Xiyuan Entertainment Complex

This design by Colletti and Cruz was the winning proposal in an invited international competition for an 180,000m² entertainment complex to be located in front of the Yiheyuan Royal Summer Palace in Beijing, one of China’s most important cultural sites. The project was designed equally – 50% each – through their practice, marcosandmarjan architects. Its primary research investigation was to look at how innovative CAD/CAM design and manufacturing techniques might be used to generate a new contemporary architectural identity amidst the rapid development now taking place in China. Hence the scheme sought to draw together innovative design solutions in terms of its building technology, typological layout and architectural language. The project’s proximity to a World Heritage Site and the consequent height restrictions triggered a more contextual and low-density proposal, as opposed to the more pervasive western-style impositions of high-density commercial buildings which are sprouting up in Chinese cities. There are four major aspects of the design: a new version of the traditional upturned tiled roof; a multiple-use programmatic element; some contextualisation in the building’s forms; and the use of digital prefabrication to make the steel structure, stone cladding and wood detailing. This project for the Xiyuan Entertainment Compex was exhibited at the Venice Biennale (2004); Feng Chia University in Taiwan (2005); Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London (2005); Metaflux in São Paulo, Lisbon and Aveiro (2005); etc. A major article was published on the project in Time+Architecture (2006), plus there were positive reviews in international magazines: 2G Dossier (2005); Ponto Final (2005); Construir (2004). The scheme was also illustrated in the RIBA Journal (2005), East of Eros catalogue (2005); Metaflux catalogue (2005); L’ARCA magazine (2005); etc. A broadcast on the scheme was also aired, along with a discussion of other contemporary architectural work by Rem Koolhaas and others, by CCTV-China

Nurbsters

The Nurbsters series is the term given to ongoing design research investigations by Colletti and Cruz, both of whom contribute 50% each to the project, as part of their work as marcosandmarjan architects. Nurbsters comprise an innovative series of models and full-size prototypes which have been designed and built over the last 4 years, most of them being conceived for exhibitions and installations. The most important Nurbsters exhibition as yet was at the 2004 Venice Biennale. Chronologically, however, they consist of Nurbster I – a prototype wall (London 2003, Prague 2004); Nurbster II – a desk (Venice, Lisbon, Aveiro, São Paulo 2004-05); Nurbster III – exhibition islets (Prague, Bratislava, Kosice 2004-05); Nurbster IV – a seat (Taiwan, 2005); Nurbster V – another seat (2005); Nurbster VI – a generic structure (2005); Nurbster VII – a house design (Lisbon, Badajoz, Mérida, Cáceres 2005); Nurbster VIII – a winter garden (Badajoz, Madrid 2006). In all these cases, both the design and manufacturing processes are completely computerised, with the construction relying on the use of MDF, plywood or metal boards. The underlying intention of the Nurbsters series is to develop various typologies for interior design and urban furniture through complex double-curved forms and the latest building technologies. A series of notched sections create a complex object to fit the programmatic, structural, ergonomic requisites. In this it reinterprets the traditional Chinese wooden cut-joint fitting technique and is thus ideal for quick assembly and disassembly. In research terms, the issue is how to develop new software-related aesthetics and forms by means of using 2D and 3D software, computer numerically controlled (CNC), and rapid prototyping technologies. All the Nurbsters projects have been extensively exhibited and reviewed, and they have attracted a number of international grants and sponsorship for design and manufacturing to date, totalling approximately £38,000

75. FEIRA DO LIVRO DE LISBOA

Lisbon Book Fair, Portugal [built] Design team: marcosandmarjan. Collaboration: João Albuquerque, Shui Liu Construction: Contubos Engineering: A400 Programme: General layout of Book Fair, Cafeteria, Auditorium, Outside Esplanade, Information Pavilion Planning 3 months Construction 4 weeks Construction costs (architecture, general layout) 500000 Euros Structure: scaffolding structure behind painted and laser-cut MDF, metalsheets, glass Total construction area 1000 m2 Total layout area 60000 m

Interfaces/intrafaces

An exhibition/series of publications presenting the speculative/ collaborative practice of marcosandmarjan, developed out of Marjan Colletti’s Mimetic Intrafaces (phenomenological enquiry in digital design) and Marcos Cruz’s Inhabitable Interfaces (investigation of typologies prompting new architectural embodiments). Questions: (1) How can human–computer interaction inform digital architecture? (2) How to identify new relationships between body and architecture? Aims/Objectives: (1) To initiate an ontological/phenomenological investigation of Mimetic Intrafaces. (2) To identify/create Inhabitable Interfaces in order to re-engage the body in architecture. Contexts: (1) This synthetic approach goes beyond the current impasse in digital discourse – imagery or tectonics. (2) The research contradicts the current trend of replacing typological preoccupations with topological explorations, neglecting the body in practicing architecture. Methods: Driven by architectural design, theoretically contextualized within philosophies of the body/space/design

XIYUAN ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX

Invited competition entry for an entertainment complex in Beijing P.R.China [first prize, followed by stage C proposal] Client: Beijing Xinjing Yihe Real Estate Development Ltd Design: marcosandmarjan with Jia Lu Competition stage: with Jia Lu and Steve Pike Collaborators: Nat Keast, Shaun Siu Chong, James Pike, Sirichai Bunchua Renderings: Mark Exon, Samuel White, Kenny Tsui, Tamsin Green, Jessica Lee) Model: Sirichai Bunchua, Keith Watson, Andy Shawn Engineering: Beijing Design Institut

Hi-tech Meets Low-tech

The core of Habitat is arranged by climate zone, from desert to tropical, temperate to arctic

Dissociative symptoms in female patients with mood and anxiety disorders: a psychopathological and temperamental investigation.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Dissociative symptoms are frequent among psychiatric patients and may considerably affect patients' psychopathological condition and treatment outcomes. The objectives of the study are to assess the presence of dissociative symptoms in female patients with mood and anxiety disorders, to investigate their correlation with the clinical severity of the disorders and to investigate those personality traits that are more frequent in patients with high levels of dissociation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 50 Caucasian females were enrolled in the study. Patients were assessed through the Self-Report Symptom Check-List, the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and rating scales for Depression and Anxiety. RESULTS: The mean DES score in the overall sample was 16.6. 32% of patients had a DES score > 20. Depressive symptoms positively correlated with the DES total scores. Dissociator patients presented some significantly different temperamental characteristics in comparison with non dissociator patients. CONCLUSIONS: Dissociative symptoms are highly present in patients with mood and anxiety disorders and correlate with the severity of depressive symptoms. Specific personality traits more frequently observed in dissociator people may represent predisposing factors; their early identification could be clinically relevant

Training Prospective Primary and Kindergarten Teachers on Electric Circuits Using Conceptual Metaphors

The awareness and use of conceptual metaphors available in ordinary language should be a relevant part of teaching strategies, yet it is still rather neglected in teacher education. With a specific activity, we integrated a class of prospective kindergarten and primary school teachers on electric circuits with a reflection on the cognitive and linguistic aspects of metaphor. To understand how effective this integration proved to be, both in terms of learning and in terms of developing teaching skills, we conducted a single case study with a mixed qualitative–quantitative methodol-ogy. Student teachers were invited to analyze and discuss expressions on electric circuits selected from those they themselves had formulated at an earlier time. Here, we present some relevant results from the analysis of the students’ elaborations, highlighting how they worked with metaphors. They demonstrated a better understanding of the subject matter and greater awareness of teaching as well, in particular for what concerns the use of language and identifying and overcoming implicit ideas