Solar Chapel HoldenManz WineEstate, franschhoek, Cape Town. A project designed by Margot Krasojevic which utilizes the same solar panel technology used on the farm to clad a wedding chapel on the estate. The vertiginous mountains within the estate are reflected in the beton brut primary structure off which the solar panel and holographic filtered panels are suspended. The solar panel arrangement is similar to a butterfly’s wing as the angles are more exposed to the solar rays affording a more efficient configuration of panels. The chapel sits within the vineyard amongst the array of solar screens, with the help of the holographic panes it also concentrates and intensifies the solar energy which can be stored and accessed as and when required. The chapel is used for religious fellowship and is a free standing structure epitomising the duality of the monumental context and the process of wine making. Read the rest of this entry »

FREE City is an urban prototype for building new cities in emerging economies of the XXI century. Imagine a city where people in developing countries are able to contribute towards society and enjoy the liberties of urban life in a holistic economy.

FR-EE, Fernando Romero EnterprisE, proposes a new urban master plan that synthesizes three existing urban typologies: the radial city, the hexagonal connection and the urban grid. The scheme organizes the city in a radial manner, creating a hierarchical zoning strategy and allows for continuous growth in all directions. A rectangular grid is superimposed in each sector and hexagonal rings optimize the proximity between the various axis. An efficient public transit network allows the city to be free of cars – all residents are perpetually within a 8-minute walking distance from a tram station. Block types range from the efficient rectangular blocks at the periphery to circular blocks in the city-center, where the overlapping and interlocking of programmatic elements creates a new definition for vertical urbanism. The desire is to create an urban model that integrates ideas of sustainability, population growth and urban interactions in an intelligent and systematic manner, prompting us to redefine the notion of a 21st century city. Read the rest of this entry »

Frsh is a pavilion built by the Architectural Association Beijing Visiting School. Tutored by Rolando Rodriguez-Leal of Aidia Studio and Christoph Klemmt of Orproject, 10 students designed and manufactured the installation within the 9 day course which was held at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The geometry of the surface was generated using digital, force-based analysis simulations, which resulted in compression and tension based morphologies. The surface itself becomes the structural system, which at the same time mediates the programmatic and spatial requirements of its surroundings. Each group of students designed large scale landscape and building proposals during the course of the workshop, and the installation was developed as a prototype for a possible construction system of the proposals.

Already the digital simulation used a tessellated geometry for its calculation, and this was further refined to create a paneling system for a simple manufacturing and assembly. Although the surface is double-curved in itself, each of its hexagonal components is perfectly flat and laser cut out of aluminium sheets. Openings of varying sizes allow for a differentiation of dark and light spaces. The integrated flanges could be folded by hand, stiffening the structure and forming the connecting points between components. The assembly itself took the group a mere 10 hours.

Like a magic carpet Frsh is hovering in space, creating volumes underneath it and a continuously floating landscape above.

PROJECT CREDITS

Title: Frsh
University: Architectural Association Visiting School at Tsinghua University
Tutors: Christoph Klemmt, Orproject
Rolando Rodriguez-Leal, Aidia Studio
Engineering Consultant: Rob May, Buro Happold
Manufacturing Consultant: Rajat Sodhi, Orproject
Students: XingChen Dong, Weicheng Li, Junzhe Liu, ShihShih Shen, Wenyang Wang, Haoran Wen, Fan Wu, Xiaoxue Xiao, Shuya Xu, Sijia Yang, Huopu Zhang
Exhibition Team: He You, Yang Shangzhi, Mao Tianyu , Liu Chunmao
Photographers:
Tian Tian Ma, Emma Huang Read the rest of this entry »

The city of New York will face dramatic population growth in the coming decades. Demographers predict that New York alone will add one million more residents by 2040.

Questioning what will be the residential tower of the future, it should be certainly a solution for the exponential population growth but also it should react with the environmental context.

B.I.O.S. (Boundary Interaction of Open Systems), the proposal designed by Enrico Tognoni and Davide Mariani, explores the concept of boundary, the transitional zone between different states of energy.

Inspired to the idea of mashrabiyas, the wooden latticework able to regulate the passage of light in Arabic vernacular architecture, the envelope of the tower is based on an environmental modulation of sunlight and insulation.

Made of about 20 metal panels, having same sizes but different fretwork, the skin reduces also the horizontal wind loads and the climate impact on the inner curtain wall.

The entire cladding system is controlled by an algorithm in order to react to different surrounding conditions (location, shading, radiation etc.) The process itself rather than the building is the actual design product: the goal is not to design a building, but to design the system able to design the building. Read the rest of this entry »

Se’Paar is a series of hanging lighting fixtures designed by Taeg Nishimoto made of Buckram fabric. Buckram is a resin impregnated mesh fabric that sustains the form when they are manipulated with water and left to dry.

Two sheets of white and black fabric were first laminated to make a double layer of sheet for the stability. This double layer fabric was then cut into a specific proportion of a rectangle. This single sheet goes through the operation of first folding in the center, then cutting into certain length on both sides of the fold, and finally pulling the cut part together to make an overlap that forms two triangles at the overlap. This process results into a sheet that warps on both sides of the central fold. The black fabric is placed for the outside and inside is in white. Depending on the positioning of the fold and the length and direction of the cut, exactly the same operation results into different configurations. Read the rest of this entry »

The project by Dongil Kim and Seojoo Lee from the University of California, Berkeley demonstrates a research on an agent-based aggregation model for architectural applications with a system of assembly based on environmental data acting as a driver for a growth mechanism. Even though the generative design and algorithms have been widely employed in the field of art and architecture, such applications tend to stay in morphological explorations. This paper examines an aggregation model based on the Diffusion Limited Aggregation system incorporating solar environment analysis for global perspective of aggregation, the geometry research for lattice systems, and morphological principles of unit module at local scale. The later part of this research paper demonstrates the potential of a design process through the “Constructed Cloud” case study, including site-specific applications and the implementation of the systemized rule set. Read the rest of this entry »

The answer was given by the last century which brought us to choose the concrete represented in one of its purest shapes; the cube. Once chosen a symbol to represent the museum of architecture, the idea was to analyze what is photography more than an image of something existing. We arrived at the conclusion that the ideal way to represent photography was as a negative representation of the existing.

Therefore we decided to think about the museum of photography as the mirror negative image of the architecture museum. This made us choose this path of imagining the photo museum as the opposite of the architecture and to use the glass elements to describe a wireframe of the other museum.

The volumes emerging from the architecture museum will be built with concrete structures with transparent covers, while the museum of photography, representing the negative of the others, will be made of transparent glass structures. The use of these two materials, the Mass and the Transparency, ideally refers to the two functions demonstrated in the two structures, the Architecture is Built, Mass, Photography is Transparency, Negative Idea Memory

CREDITS

MenoMenoPiu Architects
Team: Rocco Valantines, Mario Emanuele Salini, Alessandro Balducci, Giovanni Sandrini, Giampaolo Fondi, Pietro Bodria, Alexandra Baldwin, Paola Malinverni

TWOSIX 26-Architecture
Team: Angelo Balducci, Manuel Tonati, Giorgia Davini, Claudia Di Emidio, Giulia Vano

RENDERINGS
+imgs Read the rest of this entry »

SITE Santa Fe, committed to presenting the cutting edge in contemporary art and expanding traditional museum experiences, announces a major expansion designed by SHoP Architects. When completed, the new building will greatly enhance SITE Santa Fe’s capacity with a total of 36,000 square feet of interior and exterior space to further serve the creative community and city of Santa Fe. The project will break ground in August 2016 and is slated for completion by summer 2017.

“SITE Santa Fe has a tremendous history of working with acclaimed architects who have all left their mark on SITE,” said Irene Hofmann, Phillips Director and Chief Curator, SITE Santa Fe. “In choosing SHoP Architects, we again sought out an innovative firm with a strong sense of community, civic engagement and the environment. SHoP’s design of our new building addition reaffirms our important role in the contemporary art world, positioning SITE for the next generation with a bold building that matches the inspiring expressions of the artists we champion.”

The new design will address the critical operational and programmatic needs of SITE’s existing facilities, while creating an iconic new spatial presence for the innovative cultural institution. Located at 1606 Paseo de Peralta-the heart of the burgeoning Santa Fe Railyard, named one of six Great Public Spaces in America this year by the American Planning Association-SITE’s building expansion will continue to lead the next phase of an already active and dynamic public space.

Andrew Wallerstein, SITE Board Chair, said, “SITE’s early commitment to the Railyard 20 years ago has acted as a catalyst for the redevelopment of the neighborhood, attracting galleries, retailers and other arts organizations. Today the Railyard is a hub of contemporary art and community. With this bold expansion designed by SHoP, SITE will build on its legacy.”

Led by SHoP principals, and project director, Ayumi Sugiyama, the design emphasizes SITE’s role as a progressive and dynamic cultural hub, while considering the current structure and SITE’s increased national and international profile. The nearly 15,000 square feet of new interior and exterior spaces represent SITE’s growth and enhanced capacity to present the best in contemporary art and to host more educational programs in-house.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to work with SITE Santa Fe to help transform its current home,” SHoP principal Christopher Sharples said. “Our design is based around the idea that art doesn’t have to be experienced in isolation. The galleries will become unique and intimate places to interact with art, even as the building itself opens up to the neighboring park, the life of the Railyard district, and gives SITE a greater presence in the landscape of the city as a whole.”

Key features of SHoP Architects’ design for SITE Santa Fe include: the new SITElab Exhibition gallery, which will expand to become an 1,800 square foot gallery; a new 3,000 square foot flexible lecture and event space; an Education Lab, featuring a 540 square foot classroom to welcome students from the surrounding areas; and new outdoor gathering and social spaces, including the 1,740 square foot Entrance Sculpture Court and the 1,825 square foot Sky Mezzanine.

The building’s low-slung form establishes a dialogue with Santa Fe Railyard Park and surrounding buildings, while an entrance court and rear porch (framed by a soaring layered and perforated façade), function as inviting and expansive public gathering spaces. Drawing inspiration from traditional Navajo patternmaking, and anchored in the distinctive material qualities of the Santa Fe Railyard, the building’s exterior not only reflects the rich history and culture of the American Southwest, but also expresses a contemporary aesthetic that is authentic to SITE Santa Fe. Read the rest of this entry »

This proposal for Viru Square by Joel Kerner, Chris Miller, and Kyle Faulkner seeks to create a new functional plaza space for Tallinn, without interfering with the existing or future transit system. The scheme provides a dedicated transit zone below grade that allows for the at grade surface to serve as a renewed pedestrian square. This solution becomes more necessary when autonomous vehicles are taken into consideration. Autonomous vehicles would be capable of traveling at higher speeds, therefore posing a greater potential conflict with pedestrians. Moreover, the roadway capacity of vehicles would increase due to reduced need for safety gaps. This increased volume of vehicles on the roadway would make it less likely for Viru Square to function as a plaza space. The renewed plaza serves as an armature around which a new focal point for Tallinn emerges. New office spaces and a branch library are proposed in order programmatically anchor the square, and to spatially reshape and define it as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Crown Resorts Limited (ASX: CWN) and its joint venture partner, Schiavello Group, announced today that award winning British architects, WilkinsonEyre had won the contest to design the proposed new Queensbridge Hotel Tower and precinct to be located in Melbourne’s Southbank area.

Crown and Schiavello conducted a global design competition which resulted in five architecture firms being shortlisted – WilkinsonEyre, Bates Smart, Hassell, Foster + Partners and Jean Nouvel. The competition jury selected the proposed design from WilkinsonEyre as the best proposal for the site and were unanimous in their decision.

Situated in one of Melbourne’s premier living and leisure destinations and one of Australia’s prime hosting areas for international meetings and events, the proposed Queensbridge Hotel Tower will comprise a 388room, luxury six–star hotel and approximately 680 apartments. The hotel will feature a truly unique special event space and a publicly accessible restaurant, lounge and garden terrace at the top of the tower.

The design also provides an active streetscape and public forecourt area with retail outlets and restaurants, which will become a new amenity for locals and visitors, connecting the ground floor of the building and hotel to the outdoors area.

In addition to the proposed landmark hotel tower, Crown and Schiavello are also proposing a major upgrade to Queensbridge Square improving the precinct’s attractiveness for local residents and visitors alike.

With its three Southbank hotels at nearly full capacity (over 90 percent occupancy), the addition of this luxury hotel will assist Melbourne to meet its future tourist accommodation demands, with Crown being able to offer over 2,000 guest rooms and suites, upon completion.

This luxury hotel addition coupled with the recently announced expansion of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will reinforce the Southbank precinct’s position as Victoria’s leading tourism, meetings, exhibitions and event destination.

A sculptural pedestrian link will provide hotel guests with all-weather access from the lobby of the new luxury hotel to the Crown Melbourne Resort. The joining of this prestigious development to the Crown Melbourne Resort will reinforce Crown’s market leading position in Australia as one of the largest international tourism and business destinations.

WilkinsonEyre’s elegant solution for the Queensbridge Hotel Tower will be created by three interlocking sculptural forms providing a graceful and unique addition to the Melbourne skyline.

Crown Resorts Executive Director, James Packer, thanked the judging panel and congratulated WilkinsonEyre on their appointment:

“WilkinsonEyre have designed a beautiful and elegant building that is destined to be an important addition to the Melbourne skyline. Melbourne just keeps getting better as a city, but we can’t take this success for granted.”

“A new hotel is the next evolution of Crown Melbourne. I am committed to this city and committed to keeping Crown Melbourne at the forefront of Australian tourism. A new Crown hotel means more rooms for interstate and international tourists and that means more jobs for Victorians,” Mr Packer said.

Schiavello Group Chairman, Tony Schiavello thanked all of the participating architects:

“It was a very competitive design process, with some of the world’s and region’s best known architects involved. The calibre of all five firms in the process shows how special the city of Melbourne is and its’ prominence on the world stage. This site deserves a truly special building and our vision is to create a landmark building that has international appeal, timeless form and design.”

“We want to create a place that people are proud to call home,”

Mr Schiavello said. Crown Resorts CEO, Rowen Craigie added:

‘‘The new luxury hotel addition to Crown Melbourne will have significant economic and employment benefits for Victoria with over 3,000 new direct and indirect jobs during construction and over 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs on an on-going basis after completion. The development will also assist Melbourne in attracting more high net worth tourists, reinforcing the city’s appeal as a destination for important international conferences, sporting and cultural events.”

On winning the design competition, Paul Baker, Director WilkinsonEyre said:

“We approached this project with the ambition to create an elegant and timeless building that will become a new, world-class landmark against the Melbourne skyline. All across the world we are seeing cities embrace iconic developments as they vie for their share of international tourists.”

“We are confident that the design of the proposed Hotel and the ’one of a kind’ offerings like the ’Sky Bar’ at the top of the tower will be ‘must see’ destinations in Melbourne. We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to design what we believe will be an outstanding addition to the world’s most liveable city,’’ Mr Baker said.

The proposed Queensbridge Hotel Tower development remains subject to planning approval, project financing and the finalisation of long form joint venture documentation between Crown and Schiavello.