architecture.

Project credits:

Operator: Van der Valk: operator
Architect: UNStudio, Quant architecture
UNStudio design team: Ben van Berkel, Gerard Loozekoot with Erwin Horstmanshof, Pietro Scarpa and Rebekah Tien, Yangkenan Li
Theatre technology and acoustics: PBTA
Structural engineer: Adviesbureau Tielemans
MEP and BREEAM: DVP Smart Concepts:
Cost consultancy: ISIS Bouwadvies
D &B contractor and BREEAM: Huybregts Relou
Project management and tender management: DVP

The post UNStudio to revamp conference centre for Brainport technology region appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #architecture #publicandleisure #unstudio #netherlands #eindhoven #conferencecentres

UNStudio to revamp conference centre for Brainport technology region

Dutch architecture office UNStudio is renovating and expanding the Elysion Congress Centre in Eindhoven by adding a cantilevered auditorium and vertical gardens.

Along with expanding the original floorplan, the practice will add a wood-and-steel auditorium with a capacity of 1,500 as well as a foyer and catering spaces to the congress centre in Eindhoven's technology region, Brainport.

The auditorium will cantilever over the existing buildings, so the original hotel and conference facilities can remain in operation.

UNStudio will add a cantilevering auditorium

UNStudio said the foyer would feature a wooden staircase and "vertical green gardens". The practice plans to integrate technological innovations into the project to improve the centre's sustainability.

"The facade of the congress centre is principally made from wood and glass," explained UNStudio.

"The ambition is to couple this with nitrogen-dioxide absorbing surfaces – an innovative new nano-technology that can capture pollutants from its surroundings."

The studio is working on a research project into applying nanotechnologies to construction materials such as concrete and paint.

Nitrogen dioxide is released by cars and the burning of fossil fuels, and can be harmful to human health.

In addition, UNStudio will look at greener transport options as part of the Elysion Congress Centre expansion, adding more electric car charging ports along with bicycle parking space.

The new auditorium will be made from wood and steel

UNStudio will also build a tower with hotel and leisure facilities to host international guests.

The practice won a competition to redesign the conference centre as part of a project to increase the Brainport region's international appeal.

"Brainport Eindhoven is currently one of the leading innovative technology regions in Europe," said UNStudio.

"To enhance its international positioning as an inspiring region of technology, design and knowledge, the Dutch city of Eindhoven has the ambition to realise a clearly identifiable, new, state of the art congress and conference centre."

The project, which is expected to complete in 2025, is part of a €7 million programme to invest in Brainport.

Dutch multinational company Philips was founded in Eindhoven, and the city's Brainport region attracts technology companies and startups such as Lightyear, which makes road-legal solar-powered cars, and chip developers EFFECT Photonics.

UNStudio is already involved in developing the Brainport Smart District in Helmond, a city in the same region that is 10 minutes from Eindhoven by train.

In a lecture screened exclusively for Dezeen's VDF x reSITE collaboration, UNStudio associate director Marianthi Tatari said the development would "become the smartest neighbourhood in the world".

Visualisations are by Flying Architecture.

Project credits:

Operator: Van der Valk: operator
Architect: UNStudio, Quant architecture
UNStudio design team: Ben van Berkel, Gerard Loozekoot with Erwin Horstmanshof, Pietro Scarpa and Rebekah Tien, Yangkenan Li
Theatre technology and acoustics: PBTA
Structural engineer: Adviesbureau Tielemans
MEP and BREEAM: DVP Smart Concepts:
Cost consultancy: ISIS Bouwadvies
D &B contractor and BREEAM: Huybregts Relou
Project management and tender management: DVP

The post UNStudio to revamp conference centre for Brainport technology region appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #architecture #publicandleisure #unstudio #netherlands #eindhoven #conferencecentres

MoDus Architects brings new logic to mid-century Cusanus Academy

A 1960s hall with a barrel-vaulted concrete ceiling gave MoDus Architects the design cues for this refurbishment of an education centre in South Tyrol.

The locally based studio has renovated and extended Cusanus Academy, a learning and conference facility in Bressanone that aims to bring together religious and secular ideologies.

The Haupthaus, or Main Building, was designed in the 1960s by local architect Othmar Barth

The project involved reorganising spaces inside all three of the academy's buildings: ​Paul Norz Haus, ​Mühlhaus and Haupthaus.

The largest of these is the Haupthaus, or Main Building, which was designed by local architect Othmar Barth and inaugurated in 1962. Although it was initially controversial, due to its position beside an 18th-century seminary, this brick and concrete building is now considered to be Barth's masterpiece.

A conference room with a U-shaped skylight now sits below the central plaza

The most impressive space within the Haupthaus is the double-height hall, with its vaulted concrete ceiling structure. MoDus founders Matteo Scagnol and Sandy Attia decided to use this space as the starting point for their renovation design.

"​This building has been our master," said Scagnol, "a treasure trove of sage architectural solutions, of refined details and measured geometric patterns​; a muse in the skilful orchestration of natural light and in the use of few materials; a guide to concision, simplicity and propriety."

A double-height hall with a vaulted concrete ceiling is the most impressive space in the building

MoDus – whose other recent projects include Bressanone's main tourist information office – was tasked with expanding the existing facilities and improving accessibility within the buildings.

The two most visible interventions are a new conference hall in the basement and a newly formed axis that cuts across the ground floor.

The new basement conference hall can be sub-divided into two separate spaces

The conference hall occupies a newly excavated space beneath the plaza at the very centre of the complex

A U-shaped skylight allows light to indirectly penetrate the edges of the room, while flexible partitions allow the space to be divided into two when required.

A new axis has been created across the building, interspersed with seating areas

The new axis connects the main entrance lobby with the dining hall, eliminating a dead-end corridor and creating space for a new coffee shop. It is interspersed with seating areas, creating a space that will be full of activity.

"The generous hallway embodies the ambition of the project to foster a more welcoming environment without stepping outside of the constructive logic of the building​," reads MoDus' project text.

Other significant changes include a new staircase connecting the Haupthaus and its extension to Paul Norz Haus, and the conversion of former clubhouse spaces in the basement into seminar rooms.

Existing basement spaces have been converted into seminar rooms

The refurbishment of existing spaces was informed by thorough research of archive drawings. Scagnol and Attia discovered that Barth had drawn up multiple variations of the plans, which helped them understand how to make adaptations without straying from the original concept.

The same logic extended to the interior furnishings. They chose to refurbish the original Finn Juhl armchairs and reintroduce them in common spaces throughout the building.

Bedrooms were refurbished with different design schemes for each building

The project also involved refreshing the 55 bedroom suites, which occupy the upper floors of all three buildings.

The Haupthaus bedrooms are designed to celebrate Othmar Barth’s original furnishings, while blue tones were added to the Paul Norz Haus rooms, and the Mühlhaus rooms feature shades of green.

South Tyrol-based MoDus Architects was founded by Attia and Scagnol in 2000. Previously the studio designed three undulating concrete tunnel entrances and a set of sculptural chimneys for a road system in the region.

Photography is by Gustav Willeit.

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