Concrete facade

Sõmeru Community Centre is located just outside the North-Estonian town of Rakvere, on an open field near the highway in Sõmeru parish. Instead of erecting different buildings for their many needs, the parish decided to combine multiple functions in one single building. The multipurpose community centre houses the parish administration, a library, and a club with an auditorium. The building was designed to stand apart from the existing built environment, more relating to the field surrounding it. This has been achieved by using colourful straw-like wooden beams attached to the black-and-white concrete facade. The same aesthetics continues in the interior, only this time the slats are hanging freely from the ceiling, creating a lively acce... More

Attached are plans, sections, elevations and renderings of an early-childhood school designed to serve an emergent development project in Dalian, China. Commissioned by a Chinese development agency (YIDA Group) through the U.S.-based International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), it is a project that aspires to provide nothing less than a world-leading environment for early childcare and education. Drawing from the most successful examples of kindergartens worldwide, this unique project benefits from the collaborative expertise and design criteria from two early childcare professionals: the International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) based in the United States and Kinderland based in Singapore. Combining the highest standards in the... More

A MEDIATHEQUE « WITHOUT WALLS » The project stands on three entities which represent the three « worlds » of the project: IMAGINE, CREATE AND UNDERSTAND. The « worlds » are coiled up in a spiral shape around a central circulation shaped as a propeller, which gives access to the different floors. This staircase is set in a glass cylinder « FROM A WORLD TO THE OTHER », where natural light is flowing from a large oculus on the roof. Thanks to their positions at different levels, every « WORLD » is open to others. This generates a continuous circulation, which allows people to discover all worlds and collections. REAL AND VITUAL TRANSPARENCIES How will we access information and knowledge in the future? Our project is based on the idea... More

Residential building located in Polanco in which it’s façade achieves transparency and at the same time privacy by combining different cristal, wood and concrete opacities. A contrasted dialogue with the sorrounding constructions takes place, setting as well a guideline towards the modernity of what should be developed in the future; in the inside, all areas are naturally illuminated and ventilated without being exposed to the exterior. The combination of all these elements with the side apparent concrete facades and balconies, breaks up and emphasize the building volume rigidity. The back façade follows the same design tendency although with a different construction system. The main staircase is also the foyer access of each level to... More

The new residential building occupies the most southern point of the park area. It emphasizes the southern town planning at the crossing of Gellert and Redingstreet and the bridge over the St. Alban-Dych. At the same time, as an eight story residential building, it starts a dialogue with the surrounding buildings of the multi-story buildings Lehenmatt or the Bethesta hospital. Towards the park, the structure goes eastward to the grass covered open space. It becomes the house in the park, which is the reference to the depth of the park area and the adjacent trees. The multi-family dwelling reflects living in the park. With its town planning formulation, the project tries to react to the aspects of the situation. The town planning... More

The project involves the reprogramming of a historical and derelict building through renovation and addition. The original bunker is part of an intricate water management system that enabled the inundation of land in case of attack situated in a classic, Dutch polder landscape. Stables and polo fields now surround the building and the new addition is intended as a large space with facilities to support a meeting space or business retreat. The existing 1936 bunker remains intact except of a portion of the concrete roof where the new structure connects whilst the new addition is like an umbrella, an addition that could be removed and does not damage or permanently influence the historic structure. The metallic addition appears to have grown... More

The Research Library in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic The Research Library in the Czech Republic was designed by the Prague-based architectural studio Projektil architekti. Opened in September 2008, the new library is the result of the winning proposal in an open architectural competition in 2002. It is situated on a river bank in the Eastern Bohemian town of Hradec Králové, near the secondary school building designed by famous Czech architect Josef Gočár (1880-1960). The five-storey building represents a concrete construction with the final visual in the form of a monolithic concrete façade. The original shape of the building is the precast concrete letter “X”. The building is cut through in the parterre. One can walk throug... More