Collection of Most Beautiful and Best Luxury Hotels in the World
Aquatic Center Design in Copenhagen, Denmark
About Kengo Kuma
Kengo Kuma creates aquatic center design in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Project foresees construction with pyramids and pools with infinity edge.
Combining the fluidity of water with the rigidity of a building is not a simple task, but it was the mission very well accomplished by Kengo Kuma & Associates, an office known for blending architecture and nature - and whose expertise has just beaten the competition for construction of the Water Front Cultural Center, a center dedicated to sports and water, which should soon figure in the Danish landscape.
Concurring with other big names in architecture, such as BIG, 3XN Architects, AART Archtitects + Cube Arkitekter and ALA Architects + Studio Octopi, the aquatic center design project provides for the construction of pyramids that connect land and water, is on the seashore in Copenhagen and seeks to celebrate the water through its different forms: vapor, flow and reflection of light.
With conical shapes that project both outside and inside, and have skylights at the top, the design predicts that the center not only has many pools, but that the internal tanks accompany the scale of the corresponding pyramid, while the outdoor pool, connect the buildings.
The shapes of the pyramid were a strategic choice of Kengo Kuma and Associates, who wanted to work from the project of Christianholm Island, where the center will remain, without completely imitating it. One of the differences, for example, is that the Water Front Culture House will have several facades and can be accessed in several directions.
Another solution that calls attention was the use of the location of the aquatic center. The Japanese office takes advantage of the corner of the land and provides for the construction of pools with infinity edges that intensify the frank conversation with the environment.
Hanging Gardens Residential Complex on Hillside in Izmir, Turkey
| Plans |
| About M+D Architecture |
Project Asma Bahçeler (Hanging Gardens)
Architects M+D Mimarlık (M+D Architecture)
Location Izmir, Turkey
Area 14800 m2
Year 2017
Photos ZM Yasa Photography
The gardens are terraces, the terraces are garden ...
Hanging Gardens are designed with an understanding that preserves the natural structure of the land it is located in. Utilizing the steep incline of the land, terraces were formed and by placing them on each other, houses with independent gardens were created. While the houses were designed to be able to view the garden, the sea, the forest or the valley from every corner, living spaces were built in nature.
Hanging Gardens residential complex on hillside was designed with an understanding of the natural landscape and the green landscape. The steep slope in the area created houses with separate gardens, with the housing units being built on terraces and placed on top of each other. It was intended to establish neighborhood relations with the houses on the street with the view of the gulf, extending along the folds of the land topography. In addition, every living area within the residence was associated with the garden and the landscape. Inside the house every space with the outside environment ... 8 terraces forming a total of 98 houses in the building blocks Hanging Gardens'de each house has a garden ranging from 400 m2 to 60 m2.
Hanging Gardens is a mass housing project consisting in which the major design objective is to provide users with the comfort of a private residence within a collective living environment.
The buildings are positioned on a steep site with reference to the topography lines of the slope, thus minimizing interventions into the natural topography while creating residences with large gardens that merge with existing greenery.
Aiming to establish an intimate neighborhood relationship, the residential units are lined up along a wide pedestrian walkway with a view of the bay, which extends along the curves of the topography.
Each living space within the house is connected with the garden and vista. All interiors are integrated with exterior space.
- 120 indoor, 150 outdoor parking
- 24 hour video and physical security
- Smart home system
- Automatic blinds
- Multi split air conditioners
- "4 Seasons" glass that does not pass hot and cold
- Natural gas floor heating
- Panoramic horizontal lift
- Inside elevators
- Fitness room
- tennis court
- basketball court
- Chlorine-free semi-olympic outdoor pool with salt water
- Sauna
- Natural walking and biking trails
- Children's pool and children's play areas
- Artesian, hydrofoil and generator
- Shelter
- Event and leisure halls
MSG Sphere - Media Facade Event Center Concept in London
About Populous Architecture
Project signed by the Populous office must receive from sporting events to great music shows.
The first images of "MSG Sphere" have just been released. Designed by the Populous office the stadium will be located next to the Olympic Park in East London, and should range from big shows to sporting events.
With a seating capacity of up to 18,000, the media facade event center is much like a gym that is being built by the same Las Vegas office - but it's not less impressive, though.
The outside will be covered with screens capable of projecting the most diverse images, besides promoting artists and brands. The internal area must have a screen that MSG describes as "the highest media display resolution on Earth". The technology would be able to transport the audience to the most diverse universes, such as the seabed.
Located in Stratford, next to the Westfield Shopping Center, London's new media facade event center is part of the post-Olympic 2012 revitalization plan and will have star neighbors such as the new Victoria & Albert Museum (V & A) and University College London (UCL).
Cozy Luxury Apartment Design by Carla Felippi uses Architecture of Happiness
About Carla Felippi
Cozy luxury apartment design uses architecture of happiness to win cozy environments. Spaces multiply with natural elements, lighting, functionality and comfort.
For moments of conversation and relaxation, the living room is the ideal place, marked by light colors that enhance the amplitude of the environment - the Carrara marble floor dialogues with the raw linen curtains and the gray wallpaper, both KYOWA.
The expression "architecture of happiness" has gained global reach after the philosopher Alain de Botton defined the concept in a book - Carla Felippi has since chorused Botton's explanations, and applies the concepts in her work. "It's my way of doing architecture," she says. Proof of this is this coverage in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo. The couple with two children wanted the atmosphere of a house, full of simplicity, to live at ease.
The lighting inspired by the light of the moon creates an intimate atmosphere in the external area, equipped with a comfortable swimming pool and integrated to the living room.
"I tried to multiply spaces that are nice to be, simulating how to use each one," he says. The functionality and comfort that guide the work of the professional allied with the lighting, another of its strong brands. Concerned to strengthen the connection of the apartment with nature, she bet on plants, materials such as wood and fibers and shades of blue that evoke the sea, as well as open areas where rainfall can be seen.
The staircase skirts an 11 m high pendant designed by the office, which can be seen from the three floors of the residence.
To illustrate her involvement with the project, Carla quotes Dutch designer Marcel Wanders: "I'm here to create an environment of love, to live with passion and to turn the most exciting dreams into reality."
The double bedroom in this cozy luxury apartment design has cabinets with mirrored doors and furniture designed under the TV, both SCA, plus capitonê panel used as bedside and automated curtains, both KYOWA.
"The house offers the experience of living. It gives the inhabitant sensations and replenishes them with tranquility or agitation, according to the choices of lighting, fabric or landscaping." - Carla Felippi
Beautiful Beach House Interior with Suspended Staircase
Built in Ubatuba, on the coast of São Paulo, the elegant architecture house with Anderson Muniz design combines marble and cumaru drawn at right angles.
It is one thing to have art at home, another is to make it a structural element. So it is this beautiful beach house interior with suspended staircase created by the architect Anderson Muniz in Itamambuca Beach, in Ubatuba, on the coast of São Paulo. The 1100 m² of construction already make a good impact - accompanied by sawn marble flooring, cumaru panels, double height ceilings and an internal area that extends outwards like a root looking for the sun.
Here, at the center of all this, on the ground floor, next to the living and the gourmet area, there is still a staircase like never before seen, designed by designer Hugo França. "When I invited him to draw it, he was so excited that the next day he called and told what he imagined for the place," says Anderson. And the idea was quite bold - why not a log around which the steps would be set? The assembly required a metal pin that, inserted in the center of the black angico, crosses the lining. Even though it is all tied up, it is an organic and light element in the heart of the house.
"The first step was to find a fallen tree in the region, for which we have the collaboration of Gaúcho, a partner who lives in Itamambuca and knows the local biome very well." After a month, we located in the Atlantic Forest a monumental Red Angelim, organic forms and robust structure, "explains Hugo França. "It was the biggest interior piece I ever produced and the second ladder I designed, a challenge for me, because using a very organic structure and a ladder that needs to have geometric steps in its surroundings is not an easy task."
There were still some final details of the project to be carried out, but neither did the anxiety of the couple of owners, with their children and grandchildren, who decided to open the house during the holiday season in 2017. This true center of family reunion already had everything they needed, including a ladder-shaped sculpture. Or vice versa.
Anderson designed the six suites - four upstairs and two downstairs - and the home theater pretty much the same size. "Here, I did not want to use this old story master suite, they are all the same," says the architect. In the kitchen, several members of the family of Bahian origin take turns with the pleasure of performing good dishes and savoring them around a large table and then spreading out on comfortable sofas and armchairs, almost all made to measure .
The eyes see an elegant, silent architecture, with slabs advancing on both floors, giving space a unique personality. But the house is contemporary beyond what one can see. Fully automated, its controls can be operated from a distance, from the opening of the curtains to the pool's whirlpool.
To accomplish the work, architect and owner opted for a metal structure, which accelerates the execution time and does not generate waste. There was a house on the ground, it's true, it was totally demolished. All that was left of it was donated and reused, from the rubbish (quite useful for landfills) to the wooden frame. The local laws of an area of environmental protection are strict, and finding the right land does not mean being able to buy it. Hence the option to acquire the property and "disassemble" it to erect a new dwelling.
Anderson Muniz is now working on a new stage: to make the house energy-saving from a photovoltaic panels, a plan still under development. Surfer and capoeirista, he is part of a generation for which all this is already very natural. With the Itamambuca project in progress, he eventually settled in Ubatuba with his wife and two children. Their design, as well as their lifestyle, are proof that ethics and aesthetics can indeed make a marriage happy.
200 sq m House Integrated with Nature by FCstudio, São Paulo
About FCstudio
Property of 200 m² establishes several types of relation with the environment.
This 200 sq m house integrated with nature in a low verticalization neighborhood in São Paulo was designed by a young architect to become his own home. The main challenge was to build a corner building, with two facades leaning against the neighbors, that took full advantage of the land and natural light without impeding the privacy of the resident.
According to the professionals of FCstudio, an office that signs the architectural project, including lighting, interiors and construction, the house with metallic structure establishes several types of relation with the environment.
The ground floor can open fully so that the tropical landscaping of the land integrates into the internal space, where the boundary between interior and exterior is diluted. The entire floor is free of barriers, except for the kitchen and toilet, which function as a "functional island" separating the areas.
The opposite happens on the upper floor, where the facade can be opened or fully closed by steel doors with electrostatic painting that block the direct solar incidence and preserve intimacy, acoustically isolating the intimate area and ensuring the intense natural ventilation.
Already the garden on the terrace of the property allows the observation of sunrise and sunset and enjoy the view of the surroundings from a high point in a neighborhood composed only of low houses. In addition, the green roof contributes to the maintenance of the temperature balance inside the house, and heating of water is done with solar panels.
Mediterranean Style Home with Industrial Details, Algarve, Portugal
About White & Kaki
This mediterranean style home with industrial details in Algarve, Portugal, has uncluttered environments with notes of sophistication.
In this house between the countryside and the beach in the Algarve region of Portugal, references to the Mediterranean Sea and the industrial style are found in rustic materials, works of art and pieces made with the perfume of the ocean and notes of sophistication.
A wabi-sabi accent permeates the interiors signed by the White & Kaki office of Carlos Rocha and Vítor Duarte. The duo was responsible for the total renovation of the property, which is characterized by different openings to the exterior, and took advantage of the integration between the interiors of the residence and its surroundings, where native vegetation sets the tone.
"The client wanted a relaxed home integrated with the landscape," said the decorators, who invested in materials of the region mixed with lamps and other pieces of different styles, brands, consecrated artists and emerging names. "It was necessary to preserve the sensation of freedom and of space, result obtained by taking advantage of the right foot, peeling the interior, and the visibility to the natural scenery."
The entrance is through a wooden door, designed by the studio, which leads the visitor to the generous living room where, in addition to the cement staircase with hand-worked iron railing, the high ceilings and the glass openings framed by iron that give access to the garden.
The bucolic atmosphere extends to the kitchen, where stands the rustic wooden table with feet of iron in contrast to the white of the planned cabinet. On the table hang glass lamps signed by the designers of W & K, one of the many exclusive pieces.
On the ground floor there is space for two bedrooms, a suite and a bathroom. The smaller dormitory has access to a small, Mediterranean-inspired patio, which in turn connects with the kitchen. As well as the living room, it overlooks the garden with pond and balcony.
Climbing up the cement stairs comes to the mezzanine, where are the closet and the owner's room, which includes a bathroom divided into two areas. Highlight for the environment composed by an oval bathtub next to the fireplace.
Metal Mesh Integrates Chinese Office Architecture to Nature
About AOE
Project: Chongqing Sunac One Central Mansion Sales Pavilion
Architecture: AOE
Year: 2017
Location: Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China
Upon being hired to renovate the architecture of a sales office in Beijing, China, Aoe's office invested in a project that visually integrates construction into nature and thus pays homage to the Chinese architectural tradition.
The integration was made thanks to a metal mesh that is in front of the facade of the building and works as a kind of armor that surrounds it. And that choice was not random. Unlike Western architecture, which is largely based on a constructive system supported by masonry, the Chinese seek to make buildings a continuation of external spaces. By putting a mesh facing out, the professional created a structure with curvilinear lines dictated by the curves of nature.
Biofacade Technology and Microalgae-Covered Buildings by XTU Architects
About XTU Architects
The biofacade technology provides natural insulation, absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. XTU Architects proposes algae-covered towers for Hangzhou.
Huangzhou, China, can win another daring architectural project. It is that the French studio XTU Architects developed a project of four twisted glass towers. So far so good. The building is even more curious to have the facade lined with panels with microalgae.
Called French Dream Towers, the buildings must include biofacade technology. The algae layer provides natural insulation and compensates for the building's environmental impact by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.
"The culture of microalgae on the facade of building is a process developed by XTU for several years. It allows symbiosis: the biofacade uses the thermal building to regulate the temperature of algae and at the same time these biofacades allow a much better insulation of the buildings", architects said in a statement.
Arup was a pioneer in biofacade technology five years ago, with the world's first algae building in Hamburg, Germany.
Microalgae growing in glass panels can be used to generate renewable energy. According to the publication, XTU Architects suggested that in case of its Hangzhou towers, algae could be harvested for use in medicines or cosmetics.
One of the towers should include restaurants, a panoramic bar, a hotel, a spa and a beauty salon. Another tower would be dedicated to art, with galleries, etc. Already the last tower will be for business, with offices, startups and spaces of coworking.
Renovation with Colorful Cement Tiles in Grey Décor Apartment
About Karina Korn
Design: Karina Korn
Area: 307 m²
Location: Perdizes, São Paulo, Brazil
Photos: Eduardo Pozella
Renovation with colorful cement tiles in grey décor apartment injected spirit into the kitchen with the linings and, in the living room, the pictures of living tones give charm.
A secret for the grey décor to gain joy? Bet on sober tones lit by vibrant colors at strategic points. This was done by the architect Karina Korn in this 307 m² apartment in Perdizes, São Paulo. The unique and versatile result is far from monotonous and can be easily changed over the years by changing few elements.
There lives a family with three children of different ages, who wanted, above all, that the renovation bring privacy for each one for friends visits. The unusual request came along with the proposal of not having TV in the living room, and a sober decoration in the living room and that reflects their personalities in the rooms.
Living and dining integrate and form the main area. Each opposing wall has gained a mosaic of Portuguese stones and colorful pictures, which give life to the space.
The grey kitchen, with ornare white cabinets, comes out of the ordinary. The pediment of the sink and one of the walls received Marcelo Rosenbaum colorful cement tiles.
Contemporary Home with Garden Design
Land area: 800 sqm
Construction area: 980 sqm
Area of garden and terraces: 360 sqm
Location: Bosques de las lomas, CDMX
About VGZ arquitectura y diseño
Openings make the sustainable architecture to receive the maximum of daylight in this contemporary home with garden design in Mexico City, which also captures rainwater.
The architects of the Mexican office VGZ arquitectura y diseño thought more about the openings of this house to receive the light of the sun than in the construction itself. For them, this would result in seamless integration and fluidity with nature. Each residence environment in Mexico City is designed to connect with the green.
Lots of glass cloths and sliding doors make the boundary between interior and exterior even smaller. Even on rainy days the indoor spaces receive natural light. Concrete, glass, wood and stones reinforce this connection with nature.
On the ground floor, the library is one of those spaces with access to the common garden. Surrounded by shelves and walls lined with wood panels, the space follows shades of brown so that the attention turns to the green outside.
In addition to requiring little artificial light during the day, among the sustainable solutions is rainwater harvesting.
The feeling of being free in a contemporary home is what led the architects to think of the landscaping to compose the decoration inside and outside the contemporary home with garden design. The idea is to live with freedom in the city - and this is done through access to common and private gardens, designed especially for the residence.
Description from architects.
The compositional scheme starts from an L in which the planes are phased out to create a set of inputs and transparencies that erase the inner-outer borders and link the different spaces. Surrounded by a garden or terrace on all the facades, the concrete works as a structure and finished at the same time, achieving a palette of materials that change in the same planes, concrete, glass, wood and stone.
We seek to respect the environment in every aspect, taking advantage of rainwater, treating the black water and generating electricity with the sun. We achieved a very transparent house where the walls are finished structure.
Renovation Without Work - 10 Small Ideas to Transform Your Home
If you are one of those who just hear the word "renovation" already feels chills, your nightmares are over! Professionals in the area selected small tips to transform home decor without breaking walls! Are you curious?
1 - Lamps
2 - Plants
3 - Headboards
4 - Paint
5 - Wallpaper
6 - Stickers
7 - Colored woodworking
8 - Wall plate
9 - Colorful furniture
10 - Vinyl flooring
Please check all options below.
Modern Minimalist Home with Breathtaking Views in Los Angeles, California
About SAOTA
Perched high on a hill in Bel Air, Los Angeles's premier neighborhood, this modern minimalist home with breathtaking views built in the 1970's has been completely remodeled by professionals from the SAOTA design and architecture studio, who combine the aesthetic freshness of today with the organic feature of California's modernism to form a privacy-defined dwelling and a breathtaking view.
At the request of the residents, the old house in Spanish style underwent a complete renovation that maintained only its original structure. And since the location offers a panorama that goes from downtown to Century City with the mountains to the east and the ocean to the south, architects have tried to value the beautiful light of the North American west coast by creating generous openings that invite the landscape to invade the interiors.
A balanced play between wood, concrete and glass is already on the facade, which has been redesigned, according to the architects, as a sculptural composition. From the entrance hall, an asymmetrical passageway carved into the main body of the house intentionally postpones the discovery of the skyline, framed by the high ceiling of the living room. "There is a transition between the severe forms of the entrance, anchored in the slope, that open space for a lighter structure as one moves through the interior," say the architects.
Here the Californian lifestyle translates through the lightness in spaces, which serve the varied purposes of a modern family. In the new layout, the swimming pool has gained the company of linear beds that color the surroundings of the house without hindering the view of the horizon. Meanwhile, a structure creates a natural extension of the inner spaces outward and provides protection from the sun when dining is the idea of relaxing in the open air, watching the palm fronds under the blue sky of Los Angeles.
First 3D Printed Concrete Homes Project in the World
Technology
About Houben Van Architecten
Project Milestone
The Municipality of Eindhoven, TU Eindhoven and the companies Van Wijnen, Vesteda, Saint Gobain-Weber Beamix and Witteveen + Bos are going to realize the first habitable house that will roll straight out of the printer. The house will be the first of five houses of 3D-printed concrete, which will be placed in the Eindhoven new-build neighborhood Meerhoven in the coming years. The 3D printed concrete homes of the project, called Project Milestone, are realized one after the other, while research on technology remains in development.
Project Milestone can rightly be seen as a milestone for many reasons. Not only from the point of view of the technology and the builders, but also from the design, the municipality, the future occupant and the landlord. If the first occupant gets the key at the beginning of 2019, there is a home that meets all the comfort needs. Made sustainably and energy-efficient, but also a comfortable, light and quiet house. In a fantastic natural wooded area.
Disruptive
Ultimately, the project will have five 3D printed concrete homes, with both the printing technology and the design of the house becoming more and more complex. If the ground floor first home is printed off-site, the two-story fifth home will be manufactured entirely on-site. The development of the 3D concrete printing technique will therefore be beautifully perceptible. For the collaborating partners, however, Milestone is emphatically not an experiment. They see development as a major innovation that can be disruptive for the (housing) construction sector. After all, concrete is the most used building material in the world.
The design is not just like a house, the futuristic design has also succeeded in being timeless. The design results from the typical possibilities of the new technique. The 3D printing technique gives shape freedom, where traditional concrete is very rigid in shape. This freedom of form has been used here to make a design with which the houses naturally blend into their wooded surroundings, like boulders. As if the five buildings were abandoned and have always been in this wooded oasis.
Bosrijk
The 3D printed concrete homes will be located in Bosrijk, in the Meerhoven district. Bosrijk is being developed as a 'sculpture garden', with high-quality, ambitious architectural projects placed as sculptures in a continuous landscape. This sculpture garden is not just to look at, but also to enjoy actively. The ultimate Forest Enthusiast is therefore not behind the geraniums in his home, but is an 'urban cowboy' or 'city nomad' who chooses his home as a base for a dynamic life full of work, recreation and nature experience in a particularly scenic environment.
Haddock House for Sale - Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1939
21.06.2018
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Area: 1,300 sq ft (120 sq m)
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Build Year: 1979
A new property designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright is for sale. Known as Haddock House, the house, located in Michigan, USA, was designed in 1939, but only saw the light of day 40 years later.
The 120 square meter property has two bedrooms, two bathrooms. The kitchen has been renovated but, according to the announcement, retains many original Wright touches. The design still reveals vaulted ceilings and tall windows.
According to Apartment Therapy, astrophysicist Fred Haddock commissioned the construction of the project in 1979 in Ann Arbor, which was overseen by Charles Montooth of Teliesin Associated Architects.
Neutral Palette Living Room in Beautiful House in Curitiba
About SCK Arquitetura
Architect: Eliza Schuchovski, SCK Arquitetura
Area: 500 m²
Location: Pilarzinho, Curitiba, Brazil
Project privileges minimalist essence in the property of a young couple with two children.
Preserving the wide and free circulations was one of the priorities of the architect Eliza Schuchovski, of the office SCK Arquitetura, when designing the interiors of this residence of 500 m² in the neighborhood of Pilarzinho, in Curitiba.
The owners of the property, a young couple in their 35s, and with two small children, wanted the décor to be in tune with the architecture, marked by a minimalist and contemporary proposal.
Following the architectural design signed by Mario Biselli, Eliza sought to value the pure and soft lines to create a lightweight layout in which the use of the apparent concrete is balanced by the presence of the wood.
The result is a contrast of materials that evokes the hot and cold, the noble and the rustic. While the apparent concrete overlays some structural beams and columns and the sandstone is present in the lining of some walls, the wood brings temperature to the floor, which extends to the porch deck.
Eliza opted for a natural shade blade for the joinery and complemented the linen décor. "They sophisticate the environments without loading in the composition", emphasizes the architect, who invested in the combination of textures in harmony with the palette of earthy tones, investing also in contemporary objects and mirrored surfaces.
According to her, the presence of different textures in overtones brings timelessness to the spaces. The lighting project, in turn, seeks to create scenarios and flexibility of different uses. "The games of light and shadow valued every point of the project and the different textures of materials," she says.
Neutral palette living room in beautiful house.
Axiom Space First Tourist Space Station Interiors
About Axiom Space
About Philippe Starck
The Axiom Space project is due to be ready by 2020 and will cost £ 41 million per ticket
If you think 2018 is the year of flying cars and dream of it since the futuristic episodes of The Jetsons, wait a little bit longer. In 2020 with the Axiom Space project you can go to space - a lot better, right? Unless you have £ 41 million to pay for the ticket and make the 10-day trip to the Axiom space station connected to the ISS. The space tourism program will include a 15-week training led by astronauts to make everything happen in the best way. And no one more conducive to drawing the interiors than the master of technology Philippe Starck.
The first commercial space station will have crew quarters, meal area and common environment for people to interact with. "My vision for the housing module at Axiom Station is a comfortable egg that is inviting with soft walls and a design perfectly in tune with the values and movements of the human body at zero gravity," he commented in an official announcement.
According to the announcement made by Axiom, the project was also designed to improve life in orbit and offer passengers a certain level of luxury. Which was translated into large rectangular windows covered with gold and rounded corners to see the Earth framed from afar. The private cabins also have suede-lined walls dotted with LED lights that change color according to the time and distance between the ship and Earth. "Just like all the shades of day and night lights and colors, this "egg" will bring mood and rhythm to its osmotic inhabitant," said Starck.
Prefab House in Italy Turns in Search of Sun
Mechanism allows to vary the landscape and direct solar panels
Video |
About Protek |
The architect Roberto Rossi designed a prefab house in northern Italy that rotates 360 degrees in both directions. The idea is that the rotation movement allows to offer different views for the residents and also direct the solar panels installed in the property in order to better capture the light.
The octagonal building built near the town of Rimini balances on a central pillar that rotates mechanically. "A house that was capable of turning was a customer request from the beginning of the project," Rossi tells. "In addition to appreciating the changing landscape according to the positioning, he is passionate about machines and mechanisms."
The project, whose main challenge was to maintain lightness, is inspired by Villa Girasole, another spinning house built in Italy in the 1930s. The work of architects Angelo Invernizzi and Ettore Fagiuoli moves on circular trails around a point central. "We have rediscovered the futuristic and avant-garde appeal of Villa Girasole," says Rossi.
Description from architects
The Rotating House is an experimental zero-energy balance concept-house. The zero-energy budget is accomplished using clean energy production and by reducing the loss of energy via natural techniques and materials. Furthermore, the envelope can spin around a single, main central pillar in order to follow the solar path during the day. The residential unit adopts geothermic sources combined with solar panels for temperature control and conditioning, as well as for the production of sanitary water, along with photovoltaic panels, making the unit energetically independent from non-renewable resources. A storage tank is also used to drain rainfall water for non-potable usages. The structure, consisting of bolted steel beams mainly connected to wood framework, supports the envelope composed of multiple wood fiber layers with variable density along with an air gap. The unit is also designed to be easily dismantled, thanks to the adopted construction techniques and the large use of recyclables materials, for which brochure data are available in order to allow for the study of more advanced design as well as to evaluate their effectiveness when employed for simpler and cheaper residential modules for production on a broader scale.
Beautiful Kindergarten Design Project by Kientruco
Plans
Project: Chuon Chuon Kim 2
Architect: Kientruco
Area: 409 sqm
Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Year: 2016
This beautiful kindergarten design project was developed in Ho Chi Minh City as children's educational space that stimulates and captivates meaningful meaningful and inspirational cross interactions amongst the adult and the children. Environment within the school contains an openness and a conscientiousness with a spark of curiosity that can allow people of all ages to explore the kindergarten space in calming and relaxing atmosphere.
As Kientruco has engaged in numerous projects in educational sphere, architects recognize that past experiences and acquired skills are equally as important and valuable as the responsibility of nurturing the kids. This activity invokes an interest within the staffs and the teacher, and a sense of pride. It embraces and inspires them, for that they have chosen to dedicate their lives to the well-being of the children and to the education process on a daily basis.
Like a building from a giant Lego's, this beautiful kindergarten design project is designed and built entirely with bare brick forming openings and patterns that are playful to the eyes, suggesting a unique aesthetic value and additionally promoting fresh air through natural ventilation.
Utility rooms and classrooms are organized around a central playful core structure. Each floor is designed in an alternating pattern to encourage children to be more receptive to their surroundings, enhance vertical interaction, and stimulate their inner creativity.
The core space is full of movement and ample, by contrast to the calming atmosphere of the classrooms. From the green garden on the ground floor, the volumes form an aperture that incases a continuous perspective that is visible from outside in and inside out. Continually upward, the interior spaces connect to an open rooftop garden, waiting to be discovered with a rewarding experience of the infinite vista of the Saigon river.
The journey of discovery in this beautiful kindergarten design project is a very liberating one because of the continuous changes, and the endless experiences that are tailored personally to each space. Conclusively, Chuon Chuon Kim 2 Kindergarten is a place of surprises that will never cease to tickle the curious souls, children and adult alike.
Recreational House Design in Nova Scotia, Canada
Architects Omar Gandhi Architect
Location Nova Scotia, Canada
Photography Ema Peter Photography
Plans
Sluice Point is located at the southern tip of Nova Scotia, within the Argyle Township of Yarmouth County. The site is located on a high and wooded point, adjacent to long and low views of marshes, small islands and the waters of the Tusket River in the Gulf of Maine.
The coast is dotted with very few cabins and small, traditional houses, far from being overdeveloped with new buildings. From the initial site visit, it was clear that any proposed building should be respectful. The shape of the building would be low, long and horizontal, and the palette of materials would be composed of natural and local materials, which would blend with the landscape. Formally, the building is inspired by the infamous Acadian saltwater barns, "une barge", which dot the local landscape. Historically, the haystacks allowed to store hay in the open marshes on structures that kept it elevated and protected from the water by the time the marshes were flooded.
Customers are Swiss seasonal occupants, who use the home as an outlet for recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, boating, hiking and more. As such, it was crucial that the space be designed to be durable, resistant and easy to maintain. This was achieved by using a pallet consisting of natural and raw materials such as concrete and local wood siding.
The client had several requirements that we could integrate in the early stages of the design. The large space of the room should be open, versatile and free of distractions when necessary to emphasize the exterior view. This translated into a space that could be transformed from a completely programmed interior space to one that was completely hidden and minimal. Flexible elements such as a series of sliding panels, barn doors and a central rotating chimney allow the center of activity and gravity to change easily and flow naturally.
The program required open deck spaces and covered outdoors. One of them should be used as a deck for the mornings outside the main suite, where the client could enjoy a cup of coffee and enjoy the sunrise to the east. The second, a covered deck, was to be a space for nightly entertainment, an extension of the living room where occupants and guests could enjoy the revolving fireplace from a covered space that could extend into the high seasons.
The semicircular design of the residence places the living areas along the side of the "views", while the services are located on the back of the floor. The structure consists of flanking bedroom wings and a large indoor / outdoor central room space that is entirely lined with local light fir and birch wood. The monolithic appearance has the feeling that the space is carved in the external form of wood.
Materiality, form and location are intrinsically connected to the local condition. The economic roof of the shed is inspired by the local fishing sheds and shanties scattered along the Nova Scotia coast - with a smooth transformation. The roof frame encompasses the exterior walls, allowing a roof form as economically and efficiently as possible. Both the wall and the ceiling are covered with the same white cedar from the east, of local origin, creating a shell of wooden shingles.
As one approaches the residence, one faces with a low ceiling, a gently inclined wall and a minimum amount of glass in the form of discontinuous dotted tape. The vertex of the view is highlighted with a bright white arc, which marks the entrance and pierces the center of the house.
The entrance arch is oriented with a high corridor, compressed on the sides. In extreme contrast, when one enters space, one passes through the threshold and enters the great room, where a long and low horizontal panorama of the marshy coast and the view towards the sea, with the points of the islands, is presented. Up to the point of entry, the panoramic view of the landscape is hidden from the visitor, since the width of the house hides a spectacular view.
Cozy Architecture Studio Office Design - SelgasCano
Architecture SelgasCano
Location Madrid, Spain
Year 2007
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About SelgasCano
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The office of the Madrid architects José Selgas and Lucía Cano, built in 2007, is a simple white longitudinal container that is inserted in a wooded environment simply by burying itself, and generating an extremely attractive image with few projective resources. It has turned out to be the most seen project of the well-known Archdaily page in its five years of history.
This small Spanish studio has achieved a stunning international recognition since they designed and built the Palacio de Congresos de Badajoz in 2006. They make an architecture of simple spaces and vibrant colors. His formative process has been quite intense graduating both by the School of Architecture of Madrid in 1992. José Selgas would later obtain the Prix de Roma scholarship in 1998, having also worked in Naples with Francesco Venezia. Lucía Cano is the daughter of the well-known Madrid-born architect Julio Cano Lasso, in whose studio she would work until 2003. Since then they have created a studio of their own that has produced a few works of interest and recognized popularity.
Five years ago, Segas and Cano built this small office space to house their own design company. It is a small rectangular volume very elongated that is buried in the ground. There is only space for a row of tables perpendicular to the wall next to a bookcase, a longitudinal corridor and another shelf that follows the path of the other wall. The construction is very simple a concrete vessel buried in the ground on which a light enclosure is placed. The roof is divided into two parts, one closed to the south, consisting of a sandwich of three layers, in polyester fibers, glass and insulation, which protects from direct sunlight. And another, transparent, that covers the north of the curved plexiglass plate, thus allowing to offer a complete illumination of the workspace. All this is maintained by a simple curved metal structure that gives rise to the characteristic section of rounded corners.
The different areas that make up this sparse plant are subdivided with Plexiglas panels and colored doors with curved finials. An office and a tiny bathroom adhere to the main work space for 8 people, which is accessed by a small stairway embedded in the ground.
This project is in itself a radical bet that sins of an excessive simplicity and that, however, offers a unique photogenic with its colorful yellow and orange green. The report made by the extraordinary photographer Iwan Baan offers highly evocative and suggestive images. At first glance it would seem like the dream paradise for every architectural student.
Largest Greenhouse in the World - Tropicalia
About Coldefy & Associates
French firm Coldefy & Associates has presented concept project of their design of the world’s largest tropical greenhouse situated under one roof. This project was designed in collaboration with energy company Dalkia. Greenhouse will be situated in Pas-de-Calais, France. It will be called Tropicalia, that will cover an area of 215,000 square feet (20,000 square meters). There will be a tropical forest, turtle beach, a pool for Amazonian fish, and a one-kilometer-long walking trail, where the visitors can walk by an 82-foot-high (25-meter-high) waterfall, 82-foot-long (25-meter-long) “tactile pool” with koi carp, and an Olympic-size pool with Amazonian fish that can grow up to 3 meters in length. It can be seen through an aquarium glass or from the pontoon. It's assumed to be a “harmonious haven” where visitors can enjoy the atmosphere of nature under a single domed roof.
Coldefy & Associate programme aims to create a stable 26-degrees-Celsius environment within the greenhouse. To achieve this, the architects adopted a solution to using a combination of structural steel and ETFE plastic technology.
The scheme will feature a “double-dome” of 200-foot x 13-foot (60-meter x 4-meter) ETFE strips forming a pressurized “cushion,” allowing UV light to pass through while controlling thermal conditions inside. A third layer of ETFE underneath the structure will accumulate heat generated by the greenhouse effect to be exploited for thermal energy. In order to further enhance the scheme’s energy performance, and to integrate the large structure with its natural surroundings, the dome will be partially embedded in the landscape. These measures create an energy-self-sufficient scheme allowing for energy to be redistributed to surrounding buildings.
All the favorable conditions for flora and fauna will be created.
At the opening of Tropicalia, it is planned to attract about 500,000 visitors a year. There will be an auditorium, bar/restaurant, bed and breakfast, and a scientific area dedicated to national and international collaboration, containing a conference room, laboratory, and clinic.
It is expected that construction of Tropicalia will begin in 2019 and scheduled to be opened in 2021. The cost of this project is $62-million.