#agence architecture sca

[emiliaclarce]

Modern Deck Paris

Ideas for a large, contemporary rooftop remodel without a cover

[sixteencities]

Modern Deck Paris Ideas for a large, contemporary rooftop remodel without a cover

[rachelsfindings]

Deck Rooftop Paris Large minimalist rooftop deck photo with no cover

[subterraniamania]

What is National Arts Month?

Threadless Artist Mathiole once said,

“Art speaks where words are unable to explain.”

Art is indeed used to convey one’s emotions and feelings and can be found everywhere. The National Arts Month (NAM) is one of the sites for art and will be held in February 2020 by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) through Ani ng Sining: Philippine Arts Festival. This celebration first started in 1991 after the former president Corazon Aquino signed the Presidential Proclamation 683. Since then, the NCCA and other agencies have been organizing this event. 

This year, through the Subcommission on the Arts (SCA), the NCCA heads the celebration of the NAM by the theme Ani ng Sining: Philippine Arts Festival. It shows a variation of events from different areas in the country. Specifically, it highlights the seven local boards and arts which include: architecture and allied arts, cinema, dance, dramatic arts, literary arts, music, and visual arts.

Across the country, communities and organizations are urged to coordinate creative activities to celebrate NAM 2020. Events are ideally conducted in public spaces to include external as well as internal stakeholders as participants.

Aside from the different activities it offers, this event could also revive the Philippine pride. This year’s National Arts Month will be able to serve as a venue for all forms of art ranging from digital to traditional art and even including literary pieces. It focuses on indigenous arts, and by inflating them, viewers get to see more of the piece rather than the general idea itself. 

Furthermore, unlike presenting only the well-known art pieces such as the artworks of Fernando Amorsolo, or the writings of Jose Rizal, the National Arts Month will also be a locale wherein even the less recognized works could be presented and appreciated for their value and message. By attempting to avoid curating just the famous works of selected Filipinos, the audience will get more of a distinct Filipino flavor regarding the artistic community and encourages fellow individuals to become less insular.

Today, the featured literary piece presented is the “Subterrania” by Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak.

[unspokenblogs]

National Arts Month Background

National Arts Month (NAM) happens every February. It all began after the former president Corazon Aquino signed the Presidential Proclamation 683 in 1991 entitled “ Declaring the Month of February of every year as National Art Month”. Since then, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and with other private and public agencies have been organizing this long-awaited event. Formed in 1987, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts is an official government agency for culture all over the Philippines. This agency is responsible for the preservation, development, and promotion of Philippine Arts and culture. It also administers the National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts for the implementation of culture, arts programs and projects.

NAM objectives are the following: to showcase excellent artistic expressions of local communities; promote the unique identity and values of the community; rally local government support for fine arts and cultural programs; provide opportunities that harness and strengthen local artists; and document artworks. 

This 2020, NCCA spearheads the event and was anchored with the theme “Ani ng Sining”. It is held on the first day of February at Rizal Park in Manila with free workshops, performances, short film screening, and announcements. It is not limited to Manila, but it shows different events all over the Philippines. These events highlight SCA’s 7 local boards and arts include: Architecture and Allied Arts, Cinema, Dance, Dramatic Arts, Literary Arts, Visual Arts, and Music. It also highlights the love and passion for Filipino art and culture.

[subterraniabot]

National Arts Month Background

The Filipino culture is known for its unique music, dances, art, and literature. In 1991, Corazon Aquino signed the Presidential Proclamation 683. This started National Arts Month, celebrated every month of February. The celebration allows fellow Filipinos to recognize Filipino talents, honor local artists, appreciate their craft, and give tribute to our history. This month-long celebration is made possible by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, or NCCA, along with other agencies. During the festival, a series of events are used to highlight Architecture and Allied Arts, Cinema, Dance, Dramatic Arts, Literary Arts, Music, and Visual Arts through Subcommission on the Arts, or SCA, across the country. The Subcommission on the Arts is the committee that represents the fine art sector of culture and encourages Filipinos to exercise freedom and promotes Filipino arts. Filipino styled art is a very compelling and interesting culture of the Philippines.  However, it is under looked and not given the recognition it deserves. Philippine art is heavily based on the Philippine’s culture, society, history, real world problems, and many more. The art of the Filipinos tend to tell a story about these topics. The stories can be seen through the forms of paintings, sculptures, songs, and literature, among other things. The most commonly used art form in interpreting a story is through Philippine’s literature, which tells the story of the Filipino culture and history through the use of symbolisms containing hidden connotations. In addition to this, Philippine literature doesn’t just inform the people about the culture, but was also able to spark revolutions and inform the people about the truth back in the past. The most famous literature compositions that have demonstrated this, is “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”. Nowadays, modern literature does not need to create revolutions to be considered as noteworthy. In fact, a remarkable amount of Filipino literature is seen as amazing works of art; not only in the Philippines, but also internationally. This proves that Filipino culture is something to be proud of, and that it needs to receive more attention from the people of whom it is for.

[phgq]

'Alab-sining, Alay-sigla' harnessing artists' creative energies --NCCA

#PHinfo: 'Alab-sining, Alay-sigla' harnessing artists' creative energies --NCCA

QUEZON CITY, Feb. 13 (PIA) - The National Arts Month (NAM) led by the Subcommission on the Arts (SCA) of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) continues to provide opportunities for harnessing artists’ creative energies in uplifting the nation’s spirit through a series of activities and events as it takes on this year's theme “Alab-sining, Alay-sigla,”.

The different committees will feature their programs this whole month of February focusing on conserving, promoting and popularizing Filipino artistic creations; integrating the arts in the community life; and, harnessing the arts as catalysts for values education, according to its recent news release.

The National Committee on Architecture and the Allied Arts invites planning and design professionals, academicians, students and the general public, both local and international to engage, in a conversation that will highlight how 'spaces' are managed and reshaped, both interior and exterior, public and private to adapt to life in quarantine. 

Sayaw Pinoy, the flagship program of the National Committee on Dance highlights various dance forms like folk dance, traditional dance, contemporary dance, neoclassical dance, ballet, modern dance, and hiphop.  

The National Committee on Literary Arts celebrates with its banner program, "Reading the Regions 2: An Anthology and A Literary Conference on Philippine Folk and Oral Traditions" 

The National Committee on Music stages an online concert series that highlights the musical cultures of the country – from the indigenous, to the contemporary, to progressive music – in a program dubbed Musikapuluan Pintigan:  Serye ng Konsiyerto para sa Buwan ng Sining.

The National Committee on Dramatic Arts leads the 4th year of Tampok, TAMPOK 4 is composed of e-Turo Dula and e-Pasundayag. The e-Turo Dula offers 5 specialized online theater courses of 18-hours each course, that will run for 6 weeks, 3 hours per week combining synchronous (via Zoom) and asynchronous sessions; and, e-Pasundayag premieres video documentaries and digital presentations that will be followed by a talkback from each production’s key artistic team leaders. 

Likewise, the National Committee for Visual Arts presents Bagong Biswal which will feature various video documentation contributed by artists nationwide --- collated into categories (i.e., painting, sculpture, illustration, graphic art, fine art photography, performance art, etc.) -- staged through the NCCA Facebook Page, with live discussions by resource persons and guests broadcast via Zoom.

Moreso, the National Committee on Cinema is expecting the 13th installment of Cinema Rehiyon to be the biggest in scope and reach as it mounts its first-ever online film festival from March 26 to 30, 2021.

For more details on each flagship projects and other NAM related activities, please contact Mr. Rene Napeñas, head of the Public Affairs and Information Office, through 0928-5081057, 527-2192 loc 625 or through email address ncca.paio@gmail.com.  You may also visit  https://www.facebook. com/NCCAOfficial                         (MCG/PIA-IDPD/NCCA)

  ***

References:

* Philippine Information Agency. "'Alab-sining, Alay-sigla' harnessing artists' creative energies --NCCA." Philippine Information Agency. https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1066697 (accessed February 13, 2021 at 09:49AM UTC+08).

* Philippine Infornation Agency. "'Alab-sining, Alay-sigla' harnessing artists' creative energies --NCCA." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1066697 (archived).

[constructionfirm]

Historic Restoration Condo & SARA National Award

A façade preservation and restoration project at 54 Bond Street in Manhattan received the Society of American Registered Architects’ National Award of Excellence. The international project team for this highly complex exterior restoration included architect CTA Architects P.C.; owner’s representative D+DS Architecture Office; general contractor Traditional Waterproofing and Restoration; Gent, Belgium-based cast-iron fabricator Van Cronenburg Architectural Hardware; and structural engineer GACE Consulting Engineers. Andrews Building Corporation manages the building. The project was also recently recognized with the Lucy G. Moses Award, the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s highest honors for preservation excellence.

54 Bond Street is a circa-1874, corner cast-iron building in the French Second Empire style. The Lucy G. Moses Awards are the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s highest honors for preservation excellence. The award was bestowed upon the project team on the evening of May 8, 2018 at the 28th Moses Awards, held at the historic St. Bartholomew’s Church, on 325 Park Avenue in Manhattan.

“The $4.5 million project was phased, with the first phase being the façade restoration, and the second, final phase being the reconstruction of the sidewalk,” said Christa E. Waring, AIA, LEED AP, CTA’s Principal in Charge. “It was an extremely involved, painstaking process involving extensive restoration as well as the replication of over 1,000 incredibly intricate cast-iron units, including formed metal cornices and pediments. In addition to the extensive cast iron, there is sheet metal ornamentation on the façade, on elements such as the cornices. All renovation work was performed from pipe scaffolding,” she added.

The highly ornate, six-story, 15,000-square foot 54 Bond Street building in the Bowery section of the NoHo Historic District, was designed by Henry Engelbert and constructed between 1873 and 1874 – at a time when the Bowery was a residential and cultural center. Columns surround the windows and a stately cornice was specified for above the sixth floor. A shallow pediment is on the Bond Street side of the building, while Englebert placed a cornice around the building between each floor, to unify both sides of the façade.

The structure served as the Bond Street Savings Bank for five years. As the Bowery declined, the structure became home to the German Exchange Bank, then a loft and storage space, and, after that, the Bouwerie Lane Theater in 1963. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the building an individual landmark in 1967, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

In the mid-2000s, the Bowery began to improve. It was in 2007 that 54 Bond was purchased and converted into a condominium property with three large high-end residential lofts and two commercial spaces on the first two floors. A few years later, in mid-August, 2011, the owner, 54 Bond Street Condominium, contracted CTA to repair the façade, as it had become somewhat dilapidated. Cast-iron units along the façade were heavily rusted and/or deteriorated, for instance, while there were a number of points of local leakage. CTA, which has extensive experience with both historic restorations and residential buildings, not only restored the façade to its original condition and addressed the leakage, it restored the brick masonry parapets on the northwest side of the structure.

CTA designed the facade repair, bid out the project, and performed construction administration services, developing the budget and the trade packages. Before any renovation work was undertaken, however, CTA’s project manager, Matthew Jenkins, AIA, performed an intensive and detailed three-month-long documentation of the façade for two primary purposes: 1) to assess and document the façade’s condition; and 2) to ascertain which cast-iron units would need to be replaced. “It was amazing to see just how detailed each unit was. The intricacy and the decorative and interlocking nature of each unit made it a challenging undertaking,” Jenkins said. He also uncovered some hidden conditions, and stated, “When the units were removed, we found that the cast-iron braces that held them in place had deteriorated, along with the brick-and-masonry backup.” Since these items had to be addressed, they were added to the scope of the project.

Full Scope of Work Most cast-iron buildings are narrow, so their facades are limited. However, 54 Bond is unusual in that it is on a corner. Hence, the amount of cast iron is much more extensive on it than on most cast-iron buildings. In fact, the Bond Street side alone is over 100 feet long.

Due to the façade’s beauty and uniqueness – as well as its landmarked status – CTA was careful to avoid using alternate materials that differed from those originally used. In fact, the only modern material the team used was concealed sheet flashing to protect the building’s interior from water penetration.

All of the cast-iron units to be replaced were numbered, shipped to the fabricator’s facility in Belgium, and reviewed in detail, allowing the fabricator to create shop drawings, molds, and then create the replicas. The cast-iron pieces were also zinc-metalized to provide additional rust protection and then painted with three coats of epoxy paint. Pieces that were in good condition, on the other hand, were stripped of paint and rust and were then recoated in a phased process.

Due to the architectural significance of the building, the team worked with the coating manufacturer, Tnemec Company, Inc., to develop a system for testing the paint, to make sure it adhered appropriately to each element.

CTA’s Bradley Heraux, technical manager on the project, noted that the team’s biggest challenge was coordination. “The cast-iron units were molded and replicated in Belgium, while the sheet metal elements were remade locally, in Long Island City, by Gotham Sheet Metal. There were so many different elements in different geographical locations, we really had to coordinate it all very carefully,” he said. “The team collaboration was superb despite the geographical distance,” Heraux continued. In fact, the Belgians traveled to Manhattan for an extensive site review and to create additional documentation of the façade elements.

Overall, in order to make the restoration easier and to avoid dust, the contractors removed old paint using a stripper tape impregnated with solvent, rather than by sandblasting. Further, as the windows were somewhat recently replaced, the façade renovation team simply repainted them to match the color of the renovated façade.

After the façade work was completed, the second phase began with the replication of the three original cast-iron entrance stairways leading to the ground floor, which is elevated above the street level. One entrance goes to the residential portion of the building, while the other two belong to the retail portion. At some point over time, the stairways had been replaced. CTA designed new stairs to match the originals the team had found in old photographs and from remnants on site. In addition, CTA added new perimeter areaway fencing, ensuring it was both visually attractive and meeting the current codes. The final steps are to replace the sidewalk and renovate underground vault, as well as to restore the historic areaway. The team is currently waterproofing and protecting the underground vault.

Of course, CTA worked with LPC throughout the process. All processes, materials, and equipment had to be approved by the agency, even the security cameras installed on the building. CTA specified cameras that were installed using a low profile, so as not to detract from the aesthetics.

CTA Architects Established in 1987, CTA Architects is a prominent architectural design firm based in New York City. Four principals lead the 50-person firm: G. Douglas Cutsogeorge, AIA; Craig Tooman, AIA, LEED AP; Daniel J. Allen, AIA; and Christa E. Waring, AIA, LEED AP.

CTA’s design focus and experience span new design, historic preservation, and restoration work in the civic, multi-family residential, commercial, institutional, educational, and public markets. The firm holds term contracts with the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA), the New York State Office of General Services (OGS), the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), and the City University of New York (CUNY).

CTA’s recent projects in New York City include the historic landmark restorations of the 36 Gramercy Park East façade and the City Cinemas Village East Theater; exterior renovations to the Fifth Avenue Armory; the rehabilitations of the Grand Street Guild, Haven Plaza, and George Hardy and St. Francis apartment complexes totaling 1,175 units for the Archdiocese of New York; the exterior renovation of the six-building Morningside Gardens co-op campus; five Universal Pre-Kindergarten schools for the NYC SCA; and design work the Coney Island Prep, Harlem Village Academy, and Growing Up Green School.

The studio’s new design work includes SARA NY Design Award winner 17 Pitt Street, the Lower Eastside Girls Club, and two recently completed additions at the Bronx Charter School for Excellence, which included a new seven-story tower.

The firm’s projects also include the exterior renovations to the New York State Legislature Building in Albany, NY; and a large-scale, six-building residential rehabilitation and conversion as well as an adaptive re-use of the historic Arcade Hotel in Bridgeport, CT’s Downtown South Historic District.

CTA’s work has been widely recognized through regional and national awards, including the Exterior Preservation Award from Landmark West!, Residential Architect Design Award of Merit, The Society of American Registered Architects National and New York Chapters’ Design Awards, several Lucy G. Moses preservation awards from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Victorian Society of America Metropolitan Chapter Preservation Awards.