Arch Daily |
- Eco-cité La Garenne / Guillaume Ramillien Architecture SARL
- Advertising Agency in Gliwice / INTERURBAN
- 3Beirut / Foster + Partners
- Tianjin Sino-Canadian Ecological Exhibition & Reception Center / CCDI Progressive Atelier
- Screen House / Poiesis Architects
- Mandela / RoarcRenew
- Orchard Commons, University of British Columbia / Perkins+Will
- Heatherwick's Copper 'Vessel' Tops Out at New York's Hudson Yards
- Spy Glass / JaK Studio
- Verónica Arcos Designs Pop Up Radio for GAM Cultural Center in Santiago
- STANDARD 69 / CAPÓ estudio
- Snow Kreilich Architects Wins 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award
- VV House / bgp arquitectura
- The Cutting-Edge Materials Science Making Hurricane-Proof Construction Possible
- Caledonian Somosaguas / Studio MK27 - Marcio Kogan + Suzana Glogowski
- Drawing Hack: How to Draw A Straight Line
- Michel Rojkind and Bjarke Ingels Describe the Recently Opened Foro Boca
- The Greywall / YCL studio
| Eco-cité La Garenne / Guillaume Ramillien Architecture SARL Posted: 07 Dec 2017 07:00 PM PST  © Pascal Amoyel
 © Pascal Amoyel The project is defined by a strong framework and visible public spaces that include the neighborhood in a fluid continuity between the Loire river and the woods.  © Pascal Amoyel At the edge of this continuum, the architectural supply is renewed and enriched on a domestic scale through various and unique architectural forms, synonymous with new ways of dwelling.  © Pascal Amoyel The articulation of constructed volumes forges a link between very different scales, without spliting houses and housing estate.  © Pascal Amoyel Constructions are proposed with a mesured density to provide the highest continuity between woods and neighborhood, and create an unifying landscape axis in varying sequences of ambience.  © Pascal Amoyel Each typology is adjusted to its specific situation while houses are arranged to preserve family privacy.  Sketch 02 The architectural expression plays on a simple contrast between the minerality of white coated cellular concrete and the shimmering of metal.  © Pascal Amoyel  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Advertising Agency in Gliwice / INTERURBAN Posted: 07 Dec 2017 06:00 PM PST  © Krzysztof Zgoła
 © Krzysztof Zgoła Text description provided by the architects. The building is located in the economic zone of Nowe Gliwice, established on the site of the former coal mine KWK Gliwice. The area is gradually being reclaimed into a new function in which damage caused by human activity is effectively replaced by new usable value - architecture. The main task was to combine the office and warehouse functions in a way that ensures work comfort while clear functional separation.  © Krzysztof Zgoła  Floor Plan  © Krzysztof Zgoła Different usage of individual parts and thus other spatial requirements were combined into one complex with internal atrium. In this way, we have created a coherent object in which the boundary between the office and the industrial zone has been effectively suppressed. The common atrium creates a unique private area, which represents the office and the garden. This direct connection blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior, thus improving the quality of the work environment and its daily functioning as an open space office  © Krzysztof Zgoła By creating such a free, intimate space, we have expanded our ability to use space for creative, free activities, especially in the context of enhancing positive relationships between different users and diverse tasks.  © Krzysztof Zgoła  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2017 04:00 PM PST  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
 © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners Text description provided by the architects. Responding directly to the site and culture of Beirut, the scheme creates a sustainable residential and retail development in the heart of the city. The development also strengthens Beirut's role as a centre for tourism, commerce, retail and entertainment while providing new green spaces at ground level for the city to enjoy.  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners The scheme is located in Beirut Central District on a prestigious site within the wider Solidere masterplan for the regeneration of the city centre. Particular consideration was given to the public realm and the creation of new pedestrian routes through the site combined with new landscaped spaces that connect the historic centre to the harbour. On the south side, the central tower has been pushed back to create a landscaped forecourt.  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners The scheme is made up of three limestone clad towers that provide an animated ground plane of shops, cafes, restaurants, a fitness centre, an art gallery and public gardens. The lobbies are connected to the ground plane with a distinctive water features that flows from the inside to the outside creating a calming sound for the public.  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners  Landscape architecture  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners 3Beirut's glazed north façade provides spectacular views of the harbour, while the south facing side steps down in height, with terraces and green roofs that help integrate the towers into the urban grain. The staggered layout of the towers also helps avoid apartments that overlook adjacent units, allowing residents a greater sense of privacy.  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners Luke Fox, Head of Studio and Senior Executive Partner at Foster + Partners, remarked, "We are delighted that 3Beirut has reached completion, which is the result of close collaboration between the client and Foster + Partners. The result is a high-quality building that gives back to the city."  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners Faris Smadi, CEO SV Properties & Construction said, "SV Properties & Construction is proud to have completed this landmark residential development with world renowned architects Foster + Partners. It has been a real privilege to work together to realize this iconic scheme at the heart of the Beirut Central District, and one which will provide a great legacy not only for ourselves but also for the city.  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners The development embodies the unique vibrancy of the city. A wide range of amenities, including a leisure suite, featuring a 26m pool and gym, and the McLaren showroom on the ground floor were inaugurated recently – bringing life to the area. Spurred on by the success of the recent exhibitions series held in temporary art galleries on the ground floor, a regular programme of art and culture events is being planned for the future, making 3Beirut a true social focus for the city."  © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Tianjin Sino-Canadian Ecological Exhibition & Reception Center / CCDI Progressive Atelier Posted: 07 Dec 2017 02:00 PM PST  © Zhenhuan He - archexist
 © Zhenhuan He - archexist Text description provided by the architects. Exhibition and reception center of Tianjin Sino-Canadian ecological demonstration zone located in the ecological zone of China-Canada zone in the coastal tourist area of Tianjin Eco-city, with the background of China-Canada collaborative development, the design aims to interpret the concept of modern architecture with a combination of art and technology, reproduce the "Maple Leaf Country" Canada's block image.  Concept diagram The entire building to break up the way, clean up to zero, choose to divert flow rather than blocking the flow of people to solve the problem of venue design. The building is divided into three separate small exhibition halls, which are respectively attached to the exhibition hall, sales center and children's activity center. The three units form a "T" shaped outdoor traffic space. Three buildings use the center Multi-level corridor platform organically linked together to form a free shuttle among the three-dimensional block.  © Zhenhuan He - archexist In the design of each single internal space, simplifying the space elements, reducing the functional space or transition space has nothing to do with the scene--- such as foyer, bathroom, lounge, etc., make full use of the necessary structure, space, traffic and furniture, which can not be further reduced, to form a definite space: Much of the interior of the exhibition hall is treated as high spaces, with an open staircase connecting the main entrance to the second floor with the staircase serving as both a transport space and a showcase space.  © Zhenhuan He - archexist  Diagram for Exhibition Hall Umbrella-like structural wooden columns are designed around the center of the space. Eight inclined columns diverge to the roof and top of the primary and secondary beams to form a rectangular lighting skylight. The stairs not only combine traffic with the design of furniture; the function of the sales center is relatively complete, apart from the main sales and exhibition hall, it also complements the functions of the other two buildings, which have been streamlined, but in the sales of exhibition and design of the coffee bar is still the continuation of the set of treatment.  © Zhenhuan He - archexist Half of the children's activity center indoor space made a big emptying treatment, while the other half of the first two were made of children's theater and activity area, symmetrically around the two sides of the space designed two sets of stairs, from the first floor to the second floor, respectively, and then came from the second floor to the outdoor platform by the second staircase onto the roof. Through the separation of the basic prototype of the monomer, and then through the set-style space design practices to obtain independent access to the monomer, outdoor corridors of all levels of construction monomer docked together, the path to Unicom eventually form a fully functional building body.  Diagram for Children Activity Center  © Zhenhuan He - archexist On the image of the building, the concept of opposing opposites is extended. The three buildings have their own unique forms of expression, but it implies a unified construction logic. The exterior design of the building emphasizes the expressiveness of the wood, the wood-like wooden grille, the thick wood-shaped wall panels, the cornice grille with the same rhythm of the waves, and the endless possibilities of the wood. The combined design of wood, steel and clear water concrete also makes the space and appearance show a strong cultural atmosphere and warm, approachable architectural character.  © Zhenhuan He - archexist  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Screen House / Poiesis Architects Posted: 07 Dec 2017 12:00 PM PST  © Roland Tan Yeow Teck
 © Roland Tan Yeow Teck Text description provided by the architects. The Screen House is located on a triangulated plot of land somewhere in the western part of Singapore. Prior to the rebuilding, the carparking for the house was located on a steep incline leading up to the 1st storey of the house which is approximately 2.5m higher than the adjacent road level. In order to take advantage of the topography of the site, the decision was made to "carve" out a basement storey. With this strategy, the carparking area is hidden away. An entire new basement storey could then be tucked neatly into the site. The new house from road level looks like a 2.5 storey house when in fact it is a 3.5 storey volume.  © Roland Tan Yeow Teck INTERNAL GARDEN COURTYARD Basements usually conjure up imageries of being dark and dimly lit. In this case, an internal garden courtyard is inserted into the center of the house. A central skylight fitted with Vari-shield self-cleaning glass provides day-lighting to flood the basement area. The Vari-shield glass is self-regulating much like transition lenses to regulate the amount of day-light into the internal area.  © Roland Tan Yeow Teck 27 numbers of spherical pendants suspended at varying heights serves as an interesting counterpoint to the trees.  Section SCREENED FAÇADE Vertical trellised screen façade set at varying spacing follows the angulated façade to shield from the west facing sun along the front façade.  © Roland Tan Yeow Teck During the day, the house takes on a very "private" front shielded by the screened wall. The house transforms in the evening when lighted as artificial lighting from within creates a warm-glow to provide glimpses of the interior.  © Roland Tan Yeow Teck  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2017 11:00 AM PST  © Oscar Lok
 © Oscar Lok Text description provided by the architects. The building in Mandela project has a brick-concrete structured warehouse and was renovated in the 1980s. In 2014, it was again renovated and reinforced with additional steel structures. The original concrete walls and its patched texture have been well preserved and covered with clear glass, which created an effect of two textures collage. The staircase, as the media for emotional and functional interactions, becomes the most important element in this whole space.  © Oscar Lok The inner space of Mandela's four-story warehouse is 40 meters long, 29 meters wide. One fire escape on the east side, one on the west side and together with one west-end lift, forming the vertical traffic flow. With the Shanghai solar altitude angle calculated, we concluded the direct sunshine can neither reach the north nor south area within 7.5- meters towards the center axis and the average daily sunlight received in this area is less than 0.1 hour. Considering these two factors, we inserted a vertical light shaft with the diameter of 3.6 meters all the way down from the forth floor to the ground floor, which lights up the area that the sunshine could not reach before. Meantime, the curved staircase in the atrium supports the light shaft, dividing the interior into three major sections, the east, the central and the west. The east and the west are mainly used for working space, while the central facilitates the major traffic flow and serves as the lighted environment.  Axonometric Drawing Our starting point of design was the fear and respect for the history. A beautiful building should not be pulled down but constantly renovated, developed with whole new methods, while gaining new spirits from the changing context. Thus, in Mandela Project, crumbling concrete walls were completely preserved. We fixed 12mm laminated glass at a distance of 20cm from the preserved walls, and posted texts which document the history on the glass.  © Oscar Lok Black is the color for working area, accompanied by the lights with 3700k color temperature, there is this comparatively quite and private working environment. In private offices, clear white walls, black strip lights and authentic rubber wood seats leave the room for tenants to recreate and redesign.  © Oscar Lok The collision between light and shadows, preserved walls, clear glasses, and old items, plus the methodology of museum exhibition display design applied in Mandela's lighted co-working space, showed ROARC's pursuit of spatial quality.  © Oscar Lok  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Orchard Commons, University of British Columbia / Perkins+Will Posted: 07 Dec 2017 09:00 AM PST  © Michael Elkan
Text description provided by the architects. Orchard Commons is the second of five mixed-use 'hubs' planned for University of British Columbia's (UBC) Point Grey campus. Combining student housing, academic uses, and amenities into one facility, the intent is to invite diversity and social connection by bringing more activity and life to the heart of the campus.  © Michael Elkan Drawing students from around the globe, Orchard Commons is home to a diverse group of first-year students, most of whom will be living away from home for the first time. As such, the mandate to cultivate positive social interactions through the fabric of the facility was key.  © Michael Elkan These factors shaped the planning and a range of 'social spaces' have been integrated, including three-storey interconnected lounges in the two residential towers. Transparency, daylight, and wood are the prime expressions that support these spaces.  Level 1  Level 2 At nearly a half-million square feet, Orchard Commons will provide 1,048 residence beds and dining facilities, with academic and administrative space for UBC Vantage College, an innovative program for international students that combines first-year studies with academic English programming. Additional amenities include a daycare with outdoor play area, gym, and creative study spaces.  © Michael Elkan Embracing a generous outdoor public realm, the facility connects seamlessly with the campus' network of pedestrian paths. An outdoor classroom and social seating invite interaction and connection fostering a vibrant public space for all.  © Michael Elkan The facility is registered LEED Gold integrating a number of sustainability features including a campus scalable district energy utility, rainwater collection for landscape irrigation, and a high-performance thermal envelope.  © Michael Elkan The unique façade of the residential towers provides a defining identity for the facility on campus. The shapes of the precast concrete cladding were optimized using computational techniques to maximize repetition while maintaining an interesting appearance while meeting UBC's sustainable energy goals. Computational optimization resulted in a wall system that was very cost-effective and accelerated the schedule.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Heatherwick's Copper 'Vessel' Tops Out at New York's Hudson Yards Posted: 07 Dec 2017 08:00 AM PST  Courtesy of Related-Oxford Heatherwick Studio's glimmering staircase monument, 'Vessel,' has topped out after eight months of construction at New York City's Hudson Yards development. Consisting of 154 flights of stairs, 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings, the sculptural public space has now reached its full height of 150 feet, which will allow it to offer sweeping views of Manhattan's west side when it opens in early 2019. The structure was assembled out of 75 prefabricated pieces fabricated in Monfalcone, Italy by Cimolai S.p.A. and then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to their permanent home in New York. Over the next year, the final mechanical and safety components will be installed, as well as the surrounding landscaping designed by designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects in collaboration with Heatherwick Studio.  Courtesy of Related-Oxford "Vessel is one of the most complex pieces of steelwork ever made," commented Thomas Heatherwick, Founder of Heatherwick Studio. "Today we are marking the exciting moment when the last of the enormous 75 pre-fabricated pieces which travelled all the way from Italy to Manhattan, has been assembled ahead of schedule and with astonishing geometric accuracy. Over the next few months we'll focus on installing the final details of the structure, as its paving, balustrades, lighting and cladding come together to complete this different kind of public space."  Courtesy of Related-Oxford  Courtesy of Related-Oxford Upon its completion, the Public Square and Gardens at Hudson Yards will be home to more than 28,000 plants, 200 mature trees, woodland plants and perennial gardens. The Public Square, including Vessel, are planned to open in early 2019. News via Related-Oxford.  Courtesy of Related-Oxford  Courtesy of Related-Oxford  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2017 07:00 AM PST  © Nick Kane
 © Nick Kane Text description provided by the architects. The idea for the 'Spy Glass' was to build a structure that has all the nostalgia of an original beach hut with a new physical form that would pay homage to the classic beach hut - an iconic symbol of the British seaside.  Floor Plan The Spy Glass is built on a recessed turntable allowing the transparent 'picture window' of the hut to be turned like traditional slot binoculars – this can be rotated in a 180-degree direction, via remote control, to face the sun, seascape or the bright lights of Eastbourne Pier, 'reacting' to daily life around it.
At the promenade end of the hut, there is a timber clad entrance door with an overhang formed by the cantilevered daybed inside. This cantilever has 2 porthole windows and an external shower head. The adaptability of the Spy Glass allows the hut can be used as a private beach hut.  © Francesco Russo
JaK Studio set about designing the beach hut using a combination of robust nautical materials. The hut sits on a heavy-duty vehicle turntable which enables it to rotate from east to west. The Spy Glass measurements are based on a traditional beach hut, with typical dimensions of 2 meters wide x 3 meters long x 3 meters high.  © Francesco Russo  Structure Axonometric  © Nick Kane  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Verónica Arcos Designs Pop Up Radio for GAM Cultural Center in Santiago Posted: 07 Dec 2017 06:00 AM PST  © Daniel Ortiz Chilean architect Verónica Arcos has been invited to design a modular wood studio that was installed in the central courtyard of the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center. The show was part of the Red Bull Radio Pop Up Santiago, a radio event that broadcasts eight hours a day of live conversation, musical selections and live shows in the search to spread what is now known as Chilean musical identity.  © Paloma Palomino From the architects: The proposal consists of a pavilion that housed a radio and recording studio for the transmission of www.redbullradio.com during a week.  © Paloma Palomino The geometry of the pavilion responds to both acoustic, diffusion and visibility requirements. It is a volume of 6 x 4m with its rounded corners. It has four double walls on its straight sides. On these are mounted the beams that structure the roof, which is flat.  © Paloma Palomino Its interior walls have different degrees of roughness that absorb the sound avoiding the echo. One of the long walls has a pattern of horizontal lines in low relief showing the strata of the tertiary, the shorter wall has the logo of Red Bull also in low relief. And the most complex long wall consists of a rig made of wooden blocks, organized in a complex configuration that forms a geometric pattern. One of the exterior walls uses the same configuration. Both are retro illuminated, to generate games of lights and shadows, allowing to visualize the pavilion at a distance.  Assembly. Image © Daniel Ortiz Wood is chosen because it is a material commonly used in Chilean architecture, specifically pine - the cheapest and most common local wood. At the same time, it has an optimal acoustic performance, which is why it is normally used in recording studios.  © Daniel Ortiz On the other hand, the form in plan, without edges responds to acoustic requirements, the curves in the corners of the pavilion avoid that the sound is encased.  © Verónica Arcos The rustic appearance of the wood, in combination with a complex configuration, gives a contrast that brings into play local features, with a sophisticated geometry, working with a constructive system that responds to the acoustic requirements of the project, at the same time it has an ornamental character. Project's name: Pabellón Red Bull Radio Pop Up Santiago  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2017 05:00 AM PST  © Gonzalo Viramonte
 © Gonzalo Viramonte Text description provided by the architects. We planned STANDARD 69´s concept as a gastronomic experience based in the product, with small sharing plates with flavors from around the world. A lively place with good music to enjoy with friends.  © Gonzalo Viramonte The idea was to create a place that delivered high quality food and service in a friendly and casual atmosphere The interiors were designed using black marble and noble materials such as wood, stucco and brick textured painted walls.  Ground floor plan To turn the space into a more vivid and less rigid ambience, we put a strong focus on plants. The interior lighting is very soft with spot lights pointing specific áreas and objects  © Gonzalo Viramonte The restaurant has an alfresco area and a mezzanine to enjoy the view of the main dining room. This place can be used as a private area closing the linen curtains, which also help with the acoustics.  Section 02 There is an 8 seats bar facing the kitchen, where the customers can see the process and talk with the chefs in a very relaxed environment.  © Gonzalo Viramonte  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Snow Kreilich Architects Wins 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award Posted: 07 Dec 2017 04:00 AM PST  US Land Port of Entry, Van Buren, Maine. Image © Paul Crosby The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected Minneapolis-based practice Snow Kreilich Architects as the winners of the 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award. Working predominantly in the cold climate of the northern United States, the firm utilizes warm materials and light-filled interiors to create bold designs focused on transforming the human experience.  Snow Kreilich Architects. Image Courtesy of Snow Kreilich Architects Founded by Julie Snow, FAIA, as Julie Snow Architects in 1995, the firm changed its name to Snow Kreilich Architects when Matt Kreilich, AIA, was promoted to partner in 2014. Since its inception, the firm has prioritized diversity among its staff. Today, more than 50 percent of its members are women and minorities, fostering a unique culture of collaborating perspectives. In its 22 year history, the firm has completed projects in a wide range of scales, from a ballpark in downtown Minneapolis to a number of single family homes. While each project is approached in response to its own programmatic and contextual requirements, all are tied together by a unifying mission to elevate the experience of its users. "Much of that is done by exercising restraint, eliminating indulgent flourishes in favor of straightforward forms that speak about material richness and tectonic refinement," explain the AIA in their announcement.  CHS Field, Minneapolis. Image © Paul Crosby  US Land Port of Entry, Warroad, Minnesota. Image © Paul Crosby Key projects completed by the firm include ports of entry for the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection in Maine and Minnesota (2010, 2013); the Brunsfield North Loop Apartment in Minneapolis (2014); and most recently, the Lofts at Mayo Park (2017). "This is an architecture of use and convenience, permanence, and beauty, deeply rooted to its place, and constructed of materials choreographed in an emotive way, with poetic qualities that move us deeply," wrote Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, in a letter supporting Snow Kreilich Architects' nomination for the Architecture Firm Award. "Their body of work is distinguished by a restrained formal elegance and a refined minimal tectonic sensibility while avoiding the nostalgic and technological excesses of our discipline. Indeed, they see architecture as a material practice and a cultural act born of a sensual pragmatism." -Corey_Gaffer.jpg?1512665374 "Lofts at Mayo Park, Rochester, Minnesota. Image © Corey Gaffer") Lofts at Mayo Park, Rochester, Minnesota. Image © Corey Gaffer  Lake Minnetonka Retreat Home, Deephaven, Minnesota. Image © Paul Crosby In addition to a commitment to promoting standard business hours and a healthy work/life balance, Snow Kreilich Architects has made community outreach and pro bono work a key initiative of the firm. In 2017, the firm provided $120,000 in pro bono services to outlets including the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy in Kenya and the Leatherback Trust in Costa Rica, while many studio employees play active roles in local architecture schools. "What I find so admirable about Snow Kreilich is the clarity and resoluteness of their work, no matter the scale or level of complexity," said Steve Dumez, FAIA, in his letter supporting the firm's nomination. "Their architecture is imbued with integrity and economy—powerful and profound. This careful and collaborative pursuit of solutions that are once pragmatic, environmentally responsive, and context-driven exemplifies the studio's singular approach and represents the highest aspirations of American architecture."  Inside the Snow Kreilich Architects' Minneapolis Office. Image Courtesy of Snow Kreilich Architects Given annually, the AIA Architecture Firm Award is the highest honors bestowed by the AIA on an architecture firm. The award recognizes a practice that "consistently has produced distinguished architecture for at least 10 years." Snow Kreilich Architects is the 55th recipient of the AIA Architecture Firm Award recipient. Past winners of the award include Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (2017), LMN Architects (2016), Ehrlich Architects (2015), Eskew + Dumez + Ripple (2014), Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (2013), VJAA (2012), Lake| Flato (2004), Gensler (2000), Perkins & Will (1999), Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (1994), and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1962).  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 07 Dec 2017 03:00 AM PST  © Jaime Navarro
 © Jaime Navarro Text description provided by the architects. The project is located in a suburb in the south of Mexico City, surrounded by houses trying to stand out from the environment, by their colour, textures and sloped roofs covered with tiles. To take the advantage of the excessive slope of the terrain, the design proposes most of the program below the street level. Leaving a low rise building façade with a green roof covered with medicinal vegetation.  © Jaime Navarro  © Jaime Navarro Leaving the garage and main entrance in the frontal restriction of the site, the access to the house is through a bridge that arrives at a structural core surrounded by the stair, descending to the social areas with a glass façade providing natural light to the inside; below there are bedrooms connected with the garden. The master bedroom is over the social area under the green roof.  Longitudinal Section The sustainable design collects and manages rainwater, reduces pollutants in the air, and improves the temperature in the house. Concrete, glass and vegetation are articulated to give a successful solution to a singular project that neutralizes itself in a complex environment.  © Jaime Navarro  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Cutting-Edge Materials Science Making Hurricane-Proof Construction Possible Posted: 07 Dec 2017 01:30 AM PST  Perez Art Museum Miami, built with ultra-high-performance concrete, sustained no damage in Hurricane Irma. Image © Iwan Baan This article was originally published on Autodesk's Redshift publication as "Hurricane-Proof Construction Methods Can Prevent the Destruction of Communities." The four hurricanes that slammed into heavily populated areas from the Caribbean to Texas this summer are inching toward a half-trillion-dollar price tag in damages—to say nothing of the work and wages missed by shutting down entire cities. Buildings are the most visible marker of a place's resilience after a disaster strikes. Surveying the catastrophic damage forces a difficult question: How can it be rebuilt better?
It's a question people will be asking as climate change contributes to hurricanes' increasing intensity and rainfall. And certainly, where you build is as important as what you build. But new materials, in a wide range of experimental and off-the-shelf options, can help fortify buildings against a hurricane's suite of hazards: winds, flying debris, and flooding from rain or storm surges. Understanding how built environments can coexist with worsening hurricanes will require mapping the most useful, and cost-effective, applications for hurricane-proof building materials and technology.  A home destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. New building codes, methods, and materials can potentially prevent catastrophic damage from hurricanes. Image Courtesy of Steve Zumwalt/FEMA Building codes are the baseline defense against hurricane damage. Improved building codes in Florida (the most stringent in the nation) after 1992's Hurricane Andrew required installing impact windows, using stronger ties between roofs and walls, and securing roof shingles with nails instead of staples, according to the Wall Street Journal. And indeed, newer buildings built to code fared better during Hurricane Irma. "We found that a lot of places that don't have an up-to-date building code are often where you see the most impacts from even the most minor storms," says Michael Rimoldi, the senior vice president of education and technical programs at the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), which advises FEMA on building hurricane resistance. The Ties That BindFor traditional wood-frame homes in particular, off-the-shelf items can significantly boost hurricane resistance. Impact glass, such as the kind used in cars, won't shatter like standard glass. When windows burst from high winds, the house can pressurize as wind rushes in, popping off the roof and freeing dangerous debris. Rimoldi says new roof attachment methods can add strength, and spray-foam adhesives (which are applied on the inside of the house's roof and double as insulation) are rated for higher wind speeds. To deal with flooding, hydrostatic vents allow water into the home but stop floodwaters from accumulating, potentially degrading its walls and foundation.  Specialty metal mechanical connectors add strength to a wood-frame structure. Image Courtesy of FLASH "In the traditional wood-frame home, [it's] how it's all put together," Rimoldi says. "All of the components, from the top of the roof down to the foundation, are tied together by mechanical connectors. You can build a wood-frame home that's just as strong as anything else, as long as you ensure that all the walls are tied together properly, they're tied to the roof properly, and the roof and walls are tied to the foundation properly." Specialty metal connectors for this task (like the sort made by Simpson Strong-Tie) can cost only few dollars each, so they're cheap to add to new construction. "It might add one percent to the whole cost," Rimoldi says—though it's more expensive to retrofit a house this way. Next-Gen MaterialsExperimental materials might aid in hurricane sturdiness. Several research efforts are focused on finding glass prototypes that increase the resilience of impact glass. Researchers at McGill University are studying bendable glass, which relies on engraved "microfissures" to allow it to bend without shattering. These jigsaw-shaped engravings stop fractures from spreading, making the glass 200 times stronger than standard glass. Scientists at the US Naval Research Laboratory are developing an ultra-hard ceramic "transparent armor" material called Spinel, which has opacity levels similar to glass.  Perez Art Museum Miami, built with ultra-high-performance concrete, sustained no damage in Hurricane Irma. Image © Iwan Baan One of the most promising new materials on the market is ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). Made for use in the United States by LarfargeHolcim under the name Ductal, UHPC can bend and give, yet is six times stronger than regular concrete. It's made of very fine aggregate, often from recycled materials (fly ash, silica fume). The addition of carbon metallic or polyvinyl alcohol fibers allows the material to bend and carry loads even after some cracking has occurred. UHPC has been used sparingly in the United States over the past decade or so. However, it's on full display at one high-profile project: Herzog and DeMeuron's Perez Art Museum Miami, which withstood Hurricane Irma with no damage. Here, UHPC was used in 16-foot-tall, 5 1/2-inch-thick mullions that taper down to two inches while still supporting the building's curtain wall. But UHPC can't simply be substituted for regular concrete in every case. "It's expensive, and you have to get a license to buy it and use it," says Robert Nordling, project manager for John Moriarty & Associates, which built the Perez museum. With these extra fees, the material is eight to ten times more expensive than standard concrete, so it "wouldn't be cost-effective in the majority of normal construction," especially on smaller, lower-budget projects. However, UHPC's strength means that, often, less material is needed compared to standard concrete, making it more efficient by weight and expense.  ECC bends without breaking under extreme loading. Image Courtesy of Victor Li/University of Michigan Victor Li, an engineering professor at the University of Michigan, has been developing a variant of concrete called engineered cementitious composite (ECC) that emphasizes ductility more than sheer strength. "If Ductal is to hard rock, then ECC is to malleable steel," Li says. The material has high energy-absorption capability against impact and earthquake loads, and is being adopted in full-scale buildings, bridges, and roadways. "For example, the 60-story Kitahama building in Osaka uses ECC in the building core for earthquake resistance," Li explains, adding that the building has a lowered install cost and larger usable floor area "when compared with previous designs that don't use ECC but use other anti-seismic approaches." ECC is two to three times more expensive than standard concrete. With that kind of premium, where, and for what, does it make economic sense to build with it? That's one question being asked by the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub). Instead of developing more materials and building systems, the largest shift in material analysis for disaster resilience is determining which systems are cost-effective in which locations, says CSHub Executive Director Jeremy Gregory. "People are used to thinking about a payback for a more energy-efficient refrigerator," Gregory says. "They know they have a higher initial cost, but lower operating costs. But when it comes to hazard-related damage, it's a trickier thing to do." Asking consumers to bank on the worst-case scenario to justify extra expenses is a recipe for under-preparation in almost any context.  The Kitahama Building in Osaka, Japan, uses ECC in its core for earthquake resistanc. Image Courtesy of Victor Li/University of Michigan So Gregory's project, the Break-Even Mitigation Percentage (BEMP), looks at hurricane damage likelihood over 50 years in a given location, calculating the amount of damage predicted, as well as the building type and the way it was constructed. It uses this data to determine whether making these structures hurricane-resistant is an efficient use of money, and to calculate how soon the anticipated cost savings in an avoidance of hurricane damage will pay back the initial expense. The BEMP will be expanded to include building materials' carbon footprint and other environmental impacts. It might seem like accounting for a natural disaster is a discrete and singular cost-benefit analysis, but in this way, it's really an overall measure of sustainability. With this kind of analysis, planners will know which areas climate change may make dangerously uninhabitable, and which areas can persist with stronger buildings using these materials and techniques. The BEMP could likely become a field guide for construction companies looking to apply hurricane-resistant materials and methods across a wide range of vulnerable shorelines, matching careful economics with the deep-seated desire to rebuild.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Caledonian Somosaguas / Studio MK27 - Marcio Kogan + Suzana Glogowski Posted: 07 Dec 2017 01:00 AM PST .jpg?1512605302 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
.jpg?1512604884 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG Text description provided by the architects. Density or looseness? Intensity or laid-backness? Public or private? Urban or suburban? The problem in creating new housing on the edge of the city is to somehow synthesise all of these seeming opposites - not to choose between them but to lift a little from them all to create a new cocktail of the familiar and the foreign, the everyday and the exotic.  © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
.jpg?1512603735 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG MK27's designs for Somosaguas, a new development at the expanding edge of Madrid, is the Brazilian studio's first foray into European housing. The intention was to create a kind of habitat, a new neighbourhood in which the houses are loosely arranged around a web of public spaces - streets, plazas, parks, a pool - and in which the communal streetscape occupies as much area as the dwellings themselves. It is a design for a public kind of living - a nod to the Spanish proclivity for living in the city and occupying the spaces of urbanity arguably more than they do their own homes (which remain as places for sleeping and siestas). .jpg?1512604111 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG The houses themselves blend typologies in the same way as does the development itself. There is a deliberate but delicate touch of the pueblo about their arrangement - the white walls and the cubic blocks. There is a little of the Bauhaus Siedlung - the model village established as an experiment in contemporary living and construction - the restrained, minimal palette and aesthetic and the functions s a trailer for how a modernist life might look. There is a little of the languorous Brazilian architecture of luxurious relaxation blended with, frankly, a hint of the holiday village, a sense of a place apart and of retreat. .jpg?1512605081 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG In the complexity of its composition, the layering of the landscape and the weaving of a web of public outdoor space, an architecture emerges. The houses are elongated - attenuated so that their walls begin to define emergent streets rather than the staccato landscape of individual cubes. Yet a series of interventions, repeating motifs and urban and landscape devices appears to stop the spaces between the houses becoming alleys and to break down too much regularity. Kinks, setbacks, steps, terraces and greenery create a variety of sub-urban spaces and a coherent internal language which could in theory, be expanded and replicated, which is exactly what the architects intended, creating the development as a kind of prototype for a roll-out programme, a model which becomes more efficient and more practical as experience of building and dwelling grows. .jpg?1512604506 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG Equally important is the separation of traffic from pedestrians. This might look like a development of two storey houses but it is in fact based on a three storey cross-section with an entire subterranean layer of underground parking. Each house has access to its parking space internally, individually plugged in to the parking layer which is otherwise invisible. It is a system that has the advantages of a private garage but without disfiguring the house fronts or clogging up street level with vast expanses of garage doors, driveways and traffic. .jpg?1512605461 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG The individual houses appear quite modest in dimension, with a width of only 5.5m (each is the same width although lengths vary). Yet inside they reveal a surprising complexity of interlocking spaces and configurations of solid and void, wall and opening. The ground floors are transparent - accommodating the public functions of life and entirely glazed walls open into courtyards which mirror the interior spaces so that the broad area appears to flow into the outdoor space seamlessly. In the smaller houses, one elongated room accommodates the kitchen, dining and living functions of the house with can be subdivided or allowed to flow into one another for an impression of endless space. .jpg?1512605433 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG In the larger versions that more public space is also extended upwards via a void which expands the surface area of the window which appears here as a double-height opening and which will eventually allow the canopy of the trees to impinge on the interior just as the floor appears to steal space from outside. A gallery above occupies the cubic volume introducing a more intimate scale to the spaces below and above and a contrast to the verticality of the window plane. Open-tread stairs and open-plan spaces make the most of the internal dimensions, leaving space uninterrupted. .jpg?1512604690 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG The top surface of this glazed box layer becomes a terrace above, so that each horizontal, constructed plane is used to the full, each roof becoming a room. That sense of the outdoor space melding with the interior is intensified by some terraces being defined by walls with openings, like the rooftop rooms of Le Corbusier or Barragan. On top of the transparent layer below is placed a more private and protected cube. This shelters the sleeping areas, its entirely opaque walls facing the courtyards and punched side windows emphasising the sensation of an enclosed, heavily-protected and more intimate space. The play of transparency and solidity between the ground and first floors becomes, in a way, the architectural language which determines the whole neighbourhood, a juggling of solid block and delicate, attenuated layer, indoor and outdoor room. This subtle flipping and combination of opposites creates the visual imagery and identity, the houses subtly different yet sharing the same basic vocabulary. There is no cacophony of balconies and protrusions as all terraces are subsumed within the overall volumes of the structure. There is nothing extraneous. The minimal nature of those architectural means produces a uniquely restrained sense of place and urban landscape in which all the elements have something to do, all are defined by their function rather than their style. The simplicity of the language and its internal coherence is also a device intended to build a basic vocabulary which is flexible enough to accommodate differing needs, a modular construction based on a 1.25m grid allowing multiple variations within the same architectural language. The four basic types here are not the super-luxury dimensions of villas but, ranging between 94-230 sq m, they cover the requirements for family dwellings. The houses are planned in such a way that they can be packed onto the site with surprising density. Madrid is a dense and intense city with a population of approximately 80 people per hectare. At Somosaguas, a neighbourhood which feels loose, laid-back and very green, the demographic density is a surprising 114 people per hectare. .jpg?1512605168 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG Rather than being set far apart from one another creating a loose agglomeration of houses, they are intimately interwoven and architectural means are used to create privacy and a sense of the individual dwelling - the sheltered courtyard gardens, the walled roof terraces, the solid upper storeys and so on. .jpg?1512604191 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG And at the centre of all this is the water. The space in which you might expect to find an urban centre, the plaza defined by church and town hall, market or topography, gives itself instead to the communal pleasures of the pool. It is, in a way, a denial of the solid core, a relinquishing of the urban heart of the Mediterranean settlement in favour of something less substantial. But it does place a certain communal activity at the heart of the scheme, a sense that each house feeds into something larger than itself rather than trying to create its own fenced-off and self-contained utopia. If one thing unsettles here it is the fences and the walls still seen so clearly in the aerial photos. The streets and spaces here flow so fluidly that to separate them from their surroundings seems harsh and counter to the spirit of the plan. .jpg?1512605374 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG The problem with these edge-city developments is that they easily become defensive, over-private and, in shutting themselves off, they relinquish the capacity to develop into genuinely public places. Perhaps as the neighbourhood develops and expands the streets created here will begin to weave and insinuate themselves into the emerging surrounding fabric like the tendrils of a creeping plant. The unformed nature of the surroundings makes this an uncertain experiment, a kind of walled settlement waiting for the neighbourhood to catch up before it can reveal itself. Its success on how it is used and how the city grows around it. But as a seed, a mechanism to catalyse a communal and generous-spirited life, it is a fascinating and elegant prospect. .jpg?1512604577 "© Fernando Guerra | FG+SG") © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Drawing Hack: How to Draw A Straight Line Posted: 07 Dec 2017 12:00 AM PST  via Themodmin The Modmin has been a go-to for quality videos and tutorials on architectural drawing and sketching. Their newest video tackles a drawing fundamental: the ability to draw a straight line. For many seasoned architects, this is a skill that they mastered long ago. But if you are just starting out, or if you've been hiding behind your computer's ability to consistently draw straight lines, then this hack is for you. Referring to the first tip in Matthew Frederick's 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School, Themodmin's Umar shares an exercise he was taught for achieving straight lines. Step 1: Draw a dot via Themodmin Step 2: Mark destination of line via Themodmin Step 3: Place your pen on the dot via Themodmin Step 4: (MOST IMPORTANT STEP) Make sure your eye is on the destination mark via Themodmin Step 5: Push the pen towards your eye via Themodmin Step 6: Keep practicing until you're a pro via Themodmin  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Michel Rojkind and Bjarke Ingels Describe the Recently Opened Foro Boca Posted: 06 Dec 2017 10:00 PM PST  © Jaime Navarro The official inauguration for Foro Boca by Rojkind Arquitectos was held in Veracruz, México, gathering members of the local community as well as special guest Bjarke Ingels for a concert by renowned violinist Joshua Bell and the city's Philarmonic Orchestra. The building—which serves as the new home for the Boca del Río Orchestra and its programs—became a public stage by projecting the concert in real time onto its facade for all citizens to enjoy from the public square. We were able to join Michel Rojkind for the opening of Foro Boca, the project he and his team developed for over four years. In an exclusive interview for ArchDaily, Rojkind speaks about the challenges faced before and during the design and construction process, as well as the ones he expects to face in the future. Being a musician himself, he describes the relationship he has established between music and architecture and how the building's program influenced his design decisions. .jpg?1512426068 "© Vanessa Vielma") © Vanessa Vielma In addition, Bjarke Ingels, an old friend of Rojkind's present at the opening, describes his experience of Foro Boca and the ways in which Rojkind's hand is strongly present in its design. Watch the interview above, and click here to see the entire project.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 06 Dec 2017 09:00 PM PST .jpg?1512573806 "© Norbert Tukaj") © Norbert Tukaj
.jpg?1512573757 "© Norbert Tukaj") © Norbert Tukaj Text description provided by the architects. A house that is recessed and hidden behind the continuous concrete wall. This wall becomes a part of the interior by creating the grey wall through the entire apartment and becomes a limit between common spaces and nature.  Plan .jpg?1512574156 "© Norbert Tukaj") © Norbert Tukaj  Plan .jpg?1512574217 "© Norbert Tukaj") © Norbert Tukaj By entering the house you meet all three materials used in the interior: "the grey", warm wood texture and "the white". "The grey" becomes a path connecting second floor with the living space while the wood and white surfaces connect you with private areas on the second floor: master bedroom, two children rooms and bathroom. Same rule applies to the living space on the first floor - it feels that concrete wall passes through the interior space while everything else becomes neutral and creates conection between the dweller and the nature. Big windows give a light and shadow play on sunny days and all the secondary functions are hidden in the grey wall: stairs, utility room, second bathroom and kitchen become a part of this as well. .jpg?1512574270 "© Norbert Tukaj") © Norbert Tukaj Small sculptural details come to the interior with gentle touch. Hall mirror welcomes with distorted perspective look that softens lines in the overall design. Handrail creates a light path and almost invisibly touches the floor on the first floor. Mirror column in the living area hides a massive technical structure, but at the same time keeps the sence of a space through the reflections. Intersecting lines in master bathroom creates illusion of bigger space as it is in reality. All the small details create an interior ensemble as the architecture itself creates it in the exterior.  Section Big windows as big paintings enchant the monochromatic tones of the everyday life in the apartment. Day by day it becomes more personal and livelier. .jpg?1512574258 "© Norbert Tukaj") © Norbert Tukaj  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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