En 2011, l’université de Rangsit en Thaïlande a décidé de mettre un peu de vie dans son campus avec un jardin plein de couleurs. Buissons et arbustes sont teintés de violet, rouge, bleu, jaune et rose, faisant ainsi des promenades estudiantines un moment de plaisir haut en couleurs. A découvrir dans la suite de l’article.
Focus sur un projet original des architectes espagnols de la firme Selgas Cano : construire des bureaux au milieu d’une forêt proche de Madrid. Les bureaux sont à moitié sous terre. Les photos sont signées Iwan Baan. Une vie de bureaux sauvage à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.
That’s the SeaOrbiter, a 200-foot tall floating platform for aquatic exploration, and construction on it is due to begin this spring. It is the brainchild and passion project of a French ocean explorer named Jacques—no, not that one: Jacques Rougerie, a “sea architect” who has spent over a decade designing and securing funding for the concept, in addition to his 30 years of research in subsea architecture.
Slightly over half of the structure will be submerged, and as you can see the core of the design is a sort of eight-story building housing a variety of labs and living quarters for the crew. The underside of the structure houses dive pits, special pressurized living quarters and “underwater garages.” Human divers living at atmospheric pressure can get down to 50 meters below the surface, while “saturation divers” living in the pressureized chambers can get down to 100 meters; beyond that, the SeaOrbiter will deploy exploration vehicles that can travel down to 1,000 meters, and will also deploy a bad-ass diving drone that can descend to 6,000 meters.
Adidas a décidé de frapper un grand coup pour annoncer le retour de la Stan Smith en imaginant avec Innovate-7 ce pop-up store construit à Londres sous la forme de la boîte à chaussures du modèle. Dans un style épuré et futuriste avec un mur exposant 120 Stan Smiths. Plus de visuels ci-dessous.
From Seinfeld to Friends, from Rhoda to The Odd Couple, NYC apartments are always depicetd on television as being ridiculously huge. Of course that’s a far cry from reality, but at least one show has not only got the scale correct, but has actually injected elements of space-saving design into it: Charlie’s sub-200-square-foot studio apartment on HBO’s “Girls.”
I don’t watch the show and don’t know if the apartment still figures into the storyline, but a couple years ago the L.A. Times ran a feature on the fictional apartment’s design, cleverly created by production designer Laura Ballinger Gardner. While it is in fact a set, it’s pretty stunning how simultaneously realistic and tasteful it looks. On top of that, the design solutions to small-space storage and living, from the bed-topping loft-lounge with storage stairs to the “Mondrian-inspired birch plywood” storage wall to the bedsprings-cum-pot-rack, would be a welcome addition to many an NYC studio.
New Wave Architecture a imaginé ce bâtiment impressionnant pour la communauté des amoureux de l’escalade. Prévue à Polur en Iran, cette structure est une ode à la nature et une invitation à grimper sur son toit. Un lieu pensé et dédié à l’escalade à découvrir dans une série d’images dans la suite.
The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games get underway this Friday with an opening ceremony inside a Fabergé egg-inspired stadium by sports architecture firm Populous.
The Fisht Olympic Stadium is one of 11 new purpose-built venues designed for the 2014 winter games in Sochi, Russia, by Populous – the firm behind the London 2012 Olympic stadium – and it forms the centrepiece of the 200-hectare Olympic Park.
The building features a temporary shell-like roof based on the jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs that have become an icon of Russian culture. Constructed from translucent polycarbonate, this roof will facilitate light projections during the games and is likened by the architects to the snow-covered peaks of the Caucasus Mountains.
The south side of the building was designed to shelter the stadium and spectators from the adjacent seafront, while longer elevations on the east and west sides open out to the plaza where the cauldron will be on show.
During the games the 40,000-seat stadium will be used to host the opening and closing ceremonies, but no sporting events. It will then be converted into a 45,000-seat football venue for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, before being downsized to a 25,000-seat club for a local football team.
Here are more details from Populous:
Fisht Olympic Stadium
Challenge
Russia’s bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics was part of a broader goal to step back onto the world stage as hosts of major sporting events (the country’s last event was the Moscow Summer Olympics back in 1980). The challenge was threefold: to convince the International Olympic Committee that Russia had both the vision and the infrastructure to host such a major event; to develop the popular summertime coastal resort of Sochi into a world class destination for winter sports, and to design a stadium flexible enough to facilitate the Olympic ceremonies, then act as a venue for FIFA World Cup matches and, finally, become the home venue for a local football team.
Innovation
For the first time, an Olympic Park has been designed as part of a Winter Games master plan. This unusual step guarantees a unique legacy for these Games, marking Sochi out as a winter destination for decades to come. Within the park, the main level of the stadium is raised on a landscaped mound, providing stunning views from within. The unique engineering systems will enable truly memorable opening and closing ceremonies while, post-Games, the in-built flexibility of the stadium’s design means its capacity can change over time to provide event configurations from 45,000 seats for FIFA World Cup matches to a compact, atmospheric 25,000 for local matches.
Impact
Winning the bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games has not only reinstated Russia’s reputation as a viable host for major events, but has transformed Sochi itself. The infrastructure that our work has helped create will regenerate the region, marking Sochi out as a year-round tourist destination and major new European winter sports centre.
Location: Sochi, Russia
Client: Olympstroy
Architect: Populous
Capacity: 40,000
Events: Opening and Closing Ceremonies, 2018 FIFA World Cup (legacy mode)
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Populous-designed stadium appeared first on Dezeen.
London architecture office Make has designed a portable prefabricated kiosk with a folded aluminium shell that opens and closes like a paper fan (+ movie).
Make based the design of the kiosks on the folded paper forms of Japanese origami, but chose to reproduce them in metal to create a compact and robust structure that can house street vendors.
“Origami was fundamental in developing the design; the ideas of a folding fan informed the design and folded paper models were used throughout the process, right up to the final testing of the completed design,” project architect Sean Affleck told Dezeen.
Two of the kiosks were installed in a public plaza at London’s Canary Wharf and acted as information and vending points for the duration of an ice-sculpting festival last month.
Affleck said the kiosks were created to perform multiple functions at different venues: “They’ve been designed to be used anywhere and for a multitude of purposes; from serving coffee, to information points, to a spot for DJs at events.”
The folded structure is made from hinged aluminium panels that radiate from a central axis and are treated with a resilient powder-coated finish.
A counterweight system controlled by a winch raises the front of the kiosk upwards from the base to create an opening that reveals the interior.
The folded section forms a canopy that protects the inside and anyone standing in front of the counter.
An interior space measuring 1.95 by 3 metres is lined with a plywood skin covered with a waterproof membrane, while a further layer of cladding creates an insulating gap to reduce the impact of solar gain.
Make collaborated with metal fabrication specialist Entech Environmental Technology Ltd to manufacture and test the pavilions off-site and then transported and installed them pre-assembled.
The kiosks will continue to be used as information points or rented out to vendors during an ongoing series of events taking place in Canary Wharf, and can subsequently be moved to a new location.
All images are courtesy of Make.
The architects sent us the following project description:
Make kiosks open for business
Two unique prefabricated retail kiosks designed by Make Architects were opened to the public for the first time when they became part of the Canary Wharf’s Ice Sculpturing Festival.
The simple folding geometric form of the kiosk is based on the concept of origami.
Expressed as a compact, sculptural rectangular box when closed, the structure is transformed when open, with folds and hinges in the aluminium panels allowing them to expand and contract like a fan when the kiosk opens and closes.
Sean Affleck, Make lead project architect, said: “It’s fantastic to see the kiosks on site being used and enjoyed by the public, and adding vibrancy and character to Canary Wharf’s public realm area.
“Our solution on the modern street kiosk is a distinctive sculptural rectangular box that transforms when it opens and its function is revealed. The design is also efficient and functional with compact, robust, durable, easy to maintain and vandal and graffiti- proof features. The internal fit-out elements can be adapted to suit the needs of individual vendors.”
The extremely lightweight, portable structure was tested and prefabricated off-site by Entech Environmental Technology Ltd, delivered to Canary Wharf via lorry and installed complete and pre-assembled.
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open like a paper fan appeared first on Dezeen.
French office Périphériques has redeveloped a site in west Paris by adding apartment blocks with contrasting facades and angular balconies, as well as a nursery with stripy pink and green walls (+ slideshow).
Périphériques designed three buildings for the irregularly shaped plot between Fremicourt Street and Boulevard de Grenelle, accommodating 35 apartments for rent, 54 social housing units and a kindergarten for up to 30 children.
The nine-storey apartment block is positioned on the northern side of the site, facing out onto Boulevard de Grenelle, and its facade is clad with terracotta panels that have been enamelled to create an iridescent effect.
The south-facing rear of the building overlooks a large communal garden, so the architects added a series of protruding balconies that extend the living rooms of each residence. Contrastingly, this elevation is clad with timber slats.
The social housing block is positioned opposite, facing south onto Frémicourt Street. The facade of this building is glazed, while its rear wall is clad with anodised aluminium.
“The program’s particularity is that the same operation unites social housing as well as private housing units,” said the architects. “Thus, we have treated the facades in a common way but with some classification.”
The three-storey kindergarten is sandwiched between the two housing blocks but can be accessed via a passageway that runs along the edge of the plot.
This structure has a multicoloured facade comprising terracotta blocks enamelled in various shades of pink, green, yellow, red and white. Some of these block also function as louvres for the windows.
The main spaces of the nursery are located on the two lowest levels of the building, while staff rooms occupy the uppermost floor.
Photography is by Sergio Grazia.
Here’s more information from Périphériques:
Grenelle Frémicourt
Grenelle, 35 Private Housing, and Fremicourt, Immeuble de 54 Logements
The plot allotted to the project is situated between Fremicourt Street and Boulevard de Grenelle. It is exceptional by its orientation and its centre which is in continuity with the neighbouring gardens. In order to achieve a Low Energy Consumption Building in Paris, it is fundamental to recon on important technical plans of action.
The position of the building’s body on the boulevard (nine levels high) and on the street (ten levels high) is planned in a way to allow housing units with a double exposition. Their south end is extended by loggia spaces with pleasant views. Beyond the general implantation question, the proposed working drawing of the building is adapted to the context’s constrains.
The facades are creased in order to exploit at best its exposition and to mark the opening to the surrounding free spaces. The program’s particularity is that the same operation unites social housing as well as private housing units. Thus, we have imagined to treat the facades in a common way but with some classification.
The four facades, isolated on the interior, have been enveloped in an openwork horizontal sheathing elements – using glass for the Fremicourt side, anodised aluminium and wood for the garden side, and finally enamelled terracotta for the Boulevard de Grenelle side.
Nursery, 30 Cribs
The nursery capacity is 30 cribs. It develops as a 3-level superstructure with the first two floors accessible to the public. The ground floor houses the reception and premises for cradles, first floor houses premises for tall children then the second floor houses staff quarters.
The building is located in the inner courtyard of the passage along the west side of the operation. The volume respects the template imposed on street along the way. Inside the inner courtyard, the front of the nursery has inflection points in order to meet the size constraints imposed by the major sights in the lower levels of the building of social housing vis-à-vis.
The facades and garden will pass mechanical protection made with terracotta elements enamelled colour. This mineral cladding partially returns the roof. In front of windows, sunshades also in terracotta elements provide sun protection.
The outdoor areas are planted and bordered by a fence lined with a hedge shrub. A playground occasionally covered with a canopy containing the same elements as facade is provided along the building.
The post Périphériques upgrades Paris plot with contrasting
apartment blocks and a colourful kindergarten appeared first on Dezeen.
This hilltop staircase by Dutch firm NEXT Architects appears to create a continuous pathway, but it’s actually impossible to walk round more than once without climbing off (+ slideshow).
NEXT Architects designed the rusting steel structure for a grassy peak in Carnisselande, a suburb south of Rotterdam, where it provides a viewpoint overlooking the city skyline.
Rather than designing a simple loop, the architects based the form of the structure on the single-surface volume of a Möbius strip. This means the surface of the pathway wraps around onto its underside, making it impossible to walk around the entire periphery.
“Based on the principal of the Möbius strip, the continuous route of the stair is a delusion – upside becomes underside becomes upside,” explained the architects. “The suggestion of a continuous route is therefore, in the end, an impossibility.”
The structure is built from pre-weathered Corten steel, giving it a vivid orange tone that contrasts with the bright green of the grass below.
It was completed as part of a local art initiative entitled The Elastic Perspective.
This isn’t the first time NEXT Architects has used the Möbius as the basis for a design – the studio also recently unveiled plans for a wavy bridge in China with one continuous surface.
Photography is by Sander Meisner.
Here’s a project description from NEXT Architects:
The Elastic Perspective
A rusty steel ring is gently draped upon a grass hill in Carnisselande, a Rotterdam suburb. It’s a giant circular stair leading the visitor up to a height that allows an unhindered view of the horizon and the nearby skyline of Rotterdam. The path makes a continuous movement and thereby draws on the context of the heavy infrastructural surrounding of ring road and tram track. While a tram stop represents the end or the start of a journey, the route of the stairway is endless.
However, the continuity and endlessness have a double meaning. Based on the principal of the Möbius strip, the continuous route of the stair is a delusion – upside becomes underside becomes upside. It has only one surface and only one boundary. The suggestion of a continuous route is therefore, in the end, an impossibility.
The Elastic Perspective is a local art plan for which NEXT architects designed this stair. The project reflects on the ambiguous relationship of the inhabitants of the Rotterdam suburb Carnisselande with their mother-town, which is expressed in both attraction and repulsion. “The view on Rotterdam is nowhere better, then from Carnisselande” as one of the locals put it.
The circular stair offers the suburbians a view on the Rotterdam skyline – only a couple of kilometers ahead – but forces them to retrace their steps back into their suburban reality. Rotterdam, by tram just minutes away, but in perception and experience tucked behind infrastructure and noise barriers; far away, so close.
Location: Carnisselande, Barendrecht NL
Client: Municipality of Barendrecht
Programme: Local Art plan
Design: NEXT architects, Amsterdam
Engineering: ABT consult, Velp
Contractor: Mannen van Staal, Leeuwarden
Budget: 150.000 euro
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the illusion of an endless walkway appeared first on Dezeen.
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