Folded Forms 2

Source: predock.com

Gateway Center and Plaza, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 2000 designed by Antoine Predock

The design for the center invites visitors to the campus through the embodiment of Minnesota images ­ambiguously evoking a rock face or the iconic huddle of the Minnesota farmstead. The structure consists of three distinct forms: the large glass, granite and wood memorial hall which is adjacent to a sloping copper structure nestled against the regulating office block at the north. -- architect's web site

Source: wikipedia.org

Seattle Central Library, Seattle, Washington, USA, 2004 designed by OMA

The library's various programs are intuitively arranged across five platforms and four flowing "in between" planes, which together dictate the building’s distinctive faceted shape, offering the city an inspiring building that is robust in both its elegance and its logic. -- architect's web site

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Source: Norbert Miguletz archdaily.com

The Hinzert Museum and Document Center, Gedenkstätte Roter Ochse, Halle, Germany, 2005 designed by Wandel Hoefer Lorch + Hirsch

The all-in-one structure, roof and façade consists of over three thousand different triangular plates of 12-millimeter Corten steel. These were welded together in a workshop to form twelve large elements that were then assembled on site. The angles between the individual panels were calculated to ensure that the elements have an adequate structural height and that the entire construction forms a rigid folded plate. -- ArchDaily

Source: Andrea Illan archdaily.com

Diagonal 80, San Agustín del Guadalix, Madrid, Spain, 2008 designed by AMID (Cero9)

The geometry is a combination of triangulations, beams and bifurcated columns, with linear units that selectively stiffen the bearer system. The horizontal sub stressed beams bridge the decreasing width of the site in a single span and bifurcate when they reach the perimeter of the building. The aim is to rescue lightweight three-dimension structures from oblivion and use them in applications that go beyond lightweight roofs and enclosures, recovering the role of a space configurator for the bearer system: space equals structure. -- ArchDaily

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Source: Åke Eson Lindman archdaily.com

Facts Tåkern Visitor Centre, Glänås, Sweden, 2008 designed by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

All the way out where the forest ends and the reeds begin, a visitor center hovers low on piles set carefully into the water’s edge. The building is clad in thatch, camouflaged like a birdwatcher’s blind, hiding its contents from the natural world that surrounds it. This is quiet architecture, using traditional local materials to break new ground with its crystalline geometry. Steep roofs transition seamlessly into walls. The steep pitch gives them longevity. The ridge, where a thatched roof is most vulnerable, is transformed into a glazed skylight. -- ArchDaily

Source: Alejo Bagué archdaily.com

Azahar Headquarters, Castellón, Spain, 2009 designed by OAB

The headquarters is erected as an icon building maintaining a close relationship with the landscape. To both the north and west the topography of the mountains serves as a backdrop to the building, against which the geometrical roofs repeatedly stand out. From a distance their facetted shape and outline help situate the building in the landscape. -- ArchDaily

Source: Daniele Domenicali

Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies, Ningbo, China, 2009 designed by Mario Cucinella Architects

It has been designed to minimise its environmental impact by promoting energy efficiency, generating its own energy from renewable sources, and using locally available materials with low embodied energy wherever possible.  -- World Architecture News

Source: Adam Mørk archdaily.com

The Crystal, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2010 designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects

“Freestanding on the site, the building reads as a transparent, geometrical, glazed form which, resting only on a single point and a single line, floats as a visually light, crystalline structure above the plaza,” explained Partner Mr Kim Holst Jensen of schmidt hammer lassen architects. He continued: “The building and the plaza are designed to interact with each other and with the surrounding city.”  -- ArchDaily

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Source: Arash Nasiri archdaily.com

Noor-e-Mobin Sports Hall, Bastam, Semnan, Iran, 2010 designed by FEA Studio

The idea was to create a building that would be like a part of a natural thing not only as a building construction and it will become to a landscape (like a cloud) itself. The matter of great importance was that how a natural form can be inspired from the nature, the program be added, drawn and be called “The nature” again. -- ArchDaily

Source: Alison Paine archdaily.com

Albany Entertainment Centre, Toll Place, Albany WA 6330, Australia, 2010 designed by Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland + Roberts Gardiner

The Albany Entertainment Centre forms a jewel placed in the heart of the harbour, a piece of waterside sculpture whose form is bred out of the crystalline molecular structures of the earth like a cut diamond which changes and reflects light as you move around it. Elegant and not imposing, it responds to the undulating composition of the harbour framed by the mountain saddle in which the township sits. -- ArchDaily

Source: Gnädinger Architekten archdaily.com

Museum of Historical Markmenship, Berlin, Germany, 2011 designed by Gnädinger Architekten

....an expressive new wing made of concrete, consisting of assembled triangular folds. The addition, mainly houses the emergency staircases, as well as a gallery with a void in front of a big window. In keeping with the shape of the new building, the three story open staircases are also sculptural in design and form. -- ArchDaily

Source: Amit Geron construction.com

Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2011 designed by Preston Scott Cohen

Seen from the flat plaza that wraps around it on two sides, Preston Scott Cohen's radical addition to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art strikes a geometrically independent pose. But this angled and faceted block dressed in precast concrete actually connects with its context much more than it disrupts, continuing a legacy of innovative architecture that has made Tel Aviv a Bauhaus mecca since the 1920s.  -- Architectural Record

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Source: Régis Golay, FEDERAL STUDIO

ICRC Logistics Complex, Geneva, Switzerland, 2011 designed by group8

The different functions which create the plan of this building fit in a rectangular shape. The building’s skin is made of a white canvas, a material that has a very strong symbolical value considering the ICRC’s fieldwork. The trucks’ cover made of canvas evokes the ICRS’s logistic work to supply food and medical material, the tent’s canvas suggest the image of a refuge. The white color underlines the idea of neutrality, referring to the ICRC’s vocation. -- ArchDaily

Source: Juan Rodríguez archdaily

Municipal Auditorium of Teulada, Teulada, Alicante, Spain, 2011 designed by Francisco Mangado

In carefully carved pieces it contains the cafeteria and restaurant and an exhibition area at a lower level, all of them with views onto the Mediterranean. Like the ceiling, the floor of this ‘huge opening’ folds here and there to evoke the seashore rocks. At night this facade is a backdrop, a lighthouse shining over the paths that join Teulada to Moraira. -- ArchDaily

 Source: Javier Callejas Sevilla archdaily.com

Biodiversity Center, Loja, Spain, 2011 designed by Tomas Garcia Piriz (CUAC.arquitectura) + Jose Luis Muñoz Muñoz

The strong conditions for topology, the encounter of the main slopes (up to 5m) will be solved by the building, performing similar to a hinge between the three different platforms of the terrain. The main access to be cultivated area and buildings is compromised due to having only one access point.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Jonathan Leijonhufvud archdaily.com

Forte Nanshan, Chongqing, China, 2011 designed by SPARK

The roof folds down towards the main entry forming outdoor seating continuing the scenic route along the roof down towards the water. Thus the clubhouse seems to grow from the ground when approaching the main entry, and rising out of the reflecting water surface five meters lower on the opposite side of the building. This terraced space is echoed in the interior spaces where the visitors enter into a low ceilinged space to descend into the double height space that is now used as the sales room. -- ArchDaily

Source: Alejandro García y Arquitectos archdaily.com

Tourism Office in Arteixo, A Coruña, Spain, 2012 designed by Alejandro García y Arquitectos

.... a new skin to the building that was with a new, modern and resistant material in the time. -- ArchDaily

Source: Archexist archdaily.com

West Street Number 1, Wudaokou, Haidian, Beijing, China, 2012 designed by 6A2 Studio, Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tsinghua University

....consider the main traffic flows, both day and night, different time period and perspective angles, using building’s form and skin to attract customers’ attention, to cause discussions, and to increase media exposure. -- ArchDaily

Source: Simón García archdaily.com

Multifunctional Building “Fondo”, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona, Spain designed by Pich-Aguilera Architects

The new building “Fondo” is a polyfunctional endowment which pretends to respond to the needs and requirements of the dense city, while concentrating in one only volume, diverse functions that are normally scattered throughout the city and linked to the ground floor. -- ArchDaily

Source: Stéphane Chalmeau archdaily.com

Paloma, Nîmes, France, 2012 designed by Tetrarc Architects

Tetrarc has devised a tonic form which springs out from the ground and flows out towards the sky and the town as if some powerful internal forces are pushing at its walls and are threatening to shatter them. This zinc shell actually stretches, frays, even tears apart in some parts in order to display– like a supernatural eye – the giant screen which announces performances and artists. -- ArchDaily

Source: Wilkinson Eyre Architects archdaily.com

The Crystal, London, UK designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects

.... the form of the structure draws inspiration from the many sides of the crystal. The crystalline geometry of the architecture forms a series of angular shapes, helping to create a confident architectural focal point for the area. As the building occupies a prominent, highly visible location it has been designed as “a pavilion in a park”. The design does not have front and back facades or a traditionally defined roof but has been conceived as a set of facets which creates a striking impression when viewed from street level and when seen from above. -- ArchDaily

Source: Kengo Kuma & Associates archdaily.com

Kyushu Geibunkan, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, 2013 designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates

We redefined roof, one of the main architectural vocabulary, as an assembly of small slopes. The museum is firmly rooted in the local community and is open to the environment in many respects. We also applied a variety of materials into the roof and the wall, as part of our attempt to “community-forming.” This village-like museum with “scattering roof” is harmonized with its surrounding traditional hamlet. -- ArchDaily

Source: Mathieu Choiselat archdaily.com

Hotel Agglo, Bayonne, France, 2013 designed by Gardera-D Architecture

The shape of the created building is dictated by the positioning of the existing trees, thus deforming the volume to fit the construction in the clearing without having to destroy any trees. -- ArchDaily

Source: Domagoj Blažević archdaily.com

Sports Hall and Public Square, Krk, Croatia, 2013 designed by Turato Architects

the most representative façade of the Hall, the one visually dominating the square, is the façade constructed out of six impressively large concrete monoliths, weighing up to 23 tons. The monolithic blocks are finished off with a layer of ‘terrazzo’, which is an ancient technique usually used for floor finishes, requiring hours of polishing by hand. Here, however, the terrazzo is redefined and used vertically, fittingly renamed into a “vertical terrazzo”. -- ArchDaily

Source: Ina Reinecke archdaily.com

Production Hall, Hettingen, Germany, 2013 designed by Barkow Leibinger 

The permanent long façade facing the Lauchert Creek and valley is articulated as a gently folded origami of corrugated metal and glass to scale the factory building to the neighboring singlefamily houses with pitched roofs.  -- ArchDaily

Source: John Gollings archdaily.com

West Taihu International Business Plaza, Wujin, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China, 2013 designed by LAB Architecture Studio + SIADR

The dynamic shape provides a unique, sculptural form as one approaches the building. Located on a corner site, the faceted planes of the building shift their formal relationships when seen from different vantage points. The “rock crystal” is purposely asymmetrical in its formal massing, with faceted planes bevelled to differing orientations. -- ArchDaily

Source: Shenzhen Upright & Pure Architectural Design archdaily.com

Vanke Sales Center Façade Renovation, Zhengzhou, Henan, China, 2013 designed by Shenzhen Upright &Pure Architectural Design

....an integrated geometry configuration by using some architectural strategies, such as separating the surface into multiple triangular surfaces with different spatial relationships, emphasizing the sharpness feeling at building corner, using the metal and glass building surface materials to enrich the Hi-tech effect etc. -- ArchDaily

Source: Alex Bland archdaily.com

LSE Saw Hock Student Centre, Houghton Street, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, 2013 designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects

The folded, chamfered, canted and faceted façade operates with respect to the Rights of Light Envelope and is tailored in response to specific lines of sight along approaching vistas and from street corner perspectives. -- ArchDaily

Source: Kyungsub Shin archdaily.com

Knot House, Aju-dong, Geoje-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, 2014 designed by Atelier Chang

Five white, sculptural buildings rest on a cliff of the southern coast in Geoje Island, South Korea.  The white walls fold in themselves to create a private ocean view from each house. -- ArchDaily

Source: Wison Tungthunya archdaily.com

Nat Motor Head Office, Udon Thani, Thailand, 2014 designed by M space

The folded and twisted planes projecting from the driveway generate a building form that conveys dynamicity and linkage to the city’s transportation network. Each fold creates not only overlapped functional spaces but also an open spatial layer that unfolds itself as semi-outdoor multi-purpose area partly covered by an extended roof. The symbolic roof protects the building from strong sun and rain, and provides shading for the activity space underneath. Such manner is responsive to the local tropical lifestyles similar to what a traditional Thai house offers. -- ArchDaily

Source: Hundven-Clements Photography archdaily.com

Community Church Knarvik, Knarvik, Norway, 2014 designed by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter

The church signals its function with a sacral dignity and recognisable form, where the church spire, sanctuary and chapel are emphasised by ascending roof planes. Inspired by the local tradition of Norwegian stave churches, the building utilizes clear and elemental geometries, materials and constructions. -- ArchDaily

Source: Terroir archdaily.com

Tornhuset, Malmö, Sweden, 2014 designed by Terroir

The conception of the building as a “hinge” prompted us to explore a folded plate language for the new building such that it could act as a hinge in the city and also a hinge between itself and the original “Tornhuset”. The form of the project emerged from a fascination roof in the original “Tornhuset” which, at first glance looks conventional, but is an unexpected formal play based in a simple gable logic which is then embellished in response to the precise geometry of the floor plate below. -- ArchDaily

Source: Nils Petter Dale archdaily.com

Steinsdalsfossen Waterfall, Hardangervegen, Bergen, Norway, 2014 designed by JVA

A slanted concrete wall was introduced to mediate the difference in levels between the road and the parking area. This wall becomes the spine of the project as it follows the curve of the road on one hand, while being the backbone for the buildings on the other. -- ArchDaily