SuperLimão Studio was invited by Riccó to develop a design to their new space facade in São Paulo (Brazil). With the aim to provide more visibility and convey attributes linked to a century corporate furnitures brazilian brand, the big challenge was to build a new facade to a preexisting building located in one of the most important avenue in the city.
Riccó is located in an important corner of Avenida Brasil. The new store position helped to establish some of the most important concepts of the brand, such as tradition and precision of its production. After several materials, composition and volume studies, SuperLimão chose a metallic wrap element. The metallic wrap referes to the tradicional Origamis and was mainly inspired by the Miura-Ori model, created by the Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura. The project used approximately 600 pieces in composite aluminum plates, developed inside Riccó industrial structure.
SuperLimão designed a base structuring grid that was repeated sequentially covering the all surface. In the entire facade – 33 meters length in front side – only two forms were used, lozenges and triangles. Also, some different colors and textures were used, gray or withe, perforated or plain.
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Façade
The opening have the depth of 70 cm and permeates two still faces in both corners. The store entrance links this two windows and turning the facade in to one peace. This space fills the function of exposing various lines of securities of Riccó.
With subjects ranging from the windswept wonderland of an empty New York City to a rapidly changing Tibetan hillside village to a dreamy shot of Foster + Partners’ Swiss Re Headquarters ( a.k.a. “The Gherkin”) this year’s entries constitute a “cornucopia of styles and stories,” says CIOB spokesman Saul Townsend.
Selected by a panel of judges that included professional photographers, editors and communicators, the fifteen finalists will now compete for the grand prize, which will be selected by reader vote on CIOB’s Art of Building website. Check out the photographs below and remember to vote before January 23, 2017. The winner will be announced on February 7.
Photograph title: Overlook Photographer: Jonathan Walland Photo was taken: London, UK Camera used: Nikon D7100 Photographer’s description: This is part of a series of photographs demonstrating how the absence of light can be used to divert the attention of the observer towards what the photographer intended to highlight.
Photograph title: Control Photographer: Roman Robroek Photo was taken: Hungary Camera used: Canon EOS650D Description: This beautiful control room is one of a kind and built in a beautiful art-deco style.
Photograph title: Flatiron building in a snowstorm Photographer: Michelle Palazzo Photo was taken: New York, USA Camera used: Ricoh GR Description: New York City’s iconic Flatiron building emerges from the blizzard like the bow of a giant ship plowing through the wind and the snow. Taken during the historic coastal storm “Jonas” on January 23rd, 2016 the photograph went viral during the aftermath of the storm.
Photograph title: The Turbo Dandelion Wind Farm Photographer: Derek Snee Photo was taken: Northumberland, UK Camera used: Fuji X-T1 Description: Imagine if we could use plants to harvest wind! Well now we can. Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, I give you ‘The Turbo Dandelion Wind Farm’!
Photograph title: People’s Friendship Arch Photographer: Oleksandr Nesterovskyi Photo was taken: Kiev, Ukraine Camera used: Canon 450D Description: The photo shows the combination of nature and architecture, the harmony in combination of titanium arch height of 30 meters and a tree.
Photograph title: He and the bridge Photographer: Oleg Dashkov Photo was taken: Riga, Latvia Camera used: Canon EOS 60D Description: ‘Riga’s Tower Counter’ keeps his records during any season rain or shine, wet or fine. Is he distracted by the beauty of the cable bridge I wonder?
Photograph title: Changing Landscape 1 Photographer: Barbara Rossi Photo was taken: Sokhna, Egypt Camera used: Nikon D810 Description: I took this photo in deconstruction, it shows transformation, action and beauty.
Photograph title: Sancaklar Mosque 2 Photographer: Bulent Suberk Photo was taken: Istanbul, Turkey Camera used: Nikon D700 Description: Modern architecture as a non-traditional mosque.
Photograph title: Purelife Photographer: Shibasish Saha Photo was taken: West Bengal, India Camera used: Nikon D3300 Description: In this frame men as well as women are working very hard to feed their individual families. Women forget their pain and work alongside the men in a brick field.
Photograph title: The Hive Photographer: Marco Grassi Photo was taken: Larung Gar, Tibet Camera used: Canon 5D Mark III Description: Since June 2016, everything has changed in Larung Gar, but almost nobody knows about that. What before was the largest Buddhist settlement in the world and a remote place out of the modern society where nuns and monks led a passive life, is now being demolished by Chinese authorities.
Photograph title: The Gherkin Photographer: James Tarry Photo was taken: London, UK Camera used: Sinar 4X5 Description: This series is about looking past imperfections and ‘incorrect’ architectural photography techniques. They are created using a 4×5 technical film camera by forcing the perspective and focus. The expired Kodak Ektachrome is then developed in the ‘wrong’ chemicals to produce these big slabs of often other worldly colour. These are flawed and hopefully challenging, just like some of the buildings themselves.
Photograph title: Peacock Photographer: Gina Soden Photo was taken: Italy Camera used: Nikon D800 Description: A fine example of Moorish architecture – but in a castle in Italy. These rooms were all hand designed and painted by one man who had a vision to build this beautiful castle and open it as a hotel.
Photograph title: Elevation Photographer: Naf Selmani Photo was taken: London, UK Camera used: Fujifilm X-T10 Description: The Hive – Kew Gardens’ spectacular new bee-inspired sculpture seen from below as one of the visitor lays on the top glass floor to pose for pictures. This multi-sensory experience integrates art, science and landscape architecture.
Photograph title: Jeporeka Photographer: Enrique Gimenez-Velilla Photo was taken: Asunción, Paraguay Camera used: Nikon D5100 Description: This photo seeks to pay homage to all the clever unknown workers that still build and maintain built infrastructure in the developing world. “Jeporeka” is a Paraguayan Guarani word that roughly translates into “make do”.
Dating from 1937, the derelict building, a former glass factory located near the Rotterdam harbour and 10 minutes from the Erasmusbrug, was about to be demolished until it caught Roosegaarde’s eye.
The building of more than 1000m2 was renovated over the last year by Roosegaarde and his team of designers and engineers. Inspired by Roosegaarde’s fascination for the Dutch skies, its new design opens up the space to Dutch light to fully soak into its magic, transforming it into the dream lab of the 21st century. The main artery of the building is used for the building of prototypes and visible from the above offices and balconies at any time of the day.
The building’s main centre stage is malleable to its dream functions such as open lab sessions and educational activities. Special features include the dream library which houses an extended collection of antique and new books. Wall divisions in the space are made of glass enabling new ideas to be drawn on the walls directly as an open sketchbook inviting team members to contribute and develop concepts together. A unique laboratory is housed on ground floor, in the former garage, to cultivate live bio organisms in the dark. The furniture such as the team desks are directly inspired by large boats and float as islands into space. From the top floor the studio offices offer stunning views over the harbour and river as windows to the world.
Rendering by OLIN Studio, via Tribeca Citizen. ImagePier 26
The Hudson River Park Trust has revealed plans to transform the 800-foot-long Pier 26, located on the Hudson River in the New York neighborhood of TriBeCa. Currently vacant, the pier is set to receive a new park designed by landscape architects OLIN Studio and a maritime education center designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects.
As shown in renderings published by Tribeca Citizen, the new park will include multiple landscaped areas interspersed with more actively programmed areas featuring playgrounds, forum seating and what appears to be a giant hammock for relaxing over the water. Not shown in the renderings is Viñoly’s design for the estuarium at the park, which will likely be located at the beginning on the pier along the West side highway. The total project is estimated to cost $30 million.
Check out plans and additional renderings for the project at Tribeca Citizen, here.
As marginalized urban areas transition into desirable neighborhoods, seemingly problematic contextual elements like adjacent vacant land and elevated railroads can be treated as productive design constraints. Historically a divider, the elevated train line running along Front Street in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood is becoming an attractor for new retail and nightlife.
This 6-unit apartment building shifts program to the long edge of a narrow site along the busy Frankford-Market elevated Blue Line in East Kensington, creating an interior façade facing an adjacent vacant parcel. A ground floor commercial space faces Front Street, activating the urban edge under the El.
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As a reaction to the owner’s concern about living directly adjacent to the elevated train, the project emphasized an intimacy with the railroad that looked to turn a liability into a surprisingly novel asset.
With a roofline that connects the dots of a quirky zoning envelope, the elevation juxtaposes housing above with a storefront tucked underneath the elevated train line. The north-facing blank property line facade creates an opportunity for art and signage oriented toward viewers riding south on the train.
From the architect. The largest and busiest train station in the Netherlands is officially open. Utrecht Central Station was once built for approximately 35 million passengers per year. Currently 88 million people use the station annually. This number is constantly increasing and is expected to reach one hundred million passengers in 2030. Benthem Crouwel Architects has been involved in the development of the train station since 2003. Thirteen years later, the new public transport terminal that will house train, bus and tram platforms under one undulating roof, has opened.
Over the next two decades, the number of travellers to Utrecht Central Station year will grow to about a hundred million per year. Since the previous building could not handle the increasing amounts of passengers, Utrecht Central Station has been rebuilt – three times its original size – to one new integrated station complex, which regulates the transport of train, tram and bus. The station has become an autonomous building with two new city squares on both entrances, the side of the Jaarbeurs (convention center) and the city side. Next year, under the square on the city side, the largest bicycle parking facility in the world will be finished, accommodating 12,500 bicycles.
During the design phase Jan Benthem and Mels Crouwel had the idea to design the original flat roof of Utrecht Central Station as a wave that radiates a dynamic movement and also functions as a natural way finder. Transverse to the tracks, in the longitudinal direction of the hall, the wave refers to the entrances and exits. The wave has three ‘undulations’: the highest above the train station, the lower ones on each side contain the tram and bus stations. The waves also represent the logical distribution of functions in the station. To receive more natural daylight in the terminal, glass skylights were designed, which also function as smoke hatches. The undulating movement is emphasized by the continuous LED lights on the ceiling. Thanks to the significant wavy shape of the steel roof – and a relative low-rise building (18 meters high) – the station is clearly recognizable among the neighbouring buildings and offices.
Located on one side of the station, there is a station promenade, a public street, which crosses the railroad tracks. Now a passer-by is able to move from west to east without having to use a ‘chip card’. Restaurants, shops, and a possible market gives this promenade the atmosphere of a real city street. Through large glass walls, serving as curtains hanging from the roof of 235 by 85 meters, the stations offers all kinds of stunning lookouts, to trains, tracks and expansive views of the city. The interior has a reserved allure and modest charm: it is the people, signage, vehicles and other typical additions that make the station alive and vibrant, and give colour and ambiance.
In a very short time, Dutch rail travel and train station surroundings have had an intensive makeover. Six central stations – Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam, Arnhem, Breda and Amsterdam South – are called the New Key Projects since 1997: projects where not only the train station is transformed (for the arrival of the high speed line, amongst others), but also the connecting surroundings around the station. This integrated approach to station and station environment reinforces the identity and vitality of the city. These new train stations are also referred to as ‘cathedrals of a new era’: public transport terminals that provide travellers and city dwellers with various comforts and functionalities in the area. The past few years, one after the other station has opened, manifesting themselves as ‘city buildings’ in five major city centers. The station is part of the urban fabric, with logical walkways and a better connection between different city districts. Utrecht Central Station is the penultimate station that is completed of the New Key Projects; after this Amsterdam South remains. Benthem Crouwel Architects is the architect of three out of the six New Key Projects: Rotterdam Central Station, The Hague Central Station and now… Utrecht Central Station.
Pablo Pinares has created a video with which all past and current architecture students can identify: a time lapse of the final hours before a studio review. Whether your architecture school days are behind you or you still have juries to look forward to, read on to revel in your school experiences with us.
1 – Finishing your model as the sun comes up Not pictured: X-Acto knife injuries, running out of coffee, fires in the laser cutter.
4 – Thereview After an intense semester of back and forth with your tutor, ideally, you’ll get some constructive feedback from a fresh pair of eyes. And if you’re like most nervous public speakers, this will be the most awake you’ve felt in days.
A building’s materiality is what our bodies make direct contact with; the cold metal handle, the warm wooden wall, and the hard glass window would all create an entirely different atmosphere if they were, say, a hard glass handle, a cold metal wall and a warm wooden window (which with KTH’s new translucent wood, is not as absurd as it might sound). Materiality is of just as much importance as form, function and location–or rather, inseparable from all three.
Here we’ve compiled a selection of 16 materials that should be part of the design vocabulary of all architects, ranging from the very familiar (such as concrete and steel) to materials which may be unknown for some of our readers, as well as links to comprehensive resources to learn more about many of them.
Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world, making it a good starting material to get to know. However it also has significant environmental impacts, including a carbon footprint of up to 5% of worldwide emissions. To get to know all about designing with concrete, the Concrete Center has a collection of useful reports, many of which are free with registration.
One of the oldest, most traditional building materials around the world is of course timber. The material is beginning to take on new forms thanks to engineered wood products, and with high-rise buildings and even translucent properties, this diverse material is being taken to new heights. reThink Wood has a great collection of resources to learn about, and help architects design with, wood.
The city skylines as we know them exploded out of our discovery of steel, commonly used for reinforcement but serving as a beautiful skin in several examples. The wiki SteelConstruction.info offers everything you could possibly need to know about designing with steel.
Although this may seem like a cheap, unsustainable material to some, one should not be so quick to judge the possibilities that plastic holds. We produce so much of it; why not recycle it in the form of architecture or bioplastics? What about the whole new world that comes with 3D printing? The American Chemistry Council has a great overview of plastics as a material, as well as a rundown of their major uses in architecture, with links to further resources for each.
Another material used over generations in certain geographical locations around the world, stone has a wide diversity of textures, colours and strengths. Despite its heavy, solid materiality, one can still work with it to achieve diverse forms. The Building Stone Institute has a variety of resources including fact sheets and specification sheets for many of the most common types of stone used in construction.
Our most used material to achieve transparency and light is without a doubt glass, one of the most commonly used façade elements in contemporary architecture. Some are taking it a step further, attempting to extend its properties to create “intelligent” responsive glass. The PPG Glass Education Center is a great place to learn more.
Despite its rigid, rectangular shape made to fit in your hand, brick architecture has been shown to create beautiful structures with the right craftsmanship. Innovative thinkers are also finding new ways to incorporate active sustainability into the small building elements. The Brick Development Association has a collection of resources for learning more about brick.
via DuPont.com
9. Kevlar
A material stronger than metal body armor, with awesome tensile strength, Kevlar is certainly an asset when building large structures. With a less rigid composition than steel however, it could reform the way we think of large load-bearing structures. As a still-relatively-new material, there are few comprehensive information sources on Kevlar’s architectural applications, but this article and this snippet of the book Material Architecture by John Fernandez are good places to start.
Bamboo usage is generally dictated by the geographical location of the architectural project. In locations where bamboo makes sense, it is an incredibly flexible, strong, sustainable material that can be useful in many ways.
Reflecting everything about our new material endeavors is carbon fiber: “five times stronger than steel, twice as stiff, weighing significantly less.” The composition of carbon fibre makes it flexible to work with, allowing it to take shapes from surfaces to rods, depending on your requirements.
Earth is among the oldest building materials we can think of due to its almost universal accessibility and relative ease of use at small scales. It’s capable of being compressed into modules, as well as creating freeform surfaces, all of which can eventually return to the earth with ease.
We produce a huge amount of waste covering a huge range of materials, but getting to know your waste is an excellent idea for future architects. Whether it’s converting cigarette butts into building material or plastic bottles to earthquake resistant walls, recycling is something to be admired.
Courtesy of Karli Luik
15. Straw
Creating a passive thermal environment, shielding from rain and blending into similar natural surroundings are just a few things that straw is good at. It’s no wonder thatched roofs were so popular in the past.
Courtesy of The Mediated Matter Group
16. Organic materials
With the massive loss of habitats happening around the world, getting to know organic structures created by animals is something that’s best to do sooner rather than later. Not only can we learn from their use of materials, it also opens up opportunities for us to coexist through incorporating their organic materials into our architecture.
As with all materials, accessibility and cost plays a huge role. There are sure to be materials not on the list that would be the obvious option in certain parts of the world, so be sure to get to know the materials around you in addition to these and you’ll be sure to have a complete resource.
99% Invisible has recently published a review of rotary jails, a strange prison architecture system in which cell blocks turn to align with the position of a single door, in the attempt to create better security. Used around the early 20th century, this odd, carousel-like technology spread across the United States in mainly Midwestern towns.
Learn more about the phenomenon of rotating jails, at the 99% Invisible article, here.
Sig Nordal 