Zurich Zoo Foyer Renovation & Extension
L3P Architects
2014
In the process, an excellent project from Dürig Architects in 1999, was applied to create a complex, merged facility, embracing diverse areas such as the forecourt, counters, visitors’ centre, Zoo Shop, Zoo Café, and volunteers’ center. The flowing forms and a selective light design were implemented intentionally to the foyer to quickly and intuitively guide the arriving visitors. Curved walls, display windows and roofs combine in spectacular rolling lines. Great merit was given to authentic materials in the interior. An especially developed acoustic panel, made from packaging plywood, was put to use in the counter and visitors’ center area. The natural grain reminding one of animal fur was superimposed with animalistic textures derived from irregularly drilled holes. Thus the guest is presented with an exciting backdrop which is emotionally attuned with the world of the zoo.
Cenote Spa
Playa Del Carmen
Sordo Madaleno Group
2015
The Cenote Spa is part of The Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen Resort. It connects the reception of the resort to the pools and beach, which generating an exciting architectural experience. Sunlight gets in the cenote by what appears to be a small volcano. It has been renowned for its originality, concept and innovation. Cenotes are an important geological feature in the Yucatan Peninsula created by collapsed limestone bedrocks. They are believed to cleanse and purify the soul, as ancient Mayans traditionally used cenotes for bathing and worshipping. The spa captures the serenity and beauty of cenotes through outstanding stonework detail, a rich color palate, dramatic lighting, and soothing natural textures. The spa consist not only of a pool chamber but also eight treatment rooms, a eucalyptus steam room, fiber-optic chromotherapy showers, and hydrotherapy stations.
Bamboo Wing
Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Vinh Phuc province, Vietnam
2010
Bamboo wing is a restaurant inspired by nature. It has the form of bird wings and floats over the natural landscape of the site. People can experience a 12 meter open space without any vertical columns while they enjoy their food at the restaurant. The shape of the roof also helps capture the wind inside the building and that way minimize the use of air conditioner for a sustainable environment. With its deep eaves and the water in the open spaces, people feel as if they are living in or with nature. The aim of the project was to study bamboo and the potential space it can create by using bamboo not only as a finishing material but as a structural one as well. This building is a pure bamboo structure, using no steel or other man-made structural materials. This design have created a new trend for new ecological materials.
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Agri-horticultural society
Symphony Lake, Singapore
1859
The Gardens were first created to evaluate cultivation crops and agriculturally develop them by collecting, growing, experimenting, and distributing potential useful plants for economic importance. One of the earliest and most important successes was the Hevea brasiliensis because it became a major crop that brought great prosperity to the South East Asian region in the early 20th century. In the 19th century, the garden started to grow orchids and by then it was not only a botanical institution and a regional park but also a renowned tourist destination. Today, the gardens are managed by the National Parks Board of the Singapore government and have become a national icon. With more than 150 years of history, these 82-hectare Gardens hold a unique and significant place in the history of Singapore. More than 10,000 species of flora is spread over its area, which is stretched vertically at a distance of 1.6 miles. The Botanic Gardens receives about 4.5 million visitors annually. They are the first and only tropical botanic gardens to be honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and are ranked Asia’s top park attractions. The Gardens connect people with nature and transformed the island into a tropical Garden City.
Antinori Winery
Archea Associati
Bargino FI, Italy
2012
The functional aspects have become an essential part of the design by merging culture, work of man, work environment and natural environment. The purpose of the project has therefore been to merge the building and the rural landscape. The roof has been turned into a plot of farmland cultivated with vines and interrupted by two horizontal cuts which let light into the interior and provide a view of the landscape. The façade extends horizontally along the natural slope of vines. Therefore, a section of the building would reveals the production process of the grapes from the point of arrival, to the fermentation tanks to the underground barrel vault. The winery consists as well of a parking area for visitors, offices, a restaurant, and a floor hosting the auditorium, the museum, the library, and the wine tasting areas. The secluded heart of the winery, where the wine matures in barrels, conveys, with its darkness and the rhythmic sequence of the terracotta vaults, the sacral dimension of a space which is hidden. The materials and technologies evoke simplicity, both in the use of terracotta and in the advisability of using the energy produced naturally by the earth to cool and insulate the winery, creating the ideal climatic conditions for the production of wine.
Experiments in Engineered Bent Plywood Architecture: Amplifying The Senses On The Periphery Of Helsinki
Marina Maria Fernandez Valles
From University of East London UK
2013
The project investigates how established modes of craftsmanship with an inherent understanding of materiality can inform emerging timber fabrication technologies in architecture. It is an exploration of the structural and physical capabilities of wood as a material and how it can directly inform the design of a building, rather the material fitting into a design. By working with the material intimately, design decisions are based on how the building feels or how it is made and not just on how it looks. The modular assembly system consists of multidirectional twisting and lamination using repetition and bending to create a rigid and seamless 3D wooden skin. This skin is further developed for the design Aalto University Campus adjacent to the nature preservation area of Laajalahti. The engineered timber skin wraps around the building creating an open envelope that invites the light and landscape into the interior. The design explores the auditory component of birdwatching, which involves listening to bird species since many are more easily identified by ear.
Orchideorama
Plan B Architects + JPRCR Architects
Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
This botanical garden allows architecture to be a material for the process of nature. The structure looks like a honeycomb built with the form of a flower and the size and properties of a tree; this creates a flower-tree structure. The pavilion consist of 10 flower-tree structures built individually so that the space is not limited to grow or be moved. Altogether, the form adapts and gives a geometry to the space. Each Flower - tree is "hollow" in the center and each of them configure a small hexagonal patio. The hallow trunks work as a technical system to collect rain water to feed the plants.
The Flower - tree structure has three different contents according to is location and its definitions.
1.Light (Small temporary gardens)
2. Plants (Orchids, exotic and tropical flowers)
3. Animals (Feeding birds facilities - butterfly breeding place)
The Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2012
This museum aims at creating a welcoming world which associates lights and shadows as well as shimmers and calm places in a serene atmosphere. It emphasizes the fascination generated by rare encounters. Every climate likes exceptions. Warmer when the weather is cold, cooler in the tropics. Men have a bad resistance to thermal shocks, as do works of art. The museum was influenced by such basic observations. The project is based on one of the major symbols of Arabic architecture: the Cupola. The dome is doubled and flat with a 180-meter diameter, offering a perfect luminous geometry drilled in a more random weaved material which creates a shadow punctuated with sun bursts. At night, the protected landscape turns into a haven of light under a star-spangled cupola and works as sanctuary for the most valuable works of art.
