‘Performing Design’ was an educational interactive installation, as part of the Junior Open House Festival 2012. The installation consisted of a series of current explorations in interactive design that Surface are developing.  Children were encouraged to engage with the installation, understand how their actions influenced its behaviour and imagine how these technologies could be change the future of architecture. The workshop took place in the Leadenhall Market on the 23-24th June 2012.

Many thanks to Open City for inviting us to be a part of this festival.

‘Performing Design’ is an educational interactive installation, which we are running, as part of the Junior Open House Festival 2012.  The workshop is taking place in the Leadenhall Market and is running from 23-24th June.

More information can be found HERE
Please come along!

Surface are delighted to have won the opportunity to run an interactive educational workshop as part of the Junior Open House Festival 2012.
The workshop is taking place in the Leadenhall Market and is running from 23-24th June.
More information can be found HERE
Please come along!

We are delighted to announce that our model, Surface Spectrum is in the RA Summer Exhibition.

Royal Academy of Arts from 4th June – 12th August.

As part of the Digital Shoreditch Festival 2012, Surface with Momentum Engineering and Vlad Tenu have organised an Open House event on the 24th of May. The exhibition showcased  examples of various applications of digital technologies in architecture. Through current physical explorations in responsive and interactive design, we invited the visitors to reflect on the conditions of complexity and potential. The relationship between music and architecture was explored through a reactive sound installation by Sean Looby, that engaged the public in a playful experience.With the kind support of Surface, Vlad Tenu’s latest  prototype of the Minimal Complexities series of structures( MC/2*) was fabricated and exhibited along with the previous Minimal Complexity prototype. These are included as part of the International Architecture and Design Showcase in the London Architecture Festival 2012.

Supported by Surface, Vlad Tenu‘s MC/2* is the latest prototype from the Minimal Complexities series, an architectural design research focused on the form-finding and fabrication of minimal surface structures. Computationally generated, the surfaces use an algorithmic process inspired by principles of self-organisation found in nature, while conforming to various construction and digital fabrication parameters. Modularity and efficiency are improved through the repetition of identical components which creates intricately complex surfaces with only a few types of component, with applications in architecture, product and fashion design.

More details on www.vladtenu.com

*This project is presented as part of the British Council’s International Architecture and Design Showcase 2012 (21 June-23 September) and London Festival of Architecture 2012 ( 23 June – 8 July) organised by the Architecture Foundation, British Council, NLA and RIBA London. Minimal Complexity, the main piece of the collection, will be exhibited in the main atrium of the Granary Building, Central Saint Martin’s, Kings Cross, 1 Granary Square, N1C 4AA, 25 June -3 August 2012.

LOCATION : NEWHAM, LONDON
CLIENT : UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON
DESIGN TEAM : BURO 4, CKBS, FLUID STRUCTURES,TAP
CONTRACTOR : CHARTER CONSTRUCTION
SPECIALIST GLAZING SUB-C : GLASS UK
STAGE : BUILT

UEL commissioned Surface to create a distinct reception and security pavilion befitting to their values and ethos. The pavilion will have a high profile during the London 2012.
Tall, leaning, blue sculptured metal forms frame the linear entrance and exit of the pavilion and clearly express the differentiation between the internal and external pedestrian routes. The forward leaning front facade and building volume house a generous waiting area sloping down to accentuate the change of level of the adjacent inclined ramp. A dynamic faceted ceiling stems from the solid service core describing the structural support of the inclined roof.

Photographer: Paul Smoothy

LOCATION : LONDON
CLIENT : QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY
COMPLETED: MARCH 2005

Full renovation of and extension to the lock-keepers cottage on the Grand Union Canal.
The extension uses a series of interlocking forms wrapping around the North and West sides of the cottage. The ‘wing’ form is derived from a consideration of pedestrian movement and strategic views. It is finished in aluminium ‘rain screen’ cladding. On the canal side the wing projects out over the tow path, providing the common room with a dramatic picture window overlooking the canal lock. It rises up from the ground on the west side and then appears to drift away from a ground floor construction of cedar cladding and glass.

LOCATION : STRATFORD, LONDON
CLIENT : LOCOG
DESIGN TEAM : SURFACE, MOMENTUM
CONTRACTOR : ISG CONSTRUCTIONS
SPECIALIST SUB-C : BLAZE NEON

STAGE : COMPLETE

Surface Architects were appointed to work with LOCOG and ISG in the design and delivery of a family of high profile Wayfinding structures for the 2012 Olympic Park. Our proposals combine historic vectors and iconic influences into a highly distinctive design that fits LOCOG’s original ‘look and feel’ brief. Each form incorporates LED backlighting, creating a field of glowing beacons across the Stratford Park. Six 7m high zone beacons, five 15m high major beacons and two 12m high entrance gantries were constructed from sustainably sourced fabrics and will be dismantled, recycled and reused post Games.

LOCATION : LONDON
CLIENT : BIRKBECK COLLEGE
COMPLETED: FEBRUARY 2007

The Centre is a prestigious research facility within the School of History of Art, Film and Visual Media. Located within a Grade II listed terrace once occupied by Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, the project is a refurbishment of the basement, ground floor and the utilitarian 1970’s extension. It includes a unique ‘state of the art’ 80 seat cinema auditorium, media study suite, seminar/tutorial rooms and offices for academics. The Centre is our most intense formal and visual expression built to date. The vibrant interconnected spaces have a rich conceptual design, the logic of which has been carried through to the detail.

LOCATION : LONDON
CLIENT : QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY
COMPLETED: JUNE 2004

The Grade II* listed church was deconsecrated in 1979 and began its new functions as the Medical School Library in 1998. We were asked by the client to design and provide new male,female and disabled toilets at crypt level for two hundred users and disabled acces between the nave and the crypt. The solution includes the forming of an ‘Ambiguous Object’ containing a lift, lighting and display areas for precious books. The Ambiguous Object consists of two portions, differing in size and proportion. The upper portion is suspended from the centre of the oculus in the roof. The lower portion is grounded and houses the lift platform, providing disabled acces to the crypt. The components are thus separated by a thin horizontal void. It sits on the primary axes, the crossing point of the nave and transept and acts as a foal point.

LOCATION: VARIOUS
CLIENT: VARIOUS
COMPLETED: 2000 – 2004

Surface have completed a number of residential projects. We rigorously analyse our clients’ individual needs and challenge their perceptions. We seek to uncover the full potential of properties and their owners, to release hidden volumes and create stimulating spaces. The resulting extensions and refurbishments always surprise, excite and create a sense of enjoyment in their inhabitation.

LOCATION : TETOVO, REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
CLIENT: SEEU
COMPLETED: OCTOBER 2001

This $10 million project had to be completed in 10 months and therefore was prefabricated by the Austrian house manufacturer, ELK, who appointed Surface to provide the master-plan and arrangement of 34 buildings, expanding the logic of their prefabricated modular system. The layout provides an integrated academic environment for 3000 students by means of inter twinning linear building arrangements, suggesting dynamic growth and reflecting their philosophy of interdepartmental co-operation. The linear arrangements partly enclose irregular spaces that contain larger public buildings including the library, cafe, multi-purpose hall, lecture hall and computer centers. The university was inaugurated in October 2001 and is extremely popular with students and staff.

LOCATION: NEW YORK
CLIENT: CORNELL UNIVERSITY
COMPLETED: 1995

LOCATION: HULL
CLIENT: HULL CITY COUNCIL
STAGE: RIBA STAGE D

Planning Permission granted in May 2011

LOCATION: HULL
CLIENT: HULL CITY COUNCIL

As part of the Hull BSF programme, we have designed Endike Primary School. As well as the 1.5 form entry school, the building will form a community hub incorporating a public library, café and multi-agency space. The design adopts a clear rectangular form, stepping up from one floor up to three floors at the main front façade and public plaza. The evocative school and area name, ‘Endike’ is the springing point for the buildings iconography, with the word’s letters dynamically placed over the entire surface of the building in coloured aluminium and ceramic cladding.

LOCATION: KINGSLAND ROAD, LONDON
CLIENT: LYNCH/BIGFOOT LTD
STAGE: OUTLINE PLANNING

The brief for this project was to provide 2 stories of residential accommodation on the roof of the existing 5 story 160’s office building with minimal alteration and disruption to the existing building. The fifth and the sixth floor extension contrasts with and enhances the simplicity and proportion of the existing building by creating a dynamic layering of new forms at the head of the building.

LOCATION: GUERNSEY
STAGE: INVITED COMPETITION

The building is designed to have a distinctive form and profile viewed against the St Peters Port sea-frontage. Inclined glancing geometries create a dynamic arrangement of architectural elements along the east west orientation of the pier. The three-storey building is formed to create dramatic south and east sun terraces. The areas of primary glazing and secondary fenestration are arranged to optimize the best views of the beach, harbour and sea. Ribbons of deck terracing interwave around the base of the building, rising over the beach and sea at high tide.

]]> http://surfacearchitects.com/index.php/hcc-libraries-platform/feed/ 0 http://surfacearchitects.com/index.php/uel-site-progress-120320/ http://surfacearchitects.com/index.php/uel-site-progress-120320/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:34:11 +0000 Suzanne http://surfacearchitects.com/?p=2455 Final 6 weeks on site…

Glass UK on site – First Mullion is installed.

Great work by the team, special thanks to Fluid Structures and Charter Construction

For job inquiries please send your CV to recruitment@surfacearchitects.com .

A triptych of artworks derived from fragments of the Endike Primary facades.
A step in our continuing exploration into the formal and spatial possibilities of text generated through an iterative algorithmic process.

MyPlace_01 exhibited at the RIBA Exhibition ‘Architecture Open’.
The exhibition runs between 6 October – 4 November 2011.
Further details here.

the wet dream: making of, long from kim walker on Vimeo.

A stop-frame ‘making-of’ video of the interactive installation built by at the Burning Man Festival this year by Guy Woodhouse in collaboration with WarmBaby.

And last but not least, a brief clip on the notion of school as an aspirational local beacon.

The second of three Surface shorts re-exploring the design of our Endike Primary School project.

A short film exploring our class-base strategy for Endike Primary School, Hull.

A selection of the influences that inspire our work.

An International Peer Reviewed Conference, FABRICATE was organized by the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London and managed to bring together some of the most prominent figures in the professional and academic world of architectural design and digital fabrication. Focused on the potential of the integration of computation, materials science and digital manufacturing into architecture, engineering and construction processes, the discussions have touched on the present and future opportunities of materializing a digitally enhanced creativity through the absolute control of the materials and cutting edge crafting methods. Along with debating the inspiring content of the presentations, the panel discussions proved to be interestingly effervescent in passing from the pragmatic and technical aspects of the projects to the potential social and political implications of the future of architectural design as a multidisciplinary profession already involving computer science and robotics or even biology and nanotechnology.

‘Physical Processes’ , ‘Material systems’ , ‘Machines & The Bespoke’ and ‘Representation & Manufacture’ were the themes of the four sessions of presentations each of them being essentially defined by the corresponding keynote lecture. Accordingly,  Mark Burry’s engaging incursion behind the curtains of the construction site of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia and Neri Oxman’s captivating ‘material ecology’ design principles and maybe not so utopian visions of 3D printed buildings, were followed by Matthias Kohler’s presentation of  the new possibilities of additive fabrication processes by industrial robots  and the almost poetic illustration of the sensorial experiences within Philip Beesley’s ‘hylozoic’ responsive environments.

The exhibition was organized around the live demonstration performed by the Gramazio & Kohler’s  6-axis robot using both laser-scanning and digitally controlled assembly in the building process of the installation. Another part of the exhibition was a very impressive set of visualizations of the 3D scanned 2010 Bartlett Summer Show produced by ScanLAB.

Fabricate Venue Scan from ScanLAB on Vimeo.

The publication – ‘FABRICATE: Making Digital Architecture’ illustrates 32 case studies of academic and professional projects involving the latest digital manufacturing methods and processes. Research work from famous institutions such as the AA, Bartlett, MIT, Harvard and Delft is presented along with ongoing or completed projects from leading practices including Zaha Hadid Architects, Foster and Partners, Arup, Buro Happold, Amanda Levete Architects and Ron Arad Associates.

Having  Ruairi Glynn and Bob Sheil as co-chairs and Marilena Skavara as conference administrator, Fabricate was a big success and prooved to very inspiring  for all the participants already looking forward to taking part in the next similar event.

_Vlad_08/07/2011

Surface have been shortlisted to design a prestigious new entrance for the Science Museum, London.
Our team includes Jason Bruges Studio, Fluid Structures and Max Fordham LLP______Sam_01/07/11

Another from the archive.
This animation was done for our entry to the Victoria and Albert’s Contemporary Space Competition.

[One from the archives]
The cutting sequence and animations that drove the design of our Centre for Film and Visual Media, Birkbeck.
To see the finished project click [here]

Mapping of the Beverley Road, Hull
Sites include: Crown Paints Corner, Harley Street Frontage, Strand Shops
To see Richard Scott’s presentation at Hull Business week click [here]

Music by Max Richter

Animation produced for concept design stage of Endike Primary.
To see more about Endike click [here]

‘Dream Hull’ – presented by Richard Scott on 06/06/2011 -
To see our latest work on Beverley Road click [here]

A layered sculpture developed from the algorithm experiments.

A layered sculpture developed from the algorithm experiments – the making of.

Richard Scott spoke at the London Chamber Orchestra: Inspired by Architecture Study Day at City Hall, London in November 2009

Surface’s new website is now up and running. For those who miss the old one, here’s a colourful dose of nostalgia_Sam_02/06/2011

LOCATION : LONDON
CLIENT : CORUS CONSTRUCTION
STAGE : PROTOTYPED 2009

LOCATION:
CLIENT: CORUS CONSTRUCTION
STAGE: CONCEPT DESIGN 2009

LOCATION : LONDON
STAGE: RIBA STAGE C OCTOBER 2008

The design of this building comprises 70 units of student accommodation above a new Baptist church in a prominent London location of predominantly residential use. It was important that the housing complimented the church and visa versa. Verticality is expressed in primary form, stepping up to the street corner and also in the building’s articulation, which is formed out of cross-weave of cladding and glazing in coloured ceramic and Portland stone. The church cross further accentuates the street corner and moves up into the housing zone above.

LOCATION: BEDFORD
CLIENT: BEDFORD SCHOOL
STAGE: RIBA STAGE C

Surface won an invited competition to develop both a new build and an extension option for Bedford School’s new sports facilities. Both schemes provide high standard changing spaces and seating for spectators. They also both include provision for a large fitness suite and upgraded ground staff, catering and entertaining facilities.

LOCATION: TELFORD
CLIENT: TRANSFORMING TELFORD (URC)
STAGE: CONCEPT DESIGN 2008

LOCATION: LEIPZIG, GERMANY
CLIENT: LEIPZIG INSTITUTE
STAGE: INVITED COMPETITION

The Lab design transforms the Academy as a whole, by stretching between the building’s past and future. This dialectical renovation of the building then allows the institution to evolve an adapt to the present, creating a new historical moment for the Academy and for Leipzig. Imagine snapping a Mars bar, the hard exterior breaking quickly, the soft interior stretching slowly open.

LOCATION: MANCHESTER
CLIENT: ISIS
STAGE: INVITED COMPETITION

Surface teamed up with AHMM to do a joint submission for this invited competition which was for a site neighbouring the New Islington development. Each practice worked on a separate block taken fro the masterplan. Our design took the adjacent canal as inspiration, with a deep facade of ‘waterfall’ balconies and winter garden spaces. These waterfalls were wrapped around a coloured bamboo box.

LOCATION: HULL
CLIENT: IGLOO REGENERATION
STAGE: INVITED COMPETITION

We carried out the masterplan of this complex and important site and engaged Bauman Lyons, Sarah Wigglesworth and Hodsons Architects to design a series of urban blocks containing new and refurbished buildings. Jan Gehl Architects were brought into advise on the external public and private spaces. Our process of ‘castellation’ provides a variation in roof profile, evoking the old city wall, which originally protected the area. New building heights vary between 6 storey’beacons’ and 3 storey townhouses. Our scheme has single aspect one bedroom flats, double aspect 2 bedroom flats, double and quadruple aspect duplexes and double aspect 3 or 4 bedroom townhouses.B1 and A1/A3 use are provided at ground and first floor. Each architect has worked with resonances and associations with the place.They have translated this into contemporary architecture and urban design imbued with history and accent of the city, offering an extension of Hull’s distinctive language. The scheme achieves ‘Building for Life’ standard silver

LOCATION : LONDON
CLIENT : QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY
COMPLETED: MARCH 2005

LOCATION : HULL
CLIENT : ESTEEM ( LOCAL EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP)
SURFACE ROLE : LEP DESIGN CHAMPION

LOCATION: LONDON
CLIENT: RAZORFISH LTD
STAGE: RIBA STAGE D

Surface won a limited competition to design a radical landmark headquarters for media company Razorfish. We proposed an explosion of sensory layers to provide a complex and varied environment for 500 staff. The brief was developed with a series of workshops related to each conceptual layer of the scheme. We provided a dramatic spatial brand to communicate the values of a company seeing itself as un-limited by scale and location. We presented these values within an expressive array of scpecific ideas such as light schutes, back projection screens and folding forms.

LOCATION: HULL
CLIENT:
STAGE: DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION WINNER 2008

LOCATION : LONDON
CLIENT : UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON
STAGE: FEASIBILITY STUDY 2007

STAGE: FEASIBILITY STUDY

This feasibility study proposes the wrapping of an existing shopping centre with a series of undulating ribbons composed of glazed and ceramic panels. The ripple effects are formed loosely by the form of the existing building and additional net space and required service behind.

LOCATION : LONDON
CLIENT : CATHEDRAL DEVELOPMENTS
STAGE : DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT

We provided a feasibility study for a mixed-use development in Greenwich for Cathedral Developments in collaboration with HLM Architects. Taken from the site’s position alongside the over-ground railway, the building’s facades are formed as an abstraction of steam in order to induce movement into and throughout the site.

LOCATION: LONDON
CLIENT: GOLDSMITHS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
STAGE: IDEAS COMPETITION 2007

LOCATION: LONDON
CLIENT: BIRKBECK COLLEGE
STAGE: FEASIBILITY STUDY

Surface were asked to consider improvements to the existing space of Birkbeck College in Gordon Square, together with design proposals for the development of an extension at the back of the terraces. The scheme gives improved space utilisation in the existing terraces, provides a more efficient circulation and achieves full DDA regulation compliance.

LOCATION: LEEDS
CLIENT: NIKAL
STAGE: INVITED COMPETITION

This derelict 19 century needle factory was famous locally for its unusual Italianate towers. The competition called for a new media creative quarter which preserved the site’s ‘rich architectural legacy’ and also was a flagship sustainable development. Our scheme delivered a GIA total of 15,500 sq.m. This included 7,000sq.m. of housing, 6,00 sq.m of office space and high quality civic and public realm spaces.

LOCATION: AVON
CLIENT: BLUEPRINT REGENERATION
STAGE: DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION 2008

LOCATION: DERBY
CLIENT: BLUEPRINT
STAGE: INVITED COMPETITION

Our masterplan concept used the primacy of historic ‘burbage’ plot system as a tool for the regeneration of the urban block. At the same time we also opened up the two key views towards Derby cathedral and local church. The resulting street is seen as a dramatic fissure at the heart of a group of figures.

Chromatic historical field ground analysis and overlay of Hull Old Town. Completed as part of the Hull Fruit Market development framework briefing.