Proposal made by the twin brothers of sanzpont [arquitectura] for Busan Opera House Competition. The concept of design is based on the philosophy of Korea, the balance of opposites, the Um-Yang. The fundamental idea is to create an iconic building that represents the culture in which it is immersed, to remind the native people where they come from in order to promote this philosophy to the outside world. Materializing this ancient philosophy in a cutting edge building connects the past with the present, giving long life to a culture that must be projected into the future. The vision of this building is the integration with its natural and urban environment, besides being spectacular, create public spaces and nature, respecting and helping the environment, a sustainable design that promote a city to the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Busan Opera House / sanzpont [arquitectura]
Toxic Garden is a Self-Sustainable Building in Vienna
Toxicity/contamination/mutation/distortion is a hybride which synthesizes a library and garden into a one spacial continuum. The project designed by Kadri Kerge at the University of Applied Arts Vienna is located in the Burggarten, Vienna – which served as a private royal garden for the Habsburg family. It is situated between the Austrian National Library and a large greenhouse called Palmenhaus that sits at a right angle to it. The roots of the plants from the greenhouse grow out of the container, break the sealed ground and as a mutants combine nature and building. They overlap with the context in housing part of the program of institutions nearby like The Austrian Film Museum, the National Library, and the Albertina Museum.
Toxic Garden is a self-sustainable building generating heat and power through the plants which are growing in the building. The energy design concept provides a range of microclimatic conditions as interfaces between user, information and nature. The building of the Austrian National library is an opulent baroque structure that has housed the Imperial book collection between 1721 and 1918, that was then nationalized. Read the rest of this entry »
New Cultural Center revitalizes the waterfront of Soverato in Italy
Given the national importance of the public space issues and the opportunity they present in promoting the city of Soverato, the new project aims to find a solution for city areas which will hopefully enhance the quality of urban life. On the other hand, it aims to establish a strong link with the dynamics of contemporary society through functional solutions that meet the needs of the day and night activities of the neighborhood. Designed by Schiavello Architects, the building attempts to revive an entire urban area through a series of coordinated actions, implementing the best design solution that combines the diverse needs of rationalization of traffic and the revitalization of commercial, industrial and cultural sites. The goal is to create a pole of aggregation that can revitalize the waterfront through the localization of Soverato’s new architecture. The neglected industrial area is currently poorly integrated with the urban context and requires a general reconfiguration, rendering it qualitatively recognizable in the urban landscape. Read the rest of this entry »
The Infinity Building / MCR Architecture
Pegs Senior is designed by award-winning Melbourne architects McBride Charles Ryan (MCR). The project is to provide a new Year 11&12 Senior Campus for the school and become the new VCE Precinct at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School in Melbourne.
The layout is based on an ‘infinity symbol’, a shape that allows the facility to be structured around two protected courtyards. This in turn enhances the learning spaces access to light, view and ventilation. At the heart of the infinity has been located the library and student learning center. Specialist precincts, Art, Science, Cafe and huge variety of learning spaces are distributed throughout the form. Each precinct has its own unique quality and yet they are seamlessly connected to the next. The building is an embodiment of the journey of education, and the crossover between disciplines. This planning allows the buildings circulation to constantly return to the library at its heart and in this way it physically echoes the educational ethos of the school. Read the rest of this entry »
Haarlem Canal Pavilion / Xing Wang
Haarlem Canal Pavilion is a multi-functional structure situated in the City of Haarlem in Netherlands. Designed by Xing Wang for the Engineering studio at TU Delft, the project aims to change the typical landscape experience of Dutch canals. It would also generate a large, high and adjustable interior space with cultural and commercial functions.
The pavilion structure is composed of triangle wood components which could be easily assembled on site; all these components are manufactured by CNC milling machine. The complex shell geometry could be built quickly and precisely without the need for special locator devices and high-skilled operators. The basement and supporting structure are also parametric defined according to customized data input. Read the rest of this entry »
Serlachius Gösta Museum / PinkCloud Studio + Eero Lunden Architects
This proposal for the Serlachius Museum Extension was designed by PinkCloud Studio, in collaboration with Eero Lunden Architects. The new 4,700 m2 extension for the Serlachius Museum in the Finnish City of Mänttä will have 4 floors and a basement. It will be connected to the adjacent existing museum through a simple entrance, formed in the space between buildings. The extension will be the center of focus when arriving to the new Museum Courtyard, while the old Mansion maintains its position as a dominant within the landscape. Read the rest of this entry »
The “rocks” of Saint-Malo Meditheque are geological anomalies acting as cultural catalysts
Inspired by the landscape of Bretagne, the Saint-Malo Mediatheque is designed in the form of three rocks placed on a granite plaza. The library and the cinema of Saint-Malo are meant to perform as a new cultural catalyst, activating the adjacent city area. Approached from the city, the first “rock” to meet the visitors is the library, followed by the film center. With the third-the entertainment center, the entire assemblage dominates the plaza, creating a vibrant atmosphere of cultural activity.
The three blocks are covered with mineral envelopes that visually resemble the material of the inner city. Their high energy performance and insolation features rely on the use of thermal inertia of the structures inside the buildings. The seemingly random positions of the “rocks” enable the interior to open up and raise the ground level, achieving an optimal level of natural ventilation. The buildings are multi-sided and not specifically oriented. The Serero Architects specifically sought to avoid creating a disparity between the service and the main facade. Read the rest of this entry »
Europan_X / Baptiste Marconnet
The Europan_X project by Baptiste Marconnet explores the ways of extending the urban fabric beyond the coastline. It is conceived as a assemblage of intertwining bands. The middle band is part of the project which allows the connection between the other two elements. The car and tramway paths overlap, creating a unified passageway, linked to the existing rail network to create a connection with the rest of the city.
The bands are enveloped with double skin layers which shelter the faux balconies, and enable optimal insulation levels of the lower parts of the building. The skin itself is cellular in structure, supporting the floor slabs. The structural and load-bearing features of the skin enable the formation of large common spaces within the building’s volume. Read the rest of this entry »
Liquid Building is a self-sufficient atrium house in Barcelona / Mohsen Marizad
Liquid Building is designed by Mohsen Marizad, as part of the Emergent Territories Course at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. The three essential elements were considered during the design development of the project: parameters and contextual restrictions pertaining to Barcelona building standard, parameters introduced by the program itself and zero emissions and sustainability as an ultimate design goal. Read the rest of this entry »
UP Tower Transformation – Forming Plaza through Residential Towers / We Designs
UP is a multilayered investigative study of an urban tower condition, operated under the logic of the hexagon. The final structure is created through a process of developmental delineation studies, translating the two-dimensional diagram into an accentuated folded landscape. This folding landscape is achieved using an articulated folding system that is structurally economic, thereby increasing useable floor area and overcoming traditional tectonic and structural hierarchies. The dips and dives of the multi-level open public space allow for various public and community programs, while the geometries continually develop spaces of openness and privacy humanizing the scale of the project. The manner in which the public space and tower folds intertwine, poetically mimics the rolling landscape of the seaside, while integrating natural greenery into the urban spectrum.
Positioned within the folding structure, an integrated piping system processes, collects, and recycles the rainwater and grey water within the building, and reuses it for heating and non-potent water use. This discreet sustainable and self-generating system allows the building to maintain itself without a secondary water supplier. The use of Bio-glass as a material and the form of the window curvature is designed in a dualistic approach to maximize the thermal absorbance of sun light and to balance the performance between reflectivity and materiality. In effect, it neutralizes the heat in the summer and maximizes the warmth during wintertime. Read the rest of this entry »