© BIG

BIG are known for unconventional buildings that often raise the question “how were they able to do that?” Such is the case for BIG’s Honeycomb, a luxury eight-story condominium currently under construction in the Bahamas. The project’s hallmark is its hexagonal façade made up of private balconies, each with its own glass-fronted outdoor pool. The façade was also the project’s greatest engineering challenge, with each balcony (including pool water) weighing between 108,000 and 269,000 pounds (48,000-122,000 kilograms) while cantilevering up to 17.5 feet (5.3 meters) from the structure. Tasked with this challenging brief were DeSimone Consulting Engineers, who previously worked with BIG on The Grove. Read on for more detail on the Honeycomb’s innovative engineering.

© BIG

Central to the Honeycomb’s design of is the use of a specially engineered concrete “superslab” which is able to cantilever over 17 feet without wall brackets below. This was achieved by reducing the slab’s weight while maintaining its strength and stiffness. As explained by Bill O’Donnell, the project lead at DeSimone, “to control deflection and reduce self-weight, 12-inch (300 millimeter) diameter tubes were embedded in a 17-inch (430 millimeter) thick conventionally reinforced roof slab.” These voids hollow out the slab, reducing its weight and increasing the section’s overall efficiency. This step also “eliminated the need for a post-tension slab, further reducing the overall weight and reducing the cost of the project.”

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

The balcony decks themselves are constructed from a 13-inch (330 millimeter) thick conventionally reinforced slab. What is especially clever, and what allows the slab to be kept at 13 inches, is that the slabs “fold down at the deepest point of the pool to align with the shear wall of the lower unit” for extra support.

© BIG

© BIG

Because of the staggered partition walls and varied façade, these shear walls sometimes connect to a structural column, acting “as a rigid bracket supporting the slab above and below.” At other junctions there is no column – here “the wall is not as stiff in these locations but still carries vertical load back to the column strip.” These 18-inch (450 millimeter) thick concrete shear walls not only increase structural support, but join into the sloped pool floors in order to form the hexagonal honeycomb structure.

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

While the depths of the cantilevers allow for plentiful outdoor space, the balcony’s utilities added further challenges. Both the summer kitchen and pool required a host of services, while also needing waterproofing and long-term serviceability. This meant the need for thoughtful detailing, with “nearly a dozen conduits that had to be carefully placed to get across the column strip and emerge on the sloped slab in the proper location”. The concrete shear walls were also once again utilised, with embedded pool drains serving as a path for balcony drainage.

© BIG

Because of the Honeycomb’s innovative structural system, conventional materials were able to be used, but used carefully. As all the concrete in the building is conventionally reinforced cast-in-place concrete, special attention was paid to the concrete mixture itself. To ensure durability, “limiting initial soluble chlorides, providing a tight water-cement ratio, and additional concrete cover over the reinforcing steel were critical design measures.” Finally, for further protection, an integral waterproofing admixture and surface applied coating were also used.

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

Correction update: This article originally mistakenly named the project lead at DeSimone Consulting Engineers as Bill O’Simmons. His actual name is Bill O’Donnell.

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Courtesy of TETRARC

• Architects: TETRARC Architectes
• Location: 35500 Vitré, France
• Architect In Charge: Jean-Pierre Macé, Olivier Perocheau & Julie Goislot
• Area: 17664.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of TETRARC , Stéphane Chalmeau

• Structural Eng: BETREC , E2C + SCE
• Fluid Eng: ICOFLUIDES

© Stéphane Chalmeau

The Multimodal Interchange project in Vitré comprises the creation of:

– A pedestrian footbridge in Vitré Station, spanning the railway 

Courtesy of TETRARC

– An underground car park with 620 spaces, constructed in two phases, and an overhanging pedestrian footbridge, connecting the first footbridge to the “Place de la Victoire” (Victory Square) and thus creating a pedestrian thoroughfare from this square to the Station’s north car park

© Stéphane Chalmeau

Courtesy of TETRARC

– A path connecting the upper part of the Place de la Victoire to rue Pierre Lemaître along the south façade of the car park, against the existing hillside

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© Stéphane Chalmeau

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– A public space serving the underground car park, an overground car park with 16 space, drop-off spaces serving the Ecole Sainte Marie (St. Mary’s School) and the Station via the footbridge, and a road system curving around a plot of land earmarked for the future construction of an office building.

© Stéphane Chalmeau

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Courtesy of Spado Architects

• Architects: Spado Architects
• Location: Klagenfurt, Austria
• Area: 165.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Courtesy of Spado Architects

• Project Managers: Harald Weber, Sebastian Horvath
• Assistant: Lukas Kucher
• Structural Consultant: Martin Mitterdorfer
• Site Area: 723 m2

Courtesy of Spado Architects

The task was to construct a detached house in the best inner-city location. The plot to be built on rises by about the height of one storey from the northern boundary, where the access road runs, to the south and it opens to the south on to a level area. One major aim of the design was to create an optimum sequence of rooms from the public to the private to provide the highest possible spatial quality in each phase. 

Courtesy of Spado Architects

The building itself consists of an east-west orientated two-storey base divided by a projecting roof that separates it from the street and protects it to the south and on top of that a north-south running single-storey gable-ended roof construction that minimises the view from the house to the west and forms a protective roof over the terrace. The building fits into its urban environment in that the roof shape and the building line match its surroundings. 

Courtesy of Spado Architects

The route through the building is intended to create a series of different spatial moods. The hall in the basement was designed as a cave-like interior space in a positive sense. The warm, dark colour scheme accentuates the feeling of “coming home” and it emphasizes the light falling from top to bottom in the area of the single-flight stairway. The wall in the area of the stairs was designed as light with a reflecting surface to further increase the play of light. 

Courtesy of Spado Architects

Via the stairs you reach the open-plan living area storey that is designed as a flowing space between the inside and the outside but still protected from view. The wall structure of the stairway is extended into the exterior space. This creates a flowing transition between inside and outside. Via another stairway you come to the most intimate and private areas of the house, the bedrooms and the bath area. 

Courtesy of Spado Architects

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Courtesy of Spado Architects

For maintenance purposes you can reach the garden level along the eastern boundary. There is storage space for garden tools built into the wall at the garden level. The canopied spaces provide areas protected from the weather and from view. 

Courtesy of Spado Architects

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© Maxime Delvaux

• Architects: MUOTO
• Location: Saclay University Campus, Paris, France
• Architects In Charge: Gilles Delalex, Yves Moreau, Paulo Neves, Anne Gerard, Andra Stanciu
• Area: 4097.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Maxime Delvaux, Courtesy of MUOTO

• Consultants: Y-Ingénierie, Bollinger & Grohmann, Alternative, Novorest

© Maxime Delvaux

From the architect. The project is a public facility, situated on the new campus of Paris-Saclay. The building hosts a mix of activities including indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a restaurant, cafeteria, and various public spaces: a pedestrian square, street terraces, park areas for deliveries, bikes and cars. The building is organised vertically with its different activities superimposed on one another, using the roof as a panoramic playground for football and basketball games. The different areas are linked by an open staircase that allows independant accesses. The building takes the form of an urban shelf, a vertical public space, accessible to all campus visitors, day or night.

© Maxime Delvaux

It is a shared facility, encouraging the encounter of various populations living close to one another, but rarely meeting. The Restaurant, cafeteria and sports activities are made accessible to students, company employees, teachers, and researchers. It aims at creating a meeting point for everyone by mixing activities that are usually separate.

Courtesy of MUOTO

The building has been conceived as a minimal structure, using rough materials, robust and long lasting techniques. Technology is used minimally to provide a place that will last in time, without need for complicated maintenance. 

© Maxime Delvaux

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© Maxime Delvaux

In response to the low construction budget, detailing has been kept to a minimum. This economical approach has allowed for the inclusion of a generous public square in the construction price, ensuring a planted pedestrian connection with the existing academic buildings next to the site. The vertical configuration of the building provides a minimal footprint.

© Maxime Delvaux

Product Description. – The main materials used in the building are glass and concrete. The glass façades are characterized by large aluminium sliding doors with triple rails. The concrete beams have been prefabricated and casted in industrial moulds, while concrete columns have been casted on site.

© Maxime Delvaux

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© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

• Architects: OMY design
• Location: Holon, Israel
• Architects In Charge: Maya Shelef, Ofri Danon
• Area: 155.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

From the architect. When we first saw the grand space we couldn’t ignore its height and incredible view.

We decided the best way to tackle it would be to focus on a few elements to fit its proportions. 

We chose a minimalist design concept so that the view remained the main focal point. 

© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

The flooring tiles are large and resemble cement, providing a wide clean surface for furniture on it. Black furniture and lighting fixtures contrast with the white kitchen. 

© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

The living space was kept soft with several textiles: a mint green velvet couch, a vintage private collection carpet, and a custom-made entertainment center and coffee table fit the size and ambiance of the living room. 

First Floor Plan

The heart of the living room is an entertainment center made of brass colored metal profile and aluminum net, which gives the space it’s industrial and approachable feel. 

© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

The dining room lighting fixtures are made of thin metal wires, making them almost see-through in order to avoid disturbing the views. 

© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

The family of five who lives here loves to entertain; therefore we selected a large dining table suited to the size of the sofa. 

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The kitchen is full of storage, creating an organized and minimalistic space. The same goes for the parent’s master bedroom features. A walk-in closet constructed from thin metal profiles and industrial glass, elegantly matching the bed-room and serving as its main focal point. 

© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

Product Description: We chose to use a large colored metal framework in order to create an anchor to the bright white open space of the living area.  Metal profile is a material that is typically thought to be cold and industrial, but with the right color and accompanying materials, it can transform into something new.

Using a metal framework allowed us to build this storage unit on a very large scale. The slick and elegant design compliments the apartment’s proportions, keeping a homey feel.

© Gideon Levin / 181 architecture photography

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