Hasta La Ideas

Seven concrete fins provide a green roof that collects rainwater at this new engineering facility for a wastewater treatment plant in Portland, Oregon, by local firm Skylab Architecture (+ slideshow).

The Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant was built in 1950 to process the Portland’s combined wastewater and stormwater, and now serves 600,000 residents. Skylab Architecture was tasked with creating new office facilities for the plant’s engineers and public reception areas.

The single-storey structure has a curved plan designed to trace the path of the sun. The seven roof fins form a linear sequence over the top, turning the building into a series of angular grass-covered hills that appear to fold up from the landscape.

Each of these fins features an integrated collection system that channels rainwater down to the nearby Columbia Slough waterway.

“Inspired by the native landscape and its industrial past, the building is an elegant combination of landform, indigenous planting, formal geometry, and durable construction systems that support staff and the public interface,” explained the architect.

In contrast with the plant-covered southern facade, the building’s northern elevation comprises a glazed curtain wall with a serrated surface.

Workspaces for up to 36 engineers are located just behind, replacing the mobile units that had served as offices for the previous 16 years. South-facing clerestory windows bring light into these spaces from above, filtering through steel louvres.

A new reception welcomes guests to the plant, while meeting rooms accommodate talks and other public events. These spaces lead out to a grass lawn that functions as a common space for staff and visitors.

Here’s a project description from Skylab Architecture:

The Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant Engineering Building

The Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed in 1950 as an industrial site to treat the city’s combined wastewater and storm water now serving 600,000 residents in Portland, Oregon. In recent times, this municipal works project has become increasingly public through efforts to highlight the importance of sustainable infrastructure. Over the past 16 years, engineering staff on site worked out of portable trailers that became unsuitable for occupation.

The new 11,490 square-foot Engineering Building and site development project was proposed to create replacement office space while also establishing a new public interface for the Plant. The program included office space for 36 engineers and construction management staff, a visitor reception space and public meeting spaces all to be developed within a sustainable landscape.

The new single-storey building was oriented along the path of the sun featuring seven folded cast-in-place concrete roof forms that channel storm water sustainably through the eco-roof. The storm water then drains along the berms into a visible storm water collection system leading back to the Columbia Slough.

As an intentional demonstration, the building and its immediate landscape employ signage and educational elements to celebrate the Columbia Slough ecosystem where the project is located as well as share information about the regional watershed. Inspired by the native landscape and its industrial past, the building is an elegant combination of landform, indigenous planting, formal geometry, and durable construction systems that support staff and the public interface.

The site development transformed and redefined the transportation traffic flow to create a newly formed pedestrian central green space used for educational tours of the plant and as a commons for the overall plant staff. This commons space replaced the original axial road leading into the plant improving vehicular circulation, plant security, parking organisation to create a shared central gathering space.

Juxtaposing the soft, vegetated southern edge, the building’s northern facade is a dynamic, serrated curtain wall that tracks the circular path of the commons. Exterior stainless steel solar shades and a system of clerestory windows create modulated day lighting in concert with a fully glazed operable north facade connecting the interior spaces with the central green space.

The mechanical system is a heat pump system that taps into the plant’s process water source for heating and cooling. While the building has a photovoltaic system it also benefits from an on- site co-generation plant for power.

Owner: City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
Architect: Skylab Architecture
Contractor: Skanska USA Building
Engineer: Solarc Architecture and Engineering, Inc.
Engineer: Catena Consulting Engineers
Landscape: 2-ink Studio Landscape Architecture
Lighting: Biella Lighting
Civil Engineer: Vigil-Agrimis Inc.
Environmental Graphics: The Felt Hat

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features a roof of grass-covered fins appeared first on Dezeen.

A knot-shaped rooftop will be used as a vegetable garden at this kindergarten by Vo Trong Nghia Architects that’s under construction in Dong Nai, Vietnam (+ slideshow).

Set to complete later this year, the Farming Kindergarten is designed by Vietnamese firm Vo Trong Nghia Architects as a prototype for sustainable school design, where children can learn how to grow their own food.

The roof has a continuous surface that loops around to frame the outline of three courtyard playgrounds. It slopes up from the ground and peaks at two storeys, allowing an easy climb to the vegetable garden for children and their teachers.

“While these internal courtyards provide safety and comfortable playgrounds for children, the roof makes a landing to the courtyards at both sides, allowing children to enter a very special eco-friendly experience when they walk up and go through it,” say the architects.

Classrooms inside the building will follow the same loop as the roof and will accommodate up to 500 children. Concrete louvres will shade the windows, offering relief from intense sunlight.

Vo Trong Nghia Architects won the schools category at the World Architecture Festival awards last year for its naturally ventilated Binh Duong School. In an interview with Dezeen, Vo Trong Nghia explained how he believes “green buildings” that use less energy are the future of architecture in Vietnam. See more architecture by Vo Trong Nghia or see more stories about design in Vietnam.

Other kindergartens completed recently include a doughnut-shaped pre-school in China and a nursery in France with rippling concrete walls. See more kindergartens on Dezeen.

Construction photography is by Hiroyuki Oki.

Here’s a project description from Vo Trong Nghia Architects:

Farming Kindergarten

This kindergarten, for 500 pre-school children, is a prototype for sustainable education spaces in tropical climates. The plan was designed for the factory workers children of Pou Chen Vietnam.

The building concept is a “Farming Kindergarten” with a continuous green roof, providing food and agriculture experience to Vietnamese children, as well as a safe outdoor playground.

The green roof is a triple-ring-shape drawn with a single stroke, creating three courtyards inside. While these internal courtyards provide safety and comfortable playgrounds for children, the roof makes landing to the courtyards at both sides, allowing children to enter a very special eco-friendly experience when they walk up and go through it. This green roof is designed as a continuous vegetable garden, a place to teach children the importance of agriculture and relationship with nature.

Architectural and mechanical energy-saving methods are comprehensively applied including but not limited to: green roof, PC-concrete louver for shading, recycle materials, water recycling, solar water heating and so on. These devices are designed visibly for children to play their important role in sustainable education. The building is designed to maximise the natural ventilation through a computational fluid dynamics analysis.

The building is now under construction and expected to start its operation in September 2013.

Status: Under construction
Program: Kindergarten
Location: Dongnai, Vietnam
Site area: 10,650 m2
GFA: 3,800m2

Architect Firm: Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Principal architects: Vo Trong Nghia, Takashi Niwa, Masaaki Iwamoto
Architects: Tran Thi Hang, Kuniko Onishi
Contractor: Wind and Water House JSC
Client: Pou Chen Vietnam

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Vo Trong Nghia Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

This crematorium in Seoul by Korean firm HAEAHN Architecture folds up from the landscape and curls around a peaceful courtyard and pool of water.

Gardens and ponds run alongside the two-storey building, while grass and plants cover the entire roof.

Visitors enter beneath a sheltered canopy, before following a procession through the building that trails around the courtyard and ends at one of the gardens.

Skylights bring natural light into the building from above and are reflected in the polished marble floors.

We’ve previously featured a few crematoriums, including one with fortress-like walls and dozens of square windows.

Photography is by Park Youngchae.

Here’s some more text from the architects:

Seoul Memorial Park

Secluded by mountain hills from a bustling highway gateway, Seoul Memorial Park rests in a serene valley area of the Woo-Myun Mountain on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea. Seoul Memorial Park is a crematorium constructed in harmony with the natural terrain of the site, which previously lent calming scenic views to meditative passing-by hikers, and is now converted to a sanctuary for solemn rituals concluding life’s journeys.

Canvas for Land Art

To overcome the unwelcomed response from the community, this crematorium was sought to be a “non-erected” building. Instead, Seoul Memorial Park emerges as a form of “land art” sculpted into the existing topography with a flowing array of architectural forms and motifs. Concaved at the center of the Park, lies a courtyard encompassed by a series of ritual spaces devoted to separate functions.

Site plan – click above for larger image

These spatial layers bordering the courtyard resonate from a distance with the surrounding mountain trails and ridges. The 2-storey high crematorium facility configured in the curvilinear belt along the courtyard has roof structures linked in the way flower petals pinwheel one another, punctuated by a reflective pool at the very heart of the courtyard.

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image

Comfort in the Final Journey

Families in bereavement take the final journey of parting as they encircle the courtyard along a path reminiscent of spiritual spaces with vaulted ceilings and indirect lighting. Towards the cremation alcove, the ceiling rises drastically as a clearstory above a triforum. Upon completion of the path, a meandering garden comforts the bereft.

East elevation – click above for larger image

As the water from the mountain flows down and gives life to the garden, one might be reminded of the transfiguration of sorrows in praise of the harmony in nature. The garden shimmers with sunlight, whispers with snowfalls, and dances with spring rains. Season by season, tranquility is discovered and the spirit is renewed. Just as nature was dissolved into a building to rest in the valley, Seoul Memorial Park was embodied in a piece of land art to celebrate life and transfigure sorrows.

North elevation – click above for larger image

Date of Completion: 2012
Site Area: 36,000 m2
GFA: 18,000 m2
Client: Seoul Municipal Facilities Management Corporation

West elevation – click above for larger image

2009 winning competition entry and 2012 built project by HAEAHN architecture.

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by HAEAHN Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.

Manchester firm Ian Simpson Architects have won a competition to design houses inside redundant water tanks in Lancashire, UK.

The proposals will transform the Barnacre Equilibrium Tanks into two houses with green roofs, roof lights and fully glazed front elevations.

More projects in the UK on Dezeen »

Here are some more details from Ian Simpson Architects:

Barnacre Equilibrium Tanks – Press Release
6th June 2011

Exciting plans for the conversion of redundant utility buildings into an exemplar, low-carbon family home will be submitted later this week by Bishopsrock Properties.

Above: proposed site

As winners of a design competition, Ian Simpson Architects developed proposals for the conversion of two disused, adjacent water reservoir tanks located on an elevated site in Barnacre-with-bonds, near Garstang in North Lancashire.

The project will see a large former water tank converted to provide a stunning, contemporary interpretation of the country home containing 6 bedrooms, whilst a smaller tank will be converted to form a 2-bedroom holiday cottage, aiming to stimulate tourism and the local economy.

Above: existing site

The views out from the site are breathtaking with the sea and the AONB highlight of Nicky Nook both being clearly visible. Daylight will flood into the main building via a series of roof lights and new glazed areas which frame inspiring views towards the sea and surrounding pastures.

The proposals will include a sweeping green roof, supporting native grass and sedum species, as part of ambitions to increase biodiversity in the area and visually enhance the setting of the building within the surrounding landscape.

Above: existing site

The completed building’s environmental credentials will include exceptional levels of thermal insulation and the use of low-energy systems to reduce energy demand, whilst ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels form the basis for renewable energy provision.

The main tank was originally designed to hold 1 million gallons of water and was built of high-grade concrete. Borehole tests and laboratory testing concluded that the reservoir tank was in “as new” condition, even after 40 years of service.

One of the environmental impacts of concrete is that its main constituent ingredient, cement, could be considered as one of the most polluting building materials in the world. As such, it was clear that not bringing these structures back into some sort of beneficial use would have been a missed opportunity. By careful intervention, Ian Simpson Architects demonstrate that it is possible to retain large parts of the concrete structure therefore significantly reducing the constructional impact of the scheme.

This development will be an exemplar of low-carbon family home design, offering credentials that stand up as sustainable at every level of scrutiny.

See also:

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Sky Garden House by Guz Architects	Passive Houses by Kjellgren Kaminsky	Sunnyside Up by SO-IL