Gemini Residence

Gemini Residence is a residential building on the Islands Brygge waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark. Built to the design of MVRDV, the building has been created by converting two former seed silos. It is located at the end of Bryggebroen, connecting Amager-side Islands Brygge to Zealand-sideVesterbro across the harbour, and close to the southern end of Havneparken.

With a reference to the twin silos that have given the building its shape, Gemini Residence takes its name from the Astrological sign Gemini, the Latinname of the Zodiac sign The Twins.

The converted twin silos were raw concrete cylinders, standing 42 metres tall and 25 metres wide. The hollow cores of the silos are used for the infrastructure of the building, stairs, elevators and hallways. The two silos are connected on each floor, giving the building a basic layout resemblying the infinity symbol, ∞. The two rotundas are capped with a Texlon roof for natural light, creating a lobby area as tall as the building itself, within which residents and visitors can move up and down.

The apartments have been clipped to the exterior of the silos. The apartments have floor to ceiling windows and balconies along their entire length. At the foot of the silos, the raw concrete has been left uncovered to highlight the origin and history of the structure. This creates a marked horizontal overhang above the quayside esplenade passing below, while the narrow chasm it leaves at ground level creates a passage between dockside and streetside.

Source: Wikipedia.org

House Holman

House Holman by Durbach Block Architects

Durbach Block Architects designed the award winning House Holman in 2004.

The single-family residence is sited on the edge of a 230-foot high cliff flying over the ocean in the town of Dover Heights, west of the city of Sydney in Australia.

The House Holman offers a complex series of spaces to be fluid, enrolled in a perimeter formed by a series of curves and contracurvas that stretch in response to the landscape and the sun.

Living and dining areas cantilever out over the ocean, allowing dramatic views up and down the coast.

The lower floor forms a base that is built from rough stone walls like an extension of the cliff below.

These walls continue along the cliff edge to form a series of eccentric terraced gardens and a vase-shaped rock pool.

Photos by: Neil Durbach, Brett Boardman, Chris Cole, Anthony Browell

Villa 3S

Villa 3S by LOVE architecture and urbanism, Austria, 2010.

Villa 3S is located on a picturesque property on the fringes of Graz Geidorf.  One of the fundamental ideas was to incorporate the relatively large property into the living space.  Therefore, the design blurred the boundaries between house and garden creating fluid transitions and an extended exterior living space.  The relatively strict land-use plan, which stipulated a saddle roof with a designated inclination, presented a further challenge. The roof form begins by folding on the southern terrace continues up and over the building structure and thereby forms an abstract saddle roof.  This folding spatially differentiates the individual areas providing excitement.  This also creates unique views from every angle of the home.

Architects: LOVE architecture and urbanism
Location: Graz Geidorf, Austria
Construction Calculation: Hartmth Petschnigg
Building Physics: Roland Müller
Project Area: 145 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Jasmin Schuller

The architects describe the house as, “Simple yet complex; clear but also playful; light and optimistic; small yet also big.  A place that is architecturally distinct, yet eminently livable; unconventional and unique, and still functional for everyday living.”

The interior of the house is centered around one main room for cooking, eating and living. When open, large sliding doors between the individual rooms connect a fluid, complete spatial structure. With the sliding doors closed, each room maintains its intimacy and distinctiveness and also extends to its own outdoor area or access. For example, the bathroom has its own opaque terrace with an outdoor shower, which can be converted to an interior room with the use of broad folding doors. Weather permitting, the bathroom space can be doubled in this way.

The building is a massive brick construction with concrete walls and a reinforced concrete roof. This roof also serves as a thermal storage mass to provide a pleasant indoor climate and is covered with wood outside. This shades the planking and visually blends the terrace and roof into a unified whole.

Leisure House

Leisure House, in Mill Valley, California

Red Apple Apartment Building

Red Apple Apartment Building by Aedes Studio

Architects: Aedes Studio
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Year: 2013
Photographs: Courtesy of Aedes Studio

The surrounding neighborhood consists mostly of apartment blocks that date back from the 70’s. The buildings are large with enough space in-between and plenty of greenery. Because the whole area is built in relatively short period of time and not very long ago, it lacks the typical historic layers of the city center. Here the connection to nature is direct enough, the access to all city-conveniences – fast enough and easy, what makes the area nice to dwell. In spite of that it still lacks history, (memories of) the past and atmosphere.

The atmosphere in the city is a result of two very important factors. On one hand the connection to nature, which as already said, is granted. On the other hand – the feeling of the past, the traces of the people that have been here before us; the feeling of human community not only here and now, but also back in time. The feeling of the past alone is achieved mostly by the buildings.

Aedes Studio set the uneasy task to design a new “old building”; a contemporary building with past – a building that contains opposites. Aedes Studio wanted to enrich the neighborhood with an atmosphere from another time, to create something that makes them a flâneur (Baudelaire’s character – stroller in Paris) in the city. Aedes Studio approached this project as if they had to revitalize an old, abandoned part of the city (which is the case for harbor and past-industrial areas in many European cities). When such neighborhoods wake up for new life, they possess the charm of the past as well as all contemporary conveniences. Aedes Studio imagined as starting point an abandoned factory building, which after renovation becomes a luxury and desired place for habitation. (In Sofia such potential is held by the significant old “Sugar factory”.) But since Aedes Studio didn’t have a factory to begin with, we had to create it. This is how their “living factory” arose, characterized by many opposing ideas related to the terms “old” and “new”.

Source: archdaily.com

Onyx Building

Onyx Building by Diez + Muller Architectos

Architects: Diez + Muller Arquitectos
Location: Quito-Ecuador
Project Architect: Diez + Muller Arquitectos
Design: Gonzalo Diez P, Felipe Muller B
Collaboration: Alvaro Borrero, Ana Chiluisa, Paola Picciallo, Daniel Sáenz, Andrés Salazar
Construction: Consorcio Gerenpro – Ecuacanelos
Year: 2012
Photographs: Sebastian Crespo

On a 1400 m2 lot in the heart of the north area of the city of Quito, the commission required a building for medium-density housing. The L-shaped lot has a steep slope, as the ground is depressed an entire floor between the top and the bottom. The slope is evident along the entire front of the lot. There are two important trees on the sidewalk worth keeping.

The design arises from two main ideas: First, to divide the building into two blocks laid out in an L-shape, following the morphology of the ground in planimetric and topographic terms. This indicates that the block on the upper area of the lot will be laid out an entire floor over the annexed block, thus establishing a hierarchy between interior and exterior spaces, and giving more exclusivity to the densification of the buildings. Second, to create a stepped square that serves to connect the two housing blocks, but at the same time give the project a semi-public space which visually connects the square and the street, complemented by outdoor furniture, landscaping and the existent vegetation of the street.

Source: archdaily.com

Hemispheric Theater

Santiago Calatrava's Hemispheric Theater from Valencia, Spain, an Imax cinema, Planetarium and Laserium.

• L'Hemisfèric — an Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium. The building is meant to resemble a giant eye, and has an approximate surface of 13,000 m². The Hemesferic also known as the planetarium or the “eye of knowledge,” is the centerpiece of the City of Arts and Sciences. It was the first building completed in 1998. Its design resembles an eyelid that opens to access the surrounding water pool. The bottom of the pool is glass, creating the illusion of the eye as a whole. This planetarium is a half-sphere composed of concrete 110 meters long and 55.5 meters wide. The shutter is built of elongated aluminum awnings that fold upward collectively to form a brise soleil roof that opens along the curved axis of the eye. It opens to reveal the dome, the pupil of the eye, which is the Ominax theater. The City of Arts and Sciences is divided in half by a set of stairs that descend into the vaulted concrete lobby. The underground spaces are illuminated with the use of translucent glass panels within the walking path. The transparent roof is supported by concrete arches that connect to the sunken gallery. There is a miraculous echo inside of the building and if two people stay on the two opposite pillars inside of the eye they can seamlessly speak with each other.

Source: wikipedia.org

University “An der Karlsburg”

University “An der Karlsburg”, Bremerhaven by Kister Scheithauer Gross

A triangular plot is home to the new institute building of the university in Bremerhaven. The building, consequently set to the north of the plot boundaries, transforms into an architectural sculpture towards the Kennedy-bridge. The angular structure with setoffs and folds opens up surprisingly. An outside staircase develops into a multi-layered sculptural building which is crowned by the accentuated entrance hall and gives the building outline its distance effect.

The library with individual learning area, language laboratory, exhibition level, reading and freehand area are located on the ground floor and first floor, starting from the entrance hall. Auditoriums as well as larger seminary rooms are located on the first floor. Institute rooms are located on the subsequent levels, while administration rooms are located on the top floor.

The new building’s engineering brick skin gives it - in addition to the pure form - a sculptural effect. The peat-baked engineering bricks colored in brown-black-red enclose the whole building and cover the sloped roof surface of the auditorium as well as its soffit. Openings, set as accents, underline the character and give an insight into the building's interior with its vibrant play of colors.

The concurrence of urban planning design and the massive haptic materiality created an unmistakeable building for its location. It is a durable and resistant brick sculpture which will become part of the memory and city's outline.


Client:
Senate for Education and Science, Bremen

BGF:
6,900 m²

Cost:
12.0 million €

Completion:
2005

LPH:
1-9 general planning

1st prize Realization competition 2002

Source: indian-architects.com

Origami Office Building

Origami Office Building by Manuelle Gautrand

The project was implemented in two parts: the main building on a 20 meter-wide stripe on the avenue, and an extension in the rear, between two courtyard gardens. At the ground floor level, the lobby plays on transparency between the street front and the main garden. The building in the rear of the lot is more private, and it is there that the cafeteria and meeting rooms are laid out, with garden space on both sides. 

The unusual location of the site led us to design a project that would embrace and take advantage of the view and immerse into the natural light. An emblematic showcase of the building – the main façade is mostly glass, partially covered with a second-skin of screen-printed marble pattern. 

The rendered effect is a tremendous origami and the view of this delicate folded marble can be enjoyed both from exterior and interior of the building. 

The panels are composite, a film of marble mounted on a twin layer of glass. The symmetrical panels that are folded and assembled by two form an “open-book” pattern and thus highlight the design of the veins of the marble. 

This second skin is translucent and acts as a breast wall to ensure privacy as well as filter daylight, creating a soft interior atmosphere.

Marble folds create a vibration along the 30 meter-long front. At both ends, in continuity with the façades of neighboring buildings, the origami becomes calmer and flattens out. But in the central part it forms a delicate bas-relief.

The project then develops into the depth of the site with the same objective of clarity while adding a strong presents of plants. The offices roofed with large lawns weave around the two courtyard gardens. 

The lobby functions as a meeting point of these two atmospheres – the urban and sophisticated of the main façade, and the more private and verdant of the other side of the building. The interior spaces were designed in a contemporary spirit, highlighting the luminous atmosphere with light-colored and soft materials. 

Thecnical description - programme for the operation: 

Luxurious high level offices, lobby, relaxation area / cafeteria and 6 meeting rooms; courtyard garden and gardened roof with an open access. Computer rooms, technical premises, archives and parking lot (85 car places) on the existing 4-level underground area. 

- environmental approach environnementale:

The project is certified “HQE” - High Environmental Quality - ("NF bâtiments tertiaires - Démarche HQE®”: “French High Environmental quality standard for office buildings”). 
The criteria of 14 points have been distributed as following:

Highly efficient: Construction site with minimal environmental nuisance 
Management of waste disposal 
Maintenance services management 
Acoustic comfort 
Efficient: Choice of products and construction methods
Energy management 
Hygrothermal comfort 
Air quality 
Good: Harmonious relationship of the building with its immediate environment 
Water management 
Visual comfort 
Olfactory comfort 
Sanitary quality of spaces 
Sanitary quality of water 

Source: archilovers.com

Europaallee Zurich

Europaallee Zurich by Max Dudler Architekt

Eurogate Zurich – originally HB-Südwest, later Stadtraum HB, and today under construction as Europaallee (Europaallee Zurich) – is one of the urban developments on the southwest side of the Zurich Central Station, otherwise known as Zurich Hauptbahnhof, or Zurich HB. For decades, various commercial uses were discussed for above and next to this central-Zurich site owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFC).

The previous developments under the name HB-Südwest changed to the Eurogate projects with the entrance of a new investor in October 1996 - the major Swiss bank, UBS (UBS Fund Management AG, Basel).

Also at this time, the corporation HB-Südwest, which had been founded in March of 1995 with the task of working through the overall project for HB-Südwest and the residential development for the Lagerstrasse in Zurich until start of construction, was renamed as Eurogate Zürich AG. With this change, the tasks were expanded to include the developing the entire project until completion.

Eurogate/HB-Südwest includes two major projects in Zurich:

• Development along Railway Tracks, Eurogate Zurich (Cost ca. 1.5billion Swiss Francs, planned since 1980)
• Residential Development along Lagerstrasse (Study 2000, 350 der 500 Wohnungen sowie Büro-, Gewerbe-, Freizeitflächen und Ersatzflächen für SBB-Anlagen)

The competition for the urban planning was won by the Zurich architectural office Ralph Bänziger Architekten. In the 1970s, Luigi Snozzi and Mario Botta had participated in the original competition with a design for a slender bridge-construction over the tracks, but their project was not further developed. Ralph Bänziger proposed a massive construction along the tracks.

The work on both designs and the many changes to the project lasted from 1980 until 2001.

Currently, various parts of the project, Europaallee, are under construction in central Zurich.

(Source: wikipedia.org)