Floating Roofs 7

Source: Foster + Partners

Stansted Airport, Stansted , UK, 1991 designed by Foster + Partners

All service distribution systems are contained within the trunks of the structural trees that rise up from the undercroft through the concourse floor. These trees support a lightweight roof that is freed simply to keep out rain and let in light. Entirely daylit on all but the most overcast of days, the constantly changing play of light gives the concourse a poetic dimension and also has significant energy and economic advantages, leading to running costs half those of any other British terminal.  -- architect's web site

Airports come of age -- The Architectural Review

Source: jourda-architectes.com

Courthouse, Melun, France, 1998 designed by Jourda Architectes

The spaces intended to receive the public are organised within the glazed volume of the ground floor, while the office spaces are distributed over 3 or 5 levels, within an opaque mass set over the building’s translucent base. The glazed ground floor area encloses the sculpted volumes of the courtrooms, where natural light penetrates through light wells punctured though the surrounding envelope. The central hall, the “salle des Pas Perdus”, is lit by a glazed roof, cut out of the offices’ courtyard on the floor above. The main street façade is protected by a series of louvers. These aluminium scales, with golden tints, open and close independently of one another. They control the natural light within the building and form a protective skin.-- architect's web site.

Source: Richard Meier & Partners Architects

United States Courthouse, Pheonix, Arizona, USA, 2000 designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects

Solar orientation and facade articulation reinforce the design intentions: the atrium faces north, receiving the benefits of reflected light through a tessellated curtain wall of transparent and frit glass. The facade is given additional dimension by its structural framework: T-profile steel columns, which raise the full height of the building, mullions that project in relief, and shadowbox techniques.  -- ArchDaily

Source: aecom.com

Georgetown University Law School, Sport and Fitness Center, Washington, D.C., USA, 2004 designed by Shepley Bulfinch/AECOM

Abutting the law building, the Sport and Fitness Center takes texture and material cues from its neighboring structure, yet its sleek, steel and glass exterior creates a dramatic counterpoint - and what an Athletic Business Magazine Award juror called - a welcome response "to some of the more traditional and contextual designs so common on campuses." Entry facade floor-to-ceiling glass and light-filled interior spaces create a sense of openness and visibility on all four, activity-filled levels. -- architect's web site

Source: Didier Boy de La Tour archdaily.com

Casa-Port Railway Station, Casablanca, Morocco designed by AREP

Under its large roof, the transport hub houses waiting areas, circulations, services as well as retail outlets and a two-tier underground car park facility. The concourse is the major element of the hub and opens up onto a large forecourt on the south-west and the platforms on the north-east. -- ArchDaily