Thursday, October 10, 2013

Buildings for Bicycle

Source: designtoproduction

Groningen Stadsbalkon, Groningen, The Netherlands, 2003 designed by KCAP
A «forest of columns» supports the concrete roof of a parking facility for 3,000 bicycles underneath the Groningen Stadsbalkon by KCAP. Defining the necessary number of pillars as well as their exact location, diameter and inclination proved to be impossible using a top-down design approach.
designtoproduction developed a software based on artificial-life methods, which optimized the exact position, inclination and strength of some 150 irregularly placed columns according to functional and constructional requirements, and which could be utilized by the architects to generate alternative design solutions.  -- designtoproduction

Source: Michael Burns archdaily.com
Gregg’s Cycles, Washington D.C, USA designed by / Weinstein A|U
The small site and its limited access challenged the ability to have street level retail and parking, which led to the solution of lifting the primary retail spaces above the street level, thereby creating covered vehicle parking below the store. -- ArchDaily

Source: KGP design archdaily.com
Union Station Bicycle Transit Center, Washington D.C, USA designed by KGP design
At the cusp of a livable cities movement, this facility is a highly visible catalyst promoting bicycle use and alternative transportation options by providing secure parking, rental, and retail uses. At the doorstep of Washington’s major transportation hub, Union Station, the sleek veiled form reflects the technology of its contents while complimenting its eminent Beaux Art neighbors. Echoing a bicycle wheel’s elegance and efficiency, arched steel tubes are stabilized by a series of “spokes” or stainless steel tie rods in order to lighten up the structure. An energy efficient “skin” optimizes transparency while further moderating temperature. Further minimizing heat gain, denser graduated ceramic frit low-e glazing, opens up progressively to views of the plaza level. -- ArchDaily

Source:Nathan Kirkman & Robert Murphy archdaily.com
McDonalds Cycle Center at Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA designed by Muller&Muller
This project was constructed on three levels on top of and below the northwest corner of Chicago’s Millennium Park. The facility includes secure storage space for 300 bicycles, individual day use lockers, private shower stalls, and a bike repair area. The purpose of the new facility is to encourage and promote commuter bicycle transit into downtown Chicago. The building also houses the Chicago lakefront bicycle patrol and rents bikes for hourly use. -- ArchDaily

Source: Kraaijvanger archdaily.com
Bicycle Parking De Snelbinder, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands, 2011 designed by Kraaijvanger Urbis with Donald Osborne Architect
The building’s volume is part of the industrial face. The coloured facade of expanded metal creates a robust, light-absorbing volume. The expanded metal is used in such way that the garage from the outside appears to be a massive volume; the inside, however, is light and transparent. The compact volume accommodates 400 bikes, distributed over two floors. A staircase in the middle of the building offers access to the second floor, which on one corner is cantilevered, thus creating a canopy above the entrance. -- ArchDaily

Source: Sergey Kuznetsov archdaily.com
Electra BikeHub, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2012 designed by Andrey Ukolov + Ekaterina Osipova
Pavilion consists from combination of three factors: space, light and transformation. Exposition was formed according vertical principle with the purpose to give more space for people and bicycles. The internal space was emptied for visitors. Vertical exposition gave an opportunity to allocate rather large amount of the bicycles and at the same time highlight unicity of the models. -- ArchDaily

Source: Timmerman Photography archdaily.com
Bicycle Haüs, 7113 East 1st Avenue, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, 2013 designed by Debartolo Architects
Bicycle Haüs combines a sleek, modern building with traditional elements including an entire wall skinned in reclaimed barn wood and stairs re-purposed from high-school bleachers. -- ArchDaily

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Curved Form 8

SOurce: Young Chae Park archdaily.com
National Library of Sejong City, Sejong City, South Korea, 2013 designed by Samoo Architects &Engineers
....with the motif of a book page being turned over, a simple geometry of a gently curved paper forms the basis of the design and creates a unique outline that is easily recognizable as one of the landmark buildings of the city. -- ArchDaily

Friday, August 16, 2013

Community Pavilions

Source: Scenic Architecture archdaily.com
Community Pavilion at Jintao Village, Shanghai, China, 2010 designed by Scenic Architecture
Since the environment has the spatial quality of openness and aggregation, we designed a hexagonal ring building for the village residence to rest, communicate and have recreation activities. 3 interior spaces contain a recreation room, a teahouse, and a stage facing the grain-sunny ground; whereas 3 semi-outdoor spaces face 3 different sceneries: the concrete bridge to the northwest, the river cross to the southwest, and the little stone bridge to the southeast. -- ArchDaily

Source: Tran Tuan Trung archdaily.com
Bes Pavilion, Ha Tinh, Hà Tĩnh, Vietnam, 2013 designed by H&P Architects
BES pavilion is a service space for an open community, focusing on the aspects of art and culture. Located in the central Ha Tinh city, BES (Bamboo + Earth + Stone) is set up from local materials and traditional building methods which based on the idea of centralizing the users. -- ArchDaily

Monday, August 5, 2013

Zig Zag 5

Source: Pedro Lobo archdaily.com
Living Foz, Porto, Portugal, 2010 designed by dEMM Arquitectura
The balcony angle articulation creates spaces enriched by contrasts of light and shade, exposure and protection, emphasized by the contrast between the white cast-in-place concrete and the dark Glass Reinforced Concrete -- ArchDaily

Source: NMPB Architekten archdaily.com
Department Building Waehringerstrasse 29, Währinger Straße 29, Vienna, Austria, 2010 designed by NMPB Architekten
The building at the Währingerstrasse fills a typical gap site, but operates as a L-form joint (with internal service- and supply core) around the courtyard. The reinterpretation element of the bow window at the Währingerstrasse connects the different alignments of the surrounding buildings and a caesura at the upper level the different heights. -- ArchDaily

Source: Luuk Kramer archdaily.com
Nieuw Leyden Block, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2013 designed by Arons en Gelauff Architecten
Special feature of this building is the sculptural balcony facade on the south side of the building. Because of it’s kinked form these balconies create different places. By shifting the position, the balconies always have a double-height at the place where people sit. -- ArchDaily

Source: Lu Hengzhong archdaily.com
Dingli Sculpture Art Museum, Quanzhou, Fujian, China, 2013 designed by ATR Atelier
The building of art museum looks like many huge stones stacking over the other, silent and generous. The facade implies the function of the building, meanwhile gives out a kind of natural, simple, but strong vision. The folding surfaces of stone wall create vivid shadow and the obtuse angle stone makes the corner look more firm and powerful. -- ArchDialy

Source: Robin Hill archdaily.com
Icon Bay, 460 Northeast 28th Street, Miami, FL 33137, USA, 2015 designed by Arquitectonica
The building balconies fold playfully along the facades. They create a pattern of light and shadow, reflection and opacity.  They appear to flutter in the wind or responding to the ripples of the bay waters. The textured façade breaks the tradition of vertical extrusions in high-rise design. -- ArchDaily

Source: DSD archdaily.com
Bayuquan Theatre, Shanghai, China designed by DSD
Bayuquan Baoli Theatre has 3 levels above the ground level. The main construction contains a large Dance Theatre which is specific for dancing and musical performaces with a capacity of 1600 people and a multi-functional theatre which can hold 800 people for drama play. -- ArchDaily

Source: Tim Griffith archdaily.com
Mission Bay Block 27 Parking Structure, San Francisco, California, USA designed by WRNS Studio
The north and east façades, which face public open space, are clad in perforated aluminum panels with pixelated imagery of California’s redwood forests. This imagery is intended to evoke the filigree of adjacent tree canopies and create a sense of pedestrian scale. -- ArchDaily

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Conservation, Renovation and Conversion 2

Source: Emre Arolat Architects archdaily.com
Santral Istanbul Museum of Contemporary Arts, Istanbul, Turkey, 2007 designed by Emre Arolat Architects
Bilgi University offered to carry out the renovation and transformation of the Silahtarağa Power Plant into a museum and recreation and educational center; this typical modern industrial installation constructed between the 1910s and 1950s occupies a 107,000-m2 lot forming a sort of peninsula between the Alibeyköy and Kağıthane creeks right where the Golden Horn ends. -- ArchDaily

Source: Hufton + Crow archdaily.com
Stanislavsky Factory, Moscow, Russia, 2009 designed by John McAslan + Partners
The scheme has attracted widespread acclaim and is recognised as setting a new benchmark for innovative, adaptive re-use of historic buildings in Moscow. Sensitively linking refurbished historic elements and new interventions, the Stanislavsky Factory has become a new cultural destination for Moscow. The redevelopment of this site has, from the outset, been considered as both an architectural and urban landscape scheme. The project’s fully integrated landscaping – also designed by the practice – seamlessly links the constituent elements, unifying the development as a whole. By physically and visually integrating the landscape with the architectural elements, the practice has created a socially permeable site – a completely new concept in Moscow, where the majority of developments are gated. -- ArchDaily

Source: topboxdesign.com
School of Architecture, Urban Design & Landscape Architecture, CCNY, New York City, New York, USA, 2010 designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects
The firm explored a variety of relocation sites and renovation options before determining that overhauling an existing structure – a five-storey, modernist glass-block building designed and constructed as a library in the late 1950’s – would be most conducive to the college’s needs. RVA gut-renovated the poorly maintained building, preserving only the structure of reinforced concrete columns and floor slabs. -- Top Box Design

Source: Toni Gironès archdaily.com
Reforma y Rehabilitación de la Nave Industrial Can Minguell, Barcelona, Spain, 2010 designed by Toni Gironès
The Mataró Council moves to provide the city with a new mixed-use space (public/private), for both collective activities (workshops, exhibitions, etc…) and offices. The intervention is performed in the main hall of the Can Minguell’s factory complex (1850). -- ArchDaily

Source: Alonso y Balaguer archdaily.com
Las Arenas, Barcelona, Spain, 2011 designed by Richard Rogers + Alonso y Balaguer
In spite of the fact that the former bullring, in disuse since 1989 and with a neo-mudéjar style, didn’t actually have high architectural value, it was clear that, being poised in such an impressive location for more than a century, this site was really in the minds of every citizen, and its symbolic value lead to a suitable preservation. That’s why the architectural answer, already from the first outlines, was orientated towards its maintenance as a second skin of the new building. Nevertheless, such preservation met great technical complexity: first, an evident physical deterioration; second, a strange height, four meters above the nearby streets. The technical effort was worth it, in the end to present a strong, atypical cylindrical form. -- ArchDaily

Source: Marc Cramer archdaily.com
Saint Roch-de-l’Achigan City Hall, 7 Rue Doctor Wilfrid Locat North, Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan, Quebec, QC J0K 3H0, Canada, 2012 designed by Affleck de la Riva architects
Located in the village center, the old convent is a building of important heritage value, a symbol of community and a source of pride for Saint Roch residents. The recycling of this historic structure as the city hall and municipal offices re-establishes its presence at the center of community life. The project creates a dialogue between the restored heritage building and a contemporary addition housing a new entry lobby, an elevator and a generously glazed stair-tower. Creating a new entry on the lateral street is part of an overall site strategy that relocates parking to the back of the building and frees up the front of the site for a new formal garden.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Hugo Carvalho Araújo archdaily.com
GNRation, Braga, Portugal, 2013 designed by Atelier Carvalho Araújo
The intervention in the former building of the GNR (military police) brings together all the concept of dynamism of Braga European Youth Capital 2012. The project uses the concept of occupation as motif. The occupation by man and nature. It explores the boundary between an abandoned existing structure and a new invasor construction who takes over the space. A space in constant regeneration, rather than a final object. -- ArchDaily

Source: Mito Covarrubias archdaily.com
La Planta, Tlajomulco de Zuñiga, JAL, Mexico, 2013 designed by Agraz Architects SC
Where there was once decomposed organic matter, now there is art, sports and leisure. It is the conversion of a sewage treatment plant into a multidisciplinary center. -- ArchDaily

Source: Alfonso Quiroga archdaily.com
Daoíz y Velarde Cultural Centre, Calle Alberche, Venturada, Madrid, Spain, 2013 designed by Rafael De La-Hoz
From the start, the idea was to respect the basic geometry of the existing building, as well as its saw-tooth metal structure and the brick-built façade. -- ArchDaily

Source: Aaron Pocock archdaily.com
National Design Centre, Singapore, 2013 designed by SCDA Architects
....to create big public spaces – the internal courtyard and an external courtyard. The indoor court we enclosed with a sculptural skylight. That was the beginning of it – two communal spaces that all the other spaces would focus upon. Once this principle was established, we needed to be very clear about what we added. This is a conservation building. Whatever we added were just key functional elements, such as the required fire stair. We turned that into a design element. -- ArchDaily

Source: Stéphane Chalmeau archdaily.com
Business Incubator, 67 Rue du Canal, Pont-Audemer, France, 2013 designed by h2o architectes
It was conceived of as a space capable of facilitating exchanges between the different young emerging companies. The generous circulation space includes a « street » (the central corridor) and a « square » (where can be found the building’s central staircase) ; these functional spaces become lively meeting places, beyond the strict professional context. A large roof lighting recalls the function of « passageways » in the 19th century town or covered public spaces. -- ArchDaily

Source: Nic Lehoux archdaily.com
EGWW, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2013 designed by SERA Architects + Cutler Anderson Architect
The Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt (EGWW) Federal Building is an existing 18-story, 512,474 sf office tower located in downtown Portland. Completed in 1974, the building’s MEP systems were worn out and out-dated. In addition to upgrading building systems, updating the work environment and improving accessibility, the design also needed to meet the stringent energy and water conservation requirements of recent executive orders.
With a unique facade of “reeds” that support plant growth and provide a native ecosystem, shades tuned for each facade to reduce solar gain, and a roof canopy that supports a180 kW photovoltaic array while collecting rainwater – the project pushed design boundaries. -- ArchDaily

Source: Tonatiuh Ambrosetti archdaily.com
Federal Criminal Court, Bellinzona, Switzerland, 2013 designed by Durisch + Nolli Architetti + Bearth & Deplazes Architekten
The new Federal Criminal Court building is located on Via Stefano Franscini, at the place of the former School of Business, whose two floors central building has been conserved. This neoclassical oeuvre has been conceived as the main building, being at the same time representative and austere, and it keeps – even after the refurbishment works – its role as primary entrance. It is now the new home for the Federal Criminal Court. -- ArchDaily

Source: Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden archdaily.com
Nazi Bunker Turned into a Gallery & Home, Berlin, Germany, 2004 designed by Realarchitektur
....the “Berlin Bunker” in the heart of the fashionable “Mitte” district.
Monolithic and symmetrical, decorated only by thin strips of vertical windows on its four identical facades, this former Nazi air-raid shelter stands as a relic of Germany’s past.  Yet a closer look beyond its sharp-edged cornice reveals something unexpected: luscious green gardens and a luxurious penthouse, completed in 2007. This is the home of Christian Boros, the art collector whose private collection is stored and exhibited in the depths of the fortified bunker below. -- ArchDaily

Source: Chaos.Z archdaily.com
Youth Hotel of iD Town, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, 2014 designed by O-office Architects
The renovation process mainly consists of two spatial actions: firstly equipping the central corridor with new hotel infrastructure to facilitate the new living units, and secondly installing a sequence of prefab steel opening box on the existing facade to create a more dynamic interaction between the building and the surrounding nature. -- 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

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Skin of Architecture: Slate

Source: Machado and Silvetti Associates
Boston Public Library, Honan-Allston Branch, Allston, Massachusetts, USA, 2001 designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates
The warm material palette is made up of slate shingles and panels, rough slate blocks, and wood cladding. Natural finished wood windows are used with a combination of fixed and operable units. The interior floors are a combination of wood and cork which shares the same warm tones of the exterior materials. -- architect's web site

Source: Koji Fujii archdaily
House of Uchigami, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, 2012 designed by Keisuke Kawaguchi + K2-Design
We adopted rustic natural stone for the exterior walls. By finishing both the roof and walls with the same material, we aimed for the house to have an understated charm while exhibiting distinctive character. -- ArchDaily

Monday, July 8, 2013

Bent Ribbons 2

Source: David Helman archdaily.com
School, Educative & Cultural Center, Pau, France, 2011 designed by Marjan Hessamfar & Joe Vérons Architectes
The general facade treatment reinforces theme of a functional whole with the use of the materials. The protruding concrete slabs spin from one building to another, to form cap, wall or roof. Within the folds of concrete are facade elements, transparent or perforated: joinery sets lacquered black, vertical sun screens and slatted wood. Only the library building differs from the others, its’ copper alloy skin (gold-coloured) in folded and perforated strips. Using a microperforated metal, they give the interiors a soft light while providing transparency of the surrounding city. -- ArchDaily

Source: Sebastián Castillo archdaily.com
Barranco No. 436, Barranco, Lima, Perú, 2012 designed by JSª
....the project Barranco 436 is located in a characteristic topographic edge of the area, facing a public space and with a privileged view of the seascape. The site is 120 square meters and is characterized by its triangular shape, 9 meters wide at the front and 3 meters wide at the back. -- ArchDaily

Source: K C Kratt archdaily.com
Kaleida Health Gates Vascular Institute, Buffalo, USA, 2012 designed by Cannon Design
The spirit of collaboration was the driving force uniting Kaleida Health and the University at Buffalo within a single structure, and the building strives to bring several disciplines and its patients, surgeons and researchers, together to exchange knowledge and ignite innovation. -- ArchDaily

Source: Marcin Czechowicz archdaily.com
Office Building at Grzybowska Street, Warsaw, Poland, 2013 designed by Grupa 5 Architekci
The modern glass and basalt façade is at the same time avant-garde in its expression and fits in well into the industrial surroundings. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jesús Granada archdaily.com
44 Social Housing Units, Plaza de la Cultura, Teruel, Spain, 2012 designed by Cristina Argos Moras + María Loriente López
A ceramic ventilated facade made of extruded ceramic plates “Bersal 250″ 16mm thick from Faveton, perforated concrete brick, with outer mineral wool insulation, avoiding any thermal bridge. -- ArchDaily

Source: PAUAT/ Luttenberger archdaily.com
ÖAMTC Service Centers, Upper Austria, Austria, 2013 designed by PAUAT Architects
....the building, which uses the clearly defined, elongated overall shape of the building and the existing potential of the property. It structures by position and mapping the outdoor spaces as an accentuating room sequence. With four differently formulated sides it respectfully combines in confident presence the existing topography and the urban environment. -- ArchDaily

Source: Amit Geron archdaily.com
Tirat Carmel Library, Tirat Carmel, Israel, 2013 designed by Schwartz Besnosoff Architects
....the building is being conceived as a gate entrance to the municipal garden, visitors are passing through the open ground floor directly to the public garden on the other side. The inner part of the building facade (north-east direction) touches the ground and allows the garden to climb on top of the building – creating a continuous public realm between the garden and the building. -- ArchDaily

Source: Nam Goong Sun archdaily.com
Roll House, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, 2013 designed by Moon Hoon
Its seemingly massive exterior belies its actual narrow volume. Even more, the false walls for the front yard exaggerate its size. -- ArchDaily

Source: Andreas Horsky archdaily.com
Dressage Arena Extension, Aachen, Germany, 2014 designed by Kadawittfeldarchitektur
The spectator grandstand is designed as a step-construction of reinforced concrete, over which is a projecting steel roof construction. The load-bearing structure of the roof comprises of a welded steel frame clad by trapezoidal metal sheeting, providing bracing and cover. The steel structure rests on the rear of the stepped concrete platform on a reinforced concrete ring beam. -- ArchDaily