© Sebastián Crespo

• Architects: Estudio A0
• Location: La Floresta, Quito, Ecuador
• Leading Architects: Jaskran Kalirai, Ana María Durán Calisto
• Main Architects: Jaskran Kalirai, Esteban Cervantes
• Area: 3000 m2
• Project Year: 2014
• Photographs: Sebastián Crespo, Jean-Claude Constant

• Design Team: Esteban Cervantes
• Client: Atiscode
• Construction: Luis Viscaino
• Structural Engineering: Pablo Poveda
• Hydro Sanitary Engineering: CONSISA, Mario Cueva
• Electric Engineering: Darío Vásconez y José Fonseca
• Mechanical Engineering: Andrés y Esteban Proaño
• Construction Resident: Jorge Espín
• Ground Area: 1400 m2

© Jean-Claude Constant

The Quito Publishing House is located in La Floresta neighborhood: a bohemian, artsy and closely knit community in the heart of Northern Quito. Its idiosyncratic nature posed the greatest design challenge. We were asked to introduce an office building where few exist and in the midst of a community with a strong sense of civil awareness, adamant about preserving the spatial values of its neighborhood. The program we were assigned was exciting: three publishing companies, formerly housed in separate floors of a high-rise, wanted to share one large space. Their employees are creative individuals with a strong aesthetic sensibility. This tripartite ownership of the building gave us more flexibility in terms of how we could program and distribute the space; all companies could relate within a similar hierarchal level. All three revolve around a central void, share the privilege of the same views, and have access to a roof garden. They also share communal spaces and we expect the fluid arrangement of the plan and section to catalyze a community atmosphere analogous to the one that characterizes the neighborhood. 

Axonometric

From a formal standpoint, the great Modern domestic architecture of the surroundings inspired many of the elements that compose the building. In some of the houses of La Floresta, architecture and nature intertwine. Walking through its streets, one discovers a hidden garden beneath a staircase, or a staircase floating effortlessly above a pond, or a spatial procession that leads to the front door of a house. There are layers upon layers to be unveiled at La Floresta. We chose to emulate the mix of Modernity and nature; to create a spatial sequence that leads the users into the building and its roof garden; to open a central void or “hanging garden” that serves as a chimney and reinterprets the colonial courtyard, which besides capturing the zenithal light of Quito provides a visual cross section. The work spaces are wrapped by a double skin, the outer portion of which is a louvered screen, partially colored. Works of art punctuate the shared spaces, which act as galleries. The slope of the site is dealt with in the traditional Quito-way: through the integration of a zócalo, built in concrete and clad in black stone. 

© Sebastián Crespo

The Quito Publishing House received the first Leed Gold attributed to a building in continental Ecuador, for its intent of applying environmental design principles to a corporate building in the tropics. 

© Sebastián Crespo

Energy, Air and Light  

The building is conceived of as a bioclimatic machinery, whose performance reduces to a minimum the dependence on mechanical systems of ventilation, heating and cooling. Since there are no elements projecting shadow upon the building, the northeastern and southeastern facades are subject to considerable solar exposure, particularly direct in the mornings. The “curtain” which would allow to regulate solar incidence was transferred from the interior of the building to the exterior, as a filter, understood as a biological wall, whose skin is interactive and capable of responding to temperature and humidity variations. The orange louvers respond to a climatic simulation that was more affordable than the introduction of sensors in each louver of the filters; flows of air ultimately depend on human manipulation, the most cost efficient option to reduce energy consumption. The fin shape of the louvers is aerodynamic so as to refract light and stimulate the generation of vortexes that accelerate the transfer of air. Its figure coincides, in section, with the operable windows. The central patio acts as a chimney that sucks the air towards the upper sections of the building and also serves as a funnel of zenithal light brought into the core of the building at the lower levels. This mechanism also injects air into the parking located underground. A vegetation layer shares with maintenance shelves the intersticial spaces located between skins (glass and louvers), providing an additional filter to purify and scent the air, buffer air flows and provide shade. The back façade provides enough thermal mass to absorb and liberate energy. The water surface in the ground floor, besides being a cooling device, responds to the need of rendering air circulation visible: it serves as a meter of the building´s performance through the rippling of the water surface. These mechanisms were introduced in order to take the greatest advantage of natural resources such as light and air, and in order to reduce to a minimum the consumption of energy and water. 

Section

Water

The building has an integrated system of rain water collection that is channeled towards the bathrooms and the garden roofs or vertical gardens, where it is used for irrigation purposes. A double piping system facilitates trickle irrigation along the gardened facades and reduces water consumption. 

© Sebastián Crespo

Landscaping

The vertical gardens act as another layer of thermal insulation within the chamber of the perimeter, just as the roof gardens above. Native Andean species were chosen for the gardening –most consume low portions of water.

Section

Flexibility and adaptation

The sustainability of a building is proportional to its ability to adapt to different uses throughout time. The plans of QPH are open and lodge accessible electric, mechanical, lighting and communication installations to facilitate technological up-grades and maintenance. 

© Sebastián Crespo

Construction System and Technological Development

QPH was built with a system of pre-fabricated, partially animated components that demanded a close collaboration between design and the local industry.

© Sebastián Crespo

Maintenance

The maintenance shelves introduced along the perimeter of the building serve as dust buffers, support for the pots, gardening area, and introduce corridors that facilitate cleaning windows and louvers.

© Sebastián Crespo

Waste Management

The building incorporates the elements that are necessary to sort, collect and compact waste.

Transport

In order to support the cycling culture of La Floresta neigborhood, QPH provides bicycle racks, showers and lockers. The location of the building was selected taking into account is articulation to the public transportation system.

© Sebastián Crespo

City

QPH recedes at the ground level in order to provide a secure public space that may contribute to activate surrounding urban tissues.

http://ift.tt/2huDp0j

© <a href='http://ift.tt/2ibqFsr user Acroterion</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6y58 BY-SA 3.0</a>

Visitors to Bermuda are likely to notice one key feature about its architecture: across the islands, the pastel-painted houses all share a distinctive white, stepped roof style. A recent article on BBC News Magazine explores the original reason for, and subsequent history of, this unique roof design, showing how vernacular architectural elements often fit into a larger narrative of culture and geography.

The Chaplin Estate (formerly known as Spithead), an 18th-century home that once belonged to merchant and privateer Hezekiah Frith. Image © <a href='http://ift.tt/2hqJSaH user Aodhdubh</a> licensed under <a href='http://ift.tt/2aA6y58 BY-SA 3.0</a>

The original reason for the roofs is relatively simple: with no permanent fresh streams or lakes on the islands, early settlers had to rely entirely on rainfall for their water source. To ensure that none of the region’s rainfall was wasted, builders developed the stepped roofs as a way to slow down heavy rain and prevent the building’s gutters being overwhelmed. Being constructed of limestone, the roofs were also heavy enough to resist hurricanes, and the white color reflected UV light from the sun, which helped to purify the water.

The technique was later written into Bermuda law. Every new house in Bermuda is now designed for a certain level of self-sufficiency, as each one must have 8 gallons (36 liters) of tank space per square foot (0.1 square meters) of roof area to store water.

However, as Bermuda’s residential and tourist populations grow, the islands are beginning to experience challenges relating to this water strategy. As the temptation to build upwards increases, the ability of these roofs to collect enough water for everybody is decreasing, and the islands now have 6 water desalination plants to cope with demand. Increasingly, the story of Bermuda’s distinctive roofs is intertwined with the story of its water challenges. Find out more about these challenges, and the roofs themselves, over at BBC News Magazine.

http://ift.tt/2ioeXKN

© Revelateur studio

• Architects: POST Architecture
• Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
• Architect In Charge: Gloria Apostolou
• Area: 2600.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Revelateur studio

• Contractor: Armenta Levy Interiors Inc.
• Millworker: John Ozimec of Laneway Millwork
• Stairs: Custom Stair and Guard

© Revelateur studio

From the architect. The Junction Shadow House is a semi-detached residential dwelling that began as a mirror-image of its attached neighbour. Early in the design process, it became evident that the previous additions (front room over the porch, rear Mud Room) were structurally compromised and threatening to destabilize the original masonry structure. As a result, they were demolished, leaving the shell of the original house to work with, in the shadow of its longer neighbour. Natural light was not available from all sides, so the design focused on maximizing the light penetrating from the south, as well as moving it through the house as much as possible. The interiors are a bright white colour and the spaces are visually interconnected on all levels through a feature staircase, creating views and plays with shadows on all levels.

© Revelateur studio

Section

© Revelateur studio

The front of the house was re-designed to include a large window, linking exterior and interior life. Similarly, a new rear Mudroom addition at the ground floor allows for easy access to and from the rear yard, and more importantly, access to the dog washing station in the basement. A third floor addition was built to create an open relaxing area for the homeowners, as the while maximizing the use of floor area and animating them with plays on light and dark. The finishes further reflect the idea of shade, with a palette of whites, blacks and greys…and occasionally a pop of colour. 

© Revelateur studio

http://ift.tt/2hlh3sR

http://ift.tt/2hqrD56

In this video from CNN Style Ole Scheeren, the former OMA partner and founder of Büro Ole Scheeren, discusses his  MahaNakhon tower, a luxury mixed used skyscraper that has transformed the Bangkok skyline. MahaNakhon was recognized as the tallest building in Thailand by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) after its light show inauguration earlier this year.

MahaNakhon’s sculptural design includes a “pixelated” spiral of terraces which cut through the sheer glass curtain wall to, in the words of Scheeren, “reaveal the grain of its inhabitation.” This unique form was created to combine elements of simplicity and intimacy in a city that is already full of a festival of architectural form-making. In the video, filmed before the building’s completion in August, Scheeren takes in the rawness of the building, saying that “In some ways, it seems almost incomplete or unfinished. At this time the building itself is still in its raw state. You can very strongly feel the reality of the building.”

You can watch a teaser for CNN’s video above or see the full video here.

Thailand’s Tallest Building, Designed by Büro Ole Scheeren, Opens with Light Show
//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

MahaNakhon / Ole Scheeren, OMA
//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

News via: CNN Style

http://ift.tt/2hqlrub

© Manuel Correia

• Architects: Costa Lopes
• Location: Luanda, Angola
• Area: 4221.0 m2
• Project Year: 2009
• Photographs: Manuel Correia, João Freire, Fabrice Fouillet

© Fabrice Fouillet

From the architect. The KN10 building – among the first to be completed by COSTA LOPES and home to its head offices – roots itself in its location in Rua Kwame N’Krumah, opposite to Rua Moisés Cardoso, a continuation of the upper city ridge (one of Luanda´s main urban structures) and, on the other hand, in its generic programme which at the time met the need for qualified office spaces. It also takes in account the uncertainty in relation to the transformation of the neighboring urban plots.

© Manuel Correia

© Manuel Correia

The horizontal portico, circumscribed in the plot and open to the street, gives place for 10 overlapping functional modules with open-space offices (one or two units with a kitchenette). They are served and anchored by a vertical access core (stairs and lifts, with sanitary facilities on each floor). The building also features 3 underground floors for car parking and technical areas.

Section

The fanfold facades are consequence of the overlapping and physicality of the reinforced concrete. Each module is highlighted by the different angulations of its façade distended rings, compressing side to side fenêtres en longueur and guaranteeing some environmental mediation. They give an autonomous expression to the building in relation to the transformation of the neighboring area, while maintaining a strong urban presence.

© Manuel Correia

Ground Floor Plan

© João Freire

The KN10 unveils itself from inside-out and vice-versa. It overlooks the city, particularly the higher floors, from Ilha do Cabo to the hinterland. It indulges in the city, flowing through it and revealing its working environments from the public space.

© Manuel Correia

http://ift.tt/2ie7G2W

The key to quick, efficient CAD modeling is to have a solid library of CAD blocks – pre-prepared sets of common objects and details that you can simply drop into your drawing as and when they are required. Fortunately, there are many ways you can build up your own CAD blocks library without having to create all of your own objects from scratch. One of them is to purchase sets of blocks from websites like boss888.net, which has a wide array of CAD objects available for download – and is even offering a selection of their catalog for free.

boss888.net’s 61 free downloads encompass everything from furniture, plants and people to detailed drawings of the classical ornament, to floor and roof parapet details. You can find their full selection of free items here.

http://ift.tt/2hKFSj1

© Sergio Camplone

• Architects: CiminiArchitettura
• Location: 66030 Frisa CH, Italy
• Architect In Charge: Remo Cimini
• Area: 145.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Sergio Camplone, Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

• Concept Design: Andrea Jasci Cimini
• Consultant : Antonio Damiani
• Structure: Alfredo Zulli, Vincenzo Santilli
• Geologist : Alessio Carulli
• Concrete Structure: E.C.F.
• Wood Structure And Finish: Edilegno Pellegrini
• Technician Responsible: Gianluca Buzzelli

© Sergio Camplone

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

A highway to sheep and shepherds. The cattle tracks were routes that annually herds traveling to move from the sea to the mountains and go back.

© Sergio Camplone

The pavilion of transhumance is located close to the “tratturo del re” , a green path linking the Apulian plains to the mountains of Abruzzo in central Italy.

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

Section

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

The project has the aim of enhancement of rural traditions and enhance the local tourist routes and products, mainly related to the olive oil and wine production.
Products that, for millennia, the locals have traded with the shepherds in transit, contaminating each other, even passing on culture, history and legends.

© Sergio Camplone

The functional program is very simple: a single flexible space equipped with ensuite facilities.

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

The project aims to symbolically interpret the path of sheep tracks opening and directing the large central room to the sea and to the opposite side towards the mountain. Conceptually a “space of passage” from which sight the landscape.

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

This dual opposite opening also allows natural ventilation in summer. The land on which stands the building, however, is in direct contact with a road. This is why the volume of the pavilion was deformed upward to avoid the views of the cars and focus instead on the beautiful surrounding countryside.

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

This changed morphology has also allowed us to create a small cavea and optimize coverage for the installation of photovoltaic panels and technical installations.

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

The structure of the building (apart from the reinforced concrete base) is made entirely of wood, as well as the outer covering of larch pretreated.

© Sergio Camplone

The pavilion of transhumance is a handmade object, local, looking for a new way to interact with the landscape and the territory.

Courtesy of CiminiArchitettura

http://ift.tt/2iaSPnv

© Ronald Tilleman

• Architects: Paul de Ruiter Architects
• Location: Hoofddorp,The Netherlands
• Architects In Charge: Paul de Ruiter, Noud Paes
• Area: 200000.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Ronald Tilleman

• Project Team: Lionel Nascimento Gomes, Caro van Dijk, Marieke Sijm, Giorgio Carella
• Building Management: Dura Vermeer
• Advisor Construction: Corsmit Raadgevende Ingenieurs
• Advisor Installations: DWA
• Advisor Building Physics: DWA
• Advisor Sustainability: DWA
• Advisor Construction Costs: Dura Vermeer
• Interior Architect: D+Z architects and projectmanagers
• Urban Design: Rijnboutt
• Landscape Design: Lodewijk Baljon
• Client: Dura Vermeer

© Ronald Tilleman

Paul de Ruiter Architects designed a new building for the high-end engineering firm Fluor that completely reflects the company’s unique style of working. The aim was to create a space where everything revolves around collaboration, interaction and sharing knowledge. At the same time, there needed to be ample opportunity to work on sensitive projects in separately secured areas.

© Ronald Tilleman

A unique combination of security and interaction
The Fluor style of working is unique in the Netherlands. Small teams start working on assignments that ultimately develop into highly complex technical projects involving collaboration between dozens of employees. Our goal was to design a building in which the different project teams are connected while safeguarding the security of sensitive information. A combination of communal areas and separate departments, but above all an attractive building in which employees can be productive and feel comfortable.

Ground Floor Plan

Robust and airy
When entering, the spacious atrium immediately attracts attention. A large wooden staircase in the central hall creates a direct visual connection between the building and the people. The black steel floor gives the atrium a solid and robust feel and the glass roof ensures that everyone’s working day has a bright and pleasant start.

© Ronald Tilleman

We wanted every working area to have natural daylight. At the same time, our aim was to prevent the sun from overheating the building. In order to avoid the blinds being closed all day, we aimed to prevent direct bright daylight causing a nuisance for the staff. We therefore designed façades that filter the sunlight whilst directing daylight indoors. The result is various floors where hundreds of people can work together in an environment with natural daylight and a view.

© Ronald Tilleman

Energy consumption halved
The smart innovations are what make this enormous building sustainable. Daylight reaches every room, reducing the need for artificial lighting. The building’s insulation is equally important. After all, the less energy you need for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, the lower the consumption of energy.

© Ronald Tilleman

The heat we gain in the summer is stored in the ground for the winter. Equally, we store the winter cold for cooling in the summer. Combined with our climate platforms, this reduces energy consumption by half, a valuable investment in view of Fluor’s desire to occupy the building for decades. Finally, we installed a total of 2,250 m2 of PV panels to enable the building to provide for its own energy needs. The building has been awarded a BREEAM Excellent certificate.

© Ronald Tilleman

Product Description. The black steel floor panels have been applied to give a very robust and solid character to the atrium of the Fluor office building. 

© Ronald Tilleman

http://ift.tt/2i3cTKh

Courtesy of Leewardists

At its best, architecture can be a dream come true: the physical manifestation of the creative architect’s most exquisite design fantasies. Nowhere is this kind of creative liberty more pervasive than in architecture school—with few practical concerns for cost, policy, or even structural integrity, architecture students are free to execute the purest and most complex proposals their imaginations will allow. And indeed, as their representation and spatial skills progress, students gain the ability to realize more advanced interventions over time. In the real world, though…not so much.

Centuries of civilizations built on structures designed by architects and yet, their voice is lost among the countless stories of rulers and armies and sometimes wondrous monsters. 

The Leewardists are rewriting the contemporary history of our civilization through the voice of this elusive being, The Architect.

For more of The Architect Comic Series follow them on Facebook, Instagram or visit their website. 

http://ift.tt/2hJTyLd

Álvaro Siza photographed by Fernando Guerra. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

A new collection of five minute-long On Design stories—developed by the team behind Section D, Monocle 24’s 24’s weekly review of design, architecture and craft—profile a person, survey a place, or unpack an idea that’s changing or shaping design and architecture today. We’ve selected fourteen of our favorites from the ongoing series, examining issues as wide as Postmodernism and the architectural competition, to five-minute profiles of Alvaro Siza, Josef Hoffman, Kengo Kuma and Superstudio.

You can see a curated collection of Monocle 24’s architecture-related podcasts on ArchDaily, here.

What is Postmodern architecture?

In this debut episode, James Taylor-Foster introduces us to the meaning and importance of Postmodernism in architecture.

http://ift.tt/2hJTpaA

What is Googie architecture?

Ed Stocker takes us on a tour of Southern California to discover an intriguing offshoot of Modernist architecture known as Googie.

http://ift.tt/2hJOZR7

Who is Josef Hoffman?

Alexei Korolyov explains the life, work and continuing relevance of Josef Hoffmann – a Czech-born designer and architect whose influence on Viennese design can still be felt today.

http://ift.tt/2hteFFy

What happened to Buffalo, New York?

Once a powerhouse of trade and commerce, Buffalo’s architectural importance well outweighs its renown. Josh Fehnert takes us on a tour of the rust-belt city that’s finally regaining its shine.

http://ift.tt/2hJYZK3

Who is Kengo Kuma?

Fiona Wilson takes us through the life and work of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who through his buildings and writings has reinterpreted traditional Japanese architecture for the 21st Century. We explore the career of the man charged with the construction of the hotly contested Olympic Stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

http://ift.tt/2htiJp7

What did the German architect say to the Turkish one?

This episode dives into the long-standing (if at times strained) relationship between Germany and Turkey. We see how some Turkish homes still bear the mark of visiting German guest workers and learn what this says about the two countries today.

http://ift.tt/2hJPavJ

Why have architecture competitions?

Many of the world’s most important buildings are the result of architecture competitions. But those same events are often politically fraught – and critics say they’re a waste architects’ time and energy. So is the competition really the best mechanism for commissioning building designs?

http://ift.tt/2htblu1

To build or not to build?

Most architects influence their discipline by completing iconic projects but others, such as Superstudio, make their mark despite leaving no building behind. We meet the 1960s avant-garde Italian collective that made architectural history working with utopias and not bricks.

http://ift.tt/2hthbfa

Who is Alvaro Siza?

We explore the life and career of Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza. During six decades of work Siza’s style has come to encompass the optimism of the post-Salazar years and speaks volumes about Portugal’s soft-power pull today.

http://ift.tt/2hJN6nw

Will Madrid’s next big museum ever open?

If Madrileños needed any further reminder of the political stalemate paralysing their country, a beautifully designed but conspicuously incomplete construction project next to the Royal Palace stands out as a searing symbol of the impasse.

http://ift.tt/2hJUyiz

What can Singapore learn from the Golden Mile Complex?

The shabby brutalism of Singapore’s Golden Mile Complex and adjoining Golden Mile Tower doesn’t fit with the city’s squeaky-clean, glass-and-steel vernacular. We ask how the pair have survived in a place that’s famously unsentimental about demolishing the old to make way for the new.

http://ift.tt/2hJQONL

Why redesign Belgrade?

The Serbian capital’s street-level design is a cacophony of clashing elements but one man is waging war against this discord, vowing to bring aesthetic harmony to the city. Will he succeed?

http://ift.tt/2htoymz

How has Vienna benchmarked public seating?

Alexei Korolyov tells the story of a piece of street furniture that’s become a contemporary design symbol of the Austrian capital.

http://ift.tt/2htkYsz

What is mafia baroque architecture?

After Bulgaria’s first elections were held in 1990, the free market rushed in to fill the economic vacuum left by the fall of communism. On one side there arose a new class of oligarchs and on the other, against a backdrop of economic failure, the notorious organised crime sector of 1990s Bulgaria. These newly moneyed people, many of whom were involved or connected to the construction industry, needed somewhere to live, work and play. The havoc of building that followed threw up a chaotic architectural vernacular that some call “mafia baroque”.

http://ift.tt/2hJNF0K

http://ift.tt/2hJHPfP