Curved glass

An exterior cracked wall turns out a sleek interior curved glass for a cafe in Bangkok by ASWA (Architectural Studio of Work - Aholic) ©ASWA ASWA schemes aim to play with contrasting materials between the exterior and interior of the SNOG XX cafe. A rustic cracked concrete-like wall on two sides of the exterior tends to work contrastingly with a curved glass entrance and the polished stainless counter. Because the cafe is located on the second floor of the building and can easily notice on the street, then the priority is to make the cafe stands out from its surroundings by using a cracked concrete-like opening for the outer skin. ©ASWA Behind the cracked wall, the curved entrance with the stainless steel bench penetra... More

Rainbow Arches is a brand focused on contemporary physical meditation and therapy, based on the theory and methodology of Chinese colorization energy. The flagship store is not merely a meditation and classroom space, but also a headquarter office for their staff and a prototype space for their future opening of new stores.   The interior functions include: headquarter space, psychology consultation, yoga meditation, educational training, and interactive entertainment, etc. The design challenge is to fully understand the brand and their provision of services, and translating our ideas and understanding into a physical space framework with a strong identity.   Existing Space and Design Concept The project is located on the 11t... More

Tiffany & Co. and OMA have collaborated on a new vision for the brand’s iconic Fifth Avenue Flagship store. The renovation reimagines the retail experience while preserving the historic identity of the original building. Construction on the project is currently underway and is on track to be completed in Spring 2022. The project marks the first holistic renovation and preservation effort in the building’s 80-year history. OMA has collaborated with Tiffany & Co., on specific aspects of the transformation— including the re-imagined upper volume atop the building. This new addition (floors 8 to 10) of the 10-story architectural icon located at 727 Fifth Avenue will become an exhibition, event and clienteling space th... More

Construction of the Silk Road International Conference Center has been completed. In 2017, the Architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners won the competition for the conference center which, together with the Silk Road International Exhibition Center, also by gmp, forms the Center for Trade and Industry of Shaanxi Province. Situated on the eastern part of the site, the conference center?with a total floor area of 128,000 square meters above ground?offers conference, exhibition, and multifunctional facilities for international forums, as well as for bilateral and multilateral summits, and thus is the largest integrated conference center in the north-west of China.   The sweeping symmetrical shape of the roof, the measured horizontal fac... More

This office comprises two large rooms for founder partners and five smaller ones, for associate partners. There are two meeting rooms, a rectangular one for 10 people, while the other, elliptical, for six. There are also the general lawyers’ office, the administrative area and the trainees’ workstations area. The office is served with six toilet rooms and a kitchen. The idea was to solve form and function by making the best from solar orientation and external views, so a system that emulates an urban tissue was defined. Private offices and meeting rooms comprise “blocks”, while internal and external circulations form “streets”. Reception, print sectors and meeting points form “squares”, from... More

This is a luxurious renovation of a large detached Victorian villa in NW3 Belsize Park, North London. We were approached to transform a dilapidated property with 2 flats into a single-family dwelling. This included major works that only retained the four elevations with a new superstructure with services and a complete internal re-modelling of the property with a double garage. The brief was to create a contemporary home for a family of three with a drawing room, media room, open-plan kitchen, dining space, playroom, bespoke garden, wine cellar and five double bedrooms and bathrooms. We also gained planning for a full basement development below the existing footprint of the house and garden but that was never implemented. A daring double... More

Making the familiar strange & the strange familiar. The tree lined Fitzroy North street is peppered with cream & apricot double story triple brick veneer – many with deco waterfall edges and glamorous garages with roof decks above that connect to contribute to a grand entry sequence. One might ascend the stairs, drink martinis on the terrace before moving through a curved glass threshold front door to the parlour. Wanting to replicate the contextual romance, Merri Creek House mirror this exactly with its own street facing deck above the garage.   Also celebrating the waterfall features of the hood, circular turrets cascade along the site to reference in a fresh way. WOWOWA’s obsession with geometric farm relics an... More

In designing the Tonkin Office Fitout Hames Sharley set out to create an environment that is conducive to ‘Building exceptional outcomes together’, Tonkin’s core vision. Form, flair and functionality are immediately apparent as soon as visitors enter the space. The designers have achieved an environment that puts people first, builds community and ingrains collaboration. “Home is where the heart is”. By referencing the domestic in furniture and materiality the designers have created a space that is both warm and welcoming whilst still having an understated playfulness.   The use of subtle curves, colour palettes and warm, natural finishes subtly references Tonkin’s new brand identity just as the i... More

Chengdu Science and Technology Industry Incubation Park is located in the Core Area of Tianfu New District and is a certified National Economic and Technological Development Zone in China, with an overall planning area of 330 thousand square meters. Now, more than 240science technology and health enterprises have been introduced, including many of the worldtop 500 companies, awarded many prizes, such as the National Science and Technology Business Incubator etc.. As a new platform to foster Health-tech companies, the park hopes to build landmark buildings at the entrance, trying tolead the new mode of incubation industry and economy. CROX was assigned this project in 2014, in order to meet the local environment, culture and industry’s... More

The Maison W, or “the pleated house”, is a rental housing project located on the slopes of the Pic de Charance, above Gap in the Hautes Alpes in France. This magnificent region is the link between Provence and the high mountains, and both influences have made a mark on it. The Gap valley therefore enjoys generous sunshine and an almost Mediterranean mildness despite being at a high altitude and having to endure regular snows. North of the city, the abrupt outline of the Pic de Charance signals the entrance to the Ecrins mountain range, as if protecting this wilderness of stern beauty. It becomes its facade, showing its powerful minerality and its bewitching surface folds, like a sign of the telluric activity of another age. The... More

Situated only a few kilometres from the Kremlin and in the middle of the Moscow City agglomeration of skyscrapers, Federation Tower is, at almost 347 metres high, one of the highest building in Europe. Designed by architects Peter Schweger (SAA Schweger Architekten) and Sergei Tchoban (nps tchoban voss GmbH& Co. KG), this two-tower complex took first place in an international competition, defeating projects by other outstanding architects. Construction began only after a lengthy phase of design adjustments and approvals. The smaller of the two towers (Tower West) was completed in 2008; the taller tower (Tower East) is approaching completion, which is scheduled for 2016.   Urban-planning situationThe Moscow City business district... More

The Summit is a renovation and extension to an idiosyncratic late modernist home in Malvern. The original house features a boldly curved roof structure, delicately supported on a string of steel posts which run the length of the building. A curved wall of glass emulates the roof form, bending inwards to create a more generous side garden. With glass and garden on all sides, the house is awash with natural light.   Working collaboratively with the builders at Sinjen Group, Architecture Architecture have retained and celebrated these existing features. Internal spaces have been remodelled to expose more of the curved glass, bringing the living areas into immediate contact with the side garden. The original curved ceiling has also been... More