New-York-based Big Foot Developers have unveiled the designs for The Floating Restaurant, a glass cube restaurant that will hang between two smokestacks at the historic Glenwood power plant over the Hudson River in the Yonkers neighborhood of New York City.
With forest on the riverbank, the water below, and green space inside the restaurant, the project aims to blend architecture and nature while having a minimal impact on the view of the site.
The floors walls, and ceiling of the construction will be made of glass, and the entirety of the restaurant will be suspended by tension steel cables.
The world’s tallest timber tower has topped out this week, standing 53 meters high in the Vancouver skyline. The 18 story building, designed by Acton Ostry Architects, began construction in November 2015 and has since opened the floodgates for a new wave of mass timber towers. The building, which has been erected at record speed, will house 404 students as the Brock Commons Student Residence at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Offsite-production and the careful coordination of trades saw it rise at a rate of two floors per week, with the official completion set for mid-2017.
The building utilizes a hybridized construction model, with concrete cores and prefabricated steel elements assisting the mass timber frame. Lateral and vertical stability is gained from the combination of these material elements. In order to meet the new seismic design requirements for the 2015 National Building Code of Canada, steel connectors are fitted to the glulam columns to provide direct load transfer between the columns and a grid of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels.
Courtesy of Talk Shop Media
Crucially, the glulam columns and the CLT panels were prepared offsite, allowing them to be installed immediately as they arrived at UBC. Structurlam provided the mass timber package, and their engagement in the early stages of manufacture design allowed the process of lamination to be optimized. In their press release, the project team said that the assembly of the building was “like Lego”; the individual elements were all so carefully planned, they fit together perfectly.
Courtesy of Talk Shop Media
CNC machinery and heavily refined 3D information allowed a level of precision that was integral to this perfect assembly. The careful preparation taken in the pre-production stages ensured that the building stuck to its ambitious timeline – one floor every three days – with virtually zero wastage.
The four trades working on the erection of the tower had to work together perfectly in tandem, with no team jumping ahead of another. The 8 week completion time for the mass timber structure will go down as a significant milestone in construction, setting the standard for the completion of other wooden buildings.
Courtesy of Talk Shop Media
The rise of timber towers was inevitable, as the benefits of wood as a construction material are plentiful. Aside from being a sustainable building material that stores, rather than emits, carbon dioxide, the lower amount of energy that is consumed during fabrication also lowers its carbon footprint. The construction methodologies are now catching up with its potential, meaning that we should be seeing mass timber construction becoming more and more common over the next few years.
For more information and some early construction images, check out our feature from earlier this year.
The redevelopment of a former train transfer station to a cultural site in the center of Roeselare, Belgium. Important characteristics from the surroundings and the impressive existing structure on an elevated square were the key starting points. By opening up the former warehouse on all sides and removing some small buildings we see the large plinth as one elevated urban square, the starting point of a large new and green strip in the larger masterplan for the uninhabited area’s next to the railway. Underneath the large canopy, 4 new volumes are carefully placed, searching for a balance between build and unbuilt space; between defined and non-defined area’s.
The conservation of the former warehouse is crucial to make a transition and new identity for this space. There are 4 buildings planned under the canopy with a variety of functions; repetition rooms, party hall, artist studio’s, depot, etc. The most public functions are placed more at the front of the plinth. The open character of the structure also allows for lots of outdoor activities; organised or not.
‘House as a rock’ is a modern dream villa, developed as a private commissioning project in the dunes of the Westlandse Zoom in the South of Holland at the beach. The residents asked for much space, light and a minimalist, modern design. The urban building requirement was for a gable-roofed house and a gutter of maximally 6 metres high.
Instead of a traditional gable roof, we have merged the house and the roof to create a sculptural form that emerges from the dunes like a rock. Each side of the house has its own character: at the eastern side, the roof was extended until 1 metre above surface level, whereas at the southwest, the incised roof reaches up to 6 metres. A cut-out creates a pleasant exterior space and a singular appearance. The southern facade is the most open. The residents wanted to maintain as close a relationship with the water and the beautiful view as possible. The large windows and two sunrooms highlight the transition from inside to outside and render the feeling of living outdoors: regardless of the season.
Floor Plan
The serrated dunes that will embrace the house, will bring a sense of privacy at both the northern, eastern and western sides and nestle the villa in nature.
The access area of this site is a welcoming space as the existing buildings and stone walls convert it in a confined a shady location. As you course along westward, the slope to reach the highest part of the garden is considerable. At this point, stripped of limits, the distant mountains are the only horizon.
The task consisted in converting the agricultural use buildings in a weekend home for a four generation family. Thus, the usual program of a single-family house: living room, dining room, kitchen and five bedrooms, is organized so that each space can be used with a degree of intimacy and independence. To this program was also requested the addition of a library.
The main areas of the house occupy the old corrals – four stony and dark volumes, with very occasional openings, adjacent amongst but with no communication between them, located at different levels and following the slope of the land with North orientation.
Floor Plan
Diagram
The project proposes two fundamental operations: first a new longitudinal axis that cuts across the various existing buildings, like a corridor carved in stone that unites the various spaces. Secondly, two new patios enable natural light to reach the innermost parts of the house.
The work is completed with an exterior dining area and a swimming pool located near the existing barn floor at the upper part of the land, taking advantage of the best views and most advantageous sun exposure.
Throughout the work process the idea of contrast and surprise was always present. An exterior that mimics the stony and massive surroundings is very distinct from the sober and very illuminated interior that offers a delicate unexpected encounter in contrast with the rough brutality of the circumambient.
The project is located at one of the busiest street in shahrak-e-gharb, Tehran. Its total area is 1500 sqm. The office complex comprises five levels of open office floors and one double height retail store at street level.
The main aim of design was to create an iconic façade to be in contrast with its surrounding buildings. The building façade is designed as a double skin façade. The first layer is a double glazed curtail wall. The building south and east facades are treated with series of white color horizontal aluminum louver that is being used as sunscreens which protects the internal glass façade from solar gain.
The distance between aluminum louver profile with 5×5 cm and 10×10 cm sections are designed according to human eye level in siting and standing positions in order to provide the suitable view and pleasant light and shadow.
Section
There is about 70 cm space between the two skins that connect to each other with galvanized catwalk. There is an opening in façade louver at each floor level for both letting the windows to open for natural ventilation and for making the building façade more dynamic. In front of each opening there is a flower box with automatic irrigation which brings natural greens into the building façade. The double height retail store which is located at street level is not covered by louver skin façade to create sense of lightness and make it suitable for having wide retail windows.
From the architect. The house, conceived for an art collector, is designed as a “machine a regarder” color and light, a place for meditation. In a square plot of 30mX30m, the house is a roughly a square of 20mX20m that occupies the center. To compensate for the lack of garden depth, the plan is designed like a jigsaw puzzle piece with carved in courtyards, terrace gardens and swimming pool. The outdoor comes inside the house, bringing light to its heart. The central self supported spiral staircase is lit for a top skylight in a transcendental light.
The plan is designed as a pinwheel figure. The garden level is composed of 4 rooms looking at the different orientations. The boundary wall, clad in laterite stone, collects the garden sculptures in its back drop screen, as well as an enclosed tropical garden in the center of the city. The plan also defines the garden use from entrance side, outdoor dining, evening garden, and pool side garden, each with a different character.
Ground Floor Plan
The first floor is focusing on 4 screen walls that reveal the light and time of the day. Each solar orientation is enhanced with a specific color: Yellow for morning light on the East, Red for mid day light on the South, Orange for evening light on the West and Green for indirect light on the North. The coloured ceramic tiles on the facades reflect the sunlight on the inner face of the suspended screen wall, according to the time of the day, the 9 m wide walls get irradiated with bright color in succession as an homage to Mark Rothko and James Turell.
The outer projected grey plaster gives an elephant skin protection to the white inner sanctum of the house. The project is based on 5 colors/ materials: Ochre Red of the laterite boundary screen complemented by green of the tropical garden, Grey of the outer facade, White walls and ceiling, Black mosaic floor and staircase parapet
The two new extensions at the Asian Civilizations Museum are a culmination of ideas centred around progressive museum aspirations, stringent heritage requirements and physically challenging sites. The rejuvenation of the museum building is defined by the clarity of architectural expression, and the manipulation of daylight to sculpt building form and illuminate gallery spaces.
Courtesy of GreenhilLi Pte Ltd
This is the first time that purpose-built museum spaces have been commissioned for the museum, befitting aspirations for open unobstructed gallery space, seamless spatial flow integrating old and new, and daylighting. The titanium-clad forms take on different character throughout the day as the surfaces reflect the changing daylit ambience of its surroundings.
Section
The architecture of the heritage building dates back to 1867, with the most recent addition in 2003. Over 140 years, several extensions and modifications were carried out, all of which were in the original style of the building. The architecture of the new 2015 extensions is unapologetically contemporary and forms interesting counterpoints to the existing building. In the process, much respect had been accorded to the national monument; no part of the heritage building has been demolished. Rather, where past unsympathetic insertions have removed heritage façade features, these have been restored and revealed for the first time in years. Daylight is employed as a device to delineate and distinguish new from old, facilitate a sympathetic contiguity and create a symbiotic dialogue between the two.
Courtesy of GreenhilLi Pte Ltd
The new extensions are realised through surmounting many technical challenges. The extensions are sited within existing courtyards adjacent to the heritage building, and above basements that accommodate public spaces and service plant. Light steel structures with long spans were proposed to minimise impact on the existing building and infrastructure. Re-routing of building services and infrastructure throughout the new works are carefully concealed or disguised.
Courtesy of GreenhilLi Pte Ltd
The riverfront extension which fronts the Singapore River promenade is a welcoming open doorway to the museum. The main feature is a grand titanium entrance portal which draws visitors into the expansive daylight-filled space. The roof appears to effortlessly float above the 26m wide column-free space. The new gallery which is home to the Tang Shipwreck collection is awash with daylight filtering through numerous circular skylights. Through the same, the roof terrace above which has enviable riverfront views comes alive at night, illuminated by pools of light from the gallery below.
Courtesy of GreenhilLi Pte Ltd
The Kwek Hong Png Wing extension consists of three separate purpose-built galleries over three levels designed to offer different exhibition environments. The architecture takes on the form of a metallic titanium cuboid ‘weightlessly’ elevated one level above the ground. The courtyard with surrounding heritage façades is the backdrop within which the three-storey daylight-filled glass atrium forms part of the 1st storey gallery space. Lightweight bridges provide seamless connectivity between the existing and new galleries.
Courtesy of GreenhilLi Pte Ltd
The architecture of the new extensions does not mimic the past, rather it honestly represents architecture of the 21st century while successfully complementing and integrating with the existing building. It serves to rejuvenate the historical building and underscore it’s viability and relevance for the future.
Location: United States, Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Area: 28000.0 ft2
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Courtesy of Lehrer Architects
Contractor: Turelk
Courtesy of Lehrer Architects
From the architect. The design challenge for this healthcare office was updating an aging, dank, disconnected 1960s facility, re-energizing a business’ culture and espirit d’corps.
Courtesy of Lehrer Architects
A dark, disconnected interior is transformed into a vibrant, naturally lit work environment that honors the bones of an existing mid-century building, anchoring it in the city by revealing views to Downtown Los Angeles to the east and Hollywood Hills to the west.
Courtesy of Lehrer Architects
Floor Plan
Courtesy of Lehrer Architects
The solution was to leverage the architecture’s excellent 1960s Modernist bones and proportions, revealing its inherent openness for the first time in its existence. The top floor is connected to the adjacent parking, the street below, the City beyond and the sky above. Removed spandrels reveal the openness of the original storefront walls, bringing in light and view. Color and light defines and delineates spaces in an open working environment.
Courtesy of Lehrer Architects
A new connective architectural zone garbed in yellow celebrates arrival and movement through the heart of the facility. From the westerly side a new two-story, street-facing stairwell and its perforated metal stair connect the top floor to this important city street and program below. The stair frames the westerly views of the City and Hollywood Hills and filters afternoon light. At the easterly side a new social deck frames robust views to the adjacent neighborhood and downtown LA skyline beyond. New skylights and glass walls pour massive natural light onto many white surfaces minimizing need for artificial lighting. Acoustical “confetti” baffles dance throughout the open office ceiling and provide visual continuity and noise attenuation.
Diagram
Sustainability objectives are achieved with new skylights which transform previously artificially lit, dreary spaces into an energetic light-filled work environment. Diffused skylights provide an even spread of natural light to all corners of the open office reducing dependency on overhead lighting during the day. Predominant use of white surfaces on the floor, tabletops, and newly exposed ceilings maximize the bounce and spread of light that enters the space. Large new openings are created on both sides of the building to allow ample natural light into the lobby and allow views to Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood Hills. From the westerly side old spandrel panels are replaced with low-e glazing at the new double-height entry stair and lobby. At the easterly side an old CMU infill wall is replaced by a new storefront with low-e glazing looking onto the new deck at the office parking.
Burning Man 2016 is underway in the temporary city of Black Rock City, Nevada – meaning for one week, thousands of festival goers will romp through the desert taking pictures of the hundreds of art and architectural installations constructed for the event. This year’s theme is “DaVinci’s Workshop,” inspiring sculptures based off the artist’s famous inventions and artworks, including a large-scale interpretation of the Vitruvian Man on a circular frame.
Read on to see some of the best structures and installations found at Burning Man 2016.
Sig Nordal 