DC House Construction Progress

Posted on December 25th, 2013 by Sia Herr

Posted under: construction, Things We Like

DC house windows being installed – both large and small panes, with the largest pane at 17’-6” X 7’-9”. The frame is Schuco curtain wall with black silicone inset frame binding the custom stepped double glazing system. The brick is original to the building, and therefore somewhat rough and rugged. Composed against the smoothness of glass, it is a desired contrast.

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This Is How You Add 444 sqm to A Building

Posted on December 23rd, 2013 by Nader Tehrani

Posted under: _Melbourne School of Design, construction

The cantilever on University of Melbourne FABP in the process of erection: a one week process. Soon hereafter, it will be covered by the same pre-cast panels as the rest of the building. The diagonal strut will remain exposed behind the layer of vertical louvers. Stay tuned!

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JWA in collaboration with NADAAA.  Photo credit: JWA

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Holiday Fun at NADAAA

Posted on December 20th, 2013 by Sia Herr

Posted under: Events

NADAAA opened up its entire studio to friends and family in celebration of the holidays and official opening of the Makers in the Making exhibit.  Click here for more photos from the event.

Gallery is open for public viewing from January 2-February 7, 10:00am-5:30pm. For large groups, please e-mail nada@nadaaa.com.

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Virtues of A Ruled Surface

Posted on December 18th, 2013 by Sia Herr

Posted under: _Daniels Building

In Shenzhen, Alexander D’Hooghe presents the virtues of a ruled surface to the Queen of Belgium using the University of Toronto Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at 1 Spadina Crescent as an example.

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What is NADAAA?

Posted on December 16th, 2013 by Sia Herr

Posted under: Press

Nader Tehrani discusses the ins and outs of NADAAA in the current edition of MADE.

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Melbourne University Construction Progress

Posted on December 3rd, 2013 by achang

Posted under: _Melbourne School of Design, construction

Construction

 

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JWA in collaboration with NADAAA.  Photo credit: Multiplex

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An Appreciation for the Extraordinary

Posted on December 2nd, 2013 by Katie Faulkner

Posted under: Things We Like

On the heels of our current exhibit, “Makers in the Making”, I have been preoccupied by the difference between concept and action.  Dozens of times during the week I am struck by small ideas: a chair refurbishment, a fantastic tree house, a mobile kitchen island, a rock garden. These are concepts that could be enacted upon, and even completed within the space of a weekend, yet they never get done. Things get in front of them, or they are written on a sketchbook page and soon forgotten.

Fortunately there are those who are driven to make.  Dedee Shattuck opened an eponymous gallery in Westport, MA a few years ago. It is a lovely, peaceful architecture, situated at the edge of a wooded area  Click here to go to the gallery website. I make an effort to visit each season, less for the art (which is generally excellent) than for the calming effect of the space which is an oasis after a few days with the extended family. The gallery is directly behind a wonderful shop/cafe, and usually I can leave the kids with my parents and steal a few minutes with the paintings and objects currently on exhibit. But this time the boys were with me and the moment we entered, I knew it was a mistake.  Now they are old enough not to break or damage, but “WHO would pay FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS for THIS??!” came through loud and clear, thanks to the excellent acoustics. Dedee graciously suggested my children might prefer to run around in the wooded sculpture garden, which turned out to be the sanity saving activity of the day.

“Art in the Environment,” is an exhibition of work by faculty and graduate students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at UMass Dartmouth. The setting is a winding path through a forest, where moss is still electric green among the brown leaves, and you cannot see the art until you happen upon it.  It is surprising to discover “Fall” by Russell Prigodich, an enormous leaf hovering in the air with no obvious means of support, and “Green Men” by  Ellen Lewis Watson, two hollow jackets floating without heads – a little bit “Blair Witch Trial” and a little bit Ichabod Crane, but somehow beautiful.  On your way out, you might miss Rob Greene’s “Down and Out” leaning against a boulder. It is a huge sad head made of sticks.

The strength to fully execute an idea is something to admire, and I suspect that architects can appreciate this as well as anyone.  Time and Money often seek to deny what was intended—and perhaps the bigger the idea, the more vulnerable it is to compromise.  Yet in spite of it all, some things make it through.  Enough people believed in an ICA, Community Rowing, Genzyme Center, and Hancock Tower to enable something remarkable to be built. And it is worth remembering that each time we consider renovation and/or development; it is easier to make something unremarkable, or to make nothing at all.  So within that context, I am grateful for those who would create beauty and provocation in a quiet back yard, for only a small audience to discover. And I ask myself if, as an architect, I am doing all that I
could?

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