This 27-storey Barcelonahotel by Ateliers Jean Nouvel is punctured by windows shaped like palm fronds and contains a huge atrium filled with palm trees and tropical vegetation (photos by Roland Halbe).
The firm led by French architect Jean Nouvel teamed up with local studio Ribas & Ribas to design the Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel for the Marriott hotel chain, and it is located in a part of the city that hosts a number of major trade fairs.
Photograph by Roland Halbe
The building comprises a pair of 110-metre towers that are joined at the top by a rooftop restaurant, terrace and swimming pool. The space between is enclosed by glazing, creating greenhouse-style atrium where staircases are interspersed with greenery from five different continents.
Photograph by Roland Halbe
The leaf-shaped windows are positioned in front of some of the hotel’s 357 rooms, most of which feature simple interiors with white walls, bedding and furniture, plus bathrooms lined with lime plaster.
Photograph by Roland Halbe
In addition to the rooftop restaurant, a Mediterranean restaurant is located on the fourteenth floor amidst the trees, while the ground-floor lobby offers a cocktail bar.
Photograph by Roland Halbe
One floor of the building is given over to flexible meeting rooms, offering space for up to 1000 people. Other facilities include a heated whirlpool and solarium and a fitness centre.
Joris Laarman‘s MX3D-Metal method combines a robotic arm typically used in car manufacturing with a welding machine to melt and then deposit metal, to create lines that can be printed horizontally, vertically, or in curves without the need for support structures.
Following on from the machine Laarman developed last year that used a quick-drying resin, this method of printing makes it possible to create 3D objects on any given surface independent of inclination and smoothness. The technique can be used to print with metals including stainless steel, aluminium, bronze or copper.
Robot arm 3D-printing metal lines in mid air
“By adding small amounts of molten metal at a time, we are able to print lines in mid air,” explained Laarman.
The metal lines can also be printed to intersect with each other, creating self-supporting structures, and the robotic head can build up several separate lines at once by adding to each one in turn.
MX3D-Metal 3D-printing robot
The designer is currently using the technique to make a 3D-printed metal bench, which will go on display as part of an exhibition of his work at Friedman Benda Gallery in New York this May, though the final form of the piece is still in development.
“The nice thing about working with new technology like this is that the formal language of the design follows what is possible with the technique,” he said. “While the technique is developing the possibilities change.”
Robot arm 3D-printing metal lines
However, Laarman believes the approach can also be used 3D-printed architectural constructions and concrete reinforcements. “Because the technology is not affected by gravity, it could even be used in space,” he said.
Previously, printing with metal was achieved through selective laser melting (SLM) or electron beam printing; SLM uses a high-powered laser beam to create three-dimensional parts by fusing fine metallic powders together, while electron beam printing uses a similar technique with an electron beam and is printed inside a vacuum. However, these techniques are expensive and produce very small objects.
“All these are ways to print in metal on a very small scale,” said Laarman. “The method we developed is for a larger scale and doesn’t need a support structure like all other methods.”
Laarman’s technique isn’t restricted to just printing in layers either, becuse the print head of MX3D-Metal can approach the object from any angle and print lines that intersect in order to create a self-supporting structure. “3D printing like this is still unexplored territory and leads to a new formal language that is not bound by additive layers,” he said.
Examples of 3D-printed metal lines
The process can also be scaled down to create more refined structures without the need for scaffolding or other supportive add-ons.
The software that controls the robot arm and welder was developed in collaboration with American 3D software company Autodesk. “The combination of robot/welding is driven by different types of software that work closely together,” Laarman revealed, adding that the software will eventually be developed into an interface that allows the user to print directly from design programs.
“Vertical, horizontal or spiraling lines require different settings, such as pulse time, pause-time, layer height or tool orientation,” he continued. “All this information is being incorporated in the software.”
More examples of 3D-printed metal lines
Last year, Petr Novikov and Saša Jokić, two interns at Joris Laarman Lab created the MX3D-Resin, which allowed the creation of chunky three-dimensional rods from a polymer, rather than slowly building up two-dimensional layers like a standard 3D printer. From these initial experiments, Laarman discovered a way of doing the same with metal.
Laarman graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2003, and first received international recognition for his decorative Heatwave radiator produced by Dutch design brand Droog. He set up his own lab in 2004 in Amsterdam with partner and film-maker Anita Staris. Laarman’s previous work has included chairs designed to mimic the proportion and functionality of human bone.
This asymmetric Alpine cabin by Austrian architect Peter Jungmann has been named Ufogel because its owners think it looks like a cross between a UFO and a “vogel” – the German word for bird (+ slideshow).
Located on a grassy slope in the East Tyrolian village of Nussdorf, the small shingle-clad structure is a rentable holiday home that sleeps up to four people, but contains only 45-square-metres of floor space.
The building is raised off the ground on metal feet, but is otherwise built entirely from wood. Larch shingles clad the outer walls and roof, while the interior surfaces are lined with timber panels to create a distinctive smell.
A gentle staircase leads up into the main floor of the house, which features a small kitchen and a dining table that can seat between six and eight people at a time.
A small lounge area filled with cushions sits half a storey up, beside a long window that angles upwards to frame views towards the peaks of the Lienz Dolomites.
Stairs continue up to a bedroom level with a curved ceiling, containing both a double bed and a separate bunk. The shower and washroom are also located on this floor.
Underfloor heating helps to distribute warmth throughout the space, but can be supplemented by a wood-burning stove.
Here’s some more information from the Ufogel website:
Ufogel
Explore the difference in our house UFOGEL in Nussdorf/Debant near Lienz in East Tyrol!
Our exclusive and bizarre holiday house – Ufogel in the picturesque Nussdorf near Lienz has an unusual architecture. It is built on stilts and floating above the meadow in a peaceful and unspoiled nature. The panoramic windows offers a unique view of the breathtaking Lienz Dolomites, the Val Pusteria impressive mountain peaks and the so-called “Carinthian Gate”.
Your exclusive holiday home for your unforgettable holiday is a compact building, made entirely of wood, both inside as well as outside. The smell of wood flows through the room. A generous, as the only access bridge-like connection to the seemingly floating building. Almost like at home standing in the entrance area with slippers.
Following you will find the kitchen with a spacious kitchen, sink and hob. A stove with optional hotplate complements the kitchen and spreads warmth throughout the house. The cantilevered table can comfortably accommodate 6-8 people. For more generosity, the seat can be folded down. The huge panoramic window with a lawn on the mezzanine bridge the gap to the surrounding nature. A feeling like the convenience of Inside Outside. Natural materials, coupled with quality products – the best of the region. Substances (Villgrater nature) not far distant from the production Ufogel give more softness and comfort. Whether you relax comfortably watch TV, play, sleep, cook or just want to switch off – nothing seems impossible.
Upstairs there is a spacious double bed in pine, which can be transformed into a bed when needed. Another, separate bunk offers the special recreational value for two. An open glass cabinet with a view into the shower creates sufficient space for luggage. The barrier-free bathroom, overlooking the East Tyrolean mountains makes the shower experience. The Ufogel has a floor heating, which can optionally be supplemented by the stove. A refrigerator and a storage box with several areas are available. For hot summer days, a fully automatic sun protection system is installed, which can be operated manually. Experience the extraordinary – in Ufogel.
Stockholm 2014: Swedish designer Monica Förster has created a range of leather bags for Stockholm boutique Palmgrens.
Monica Förster‘s Stitches and Buttons collection comprises three handbags, which she designed for Palmgrens after approaching the store with the idea of creating her first range of bags.
“I contacted Palmgrens because I wanted to take on the challenge of letting my knowledge of the furniture world meet the fashion world,” said Förster. “Palmgrens is an obvious partner because they merge traditional craftsmanship with contemporary features.”
Stiff panels of leather form the rigid front and back of the bags, with buttons attached around the edges.
The large and small designs have curved handles either side of their open tops, while the medium-sized variation features a flap to close it and wider-set handles.
Each vegetable-tanned bag comes in two colour combinations. Red-brown coloured leather is paired with black buttons and beige stitching, while all black and all beige models are also available.
The range was on show at the Palmgrens store and Monica Förster’s studio during Stockholm Design Week earlier this month.
Yo Shimada of Tato Architects decided to base the two-storey House in Kawanishi on the archetypal Australian dwelling known as “The Queenslander” after coming across photographs of the buildings in construction.
“Since then, I have been interested in the form of this style of house,” said Shimada, explaining how he was later able to visit Australia and see the houses for himself. “It’s a design solution that mirrored my own thinking,” he added.
The stilted structure of the house, comprising a system of exposed steel I-beams, allowed Shimada to recess part of the ground floor to allow ample room for a public walkway that runs alongside the property.
The first floor still continues to the edge of the site, sheltering part of the walkway but also framing the house’s entrance lobby – a transparent glass box containing a cabinet for storing shoes before entering.
According to Shimada, this space is intended to highlight the boundary between the public space of the walkway and the privacy of the domestic interior. “It sits reminiscent of a bus stop containing furniture brought there by neighbours,” he said.
Square in plan, the house has a non-symmetrical grid that defines the sizes of rooms contained within. Living, dining and kitchen areas occupy a large open-plan space on the ground floor, but are loosely separated by a boxy white bathroom.
Two large voids in the ceiling allow views up to the floor above. One of these openings also functions as a stairwell and ascends up over a storage area at the front of house.
A landing halfway up the stairs creates a sunken seating area for a study above, allowing the floor surface to be used as a desk.
The entire first floor is lined with lauan plywood. Internal windows allow views between rooms on this level, while skylights bring extra daylight in through the sloping roof above.
The house’s balcony stretches across the entire south facade. A garage is positioned underneath and can be accessed by sliding back an industrial metal door.
Concrete-block walls with occasional perforations enable a system of natural ventilation, with hot air released through a chimney at the rear.
Photography is by Shinkenchiku-sha.
Here’s a project description from Tato Architects:
House in Kawanishi
Layered Boundaries
The project presented an unusual challenge: A public walkway ran adjacent to the western boundary of the house. It narrowed awkwardly from a three metre-wide road on approach from the north to a mere seventy centimetres on the eastern border to the southern corner of the site. If walls had been built to the boundary of the site to protect the residents’ privacy from the many passers-by who used this path, the path would narrow oppressively and become more difficult for the area’s residents to use.
Instead, the ground floor was set back from the boundary to give space to the path and to give the impression that the full width of the path continued through. Then the second floor of the house was built back over the path, out to the boundary of the site and its border with the road. There is a glazed entrance area containing a shoe cabinet that appears to sit beyond the border between the public and private spaces. It sits reminiscent of a bus stop containing furniture brought there by neighbours.
This theme of crossing borders between road and site is carried through the entire house design. Using the line of the neighbour’s concrete block wall, a new block wall has been built through to the south, crossing an interior space to become the wall of a storage space. This harnesses the height differences originally found in the site.
The area above the storage space then forms a landing for the stairs, and the level of the first floor has been adjusted to function as a desk sitting over the landing. This creates a space that is partly a border between a floor and partly a desk. Seen from the street, the ground floor, the first floor, and the interior and the exterior all appear to cross over.
The interior walls of the upper volume are all lauan plywood, which creates a singular space that lives in clear contrast to the ground floor, which contains a variety of materials and features. The whole design suggests an evolving living space with features that appear to cross beyond boundaries yet control them at the same time.
Gaining anonymous knowledge
The house style called a “Queenslander” is a stilt house with a wooden structure and a balcony design specific to Queensland in Australia. While some researchers in Japan have studied it, I had little knowledge of it until I encountered photographs of Queenslander houses being lifted during their conversion and renovation from one to two-story structures. Since then, I have been interested in the form of this style of house.
By a curious coincidence, last year I received a request from an Australian man to design his house. I flew there in June in 2013 for the site research, where I found the city space was surprising. Most of the Queenslanders I saw had hipped roofs with overhangs that covered all of the exterior space of the house. These roofs were clad in corrugated iron, painted white or silver to reflect the heat. To facilitate ventilation, which is normally difficult with a hipped roof, ventilators were installed on top. During their conversion to their two-storey form, various additional house features were being built in under the lifted volumes.
It’s a design solution that mirrored my own thinking in the design of this house, which was under construction at that time. While I design my architecture, I am sometimes encouraged by the knowledge I gain from anonymous predecessors who have had to deal with similar matters beyond time and regions. It is a wonderful moment to be able to touch an unbroken line of history in architecture and accumulate knowledge from it.
The plan is defined by a grid, with four squares slightly shifted off centre, and a modified square hipped roof formed by raising it at the centre. The simple, slim rigid joint frame structure consists of 125mm×125mm square steel columns and 200mm×100m H section steel beams. It realises its strength through its stiffness, by the low ceiling height and by the column bases buried in the foundation.
On the edge of the eaves, small section flat steel pipes are inserted to channel the steel rafters around the structure. The concrete block wall on the ground floor stands without counterforts through the support of flat steel bars inserted into some of the block holes.
Location of site: Hyogo, Japan Site area: 120.54 sqm Building area: 59.84 sqm Total floor area: 107.73 sqm Type of Construction: steel Program: house Project by: Tato Architects Principal designer: Yo Shimada Structural engineer: S3 Associates Inc.
Karina Wiciak of Polish studio Wamhouse designed the twelfth and final imaginary restaurant in her XII collection to look like it’s been made from discarded material.
Titled Szmaciarnia, which means “rag-house” in Polish, the interior employs patches of leftover fabric stitched together haphazardly to form surfaces.
These grey, blue and beige materials cover walls, ceilings and the restaurant’s bar.
“Szmaciarnia is not a tribute to the idea of recycling, but proof that the elegant interior may not just be created with popular glass or metal,” said the designer.
“The rough texture of the fabric does not need to be associated with cheapness and mediocrity, and the possibilities of its application are still endless,” she added.
Fabric is also draped over a reception desk and small swatches are used to form lampshades. The remaining surfaces are coloured white to provide a contrast.
Furniture such as chairs and stools first appear to be made from marble, but on closer inspection the veins in the material turn out to be stitched seams.
Designers including Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola and Nendo have reinterpreted the Bourgie table lamp produced by Italian plastic brand Kartell to mark the design’s tenth anniversary.
This image: Christophe Pillet. Main image: Nendo
Kartell invited fourteen designers to put their own spin on the plastic Bourgie lamp, originally designed by Italian designer Ferruccio Laviani in 1994.
Piero Lissoni
He first created the lamp as a transparent polycarbonate copy of the one that sat on his desk, which had a traditional antique candelabra stand and fabric shade.
Front
Ten years on, the group of designers have altered the shape, materials and function of the piece while keeping the essence of Laviani’s original.
Philippe Starck
“I have always supported and promoted the ‘remix’ concept, to explain that what I create is something that already exists but becomes something else through my revision of reality, my re-interpretation of things,” said Laviani.
Patrick Jouin
Nendo turned the Bourgie lamp upside-down and used the inverse of its shape to create the silhouette for a cylindrical design.
Ludovica+Roberto Palomba
A wireframe version with a CMYK LED lightsource was designed by Ludovica+Roberto Palomba.
Mario Bellini
Mario Bellini used two shades and three stems to turn it into a coat stand, while Patricia Urquiola took an element from the stand to form branches of a chandelier.
The fibrous metallic garments in Central Saint Martins graduate Graham Fan’s London Fashion Week collection are reminiscent of wire brushes used for cleaning the dishes.
“As I began working on this collection, I created a piece of woven plastic textile inspired by the exterior of [Heatherwick’s] Boiler Suit,” he told Dezeen.
“I then looked into various traditional basketry and weaving sources, hoping to further craft some new textiles with different materials,” he added.
Metallic plastic cords were handwoven unevenly to create patterns for the jackets, tops and dresses, plus skirts with 1950s shapes. The threads loop back on themselves to form turtlenecks, cuffs and hems.
Fan incorporated mohair, leather strips and fish wire into some sections of the weave to add texture.
“Elastic fish wire was woven through the materials horizontally and vertically in order to create the uneven shimmering surface,” said Fan.
The concrete cells of the canopy spanning this new airport terminal in Mumbai was designed by American firm SOM to reference both the open-air pavilions of traditional Indian architecture and the arrangement of feathers in a peacock’s tail (+ slideshow).
The new 40-hectare terminal at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport will accommodate 40 million passengers a year for both international and domestic flights, and was designed by SOM to adopt the styles and motifs of the regional vernacular.
“We designed an airport that is intimately connected to its surroundings,” said SOM partner Roger Duffy. “By subtly incorporating regional patterns and textures at all scales, Terminal 2 resonates with a sense of place and serves as a spectacular symbol for India and Mumbai.”
The check-in hall is located on the upper level of the four-storey terminal, directly beneath the perforated concrete ceiling. This canopy is supported by 30 tapered columns that are punctured with similar recesses, creating a decorative pattern of openings that are infilled with coloured glazing to allow light to filter through the space.
“The monumental spaces created beneath the 30 mushrooming columns call to mind the airy pavilions and interior courtyards of traditional regional architecture,” said the design team.
“The constellation of colours makes reference to the peacock, the national bird of India, and the symbol of the airport,” they added.
A 900-metre long glass wall with a gridded cable frame provides the hall’s facade. The decorative canopy extends beyond the walls to offer protection from both intense heat and monsoons, but also creates an area where Indian departure ceremonies can take place.
The rest of the terminal is laid out with an X-shaped plan, where modular concourses radiate outwards from the central core to minimise walking distances to boarding gates.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing offer passengers the opportunity to watch planes arriving and departing, while patterned jali screens help light to filter gently through the spaces.
Photography is by Robert Polidori, apart from where otherwise stated.
Here’s a project description from SOM:
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2
Ten years ago, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport welcomed six million passengers per year through its gates; today it serves nearly five times that number. With the city’s emergence as India’s financial capital and the country’s rapidly expanding and economically mobile middle class, the existing airport infrastructure proved unable to support the growing volume of domestic and global traffic, resulting in frequent delays. By orchestrating the complex web of passengers and planes into a design that feels intuitive and responds to the region’s rocketing growth, the new Terminal 2 asserts the airport’s place as a preeminent gateway to India.
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 adds 4.4 million square feet of new space to accommodate 40 million passengers per year, operating 24 hours a day. The terminal combines international and domestic passenger services under one roof, optimizing terminal operations and reducing passenger walking distances. Inspired by the form of traditional Indian pavilions, the new four-story terminal stacks a grand “headhouse”, or central processing podium, on top of highly adaptable and modular concourses below. Rather than compartmentalising terminal functions, all concourses radiate outwards from a central processing core and are therefore easily reconfigured to “swing” between serving domestic flights or international flights.
But just as the terminal celebrates a new global, high-tech identity for Mumbai, the structure is imbued with responses to the local setting, history, and culture. Gracious curbside drop-off zones designed for large parties of accompanying well-wishers accommodate traditional Indian arrival and departure ceremonies. Regional patterns and textures are subtly integrated into the terminal’s architecture at all scales. From the articulated coffered treatment on the headhouse columns and roof surfaces to the intricate jali window screens that filter dappled light into the concourses, Terminal 2 demonstrates the potential for a modern airport to view tradition anew.
A Gateway to India
All international and domestic passengers enter the terminal headhouse on the fourth floor, accessed from a sweeping elevated road. At the entrance, the lanes split, making room for wide drop-off curbs with ample space for traditional Indian departure ceremonies. From the moment of arrival, the terminal embraces travellers. Above, the headhouse roof extends to cover the entire arrivals roadway, protecting passengers and their guests from Mumbai’s heat and unpredictable monsoon weather. A 50-foot-tall glass cable-stayed wall – the longest in the world – opens to the soaring space of the check-in hall. The transparent facade also allows accompanying well-wishers, who must remain outside of the terminal due to Indian aviation regulations, to watch as their friends and family depart.
Once inside, travellers enter a warm, light-filled chamber, sheltered underneath a long-span roof supported by an array of multi-storey columns. The monumental spaces created beneath the thirty mushrooming columns call to mind the airy pavilions and interior courtyards of traditional regional architecture. Small disks of colourful glass recessed within the canopy’s coffers speckle the hall below with light. The constellation of colours makes reference to the peacock, the national bird of India, and the symbol of the airport.
The check-in hall leads to a retail hub – a common space that allows passengers to shop, eat, and watch planes take off though expansive, floor-to-ceiling windows. Centrally located at the junction of the concourses and the terminal core, these commercial plazas provide a focal point of activity in close proximity to the gates. Within these spaces and throughout the concourses, culturally referential fixtures and details, such as custom chandeliers inspired by the lotus flower and traditional mirror mosaic work created by local artists, ground the traveler to a community and culture beyond the airport. Regional artwork and artifacts are displayed on a central, multi-storey Art Wall, illuminated by skylights above. The prevalence of local art and culture, coupled with the use of warm colours and elegant accents, elevates the ambience of terminal beyond the typical, often unimaginative airport experience.
Although the terminal is four storeys, interconnecting light slots and multi-storey light wells ensure that light penetrates into the lower floors of the building, acting as a constant reminder of the surrounding city and landscape. At dusk, illuminated from within, the terminal glows like a sculpted chandelier.
The construction site of the new terminal building was located in close proximity to the existing terminal which had to remain fully operational during construction. This site requirement inspired the elongated X-shaped plan of the terminal, which could both mould around existing structures and incorporate modular designs to accommodate rapid and phased construction. This innovative form also allows for the consolidation of important passenger processing, baggage handling, and retail/dining functions at the centre of the terminal. On each floor, radiating piers permit the shortest possible walking distances from the centre of the terminal to boarding areas, while also maximising the terminal’s perimeter for aircraft gates.
The terminal’s roof – one of the largest in the world without an expansion joint – ensures further terminal flexibility. The long-span capabilities of the steel truss structure allow for the spacing of the thirty 130-foot columns to be far enough apart to not only give a feeling of openness to the large processing areas below but also to allow for maximum flexibility in the arrangement of ticket counters and other necessary processing facilities.
Terminal 2 uses a high-performance glazing system with a custom frit pattern to achieve optimal thermal performance and mitigate glare. Perforated metal panels on the terminal’s curtain wall filter the low western and eastern sun angles, creating a comfortable day-lit space for waiting passengers, and responsive daylight controls balance outdoor and indoor light levels for optimal energy savings. Strategically-placed skylights throughout the check-in hall will reduce the terminal’s energy usage by 23%.
At Terminal 2, modern materials and technologies are used to powerful effect. But while cutting-edge strategies set a new standard for sustainable, modern airport design, the terminal is as much a showpiece of the history and traditions of India and Mumbai as it is an unprecedented structural and technological achievement. Rising from the Mumbai cityscape, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport celebrates both India’s rich cultural heritage and the country’s increasingly global future.
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