Concrete facade

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Our strategy does not rely on contrasts or confrontation between old and new. Rather, we tried to seek out the qualities of the existing, strengthen them and develop them further in a new form. Qualities of the existing building stock are, for example, approaches to uniformity, an almost urban quality of the spaces and a solid execution of the buildings.   This strategy aims to ensure that not just a nice new building is placed next to an unattractive old building, but that the old and the new communicate with each other, and in the best case even enrich each other. The result can be seen, for example, in the opposite of the new EMV building and the old building from the 1970ies, directly opposite: both buildings design "moved toward... More

One Research Drive, a four-story research and academic building on Clemson University’s CU-ICAR campus, features flexible research and office space for innovators and entrepreneurs supporting the region’s automotive cluster.  Located on a prominent entry into the campus, the building expresses the program’s technology focus with sleek metal, glass and concrete facades. The transparency of the design visually connects the advanced technologies inside the building with the connecting pedestrian plaza.   The 84,000 GSF facility offers high-bay lab space with on-grade access and flexible, easily reconfigured office suites. An exposed multi-floor structural truss framework maximizes open space internally while creat... More

A place, that arises from an elevated plan in relation to the street, and opens itself onto a field, is defined by the large trees that give us visual sensations, experienced as a result of the various colour palettes that each season brings. A set of volumes draw the house that embodies a recognisable archetype and divides the intimate and social area, separating the bedrooms from the kitchen and living rooms. These volumes are organised in different orientations in search of the best relationship between them, and each other with the outside.   The contrast between the raw concrete facades and the interior of the house creates an intimate tactile sensation, experienced through the patios, the skylights and the stairs. The social ar... More

The house overlooks the hamlet “LaPlace”, in Ayent, central Valais. The project takes root in the site’s memory, by reinterpreting the atmosphere and the materialization of its vernacular architecture. Like the barns of the hamlet, the house stands in a meadow that is left blank. Thus, the project frees itself from all boundaries. The grass grows according to the seasons and the livestock can come and graze. The main terrace is on top of the house, away from prying eyes and offering a stunning view.   The materiality of the project recalls the barns’ one, with a mineral cold-looking structure and a wooden roof opened on both gable ends. The roof of the house, shifted lengthwise and free from any middle support... More

JE Beijing, which means Just Enjoy, is a simple name that contains a very rich philosophy sense, Nowadays, when we head out for food, we don’t mind whether it is Chinese or Western, whether it is classical or modern, we just enjoy it, and it surly is the greatest praise for food and environment. Iris , the host of JE Beijing, hopes to create the restaurant into a designed space that is both artistic and practical. Based on it，our designer played his talent to the full.   In oriental aesthetics, designing is about achieving overall harmonious, and respects differences in the same time. The concrete facade of JE Beijing is restrained and elegant. Under the proper light, the texture of the building appears, and it exudes an advanc... More

In architecture, flexibility and adaptability create opportunity. Breaking out of the box, freeing oneself from the mold, can inspire new possibilities, but what if that box is where real opportunity is found? At 2222 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City ODA manifested that notion with a modular design that yields dynamic residential experiences. ODA applied the idea of disengaged, rearranged volumes based on zoning regulations to the site at 2222 Jackson Avenue. Here, basic mass calls for a basic wall and setback, conventional standards in New York City.   The mobility of the street wall at 2222 Jackson Avenue, which had the potential to live as much as 10 ft. away from the street itself, stirred ideas of inclusions and extrusions. Di... More

EDEN, SingaporeFifty years ago, Singapore was imagined as a ‘city in a garden’. When Heatherwick Studio was commissioned to design an apartment building in the historic Newton district, they were inspired by this vision, and by the lush tropical setting of the area’s nineteenth-century houses. They wanted to move away from the enclosed steel and glass towers of recent decades and instead, create a more natural ‘home in a garden’ – a place where residents could feel connected to the city’s tree-lined streets, yet enjoy the views, light and privacy that come with living high above them. From the ground, they wanted it to appear as if these green streets were rising up into the sky.   A ‘h... More

The Project calls for a sustainable high-end residential building at mid-level west. The building is 48-storey high providing 123 typical units and 4 simplex units on top three floors. There is no car parking provided.   Environmental building design includes the use of insulated glass unit (IGU) with low-E coating for all habitable areas and the incorporation of external sun-shading devices on the builidng facades to minimize heat gain. Most of the typical units are designed to allow for cross-ventilation for better indoor air quality. Precast concrete facades are employed in the construction to minimize material waste and for better quality control through off-site fabrication.   The building is so designed and positioned so... More

A narrow and very sloping facing north site, a quite small surface (564 m²) with a third of its ground classified as a natural area, all located in a preserved area in a mainly new-Breton style neighborhood... At first, the exercise seemed quite ambitious for a family who dreamed of a contemporary and ecological home in there. But, seduced by this exceptional wooded environment and the patrimonial character of the neighborhood, they asked an architect to take up the challenge!   This sloping site quickly led to establish a first semi-buried volume with a raw concrete facade. First it creates a real urban facade on the road side and it defines, on the other hand, a radical aesthetic that stands out from the other constructions ar... More