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.

Architecture firm Grimshaw has completed an ecological park in South Korea where tropical plants, waterfalls and penguins are housed within huge glass and steel biomes (+ slideshow).

Located in Seocheon, the Ecorium visitor centre was designed in collaboration between the New York office of Grimshaw and Korean architecture firm Samoo, and was intended as an exhibition of the world’s climates.

The complex is made up of five biomes, each dedicated to a different climatic zone. In plan, they all feature curved semi-circular shapes that are based on the form of lakes left over by moving rivers.

“The project concept is inspired by the form of an oxbow lake, an aquatic body created by the evolving erosion of a meandering river,” said the architects, who previously designed biomes at the Eden Centre in Cornwall, England.

Curving steel beams create arched rooflines, while lightweight glass walls help to maximise the natural light inside each space.

Visitors enter the complex through a grand lobby and are led first to the tropical zone – the largest of the five greenhouses. This structure has high ceilings that will allow trees to grow in the future, alongside waterfall and aquarium features.

From here, a route moves through climates that include sub-tropical, Mediterranean, and temperate, which mimics the natural ecosystems of rural Korea.

The final greenhouse contains a polar zone, which has a sub-zero temperature and offers visitors a chance to see living penguins.

“Ecorium plays an important role in providing opportunities for visitors to have a hands-on experience of various ecological environments around the world and learn the importance of conservation,” added the architects.

Photography is by Young Chae Park.

Here’s a project description from Grimshaw:

Grimshaw completes first project in Asia

Grimshaw is delighted to announce the completion of its first project in Asia. Ecorium is an innovative environmental visitor attraction at the National Ecology Centre in Seocheon, South Korea. The project, which was secured through a turnkey design and build competition hosted by Korea’s Ministry of the Environment, uses nature as an immersive teaching tool to showcase the world’s diverse ecosystems. Grimshaw’s New York studio worked alongside Samoo Architects and Engineers during the competition phase. Following the successful project win, Samsung Construction executed and delivered the final project.

The project concept is inspired by the form of an oxbow lake, an aquatic body created by the evolving erosion of a meandering river. The masterplan guides the visitor flow through a series of botanical gardens and into Ecorium. Visitors travel through five biomes, seeing, hearing, smelling and touching flora and fauna from the tropical rainforest, cloud forest, dry tropics, cool temperate and Antarctic regions. The enclosures were consciously designed as a continuous series, utilising climatic zones to emphasise diversity while maintaining the connections between regions present in nature.

Ecorium is completely unique in its physical form and design characteristics, and a model of efficient green design in operation. Steel arches delineate the ridgeline of each biome enclosure, supporting a lightweight glazing system to maximise the internal daylight level. This practice promotes vigorous plant growth and eliminates the need for supplemental electrical lighting.

With the vision of becoming a hub for education and research on ecology, Ecorium plays an important role in providing opportunities for visitors to have a hands-on experience of various ecological environments around the world and learn the importance of conservation.

Grimshaw was supported during the concept design phases by the following sub-consultants:
Structural Engineering: Thornton Tomasetti
Environmental Systems: Atelier Ten
Botanical Design Specialist: Zoo Horticulture
Exhibit Design: Lyons Zaremba

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by Grimshaw and Samoo appeared first on Dezeen.

Steel trees with sprawling branches support the glass roof of this greenhouse in Switzerland by Buehrer Wuest Architekten (+ slideshow).

Located in a botanical garden outside the village of Grüningen, the greenhouse is used for growing subtropical plants such as banana and papaya.

The architects borrowed structural patterns found in nature, like the membranes of a leaf, to create the geometric structure of the roof.

Glass screens subdivide the space to create different planting areas.

Other greenhouses we’ve featured include one made from Lego and another with a temporary restaurant inside.

Photography is by Markus Bertschi.

Here are a few words from the architects:

The new pavilion at the botanical garden at Grueningen relates strongly to its context. The design was inspired by the surrounding forest, not the built environment.

Both the formal vocabulary and the structural concept derive from nature. The pavilion is conceived to harmonize with and expand the forest.

Site plan – click above for larger image

The form was developed using Voronoi tessellation, also known as natural neighbor interpolation. Analogous to cell division in nature, the geometry of the roof as surrounding membrane was determined by the position of the old and new trunks.

Column plan detail – click above for larger image

The forest was augmented by four steel trees that form the primary structural system of the pavilion.

Column detail – click above for larger image

At about five meters, the trunks branch toward the treetop, which forms the natural roof. A secondary glass construction, suspended from the steel branches, encloses the inner space of the greenhouse.

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by Buehrer Wuest Architekten appeared first on Dezeen.