ICE around the globe

Heating up the office activities with two construction projects in China and a few planning projects in Vietnam, two architecture projects in Vietnam and Hong Kong, we are on top of it busy with academic and theoretic investigations as well. While we are all flying around the world, trying to sync our schedules, we want to share some interesting links on the latest developments of ice - ideas for contemporary environments:

Louise Low is currently hosting the event 'Urbanization around the World' in San Francisco as part of the exhibition '3 Positions in Architecture' (presentation coming soon), which is based on the Radical Mix in Hanoi Book and Exhibition series, which take place in Venice last year:

http://swissnexsanfrancisco.org/Ourwork/events/urbanization

Thanks to the great works of Ludovic Balland, our Radical Mix book has been awarded at the Swiss Design Awards. It was a great collaboration and we are very pleased for Ludovic to be awarded such an important prize:

http://www.swissdesignawards.ch/beautifulbooks/2010/index.html?lang=de

Claudia Wigger is teaching at Michigan Taubman College in continuation of contemporary typologies and the potentials of programmatic synergies as activators of urban life in downtown Detroit:

http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/faculty/directory/index.php?sel=276

and Ulrich Kirchhoff is continuing his series ComplexCity at the EPFL, investigating the potentials of urban infrastructures as urban activators for Lausanne:

© 2011, ice - ideas for contemporary environments

Radical Mix at Venice Architecture Biennale

We are very pleased to announce the exhibition "Radical Mix in Hanoi", which represents the results of our research on high density, mixed use developments during the teaching semester at the ENAC at EPF Lausanne. It also formulates the third position in the exhibition series "Teaching Architecture. 3 Positions Made in Switzerland".

The opening and accompanying book launch "Radical Mix" will take place on Friday, 19th November at 6:30 pm in the Istituto Svizzero in Venice, Italy.

Exhibition and book have been only possible through the generous support of the ENAC/EPFL.

Exhibition and book concept was by Ludovic Balland, Ulrich Kirchhoff and Louise Low

Contributions are made by Louise Low and Gedeon Abebe, Esteban Pellon Becerril, Olivier Genetelli, Pablo Gironda, Riccardo Grattacaso, Marta Lopez de Asiain Gamazo, Romain Lorenceau, Marta Lozano, Mansour Noverraz, Adrien Renoult, Julie Riedo, Erika Tillberg, Toru Wada

Special thanks to Victoria Easton, Salvatore Lacagnina

The book will be distributed through the Istituto Svizzero in Italy. Order can be made from the publisher: http://kaleidoscope-press.com/books/radial-mix/

Back to EPFL

After having taught a Masters Studio in Lausanne last Winter Term, I am very excited to go back to Switzerland in March. Giving two lectures about contemporary typologies in architecture, one at the ETH Zurich and the other one at the EPFL Lausanne, I am also looking forward to visiting the completed Rolex Learning Center by SANAA (and maybe I will be lucky to give the lecture there).

The subject of the Masters Studio was: Sustainability and Density - Contemporary Typologies in Architecture. The design project was putting emphasis on dealing with complexity: The project was a high density mixed use development in Hanoi. The complexity was not only related to the amount of program but also the climatic difference and the completely new social and cultural environment - a tough but fruitful journey for the students...

The research has been focussing on two main aspects: How density will affect typologies and their transformation in such a compact spatial scenario. And about low-tech spatial strategies for sustainability.

The purpose of this studio is to bring back a more expansive view of Architecture, to refocus energy into the larger context of living, especially in the understanding of how others live and use spaces. To simultaneously create and be created by the forces of the context, architecture is no longer an object, but also a subject in the larger scheme of things. We want to design buildings, that are not just form, but perform.

With the building boom particularily in the emerging markets, there has been a run for high density mixed-use developments. Unable to bridge the scalar gap to the existing context, we have seen a lot of brilliant solutions of self referential projects, but the overall built environment is increasingly mismanaged: Ignorant to the environment, program and climatic parameters, high density developments pose quite often severe challenges to the city, such as canyon and heat island effect, social segregation, and economic pressure. With such development pressure of iconic high density structures, architecture is produced as an object of desire, rather than a space to be inhabited and used.

Team: Ulrich Kirchhoff, Louise Low

Students: Gedeon Abebe, Esteban Becerril Pellon, Olivier Genetelli, Pablo Gironda, Riccardo Grattacaso, Marta Lopez de Aisain Gamazo, Romain Lorenceau, Marta Lozano, Mansour Noverraz, Adrien Renoult, Julie Riedo, Erika Tillberg, Toru Wada