Hasta La Ideas

This glazed town hall in the Netherlands by Dutch architecture studio Inbo has thatched roofing folding over all five of its huge curved profiles (+ slideshow).

Located in Schipluiden, the municipal centre of Midden-Delfland, the town hall comprises a row of five alternating volumes designed by Inbo to match the forms of the surrounding hills.

Inspired by the farmhouses typical in the region, the building has a thatched roof made from metre-long strands of reed. Unlike a traditional thatched roof, which could pose a significant fire hazard, the reeds are wrapped tightly around a system of prefabricated panels.

Above: photograph is by the architects

“In old barns fires would quickly grow because of the air feeding the fire from below,” architect Arnold Homan told Dezeen, “but here there are big prefabricated panels forming the understurcture beneath the reeds. The reeds are stitched over the panelling, no air can reach them.”

Above: photograph is by the architects

The thatching clads all surfaces of the roof that are visible at ground level, while the uppermost sections are covered with a mixture of sedum and photovoltaic solar panels. “It looks like the reed is all over the building from beginning to end, but that’s not actually the case,” explained Homan.

Above: photograph is by the architects

The three largest sections of the building accommodate the municipal offices of the Midden-Delfland Town Hall, while the two smaller blocks are sandwiched between to create an entrance foyer and public hall.

Above: photograph is by the architects

Windows line the north and south facades of each block to bring natural light through every room in the building. More solar panels are mounted around the glazing and double-up as solar shades.

Inbo also designed the interiors of the building, adding paving slabs to the floor of the entrance hall, teardrop-shaped lighting and wooden fittings built from locally sourced timber.

Other projects by Amsterdam studio Inbo include a technology company headquarters designed to look like a meteorite.

See more thatched architecture on Dezeen, including a thatched visitor centre for birdwatchers in Sweden and a thatched bar in Vietnam.

Photography is by Auke van der Weide, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s a project description from Inbo:

Town Hall Midden-Delfland
Schipluiden (NL)

The small municipality of Midden-Delfland is a green recreational enclave in the industrialised south wing of the Randstad, Netherlands. This vulnerable setting inspired the architects of Inbo, Arnold Homan and Jeroen Simons, in their design for its new town hall. Inbo designed a characteristic building, using the distinctive polder landscape of Midden-Delfland as a leading theme on multiple scale levels. The town hall presents itself like a visitor centre: an approachable, accessible building that interacts with its surroundings. This sustainable residence of Netherlands first Cittaslow-municipality – with its core values quality of life and slow food – presents itself in an inviting and precious icon.

The town hall has been awarded an A label on energy efficiency and a sustainability score of 235 (Greencalc). This carbon neutral building is literally fed by the landscape. Natural underground wells are utilised for heat and cold storage, regulating the buildings climate. The design choices in the building its shape and materialisation support the high standards for sustainability. The thick thatched roof and triple glazing façades ensure a high level of insulation. Solar cells integrated in the facade generate electricity and serve as sunscreens as well.

Located at the very edge of the village of Schipluiden, Inbo choose to adapt the grammar of the polder landscape in the concept of the town hall. The building consists of five alternating volumes corresponding with the parceling of the polder landscape. Three office volumes enclose the daylight volumes of the entrance hall and the public hall volume. The town hall is covered by a softly folded thatched roof, the distinct eye catcher. This roof is inspired by the typical farmhouses in Midden-Delfland and the differences in height of the polder landscape: it contrasts with the transparent façades.

Above: site plan

The three storey building is set against a characteristic dyke of the river Gaag. The central position of public spaces on first floor level, such as the public hall with vista across the Gaag river, serves the client-management concept. The spatial entrance hall bathes in daylight, bridging the differences in height between polder and river level by two easily accessible entrances. The perfect position for taking wise decisions about the future of Midden-Delfland has been created by positioning the double high council chamber on first level at the far end of the building: its backfolded roofshape frames the view across the adjacent polder landscape.

Above: ground floor plan – click for larger image

The interior reflects the character of Midden-Delfland. The essence of the building is a modest design and use of natural materials. The tiled floor for the public hall refers to the characteristic floors in traditional farmhouses. The carpet pattern throughout the offices resembles an aerial view of a polder landscape. The street pavement on polder level continues into the entrance hall. In the interior elements, such as facades, counters, pantries and the council table, native wood has been applied. A dynamic and open work environment has been created, generating views into public hall and entrance hall, and towards is surroundings: river, village and polder. The town hall is literally connected to the landscape.

Above: first floor plan – click for larger image

With its new town hall, the municipality of Midden-Delfland wants to set a sustainable example for its inhabitants and display its core values nationwide.

Above: second floor plan – click for larger image

Client and occupant: Gemeentehuis Midden-Delfland
Function: town hall with a council chamber, offices (various office concepts), restaurant, public space with counters, police post, fire department post
Specialities: Residence of Netherlands first Cittaslow-municipality
Surface: 5966 m2 (fire department post 700 m2, offices 3876 m2, public functions 1390 m2)

Above: block one section – click for larger image

Design: 2007
Start realisation: May 2011
Completion: September 2012

Above: block two section – click for larger image

Architect: Inbo
Project architect: Arnold Homan en Jeroen Simons
Team members: Ben van der Wal, Arie de Jong, Maarten Hooijmeijer, Erik Berg

Above: block three section – click for larger image

Urban design: DN Urbland te Den Haag (NL)
Interior design: Inbo (NL)
Structural engineering: Bartels, Utrecht (NL)
Installations engineering: Vintis installatietechniek, Zoetermeer (NL)

Above: block four section – click for larger image

Contractor: Bouwonderneming Stout B.V., Hardinxveld-Giessendam (NL)
Building management: Stevens Van Dijck, Zoetermeer (NL)
Others: LBP Utrecht (NL) (akoestiek, bouwfysica, brandveiligheid)

Above: block five section – click for larger image

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by Inbo appeared first on Dezeen.

OMA’s new Tokyo store for American accessories brand Coach is a glazed cube with a herringbone-patterned display system (+ slideshow).

Inspired by the categorised wooden storage systems of Coach‘s original 1940s stores, Coach Omotesando features a modular shelving system that Rem Koolhaas’ OMA has developed for all of the brand’s new stores.

Here, the shelves form a herringbone pattern that covers the glazed facade of the two-storey shop. Frosted glass panels were used to build the boxy shelves on the inside of the walls, while on the outside they form a system of horizontal louvres.

Once the store is open each box will be filled with an item from Coach’s latest collections, which include outerwear, footwear, jewellery, handbags and other accessories.

A staircase is positioned at the centre of the store, connecting womenswear on the ground floor with menswear on the first floor. This area also features a modular shelving system, although here it is broken up into a rectilinear grid.

Lighting is installed within the staircase tower, intended to create a central beacon that illuminates the store 24 hours a day.

OMA first revealed designs for the display system during the summer. Since then the studio has installed a smaller version at a Coach kiosk within Macy’s flagship Herald Square store in New York.

This week Dutch firm OMA has also revealed a collection of furniture for US furniture brand Knoll. See more architecture and design by OMA.

Other notable shop designs on Dezeen include Peter Marino’s Louis Vuitton Maison on London’s Bond Street and Schemata’s flagship for Japanese fashion brand Takeo Kikuchi. See more shops on Dezeen.

Photography is by Iwan Baan.

Here’s some more information from OMA:

Coach Flagship, Omotesando

Founded in 1941, Coach began as a leather goods retailer, displaying their products in a single row of library-like, wooden shelving that categorized their handbags and wallets. The brand’s repertoire has since expanded to include a full range of lifestyle merchandise including outerwear, footwear, jewelry, watches and sunwear, which are now sold in a variety of retail environments from specialty boutique to department store.

Inspired by the clarity of Coach’s original, systematic filing retail strategy, OMA designed a modular display unit that is flexible enough to accommodate the specific needs of each product and retail environment. The spatial possibilities of this highly functional system reinforce Coach’s mission to represent ‘logic and magic.’ For the first iteration at a kiosk within Macy’s department store at Herald Square, acrylic display units were assembled into a floor-to-ceiling high, “V” shaped wall. Products appear to float amidst maintained views to the accessories floor beyond.

Coach’s ninth Japan flagship is a two-story, corner site on Omotesando, a prominent retail corridor in Tokyo. In comparison to the increasingly decorative elevations that characterize Omotesando, OMA’s design integrates display into the façade, seamlessly communicating the brand’s presence from the inside out.

The display units are stacked in a herringbone pattern of vertical and horizontal orientation to facilitate a range of curation scenarios. Dimensioned to accommodate Coach’s standard merchandising elements (ex. mannequins, busts, bags), the unit measures 1800 mm x 520 mm. Frosted glass that provides shelving within the store is further articulated to the façade as louvers.

Viewed from the exterior, the double-height storefront presents an uninterrupted survey of Coach’s full collection in a single view, with a dedicated frame for each product. Viewed from the interior, the display unit’s translucency creates an active backdrop for merchandise, filtering Omotesando’s streetscape into the shopping experience.

Above: display concept

In addition to the façade, OMA designed a floating tower of illuminated units that encase the store’s central stair, seamlessly connecting the women’s first floor and men’s second level. Consolidating the display on the facade and circulation creates a condition in which the shopper is continuously surrounded by product, while simultaneously liberating floorspace. In the evenings, the circulation tower illuminates the façade as a dynamic, 24-hour window display from within.

Above: cross section

Status: Commission January 2012; Completion April 2013
Client: Coach, Inc.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Site: Ground and second floor of new construction on Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan Program: 444.75 m2 / 4787.25 sf
Façade: 210 glass units Circulation Tower: 105 acrylic units
Partner-in-Charge: Shohei Shigematsu
Project Architect: Rami Abou Khalil
Team: Yolanda do Campo, Benedict Clouette with Jackie Woon Bae, Cass Nakashima, Phillip Poon, David Theisz
Local Architect and Engineer: Obayashi Corporation Façade Consultancy: Michael Ludvik
Interior Architecture: Nomura, Co., Ltd.

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by OMA appeared first on Dezeen.

A McDonald’s restaurant and a petrol station are concealed within this faceted glass shell in Georgia, designed by architect Giorgi Khmaladze (+ slideshow).

“The city officials wanted to avoid having a regular gas station in the middle of the area, which right now is undergoing major renewal,” Giorgi Khmaladze told Dezeen. “From that departure point, I proposed to combine two programs in one building footprint.”

The structure, located in the coastal town of Batumi, features an elongated shape that cantilevers on one side to create the canopy for the petrol station. The entrance to McDonald’s is positioned on the opposite side, as the architect wanted to keep the two as separate as possible.

“Spaces are composed in such a way that the two major programs – vehicle services and dining – are isolated from one another, both physically and visually,” explains Khmaladze.

Serving areas are contained inside the building’s circular core. Staircases wind around the outside of the circle on both sides, leading up past a series of tiered seating booths towards a dining area on the first floor.

Glass lines the perimeter of the dining area and a terrace wraps around the outside. Rather than a view down onto the petrol station and road, diners are faced with the sloping topside of the canopy, which the architect has covered with beds of shrubbery.

Two pools of water are positioned around the outside of the building and help to define different routes for pedestrians and cars.

McDonalds has also recently been working with French designer Patrick Norguet, who has redesigned its restaurants across France. See more design for McDonalds.

Other chain restaurants to be redesigned in recent years include British roadside restaurant Little Chef and Burger King diners in Singapore. See more chain restaurant designs.

Photography is by the architect.

Here’s some more information from Giorgi Khmaladze:

The project is located in one of the newly urbanized parts of the seaside city of Batumi, Georgia. It includes fuels station, McDonald’s, recreational spaces and reflective pool.

Given the central location and therefore importance of the site, it was decided to give back as much area as possible for recreation to the city by limiting the footprint of the building and vehicular circulation. This resulted in one volume with all programs compressed within.

Spaces are composed in such a way that the two major programs – vehicle services and dining – are isolated from one another, both physically and visually so that all operations of fuel station are hidden from the view of the customers of the restaurant.

Because of the predefined, small building footprint, most of the supporting and utility spaces are grouped and located on the ground level to be close to all technical access points.

Public space of the restaurant starts from the lobby and its separate entrance on the ground floor. From where, as a way to naturally connect to the upper floor and to offer customers the experience of smooth transition between levels, the floor steps upwards and creates inhabitable decks on intermediate levels to be occupied as dining spaces.

Part of the dining space offers view towards outside water features, while the rest seamlessly transitions into open air patio on the upper level. The patio, enclosed from all sides to protect the space from outside noise, provides calm open air seating. The vegetation layer, which covers the cantilevered giant canopy of the fuel station adds natural environment and acts as a “ecological shield” for the terrace.

Project: Fuel Station + McDonalds
Architect: Giorgi Khmaladze (Khmaladze Architects)
Collaborators: Capiteli (Structural Engineer), Gulfstream (MEP), Archange & Schloffer (MCD Standards), Franke (Kitchen engineering), Erco (exterior lighting).

Location: Batumi, Georgia
Year: 2010-11 Design, 2012-13 Construction
Size: 1200 sqm
Client: SOCAR

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by Giorgi Khmaladze appeared first on Dezeen.

News: the Rio de Janeiro stadium that was set to host athletics tournaments during the 2016 Olympics has been closed indefinitely due to structural problems.

The Joao Havelange Olympic Stadium, known locally as the Engenhao, will have to undergo roof repairs before it can be declared fit for use.

Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes said he had been told that the structural problems could pose a risk for spectators, depending on the wind speed and temperature.

“On that basis, I immediately decided to close the stadium until we had more details,” he told a news conference.

“It’s simply not acceptable that a stadium which was inaugurated such a short time ago now has to face this sort of situation.”

Designed by architects Carlos Porto and Gilson Santos, the stadium opened late and over budget in 2007 and is currently the city’s main football venue while the Maracana Stadium is rebuilt for this year’s Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.

Rio intends to build only nine permanent sites and six temporary venues for the 2016 Olympics in an attempt to avoid the legacy of ‘white elephant’ sporting venues suffered by former host cities Athens and Beijing.

Other sports venues we’ve reported on lately include Zaha Hadid Architects’ successful bid to design the new national stadium for Japan and a competition-winning design for a football stadium in Ethiopia with stands built into mounds of earth – see all stadiums.

Photograph is by the Brazilian Foreign Office.

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due to roof problems appeared first on Dezeen.

Austrian firm Coop Himmelb(l)au has completed the Dalian International Conference Center, a contorted steel building in China with conference halls bursting through its facade.

The conference centre is constructed beside the harbour in the city of Dalian. Positioned at the far end of the city’s main axis, the building was conceived as a landmark for the developing district outside the densely populated centre.

Coop Himmelb(l)au designed the building as a twisted mass of steel and concrete, with ridged surfaces that flare outwards like the gills of a bulbous fish. Behind these openings, large areas of glazing bring natural light inside.

The core of the building is a 1600-seat theatre and concert hall. The primary conference room is positioned just behind and can accommodate up to 2500 delegates, but can also be adapted to provide a banqueting hall, an exhibition gallery or extra seating for the concert hall.

Six additional conference suites are dotted around the perimeter of the building and cantilever out beyond the natural line of the exterior walls. The capacity of these rooms varies between 300 and 600 people, but most can be subdivided to create smaller spaces.

A public foyer winds through the building to connect each room, and also features a central meeting area.

Coop Himmelb(l)au won a competition in 2008 to design the Dalian International Conference Center. Construction commenced later that year and involved the help of shipbuilders, who were brought in to bend the massive steel plates of the outer shell.

Coop Himmelb(l)au is led by architect Wolf D. Prix, who last summer launched a scathing attack on the Venice Architecture Biennale for placing too much emphasis on celebrity. His studio also recently completed another grand-scale project in Asia – the Busan Cinema Centre in South Korea, which features a cantilever wider than the wings of an Airbus A380. See more architecture by Coop Himmelb(l)au.

Another major building proposed for Dalian in recent years was the football stadium designed by UNStudio, but this project has now been put on hold. See more stories about architecture in China.

Photography is by Duccio Malagamba.

Here’s a more detailed project description from Coop Himmelb(l)au:

Dalian International Conference Center, Dalian, China (2008-2012)

The building has both to reflect the promising modern future of Dalian and its tradition as an important port, trade, industry and tourism city. The formal language of the project combines and merges the rational structure and organization of its modern conference center typology with the floating spaces of modernist architecture.

Dalian is an important seaport, industrial, trade, and tourism center, located in the southernmost part of the Liaodong Peninsula in the Chinese Liaoning Province. The city is currently undergoing a wave of transformation on coastal brownfield and reclaimed land which will entirely change the city’s face within the next decade.

The key developments are:

» Dislocation of container port away from the dense city area
» Establishment of international port for cruise ships
» New development of a “CBD – Central Business District” on reclaimed land
» Bridge over the sea to connect with the special economic zone

The urban design task of the Dalian International Conference Center is to create an instantly recognizable landmark at the terminal point of the future extension of the main city axis. As its focal point the building will be anchored in the mental landscape of the population and the international community. The footprint of the building on the site is therefore arranged in accordance with the orientation of the two major urban axis which merge in front of the building. The cantilevering conference spaces that penetrate the facades create a spatially multifaceted building volume and differentiate the close surroundings. The various theaters and conference spaces are covered by a cone-shaped roof screen. Through controlled daylight input good spatial orientation for the visitors and atmospheric variety is assured.

The project combines the following functions within one hybrid building with synergetic effects of functionality and spatial richness.

» Conference Center
» Theater and Opera House
» Exhibition Center
» Basement with Parking, Delivery and Disposal

A public zone at ground level allows for differentiating accessibility for the different groups of users. The actual performance and conference spaces are situated at +15.30 m above the entrance hall. The grand theater, with a capacity of 1,600 seats and a stage tower, and the directly adjacent flexible conference hall of 2,500 seats, are positioned at the core of the building. With this arrangement the main stage can be used for the classical theater auditorium as well as for the flexible multipurpose hall. The main auditorium is additionally equipped with backstage areas like in traditional theaters and opera houses. This scheme is appropriate to broaden the range of options for the use of this space: from convention, musical, theater even up to classical opera, with very little additional investment.

The smaller conference spaces are arranged like pearls around this core, providing very short connections between the different areas, thus saving time while changing between the different units. Most conference rooms and the circulation areas have direct daylight from above. Through this open and fluid arrangement the theater and conference spaces on the main level establish a kind of urban structure with “squares” and “street spaces”. These identifiable “addresses” facilitate user orientation within the building. Thus the informal meeting places, as well as chill-out and catering zones, and in between the halls, gardens with view connection to outside are provided as required for modern conference utilization. The access to the basement parking garage, truck delivery and waste disposal is located at the southwest side of the site, thus freeing the front driveway to the entrances from transit traffic. The main entrance from the sea side corresponds to the future developments, including the connection to the future cruise terminal.

Technical, Climatic and Environmental Concept

The focus of the architectural design and project development lies on technology, construction and their interplay. The technical systems fulfil the tasks required for the spatial use of the building automatically, invisibly and silently.

With the Dalian International Dalian Conference Center, these systems work like a hybrid city within a building. For the technical infrastructure of the building this means, that we have to consider a huge amount of people circulating inside the building at the same time, who expect high standards in circulation and comfort as well as a state of the art building with respect to high flexibility, low energy consumption and low use of natural resources.

Technical areas in the basement supply infrastructure within a rectangular grid, mainly inside the vertical cores. In particularly the conference zone has to be provided with a sufficient amount of air in order to maintain a high level of thermal and acoustical comfort. Therefore the conditioned air will be silently injected into the rooms via an inflated double flooring underneath the seating. Air blowout units inside the stairs will ensure consistent air distribution. Due to the thermal uplift, the heat of the people ascends to the ceiling and is extracted by suction.

Above: ground floor plan – click for larger image

One of the major tasks of sustainable architecture is the minimisation of energy consumption. A fundamental contribution is to avoid considerable fluctuations in demands during the course of the day. Therefore it is essential to integrate the natural resources of the environment like:

» Use the thermal energy of seawater with heat pumps for cooling in summer and heating in winter
» General use of low temperature systems for heating in combination with activation of the concrete core as thermal mass in order to keep the building on constant temperature
» Natural ventilation of the huge air volumes within the building allows for minimization of the mechanical apparatus for ventilation heating and cooling. The atrium is conceived as a solar heated, naturally ventilated sub climatic area.
» In the large volume individual areas can be treated separately by additional measures such as displacement ventilation
» A high degree of daylight use is aspired both for its positive psychological effect and for minimizing the power consumption for artificial lighting
» Energy production with solar energy panels integrated into the shape of the building.

Above: first floor plan – click for larger image

Structural Concept

The structural concept is based on a sandwich structure composed of 2 elements: the “table” and the roof. Both elements are steel space frames with depths ranging between 5 and 8 meters. The whole structure is elevated 7 meters above ground level and is supported by 14 vertical composite steel and concrete cores. A doubly ruled façade structure connects the two layers of table and roof, creating a load-bearing shell structure. The application of new design and simulation techniques, the knowledge of local shipbuilders to bend massive steel plates, and the consumption of more than 40,000 tons of steel enables breathtaking spans of over 85 meters and cantilevering of over 40 meters.

Above: second floor plan – click for larger image

Planning: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU – Wolf D. Prix / W. Dreibholz & Partner ZT GmbH
Design Principal: Wolf D. Prix
Project Partner: Paul Kath (until 2010), Wolfgang Reicht
Project Architect: Wolfgang Reicht
Design Architect: Alexander Ott
Design Team: Quirin Krumbholz, Eva Wolf, Victoria Coaloa

Above: third floor plan – click for larger image

Local Partner: DADRI Dalian Institute of Architecture Design and Research Co. LTD, UD Studio, J&A Interior Design

Above: fourth floor plan – click for larger image

Client: Dalian Municipal People’s Government, P.R. China
Structural Engineering: B+G Ingenieure, Bollinger Grohmann Schneider ZT-GmbH, DADRI Dalian Institute of Architecture Design and Research Co. LTD
Acoustics: Müller-BBM, Planegg
Stage Design: BSEDI Beijing Special Engineering Design and Research Institute
Lighting Design: a•g Licht, Wilfried Kramb

Above: fifth floor plan – click for larger image

Audio & Video: CRFTG Radio, Film and Television Design & Research Institute
Climatic Design: Prof. Brian Cody
HVAC, Sprinkler: Reinhold A. Bacher, DADRI Dalian Institute of Architecture Design and Research Co. LTD
Façade: Meinhardt Facade Technology Ltd.
Photovoltaic: Baumgartner GmbH
General Contractor: China Construction Eight Engineering Division

Above: sixth floor plan – click for larger image

Competition: 03/2008
Start of Planning: 07/2008
Start of Construction: 11/2008
Completion: 2012

Above: reflected ceiling plan – click for larger image

Site Area: 40,000 sqm
Gross Floor Area Conference Center: 91,250 sqm
Gross Floor Area Parking: 24,400 sqm
Gross Floor Area total: 117,650 sqm
Footprint: 33,000 sqm

Above: top view – click for larger image

Building Height: 60 m
Building Length: 220 m
Building Width: 200 m
Number of Floors: 8

Above: functional options – click for larger image

Above: climate design – click for larger image

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by Coop Himmelb(l)au appeared first on Dezeen.