The Sperone Westwater gallery by Foster + Partners architects.

The Sperone Westwater gallery by Foster + Partners architects opened in New York earlier this week, featuring a moving exhibition space that connects the floors of the gallery.


The 12 by 20 foot moving gallery allows visitors to travel between floors or can be fixed at a chosen level to extend the static exhibition spaces.

The milled glass facade of the gallery dampens noise from the street and controls the temperature and light admitted to the gallery spaces.

Photos are by Nigel Young.
Here’s more from Foster + Partners:
Sperone Westwater gallery opens on the Bowery

Sperone Westwater celebrates the opening of its new gallery on the Bowery in New York with an inaugural exhibition by Argentinean artist, Guillermo Kuitca.

Nearly 35 years after its conception, Sperone Westwater continues to exhibit an international roster of prominent artists working in a wide variety of media. Its new building, designed by Foster + Partners, doubles the exhibition area and pioneers an innovative approach to vertical movement within a gallery setting.

Responding to the compact 25 by 100 foot site, one of the features of the project is a 12 by 20 foot moving gallery, which connects the upper four exhibition floors and allows visitors to move gradually between levels. It is a prominent feature along the Bowery, visible from the street, its gentle pace contrasting with the fast-moving traffic. At any given floor, the exhibition space can be extended by parking the moving room as required, with an additional elevator and stairs providing alternative access.

The gallery offers a range of exhibition spaces, which vary in proportion and ambience. The design incorporates a double-height, 27-foot high exhibition space at street level, with a sky-lit gallery, a mezzanine floor, a sculpture terrace overlooking a park, and private viewing galleries on the fourth and fifth floors.

A setback at the sixth floor marks the location of the gallery’s administrative offices. Works of art will be stored primarily in the basement, while a library is located at the top of the building, below the mechanical floor.


The milled glass facade that houses the moving room acts as a buffer zone, protecting the building from extreme temperatures and acoustically insulating the gallery spaces.



Norman Foster commented:
‘The concept for Sperone Westwater represents both a response to the Bowery’s dynamic urban character and a desire to rethink the way in which we engage with art in the setting of a gallery. The moving gallery animates the exterior of the building and creates a bold vertical element within.’



‘Like a kinetic addition to the street, it is a lively symbol of the area’s reinvention and a daring response to the Sperone Westwater’s major program. I hope that artists will be inspired by the gallery’s new spatial and structural possibilities.’

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METHANOIA STUDIO - Foster + Partners - Riyadh Muncipality HQ

Competition of the Municipality Headquarters Project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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foster + partners: CITIC headquarters tower - hangzhou

'citic headquarters tower' by foster + partners in hangzhou, china


internationally renowned architectural firm foster + partners has begun the construction of
their first project in hangzhou, china, the new 'CTIC headquarters tower' in the city's new
central business district adjacent to the qian jiang river. distinguished by a graphic structure
of steel columns and beams, the 100 meter high skyscraper will provide an iconic presence
for the bank.

'the tower has a prominent location in hangzhou, next to one of the city's most recognizable
landmarks - our challenge has been to create a new building, which harmonises with its surroundings,
yet has its own integrity and presence. it is great to see work start on site,' says david nelson,
head of design at foster + partners.



physical model


referencing the shape of the ancient 'dou' or 'ding' vessel - a traditional symbol of wealth, dignity
and stability in chinese culture - the overall form features a push and pull of the facade, resulting in
a faceted volume that is accentuated by a bronze-coloured diagrid lattice. the floor plates widen as
the tower rises, expanding to provide panoramic views of the river and the surrounding public plaza
. at the base, a 30-meter high A-frame canopy stretches 72 meters across the ground floor to create
a dramatic entrance. inside, the 20-storey tower features a diamond-shaped central atrium which rises
through the full height of the tower, facilitation natural ventilation during the mid-seasons.



section through atrium


on the upper floors, tiered sky-gardens circumscribe the perimeter while a generous winter garden
hosts a VIP club and meeting space at the top of the tower. some sustainable aspects of the design
include grey water treatment and the use of local materials during the construction of the project.



view from the qian jiang river


project info:

client: china citic bank hangzhou branch
gross area: 43,000 m2 above ground / 20,000 m2 below ground
site area: 7,189 m2
typical gross floor area: typical 2,000 m2
building height: 100 m
number of storeys: 20
structure: steel columns/beams + composite slab
cladding: unitised double glazed unit
foster + partners team: norman foster, mouzhan majidi, david nelson,
luke fox, michael gentz, loretta law, michael ng, richard hawkins, zheng yu,
daniel li, jean zhu, natalia wrzask, meng zia, niu mu, feng liu, torsten radunski,
tie fan, david liang, bernardo figueirinhas, zhi wang, shy tay, howard chung, martin cheung
collaborating architect: east china architectural design institute
structural engineers: east china architectural design institute
mechanical engineers: east china architectural design institute
facade consultant: zhejiang zhonghan curtain wall


 
'citic headquarters tower' by foster + partners in hangzhou, china



physical model




section through atrium




view from the qian jiang river

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Foster + Partners. BMCE headquarters.

Foster + Partners have completed two modular offices for Moroccan bank BMCE Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco.



 The dome, a recurring element in each bank, is a reference for the design of a number of new schools in Morocco, which have been supported by philanthropic BMCE Bank Foundation.

The interior of the dome is represented in tadelakt, a local plaster technique, while the exterior is covered with tiles, ceramic tile tradition.

The dome-shaped swept down into the courtyard of operations to create a sculptural curved bench.

The design consists of a concrete structure enclosed by glass panels, covered with screens and fact sheet steel cutting blades.

Offices and meeting rooms on two floors in the rest of the building.

Each branch is organized in a modular network to be replicated and adapted according to the location.

The pictures are from Nigel Young, courtesy of Foster + Partners.

Foster + Partners completes first project in Africa, with offices in Morocco BMCE
The first branches to the bank's regional headquarters Moroccan BMCE (Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur) have opened in Rabat and Casablanca, with a branch in full due to poor Fez - are the first buildings of Foster + Partners, to be completed in Africa.

The double-height lobby of each building has a bank of seats connected to the vaulted ceiling of a tape concrete sting.

The interior of modern banking is surrounded by an envelope of traditional energy efficient design is based on a modular system that uses local materials and labor to create a striking new logo for BMCE.

The design is a "kit-of-parts" approach, with variations in color and scale according to the location of the bank. Each building has a concrete frame, with a colonnaded entrance and a series of bays repeated on a modular grid.

The bays are enclosed by glass panels and screens of 200 mm in depth, which provide shade and safety.

The screens are cut from sheets of stainless steel - a special blend of low iron content which is not heated in the sun - which are curved to create a geometric design based on traditional Islamic patterns.

The branches are designed to be highly energy efficient and use of local materials source, such as black granite and gray limestone.

All major branches BMCE have an "earth tube", a free electricity system of cooling: the fresh air is introduced into a vacuum tube that surrounds the building underground, where it cools naturally by the earth and released in the branch.
Lord Foster said:

"The main offices BMCE - our first buildings completed in Africa - to reinterpret the elements of traditional Moroccan architecture, the combination of these with a contemporary interior that reflects the Bank's gradual approach to its customers.
This mix of ancient principles and modern technology is also reflected in an energy efficient design. The result is a series of buildings that are sustainable and one each, singularly out of place. "

BMCE Bank Branches
Morocco 2007 - 2011

Foster + Partners team: Nelson Norman Foster, David, Stefan Behling, Michael Jones, Kate Murphy, Ingrid Solkan, Tommaso Franchi, Carlos Di Piazza, thresher Lara, Giuseppe Giacoppo, Mezher Rana, Susana de Sousa, Artault Benedicte, Kernt Judith Ben Cowden
Cost Managers / Project: Cap Advise
Structural Engineers: Buro Happold, Ateba
Mechanical Engineers: Buro Happold
Landscape Architect: Michel Desvigne
Lighting consultant: George Sexton Associates
Client: BMCE Bank (Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur)
Collaborating Architects: Mekouar Amine, Karim architect Rouissi-Empreinte
Main contractor: CCGT

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Faustino Winery by Foster + Partners

Architects Foster + Partners have completed a winery clad in Corten steel shingles in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.


Called Faustino Winery, the three arms of the concrete structure each house a stage of production; fermentation, ageing in oak barrels and ageing in bottles.

The parts of the building containing the wine barrels are partly embedded into the ground to provide the best conditions for maturing the wine whilst the fermentation wing is exposed, allowing carbon dioxide to be released.

A road rises to the roof of the structure where harvested grapes are collected.

Inside the building a glazed mezzanine stretches deep into the wings and provides views of each area and the different processes occuring within.

The 12,500 square-metre facility has a production capacity of one million bottles per year.

Photographs are by Nigel Young, Foster + Partners.

Faustino winery opens in Spain, 1 November 2010.
Bodegas Portia
Gumiel de Izan, Ribera del Duero, Spain
2004 –2010
Bodegas Portia is a new winery for the Faustino Group in the Ribera del Duero, one of Spain’s foremost wine-producing regions. The project is Foster + Partners first winery and was an opportunity to look afresh at the building type, using the natural topography of the site to aid the winemaking process and create the optimum working conditions, while reducing the building’s energy demands and its visual impact on the landscape.
The 12,500 square-metre facility has a production capacity of one million bottles per year. The building’s trefoil design expresses the three main stages of production: fermentation in steel vats; ageing in oak barrels; and finally, ageing in bottles. These are controlled by an operations hub at the core. The wings containing the barrels and bottle cellar are partly embedded into the ground to produce the most favourable environmental conditions for ageing the wine, while the fermentation wing is exposed, allowing carbon dioxide to be released. A road rises to the roof of the building, where the harvested grapes are delivered straight into the hopper: the winery is designed to take advantage of the sloping terrain, using gravity to aid movement of the grapes within the building, maximising efficiency and minimising damage to the grapes. The concrete structure is clad in shingles of Corten steel.
The site in the Ribera del Duero, approximately 150 kilometres north of Madrid, has extremely cold winters, as well as hot summers with limited rainfall. The deep overhang of the roof canopy provides shade and the building is designed to regulate the internal temperatures, at the same time as reducing energy demand. By partly embedding the building within the landscape, its visual impact is minimised and the passive environmental benefits are maximised – the roof incorporates photovoltaic cells and the thermal mass of the concrete structure helps to control interior temperatures.
At the heart of the winery a raised public gallery extends into glazed mezzanine areas, which project deep into each wing, allowing visitors to enjoy elevated views of the different processes. Between the wings is a light-filled public reception and administration area, where extensive terraces and pools of water overlook the vineyards. Lined with deep-stained old wine barrel slats, the public areas are designed to evoke the rich tradition of winemaking in the region.
Lord Foster said:
“Bodegas Portia is our first winery, so we had no preconceptions about how it should work. It was an opportunity to start from first principles – to examine the different stages of wine production and to try to create the ideal conditions for them to unfold. The wine was the starting point, as well as the beautiful setting in Ribera del Duero. Using materials that draw on the region’s winemaking traditions, with public spaces open to the landscape, will enhance the visitor experience.”
Client: Bodegas Faustino SL
Appointment: September 2004
Construction: August 2006 – September 2010
Location: 150km north of Madrid on the main traffic route connecting the major cities in Spain, in the Ribera del Duero region, one of Spain’s foremost wine producing area.
Building Type:Winery – for the production of one million bottles of red wine per year.
Concept: Trefoil plan that reflects the principal process stages: fermentation in steel vats; ageing in oak barrels; and storage and refinement in the bottle.
The two volumes housing the ageing processes are buried into the natural slope of the site, in order to enable gravity-based delivering of the grape harvest. Taking advantage of the thermal cooling benefits of the earth, the building is partly embedded in the landscape.
Operational support and visitors facilities are strategically located in the centre of the building, with the public areas on a mezzanine level. There is also a restaurant with views of the landscape.

Gross Area: 12,500 sqm
Net Area: 11,300 sqm
Site Area: 400 acres
Building Height: 14.5 m (partially embedded into the sloping landscape)
Number of storeys: Two operational levels + grape reception roofdeck (external)
Structure: Concrete structure with pre-cast elements where the structure is exposed and in situ cast concrete where the structure is buried underground, i.e. retaining walls. The boundary link between above and below-grade servicing structures is given visual expression through a continuous linear skylight.
Materials: Materials of building echo the materials used in wine production – steel, oak and glass.

Cladding: Corten Steel shingle cladding to all principal vertical elevations.
Sustainability: The partly buried structure, as well as the concrete framing of the building, maximises its thermal mass to maintain a constant internal environment and the optimal thermal conditions required for the ageing of wine. The wing where the tanks are housed is naturally ventilated to allow CO2 to escape during the fermentation process.
Widescale integration of photovoltaics is anticipated into the design of the roof, spreading over the three wings to maximise the surface for capturing energy.
Production Capacity: One million bottles of red wine per year.
Storage Capacity: 6,000 barrels of 225 litres, and 750,000 bottles.
Client: Faustino SL
Architect: Foster + Partners
Design Team: Norman Foster, David Nelson, Gerard Evenden, Pedro Haberbosch, Nadine Pieper Bosch, Ana Agag Longo, Juan Gabriel La Malfa, Luca Latini, Chris Lepine, Emanuele Mattutini, Josep Mercader, Jaime Valle
Structural Engineer: Arup
Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: Arup
Quantity Surveyor: DLE
Lighting Consultant: Claude Engle
Project Manager: Prointec
Local Architect: Prointec
Main Contractor: FCC

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Architects Foster + Partners have designed a winery for Spanish wine producer Faustino Group.

The design, for a trefoil structure in the Ribera del Duero wine region, was launched in Madrid today.

Below is the press release and a project description:
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Designs for a new winery for the Faustino Group launched
Foster + Partners have unveiled designs for a new winery for the Faustino Group, 150km north of Madrid in the Ribera del Duero, one of Spain’s foremost wine-producing regions. Form follows function to striking effect, with the complex processes rationalised to create the optimum conditions for wine production.
The material palette of oak, steel and glass relates to the production of wine, itself. Visible from one of the main arteries in the country that links Madrid to Bilbao; the winery will be a new symbol for the group, establishing their new brand, Bodegas Portia.
Reminiscent of the naturally undulating topography of the site, a road climbs to the roof of the building, enabling the harvested grapes to be poured straight down into the hopper, where the wine production process begins. The building’s unusual trefoil design is the logical result of a rationalisation of the wine making process into its three core functions. Using gravity to aid movement of the wine within the building, the circulation between the functions is seamless – maximising efficiency and minimising damage to the grapes and wine at their various stages of preparation.
The different needs for each stage – the fermentation in steel vats, ageing in oak barrels and finally, ageing in bottles – dictate the three distinct volumes of the building which are controlled by an operations hub at the core. The wings which house the barrels and bottle cellar are partly sunken below ground, providing the most favourable conditions for ageing the wine, while the fermentation wing is exposed, allowing carbon dioxide to be released.
Partly buried within the landscape, the visible impact of the building is reduced and the passive environmental benefits are maximised, as the concrete structure uses thermal mass to control the internal atmosphere. The building is clad in tiles of earth-toned Corten steel, which further enhances a sense of harmony with the dramatic landscape. The design also incorporates photovoltaic cells on the roof, thus lessening the environmental impact.
A slim line of day-light in the wings of the vast spaces of the winery delineates the ground level, to aid orientation for both visitors and employees. The main visitor facilities are located at the heart of the building, overlooking the operations hub with access to the public areas on glazed mezzanine levels extending to each wing and to the wine tasting in the café and restaurant. Lined with deep-stained old wine barrel slats, they are evocative of the rich tradition of winemaking in the region.
The winery will open in time to process the first harvest of 1.2m kilos of grapes in December 2007.
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Faustino Winery, Gumiel de Izan, Ribera del Duero, Spain 2004-2007
Client: Faustino SL
Location: 150km north of Madrid on the main traffic route connecting the major cities in Spain, in the Ribera del Duero region, one of Spain’s foremost wine producing areas
Construction: 2006 – December 2007
Net area: 11,300m²
Building type: Winery for the elaboration of one million bottles of red wine per year
Concept: Trefoil plan that reflects the principal process stages. Elaboration, ageing in barrels and ageing in bottles. The two volumes housing the ageing processes are buried in a natural slope in order to be accessible by lorries from above and to make use of the thermal mass. Operational support and visitors facilities are strategically located in the centre of the building with the public areas on a mezzanine level. Restaurant with view of the landscape
Height: 10.5m at the highest point at the centre
Dimensions: Each individual volume is 54 x 37 metres
Structure: Concrete structure with pre-cast elements where the structure is exposed and in situ cast concrete where the structure is buried underground, i.e. retaining walls. The difference between the concrete will be visibly marked by a fine line of light for visitor orientation
Materials: Simple materials used in a winery: steel, glass, wood The public zones will be clad in the burgundy-coloured wooden slats of the barrels.
Energy: The partly buried structure maximises its thermal mass to maintain a constant internal environment and the optimal thermal conditions for the bottles and barrels. The wing where the tanks are housed is naturally ventilated to allow CO2 to escape during the fermentation process.
Photovoltaics have been incorporated into the design on the roof, spreading over the three wings to maximise the surface for capturing energy.

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