Arch Daily

Lorient Multimodal Hub / AREP
Damavand Villa / Shirazian Studio
Raphael Center / KYWC Architects
Canada's First Ever Funicular Opens in Downtown Edmonton
KAAN Architecten Designs New Facades For Munich's iCampus
Aldebarán House / Haro Arquitectos
If We Were To Design The Ideal Building Material, It Would Look A Lot Like Bamboo
Faith & Form's 2017 Religious Architecture Awards Recognizes the Best in Religious Architecture and Art
Rust House / Jarmund / Vigsnæs Architects
15 Of The Best and Most Ambitious Floating Architecture Projects

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 09:00 PM PST

Architects: AREP
Location: France
Architects In Charge: Etienne Tricaud, Jean-Marie Duthilleul, François Bonnefille, Olivier Boissonnet
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Didier Boy de la Tour

Project Management: SNCF Gares & Connexions, AREP
Engineering Consultancy For Framework And Façades: H.D.A. Hugh Dutton & Associés; Mitsu
Client: SNCF Gares & Connexions, SNCF Réseau, Lorient Conurbation

Text description provided by the architects. The Lorient multimodal hub is part of the "Bretagne à Grande Vitesse" project ("High-speed for Brittany"), a high-speed line which is expected to allow a three-hour total travel time between Quimper, Brest and Paris by 2017. The station is being rebuilt on the south, close to the city centre and in the heart of the transport hub accommodating different types of public transport means: rail, inter-city buses and coaches serving the conurbation. The north and south forecourts house taxi ranks and drop-off areas. Car parks and bike parking facilities will be incorporated in the neighbouring construction projects to come. An urban walkway both allows to access the platforms and links Kerentrech district to the city centre during the station opening hours.

The main façade opens up to the heart of the city and along with the large timber portal frame forming the building's structure, alludes to the city's shipbuilding tradition. Lorient's recent architectural history gives prominence to stone as well as concrete and washed-concrete façades, all of which is echoed by the fibre-reinforced double skin featuring all the openings related to the various elements of the project (station entrance, retail outlets, offices) and protecting the façade from solar radiation. Colour is a background element in the same way as in the buildings with loggias of Lorient. The south façade is composed of a complex timber structure comprising insulation, interior and exterior timber cladding, glazed surfaces and double skin, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) screen modelled in sub-frames. The north façade is mostly glazed and its large openings allow views on the new TER platform (express regional lines), the rail tracks, the future north access and the historic district of Kerentrech. It is gridded with large glass modules featuring metal crosspieces with a 4.80-metre span between the beams.

The structure of the passenger building consists of a series of portal frames made of composite wood and featuring various spans. The central part of the building is braced by a concrete core and the hall and canopy by concrete portal frames located in the area intended for operational purposes. The roof extends towards the coach station by means of a canopy, which is supported by a cantilevered beam running along its south edge and arching down to the ground.

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Damavand Villa / Shirazian Studio

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 06:00 PM PST

Architects: Shirazian Studio
Location: Iran
Architect In Charge: Mohammad Hossein Shirazian
Area: 430.0 m2
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Mohammad Hasan Ettefagh

Client: Ali Rezaian
Structural Consultant: Bani Asadi

Text description provided by the architects. The site of this project is a field situated on a mountain slope, overlooking a beautiful plain. The desire to have a better view and also more building space in the small field lead to building up 3 floors above the ground. The neighborhood is a mix of small land division and so condense that blocks easterly and westerly sides of the field. Whereas, the northerly and southerly sides have the chance to offer charming proper views.

The cold climate and mountainous weather conditions pose a design challenge. So, a special consideration has been given to snow removal from the roof (to reduce the dead load tensions and protecting precipitation isolation), thermal isolation in the exterior walls, and accounting for higher efficiency of mechanical and water systems during intensive cold weather. For blocking heat being conducted through the floors, there are no voids or free vertical connections, despite the aesthetic preference of the architect.

A large terrace offering an expansive view was one of the main design goals facing the the southeasterly direction which is the best side for viewing the garden city of Damavand. The height restriction of the sloping roof and having the optimum slope regarding the aesthetic and functional needs would have resulted in a height shortcoming in the terrace. In response to this problem, a mechanically inclinable sloping roof is designed that is also wind-resistant and economical.

The structure design with the slanted columns turned out to be challenging in that earthquake-prone region. It was also difficult to make the metal frame with its accurate pattern and to be simultaneously sealed.

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Raphael Center / KYWC Architects

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 12:00 PM PST

Architects: KYWC Architects
Location: 8 Seongbukdong 1(il)-ga, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Lead Architects: Kim Seunghoy (Seoul National University), Yoo Yongyeon
Construction: Ean R&C (Kim Jongkyu)
Area: 1177.0 m2
Project Year: 2014
Photographs: KIM Jaekyung

Space for shared life and service
The Raphael Center is a free medical facility for foreign workers. The task for the architect was to renovate the poorer building used as accommodation for the examination into a medical facility for foreign workers and a complex cultural space for local people. Aside from the limited budget, the biggest problem was the narrow space of the space. Most of all, we planned empty spaces without defined layouts as much as possible, in order to enable many people to stay there, designing the flow line as the form of track in order to avoid interrupting patient's circulation.

We also planned flexible space which can be used as medical treatment space at weekends and complex cultural space for local people at weekdays. On the first floor level, a canopy has been installed along the alleyway to form a continuous urban street. The Raphael Center, aiming to become both a healing space and a cultural space, works of architecture that is part of the city, communicating with and open to the city by holding architectural pose required for public building.

The performance and overall class of the building has been improved by adding insulation to the existing wall and finishing by face bricks. The complex shape of the existing building is transformed into a simple mass and irregular windows have been replaced by square ones. Protruding eaves have been added to the windows, and the inside of the eaves have been painted in various colours standing for all people of the world. I hoped this building could present foreign workers with a cheerful look.

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Canada's First Ever Funicular Opens in Downtown Edmonton

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 08:00 AM PST

Last week marked the opening of Canada's first ever funicular in downtown Edmonton, a cable-mechanized incline elevator aimed at making the city's largest green space more accessible.

Publically funded, the $24million project features the 100 Street Funicular to transport mobility aids, strollers, and bikes, as well as a generous staircase for walking, running and lounging. Concrete sitting blocks are dispersed up the 170 steps from a promenade at the bottom. Visitors can walk along the promenade to a lookout point or ascend the stairs or funicular to the raised lookout for extensive views of the river valley.

Dialog, the architecture firm who designed it, said of the project:

The materiality and overall form of the project are heavily influenced by the existing connective infrastructure of the city's river valley system. The river valley is connected by a series of meandering wood stairs, boardwalks, and weathering steel foot bridges and this is an experience that is reinforced through the design.

Kebony wood, used on the boardwalk and as cladding, gives a warmth to the project and softens the concrete structure. Both materials were chosen for their durability, with Kebony wood designed to last six times longer than pressure-treated timber. The funicular is sure to become a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike.

News via: Kebony

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KAAN Architecten Designs New Facades For Munich's iCampus

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 06:00 AM PST

Netherlands based KAAN Architecten won R&S Realty II's competition to design three office building facades for Munich's new iCampus. Located in the Werksviertel district, the project adds a contemporary layer to this creative, industrial neighborhood.

RKW Architektur + strove to represent today's creative industry through transparent loft spaces in the design of office buildings named Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. KAAN's facades for the buildings maintain the architectural identity while being their own distinctive elements.

Representative of the building's structure, the facades are concrete frames with large openings; adaptable to future office space typologies. The entrances, stairways, sunscreens and technical spaces are enclosed by a seamless glazing and black metal clad skin. The roof acts as its own facade, bringing light into the building via triangular glass atriums; the shape of which saves material and inhibits overheating. The atriums distinguish interior and exterior spatial connection. Exterior spaces, such as public cafes, add to the contemporary architectural vibes.

Work will begin in 2020 and be completed in 2022.

Architects: KAAN Architecten
Design Team: Yang Zhang
Main Building Architect: RKW Architektur +, Düsseldorf
Facade Advisor: KD Fassadenplanung, Düsseldorf
Visualization: Beauty & The Bit, Madrid
Project Year: 2017

News via: KAAN Architecten.

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Aldebarán House / Haro Arquitectos

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 05:00 AM PST

Architects: Haro Arquitectos
Location: Zapopan, Mexico
Architect In Charge: Carlos Haro Avelar
Collaborator: Fausto Pérez
Area: 338.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Lorena Darquea

Text description provided by the architects. A white, solid structure seems to float on a wall formed by vertical strips of exposed concrete and solid parota wood. This is the facade for Casa Aldebarán standing on a piece of land very close to the Primavera Forest in Zapopan, Mexico.

Designed in a simple contemporary style, paths emerge from two courtyards that boast the pre-existing trees in the land, which embellish the building with their green foliage, and create a natural foyer at the main entrance, and a welcoming sensation for its dwellers as they enter the house.

The heart of the house features double-height ceilings, and strategically located windows to capitalize on views and natural light, channeling sunshine to its spaces. Therefore, the house is very open towards its center. Although solid elements prevail over empty spaces on the house's main frontage facing west, and where the windows become very subtle openings on walls, favoring verticality and enhancing the feeling of weightlessness within the house.

The ground level features a kitchen with a secondary entrance from the garage, a study which can be used as a bedroom, a double-height living room, a dining room, and between these two spaces a covered terrace separated only by glass, which when opened integrates the whole area creating a very large open space without walls extending from the entrance to the garden in the back. On the top floor there is a bridge and a studio that feed off the double height and the tree canopies; a laundry room, two bedrooms with private bathrooms, and a master bedroom with an en-suite dressing room and bathroom.

Few building materials are used and most of them are raw, and although white is the predominant color, exposed concrete walls and sections of parota wood produce a harmonious color effect. The previously mentioned study and bridge under the double-height ceiling seem to be independent of the house structure, being supported by steel beams and board-formed concrete slabs with seepage marks that enhance the perspective. These slabs have indirect lighting, further emphasizing its brutalist texture in the evening, producing a striking contrast with its surroundings.

The house is in a privileged location and we were able to fully take advantage of this, designing a very discreet staircase on the top floor to easily and comfortably access the roof garden and enjoy the breathtaking sunset views of the Primavera Forest.

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If We Were To Design The Ideal Building Material, It Would Look A Lot Like Bamboo

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 04:00 AM PST

"Bamboo is too close to an ideal structural material." This statement by Neil Thomas during his talk at Bamboo U, which took place in November 2017 in Bali, really caught my attention. Neil is the director of atelier one, a London office of structural engineering, whose outstanding projects include stage and scenography for the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and U2; art installations by Anish Kapoor and Marc Quinn; the Gardens by the Bay, in Singapore, among many others. From a few years to now, the engineer has exhaustive study about bamboo, its structural properties and its most diverse potentialities.

According to him, bamboo is too close to the ideal structural material, beginning with its tubular shape, an open section, such as a channel, is weaker than a closed one because the edge can bend much more easily. Just think of a sheet of paper and how it becomes stronger when we roll it up like a tube, preventing it from bending so much. I

In addition, it has another feature that improves its resistance. The bamboo has longitudinal fibers that leave its base to the top, which are called vascular bundles. The closer to the exterior of the stalk wall, these bundles have a higher density, which makes the piece more naturally resistant. So, the stronger part of the section is further away from its radially centroid, making the piece more resistant. And this is the main difference in relation to a wooden trunk, whose strongest part is right in the center of its section. Another peculiarity is its speed of growth. Unlike hardwood, which can take more than 30 years to be exploited, bamboo can be cut and used between 3 to 5 years, then growing again.

In laboratory tests bamboo also achieves impressive structural capabilities. Its compressive strength is equivalent to the concrete, while the traction reaches the steel numbers. Clearly, this can range according to the species - more than 1500, which grow naturally on almost all continents, especially in regions with higher temperatures.

Even so, there is some resistance in the use of the material, since it requires another type of thinking and the breaking of certain paradigms so rooted in architecture. One of them is the fear of using the material in its rough form, with its irregularities and natural forms. where the beauty of bamboo lives.

There are, of course, some issues that need to be considered, such as the chemical treatment of bamboo prior to its use for construction, to prevent its rotting and insects. Another issue when constructing with bamboo that needs to be considered is the fact that its components should be very well protected from the sun and rain, for adequate durability. This also includes the pillars, which cannot be in direct contact with the ground, that is usually solved by adding a piece of rock over the shallow foundation.

The detailing of bamboo and its connections has been historically developed, being passed from one generation to the next through artisan builders, evolving through the understanding of the material itself. In the 21st century, with all the technology we have available, it is possible to better understand the specific forces in different conditions (strain, compression, bending, shear) and apply modern technologies, so that it is possible to optimize the material and to use other materials and techniques, such as shells and membranes, to achieve even more ambitious structures.

Neil concluded by stating that bamboo is the most sustainable natural building structure on the planet and that we are certainly at the beginning of its use in a much broader way. However, its main teaching is that we should not try to adjust the bamboo to the existing rules, but to change them to suit the bamboo.

Two of our editors, Eduardo Souza and José Tomás Franco, were invited by BambooU and the IBUKU bamboo project company to be part of this incredible experience, organized by The Kul Kul Farm at the Green School in Bali, Indonesia. Check out more information on upcoming courses here or through instagram.

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Faith & Form's 2017 Religious Architecture Awards Recognizes the Best in Religious Architecture and Art

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 01:30 AM PST

How does contemporary religious architecture adapt to the needs of the modern world? Each year, Faith & Form magazine and the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA) award acknowledges the best in religious art and architecture. This year's winners included 27 projects spanning in religious denomination, size, and location. Beyonds this, the award recognizes three common trends present in religious architecture today: re-adaptation of existing facilities, community-based sacred spaces, and simplicity in design. Read on to see all 27 winners.

Calcagnini Contemplative Center / Dynerman Architects

(Bluemont, VA, USA)

RLJ Chapel / Ricaro Yslas Gamez Arquitectos

(San Juan Cosalá, Jalisco)

Vajrasana Buddhist Retreat Centre / Walters & Cohen Architects

(Bury Saint Edmunds, UK)

Stella Maris Chapel / Alejandro Beautell Arquitecto

(Tenerife, Canarias Island, Spain)

Garden Chapel Pavilion / archimania

(Memphis, TN, USA)

Liberty United Methodist Church / Dake Wells Architecture

(Liberty, MO, USA)

Courtesy of Architectural Imageworks LLC

New Faith Baptist Church Worship Center / Harding Partners

(Matteson, IL, USA)

Courtesy of Christopher Barrett Photography

Park Plaza Synagogue / Epstein-Principal Designer Andrew Metter

(Chicago, IL, USA)

Tegami-Dokoro / Shoji Oshio + UA architects

(Funabashi, Chiba, Japan)

Amir Shakib Arslan Mosque / L.E.FT Architects

(Moukhtara, Lebanon)

Bellevue First Congregational Church / atelierjones llc

(Bellevue, WA, USA)

Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue Chapel / FXFOWLE

(New York, NY, USA)

Redeemer Presbyteraian / archimania

(Memphis, TN, USA)

SGI New England Buddhist Center / Touloukian Touloukian Inc

(Brookline, MA, USA)

Courtesy of Photo Anton Grassi Photography

Redemption Arcadia / DeBartolo Architects

(Pheonix, AZ, USA)

Westport Presbyterian Church / BNIM

(Kansas City, MO, USA)

Congregation Beit Simchat Torah / Architecture Research Office

(New York, NY, USA)

The Sheridan Center Chapel / Jackson & Ryan Architects

(Houston, TX, USA)

Chai Spice Box / Ellen Hunt

(Chicago, IL, USA)

Duke University Chapel Woodwork Restoration / Century Guild

(Durham, NC, USA)

'Pieta' / Salvatore LaRosa

Eid Prayer Ground / Allies and Morrison

(Doha, Qatar)

Cathedral Campus / Strada Architecture LLC

(Wheeling, WA, USA)

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption / Moto Designshop

(Port-au-Prince)

Funeral Home / Edyta Paula Konstantynowicz

(Biolystok, Poland)

Sacred Space of a Modern Man / Joanna Wierzbicka

(Warsaw, Poland)

The Mhuysqa Offering / Travis Price Architects with The Catholic University of America

(Tenjo, Columbia)

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Rust House / Jarmund / Vigsnæs Architects

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 01:00 AM PST

Architects: Jarmund / Vigsnæs Architects
Location: Oslo, Norway
Architect In Charge: Einar Jarmund, Håkon Vigsnæs, Alessandra Kosberg, Ane Sønderaal Tolfsen,
Area: 198.0 m2
Project Year: 2016
Photographs: Nils Petter Dale

Text description provided by the architects. The inner east municipality of Oslo is a diverse and urban area called Gamlebyen (old town). The area is the oldest parts of Oslo dating back to medieval ages. The area has been in decline for large parts of the twentieth century, but is now experiencing an upturn in popularity and gentrification.

Rust House is designed flexibly for a family of six; to adapt their living to the current number of family members - as kids and teenagers comes and goes. The architectural volume of the house corresponds to neighboring walls in various heights: politely adapted between existing houses. As a result of orignally living in the building next door, the family built a new house in their own backyard to extend their lifestyle into a new home.

Three volumes create an L-shaped structure with a small inner garden for family enjoyment, in addition to two private and quiet roof top terraces. The carefully chosen window placements give views to a narrow urban context on the ground floor and first floor - in contrast to a wide open view from the living room on the top floor. The materials used are solid and maintenance free; with corten steel facades, plywood interiors and concrete floors.

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15 Of The Best and Most Ambitious Floating Architecture Projects

Posted: 23 Dec 2017 12:00 AM PST

More than half of the planet is composed of water and most of the population lives in its vicinity. These sites are increasingly affected by environmental disasters or the increase in water levels caused by global warming, forming a scenario that brings new challenges to the way we live and think the buildings in coastal or riverine areas.

Floating architecture can adapt to changes in water levels and different climatic conditions, signaling a possible way to solve the problems pointed out. To increase your repertoire of floating references, we have gathered here 15 projects that have been implemented directly in the waters and have the most different uses: housing, cultural, educational, recreational and infrastructure.