Copper Forum 2010 29 En

8/6/2019 Copper Forum 2010 29 En

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THE MAGAZINE OF COPPER IN ARCHITECTURE I 29/

8 Transparent Inscriptions in Latvia 10 Copper Trio in Prague

22 Cipea Villa Nanjing 26 A Floating Bronze Staircase 36 Dipoli 40-years on


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Copper Architecture Forum, OC TOBER 2010

Copper Architecture Forum is part o the on going European Copper In Architecture Campaigand is published twice a year and has a circulation o 25.200 copies.

The magazine is distributed to architects and proessionals in the building construction industin Russia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain, FrancItaly, Germany and UK.

Editor i Chief: Lennart Engstrm, tel +46 70 657 47 34, ax +46 21 19 87 [email protected]

Editor: Chris Hodson, [email protected]

Address: Copper Forum, Treasgatan 1, Box 550, SE-721 10 Vsters, Sweden

Publisher: Lennart Engstrm

Layout ad techical productio: Naula Grafsk Design/M Reklam

Pritig: Intellecta Inolog 2010, Sweden

Editorial pael:

Hannele Kuusisto, FI [email protected] Miettinen, FI [email protected]

Vadim Ionov, RU [email protected] Zakrzewski, PL [email protected] Pinter, CZ [email protected] Kratochvle, CZ [email protected] Tissot [email protected] Loconsolo [email protected] Klassert [email protected] Ramn Morales [email protected]

A new name and a new direction

Te sharp-eyed amongst you will have spotted that

we have changed the magazine name to COPPER

ARCHIECURE FORUM in this, our 29th issue.

Yes, we shall continue to ocus on copper and

showcase the best examples o its use in buildings

rom around Europe and beyond. But we also want

to develop a more rounded, architectural publication

with greater in-depth analysis o particular aspects o

innovative designs. By ocusing on the architecture

o just one material copper we can present a

unique perspective on building design not ound in

mainstream architectural publications.

Look out or the Copper in Close-up and Copper

in Detail pages, ocusing on new surace treatmentsand working drawings to illustrate how architects

actually achieve their conceptual intent. And we want

to tell you more about the designers o the projects

we eature. o help take Copper Architecture Forum

another level, architect Chris Hodson is now worki

alongside me as Editor and our expanding Editor

Board is on the lookout or projects and developin

trends not just in Europe but around the world.

In this issue, we have an exclusive interview wi

Pritzker Prize winner Ryue Nishizawa just ater t

award was announced and we talk to New York bas

aade specialist Bruce Nichol o Front Inc about h

work or some o the worlds most amous architec

We cover a real diversity o projects ranging r

iconic modern buildings to modest single homes

valid subjects with important lessons to be learnt. O

goals or Copper Architecture Forum are to inspire aninorm architects and designers but, above all, we ho

that you will fnd it both stimulating and enjoyable.

Lennart Engstrm

Editor in Chief Copper Architecture Forum

FROnT COvER

Helsinki Music Centre,scheduled for completion in2011. The main faade mate-rials include pre-patinatedcopper and glass, page 30.

BACk COvER

Serrano Evans Partnershipsoating bronze staircase in aLondon house, page 26.

COPPER DIARY

1-3 March 2011 Ecobuild Exhibition, London.www.ecobuild.co.uk/exhibitor-list/prole/2888.html

Spring 2011 PL T11, metals for architectureconference, Stockholm. ww w.plat10.se/english.php

30 May 2011 The European Copper in ArchitectureAwards, deadline for entries.www.copperconcept.org

Register now. If you do not already receive your own free copy of Copper Architecture Forum magazine, simply register now at http://www.copperconcept.org

Contact us now. We do want to hear from you, both wi th your comments on Copper Architecture Forum and suggestions for projects or topics that we can cover in futurSimply email the editors or your local Editorial Board member, listed above.


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3COPPER ARCHITECTURE FORUM 29/2010

4-5 6-7

8-9 10-12

13 14

15 16-18

19 20-21

22-25 26-28

29 30-33

34-35 36-39

4 Modulated Copper, Tjuvholmen Oslo

6 Celebrating Copper Cratsmanship, Rauma Finland

8 Transparent Inscriptions in Latvia

10 Copper Trio in Prague

13 Copper in Housing, Warsaw

14 The Architecture o Metals Plt 10

14 - Interview with Pritzker prizewinner Ryue Nishizawa

15 - Plt 10

16 Interview with acades guru Bruce Nichol o Front

17 Front case studies

18 Front copper in detail

19 Chocolate Boxes in Sopron, Hungary

20 Going Green in Blackheath, UK

22 Cipea Villa Nanjing, China

26 Sky o Bronze A Floating Bronze Staircase

29 Renovation o the clock tower at Helsinki railway station

30 Helsinki Music Centre emerges

34 Copper keeping disease away

36 Dipoli 40-years on

CONTENTS


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4 COPPER ARCHITECTURE FORUM 29/2010

- 1 . .

Olav SelvaagsPlass

Sj

gangen

Ggate

G

gate

Brygge

Brygge

Nord

F3

F1

F2

L-Bygget,Kontordelen

L-Bygget,Bolig-

delen

Modulated CopperThe new L-Building designed by Schmidt, Hammerand Lassen Architects plays a key role in shaping theurban character o a new section o the Tjuvholmen di-

strict o Oslo. In particular, its strongly modulated cop-per acades orm an important part o the architecturalenclosure o Olav Selvaags Place.

The master plan or Tjuvholmen resembles the struc-

ture and grain o a medieval town with winding streets

and narrow passages contrasting with open squares.

In act, the street rontages o medieval towns, with

their rhythm o continuous buildings, aade elements

protruding and receding almost at random and varying

roo heights, inspired the design o the L-Building.

COMBINING OFFICE AND RESIDENTIAL USES

As its name suggests, the plan orm o the L-Building

consists o two angled blocks, one residential, the other

oces, designed to be dierent rom each other but

complementary. The eight-storey oce block aces Olav

Selvaags Place and the canal, and provides approxima-

tely 7,530 sq.m. gross foor space, while the residential

section consists o 13 foors with 78 fats o three di-

erent types acing Sjgangen and the water. Across

rom the site, in the courtyard o the L-building, is the

Oval Building, designed by Torp Architects. The residen-

tial part o the building is designed as a cohesive spacewhere terraces or bay windows grow out rom the

acade. Terraces, bay windows and acades all have a

light-coloured, render surace.

Project: Tjuvholmen Oslo NorwayArchitects:Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen Architects. http://shl.dkCopper installer: Erling Freitag A/S

Block Plan highlighting oces (let) and apartments (right)

Visualisation rom Olav Selvaags Place, oceblock to the ront, apartments behind.


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LIGHT OxIDISED COPPER SURFACEIn contrast, the oce block acades makeextensive use o pre-oxidised copper in alight brown colour. The copper claddingtakes on strong, three-dimensional, mo-dulated orms and is installed over a struc-tural rame system, creating three die-

rent bay depths in relation to the acadesconsistent glass plane. The proportionso the window rames and openings varydepending on the dierent unctions o therooms behind them and the amount o day-light required. For example, the rames othe oces/workspaces correspond to anoce module o 2400 mm. Certain spa-ces, such as meeting rooms, are situatedin the gables acing the canal and by theentrance, where the main staircase is alsovisible.

Facing Olav Selvaags Place is a unnel-

shaped entrance carved out o the buildingand rising up to ve storeys. The Oval Buil-ding is accessible rom Olav Selvaags Pla-ce via a vestibule - an important circulationarea between the two buildings - throughthis main entrance. The ground level hasa granite foor covering matching that oOlav Selvaags Place itsel, both in the en-trance and the interior, giving a seamlesstransition between exterior and interior.

The ground foor o the wing acing OlavSelvaags Place houses a reception areaor the oce building and conerence

rooms. The remaining foors consist ooce space, each with an average o 900sq.m. gross foor area and have workspa-ces along the acades and a central corewith service acilities. The wing acingSjgangen and the water has a groundfoor ca with outdoors seating that willadd lie to the courtyard.

Entrance level 01 plan Level 03 with oces (let) and apartments (right) Typical higher level plan


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Copper Convinced the OwnersOriginally, the house had a galvanized tin

roo which required increasing, periodic

maintenance to resolve problems such as

blistering o the green roo paintwork.

Tereore a decision was made to replace

the whole roo. With this coastal location,

the changing weather conditions expose

the external materials to extreme strain.

According to the buildings owner, Raimo

Hilakari, copper was the only sensible solu-

CELEBRATING COPPER CRAFTSMANSHIP

Text by Hannele Kuusisto/Chris Hodson

Replacement of the failed galvanized tin roofs on this distinctive house with

beautifully detailed copper has added a new dimension to its unique design.

Perched on a rocky slope overlooking the seashore in Rauma on the West coast of

Finland, the house was designed by local Architect Jukka Koivula and built some

20 years ago. The multi-level house follows the natural contours of the terrain and its

mannerist design borrowing both from traditional and modern sources presents

various different forms seen from both sea and land.

tion let. Its durability and malleability were

important considerations when deciding on

the material or the various dierent roo

orms. Additionally, the shade o copper and

its natural patination over time will give a

natural match to the yellow-toned stone sur-

ace o the house. A new copper roo was in-

stalled last year and a ll the other sheet metal

cladding was replaced with copper.Owners: Tuire and Raimo Hilakari, Rauma

Architects Oice: Jukka Koivula, Rauma

Photo:HanneleKuusisto


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Superb WorkmanshipTe roo was clad with 60-cm-wide copper

strips, supplied in 200-kg coils ready to be

cut and shaped into correctly sized pieces

or use in dierent places. Te 500m2 roo

has various details demanding a particu-

larly high level o skill rom the installation

crew a local sheet-metal company. Copper

has also been used in the unusual rainwater

system, the distinctive architect-designed

chimney, and even protective cladding or

the ence. Te highly individual windowrames are copper-clad, too. Tis house is

ull o small, delightul details all beau-

tiully executed and a real celebration o

copper cratsmanship. Its now a year since

the new copper was installed and it has oxi-

dized into a sot brown colour. Te owners

are pleased with their choice and know that

the roo will last or many generations.


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By Hannele Kuusisto

TRANSPARENTINSCRIPTIONSIN LATVIALast year in Copper Forum (issue 27/09) we looked at

the design o a new library in Parventa, Latvia whichis now complete. A key element o its architectural

concept is the inscription o hand-written tets on a

massive scale across the perorated copper cladding

that wraps around the building. In this article, we

take a close look at how this was achieved.

P

erorated copper cladding has been used beore to create

transparency, adding a third dimension to otherwise at

acades. But this project takes the technology to anotherlevel o sophistication, successully replicating the subtleties o

hand-writing using light and shade, generated using only our

sizes o perorations in the copper. Tese permanent images o

text immediately suggest the buildings literary use but also have

an important national resonance, as the designers INDIA Ar-

chitects explain.

Te copper is inscribed with some o the handwriting o the a-

ther o Latvian olksongs Krijnis Barons. He dedicated his lie

to collecting and classiying national olksongs (Latvju dainas)

and preserving Latvian spoken linguistic culture by recording

it. Barons compiled 217,996 olksong texts and is seen as being

responsible or the 19th century Latvian national reawakening.

His hand-written record o olksongs is kept in the well-known

Dainu skapis and examples rom it were replicated on the library

acade.

Project: Parventa LibraryArchitects: INDIA architects, Latvia. www.india.lvMain contractor and copper installer: Pilsbuve, Latvia

Examples of the handwriting of the father of Latvian folksongs, Krijnis Barons

were transposed accurately onto copper panels using perforations in the surfa


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puter programmer was involved in our de-

sign process who created special sotware to

convert graphic images o Barons originalhandwriting into digital les. Tis unique,

home-made sotware was the key to our

success and it took only a ew hours to cre-

ate all the les which were sent to the Lu-

vata actory.

Te second challenge was to adapt the

text layout to the overall length o the a-

ades. All the copper panels are xed at a

distance away rom the structural acade to

create a sot, transparent eect and accom-

modate lighting xtures. Tis means that

just a ew millimetres error at the xing

points would ruin the appearance o hand-

written text. We careully chose some zones

with a homogeneous peroration character

and let them until the end. Only ater

most o the perorated copper panels were

xed was the nal run o perorated sheets

ordered. Now it is nished, its almost im-

possible to see where those adjustment lines

are on the building.

A unique technique was developed, in con-

junction with the copper supplier Luvata, to

create the six hundred individually perorat-ed copper panels that orm the acade. Our

ideas started with standard copper sheets

using single-size perorations, then devel-

oped to individually laser-cut square holes

o our dierent sizes. Te smallest holes

are surrounded by copper which reects

daylight, while the largest have little metal

around them and read almost as black. Te

our variants gave us a design vocabulary o

subtle shades capable o replicating hand-

writing and adding depth to the aade.

First, sketches were drawn on big paper

sheets to nd the best possible appear-

ance. Ten, shortly aterwards, the rst

mock-up panels were created by Luvata to

test our ideas and a ew were exhibited by

the company at FINN EXPO in Helsinki.

Tese rst mock-up panels were created

rom manual drawings a daunting task

i applied to six hundred individual copper

sheets. Fortunately, a young amateur com-

A system using laser-cut square holes of four dierent

sizes was used to create text

allowing varying amounts of light to pass into the void

behind or reect o the surface, replicating the subtle

shades of handwriting.

Text by Hannele Kuusisto / Chris Hodson


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Residence Zabehlice aims to uniy an

existing, extensive sports complex in a

mature landscaped setting. A linear,

ground oor building with car park

basement, which provides administra-

tion, tness and wellbeing unctions

with some housing, sits below a trio

o skewed trapezoidal masses on slen-

der columns, containg two-storeys o

apartments. Te architects see these

masses as reminiscent o three beached

boats with the horizontal stratication

o their sides symbolising boarded hull

construction.

Te solid and compact mass o the

ground oor building opens up to the

south with a glazed wall. Its remaining

acades are made o air-aced concrete

panels. In contrast, the trapezoidal trio

above are crisply detailed in copper, ar-

ticulated by horizontal strips o glazing,

some twisting out rom the wall plane

to orm bays. Generously glazed walls

to the north ends ace the tree-lined Bo-

tic river. Tese three volumes contain

more luxurious apartments, each with

its own roo terrace: the remaining roo

areas are simply planted.

A largely residential development in Prague uses three shades of copper

to create bold, horizontally stratied surfaces enveloping its three oating

rhomboidal masses. This technique has been seen before but generally in

prepatinated green, and this brown-themed design is a fascinating departure.

Block Plan

Cross section showing upper two-storey trapezoidsfying over the horizontal block under with below-ground parking and services.

COPPER TRIO


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11COPPER ARCHITECTURE FORUM 29/2010 11

Typical upper foor plan o luxury apartments, each with privateroo terraces either on the block below or the roo above.


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Architect: Atelier KAAMA, Ing. arch. Karel M razek, Ing. arch. Jan Tichota

Copper Installer: Ruukki CZ, s.r.o.

Photos: Radovan Boek

Te three trapezoids are clad horizontally with 200 mm

wide copper panels, ranging rom 2 m to 4 m long in a

ventilated cladding system over an insulated, reinorced

concrete structure. One o the most intriguing aspectso the scheme is the combination o three dierent sha-

des chosen to create a smooth transition rom lighter

to darker copper. Tis is achieved using standard mill

nish copper in combination with material that has

been pre-oxidised at Luvatas actory in both light and

dark versions. Te colour combinations are placed ran-

domly on the acade to raise its dynamic design and to

evoke the eect o timber bark.

CONTINUING NATURAL CHANGESAll three shades represent, at one point in time, dierent

stages in the natural patination o copper that would

occur over many years in the external environment.

Interestingly, these natural changes will now continue

over coming months and years but dierently or each

shade, adding an animated dimension to the building.

A TRIO OF BROWNS IN COPPER RESIDENCE ZABEHLICE, PRAGUE


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COPPER IN HOUSINGThere is a growing trend amongst architects to use copper cladding as part o a limited

palette o aade materials, rather than in isolation particularly on housing projects.

We eatured an example rom the UK in the last issue o Copper Forum (28/2010, page 38)

and this Polish project takes a similar approach but in a very dierent, contemporary

style.

Text by Hannele Kuusisto/Chris Hod

Architect: www.hermanowicz.pl

Commissioned by www.integraeko.pl/

Construction work by www.henpol.com.pl/

Installation o acades by www.dachistrych.pl/

Villa Bianca is a medium-rise housing de-

velopment within a new residential area o

Wilanow, just 11 kilometres rom the cen-

tre o Warsaw. Designed by local architectsHermanowicz Rewski Architekce, the estate

consists o several, six-storey blocks with ve

foors above ground level and one below, con-

taining a total o 347 apartments or living and

working.

Despite its total foor area o 64,000 m 2, thedevelopment is not overbearing and gives an

impression o cool, understated modern de-

sign. The white rendered acades combine

with dark metal windows and panels, and cop-

per cassettes to give a restrained palette o

materials throughout the development.

A regular grid o stacked copper cassettes is

applied to various external wall areas giving

the impression o a thin surace with regu-

lar horizontal bands accentuated by the jointdetailing. Around 1,900 m2 o standard cas-

settes rom Finnish manuacturer Luvata

were suppl ied, made up o 1.25 mm thick cop-

per sheet. The copper has a actory-applied

textured, rolled surace which adds a urther

dimension to its visual characteristics andwill infuence the natural patination as rain-

water passes over it.

C

B

D

C = depth of the cassette, min 25mm; max 60mm

D = joint width, min 15mm; max 60mm

B = height of the cassetteA = width of the cassette


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THE ARCHITECTURE OF METALS

KEEP IT SIMPLEThis is the mantra o Ryue Nishizawa, a principal o SANAA, a Tokyo basedarchitecture studio designing innovative buildings internationally, set up some15 years ago with Kazuyo Sejima. They were joint recipients o the 2010 PritzkerArchitecture Prize. Ryue Nishizawa presented a vision o his architecture at thePLT10 event in Malm, Sweden, just ater announcement o the Pritzker Prize inApril. Copper Architecture Forum editor Chris Hodson was also there and seizedthe opportunity or an eclusive interview to ask about his work and interest indesigning with metals.

CH: Firstly, congratulations! When you dis-covered that you had won the Pritzker Prizehow did you eel?RN: We were very surprised!

CH: The Pritzker Jury Citation highlightsyour singular architectural language thatsprings rom a collaborative process that isboth unique and inspirational . How does thiscollaboration with Kazuyo Sejima and yourother colleagues work?RN: We dont make dierent roles or eachother but try to work all the time in an evenway. We have never worked alone and al-

ways invite a ew other architects to workon each project and then we all work to-gether extensively.

CH: Which o your projects best denesSANAAs architecture?RN: This is dicult. I love each project soI cant give some priority between them.They are all, kind o, my kids. For each pro-

ject we try to do our best with an individualprogram and specic environment.

CH: Beore setting up SANAA what were yourdesign infuences and which architects orteachers infuenced you most?RN: To me, actually, Kazuyo Sejima is oneo the biggest infuences and Toyo Ito con-tinues to infuence me very much as well.

CH: How do you adapt your ideas and conceptsto dierent places, particularly as SANAA isnow working on an international basis?RN: A very dicult question. The localenvironment is the important thing orus to drive a project. We love to go to thesite rst or the atmosphere, then several

more times to develop a uller understand-ing.

CH: Can you eplain your interests and pre-erences in terms o choosing materials?RN: I work with many dierent materialssuch as metal, wood, concrete and brick.Actually, we oten use metal constructionbecause its very light and can give a trans-parent eeling, but is also strong.

CH: With the New Museum in New York, whatwere the intentions and process in selectingthe transparent, silver colour metal aadematerial?

RN: Because the New Museum programneeded to be enclosed by an opaque wallor exhibitions and the building had to bevery tall 50 m or so its kind o a sky-scraper. So, we started thinking about howwe could give a transparent eeling or nu-ance to the aade. This is one reason whywe had the double layer o metal mesh togive some transparency and a eeling odepth.

I wanted a museum which is very closeto the city, with material reerences oundlocally. Bowery Street was a very roughstreet where actories used to be located

with metal air conditioning boxes outside. Ithought this kind o local industrial eelingcould be transormed in our design. Themetal mesh on our building looks to mevery industrial - kind o normal, a city-sidematerial.

CH: Do you epect SANAA to continue to growas an architectural practice more projects,more oces, more people?RN: This is a very important discussion orus. I dont want to grow the oce so bigthat we have 100 people this sounds tome dicult to manage so to me the maxi-mum would be 50 or 60.

CH: How would you summarise your ap-proach to design?RN: Keep it simple!

CH: Do you see any specic trends developingin architecture internationally?RN: I have seen so many dierent move-ments happen in the world. In the States,computer orientated design is becominga big movement, and then in Europe I seesustainable architecture leading the way.We cant choose just one aspect as we haveso many dierent directions, so many di-

erent issues to discuss.CH: And nally, not talking about architectureany more, what other interests do you have?Where do you go to rela?RN: I have my home where I can eel com-ortable and maybe aeroplanes! Travel-ling gives me an opportunity to rereshmysel. I love being at the airport alone,

just waiting or the gate to open watchingthe people around me.

By Chris Hodson

I love each project

so I cant give some priority

between themthey are all,

kind of, my kids

Photo: Anna Hllams


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Here, metals architecturalpotential is showcased withinfuential buildings, novel ap-plications and new techniques.Both locally based and inter-nationally renowned architectspresent their work and debatethe latest innovations in aadedesign. Previous key speak-ers have been Kengo Kuma,William Zahner o A.ZAHNERCOMPANY, Dominique Per-rault and Jacob van Rijs oMVRDV.

This year, PLT10 was held inMalm, Sweden, at the centreo the impressive dockyard re-development and overlookedby Santiago Calatravas iconic54-storey Turning Torso resi-dential tower. Key speakerswere 2010 Pritzker Prize Win-ner Ryue Nishizawa o SANAA(interviewed opposite) andBruce Nichol (interviewed onpage 16), a ounding partner oFront, one o the worlds lead-ing acade consulting rms.

ALL ABOUT METALSThe PLT events are organ-ised by sa Ragnarsson (Farrom standard) on behal o

PLT10

an association o the leadingcompanies supplying the mainarchitectural metals: steel,zinc, aluminium and copper(represented by Luvata). Anadditional partner is the pro-essional organisation repre-senting Swedens sheet-metalworkers with almost 1,000member companies. The eventalso hosted a presentation othe 2010 Swedish sheet metalworkers awards, recognisingthe importance o cratsman-ship in realising architectsdesigns.

There were presentations byour Scandinavian architects,each describing the role playedby a dierent metal in deningthe design and perormanceo their projects. ke Brisvallo ke Brisvall Arkitektkon-tor talked about aluminium atHamnens hus (a new customshouse) or the port o Kalmar,a modern take on marine ar-chitecture. Holse ArkitektersPeter Holse presented theZink House, a sculptural, tiltedblock o 60 luxury apartmentsin Copenhagens Nordhavn.Then, the heat-refective capa-bilities o steel sheet or roosand walls to reduce operatingcosts were highlighted by ArneLudvigsson, City Architects,Borlnge.

COPPER IN THE OFFICECopper was represented byJose Eder o General Archi-tecture discussing the copperaade o his Skellete Kratbuilding (eatured in Cop-per Forum 28/2010). Ater theevent, Chris Hodson caught up


Every year some 300 architects, contractors and consultantsrom around Scandinavia and beyond - come together or amajor event to celebrate the use o metals in contemporary

architecture.

Photo: Chris Hodson

with him at his Stockholm o-ce and was surprised to nd acomplete section o the build-ings aade inside. Jose ex-plained: When it comes to thecopper wall, we liked the ideao having a ull scale samplein the oce. During the wholeprocess, particularly in theearly design stages, we try todo ull scale tests o joints andobjects in the oce and there-

ore we have a small carpen-ters shop here. We try to workwith sturdy materials in all ourprojects and since we have alot o experience o copper a-ter the Skellete build we wantto use that knowledge in otherprojects too.

Next Spring, PLT11 will be held inStockholm. Visit http://plat10.se/or more inormation.

Photo: ke E:son Lindman

Inside the Stockholm oces o General Architecture.

Photo: ke E:son Lindman


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CH: Front has been described simply as e-perts in putting it all together. Is this a goodsummary?BN: There is a lot more to it than that. Wetry to enable our clients whether theybe designers, owners, abricators or con-tractors to achieve the design intent o aproject. So, we add value wherever we can.

We dont have a restricted or limited palleto materials and we try not to restrict ouractivity.

CH: So, is the New York Times descriptionhigh priests o details too precise?BN: Could be but I quite enjoy that one soI wouldnt like to retract it!

CH: Could you just briefy outline your col-laborative process with architects?BN: On a typical project we are commonlyasked to contribute on a technical basis system design and mechanical and struc-tural engineering and then to advise on

detailing, abrication and method o project delivery including construction advice.Occasionally we are invited to contribute ina more ormally creative way. Perhaps tooer opinion on material choices or coloursor proportions in a more conventional ar-chitectural sense and since were largelyarchitects we greatly enjoy that. But i thatisnt the case then we try to be creative withwhatever tools we have.

CH: What are your interests and preerencesin terms o materiality and the epression omaterials and structure?BN: My interests are, I suppose, charac-terised by material and structural honesty.I dont particularly enjoy trying to makesomething look like what its not, or try todeny its existence. I like to recognise ma-terials and to let them look beautiul in their

own way, so metals that patinate naturally Ireally enjoy.

CH: Can you tell us something about youreperience with copper acades?BN: Well, copper has had somewhat o arebirth I think in recent years. One gen-erator o that rebirth has been Herzog &de Meuron, who have used copper in someinnovative and perhaps counter-intuitiveways. It is quite dicult to perceive thescale o some o their buildings due to theplay o light on, and through, the coppercladding. The way that they have ormedsuraces, pressed them, embossed them,

punched them is ascinating.Weve become involved in similar uses

o copper too. We have one on-going project in Boston with Renzo Piano BuildingWorkshop; the Isabella Stewart GardnerMuseum, which is clad in pre-patinatedcorrugated copper to beautiul eect. An-other interesting example is a speculativedevelopment in New York by Flank Ar-chitects with sharply detailed mill-nishcopper acades. (Both projects are dis-cussed on page 17).

CH: Looking specically at metal acades,what do you see as the latest developments,opportunities and innovations today?BN: I see new metal ormation techniques.Im interested in the way metals can be giv-en surace geometry and were getting intosome quite sophisticated means o orm-

ing unusual geometrical and non-standardshapes. And there are applied nishes - notnecessarily paint systems but things thatare slightly more sophisticated and sub-tle, dierent coatings that can give metalsgreater longevity and a certain nish qualitythat is unusual and very seductive. We seedierent iridescent nishes being appliedto metals that make them subtly beautiul:it is oten hard to tell what a certain metalis, and they can transorm under dierentlighting conditions.

CH: Do you see any specic trends develop-

ing in architecture generally today?BN: One trend that springs to mind isorm nding. Architects have been tryingto discover new orms and design in anorganic way. At rst this was a little mis-guided. Computer sotware kind o reedup the architect to invent new shapes, butthe shapes werent rational and so theywerent readily buildable. There was a loto, what I call, blobby architecture that wasreally quite ugly. But we have seen thatbecome more and more rational, perhapsderived rom pure geometry and then ex-tracted, extrapolated, made into somethingbuildable. Forms based on engineeringrst principles that can be accurately de-scribed, turned into proper structures andconstructed.

CH: What other interests do you have awayrom work and where do you go to rela?BN: Well, I do something that I love. But I tryto entwine my work and outside interests.I very much enjoy the arts and i I can workon buildings that are art institutions, evenbetter. Then I can also enjoy and learn romthe artists that use them.

THE HIGH PRIEST OF DETAILIn his second interview at PLT10, Chris Hodson met Bruce Nichol - a British architectand ounding partner o Front, the New York based specialist in architectural aade

systems. Bruce has previously worked with Foster + Partners, and Renzo PianoBuilding Workshop. Front is a cross-disciplinary group o creative individuals thatcollaborates with many leading architectural practices on numerous innovative andoriginal projects, including SANAAs New Museum discussed earlier.


Photo:AnnaHllams

Copper has had somewhat

of a rebirth in recent years


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Renzo Piano Building Work-shops design or a major ex-tension to a late 19th centuryItalianate palazzo embracesa central horticultural theme

with its extensive greenhouseand surrounding landscaping.The new buildings our vol-umes will be clad with crystalclear glass or maximum vis-ibility and opaque natural ma-terials brick and copper.

The desire or an organic, liv-ing green nish with depth andvibrancy led naturally to cop-per and Renzo Pianos earliercopper Padre Pio Church wasthe starting point. Renzo Pi-ano takes a tireless approachto investigating materials and,working with Front as an in-

termediary, rigorous designand research was carried outon the aade cladding, whichpassed through several itera-tions. The eventual outcome

is a ventilated rain-screensystem utilising specially pre-patinated copper sheet with adistinctive corrugated prole.It is a very lustrous green and,because the surace is undu-lating, it will take on slightlydierent shades and coloursover its surace on each aceo the building - and that willchange gradually over time aswell. Samples and elevationmock-ups have been erectedand tested, and the cladding it-sel is due to be erected on siteat the end o this year.

This speculative, 12-unit de-velopment by Flank Architectsneeded to appeal to its poten-tial market and, at the same

time, respond to its contextwith a thoroughly contempo-rary architecture based on lo-cal reerences. The aade ismodulated with protruding andreceding elements pushingand pulling as a play on themassing typical o bay-win-dowed traditional housing inthe area.

Fronts aade design uses a4 mm composite sheet with amill nished copper outer ace

which will continue to workwell visually, alongside nearbyred brick and brown stone, asit patinates over time. Dier-ent techniques were exploredto achieve the crisp, squarecorners and a V-cut and old

APARTMENT BLOCK, WEST 12TH STREET, NEW YORK

ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM EXTENSION, BOSTON


method decided upon. Thecomposite panels provide sti-ness over span, with impor-tant re protection and noise

reduction characteristics. Thecopper composite panels orma rainscreen system supportedby steel posts and rails creat-ing a drained and ventilatedspace behind (see Copper inDetail on page 18).

The crisply detailed design intent shown in visualisations, such as that above,has been realised in the completed building.


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APARTMENT BLOCK FACADE, WEST 12TH STREET, NEW YORK

A development mock-up highlight s the aade orms. A steel suppor t ramework is used or the copper acade. The suppor t ramewor k, still visible during construc


19/40


Chocolate Boxes

AustriAn chocolAte maa ha a

pd a w pd pa ad v

hgaa bd w sp v gwg

wk p. T amy b a a g-m

mmm qay ad fd k,

mpay bdg dg by Aa a

cp hb ad p-paad pp

w w d, mb ad ga x.

Te building is set in an enterprise park close to a residential

area and its design aims to open out into its environment,

rather than enclose its activities. Te building is on a south-

ern slope, with a wonderul panorama o downtown Sopron

and specic unctions are organised using level changes.

Mechanical and storage areas are on the lowest, copper-

clad level inset into the hill. Te main production areas and

cantilevered visitors centre and ca occupy the intermedi-

ate oor, then a copper box containing ofces crowns the

building.

Visitor circulation is separated rom the production areas,

developed using two distinct volumes - both white rendered.

Te production box is cut into the copper clad lower sto-

rey, while the slightly elevated visitor centre and ca box is

cantilevered out and more open, with glazing on two sides

to maximise views. Te pre-patinated copper cladding is

detailed with a horizontal emphasis, presented as bands o

varying widths, carried straight across service doors as well

as acades. Te building successully combines the unction-

al demands o conectionary manuacture with light and

inviting public spaces where the history and production o

chocolate can be showcased and visitors can relax.

Based on an article by Zoran VukoszavlyevArchitect: Architekt Dipl. Ing. Christoph Huber (awarchitekten, Vienna)

Contact architect in Hungary: Architekt Dipl. Ing. Gbor rpd Kiss, SopronBuilt: March 2008 June 2009


20/40


Michael Kemp considers the Blackheatharea o London to be his home, continuingto live and work there ater many years.Blackheath is an inner suburban area osoutheast London, characterised by large19th century villas with generous spacearound them. Although oten challengingin terms o obtaining permission or de-velopment, the spaces between originalhouses present opportunities or new de-

velopment, as Michael Kemp explains:I bought the site without planning per-mission ater others had ailed on twooccasions to obtain consent or a singlehouse and developed a mirrored pair osemi-detached homes or sale.

Each o the two levels ollows a di-erent plan geometry, with open livingareas downstairs, contained by near semi-

GOING GREEN IN BLACKHEATHBritish designer and property developer Michael Kemp used his previous

experience with copper at his own home to create maximum impact with

pre-patinated copper street elevations on a development of two new houses.

circular walls. The upper level has morerectilinear areas or sleep and work, witha bow-ronted balcony, highlighted by pre-patinated copper cladding supplied by KMEUK. Michael Kemp continues: It is proba-bly unusual to use pre-patinated copperor a small scale residential development.I wanted to use the material mainly becau-se o the uncompromising colour but alsobecause o its historical associations with

London buildings. This, together with thelime render, gives I believe a timelessquality, managing to be both traditio-nal and contemporary at the same time.The pre-patinated copper was chosen orkerb appeal and certainly was largely re-sponsible or attracting the considerableinterest rom potential purchasers: in act,one o the houses has already been sold.

Upper Floor Plan

Lower Floor Plan

By Chris Hodson

Photo courtesy o KME UK


21/40


Actually, I had used copper some years earlier on my own home,nearby in Blackheath. This building also sits in open space nextto an older house but takes a dierent approach. It is all on onelevel and a planted green roo was chosen to suggest the housewas carved out o a hillside. This was also the justication orthe rough Portland stone cladding and large pieces o ammoniteossil can be seen incorporated into the stone. Contrasting withthe living roo is a shallow copper dome - the only part which isvisible rom the entrance gates. The copper adds a gravitas tothe dome and links it with the older house: with hindsight, I justwish that I had used pre-patinated copper here as well.

COPPER DOME

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Michael Kemp attended the amous Goldsmiths Collegein London during the early 1960s and studied ne ar t. Hehas spent most o his lie as a urniture designer and be-spoke maker based at his own small workshop below thecopper dome at his home. Although not an architect, hedesigns houses simply as a larger piece o urniture andalso acts as both the builder and developer.

Michael Kemps own home with its unusual plan (above) incorporates a copper dome (below).


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The Villa is part o the international CIPEA

architecture exhibition located in the vicinity

o Nanjing in Pearl Spr ing Tourist and Holiday

Resort. The exhibition has been set up by

architect Arata Isozaki rom Japan who also

acts as the exhibition curator. The exhibitionbuildings wind round the lake surrounded

by hills o great natural beauty. Four public

buildings have been constructed in the

area: the Club House has been designed

by Ettore Sottsas rom Italy, the Museum

o Contemporary Art by Steven Holl andthe Congress Center by Isozaki himsel. In

addition to these, there are twenty villas by the

lakeside designed by ten Chinese architects

and ten architects rom dierent parts o the

world, such as SANAA Architects rom Japan,

Mansilla & Tunon rom Spain, Odille Deque

rom France, Sean Godsell rom Australia and

Ai Wei Wei rom China. The Villas are designed as holiday residencesand serve as guest studios or artists,

accommodation space or amilies, and as

acilities rented to groups and corporationsor meetings and seminars or or use as work

rooms. In practice the Villas are like small

landscape hotels about hal an hours drive

rom the centre o Nanjing.

By Matti Sanaksenaho,architect

Area: 800 m2

Volume: 2 700 m3

Client: Nanjing Siang EducationalEnterprise, China International PracticalExhibition o Architecture

Main design and architectural design:Architects Sanaksenaho Arkkitehdit Oy:Matti Sanaksenaho architect SAFA, PirjoSanaksenaho architect SAFA, Maria Isotupaarchitect SAFA, Jaana Hellinen architectSAFA, Tommi Terst architect SAFA, NatsukoWakimoto student o architecture

Structural drat designs:Insinrotoimisto Matti Ollila Oy:Tero Aaltonen, MSc in Engineering,

Design period: 20032004

Construction period: 20082011

Photos: Matti SanaksenahoSanaksenaho architects

CIPEA VILLA Nanjing, China

Concept drat

Northeast acade


23/40


View rom the lake, a conceptual image

Southeast acade Northwest acade


24/40


The Villa designed by us is located very centrally,

on a small cape at the beginning o the exhibition

round. The role o the building is to enorce the

surrounding nature and bring it close. The Villa

protrudes rom the cover o the orest toward the

lake, embracing the water and the view. From the

outside the end o the building is like a Chinese

lantern refected on the lakes surace.Entrance to the building takes place via a narrow

bridge leading to the lounge foor, which is the

most public level o the Villa. The meeting room

can be joined together with the dining room by

opening the sliding door. The recreation room

with an open replace and the lounge have views

towards the lake. The bedrooms are located on

the lower foor and the two-storey master suite

on the ground level serves also as a guest studio,

which extends to the lake as a private pier. The

roo terrace, which is accessed rom the entrance

courtyard like Villa Malaparte, oers a pleasantarea complete with granite fooring and a replace

or outdoor relaxation. The terrace has views

towards the lake, with the silhouette on Nanjing

seen in the horizon. The load-bearing rame has

been built o in-situ concrete and the cladding

material o the Villa is Finnish pre-patinated

green copper.

The starting point o the architecture o the Villa

is lie in harmony with nature, with the built-up

environment in dialogue with ree nature. The

Villa is being reerred to as the boat house due

to its shape and location on the shore.

Overview o the area

Site plan

Section Completed aade Roo terrace, a conceptual image


25/40


External staircase to roo terrace

Ramp to roo terrace

Plan drawing, roo terrace

Plan drawing, third level

Plan drawing, second level

Plan drawing, rst level

Plan drawing, basement


26/40


27/40


interactiveconnecting

a white skin wrapping itthe wires as a mathematical game

The Kendalls Hall project is a conversion o a

protected, historic building in London, built in

1849 as the Hampstead Parish Workhouse,converted into a hospital in 1915 and then into

houses and fats by a developer in 1987 beore

being purchased by the current owner and cli-

ent who commissioned this reinterpretation

by Serrano Evans Par tnership. The architects

aspiration at Kendalls Hall was that the ar-

chitecture and interior design should provide

a coherent, calm and elegant backdrop to the

challenging provision o 6 bedrooms and 6

bathrooms and that the circulation spaces

became the animated and inspiring links be-

tween them. The project is a complete exam-ple o their holistic approach to architecture

and design, explored and expressed through

both the spatial experience o moving through

the house and the design and detailing o the

elements; rom the overall concept o inter-

connections and views, through to the individ-

ual pieces o urniture that the architects were

also commissioned to design at Kendalls Hall.

Serrano Evans Partnership is a London-based Architectural andDesign practice interested in exploring and questioning the bound-aries between design, architecture, ashion and movement. Thepartnership was ormed in 2005 between Ana Serrano and ElanthaEvans ater meeting whilst working or Richard Rogers Partner-ship / Estudio Lamela on the award-winning Madrid Barajas Air-port, Spain. Serrano Evans is an international practice, with recentand current projects in Asia, Europe and the UK, o varying scales rom an Airport in Tyumen, Russia, to house and urniture design,and installation / per ormance at Londons Tate Britain.

Their Kendalls Hall project has inspired andhosted site-specic perormances, art lmsand a high-ashion photo shoot, and when pre-sented to the public as part o Londons OpenHouse Weekend 2009, it was received withsuch enthusiasm that it was invited to appearagain in 2010. A photograph o the stair has re-cently been included in the 50 years o LondonArchitecture exhibition at the Mall Galleries,with Serrano Evans included as one o theUKs up-and-coming young practices.

ABOUT THE ARCHITECTS


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BRONZE STAIRCASE, KENDALLS HALL, LONDON


29/40


Renovation of the clock tower

at Helsinki railway station

Text by: Esko Miettinen, Photo: Eark

The architectural competition orthe design o the station buildingwas opened in 1904. A total o 27 en-tries were received, and Eliel Saarinentogether with Herman Gesellius wonthe competition. The entry submittedby Sigurd Frosterus was ranked sec-ond and greatly inuenced Saarinens

implementation. The construction pe-riod o the station was quite long aterthe competition. Finland became anindependent nation in 1917.

The railway station is a central land-mark in terms o architecture andtownscape in the centre o Helsinki.The building has undergone severalreurbishment projects, but the exte-rior architecture has remained quite

unchanged and in the original orm.The railway station is one o the mostsignifcant buildings designed by ElielSaarinen in downtown Helsinki. Thebuilding is recognised as a nationalmonument, also internationally.

The renovation o the clock tower atthe Helsinki railway station started

in 2009 and was completed in March2010. The clock tower was reurbishedin many ways during the project. Allthe ca. 3800 granite stones o theclock tower were dismantled, cleanedand re-laid. The joints between thestones were reapplied. The clock acewas cleaned, the clock mechanismserviced and the minute points gilded.The lighting system o the clock was

replaced. The copper surace o theclock tower was replaced with newpre-patinated green copper cladding.

The tower renovation project is animportant visible reminder o how sig-nifcant the buildings that representthe frst phase o modern architectureare to the townscape o Helsinki.

Eliel Saarinen emigrated to theUnited States in 1923 and continuedhis successul career as an architectthere. His son, architect Eero Saarinen(19101961) took over rom him as anacknowledged international designerin the USA.

The main railway station o Helsinki was built in 1919. It was designed by one

o the most acknowledged Finnish architects; Eliel Saarinen (18731950).


30/40


Helsinki Music Centre emerges

Faade on Tlnlahdenkatu street, with Parliament House in background.


31/40


Helsinki Music Centre, scheduledor completion in 2011, is takingshape in downtown Helsinki. The

main aade materials includepre-patinated copper and glass.

Marko Kivist, Ola Laiho, Mikko Pulkkinen, architects SAFA

Views rom Parliament House.

31

The architects behind the competition entry or Helsinki Music Cen-tre, a mezza voce, were guided by the view that new developmentshould enhance the integrity and calm general expression o thearea. The building has been integrated in the coordinate system oits surroundings making two sides o the main mass o the build-ing parallel with Finlandia Hall and the Parliament House, while thetallest part o the main mass continues on the level o the east wallsurace o Karamzin Park. The tallest parts have also been locatedas close to the green zone as possible to continue the impression opublic buildings in a park. The transparent glass side o the MusicCentre displays the unctions o the building and at the same timeconnects it with the newer buildings and newer architecture o theeast part o the area. On the street sides the more solid, peroratedcopper cladding pre-patinated in green colour seeks to connect withthe buildings o Etu-Tl area and the green park volume.

The Parliament House is part o the square composition and theview rom the stairs down towards the parks and urther to the Par-liament House is open. The inclined deck o the lower building part,treated like a park, descends towards south making space or theindependent architecture o the Contemporary Art Museum Kiasma.

On Mannerheiminkatu Street level a pedestrian and bicycle roadruns rom the entrance square along a lawn plane towards Kiasma,while a path or pedestrians winds down to the event square onTlnlahti level. The square has been designed or public outdoorconcerts and similar events that can be watched rom the inclineddeck above. Events taking place inside the Music Centre as well as in-ternational music happenings can sometimes be shown on the videoscreen erected in the square.


32/40


HELSINKI MUSIC CENTRE

Architectural competition 1999-2000.The winning entry a mezza voce was submittedby LPR Architects

Actual development decision in 2008

Architectural designMarko Kivist, Ola Laiho, Mikko Pulkkinen, Architects SAFAAcoustic designNagata Acoustics, Yasuhisa Toyota

Structural designVahanen Oy, Matti Ollila

Floor area 36000 m2Volume 25000 m3- main hall 1700m2- ive small concert halls with 140400 seats- artist and practice acilities or two symphony orchestras- teaching acilities or Sibelius Academy

Main contractorSRV Viitoset

FaadesTerselementti

PhotosOla Laiho and Eark

FaadesThe massing o the building is based on the winningentry in the competition. Helsinki Music Centre is lo-cated in the joint area o the rectangular ParliamentHouse and the more ree-orm Etu-Tl area, andthis is refected in its coordinate system. The aadematerials o the building are copper and glass.

The detailing o the copper cladding on the aadeis built on small-scale abstract patterning based ona vertical rhythm. The patterning has been designedseparately or each aade panel, but in line with thegeneral design o the aade in question.The vertical patterning consists o patinated copper

cladding, while a perorated surace is used as thebackground or the pattern. The patterning has beenimplemented with great care.The colour o the patinated copper cladding is sot

bluish green. On macro scale the general appearanceo the copper surace is light and it also varies ac-

cording to sunlight and the direction o light.The aades have primarily been realised withpre-patinated 1.5 mm copper sheeting, each sheetpatterned separately with a compression techniquebeore erection. The sheets are attached on the rameusing a composite installation technique.Some areas o the composite aades, such as the

areas o ventilation openings, have been coated withhand-patinated 3 mm massive copper panels.The aades refect a controlled impression, which

has been technically demanding to implement.The glazing o the lobby areas o the Music Centre

was in most parts implemented as point-xed glaz-

ing.

By Esko Miettinen, architect SAFA

A detail o the copper aade; the tower o the National Museum (Eliel Saarinen) isrefected on the aade o the Music Centre.

Music Centre seen rom Hakasalmi Villa (Helsinki City Museum).


33/40


A detail o the perorated copper aade.

.

1 Music Centre2 Event Square3 Kiasma Artmuseum4 Parliament House

Tl, Nervanderinkatu Street. Music Centre, site plan.

Tl, Tlnkatu Street.

The town plan o the Etu-Tl and Taka-Tl areas in Tl, ratied in 1917, is in essential parts based on the winning entry o architects Gustav Nystrm and LarsSonck in a competition in 1906. The plan was supplemented with architect Bertil Jungs plan or the Central Park in 1911. The town plan has been supplemented at sev-eral stages, but the or iginal spirit o the plan has been preserved and developed each time modern building projects have been implemented. Examples o such projectsinclude the building o the Social Insurance Institution o Finland designed by Alvar Aalto, and the Temppeliaukio Church designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen.

Town plan o Tl area and Music CentreThe town plan o the Tl area o Helsinki has been ratied on 10October 1917. The street grid and the space structure o the townplan have clearly been infuenced by Camillo Sittes thoughts.

Camillo Sitte (18431903) was a Counsellor o Building and theDirector o the Vienna State Polytechnic School. In 1889 he pub-lished a book titled Der Stdte-Bau nach seinen knstlerischenGrundstzen, which was translated into English as City Build-ing According to Artistic Principles. It was published in threeidentical editions, the last one in 1901.

Sitte paid attention to the artistic content o the urban space, itsaesthetics. The street grid and the space structure o the townplan o Tl refect these thoughts. In the Etu-Tl area thestreet grid and the space composition are adapted to the contourso the terrain but are still based on a controlled rhythm, whichdepicts the unctionality o the space series.Sitte highlighted the opportunities that the unctional aesthetics

o an irregular and ree-orm town space oer or urban buildingwithout underestimating the easibility o a town space based onrectangularity as a tool or urban planning.

The Tl town plan determines the nature in terms o the townspace o the part o Etu-Tl located on the side o the Parlia-ment House, west o the present Mannerheimintie Road. Thetown plan indirectly describes the opposite side o Mannerhei-mintie Road with its park-like sections and industrial estateswhich towards the end o the 20th century were converted into anarea o cultural unctions.

Helsinki Music Centre is located in the joint area o the rectan-gular Parliament House and the more ree-orm Etu-Tl areaand this is refected in its coordinate system.

Esko Miettinen, architect SAFA


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Last years swine u crisis highlighted the

role that touch suraces, such as door han-

dles, can play in the spread o inection,

acting as reservoirs o inectious pathogens

just waiting to be transerred to the next

hand. Hand washing and regular cleaning

are the two preventative actions recom-

mended but recontamination is always just

a touch away: germs can survive on com-

mon materials such as stainless steel, plastic

and aluminium, or days even months. o

prevent this, architects are now speciying

Antimicrobial Copper touch suraces or

healthcare buildings, where inection pre-

vention and control are key concerns.

COMPELLING EVIDENCETe scientic evidence or coppers antimi-

crobial efcacy is compelling: research at

the University o Southampton has demon-

strated coppers exceptional efcacy against

the headline-making pathogens MRSA,

C. difcile, Inuenza A and E. coli. Inter-

estingly, results have shown that copper

has unmatched efcacy, outperorming

silver-containing antimicrobial materi-

als. Copper has also been put to the test

in a clinical trial at Selly Oak Hospital inBirmingham, in which requently-touched

suraces such as taps, toilet seats, light

switches and door urniture were replaced

with copper equivalents. Te results showed

an impressive 90100% reduction in con-

tamination on these suraces compared to

controls, and a subsequent Department o

Deense-unded project in the US backed

up the ndings earlier this year.

COPPER KEEPING DISEASE AWAYThe UKs Copper Development Association (CDA) is at the oreront o promoting research

and development into the antimicrobial eects o copper. CDA Director Angela Vessey

discusses the implications or interior design, architectural ironmongery and fttings particularly in healthcare buildings. But this unique capability o copper could have much

wider implications or the design o all types o buildings.

It is not just pure copper that has antimi-

crobial properties bronzes, brasses, nickel

silvers and copper-nickels are efcacious

too. In act a landmark registration in 2008

led to nearly 300 copper alloys being recog-nised by the US Environmental Protection

Agency as the rst solid materials eligible

to be marketed with public health claims

including a 99.9% reduction o the 6 tested

bacteria within two hours (MRSA, Staphy-

lococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes,

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli O157:H7.

and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus

aecalis).

copper showed an impressive 90100%

reduction in contamination

With a range o dierently-coloured cop-

per alloys available to suit dierent designs

and applications, and coppers exceptional

environmental credentials, its little wonder

high-prole healthcare projects are already

incorporating copper. For example, a cut-

ting-edge acility at Shefelds Northern

General Hospital was designed with the

goal o setting the gold standard or inec-

tion prevention, and Antimicrobial Copper

door urniture was specied throughout in

a bid to reduce the risk o healthcare asso-

ciated inections in particularly vulnerable

patients. Here, Dr Frank Edenborough,

Consultant o the Shefeld Adult Cystic

Fibrosis Centre wanted to create an environ-

ment to meet both the clinical and personal

needs o patients: a ward that would com-

bine key inection prevention measures

with a comortable and appealing environ-

ment to mitigate the boredom o sometimesvery prolonged stays.

WIDER APPLICATIONSRecognising coppers beauty as well as its

antimicrobial properties, a piece o copper

artwork was commissioned or the clinic,

which will greet patients, sta and visitors

when they enter. Te artwork is by promi-

nent, London-based metal smith Adaesi

Ukairo, who has a long-standing love o

working with copper and its alloys. I was

originally drawn to copper or its malleablequalities and its ability to patinate beauti-

ully, and it rapidly became the material o

choice to evoke my designs, she said. It

was the perect material to embark on an

ambitious design or a 2 metre-long wall

piece or the clinic. My intention is or the

piece to act as a window, allowing the view-

er to soar through a landscape, transported

momentarily as they enter the clinic.


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The interior potential or copper in healthcare interiors is not just limited todoor handles and ttings. In Japan, architect Ken Takahashi clad the wallso a ever clinic in brass, a gold-coloured alloy o copper beneting rom itsantimicrobial properties.

It seems almost too good to be true, and yet its proven to work

Dr Edenborough explains the role copper will play: In

a bid to set the gold standard or inection prevention

in Cystic Fibrosis, we elt that copper could make an

important contribution towards minimising surace

contamination rom hands or coughing, killing po-

tentially dangerous pathogens in between cleans and

augmenting rigorous hygiene protocols. It is our hope

that, in this way, copper will help reduce the risk o

inections.

Common materials such as plastics may look clean,

but they have no inherent antimicrobial efcacy, ex-

plained Rebecca Haverty o Race Cottam Associates,

the project architects. Antimicrobial Copper can help

to ght inection, so we were very keen to use it. It

seems almost too good to be true, and yet its proven

to work. Te range o alloys available means any pro-

ject can gain rom the benets o copper. We chose to

use an almost pure copper to make a statement, but a

nickel-silver nish would look good too.

Te copper industry has developed a uniying brand

name, Antimicrobial Copper, and symbol to help

designers look out or products that are made rom this

most eective touch surace material.

More inormation can be ound on the dedicated

website: www.antimicrobialcopper.com

Artwor k by Adaesi Ukairo, to be installed at the ward entrance.


36/40


HERE, FORM FOLLOWS NATURE

RATHER THAN FUNCTION

Text by Hannele Kuusisto and Chris Hodson

Dipoli 40-years onReima and Raili Pietils Helsinki University Student Union Building

Dipoli in Otaniemi is an icon o modern architecture. Although causing

controversy at the time o its construction in the 1960s, or an apparentrejection o accepted modern movement orms, it is today one o Finlands

most highly valued buildings. With an extensive use o copper cladding as

one o its natural materials, Copper Architecture Forum revisited Dipoli

to see how it had changed over time and to discuss it with Raili Pietil.


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THE CAVEMENS WEDDING MARCH

The town plan or the area was produced

by Alvar Aalto in 1949. The Dipoli building

resulted rom a design competition, won

by husband and wie Raili and Reima Pi-

etil in 1965 - their rst project together,

called the Cavemens Wedding March.

Critics have commented that the archi-

tects turned their backs on the modern

movement and unctionalism, in avour

o a more romantic response to the build-ings natural surroundings. It is set in an

archetypical Finnish landscape with tall

pine trees and rugged rocks. However, the

design satises the unctional aspects o

a complex programme, in particular act-

ing as a link between living and teaching

buildings with a strong diagonal route

acting as the dynamic generator o the

A NEW ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE

Reima Pietil was certainly regarded as

an innovator and developed a new archi-

tectural language at Dipoli with a timelessquality, integrating the building with its

surroundings. The ree-orm, deeply over-

hanging roos with copper edges seem

almost to span between the trees, walls

merge with the rock landscape and enes-

tration works to the rhythm o the trees.The design or Dipoli was the result o end-

less discussions and keen observation o

plan orm. This diagonal separates recti-

linear, unctional areas to the north rom

the common areas to the south which take

on organic shapes responding directly to

the topography. Here, orm ollows nature

rather than unction.

the surroundings by the Pietils. The land-

scape and its colours and textures played

a key role in the extensive use o natural

materials such as rock and timber. Large

boulders were hewn rom the surround-

ings and stacked high by the walls o the

building. Rock is also used inside which,

together with the large windows, draws

the landscape right inside the building.

Many acades are copper-clad using

narrow strips laid irregularly, almost liketimber boarding. In addition to Dipoli, Tam-

pere City Library called Metso and the

Mntyniemi Presidential Residence are

among the best-known buildings in Fin-

land designed by Architects Pietil and

copper plays an important role in dening

the architecture o them all.

Floor Plan


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The choice o copper or the Dipoli aade

was a well thought out decision and natu-

ral changes in the material over time were

considered rom the start. Today over

orty years later Raili Pietil still regardscopper as a vibrant, beautiul and endur-

ing material as the acades o Dipoli start

turning green little by little. The act that it

took this long beore patination got under-

way shows that the air is clean and unpol-

luted, despite its proximity to the sea and a

major city. Raili Pietil sees the patination

o copper simply as part o the cycle o lie,

like the graying hair o an ageing riend.

She considers Dipoli to be her avourite

amongst all the copper works designed by

the Pietils.

Architects: Raili and Reima Pietil

Photos: Joonas Pirhonen


39/40



40/40

Inspirational architecture

and design with copper from

Austria Belgium

Czech Republic Denmar

Finland France

Greece Germany

Holland Hungary

Italy Luxemburg

Norway Poland

Russia Spain

Sweden Switzerland

United Kingdom

Documents

Copper Forum 2010 29 En