Arch Daily |
- Coral Cities: The World's Most Liveable Cities Visualized
- POC Ermida / Pedro Geraldes
- Cold Pavilion and Warm Pavilion / SU Architects
- Paphos District Court / Varda Studio
- SIPIC Artificial intelligence Industrial Park / FTA Group GmbH
- Girls Home / DCOOP Architects
- Cat New Headquarter Office Building / Plan Architect
- Office Renovation / NI&Co. Architects
- Hi Ladders High / One Take Architects
- 85 Union / Looney Ricks Kiss
- AM House / comoVER Arquitetura Urbanismo
- Wyndham Garden Hotel / N2B Arquitetura
- Luxembourg Becomes First Country to Make All Public Transit Free
- Stepping Park House / VTN Architects
- Detailed Plans of 7 Famous Hotel Rooms; including The Shining, Pretty Woman, and The Hangover
- Guesthouse Paraty / CRU! Architects
- An Architectural Guide to Belfast: 20 Unmissable Sites in Northern Ireland's Capital
- LLU House / Cazú Zegers
- Happy Holidays from Architects Around the World (2018 Edition)
- R7 / Morris+Company
| Coral Cities: The World's Most Liveable Cities Visualized Posted: 24 Dec 2018 08:00 PM PST  Coral Cities. Image Courtesy of Craig Taylor, ITO World Craig Taylor, Data Visualization Design Manager at ITO World, has created a series of beautiful visualizations showing commutes in the world's most liveable cities. Using color in the form of growing coral, the project depicts city infrastructure through rendered street networks. The visualizations show how far you can travel by car in 30 minutes from a city center. Dubbed Coral Cities, the project has extended to include 40 major cities across the world.
In a series of animations, Taylor represents the major arteries in each city and how they're shaped around water, mountains and other geographical features. According to Taylor, the colorful hues do not have any technical purpose, but were used purely for aesthetics. While the maps only show commute distances, not commute times or road congestion, they begin to tell a story of urban density, transportation and movement.  Coral Cities. Image Courtesy of Craig Taylor, ITO World As Taylor said, "The varying patterns of urban forms are inherently dictated by their road network; a complex, seemingly organic connection of links moving people across their city. Like branches of coral they have a pattern and a function, I chose to expose this pattern and manipulate it to become something far more conceptual." Coral Cities took 6 months to complete, and Taylor plans to create a series of prints for sale on the project.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 24 Dec 2018 07:00 PM PST  © Alexandre Delmar
 © Alexandre Delmar Text description provided by the architects. The scope of this project consisted in the conception of an industrial facility for EDP, a global energy company, to act as a base for the observation and control of a dam in case of emergency. Located in Ermida, in Portugal’s midlands, this area is defined by a beautiful course of water and is surrounded by a large forest.  © Alexandre Delmar The building needed to stay in an elevated location, protected from floods and allowing a perfect view from its interior to the dam. This made it necessary to intervene in the landscape, resulting in an elevated level platform and vehicle access leading to the entrance of the building.  Ground Floor Plan Designing an industrial building in a forest area, with occasional traditional constructions with pitched roofs in the surroundings, allowed me to think about how a contemporary industrial building might fit into this landscape. How could this building avoid being just another contemporary ‘box’? Could a contemporary building interpret, in a modern way, the traditional constructions visible in its surroundings?  © Alexandre Delmar Dams and associated buildings, in Portugal, are traditionally built in concrete. Ermida, the name of the location, means small church or chapel. With this in mind, the idea of designing a building with a concrete pitched roof emerged.  © Alexandre Delmar A contemporary industrial project that could reinterpret traditional roofs covered with tiles and also identify with the name of the location. The concrete appeared as a continuous shell – skin, and skeleton – that served as walls and roof, as well as finishing and waterproofing material.  Longitudinal Section In between, covering both the front and rear facades, other materials such as aluminum and glass emerged:  © Alexandre Delmar This materiality emphasized the concrete contour. A contemporary industrial building that aimed to reinterpret traditional constructions, honor the location´s name and respect the materiality of the architectural history at EDP. .jpg?1531322839 "Maquete") Maquete  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Cold Pavilion and Warm Pavilion / SU Architects Posted: 24 Dec 2018 06:00 PM PST  Cold and Warm Pavilion. Image © Yilong Zhao
 Cold Pavilion Swimming Pool. Image © Yilong Zhao The Degree of Cold and Warmth Physically speaking, it's meaningless to discuss the temperature of a building as it is equivalent to the temperature of the environment. But by the sense of touch, the thermal conductivity and texture of the material, the subjective feelings of "cold" and "warm" are produced, thus forming a common subconscious temperature perception of a particular material. Therefore, even if there is no direct contact with the building, only from the visual, sense of its temperature has emerged. This perception of warmth and cold of the material itself is its physical temperature.  Warm and Cold Pavilion. Image © Xuguo Tang On the other hand, there are structural questions as how to support and cover, for any kind of material in the process of shaping the space. Limited by the size of the materials during transportation and processing, architects will be faced with a basic mechanical question: how materials connect with each other? When we perceive the stillness of Parthenon and the lukewarm gravity of Fo Guang temple, we perceive these feelings through their conjunctions of materials. They both achieve the shaping of space temperature by means of materials and rods cooperating with each other. This is the phenomenon level of "temperature".  Cold Pavilion Swimming Pool. Image © Xuguo Tang The building materials are taken from nature and formed by the forces of nature. The way of combination and intersection implies the force of human labor, the proportion implies the energy of the material mechanics, and the light realizes the solidification of space. In modern architecture, the structure is often hidden passively into walls and slabs, but the structure itself is precisely a delicate connection between natural forces and manpower.  Masterplan Warm Structure  Warm Pavilion Elevation. Image © Yilong Zhao Large natural materials are difficult to obtain therefore building large houses with limited small materials is a practical problem that cannot be avoided. In most parts of southern China, "ChuanDou" Style of roof trusses is a simple and effective solution. The materials are arranged densely, and the columns and beams are directly exposed in the space. After several generations of development, the so-called "wood structure culture"we have today has led us to believe in the power of "wood gravity".  Warm Pavilion South Elevation. Image © Xuguo Tang Wood structure, beams and columns are not independent, they often appear in combination forming a sense of collectivity. The overwhelming number of wood material often demonstrates the strength of manpower, or even rises to the concept of cultural hierarchy (Dougong). This accumulation of wood often appears in places where you cannot reach, and it has been far beyond the rational significance of structural support. The ancients often used this kind of pole to express power or financial resources, while the literati often used the change of the bar to express a certain aesthetic sentiment.  Warm Pavilion Interior. Image © Yilong Zhao Warm Pavilion, with a most simplified way of conjunction, orthogonal connecting and several conversions, stands there as an example of transferring plane structure system into sloping roof purlin rafter system. The entire wood pole piece, without anyextra decorative structure, is consistent with what contemporary architecture pursuits in terms of structure.
 Coffee Bar Perspective Section Because of the superposition of the structure, the wood beams present the feeling of collectivity. Shed by the light through the sky windows, the entire space is as warm as the summer air.  Warm Pavilion Interior. Image © Xuguo Tang Scattered column type, when seen in plan, shows the characteristics like "crossing roads"with its bidirectional nature. Therefore four-column-layout has a stable effect, and scattered-columns layout blurred the proportion relationship of columns. By changing the number of columns from one to four, the visual effect of the structure in space is enhanced.  Warm Pavilion Far View. Image © Xuguo Tang Cold Structure  Cold Pavilion Swimming Pool. Image © Xuguo Tang Metal materials are used to produce a great deal of marvelous forms of structure, but the metal often creates a cold atmosphere, forming force of alienation. If the warm structure shows a gravitational relationship, the cold structure shows a sense of estrangement.  Cold Pavilion Front Elevation. Image © Yilong Zhao Cold pavilion uses steel structure; whose materials are most easily available in the market. It is hoped that the beams, columns and slabs will retain a force of alienation, and even the two middle columns will directly penetrate through the floor to support the roof, so that the columns will have no overlap with the floor, resulting in some kind of separation. What's more, the pillars come out through the surface of the water, forming the same force of alienation even from the invisible thing like water.  Cold Pavilion Interior View of Mountains. Image © Xuguo Tang  Spa Room Perspective View  Cold Pavilion Interior. Image © Xuguo Tang In the cold pavilion, the structure stands in the icy air, and the eaves are separated from the base in the form of a kind of gondola column, strengthening this force of alienation. In the entire space, the hidden power of the "cold"is filled within everywhere by battles between gravity and human force.  Cold Pavilion Exterior. Image © Yilong Zhao Cold and warmth, is not only physical properties but also a perception towards the overall surroundings. Its not measured by the temperature but felt by the spirit and rhyme within the space.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Paphos District Court / Varda Studio Posted: 24 Dec 2018 05:00 PM PST  © Creative Photo Room
 © Creative Photo Room Text description provided by the architects. The design aims to create a continuation of the street elevation between the two buildings, inserting like an abstract form, which maintains the general scale of the street and the area and showcase the human scale as well. The proposed building extends lengthwise of the plot, using atriums to allow natural light enter the building.  © Creative Photo Room The circulation was a crucial factor that influenced the form, creating a dynamic layout to the plan. The organisation was suggesting separate circulation paths for the judges and staff from the public.  © Creative Photo Room  Court Elevations 01  © Creative Photo Room The building welcomes the public on the ground floor with an entrance towards the street. The large openings create a bright space with a south orientation. The height of the space is complementing the staircase, which appears as a sculpture and suits perfectly the function of the building. The external wall shades the internal space from the sun, having the openings creating an interesting relation with the light.  © Creative Photo Room The court rooms are located along the corridor on both levels. Each court room has an individual office for the judge and for the secretary with private sanitary space. The court rooms are equipped with bespoke furniture, as per the requirements of the employer, following the aesthetic of the building. Each room has windows looking towards the building's side in order to have access to sunlight. Corridors on the external sides of the building allow the judges, secretaries and other members of the staff to move discreetly from the public.  © Creative Photo Room Two central atriums contribute to the natural light in the corridors. On the ground floor, there are green spaces with vegetation, which are accessible to the users of the building.  © Creative Photo Room The construction of the building is conventional, with a reinforced concrete structure designed according to the European Codes. The envelope is brickwork with an external thermal insulation system. Internal division uses a drywall construction system with plasterboard.  © Creative Photo Room The use of external thermal insulation combined with aluminum windows with low thermal permeability contributes to the high energy performance of the building. The sector of the building with the exposed concrete facing the street appears as a monolithic volume rising from the perforated white mask of the ground floor. The distinct openings of the ground floor are reproduced on the corners of the first floor.  © Creative Photo Room The new pedestrian bridge connects from the proposed building with the existing building. The bridge is elevated from the ground, combing a metallic roof and vertical louvers for protection from the weather.  © Creative Photo Room  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| SIPIC Artificial intelligence Industrial Park / FTA Group GmbH Posted: 24 Dec 2018 04:00 PM PST  © Creatarimages
 © Creatarimages Soul problem:  © Creatarimages Implementation path:  © Creatarimages  © Creatarimages 2) Traditional space for modern interpretation  © Creatarimages 2. Create a diverse work scene  © Creatarimages 2) Spatial level diversity .jpg?1541866733 "Site plan") Site plan 3. Use the flexibility of the product to counter the uncertainty of late investment  © Creatarimages 2) Flexible conversion in time dimension  © Creatarimages Suzhou Industrial Park is a model of international cooperation and a "test field" for China's reform and opening up, and has become a benchmark for domestic park construction. Suzhou Artificial Intelligence Park is located on the north side of Suzhou Jinji Lake Avenue and on the south side of Wusong River. It enjoys a superior geographical position and good traffic conditions. It is the main front and important carrier for the development of artificial intelligence industry in Suzhou Industrial Park. The park covers an area of 155,900 square meters, with a total planned construction area of 428,400 square meters.  © Creatarimages Suzhou Artificial Intelligence Industrial Park has broken through the traditional urban complex development model, combined with the park economy, and integrated the power of high technology. The innovative complex as a carrier of technology not only bears the historical responsibility of urban economy, science and technology culture development, but also Provide a variety of service features. FTA helps it realize the infinite extension of functions in a limited space, creating a green and ecological office environment, "experience type", "humanity type", "circular type" three-in-one, "adaptive", "growth", "Composite" is flexible and creates a 24-hour complex. One of the highlights of the plan is the "Garden in the Garden", which combines the historical and cultural characteristics of Suzhou with the local humanities and habits. It uses modern techniques to interpret traditional spaces and reshape the interpersonal relationships and industrial networks in the park.  © Creatarimages In terms of architectural design, whether it is office products or supporting products, FTA emphasizes the transition from traditional closure to openness and interaction, reflecting the design of high communication and high flexibility. The office space of large space is suitable for the office, experiment and R&D of small and medium-sized customers in various high-tech industries. The large-span, flexible and flexible bottom-level display experience center provides the possibility of multiple functions conversion. It can be used as a comprehensive service center in the near future. Transformed into a large commercial package.  © Creatarimages  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 24 Dec 2018 03:00 PM PST .jpg?1545316292 "© Rajesh Vora") © Rajesh Vora
 © Rajesh Vora Text description provided by the architects. The Girls' home is part of a residential school campus for girls from distressed backgrounds. Each structure is home to two families - one on each floor of the building. The family consists of a house mother, her two assistants and twelve girls. .jpg?1545316854 "© Rajesh Vora") © Rajesh Vora  Ground floor plan .jpg?1545316562 "© Rajesh Vora") © Rajesh Vora The building is designed in a L-shaped plan with the girls' rooms in one wing and the caretaker's rooms in the other wing connected by the pivot of the common living-dining-kitchen space. .jpg?1545316743 "© Rajesh Vora") © Rajesh Vora The highlight of this project is the veranda connecting the girls' rooms which becomes the semi-open social space and connects back into the community courtyard. It also helps to suitably ventilate the rooms. Seats are built into the veranda wall for the girls to sit in. .jpg?1545316990 "© Rajesh Vora") © Rajesh Vora  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Cat New Headquarter Office Building / Plan Architect Posted: 24 Dec 2018 01:00 PM PST  © Panoramic Studio
 © Panoramic Studio Text description provided by the architects. The new headquarters of CAT Telecom consists of many functional requirements which make it require huge footprint area. Instead of creating a huge building, we decided to break it into 3 buildings, an auditorium building, a parking building, and an office building which arranged by approaching of users. The building alignment also follows the existing master plan which is diagonal grid creating a triangle court in the middle of them act like a gathering place for all and for more benefit on other physical reason such as to gain natural light in the building. The separating of three big buildings also helps to separate users and traffic circulation clearly.  © Panoramic Studio  Ground floor plan  © Panoramic Studio  Second floor plan  © Panoramic Studio The main concept design of this project is to put the roof scape like a continuing slope gradually rising from the auditorium building to the office building make all masses not too dense from the approach view. The shape also shows "the growth" of the organization which keeps moving to the future continuously.  © Panoramic Studio  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Office Renovation / NI&Co. Architects Posted: 24 Dec 2018 12:00 PM PST  © Hiroshi Tanigawa Photo
 © Hiroshi Tanigawa Photo The smallest unit constituting society  © Hiroshi Tanigawa Photo  Plan  © Hiroshi Tanigawa Photo Interruption by another person  Interior Elevations A way to mediate between privacy and publicity  © Hiroshi Tanigawa Photo  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Hi Ladders High / One Take Architects Posted: 24 Dec 2018 11:00 AM PST  Hi Ladders High Bird Fish. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi
 Hi Ladders High Qijun. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Text description provided by the architects. Hi Ladders High is a non-profit project launched in the summer of 2018. In the Summer Camp of Tanghe Primary School in Luotian County, Hubei Province, One Take Architects and Sunners, together with college volunteers and left-behind children designed and built this spatial installation.  Hi Ladders High Qijun. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi  Hi Ladders High Qijun. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Hi Ladders High consists of 20 independent wooden ladders. This kind of ladder is one of the most common and easily accessible tools in China's rural areas. Since each ladder has a completely independent and relatively stable structure with a highly adjustable angle of inclination, these 20 ladders present plenty of possibilities of spatial combination. Even children without professional architectural training could be involved in the whole process of designing and building, which is what we call "an indeterminate participatory open ended situation".  Hi Ladders High Qijun. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Reyner Banham proposed the concept of "an indeterminate participatory open ended situation" in which you could create space suited to what you are going to do next.  Perspective Drawing  Chinese Ladders in Chinese Countries. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi As a relatively stable open-ended structure, Hi Ladders High provides a place of variable spatial forms. Without preset functions, it could trigger or respond to events happening inside. It changes in indeterminate ways over time, continually manifesting new properties.  Community Activity Smiles in Qinglong Hutong. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Hi Ladders High: Three -Act Space Drama  Community Activity Smiles in Qinglong Hutong. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Act One: Bird and Fish. It is designed by the architect team but got this name from the children's understanding of its shape.  Community Activity Smiles in Qinglong Hutong. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Act Two: Qi Jun. Created by five students: Xiao Sihao, Li Tianyu, Peng Zehua, Hu Ziying, and Luo Anqi. This group of students noticed that a student in the construction camp had body odor. They proposed the idea of double paths so that people who feel uncomfortable with the odor could leave the space at any time but could still peep inside. This work is named after the volunteer tutor of this group: Qi Jun.  Hi Ladders High Qijun. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Act Three: Little Bug House. Created by five students: Zhou Lei, Zhou Yu, Luo Kai, Wang Ling and Wu Dun. With the shape of a bug in their mind, this group of students built the body, tentacles and limbs. They define it as a quiet space for the elderly and the weak to read and rest in.  Exhibition. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Redefining Common Materials  Hi Ladders High Bird Fish. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi This is what the theorist William C Seitz described: "Installation art is mainly installed, not sketched, painted or carved. All or parts of the components are natural objects or debris instead of art materials."  Hi Ladders High Bird Fish. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi Architecture as a medium to perceive the real world  Exhibition. Image © Wei Kang, Kexin Li, Xinyuan Cai, Yufei Shi  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 24 Dec 2018 09:00 AM PST _Ken_West_Photography_05_85Union.jpg?1537967883 "© Ken West Photography") © Ken West Photography
_Ken_West_Photography_06_85Union.jpg?1537968004 "© Ken West Photography") © Ken West Photography Text description provided by the architects. The design goal of the 85 Union renovation was to take an existing underwhelming building form, located on one of the most important iconic corners in downtown Memphis, and reveal with elegant clarity the underlying rhythm and structure of both the new building and its inhabitants. _85_Union-Floor_plans-horizontal.jpg?1537967709 "Floor Plans") Floor Plans The ground plane was opened to create a continuous floor to ceiling glazing that allows the building to lightly float on its base and puts the ground floor activity on display. _Ken_West_Photography_04_85Union.jpg?1537967849 "© Ken West Photography") © Ken West Photography The upper form of existing brick curtainwall was peeled back and punched to reveal the primary structural frame – a cast-in-place column and beam system. The new openings allow light to flood the interior space of the advertising agency and also put their creativity on display for the city. _Looney_Ricks_Kiss_02_85Union-concept.jpg?1537967732 "Concept Sketch") Concept Sketch The interior plan for the upper floors is open with interior glass walls allowing light to filter through private offices or conference rooms into the new open, central two-story loft that connects the second and third floors of the space. _Ken_West_Photography_07_85Union.jpg?1537967912 "© Ken West Photography") © Ken West Photography  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AM House / comoVER Arquitetura Urbanismo Posted: 24 Dec 2018 08:00 AM PST  © Manuel Sá
 © Manuel Sá Text description provided by the architects. Three questions guided us in the AM House design: free area, rainwater, and the level of construction on the lot in relation to the street view.  © Manuel Sá The house was designed so that the garage level is 30cm higher then the level of the sidewalk, in order to solve both the issue of rainwater drainage and possible concealment of the building in relation to the surroundings. To avoid an excessive height of the retaining wall at the bottom of the terrain, the dwelling has a "break" of 65cm in the internal levels: the intimate area of the program is lower and private compared to the higher and more social area of the house.  © Manuel Sá  Planta - Térreo In order to conserve the maximum free area, the strategy adopted was to concentrate the necessities program in such a way as to create a prismatic core, opening when convenient to better direct natural light and ventilation, organizing the internal spaces and avoiding corridor areas.  © Manuel Sá The external staircase connects the balcony to the upper portion of the dwelling, a solution that comes from a special request from the clients: an isolated room with an independent access from the house, a room that would serve as practice room for a band. The adopted solution, positioning the room on the upper floor, places the sound and vibration on top, acoustically isolated. The balcony is an important axis of access to the practice room: the external concrete staircase, allows access not only to the practice room, but also to a garden terrace, ensuring the best view, ventilation and sun light of the terrain, facing southeast.  © Manuel Sá The necessities program is accommodated by a woodboard reinforced concrete structure, which beams overcome large spans, transversely and longitudinally.  © Manuel Sá  Longitudinal section The sun position is important to the position of each room of the house. The front of the lot receives sun throughout the day (north, northeast), resulting in blind facades, with only an indirect source of light, captured by the cobogós (permeable concrete element), between the garage and living room.  © Manuel Sá The facade located in the house keeping area (Northwest, West) receives partial sunlight during the afternoon.  © Manuel Sá The bedrooms natural ventilation are the most adequate, oriented towards the southeast, where the rare fresh winds of the city come from. The natural light of the bathrooms is visually controlled: windows of the main bathroom turns to the garden patio, while the natural light and ventilation of the central bathroom is provided by a skylight concrete folded roof. The three bedrooms share an intimate garden, with vertical landscaping on the border wall.  © Manuel Sá The balcony position (catalyst of natural light and ventilation in the house), turning to the garden, offers the required conditions and views to work (home office) and faith (oratorio). To prevent the morning sunlight overheating these rooms, concrete blinds partially enclose the facade.  © Manuel Sá The resultant could be no other than an architecture whose aesthetics is directly linked to the functions it performs. Constructive didactics allows the way of viewing: the apprehension of the architecture space as a school.  © Manuel Sá  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Wyndham Garden Hotel / N2B Arquitetura Posted: 24 Dec 2018 06:00 AM PST .jpg?1542830920 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente
.jpg?1542830335 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente Text description provided by the architects. Ribeirão Preto is a country city of the state of São Paulo of great importance in the areas of economy, tourism, education, research and, mainly, in the business area. The city hosts major events such as the National Book Fair of Ribeirão Preto, the Agrishow and the João Rock festival, which attract both national and international audiences. .jpg?1542831656 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente This great flow of tourism and enterprises led to the creation of a hotel that was both a haven for rest and a safe place for negotiations. The major challenge of this project was to integrate the hotel complex program into 315 rooms, convention and leisure rooms in an optimized, efficient and elegant way.  Ground floor plan The volumetry of the building is focused on the best use of the land. Therefore, the format was scaled to increase the number of floors and, at the same time, create a differentiated environment in the middle part of the building with a large external area. .jpg?1542831635 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente  Sections On this floor is organized the common leisure area, with SPA, gym, and bar integrated with the pool, besides as having views of the city skyline and the green area located on the side of the building. .jpg?1542831574 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente A front structure was used to create a gable in the architecture. Thus, in addition to the main pillars of the building, this element influences in its aesthetics. .jpg?1542830351 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente From the outside, it is possible to see some interior floors of the hotel through a central span - covered by a large glass skin - that divides the block from the building to the 11th floor. In it, an extensive pendant was placed that composes the lighting of the lobby, the ground floor and the corridors of the rooms, creating a fascinating effect at dusk. .jpg?1542831860 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente In the lateral elevation, vertical lines were worked in a random way, providing movement to the facade. This is surrounded by a glass skin that joins 3-story windows, giving the impression of a single element. .jpg?1542831142 "© Fran Parente") © Fran Parente  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Luxembourg Becomes First Country to Make All Public Transit Free Posted: 24 Dec 2018 05:00 AM PST  Luxembourg Tram. Image via Creative Commons Luxembourg is set to become the world's first country to make all of its public transportation free. The newly re-elected prime minister Xavier Bettel and the coalition government have announced that they will lift all fares on trains, trams and buses next summer. Taking aim at long commutes and the country's carbon footprint, the new move hopes to alleviate some of the worst traffic congestion in the world. Landlocked by Belgium, Germany and France, Luxembourg has more than 400,000 commuters travelling in to work from neighboring countries. This year, Luxembourg started offering free transportation to everyone under the age of 20. Secondary school students have also been able to ride free shuttles between school and home. Luxembourg currently has the highest number of cars for its population in the European Union. As The Guardian reports, a decision has yet to be taken on what to do about first and second-class compartments on trains. Commuters now pay €2 for up to two hours of travel, which covers almost all trips in the small country. The governing coalition said it planned to overhaul tax breaks for commuters, a benefit that has been available based on the distance traveled. Beginning in 2020, all tickets will be abolished to save on the collection of fares and the policing of ticket purchases.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Stepping Park House / VTN Architects Posted: 24 Dec 2018 04:00 AM PST  © Hiroyuki Oki
 © Hiroyuki Oki Text description provided by the architects. The site is located in a new residential area of Ho Chi Minh City, with a park on its northern side. It is a rare opportunity to get a site in Ho Chi Minh city, which is adjacent to a green public space. We therefore focused on designing a house which becomes an extension of its environment by integrating the green of the park into the interior space of the house.  © Hiroyuki Oki A large void was created by cutting the volume through the three floors, in the diagonal direction of the section. On the ground floor, the void serves as living room, open to the park; on the top floor as a green covered family room. The façade surrounding the void is covered with ivy plants. Louvres provide shadow on the top floor. The void incorporates both circulation elements and natural elements like plants and trees, providing the private rooms with additional natural light. It gives a feeling of continuity of the park, to all three floors of the building. The house aims to create an environment similar to a forest, despite being indoors.  Section Contradictory to the common spaces, private rooms such as bedrooms are placed in solid volumes. Planting trees in the opening of these volumes blocks direct sunlight, cools the wind and brightens up the interior space with green.  © Hiroyuki Oki The void that is opened diagonally upwards brings natural ventilation through the house, as a result of the chimney effect. In that way the use of air conditioners is minimized. Walking through the space, one will feel the wind moving from the living room to the top floor of the house. Green facade eases the intense sunshine of the tropical climate. The model becomes a precedent for housing in tropical climates.  © Hiroyuki Oki This house is one of the latest projects in a housing series called "House for Trees". The shortage of green space in Vietnam is causing environmental problems such as urban flooding, overheating and air pollution. Presenting a solution to this problem is an urgent challenge that architecture needs to address. VTN architects integrates green as much as possible even in small houses, creating pockets of park in the city, and eventually aim for the "green building" to spread to the world.  © Hiroyuki Oki  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Detailed Plans of 7 Famous Hotel Rooms; including The Shining, Pretty Woman, and The Hangover Posted: 24 Dec 2018 03:00 AM PST  The Hangover (Caesars Palace Hotel). Image © Expedia Hotels, both real and fictional, have hosted some of TV and film's most popular screenings through the years, from classics such as Pretty Woman to modern phenomena like Bates Hotel. While a weekend trip to fictional locations such as the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Fawlty Towers are beyond our reach, there are in fact many iconic hotel rooms from films that you can book right now. To demonstrate this, Expedia recently commissioned a series of detailed floor plans of hotels from famous plots. From the Majestic Yosemite Hotel featured in The Shining (which is seemingly spatially possible after all) to The Ceasars Palace Las Vegas suits from the Hangover (Ceasar didn't actually live there) we have republished the floor plans below for your inspection. The representations were created in collaboration with architects Jelena Popovic and Barbara Lew, taking screengrabs of film scenes to understand the rooms from every possible angle. The resulting plans and 3D models drawn from the research were then shared with public communities for feedback from movie lovers, resulting in the final works below. Pretty Woman (Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, USA) Pretty Woman (Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel). Image © Expedia Expedia: Julia Roberts and Richard Gere became household names with this Hollywoodized take on the Pygmalion myth set in Los Angeles. It takes place in a Los Angeles hotel, and much of the pleasure of the film comes from watching Roberts living the luxury life in the unfamiliar setting of the Beverly Wilshire. Lost in Translation (Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo, Japan) Lost in Translation (Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo, Japan). Image © Expedia Expedia: Sophia Coppola's bittersweet platonic-rom-com rewrote western moviegoers' conceptions about Japan. Bill Murray plays a world-weary actor holed up in the luxurious upper-reaches of Tokyo's Kenzo Tange tower, where the Park Hyatt continues to entertain real-life celebrities today. The Shining (The Majestic Yosemite Hotel in Yosemite National Park, USA) The Shining (The Majestic Yosemite Hotel). Image © Expedia Expedia: King among famous hotels, the one from The Shining has captivated movie lovers for nearly four decades. On the one hand, some believe the endless scenes of Danny tricycling around the hallways are director Stanley Kubrick's way of mapping the space for viewers. On the other hand, fans have noticed that the layout of the hotel is spatially impossible. This just adds to the eerie feeling of the film. James Bond: Goldfinger (Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Florida, USA) James Bond: Goldfinger (Hotel Fontainebleau Miami Beach). Image © Expedia Expedia: Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel rooms are etched into the memories of Bond fans as setting the scene for where Sean Connery found that his girlfriend had been painted to death with gold leaf. In reality, that scene was shot on a sound stage at Pinewood Studios in the UK. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, USA) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Ambassador Hotel Los Angeles). Image © Expedia Expedia: The Ambassador hotel was the location for the Academy Awards for 6 years, and famously was the place where presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy was assassinated. Even among other notable hotels in Los Angeles, it was a hot-spot for celebrities. Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, and Errol Flynn were among those who could be spotted drinking at the hotel's nightclub, even during prohibition! Hotel Chevalier (Hotel Rapheal in Paris, France) Hotel Chevalier (Hôtel Raphael Paris). Image © Expedia Expedia: Wes Anderson's short prologue to The Darjeeling Limited is an overlooked gem. Hôtel Raphael on Avenue Kléber stood in for the fictional Chevalier, and although the characters never leave the room they might have taken in a panoramic view over Paris had they ventured to the rooftop terrace. The Hangover (Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, USA) The Hangover (Caesars Palace Hotel). Image © Expedia Expedia: If the old emperor joined you on a bender in Vegas today, he'd certainly feel at home among the Roman-inspired art and architecture of the Caesars Palace suites. The marble bathroom will make you feel like winners, and if Caesar stays sober enough it's only a short stumble to the Garden of the Gods Pool. News via: Expedia  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Guesthouse Paraty / CRU! Architects Posted: 24 Dec 2018 02:00 AM PST  © Nelson Kon
 © Nelson Kon Text description provided by the architects. The clients required a multifunctional guesthouse where family and friends could stay over for a short vacation and the owners could also use it as a separate room to work or for the children to play. One bedroom with double and single bed and a sleeping couch sufficed, the bathroom needed to be comfortable but not too large. As the guesthouse is close to the residents’ house they wanted a soundproof barrier and enough privacy for both residents and guests.  © Nelson Kon A large stone that was present on site was preferably integrated into the house. The building is made by the cooperants of the social building project of Camburi. The idea of this social building project was to provide training and job-development for a deprived community. After the community center, commissions were sought outside of the village of Camburi in order to have economic return for the cooperants, of which this guesthouse is an example.  © Nelson Kon The location of the guesthouse is ‘litoral norte’ in Southeast Brazil, with climatic conditions being tropical warm and humid. The guesthouse is less protected by surrounding structures; wind loads are hence higher, enlarging the need for extra roof weight.  © Nelson Kon This is achieved by a green roof. As the project location was remote from the town center and everything had to be carried to the site by carriers, the principal idea was to use as little construction material as needed by re-using materials and applying natural materials extracted from the site. The 6.3m long rammed earth wall serves as noise barrier and is made with locally excavated red earth. As the terrain lies on a slope, levelling of the terrain was required thereby delivering base material without extra energy needed.  © Nelson Kon The formwork used for the rammed earth was later on applied in the roof structure. The beams holding the framework together became the ring beam. The green roof was finished with locally found black earth and plants. The large granite rock that was present on the left-side of the terrain was integrated into the bedroom forming half of the wall. Beyond an existing palm tree was cut out of the roof to maintain it.  © Nelson Kon Bamboo culms were used to form the roof structure. To ensure privacy large windows were positioned opening to the back and right side of the building, the front was maintained relatively closed. Also, the large rammed earth wall extending for another 1.70m outside the guesthouse offers a small private and covered patio. Because of its thermic inertia, the green roof marks a difference in low and high-pressure areas in and around the construction encouraging ventilation. The small windows in the front provide cross-ventilation.  Axo 01 In every room windows can be opened up to ensure ventilation but can also be closed whenever it is colder outside. Screens are foreseen so mosquitos cannot enter when sleeping with the windows open. The roof has a 1.10m eave to the front and a 2m ‘free-hanging’ eave to the right side to protect the walls and bamboo structure. As stated, the terrain being situated on a slope needed to be excavated in order to obtain an equal ground level. Running rainwater from the mountain needed to be deviated through a 50cm broad canal behind the house, which later was finished off with a wooden ‘walkway/deck`. This was absolutely necessary to avoid water from entering during heavy rainfall.  © Nelson Kon  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| An Architectural Guide to Belfast: 20 Unmissable Sites in Northern Ireland's Capital Posted: 24 Dec 2018 01:00 AM PST  © Shutterstock The city of Belfast is enjoying a resurgence of life. Having been gripped by decades of conflict over politics and religion, the Northern Irish capital has been transformed by peace over the past ten years, and now hosts an array of sublime architecture old and new, by renowned architects past and present. The urban landscape of Belfast, transitioning between industry, culture, arts, commerce, and education, makes the city a worthy destination for architects and designers. Influenced by Irish and British vernacular styles, shaped by the demands of shipbuilding, linen, security, and now post-conflict confidence, the city remains somewhat of a blank canvas for creatives to experiment, reflect, and dream. What follows is an architectural guide to Belfast, written off the back of the annual Open House Belfast festival, which opens the city's architectural doors to the general public. From what to know before you go, where to stay, where to eat, and what to do, the buildings and events mentioned here only scratch the surface of what can be appreciated. The Basics The 1996 Waterfront Hall by Robinson McIllwaine represented the growing optimism of a new era. Image Courtesy of Robinson McIllwaine Architects Belfast is situated on the north-east coast of the island of Ireland. As the capital of Northern Ireland, the city is part of the United Kingdom, and separate from the Republic of Ireland – a political situation which has been a source of deep conflict for almost 100 years, and forms a major stumbling block to the current attempts by the British government to leave the European Union without creating a physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  © Shutterstock The city is home to 300,000 people and is centered on where the River Lagan meets the Irish Sea. The city owes its name to this coastal condition, with "Belfast" derived from the Irish phrase "Beal Feirste" meaning "Mouth of the Sand." The city holds a deep affinity with its harbor, which sustained the city's shipbuilding industry through the nineteenth and twentieth century, giving birth to vessels such as the famed ocean liner Titanic.  Courtesy of Open House Belfast Belfast's climate is typical to Northwestern Europe, with cool summers and mild winters. The city can host four seasons in one day, so rainfall is a possibility at any time of the year. Temperatures range from 0 to 6 degrees Celsius in the depths of winter, and 14 to 20 degrees at the height of summer.  © Flickr user placeni. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) While planning your architectural itinerary, be sure to consult the websites of PLACE NI, and the Royal Society of Ulster Architects for the city's latest architectural happenings. What Not to MissOpen House Belfast Courtesy of Open House Belfast Open House Belfast, organized by PLACE, is "the biggest celebration of architecture in the city." The annual, week-long celebration takes place every October with the 2018 edition featuring 50 free events, including many of the buildings listed in this article. The festival allows visitors to explore buildings young and old, described through tours by architects, planners, and activists, while the doors of many of the city's firms open to offer the public a glimpse behind the scenes of how the Belfast of tomorrow is being shaped. Cathedral Quarter © Flickr user placeni. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) The cobblestone-laned Cathedral Quarter is the historic jewel in the crown of Belfast's art scene, forming the epicenter of the city's annual Culture Night celebrations. The area's prevalence as a center for creativity is still hidden in the naming of spaces such as Writer's Square, and bars such as The John Hewitt and The Northern Wig.  © Flickr user placeni. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) While timing a city visit to coincide with Culture Night is highly-recommended, the area offers a host of year-round activities for any architecture enthusiast. The city's oldest building, dating back to 1780, now hosts a traditional Irish bar named "The Dirty Onion," with spectacular exposed timber frame structures sheltering the garden beneath.  © Flickr user placeni. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) The nearby Black Box, meanwhile, offers an impressive lineup of events such as theater, literature readings, poetry, live art, and debates. Impressive architectural landmarks in the area, including the MAC (Metropolitan Arts Center) and St Anne's Cathedral, are mentioned later in this article. Titanic Quarter © Flickr user placeni. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Where the Cathedral Quarter defines the artistic, creative side of Belfast, the Titanic Quarter embodies the city's rich industrial past. Named after the doomed ocean liner built in the city's dockyards, the Titanic Quarter is rapidly opening itself out to the rest of the city, through landmarks such as the Titanic Museum, Titanic Hotel, and Titanic Creative Studios.  © Flickr user titanicbelfast. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) The Titanic Quarter also plays host to the most recognizable feature of the Belfast skyline – the soaring Harland and Wolff cranes (nicknamed Samson and Goliath) which mark the spot where the construction of countless ships, including the Titanic, sustained both the city of Belfast, and the British Empire.  Courtesy of Open House Belfast While the shipping industry is in decline, the future remains promising for the Titanic Quarter, with former warehouses appropriated into film studios for series such as Game of Thrones, and plans drawn up for a major Henning Larsen-led redevelopment of the waterfront. Where to Eat and DrinkBreakfast/Lunch at the Merchant Hotel © Wikimedia / Marcus Notley The five-star Merchant Hotel on Waring Street is one of the most prestigious buildings in Belfast. Built by architect James Hamilton as the headquarters to one of Ireland's biggest banks in 1857, the Grade A listed building features an Italianate exterior popular in High Victorian architecture. Following extensive renovations in 2010, and a £16.5 million extension, the formidable sandstone building is once again open for business as a boutique hotel. The hotel is a popular destination for afternoon tea, lunch, and evening drinks, where visitors dine under a grand central dome of the former main banking hall, with sculptures of fruit and foliage interwoven with Corinthian columns featuring science, painting, scripture, and music-inspired carvings. Dinner at Coppi © Geoff Telford When opened in 2012, Coppi was the first cichetti baari and restaurant in Belfast, inspired by those found in Venice. Since then, it has proved extremely popular, with a modern, sleek Italian interior and open kitchen. While also open in the afternoon, booking is all but essential in the evening. The restaurant is situated on St. Anne's Square in the Cathedral Quarter, adjacent to the Metropolitan Arts Center (MAC) designed by Hall McKnight, featured later in the article. Evening Drinks at the Harp Bar © Niall Patrick Walsh Located in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter, the Harp Bar forms part of an important phased regeneration initiative along Hill Street, including an art gallery, apartments, bars, cookery workshop, and marketplace. Among the highlights of the boutique interior are the first-floor bar, with wooden paneling salvaged from the RMS Walmer Castle, built at the nearby Harland and Wolff shipyard in 1902. The light, minimalist top floor of the Harp Bar is soon to become an art gallery, and contains maple flooring and stained glass windows from a once-prominent, but now demolished Co-op department store. Where to StayThe Titanic Hotel © Flickr user titanicbelfast. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) The Titanic Hotel sits in the heart of Belfast's shipbuilding quarter, opposite the Titanic Museum. The architectural jewel of the hotel is undoubtedly the large function room, which was once the Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices. Dating from 1885, the room has witnessed the design of many of the company's 1700 vessels, including the sister ships Titanic, Britannic, and Olympic. Grand Central Hotel © Booking.com Belfast's newest hotel is also its tallest. The Grand Central Hotel, just south of city hall in the Linen Quarter, has been created from retrofitting a 1960s office building behind a dark metal facade. The hotel's top-floor bar, named the "Observatory" offers sweeping panoramic views across the city. Where to RelaxBotanic Gardens © Flickr user katymoon. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Located in South Belfast, among the city campus of Queen's University, Botanic Gardens is as known for its architecture as for its landscaping. The 1828-established gardens hold a variety of exotic trees and plants from the southern hemisphere within two noted architectural works. The Palm House, designed by Sir Charles Lanyon and built in 1840, is one of the earliest examples of curved iron glasshouses in Europe. The building's iconic dome was added in 1852. Nearby stands the Tropic Ravine, an 1887 building which has just reopened following extensive restoration by Belfast firm Hall Black Douglas. Both buildings are completely free to the public. Stormont Estate © Shutterstock Stormont Castle, and its surrounding estate, has been the seat of Northern Ireland's government since 1932. Its landmark building, the Greek Classical-style Parliament House, was designed by Sir Arnold Thornely. While happenings within the Parliament may be an eternal source of ire, the surrounding woods and parkland offer a network of paths, statues, and activities, including a free, weekly, 5-kilometer run. Other LandmarksThe Lyric Theatre © Dennis Gilbert The Lyric Theatre stands on a sloping site at a triangular junction between the grid pattern of Belfast's brick streetscape and the serpentine parkland of the River Lagan. Designed by RIBA Gold Medal winners O'Donnell + Tuomey, the theatre consists of solid volumes interlaced with transparent social spaces, offering sweeping views down the River Lagan. The result of eight years of briefing, design, fundraising, and construction, the scheme was opened in 2011 and has since become one of the city's most sought-after theatre and event spaces – and equally as enjoyable for an afternoon coffee. The MAC__Belfast__April_2012_(06).jpg?1545314322 "© Wikipedia") © Wikipedia The Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) was one of Belfast's flagship regeneration projects when opened to the public in 2012. Situated in the city's Cathedral Quarter, and designed by local firm Hall McKnight, the scheme is a symphony of brick, glass, and basalt, with a sharp robustness harking back to the 19th-century brick warehouses which once dominated the area. Since its opening, the venue has received over 1.5 million visitors, attending 3000 live performances, 40 visual art exhibitions, and drinking over 90,000 cups of coffee. The venue's only permanent artwork, the "Permanent Present" by Mark Garry, consists of 400 metal wires creating a spectrum of color across the main foyer. Ulster Museum © Shutterstock Overlooking South Belfast's Botanic Gardens, the Ulster Museum is Northern Ireland's finest example of Brutalist architecture. The original 1929 neoclassical museum has undergone several iterations, most notably the 1964-designed Brutalist extension by Francis Pym, completed in 1972, featuring cubic, cantilevering projections. In 2006, the museum was closed to the public for three years, undergoing a £17 million refurbishment which was criticized for affecting the scheme's Brutalist character by removing the spiral sequence of rooms in Pym's extension. Nevertheless, the scheme remains an iconic component of Belfast's historic urban fabric. Queen's University Belfast © Shutterstock Founded in 1845, Queen's University has served as a social and architectural anchor for South Belfast for almost 200 years. The university's centerpiece, the gothic-style Lanyon Building, is named after its architect Sir Charles Lanyon, and dates from 1849. Among the university's other 250 buildings (98 of which are protected) include the 150-year-old Graduate School building, designed by W.H Lynn in 1868 as a library, and recently restored by local architects Consarc Conservation. Ulster University York Street © Flickr user infomatique. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Northern Ireland's other prominent college, Ulster University, is expanding its presence within the city's Cathedral Quarter with an ambitious £263 million redevelopment by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. The first phase of the York Street campus opened in 2015, and is home to the Belfast School of Art, with the completed campus due to bring 15,000 new students and staff into the city. SARC – Sonic Arts Research Centre © Niall Patrick Walsh Designed by Hall Black Douglas and completed in 2004, SARC is a highly-recommended venue for music lovers, housing a sonic laboratory, studio spaces, and various teaching spaces. The Sonic Laboratory, described as "a cinema for the ear" contains 48 loudspeakers, some located under an experimental mesh grill flooring to completely surround the audicence. The Former Bank of Ireland © Flickr user string_bass_dave. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) The five-story Art Deco style Bank of Ireland was designed by Joseph Vincent Downes and built in 1930. Situated at a prominent junction along Royal Avenue, the steel-frame, Portland limestone-clad building chamfers onto North Street to address both street conditions, topped be a tiered clock tower.  © Niall Patrick Walsh Listed since 1990, the building has been sadly left vacant since the bank's relocation in 2005. The annual Open House Belfast festival is one of few opportunities to tour the building's interior, including a rare example of a basement level in Belfast due to the maritime city's ground conditions. The Former Belfast Telegraph Print Hall Courtesy of Open House Belfast The print hall of one of Belfast's most prominent newspapers was designed by Henry Seaver in 1886, before numerous extensions throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The red brick and Dumfries red sandstone building has since been converted into a popular multi-purpose venue for live music and world-renowned DJs. Belfast City Hall © Shutterstock Plans for Belfast City Hall began in 1888, when Queen Victoria awarded Belfast a city status due to its rapidly-expanding linen and shipbuilding industries, and its accolade as the most populous settlement on the island. Designed by Alfred Brumwell Thomas, construction of Belfast City Hall began in 1898, and was completed in 1906. The Baroque Revival building was constructed mainly of Portland Stone, with towers at each corner and a centerpiece green copper dome. The building and grounds are open to the public, and feature the Titanic Memorial, the annual Christmas Market, and an interior adorned with stained glass windows and Varrara, Pavonazzo, and Brescia marbles. St Anne's Cathedral © Flickr user William Murphy. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Belfast's lively Cathedral Quarter owes its name to St Anne's Cathedral, designed by Sir Thomas Drew and completed in 1904. The Romanesque building, characterized by semi-circular arches on the interior, is supported by 50-foot-long wooden piles due to soft ground conditions. The unstable ground is also attributed as the reason the cathedral is without a characteristic central tower. A distinctive contemporary addition to the cathedral is a 40-meter stainless steel spire installed in 2007 named the "Spire of Hope." Protruding from a glass platform in the roof directly above the choir stalls, the spire is illuminated at night. Influential Belfast Architecture FirmsRead MoreArchDaily's previous coverage of Belfast Open House Belfast official website Royal Society of Ulster Architects official website About the Author: Niall Patrick Walsh is ArchDaily's News Editor, and a long-time resident of Belfast, who recently attended the Open House Belfast architecture festival on ArchDaily's behalf. He wishes to extend his sincere thanks to PLACE for organizing the event, and for their deep-rooted architectural knowledge of the city.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 24 Dec 2018 12:00 AM PST  © Ian-Hsu
 © Daniel Corvillón Text description provided by the architects. The project is proposed in the concept of a "Family Lodge", which aims to house a complete family of 4 generations, and friends. Located in the south of Chile, in the Region of Los Ríos, which is a very rainy place. From this rainy condition is born the poetic words that leads the concept of the architectural design. The first words are; "a mantle to protect from the rain", inspired by the precarious tents, which are made by the local lumberjacks, in the forest. With a nylon tensioned by threads, and sometimes with a central pillar to let the water run off the simple construction. The word “water" is the second poetic word that guides the design. The geometrical composition of the water molecule was studied. Thus the idea of three connected elements joined under a great mantle, to create the necessary protecting for the rain.  Sketch 01  Sketch 10 One of the members of the family has a mobility problem, which leads to a project presented in a single story, all at the same level, connected and integrated. The house stands on a structure of steel pillars, which take the shape of the landscape, creating a space underneath, for the service facilities, a barbecue area and hot tub. The central element of the first level, is the access and common area, with the kitchen integrated with the dining and living room, raised in the concept of “ga-loft - mix of the North American loft with the traditional shed of the south of Chile. In the lateral elements the bedrooms are located, so that they converge to the center in a smooth and fluid way. Accesses to the bedrooms are done with hidden doors, to maintain the continuity of the walls and create an open and spatial volume. All accesses are done in steel ramps with a wood cladding, to allow for wheelchair access.  © Daniel Corvillón This mix of local and contemporary typologies is made using a contemporary language, with the picturesque views offered by the place and the location in the landscape. Language achieved through these pavilions, linked together by the "mantle", geometrized fuselage, coated on the outside in steel plates worked in situ, which were left to oxidized naturally and were then sealed once they took the desired color. The interior is done leaving all the geometry of the mantle exposed, achieving average height of 5 to 6m, which gives the space a great nobility.  © Daniel Corvillón The interiors are lined with native woods, recycled from old sheds and local houses, which has been dismantled due to poor condition, or because a new building will be made in its place.This is a way to build a contemporary house, anchored to tradition, with iconic typologies of southern Chile. The use of these recycled woods, allows for several type sofnativewood,suchasoak,rauli,coihue and laurel,which gives the house a reddish tonality, that interacts perfectly with the rust of the steel structure. The floor is entirely rauli wood,andallthewindowsaremadeintheplace,with pellin wood (old oak).  1st floor plan The interior design is in dialogue with the architecture, and uses resources to increase space in the bedrooms, as for example, in the bathrooms the showers have printed photos of a forest, looking to bring the outside to the interior. Finishes and furniture elements, such as benches and coat racks, are used to complete the architecture. These are made by the sculptor Jessica Torres. Along with the lighting and lamps, which are placed to highlight the spatiality of the volume and geometry of the house. Finally the decoration, subtracted from elements, follows the same conceptual dialogue proposed by architecture and landscaping under the house, dramatizing the suspension in a topography of riverbed and plants.  © Daniel Corvillón This is how, through a singular minimalist form, this work becomes a contemporary dialogue with the landscape, highlighting and enhancing its enormous beauty and magnitude.  © Daniel Corvillón  © Daniel Corvillón  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Happy Holidays from Architects Around the World (2018 Edition) Posted: 23 Dec 2018 11:00 PM PST
'Tis the season of holiday cheer, and with that comes the creative greetings from offices, museums, photographers and collaborators around the world! See our favorites below (or check out our best reader-submitted cards). Here's to a joyful, exciting, and architecture-filled 2018! See the best projects and articles published this year, here. Happy Holidays from the ArchDaily team!
 MUDA Architects  OPEN  Ponto Atelier
 Schmidt Hammer Lassen  ATAH  DPLUS STUDIO  Adjaye Associates
 FCJZ  CROX
.jpg?1545239117 "ZHA (Zaha Hadid Architects)") ZHA (Zaha Hadid Architects)  Studio Link-Arc  Penda  LYCS  Mecanoo  Mur Mur Lab
.jpg?1545388216 "The Design Museum") The Design Museum  YUSHE DESIGN  AOE  SAAHA
.jpg?1545421190 "MAD Architects") MAD Architects  Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter  WIercinski Studio
 Sasaki
 BIG  Museum of Estonian Architecture  Luis Ferreira Alves  Miralles Tagliabue / EMBT  KWK Promes  Gustavo Penna Arquiteto Associados  Estonian Centre for Architecture  Shift Architecture + Urbanism .jpg?1545305307 "Boost Studio") Boost Studio  Jose Campos  JERDE  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2018 10:00 PM PST  © Jack Hobhouse
 © Francesco Russo Text description provided by the architects. R7 is an 11-story-high building in the fast-developing area of King's Cross. It's a civic-minded, pink-enveloped office building, with a public lobby, cinema, restaurant and cocktail bar. With this rounded mix of uses, the architects have challenged the norm for offices and the ground floor experience is growing into a welcoming public foyer where one wants to spend time.  © Jack Hobhouse The two sides of the building rise to different heights, determined by the levels of adjacent Central Saint Martin's university building. The attempt to break down this massing through a series of setbacks and recesses creates south-facing terraces or gardens on each level, which benefit from views across the city. This sequence and laudable provision of outdoor spaces provide a sculptural interest and character to the building, often rare in corporate office buildings.  © Francesco Russo The two distinct shades of satin pink to the metal finned facade aids to split the block into two, with one being grounded by an exposed concrete colonnade. Everything on this building feels bespoke and color matched to the 'pink' facade from the suspended lights in the colonnade to the paved flags on the terraces.  © Francesco Russo The sincerity in the 'stripped back' internal finishes with the exposed concrete structure is a delightful contrast to the crisp exterior, also offering flexibility and minimizing abortive costs for tenant fit-outs. The architect's awareness to prioritize spend where it matters is evident in the design quality of the public spaces and amenities – money spent wisely. The building tackles the problem of evolving workspaces well, allowing flexible fit-outs particularly between floors with soft spots for connecting stairs and spaces.  © Jack Hobhouse  Section  © Jack Hobhouse  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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