Bernard Tschumi Architects

Bernard Tschumi (born January 25, 1944) is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism.

Bernard Tschumi is widely recognized as one of today’s foremost architects.

• graduate of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich in

1969

• First known as a theorist until 1983 when he won the presti gious

competition for the Parc de La Villette.

• awarded France’s Grand Prix National d’Architecture in 1996 as well as

numerous awards from the American Institute of Architects and the

National Endowment for the Arts.

• taught at Architectural Association in London, Princeton University, and

The Cooper Union in New York

• was dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and

Preservation at Columbia University from 1988 to 2003 -currently a

professor

• published 4 books- Event- Cities, Architecture and Disjunction Tschumi,

and The Manhattan Transcripts

• work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the

Venice Architecture Biennale, the Netherlands Architecture Institute in

Rotterdam, the Pompidou Center in Paris

• believes that there is no fixed relationship between architectural form

and the events that happen inside it

• 1. Quickly diagram several alternative concepts, spatial

configurations, or strategies. Then immediately leave them

aside. If any of them are valid, they will reappear at a later

stage.

2. Take the program. Assign dimensions, places, and

relationships; distinguish between generic and

specific programmatic spaces; test alternatives. Do it quickly;

be precise, but not necessarily detailed.

3. Introduce circulation or vectors of movement, establish

priorities in how the building will be used and experienced.

Enhance sequences (test alternatives). Establish whether

the envelope is unitary or broken down into two or more sub-

envelopes in relation to the findings of steps 1 and 2. Look at

material options.

4. Test alternatives. If applicable, take advantage of the

site constraints: zoning constraints, slope, height limitations,

potential materials as per climate or local construction

industry, but with a broad approach.

5. Then, only then, begin conceptual work. Do not start with a

form. Make concept emerge, balancing steps 1 to 4. No form,

please (unless it can become a generating concept). What is

a concept? There is no answer to this. There can be no restriction

to what a concept or overriding idea is. The concept must allow

for the resolution of steps 1 to 4.

6. Then, only then, let the image or the architecture emerge.

Select final materials; architecture is

the materialization of concepts. The image will emerge with

energy and evidence. Sometimes the image is no image, if

the concept calls for no image.

7. As the project (concept) is developed, weaving into it all

technical constraints and construction details, keep utmost clarity

in mind. Never do anything for design’s sake, work only

for concept’s sake. (Stay on concept the way one stays on

message: Repeat, repeat, repeat. Edit, edit, edit.) Construction or

budget constraints are good ways to clarify priorities.

8. You may break rules, but never at the expense of concept.

Located only 300 meters (980 feet)

Southeast of the Parthenon, with an

exhibition space of 14,000 square meters

and a cost of €130 million, the New

Acropolis Museum houses some of the

most famous works of classical antiquity.

It aims at providing the visitors with a

comprehensive picture of the human

presence on the Acropolis, from the pre-

historic times through late Antiquity, with

the advantage of being built on the slope

of the Acropolis itself.

The visitor's route through the museum forms a clear

three-dimensional loop,

A circulation route narrates a rich spatial experience

from the city street into the historical world of the

different periods of archeological inquiry.

the whole building is on stilts. The ground floor is really structured so as to reveal the excavations, which is why you have all the glass,

including the glass ramp leading to the galleries.

This level contains the entrance lobby as well as temporary exhibition spaces, an auditorium, and all support facilities.

Transparent glass ramp over archeological excavations in the Lobby of the Acropolis Museum

The Slope Gallery :The glass ramp reveals ancient remains that

were excavated during the building’s

construction, thus providing a sense of continuity

between the Acropolis and the museum site

itself.

At the end of the ramp the visitors come across

the large finds of the “Hekatompedon”, the first large temple of the Goddess Athena on the

Acropolis.

View of the Archaic Gallery

double-height space that soars to 10 meters (33 feet), accommodating the galleries from the Archaic to the late Roman

period.

A mezzanine features a bar and restaurant (with a public terrace looking out toward the Acropolis) and multimedia space.

Parthenon gallery showing views of the Temple on the right

Parthenon Frieze in a gallery with views over the city, and back down through the Roman period.

Movement in and through time is an important aspect of architecture, and of this museum in particular. With

more than 10,000 visitors expected daily, the movement sequence through the museum artifacts

is designed to be of the utmost clarity”

rooftop gallery in glass to the exact proportions of the Parthenon itself, they

put the marbles in their original context but protected from the sun.

For this they incorporates high performance coated glazing products and a

double skin that includes shading screens for the most exposed elevations.

Low iron glass is used to maximize light color integrity and black fritting is

provided for complementary glare protection.

The three major materials used for its

construction are glass for the facades and

some of the floors, concrete for the core

and the columns, as well as marble for the

galleries.

The program for the extension of the TGV network in southern France includes a passage through the town of la Roche sur Yon. The town is modernizing the train station and replacing an 1890’s footbridge over the railway tracks.

The town is separated by the railway tracks into two parts: the historical central neighborhood, which contains the ‘Pentagon’ planned by Napoleon on one side

and it’s contemporary counterpart with its modern facilities (stadium, school and residential zones)one the other.

67 meters (35+32 spans)

201 square meters of concrete deck

160 tons of total weight, of which 130 tons of steel ie 1,9 tons per linear meter

76 circular diaphragms, 2100 compressive diagonals, 600 tensile rods

4300 meters of profi les, about 10 km of welding, 1800 conical nodes

there is no architecture without movement. A pedestrian bridge is not just a static object , but represents a dynamic vector in both its usage and urban perception.

The designers have sought to express this dynamic characteristic, as much through the structural system as through finishing materials.

Even the bright red-orange color was chosen to emphasize the urban significance of the bridge as a pedestrian vector.

The ambition of the town, is not only to create a symboliclink between the two neighborhoods, but equally to celebratethe arrival of the TGV.

La Roche sur Yon is the

birthplace of Robert le Ricolais.

This heritage, both intellectual

and historical, has inspired the

design of the footbridge.

The intention of the designers

was to demonstrate an

integration of an original

structural system with an

architectural concept

developed from urban scale

research of neighborhood

identity and carried through

the expression of the minutest

details.

The design of the new bridge uses the same language of a diagonal mesh,

but in a tubular from, to create a complete cylindrical volume through which

the users pass. Footbridges over railways require lateral protection for safety of

both the users and the trains below.

The complete volume provides a single structural solution.

The Concert Hall in Limoges, located in the center of France

architecture is the materialization of a concept, what if the

concept remains the same, but the material changes?

explored the implications of such a transformation with a

new variation

With a comprehensive approach to sustainability, Tschumi

designed this building with sustainable materials and energy

conservation in mind.

In that light, use of wood was an choice due to its low

carbon footprints, renewability, recyclability and excellent

sound insulation properties.

The public area can also accommodate shows,

exhibitions, and open-air events, and permits lighting

installations and temporary structures.

This public plaza opens toward the respective entrances

of the exhibition hall and the concert hall, allowing the

public to be welcomed into the most generous spaces.

The symmetry also provides functional advantages,

permitting the theater to be reconfigured into three

smaller volumes

detached and fragmented envelope opens in

two directions, towards both the forest and the

road. Between the two envelopes

Additionally, two straight “flying” staircases

extend directly toward the top row of seats.

Much of the material treatment is determined

by energy conservation and sustainability

considerations.

Acoustics play a major role in the treatment of

the inner envelope, both internally and

externally. In the auditorium, strong absorption

is required for an 8,000-spectator-capacity hall,

while in the large, 1800- square-meter foyer,

absorbent and reflective materials are

alternated to generate more varied

ambiences and acoustic effects.

The configuration of the double envelope with circulation in-

between is a scheme that is advantageous for both acoustical and

thermal reasons.

The 5 cm-thick, semi-rigid, polycarbonate sheeting, with its multiple

inner layers of cells, provides for both insulation and natural light

filtration. The highest portion of the facade has a pixelated design

silk-screened directly on the shell for additional solar protection.

In the auditorium, strong absorption is required for an 8,000-spectator-capacity hall, while

in the large, 1800- square-meter foyer, absorbent and reflective materials are alternated to

generate more varied ambiences and acoustic effects.

The soft translucency of the polycarbonate complements the wood frame by

allowing light to filter in and out of the building, which keeps energy costs down by

day and provides energy-efficient signage when the building is active in the

evening.

Tension cables hold the middle of the spans, permitting a lighter

truss system.

The use of wood was suggested by the location of the hall, in a

clearing within a large forest surrounded by trees over 200 years

old. The region also has an active timber industry.

The entry lobby is located in between the two skins