Surrey City Centre Library Bing Thom Architects, canada architecture, library design, public building, educational architecture, social media strategy, public space

The new Surrey City Centre Library is part of a major civic investment aiming to transform the downtown Surrey into an attractive commercial area. Designed by Bing Thom Architects, the library is currently under construction with its opening scheduled for September 2012.  The project was funded as part of Canada’s Federal Infrastructure program, but the firm decided to use social media to circumvent the standard (and lengthy) community consultation process. The architects developed a social media strategy using blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr to speed things up. BTA worked with Surrey librarians to create a blog on the library website which, in turn, was linked to a Flickr site where BTA posted photos of libraries and other spaces the firm liked. Members of the community were encouraged to post comments and photos. Read the rest of this entry »

Dragon Skin Pavilion, Hong Kong &Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, Finnish design, Tampere University of Technology, digital fabrication, cnc machines, algorithmic design, plywood sculpture

Made from environmentally friendly post-formable plywood, for the 2011-12 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, the Dragon Skin Pavilion marries the most up-to-date fabrication technologies with local industries of Hong Kong. The first version of the structure was designed and built at the Tampere University of Technology by students in the autumn of 2011. The pavilion was built in 8 days. An international team of material and structural engineers have built the second version For the Hong Kong Biennale.

Dragon Skin Pavilion, Hong Kong &Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, Finnish design, Tampere University of Technology, digital fabrication, cnc machines, algorithmic design, plywood sculpture

The Dragon Skin Pavilion was carefully designed to maintain balance between the regular, repetitive framework of the rectangular panels and their gradually irregular interconnections as they configure the overall shape. It comprised 163 plywood components manufactured in Finland at TUT and shipped to Hong Kong. The components were the result of a complex process involving the latest techniques in digital fabrication. A CNC-router was used to make a wooden mould in which pre-heated flat rectangular pieces were bent into shape. A computer programmed 3D master model generated the cutting files for those pieces in a file-to-factory process: algorithmic procedures were scripted to give every rectangular component their precisely calculated slots for the sliding joints, all in gradually shifting positions and angles to give the final assembled pavilion its curved form. A meticulously pre-choreographed montage sequence required all components to be uniquely labelled and numbered for assembling or dismantling the structure. Read the rest of this entry »

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

The BMW Group Pavilion is inspired by Victorian bandstands, applied in relation to the building’s natural surroundings. Designed by Serie Architects, the building is a place of spectacle, presenting the BMW brand and services. Located on the Waterworks River in the Olympic Park, the pavilion achieved its distinctive appearance by re-imagining the classic podium. It is light and seems to be floating above the water. Its animated façade, with water streaming down around the ground floor, creates an exciting visual effect. The first floor that forms the plinth is covered with water; this water spills down on all four sides of the pavilion entirely covering the ground floor.

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

One of the pavilion’s functions is to display BMW’s new fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles. These vehicles use carbon fiber bodywork with fluid soft curves. The geometry of the pavilion roofs manifests a similar calm and rationale attitude to geometry through the use of off-phase sinusoidal curves set out in symmetrical arrangement. The building thus communicates as sense of fluid dynamism without imitating the product.

The pavilion is in fact a cluster of smaller pavilions. Huddled together, the group of spaces is planned to be dispersed to other locations after the Olympic Games and serving as constant reminders of the Games held in London.

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

London 2012 BMW Group Pavilion, London Olympic Games, Olympic architecture, water architecture, pavilion architecture, dismantable architecture, animated facade

 

Endessa Pavilion IAAC, solar facade, wood architecture, sustainable architecture, photovoltaics, student work

Designed by students at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia IAAC, the Endessa Pavilion is part of the Smart City Expo in Barcelona, Spain. The aim of the project is exploring the possiblities of distributed intelligence concept. The building is conceived as an adaptive system that responds to environmental influences. The skin is constructed as a network of intelligent nodes that position themselves according to solar radiation. Read the rest of this entry »

Mecenat Art Museum Naf Architect, museum architecture, natural lighting, concrete architecture, japan, exhibition space

The private Mecenat Art Museum, designed by Naf Architect & Design, houses the work of a Japanese-style painter Kakudo Goami. The design of the building focuses on natural lighting which pours into the interior through a white cylinder structure.

Description from the architects:
The works of Mr. Goami give striking image of various lights, thus, I decided to design the building focusing on natural light.  Soft diffused light from top light, direct light pouring  from top light through white cylinder for condensation of light spreading on the first floor, soft light from slits on the walls reflecting on the exterior green, fragments of graphical lights pouring through 432 plate glasses on the concrete walls; the space is filled with various kinds of lights.  As an exhibition space, there was no need for structure such as columns and beams but as large wall as possible.  The important factor of the museum was to incorporate natural light and wind, so corners are sliced with slits to the extent which would not interfere the exhibit.  This idea would have left the building structurally fragile, so we studied a rational shape, which was structurally stable like folding one sheet of paper, origami, many time to make several corners, with models and three-dimensional structure analysis by computer. Read the rest of this entry »

CCCloud Kengo Kuma, art istallation, ceramic tiles, casalgrande padana, kengo kuma architects

Located in front of the Casalgrande Padana Headquarters, the CCCloud monument is a result of the collaboration between Kengo Kuma Architects, Alfonso Acocella, Luigi Alini, and Casalgrande Padana. The monument is constructed of unglazed ceramic tiles that have been adapted for structural use.

The entire structure is 45 meters long and 12 meters high, with a maximum width of 1.7 meters in the central section. It consists of nine layers of porcelain stoneware tiles 60 x 120 cm that are stacked and articulated through fine threaded rods. Traditionally used as coating, the ceramic tiles are here used as a structural component.

As a thin curtain, the CCCloud divides the roundabout, drawing the attention of visitors. The monument is oriented in line with the street, making cars disappear from view. This anti-monumental strategy creates a low profile on the site that generates a space without overwhelming the viewer. The actual proportion of the line is apparent throughout the car’s movement through the site. Read the rest of this entry »

Porsche Pavilion HENN Architects, exhibition space, Germany, steel cladding

As an addition to the Volkswagen’s theme park in Wolfsburg, Germany, the Porsche Pavilion offers 400 m² of space for exhibitions and presentations. Designed by HENN Architects, the building is located right across the Volkswagen Pavilion. Its characteristic curves and bends dominate the site and express the importance of Porsche within the Volkswagen Group family.  The area around the pavilion was designed by WES & Partner Architekten.

Porsche Pavilion HENN Architects, exhibition space, Germany, steel cladding

The building envelope forms a spatial enclosure that creates an impression of a homogeneous unity. The interior and exterior are designed as a flowing continuum, with matte-finish stainless steel cladding. A total of 620 sheets of stainless steel cladding with welded ribs were prefabricated in a ship-yard in Stralsund and assembled on site. At the entrance the pavilion cantilevers 25m over the lagoon’s water surface in front. Below the cantilever of the large asymmetrical roof, a sheltered external space opens up. Read the rest of this entry »

Slipstream, FreelandBuck Architecture, 3d installation, digital fabrication, cnc plywood

“Observe the motion of the surface of the water, which resembles that of hair; which has two motions, of which one is caused by the weight of the hair, the other the direction of the curls; thus the water has eddying motions, one part of which is due to the principal current, the other to the random and reverse motion.” Read the rest of this entry »

National Library of Israel, ODA Architecture, library design, public plaza, monolith architecture

Designed by ODA, the National Library of Israel is organized around a variety of platforms of activity that enhance interaction between the users. The library is transformed into a forum for cross-disciplinary conversations. The floating monolith form connects o the foundations of Parliament, the library underscores the idea that education and learning are the bedrock of democracy. Read the rest of this entry »

Sipopo Congress Center Tabanlioglu Architects, congress center, africa architecture, semi-transparent facade, mesh, pattern facade

The Sipopo Congress Center was designed for the city of Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea. Due to the high amount of solar radiation, this two-storey building features a semi-transparent metal envelope that protects the interior, yet provides and optimal amount of natural lighting. The lacy texture of the mesh grants a shady interior during the day, while providing an appearance of transparency at night.  Istanbul-based Tabanlioglu Architects have designed the building favoring natural materials like timber, natural stone and glass, with particular attention to locally available sources. Read the rest of this entry »