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Architecture, Building Envelope, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS – ME Dubai hotel at Opus

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ME Dubai hotel at Opus Home to the new ME Dubai hotel, the Opus is located in the Burj Khalifa district adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal. Exploring the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior, the design was presented by Zaha Hadid in 2007 and is the only hotel in which she created both its architecture and interiors.

Spanning 84,300 square metres (907,400 square feet), the Opus was designed as two separate towers that coalesce into a singular whole—taking the form of a cube. The cube has been ‘eroded’ in its centre, creating a free-form void that is an important volume of the design in its own right. The two halves of the building on either side of the void are linked by a four-storey atrium at ground level and also connected by an asymmetric 38 metre wide, three-storey bridge 71 metres above the ground.

“The precise orthogonal geometries of the Opus’ elemental glass cube contrast dramatically with the fluidity of the eight-storey void at its centre,” explained Christos Passas, project director at Zaha Hadid Architects.

The cube’s double-glazed insulating façades incorporate a UV coating and a mirrored frit pattern to reduce solar gain. Applied around the entire building, this dotted frit patterning emphasizes the clarity of the building’s orthogonal form, while at the same time, dissolving its volume through the continuous play of light varying between ever-changing reflections and transparency.

The void’s 6,000 square metre façade is created from 4,300 individual units of flat, single-curved or double-curved glass. The high-efficiency glazing units are comprised of 8mm Low-E glass (coated on the inside), a 16mm cavity between the panes and 2 layers of 6mm clear glass with a 1.52mm PVB resin laminate. This curved façade was designed using digital 3D modelling that also identified specific zones which required tempered glass.

During the day, the cube’s façade reflects the sky, the sun and the surrounding city; whilst at night, the void is illuminated by a dynamic light installation of individually controllable LEDs within each glass panel.

Furniture by Zaha Hadid Design is installed throughout the hotel, including the ‘Petalinas’ sofas and ‘Ottomans’ pods in the lobby that are fabricated from materials ensuring a long lifecycle and its components can be recycled. The ‘Opus’ beds in each bedroom while the ‘Work & Play’ combination sofa with desk are installed in the suites. The hotel’s bedrooms also incorporate the ‘Vitae’ bathroom collection, designed by Hadid in 2015 for Noken Porcelanosa, continuing her fluid architectural language throughout the hotel’s interiors.

Sensors throughout the Opus automatically adjust the ventilation and lighting according to occupancy to conserve energy while ME Dubai follows Meliá Hotels International initiatives for sustainable practices. Hotel guests will receive stainless-steel water bottles to use during their stay with drinking water dispensers installed throughout the hotel. With no plastic bottles in guest rooms and a program to become entirely plastic free in all areas, the hotel is also reducing food waste by not serving buffets and has composters to recycle discarded organics.

Description provided by Zaha Hahid Architects

Photography by Laurian Ghinitoiu

Architecture, Building Envelope

LIMASSOL TOWER, Cyprus

LIMASSOL TOWER, Cyprus – Hamonic + Masson & Associes Architects

Cyprus is called “the island of Aphrodite”, the sun shines there almost all year round, its clear and warm sea invites you to swim, there is no shortage of ancient treasures and life is pleasant. These hedonistic charms naturally guided our thinking.

Limassol Tower project is terrestrial with a system of corollas that provide housing pools and planted spaces. The corollas are independent spaces of the accommodation, which are simultaneously in direct connection with the interiors of the apartments, creating a unique and luxury interior living experience for the inhabitant. The corolla system is also on the ground floor: the sunshades and the circles in the landscape that accompany the topography connect the dwellings and the outdoor spaces, creating coherence throughout the building.

The transparency of the volume ensures unobstructed sea views. The experience of living outside is also done inside the accommodation thanks to the sliding system: by opening its windows, you are on your balcony. The total transparency of the project ensures a constant sea view.

On the ground floor, a majestic entrance opens the door to a unique experience.  Limassol Tower offers a variety of well-being services: a gym in the basement, an art gallery on the ground floor and a luxury spa on the first floor, all with independent access. Well-being and luxury combine to create an exclusive experience.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Top Stories, Trends

EHKA Studio – SINJALAN SEAVIEW HOUSE

Inspired by the beauty of free-flowing curves, Seaview House is a fusion of sculpture and building, a blending of form and function to create living spaces that inspire. It embraces traditional concepts of tropical architecture while reinterpreting them in contemporary forms. It explores what a house could be like for an avid collector of antiques and ultra modern furniture, a house that displays and becomes a display itself. The house strives to strike a delicate balance between the traditional masculinity of dramatic grand spaces and the sensuous, fluid nature of free flowing curves.

The columns became a curvaceous stiletto, supporting the entry porches, illuminated dramatically by night. Glass is used generously for the facade and balustrades to create a sense of lightness. Even though some spaces are deep, none feel dark or claustrophobic. Double-height glass in the living room allows the living spaces, with all its furniture and antiques to be on “display” to the public, even the curvaceous spiral stairs is visibly positioned in front of the house and fronted with curtain wall glazing. Double-height sliding doors open fully at the living hall for the hot air to escape while large fans ventilate the hall.  

The client’s goal was to maximize the site with as much internal floor areas as possible, and with each room being as large as it possibly can.

The total built in area is 9300 sq.ft., which is remarkable for a plot of this size. All the rooms are pushed to the edge of the allowable setbacks. The sculpted roofs and floor slabs work within the allowable eave setbacks, while the internal spaces and balconies are pushed to the maximum building setback. The combination maximizes space while creating a “playful” facade.

The extensive use of glass in a home is the client’s requirement, and while seemingly counter-intuitive in the tropics, it actually worked to create comfortable and beautiful spaces when combined with passive design strategies, which are adopted from traditional tropical architecture. The use of low-emissive glass also helps to minimize the thermal impact.

This design challenges the notion that homes need to be rigidly shaped for efficiency, by exploring how a sculptural building can be efficient, logical, tropical, practical and liveable at the same time. While highly sculptural in form, the building also addresses the occupants’ needs for shelter and shade, light and ventilation – creating comfortable spaces even without mechanical cooling. The use of sensual curves is unusual for houses that are commonly defined by its setback boundaries and by the desire for maximum efficiency.

Photo credits: Studio Periphery

Architecture, Building Envelope, Ideas, Style, Technology, Top Stories

MAD ARCHITECTS’ Vanishing Stadium

MAD Architects has released new images of its “vanishing stadium” for Quzhou Sports Campus which is under construction in Quzhou, in China’s Zhejiang province.

The park includes a 30,000-person capacity stadium, a 10,000-person capacity gymnasium, a natatorium, outdoor auxiliary training grounds, athlete service and experience center, as well as a science and technology museum and children’s place.

Upon its entire completion, Quzhou Sports Campus will become the world’s largest earth shelter building complex

The sports venues and expansive park have been imagined as a cohesive scene where the winding trails compliment the sloping land and there are multiple platforms integrated for people to enjoy the park’s beauty from different perspectives. 

News via MAD Architects

Architecture, Green Energy, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

ANTHENEA – Eco Friendly Floating Capsule

007: a crazy dream and preoccupations of anticipation

At the origins of this incredible project, there is the dream of Jean-Michel Ducancelle, naval architect, inspired by the James Bond ® floating capsule  in The Spy Who Loved Me.

Jean-Michel has been wondering for 25 years about how Man can inhabit the Earth. He cultivates with passion the idea that the habitat of tomorrow must be at the heart of the natural environment to offer everyone a life in immersion with the marine and underwater world. 
He is considering a way to approach the future differently, with a solution for the increasingly limited availability of construction on the coast and a new look at floating habitat.

The decisive meeting with Jacques-Antoine Cesbron , a visionary industrialist , allowed the culmination of many years of research and patented innovations . 

With the construction of Anthénea, the dream is now a reality…

Anthénea and ecology

Anthénea embodies a new form of tourism but also of habitat in the  face of multiple environmental challenges: rising waters, the effects of climate change, over-density of the coast and places saturated with tourism.

Comfortable and unsinkable

Anthénea resists climatic cataclysms and the rise of the oceans . Its spherical shape is based on the principle of “surface tension”, observed in nature. It is the optimal form of resistance to extreme conditions of life on water.

The peripheral crown allows by its shape and its lift technology, a considerable increase in the stability of shape and lift on water .

100% electric

Anthénea only consumes solar energy. An energy sensor dome meets the needs for electricity and hot water. The house is equipped with an approved black water station and a gray water station. Anthénea produces what it consumes and  releases only clean water.

Air conditioning occurs naturally through the central well.

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

COPENHAGEN ISLANDS

Australian architect Marshall Blecher and Danish architecture practice Studio Fokstrot have unveiled design for a new type of urban space for the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark. 

With Copenhagen Islands a new type of urban space is introduced to the harbour of Copenhagen. A ‘parkipelago’ of floating islands, creates endless possibilities for fun activities and daily exploration. The islands will be dispatched on suitable locations around the inner harbour, but also find their way to more forgotten and underused corners of the harbour, catalyzing life and activity. Hopefully giving back a little bit of space for whimsy and wonder to the old industrial harbour sides.

All of them will be free to be explored by the increasing number of kayaks, sailors, GoBoaters, tourists and fishermen in the harbour. 

The intention is to renew the proud traditions of the Danish harbour life, by strengthening the social cohesion and awareness of the maritime life in, and around the harbour.

The activities and functions of each island are flexible, depending on its position in the harbour and the time of the year. The users of the islands are dictating the actual use of the island, and what functions to have.

The project, as a concept, is launched to create a stronger focus on an improved harbour environment, the global climate changes and the increased water levels – some of the biggest problems the world is facing today.

Architecture, Blog, Building Envelope, Ideas, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

THE FIRST ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY MUSEUM IN THE WORLD WHICH HAS TAKEN A PICTURE BY ITSELF!

MASK Architects – Seoul Art and Photographic Museum

THE BIGGEST CAMERA ON PLANET EARTH IS IN SEOUL!

Isn’t the purpose of a Photography Museum to celebrate Photography? So why not create the biggest camera on planet Earth and celebrate the art of photography and the city of Seoul with an installation of a rooftop ‘Camera Obscura’ that marries past, present, and future into an experience that visitors will never forget. Photography makes our memories valuable, fixing them for a moment, while life keeps rolling rapidly in time. From digital to analogical, from microscopic pictures to satellite images, Photography has been freezing those fleeting moments. And, before all that, there was what we can call the grandmother of Photography, the ‘Camera Obscura.’

Seoul Photographic Art Museum is located on the cultural and art facilities of Dobong-gu in the Northeastern part of the city, and the ‘camera Obscura’ has the mission of documenting and providing a better understanding of Seoul’s history and the way it has managed to balance innovation and tradition. The ‘Camera Obscura’ rooftop installation is an ideal way to showcase the developing skyline of Seoul’s city view at the exhibition rooms and showcase the sky view at the top of the exhibition area in the building.

WHAT IS A CAMERA OBSCURA?

Camera obscura (from Latin, meaning “darkened room”) is a device that varies in size and can take the shape of a box or a whole room. A hole has been pierced on one of the sides or walls, which lets the light into the box or room, projecting the image on the other opposite wall or side. The device has been used in the past in science fairs and even as a circus attraction, which makes it favourite for any kind of public. There are more complex camera obscuras that use mirrors to project image upwards and right-side-up, and they can also have lenses sometimes.

HOW DOES THE CAMERA OBSCURA WORK ?

A Law of Optics that the ancients had already discovered serves as the base for the Camera Obscura mechanism. Namely, light travels in a straight line, but when some of the rays pass through a small hole pierced on thin material, instead of scattering, the rays cross the hole and reshape on the opposite wall (any flat surface held parallel to the hole) as an upside-down image. This peculiar phenomenon was described already the manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century and by the mid-sixteenth century, lenses had begun to be used to increase the brightness and sharpness of the image.

HOW DOES THE ‘CAMERA OBSCURA’ WORK INSIDE THE MUSEUM

One of the systems comprised of two lenses and a large periscope mirror was installed on the very top of the building. Its closable and openable system. when Its area needs a dark area, the pinhole will be closed to provide a dark atmosphere for exhibition. On event, the pinhole will be open to show visitors how it could be to realize a real camera. This system provides a great event and experience for users.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE CAMERA OBSCURA IN OUR BUILDING

The main purpose of the project is to use the structure and shape of the building itself as a big camera. The camera obscura idea on the top of the building will project the wide sky that could be seen from the roof. It can also be used on the west and east surfaces of the building, which would allow the Camera to show Seoul’s urban landscape across the gallery space.

ABOUT THE FORM CONCEPT

“Photographic Art Museum Design‘’ sets itself in contrast to the block-like structures that surround it in Seoul, Korea. Museum Design’s fluid architecture embodies an enlightened philosophical framework. The centre’s fluid exterior surfaces rise from its surroundings to define a series of exhibition, education, and research spaces within, inviting the urban fabric of the city into the heart of building.

In total 6,658.92 gross square meter on the museum’s four floors where you can enjoy in real lifetime the photo experience and exhibitions of classic examples of ‘Camera Obscura.’ The exhibition part will be comprised of optical illusions, puzzles, etc., providing guests with dizzying alternate realities and tricks for the mind and the senses. Gamification will be a key element of these exhibitions. Visitors are encouraged to get involved with everything, play with it all, and unlike a lot of learning centers, there is nothing in this one you are not allowed to touch. Its interior will be distributed over the 3rd and 4th floors that hosts a wide variety of artworks of over 1,435 square meters of exhibition. It s particular external form does not allow the entry of the light. However, some of the exterior facade panels would be made openable, closable, and adjustable for the times in which there will be need of daylight in that area.

Text provided by MASK Architects

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Top Stories, Trends

AMAZING SHIPPING CONTAINER ARCHITECTURE

The use of containers as a building material has grown in popularity over the past several years due to their inherent strength, wide availability, and relatively low expense. Homes have also been built with containers because they are seen as more eco-friendly than traditional building materials such as brick and cement. (Wilkipedia)

Eco-Conscious Shipping Container Homes, Designed By Zigloo.ca In Victoria, British Columbia

ASHDOD PORT SHIPPING CONTAINER OFFICE

Architect: Potash Architects – Tel Aviv

JOSHUA TREE CONTAINER HOUSE

Architect: James Whitaker – London

THE CATERPILLAR HOUSE

Architect: Sebastián Irarrázaval – Santiago

RANDY BEN’S CONTAINER OFFICE

Architect: Randy Bens – Vancouver

Coossbox House by CG Architects, France

GRILLAGH WATER HOUSE – Patrick Bradley Architects, Ireland

Architecture, Blog, Style, Sustainability, Trends

ECO TOURISM – Nicholas Plewman Architects

BISATE

Inspired by the rolling hills of Rwanda and the thatched design of the King’s Palace at Nyanza, Bisate sits woven between the lush growths adjacent to Volcanoes National Park. 

Bisate reflects the innate organic culture of Rwanda and reflects sophisticated spaces around every turn. Craftily designed the spherical rooms and public areas add bespoke and sustainable solutions to the intricate and difficult surroundings.

Operator: Wilderness safari

SANDIBE

Inspired by the endangered pangolin, Sandibe is unique in its approach and response to the site.

Timber shingle structures curve up from the Okavango floor to give private sanctuaries to guests below the canopy of trees. Completely off-grid Sandibe treads lightly on the forest floor and ecosystems. Sandibe is habitation made manifest of the Okavango Delta.

OPERATOR: ANDBEYOND

Text description provided by Nicholas Plewman Architects

Blog

Electrifyingly fun to drive

Electrifyingly fun to drive: the Audi e-tron

  • Drive concept with three electric motors as a worldwide first in the future mass production
  • New quattro generation with electric torque vectoring
  • 370 kW of power and 973 Nm (717.6 lb-ft) of torque for high level of dynamic handling and agility 

Audi is systematically moving forward with its e-offensive: The Audi e-tron and the Audi e-tron Sportback are becoming more agile, sharper and more dynamic as S models. The three electric motors, two of which are located on the rear axle, together provide 370 kW of boost power and 973 Nm (717.6 lb-ft) of torque. This allows the two purely electrically driven models to accelerate to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 4.5 seconds. The intelligent drive control raises vehicle safety, and dynamic handling in particular, to a new level: In addition to the electric all-wheel drive, there is the electric torque vectoring with active and fully variable torque distribution on the rear axle.

Standing still or on the move, the Audi e-tron is electrifying. Its expressive sill area, the electric tailboard and the light gray Single frame are indicators of the high-voltage technology that makes for a special driving experience. The electric SUV is powered by two powerful electric motors that are locally CO2-neutral and virtually silent. A new generation of the quattro drive, the electric all-wheel drive, ensures excellent traction and dynamics. It ensures the continuous and variable regulation of the ideal distribution of drive torques between the two axles – within a fraction of a second.

The new Audi e-tron S models will be the first electric cars worldwide with three motors in mass production. Their drive layout is based on the concept with two different asynchronous motors (ASM); the e-tron product line was designed in modular form in line with this from the start.

A key factor for the sporty character and outstanding transverse dynamics is the low and central position at which the battery system is installed. It gives the vehicle a range that is suitable for driving long distances. During far more than 90 percent of all decelerations, the Audi e-tron recovers energy solely via its electric motors. The electric SUV taps its maximum recuperation potential in combination with the integrated electrohydraulic brake control system. Audi is the world’s first carmaker to use such a system in an electrically powered series production vehicle. The cleverly designed aerodynamics also contribute significantly to its efficiency. One highlight of this concept are the optional virtual exterior mirrors – a worldwide first in a series production model. Not only do they reduce aerodynamic drag, they also take digitalization in the vehicle to a whole new level.

The Audi e-tron offers the spaciousness and comfort of one of the brand’s typical full-size models. Paired with high-quality materials and fine workmanship, it makes electric mobility a premium experience. This is also ensured by the comprehensive and reliable range of charging options with intelligent solutions for at home and on the go.

From navigation with the e-tron route planner, which displays the appropriate route with the required charging points, automated billing at the charging station and all the way to remote control via smartphone – the Audi e-tron is extremely well connected. It is equipped with the high-end media center MMI navigation plus including LTE Advanced and a Wi-Fi hotspot as standard. Numerous assist systems further relieve the driver. For example, the standard efficiency assist promotes an economic driving style by displaying predictive information and performing automatic recuperation. If the customer selects the adaptive cruise assist, the system can also brake and accelerate the electric SUV predictively.

The interior of the future e-tron S models has been kept in dark colors. A large arc connects the displays of the virtual external mirrors with the hood above the Audi virtual cockpit. The instrument panel is driver-oriented, the middle tunnel’s console rests on open side walls. The leather/Alcantara covers of the electrically adjustable sport seats and the gear selector lever feature a rhombus S embossing. The door sills and steering wheel feature S badges. On request, Audi can offer a super sport seat in leather with a rhombus pattern in black, rotor gray or Aras red, as well as an air-conditioned customized contour seat with perforated leather.