Architecture World

Nov 16, 2008

Brazilian Leaf House - Sample of Organic Architecture

This project was inspired by Brazil's Indian architecture, perfectly suited for the hot and humid climate where it stands, Rio de Janeiro .On a beautiful little beach with amazing blue water, sits a little house with a flowering roof that shades and protects like a big tropical banana leaf. Designed by Mareines + Patalano,The open air abode is meant to encourage interaction and connection between man and nature. With verandas and open spaces in between rooms and no corridors,The roof acts as a big leaf that protects from the hot sun all the enclosed spaces of the house, such as the verandas and the in-between open spaces. These last two types of space are the main social areas, the essence of the design. They allow trade winds from the sea to pass trough the building, providing natural ventilation and passive cooling.

The architects describe their design as low-tech Eco-efficient, due to the use of natural ventilation for cooling. Homes in the tropics rarely need much more than a breeze in order to keep the environment comfortable. As for other sustainable design techniques, the roof harvests rainwater for use in the house, and the interior is naturally finished with wood, stone and natural fabrics. We suspect the wood was harvested locally, and can only hope it was done so in a sustainable fashion.

Above all the Leaf House is amazing inspiration for organic design that brings the outdoors in. It protects the inhabitants from rain and sun, while bringing in fresh breezes to cool the interior. The design was originally inspired by Brazil’s Indian Architecture, which used local materials to provide shade, protection and encourage natural breezes for cooling.

More Information Mareines + Patalano

Recommended Books:

Sustainable Architectures
By Steven A. Moore

The Big Book of Small House Designs: 75 Award-Winning Plans for Your Dream House, All 1,250 Square Feet or Less
By Don Metz, Catherine Tredway, Lawrence Von Banford, Kenneth R. Tremblay

The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture
By Alanna Stang, Christopher Hawthorne

Nov 13, 2008

Treetop Restaurant - Yellow Tree House Restaurant

The concept of a working restaurant up in a large Redwood tree which is over 40m high and 1.7m diameter at the base, on a site north of Auckland and is inspired by a suspended chrysalis, in a fairy-tale environment overlooking a meadow and meandering stream on the edge of a forest.The concept is driven by the ‘enchanted’ site which is raised above an open meadow and meandering stream on the edge of the woods.

The tree-house concept is reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination . It’s inspired through many forms found in nature -the chrysalis/cocoon protecting the emerging butterfly/moth, perhaps an onion/garlic clove form hung out to dry. It is also seen as a lantern, a beacon at night that simply glows yet during the day it might be a semi camouflaged growth, or a tree fort that provides an outlook and that offers refuge.The plan form also has loose similarities to a sea shell with the open ends spiraling to the center .

The selected site and tree had to meet a myriad of functional requirements -18 seated people and waiting staff in relative comfort complete with a bar; gaining correct camera angles with associated light qualities for filming the adverts, web cam and stills, have unobstructed views into the valley and entrance to the site and structural soundness .

The Architectural component embodies a simple oval form wrapped ‘organically’ around the trunk and structurally tied at top and bottom, with a circular plan that is split apart on the axis with the rear floor portion raised. This allows the approach from the rear via a playful tree-top walkway experience, slipping inside the exposed face of the pod and being enchanted by the juxtaposition of being in an enclosed space that is also quite 'open' and permeable to the treetop views. There is also a ‘Juliet’ deck opposite the entrance that looks down the valley.

The scale and form of the tree-house creates a memorable statement without dominating it’s setting. While it’s natural ‘organic’ form sits comfortably, the rhythm of the various materials retains it’s strong architectural statement. The vertically of the fins mimics the vertically of the redwoods and enable the building to naturally ‘blend’ into it’s setting, as though it were a natural growth.

It sits almost 10m wide and over 12m high, with the split-level floor sitting 10m off the ground. Timber trusses form the main structure. The curved fins are glue-laminated pine, plantation poplar has been used for the slats and redwood milled from the site used in the walkway balustrading. Openings are formed for windows by leaving spaces between the slats/fins that keeps the overall form yet affords a variety of openness for the views and light and closes down toward the rear. To loosen the regularity of the elements, steel is wrapped arbitrarily around the pod.

It is designed to be weather resistant using acrylic sheeting fixed to the roof under the fins with vertical roll-down cafe-style blinds within. Lighting is an important architectural component enhancing and changing the mood, with discreet lighting within the walkway and up-lighting within the tree house.

A team of consultants working alongside the architects includes fire and structural engineers, town planners to meet functional and Building Code requirements.
The Yellow Tree House Restaurant is due for completion December 2008. (more information and up-to-date information about the tree house constructionhttp://www.yellowtreehouse.co.nz .)

Recommended Books:

Cool Restaurants Top of the World (Cool Restaurants)
By Misc

Extreme Restaurants
By Birgit Krols

Nov 8, 2008

Inspired Folding Bamboo House - Origami

The concept of the bamboo house is basically a series of bamboo poles that are assembled to create a rigid shape. Once the shape of choice has been made it is covered with pre-consumer recycled paper.the structures design is amazing and will be a very nice alternative to the 1.5 million homes that where supposed to be built. At the moment this is only a concept but we hope to see many of these being built for the future.

I really like the origami style design they went with because once on the landscape it looks very nice and can also be made into many different sizes and styles. You can look at more pictures of the concept design below.

Ming Tang came up with this concept after a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck central China killing 69,000 people. He decided to design a shelter that was easily produced, cheap and environmentally friendly.

More Information about Bamboo Design
Recommended Books:

Bamboo: A Material for Landscape and Garden Design
By Jan Oprins, Harry van Trier

New Bamboo: Bamboo architecture and design
By Marcelo Villegas, Ximena Londono

Grow Your Own House: Simone Velez and Bamboo Architecture
By Simon Velez, Jean Dethier, Klaus Steffens

Nov 6, 2008

''Sky Village'' - Copenhagen's New High rise - By MVRDV and ADEPT

The municipality of Rødovre, an independent municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark, announced MVRDV and co-architect ADEPT winner of the design competition of the Rødovre Skyscraper. The 116 meter tall tower accommodates apartments, a hotel, retail and offices. A public park and a plaza are also part of the privately funded scheme.

Image (CopyrightMVRDV / ADEPT Architects ),design for mix-use high-rise ‘Sky Village’ for Copenhagen,(click 2 enlarge)

Image (Copyright MVRDV / ADEPT Architects); Street View at Night,(click 2 enlarge)

The new skyscraper with a total surface of 21,688m2 will be located at Roskildevej, a major artery East of the center of Copenhagen. It is after the Frøsilos MVRDV’s second project in Copenhagen. The skyscraper’s shape reflects Copenhagen’s historical spire and present day high-rise blending in the skyline of the city, it further combines the two distinctive typologies of Rødovre, the single family home and the skyscraper in a vertical village. Consideration of these local characteristics leads to Copenhagen’s first contemporary high-rise.

Image (CopyrightMVRDV / ADEPT Architects ),View from street,(click 2 enlarge)

Image (Copyright MVRDV / ADEPT Architects), design for mix-use high-rise ‘Sky Village’ for Copenhagen,(click 2 enlarge)

Responding to unstable markets the design is based on a flexible grid, allowing alteration of the program by re-designating units. These ‘pixels’ are each 60m2 square and arranged around the central core of the building, which for flexibility consists of three bundled cores allowing separate access to the different program segments.

Image (Copyright MVRDV / ADEPT Architects), structure diagram,(click 2 enlarge)

Image (Copyright MVRDV / ADEPT Architects); Stacking Diagram,(click 2 enlarge)

On the lower floors the volume is slim to create space for the surrounding public plaza with retail and restaurants; the lower part of the high rise consists of offices, the middle part leans north in order to create a variety of sky gardens that are terraced along the south side. This creates a stacked neighborhood, a Sky Village. From this south orientation the apartments are benefiting. The top of the building will be occupied by a hotel enjoying the view towards Copenhagen city center. The constellation of the pixels allows flexibility in function; the building can be transformed by market forces, however at this moment it is foreseen to include 970m2 retail, 15,800m2 offices, 3,650m2 housing and 2,000m2 hotel and a basement of 13,600m2 containing parking and storage.

Image (Copyright MVRDV / ADEPT Architects); Programme Flexibility Diagram,(click 2 enlarge)

Image(Copyright MVRDV / ADEPT Architects); Organization Diagram,(click 2 enlarge)

Flexibility for adaptation is one of the best sustainable characteristics of a building. Besides this the Sky Village will also integrate the latest technologies according to the progressive Danish environmental standards. Furthermore the plans include a greywater circuit, the use of 40% recycled concrete in the foundation and a variety of energy producing devices on the facade.

Image(CopyrightMVRDV / ADEPT Architects); Light, Views and Terraces Diagram,(click 2 enlarge)

Image(CopyrightMVRDV / ADEPT Architects); Section,(click 2 enlarge)

A public park adjacent to the Sky Village is part of the project and will be refurbished with additional vegetation and the construction of a ‘super bench’, a meandering public path and bench. A playground, picnic area and exercise areas for elderly citizens are also part of the plan.

Image(CopyrightMVRDV / ADEPT Architects) , Plaza View,(click 2 enlarge)

Image(Copyright MVRDV / ADEPT Architects); Site Plan,(click 2 enlarge)

Lead architect MVRDV and co-architect ADEPT Architects won the competition from BIG, Behnisch and MAD. Winy Maas and Jacob van Rijs present the plan today in Copenhagen together with Anders Lonka and Martin Krogh from local office Adept Architects, Dutch engineering firm ABT and Søren Jenssen act as consultants for the project. Earlier MVRDV realised the Frøsilos / Gemini Residence in the port of Copenhagen: a residential project marking a new way in refurbishment of old silo’s which was highly acclaimed and received international awards.