Glass fins

Source: betterbricks.com

Upper Secondary School, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2007 designed by 3xn Arkitekter

The operable exterior shading devices--colored glass fins with graphic lettering--create this building's signature facade and provide dynamic shading to balance daylighting with solar heat gain. Behind the glass fins, operable windows provide natural ventilation. -- betterbricks.com

Source: Agence d’architecture Boyer archdaily.com

La Colle sur Loup, La Colle-sur-Loup, France designed by Agence d’architecture Boyer-Percheron-Assus et Associé

....the south facade shows a double facade: a succession of colourful “brise-soleil” which orient themselves according to the sun and the moment of the day. -- ArchDaily

Source: Keith Collie and Tim Crocker archdaily.com

Biochemistry Center, Oxford, UK designed by Hawkins Brown

Laminated colored glass fins were fixed to the mullions of the curtain wall system.  The fins provide a sense of privacy for those working in the labs and their varying color palette was selected to “pick up on the surrounding context.” -- ArchDaily

Source: Brad Feinkopf archdaily.com

South Campus Chiller Plant, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 2013 designed by Ross Barney Architects

The materials for the new chiller plant will be concrete precast panels with a high sheen polish finish. Large glazed openings are located to help identify the function of the building by framing views of the chiller equipment. Since there are no visible moving parts, dichoric glass fins located in the joints of the precast panels, will convey a sense of motion as the colors change from the movement of the sun. -- ArchDaily

Source: Hisao Suzuki archdaily.com

Comisaría Provincial De Albacete, Albacete, Spain designed by Matos-Castillo Arquitectos

....a glass wall oriented northwest (offices) and a double skin of glass and vertical louvers oriented southeast (communications). The colour of the glass louvers has no specific references and helps to eliminate old stereotypes. -- ArchDaily

Source: Piotr Krajewski archdaily.com

Marshal’s HQ, aleja Niepodległości, Poznań, Poland, 2015 designed by / WAPA Warsztat Architektury

The exterior part outlines the cavity around the whole building, which makes it float above the heavy base and provides an outdoor terrace underneath the upper floors. The interior part is meant to be an extension of the open space around the core of the building and was designed as a transparent, multifunctional and flexible space for various purposes. -- ArchDaily

Inspired by Nature

Source: Herzog & de Meuron

Ricola-Europe SA, Production and Storage Building, Mulhouse-Brunstatt, France, 1998 designed by Herzog & de Meuron

Both long walls are light walls providing the work area with constant, pleasantly filtered daylight. Light filtering occurs through printed translucent polycarbonate façade panels, a common industrial building material. Using silkscreen, these panels are printed with a repetitive plant motif based on photograph’s by Karl Blossfeldt.  -- architect's web site

Source: Christian Richters archdaily.com

Gingko Project, Beekbergen, The Netherlands, 2007 designed by Casanova + Hernandez Architects

The glazed facade has been specially designed with a print of ginkgo tree leaves of different green and yellow tones that react to the constant changing light of the sky creating very special effects, reflections, shadows and silhouettes, depending on the time of the day and the season of the year. -- ArchDaily

Source: ABSCIS Architecten archdaily.com

Service Station Herverlee, Heverlee, Belgium, 2008 designed by ABSCIS Architecten

The principle building is constructed using a ‘superstructure’ consisting of a canopy and a roof. The roof is carried by columns made from white concrete. These columns are positioned in a crisscross formation. Infill modules created in glass, with a negative imprint of leafy trees, slide underneath the super structure to emphasise the transparency of the structure set against the white surroundings. -- ArchDaily

Source: archdaily.com

Tattoo House, Victoria, Australia designed by Andrew Maynard Architects

The tattoo was conceived as a continuation of the tree graphic around the simple white box- to soften the impact of this modern addition to a resolutely 19th-century neighbourhood. Furthermore the design was a neighbourly gesture. The household to the west has a manicured garden which is very important to the resident. A stencil of vegetation was created in-house and applied by the AMA team in a covet operation to give the neighbour an additional, though less than manicured, layer of garden. -- ArchDaily

Source: archrecord.construction.com

Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel, Barcelona, Spain, 2012 designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel

On the figurative side, Nouvel carries the oasis concept into a branding theme for the facades. Inside every guest room, he cuts a window out of the structural precast-concrete wall in the shape of the jagged crown of a palm tree. Outside, these openings are visible behind a continuous curtain wall of milk-white glass, silkscreened with palms at different scales, that blurs the reading of floor lines. -- Architectural Record

Source: Dennis Gilbert archdaily.com

Walsall Housing Group HQ, Walsall, West Midlands, UK, 2011 designed by Bisset Adams

The building has been welcomed as a new landmark with its memorable high performance glazed façade with abstract tree graphic, making reference to the town’s historic arboretum. -- ArchDaily

Source: Régis Golay archdaily.com

Coalimex, Hanoi, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2013 designed by group8asia

The main façade, which is directly in contact with the street, gives its strong identity to the Coalimex building and deals with its constraints. It is made of double-layered glass. On the second layer, a pattern that interprets the meeting of the trees of the Hanoi streets and the coal (symbol of the client) is printed on the glass. -- ArchDaily

Source: Mikkel Frost archdaily.com

RebildPorten, Rebild, Denmark designed by CEBRA

The structure is designed as a hymn to Nature and the hills and forest, next to which it is situated. It is created in the encounter of building and nature and appears as a sculptural structure made of bluff timber, thus making the building accessible to the eye of the observer – very similar to a forest’s opening and closing when one moves through it, looking upwards through the branches’ chaotic network of crossing lines. By shaping the building out of raw cut timber, the visitor not only experiences a ‘walk in the forest’, and a particular atmosphere determined by Nature’s own strength and rustic weight, but also the scent of wood and nature, which sets the mood for the visit to the forest and hills. -- ArchDaily

Source: FG+SG archdaily.com

International Accommodation Center For The Oceanological Observatory, Aquarium de Banyuls sur Mer, Avenue du Fontaulé, 66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France, 2013 designed by Atelier Fernandez & Serres

The project, a rectangular monolith entirely coated in a gown of pink-ocher coral, faces the marina. It also marks the limits of the shore and the city. Behind this undulating envelope, access to the bedrooms is provided by large peripheral walkways that also serve as balconies for the accommodations. These walkways are covered with a self-consolidating concrete mesh inspired by a graphic, light and see-through coral design (Gorgones). We developed the facades using a limited amount of distinct shapes, also called strands, that were casted on site. These strands were then assembled in modules according to a simple mathematical algorithm which creates a vibration in the shadows and the matter. -- ArchDaily

Source: Bornstein Lyckefors archdaily.com

Torsby Finnskog Center, Torsby, Sweden, 2014 designed by Bornstein

The architects chose to work with raw materials from the forest in the facade. To achieve that, the old school building was smutted black and covered with a veil of standing timber. The facade has openings for entry and extra sunlight intake. Protruding wooden boxes also provides space for benches, signage and artwork. -- ArchDaily

Web on top

Source: nytimes.com

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, 1953 designed by Louis I. Kahn

The restoration of the Yale University Art Galleryreawakens one of America’s great architectural beauties from a slumber that has lasted too long. Like the return of a long-lost friend, however, it may resurrect a few old wounds.

Overseen by Polshek Partnership Architects, best known for producing sleek contemporary designs, the restoration puts Louis I. Kahn back on the pedestal he so richly deserves. All the elements of his genius are here: the bold geometric forms, the crisp lines, the sensitive use of light, the tactile love of materials. The first of his great masterpieces, the building foreshadows the atavistic landmarks of his late career. --New York Times

Source: Federico Cairoli archdaily.com

Telethon Children's Rehabilitation Center, Lambare, Paraguay, 2010 designed by Gabinete de Arquitectura

CRITs are built and established in society from a single collection done annually during a telethon, every brick put in the project is the fruit of a social offering.  Rehabilitation showed us an opportunity to redeem many evils, we feel the value of honoring each brick already there and take responsibility to use up the fragments resulting from the readjustment, thus inventing opportunities to reuse rubble. Prefabricated vaults of rubble, ceramic tiles, etc. most clearly manifest all these intentions. -- ArchDaily

Source: Sebastian van Damme archdaily.com

Educational Center Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 2012 designed by Claus en Kaan Architecten

The idea of a turntable and meeting point can also be seen inside the building itself. Various components of health care are represented with their teaching institution in the new Teaching Centre. During their study, students can meet and exchange ideas with colleagues from related disciplines. -- ArchDaily

Source: Thomas Herrmann archdaily.com

Festival Hall, Neckartailfingen, Germany, 2013 designed by Ackermann+Raff

The roof structure is the defining element of the Festival Hall. The diamond-shaped girder grid was developed analogical to the image of overlapping branches of the ‘Neckarallee’. -- ArchDaily

Source: Paul Rivera archdaily.com

Cineteca Nacional S. XXI, Federal District, Mexico City, Mexico, 2014 designed by Rojkind Arquitectos

The axes intersection became a new 80m x 40m public plaza sheltered from the weather by a hovering canopy connecting the existing complex with the new screening rooms. Clad in composite aluminum panels, with varied size triangular perforations, the roof structure wraps around the new screening rooms and becomes their façade. The sheltered space functions as the foyer for the old and new screening rooms and can accommodate additional program options such as concerts, theater, exhibitions, etc. -- ArchDaily

Source: Hundven Clements Photography archdaily.com

Algard Church, Rettedalen 7, 4330 Ålgård, Norway, 2015 designed by Link Arkitektur

The building’s shape defines the roof structure as a modern interpretation of a traditional church vault. The main structure consists of Glulam beams in a network of triangles, as exposed in the Church room. Every other triangle is tilted upwards and reflects the light into the church. The result is an optical refraction is seen in traditional dome vaults. -- ArchDaily

O3

Source : fras1977

Thames Barrier Park, London, UK, 2000 designed by landscape architect Allain Provost, architect Patel Taylor in collaboration with Group Signers and engineers Ove Aarum

On the north bank of the Thames and with stunning views of the awesome flood Barrier lies a jewel in the crown of London's parks. Thames Barrier Park lies in Silvertown, and is supported by the London Development Agency.

Set within 22 acres of lawns, trees and hedges, the waterside park features fountains, gardens, wildflower meadows, a children's play area and a 5-a-side football/basketball court, with magnificent views of the barrier. -- official web site

More from a post by VULGARE

Source: openbuildings.com

Calder Woodburn Rest Area, Goulburn Valley Highway, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, 2008 designed by BKK Architects

There is a long and rich history of the service station as an urban, suburban and rural icon within Australian car culture. The familiar image of a large floating roof providing shelter go the services below is a strong memory for all that have taken a road trip.

The Rest Station marks a point on the journey, a place for pausing; a place for reflection and to strech ones legs. The roof serves as both shelter and sign in the landscape. It celebrates road culture and acts as a nodal point in a countinuing journey. -- Open Buildings

Source: Alejandro Restrepo Montoya archdaily.com

UB House, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, 2009 designed by Alejandro Restrepo Montoya + Camilo Andrés Mejía Bravo + Andrés Felipe Mesa Trujillo

The access of the house is located between two volumes that conform the entire compound of the house. Then, after crossing this, follows is the Tree patio that with its 3 different levels and shadow games relates every single space of the house. -- ArchDaily

Source: Lisa Logan archdaily.com

CATT, 1001 Fanshawe, London, Ontario, Canada, 2011 designed by Architects Tillman Ruth Robinson

A sustainable design approach incorporates water management strategies, extensive use of natural light and passive solar shading as well enhanced building automation systems into the building experience. -- ArchDaily

Source: John Sinal archdaily.com

Zacatitos 02, Baja California Sur, Mexico, 2011 designed by Campos Leckie Studio

Zacatitos 02 is an architectural experiment that fully explores the concept of architecture as a device which mediates occupation of the site and experience of the landscape. -- ArchDaily

Source: At Home Publishers & Abet Laminati archdaily.com

AVEK – House in a Garden Park, Flanders, Belgium, 2012 designed by DEVOLDERarchitecten

Inside the building, the spaces are linearly arranged along the stretched plan. Made accessible through a double enfilade, these subsequent spaces make up for a very tranquil experience. All of the different living rooms open up widely to the garden park. -- ArchDaily

Source: Yuri Palmin archdaily.com

Zhukovka XXI, Moscow, Russia, 2013 designed by UNK PROJECT Architects

....the tree “growing” within the house. It was actually planted after construction, hence the terrace with ovular opening in the roof above. -- ArchDaily

Source: Juan Solano archdaily.com

House on the Hill, Lima, Peru, 2013 designed by Jose Orrego

This project was very promising, its location was in an area where the view was beautiful, it stood on a hill and the slanted terrain gave many possibilities to explore ways of doing a unique residential building and at the same time accomplish the household and social functions.  Being in a high place made the main rooms of the house to face the pleasant view. -- ArchDaily

Source: C+S Architects archdaily.com

1.14 The Kite, Fontaniva Padua, Italy, 2013 designed by C+S Architects

It is a big roof, a kite which has been captured during its flight to become the repair under where activities take place. The kite is a thick concrete made structure, without any insulation working with its own thermal inertia to protect from the summer heat and creating a constant temperature inside the spaces. -- ArchDaily

Source: Eduardo Abreu archdaily.com

RD House, Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, 2013 designed by VASHO

Burying the house is proposed as a visual action. Hiding the overall volume of the work to the existing natural geography to cushion the impact of the volume to the eye upon arrival, being conscientious of the paradisiacal surroundings, but always seeking to make the natural surroundings appear from the interior before the user: “Disappear to make appear”. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jussi Tiainen archdaily.com

Omenapuisto Day-Care-Center, Helsinki, Finland, 2013 designed by Hakli Architects

The paved internal courtyard opening onto the foyer has a ceiling with a large circular opening which allows the movement of the sun to be a part of the courtyard. In the courtyard, there is a sculpture by the artist Pasi Karjula representing the Universe, which consists of twenty spheres made of larch wood. -- ArchDaily

Source: Alexandre Zveiger archdaily.com

Kindergarten in Stabio, Stabio, Switzerland, 2013 designed by Studio WE

The kindergarden is a solitary building on a green field. Only paths and walls connect the new building to landscape in order to create a subtle and strong texture of reference points within the site. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jorge López Conde archdaily.com

Wanderers Lodge, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, 2013 designed by Garcia German Arquitectos

Wanderer’s Lodge is a small pavilion gently placed amongst existing trees in the garden of an extraordinary property in the north of Spain. In its daily use, it overlaps functions of protection, storage, entertaining, dining, barbecues, napping, acting as a small theater, etc. -- ArchDaily

 

Source: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG archdaily.com

Zauia House, Vale da Lama, 8600 Odiáxere, Portugal, 2014 designed by Mário Martins Atelier

Paradoxically, the design of the house was inspired by the restrictions and limitations imposed on its construction. It is intended to be an architectural object of great simplicity and lightness: balanced, precise and remarkably modern. -- ArchDaily

Source: Régis Golay archdaily.com

Dots, Hanoi, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2014 designed by grup8asia

Located in the park in front of the main office building, the pavilion disappears into the landscape. The drawn profile of the building blends into the vegetation of the surrounding park. Mingling with trees, it seems that the users lose the perception of its limits. -- ArchDaily

E

Source: Xabier Ilundain Madurga archdaily.com

Plan, Source: archdaily.com

School of Communication, San Jorge University, Autovía Mudéjar, Spain , 2007 designed by Taller Básico de Arquitectura

The strict order that the building showed upon arrival becomes free and dynamic, with its spaces forming five fingers, which curiously overlook the hillside onto the irrigated fields. This comb structure divides the classrooms from the areas for special uses. In this scheme we sought, as mentioned, the best light for teaching (classrooms to the northwest side, avoiding direct sunlight). Similarly, the largest and unique spaces receive the most light. -- ArchDaily

Towers

Source: 52weeks.rickyberkey.org

Fire Station #4, Columbus, Indiana, USA, 1967 designed by Robert Venturi

The building committee requested an ordinary building that was easy to maintain. Venturi’s design was a trapezoidal-shaped structure of cinderblock, red unglazed brick, white glazed brick and glass. The 37 foot hose drying tower located at front center provides a focal point to the otherwise low utilitarian building. Venturi made the sides and rear of the building as simple as possible and treated the front as if it were a sign. It briefly attracts your attention as you speed past on the busy road. Venturi has described buildings like this as “decorated sheds”, simple, even boring buildings that use signs or decorative elements to describe the function of the building. In this case the hose drying tower with the giant number on top, the white brick and the large flagpole in front convey a sense of civic importance to the building. It is meant to look like a fire station and not to convey any other image. -- 52 weeks of  Columbus, Indiana

Source: Bart van Hoek archdaily.com

Barneveld Noord, Harselaar, The Netherlands, 2013 designed by NL Architects

Three containers are ‘suspended’ in the air. Together they form a ‘roof’. One contains the installations, the other storage. The third will be opened at the bottom. It forms the headroom for the enclosed but fully transparent waiting area, creating a double high space. The fourth container is flipped to an upright position. It makes an instant tower. The tower contains a clock. And a wind vane. -- ArchDaily

Source: Ben Hosking archdaily.com

Royal Wolf, Sunshine VIC 3020, Australia, 2013 designed by Room11

.... two containers are placed on end, creating a high narrow void with skylight at the entry while functioning as a marker for signage within the flat terrain. -- ArchDaily