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Forest Temple is a result of the Constructive Shamanism workshop in Lithuania, 2016. A multi-disciplinary tribe of artists, artisans, architects, writers, photographers, yogis and children of forest gathered in the ancient lands of Vytautas V Landsbergis to perform architectural rituals connecting the modern man with nature.
Living in tents and teepees and eating from the nature, the tribe started to do a circular meditative movement to connect a handful of pine trees with natural linen rope. The result is insect architecture, a man-made semi-transparent cocoon swinging together with the trees. Architecture is the art of reality. There is no other reality than nature.
From the architect. Project statement
THE-Studio is both a practical demonstration case which deeply integrates sustainable design strategies with ecological technologies, and an experimental platform for sustainable architecture based on the Moderate Zone in southwest China, aiming to examine whether the detailed design methods and building technologies can truly suit to the local conditions of climate, culture and even economy.
Oriented to the specific project positioning, the design team has developed the multi-system integrated design strategy from the very early design phase to minimize the negative impacts to local ecological system while maximizing the indoor comfort and energy efficiency.
Multi-system integration
The multi-system integration includes three levels: the paralleled construction systems, the integration of vernacular culture with sustainable technology and the BIM platform.
Four building systems are implemented in parallel to accelerate whole construction process thus reducing negative interference to the site. Timber frameworks are employed in the large-space exhibition hall, while the prefab light-steel modules are used to shape functional space at both sides. All these structural components and joints are produced off-site and swiftly assembled on site, leading to a significant saving of time and energy. Sustainable service systems (air through tunnel, biomass heating, PVT system, rainwater collecting, control and monitoring, etc.) are mostly plugged into the cavity of façades, which can save installation time, increase indoor flexibility and provide potential space for additional equipment in future experiments. The modular double-skin façade system is a unique integration of vernacular rattan-weaving craftsmanship with industrial prefabrication technology, highly expressing site-specific characteristics while promoting local traditional industry and economy. BIM is also adopted as integrating platform throughout building’s whole life span, especially for coordination of construction, operation and maintenance phases.
Passive design methods
The passive design methods responding to local climatic factors of natural wind, solar radiation and daylight are further contrived by the design team.
Firstly, the large-space central exhibition hall with extra-raised ventilating skylights can truly act as a venting chimney to promote both wind and thermal pressure ventilations while providing adequate and colorful light for the interior.Secondly, the double-skin façades consisting of double-glazed façade at the first floor and the rattan-weaving double skin at the second floor are typical climate responsive design. The double-glazed façade can adapt to the seasonal and daily changes of the outdoor environment, through different operative modes of vents and windows to reach the expected thermal and ventilation performance. Four module patterns for the rattan-weaving double skin are also developed and arranged according to local solar radiation and wind pressure on each façade through software simulation, aiming to comprehensively integrate environmental performance, structural stability and material durability together.Thirdly, the building also adopts the underground air through tunnel as the passive air-conditioning system, which can largely reduce the energy consumption particularly in summer and winter. Its vertical venting ducts are further integrated in the air cavity of double-skin façade and distributed into the major working places, providing fresh air while creating indoor comfort. Fourthly, the building highly encourages usage of renewable materials such as timber, steel and wheat-straw board and promote the employment of vernacular materials and craftsmanship such as traditional rattan-weaving, blue-stone floor pavage and rubble wall masonry, which can both decrease the carbon footprint during whole life span and create a unique architectural self-expression.
After the building was completed, a series of field measuring and monitoring for thermal, humid, ventilation and luminous environments are carried out and further analyzed. The outcomes verify that detailed design methods and building technologies of THE-Studio at the early design phases were both effective and appropriate during the construction and operation processes, which can be the references to the similar sustainable buildings in the Moderate Zone of southwest China.
T House is the vacation house closed by Chao Samran beach. The house is to serve for the big family vacations. The owner has total four siblings and each has own family with two kids, they are altogether more than ten lives if they spend the time here together on their leisure. The main function of this house is for a party, dining and resting. The architects designed under the thinking of sharing space. While everyone is doing their own activity in any corner, each can be seen and talk to each other as if they are at the same space.
The design begins with layout enclosed space of three master bedrooms, and happens to be the common area at the center which open view to the sea and to non-heat direction at the North. The bedrooms also act as shading that block sunlight from South and West to the main common area. One bedroom on ground floor serve the continuity of living space and also convenient for the elders not to hiking to upstairs. The wall of the three bedrooms are designed enable for fully opened in which the entire area of the house become a single space where the activity flows throughout the house both upper and lower. The materials applied for the bedrooms are wood which lying continuously from inside to outside. On the exterior view, the bedrooms are apparently standing out as three wooden boxes, and they are divided only by the glass which is to control the air flow.
The interior considered on the owner’s functions and lifestyles. The dining table is adaptable for multiple uses. The bed rooms serve for many persons staying simultaneously. The rope net at the stairs is for the kids to play around.
From the architect. Dabao village is remotely situated within the mountain range of Guangxi province in China. The settlement provides home to around 110 families of an ethnic minority group called the ‘Yaos’. The group has its own distinctive dialect and culture. Yao people are often identified by their unique colourful traditional costumes.
The Dabao project aims at providing the Yaos with a new primary school and a cultural centre. Dabao villagers were invited to actively participate in the initial planning of the project, and involved in construction until project completion.
The school building is situated within the paddy fields on the mountains of Dabao. The project is designed to merge the building harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. Maintaining a balance between the building and the surrounding environment is a prime consideration for the architectural design of this project.
The design concept is structured around the use of layers of walls in addressing the challenges originated from the steep topography of the site. A long bamboo façade along the southern site boundary not only acts as a protective barrier from the road outside, it also regulates the transmission of noise and daylight whilst ensuring privacy of occupants at the same time. The intelligent use of different diameters and lengths of bamboo tubes responds adequately to the different light requirements of the rooms for their respective functions.
The main level of the building includes two classrooms, each for 30 students, a library, a staff room, a kitchen, and a storage space. An outdoor playground area with a basketball court is located on the second level whereas the roof of the building is accessible for the children to play and for villagers to rest and enjoy the spectacular panoramic landscape. Besides functioning as a primary school, the center also serves as a cultural space for events, festivals and various celebrations of the Yaos.
From the architect. Don’t throw anything away. That was the first request the client made for her new house in Guayllabamba, Ecuador. Patchwork and quilting are not only her work, but also her philosophy of life, so she tries to recycle everything she can. The second request was to find solutions for the house on one single level. This would allow comfortable access for her and her mother, who would also be her neighbor in an already existing house just a few steps away from hers.
These two requests would become the basis of the design. All decisions were made with the intention of not throwing anything away and taking advantage of all the materials we had on hand.
To begin, a single-level floor plan involved clearing out a large amount of earth. This earth was then used to build the mud walls that became the main structure of the house. In addition, almost all the windows, doors, and cabinets were recycled from the client’s previous home. Everything was recycled as a patchwork design. Materials that would seemingly be considered useless or not worthy were made to work by means of different systems. The windows were joined together and adapted to the wooden columns and mud walls; restored doors were hung from the concrete beams; restored and rebuilt cabinets were adapted to fit in new spaces, and old gates and fences were used to enclose the new garden.
The three-meter tall mud walls are arranged in a “C” shape for structural rigidity, which is basic when constructing with rammed earth. The “C” walls shelter the private spaces of the house, which are then closed off with the recycled windows and doors. On one side of the house are the quilting studio, the main bedroom, and the laundry/pet room. These areas allow the owner to withdraw into her own private space even when the house is full of people. This entire side of the house opens out to a private garden through a collage of recycled windows. On the opposite side of the house, three guestrooms are laid out as small yet complete spaces in which to rest.
The large open living space is located between the two private side wings, and constitutes the central and most important space in the house. This area draws one towards the outside view and recreational zone where family activities are closely related to nature. The inside walls of the house are painted white so that the patchwork wall hangings can stand out.
The roof consists of a system of wooden beams, tensioned trusses and a thin concrete slab. Several skylights provide proper lighting for the guestrooms and the corridor leading to the owner’s private quarters.
The outdoor area consists of a large avocado and custard apple orchard. The exterior finish of the house is minimal, where the mud walls retain their original aspect, flanked by the recycled windows.
Australian office Bates Smart has unveiled their design for the new Australian Embassy to the United States to be located in the diplomatic heart of Washington, D.C. Developed in partnership with local firm KCCT, the new building will provide the embassy with a contemporary workspace with views to the White House.
Bates Smart’s design draws inspiration from the Australian landscape, allowing the building to become a symbol for their home country.
“The environmentally sensitive design embodies the spirit of Australia through direct references to the distinctive Australian landscape: its bright and clear natural light and open skies, its warm materiality and its vast scale,” said the architects in a press release. “The use of these associations will create a civic building and symbol of Australia that is both enduring and welcoming.”
Offices and flexible working areas encircle a large glass atrium, which provides the building with an abundance of natural light. On the ground floor, a large open public space leads guests into the building and to a series of exhibition gallery and event spaces for ceremonial and public functions.
The building has been designed to meet the highest possible global environment standards, employing a thermally efficient façade system, a green roof with an extensive photovoltaic array and the latest building services technologies, as well as through the expansive use of natural light.
The new building will replace the existing Australian Embassy, which was designed by Bates Smart’s Sir Osbourne McCutcheon in 1964.
“It is with great pride that we have the opportunity to replace this building with the next generation of Bates Smart design,” said Kristen Whittle, Director of Bates Smart. “The design of the new Embassy has been inspired by the unique and beguiling beauty of the Australian landscape. The project has a refined and rich materiality which will make it stand out in Washington.”
News via Bates Smart.
From the architect. The Campus North Residential Commons offers the kinds of social spaces and experiences that enhance campus and academic life for today’s undergraduates. The full block site is intended as a new portal to campus and is designed to encourage interactions and exchange between students while also opening up the university to the greater Hyde Park community.
Campus North offers a mix of student residences, dining options, amenities, retail, and outdoor green spaces. Extending the campus footprint to the north, the location and placement of the structures create a new “front door” for the University, opening up to the greater Hyde Park neighborhood and strengthening pedestrian connections between the campus and nearby communities.
The design situates four slender bar buildings in an urban fabric of plazas, gardens, walkways, and courtyards that together form inviting, public and semi-private outdoor spaces for students and neighbors. The building is scaled to its context, with the highest structure completing the urban edge of busy 55th Street, while nearby structures are more attuned to the residential neighborhood along University Avenue. Pre-cast concrete panels are used to clad the building, a contemporary facade informed by the University’s neo-Gothic tradition.
Enhancing the University’s House system, which encourages interaction and collaboration between students of different years to support social and academic success, the buildings are organized around House hubs, three-story communal spaces that are designed to feel comfortable and homey. Each hub offers distinct spaces for studying, movie watching, cooking, and playing in small groups or individually, while also enabling all House members to assemble together to discuss household chores and energy use and to plan group activities or study sessions.
The Houses share additional communal spaces such as the top-floor Reading Room, which offers panoramic views of the city, campus, and Lake Michigan.
BIG and Heatherwick Studio have been selected as the architects for the new Google Headquarters at their King’s Cross campus in London. The ten story, 650,000 square foot building will be the first wholly owned and designed Google facility to built outside of the United States, and is part of a campus expansion plan that will eventually contain offices for 7,000 employees.
The team was awarded the commission after an original scheme by AHMM architects was put on hold in November 2013. Images of the new designs have yet to be released.
“From the beginning, the project to give Google a new home in King’s Cross has been extraordinary,” said Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick in a joint statement.
“Rather than impose a universal style on Google’s buildings in the UK and the USA, we have tried to create an interestingness that fits the scale and the community of King’s Cross. The Silicon Valley startup garage meets the London train sheds in a building that couples clarity with eccentricity and anchors innovation with heritage.“
The BIG/Heatherwick-designed building will be the last completed of three new campus buildings, joining the recently finished 6 Pancras Square, designed by AHMM, and a second 280,000 square foot, 10-story building by Mossessian Architecture that is currently under construction and slated to open in 2018.
Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, said “Here in the UK, it’s clear to me that computer science has a great future with the talent, educational institutions, and passion for innovation we see all around us. We are committed to the UK and excited to continue our investment in our new King’s Cross campus.”
Google is planning on investing more than a total of £1billion on the project, including the new building and the cost of hiring thousands of new staff members. The building will sit within the larger 27 hectare King’s Cross redevelopment masterplan, which comprises more than 50 buildings and 1,900 homes, including the new Coal Drops Yards shopping area, also designed by Heatherwick Studio.
The London HQ will be the second project by BIG and Heatherwick Studios for Google, after their design for the U.S. Google Headquarters (dubbed the “Googleplex”) in Mountain View, California.
News via BIG, Architect’s Journal.
Casa Estudio is an urban regeneratio project that brings a deteriorating house originally built in the 80s back to life, located in a micro industrial area of the city.
El entendimiento de condiciones pre-existentes causa una sutil intervención en el espacio a partir de un sistema de patios y la honestidad en los métodos constructivos empleador
El desafío principal del ejercicio fue hacer más con menos. Desde resolver un planteamiento arquitectónico que logre ampliar un estudio en planta baja e independizar un nuevo departamento en planta alta, hasta maximizar el espacio interior-exterior habitable. La estética/forma del proyecto radica en la funcionalidad y el manejo aparente de los materiales
La implementación de una serie de patios permitió ventilar e iluminar naturalmente todos los espacios. Su revestimiento con barro, material regional que tiene fuerza y contraste, renovó espacios de respiro para la contemplación
Debido al esfuerzo presupuestal, la materialidad de la casa se expone al desnudo. Exige alta calidad en mano de obra, puesto que el tabique, firmes, vigueta y bovedilla que se colocaron son acabados finales. Esto representó gran enseñanza al taller sobre las metodologías constructivas regionales. Se usaron también texturas vernáculas que el bajío ofrece. Como es el caso del junquillo, palma de tallo nudoso, fuerte y con propiedades flexibles por su altitud, extraído de Bucareli, una región de la Sierra Gorda Queretana
El proyecto comprende y respeta su contexto. Pero también asume sus limitaciones. Casa Estudio recuerda su digno pasado y atiende a las necesidades de quienes la habitan para ser un lugar de vivir-trabaja
Sig Nordal 