Cool Modern Architecture

[amor de cosmos]

If I don't post this I have a feeling someone else will

Library and Learning Centre at the University of Economics & Business by Zaha Hadid Architects
December 18th, 2008

Zaha Hadid Architects have won a competition to design a library and learning centre for the University of Economics & Business in Vienna, Austria.

The 28,000 square metre building forms the central part of a new campus for the university.

The learning centre will include a library, tutorial rooms, administration offices, student centre, book shop, cafeteria, and event space.

The project is due for completion in 2012.

http://www.dezeen.com/2008/12/18/lib...id-architects/

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

^ Just don't post the new Herzog & de Meuron bank design...

[Tom Servo]

wonderful, amor de cosmos! thanks for keeping this thread going in my absense!

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by amor de cosmos

If I don't post this I have a feeling someone else will
......

I haven't yet reasoned why, but I do not care for this design at all.

[amor de cosmos]

The containers look like giant shoeboxes!

Refurbished shipping containers aren’t just useful for clever economical housing anymore. Like London subway car architecure and the Greentainer Design Project, this design concept makes public space more flexible and eco-friendly by re-using discarded material that is easily moved. This tri-level, 11,000-square-foot Puma store, known as Puma City, is made of 24 refurbished shipping containers and is fully dis-mountable so it can be packed up and shipped anywhere. Currently traveling around the world, the store was designed by our favorite shipping container architects LOT-EK and completed in September 2008.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/12/19/...-architecture/

[Aleks]

AMAZING! Bring it to Seattle. I love the design and it's uniqueness. And it's Puma. Another big plus.

[Jibba]

That Puma store design is fantastic. I think I will investigate that design a little further to see just what structural elements were added to sustain those mad cantilevers. The architects really managed to make the most out of the fundamental parts with this one. The way that the logo was painted on the "whole" building and then separated concomitantly with the containers is a nice touch.

I would assume that Puma is displaying this design as a sustainable showpiece, which is interesting considering the economics that spurred the reusable-container designs in the first place--I wouldn't think that this design is as economical as its more architecturally-conservative counterparts. I guess I really never understood the sustainability behind using shipping containers as building forms, anyway. How do they "go bad", exactly? Aren't they universal components of their industry that would only need to be discarded if they were structurally unsound? If this is the case, they would make an even less viable building part.

All of that aside, though, it's still a very appealing design for me, although mostly as a novelty of sorts (the shape is still great no matter what).

[honte]

^ Yeah, I'm expecting that the modifications are extensive... probably too many to justify whatever eco-sensibility there might have originally been. I was expecting to see steel trusses at the sides where the cantilevers are, but instead I see what appear to be concrete shear walls - which would be even worse, since at that point you've basically rebuilt a large portion of the volume over with secondary materials. In all, it seems to be just an intellectual game and mock environmentalism.

Wonder how they got around fire code in that thing?

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by honte

In all, it seems to be just an intellectual game and mock environmentalism.

Precisely.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Jibba

I haven't yet reasoned why, but I do not care for this design at all.

Motion sickness?

[Skyscraper100]

the full moon hotel, baku

[America 117]

Originally Posted by Atomic Glee

Wait, what? A building that actually looks like a building and not a grass-covered blob, titanium dodecahedron, or thinly-veiled 1970s tower-in-the-park throwback? A building that doesn't assault the eyes with pointless leans and swoops and spikes? A building that features a sane and pleasant fenestration pattern instead of randomly sized and placed inhuman slits for windows? A building that respects its context and fits in well with its urban setting? A building that fits in at all, rather than destroying the space by calling attention to itself? A building that's pedestrian friendly? What's that building doing in this thread? Surely there are sixty-million more concrete boxes and cantilevered soul crushers we could have instead!

That may be the first building in this thread to date that I don't find an abomination. Thank you for that.

wow.........
I cant believe someone had the guts to say it.

[Tom Servo]

http://www.zerodegree.com/
shaken office
architect yushi uehara
two office buildings in groningen
each building is identical
one houses offices and the other laboratories

How far have we matured our architecture?
How truthfully have we made our architecture to us?
How as an architect can design a building to answer such questions?
My clue was functionalism
1896, Luis Sullivan, Form Follows Function
1906, Adolf Loos, Ornament is crime
If these manifestos are still true, why is the architectural manifesto of functionalism now out of mode?

The brief given by my client demanded impressive architecture with limited resources. They commissioned me to apply identical set of floor plans to two buildings for two functions: an office and a scientific laboratory. It required the highly efficient and flexible use of floor plans. The site was in a usual office stroke, situated next to a regional highway and in-between housing neighborhood and infrastructure.

My answer is this project
The cars that fly by in front of the site on the highway notice no details of a building but recognize the monolithic form with giant cantilevers. I designed a building that consists fully of steel construction with minimal material use.

How should I react to the discipline of functionalism?
I aim for the vision of functionalists and their purpose-oriented methods, as it took no concern on souls of users. Can an architect design architecture functionally but soulfully just as youth movements continue to reinvent the mode of blue jeans? This intention to materialize Super Functionalism formed the axis of my reaction in all scales.

In the scale of urbanism I search for form that shines with soul and energy. In the scale of organization I seek a floor plans that materializes a dynamic mode of use. In the scale of details I studied simple but stylish building methods. In terms of space I built a series of shields which enable subtle experiences. The differences between the two buildings became the key to persuing a new concept that innovates utilitarian aspects.

I pursue new architecture that should be called architecture of Super Functionalism. Obviously, because of this intention, brutally stacking up boxes of diverse dimensions became viable. Changing nothing but proportion in height of two buildings in order to suit two different functions became a meaningful method.

Minimalist floor plans with single cores materialized to maintain a distant view on romantic interior spaces materialized . With juggling externals shell and this steady single core I created various workspaces.

My project is about a light body
Concrete on steel plates and prefabricated timber sub construction façade. This construction is sealed by a sheet of black corrugated steel plates that shields the rain. Its steel frills became the montage system of facade panels with finely perforated, folded-steel plates. This thin, steel skin creates a soft visual shield that only half of the openings full open. It adds extra depth to its dominant monolithic appearance.

Lightness creates large impression: that is the rhetoric.

[Tom Servo]

red houses by group8 /
three houses in crans-près-céligny, switzerland /
constructed from red, poured concrete /

RED HOUSES

The invasion of the individual villa type can be seen as a ‘plague’ or as the inevitable result of a continuous hybrid landscape; a landscape composed with nostalgic ideas of a country side that has been planned too much and a ever-growing suburban sprawl. The position of the architect in this case is delicate. Should he work within the given reality of this deteriorated situation? Or should he fight against it –refuse to build in this density and typology?

The red houses place themselves in this type of problem, planting another object in this saturated suburban landscape. In this case, the purpose would be not to build an object but a small ‘ensemble’: a little community of individuals who can, through the new scale of the intervention, constitute a good mixture of urban and landscape architecture.

The placing of the three unities follows that logic. Searching for the best orientation and geometrical relation among each other, the volumes appear as a geological landscape, somehow as if the whole settlement was thought out as a garden with three important stones.

These stones are earthy red. The coloured concrete gives that irregular impression of a material that has been poured and will evolve and change over the years. The colour works also as a distinctive characteristic in order to separate the ensemble from the surrounding eclectic architectures.

The geometry and the volume of each houses serves another purpose: to propose a rich typology, capable of creating an experience of diversity of spaces inside the appartments. The important loggias in each volume enhance this idea. Not only the villas possess exterior terraces but they also have these big loggias, and protected exterior space.

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

Motion sickness?

Heh, yes, partially. There are quite a lot of details of this one to digest, and, accordingly, any amateur critique that I could lay forth would be widely open to a counter argument--there are myriad ways the design could be rationalized (one is, after all, describing the materialization of extended space). I will say, though, that the components of the design that contribute most to the overall aesthetic seem (ostensibly) to be entirely unnecessary--it's as if the designers were inspired by some consumer electronics company whose product strategy hinged upon duping their prospective customers with "cutting-edge" design. I am sort of a structural purist, though, so it is possible that this design is simply not my taste.

[honte]

^ Hadid is a sculptress... I tend to group her with Gehry's lot. But her design work is so much more elegant, I can't help but find it beguiling. And there definitely is a lot of thought given to the way the buildings behave.

Her office makes some of the most beautiful presentation graphics around too.

(PS I love the banter happening in this thread, partly because I can actually get the pages to load. I love all the posts and hard work, but the page load time is unbelievable some times.)

[CGII]

Zaha's paintings are my favourite thing about her studio.

[amor de cosmos]

New Headquarters for BBVA
Madrid, Spain
2007 –, planned completion 2013

Herzog & de Meuron
Architectural Statement

The site BBVA has procured for its new headquarters is located on the periphery of Madrid. It is surrounded by streets of newly erected offices, commercial buildings, and residential developments. It is a “site without qualities”, a desert-like place. We propose the creation of an artificial garden, an oasis, evolving from inside out—a place that establishes a balance between the natural environment and the buildings, and functions like a small city.

A linear structure composed of three-story buildings, alleyways and irrigated gardens is laid over the entire site like a carpet that follows the topography. Analogous to an Arabian garden, a cool, moist, fresh microclimate is created. Each workspace has a “green view”. The layout, with its horizontal branches, is more appropriate to today’s working world than open-plan offices, in which an employee feels like a number.

The complex encourages communication: people walk instead of taking elevators; they meet and talk to one another. A large degree of transparency generates a sense of community, while the relatively small units permit employees to identify with their particular group. Four existing buildings are integrated in the overall low-rise complex. Linear courtyards cut into the building mass link their structure with the new buildings.

In order to make the BBVA stand out in the skyline of the capital, the carpet is cut out in an approximate circle and tilted upwards: the result is a plaza and a slender, disk-shaped tower.

Plaza and Tower anchor the complex and provide orientation. The main entrance and various communal facilities form an interconnected ring around the plaza. The Tower, containing offices with views across the city and the Sierra of Madrid, contributes to the diversity of the workspaces.

The Plaza is planted with trees that provide generous shade, a large water basin humidifies the air and serves as a reservoir. Between the buildings, the gardens and alleyways echo the linear principle. Different trees and vegetation of varying densities distinguish the areas, so that they each retain their individual character within the overall context of the Carpet.

The Natural Resources
The design is adapted to the climatic conditions and makes efficient use of energy resources by providing ample natural daylight, while the gardens and alleyways are fully shaded in the summer months. Overhanging floorplates and a brise-soleil structure keep direct sunlight away from the workspaces. This minimizes the need for artificial lighting and air conditioning, which account for the greatest energy consumption in office buildings.

Ventilation is only needed to ensure the circulation of fresh air in the office spaces—windows can be opened to provide cross ventilation. Retractable elements in the roof help to control the temperature of the gardens.

The water that regulates the temperature of the floor slabs is geothermally cooled or warmed. Photovoltaic cells on the roofs as well as rain and grey water processing complete the overall sustainability concept.

http://www.dezeen.com/2008/12/17/bbv...zog-de-meuron/

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by Atomic Glee

Wait, what? A building that actually looks like a building and not a grass-covered blob, titanium dodecahedron, or thinly-veiled 1970s tower-in-the-park throwback? A building that doesn't assault the eyes with pointless leans and swoops and spikes? A building that features a sane and pleasant fenestration pattern instead of randomly sized and placed inhuman slits for windows? A building that respects its context and fits in well with its urban setting? A building that fits in at all, rather than destroying the space by calling attention to itself? A building that's pedestrian friendly? What's that building doing in this thread? Surely there are sixty-million more concrete boxes and cantilevered soul crushers we could have instead!

That may be the first building in this thread to date that I don't find an abomination. Thank you for that.

I think you're my new hero.

[DecoJim]

Originally Posted by amor de cosmos

Library and Learning Centre at the University of Economics & Business by Zaha Hadid Architects

I like this one a lot. Most of the others on this page do not awaken any emotions. This one looks like a Starfleet heavy cruiser ready for lift-off. It appears very modern without being obviously a reaction against traditional rectilinear design (some building designs make me think the architect said, let's twist this shape here or add a sphere there just to be against the box but saying nothing more).

The Puma building is good recycling but other than that does not excite.