Arch Daily |
- Villa in an Historical Park / Dost
- In the Swedish City of Järfälla, Ten Radical "Superbenches" Are Unveiled as Community Incubators
- Aquatic Centre Sourcéane / Auer Weber + CAAU
- Office Space in Poznan / Metaforma
- House in Umezu / Koyori + DATT
- Falcon Beach House / iredale pedersen hook architects
- Haru Cafe / B.U.S Architecture
- Ness Point House / Tonkin Liu Architects
- World’s Largest Starbucks to Open on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile
- Corporative Building Claro Chile / +arquitectos
- ALA Launches Craft Beer for Architects Celebrating the Art of Revisions
- ALA Launches Craft Beer for Architects Celebrating the Art of Revisions
- West Elm Corporate Headquarters / VM Architecture & Design
- C.F. Møller Wins Competition for Hybrid-Structure High-Rise in Sweden
- UN.IT / M3 Architects
- The Architecture of Some of the World's Oldest Continuously Inhabited Cities
- Edificio Isabela / Ruptura Morlaca Arquitectura
- Sketching Tutorials to Keep You Filling up Your Moleskine
- This House was Built in 5 Days Using Recycled Plastic Bricks
- BRLO BRWHOUSE / Graft Architects
| Villa in an Historical Park / Dost Posted: 01 May 2017 10:00 PM PDT  © Ilja Tschanen | moduleplus
 © Ilja Tschanen | moduleplus From the architect. This project started with a very special commission to build a house for a family that collects art. It is located on a steep hillside in a very silent and peaceful park. When Dost started designing the villa, there were two very clear core themes: on one hand the position of the villa on a steep terrain, and on the other, the owners' wish to have an interior picture gallery.  Ground floor plan The result is an impressive two storey high courtyard that becomes the villa's centre. All the spaces revolve around this gallery, which is built with acoustic perforated panels that allow the pictures to be hanged. Furthermore, cubic openings are carefully positioned to grant visual connections between the house's different habitats and the gallery. The strong dialogue between the space and its content evolves through the house and at the same time defines it.  © Andrin Winteler | bürobureau However, the views are not only oriented towards the inside, but also towards the outside. Thanks to the building's large frameless windows, the nature is continuously captured and transformed into dynamic art pictures.  Section Regarding the house's internal organization, the entrance is at the terrain's highest point and the living area is therefore on the top floor. As for the ground floor, it is reserved for the bedrooms and private areas.  © Andrin Winteler | bürobureau In conclusion, it is impossible to refer to this house as simply architecture, but as a project where topography, nature, and art become one.  © Andrin Winteler | bürobureau This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| In the Swedish City of Järfälla, Ten Radical "Superbenches" Are Unveiled as Community Incubators Posted: 01 May 2017 09:00 PM PDT  Core / Philippe Malouin, Ali Bar Chair / Max Lamb, and Spring Break / Soft Baroque. Image © Jezzica Sunmo Sweden is home to the world's longest public bench. At 240 feet (around 72 meters) in length, the Långa Soffan ("long sofa") was installed by the citizens of Oskarshamn in 1867 to overlook its rather unspectacular harbour, which opens toward the Baltic Sea. The function of this bench was not for passing time and taking in the coastal views, however; in times gone by it was rhythmically occupied by the wives of sailors awaiting their husband's return from sea voyages. It allowed people to gather under a sense of common melancholy and collectively recall the smiles of their distant spouses before the ocean's broad, blue canvas. A bench, in other words, is an important civic statement. As instruments of assembly they provide a reason to stop and linger – occupying a bench in a public space is also a social recitation. Sit in the middle of the seat and you are signifying that you wish to be alone. Sit to one side and you're inviting others to join – think, for instance, of the park bench scenes in Forrest Gump or Good Will Hunting. The bench is at once ubiquitous and often dismissed as a sub-par form of furniture, usually designed to be a variation on the same theme: four wooden planks bolted to an unabashedly efficient supporting frame. In a satellite suburb of Stockholm, an innovative two-year-long initiative is attempting to challenge the status quo through intelligent competition and design briefs. The Kalejdohill project—located in Järfälla, led by Andreas Angelidakis and developed in public-private partnership with three Swedish developers (HSB, Norra, and Stor-Stockholm)—has completed a series of open international competitions and local interventions in and around Kvarnbacken Park, a small patch of green surrounded by homes and businesses. Once-neglected, it now finds itself at the heart of a rapidly expanding urban conurbation with somewhere between 600 and 800 housing units posited for its immediate vicinity.  Plan of SUPERBENCHES in Kvarnbacken Park. Image Courtesy of Kalejdohill As the latest in a string of supra-spatial projects to take on Kvarnbacken—including "Desire Lines" and "Lights"—"SUPERBENCHES" has pooled together a collection of world-renowned designers in the spirit of experimentation. The design and construction of ten park benches, conceived by ten design practices, has been overseen by US-based creative director and writer Felix Burrichter. For Burrichter, this project is primarily a "community incubator" for "a new, diverse neighborhood," which isn't yet built. _HR.jpg?1493673197 "Ali Bar Chair / Max Lamb. Image © Jezzica Sunmo") Ali Bar Chair / Max Lamb. Image © Jezzica Sunmo The more immediate response among current residents has been enthusiastic. Following the construction of the "Procrastinated Entrance Gate" by Manuel García Sarafian in late 2016, they are by now rather used to stumbling upon interesting interventions in their local park. As the "SUPERBENCHES" were unveiled to the public at the end of last month, an entire hamlet of people turned out to the poetically incongruous tune of a brass band and a Swedish rap performance. They tried out their new benches, had fika in the park, and chatted awhile. In this part of Järfälla, the age-old adage that neighborhood investment encourages civic pride is both viable and thriving. The "SUPERBENCHES" themselves—each, according to Burrichter, proposing "a distinct bench typology"—are radically different from their neighbors – and their introduction to the community is not the end of the story. While each will be in position for a year, local residents will be invited to democratically determine the long-term composition of their park; their top picks will remain as permanent installations while their least favorite benches, or the least used, will be eliminated. Heated competition and a prolonged testing period is certainly one way to actively encourage community participation. While every indication would suggest that its members will put forward strong opinions, these are five of our favorites. Spring Break / Soft Baroque (Saša Štucin & Nicholas Gardner)_HR.jpg?1493673475 "Spring Break / Soft Baroque. Image © Jezzica Sunmo") Spring Break / Soft Baroque. Image © Jezzica Sunmo Soft Baroque have been inspired by "a YouTube video of an overweight man in a tie-dyed t-shirt bobbing back and forth on a kid's playground springer to create a two-seater bench on springs."
Core / Philippe Malouin_HR.jpg?1493673338 "Core / Philippe Malouin. Image © Jezzica Sunmo") Core / Philippe Malouin. Image © Jezzica Sunmo Malouin has drawn inspiration from "the local topography, using natural aggregates to create an outdoor meeting place that offers a pause from the hectic everyday life."
Cushy / Hägglund & Gripner (Märta Hägglund & Sanna Gripner) Cushy / Hägglund & Gripner (concept sketch). Image Courtesy of Kalejdohill Hägglund & Gripner have designed an exterior living room, "translating the aesthetic and comfort of the home into public outdoor seating. Their work consists of a two-seater and matching armchair composed of metal mesh."
Primordial Bench / Luca Cipelletti_HR.jpg?1493673388 "Primordial Bench / Luca Cipelletti. Image © Jezzica Sunmo") Primordial Bench / Luca Cipelletti. Image © Jezzica Sunmo This is a conceptual work made of "Shit Bricks" – a sustainable clay-composite of processed, odorless cow dung. "Formed as an L-shape, they are reminiscent of an archeological ruin in which only one corner of an ancient structure remains."
Aluminum Bench / Jonathan Olivares_HR_AD.jpg?1493673942 "Aluminum Bench / Jonathan Olivares. Image © Jezzica Sunmo") Aluminum Bench / Jonathan Olivares. Image © Jezzica Sunmo This is a variation of Olivares "Aluminum Bench" project, "an industrial design based on a user-configured design app he developed for metal and glass fabricator Zahner."
The Kalejdohill project is an invitation to inhabit the area of Kvarnbacken in Järfälla, Stockholm, prior to the construction of housing units. Kalejdohill consists of a diverse set of society-building activities that range from citizen participation initiatives to pop-up exhibitions, conferences, research and knowledge production. Previous international design competitions as part of the Kalejdohill project have included: Login Gate (which called for proposals for a new entrance gate for) attracted 330 entries, the winning entry of which is now built); Inhabitant Zero (which has selected five artists to inhabit a small yellow house on the edge of the park and undertake research residencies); and Design a Story (which invited speculative proposals that used "story designing" as a tool for space making). This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Aquatic Centre Sourcéane / Auer Weber + CAAU Posted: 01 May 2017 08:00 PM PDT  © Aldo Amoretti
 © Aldo Amoretti  Site Plan "Sourcéane" is a new sports, leisure and wellness swimming hall in Douai, in the North of France. Due to its location, the aquatic centre will be an essential part of the future eco-quarter of "Le Raquet", a new city district, at whose heart will be a landscaped park. The new swimming hall lies at its northeastern end, at the interface between the artificial landscape of the park and the urban structure of the city. The project is oriented towards the future tramway station and a central urban square.  © Aldo Amoretti  1st Floor Plan The duality of the urban surroundings in the North and East and the park in the South and West required an architectural solution that is able to reconcile those contrasts. The exterior space flows, in several plateaus, from the outside into the swimming hall. This motif of soft terracing can be found everywhere in the swimming hall complex.  © Aldo Amoretti  Section The two facades at the entrance level are entirely transparent, providing a continuous visual connection between the interior pools and outdoor spaces. On the opposite side, delineated by the urban park, the building emerges as a large hill, establishing a continuity and expansion into the green space. The building blends with the landscape through the implementation of curvilinear planted terraces resembling rice fields, with the lower levels providing outdoor pools and their accompanying decks.  © Aldo Amoretti The main goal of the wellness area is to invite and immerse the visitor in an atmosphere of relaxation and retreat. The place is an invitation for all generations; a sensation of great landscapes. The five senses are engaged in a journey of exotic well-being, a unique experience in the heart of "Le Raquet".  © Aldo Amoretti This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Office Space in Poznan / Metaforma Posted: 01 May 2017 07:00 PM PDT  © Krzysztof Strażyński
 © Krzysztof Strażyński From the architect. Office spaces are often associated with unfriendliness and anonymity. Architects from the Metaforma Group have faced the challenge of designing a space that will not only foster concentration while working, but will also allow you to fully rest during breaks. Acoustics and individually adjusted solutions in surface zoning have become the guiding ideas of the concept.  © Krzysztof Strażyński In the designed office space we have extracted functional areas: the entrance area, the open space for the call center, the conference rooms, the smaller meeting rooms, boxes facilitating conversation and rest. Entrance zones, due to the specific nature of the work in the company, are equipped with lockers for employees` private things. Clearly defined boundaries give the feeling of separating private life from the professional one.  Isometric-Diagram Loud working environment of the call center and the desire to create the unique character of this working space have determined the need for individual acoustic improvement solutions. Metaforma Group divided individual working spaces with veneered, open-work sound diffusers, as well as panels filled with sound-absorbing fabrics. We have also designed high partition walls to minimize the discomfort of working in large open spaces. The details such as pots with greenery, located at the particular desks, gave the space a friendly character.  © Krzysztof Strażyński It is worth to notice the solution of boxes for quick meetings, without having to occupy conference rooms. These boxes are also the answer to the need to design place for employees which will serve as resting zone in the office space. The original design proposed by the designers is the way of identifying small meeting rooms. The classical numbering of rooms has been abandoned in favor of assigning them individually one of the planets of the solar system.  © Krzysztof Strażyński In this concept we have reduced the number of materials and used repeatedly pastel colors. The space is dominated by warm shade wood, often in the form of baffles and panels with a characteristic herringbone pattern. The selection of materials included both visual and economic aspects. The designed space is the answer to the needs of the contemporary employee. The Metaforma Group focused not only on creating a comfortable workplace, but also provided space for rest and recreation. Thanks to personalized solutions, the office has become a kind of microcosm.  © Krzysztof Strażyński This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| House in Umezu / Koyori + DATT Posted: 01 May 2017 03:00 PM PDT  © Kosuke Arakawa
 © Kosuke Arakawa From the architect. It is a wooden two-story house located in a residential area of fire prevention zone of Ukyo area in Kyoto city.  © Kosuke Arakawa Totally different from the exterior that is made with an industrial finish due to the requirements of fire prevention area; the interior is warm and has opened a wide connection to the east side where the customer expects their future garden extension.  © Kosuke Arakawa Being a working couple with no matching rest time, enriching everyday family life was sought by placing not just a living room on the first floor, but another living room in the second floor as a private space.  © Kosuke Arakawa The design has been made with the assumption that, if the family would start to grow, this space will change for a future children's room.  © Kosuke Arakawa This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Falcon Beach House / iredale pedersen hook architects Posted: 01 May 2017 01:00 PM PDT  © Dion Robeson
 © Dion Robeson From the architect. The Falcon House challenges the inappropriate, contemporary approach of destroying the native landscape and topography. The upper level hovers gently as a white object, the lower level is a black shadow, in the middle is a thin zone of grey that reminds us that nothing is ever 'black or white'.  Site Plan The site is opposite a respected surf break called Gueries, named after an early surfer and resident who still lives behind this site and in his youth, repeatedly drove his car down the dunes forming a blow-out that, ironically now provides the best view to the ocean.  © Dion Robeson The Falcon House is a part time dwelling between city and country, a place for the family to gather and share beach time adventures and create precious memories. It hovers above the ground resting precariously on a series of cranked steel columns and brick piers. It is a homage to the rapidly disappearing built heritage of 1950s' and 60's weekender houses built with economy, robustness and restraint.  © Dion Robeson The upper level is purposely neutral, acting as a backdrop that focuses attention to the vast Indian Ocean, a support system of white and neutral surfaces reflecting light and image. The lower level is a short-term place of discovery, the underbelly of the upper level presses against the undulating natural ground. Covered in native species from the adjoining sand dunes and scattered with inhabitable limestone rocks, this place is one to discover and create adventures.  © Dion Robeson  Section Our client now has two houses to fluctuate between, the city dwelling and the ocean fringe dwelling. One is dark and heavy, this in contrast is light and liberating. A place of contemplation but also a place to bring the family together. The upper level spaces are loosely defined to allow alternative modes of inhabitation between the quiet moments of being alone and the active moments of young grandchildren scooting around the house and deck. It is robust and easily tolerates the daily abuse of kids play and the beach wanting to invade the house.  © Dion Robeson The house relates to both the built and unbuilt context with sensitivity that rarely exists with recent projects. The elevation allows the 'natural/ topography of the sand dunes to continue uninterrupted under the house. Local native species fill this area. It relates to a rapidly disappearing built context, a time of great freedom and utopia, Perth's heroic modernist period refined to meet stringent budgets for holiday homes. It attempts to capture the spirit of a time now past, a way of living that focused around the beach. Modern materials enable the house to become a glowing night time angel.  © Dion Robeson Our client required a house that was capable of fluctuating between active family gatherings and the solitude of a second house away from family. Spaces were required to find a balance between the generic and the specific, to allow multiple ways of inhabiting the house.  © Dion Robeson Large spaces act as shells for personalization and change. A large deck allows space for all family members to co-exist in different activities. A band of opal polycarbonate provides privacy, wind and sand protection in a safe and controlled environment.  Plan Site The project developed from commencement as a close consideration between architect, engineer and builder. This initially began as a cost driven approach to place all three parties together. Decisions were made on a basis that enabled immediate cost assessment, surprising dialogue influenced design but ultimately resulted in design outcomes closer to those of the 50's and 60's houses. We were happy with this synergy.  © Dion Robeson Cost was continually balanced with effect (and impact). The house is elevated, this cost more but lifts one above the dunes providing ocean views whilst simultaneously minimising destruction to the site. Ongoing maintenance was also a major consideration, this environment is potentially destructive, building elements, material selection and detailing combine to provide long term solutions to reduce maintenance.  © Dion Robeson Falcon House in an old weekender suburb transformed over time by the inevitable suburban sprawl. Now devoid of the modest, low cost holiday homes new homes indulge in a tabula rasa approach removing any sense of native landscape and coastal form. Our Falcon house hovers gently above the native landscape, touching the earth with modesty, respecting the natural topography and demonstrating an alternative form of dwelling that respects the evolution of this place.  © Dion Robeson The house design orientates north, the elevated floor is insulated concrete to provide thermal mass for winter heat gain reducing heating requirements and cost. The plan is configured to create a large deck protected from the intense south west cooling winds. Natural ventilation opportunities are then maximized through all of the house.  Sketch  Sketch  Sketch Building elements are designed to protect from summer sun but also intense winter rain and wind. This also minimises ongoing maintenance cost and the associated embodied energy. All materials were selected on a full lifecycle basis with reducing embodied energy being a major concern.Gardens are drought tolerant. Water consumption is minimized and power consumption reduced by natural lighting, low energy consumption fittings and balanced with photo voltaic cells.  © Dion Robeson This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Haru Cafe / B.U.S Architecture Posted: 01 May 2017 12:00 PM PDT  © Kyung Roh
 © Kyung Roh 1. # Human The building owner is a first-generation Korean camper who accepted the camping culture in his childhood and had many years of experience of running of a camping site in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do. From this experience, he wanted to create a space that reflects his own lifestyle and his attitude toward life; share the culture with other various people through this; and, furthermore, maintain a sustainable life  © Kyung Roh I held a series of workshops while proceeding with the project, the first being on the camping site run by the building owner. At the time, we held several meetings to talk about what the camping culture each of us thought should be. Create an experience that every one of us could go beyond vain discussions to emphasize with was the most important starting point of this project.  © Kyung Roh 2. #Place The camping cafe 'HARU' is located in a little forest before the building owner' house, where he was born, grew up, and played, making the playground of the trees. The trees of his height stretching out through the crevices of the neglected hill were the assets to this forest and an important string of memory that the land should keep at the same time. Now that some developers had come and gone to the hill and callously cast the words of 'reshuffling', the task given to us was to solve the question "How should we harmonize this forest with the architecture?"  Site Plan 3. #Workshop 'Forest, Trees, and Land' The most harassing and difficult part of initiating the design was a construction in nature. Natural trees that defied any attempt to take their measure were distributed throughout the land, and these trees were the product of those long-term memories and traces that attested to the value of the land. So, we held a workshop 'Forest, Trees, and Land' with the building owner. While walking through the forest, we were able to sort out the trees we had to give up for dead and those we had to keep intact for any sake and set up the scale of the building among the trees. In this way, the trees never ceased to follow us from the beginning of the workshop to the end of the construction. They were not only the most important things on this land but also the biggest obstacle to the construction.  © Kyung Roh 4. #The Snow White and the seven dwarfs are camping out! Seven small wooden glamping modules and one concrete building in which to run a café: The surrounding area was full of mushroomed factories due to the sprawling development of Paju and, some sandwich-panel factories were scattered around the land. To create a "whole rest in the forest', we decided to build a little village against the backdrop of this little forest. A forest existing and then a building seeping into it, rather than trees planted after a building built- that may be the most natural way of the construction. Pruning some trees and wandering in the forest, we felt as if we were elves. Had we not been elves, the developers must have turned this land into a horrible thing covered with asphalt. We thought ourselves to be the elves, the protectors of the forest, and the building owner the lord of this land. In this way, we planned on the Snow White's castle and the seven Dwarfs' little village. As you enter the Dwarfs' forest (the glamping site) along the natural slope of the land that is getting gradually farther away from the roadside, this little village, beginning with the Snow White's castle (the cafe), transforms itself into a space only of the forest completely cut off from the surrounding pollution.  © Kyung Roh This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ness Point House / Tonkin Liu Architects Posted: 01 May 2017 10:00 AM PDT  © Robby Whitfield
 © Robby Whitfield From the architect. Cultural context Ness Point is a new house set in the dramatic landscape of the White Cliffs of Dover. The client grew up in the locality and commissioned Tonkin Liu to design a modern building that responded to the cultural heritage of this landmark setting and to his own family heritage, suggesting that the building could in some ways be Celtic.  © Greg Storrar  Section Architecture as landscape Hunkered into the land with undulating thick walls along its length, Ness Point is constructed as a journey with views that pull the surrounding landscape into the house. Each room is orientated towards a different aspect of the landscape, across the passing ships of the English Channel, towards the sun rising out of the sea at the winter solstice, and over to the coastal cliffs called Ness Point, after which the house is named.  © Nick Guttridge Exposed to the elements In response to the exposed nature of cliff top site perched 65 meter above the sea, the house is designed as a highly sealed and insulated enclosure. The castle-like Ness Point House utilises heat recovery and solar thermal renewable systems to maximise energy efficiency in the winter, whilst the long gallery skylight and eco-vents enable passive cooling for equally exposed hot summer sun.  © Nick Guttridge Cavernous volume Although the form is irregular the constructional techniques used to construct the house are traditional. The combined effect of undulating plan and inclined sections creates a cavernous internal space that has been articulated to allow flexibility of use. The interior catches the dynamism of the day's changing light so that the building becomes a part of the larger canvas of ever-changing coastal weather.  Ground Floor Plan  © Alex Peacock Landscape of time Ness Point has been designed as if it had grown out of the land in which it is embedded. The bio-diverse green roof slopes downward into the land at the rear, retaining rainwater and harbouring local wildlife, merging the house, over time, into the landscape of the coastal cliff top. Tonkin Liu have used their unique storytelling methodology to design a house that fulfils the poetry of place.  © Nick Guttridge This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| World’s Largest Starbucks to Open on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile Posted: 01 May 2017 09:30 AM PDT  Courtesy of Starbucks Coffee behemoth Starbucks has announced plans for their third U.S. "Roastery" store to be located on North Michigan Avenue along Chicago's Magnificent Mile, one of the most well-known retail streets in the world. When completed in 2019, the four-story, 43,000-square-foot space will constitute the largest Starbucks location in the world. The new Chicago Roastery will share much in common with the original Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which has operated in the company's home city of Seattle since 2014. The Roastery model goes beyond the standard storefront model, offering a "fully sensorial coffee environment dedicated to roasting, brewing and packaging its rare, small-batch Starbucks Reserve coffees from around the world." The Chicago store, which is being converted from a former Crate & Barrel retail space, will feature a variety of brewing methods and special Reserve-only beverages. "Having opened our first Starbucks store in Chicago nearly 30 years ago, our first outside of Seattle, this is a very special city for me. At the time, it was a true test for Starbucks because the Chicago customer is so savvy and discerning about their coffee," said Howard Schultz, Starbucks executive chairman. "Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, so we took our time to find an incredible space to match the unprecedented coffee experience our premium Roastery will offer. To be located on one of the best-known retail streets in the world is a proud moment for all of us and we can't wait to bring Chicago and the world a coffee experience worthy of their most premier real estate." In addition to the Chicago store, the company is also planning on opening Roastery locations in New York City (set to open in 2018), Shanghai (2017), Milan (2018) and Tokyo (2018). Read more about the Chicago Roastery plan, here. News via Starbucks. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Corporative Building Claro Chile / +arquitectos Posted: 01 May 2017 08:00 AM PDT  © Juan Francisco Vargas
 © Juan Francisco Vargas From the architect. Claro Chile Headquarters is located in Santiago, Huechuraba, composed by its general offices, technical areas, casino, parking lots and services areas. It is a complex conformed by two bodies of different characteristics, towards to the access road, an 11-level tower destined for corporate offices and to the back of the site, a horizontal 3-level Building for technical areas. Both bodies are connected at ground level by a volume that emerges from the underground parking lots, separating pedestrian traffic from car circulation, protected from solar radiation by steel shaders that allow vegetal growing, which decrease the unwanted reflections of cars towards the offices, and at the same time, allowing more flexibility of uses in this area.  © Juan Francisco Vargas The main building is an adaptation of the headquarters of CLARO in Mexico, designed with unusual proportions for our country. It has a structural model of 9X9 mts. with plants of 3000 m2. with a 4.40 mts. height between slabs. This is a completly change in the scale of the Project and the complexities of the construction process in a Building which 2800 people will work, demanding common spaces with appropriate dimensions for such a number of users.  Floor Plan  Elevación  © Juan Francisco Vargas In order to avoid overheating by radiation, the facades of each building were designed with high efficiency performance glass, incorporating silk-screened, covered with solar screen protection in the facades east and west composed of a system of W pieces, folded in perforated aluminum, which are self-supporting to cover the height between floors without the need of intermediate substructures, achieving a clear view between the interior and exterior  © Juan Francisco Vargas It is necessary to highlight the integrated work between manufacturing and assembly companies for the design and implementation of façade systems.  © Juan Francisco Vargas  © Cristián Barahona This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| ALA Launches Craft Beer for Architects Celebrating the Art of Revisions Posted: 01 May 2017 07:15 AM PDT  © Felix Laitinen We've all reached that point in a stressful project where you need to take a step back and take a breather before refocusing on the task at hand – for many, this process can be aided by the liquid motivation of a nice, cold beer. Identifying this uncanny connection, Finnish firm ALA Architects has just released their very own craft beer, cheekily titled "Revision Cloud Architectural Pale Ale" in a nod to both the unfiltered quality of the drink and the very CAD element that often causes the need for a cold one in the first place.  © Felix Laitinen The architects explain: ALA is launching a craft beer celebrating the art of revisions. Revision Cloud Architectural Pale Ale is a Finnish craft beer designed by the Helsinki, Finland based ALA Architects and brewed by Donut Island Brewing and Hiisi Brewing Company in Jyväskylä, Finland. This limited edition pale ale is a perfect companion for a typical dry and cold Finnish summer. The beer celebrates the corroborative nature of architectural work: versions are improved and edited, designs are revised, mistakes are made and corrections are communicated. The revision clouds remain in our drawings as admissions of guilt and as graphic markers of our quest for perfection. Sometimes the situation calls for a mental revision, relaxation and refocus. This is what Revision Cloud is made for. Cheers.  © Felix Laitinen PRODUCT INFORMATION Name: Revision Cloud Architectural Pale Ale News via ALA Architects.
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| ALA Launches Craft Beer for Architects Celebrating the Art of Revisions Posted: 01 May 2017 07:15 AM PDT © Felix Laitinen We've all reached that point in a stressful project where you need to take a step back and take a breather before refocusing on the task at hand – for many, this process can be aided by the liquid motivation of a nice, cold beer. Identifying this uncanny connection, Finnish firm ALA Architects has just released their very own craft beer, cheekily titled "Revision Cloud Architectural Pale Ale" in a nod to both the unfiltered quality of the drink and the very CAD element that often causes the need for a cold one in the first place. © Felix Laitinen The architects explain: ALA is launching a craft beer celebrating the art of revisions. Revision Cloud Architectural Pale Ale is a Finnish craft beer designed by the Helsinki, Finland based ALA Architects and brewed by Donut Island Brewing and Hiisi Brewing Company in Jyväskylä, Finland. This limited edition pale ale is a perfect companion for a typical dry and cold Finnish summer. The beer celebrates the corroborative nature of architectural work: versions are improved and edited, designs are revised, mistakes are made and corrections are communicated. The revision clouds remain in our drawings as admissions of guilt and as graphic markers of our quest for perfection. Sometimes the situation calls for a mental revision, relaxation and refocus. This is what Revision Cloud is made for. Cheers. © Felix Laitinen PRODUCT INFORMATION Name: Revision Cloud Architectural Pale Ale News via ALA Architects.
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| West Elm Corporate Headquarters / VM Architecture & Design Posted: 01 May 2017 06:00 AM PDT  © Garrett Rowland
 Site Plan  Floor Plan From the architect. VM Architecture and Design (VMAD) has been working with west elm since the brand was launched in 2002. During that time, they have designed and fit-up four office spaces, a photo studio, a maker's studio, and several new retail outlets for the growing brand. With each expansion, west elm returned to VMAD for assistance in creating ever more sophisticated and unique environments.  © Garrett Rowland west elm's awe inspiring growth over the past 12 years, from a catalog-only business to a billion-dollar global retailer meant that, yet again, they needed a new corporate headquarters. This time it would be a 100,000 sqft. project led by Mark Murashige and Kay Vorderwuelbecke, the principals at VMAD, located in the historic 150 year old Empire Stores Warehouse complex on the waterfront in Brooklyn.  © Garrett Rowland The west elm brand ethos is at the core of VMAD's design for the company's new office. VMAD worked with west elm to create a timeless and sophisticated space - more like an art gallery than a trendy office environment. VMAD wanted to develop an environment that celebrates and showcases the brand's design aesthetic, one that incorporates custom artistic elements created by west elm's world design partners and local Brooklyn artists. The space also needed to function as a showroom for the new west elm WORKSPACE furniture line. A lot to achieve in one space.  © Garrett Rowland Creating a gallery feel in the dark warehouse was a challenge. The exterior walls are almost two foot thick masonry and there are very few windows in portions of the building. The use of light shelves, reflective flooring and view corridors ensured that each window's impact on the space was maximized and the inherently dark warehouse was turned into a bright and airy space suitable for design teams and creatives. It also enhanced the mesmerizing views of the East River and Manhattan skyline framed between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.  © Garrett Rowland The heavy timber and abundance of brick is part of the character of the space, but it's also overwhelming. To give the west elm teams a break from the wood and brick VMAD went with a very high contrast concept for new finishes. Carefully selected elemental metals, blackened steel, copper and antique brass, concrete floors, white walls and walnut paneling are woven into the historic space, reflecting the materiality of west elm's products.  © Garrett Rowland A large atrium was achieved by cutting away heavy timber to create a soaring lobby and an employee cafe over two floors. This provides a centralized gathering space where the west elm staff can come together for all-hands meetings. Customized versions of the brands lighting fixtures were designed and installed, and each of west elm's six lines of Workspace, the brand's contract furniture line, were installed in their own zone.  © West Elm The ongoing collaboration between VMAD and west elm works extremely well. The new west elm headquarters is a beautiful representation of a growing brand, their design partner's creativity and the success of their brand values.  © Lutz Vorderwuelbecke  © Lutz Vorderwuelbecke This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| C.F. Møller Wins Competition for Hybrid-Structure High-Rise in Sweden Posted: 01 May 2017 05:00 AM PDT  © C.F. Møller C.F. Møller has been selected as the winner of a competition to design a new residential high-rise in the Swedish city of Västerås, beating out proposals from Wingårdhs & Tham and Videgård Architects. Employing a hybrid solid wood/concrete structure and a wrap-around-terrace facade characterized by 3-dimensional elements, the building will serve as a new landmark on the city skyline.  © C.F. Møller Located in the district of Lilludden near Lake Mälaren, the facade of the elliptical-footprint building draws inspiration from the movement of the water – large glass panels connect balconies on each floor to reflect light, allowing natural illuminance to penetrate each unit and highlighting the facade. "The architecture and details of the facades are inspired by the light reflections on Lake Mälaren. The result is a three-dimensional and dynamic facade composition that is exciting both near and from afar," explains Ola Jonsson, Architect and associate partner at C.F. Møller.  © C.F. Møller  © C.F. Møller C.F. Møller proposes the use of a unique construction method for the building: from the base to the panoramic garden on the 15th floor, the building would utilize a concrete structure, while the remaining 7 floors above would be framed in solid wood "The panoramic garden placed high up in the building is a focal point for the city and a fantastic common area for the residents of the house," continues Jonsson. "Our ambition has been to optimize the synergies between the city, building and urban greenery."  © C.F. Møller  © C.F. Møller The facades would be covered in a naturally-finished wood, weather protected by the overhanging balconies on the floors above. These terraces could then be closed in the winter to create winter garden with the opportunity to grow small crops on a year-round basis. The building will house a variety of apartment sizes to create a diverse residential profile. Additionally, space for restaurants and commercial space on the ground floor would open up the complex to the entire community, allowing the building to become an active piece of the urban landscape. News via C.F. Møller.  © C.F. Møller
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| Posted: 01 May 2017 04:00 AM PDT  Courtesy of M3 Architects
 Courtesy of M3 Architects From the architect. In the beginning M3 architects had focused the attention to a functional zoning for IT-office. After the research they understood that existing solutions can be improved. A spacious co-working, the center of Kiev, the developed infrastructure, good transportation are not enough. Architects have decided to create the perfect office for IT-experts and relocate the office from main streets to a green suburb.  Floor Plan 02 Architects analyzed the details of IT-experts schedule and conditions of work. The main issue of the project to improve the conditions of work for IT-professionals in accordance with their actual needs and lifestyle.  Courtesy of M3 Architects 1. IT expert doesn't work in by the work schedule of the big city (9: 00-18: 00), his daily rhythm is the deadline. 2. To place even the best office in the city center is inefficient because of the traffic, high cost areas. 3. Specificity of the organization requires additional, non-standard solutions function workspace, entailing an increase in the nominal minimum space required for one specialist. 4. It is no secret by the results of research that most of the developers are introverts who prefer a quiet and comfortable life. There was born the idea of a universal-office module for IT-company.  Diagram Architects developed the concept of an independent module with its own infrastructure. This module was developed as the first "brick" for the future IT-city. There was developed a complete ecosystem, micro- infrastructure, which can be the beginning for the adjacent areas development. As an example M3 architects chose Luxoft company. It is a leading company in the field of software development and innovative IT solutions. To develop the 1st unit there was choosen the area in a 20-minute transportation from the center of Kiev.  Courtesy of M3 Architects Shape. There was important to organize an internal courtyard. In the point of necessary issues and the idea of technologies the box changed its shape.  Courtesy of M3 Architects A simple geometry of the yard also had been changed. The selection of façade's materials was determined by the idea of modern technology. The market of IT- technologies is transparent and architects find new unique products daily. Metal and Wire Mesh Materials were chosen to cover the fronts.  Courtesy of M3 Architects The total module's area is 2000 sq.m. It is the optimum area for 200 people- the average employees number of one department or small IT company's office. Adjacent areas were developed in a functional and simple way. Landscape solutions were developed as a separation of the pedestrian zone and the roadway. The pedestrian area and a recreation area near the UN.IT are on different levels with parking and roadway.  Axonometric This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Architecture of Some of the World's Oldest Continuously Inhabited Cities Posted: 01 May 2017 02:30 AM PDT  What's so great about the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world? Probably the fact that their societies have been evolving in one unbroken series of eras, with ever-changing values and styles that have, among other things, given rise to architectural memories of their long histories. These cities aren't like the archeological sites we visit to see how people lived thousands of years ago; they are the exact places people lived thousands of years ago, places where people are still living today, with their rich histories buried under layers of paint and concrete instead of earth. With ancient cities found in regions around the world, the variety of architectural treasures that can be found in these cities is vast. To give you a taste of their diversity, here is a selection of 18 of the oldest continually inhabited cities from various regions of the world, ranging from youngest to oldest, with a small snippet of their various architectural puzzles. Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico USA (inhabited since 1200 AD) © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_View_of_Acoma_Sky_City.jpg'>Wikimedia user Marshall Henrie</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Situated on the edge of a sandstone plateau next to a 112-meter drop, Acoma Pueblo is placed strategically and well camouflaged, consisting of just over 250 adobe brick dwellings. Traditional wooden ladders adorn the three-storey buildings, serving as the only way to enter the upper levels of the homes.[1] Poznań, Poland (inhabited since c.900 AD) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/dziecienocy/5039948774'>Flickr user dziecienocy</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> A special feature of Poznań's historical buildings is their atypical painted facade decorations, existing in a wide variety of patterns and colors. Bagan, Myanmar (inhabited since 849 AD) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/worak/907175079'>Flickr user worak</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Known for its religious architecture, over 2,200 Burmese temples are found in Bagan today—a fraction of the over 10,000 religious buildings built in the city between the 11th and 13th centuries.[2] Tiruvannamalai, India (inhabited since c.800 AD) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_jones/3774456620'>Flickr user adam_jones</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> The history and urban organization of this city revolve around the Annamalaiyar Temple, which dates all the way back to Tiruvannamalai's beginnings. Located by the sacred Annamalai Hills, this city is a pilgrimage site to millions of people each year, possibly explaining the city's expansion beyond the Temple walls.[3] Kyoto, Japan (inhabited since 794 AD) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosz/32055172965'>Flickr user pedrosz</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> Kyoto is one of the richest cities in Japan when it comes to traditional Japanese architecture. Deep eaves extending off curved roofs that are characteristic of Japanese building design still exist throughout the city, as well as traditional machiya townhouses.[4] Luang Prabang, Laos (inhabited since 694 AD) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/7827294@N04/8094253448/'>Flickr user jayarc</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Along with the 33 Wat temples and surviving colonial architecture, Luang Prabang also has remnants of the Lan Xang kingdom from the 16th-18th centuries. Low wooden saddle roofs that are reminiscent of Thai building styles can be found in the city, dating back to this time. Nowadays locals often build their homes on stilts, with space for animals below the houses.[5] Hanoi, Vietnam (inhabited since 454 AD) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/joergreschke/3296370587'>Flickr user joergreschke</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Due to building taxes in Hanoi being based on the width of building's facade, many houses in the city are very slim and tall. Hence their nickname: tube houses. Ground floors are often used as shop space for the building's inhabitants, and courtyards are added to improve the airflow within the tightly packed houses.[6] Zanzibar, Tanzania (inhabited since 100-300 AD) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/joshkehn/9371214116'>Flickr user joshkehn</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> With historical influences from Arabic, Persian, Indian and European architecture, one can find monolithic Arab mansions standing next to homes with delicately carved wooden balconies originating from India.[7] Cholula, Mexico (inhabited since 200 BC) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlacomiztli/13372496095'>Flickr user tlacomiztli</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> Unknown to many, Cholula is home to the biggest pyramid in the world, built out of adobe bricks. Its architectural building style is closely linked to that of the Teotihuacan, an ancient city in the Valley of Mexico.[8] Madurai, India (inhabited since 300 BC) © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gopuram-madurai.jpg'>Wikimedia user Nataraja</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/deed.en'>CC BY-SA 1.0</a> From above one can see the urban plan of Madurai as a series of quadratic streets encircling the Meenakshi Aman Temple in the center of the city. Its design originates from the 16th century, when the king of Maduari reordered the city according to Shilpa Shastras, or "the rules of architecture."[9] Berat, Albania (inhabited since 314 BC) © <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berat.jpg'>Wikimedia user Joonas Lytinen</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en'>CC BY 2.0</a> Known as the "Town of A Thousand Windows," the houses along the Osum River feature a forest of dark quadrants against white walls. Suzhou, China (inhabited since 514 BC) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/brianharringtonspier/5786778062'>Flickr user brianharringtonspier</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> Houses line the canals of Suzhou, much like they do in Venice, leading directly into the water on stone foundations. Roofs with long eaves and intricate wooden patterns frame the windows and balconies. Constantine, Algeria (inhabited since 600 BC) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/78639950@N03/15677767044'>Flickr user Hichem Merouche</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Built upon the edge of a gorge, Constantine's buildings appear to melt into the mountain. Carthage, Tunisia (inhabited since c.814 BC) Image <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carthage-1958-PortsPuniques.jpg'>via Wikimedia</a> (public domain) Carthage was once home to a powerful port, heavily protected by walls and gates. Remnants of this structural feat are left in the form of a circular canal by the coast where the ships would stay when in harbor. Flores, Guatemala (inhabited since c.900 BC) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/graeme/5974849423'>Flickr user graeme</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> On the island of Flores, which is now only a small part of the city of Flores, the last independent Maya state survived Spanish conquerors until 1697. Everything existing before this time was destroyed and replaced by the current architecture found in the city, including brick buildings painted in bright colors.[10] Cádiz, Spain (inhabited since 1100 BC) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/xiquinho/28289458206'>Flickr user xiquinho</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Cádiz's densely populated and narrow streets jut out into the ocean on a narrow peninsula. It hosts ornate neo-classical cathedrals and theaters, as well as more minimalistic volumes, often white—a trademark of Andalusian architecture.[11] Varanasi, India (inhabited since 1800 BC) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/jafsegal/23166750299'>Flickr user jafsegal</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/'>CC BY 2.0</a> Legends say that Varanasi was founded by the Hindu god Shiva. The city is known for its ghats, or riverfront steps that ascend from the Garages River; there are over 80 ghats in Varanasi, most of them built after the 1700s. Some are exclusively used for cremation ceremonies, but mostly they are used for bathing in the river and puja prayer ceremonies.[12] Athens, Greece (inhabited since 5000 BC) © <a href='https://www.flickr.com/photos/carolemage/14220991245/'>Flickr user carolemage</a> licensed under <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'>CC BY-SA 2.0</a> When it comes to the oldest continually-inhabited city in the world, things get a little tricky: various cities including Damascus and Jericho have archaeological evidence dating back to the early neolithic period, but proof of continuous settlement earlier than around 3,000 BC is challenging. To round out this list we've selected another challenger for the oldest continuously inhabited city—one whose world-famous Acropolis was constructed almost two-thirds of the way through the city's long history and is now surrounded by even younger buildings as part of a bustling global metropolis. References:
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| Edificio Isabela / Ruptura Morlaca Arquitectura Posted: 01 May 2017 02:00 AM PDT  © Jag Studio
 © Jag Studio From the architect. Background The project raised a great challenge and in turn a great opportunity for the program because it is located in an area of high added value but with an immediate deteriorated context, showing a direct view towards an "abandoned" construction and a service station in The Isabela Catholic Avenue in the city of Cuenca- Ecuador  Cortesía de Ruptura Morlaca Arquitectura  Floor Plan 00 Program The project starts from a programmatic hybrid between housing and commerce that arises from the need to generate a proposal that breaks with the functional scheme that is handled in the commercial context, for which it raises housing between 30 and 90m2, from 1 to 3 bedrooms , Seeking to optimize and enhance the spaces, obtaining strategically a greater number of dwellings and mainly greater accessibility of housing of lesser footage in this sector of the city.  © Jag Studio Modules Since it is clear that each person is different (unique) and that the standardization of the type plant used in housing projects (grands ensembles) limits people and architecture, a standard system of construction of slabs is proposed, however, different In its functionality seeking to enhance emerging areas (lateral, posterior, etc.), and the characteristics of each department (height, location), making it function as an individual entity that minimizes-maximizes visuals, income Light, wind, etc.  © Jag Studio "It is wonderful when it rains, to be in your house and to see that the water falls on your terrace ... it is one of those things that are not fundamental, but that really matter in daily life", Jean Renaudie, 1980.  Cortesía de Ruptura Morlaca Arquitectura Adaptation In the accelerated real estate development of the city we touch a characteristic natural landmark in the city as it is the Barranco, extracting part of this natural accident to generate a relation between a formal (architecture) and informal (nature) use where it is sought to generate a living system Habitable in a kind of “artificial hill”. Subtractions in the program create flexible spaces that will function as covered courtyards conceived by the same architecture, which will liberate the place in order to improve the coexistence within them by establishing an integration between the inhabitants and their context, which will allow the activities Everyday life are integrated with the urban environment bringing the sensations to what is to live in a house.  © Jag Studio Vegetation is integrated in the central wall of the building in order to provide each home with their right to a "natural" soil, which when they leave their patio generate another visual sensation having green area at their side, making it a space of importance In the housing program, experiencing a feeling of close distance with its own and external context, achieving the most important part, that residents take ownership of the space.  © Jag Studio Materiality The spaces of the project suggest evoking a connection with nature by using textures such as "wood" and "stone" obtaining sensations that, when unified with the vegetation and the virtualities, allow the user to be in permanent contact with a less aggressive environment.  © Jag Studio "Isabela" building is a project that recovers the protagonism of the user interrelating it with the atmospheric agents and their environment, leaving aside the criterion of generating hermetic spaces - limited to develop a better experience within the space and the opportunity for the city, which Through a private investment, recover basic values developing a project that makes city.  © Jag Studio It must be recognized that housing programs do not have to generate stereotype models, however, the idea is to look at buildings as a living organism that seeks general unification and provide unique solutions and opportunities for residents to be the key to The survival of the program.  Cortesía de Ruptura Morlaca Arquitectura "Utopian" and pragmatic at the same time, not by the result but by the adaptation of the city to the project as a series in repetition not of the result but of a similar criterion, it is not tried to be in a fashion situation but to evidence a Loss of thought nature in the people who try to recover where one can think of one, the other, all as a living organism.1 1. 10 Stories about collective housing, Fernandez Per, Aurora, Mozas Lérida, Javier. And Sanz Ollero, Alejandro. 2013. Vitoria - Gasteiz: A + T architecture  © Jag Studio This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Sketching Tutorials to Keep You Filling up Your Moleskine Posted: 01 May 2017 01:00 AM PDT In an increasingly paperless world, architecture still relies on channeling ideas by hand. Sketching has endured as the method of choice for designers to communicate with clients, the public, and each other. As we have previously reported, the George Architect YouTube channel, managed by Reza Asgaripour and Avdieienko Heorhii, is devoted to bringing sketching techniques and ideas to the wider world, with a series of tutorials on everything from light and shade to three-point perspectives. Watch a selection of tutorials below, and on the George Architect YouTube channel here.
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| This House was Built in 5 Days Using Recycled Plastic Bricks Posted: 30 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT  Construction of house made of recycled plastic bricks.. Image Courtesy of Conceptos Plásticos Ten years ago when Colombian Fernando Llanos tried to build his own house in Cundinamarca, he realized that moving the materials from Bogota was going to be very difficult. After mulling it over, he decided to build his house out of plastic, and after a series of trials and errors, he ended up meeting architect Óscar Méndez, who developed his thesis on the same subject, and together they founded the company Conceptos Plásticos (Plastic Concepts) in 2011. The innovative local company managed to patent its system of bricks and pillars made of recycled plastic, which is then put together like Lego pieces in a construction system that lets you build houses up to two stories high in five days.  Construction of house made of recycled plastic bricks.. Image Courtesy of Conceptos Plásticos Instead of using brand new plastic, they decided to give plastic that has already been thrown away a second chance at life, keeping in mind that on average it takes 300 years for it to completely degrade. "Working with new plastic is simple," explained Óscar Méndez to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, "because there are defined parameters, but used (plastic) requires more experimentation."  Construction of house made of recycled plastic bricks.. Image Courtesy of Conceptos Plásticos The base material they work with is obtained from popular recyclers and factories that discard tons of plastic daily. Using an extrusion process, the plastic is melted and emptied into a final mold, creating a three-kilo brick (6.6 lbs), similar to clay ones with the same dimensions. When assembled under pressure, the bricks insulate heat and have additives that retard combustion. Additionally, they are thermoacoustic and earthquake-resistance is up to code for Colombia, taking into account the country's high levels of seismic activity.  Construction of house made of recycled plastic bricks.. Image Courtesy of Conceptos Plásticos With a final cost of 20 million Colombian pesos (about USD 6,800) per unit, the company had the help of four people to build a 40 square meter house with two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a bathroom and a kitchen in only five days. In their meteoric rise, a major milestone for this small company (with less than 15 employees) was the construction of a set of temporary shelters in Guapi (southwest of Colombia) for 42 families displaced by armed conflict. After winning the bid from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), they completed the project in 28 days thanks to the joint work of 15 people, while recycling more than 200 tons of plastic.  Temporary shelter in Guapi (Colombia) for 42 families displaced by armed conflict.. Image Courtesy of Conceptos Plásticos According to the NRC, the shelters have "a design adapted to the need for mobility and climatic conditions," and the layout of the roof "improves both ventilation and lighting allowing for suitable conditions in such a hot climate." The community project also has electrical installations, toilets, and three communal kitchens for the housed families.  Temporary shelter in Guapi (Colombia) for 42 families displaced by armed conflict.. Image Courtesy of Conceptos Plásticos The revolutionary initiative from Conceptos Plásticos has already set its eyes abroad and won $300,000 (USD) in the latest edition of The Chivas Venture, to step up its production on a global scale, after beating out 26 other international initiatives with social impact. News via: Óscar Méndez, Portfolio, El Tiempo, NRC and The Venture. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| BRLO BRWHOUSE / Graft Architects Posted: 30 Apr 2017 10:00 PM PDT  Courtesy of GRAFT
 Courtesy of GRAFT  First Floor Plan From the architect. In Berlin, on the site of "Urbane Mitte" between the eastern and western parts of Gleisdreieck Park, GRAFT designed and planned a mobile brewery and beer garden. The building for BRLO BRWHOUSE combines a restaurant and bar, beer garden and events space with a craft brewery and administration spaces and is remarkable for its modular container architecture.  Courtesy of GRAFT  Elevation GRAFT designed a freestanding building made of shipping containers, similar to the two "Platoon Kunsthalle" container constructions opened in Seoul in 2009 and in Berlin in 2012. The pre- fabricated containers are altered individually according to their function and are stacked to form a mobile home base for the young local brewing company BRLO. The building is designed for temporary usage over a period of 3-5 years, and if necessary can easily be dismantled and reconstructed at another location.  Courtesy of GRAFT Four containers long and three containers high, the block provides about 600 m2 of floor space, sufficient for the brewery equipment, as well as room for guests, events, and administration. To the west, a vertically placed container contains a staircase and functions as the entrance to the office spaces. A second, inclined container at the end of the west side provides outside access to a gallery level. The utilitarian character of the container architecture is emphasized by its anthracite colour.  Courtesy of GRAFT  Courtesy of GRAFT This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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