Apr 4, 2012

The following is a competition entry that I (MrCotain) and my University of McGill peers Alexandre Hamel and Maxime Leclerc completed for the CCA 2011 Charrette. I am pleased to announce that we won the competition with a project entitled: Hydrocosm.

The 2011 Charrette asked contestants(teams) to find a new relationship between water and city living, to think of innovative ways to imagine and celebrate the presence of water in the urban environment and daily life of Montreal. The Charrette challenges participants to propose specific architectural, urban and landscape interventions and public works that causes us to reconsider the presence of water in the city- as civic responsibility, as practical amenity, as recreational diversion, as public inrastructure or as a work of art.

Hydrocosm`s proposal is to use the Lachine Canal, closed to ships in 1970, as a structuring element for both Griffintown and Pointe-Saint-Charles along with the entire city. Acting as a physical barrier, the existing canal only briefly interacts with the city as a post-industrial décor for a bike path. “Our intention is to re-create a dynamic system that reconnects the city of Montreal to the canal. Our aim is to use the existing locks to generate artificial tides allowing for a floating element to meander along the entire canal length and coagulate along the way to provide social spaces.” Following the canal, the elements can anchor and gather in order to exchange with the shore and blur the existing barrier condition . The system has the potential to clean the water and generate electricity during its operation. Alive in the summer, the elements freeze into place in the winter bridging both sides of the canal encouraging transversal relations between both shores.

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outside links:  kollectif , CCA , lecourrierdelarchitecte

Apr 4, 2012

Located just 20 minutes outside the capital of San Jose, Costa Rica  you will find a beautiful residence built of repurposed shipping containers. Designed by  Benjamin Garcia Architects for a couple who where looking to build a residence that would comfortably house them while not breaking the bank. In the end the couple moved into  a 1076 square foot fully passive residence for a final cost of 40 thousand dollars.  With a final cost cheaper than most low income government housing the reused shipping container template should be given more credit. It could be utilized in developing countries to help solve issues of healthy living and promote alternative methods of conventional construction in countries controlled by strict building codes.

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Photo: ©ArchDaily

Mar 28, 2012

Ok so I havnt had time to read all the critiques and or thoughts on the final proposals from the workshop, but I will update my final thoughts then. In Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream, part of MoMA’s Issues in Contemporary Architecture series, six teams of architects, economists, public policy experts, and housing advocates  were challenged to “engage in a rethinking of housing and related infrastructures that could catalyze urban transformation.” The investigation also sought to “begin a conversation,” on the “recent” foreclosure crisis by examining suburban housing paradigms through five sample megaregions. The teams where not looking to solve the current crisis but work as a catalyst to push the issues into conversations accross the country.

In February, an exhibition of  architectural models, videos and descriptions of their ideas opened at the Museum of Modern Art. There was an open panel discussion held on March 8 for the architects to answer questions and discuss how they truely felt about the future of these developements.  When all was said and done there were six unique projects but what caught the attention of most was the shear scale of their proposals.  This emphasized that the issue at hand was much greater than maybe what was first conceptualized , that to propose a incremental shift within this suburban framework would not be dramatic enough to change the course of time, or is it.  Although neighborhoods look like a grain of sand on a map “…they are the result of processes that took hundreds of years to evolve.”  Does this really call for the need of a grand proposal?   Yes it is true that it would be very difficult to change zoning laws to permit denser new development patterns but is there not an inate power nestled in a simple architectural infill.  

The economic and demographic factors at hand may seem emense but I am not sure that a revised American Dream could not have an equally great influence. Guy Horton of author on Archinect comments that he does not believe architects have the power to dictate a solution to the crisis, ” To them, this is further evidence of the irrelevance of what architects have to offer in terms of solving real problems. “   I am afraid to say that manny others feel the same that architects are along for the ride as much as anyone else, architects are not problem solvers.  Really?   Of anyone who has been trained day in and day out to make something out of nothing. To merge the gap between reality and imaginary we are the innovators those with visions of a different future. Yes we may not be able to single handedly solve  major issues but we are in a great position to express our thoughts on a global scale.  I think we are selling ourselves short over humbling our potential to make an impact on the future.  ” In architecture we have become inured to the special effects of formal bigness and dramatic constructs. “  but isnt this not a perception stemming form those ideas burried in the American dream.  This maybe exactly where we need to start initiating a shift, why BIG, why More?   In the end the architects apart of the workshop are just adding to something already dead.  This unsustainable template has been passed down as a ritual and we are blind to its presence. Ok this is just the beginning I will write more on the actual projects to come…stay tuned.

Mar 27, 2012

We mentioned a couple weeks ago that we would be adding a new section to the site and its now up and running.  We wanted to give our readers the chance to reach out to our extended network and utilize the wonderful resources we have here at Co-tain.com. So we created the People page and are opening up our servers for you guys to use. You will now be able to register to the People page and create your very own personal website free of charge. Our main goal is to reach out to Architecture and design students across the world and give you guys the chance to share your work with everyone. You guys spend hundreds if not thousands of hours weekly on something the majority of the world will never see. This is a chance for you guys to create a website and share your passion with the rest of us.  All you have to do is hit the log in button at the bottom of the People page select register initiate your new website, log-in, create, and start posting.  Once your up and running your post will be syndicated everyday to the People main page and once a month student work will be chosen as a featured post on the homepage of Co-tain.com.   Dont be shy post anything and everything, we want to see your process, your thoughts, your crazy moments in studio, your sketch models, your midterms, finals, and that  portfolio everyone is working toward.  Don’t hesitate register today and share the news with a friend, the People page has just begun and the more students use the site, the greater I can make the experience become. Below are two examples of what your website could look like.

Mar 26, 2012

The 1800′s shed originally served as a workshop and then a studio for a local artist before the current owners realized the  opportunities its brick shell offered. They teamed up with Richard Peters Associates to turn this little piece of the past in to a simple single-family residence. The quaint size and practical design strategy allowed for strategic placement of openings throughout the shed resulting in a completely passive home requiring no heating or cooling.

Photo:  © Justin Alexander

Mar 25, 2012

Again we have an incredible Japanese house that tackles not only a small but extremely odd shape lot. Located in Horinouchi, Tokyo architects at Mizuishi Atelier creatively stayed within local regulations to use 312 square feet of the 560 square foot lot and construct a rather comfortable two story two bedroom residence.  The strong angles of the roof corrispond to the site restrictions of the angles.

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Photo: © Hiroshi Tanigawa