Hasta La Ideas

A facade of translucent plastic pillows can be pumped up to alter lighting and temperature inside this domed tropical greenhouse in Aarhus by Danish firm C. F. Møller (+ slideshow).

C. F. Møller worked with membrane facade specialist formTL to create the ETFE plastic facade of the new Tropical House, located at the Aarhus botanical gardens. This provides an energy-efficient envelope with a quilted texture around the 18-metre-high structure.

The light and heat conditions within the building can be adapted by increasing or decreasing the air pressure inside the pillows, which then changes the translucence of the facade.

A grid of ten steel arches gives the greenhouse its curved shape, designed to create a large interior space using the lowest possible surface area.

“The domed shape and the building’s orientation in relation to the points of the compass have been chosen because this precise format gives the smallest surface area coupled with the largest volume, as well as the best possible sunlight incidence in winter, and the least possible in summer,” said the architects.

An assortment of tropical plants, trees and flowers fills the interior of the greenhouse. A pond is located at the centre of the space, while an elevated platform allows visitors to climb up above the treetops.

The building was constructed to replace an existing hothouse built by the same architects in 1969. This structure was renovated as part of the project and will now be used to house a botanical knowledge centre.

Photography is by Quintin Lake.

Here’s a project description from formTL:

Heated conservatory at the Botanical Gardens, Aarhus

Transparent roofing made of ETFE foil cushions with an interior pneumatic shading system planned by formTL and C. F. Møller Architekten.

The new tropical conservatory at the Botanical Gardens in Aarhus is like a drop of dew in its green surroundings. Its transparent dome set on an oval base extends the existing greenhouse built in 1969. A special feature of this structure is that is allows for the greatest interior volume with the lowest possible surface area, leading to high energy efficiency.

The support structure consists of 10 steel arches, which fan out around a longitudinal and a transverse axis, creating a net of rectangles of varying sizes. formTL planned and designed a cover for these arches made mainly of double-layered ETFE cushions, which are affixed with biaxially bent profiles due to their complex structure.

On the south-facing side, the cushions used were made with three layers, two of which were printed. Through changes in pressure, the relative positions of these printed foils can be adjusted. This can reduce or increase, as desired, the translucence of the cushions, changing the light and heat input of the building.

Dimensions

Cushion surface area: 1,800 m²
Base area: 1,145 m2

• Rise of arches up to 17.5 m
• Span of arches up to 41 m

Materials

• Nowofol ETFE foil, strengths of 150 µm and 250 µm
• Biaxially bent cushion edge profiles made of aluminium

Client: Universitets- og Bygningsstyrelsen (Danish University and Property Agency), Copenhagen (DK)
Architect: C.F. Møller, Aarhus (DK)
Steel load-bearing structures: Søren Jensen, Silkeborg (DK)
Foil cushion planning: formTL GmbH
Fitter: CenoTec GmbH Textile Constructions GmbH, Greven (D)
Supplier: Nowofol Kunststoffprodukte GmbH & Co. KG, Siegsdorf (D)

The post Quilted greenhouse by C. F. Møller inflates
to change light and temperature conditions appeared first on Dezeen.

This gas compressor station in southern Denmark by Scandinavian firm C.F. Møller comprises Corten steel-clad boxes atop a pair of artificial hills (+ slideshow).

C.F. Møller was commissioned by Danish energy company Energinet to create the facility as part of a wider government scheme to upgrade the visual appearance of the country’s power grid, and the firm has already completed an electricity station with modular panels folding around its exterior.

Corten steel panels create a textured surface around the upper walls of the structures, and were chosen because they are easy to maintain and fit in well with the natural surroundings.

“The plating is juxtaposed to create a varied and vibrant pattern of light and shadow,” said architect Julian Weyer. “The combination of materials aims to make the buildings appear rugged and elegant at the same time.”

The bases of both buildings are tucked down into the centre of two artificial hills, which are covered with grass.

The new technical plant is the first of its kind in Denmark, suppling gas to pipelines as far away as Germany and Sweden.

The interior of the plant is divided up into a linear sequence of rooms, accommodating storage areas, fire-extinguishing spaces, workshops, and boiler rooms. Additional buildings on-site accommodate an emergency generator in case of power failure.

Photography is by Julian Weyer.

Here’s a description from the architects:

Gas Kompressor Station, Egtved

Natural gas plant consisting of compressor station and service buildings.

A technical site is normally swaddled in greenery to prevent it from becoming an eyesore in the natural environment. The new Energinet.dk compressor station at Egtved is Denmark’s first installation of its kind, and here the opposite is true.

C.F. Møller has designed the plant, consisting of four compressor units and service buildings, as an architectural feature in the open landscape. The form of the buildings was also specially chosen in order to achieve optimum safety conditions at the plant.

The new technical plant, supplying the central intersection of the gas pipelines connection north-south from Germany and east-west to Sweden, has a landscape-like expression emerging from the landscape as a grassy embankment.

The remainder of the building appears almost to hover over the mound and is clad with rust-coloured Corten steel plating. The plating is juxtaposed to create a varied and vibrant pattern of light and shadow. The combination of materials aims to make the buildings appear rugged and elegant at the same time.

The grass and iron-clad plant houses service buildings, including an emergency generator and storage rooms, and beyond the buildings lies the compression plant itself atop an open plane. The buildings are designed to provide visual, aural and safety screening from the compression units.

“We began by asking ourselves a question: Can we push the boundaries for how we see a technical plant? Can we create a gas plant in dialogue with the landscape and yet focus on the energy supply infrastructure, on which we all depend?” says Julian Weyer, architect and partner.

The simple and striking design of the service buildings and substation also provides the opportunity for great flexibility in relation to the functional adaptation of the design in the coming phases.

Background

Natural gas supplies from the North Sea are dwindling. To ensure a regular and safe energy supply in the future, Denmark has to be able to receive gas from continental Europe.

Energinet.dk has therefore constructed 94 kilometres of “gas motorway” from Egtved to Germany. This extension of the fossil gas system may well be a decisive step on the road to a green energy system, which is projected by 2050 to use only renewable energy.

Client: Energinet.dk
Address: Egtved, Denmark
Engineering: Niras A/S
Architect: C. F. Møller Architects
Landscape: C. F. Møller Architects
Size: 4.600 m² new-built and 20.000 m2 compressor station
Year: 2010-2013

The post Kompressor Station Egtved
by C.F. Møller appeared first on Dezeen.

News: Scandinavian firm C. F. Møller has revealed proposals that could see the world’s tallest timber-framed building constructed in Stockholm.

As one of three shortlisted proposals in a housing design competition, the 34-storey Wooden Skyscraper is presented by architect C. F. Møller, architect Dinell Johansson and consultant Tyréns as a vision of future housing that would be cheaper, easier and more sustainable than typical steel and concrete constructions.

“The main reason it hasn’t been done before is that concrete and steel have a big part of the market,” C. F. Møller architect Ola Jonsson told Dezeen. “But now the building industry has started taking responsibity for the environment.”

He continued: “Construction accounts for around 30-40 percent of CO2 produced in the world globally and if you look at the CO2 released in the production of wood it is a lot better than steel or concrete.”

According to Jonsson, using wood could even be a cheaper alternative, as it is a lighter material that costs far less to transport. It is also more fire-resistant than steel or concrete.

“We have a long history of building wooden structures in Sweden,” he explains. “We have a higher knowledge of how to use the wood those days and we know that glued or nailed wood does have very strong construction qualities.”

If built, the 34-storey building would exceed the height of the nine-storey Murray Grove tower in London, as well as a proposed 20-storey tower in Vancouver by architect Michael Green and a Swedish tower approved at 30 floors. “I’ve seen sketches of other buildings, but we are definitely at the highest end of this discussion,” said Jonsson.

Wooden pillars, beams, walls, ceilings and window frames will all be visible through the building’s glass facade. The presented designs also include a concrete core, although Jonsson says this could be replaced with wood. “We believe a modern building should use every material for its best purpose,” he adds.

The winning entry in the competition, organised by Swedish building society HSB Stockholm, is scheduled to open in 2023 to coincide with the organisation’s 100th birthday. Anyone can vote for the winner using the HSB Stockholm Facebook page.

Other projects by C. F. Møller include an art and craft museum completed recently in Norway and a centre for entrepreneurs with a green fibre-cement staircase.

See more architecture by C. F. Møller »
See more skyscrapers »

Here’s some more information from C. F. Møller:

Wooden Skyscraper

For HSB Stockholm’s architectural competition 2023, three teams of architects have produced innovative proposals for private residences of the future at three different locations in the centre of Stockholm. Berg | C.F. Møller’s proposed design is a 34-storey skyscraper made of wood.

Berg | C.F. Møller Architects are working in partnership with architects Dinell Johansson and consultants Tyréns on their entry. The team has chosen to build upwards, and has designed a 34-storey residential building, which will be seen for miles.

The building will be built over a wooden construction with a concrete core, and it is intended to give the people of Stockholm a new and characteristic beacon and meeting place in their city.

Back to basics

Wood is one of nature’s most innovative building materials: the production has no waste products and it binds CO2. Wood has low weight, but is a very strong load-bearing structure compared to its lightness.

Wood is also more fire resistant than both steel and concrete. This is due to 15% of wood mass being water, which will evaporate before the wood actually burns. In addition, logs get charred which protects the core.

Wood secures a good indoor climate, perfect acoustics, helps regulating the inside temperature and can be exposed without being covered with plaster or other costly materials.

In Berg | C.F. Møller’s wooden skyscraper, the pillars and beams are made of solid wood. Inside the apartments, all the walls, ceilings and window frames are made of wood as well and will be visible from the exterior through the large windows.

Sustainable

Social and environmental sustainability is integrated into the project. Each apartment will have an energy-saving, glass-covered veranda, while the building itself will be powered by solar panels on the roof. At street level there is a café and childcare facility. In a new community centre, local people will be able to enjoy the benefits of a market square, fitness centre and bicycle storage room. A communal winter garden will provide residents with an opportunity to have allotment gardens.

All three design proposals are available on HSB Stockholm’s Facebook page. Here you can vote for your favourite and thus play your part in determining how private homes in Stockholm will look in the future.

About the competition

HSB Stockholm – Sweden’s largest building society – is 100 years old in 2023. At that time an ultra-modern residential high-rise building will be completed in Stockholm city. Three architectural teams are now preparing the competitive proposals for the spectacular house that will be placed at one of three different sites in Stockholm.

Berg | C.F. Møller Architects is working together with architects Dinell Johansson and the urban planning consultancy Tyréns. The other two competing teams are Equator Stockholm with Mojang (Minecraft) and Utopia Architects with Rosenberg Architects.

The post C. F. Møller designs world’s tallest
wooden skyscraper appeared first on Dezeen.