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Κυριακή 30 Οκτωβρίου 2011

a Roll House

The curved surface of the California Roll House is extended across the ground, creating a paved surface that can be used for various outdoor activities. Made of prefabricated elements, easily assembled on site, the building is mobile and versatile. The materials provide energy efficiency, including reflecting heat from the sun. The glass panels are electronically controlled and react to changes of weather conditions by adjusting the level of transparency.

Underneath the entire structure is a carbon fiber truss frame, elevating it above the ground plane.  Adopting ideas from automotive design industry, hydraulic powered automatic door controlled by number lock panel is installed on the sloped wall as main entrance to minimize the space required for operation and avoid contact with user while in operation. When the door is fully open, the clearance height is up to 2 meters. The door opens into two pieces, the upper piece lifts up over head, and the lower piece unfolds onto the floor for visitors to step on. When the door is completely closed, the material on the outside of door continues with the material of the exterior surface to achieve conformity and hide the entrance.
The modularity of the house offers a customized positioning of openings. The residents can choose the placement of their windows. The bedroom area is completed with curtain divider and bookshelf with translucent middle part to provide privacy. In this way, the residents can have sense of privacy by delicate visual hints over as well as providing lights through.
 

Κυριακή 23 Οκτωβρίου 2011

a Vascular System

Designed by Michela Tonelli, Wei Ye and Thomas Bagnoli, the project is a vascular system of hypothetical paths and pockets of activity that plugs into the old city. It is distributed to reach all parts of Venice. The project for the Venice CityVision Competition was designed under the name of Venice 2, referring to the fact that by introducing a new habitable system; a new urban fabric is created. The “high water” issue and the strong presence of flow, whether of people, goods or water, are principles that inspired the design. It is, above all, a system of communication. The pockets contain housing, schools, work and leisure. Spaces are supplied with natural light and fresh air through openings in the form of suction cups that characterize the skin.
The system is energetically self-sufficient through the arteries draws in seawater, as a result of the passage in turbines, ensuring the production of energy from sunlight and become a source of energy due to the presence of green in the bubbles, it generates a balanced cycle of oxygen production.

 

Σάββατο 22 Οκτωβρίου 2011

a Home, Home...

As homes are becoming abandoned and foreclosed at an astonishing rate, suburbs are becoming a new safe haven for squatters and thieves. The “haunted house”, once reserved for homes on the territorial fringe, is making its way rapidly into suburban America. What you can’t see may kill you. The paranoid neighbor(hood).

There is an element present in all good horror/suspense films, an extreme feeling of discomfort and paranoia, something that works subliminally beneath the surface. Psycho, Paranormal Activity, Poltergeist…all of these movies play upon the fear of the unknown. The scariest monsters are the ones you never see, or perhaps only see glimpses of. The feeling of unease, or the uncanny, runs parallel to that of seduction. I’ll just show you a little. A tease. The promise of something is always more poignant than showing it outright. But what about when you finally see what you fear, what you lusted after, can the process be transformative? Can a glimpse of what may seem unsettling metamorphose into beauty?
This project designed by Michael Young focuses on the idea of replacement through mutant form and the misfit condition, not as a means of destruction/construction, but as a process over time, one of metamorphosis and transformation, slowly revealing what lies beneath, and by doing so, this transformation affords a different look at the contemporary home and the ontology of the nightmare which is bound with it.

“The house, like a man, can become a skeleton. A superstition is enough to kill it. Then it is terrible.” -Victor Hugo

Τετάρτη 19 Οκτωβρίου 2011

Skyscrapers For High Density

The construction of skyscrapers has been an architectural solution for high-density urban areas for almost a century for its ability to combine height with a small footprint. Today there is a constant race between large metropolises and nations to build the tallest structure, but it has been proven that this typology is sometimes not desirable for medium-size cities where skyscrapers destroy the skyline and disrupt the infrastructure of a specific location.

The Flat Tower is a new high-density typology that deviates from the traditional skyscraper. It is based on a medium-height dome structure that covers a large area while preserving its beauty and previous function. The dome is perforated with cell-like skylights that provide direct sunlight to the agricultural fields and to the interior spaces. The dome’s large surface area is perfect to harvest solar energy and rainwater collection.

Community recreational facilities are located at ground level while the residential and office units are in the upper cells. An automated transportation system connects all the units, which are different shapes according to their program. It is also possible to combine clusters of cells to create larger areas for different activities.

Although this proposal could be adapted to any medium-size city around the world, it has been designed for the city of Rennes, France, in an old industrial area.

Τρίτη 18 Οκτωβρίου 2011

Living Ocean

The theme of the 2012 International Exposition in Yeosu, South Korea, is “The Living Ocean and Coast”. As a response, architects at MVRDV have designed a pavilion that will contribute to raising awareness of the fragility of ocean ecosystems. The building is a kind of aquarium, a glass structure made of water basins that surround the central void. The idea was for each of the basins to display specific aspects of the ocean-the deep see, the tropical waters, the mangroves, reefs-entertaining and educating the public.

The structure is devoid of columns. The walls of the cube bear all weight, acting also as a thermal insulator for the inter object. Their latter function is particularly interesting, as it presents an empirical proof of the oceans importance as regulator of the world climate. Structural support elements are integrated within the walls. The water pressure and weight of the basins are additionally supported by using double-layered glass.

The building is accessed through an underground tunnel, leading the visitors to the central hall. From there they can take a tour of the world oceans which guides them past the water basins. The illumination of each basin can be individually programmed, according to phase of the day-night cycle they’re in.

 

Δευτέρα 17 Οκτωβρίου 2011

Light and Sculptural Space

The design uses light and sculptural space in order to illustrate different aspects of druguse. It doesn’t include conventional tools accompanying similar events. It aims to become a mind-opening experience whose architecture lures the visitors in. Through the creation of a hallucinogenic space, chance is given to discuss drugs. Space, light and sound is interacting with the visitor, giving a personal experience created by the visitors movement and mindset. Only one person is allowed inside at a time and may stay for as long as he/she wants to.

The installation contains three continuously linked spaces – pleasure, repetition and awakening. Entering the first space, the door is shut behind the visitor, who is given beauty and tranquillity. Soft, crystalline music and subtle light phenomenons, bring peace and pleasure. Sliding into the second space, the surroundings are closing in around the visitor.

A harsh sound and light environment is brought on the person, who is deprived of direction and is given heaven and hell in a quick rhythm. In the last space the visitor starts to reach for reality and a numbing bass is growing through the body, giving a will to leave for solid ground. The wooden floor hide triggers that activate different scenes manipulating the subjects experience of the journey through the container. Thus reflections on drug use and abuse are raised.

CCPP (Chantier créatif de prévention partagée) is a design collaboration between the collectives Cochenko and Quatorze. It was carried out by Butong, together with the two collectives. The installation will travel to schools and institutions in a drug awareness campaign commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture and MILDT.

 

Παρασκευή 14 Οκτωβρίου 2011

a Flamenco Pedagogy

This project designed by Cheng Gong and Jinming Feng received a honorable mention at the International School Museum of Flamenco Competition. Flamenco is one of the traditional Spanish dancing arts that still exists and is actively practiced.  Its most impressive aspect could be found in the strong rhythm that is generated between the synthetic reaction of music and dancing.

Based on the inspiration of the articulated expression of ancient ornamental iron patterns as well as the order of the columns and arches in Spanish churches, the architects’ strategy is to re-appear the exuberant atmosphere within the context. Architectural programs are mainly defined by the columns and the fluid partitions offset from the outer domain. At the same time, a more active and dynamic roof and vertical sub-structural system grow from the regular column matrix with the purpose of not only forming a highly rhythmic sound wave cover but also extracting people from the surroundings and gathering them into the site to have an interactive moment such as dancing and communication. The transformation of shading and light effects emphasizes the comparison between the columns and the mutated roof.

In terms of the traditional mode of flamenco pedagogy, dancing teaching is more a face-to-face process than a dogmatic step. To encourage the interactive mode of dancing, the project magnifies the role of public space with the method of intersecting two matrixes of columns so the spatial regularity is partially destroyed and replaced by  apparent chaos. Dancing happens in the columns, the roof, and the building itself.

Πέμπτη 13 Οκτωβρίου 2011

a memory of Kobe

An installation project by 24° Studio will be exhibited at Kobe Biennale 2011 from October 1 through November 23. The project was one of the winners for Shitsurai Art International Competition organized by the city of Kobe. This multi-use environmental installation serves as a meeting place where every area can be used as seating for visitors to contemplate the surroundings, thus invoking a social interaction.

The design motive was influenced by the history of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 that led to inevitable changes within built environment sparring only the nature that surrounds Kobe. This devastating experience is remembered by Kobe residents making them a persistent and tight community, but remaining open and friendly to the visitors of the city. Strong social ties between people helped them to overcome the disaster and rebuilt the city making it a better living environment. However in the everyday life without problems and crisis, the face to face social interaction between people is decimating and it is one of the biggest problems in our technology driven time.

Crater Lake, an installation – environment where people have a place to meet to observe the beauty of the surrounding environment and more importantly to call forth an emphasis on sustaining social interaction, which was the important catalyst that brought Kobe residents to revitalize their city after the disaster. The installation is situated in the man-made Port Island, Shiosai Park that provides a vast view of the Kobe urban center, its surrounding mountainscape and seascape.
Design intent of Crater Lake installation is to take this unique location into advantage; by creating an undulating wooden landscape that provides a variation of open and unconstrained settings with 360° viewing vista. Every surface may be utilized as seating and lying down surface. Additional seating stools are set in the middle of the space that can be reorganized according to the user’s preferences. The gentle hill surfaces invites people of multiple generations by providing spatial conditions that allow to interact with the landscape space like a playground device, relax in the shade of the mount, and socialize by seating in preferred order.

Multiple ideas and materials were tested to realize the complexity of smooth and undulating form. Wood was chosen for its strong structural capacity, ease of work with, and natural qualities. One of the main issues was to express continuous and smooth surface without using costly techniques of wood steaming, bending or digital fabrication. The solution was to divide the circular surface into a number of radial parts, with optimal number of 20 parts. Factors that determined this optimal number were, overall surface expression, production schedule, and transportation method (vehicle bedsize).  These 20 radial parts were preassembled off the site and transported by a vehicle to the main site of Shiosai Park.

Standard wood and off-the-shelf hardware were used in construction to avoid any costly customized fabrication process. 2×4 studs were used for all structural members and 30×60 mm treated cedar wood was used for the surface. The structure of radial parts consists of series of free-form ribs composed in segmentations with horizontal support and cross bracing for rigidity. Each radial segment has 64 surface planks that are attached to three structural ribs that are rigidly connected between each other with horizontal supports. The surfaces with the most anticipated traffic flow have narrow spacing between each plank. And as the mount becomes higher, the spacing distance of surface planks increases, allowing users to climb the mount. The rising mount resulted from understanding the site and seasonal conditions, functioning as a sun shading and wind protection from the bay winds when sitting at inner area.

Τετάρτη 12 Οκτωβρίου 2011

a Mercedes Forest

HTDSTUDIO competition entry for the Mercedes-Benz Business Center is less concerned with form-following-function as it is with form being functional.  The tower sited in Yerevan, Armenia is hyper-rationally organized, with a layout synthesized from user-flow. The program ranging from hotel, apartment, and fitness center, to theater, restaurant, and conference room, require a reconsidering of the public-private relationship. This relationship is reinterpreted as an opportunity for inclusion opposed to separation. As a result, the functional activity is aligned along the exterior, with discreet separations occurring within the core. This new programmatic arrangement is projected to the façade, with the juxtaposing programs serving as cladding elements that animate the elevations with social exchange.
The form is derived to enhance both site efficiency and seismic flexibility. Four main pylons lift the tower off the ground enabling an unfettered flow across the site. Program volumes are suspended from one another in an effort to anticipate and absorb seismic activity. The quad-core superstructure along with a steel monocoque allow for the floors to be designed based on client desires opposed to structural needs.

Hailed as a significant landmark and beacon of progress, the tower stitches together old and new, reusing the wall-base from the Yerevan Youth Center which previously occupied the site. The selected site allow for dramatic views of Yerevan and Mt. Ararat, enabling visitors to experience the city’s history from the frame of its future.

Δευτέρα 10 Οκτωβρίου 2011

Zahner's Soul

An internationally acclaimed engineering and fabrication company, Zahner, sought to expand its existing facility at 8th and Paseo Blvd. in Kansas City, Missouri. The design would have to provide partial transparency and showcase the company’s ability to produce highly engineered forms. Designed by Crawford Architects, the building is able to accommodate Zahner’s expansion needs and show off their impressive abilities to manipulate metals.

The team’s investigation into patterns on metals in nature resulted in a design resembling sand ripples. The natural oxidation pattern was used to create a 3 dimensional digital surface model of the façade. The design also explores Zahner’s skin systems, with the steel backup system being completely exposed. The surface, which is usually applied to the structure, is exempted for the design. Instead of the applied skin defining the form, the totality of all the fins combine to create the overall pattern, while converting an inherently 2-dimensional skeletal system into a collective 3-dimensional sinuous wave pattern. The system’s key components are vertically oriented DT* fins made from a half-circle shaped aluminum extrusion riveted to a water jet cut 3/16” aluminum plate. Placement of the fins is every 24 inches on center with an Inverted Seam™ dry-set glass panel system in-between producing a structural curtain wall set on a cast-in-place concrete base.

The resulting envelope seems to grow out of the rigid form of the existing facility, at the same time providing transparency between the interior activities and the surrounding urban environment.

Σάββατο 8 Οκτωβρίου 2011

the Face of Landmark

The design of the Pushkinsky Cinema facade renovation places the face of the landmark venue behind a sculptural veil which acts as a dramatic backdrop to Pushkin Square and an iconic face to the cinema. Inspired by the screened views, geometric intricacy and flowing surfaces of a “Russian Veil”, the design contrasts the imposing presence of the Brutalist architectural icon by simultaneously enclosing and revealing its contents behind a delicate yet robust open air lattice materialized as thermo-formed sheets of DuPont Corian. The solid mass of the building is clad in a series of Corian panels which gently morph the relentless diagrid pattern of the existing facade into a flowing and varied matrix of warped hexagon modules.

The composite effect of the varied orientations of the hexagonal screen components creates a rich and dramatic moiré effect which dissolves from opaque to transparent and back again as one moves around, through and within the building. With each step the building appears to change through the interplay of light, shadow, and visual connectivity as the thin 13mm thick Corian sheets nearly disappear upon perpendicular viewing while those at oblique angles to the viewer are revealed through their 500mm depth. This dynamic effect encourages visual interaction and connectivity between the cinema and Pushkin Square by simultaneously revealing and concealing the contents of the cinema through a multiplicity of varying and directed views into and out of the lobby.

 

Παρασκευή 7 Οκτωβρίου 2011

to propose a Post-Diluvian prototype

Bangkok authorities still consider flooding a crisis, instead of a constant. This negative mindset contributes to the economic loss the city has experienced over the last years. With the city sinking 10 cm below sea level, the latter rising by 40 cm annually, the safest place to create architecture is above water.  Architects at S+PBA propose a Post-Diluvian prototype community that translates the principles of traditional, flood-conscious architecture into a contemporary, sustainable Wetropolis.

The project examines the entirely supra-marine stilt home community of Koh Pan Yii, a settlement that floats on the Andaman sea in Southern Thailand, successfully sustaining all of the typical functions of an urban community—schools, public spaces, hospitals, utilities, industry. The proposal will further advance the concept by minimizing its footprint on the water, enabling the continued cultivation of mangrove forests.

The forests will supply the community with carbon dioxide mitigating flora, a natural effluent filtration system, some of the only green open space in Bangkok and with moderate local shrimp farming. The prototype community will be elevated above the acres of underutilized shrimp farms, aligning the interests of shrimp farmers, urbanites, developers and the government by simultaneously sustaining mangrove restoration, modest shrimp farming.

 

Τρίτη 4 Οκτωβρίου 2011

in Busan, such a View

The Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea, designed by Wolf D. Prix / COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, the new home of the Busan Film Festival (BIFF), was inaugurated with a grand opening on 29 September 2011 in the presence of the president of South Korea. The innovative building combines open space, cultural program, entertainment, technology and architecture in a novel way. Over 800 guests, among them the Mayor of Busan, the cultural minister, the sports minister as well as film celebrities attended the ceremony.

After winning the competition for this project in 2005 construction started the same year. The roof’s ceiling surface is completely equipped with LED projectors which allows for unique visual spectacles highlighting the Busan Cinema Center. The dynamically illuminated ceiling will serve as the center’s platform of communication with visitors and passers-by. A free span of 85 meters and a roof surface of 60 x 120 meters makes the roof the worldwide largest cantilevered roof. The complex comprises about 60,000 m2 of performance, event, gastronomy and administrative spaces and has a capacity of up to 6,800 visitors.