© Sharon Lam

Architecture, as a profession and discipline, has come a long way since Vitruvius. It continues to evolve alongside culture and technology, reflecting new developments and shifting values in society. Some changes are conscious and originate within the field of architecture itself, made as acts of disciplinary or professional progress; others changes are uncontrollable, arising from architecture’s role in the wider world that is also changing. Below are just some of the changes that have taken place in recent decades:

1. Drawing vs. Software

© Sharon Lam, using images via Wikimedia user <a href='http://ift.tt/2jqDkdH Rutten</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6y58 BY-SA 3.0</a>

Whether you like it or not, drawing boards have given way to computer screens, with CAD and parametric software now common architectural tools. However, the age old adage of being able to impress a client with a freehand sketch still stands true.

2. Lone Genius vs. Teamwork

© Sharon Lam

The historic image of the architect was a lone genius, whipping up sculptural forms instantaneously from their minds. Today, architects are more often seen working collaboratively and to great success, such as the Turner Prize-winning group Assemble, or Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, who finally won an AIA Gold Medal in 2015 after a rule change that allowed the prize to be awarded to pairs.

3. Learning Classical Design Rules vs. Learning to Design Creatively

© Sharon Lam

Rules of symmetry, proportion and types of column only make appearances in architecture school these days in relation to history. Long gone are the days of strict design ordinances and in their place is an era of open, creative problem solving.

4. A Lot of Old White Men vs. Slightly Less Old White Men

© Sharon Lam, using images via Flickr user <a href='http://ift.tt/2grM3XO;, Wikimedia user <a href='http://ift.tt/2jqAntx; licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2d3G0ZW BY-SA 2.0</a>, and © United Press International

Though architectural history has been dominated by old white men, this is slowly changing. Women and people of color are starting to be recognized in architecture—recently the AIA Gold Medal went to its first black recipient. However, gender pay gaps and other imbalances mean that there is still progress to be made.

5. Media-less vs. Media-ness

© Sharon Lam, using an <a href='http://ift.tt/2jqJeeX by Iwan Baan</a>

As media in society has become increasingly prominent, so too has its relationship with architecture. Because our understanding and treatment of architecture is tied to its representation, this is a change that is both complex and important.

6. Exclusivity vs. Inclusivity

© Sharon Lam, using image via screenshot from <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPFcZ-Ux4Lg&t=73s'>YouTube</a&gt; and <a href='http://ift.tt/2jB3rMM; >TED</a>

Increasing media exposure has also increased the inclusivity of architectural appreciation, with TV shows like Grand Designs, podcasts like 99% Invisible, and websites (like this one!) making architecture accessible to many more people than just those who work or study in the field.

7. Sufficiency vs. Sustainability

© Sharon Lam

Consideration of a building’s environmental impact has become a much more active driver of design in recent years, becoming the entire ethos of a firm in some cases. This is both due to greater awareness of increasingly pressing environmental concerns, as well as advances in technology making sustainability easier to implement.

8. Local vs. Global

© Sharon Lam

Unlike many historic building styles, it can be difficult to tell the location of new buildings through their design alone. Collaboration across cultures and international competitions and commissions now allow for design to transcend geographic boundaries—Foster + Partners alone have 15 different offices working on projects across 40 countries.

http://ift.tt/2jWhBvo

© David Frutos

• Architects: Jaime Sepulcre Bernad
• Location: Murcia, Spain
• Area: 225.0 m2
• Project Year: 2012
• Photographs: David Frutos

© David Frutos

From the architect. On a perfectly square diaphanous room -15 x 15 m- with four central pillars, the project proposes the structuring of the future clinic in three programmatic bands of very similar proportions:

Sections

Waiting Area:

The first band is the most public, which is accessed and basically contains the reception and a large waiting room. All this generous space of reception and waiting opens its views towards an outer square through the great circles that make up the facade. The reception, organized in a circular piece of furniture, becomes the centerpiece of this first space and from it is controlled its operation. After the reception, there is a small administration office and a small relaxation room.

© David Frutos

Dental Space:

The most intimate and protected part of the clinic is the properly clinical band that appears alongside the back facade facing a boulevard. This dental care space is composed of a battery of five cabinets connected to each other visually. In this band also appears a secondary access for exclusive use of the personnel.

© David Frutos

Server Area:

Finally, between the most extrovert and the more introverted space appears an intermediate band that makes of filter and that contains all the uses properly servants. This servant band is carried out by the sterilization room around which the functioning of the dental offices gravitates. In this band are also the ray room, the laboratory, the engine room, the staff room, the wardrobe, the office of the doctor and the toilets for patients.

© David Frutos

Three materials:

Three material ideas formalize this space with vocation of continuous space – constant height 2.70 m-:

1 / The idea of ​​achieving maximum transparency through the use of “glass”; 2 / The idea that the only pieces that appear loose are the three boxes that make up the intermediate band and that materialize like metal boxes, of “aluminum”; And 3 / the idea that the whole plane of the ground is a single material, continuous, and warm, human, “wood” – which is finally a good laminate-. And the rest, white.

© David Frutos

Urban Logo:

The idea for the facade was to take a fragment of the logo of the clinic and expand it to scale city. The new facade therefore relies on a corporate image that was already consolidated and now acquires an urban scene size.

© David Frutos

http://ift.tt/2ixs7E7

© Simon Kennedy Photography

• Architects: MawsonKerr Architects
• Location: Penrith, United Kingdom
• Architect In Charge: Will Mawson
• Area: 600.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Simon Kennedy Photography

• Client: Sunbeams Music Trust
• Main Contractor: Thomas Armstrong Construction Ltd
• Structural Engineer: JS Engineering
• Cost Consultant : Johnstons
• Acoustic Consultant: DACS
• Service Engineers: JH Partners

© Simon Kennedy Photography

Completion of the £2.0 million Sunbeams Music Centre marks a significant milestone in an extraordinary journey for Sunbeams Music Trust and Newcastle based MawsonKerr Architects.

© Simon Kennedy Photography

This journey began 12 years ago as a university thesis project for MawsonKerr director Will Mawson then studying the charity for his final year project at Newcastle University; in an unusual turn of events this became a live project following unanimous approval by the board of trustees.

Pencil Render

Established in 1992, Sunbeams Music Trust deliver their ‘Music For Life’ programme to tens of thousands of needing members of society each year and were eager for a home. 

© Simon Kennedy Photography

A green field site with transformational therapeutic qualities was generously donated overlooking Ullswater Valley near Penrith following which a lengthy fund raising period began for the centre including a number of sponsored “endurance challenges” by MawsonKerr and friends of the charity such as a Forrest Gump style 24 hour coast to coast run. 

Floor Plan

MawsonKerr’s resultant building is designed to embody musical qualities of rhythm, timbre and melody within the landscape; shaped along the curved natural contours it grows with a crescendo at the canopy to the eastern main entrance. Inserted along the rhythmical elevation are a series of playful introverted volumes housing key activities.

© Simon Kennedy Photography

The architecture is intended to reflect synthesis between the natural context, a contemporary vernacular and musical union; housing several unique functions it is also importantly an outward facing advert for the charity. 

© Simon Kennedy Photography

External envelope materials are primarily slate stone clad spine walls with an oak façade to the main curved elevation, a series of lozenge shaped cedar shingle clad volumes all topped with an extensive green roof; many of these materials continue internally to create a rich interior texture. Radially spanning glulam beams run with a rhythm throughout the building creating the projecting eaves and entrance canopy. 

© Simon Kennedy Photography

The primary function of the centre is providing music therapy, in acoustically treated spaces specifically designed for group sessions or one on one. Secondly the important administrative requirement for a growing charity like Sunbeams Music Trust and thirdly the centre allows promotion of Sunbeams work throughout with exhibitions open to the public and music concerts generating funds for the programmes they run.

© Simon Kennedy Photography

There is a strong sustainable agenda to the design based on first principles; the six hundred square metre Sunbeams Music Centre is predominantly naturally ventilated, naturally lit and the heating provided by ground source heat pump. U-values are to passivhaus standards with a large amount of locally sourced sheep wool and carefully designed south facing elevation to limit overheating. All materials are sustainably sourced and from as local a source as possible.

Section

Integrated into the centre are a host of bespoke designed elements, such as the reception desk formed around the music signature of a harp, green walls, musically derived ironmongery, tiling incorporating imagery of the fund raising challenges and the main Glassical Hall (named after Philip Glass one of the patrons) whose oak clad walls are design to create an optimum acoustic performance. 

© Simon Kennedy Photography

Product Description. Burlington Slate Wall – One of the key drivers to the design is in creating a beautiful aesthetic of natural materials that are resilient and locally sourced. We were able to have great buy in by local quarry Burlington who were the source of all the amazing stone which runs radially throughout the building internally and externally.

http://ift.tt/2ix2pQ1

© Tim Van De Velde

• Architects: Govaert & Vanhoutte Architects
• Location: Veurne, Belgium
• Architect In Charge: Benny Govaert, Damiaan Vanhoutte
• Area: 6974.0 m2
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Tim Van De Velde

© Tim Van De Velde

From the architect. Enjoy Concrete produces and installs architectural prefabricated concrete elements. The brief for their new corporate building was to combine a production hanger together with offices, while integrating their own product within the building. Being on a strategic point in between an industrial estate and a green canal, they wanted to be seen by the passing traffic, as well as to become a transition from green to industrial.

© Tim Van De Velde

The design for the headquarters for Enjoy Concrete became a true showcase for their own capabilities, being constructed entirely out of prefabricated concrete elements. Its facade are made out of concrete slabs of 6 by 3 meters. All windows share these same proportions. 

© Tim Van De Velde

The building mainly consists out of a hall for production and storage. The office spaces are in front of the building, spread over 4 levels, allowing light and visibility onto the main road. A cantilevered volume (12m50 in total) containing the board room is located at the top corner of the building. This box also shares the same 6×3 meters proportion. The long volume was made out of a lighter steel structure, allowing large windows on the south west façade. The steel structure is internally anchored into the concrete staircase, creating a counter weight for the long cantilever. Inside the boardroom a solid steel table stands only on 2 legs, having an over span of 7m50.

© Tim Van De Velde

The facade is further characterized by a pattern image, of the beautiful treeline along the canal “Damse Vaart” on the prefab slabs through the application of the “Graphic Concrete” procedure. The digital image was broken down into big dots, making the total picture become clear only from a distance. The facade creates an interesting interaction between the building and its surroundings, as the building reflects the nature across the street and canal. 

Section Detail

In essence the HQ for enjoy concrete is one big concrete block. The floating boardroom functions as an eye catcher for the approaching traffic, and also breaks the simple volume. The print of the treeline blends the concrete mass into the green surroundings. 

© Tim Van De Velde

Product Description. –  Enjoy Concrete produces and installs architectural prefabricated concrete elements. The brief for their new corporate building was to combine a production hanger together with offices, while integrating their own product within the building. Being on a strategic point in between an industrial estate and a green canal, they wanted to be seen by the passing traffic, as well as to become a transition from green to industrial.

© Tim Van De Velde

The design for the headquarters for Enjoy Concrete became a true showcase for their own capabilities, being constructed entirely out of prefabricated concrete elements. Its facade are made out of concrete slabs of 6 by 3 meters. All windows share these same proportions. 

© Tim Van De Velde

The building mainly consists out of a hall for production and storage. The office spaces are in front of the building, spread over 4 levels, allowing light and visibility onto the main road. A cantilevered volume (12m50 in total) containing the board room is located at the top corner of the building. This box also shares the same 6×3 meters proportion. The long volume was made out of a lighter steel structure, allowing large windows on the south west façade. The steel structure is internally anchored into the concrete staircase, creating a counter weight for the long cantilever. Inside the boardroom a solid steel table stands only on 2 legs, having an over span of 7m50.

Section Detail

The facade is further characterized by a pattern image, of the beautiful treeline along the canal “Damse Vaart” on the prefab slabs through the application of the “Graphic Concrete” procedure. The digital image was broken down into big dots, making the total picture become clear only from a distance. The facade creates an interesting interaction between the building and its surroundings, as the building reflects the nature across the street and canal. 

© Tim Van De Velde

In essence the HQ for enjoy concrete is one big concrete block. The floating boardroom functions as an eye catcher for the approaching traffic, and also breaks the simple volume. The print of the treeline blends the concrete mass into the green surroundings.

http://ift.tt/2jnitbr

© Imagen Subliminal

• Architects: Cadaval & Solà-Morales
• Location: Calle Córdoba, Roma Nte., Ciudad de México, CDMX, México
• Architects In Charge: Eduardo Cadaval & Clara Solà-Morales
• Area: 90.0 m2
• Year Project: 2015
• Photographs: Imagen Subliminal

• Builders: Eugenio Eraña, Juan Carlos Cajiga
• Structure: Ricardo Camacho.

© Imagen Subliminal

From the architect. The project is located in the Colonia Roma, a historic neighbourhood in the central sector of Mexico City. La Roma developed in the 19th century as one of the first extensions of the city centre, with an orthogonal grid of large houses inhabited by the upper classes of the city. With the emergence of suburban life in the 50s, la Roma decreased its population throughout the second half of the 20th century, getting to its worst with earthquake of 1985. 

© Imagen Subliminal

Due to the location of la Roma in what once was Lake Texcoco, the subsoil is highly muddy, so seismic waves are amplified; thus, during the strong earthquake of 85, la Roma was one of the more affected areas of the city: many buildings collapsed, and many of those which resisted were abandoned by its inhabitants because of their structural damage or because of the fear that the buildings would not resist another earthquake. 

© Imagen Subliminal

Plan

© Imagen Subliminal

The neighbourhood became deeply deteriorated, with high levels of insecurity and abandoned buildings, until its recent re-emergence as one of the most active areas of the city, filled with art galleries, small restaurants, cafés and young people occupying again its streets and public areas.

© Imagen Subliminal

Plan

© Imagen Subliminal

The project seeks to explore new possible configurations within the framework of the spatial distribution that allows the existing space. The intervention acts on the horizontal planes, divi- ding the space into two. An area of rooms with low ceilings, of small and cozy spaces and a spacious public area with double height. Two rooms, a studio relate to a unique space containing the living room, dining room and kitchen. A simplification of the spatial structure of the apartment is sought as a tool to allow a clear reading of the main space and their relationship with the city. 

© Imagen Subliminal

http://ift.tt/2iARZ5a

© Paul Warchol

In Le Corbusier’s 5 points of architecture, he advocates the inclusion of flat roofs hosting roof gardens, providing valuable outdoor space for the inhabitants of the building in order to replace the ground lost to the construction of the building. But while this acknowledgement of outdoor space was important for people, Le Corbusier‘s sculptural concrete roof gardens were little consolation to the non-human flora and fauna that were displaced by his works.

Recent improvements in our understanding of ecosystems and the environment, as well as a better scientific understanding of the needs of plants, have changed this dramatically. In the past few decades, green roofs and living roofs have exploded in popularity, and now adorn every kind of building–from small private houses to the gigantic surface of Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.

We’ve collected together some excellent examples of these living roofs, including the structural detailing that makes them possible. Read on for 13 spectacular green roofs that achieve environmental benefits including reduced stormwater runoff, and reductions in energy use and the heat island effect.

+ Lakeside Retreat / GLUCK+

© Paul Warchol

Lakeside Retreat / GLUCK+

+ House for Trees / Vo Trong Nghia Architects

© Hiroyuki Oki

House for Trees / Vo Trong Nghia Architects

+ Vias Cultural Center / Estudio SIC

© Esaú Acosta

Centro Creación Joven Espacio Vias / Estudio SIC

+ House at León / ALARCÓN + ASOCIADOS

© Cortesía de Alarcón + Asociados

Casa en León / Alarcón + Asociados

+ House C / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

Casa C / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

+ Galeria Mario Sequeira / Carvalho Araújo

© Pedro Lobo

Galería Mario Sequeira / Atelier Carvalho Araújo

+ Cubierta Verde / Cardoso + Zúñiga

© Luis Alonso

Cubierta Verde / Cardoso + Zúñiga

+ Senior Citizen Community Center / F451 Arquitectura

© José Hevia

Senior Citizen Community Center / F451 Arquitectura

+ OS House / NOLASTER

© José Hevia

Casa OS / Nolaster

+ Volcano Buono / RPBW

© RPBW

Vulcano Buono / Renzo Piano

+ Villa Bio / Enric Ruiz Geli

© Lluís Ros / Optical Adiction

Villa Bio / Enric Ruiz Geli

+ Line of Work / Jill Anholt Studio

© Martin Tessler

Line of Work / Jill Anholt Studio

+ Sports Pavilion / Filipe Brandão and Nuno Sanches

© Nuno Sanches

Pabellón de Deporte / Felipe Brandão y Nuno Sanches

Check out more great projects with green roofs here.

http://ift.tt/2inAKkJ

Besides the kitchen, the bathroom often takes top priority when building or renovating a home. However, choosing a look is not always easy, so here we have gathered 13 stunning bathrooms from previously published projects to provide inspiration in your own designs. Each is filled with inspiring ideas for your own project; from relaxing tubs to sleek showers, one of these bathrooms is sure to suit your style. 

The first steps in the evolution of the physical space of the bathroom that we know of today occurred in Scotland, where the first rustic latrines were constructed, and in Pakistan, where systems of pipes of cooked mud embedded in brick constructions have been found. These innovations date back to 3000 BC, later evolving into the first vats, toilets and ceramic pipes of the Minoan nobility, then to the copper plumbing of the Egyptians (who used their baths to celebrate religious ceremonies), then to the Romans, who transformed personal hygiene into a social act with public baths, covered with tiles.

During the middle ages, a widespread lack of concern for hygiene arose, but plumbing systems resurfaced in the early seventeenth century – although some of this era’s most impressive constructions, such as the palace of Versailles, did not include bathrooms. The early industrial revolution in England also did not contribute much, since the rapidity of urbanization and industrialization caused an overcrowding that was very difficult to control. It was only in the 1830s that an outbreak of cholera in London forced the authorities to launch a campaign to incorporate sanitary facilities into homes, taking the first step towards the toilets with cisterns that we use today.

Today the bathroom as a space has gone beyond its purely hygienic function and has entered into an exclusive area of its own design. Now, regardless of whether you are a bath person or strictly a shower person, these 13 awe-inducing bathrooms take daily cleansing to a whole new level.

+ Returning Hut / FM.X Interior Design

© WU Yong-Chang

+ Takapuna House / Athfield Architects

Takapuna House / Athfield Architects. Image © Simon Devitt

+ House W / 01Arq

Casa W / 01Arq . Image © Mauricio Fuertes

+ Tigh Port na Long / Dualchas Architects

Tigh Port na Long / Dualchas Architects . Image © Andre Lee

+ Caterpillar House / Sebastián Irarrázaval

Casa Oruga / Sebastián Irarrázaval Delpiano . Image © Sergio Pirrone

+ Refugi Lieptgas / Georg Nickisch + Selina Walder

© Ralph Feiner

+ Totem House / rzlbd

Courtesy of rzlbd

+ Casa L / Serrano Monjaraz Arquitectos

Casa L / Serrano Monjaraz Arquitectos. Image © Jaime Navarro

+ Can Manuel d’en Corda / Marià Castelló + Daniel Redolat

Can Manuel d’en Corda / Marià Castelló + Daniel Redolat . Image © Estudi Es Pujol de s'Era

+ Apartment Refurbishment in Pamplona / Iñigo Beguiristain

JA Rehabilitación de departamento en Pamplona / Iñigo Beguiristáin . Image © Iñaki Bergera

+ Grow / APOLLO Architects & Associates

Grow / APOLLO Architects & Associates . Image © Masao Nishikawa

+ Fagerstrom House / Claesson Koivisto Rune

Vivienda Fagerstrom / Claesson Koivisto Rune . Image © Åke E:son Lindman

+ House On The River Reuss / Dolmus Architects

Casa en el río Reuss / Dolmus Arquitectos. Image © Roger Frei

Need more inspiration? Check out our Pinterest bathroom board, and remember you can find all the latest materials by checking out our Product Catalog. 

http://ift.tt/2ieTQ0C

© Arnaud Marthouret

• Architects: The Practice of Everyday Design
• Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
• Architect In Charge: Antoine Morris, David Long, Melanie Morris
• Area: 3520.0 ft2
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Arnaud Marthouret, Kim Jeffery

© Arnaud Marthouret

From the architect. Our clients, a young married couple, purchased a two and a half story historic home in Parkdale, Toronto. The house had previously been subdivided into three apartments that they wished to convert back into a single family dwelling to accommodate their future family. They wanted a friendly, open concept house that would allow them to entertain anything from dinner parties to sports viewing. The design strategy was to open up the common areas so that everyone could more easily be connected. A variety of nooks were created throughout the house which serve as both reading and hangout spaces. 

© Arnaud Marthouret

The front of the house was largely left intact. Some minor repairs were done to the brickwork and new windows were installed that respect the historic character of the house. The interior was completely gutted and a new, underpinned basement was dug out. An extension, clad in black aluminum to contrast it from the existing house, was constructed in the back. Between this addition and the original house is a load-bearing brick wall which was stripped bare on the inside, white washed, and pierced to create passages between the new and the old.

© Arnaud Marthouret

© Arnaud Marthouret

The front entrance opens onto a large living-dining-room space and a kitchen beyond. A stair, lined with a large wooden bookcase, leads up to a double-height family room and a wood-clad structure housing two bedrooms and a bathroom. Above these rooms is a cozy loft accessible by ladder and which overlooks the double-height space below. Through an opening in the brick wall is the master bedroom suite overlooking the garden below.

© Arnaud Marthouret

Section

© Arnaud Marthouret

Product Description:

The original rear brick facade was left exposed and painted white, emphasizing the passage between the old house and the new addition.

© Arnaud Marthouret

http://ift.tt/2jytowt

We would like to take a second to focus on the wonderful, yet often overlooked, inner courtyard. The inner courtyard is essentially a “contained outside space” made up of transparent walls, and a well thought-out drainage system is a must. Other elements such as furnishings, decks, vegetation, stairs, water are then added, complicating the space created. The inner courtyard also plays a role in the building’s layout; in most cases it functions as the central point from which the other rooms and functions of the project are organized, giving them air and light when the façade openings are not enough.

Here is our selection of 13 stunning inner courtyards of houses and buildings that we have previously published on our site.

+ House Quinta Do Carvalheiro / GSMM Architetti

Casa Quinta Do Carvalheiro / GSMM Architetti . Image © FS + SG

+ House W / 01Arq

Casa W / 01Arq . Image © Mauricio Fuertes

+ Residence In Legrena / Thymio Papayannis and Associates

Residencia en Legrena / Thymio Papayannis and Associates . Image © Charalampos Louizidis

+ Chilean House / Smiljan Radic

Casa Chilena 1 y 2 / Smiljan Radic . Image © Gonzalo Puga

+ Evangelical Temple in Terrassa / OAB 

Templo Evangelico en Terrassa / OAB . Image © Alejo Bagué

+ The Wall House / FARM 

The Wall House / FARM . Image © Bryan van der Beek & Edward Hendricks

+ Spa Querétaro / Ambrosi I Etchegaray 

Spa Querétaro / Ambrosi I Etchegaray . Image © Luis Gordoa

+ Casa SL / Llosa Cortegana Arquitectos 

Casa SL / Llosa Cortegana Arquitectos . Image Courtesy of Llosa Cortegana Arquitectos

+ Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse / Harmony World Consulting & Design

Casa del Té de Bambú / Harmony World Consulting & Design . Image © T+E

+ PR House / Bach Arquitectes 

Casa PR / Bach Arquitectes . Image © Lluís Casals

+ Roku Museum / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

Museo Roku / Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Image © Masumi Kawamura

+ Casa in Palmela / Pedro Rogado + Catarina Almada

Casa en Palmela / Pedro Rogado + Catarina Almada . Image © Thorsten Humpel

+ Joanopolis House / Una Arquitetos

Casa en Joanopolis / Una Arquitetos . Image © Bebete Viégas

Find more inspiration by visiting our Pinterest boards, and remember you can find all the latest materials by checking out our Product Catalog. 

http://ift.tt/2hUwSuW