Following my trip to London, I wandered around the new addition to the Tate Modern by Herzog & de Meuron, which is proceeding toward its completion scheduled for 2016. As at Mid-September 2014 they have just completed the structure and it seems to me quite clear how the final shape will be. The brick cladding, all windows and finishes are still missing, so obviously its final appearance will be different. I have found the building at this stage quite imposing and rather interesting in its "faceted" shape. Nevertheless it seems to me a bit filling the lot like a foot in the shoe and I would have appreciated a bit more outdoor space or a planted terrace. I deem public buildings in London frequently lacks sufficient external space and/or a relationship with green areas inside their lots (I suppose because the cost per sqf of the terrain is so horribly high there). I am a fan of H&dM and this is a higly promising architecture, although there is something "excessive" in it for me, furthermore I am not sure that cladding the building with a brick layer almost identical to the adjacent Bankside Power Station will provide the best result (I am aware they were forced to adopt such material by the Planning authority). What do you think of it?
As usual I post the most relevant photos I made.More and some additional data on Inexhibit if you want (but I guess the ones here should be sufficient to give you a precise idea)
Very cool. Although the windows are parallel to the ground, from one view it looks as if they slant upwards. Again, very cool. Personally, I think the cladding matching the building next to it influences ideas of uniformity throughout the two and overall makes it a nicer project. I would think less of it if the building stuck out like a sore thumb. It should be appreciated through it's boldness yet still maintain it's subtlety. Nice post, Riccardo.
I was actually lucky enough to check this building out over the summer and thought that the facets looked pretty good rendered in concrete (I wish they had gone with that!) . Crisp and clean without looking aggressive.
I really liked the original "amber" facade but , in my opinion, the brick trivializes it too much. Some renderings on the construction fence made it look like they were going to arrange the bricks into textures, trying to pull some "design" out of them, by it seems a little forced. I don't know anything about the planning permissions of this thing, but it's strange there'd be any stipulations against glass since the building complex right next to the addition are all techy glass offices.
Oh man, it never crossed my mind that the dusk rendering was the brick, I always thought those were two different material iterations. If that's the case, that'll be great if they can get that nice diffusion, after all HdM can work that facade magic.
Thank you guys for your appreciations. As usual much vivid and stimulating comments here on Archinect :) The original design, either questioned by the Southwark Council or more probably autonomously amended to prevent criticism, was very different, you can check it here: http://legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning_decisions/strategic_dev/2007/20070509/tate_modern_bankside_report.pdf with a glass cladding and several protruding boxes, somehow recalling an hyper-developed Vitra house. I honestly prefer the new one, even if the original solution is quite .. brave and brazen (especially for London)
Sep 25, 14 1:57 pm ·
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Tate Modern 2 by Herzog & de Meuron
Hi to all!
Following my trip to London, I wandered around the new addition to the Tate Modern by Herzog & de Meuron, which is proceeding toward its completion scheduled for 2016. As at Mid-September 2014 they have just completed the structure and it seems to me quite clear how the final shape will be. The brick cladding, all windows and finishes are still missing, so obviously its final appearance will be different. I have found the building at this stage quite imposing and rather interesting in its "faceted" shape. Nevertheless it seems to me a bit filling the lot like a foot in the shoe and I would have appreciated a bit more outdoor space or a planted terrace. I deem public buildings in London frequently lacks sufficient external space and/or a relationship with green areas inside their lots (I suppose because the cost per sqf of the terrain is so horribly high there). I am a fan of H&dM and this is a higly promising architecture, although there is something "excessive" in it for me, furthermore I am not sure that cladding the building with a brick layer almost identical to the adjacent Bankside Power Station will provide the best result (I am aware they were forced to adopt such material by the Planning authority). What do you think of it?
As usual I post the most relevant photos I made.More and some additional data on Inexhibit if you want (but I guess the ones here should be sufficient to give you a precise idea)
http://www.inexhibit.com/case-studies/tate-modern-expansion-herzog-de-meuron/
All the Best,
Riccardo
looks awesome....as usual, H&dM rules!
I was actually lucky enough to check this building out over the summer and thought that the facets looked pretty good rendered in concrete (I wish they had gone with that!) . Crisp and clean without looking aggressive.
I really liked the original "amber" facade but , in my opinion, the brick trivializes it too much. Some renderings on the construction fence made it look like they were going to arrange the bricks into textures, trying to pull some "design" out of them, by it seems a little forced. I don't know anything about the planning permissions of this thing, but it's strange there'd be any stipulations against glass since the building complex right next to the addition are all techy glass offices.
Oh man, it never crossed my mind that the dusk rendering was the brick, I always thought those were two different material iterations. If that's the case, that'll be great if they can get that nice diffusion, after all HdM can work that facade magic.
I know for a fact that the brick rain-screens are going to come in.
Thank you guys for your appreciations. As usual much vivid and stimulating comments here on Archinect :) The original design, either questioned by the Southwark Council or more probably autonomously amended to prevent criticism, was very different, you can check it here: http://legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning_decisions/strategic_dev/2007/20070509/tate_modern_bankside_report.pdf with a glass cladding and several protruding boxes, somehow recalling an hyper-developed Vitra house. I honestly prefer the new one, even if the original solution is quite .. brave and brazen (especially for London)
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