Exhibition Space in Taipei, Taiwan

The exhibition space negotiates its visual connection into the highly infrastructural surroundings via directed "periscopic" rooms which allow visitors to experience sequential view-frames within the immediate context.

House in Taipei

Ideas about "stacking" and carved corners are explored in this Taipei house in collaboration with EM architecture.

CT-A-Home

New House in New Milford, CT. Exploring the idea of intersecting the A-frame with "extrusion-like" volumes.

Spine Desk, Milan, Italy

The spine desk is a hybrid piece of furniture which serves as a trading platform, a storage area, a bar counter, a conference table and a resting surface. Currently under construction, it represents a critical position for Urban Office Architecture in form/space making, as a utilitarian deployment of sculptural poetics, while it adaptats to a determined contextual intelligence. The piece fully unravels and fits its various programmatic identities via a modulated use of its internal spaces.

Surrounding Flowers, New York City

The design of the flagship store of the wholesale Surrounding Flowers, inc. meets the request of high flexibility and branding impact for the company.

Through a series of folding shelves, the flowers can be arranged to display a variety of configurations adapting to the various seasons and marketing needs. The entire shelving system can fold back and onto the wall and disappear entirely, offering an image of clean, continuous wall if needed. The sales counter is designed to function as a iconic piece (featuring an inexpensive stained maple plywood counter) as well as an operation station for the flowers arrangements and packaging/design.

Sliding Wall

This addition to an existing unit located in the landmarked Brooklyn Heights district represents a further development of our research on movable/folding/disappearing dividers. Three oversize white lacquered maple doors compose a "sliding wall" system that enables the space to be fully open or completely divided, thus creating an "invisible" bedroom. The proscenium-like quality of the wall activates the space suggesting a number of theatrical scenarios and a playful organization of the room.

Manhattan Studio - Transcript01

Following up, we received the first news letter from the Manhattan studio, which includes a revised list of contributors, featuring Obra as the next speaker. The article is a critical analysis of the discussion we had at our office with the students. We are looking forward to seeing the results of the work later this summer.

Manhattan Studio

Launched in New York City, the Manhattan studio is a forum to discuss work and the urban scenario in which it unfolds. Conceived as a series of short talks-lectures, it invites architects and critics who actively engage with current issues of practice, theory and urbanism. We are honored to be able to open the series: Carlo Frugiuele's lecture will be followed by speakers like Steven Holl, David Shapiro and Andrew Macnair.

Polyphemus

The design for the house takes inspiration from the myth of Polyphemus, the one-eye giant and his professed by the ocean love for Galatea.

The villa, nicknamed "cyclops" is conceived as a viewing device that is carefully directed towards the commanding vistas in the surroundings. Imagined as a "stacked" 3-layer system, the house is clearly divided vertically from public to private areas. The views-vistas gradually zoom-in or narrow in, rather to follow the vertical zoning progression.


The 3 layers are organized also functionally to enhance the site characteristics and maximize the green-sustainable aspects of the project. The ground floor is ideally presented as a transparent glass box. It contains all public spaces (living, kitchen, pool, garden, deck, etc.) Via operable wall wimdows, the ground floor greatly takes advantage of the cross ventilation as the main green feature. The second level works as a "connector" between the top and bottom floor and it's programmatically intended to be a semi-public space. Mostly carved to allow for soaring double height spaces at grade, it features passing bridges that lead to the family/fun/recreation areas to the east of the house. In addition an overhang and terrace produce additional shade to the lower level thus reducing need for forced and mechanical cooling. Via stairs and elevator, one reaches the third level where all bedrooms are located. Divided into 3 main periscope like wood-clad volumes (the cyclops) the bedrooms are comfortable and luxurious areas which are both private and dynamically connected. The westward "cyclop" contains the master suite, master bath and a private study/den in the south wing. The middle "cyclop" is dedicated to the rest of the family and children with access to private outdoor terraces. Finally to the east a separate access stairs get access to the employees quarters which are equally connected to the rest of the house via the main corridor-spine.

A guest house-cottage completes the site to the west, framing the pool and the garden.

Solar panels are located on both the garage and cottage roofs, granting plenty supply of vital energy. In addition a facade of photo-voltaic cell panels clads the southern wall of the second floor enabling greater use of electrical needed power.

Matilda chosen for the Interni Design Guide New York

Matilda restaurant was chosen to be featured as one of the top 10 featured design-restaurants by the Interni Design Guide New York. The other 9 choices also included Morimoto by Tadao Ando and Kittichai by the Rockwell group.

Spazio d'Ombre

As a wrap up to Carlo's class at Parsons, students worked on an installation to present their works. Two projects (Scatola d'Ombre and Spazio d'Ombre) were featured in an installation/exhibition, a book-catalogue and a short film containing animations and interviews. Invited guests were: Andrew Macnair, Peter Pelsinski, Frida Escobedo, Yutaka Takiura, Carlo Maria Ciampoli, James Coleman, Laura Briggs and Alfred Zollinger.

UOA-Interview series01- What was the original concept behind the office?

As a response to a series of questions on the nature of our practice, we decided to post some of our conference-dialogues in the form of "short answers" as an opportunity to express our point of view on a new platform. This clip describes Carlo's take on how the office was started and the idea of "cultural territories" which demands a local response in an architectural sense. We plan on extending this dialogue on our facebook group and post more short answers in the near future.

Brooklyn Loft: sliding operations

The space is almost complete. We looked at the bare volume of the interior as an opportunity to explore a visual silence of sort, one animated only by the composed yet dynamic presence of the large sliding doors. 

Almost Blossomed

We are almost done, and the space promises to meet the anticipated expectations. The crew has performed superbly and the owner has demonstrated a rare insight and true trust in our ability as designers. We will certainly post images of the polished and completed space, but wanted to share these unique moments of unraveling transitions, as the "drawing" turns into built matter and exposes the fabrication skills of the workers. The best tricks, however, are still kept unveiled...

Carlo flies out to Milan: will Ijaz make the miracle?

So here is the low-down: Carlo needs to fly out to Milan tomorrow (Mon, Nov.3rd, 2008) in the evening. In the morning, a critical meeting is scheduled to organize the work remaining at the Broadway store. Ijaz, GC for the job (potentially, IF the client will bite into his proposal) is appointed as the lead figure to carry the millwork forth... Please, you all readers, say one for us! Nevertheless, we feel utterly confident that our brave man will pull this one off - he's got no choice-, and imagined that it would only help if we posted yet another set of images here on the blog. In many ways we see this as the ultimate universe-bound pledge to secure a successful completion of the project. Call it a miracle? Call it what you think... Carlo needs to go!

Ciao, baby!

These guys are good

I have been working with the crew directly on this new concept store to open on Broadway in the 70's within the next month. They are good. Maybe it is due to the overall incompetence of available labor found in the city that this crew really showed some skills. The asymmetric logic of the ceiling is driven by the necessary cooling system that will maintain an ideal temperature for the displayed vegetation. We are working on drawings and renderings as we speak and will certainly share the most significant material in the next few days/weeks.

Budget: can we talk about it?

When o2kl approached us with the idea of designing their offices we saw an opportunity to design a space that fostered an atmosphere of interconnectedness. The original concept stemmed from a conversation with the partners and aimed at hinging the entire floor around a semi-transparent conference space. Then came the budget... The nomadic consistency of reducing and achieving is an art I have learned to refrain from rather quickly.

Exhuberance India

Our studies for a sustainable and eco-conscious center in India continue, as we witness a documented interest in our initial moves.

The image here shows our first ideas for a satellite-villa, featured as a compact retreat for emerging heirs. A mixture of thermo-dynamic, wind-operated funnel and a high performance solid core are at the basis of our initial research. A sensitive use of the ground and a resourceful occupation of the soil as agricultural terrain complete the preliminary concept design.

Milano Expo-sed

Starting with a new series of studies, we will keep you up-to-date on our participation into the 2015 Milan Expo. While-a-while away, the long awaited event has the potential to unite a curriculum of urban interventions the city has been lingering on for the past four decades.

The composed eligibility of substantial operations has widen the options open to designers. We are looking at these opportunities as the renewed chance to offer a solid perspective on future habitation, human invention and the broader theme of sustainability.

Urban Office Architecture wishes to endure in the process of obtaining engaged designs and meaningful additions to the urban conglomerate. We promise to post as much as we are able and allowed to and welcome any and all points of commentaries.

Spatial Drawings (Fade onto the Green.)

Following the large success our previous post gathered (it does appear as if a man hitting a golf ball has a greater appeal than architectural dissertations) we decided to share the progress on Carlo's swing. This particular video shows a second shot 210yards onto a par-4 at Mosholu Golf Course in NYC. The shot, hit with a 5-wood, landed on the very edge of the green. A 4-hybrid chip and a putt converted the hole into a par.

Now let's take a look at the swing, as it portrays a further evolution from its indoor predecessor.

Same Old (White House) Redux- The apotheosis of Conformism

" I giochi sono fatti!" The much anticipated prize release event was viewed (at least in our immediate vicinity) as an inspiring and motivated confluence of brilliant minds, a group of talented leaders that would guide architects and the public to new interpretations of what is "great" or "super" in spatial and political environs. ... So here it is:

WHITE HOUSE REDUX - YOUTUBE - JURY VIDEO