Hasta La Ideas

The spiky modules used to build this curving pavilion in Stuttgart, Germany, are made from a bioplastic containing over 90 percent renewable materials (photography by Roland Halbe).

Students and professors from Stuttgart University’s ITKE (Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design) designed the freeform facade to demonstrate the structural properties of a new bioplastic developed specially for use in the construction industry.

“Thermoformable sheets of bioplastics will represent a resource-efficient alternative [to oil-based plastics, glass, or metal] in the future, as they combine the high malleability and recyclability of plastics with the environmental benefits of materials consisting primarily of renewable resources,” explained the project team.

The pyramidal modules are made by extruding bioplastic granules into sheets before thermoforming them to create the faceted shapes and trimming off the excess material.

The double-curved skin is formed by linking the pyramids together, with bracing rings and joists helping to create load-bearing walls.

CNC-milling was used to remove sections from some of the modules, creating apertures in the facade. The waste material from this process can be re-granulated and fed back into the production process, while the plastic sheets can be composted at the end of their life.

Here’s some more information about the project:

Mock-Up: The bioplastics facade mock-up was created within the framework of the Bioplastic Facade Research Project, a project supported by EFRE (Europäischer Fonds für Regionale Entwicklung / European Fund for Regional Development). It demonstrates one of the possible architectural and constructional applications of bioplastic materials developed during the course of the project. The blueprint is based on a triangular net composed by mesh elements of varying sizes.

Bioplastic Façade Research Project: The ITKE has many years of experience in teaching and research in the fields of computer based design, simulation, and production of cladding for buildings with complex geometries. Currently, materials made from oil-based plastics, glass, or metal are mainly used to encase these structures. Thermoformable sheets of bioplastics will represent a resource-efficient alternative in the future, as they combine the high malleability and recyclability of plastics with the environmental benefits of materials consisting primarily of renewable resources. The interdisciplinary group of material scientists, architects, product designers, manufacturing technicians, and environmental experts was able to develop a new thermoformable material for facade cladding made primarily from renewable resources (>90%).

Developed by project partner TECNARO within the framework of the research project ARBOBLEND®, a special type of bioplastic granules was employed, which can be extruded into sheets and further processed as required: the sheets can be drilled, printed, laminated, laser cut, CNC-milled, or thermoformed to achieve different surface qualities and structures and eventually produce various moulded components. The semi-finished products serve as cladding for flat or free-formed interior and exterior walls. The material can be recycled and meets the high durability and flammability standards for building materials. The goal of the project was to develop a maximally sustainable yet durable building material while keeping the oil-based components and additives to a minimum. The ecological audit was completed by project partner ISWA (Institute for Water Engineering, Water Quality, and Waste Management). Furthermore, the material’s resistance to microbial degradation was also determined.

Innovative Character of the Research Project: This research project marks the first occasion for the development of bioplastic sheets primarily based on renewable resources. The sheets can be freely formed, are designed for applications in the building industry and are specifically meant for building exteriors and cladding. At the beginning of the project such product was not available on the market. The conception of this material as flame-retardant sheet material also aims at applications for building interiors (spek DESIGN).
With this new development, we can therefore soon offer a product that addresses two trends: – the increasing demand for resource-efficient and sustainable building materials – the increasing development of buildings featuring double-curved geometries and planar facade components with 3D effects (relief).

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bioplastics by ITKE appeared first on Dezeen.

Following our story about the extension of fashion designer Paul Smith’s Albemarle Street store, here are some more images of its new cast iron facade by London studio 6a Architects.

6a Architects abstracted Paul Smith‘s hand drawings to create a repetitive relief pattern of interlocking circles to cast in iron, a common material around the British capital.

“Cast iron forms an understated background to the city’s streets; its railings, gratings, balconies, and lamp posts,” said the architects.

Thin edges of the circles are embossed to cast shadows across the surface, which is patinated and marked from the casting process.

The facade covers an existing eighteenth century shop front, and its colour and style provides a sharp contrast to the other Georgian buildings in the Mayfair area of London.

Three small drawings by Smith have been cast directly into sections across the facade.

Curved glass cabinets protrude through the ironwork to display items of furniture, set against a white background.

At the entrance to the shop, the panels curve inward to the large stained oak doors.

Inside, the store features brightly coloured accents to match the designer’s furniture and an accessories room lined with dominoes – see our earlier story about the interior here.

6a Architects has previously completed the renovation of a contemporary art exhibition centre in east London and stripped back a derelict house to expose original structural features.

See more projects by 6a Architects »
See more design by Paul Smith »
See more architecture and design in London »

The text below is from 6a Architects:

The new Albemarle Street shop front for Paul Smith builds on a familiar material tradition in London. Cast iron forms an understated background to the city’s streets; its railings, gratings, balconies, and lamp posts. Paul’s brief was an eclectic collection of references, images, textures and traditions, encompassing military medals, woven hats and finely drawn gold ingots alongside sharp tailoring, the soft fall of cloth, craftsmanship and delight in surprise.

The ground floor rustication of the Georgian townhouse and the ornamental language of the 18th century shop front were reinterpreted and abstracted in a sinuous pattern of interlocking circles cast into a new solid iron facade. The repetition of the typical Regency shape brought an optical complexity, which with the play of sunlight and shadow turns the pattern into a deep surface texture. Seen obliquely it seems woven, like a fine cloth.

The surface is further enlivened by the latent makers’ marks of the casting process and the natural patination of the cast iron. A more intimate discovery is to be made in the trio of small drawings by Paul cast directly into panels scattered across the façade.

Curved windows project from the darkly textured iron as luminous vitrines, with a nod to the curved glass of the nearby arcades. A secret door of stained oak lies flush with the cast iron panels: the inverted carving of the timber recalls the mould and sand bed prepared for the molten metal.

The cast iron panels curve in to the recessed oak entrance door, a gently bowed iron step evokes worn away treads. Over time, the iron threshold will polish under foot, recording the life of the building in its material.

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store facade by 6a Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch studio MVRDV has transformed the facade of an ageing mixed-use building into a stack of shop windows in Gangnam, the trendy district of Seoul described in the world-famous Korean pop song.

Positioned amongst the designer boutiques of Apgujung Road, the 1980s Chungha building contains a leather accessories store on its ground floor. The upper levels accommodate more private businesses, including a wedding planner and two plastic surgery practices, so its tenants had previously covered over the strip windows and created a messy-looking exterior.

For the renovation, MVRDV removed the beige stone cladding and original glazing and replaced them with a facade of 18 boxes, each with a glazed shop window across its face. Different boxes were handed over to the various tenants, who can either fill them with product displays or screen them using translucent posters.

“The windows no longer correspond with the interior,” MVRDV’s Jan Knikker told Dezeen. “The general ambition was to keep them as large as possible. The upper windows also follow view lines across the city.”

The boxes feature curved edges and the outer surfaces are clad with tiny mosaic tiles. “[They] resemble white foam from close-up and smooth white stone from further away,” say the architects. A similar bubble pattern decorates the windows.

A new upper storey is set to open as a rooftop cafe with outdoor terraces.

MVRDV’s other recently completed buildings include a shop and office complex disguised as an old farmhouse and a public library inside a glass pyramid.

See more architecture by MVRDV »
See more architecture in South Korea »

Photography is by Kyungsub Shin.

Here are more details from MVRDV:

Gangnam Style: MVRDV completes building transformation in Seoul

Just before a Korean pop-song became a global success on YouTube for the first time in history, and Gangnam became world famous as the nouveau riche hangout of the South-Korean capital Seoul, MVRDV was commissioned by Woon Nam Management Ltd. to redefine a building on Gangnams chic Apgujung Road. Even though the Chungha building was completed in the 1980’s it was already outdated in a street dominated by flagship stores. The transformation, which added an extra level, was completed in just 9 months.

The Chungha building had become a rotten tooth in a fast changing streetscape dominated by single brand stores, this building contains a collection of brands in one. On the previous façade, a motley collection of fonts competed for the attention of passersby. The sober building’s beige natural stone façade was ruined by commercial messages. The ground floor is occupied by French leather accessories label Louis Quatorze, the floors above hold a wedding planners’ office, the clients’ maintenance society and two plastic surgery practices. The discretion required by the clients of the plastic surgeries also had implications for the building. The windows of these floors were hermetically sealed, adding to the worn out feel of the structure.

The new façade concept is convincingly simple: Chungha is a multiple identity building which was transformed into a collection of shop windows so each commercial venture imposed onto the façade would have a fitting canvas for its display. The building’s façade becomes more advertisement, and in that sense paradoxically more honest.

Curvaceous frames were found to be the best match to the large amount of shop windows, and a mosaic tile consequently became the façade material to follow the curves. LED lights change the buildings appearance. MVRDV was given nine months to complete the refurbishment. Adding to the complexity was the limited size of the construction site – five storeys tall but only 2,5 metres at its widest point. Construction workers were required to balance and squeeze themselves into narrow spaces.

Once unwrapped, the building appears reborn, its large windows are filled with transparent posters which provide space for changing brand identities and discretion for the clients of the plastic surgeon. A 10% addition on the top floor will be turned into a café with outside terraces, resulting in a total surface of 2,820 m2. The exterior façade tiles, which resemble white foam from close-up and smooth white stone from further away, are also used on the sidewalk and in the lobby.

MVRDV realised Chungha Building together with InC Design (co-architect and project management), Ain Construction, 1’st Structure, Total LED and M&S Ceramic.

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by MVRDV appeared first on Dezeen.