Articles by Andreas Luco

The Shaoxing Art School, formerly known as the Zhejiang Shaoxing Opera Art Training Class, was completed and opened in 2003, with its current campus located on the west of Second Ring Road in Shaoxing City. Over nearly 20 years of development, the existing campus is no longer able to meet the needs of disciplinary planning and subsequent development, which is the reason for the transformation and expansion. In addition, to promote the reform of “school-league cooperation”, the southern triangular area has been newly expropriated to serve as the construction site for the comprehensive building of the recently established Shaoxing Performing Arts Group. Two units operate independently, but they hope for organic integration and resource sharing.

Located in a traditional neighborhood of Brasília, Guará, Casa GR occupies a narrow lot of only 145 m², with no lateral setbacks, which presented significant challenges for the incorporation of natural lighting and ventilation, given the proximity of neighboring buildings. To tackle this challenge, the solution adopted was the integration of “cobogós” in the facade, providing privacy and personality while allowing the entry of light and ventilation into the balcony area of the bedrooms that face the front of the lot. These elements, besides functionality, conferred a unique aesthetic aspect to the architecture of the house.

The Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry (CEEC Jena II) and the associated Application Center (AWZ) are being built on the Chemistry Campus of Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU). The building will be home to special laboratories for research into new batteries, printed solar cells and energy conversion facades.

The plot has a significant slope over most of its surface, with a difference in elevation between the front of the road (north boundary) and the back (south boundary) of approximately 17 meters. Access is through Atzavara Street, at the highest point of the plot (approx. elevation 180). The project includes having meters at street level (northeast corner). The house consists of a main volume (entrance to the house and night area), under which is the day area, fully connected and projected towards the outside (terrace and views), where the pool is located. The volume that forms the night area is understood as a rocky mass that shelters the main space of the house. 

The house is located on an urban lot with 525m² of surface area, located in Marina Ilha Verde (Pelotas-RS), bathed by Arroio Pelotas and other artificial channels. The building is located along the south side of the land, which creates a side patio that runs the entire length of the house. On the ground floor, the organization is based on exposed concrete plans that direct the views, guarantee the privacy of the social area and protect the service sector. The side access leads residents through an internal courtyard. The other enclosures on the ground floor are transparent, ensuring views of the internal courtyard, other external areas and the canal at the end of the lot.

In the heart of the bustling old city, amidst the vibrant chaos of typical Indian streets, lies a plot measuring a mere 6 meters in width by 9 meters in depth. This small parcel of land, tucked away in the market area, presented a unique challenge and opportunity to weave a narrative of community living amidst the cacophony of urban life. The client, faced with the dilemma of moving away from the old city to escape the chaos, found themselves drawn to the idea of fostering community within this dense urban fabric. The challenge presented was formidable: to utilize a compact site effectively, maximize natural light, accommodate commercial spaces on the ground floor, and provide comfortable residences above.

This project consists of three small lakeside buildings for the canoe and tour skating clubs of Sollentuna, a municipality just north of Stockholm. The buildings uphold the long-standing Swedish tradition of public buildings providing service and accessibility to nature and the outdoors. The project’s ambition has been to create a meeting place. People should be able to stop by on their Sunday walk and have a coffee in the café. School classes should be able to have a gym class here. Athletes should have good facilities, both elite and amateurs.