Courtesy of Studioninedots

• Architects: Studioninedots
• Location: The Netherlands, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Design Team: Albert Herder, Vincent van der Klei, Arie van der Neut, Metin van Zijl
• Area: 1150.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of Studioninedots

• Project Team: Jurjen van der Horst, Coen Smit, Giovanni Lavanna
• Developer: OntwerpJeWoning
• Contractor: Vink Bouw

Courtesy of Studioninedots

From the architect. Amstelkwartier is a new mixed-use residential/commercial district in Amsterdam Oost. This 12-hectare site is currently being developed with 1,100 dwellings and 30,000 m2 commercial space. Amstelkwartier released four plots of land to accommodate the increasing popularity for people to design their own homes in an urban context. On plot C2, a collective of private owner-clients, with their own individual apartments, simultaneously developed the Lofts by the Amstel apartment block.

Scheme

Scheme

Lofts by the Amstel’s unique, prefabricated concrete structure enables a building width of 12.5 metres, which is twice that of traditional Amsterdam apartments. In addition the building features a glass facade that extends the entire building width – both conscious decisions considering the site’s phenomenal water views. The dwellings each occupy an entire floor of 160 m2 and have a different character from a family home to a completely open loft. Studioninedots also designed the interior of the top floor apartment.

Courtesy of Studioninedots

The facades and balconies are constructed from white prefab concrete. The white volume rests on a dark grey basalt plinth that recalls the cladding of dike and canal walls in Amsterdam. On the front and rear facades the balconies’ organic forms echo the meandering lines of the canal-side park and represent the movement of water of the river Amstel.

Courtesy of Studioninedots

The balcony dimensions are exceptional: 2.5 metres deep and 12.5 metres wide, the same as the building width. Folds recede on the balconies at certain sections, cleverly creating double-height spaces. This ensures that sun and daylight reach deep into the apartments. The fluid lines of the balconies are accentuated by integrated LED strips that illuminate by night and through the optical play of open and closed sections in the curved balustrades. Integrated in the floors of the front balconies, in line with the curves, are elongated concrete planters, which emphasise the sustainable character of the building.

Courtesy of Studioninedots

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© Uzi Porat

• Architects: Amitzi Architects
• Location: Bnei Dror, Israel
• Structural Engineer: Doron Tweg
• Area: 300.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2011
• Photographs: Uzi Porat

© Uzi Porat

From the architect. The house was designed for a family with 3 children and a modest budget, in a dense neighborhood.

© Uzi Porat

The public spaces open onto the back garden to the south, and the bedrooms face the street to the north.

Floor Plan

The section is split-level: The master bedroom is partially submerged in the ground, yet well-lit and cosy. The childrens’ bedrooms are stacked directly on top of it and are thus elevated and seperated from street level. The public area is on the mezzanine – ground floor – which results in a floor height of one storey and a half– almost 4 meters.

© Uzi Porat

The street facade is modest and lower than the adjacent houses, and the lofty, one-and-a-half storey high interior is unexpectedly revealed only when entering the house. The exposed concrete ceiling floats 60 centimeters above the peripheral walls using steel columns. The resulting clerestory windows provide glimpses to the outside and ample natural light. The ceiling overhangs outwards to block the sun’s heat and glare and prevent views from the adjacent, higher houses. The clerestory windows are executed with frameless glass panes inserted into U-profiles set into the ceiling during the casting. To maintain privacy, the side walls are windowless, and the living room opens only towards the back garden

Section

Materials are simple and typical to the area: exposed concrete ceiling, white-washed walls and oak floors. The approach path is combed concrete and the back garden holds a pine-wood deck

© Uzi Porat

Detail

© Uzi Porat

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• Architects: AEDAS
• Location: Dalian, Liaoning, China
• Area: 221900.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2015

• Director: Christine Lam and David Clayton
• Structural: Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd.
• E&M Engineer: Parsons Brinckerhoff (Asia) Ltd.
• Quantity Surveyor: Langdon & Seah China Ltd.
• Traffic Consultant: MVA Hong Kong Ltd.
• Lighting Designer: DUO Lighting Design + Associates
• Client: Hang Lung Properties Ltd
• Site Area: 63,400 sqm

From the architect. Olympia 66 is a statement of innovative design as a landmark in the city of Dalian, China. The design respects Chinese culture and urban context, with the thoughtful approach to its relationship to the street providing generous community space and plazas with integrated landscape. This 7-storey shopping mall grasps the  fine balance between complex form and function, responding to the immediate surroundings and local community and providing the largest shopping, lifestyle and leisure complex in Dalian.

Concept

Olympia 66 is located at Wusi Lu, a prominent avenue in the heart of commercial and residential district in Dalian. The 63,400-square- metre site is adjacent to the Olympia Square, a sequence of squares along the main avenue of Zhongshan Lu. To the east sits People’s Square, the home of the municipal government, whilst to the west is Xinghai Square. With great visibility from Zhongshan Lu and Wusi Lu, the project has good road transport connections and a link to the new underground railway.

Olympia 66 creates a contemporary statement with an oriental overtone, defining an iconic city destination. The design drew inspiration from the twin carp, a symbol of wealth and abundance in Chinese culture which are typically used in Chinese New Year paintings.

Floor Plan

The interplay of two swimming carp inspired a dynamic form which allows a loop circulation  owing through a continuous chain of retail, atrium and event spaces to the sky-plaza and central roof garden, creating an exciting and diverse lifestyle experience.

Internal curving arcs resemble the dancing carp, with the expression of a series of simple shells with the tail owing over the curving central spine. The shells on the roof are layered to create clear storey glazing, allowing direct and reflected light into the two atrium spaces. The main façade is composed of hexagonal modules with various lighting effects recapturing the reflective scales of a carp.

The building form enhances urban connectivity and integration through multiple entrances. The continuous shop frontage at street level not only provides great visibility of retail but also makes the building totally permeable at ground level. Main entrances are prominently de ned and open into generous event spaces allowing a pause before joining the vortex of circulation.

Exploded Envelope

The enormous  floor area is divided into open event spaces and retail areas with a central spine which runs through the centre of the mall linking two large atria on each side and diagonally linking the corner entrances. Leisure activities and event spaces are sequenced along the retail route providing opportunities for visitors to rest at a cafe or take in an exhibition. Landscaped terraces wrap around the building further enhancing a relaxing shopping environment. Integrated digital signage is implemented to direct visitors the shortest routes to destinations within the building.

Three floors of basement provide service docks and 1,400 car parking spaces. Basement circulation is enhanced by the underground railway connection and two passenger drop-offs located at the sunken courtyards at B1 level.

Section

In response to the northern Chinese climate, the largely solid insulated roof creates overlapping blades and clear storey glazing to allow direct light into the atrium while shading summer sun, thus preventing heat loss in winter and solar gain in summer. The roof blades also serves as a big light shelf to maximise reflected light down into the atrium spaces. The project is pre-certified with a LEED Gold rating.

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