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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Conceived as a camp, this luxury family retreat was designed by Fearon Hay Architects as an arrangement of freestanding structures around a courtyard, set in a saddle above Matiatia Bay on Waiheke Island in New Zealand. Care had to be taken to reduce exposure of the home to high winds; natural undulations of the saddle have been subtly emphasized to form a protective setting for three structures, comprising living, sleeping and studio areas. Retractable glass panels and perforated aluminium screens offer variations of enclosure to the living and sleeping spaces. The raw and robust materials are countered by the placement of fires, the invitation of leather cushioning around a sunken sitting area and the use of linen fabrics and oiled natural timber throughout the spaces.
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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The Libeskind Villa is a 2 floor (with full basement), 4 bedroom, 5,000-square-foot signature series home that can be constructed anywhere in the world. The Villa creates a new dialogue between contemporary living and a completely new experience of space.
Built from premium wood and zinc, this German-made, sculptural living space meets the highest standards of design, craftsmanship and sustainability. In addition to the design standards, it meets compliance with some of the toughest energy-saving standards worldwide.
A trio of interlocking architectural bands envelops the Villa in striking angles, creating a dramatic, asymmetrical interior of spiraling, two-story peaks and smooth transitions to secluded terraces. Design details reveal style and functionality: A balcony adjacent to the master bedroom is adorned with elaborate metalwork; light wells direct daylight into a sauna; and recessed wardrobes streamline dressing spaces. In addition to large floor-to-ceiling windows, the aluminum façade, adorned with mullions and concealed fittings, offers maximum thermal insulation, noise reduction and weather resistance...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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It’s hard for homes to be green. Despite long-term energy savings, it’s even harder for low-income homes to afford upfront costs of some sustainable materials. But ecological design doesn’t have to mean more “green” from your wallet. In fact, using recycled and sustainable material, as one local project has shown, can be both economically viable and environmentally friendly. The San Antonio Alternative Housing Corporation (SAAHC) is a nonprofit organization that provides housing and support services for low and moderate income communities in the central Texas area. When they construct new housing units, they want to minimize up-front construction costs as well as long-term operational expenses. They were open to exploring alternate construction techniques, but wanted an opportunity to test the viability of these options. As it happened, Taeg Nishimoto, Associate Dean of the UTSA College of Architecture, had been working for several years to develop a program that would give architecture students experience throughout the entire process of realizing a project from conception through construction...
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Lauren Moss
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Suburban housing development in Essex by Alison Brooks Architects that reinterprets the local rural architecture of wood and sloping roofs..
London firm Alison Brooks Architects used dark-stained timber and sloping rooftops for this suburban housing development. Describing the goals of the development, Alison Brooks says she wanted to create "a completely new and more sustainable suburban housing typology where open-plan flexible houses are integrated with outdoor spaces to increase the sense of space and light".
The architect also emphasised the importance of creating "dedicated working spaces" in each house, adapting to the growing number of people who work from home and "helping to create an economically active suburb". In line with this, each house comes with an accessible loft that can be converted into an office and the larger houses also include a ground-floor study that doubles up as a spare bedroom...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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The New Norris House continues a tradition of simple, affordable design but with less impact on local resources. While it serves as a test case for innovative building systems and techniques, instead of promoting the use of resources, the 1,006-square-foot prefab cottage is focused on conservation and self-reliance. Certified to and exceeding LEED-Platinum standards by 30 percent, the project works with natural resources such as sunlight and rainwater to reduce its environmental footprint. It uses no fossil fuels, thanks to the TVA’s hydropower dams, and uses 50% less energy than similar-sized homes in the area...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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The traditional fully-glazed façade so common in towers throughout the Middle East has been reinterpreted by students at the University of Nottingham who were tasked with designing a skyscraper for Abu Dhabi.
The proposal, by Alexandre Carrasco and Omelmominin Wadidy of the Masters in Sustainable Tall Buildings Course at the Department of Architecture and Built Environment instead combines a mixture of thin transparent and opaque elements aimed at emphasising the building’s elegance and vertical nature while improving environmental performance.
The overall design is inspired by sikkas, the narrow alleys between buildings in old Middle East cities. It aims to create comfortable spaces which are shaded from the harsh desert sun and wind while providing suitable areas for circulation, leisure, social and communal activities.
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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The PNC Financial Services Group hopes to exceed LEED Platinum requirements while promoting a healthy workplace with a recent development – the Tower at PNC Plaza. Located in downtown Pittsburgh, the building will be 800,00 sq.ft (74,322 sq.mt) with a construction budget of approximately US $240 million.
The "breathing" design created by architecture firm Gensler moves away from the traditional closed air-conditioned environment and has the lofty aim of becoming the greenest skyscraper in the world.
Employees in the 33 floor glass tower will access daylight and fresh air. The PNC Tower design recognizes that the Pittsburgh climate can provide increased levels of natural light onto the floorspace along with improved regulation of temperatures for much of the year without using traditional, energy-intensive HVAC systems. The Tower hopes to achieve this with a double-skin facade of two panes of glass separated by an enclosed cavity, allowing external air inside. The facade features operable doors and windows that admit fresh air into the building during optimal conditions, while a solar chimney is another passive system- it pulls air in through the open windows, the air then travels across the floors, is heated and exhaled through the roof shaft.
The Tower will consume less than 50 percent of the energy a typical office building uses and will save PNC at least 30 percent on its energy costs...
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Lauren Moss
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Abu Dhabi’s new inspiring architectural design might lead to even further research into the world of transforming interior and exterior environments with ingenious creativity. Al Bahar Towers housing the Abu Dhabi Investment Council Headquarters are now part of Aedas Architects' portfolio, rising tall to shape a new era in modern office building design. Inspired by a traditional Islamic lattice shading device named “mashrabiya”, the interesting geometric shapes enveloping the towers offer a powerful visual impact while intelligently protecting the interiors from excessive heat gain. Each of the 25-story high twin office towers in the United Arab Emirates will accommodate approximately 1,000 employees, who will be working in an inspiring, environmentally appropriate atmosphere...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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This design seeks to accommodate privacy while allowing for comfortable living in the dense downtown area of central Tokyo. The rooms that need maximum privacy, such the bedrooms and bathroom, are located on the first and second floors. The living room and kitchen are on the third floor, with the study area above in a loft. The rooms are situated to maximize sunlight, and high ceilings at the upper floor allow for ample natural sun light from the windows on the south side of the structure.
The handrail design at the deck and translucent windows enable maximum privacy, and teel frame system allows for large spaces, while maintaining the budget and keeping project costs down...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Chicago-based architect, Jeanne Gang, just unveiled the latest project planned to border New York City’s beloved High Line. The 180,000 square-foot office tower with ground level retail will replace an existing, disused meatpacking plant along 10th Avenue between 13th and 14th streets. It will feature a glass facade that is intelligently shaped to avoid the disruption of light, air and views from the High Line. The gem-like façade displays the exciting architectural potential of expanded notions of solar-driven zoning—and a skyscraper that enhances the public life of the city in ways that a stand-alone icon cannot. Dubbed the Solar Carve Tower, the mid-rise structure is currently pending city approval and is planned for completion in 2015.
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Kilmore House is a striking home composed as a series of pavilions. Designed by Intermode, the prefab arm of Carr Design, the home is a prototype of the firm's modular, modern home concept. The design makes use of efficient prefab construction, solar passive design and rainwater collection while creating a strong connection with the landscape.
Located on a 500-acre cattle ranch in Kilmore to the north of Melbourne, the home features floor-to-ceiling glazing that opens to the views and sunlight, while deep overhangs protect the interior from overheating. The home was prefabricated offsite and then assembled and completed in a relatively short time. Passive solar design is combined with renewable timber resources, extensive water storage, high performance walls, roof and glazing systems to create an efficient home. While definitely on the higher end of the prefab market, Intermode’s goal is to build modular home solutions that offer clients elegant, top end design principles at a predictable cost and within a predictable time frame...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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This house on the west coast of Sweden is a family retreat and is a contemporary interpretation of the vernacular Swedish farmhouse, while living in close contact with nature.
The house is clad with untreated wood on the outside that will turn grey over time. The inside of the house is more delicate. The large living room / kitchen can be opened up with large sliding glazed doors so the inside becomes part of the outside. It's considered a "'super-normal" house that is both modern and traditional at the same time.
Visit the link for more photos of this beautiful and contextual project...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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In urban areas across the country, young professionals are clamoring for close-in, transit-oriented apartments that are as high-performance as they are luxurious. In fact, nearly one-fifth of them will pay more for a green residence, according to a recent survey, and developers are responding with posh rental communities that encompass energy efficiency, healthy indoor air, and a walkable lifestyle. Visit the link for six recently completed projects that provide sustainable, stylish multifamily living...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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While action toward building ‘greener’ more sustainable structures is gaining momentum in Europe and America, an office tower from down-under is putting Australia on the green buildings map.
A 30 story high-rise office tower in Sydney, Australia’s central business district, 1 Bligh Street a treasure trove of sustainable innovation and design.Designed by Architectus and Ingenhoven Architects, this environmentally responsible office tower is set to create a benchmark in Australia for sustainable high-rise buildings and provide an enduring presence on the city skyline. “The dramatic, naturally-ventilated central atrium connects the office workers with nature at the inner depths of the plan, giving a sense of openness for the entire building. The series of communal spaces throughout the building, and especially the fantastic rooftop garden, add greatly to the quality of life for the tenants.”
Read further and view more images at the article link...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Light Park is a skyscraper that hovers over the streets of Beijing like a giant airship. Architects Ting Xu and Yiming Chen have conceived the future of high-rises to be a conglomerate of mega-structures that make up for the shortage of urban open spaces on the ground by lifting them up in the air.
The Light Park skyscraper is lifted off the ground with a helium-filled balloon, and it uses solar energy for propulsion, enabling it to function as a non-polluting transportation deck as well as a floating urban park. The technology is based on existing helium balloon designs, using solar-powered propellers, airbags and atmospheric pressure for takeoff and cruise flight. Solar power is utilized to power the uses below, with translucent solar panels located on the top of the aircraft. In order to avoid additional weight and decrease wind resistance, the skyscraper uses a cable-suspended structure to attach the slabs to the mushroom-like cap. The planting slabs are irrigated with rainwater collected on the large cap surface and are distributed in a way which allows maximum exposure to sunlight on each level...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Makoko is a water-logged settlement in Lagos, home to about 250,000 people living mostly in makeshift structures on stilts.
Instead of stilts, Kunlé Adeyemi, a Nigerian-born architect who now lives in Holland, sees floating structures with better access to power and fresh water and more sustainable means of waste disposal. His first project--what he calls a "seed to cultivate a new type of urbanism on water in African cities"--is a floating school. The three-story structure is 108 square feet at its base, and 33 feet high. It sits on a flotation deck made of 256 used plastic drums. And the body is all wood, which is sourced locally. The building is designed for about 100 students (aged 4 to 12), and has its own power system based around solar panels on the roof...
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Lauren Moss
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This translucent cabin by architects Kengo Kuma and Associates is an experimental house in Hokkaidō, Japan, designed to test the limits of architecture in cold climates.
Inspiration came from the traditional architecture of the indigenous Ainu, whose "Chise" style buildings clad with sedge or bamboo grass hold in the warmth of a central fireplace that is never allowed to burn out. "The fundamental idea of Chise, 'house of the earth,' is to keep warming up the ground this way and retrieve the radiation heat generated from it," say the architects. The Experimental House was constructed around a coated larch frame and it has a thick layer of polyester insulation sandwiched between the polycarbonate cladding of the exterior and the glass-fibre fabric of the interior. This insulation was made using recycled plastic bottles and it allows light to pass into the house through the walls. As the first experimental house completed for the Meme Meadows research facility, the building will be used by the environmental technology institute to test how different factors affect the thermal qualities of its construction.
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Lauren Moss
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Using local materials, this impressive bamboo structure features a microcosm of imaginative spaces designed for a range of playful activities.
This incredible bamboo structure, by Dutch firm 24H-architecture, is part of the Soneva Kiri eco-resort on the island of Koh Kood, Thailand. Designed as a children's activity and learning center, the fantastic interiors are bound to impress even the most stoic grown-up. Evoking the fluid shape of a manta ray, the center is located on a rocky slope overlooking the bay, with a large canopy of bamboo shingles sheltering the open interior of "mini-structures". The structure uses locally-sourced bamboo stalks of all sizes, ranging from the large main columns that are anchored into concrete footings to the other structural members that are grouped together using nuts and bolts and natural fiber lashings.
From the architects: The design adopts all bioclimatic aspects to suits its humid tropical environment. The roof cantilevers up to 8 metres, acting like a big umbrella providing shade and protection from the heavy rains. The open design with the translucent elevated rooftop and setback floors allow a natural airflow inside and the use of natural daylight, limiting the building’s energy consumption.
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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This house, designed for a thirty-year-old couple and their mother, is a typical tube house constructed on the plot 4m wide and 20m deep. The front and back façades are entirely composed of layers of concrete planters cantilevered from two side walls.
The height of the planters are adjusted according to the height of the plants, which varies from 25 cm to 40 cm. To water plants and for easy maintenance, automatic irrigation pipes inside the planters are used. Named “Stacking Green”, this tropical and unique house has façades filled with vital greenery.
The structure is a frame widely used in Vietnam. There are few partition walls in order to keep the view of green façades from every point of the house. During the day, the light varies- in the morning and afternoon, sunlight enters through on both façades, creating beautiful shadow effects on the stone walls.
The green façade and roof top garden offer protection from direct sunlight, street noise and pollution. Natural ventilation also allows the house to save a energy in the harsh climate of Saigon. With an ecological approach, the design references the bioclimatic principles of a traditional Vietnamese courtyard house...
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Located in the middle of the sea, opened to the impressive view of Ría de Ares, the first challenge that assumes the projected building is the landscape.
To respond to this challenge, a formal repertoire is used, based on pure volumes that are integrated in the geometry of the dock and representative of typical forms of naval architecture. The location required a high standard in terms of structural strength due to the thrust produced by the wind. Similarly, the high salinity of the environment, led to a study in detail of all building systems to prevent premature degradation of materials..
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Located in downtown Phoenix, the 70,000 sf Observation Tower shall add a significant structure to the Phoenix skyline from which to enjoy the city’s spectacular views of the surrounding mountain ranges and dramatic sunsets. Phoenix-based developer Novawest, commissioned the team to create a destination event to provide tourists and citizens of Phoenix alike the chance to enjoy the unique features of the Valley of the Sun.
The future observation tower is conceived as a tall core of reinforced concrete with an open-air spiral sphere at its top, resembling a metaphorical pin firmly marking a location on a map.
Walking downwards from the top through a continuous spiral promenade, the visitors of the observation tower experience all of the building’s programs in a constant motion, while enjoying dynamic 360 degree views of the city of Phoenix and the Arizonian landscape.
The base of the tower will serve as a public plaza offering shade, water features and a small amount of retail together with a subterranean queuing area. The tower will serve as a working model of sustainable energy practices, incorporating a blend of solar and other technologies.
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Scooped by
Lauren Moss
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Lendager Architects announced their first prize win in the competition to build the first DGNB-certified housing project in Denmark in Næstved.
DGNB is a new green building certification system expected to become the scale for sustainability in Europe. DGNB-Certification focuses on three equally weighted parameters: Environmental-, Social- and economical sustainability, for a holistic evaluation of built projects.
In total, the project will have 24 single family homes, built around a shared courtyard to encourage community and shared resources. Passive solar design with optimized window and shade placement allows for passive cooling and heating. Energy efficient design, including a tight thermal envelope with energy saving systems reduces power consumption, while rooftop photovoltaics produce electricity. Green roofs protect the home and provide further insulation. A close connection with nature and gardens encourages residents to live off the land.
As Lendager Architects told us about the project, “We wanted to answer the questions of how we can build without affecting the environment, how we can build without using new materials, how we can build houses that produce more energy than they use, and how sharing becomes a natural part of the daily life.”
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Lauren Moss
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The new Museum of Modern Art needed to address the role and function of art in Oslo's city center, as a place for the interpretation of both the historical and contemporary reality. The museum uses twisted geometry standing on a massive footing to introduce series of event spaces, from landscape to interior exhibition to roofscape. Facing the water front the massing rises and pedestrians are invited into the area through multiple accesses on the landscape, leading to the radial center of the museum lobby. The volume creates a protected plaza, or canopy for temporary outside exhibitions.
Sustainability: The technology came in the form of self-compacting concrete in which chemical additives are introduced into the concrete mix, significantly increasing its workability without any resultant loss in strength. The project is conceived like a bridge. Sustainable design integrates environmental, economic, and social issues of sustainability together with users’ goals and needs. The NMAAD Museum employs sustainable design to reduce energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, encourage water conservation, and provide high indoor environmental quality.
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Lauren Moss
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JAJA shared their latest proposal, which was awarded third prize, for a new public library in Daegu, South Korea.
Pushing the boundary of the notion that a library must be a contained, quiet and nearly isolated space, JAJA’s proposal treats the library as massive public zone for the fostering of communal creativity, and dissolves the separation between inside and nature. JAJA, typically noted for their form making abilities, have opted for a minimialistic formal language of the architecture, so that the streamlined library can capture the textures of the existing trees and the books within to create a cohesive experience that celebrates both.
“We propose to merge the spatial qualities of the trees and the potential of the library into one cohesive identity. The library will merge the exterior and interior through a series of spatial transitions within an inclusive environment for the local community,” explained the architects.
View additional images and read more about this design that integrates building and nature, on both an aesthetic and functional level, creating a unique experience with light, form and space...
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Lauren Moss
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The owners of this stunning Brazilian abode had as their top design priority the incorporation of a covered outdoor living area. StudioMK27 architects served their request up in spades, designing the house with a large L-shaped space encompassing the living room, tv room and and an extension of the kitchen, all opening out onto the garden and pool. Sliding doors are cleverly concealed in the walls, giving a sense of complete immersion into the tropical gardens and pool area and enabling the owners to enjoy the fantastic São Paulo climate...
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