Swedish brand Void has launched a watch that is only seven millimetres thick, which is now available to buy from Dezeen Watch Store. Read more
The Clients need was to design a 5 unit apartment, located in northern Tehran. First of all, private spaces (bedrooms) were located in north of the building and kitchen and bedroom and living room on the south to face the wooded view and sunlight. The building access is through a short and tiny dead end and the north facade faces it. One important challenge in the design of the north façade was to bold it so that it could appear enough in the dead end alley, without any extra element or ornament. On the other words, windows and the façade texture were the only important elements to be designed.
On the first step, northern windows ( bedroom windows) were randomly moved in each bedroom to diversify the façade design. Next, the windows were rotated to bold the façade dimension so that it could be seen better from the beginning of the dead end. These rotated windows are between folded walls that are made by exposed concrete with wooden texture, to be better expressed without any covering material preventing them to be thick. Playing of light and shadow on the volumes of façade and the concrete texture has made the design more attractive.
The green touch of the flowers is an inseperable element of the design and therefore the flowerboxes are automatically been irrigated. In southern façade, sunlight and view were the main parameters. The wide windows of living rooms are open to the neighboring garden and to control the sunlight, shading frames are used all around the windows. The interior of units have various spaces and has completely modern design by using high quality materials instead of diversity of colors and textures. Finally, the design elements are familiar to each other while they are variable and different and altogether making a Brutal Variety.
With a flag shaped site, bound on every side by close neighbors, the understandable instinct might be to step away from the city, retreat behind walls where privacy is better assured. The family that purchased the site saw instead a chance to be as open as possible, using the small degree of isolation as an opportunity to connect to the metropolis from a slight remove. Although the neighbors are close, the tendency in Tokyo is to reject the city and build closed walls, ironically allowing the family to take the opposite stance and open their home without loss of privacy. In this way the site is not unlike a clearing in the midst of a forest.
The deck and landing for the stairs to the roof are oversized so the family can spread out in every direction during the day. On the ground floor a similar openness defines the plan. The concrete floor extends outwards and becomes a landscape, softened by an abstract form that blurs boundaries – not between inside and out, but between city and home. As megacities go, Tokyo is particularly suitable to this approach. Benign and accepting of individual expression, it affords access to sun, air, and space if the starting point is one of acceptance rather than rejection of the urban condition.
A small budget required that we built with wood, and as simply as possible. A wooden structure in a disaster prone area normally works against our ambitions, requiring substantial sheer walls or braces to resist earthquakes. To answer this need large X-shaped walls are placed at either end of the home. Acting like buttresses, the structure is set outside the plan without interfering with the desire for openness.
The first floor and second floor are each treated as single rooms, with boxes holding bath and toilet working as rough dividers in the open plan. The height of the second floor was set so the family could see out to the river valley from their living room, looking over the roofs of their neighbors in the hilly site. Taking advantage of the 3 meter high ceilings on the first floor, a large long-term storage is hung from the ceiling, freeing up floor space for daily life. The storage defines the master bedroom and is incidentally used to hang a group of large doors that can close off the bath and the bedroom as needed.
Product Description. Compressed concrete panels were used as the principal exterior finish and on the interior to cover the wood brace structure as well as the WC on both floors. The finish connects inside and out, applied with screws and a rain screen on the exterior, and glued on the interior over a plywood underlay.
The Forum of the Future is an annual international festival dedicated to thought-provoking debates and performances, held in Porto, whose main objective is to invite guests from different disciplines to discuss key issues facing contemporary societies. Founded and organised by Porto Municipal Council since 2014, the Forum of the Future’s strategic partners are the Serralves Foundation, Casa da Música, the São João National Theatre and the University of Porto.
Amongst many possible definitions, a “liaisons” may be defined as a union, tie or bond. There are of course many other definitions. One that lies closer to the goal behind this year’s Forum of the Future – whose theme, “Liaisons”, is no accident – concerns the idea that a connection articulates different ways of seeing and thinking.
This is the core idea underpinning this ‘festival of thought’ – to use the poignant definition coined by Paulo Cunha e Silva. The festival aims to focus on paths which will open up new channels towards knowledge and intervention in the city of Porto.
Paths that will adopt a panoptic and plural gaze, and enable us to think about Life, Death, War, Peace, Faith and Culture; reflect about the ways we relate to each other in the contemporary era; or think about the manner in which Europe is handling terrorism, racism or the tragedy of the refugee crisis. This gaze also extends to ideas emerging from Africa or the Middle East, and the use of communication by artists from other continents, which undermines a Eurocentric vision and reveals the universal reach of their works. This gaze also highlights those in the West who explore the limits of the relationship between the arts and sciences, in the search not so much of a connection per se, but rather the long list of possibilities offered by connections.
From November 1-6, connect to the Forum of the Future.
Download the information related to this event here.
Each apartment in this crisply detailed concrete and glass block in Mexico City features a full-width balcony lined with sliding glass doors. Read more
From the architect. Set in a lush tropical landscape across the street from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Cluny Park Residence comprises 52 units positioned over four storeys, each with private lift access. The condominium takes full advantage of its privileged location by the new UNESCO World Heritage site, with every unit sporting a large balcony bordered by angled fins that provide sun shading and division between neighbouring units, whilst directing and framing the views towards the Garden’s greenery.
The units’ full-height glazing dissolves the barrier between indoor and outdoor space, visually extending the interiors. Ground-floor apartments feature private patios and pools that are protected from the street and the adjacent lots by a layer of perimeter planting. The top two floors house duplex units, allowing for generous double-height living spaces and higher ceilings on the fourth storey. The condominium’s public facilities – which include a pool with a deck and Jacuzzi, a barbecue pit, and a gym – are situated on the roof level with unhindered 360-degree vistas accessible to all residents.
The façade is composed of glazing framed by light composite timber trimmed with extruded aluminum section, giving it a natural yet clearly structured look. This is carried over to the interiors, which employ a luminous colour scheme and feature subtle inclusions of wood in its many forms: it can be found in the white oak floors, textured brushed-cypress feature wall, and walnut wardrobe cabinets.
Product Brief: The most prominent materials of the projects are used on its façade: full-height glazing allows to maximize natural lighting within the apartments; composite timber, which clads the balconies, gives the building a warm, natural look, blending in with the surrounding greenery; extruded aluminum trims section accentuate the lines that compose the façade.
Sig Nordal 