Style of Design

Italian firm Studiodosi’s proposed building for the waterfront in Leeds, UK definitely packs a radical punch with its bright green facade, but its sustainable features are just as notable. Named “The Calls Henge,” the design was developed for the 36 Calls competition, which challenged architects to submit proposals for a site by the same address. Situated by the northern bank of the river Aire, the verdant building (which actually looks more like a hedge than a henge) is an eye-popping addition to the area.

Read the rest of Studiodosi’s Henge Adds a Radical, Modern Look to Leeds City Waterfront

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Post tags: geothermal heating and cooling, Green Building, green design, London, rainwater recycling, sustainable archtiecture, sustainable design, The Calls Henge by Studiodosi, UK

Our friends from Abitare shared this cool noodle shop designed by ISSHO Architects with us. Located in central Tokyo, the ‘soba’ noodle shop has Machiya-style wooden louvers, invoking a traditional Japanese townhouse.  The varying depth of each louver creates a textured sensation across the facade.  Regionally different patterns of light spill through the façade from the interior, allowing a gradual change of character at dawn, especially as viewed from the main street.  The facade aesthetic is modified on the interior’s ceiling as white curved panels contrast the concrete and wood dinning areas to soften the space.  A minimalistic residential apartment for the owner sits above the noodle shop.

More images after the break.

Images photographed by KOICHI TORIMURA

Our friends from Abitare shared this cool noodle shop designed by ISSHO Architects with us. Located in central Tokyo, the ‘soba’ noodle shop has Machiya-style wooden louvers, invoking a traditional Japanese townhouse.  The varying depth of each louver creates a textured sensation across the facade.  Regionally different patterns of light spill through the façade from the interior, allowing a gradual change of character at dawn, especially as viewed from the main street.  The facade aesthetic is modified on the interior’s ceiling as white curved panels contrast the concrete and wood dinning areas to soften the space.  A minimalistic residential apartment for the owner sits above the noodle shop.

More images after the break.

Images photographed by KOICHI TORIMURA

Studio Shift’s newest retail center runs along the riverside in Miyi, and its position allows it to capitalize on the naturally cleansed waters of the South Lake area.  The center creates a significant public space with a direct connection to the water so the complex becomes a destination for relaxation and water-based recreation due to the favorable climate.   Retail is arranged such that equipment for various watercrafts, which can be launched directly from the rental facility, line the channel while restaurants and a cafe sit along the pier. 

 More about the retail center after the break.

Evoking the materiality and massing of the mountainous terrain of Miyi, the three buildings are conceptually carved from one solid entity and reconnected through the public plaza.   The subtractive process frames views to the surroundings.  The stone-clad facade suggests weight and permanence and utilizes locally-sourced materials. 

 An extensive climbing wall that can be used both from the exterior and the intrior is articulated as a glass-clad void inserted into the solid mass of the structure.  The south-facing plaza maximizes sun exposure as it extends outward, its edge disintegrating into the water as a series of steps enabling residents and tourists to immerse their feet in the refreshing and naturally cleansed waters of the South Lake.  It is here where the descending plaza stairs meet a gradually submerged plane, providing the critical, yet casual transition from land to water-based activity. 

EOOS is well versed when it comes to interior design concepts and bringing them to reality. For A1 Mobilkom Austria’s leading mobile phone provider the creation was a combination of technology, innovative thinking, and cutting edge aesthetics. When entering the customer passes through a “fog facade” that produces various scenarios of transcendence according to the time of day. Once inside the store, people stroll among LCD tables. Each customer receives a “ghost mobile” crystalline body to represent a mobile phone. By just placing it on various surfaces visitors can make purchases by loading the real and virtual products into the transparent object – and pick up their items at the checkout counter. A “future ramp” where “future cubes” displaying upcoming products as holographs takes customers to a metallic wing from which they approach the monolithic white bar and lounge area. See more from EOOS here.

Post from Ultra Modern Interiors : A1 Mobilkom Store in Austria by EOOS

Alejo Bague

The Office of Architecture in Barcelona, OAB, just finished the Azahar Group headquarters in the Castellon region of Spain.  Since the Azahar Group is very active with recycling, waste-treatment plants, and the like, the building intends to serve as a manifesto, in a way, to showcase their ideas of the importance of maintaining a relationship with nature.

More about the headquarters and more images after the break.

Alejo Bague

With the mountains as a backdrop, the building’s two wings hold two different open patios.  The first patio, the ‘parade ground’, is an external gathering area for users, while the second patio is more reserved for private use. Inside, the company’s different departments are housed in the ends of each wing and converge at the main hall, a large exhibition space.

Alejo Bague

The building’s dominate roof-scape compliments the mountains, while, from a distance, the roofs situate the building in the landscape.  The geometry of the roof is carried through to the inside and ”the vision of the continuity
of these is produced by transparent glass supported on the dividers of the different rooms.”

Alejo Bague

A new material, a flexible and self-washing white stucco, was applied to the facade and the roof to create a continuity of materials.

All images © Alejo Bague and courtesy OAB.

As seen on designboom.

location: carretera nacional n-340, castellon
client: grupo de empresas azahar
date project: 2004
construction: 2009
author: carlos ferrater – nùria ayala
collaborator: emilio llobat
photographer: alejo bagué
area: 4.304 m2
cost: 1.711.142 Euros

French Photographer Stéphane Chalmeau shared with us “Manny”, a  project by Tétrarc.

The building is located in Nantes, France, in a creative arts district behind the Courthouse. The project is an initiative by the Coupechoux Design Group in partnership with Nantes developer Axel Colin, and will provide a space for architecture and creative arts businesses, while open to the city and the neighborhood trough a public showroom on the ground floor, hosting exhibits, conferences and other events

The chaotic aluminium skin protects the interior by filtering the direct sunlight, creating a dynamic facade that changes during the day with different reflections.

More photos after the break.

© Stéphane Chalmeau

Stéphane Chalmeau shared with us his photos on a new library by French firm Tétrarc Architects .

The Fougères Biblioteque follows the contemporary approach to libraries as meeting spaces, rather than just book storage. Due to the public function of the building,it expresses itself to the city trough the facade details seen on the above photo.

The program is distributed in two levels. The building is seen as a compact mass, with excavations to bring light and green into the building, as you can see on the complete photoset below:

© Stéphane Chalmeau

Stéphane Chalmeau shared with us his photos on a new library by French firm Tétrarc Architects .

The Fougères Biblioteque follows the contemporary approach to libraries as meeting spaces, rather than just book storage. Due to the public function of the building,it expresses itself to the city trough the facade details seen on the above photo.

The program is distributed in two levels. The building is seen as a compact mass, with excavations to bring light and green into the building, as you can see on the complete photoset below:

© Roel Backaert

Architect: Mulders vandenBerk Architecten
Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands
Project Team: Joost Mulders, Chris van den Berk, Robert van der Lee, Lucas Torres, Cecilia Thomsen, Idette de Boer
Principal: Municipality of Utrecht, department D.M.O.
Graphic design façade: DesignArbeid, Amsterdam
Contractor building: Barli B.V., Uden
Contractor façade: Roord binnenbouw, Amsterdam
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Wim Hanenberg, Roel Backaert, Wouter van der Sar

Mulders vandenBerk Architecten of Amsterdam designed this playground building in a park in Utrecht, the Netherlands, with a Corian façade engraved with images of fairytales from around the world. The idea of the building is to excite and stimulate curiosity and creativity of the children.

floor plan

© Wim Hanenberg

The pavilion splits the playground in two. One side is used by teenagers, the other by young children. The interior is divided into three separate playrooms featuring bright colors, simple furniture and elements to interact with. Each room is related to an individual facade and offers a specific orientation to its context. This combined with a unique “wallpaper” gives a particular identity to each room. The design invites children to play, to discover and invent games.

© Roel Backaert

The exterior of the building is the opposite of the ‘active’ playground with its many climbing frames and slides. The building is a calm oasis in the playground. The façade is a large white Corian surface with milled jagged lines. At first sight there are only lines. A second view reveals decorative characters; fairy tales from around the world. Graphic design studio Design Arbeid selected together with the neighborhood children the various fairy tales. The graphic design is cnc-milled out of the façade to stimulate the senses and the imagination.