Museum of Troy, RTA-Office, Santiago Parramón, DOME Partners, energy efficiency, green building, interdisciplinary design, Turkey, wood architecture, zero emission, museum design

Led by Santiago Parramón, RTA-Office’s inspiring design for Museum of Troy at Çanakkale, Turkey, was carried out in collaboration with local Turkish studio DOME Partners (Istanbul). The idea was to create a generator for social activity, culture and research. The task was complex and demanding – design had to be the complement to the ruins of Troy, reflecting the magnificence of the civilization, while it still had to be a jewel, valued for its uniqueness. The outcome was successful: respecting the dignity of the natural environment the lines of the museum are reminiscent of the geometry of Troy. The designed piece captures movement and a single form is creating a continuous space. Read the rest of this entry »

geodesic dome, dome, Danish National Association for Social Housing, housing of the future

 

The design for Peoples Meeting Dome in Bornholm, Denmark was practical response of young Danish architects, Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen, to a debate about future of housing. Their ambition was to create outstanding and highly optimized architecture, yet site-specific and contextual as possible. The proposal was deconstructed geodesic dome – still rational and mathematically generated, but with the improved aesthetic qualities and towards attractive, humanized and inviting architecture.

Structural frame of their intriguing edifice, a meeting place and the exhibition tent for the Danish National Association for Social Housing, is triangular and adaptive – sacred geometry is flexible so the dome could be shaped by the local surrounding and the particular uses of the project. The envelope consists of translucent greenhouse membranes on the sphere surfaces and transparent PVC film, used for windows.

Primary structure of the pavilion is system of steel nodes, which can build demanding “lettuce” arrangement in combination with wood. Skeleton is alterable – it is designed to be adaptable to given parameters, dissembled and reassembled and placed in new design. It is column-free, with no load bearing interior walls, great clear space with multiple possibilities of interior design and windows placement. Read the rest of this entry »

Helsinki Central Library, OODA, architectural competition, OODA, ooda, Helsinki Central Library, bio efficiency, iconic design, Helsinki, Finland, Toolonlahti, sustainable design

 

In their competition entry for Helsinki Central Library, Portuguese practice OODA aimed to transform the space for reading into a social hub with multiple responsibilities. The focus of the concept was to reexamine common library experience and incorporate a combination of personal and social cultivation, culture enhancement and entertainment. OODA is proposing attractive yet bold design – impressive building which acts as a gathering place and important cultural cluster.

This progressive library design was aiming to overcome issues of traditional concepts – individual organization and lack of complementing contents by redefining the image, proposing the dynamic space of cultural activation, information and place where all media forms are equally presented. Flexibility of vertically connected programs creates the impression of continuity of space while encourages socializing and knowledge sharing atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »

Shanghai Wuzhou International Plaza, sda, SDA (Synthesis Design+Architecture), Shanghai, China,  mixed-use, mixed-use development, yin and yang, titanium zink panels, zinc carbonate, urban development, Urban Canyon, luxury retail, lifestyle development

 

“Urban Canyon” is recently awarded entry for colossal, 180,000 square meters mixed-use complex in Shanghai, China. Expressive and dynamic design for Shanghai Wuzhou International Plaza is a result of successful collaboration between Synthesis Design + Architecture and Shenzhen General Architectural Design Institute. The very form of the complex was inspired by traditional Chinese concept of Yin and Yang – massive development is broken in two pieces, allowing circulation flow between. Both volumes are organized as a collection of two 30 story towers and series of detached retail units. Northern block houses 4 story luxury retail shopping center and a 5 star hotel tower, while southern part facilitates two office towers and lifestyle and entertainment complex. This urban sculpture is new landmark for the city and iconic celebration of luxury, wealth and good life. Read the rest of this entry »

Xiamen Dream City, SDA, Synthesis Design + Architecture, Xiamen city, China, parametric design, parametric skyscraper, mixed-use, sustainable design, eco architecture, urban landscape, waterfront, beachfront

 

SDA | Synthesis Design + Architecture’s design concept for Xiamen Dream City in China challenges the conventional notion of the city waterfront. This monumental artificial landscape facilitates 300,000 square meters of programs. Almost continuous contour line of natural topography of the complex is activated by careful placement of the main programmatic elements. The result of this strategic arrangement is pleasantly chaotic – endless play of surfaces generates undulating dunes, canyons and valleys. Dynamic effect of cascading openings creates articulated network of continuously connected spaces. Final line of the waterfront is a joined venture of view vectors, programmatic forces and pedestrian circulation.

Due to the selection of materials of the envelope and its seamless transition between the ground, the facade and the roof of the complex, the enormous structure is perfectly embedded within the context as it seems to be emerging from the beach itself.

Contents of the low-rise buildings are revealed beneath the surface, therefore conserving precious ground level for a gradient network of public plazas, linear gardens and pathways. Below rests a vast, underground, multi-level concourse, facilitating numerous entertainment venues, luxury retail and dining, lit by sculptural north-facing glass surfaces on the roof, providing diffuse, north skylight. Read the rest of this entry »

Istanbul Disaster Prevention and Education Centre, OODA, disaster-proof design, sustainable design, disaster awareness, eco architecture, mixed-use, public buildings

OODA‘s unconventional design for Disaster Prevention and Education Center in Istanbul is a proposal  for ThyssenKrupp international competition. In an era of increased environmental concerns, developing public awareness about natural disasters, in this case earthquakes, is of crucial importance. The project augments the experience of these situations and acts as a cautionary tale by simulating actual scenarios, predicting spaces and creating eventual ambiances. The Center, fully equipped by adequate technology is allowing its visitors to actually experience hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, fire fighting and smoke.

The interior of this enormous cross-shaped building is a multi-level roller coaster of overlapping programs, connected through a central point, which receives and guides the public in its interaction with the building. Six separate programmatic areas – the entrance, planetarium, training, simulation, library, conference area and administration need specific connectivity along both axes; therefore the form of the building actually follows the requirements of its main program components. Read the rest of this entry »