American firms Rafael Viñoly Architects, Richard Meier & Partners, and Kohn Pedersen Fox have conceived a trio of high-end residential buildings that will overlook New York‘s Hudson River. Read more
From the architect. Subsequent to the Toigetation project completed in Son Lap school in 2014, the Toigetation 2 has been upgraded regarding the number of sanitary equipment and accessories as a more holistic approach to the standard sanitation service by Ministry of Education and Training and Ministry of Health of Vietnam. The project is to meet the sanitation and washing needs for over 300 Ta Ma primary school pupils in Ta Ma commune – a commune in special difficulties and water scarcity in Tuan Giao district, Dien Bien province.
Featured with the iconic image of two big trees with wide canopy providing shade to the space below and within, the Toigetation 2 lightly touches the ground with a layer of vegetation (trees and herbs) on its four sides. The layer of vegetation helps regulating indoor climate, harnessing load bearing structure, supplying food and at the same time creating a perceived boundary between inside and outside space. Constructed by local Human resources and Materials in simple but efficient construction methods, the project uses solar panels for electric lightening, rain water and waste water for cleaning and gardening purposes.
The Toigetation is supposed to contribute to shaping users’ future action, thereby exerting significant impacts on the promotion of local ecological balance, economic stability and improvement of Human rights in Vietnam more positively in the context of severe shortage of toilets at schools in Vietnam’s rural areas.
Starting an architecture firm may sprout from one’s love for and interest in the discipline, but running a competitive business requires more than just a tendency to enjoy the work. BIM could be the edge a firm needs in order to stand out from the crowd. There are many ways a firm can make use of BIM to become more profitable on their projects and successful in winning those projects in the first place; read on to find out more about six of them.
BIM has been available to architecture and design firms for decades, but in its early years often took too much time and computing power for it to make sense for smaller firms, who still found it cost-effective to outsource processes such as visualization of their designs. But now, with BIM software easily available and feasible for almost any architect to implement, firms stand to gain from the benefits that BIM brings by creating their own visualizations instead of having to pay for them.
By using BIM within your own firm, you also gain enormous amounts of flexibility in the event of changes to the design. When outsourcing visualizations, for example, models and images are sent back and forth countless times; similarly, with non-BIM processes, any design changes must be communicated in detail to engineers and contractors via email or even in person. But with shared BIM models communicating such changes to subcontractors automatically, the time and money spent on communicating design changes is minimal, giving designers much more freedom to ensure the project meets their client’s expectations.
Designing a building using BIM’s 3D-modeling-based system, as well as being able to quickly generate rendered visuals of the proposal, also improves the understanding of the building design and site among the architects working on the project. As Crawford Smith, BIM specialist at SERA Architects Inc., explains:
“Model-based visualisations helped everyone – regardless of their technical background – to quickly get an understanding of the accelerated development of the building and the tenant spaces.”
Furthermore, by internalizing some processes that might previously have been outsourced, and by improving communication on those processes that still are, BIM also offers accelerated feedback on design proposals, particularly when communicating with clients. As William Sharples, principal of SHoP, explains:
“BIM helped us use the power of visualization to bridge time and distance.”
Generating your own visualizations allows you to react far more quickly to a client’s critiques and suggestions; minimizing the time needed for feedback not only minimizes costs, it also improves your reliability and reputation as a firm.
While much is made about the increases in productivity and efficiency which arise as a direct result of BIM, it is less commonly discussed that this also opens opportunities for creative improvement. By meeting deadlines ahead of time and producing accurate, information rich models, BIM leaves time for architects to conduct creative investigations. Better alternatives to a design may arise during such an activity, producing more options and visual data for a client. Crawford Smith, BIM specialist at SERA, says:
“Autodesk BIM solutions helped us spend less time producing documents and more time on design exploration.”
One of the strongest arguments for implementing BIM–one that can still help a firm stand out among almost all of its competitors–is the recent advances in visual technology; specifically, advances in Virtual Reality. BIM’s 3D modeling process means that designs are easily rendered and imported into a wide variety of VR environments, for example with Autodesk’s new LIVE service offering a one-click interactive rendering out of Revit. Soon, VR technology is likely to be as sought after by clients as ordinary renderings are today, and being an architecture firm that has the internal skills necessary for this shift will be a huge asset. The ability to quickly incorporate the client’s feedback into a model that can be communicated through VR would undoubtedly make any architecture firm a frontrunner.
Download the Definitive Guide to Growing your Architecture Firm with BIM to learn how to build your business with BIM.
This article was sponsored by Autodesk.
The residence’s sloping, infill Sonora Desert location created both the project’s greatest challenge and greatest opportunity. Surrounded by existing homes–two in particular enjoying a 50+ year unobstructed view over the land–made privacy and sight-lines, both from and towards the home, fundamental form givers. While seeking to improve and restore a native arroyo and its natural ground water recharge zone (this pristine area had not been touched by a previous owner’s imported fill) the design set strict goals to maintain the area’s native fauna and flora.
The client’s program called for an open plan utilizing durable materials and resource efficient foresight to create a 3 bedroom/3.5 bath, great room living home. Taken together, with the privacy desires, openness of plan, sloping site, preservation of undisturbed land, and infill condition resulted in 3,250 square foot design formed by two intersecting rectangular bars. To capture all elements of the program, the two intersecting rectangular bars form a “T” such that the lower master wing’s roof becomes the upper kitchen’s interior soffit and then this line continues out again to become the exterior roof of the breezeway and garage. The continuity of wall and roof plane are clearly perceptible and are further refined by avoiding the often awkward “T” program intersection with the inclusion of an open lanai. The lanai is strategically located as an open, deeply shaded transition from public pool and great room areas to the private master wing.
With the site sloping 20′ from north to south and consisting of a combination of imported fill and native desert alluvium, the design set out to preserve and capture this natural alluvial arroyo, its 100+ year old creosote bushes, and undisturbed deeply patina weathered boulders. The design made evident the natural site slope by stepping the structure’s masses while preserving and reinforcing the arroyo and creating privacy from the uphill homes. Entering the home at the street grade conceals the unfolding grade change and unforeseen precession to the south pool yard and mountain views beyond.
Underpinning the home’s fusion of indoor and outdoor living are timeless passive solar strategies and cross ventilation opportunities. Finally, the home’s south facing, downward sloping master wing roof has solar electric and solar thermal systems seamlessly integrated into the sloping roof, illustrating again how a building’s basic parti can become the backbone for modern sustainable living. Recent electrical utility data shows the home generating slightly more energy than consumed.
Benjamin Hubert has created an injection-moulded Apple Watch strap, which negates the need for buckles with its self-gripping fastening. Read more
In another photoset from his latest Switzerland trip, photographer Laurian Ghinitiou takes us inside Christ & Gantenbein’s recently-opened addition to the Kunstmuseum Basel. The design, winner in an international competition in 2009, sought to create a “contemporary brother” to the original museum, opening up to the street through its angled form. The monochromatic brick facade also responds to its context and historic neighbor, while hiding a wraparound LED screen beneath to create a frieze with a technological twist.
Check out the full series of shots, after the break.
See more of Laurian Ghinitiou’s work on ArchDaily here, and check out his website for more photography.
Salford Quays has long been a hub of activity; the docks here were among the busiest in the UK during the early years of the 20th century, handling millions of tonnes of cargo. In 1985, following the gradual decline of the docks, the area finally became the subject of an innovative regeneration plan, which brought attractions such as The Lowry and the Imperial War Museum North to the waterside. WilkinsonEyre contributed to the latest stage of its transformation with a footbridge as part of the BBC’s Media City development.
WilkinsonEyre’s footbridge forms a visual landmark and sculptural gateway to the Media City site and connects it with satellite developments and attractions on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal. It is a critical element in weaving together the new urban grain, reinforcing links that were not there before, and helping to bring about a new sense of place.
A+Awards: angular polycarbonate windows create tessellating shapes across the facade of this gymnasium in France’s Champagné region, a winner at this year’s Architizer A+Awards.
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Dezeen promotion: Japanese kimono dresses informed the design of this bed-like sofa by Spanish brand Sancal, which features quilted fabric covers ideal for afternoon napping. Read more
A shot of a brick reservoir in London’s Finsbury Park has been selected as the best architecture photograph of the year at the Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Awards 2016. Read more
Sig Nordal 