Arch Daily

Suburban House in Tychy / TTAT
The Democratic Monument: Adam Nathaniel Furman's Manifesto for a New Type of Civic Center
Musée d'arts de Nantes / Stanton Williams
The Bash Residence / SO Architecture
Brick Curtain House / Design Work Group
Administrative House / DOG
LEVS Architecten Brings New Type of Mixed-Used Development to Russia
FaulknerBrowns Unveils Plan to Re-develop Bangor Waterfront
Villa E / MARC architects
LineCAD Offers Solid Collection of Free Architecture CAD Blocks (No Strings Attached)
This Robotic Arm Can Cut Marble Into Unique Freeform Shapes
Is this the “Best Drone for Architects”?
2L Attic / La Errería
Our Favorite Nordic Photographers: The Best Photos of The Week

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 10:00 PM PDT

Architects: TTAT
Location: Tychy, Poland
Area: 204.3 m2
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Tomasz Zakrzewski

Team: Magdalena Tokarska, Piotr Tokarski, Bartosz Wolny

From the architect. The biggest asset of the parcel located in the suburbs of the city of Tychy is the surroundings of farmland and forests. The area is weakly urbanized and has a typical rural character. The parcel has a view over open space and characteristic farmyard buildings.

The nearest neighbourhood influenced the applied design solutions. The main idea was to continue the typical style of the buildings located in the surroundings as well as to maintain form of the house which is characteristic for the area. A simple and elongated body of the building along with the loft located under a gable roof was the most suitable solution for the accepted layout and matched the form of the buildings surrounding it. The body of the building blends into the traditional surroundings but got a modern look of the elevation due to the applied finishing materials and details, which gave the building its synthetic and minimalistic character. As a result the house combines the elements of traditional buildings with elements of modern architecture.

The function of the house was structured in such a way as to take advantage of the biggest asset of the parcel, which is its surroundings. The objective of the design was to evoke in the dwellers the sensation that the house is strongly integrated with the neighbourhood. Therefore in the centrally located living area, which consists of the living room, dining room and kitchen, big windows situated on the opposite walls overlook beautiful scenery. The blending of the interior and the exterior enhances the feeling that the house is strongly set in the context.

Big windows, situated on the opposite walls in the living room, allow different types of light enter the interior at different time of the day, and therefore the main living area is practically lit from the east to the west. Moreover, thanks to the elevated ceiling, indirect light from the living room illuminates the hall situated in the sleeping area on the first floor.

The ground floor plan consists of centrally situated daily living area along with the kitchen, larder and bathroom, completed with the entrance area and garage. Directly next to the living room there is a study and parents' sleeping area. The loft creates space for four children and consists of twin rooms, two of them located along each gable wall of the house. The hall which links the rooms is a functional row with a dressing room, bathroom and a laundry room. It is lit thanks to a skylight located in the elevated part of the dining room.

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The Democratic Monument: Adam Nathaniel Furman's Manifesto for a New Type of Civic Center

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 09:00 PM PDT

Civic buildings are, as a rule, both austere and intimidating. They are often designed to represent authority above all, taking cues from Classical architectural language to construct an image of power, dominance, and civic unity. Adam Nathaniel Furman, a London-based architect and thinker, has at once eschewed and reengaged this typology in order to propose an entirely new type of civic center ("Town Hall") for British cities. The proposal is currently on display at the 2017 Scottish Architectural Fringe in Glasgow.

By "re-grouping various civic functions into one visually symbolic composition of architectural forms," references and types of ornament and allusions have been configured "depending on the metropolitan area within which it is situated in and embodies." In short, Furman states, the Democratic Monument "is an expression of urban pride, chromatic joy, and architectural complexity" which has universal symbolism but remains a beacon to its vicinity.

What Town Halls are, their names, their forms, their programs, and the way they relate to the public and the city has changed dramatically over the centuries, with each new incarnation absorbing lessons from the last, and building up a rich legacy full of successes and lessons that can be brought forward into future manifestations.

Democratic Monument / Adam Nathaniel Furman

The 1800s was an era of dramatic change, tumultuous growth, vigour, and pride for British cities, all of which was anchored and guided by the Victorian Town Hall. Liberal Mayors across the country spearheaded reforms, and massive urban improvements that transformed the lives of those living in the new metropolises. Huge resources were funnelled through local government, with half of all national public spending being dispensed from Town Halls. As well as directing public improvements, better schools, infrastructural provision and housing programs, these homes of local government themselves became symbolic embodiments of their respective cities. Their eloquent facades spoke of civic pride, communal purpose, economic strength, and artistic verve. Their interiors contained multipurpose halls, whose size and opulence made Buckingham Palace seem twee and quaint, and which were used for events and meetings whose purpose was the pursuit of public betterment through the spectacle of public art and democracy, rather than the pageantry of an isolated monarchy.

After the second World War, in a national equivalent of the pioneering reforms of the great Liberal mayors of the 19th Century, Britain was reconfigured into a nation that designed itself into a more equal and opportune disposition, in which infrastructure and opportunity were crafted by the public purse, for the broadest possible demographic. Gone were the vast republican roman temples competing with the beautiful behemoths of British Neo-Baroque, the people palaces of competing virtual city-states, and in came Modernity, a universal design language that spoke of a shared future, and universal values. The distinctly monumental Town Hall became the Civic Complex, and the deliciously florid interiors of pomp-for-the-people became the shining, diamond-cut glass, and rough-hewn concrete collected forms of libraries, sports centres, polytechnics and municipal offices, all carefully orchestrated around and within plazas, spaces slightly removed from the profane life of the city, elevated and set apart as glimpses of an organised, perfected collective destiny.

As globalisation, deregulation, and the European dream reached their respective zeniths in the 2000s under "New Labour," architecture once again took on a starring role in the perpetual transformation of our cities. Private capital mingled with state funding to deliver colourful new spaces which mixed consumption and education, and profit and provision, in an apotheosis of an historical compromise between society and the market. The presence of municipal bodies and of the state was reduced, modified, and rebranded within the context of leisure and shopping, of pleasure and experience. Single function iconic architectural objects, libraries, galleries and music halls, were inserted into the partially-privatised, super-slick new urban environments in a manner that sutured the feeling of growing wealth and cultural expansion, with the idea of an otherwise visually retreating state.

We are fast moving into another period of profound change in which society is resurgent, cities are once again looking to govern themselves, and there is an expectation that the state will return in a novel and more varied form to give sustenance to a population that has grown tired of the empty calories of shopping, and their sense of separation from the centres of bureaucratic power. Our cities are expanding at a rate not seen in a century, and as Mayors and city councils with muscle and financial independence begin to return to regions clamouring for devolved autonomy, there is an opportunity to reconfigure the balance of our cities. Through reforms and muscular policy agendas these political units will need to reinvigorate the agency of civic authorities, while at the same time there is an opportunity to anchor our expanding urban areas with symbolic social fulcrums that embody a shared sense of progress, of cultural production, of history, and of democratic projection.

It is time for the Town Hall as Democratic Monument. So what would it entail?

Density and concentration, both pragmatically and representationally, are to cohere currently hidden and separate functions into singular, iconographically loaded architectural compositions, in a complex owned and run by the state, but utilising aesthetic and formal tools gathered from across the cultural—and economic—spectrum.

Municipal bureaucratic offices, council chambers, mayors' executives, libraries (or whatever mix of functions one prefers to call a safe space for individual learning), civic halls, city galleries, and ceremonial spaces for public celebration and protest are brought into a tight and manifold unity which both opens itself up to the urban sprawl around it, and creates an elevated internal environment of reflection and engagement.

Within the image of a unified entity, each element is articulated as a distinct architectural expression, generating a tension between the whole and its parts which embodies the perpetual dialogue in our Liberal democracy between the need for consensus and shared values, and the vital fostering and celebration of minority needs and interests. Architectural plurality in compositional unity.

A civic façade whose emblematic role is to speak louder, more eloquently, with greater garrulousness and verbosity than any of the other buildings, commercial, private, public, infrastructural, or otherwise, in the city, takes up its place at the most prominent side of the Monument's plot.

These are to be giant frameworks for craft, design, and art from the city, utilising the entire panoply of available skills and technology. Permanent outdoor exhibitions of urban finery, that provide an "unmissably" iconic foundation for the ephemeral and digital initiatives and events that occur within the complex.

Large, multipurpose indoor spaces eschew the neutral aesthetics of flexibility, and are entirely suffused with decorative schemes that imprint a shared pride and confidence into the very walls of the rooms. The mechanics of democracy, debates, votes, committees, and hustings, are not only to be accessible and transparent, but are to be framed and presented in the most spectacular light, as awesome processes worthy of participation and respect.

Council leaders and mayors will time-share the same halls of state with LGBT groups, unions, trade bodies, music festivals and faith events, all within interiors that make the shopping centres of a generation before seem dull, meaningless, and unadventurous.

A city staircase acts as a stage for events, a route for ceremonies traditional and invented, and a place to linger, while a small square in front of the civic façade acts as a backdrop for broadcasts, postcard opportunities and tourist photographs, and a raised plaza forms an outdoor city room, from where the urban landscape can be observed from a slight remove, meetings can occur with officials housed in the municipal offices at whose feet it sits, and protestations can be registered in a sanctioned space.

The next incarnation of the Town Hall is to be a monumental embodiment of our evolving Liberal democracy as it moves into another new phase of energetic activity and robust intervention, in which architectural language and expression can both embody, and reconcile, the perpetual tensions between market & state, and minority and majority.

In which a fragmenting society and a diffuse urban realm is given new symbolic anchors that neither ignore the deep veins of difference, nor impose an arbitrary uniformity, but celebrate the constant tensions, debates and engagement that keep any one aspect of society from eclipsing the others.

We are living through what is perceived to be one of our democracy's most intense crises in generations, which means it is in fact the perfect moment to build Monuments to its rebirth. In crisis lies the greatest opportunity for reinvention. In each island of progress may their rise Democratic Monuments of symbolic sustenance, and practical pageantry, for our sprawling cities, for our expanding towns, for the many, and for the few; beauty, but for everyone.

This project was sponsored by model-makers Lee3d.

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Musée d'arts de Nantes / Stanton Williams

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 08:00 PM PDT

Architects: Stanton Williams
Location: Nantes, France
Area: 17000.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Hufton+Crow, Stefano Graziani

Contractor: Bouygues Bâtiment Grand Ouest
Cost Consultant: ARTELIA
Structural & Envelope Engineer: RFR& SEPIA
Services Engineer: Max Fordham & GEFI
Fire Safety: Casso & Associés
Signage/Graphics: Cartlidge Levene
Approved Inspector & Cdm Coordinator: VERITAS
Opc: E2CT

From the architect. Stanton Williams' €48.8 million transformation and extension of the Musée d'arts de Nantes will open to the public in June 2017. For this landmark cultural project, the London-based architecture practice has updated the historical site – an exemplary expression of the city's civic and cultural pride and one of the largest Fine Arts Museums in France outside Paris - adding a contemporary layer to an exceptional accumulation of historical monuments. This new design blends a finely tailored museography around the collection with contemporary architecture -transforming the introverted image of the former Musée des Beaux-Arts into a vibrant, democratic and welcoming contemporary space that is open to the city and its people.

The Musée d'arts de Nantes incorporates several key extension buildings to the original 19th Century 'Palais', and 17th Century Oratory Chapel, with the addition of a 4,000 sqm contemporary art exhibition space. An auditorium, library, new educational facilities, archive, and external sculpture court have also been created. A fully integrated landscape design will lead the way to the museum from the surrounding Place de Oratoire and Botanical Gardens, creating new access routes and enhancing the museum's renewed central role in the urban fabric of the area.

The extension is divided into four levels of art galleries. Layered one above the other, each level is linked by broad clefts that convey natural light throughout. These bridges and landings are new public routes that allow visitors to navigate the complex trajectory of the collections, spanning from ancient art to contemporary with unique art installations. The cityscape outside is presented as another artwork - offering a reversed extension of space; it carries the imprints of the pedestrians, cyclists, and cars, as they journey around.

In keeping with the grand Beaux-Arts architecture of the Musée, a consistent palette of materials has been applied through the renovated spaces. This creates the impression that the museum is one monolithic volume - carved out of a single block of stone. The entire south elevation of the new extension is glazed with a translucent laminated marble - a reference to the time when alabaster and marble were used in order to draw natural light into Medieval churches whilst protecting precious artworks within. The natural light of the nearby Atlantic is integral to the redesign, and the new museum experience. The existing glass roof that used to light the galleries has been replaced by complex superimposed layers of glass, innovative stretched fabrics and modular stores. The result is a 'passing clouds' effect that retains and optimises natural light and emphasises the new focus on openness and connects the visitors with their environment.

In response to an all-encompassing brief, Stanton Williams has collaborated with Cartlidge

Levene to redesign and develop Musée d'arts de Nantes' overall visual identity. This includes bespoke design of the lobby, café, museum shop, cloakroom and reception, and the overall formulation of a clear visual identity, which unites the museum's exterior and interior, and creates a holistic museum experience that will have a lasting impression on visitors.

Patrick Richard, Director at Stanton Williams, leading this project, says: "We are grateful to the city of Nantes for entrusting us to transform and extend the City's Museum of Art, as well as designing the exhibition spaces for their exceptional and valuable art collections, providing flexible galleries for temporary art installations. We have also had the unique opportunity to transform the main street leading to the museum and, alongside graphic designers Cartlidge Levene, create the graphic identity and signage for the Museum. The new Museum has been conceived around the existing collections; creating an intimate dialogue between art and architecture that firmly embeds the new Museum within the distinctive historical setting of the city."

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The Bash Residence / SO Architecture

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 07:00 PM PDT

Architects: SO Architecture
Location: Giv'at Ada, Israel
Lead Architects: Shachar Lulav, Oded Rozenkier, Alejandro Fajnerman
Area: 400.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Shai Epstein

Structural Engineer: SABA Engineers and Architects
Supervisor: Yossi Raz

From the architect. A private residence frames a spectacular natural context, on the hills surrounding the Galilee Sea. Folded in a plastered white envelope, the inner spaces are oriented towards the view and invite it to enter the family's domain.

Reflecting upon the surroundings, a wide usage of roughly finished natural materials has been made. The exposed concrete ceilings emphasize the inclined section and call for the spectator to walk outside, onto the wooden deck. Steel structure articulate a rhythmic façade and compliment the pallette. The owner, a practicing carpenter and locksmith, lovingly made many of the construction and furnishing details himself, such as: the central blue library, the wooden decks and pergola, the TV mezzanine and armchair. The bottom floor is a studio for the owner.

The access path is leading from the street, exposing parts of the natural scene at a time, before the complete picture reveals itself – slopping down from the common space in the heart of the dwelling.

Common and private spaces are parted by the blue library and a fireplace. Both of which are disconnected from the ceiling – making the room appear bigger and more spacious.

The connection between the central space and the eastern areas of the house and garden, are arranged so that to frame an ancient monolithic Dolmen structure. The Dolmen is a burial site, dated back to the Chalcolithic (Copper) Age, which was discovered on site. It was carefully preserved during the construction and plays a meaningful role in the orientation of the spaces.

The steep hill makes room for a spacious front yard, accessed fluently from the bedrooms.

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Brick Curtain House / Design Work Group

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 05:00 PM PDT

Architects: Design Work Group
Location: Mota Varachha, Surat, Gujarat, India
Design Team: Dinesh Suthar, Bharat Patel, Jitendra Sabalpara, Sonakshi Berlia, Bhavika Suthar, Vishakha Jain, Ankit Sojitra, Chirag Katrodiya
Area: 810.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: phxindia

Brick Façade: Mithun Vishvak and team
Structure: Angle Consultancy
Contractor: Himmat Patel
Carpenter: Sureshbhai Suthar
Electrician: Leo Electrical
Stone Work: Praveen Tank
Paint Work: Guddubhai
Windows: Dream Home Element
Exterior Stone Chip Plaster: Kesari Singh
Modular Kitchen : Ottimo Agency

From the architect. Residence the architectural space we call a "House" is the image we have of a functional environment where we carry out part of our life. It is a place containing a Miniature Universe able to speak of its inhabitants and their lifetime achievements.

There were three major driving forces that led to the accomplishment of the project
• Climate
• Context
• Client's brief

India is a home to an extraordinary variety of climatic regions. The site being located in Surat, Gujarat falls into hot and humid climatic zone. High humidity, strong sun and glare from sky characterize the climate. Our client having a family of 5, Mr Kanji bhai Bhalala is a public figure whose only purpose is to serve the mankind and be in constant touch with people in the neighbourhood and visitors throughout the day.

The site is a part of Residential society a corner plot approached from road on the west edge. The layout was organised such that the private zone were at the inner side and public zone in the front facilitated by a centralised connecting services.

On the ground, the front occupies parking while the rear consists of servant room and a multi-purpose hall that connects with the outdoor Garden In the habitable spaces above , Private spaces like kitchen, dining and bedroom are accommodated at the inner side of the house while the front portion serves the client interactive nature and hence contains Semi- Open Spaces on both the sides that helps connection with the neighbours with a double height Living area in the centre. Within the centralised connecting spaces lies the prayer area which can be looked up to from the 2nd and 3rd floor

Further, on the third floor, the Home Office is at front merging with the terrace garden on the sides. The spatial Organisation brought with it the biggest climatic challenge the front facade with large surface areas stood exposed to the West side intensifying the heat gain throughout the day.

To reduce heat gain various explorations were done after understanding the architectural elements of hot climatic region:
• Material
• Texture
• Jali
• Engraving

The analysis led us to select BRICK - a module that is raw and natural just as the client, and could help create projections reducing the heating effect.

A brick façade with bulges protruding in and out was selected. As the façade majorly needs to shade the central indoor environment the two ends are straight without bulges, giving the undulations in the centre a firm hold.

The central portion was divided in three parts each having 3 bulges in a series. To structurally hold the huge façade of 83 layers, vertical and horizontal reinforcement was added.

The chosen form served dually:
• Individually the brick module shaded itself.
• Convex bulges in the wall would shade its lower concave bulges, doing the same shading thing at larger level

The house is a perfect epitome of how a plane curtains itself. It stands out and connects to surroundings – both at the same time! The brick façade provides an ideal backdrop for the living area and major interaction spaces aesthetically adding simplicity and integrity to the design.

Overall the expression of house is response to client's affinity for nature. It's an outcome of seeking sustainable and functional amalgamation for the living environment.

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Administrative House / DOG

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 01:00 PM PDT

Architects: DOG
Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Lead Architects: Ryutaro Saito
Area: 124.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Ippei Shinzawa

Structural Engineer: Yasuhiro Kaneda / YKS
Facility Engineer: Kazuhiro endo / EOS plus

From the architect. It is a house for young couples have a hobby of motorcycle, and it's located of yokohama-shi, kanagawa, Japan.

A site becomes into a tiered stand where old retaining wall starts over two steps.
Furthermore, this site has various legal limitation and it was able to be the very important design element that talks with the administration.

We designed two pieces of roof along with the tiered stand site with leaving the old retaining wall which we could not touch. They constitute a garage part and a house part, are isolated structurally and have a functional connection.

The roof and the ceiling have the same incline, and a consecutive dynamic ceiling appears in the room and links an interior and an exterior design.
Having various legal limitation, we suggested new type housing in the residential area of the tiered stand with catching it positively.

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LEVS Architecten Brings New Type of Mixed-Used Development to Russia

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 09:00 AM PDT

In LEVS Architecten's newest development Forum City, the firm reinterprets Russian urban life in the center of its fourth-largest city, Yekaterinburg. The nine-building complex, developed by the Forum Group, curates its own metropolitan microcosm inside the larger urban area by combining residential, leisure facilities, and retail inside an archetypal city block.

The 103,000 square meter multi-use development aims to attract visitors and maintain a healthy quality of life for its residents by offering a market hall, cafes, a kindergarten, offices, a gym, and a medical center. It will also feature 586 modest to luxury apartment buildings housed in towers that range from eight to 30 floors. The towers are irregular and oblong in shape to offer panoramic views of the city and take advantage of sunlight.

A nod to the site's previously existing historical open market, Forum City plans to include a modern market hall that is connected to a current retail building through a glass-covered street. With booths and cafes, the market will represent the commercial past and present of Yekaterinburg.

By encompassing a city block, the scheme upholds the urban grid structure historic to Yekaterinburg, but also varies enough to speak to its rule-breaking neighbors. With retail offerings on the first floor, the development appears solid on its edge. The project reveals its porosity through its public spaces such as the main square that feature trees and benches and additional pockets of green space found throughout the complex. By experimenting with mediating openness and privacy in the development, LEVS Architecten introduces a dialogue unusual in Russian architecture.

Architecture Concept. Image Courtesy of LEVS Architecten

The landscaping of the project, designed by S&P Architektura Krajobrazu, reflects the semi-private and semi-public nature of the project using terrain height to signify access. Connected to the market hall, the terraces of the lower part of the courtyard are semi-public. The private upper part of the courtyard offers residents space for activities, work, and playgrounds.

The construction of Forum City is slated to begin in September 2017.

News Via: LEVS Architecten.

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FaulknerBrowns Unveils Plan to Re-develop Bangor Waterfront

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 07:00 AM PDT

FaulknerBrowns Architects have released plans for a revitalization of Queens Parade, a waterfront site in Bangor, Northern Ireland that has long been left underutilized. Situated next to the Bangor Marina, the mixed-used development will include residential, entertainment, and retail buildings in an effort to secure the site as a destination for both locals and tourists to connect with the water.

The £75m project, which is being managed by Cubic3 along with a range of investors and local businesses, will offer a variety of spaces for leisure and work. A waterfront hotel, well-being center, and water sports center are a few of the larger pieces of architecture planned for the development.

Offering a reconnection between the waterfront and the nearby town center, the design plans to extend the current marina pedestrian path to meet with more populated streets. Another proposed means of connection is engaging the water as a site for recreation and gathering. The project features a water-sports center and floating pontoon in which activities such as sailing and paddle boarding can take place.

The development aims to be a year-round attraction, including all season entertainment programming and an indoor sports venue. Other planned elements to draw visitors include restaurants, a cinema, and a winter garden.

As part of a press release about the re-development, FaulknerBrowns published a set of renderings and a model to help illustrate their master plan. The renderings focus on the public spaces created in the development, specifically the canopied walkway that guides visitors from the town to the water and the pontoon that hosts watersports.

This proposed scheme will deliver a revitalised place where all year round there will be improved opportunities to work, live, visit, socialise in and where culture and the economy can grow together said Roger Alexander, Managing Director of the one of the project's management companies, Cubic3.

News Via: FaulknerBrowns Architects.

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Villa E / MARC architects

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 06:00 AM PDT

Architects: MARC architects
Location: 1087 IJburg,The Netherlands
Area: 305.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Martijn Heil - de Architectuurguide

Other Participants : BREED Integrated Design (structural engineer), Bouwbedrijf Kon (contractor), Leurs Interieurbouw (interior manufacturer)

MISSION

To design and construct an architecture which shows it´s sustainability onto the detail, the architects need excellent commissioning first. Secondly this will only be accomplished by crossing borders and embracing the uncertain. This project covered our trully desired design journey; the integration of all aspects of design and talented team members, bringing us results we couldn´t think of when we started. And, it specifically characterizes the client needs.

FACADE - ALUMINUM VEIL

The serene exterior contrasts highly to the rough inside of this 335m2 GFA villa along the waterside. The facades consists of aluminum cooling ribs, produced by Alinel, D-type panels. Coloring differently by sunlight during the day. Reflecting on nature´s most important aspect.

ENERGY SAVING - SUSTAINABILITY

The rough and edgy aluminum panels with their hard rigid ribs reflect sunlight in a way, looking at the facade from a distance, it turns into a smooth and soft white unblemished veil. Wrapped around the sturdy interior of the house. The ribs, 90 degrees angled to the backing panel, avoid direct sunlight to reheat the facade. The overall white color of the skin is a supporting aspect of this feature.

The heating system of the house is fully geothermal. There is no connection to the energy company which supplies the island. We used a warmth retaining system to reuse thermal energy and most of all electricity is solar based. All lights are LED. The highly insulating and reflecting white shell (insulation: Kingspan Kooltherm) combined with the triple glass window frames, accomplished our mission to design and construct an holistic combination of architecture and sustainability onto the very detail.

At the backside the house opens up and connects a large kitchen, dining and lifted living to overlook the surrounding water. The large window sliding frame measures 8 meters width and 3.2 meters height in triple glass.

CONCEPT OF DESIGN

"We prefer smooth and abstract design. We live on high speed in challenging and demanding jobs and love sometimes doing risky sports. We keep up in this tough world, but feel very vulnerable at the same time. We are of all down to earth and very sensitive in our core and hearts. We try to deal with this conflicting contrast in our ways. We learn day by day. We love to have our inner being expressed around us".

PROGRAM

The program contains about 300m2 GFA and a 35m2 terrace which arised by moving the first level 3m to the south in order to have maximum sunlight into the northern gardens along the water. On ground floor you´ll find the main entrance next to the garage. This part of the house is lifted and contains the central heart of the house with stairs in a huge void. Furthermore there is a cosy living and working area in the front south-west corner. The dining and kitchen are on garden level. On the first floor there are a four (bed-)rooms of different sizes, two bathrooms and a dressing. In the basement we designed a guesthouse, a large storage and wine section and an important and efficient space for installations.

For the interior we mainly used rough materials to express the clients unpolished and imperfect inner being. Kids shout be able to play easily on floor without taking care of messing up. All floors are for this reason seamless. For the stairs and kitchen we used (untreated) steel panels. The roll patterns derived from flattening the steel plates, are symmetrically devided onto the cabinets. We used 200 year old Canadian barnwood sidings to design allmost all bathrooms furniture, sliding doors and wall coverings.

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LineCAD Offers Solid Collection of Free Architecture CAD Blocks (No Strings Attached)

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 05:30 AM PDT

The people have spoken and the message is clear: "We want CAD blocks, reference drawings in DWG format and templates of all kinds!" Well, feast your eyes on this latest discovery, www.linecad.com. The site is a catch-all for downloadable DWGs and blocks whose scope even goes beyond architecture. (Shout out to your engineer buddies looking for pumps, pipes and gauges!)

Each post contains a different file, and the site offers at least 150 downloadable DWGs in the architecture category, including:

Free Downloadable CAD Blocks

Bathroom CAD Blocks
Meeting Room CAD Blocks
Garage Door CAD Blocks
Public Toilet CAD Blocks
Tree and Plant CAD Blocks
Transportation/Vehicle CAD Blocks

People CAD Blocks
Furniture CAD Blocks
Office Furniture CAD Blocks
Doors and Windows CAD Blocks
Cabinets CAD Blocks
Chairs CAD Blocks

Water Cooler CAD Blocks
Washing Machine CAD Blocks
Wall Lights CAD Blocks
Vase CAD Blocks
Urinal CAD Blocks
Urban Lighting Design CAD Blocks

Truck CAD Blocks
Tram CAD Blocks
Train CAD Blocks
Faucet/Taps CAD Blocks
Street Light CAD Blocks
Stair CAD Blocks

Sofa CAD Blocks
Sockets CAD Blocks
Sink CAD Blocks
Shrubs CAD Blocks

Refrigerator CAD Blocks
Outdoor Furniture CAD Blocks
Lattices and Fences CAD Blocks
Kitchen Equipment CAD Blocks

h/t Reddit

A Library of Downloadable Architecture Drawings in DWG Format
Looking for some quick references or ways to spice up your drawings? Fire up Google Translate or brush the dust off your Italian to take advantage of this comprehensive vector/dwg/architecture drawing resource site! provides a number of free CAD blocks, downloadable CAD plans and DWG files, for you to study or use in precedent research.

60 Free Cad Blocks and Drawings
The key to quick, efficient CAD modeling is to have a solid library of CAD blocks - pre-prepared sets of common objects and details that you can simply drop into your drawing as and when they are required.

Stoves, Sinks, and Refrigerators: Downloadable CAD Blocks for Kitchen Designs
In order to support the design work of our readers, the company Teka has shared with us a series of .DWG files of its various kitchen products. The files include both 2D and 3D drawings and can be downloaded directly from this article.

Sinks, Toilets, Shower Heads and Faucets: Downloadable Bathroom CAD Blocks
In order to support the design work of our readers, the company Porcelanosa Grupo has shared with us a series of .DWG files of its various bathroom products. The files include both 2D and 3D drawings and can be downloaded directly from this article.

16 CAD Files of Skylights and Light Tubes Available for Your Next Project
In the spirit of supporting our readers' design work, the company Velux has shared a series of .DWG files with us of their different roofing windows models. The files can be downloaded directly from this article and include great amounts of detail and information.

15 CAD Blocks and Files for Playground Equipment
With the aim of supporting the design work of our readers, the company UrbanPlay has shared with us a series of files in .DWG format for different models of children's games, playgrounds, and equipment for public space. Files can be downloaded directly in this article and include 2D and 3D files.

Download High Resolution World City Maps for CAD
Mapacad is a website that offers downloads of .dwgs of dozens of cities. With 200 metropolises in their database, the founders have shared a set of their most-downloaded cities. The files contain closed polyline layers for buildings, streets, highways, city limits, and geographical data--all ready for use in CAD programs like Autocad, Rhino, BricsCad and SketchUp.

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This Robotic Arm Can Cut Marble Into Unique Freeform Shapes

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 05:00 AM PDT

This video is part of a conference held every two years by the Rob|Arch Conference series, developed by the Association for Robots in Architecture and related to robotic fabrication in architecture, art, and design.

'Carrara Robotics' was presented in 2014 by Jelle Feringa (Odico) and Lucas Terhall (Hyperbody), and shows a robot that is able to cut through marble with such flexibility and freedom of movement that it generates uniquely beautiful forms. The robot occupies the technology of abrasive cutting and -through a software- it cuts marble, as well as different types of foam, delivering pieces of high geometric complexity as a result.

Learn more about this technology here.

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Is this the “Best Drone for Architects”?

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 02:30 AM PDT

Architect and author of the Architect + Entrepreneur book series Eric Reinholdt recently released a video detailing the results of his research into the best drone for architects and designers. The drone he chose is the Mavic Pro from DJI, which he says balances multiple factors like cost, portability, camera quality, stability, ease of operation, and flight time. The only major negative Reinholdt mentions is the camera's fixed aperture; he recommends counteracting this by purchasing neutral density filters, which help adjust the camera's exposure. But why architects? Reinholdt mentions the variety of possible uses for a drone throughout a project, but most importantly, he sees video as the future of telling the story of architecture. Through video, you can simulate a user's movement through spaces and mimic the experience of architecture.

Beginning with site analysis, a drone can be useful for aerial views, sightline analysis, and even topography mapping, which can be done by combining your drone with an app. During the construction phase, drone footage can be used to share progress with faraway clients or to check progress in less-easily-accessible areas, such as roofs. Other drone possibilities for the future include urban planning and traffic pattern analysis, investigation into otherwise inaccessible disaster areas, and even material delivery or construction tasks, in Reinholdt's opinion.

On the pragmatic side of things, Reinholdt covers some necessary laws you should be aware of if you plan on flying a drone, including where flying is allowing and when. Thankfully the DJI app uses geofencing to ensure you don't go out of bounds. Reinholdt recommends other apps useful for aspiring drone pilots, including Airmap, another app for determining where you're allowed to fly, weather apps that show when conditions are favorable for drone flying, and Sunseeker, which allows you to track when and where the sun will be on your site to help you plan your videography. Watch the video above for Reinholdt's full analysis of the strengths of the Mavic Pro and his advice on how to get started with a drone.

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2L Attic / La Errería

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 02:00 AM PDT

Architect : La Errería
Location: Paseo de los Molinos, Novelda, Alicante, Spain
Area: 61.6 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: David Frutos

Authors: Carlos Sánchez García, Luis Navarro Jover
Contractor: PROYECTOS Y EDIFICACIONES VIGRAN

From the architect. This, more than a project, is a process. A complex, adjusted in time and economy, process.Our experience and our interest in architecture tells us that to finish these processes in a succesful way requires a great effort and dedication. Especially if we want to achieve a really interesting result.

This penthouse wants to recreate a pleasant, special space. A space of enjoyment but, at the same time, versatile and flexible.

A small break in the heights. Therefore, it has been organized in a diaphanous way, allowing our clients to organize and take advantage of it according to their needs. And open to the outside world.

It has been conceived by emphasizing every detail to put into value the virtues of the environment. The views of the main mountains of the place, the relationship with the nearby pinewood or, simply, rise above the 'noise' to enjoy what we have beyond and, sometimes, we can not see.

Let's get up, enjoy and live what surrounds us.

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Our Favorite Nordic Photographers: The Best Photos of The Week

Posted: 02 Jul 2017 01:00 AM PDT

Often informed by its harsh climate and stunning landscapes, Nordic design, specifically architecture, has a unique relationship with nature. Photographers of Nordic architecture have benefitted from studying this close connection in their photos that experiment with capturing light, innovative materials, and landscape to create a compelling composition. Below is a selection of images of both public and private architecture by prominent photographers such as Pasi Aalto, Bert Leandersson, Mika Huisman and Åke E: Lindman.