Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Bundled Up 2

Source: ArchDaily
Tower Town, Taichung, Taiwan designed by Visiondivision
When the Taiwan Tower competition in Taichung asked participants for an iconic skyscraper, Visiondivision responded with a cluster of over 100 slender towers that challenges the expected experiences within and aesthetics of a 21st century tower.   Tower Town, a result of examining the traditional skyscraper and questioning its spatial offerings, creates a dense urban environment with its fragmented massing.  -- ArchDaily
Source: Simone Bossi archdaily.com
Duecentosessanta MQ, Levico Terme Trentino, Italy designed by Simone Bossi
A worthless and unused tennis court was the reason for an international art competition called 260MQ organized by studio supergulp (firenze – italy)with the aim to achieve a new space quality. The work is a site specific pavillion that describes the surroundings, underlines the importance of the elements playing with, as light, water, stone, wood. Visitors can enter into the opera, walking trough the wooden boards, sit in a small patio on a stone. They can relax for a while and consider what they have around. The pavillion can also be used for events and concerts as a real scenography where characters can dissappear or silently walk in the dark water that constantly reflects the sky. -- ArchDaily

Monday, July 30, 2012

Waterfront Redevelopment 2

Source: LMN/Studio archdaily.com
Vancouver Convention Centre West, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2009 designed by LMN + DA with MCM
Situated on Vancouver’s waterfront with spectacular views of mountains, ocean, and parks, the Vancouver Convention Centre West is designed to bring together the natural ecology, vibrant local culture, and built environment, accentuating their interrelationships through the architecture. The project achieved LEED® Canada Platinum certification, the first convention center to gain such recognition in the world, and recently received a COTE 2011 Top Ten Green Project Award. -- ArchDaily

Source: Wojtek Gurak archdaily.com
Stockholm Waterfront, Stockholm, Sweden, 2010 designed by White arkitekter ab
Stockholm Waterfront lies adjacent to Stockholm’s Central Station. The site has the best public exposure in Stockholm, with thousands of train passengers passing by every day – its position on the Riddarfjärden bay and its proximity to Stockholm’s City Hall also make it an ideal location.
The project consists of three separate buildings with a lower congress and concert section closest to the water, an office building, and a 400-room hotel directly connected to the congress building. -- ArchDaily

Friday, July 27, 2012

Waterfront Redevelopment

Source: Prodromos Nikiforidis – Bernard Cuomo archdaily.com
Redevelopment of the New Coast of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2009 designed by Prodromos Nikiforidis – Bernard Cuomo
The design, the choice of materials, the choice of plantation, the lighting, they all have to contribute not only to the construction of a high quality public space but mainly to the organization of a space that is “inscribed” smoothly to the existing urban landscape and its management and maintenance do not demand the waste of valuable resources. -- ArchDaily

Source: West 8 archdaily.com
Toronto Central Waterfront, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2011 designed by West 8 and DTAH
The Central Waterfront, 3.5 km of Lake Ontario shoreline immediately adjacent to the downtown business district, is one of Toronto’s most valuable assets. Yet, despite decades of planning and patchwork development projects, there is no coherent vision for linking the pieces into a greater whole – visually or physically. In this context, the fundamental objective of the project is to address this deficiency by creating a consistent and legible image for the Central Waterfront, in both architectural and functional terms. -- ArchDaily

Source: Shai Gil archdaily.com
Sherbourne Common Pavilion, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2011 designed by Teeple Architects
The sculptural form of the pavilion was generated through extensive collaboration with landscape architects, artists and civil engineers who designed the storm water purification for the entire waterfront. The structure is a physical embodiment of the overall vision for the park that focuses on public interaction and connection to water, specifically Lake Ontario. The pavilion plays a significant role in the water purification process, while inter-connecting the various elements of the park. -- ArchDaily

Source: Simon Devitt Photographer archdaily.com
Jellicoe Harbour and Silo Park, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland, New Zealand, 2011 designed by Taylor Cullity Lethl​ean, Wraight + Associates
Working waterfronts are constantly in flux; crusty, utilitarian, muscular and dissolving, with temporal qualities that engage all of our senses. Yet contemporary waterfront redevelopments are often characterised by the removal of the very qualities that attract us to these places. At Auckland’s Wynyard Point redevelopment these conventions are challenged in a development that anticipates transforming a forlorn industrial and maritime precinct into a layered, mixed-use precinct. -- ArchDaily

Source: Craig Kuhner archdaily.com
Wilmington Waterfront Park, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2011 designed by Sasaki Associates
The Wilmington Waterfront Park is the first project to be fully implemented. Built on a 30-acre brownfield site, the new urban park revitalizes the community and visually reconnects it to the waterfront. The park integrates a variety of active and passive uses—informal play, public gathering, community events, picnicking, sitting, strolling, and observation—determined through an extensive community outreach process. The open space serves as a public amenity by doubling the current community open space while also buffering the Wilmington community from the extensive port operations to the south. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jesús Torres García archdaily.com
Las Negras Waterfront, Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata, Nijar, Spain designed by Jesús Torres García
The example of Las Negras elicits a considerate approach to the public element; the choice of materials has been decisive in consolidating the work within its urban interaction: the  of the structure and the coverings of perimeter benches encourage a pleasant treatment favouring its consolidation. There is a symmetrical psychology in the human treatment that is here applied to the use and the form of the material as a means of the object’s expression. This reflection refers to the natural element, the sound of the sea, the material and shape of natural elements, the vegetation, the geological configurations, as well as the settings of interest. -- ArchDaily

Source: Prodromos Nikiforidis archdaily.com
New Waterfront of Thessaloniki, Aggelaki, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2014 designed by Nikiforidis-Cuomo Architects
The total length of the New Waterfront is 3km. There are 2.353 new trees, 118.432 new plants, 58,75 acres of green spaces and 11.557m2 of playgrounds. 
....at the inner side of the coast, 13 green spaces were formed, as a succession of “green rooms – gardens”, each with a special thematic characteristic. -- ArchDaily

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Climbing Up 5

Source: Constantin Meyer archdaily.com
International Youth Center, Oberschleißheim, Germany, 2009 designed by ATELIER 30
In the center of the main house, a large introverted space opens up beneath a skylight, structured by the “staircase of encounters”. In addition to its function as access to the dormitories on the first floor, it serves a s a communicative center. Aside from offering a space for lingering and conversation, it also serves as an exhibition space and various events may be staged there. -- ArchDaily

 Source: Adam Mørk archdaily.com
Middelfart Savings Bank, Middelfart, Denmark, 2010 designed by 3XN
From the plaza, one enters a large, indoor ‘market place’, the heart of the building. At entrance level, a bookshop, a café and a real estate agent and the cash desk is placed. The rest of the bank’s area is spread at a series of terraces with open connections to the plaza and to each other. The terraces are connected by spacious staircases that provide good opportunities for the important informal meeting. -- ArchDaily
Source: Adam Mørk archdaily.com
New Flagship Campus for City of Westminster College, Westminster, UK, 2010 designed by schmidt hammer lassen architects
The building’s simple geometric forms rotate around a terraced atrium, creating a unifying yet flexible organisation. -- ArchDaily

Source: Lawrence Anderson officesnapshots.com
Grupo Gallegos, Huntington Beach, California, USA, 2010 designed by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
The office itself is located across the street from the Huntington Beach pier, giving employees access to the beach, sunshine, and a killer location. Because of this, the design incorporates elements of the beach like bright colors and the eye-catching sunbrellas.
LOHA worked to give employees a layout that would promote easy and meaningful collaboration. Part of that was done by knocking down walls and barriers to give ‘visual connectivity’. Tangram Studios worked to fit out the space with furniture that would work to bring a new culture and vibe to a creative company.
And they’ve got a basketball court. -- Office Snapshots

Source: Iwan Baan archdaily.com
EYE – New Dutch Film Institute, Shell Terrain, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2011 designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects
A generous staircase leads from the entrance of the exhibition area to the upper level and towards the big showroom. This ascent is widely visible from the foyer and it is suited for the effective enactments of special appearances at premiers and other events. -- ArchDaily
Source: Iwan Baan construction.com
The Juilliard School, New York City, New York, USA, 2011 designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with FXFOWLE
To engage Juilliard with its urban community, and vice-versa, the architects created a glazed four-level east wing extension that reaches over the Alice Tully Hall lobby like a luminous cantilevered proscenium, aligning with — not backing away from — Broadway. They infused the public areas with daylight by continuing the glazing along two levels of the south elevation, where it reveals a new street-side entrance, complete with a playful stair-cum-built-in grandstand seating.  -- Architectural Record

Source: Tom Arban archdaily.com
Energy Environment Experiential Learning, Calgary, AB, Canada, 2011 designed by Perkins+Will + DIALOG
Placing a large emphasis on informal learning, the building centres around a ‘social stair’ that facilitates interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration. -- ArchDaily

Source: Kouji Okamoto archdaily.com
K Kindergaten, Fukuoka, Japan, 2011 designed by NKS Architects
....design only the basic organization of the building, like functional zoning, light condition, wind flow and so on, by means of systematic and characteristic concrete frames. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jasper Sanidad archdaily.com
Atlassian Offices, San Francisco, California, USA, 2012 designed by Studio Sarah Willmer
The existing trussed double height space of the warehouse inspired the design of a “Town Square” and amphitheater: a common space for staff meetings, presentations, and product launches. Naturally becoming the focus of their new workplace, the wood terraced amphitheater seating took on a life of its own, evolving into a sculpted wood object carved at its underbelly with frameless glass enclosing a primary conference room. Facing the amphitheater, six transparent conference rooms, one wrapped in wood, define and contain the public event space. -- ArchDaily

Welcome to Corporate Kindergarten By William Hanley September 2012 Architectural Record

Source: BDG Architects Zwolle archdaily.com
CAH Dronten, Dronten, The Netherlands, 2012 designed by BDG Architects Zwolle
The two buildings for education are placed in the glasshouse and are connected to each other on the ground floor.  Two big stairs on each side of the building leads you to the inner plaza on the first floor. The classrooms, auditoria and the offices are placed in the two buildings, the stairs and the plaza are meant as places where student and teacher can meet en discuss with each other. -- ArchDaily

Source: Klaas Verdru archdaily.com
Passive Kindergarten Oostduinkerke, Koksijde, Belgium, 2012 designed by BURO II + ARCHI+I
The newly constructed nursery section will be partly underground. This way, the new building creates a number of benefits: A scenic integration with the build-up environment and a spacious outside play area for the children. All classes walk out into a wind-free covered class garden that serves as a safe outside area. Children have access to the grass areas around the school as well as to the play roof. The children can access the play equipment on the grass roof via a play hill or via a staircase from the polyvalent area. -- ArchDaily

Source: archrecord.construction.com
James B. Hunt Jr. Library, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 2012 designed by Snøhetta
The long rectangular volume provides 221,000 square feet of space for up to 1,700 students in traditional and informal study rooms, technology labs, and lounges. An envelope of fritted glass crossed by a zig-zag of aluminum sun shades lets in daylight and permits views to a nearby lake. -- Architectural Record

Source: Arkitema archdaily.com
New City School, Frederikshavn, Denmark, 2012 designed by Arkitema Architects
The central square of the school, that we call the heart has naturally been placed in the centre of the star. This is the meeting point of all zones – a learning space that is enhanced by a big sculptural stairway. The square is the central shared space that can be accessed from all departments. It is the dynamo of the school where teaching, learning and social activities melt in an inspiring atmosphere. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jiri Havran archdaily.com
Spikerverket, Oslo, Norway, 2012 designed by MAD arkitekter
To encourage informal communication and chance meetings, all the social and common areas – coffee bars, meeting rooms, showroom – are located around a core, Egmont’s Heart. Here, an atrium opens through the building. From a sculptural and colourful amphitheatre on the ground floor the main stairs criss-crosses the atrium at a different position on each level. This maximises the lines of sight for people taking the stairs and encourages spontaneous communication. -- ArchDaily

Source: Tuomas Uusheimo archdaily.com
City Library in Seinäjoki, Seinäjoki, Finland, 2012 designed by JKMM Architects
At the core of the new building’s interior design is a large central reading terrace, a venue for events and a place for spending time, which leads the visitor to the collections downstairs and, through a subterranean passage, to the old library -- ArchDaily

Source: Dennis Gilbert archdaily.com
South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy, Bilston, Wolverhampton, UK, 2012 designed by Capita Architecture
Platforms at different levels provide exciting views between differing storeys, whilst wide internal staircases linking between floors provide both additional informal lecture areas and intuitive wayfinding. -- ArchDaily

Source: Peter Jarvard archdaily.com
Campus Roskilde, Roskilde County, Denmark, 2012 designed by Henning Larsen Architects
The new campus will facilitate dialogue and random meetings and provide the students with a feeling of being part of a manifold university environment beating with one pulse. -- ArchDaily

Source: Bartosz Kolonko archdaily.com
Tony’s Organic House, Shanghai, China, 2013 designed by Playze
A pixelated assemblage of oaken boxes seems to grow through the three lower floors of the building, generating a spatial continuum throughout the different levels. The central stair has been designed as a flexible playground for different events. Modular cubes can be arranged in specific layouts to cater to various programs like presentations, exhibitions, public receptions and informal meetings. -- ArchDaily

Source: Brigida González archdaily.com
Primary School in Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013 designed by wulf architekten
Pupils are greeted by a two-storey, open assembly hall on the ground floor of the 37 x 37 m school building. The landing on the stairs adjacent to the hall is in maritime pine and can be adapted to provide seating for special events. This means that the assembly hall is the centre of the school, which was built to accommodate eight classes. A single flight of stairs leads to the upper floor, which houses a music room, a creative space and a library, as well as the classrooms. -- ArchDaily

Source: Martin Schubert archdaily.com
International School Ikast Brande, Ikast, Denmark, 2013 designed by CF Moller
Centrally located in the school complex is a long superstructure with a curved form. The superstructure contains ventilation systems and skylights, and is clad in translucent facade panels and double-glazed windows, respectively. The curved form is continued in the sinuous balconies framing the central “square”, which acts as a multi-purpose space for drama, music, dining and lectures as well as the main social space of the school. -- ArchDaily

Source: James Ewing archdaily.com
Henry W Bloch Executive Hall at University, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 2013 designed by BNIM + Moore Ruble Yudell
The design supports the school’s active learning styles of teaching, group teaching methods, and design-based learning with movable walls that allow grouping of classrooms into one, two, or three separate spaces.  -- ArchDaily

Source: archdaily.com
Performing Arts Building, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2013 designed by Opsis Architecture
The facility is organized around a central atrium lobby and informal learning space that provides an address for each program and four performance venues -- architect's web site

Source: Werner Huthmacher archdaily.com
Beiersdorf Children’s Day Care Centre, Eimsbüttel, Hamburg, Germany, 2013 designed by Kadawittfeldarchitektur
The extremely compact rectangular structure is arranged around a central, two-storey multi-purpose room, which functions as a play area and gathering space. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jack Hobhouse archdaily.com
ORTUS, Home of Maudsley Learning, London, UK designed by Duggan Morris Architects
The central focus of this unique project, initially coined ‘Project Learning Potential’, is to create a totally immersive learning environment generating a series of interconnecting spaces to encourage intuitive learning activities either in groups or individually and also to create possibilities for digital learning via social media. -- ArchDaily

Source: Wilhelm Rejnus & Linus Flodin archdaily.com
Dalarna Media Library, Högskolan Dalarna Akademin Språk & medier, Campus Falun, Högskolegatan 2, 791 31 Falun, Sweden, 2014 designed by ADEPT
Dalarna Media Library is organized as a ’spiral of knowledge’ identifying a new library culture that stages a wide range of experiences and inspiration. The natural terrain of the surrounding landscape continues as a ramp that spirals up through the central atrium of the library – its heart – where all search of information and orientation take place. -- ArchDaily

Source: Durston Saylor archdaily.com
Pandora Media Inc. New York Office, New York City, New York, USA, 2014 designed by ABA Studio
The heart of Pandora’s new office in Midtown Manhattan is a bright, double-height space first visible through a low, compressed entry. This central space provides a physical connection between the two floors via the grand stair on one side and takes advantage of the full height of both floors – about 25 feet – with a large screen made of translucent circular discs, elegantly coupled with figured aluminum hooks backed by a blue theatrical scrim. -- ArchDaily

Source: Xia Zhi archdaily.com
Beijing No.4 High School Fangshan Campus, Changyang, Fangshan, China, 2014 designed by OPEN Architecture
....combined with the space limitations of the site, inspired a strategy on the vertical dimension to create multiple grounds, by separating the programs into above and below, and inserting gardens in-between.  The juxtaposition of the resultant upper and lower building, connected at the ‘middle-ground’ in various ways, is as much an interesting spatial strategy as a signifier of the relationship between formal and informal educational spaces in the new school. -- ArchDaily

Source: David Barbour archdaily.com
St John Bosco Art College, Croxteth, Liverpool, Liverpool, Merseyside L11, UK, 2014 designed by BDP
The new school is housed in a 91m x 55m three storey single span column free environment, which contains an exciting mix of learning environments and social spaces, focusing on a sculpted landscape at the heart of the school. -- ArchDaily

Source: Brad Feinknopf archdaily.com
Corporate Headquarters, Centerville, Ohio, USA, 2014 designed by Moody Nolan
The atrium itself is the heart of the building.  A circulation space around the perimeter allows offices, workspaces and conference rooms to be double loaded around this space.  The notion of collaboration and visibility is reinforced heavily by the floor-to-ceiling glass that these spaces utilize to create an inner “collaborative” skin around the interior voided space.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Martin Schubert archdaily.com
Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus, Denmark, 2014 designed by Henning Larsen Architects
The interior of the building is designed to evoke a varied terraced landscape, which is inspired by archaeological excavations as they gradually unearth the layers of history and expose lost civilisations. -- ArchDaily

Source: Minsheng Art Museum archdaily.com
Minsheng Contemporary Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2015 designed by Studio Pei-Zhu
Minsheng Contemporary Art Museum is a renovation of an old factory from the 1980s. The most meaningful moment of art work is the interaction and participation of the public, rather than the moment of its completion. Spaces that are flexible, useful, or even useless, can become the motivation of creativity for artists, of specific site and environment, therefore integrating art works, public and art museum as a whole. -- ArchDaily

Source; Niels Nygaard archdaily.com
VIA University College, Aarhus, Denmark, 2015 designed by Arkitema Architects
Four organizing key elements establish the backbone of VIA Campus C - Knowledge Square, Learning Street, Culture House and the Learning Clusters. -- ArchDaily

Friday, July 20, 2012

Portal Frames

Source: bluffton.edu
Grande Arche, La Défense, Paris, France, 1989 designed by architect Johann Otto von Spreckelsen and Erik Reitzel 
The massive scale of the Arche is most obvious in its atrium, which hosts a parasitic stretched Teflon mesh. This portion of the building was an afterthought added to the project once Paul Andreau took over the project. The innovative awning allows wind and light to permeate, while shielding visitors from the elements. This seemingly cloudlike structure is fastened by tensioned cables which clutches onto the building’s façade, and whose figure appears alien like among the sharp contours of the Grande Arche. -- ArchDaily
Paris’ Grande Arche to get €200 million Revamp -- ArchDaily

Source: Jeffrey Cheng archdaily.com
Kelti Center, Taipei City, Taiwan, 2009 designed by Artech Architects
Two low-rise volumes flanked by the service cores on each side and a high-rise structure suspended from the “portal frame” make up the entire complex. The space between the lower volumes forms the building’s entrance. The high-rise structure resembles crystallized rock with alternating dark and light-colored glazing, and is supported by the service core enclosed by a stone façade, creating an image of trendy elegance and light-hearted tectonics. -- ArchDaily

Source: Martin van der Wal archdaily.com
Dapto Anglican Church Auditorium, Dapto, NSW, Australia, 2011 designed by Silvester Fuller
The external facade responds to two conditions: where the primary mass has been retained the facade surface is dark, earth-like and roughly textured. In contrast the subtracted void areas are bright, smooth and crisp surfaces identifying the building entrances and acting as collection devices. -- ArchDaily

Source: Manfred Seidl archdaily.com
UNESCO Marine and World Heritage Centre, Krems, Austria, 2011 designed by Najjar & Najjar Architects
With a spectacular roof spanning over 80 meters the architects intended to outline a gate framing the activities of the visitors embarking and debarking. The structure contains an exhibition area, a restaurant, a tourist information center and a ticket office for the Danube shipping line. All these functions are formally unified under one roof. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jeffrey Cheng archdaily.com
A Residential Pavilion & Landscape of Hai Hau-The Great, Chung-li City, Taiwan, 2012 designed by Arcadian Architecture+Design
A concept of monolithic form was introduced to this design. The prototype of the pavilion is a 40mx21.4mx12.8m rectangular stone carved and cut with a concept of subtracting necessary void space, then embed with glass material, forming an interchanging stone-glass hybrid style of architectural form. The edge of the stone frame on the front facade was slanted into inclined shape to enhance the image of entrance and to create variation of lights and shades of the great entrance. -- ArchDaily

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Sheet of Water

Source: asla.org
Christian Science Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 1970 designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
A 670-foot-long reflecting pool along the eastern axis of the site helps to visually bind the different components together while providing a friendly realm for interaction with the surrounding city. The pool, located on the roof of a 600-car underground garage, also functions as the cooling tower for the complex. -- architect's web site

Source: galinsky.com
Water Temple (Shingonshu Honpukuji), Hyogo, Japan, 1991 designed by Tadao Ando
The Temple, originally for the Shingon Buddhist Sect, is approached from a long uphill path traversing the original temple compound and cemetery.  One is then directed, indirectly, through a simple series of two gesturing white-washed concrete walls of light and shadow that eventually lead one to what seems like a pool of water. The pool itself is filled to its outermost perimeter, forming a boundless horizon line about which it infinitely reflects its surroundings of mountains, sky, rice paddies and bamboo groves. The stillness of the water has a meditative effect and perhaps implications of a spiritual cleansing. -- galinksy

Source: Maurizio Marcato archdaily.com
Ferrari Operational Headquarters and Research Centre, Maranello, Modena, Italy, 2004 designed by Studio Fuksas
The complex is in two parts.  One volume is separated from the rest of the building and hovers above the entrance area where it extends 7 meters above water below.  The water covers the second, lower volume.  Walkways lie at the water line, connecting meeting rooms distinguished by vibrant colors.  The building itself and its reflection along the water’s surface is a condition that challenges the concept of time and space within the architecture. -- ArchDaily

Source: Maurizio Marcato archdaily.com
Nardini Grappa Distillery “Bolle”, Bassano Del Grappa, Vicenza, Italy, 2004 designed by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas
Visitors stroll over paths that criss cross over the pool. A descending ramp leads into the 100-seat auditorium below, forming a natural canyon. Underwater lights illuminate the surface, creating a shimmer across the grounds of the distillery and reflected in the floating volumes above. The procession between above and below is amplified by the passage through the surface of the water. It appears to be just a few centimeters deep from ground level, but once visitors descend into the submerged volume below it becomes clear that it extends for several meters. -- ArchDaily

Source: fr.wikipedia.org
le miroir d'eau(the water mirror), Place de la Bourse, Bordeaux, France, 2006 designed by Michel Corajoud and J. M. Llorca
The beauty of Place de la Bourse becomes dreamlike when it is reflected in "le miroir d'eau", the reflecting pool. This 130 meter long and 42 meter wide set of granite slabs is the largest reflecting pool in the world. Conceived by the landscape architect Michel Corajoud, and developed by the fountain expert J. M. Llorca, it was, with "le jardin des lumières" (the garden of lights) and the skate park, one of the main elements of Bordeaux‘s quayside recent redevelopment.
"Le miroir d'eau" works according to a specific cycle. When the slabs are are almost dry, it looks like a huge slate. A few minutes later, the fountain mecanism produces plumes of mist, creating a thick fog turning the quay in a fairyland. When the fog disappears, the 3 450 square metres of granite are covered with 2 centimeters of a cristal clear water, becoming a slightly undulating twin of "Place de la Bourse". According to J. M. Llorca, the water mirror was inspired by the regular flooding of Saint Mark's Square Venice. -- French Moments

Source: Paul Hester archdaily.com
Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2011 designed by Yoshio Taniguchi
.... the Center’s orientation shifted to face Southmore Blvd., framing a great view of the downtown skyline from the enormous second story lounge window (so long as no other taller structures are built between the Center and the downtown skyline in the future, which is never a guarantee in Houston).  This view also captures the water garden with infinity edge and steam machines that rise over the water, obscuring the ground line and creating an almost surreal disconnection from the street. -- ArchDaily

Source: Pieter Kers archdaily.com

Ornamental Pond, Heemstede, The Netherlands designed by Hosper
The ornamental pond, with a water surface of 730 m² and a depth of 60 cm, has a rim of COR-TEN steel. Light shafts in the ornamental pond allow daylight into the underground car park. The openings are covered with coloured glass panels, each of which is an individual work of art. At night-time the light from the underground car park shining upwards through the panels results in a very special effect. In addition, the liveliness of the water is increased by the special fountains that are switched on at intervals and produce small bubbles just above the surface of the water. -- ArchDaily

Source: construction.com
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, UK, 2012 designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei
To build a kind of manufactured archaeological site based on the previous 11 pavilions, the team created a drawing that fused the foundations of those structures into a single digital rendering, and then carved this form out of the ground. A massive dishlike steel roof supported by 12 steel columns wrapped in cork is a nod to the temporary canopies that cover fragile archaeological sites. It holds a shallow pool that reflects the neo-Georgian gallery across the lawn. -- Architectural Record

Source: Serie Architects archdaily.com
BMW Group Pavilion, London, UK, 2012 designed by Serie Architects
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. The surface of the first floor is essentially a thin reflective pool. This pool reflects its environment: the cars, the visitors and the Olympic site. The GRP-lined reflecting pool is supplied through a series of sumps fitted with cover gratings. The water for the waterfall is drawn from the river by submersible pumps set on platforms above the river bed. -- ArchDaily

Source: Iwan Baan archdaily.com
Daeyang Gallery and House, Seoul, Korea, 2012 designed by Steven Holl Architects
Three pavilions; one for entry, one residence, and one event space, appear to push upward from a continuous gallery level below. A sheet of water establishes the plane of reference from above and below. The idea of space as silent until activated by light is realized in the cutting of 55 skylight strips in the roofs of the three pavilions. -- ArchDaily

Source: Artech Architects archdaily.com
Water-Moon Monastery, Taipei, Taiwan, 2012 designed by Artech Architects
After passing through two walls of different heights that serve as buffer from the expressway outside, upon entering the temple, visitors face the view of the Main Hall that sits at the far end of a 80-meter long lotus pond. The reflections on the pond of the over-sized colonnades and the flowing golden drapes in between create a scene of illusory quality. -- ArchDaily