Iran-based BMDseign Studios has unveiled Concave Roof, a double-roof system with steeping slopes resembling a bowl for the purpose of rainwater collection in arid climates like Iran, where a lack of water could lead to mass displacement in the future.
Because precipitation in this area is less than one-third of that of the world average, and evaporation is more than three times higher than the world average, the concave roof system is designed to “help [make] even the smallest quantities of rain [flow down] the roof and eventually coalesce into bigger drops, just right for harvesting before they evaporate” explained the architects.
Courtesy of BMDseign Studios
Courtesy of BMDseign Studios
The outer shell of the roof system not only collects rainwater but also provides additional shading and allows air to move freely between it and the inner shell, acting as a cooling mechanism for both roofs.
Courtesy of BMDseign Studios
At a school with 923 square meters of concave roof area, it is expected that 28 cubic meters of water could be collected, with an efficiency of about 60 percent. Further research for the system will focus on maximizing this efficiency.
Courtesy of BMDseign Studios
Reservoirs connecting to the collection systems will be placed between building walls, allowing for further control of temperature fluctuation of indoor spaces due to the heat storage capacity of water, all of which will “[lower] the overall carbon footprint of much-needed air conditioning in this harsh environment.”
Architects: BMDseign Studios Location: Jiroft, Kerman province, Iran Architect in Charge: Babak Mostofi Sadri Design Development: Dena Bakhtiari Design Team: Babak M Sadri, Dena Bakhtiari, Nazanin Esfahanian, Negar Naghibsadat Structural Engineer: Sina Rostami
The largest of the Caribbean islands, Cuba is a cultural melting pot of over 11 million people, combining native Taíno and Ciboney people with descendants of Spanish colonists and African slaves. Since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, the country has been the only stable communist regime in the Western hemisphere, with close ties to the Soviet Union during the Cold War and frosty relationship with its nearby neighbor, the United States, that has only recently begun to thaw. While the architecture in the capital city of Havana reflects the dynamic and rich history of the area, after the revolution Havana lost its priority status and government focus shifted to rural areas, and the buildings of Havana have been left to ruin ever since. Iwo Borkowicz, one of three winners of the 2016 Young Talent Architecture Award, has developed a plan that could bring some vibrancy, and most importantly some sustainability, back to Havana, the historic core of the city.
Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
After half a century of poor maintenance within Havana Vieja, buildings are reported to be partially, or even entirely, collapsing at a rate of 2 every 3 days due to flooding, salt water corrosion, and overloading; as many as 20 families can be living in a villa originally designed for one. Despite a Cuban law preventing people from migrating into the capital, Havana is still struggling with a major housing crisis. According to a 2010 study, the island lacked around 500,000 housing units to adequately fulfil the nation’s needs, but due to the collapsing buildings, this number is currently estimated to be somewhere between 600,000 and 1 million. Havana alone has over 100,000 people without an apartment to live in. In other words, suitable housing is high up on the list of the Cuban people’s needs.
Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
Existing alongside the country’s housing crisis is its rapidly expanding tourism industry. Due to the country’s communist rule, privately owned businesses such as hotels are essentially non-existent, in spite of the nearly 3.5 million tourists expected to visit the country in 2017 – with 90% of them, according to Borkowicz, expected to visit Havana. However, the government has allowed Cuban people to rent out rooms in their own homes since 1959, commonly known in Cuba as “casas particulares,” responding to the touristic demand without having to build large hotels alien to the Havana landscape. This concept, as well as the desperate need for housing and possible local economic gain from tourism, is what inspired Borkowicz to develop a proposal to combine social housing with tourism in Havana Vieja.
Diagram showing infill plans. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
The idea is to merge the two by renovating existing, partially collapsed buildings around Havana Vieja, and adding vertical extensions to fulfil Borkowicz’s plan to build with an average of 4 floors. Occasionally structures are designed from scratch when the existing building has collapsed beyond repair. As Borkowicz envisions the use of space in a 3:1 ratio of permanent versus temporary inhabitants, these buildings need to not only accommodate for the existing housing shortages in Havana Vieja, but must supersede them. Currently the housing shortages require 9,200 new housing units, with an assumed floor space of 70 square meters per unit. Borkowicz looked at 12 housing blocks already existing in Havana Vieja, using their volumes as a benchmark for calculations on his proposal of an average of 4 storeys per building and concluded that the total generated floor space from his project could amount to 105,812 square meters – 3 times as much space as is currently needed.
Section of Prototype 1. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
Spatial diagram of Prototype 1. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
Not only will this proposal provide more housing for the Cuban population, it will also serve as a source of income for the inhabitants, as they will be able to rent out more rooms to tourists. One of the main reasons for Cuba’s housing crisis is the lack of financial support, however Borkowicz proposes that residents could repay loans over an estimated 10 year period, while still keeping around 10% of the revenue for personal use (estimated to total around 4 times as much as the average salary in Cuba). For locals, this sum of money can often buy them far more value for money, as some business run two pricing systems – one for locals and one for the foreigners. For example, Borkowicz has noted ice cream selling for 24 times the price when bought by a tourist.
Diagram showing relative locations of the 6 prototypes. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
As part of his research project, Borkowicz has established 6 prototypes, each responding to the individual situations on their site: Prototype 1 and 3 take place on existing plots housing single storey buildings in very bad condition that will be completely replaced; Prototype 2 addresses a similar pre-existing condition, but with a building still in good shape that can be built upon; Prototype 4 is an empty corner plot with only partial remains of its previous occupant, making it necessary to design the house from scratch; Prototype 5 connects two parallel streets by joining two existing buildings back-to-back, one on each street. Finally Prototype 6 is not a social housing project, but is suggested to take an empty corner plot and addresses the need for a co-working space that promotes small businesses.
Section of Prototype 4. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
Spatial diagram of Prototype 4. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
These houses are designed in such a way that the structural support, as well as the sewage or gas infrastructure, can remain entirely unchanged. Instead the transformation of space takes place by rearranging non-load-bearing walls, allowing for flexible floor plans whenever possible so that residents can arrange different combinations of hotel rooms, or alternatively expand their own apartment.
Possible plans of Prototype 5. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
“Casa particulars is not a hotel nor a guest room in somebody’s house but a formula in-between. This significantly changes the way guests and hosts look at each other,” explains Borkowicz in a booklet documenting his research. “Tourists can experience a more in-depth Cuban culture and Cubans won’t feel like simple servants, but partners in an exchange of services and money – but also an exchange of stories, daily routine, and experiences. Both parties will hopefully get a chance to… learn from each other, while at the same time having access to a fully private zone in their rooms or flats.”
Diagram showing uses of the common space in a prototype building. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
This kind of architecture requires a lot of common spaces that both permanent and temporary inhabitants can take advantage of; much more than in an ordinary Cuban apartment or AirBnb. Each of Borkowicz’s prototype buildings is individually designed with respect to the existing situation on the plot, however all five residential plans include an open space with planted areas, often in the form of large inner courtyards. Also included are an open kitchen and living room; a “collective zone” on the roof, including a laundry station and an urban farming space; a zone for tenants to keep chickens, vegetables and herbs; and an “extension” of the space into the surrounding community around the entrance zone.
Section of Prototype 5. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
Spatial diagram of Prototype 5. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
In his designs, Borkowicz prioritizes natural ventilation, using both the main wide courtyard and smaller secondary courtyards to create cross-ventilation through rooms not directly connected to the street. Open space within the building is above the government’s requirement of 15% of the total area, and the windows and courtyards are protected by permeable solar protection to allow for the passage of wind. In addition to this the design specifies staircases and railings that generate maximum airflow, using traditional Cuban wrought iron elements. The passive cooling system, taking place through underground pipes that suck air through the patios, are stabilized by the constant temperature below ground level of around 15 degrees Celsius.
Materiality of the housing projects. Image Courtesy of Iwo Borkowicz
In addition to the traditional wrought iron railings, Borkowicz’s plan would support the production of Cuban ornamental ceramic tiles, which would be used to cover the roof, reflecting sunlight to prevent overheating. One of the more important choices in Borkowicz’s design is to maintain the existing characteristics of Havana Vieja, with facades that reflect the classical, brightly colored and decorated buildings of the Cuban culture, preserving the tourist appeal of the area. No choice of color is specified, leaving the housing cooperative to personalize each house, hopefully helping them to identify more strongly with the project through the use of shapes, materials and colors that are so abundant within the Cuban culture.
Social, cultural and economic support that can be brought through architectural design is no easy task to accomplish, making the symbiotic relationship that arises from such a project a fantastically beautiful thing to witness. If the predicted deluge of US tourists is to find much more than rubble and homelessness in Havana Vieja, Borkowicz’s proposal is not only beautiful, but desperately needed.
Philippe Barrière Collective (PB+Co) has created the urban plan for a new semi-rural/semi-urban development in Manouba, Tunisia. Utilizing an existing olive grove estate, the environmentally driven project includes collective housing pavilions among its ecological design composed of 4,475 salvaged olive trees, newly planted taller trees, and a wild botanical garden that fosters local biodiversity.
Courtesy of v2com
The urban plan centers around a green common, which serves as the nexus between services and housing pavilions while eliminating the need for roads within the development’s perimeter. Placed around the rural park, amenities include administrative, health, and retail facilities; 3200 housing units; religious and cultural centers; an elementary school; a sports area; and a transportation hub. The green neighborhood represents a new strategy for interaction between community and nature, merging sustainable development with efficiency in housing design.
Courtesy of v2com
Based on bio-climactic principles, the project employs passive solar energy, modular solar protection, cross ventilation in every room, double orientation units, vertical chimney ventilation for fresh air intake, and local building materials. Additionally, with its own micro-climate, the biological community serves as a green reserve for local organisms.
This house is the second project we´ve made for friends (the first one was a house in Joinville, where they live). Located on the south part of the island, facing the sea, at Morro das Pedras beach, the site is in a condominium of small plots of land.
House is completely opened at ground floor level, as a shadow to outdoor activities. It extends towards the swimming pool area, shelters eating and hammocks rooms, connecting horizontally streets, garden and sea. Vertically, a double height hall connects both living rooms.
All hydraulic installations are concentrated on the small masonry block. On the ground floor: laundry, woodstove, surf boards and beach equipment deposits. On the upper level, bathrooms and kitchen. This volume also contains a staircase that steers towards the facilities bellow, access level and bedrooms and living room above. This opaque construction protects house from strong west sun and from neighbours’ views. Furthermore it is supports timber structure_ all of that made of garapeira wood.
Courtesy of Una Arquitetos
The timber structure (15 tons) weighs less than 10% of total concrete volume (115 tons), even with an area 4 times larger. House was designed in pre-fabricated wood in order to induce less impact on the site and ensure quality and low cost of the work. Because of the distance, this assembly was also a strategy to ensure precision at work.
Local builders made all production, pre-fabrication and assembling of structure. Conception of columns reinforces idea of a suspended house, reducing base points and concentrating foundations. This strategy further expands the terrace out.
Courtesy of Una Arquitetos
Construction thought as assembly: timber floor in horizontal plans, metallic panels with insulating thermo-acoustic on the roof, plaster panels indoors, wooden window frames and glass as sealing.
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Entire upper volume is surrounded by a translucent plastic protection that resists salt air, stops excessive sun and south winds that carries sand, the same that forms dunes on the beach. This element allows the passage of controlled light and permanent ventilation. A horizontal tear in the eye level establishes a direct visual connection with the sea, a compliment to the horizon, as opposed to a small fold in the main facade of the plan. At night, light is reversed and the house exudes radiance, as a small beacon.
RiverS is a private home located in Kiev, Ukraine. It was designed by Emil Dervish. RiverS by Emil Dervish: “Hailing from Kiev is an outstanding exercise of practicality and visual lightness from architect Emil Dervish. Making the most out of 64sqm (689sqft) for his client, this urban dwelling manages to pack visual impact with handpicked design and brings out a sense of amplitude to a compact dwelling. RiverS is a..
From the architect. In the first climate-neutral district of Amsterdam, the Houthavens, Paul de Ruiter Architects designed the 4th Gymnasium. An energy neutral high school that accommodates about 800 students. With its colorful appearance and societal function, the school building serves as a herald for the further developments of this area. The architecture of the building is in line with the scale and size of the buildings in the area, to make sure the school is part of the ‘community’ in the Houthavens.
Cultural Focus in the Design The 4th Gymnasium meets all the qualities a modern school should meet. The curriculum emphasizes on culture and arts. Disciplines like film, drama, painting and drawing can be followed next to the regular curriculum. To enable these courses, we designed a studio, a cinema, a theatre and a laboratory alongside the regular classrooms.
Section
Section
Vibrant Appearance by a Playful Composition The façade of the 4th Gymnasium has a vertical layering and is made up of several yellow, orange and red colored surfaces. These surfaces, each different in height, width and depth, consist of both transparent and colored enameled glass, and are surrounded by a wooden frame that works as a solar screen. The building is divided into three horizontal zones. In the plinth we placed the entrance and public programs. The classrooms and workspaces are divided over the first and second floor, and the top floor accommodates two gyms and a large rooftop terrace. This top floor is recognizable by its aluminium façade and is used after school-hours by sports clubs and the neighborhood via a separate entrance.
Next to this entry, the school has two other entrances. The south side provides an entrance to the semi-underground bicycle shed. On the west side, near the schoolyard, is the main entrance. This entrance brings you to the heart of the building. It’s the place where students meet during lunch, but it can also easily be converted into a theatre.
Learning Squares We designed a diagonal optical axis from the main entrance to the outdoor rooftop terrace. In the atrium we ‘hung’ different learning squares – where students can work independently – and balconies that act as lounge areas. The learning squares are connected to the class rooms via corridors; by opening a sliding door the classrooms can be expanded combined with the learning square into a study landscape.
In order to achieve energy-neutrality we connected the school to the district heating of the Houthavens. In addition, concrete core conditioning is applied. The complex is isolated with high quality triple glazing and the required electricity is generated on the roof by means of solar panels. The 4th Gymnasium is a Clean Air School (Class B), which guarantees an optimal indoor climate. This has a positive impact on the health and academic performance of the pupils and the staff.
From the architect. Contemporary version of a medieval donjon: Five-story wood construction made from prefabricated frame elements. The isolated mountain location mandates the greatest possible self-sufficiency. The ambivalence between a sense of security and being exposed defines the building’s structure: below are the communal areas with surrounding ribbon glazing, above the closed sleeping quarters. The cascading spiral stairway opens panorama views when ascending, follows the course of the sun, captures the solar irradiation, and distributes the warmth of the sun throughout the entire house.
The image of the urban area nearby Xirongxian Hutong seems like other places in second ring road of Beijing City. It is like a collection of typologies: towers; multistories residential districts; monumental buildings near Changan avenue; and also reserved hutongs and courtyards.
At the city scale, it is difficult to tell the logic and relationships between those different urban landscapes. For the local people, they seem not worry about the vanishing of past experience or the relationship between daily life and memory. They also pay little attention to the public spaces outside buildings by the street, and to what the relationship is between public and private. “Isolation”, this is also happening on the building scale.
This house is about 30 square meters, and sandwiched between 5 nearby houses. Most of the exterior walls become interior walls in between the different houses. The only door and window openings are on the south wall, where there is hardly any light or fresh air in the room. The place is isolated from outside world, this condition is bad especially for a such a tiny space.
In the yard, a small building belonging to another neighboring family is located at the center, by the tree. Other things litter the places in the yard as well. Before the renovation, we can hardly tell that this is a yard and not a pathway.
Diagram
Diagram
This 30 meter site with a small “yard” will be occupied by a young couple and their 6 year old boy.
In order to respond to the “Isolation”, a series of independent and easy to build units were introduced and cooperate with the original building system. They construct a gradation between public and private, outside and inside, build a path for light, wind, events and people’s movement. Also, the cooperation between new elements and original building structures establish the connection between past and present.
The first building unit is the porch, with a solar roof in the yard. The position of room door moved correspondingly. Places were created on the path where people would be going home from the outer street. An open lobby for changing clothes, a porch facing the tree for outside events in good weather. A transition space between house and yard.
Plan
The second building unit is the double-slope roof gallery. It can also be defined as the enlarged building facade. First, it maximize the lighting area. Beside it the chimney and air system are also introduced on the gallary roof. This prevents unexpected damage to the original structure and roof system.
The most importantly, The new spaces created are the two long tables constructed based on the window from the outside to inside. When the window is opened, people might sitting around the table in good weather, events might happen here. Since there is limited area in the room, the table places some daily events out in the yard.
The third building unit is children room. It includes small flats on second floor, a ladder, and a lighting roof. The flats divided the space into two independent rooms: one for the parents, one for the child.
The sunroof window faces the north to improve the air and lighting conditions. It establishes a route for wind going though from south to north. The height of space is raised allowing for the new structure to grow through the original roof.
The three new building units all worked well within the old structure. At the same time, the differences between new and old are obvious. Wood and steel, heavy and light, dark and bright colors, no unnecessary additional structure.
Model
The principle of the plan arrangement is to place all assistant spaces and furnitures on the perimeter in order to maximize the size of the central open plan.
In Japan, two major types of pharmacies can be found. The first is the drug store, or what can be described as retail pharmacies. This type offers services related to basic medicines as well as parapharmaceutical products. The second type is the dispensing pharmacies, usually related to a nearby clinic or hospital. In this type of pharmacies, the products are prepared in the backyard after the customer presents prescription issued by his doctor. Once prepared, the pharmacist has to explain to the customer about the prescription.
This dispensing pharmacy is located nearby a general hospital and owned by its president. The Idea behind this pharmacy is to promote the hospital by giving it a new image as it is subject to a strong competitiveness.
The starting point of this design was to question the criteria that customers use to select a pharmacy, beside the geographical location. What would make a pharmacy better than another one? The purpose of visiting a pharmacy is the same, purchasing medicines and seeking healing.
The keyword for medical related design is healing, commonly associated with peaceful nature. Subsequently, this type of design traditionally tries to incorporate natural elements like trees, green walls and flowers.
Floor Plan
Nature is undoubtedly a source of healing, nonetheless, the simple fact of coming to a medical institution lays on the trust that the patient puts on modern medicine. The more advanced medicine is the more trustworthy it becomes; true peace of mind is reached when the medical care is at its “Cutting Edge”.
The pharmacy is situated along one of the most important streets in the region. The façade is totally glazed and contoured by protracted sharp edges. The edges are also projected into the minimalist white interior demarcated by a black cross. The vertical line of the cross is the gate towards the backyard where the prescriptions are prepared. The horizontal line is a console for exhibiting key products. The entrance is on the left side of the building in the direction of the hospital liberating the glazed façade from unnecessary additional lines. This minimalistic space designed in clean straight lines and enhanced with indirect lighting slits creates the High-Tech sharp image that the patient expects from an advanced medical care.
Additionally to the appearance, the quality of service is a major criterion for selecting a dispensing pharmacy, and this is not without affecting the design. Traditionally, the patient handles his prescription at the reception counter; the pharmacist will then prepare the medicines in the backyard whilst the patient is sitting in the waiting space. Once done, the patient will be called again to the counter to get explanations about the prescription. This pharmacy differs in that the patient will not be called to the counter again. Instead, the pharmacist will meet him at his waiting space furnished in chairs and tables. These small attentions can make a big difference by providing an image of High Quality services inducing the process of healing.
Product Description. While selecting the materials, we were focused on the sharp image we wanted to give to the building. The choice of Takiron metallic panels helped much for creating this image; these seamless and thin panels are also mat, a reflective panel would make the joints easily recognized, while a mat one seems more integrated.
From the architect. Tsiaogou teaching school locates in Song County of Luoyang City, Henan province and has 49 students and 4 teachers. The school has no reading room so that the 320 books they currently have are scattered in all the classroom. This project will add a new reading room and supply more books. All the current and new books will be put in the reading room for all the students to borrow.
The campus is pretty tight. there’s no empty classroom can be transformed into reading room and the playground cannot be occupied as well to make sure the children have enough space for outdoor activities. So the school planned to use the corner of the fencing wall adjacent to the teaching building as the site for the new reading room.
Floor Plan
When we visited the site and saw the beautiful big cedar, we decided that the reading room shouldn’t crouch in the corner. Instead, it should be treated as a cottage underneath the tree umbrella.
The final design uses a fanlike shape to form a space surrounding the cedar. In front of the reading room, we set a exterior wood terrace of 8m in diameter. Together with the big tree umbrella, this terrace become a comfortable semi-exterior space where children could leisurely sit and enjoy their reading, or watch the games on the play ground of their classmates. The shape of the reading room doesn’t occupy the corner of the teaching building ,so that the window of the office is not blocked and the small parterre is reserved. We also put doors on the backside of the reading room from which children can go to the small parterre. This design makes the reading room not just a functional room, but also an interesting connection between indoor and outdoor activities that reconstructs the entire space of the campus.
We make the reading room slightly lower than normal height. The height of the inner side of the slopping roof is only 1.8m and relatively tight for adults. We hope to make the children feel that this is special for them through this detail.
We exposed the structural grid in interior to use as bookshelves.
Because the site locates in mountain area, wood structure is selected to make the transportation and construction easier. To ensure the thermal performance, we didn’t use too much glass openings, but introduce skylight to make the interior brighter, and solar system for lighting. The uses of these facilities is also an introduction of sustainable technologies to the children besides functional consideration.
During the construction process, we already heard from the school that the children were very curious about the new reading room and often came to see the construction site. Now the reading room is open and becomes a beloved place of the children. On the blackboard beside the reading room, we found that the children call it big sailboat that is their imagination of it. We hope that the wood cottage under the huge tree umbrella could become a beautiful memory of their childhood.
Sig Nordal 