Le cabinet Hans van Heeswijk Architects a imaginé cette belle construction appelée « Reiteiland House ». Située sur Ijburg, une île dans la banlieue d’Amsterdam, cette résidence propose grâce à l’installation de baies vitrées une vue panoramique du plus bel effet. Plus d’images à découvrir dans la suite.
Interview: 3D printing will revolutionise the way buildings are designed and built – and could herald a new aesthetic, according to Bart Van der Scheuren, vice president of Belgian additive manufacturing company Materialise.
“I do believe that in the not-too-distant future we will be able to print really large-scale architectural objects,” Van der Scheuren said. “We will really see it on a level of houses and so on.”
Van der Scheuren spoke to Dezeen earlier this year when we visited leading 3D-printing company Materialise in Belgium as part of our Print Shift project, which documented cutting-edge developments in the 3D-printing world.
In this previously unpublished extract from the interview, Van der Scheuren predicted that 3D printing would first be used to manufacture cladding for buildings, before being used to print structures containing integrated services such as plumbing and electrical conduits.
“You could think of making plastic structural components, which are covered by metals for aesthetic reasons, or [print] insulation [inside] the structure,” he said. “It’s certainly something that I can see developing in the next 5-10 years.”
This will give architects radical new aesthetic freedom, he predicted. “I see certainly in the coming years a development where architects will be able to become more freeform in their design and thinking thanks to the existence of 3D printing.”
At the start of this year several architects announced plans to build the first 3D-printed house. In January, Dutch firm Universe Architecture unveiled designs for a dwelling resembling a Möbius strip.
Shortly after, London studio Softkill published a proposal for a home made of interlocking fibrous plastic modules (main image). The DUS Architects from Amsterdam announced that they were constructing a canal house in the city, using an on-site printer.
However, none of these proposals have yet been realised.
See our movie in which Van der Scheuren explains the three most common 3D-printing processes. Read more about 3D printing in our print-on-demand magazine, Print Shift.
Here’s an edited transcript of the interview with Van der Scheuren:
Marcus Fairs: Is 3D printing of architecture a realistic possibility?
Bart Van der Schueren: There is a potential for 3D printing of architecture. If we are honest with ourselves, 3D printing started in architecture. It started in Egypt, stacking [stone blocks] on top of each other, layer by layer, and that way they created the pyramids. But of course what we mean by 3D printing is slightly different from what the Egyptians did.
What I am seeing happening is that there is a lot of research going on in the development of concrete printers; large gantry systems that extrudes concretes in a layer by layer basis [such as Enrico Dini’s D-Shape printer]. I do believe that in the not-too-distant future we will be able to print really large-scale architectural objects. We will really see it on a level of houses and so on.
But it’s not necessary in architecture to use those large printers. You can see it [working] also on a slightly smaller scale, like the panels that are required to cover architectural structures. Today in lots of cases those panels are limited in complexity because of the fabrication problems. These architectural elements can take advantage of 3D printing’s freedom of design complexity. So here I see certainly in the coming years a development where architects will be able to become more freeform in their design and thinking thanks to the existence of 3D printing.
Marcus Fairs: So it could affect the way buildings look?
Bart Van der Schueren: Yes. It could also affect other things like the integration of facilities into components, like the integration of air channels and cable guides and insulation in one single piece. Or you can think of the integration of loudspeakers in furniture and things like that, so they’re interior architecture. I’m expecting that there will be a big change and shift in the way that architects are thinking and looking and working, and making products as a result of that.
Marcus Fairs: How could 3D printing change architecture beyond the cladding? Could it be used to print more efficient structures?
Bart Van der Schueren: More organic-looking structures are already being investigated. There is research going on to make use of topological optimisation. This is a kind of computer design by which you define by boundaries of certain conditions and then the computer will organically grow a structure that matches the boundary conditions.
This can result in very organic shapes. It will still take a little bit of time, but for cosmetic uses or smaller components it is already possible today.
Marcus Fairs: What new developments are you expecting to see in the near future?
Bart Van der Schueren: 3D printers today are built typically to print with only one material. There are a couple of exceptions but typically a 3D printer will use a single material. What I am expecting is that printers in the future will combine different materials and in that way you can start thinking of making gradients or graded materials where you can then really change the function of the components. From an architectural point of view this can really have fantastic opportunities.
Marcus Fairs: Can you give some examples of this?
Bart Van der Schueren: An example would be mixing metals and plastics. In that way you could think of making plastic structural components, which are covered by metals for aesthetic reasons, or to [print] insulation [inside] the structure. There is still a lot of research to do but it’s certainly something that I can see developing in the next 5-10 years.
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“in the not-too-distant future” appeared first on Dezeen.
News: Zaha Hadid’s extension to the Serpentine Gallery has opened today in London’s Kensington Gardens (+ slideshow).
Located just across the river from the main gallery building, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery occupies a 200-year-old former gunpowder store. Zaha Hadid Architects renovated the old brick building to create new gallery spaces, then added a curving cafe and events space that extends from one side.
The new tensile structure is built from a glass-fibre textile, forming a free-flowing white canopy that appears to grow organically from the original brickwork of the single-storey gallery building.
It stretches down to meet the ground at three points around the perimeter and is outlined by a frameless glass wall that curves around the inside.
Five tapered steel columns support the roof and frame oval skylights, while built-in furniture echoes the shapes of the structure.
“The extension has been designed to to complement the calm and solid classical building with a light, transparent, dynamic and distinctly contemporary space of the twenty-first century,” explain the architects. “The synthesis of old and new is thus a synthesis of contrasts.”
For the original building, the architects added a new roof that sits between the original facade and the outer enclosure walls, creating a pair of rectangular galleries in the old gunpowder stores and a perimeter exhibition space in the former courtyards.
A series of skylights allow the space to be naturally lit, but feature retractable blinds to darken it when necessary.
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery is Zaha Hadid’s first permanent structure in the UK and follows the studio’s Lilas installation at the gallery in 2007 and pavilion in 2000.
The gallery opens with an exhibition from Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas.
This year’s Serpentine Gallery pavilion by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto is a cloud-like grid of steel poles and remains open in Kensington Gardens until 20 October.
Zaha Hadid has also recently revealed the first in a chain of boutiques for American shoe designer Stuart Weitzman and plans for an 11-storey apartment block that will be constructed beside New York’s popular High Line park, while her forthcoming National Stadium of Japan is now set to become the main sporting venue for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games.
See more architecture and design by Zaha Hadid »
See all our stories about the Serpentine Gallery »
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by Zaha Hadid appeared first on Dezeen.
Angular cutaways create apertures through the walls, floors and ceilings of this house in the Bousou Peninsula mountains of Japan by architect Yuusuke Karasawa (+ slideshow).
Divided into eight equal portions, the wooden house was designed by Yuusuke Karasawa as a perfect cube with four rooms on each of its two floors.
Three-dimensional holes cut through the structure at the points where spaces meet one another, allowing views across different rooms as well as between storeys.
“The partition walls and ceilings of these eight spaces are interrupted by six small cubes that create gaps in the walls and ceilings, providing visual connections between the various rooms,” said Karasawa.
“Although I spaced the cubes out, the interrelatedness of their angles of inclination connect them, creating a sense of continuity,” he added.
The cutaway sections also help to distribute light through the house. “Beams of sunlight come from unexpected directions and crisscross within the interior, bringing out more layers of complexity to the already diverse interior condition,” Karasawa said.
Positioned on the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, the house provides a weekend retreat for a family who play golf at nearby country clubs.
The four ground floor rooms comprise a kitchen, a living room, a studio and an entrance lobby, each with white walls and timber flooring.
A steel staircase winds up to the level above, where a large hallway and two bedrooms are accompanied by a glazed bathroom.
The timber-clad facade features lopsided square windows on each side, offering views out towards the surrounding mountainous landscape.
Other Japanese residences we’ve featured this week include one that brings light in through the roof, one with a series of small attic spaces and a narrow timber house with paper thin shutters folding out from its walls. See more Japanese houses »
Here’s some more information from the architects:
Villa Kanousan
This is a weekend cottage situated within the deep mountains area of midland of Bousou Peninsula. The site is located on Kanou Mountain, Kimitsu city. Traditional Japanese painting artist, Kaii Higashiyama(1909-99) once mentioned that he was awakened to a landscape painting by the majestic ravine scenery of this site-this cottage is sitting on the slope looking down this ravine.
The exterior shape of this building appears to be a simple cube. However, the interior consists of two layers of the traditional square plan, while a cubic volume is inserted to the points of intersection produced by the wall surfaces, the floor surfaces and the ceiling that divide the space.
The intersecting angle of each cube is defined by the rule of an algorithm, producing the most prominent character of this project – that adjacent cubes are tilted in a definite angle against each other.
The rotation angle of the cubes defined by algorithmic rule dissects the interior volume into various spaces according to the header forms of the cutting plane, providing diverse spatial conditions as each individual room.
The interior produced by this method have diverse characteristics for each space although the certain sense of order is given to the whole building since the setting of the cube angle is not random.
This condition allows to experience the coexistence of the order and the diversity as antinomy based on the physical sensation of the space. It can be said that such coexistence of order and diversity is the most significant characteristic of the architectural space produced by an algorithmic rule.
The toplight on the ceiling brings in the sunlight and filled up the room during the daytime. Beams of the sunlight come from unexpected direction and crisscrosses within the interior, bringing out more layers of complexity to the already diverse interior condition.
The initial rotation angle of the cube is fixed according to the slope angle of the site, therefore the magnificent natural scenery is reflected and articulated to the spatial conditions of the interior space. The occupants of the space can feel the sense of unity to the scenery visible outside of the windows.
This weekend cottage was completed under the unique methodology of configuring the spaces – while it exists within the grand nature, and its surrounding scenery is taken into the space. The result would be the new and original physical sensation and experience of the space.
Project name: Villa Kanousan
Location: Kimitsu, Chiba, Japan
Design: 2007-2008
Construction: 2009
Architects: Yuusuke Karasawa Architects (principal in charge: Yuusuke Karasawa)
Consultants: gh9 Co Ltd., mechanical (air conditioning)
General contractor: Eiger Co Ltd – Noriaki Fujii,Yousuke Ozaki
Structural system: timber
Materials used: rose mahogany, exterior: plaster board (emulsion paint finish. Flooring and carpet , interior.
Site area: 459.03 square metres
Built area: 51.83 square metres
Total floor: 87.69 square metres
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Yuusuke Karasawa appeared first on Dezeen.
Eight years later and the Bay Bridge is finally up. As the much-neglected stepsibling of the more famous Golden Gate, it’s lain dormant for years until it reopened earlier this month, ahead of schedule. It took $6.4 billion and 15 years, but, as Bloomberg pointed out in a brief design and bureaucracy history, "the country’s most daringly iconic highway bridge stands as a poster child for those who think major infrastructure projects are wasteful." It goes on to explore a challenge every designer on a team knows well: demanding clients and struggles with funds.
But what does that mean, really? Archinect recently shared a time-lapse video of the Bay Bridge coming to life: 42,000 hours of work in just four minutes. It’s an impressive look at the complexities of bridge building, especially a bridge that must be both aesthetically pleasing and structurally sound. (The last Bay Bridge perished in the 1986 earthquake.)
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After a successful launch last year, the Architizer A+ Awards are back for their second round and Cool Hunting is proud to offer our support as a media partner. Honoring the best in innovative contemporary architecture…
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News: science-fiction author Neal Stephenson is developing a concept for a 20-kilometre (12.4-mile) skyscraper that could be used to launch rockets into space.
Working alongside scientists and engineers from Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination, Stephenson is exploring the limits of tall building construction using materials that are already in existence.
The author, who studied physics before moving into science-fiction, says that high-grade steel could one day be used to build a tower that is around 24 times as tall as the 830-metre Burj Khalifa – currently the tallest man-made structure in the world – and near double the height flown by most commercial aeroplanes.
“It ends up being all about wind,” he told the BBC. “In a windless environment making a structure that tall would almost be trivial. But when you build something that is going to poke up through and get hit by the jet stream from time to time, then it becomes shockingly much more difficult.”
Stephenson and ASU structural engineer Keith Hjelmstad are now looking at where a building like this could be located and whether it is possible to address the problems caused by wind pressure. If so, Stephenson claims its height could make it the cheapest way to send objects into outer space.
“The future of space travel, at this writing, is up for grabs with NASA eyeing destinations more distant than the International Space Station and commercial space travel just starting to get some traction,” writes Hjelmstad in an accompanying research paper. “It is an interesting time to consider ideas like the Tall Tower.”
The Tall Building project is a strand of Project Hieroglyph, a research programme bringing various science-fiction writers together with scientists to develop ambitions for the future. Inspired by papers written by author and scientist Geoffrey Landis, Stephenson began his project with the question: “How tall can we build something?”
“The idea of the project in general is to come up with innovations or ideas… sufficiently near-term and doable that a person sort of graduating from university today could say, ‘Well, if I began working on this now, then by the time I retire it might exist’,” he said.
Here’s an introductory movie from Project Hieroglyph:
The Burj Khalifa became the world’s tallest building in 2010, but is set to be overtaken by the Kingdom Tower, currently under construction in Jeddah and designed with a height of 1000 metres. A report published in 2011 predicts what the tallest buildings will be in 2020.
Here’s some extra information from the project team:
The Tall Tower
The Tall Tower project is part of Project Hieroglyph, headquartered at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. Hieroglyph teams up top science fiction writers (including Neal Stephenson, Cory Doctorow, Bruce Sterling and Madeline Ashby) with scientists and engineers to imagine a near future radically changed by technological innovation. The project is designed to reignite our grand ambitions for the future and to inspire scientists, engineers and students to think big about the projects they pursue during their careers. The first Hieroglyph anthology, co-edited by Ed Finn and Kathryn Cramer, will be published by HarperCollins in late 2014.
The Tall Tower project began with Neal Stephenson asking a simple question: how tall can we build something? (The question was inspired by papers on the subject written by hard science fiction author and scientist Geoffrey Landis.) As he started working with structural engineer Keith Hjelmstad of ASU’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, it became clear that it might be possible to build a very large structure – up to 20km tall – using high-grade steel. Keith developed some simple models to explore the structural requirements of such a tower and Neal began thinking about where such a building might be placed.
As the tower conversation continues, the circle of collaborators has expanded to include aerospace engineering, sophisticated digital modelling and architectural design. In a sure sign that the tower project is about to get excitingly weird, Bruce Sterling wants in. In the months to come the tower project will continue to serve as a pilot for the larger ideal of Hieroglyph: a freewheeling conversation about a radically ambitious project that could be accomplished within the next few decades. An original story about the Tall Tower, written by Stephenson and titled “Atmosphæra Incognita,” will be featured in the Hieroglyph anthology.
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rocket-launching skyscraper appeared first on Dezeen.
This towering commercial block in Ginza, Tokyo, by Amano Design Office features a faceted aluminium facade reminiscent of a crumpled-up sweet wrapper (+ slideshow).
Tokyo-based Amano Design Office was asked to design an eye-catching building that would entice shoppers from Ginza’s Central Street to a second shopping street just beyond.
The nine-storey tower accommodates small units that can be used as either offices or shops. Apart from the glazed ground floor, each storey is concealed behind a double-layer facade that comprises a perforated metal exterior and a clear glass interior.
The architects used computers to generate the faceted aluminium form, then added a floral pattern to soften the appearance.
“In the neighbourhood of mostly modernist architecture with horizontal and vertical or geometric shapes, the building has a proper feeling of strangeness, attracts special attention and has an appeal as a commercial building,” they explained.
Lighting installed behind the metal panels is programmed to change colour depending on the season, switching between shades of red, blue and green.
“The facade becomes a part of the interior decoration and obviates the need for window treatments such as blinds or curtains,” added the architects.
Other commercial buildings from Japan with unusual facades include a herringbone-patterned boutique designed by OMA and a Tokyo bookstore covered in hundreds of interlocking T-shapes. See more architecture in Tokyo »
Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.
Here’s the project description from the architects:
Dear Ginza Building
The client is a developer company. It purchased a long-sought after lot in Ginza, and planned to build a commercial/office building. The building site is on the Ginza 1-chome Gaslight Street, which is one street behind the Ginza Central Street. It is on the back side of the Mizuho Bank and Pola Ginza buildings on the Central Street. The atmosphere is quite different from the gorgeous Central Street, and the site is on an empty street which is often seen behind the street with large-sized buildings. Attracting as many people as possible into such a street is our task. The client desired the building to be a gorgeous existence. In addition, the designer desired to provide a “slight feeling of strangeness” to the passersby that would attract them to the building.
Considering the views from the inside, simply obtaining openness with glass seems futile, since the outside scenery is hopeless. Therefore, a double skin structure is employed, which consists of glass curtain walls and graphically treated aluminium punched metal. The facade becomes a part of the interior decoration and obviates the need for window treatments such as blinds or curtains. By using a double skin, reduction of the air conditioning load and the glass cleaning burden was also intended.
The irregular facade design was determined by computing a design to avoid arbitrary forms and to approximate forms in nature. We thought that a well-made incidental form would likely be a less-disagreeable design. In the neighbourhood of mostly modernist architecture with horizontal and vertical or geometric shapes, the building has a proper feeling of strangeness, attracts special attention, and has an appeal as a commercial building. The abstract flower graphic is used to balance the impression of the facade, i.e., to free it up from becoming too edgy.
By computing the design, individual aluminium punched panels are irregular with different angles and shapes, yet all fit into a standard size, resulting in excellent material yield. To avoid being clunky, an extremely lightweight structure is required. Therefore, much caution was taken in its details. The coloured LED upper lighting, which is installed inside the double skin, entertains the passersby with different programs depending on the season. Expected tenants included a beauty salon and aesthetic salon, and the expectations are materialising.
Building location: Ginza-1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Completion year: March 2013
Designer: amano design office
Collaborators: Atorie Oica, Azzurro Architects
Construction firm: Kumagai Gumi Co.,Ltd.
Main use: store building and office building
Lot size: 187.20 sqm
Building area: 155.55 sqm
Total floor space: 1300.02 sqm
Maximum height above rail level: 31.955 m
Structure: steel frame
Number of stairs or stories: nine storeys above ground and one underground story
Main material: aluminium graphic punching metal, extruded cement panel
The post Dear Ginza Building by
Amano Design Office appeared first on Dezeen.
Perimeter skylights throw light across a grid of exposed wooden ceiling beams inside our second house this week from Japanese studio mA-style Architects (+ slideshow).
Positioned in a shady location between two neighbouring buildings in Aichi, Japan, the wooden house couldn’t have many windows, so mA-style Architects added skylights around each side of the flat roof.
Daylight disperses itself through the interior by bouncing off both the ceiling beams and the laminated wooden walls.
“The design intended to create a space with uniformly distributed light by adjusting the way of letting daylight in and the way of directing the light,” said the architects.
Bedrooms and storage spaces are contained within two-storey boxes scattered through the interior. Rectangular openings lead into the spaces, plus those at first-floor are accessed using wooden ladders.
“Considering each box as a house, the empty spaces in between can be seen as paths of plazas and remind us of a small town enclosed in light,” the architects added.
A bathroom, a study space, bookshelves and a kitchen with steel surfaces line the perimeter of the open-plan space.
White-painted wooden panels clad the exterior of the rectilinear structure, including a sliding door that gives the house a corner entrance.
Led by partners Atsushi and Mayumi Kawamoto, mA-style Architects has also completed a house with small attic spaces tucked into the triangular roof and an elevated house that points out like a giant rectangular telescope.
See more architecture by mA-style Architects »
See more Japanese houses »
Photography is by Kai Nakamura.
Here’s a project description from the architects:
Light Walls House
The site is in a shady location where a two-story neighbouring house closely stands on the south side, and even the shade and shadow on the path intensify the impression of darkness.
Therefore, the design intended to create a space with uniformly distributed light by adjusting the way of letting daylight in, and the way of directing the light.
By taking into consideration the space for the residents, the functions for living, and the relationship with the surrounding environment, creation of a diversity and richness in the house was intended by controlling the concept of light.
Along the edges of the 9.1m square roof, sky lights are made, as if creating an outline, in order to provide sunlight.
The roof beams narrow the sunlight, and the slightly angled clapboard interior walls with laminated wood reflect and diffuse the light.
As a result, soft and uniformly distributed light is created and surrounds the entire space.
Along the outline of lighting, work spaces such as a kitchen, bathroom, and study are arranged. Private spaces such as bedrooms and storage are allocated into four boxes.
The path-like spaces created between them are public spaces. Each box attempts to balance within a large spatial volume.
Light coupled with the rhythm of scale raises the possibilities of the living space for the residents.
Considering each box as a house, the empty spaces in between can be seen as paths or plazas, and remind us of a small town enclosed in light.
The empty spaces, which cause shortening or elongating of distances between people, are intermediate spaces for the residents, as well as intermediate spaces that are connected to the outside when the corridor is open, and these are the image of a social structure that includes a variety of individuals.
In terms of a natural component, in which light is softened by small manipulations, and of a social component, in which a town is created in the house, this house turned out to be a courtyard house of light where new values are discovered.
The post Light Walls House by
mA-style Architects appeared first on Dezeen.
Small attic spaces are tucked between the ribs of a triangular roof at this house extension in Japan by mA-style Architects (+ slideshow).
Japanese firm mA-style Architects designed the timber roof as a series of V-shaped frames, which sit over a rectilinear base and create triangular windows at each end.
Added to the west side of a family house, the Koya No Sumika extension provides a separate living and dining space for a couple and is connected to the main building by a glass and timber passageway.
“The young couple desired feelings of ease and spaces that ensure quiet and comfortable times,” said the architects. “The extension is designed as a minimum living space and pursues both maintaining distance and retaining fertile relationships.”
Small pockets slotted into the sides of the living area provide storage spaces for books and plants, as well as study areas with wooden desks and chairs.
A set of protruding wooden stairs and a separate ladder lead to the compact attic spaces overhead, as well as to a bed deck at the front of the building.
Bare light bulbs hang down from the triangular ceiling sections to illuminate the space.
Other mA-style Architects projects we’ve featured are an elevated house in the shape of a giant rectangular telescope, a wooden house lifted off the ground and curved like the hull of a boat and a metal-clad house with a smaller wooden house inside. See more Japanese houses »
Photography is by Kai Nakamura.
Here’s a project description from the architects:
Koya No Sumika
This is an extension plan for a young couple’s house next to the main house. The main house is a one story Japanese style house with about 200m2, which is commonly seen in rural areas.
It is a big house with many rooms and mainly consists of large spaces for people to gather and to provide hospitality. However, the young couple desired feelings of ease and spaces that ensure quiet and comfortable times.
A simple extension may enable each of the house’s residents to live completely separated, but the relationship between the families and the connection with the main house might be lost.
Therefore, by utilising the functions for living in the main house, the extension is designed as a minimum living space, and pursues both maintaining distance and retaining fertile relationships.
The extension is attached by a connecting-corridor on the west side of the main house. This enables the residents to switch their mindset before entering into the other living space, and the common garden maintains a proper sense of distance. By relying on the main house for the large kitchen, bathroom, and future children’s room, only a few functions for a living space are required for the extended part.
The living spaces are aggregated into a simple continuous structure, which consists of small, 2m high, U-shaped bearing walls. A V-beam roof truss is made with 62mm panels and structural plywood on both sides, and it is topped with a 69mm thin roof.
By overlapping the bearing walls and the V-beam frame, and by using a variety of finishes, contrasting spaces are created and a sense of scale in the vertical direction is born in the flat house. By doing so, as the residents’ living scenes unfold, light and air freely circulate in the space, and the people’s lines-of-sight extend beyond the area in a state of freedom. We intended to leave a rich blank space that fosters the imaginations of the residents.
The post Koya No Sumika by
mA-style Architects appeared first on Dezeen.
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