Rooted in the country’s long tradition of wood architecture, the Helsinki Library proposal by Djuric+Tardio Architectes is a tripartite wooden organism, housing 3 different areas: the lobby and the multi-purpose program, the library, and the cinema and exhibition space. The main part of the building- the library, is conceived as a spiral, a double concentric ramp swirling around “a real tower of books”. The project reexamines the experience of reading, a return to books as sources of knowledge, combining at the same time print and electronic media and devices. Read the rest of this entry »

The Museum for Historical Marksmanship is located in Duderstadt, one of Germany’s most important half-timbered towns. It stands in the place on an abandoned house – the renovation started in 2009 and involved reestablishment of half-timbered structure, along with the introduction of new exhibition spaces. The massive historic stone wall acts as a support for the structure on one side of the ensemble. A steel bridge connects the new spaces to the adjacent  “Georgsturm”, build onto the town wall in the eighteen century, emphasizing the building’s strong relationship with its surroundings. Read the rest of this entry »

An innovative outdoor sculpture at Washington University School of Architecture: This is a class project with mixed media (plywood and plastic), under the direction of Joe MacDonald of Urban A&O. It is an organic shape of concave shapes that play with light and shadows.

Designed, fabricated and assembled by Zephyr Anthony, Andrew Davis, Kyle Fant, Xiaoshuang Hu, Allyson Justmann, Andrew McCready, Kelly Peoples, Xiaofei Ren, Bo Sheng, Jordan Smith, Benjamin Stephenson, Duo Yu, Thomas Watkins.

This research and design studio focused on parametric explorations or reticulation: division, marking, and assembly with the intention of forming programmatic and structural networks. They were seeking creative architectural solutions based on material properties, formal geometry and the spatial implications of a full scale installation. Students worked as a team when they approached the fabrication component of the studio. Read the rest of this entry »

Best in Category - Professional Digital/Mixed: Robert Gilson, RG_CC

The 2012 KRob competition has announced six winners, three jury citations, and twenty finalists. Now in its 38th year, the annual Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition is the longest running architectural drawing competition anywhere in the world. The 2012 jury was comprised of Jeff Mottle, Founder of CGarchitect Digital Media Corporation; Carlo Aiello, Editor-in-Chief & Creative Director at eVolo Magazine; and Michael Malone, AIA, Founder of Michael Malone Architects.

Best in Category - Physical Submission: Chris Cornelius, STUDIO:INDIGENOUS

Best in Category - Professional Hand: Gary Schuberth, AIA, ASAI, NCARB, LEED AP

Best in Category - Travel Sketch: Stephanie Bower, STEPHANIE BOWER, ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATION

Best in Category - Student Hand: Andres Jaime, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Best in Category - Student Digital/Mixed: Ross Jordan, MEng, UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

Juror Citation: Anna Boldina, DIP Arch, MArch UD

Juror Citation: Maj PLEMENITAS, MAJ PLEMENITAS - LINKSCALE

Juror Citation: Michael Cincala, VIRGINIA TECH

Libraries are increasingly the places in which culture is produced, collected and disseminated. The Ambient Exchange designed by Synthetiques & minus Architecture studio {MAS} promotes a culture of collaboration, creative inquiry and community engagement through provision of functional and exuberant spaces that engage the strong social and craft-oriented traditions of the Finnish built environment.

The Ambient Exchange engages a vital site, including the broader city, by placing its cultural and shared amenities at the level of the park and the street. The building is treated as an extension of the site topography, pulling people up into the spaces that encourage interaction and collaboration among the various users. Views of the Parliament and cultural amenities of the city drive the library’s formal, programmatic and functional organization. Read the rest of this entry »

The project of the new Sofia pavilion designed by Riccardo Giovanetti for Sofia Interior Doors arises from the idea of exploiting a range of industrial products, completely altering their original intended use and turning them into structural elements of a vast architectural space. In the specific instance, this concerns a series of tiles made from recycled plastic; these eco-slabs, originally meant for gardens and green areas, has been used as tesserae to cover a big volume of sharp and rigorous shapes.

The final result is a neo organic architecture characterized from a peculiar transparency, in which the relation between the internal and the external surfaces is very close. At the same time the pavilion presents itself as a space with a very rich and articulated image in which depth, textures and the casual pattern of the structural elements are highlighted. The pavilion has been developed through a sequence of three distinct areas: a wide exhibition room at the entrance, intended to the exposition of the company’s doors, then a lounge area delimited by a big white wall and at last, a technical area, at the back. Read the rest of this entry »

The free-form geometries of SDA’s (Synthesis Design+Architecture) Daegu Gosan Library proposal aims to embody the spirit of a revisited library typology – open-source exchange and the idea of collective knowledge are facilitated by flowing architecture and its integration into the existing urban tissue of the city. It is a hybrid environment that merges information resources with active communal spaces.

The building seems to emerge from the site, as the ground field of the site swells, peels and multiplies vertically. The boundaries between the floors are blurred- the building develops spontaneously, forming different spaces of the library. Floors, ramps, stairs and terraces are merged into one landscape, culminating with an open lounge and terrace overlooking the city of Deagu.

The geometry of the building was developed using the computational technique known as “dynamic mesh relaxation” which relaxes planar mesh networks to find a continuously minimal surface. The main support point is the central core, along with internal and perimeter interconnections. The cast-in-place high performance concrete would be cast on CNC-milled EPS foam formwork, coated with polyurethane. Read the rest of this entry »

Time Tension Wood is a construction system design by Taylor Gilbert based on a technique used by the Native American Indians for making bows. By applying consistent tension to freshly cut wood, the wood will slowly and gradually bend as it dries. Once the wood is dry after 3-5 months, the structure is permanent, and the ropes can be removed.

The system consists of brass brackets and ropes with a simple tension mechanism that are used to easily connect and manipulate freshly cut wooden poles. These components can be used to make a variety of objects and structures from a coat rack and tabletop supports to space dividers and small-scale architecture. Since this method relies on the natural properties of the wood in a slow process, there is no need for steam, heat, or any special equipment. Almost any kind of wood can be used, so the majority of the material can be sourced locally. Read the rest of this entry »

Combining Jakarta’s need for both densification and green spaces, MVRDV have designed a vertical city that offers a wide variety of office and housing typologies, along with semi-public roof park. Peruri 88 is a cooperative venture between MVRDV, ARUP, the Jerde Partnership and developer Wijaya Karya.

The 400 meter tall tower, part of a developer’s bid competition for the Jl. Palatehan 4 site in Jakarta, mixes retail, offices, housing, luxury hotels, parking and cultural content. It comprises different housing typologies – from lofts to townhouses, stacked vertically as urban blocks. According to David Rogers, FAIA, Jerde Design Director, the inspiration for the building was found “in Java’s natural setting – lush jungle and stone surrounded by expansive ocean”. Read the rest of this entry »

Morphosis has recently completed their Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, which in now open to the public. The main body of the museum, in the shape of a large cube, emerges from a large plinth covered in stones and drought-resistant grasses that reflects the Texas landscape. The new building is located in Victory Park and will replace some of the facilities of the existing Museum of Science and Nature, situated in the adjacent Fair Park. Read the rest of this entry »