Architectural research
An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about architectural research
Project • By YET Office • Private Houses
Almost Forgotten
Almost Forgotten does not seek to preserve memory, but rather to interrogate its gradual erosion. Through anatomical drawings that carefully dissect absence and sculptures that effectively arrest time, the project transforms fleeting, ephemeral fragments into profoundly inhabitable space. It exists within the fragile, indeterminate seam where art and architecture become entirely indistinguishable: it presents form devoid of traditional program, yet it carries the weight of deep emotion and recollection.
Yilin Zhang + Yixuan Liu
Guided closely by phenomenology, the work proposes that memory is never merely an image, but instead a complex spatial condition physically stored within the body and raw materials. It acts as “architectu... More
News • Innovations • 16 Nov 2023
HygroShell: a self-shaping, lightweight, and sustainable wood structure
HygroShell harnesses the hygroscopic properties of wood to achieve form and structure. (A hygroscopic material is one that can absorb and release moisture from the environment.) Described as a “self-constructing timber building system,” HygroShell makes use of advanced computational methods to access the inherent shape-changing nature of timber. This self-shaping system is demonstrated via the design, construction, and production of a wide-span, lightweight shell made using individual curved wood components.
ITECH/ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart
ITECH/ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart
Recent years have seen a growing interest in using timber as a construction material, replacing ubiquitous high-carbon material... More
Project • By Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners • Libraries
Harvard Undergraduate House Renewal Winthrop House
Winthrop House, comprised of two Neo-Georgian former freshman dormitory buildings from 1913, had undergone few upgrades since its construction. The renewal program re-envisioned Winthrop’s residential, academic, social, and co-curricular spaces and addresses technical challenges, including significant envelope upgrades, the installation of all-new mechanical systems, and detailed restoration work for the House’s signature public spaces. Amidst the sensitive context of Harvard’s River Houses, BBB also designed Robert M. Beren Hall, a distinctive 41-bed addition that includes shared amenities for undergraduates. Working with the House Renewal Project Management Office, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, the Faculty Deans, and s... More
Project • By ANA DESIGN STUDIO PVT LTD • Laboratories
Reliance Technology Group Research Facility
When we speak of “high tech” or “high performance” buildings, the immediate vision is of the Starship Enterprise or some such figment of cinematic imagination.
Having had the opportunity of working in India and other developing nations, ANA has had the good fortune of being a part of very committed and innovative teams that have delivered such buildings, in very competitive timelines and costs.
Our biggest so far, has been the flagship laboratory complex for Reliance Technology Group or RTG for Reliance Industries Limited at Navi Mumbai.
This laboratory complex, spread over half a million square feet, houses the research laboratories for all businesses of Reliance Industries, and the main National Operations Centr... More
Project • By Studio Samira Boon • Concert Halls
Concert Hall Theaters Tilburg
Theatres Tilburg commissioned Studio Samira Boon to create a site-specific installation of Archi Folds in its main concert hall. The installation was inaugurated on 8 September 2018, during a special gala of Stichting Kunst en Onderneming Brabant (KoBra), marking the start of Theaters Tilburg’s 2018/2019 season.
Thanks to its shape and adaptability, Archi Folds able to transform the large main concert hall of Theatres Tilburg into an intimate space suitable for smaller concerts and gatherings.
Buildings are generally created to be permanent. By contrast, Archi Folds can be seen as a next step in creating a more flexible architecture. Archi Folds creates a dynamic and flexible environment, a so-cal... More
Project • By Studio Samira Boon • Exhibition Centres
Archi Folds
ArchiFolds, winner of the Creative Heroes Awards, is an innovative series of textile structures inspired by traditional Japanese folding techniques: “Embedded origami patterns afford natural movement characteristics, growth and metamorphosis” explains Samira Boon. The textile structures are the result of extensive and ongoing research by Studio Samira Boon in collaboration with TextileLab and Prof. T. Tachi from the University of Tokyo.ArchiFolds embodies Samira Boon’s vision on healthy environments as spaces that: “are flexible and dynamic like natural systems. Adaptive textiles are able to accommodate and regulate changing needs on spatial circulation, efficient energy usage and acoustic ambience.” By transla... More