A chequerboard screen of glazed ceramic tiles in various green hues wraps this house in Barcelona, helping it blend in with the surrounding gardens (+ slideshow). (more…)
RAI Amsterdam Exhibition and Convention Centre has a new, multifunctional car park. The building is 30 metres high and its eight floors offer parking space for about 1.000 cars. The car park is situated on the ring road A10 and the Zuidas, Amsterdam’s business district. What makes the building remarkable is the fact that the first floor is not just for parking cars, but can also be used as a flexible space for conventions and exhibitions. When the RAI does not need the car park, the building can function as a public parking space. Benthem Crouwel Architects has been supervisor of the entire RAI complex since 1989. After conference buildings Amtrium and Elicium, this car park is the third building Benthem Crouwel Architects has designed for the RAI.
Helixes
The building is characterized by a simple, rectangular shape. On the south side of the building, two remarkable helix-shaped towers spiral upwards: one gives access to the car park moving up, the other one is used by cars leaving the building going down. By separating the traffic flows, parking at this building is fast and efficient, which is very important to Amsterdam RAI. The towers consist of prefab concrete elements. Placed on top of each other, they form the driveways to enter or leave the parking floors. The iconic concrete helix-shaped towers are highly visible from the ring road A10, even more so at night when blue LED lights emphasize the elegant structures.
Flexible space
The car park is a stand-alone parking facility, and also a multifunctional building. The first floor is twice as high (7.2 meters) as the other parking levels, creating a large and spacious hall that can be used as an extra space for conventions and exhibitions. The hall measures about 2.800 m2 and has as few columns as possible, therefore it can be arranged in many different ways. The column structure stands on a grid of 7.5 meters. The building consists of three naves with a span of fifteen meters. The extension hall can be used independently for various events, but can also be connected – using sliding doors – to the main exhibition halls of the RAI. The uppermost parking level, the roof of the building, can also be exploited for all kinds of activities.
RAI lamellae
The parking floors are framed by vertical lamellae, used in many of the RAI buildings – thus pointing out the connection between the various buildings of the complex. The aluminium lamellae of the car park are spaced and therefore give the building an appearance that is both transparent and private. The RAI wanted a car park without mechanical ventilation; the spacing allows air to flow through. Because of the orientation of the lamellae, they also protect against rain.
Twenty years as supervising architect
Originally founded in 1893 as a society for bicycle manufacturers, RAI Amsterdam has grown into one of the largest and busiest convention and exhibition centres of the world. Since RAI opened at its current location, in 1961, over a hundred million people visited the complex. Alexander Bodon was the supervising architect of the RAI from 1961 to 1989. As of 1989, Benthem Crouwel Architects is proud to have this honourable task. The past twenty years, Benthem Crouwel Architects has designed (among other projects) both the buildings Amtrium and Elicium for the RAI. The multifunctional car park is the latest addition to the RAI-complex.
Modern Muse is a private home located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, USA. It was designed by Shelly Preziosi Designs. Modern Muse by Shelly Preziosi Designs: “When it comes to modern interiors with a touch of “zen”, it doesn’t get much better than this. Shelly Preziosi does it again with her brand new interior creation “Modern Muse” in Deerfield Beach, Florida. From the moment you enter, you know you are experiencing..
The wooden stable is located in a countryside venue in the valued landscape of Northern Espoo. In addition to the stable space, the steep gabled roof also covers a free-range area, an equipment and supply space, and a manure storage area. The aim was to keep functions close to each other and ensure ease of use. All wood used in the building is unimpregnated conifer.
The building site is located in the valued landscape in rural Northern Espoo. Horse management is a significant part of the area’s agriculture. The area has many small stables and well-connected riding trails in the countryside. Horse keeping, for its part, allows for preservation of the fields’ current use for cultivation and grazing. Wood is a natural building material for the area.
The aim was to locate the building nesteled in a picturesquea great landscape; its long edge follows the direction of the forest slope and brings the building’s gable into the woods. In additional to landscape benefits, this created wind shelters in outdoor spaces to protect against the prevailing southwestern winds. Massing is based on the steep, acentric gabled roof, under which all central functions are located.
The functional planning of the building paid special attention to the ease of everyday activities and durability of building parts. In horse keeping everyday chores are repetitive; smooth organisation for feeding, cleaning and horse care is central. The free range area and stable are linked directly to the horses’ forest pasture, care locations are multifunctional and close by, the manure storage area opens out directly from the stalls and the free-range area, and the riding arena and connections to riding trails are located in the courtyard. The aim was to avoid unnecessary steps.
All horizontal structures and cladding were built with conifer. Sturdy floor planks were directly attached to a laminated timber floor structure. This achieved a simple structure, gave the room height, and provided natural stratification of warmth. The wooden- lattice structure ceiling is insulated with cellulose wool and ventilated from the gable. Sturdy tongue-and-groove spruce boards were used for the facade and interior cladding. Stalls and the free-range area that are exposed to direct wear from use by horses are primarily steel or concrete.
Unimpregnated wood was also used liberally in interior cladding because of the wood’s hygroscopic characteristics. The management of fluctuations in humidity and ensuring functional ventilation in the stable area are important to the horses’ well-being. Ventilation is primarily pressure force ventilation, with an option to increase efficiency using mechanical venting. Heat generated from horses is used in the stable spaces to supplement heating generated by hot air pumps, which are also used to decrease humidity as necessary.
Architecture firm Foster + Partners has created the minimal Tono bathroom range for Spanish brand Porcelanosa (+ slideshow). (more…)
You’re reading 5 Ways To Organize Your Life Through Organizing Your Home, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
How many times have you found yourself waking up to a messy, chaotic house, and likewise having a stressful and chaotic day? As Louise Smith once said, “You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.” When life starts to feel like a whirlwind of disarray, this could be a sign that now is the time to declutter your life and get organized.
As you move forward with getting your home (and life) organized, here are 5 simple ideas to help get you started.
You’ve probably heard this old saying a lot over the years, “a place for everything and everything in its place” and the statement couldn’t be truer. No matter how important an item is, if you don’t have a designated place to store each item, they become clutter.
To help clear out the clutter, walk through each room in your home and imagine you’re a visitor seeing each space for the first time. Do the rooms look organized or cluttered? If you can’t find a home for any given item, it may be time to part ways. This is also a good time to ask yourself if you still love the item and does it serve the space. If not, why are you holding on to it?
While most people know not to grocery shop hungry, it’s a good idea to shop with a list. Going to any store without a list leads to over-purchasing, which leads to overspending, and ultimately a cluttered home. By creating a list (and sticking to it) you’ll be less likely to buy items which clutter up your home. Plus, you’ll find more inner peace since you’re less likely to end up with buyer’s remorse.
The longer the mess or clutter builds up in your home, the more work you’ll have in the end. Plus, when we have larger messes around the home, we’re more inclined to put off cleaning which leads to an even bigger mess.
Set a goal to clean up as you go. Put dishes in the dishwasher when your finish using them. Fold and put away laundry as soon as it’s clean. Put shoes away in your closet. Sort mail right as soon as it enters the house. Spending a few minutes each day to do these simple tasks right away adds up to more time for fun and relaxation.
A “to do” list is another important organizational tool. Write everything down in a planner or enter every appointment in your phone—if it’s documented, you have a greater chance of accomplishing the task. After all, who doesn’t enjoy crossing something off their list? Nothing elicits feelings of satisfaction or accomplishment like seeing the list of things you’ve completed each day.
Feng shui is all about balance, and balance is exactly what it takes to feel organized in your home and your life. According to the Chinese philosophy, when the environment around you is in harmony, you will be in harmony too. Even if you don’t believe that balancing the elements of your home will lead to balance in your personal life, there’s no denying that when items in your home look balanced, things look more organized, and it’s easier to feel at peace in the space.
While finding balance and being organized within your home may be difficult at times, when the space you live in is peaceful, you will feel peaceful too.
Brooke Cade is a freelance writer who works with various publications including Simply Self Storage. When she isn’t writing, Brooke enjoys DIY projects, yoga, and hanging out at her local coffee shop.
You’ve read 5 Ways To Organize Your Life Through Organizing Your Home, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Sig Nordal 