Hybrid architecture

The house is located on the border that separates a suburban development of single-family houses and a protected forest area. The main strategy followed in the project is to let the house take advantage of this special location and make the most of its double condition by merging them both; the wild nature of the forest on the one hand and the built or suburban environment on the other. Alberto Amores Alberto Amores Alberto Amores For this, the proposal aims to combine the building and the garden in one single solution, which is to be understood as the continuity of the wild forest into the plot. Hence, different types of spaces are proposed: some are designed to be occupied by people, others by nature, and the rest by both... More

Nestled high above the serene expanse of the Bhatghar Dam valley in Maharashtra, this treehouse project represents a seamless blend of contemporary design and natural surroundings. The challenge was to create a retreat that not only capitalized on the panoramic views of the valley but also minimized its impact on the delicate ecosystem. This unique structure of 640 sq. ft. , perched on a single, imposing MS I-beam, is a testament to both architectural ingenuity and sustainability. Harjeet Singh Sodhi The design of the treehouse was driven by the vision of creating a self-contained, elevated retreat for a group of six that resembles the wooden tree house with the elimination of real pinewood material. The lower floor houses a spacious... More

Fast, clean and circular constructionThe hybrid residential tower consists of 30 linked and stacked wooden prefab modules around a concrete elevator shaft. The timber modules are already equipped with installations and sanitary facilities in the factory and there they are prepared for transport to the construction site. This saves construction time and storage on location. This efficient production process already saves a maximum amount of CO2 compared to traditional construction. The prefab wood module construction reduces production errors and improves the construction speed. After all, production takes place under conditioned conditions. The modules are then transported on a truck to the construction site and placed there immediately. Wo... More

IDEA The main idea was to create something different and original. Not just a single-family house, but an abstract form. We wanted to create a building that refers to the mountainous area, a house that seems to be a result of tectonics and not design processes. MUS ARCHITECTS photo Tomasz Zakrzewski This thought was the starting point of the project and the frame that kept the space composition in check. Therefore, we tried to design and implement the concept of a space by escaping the standards associated with single-family houses. We wanted this house to emeryt like an erratic boulder embedded in a mountain slope, not an architectural form with walls, windows and a roof. MUS ARCHITECTS photo Tomasz Zakrzewski FORM "Black R... More

Today OMA participated in the official construction completion ceremony for the China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters in Beijing, which will start to be used later this year. Designed by OMA as a reinvention of the skyscraper as a loop, construction on the building began in 2004. At approximately 473, 000m2, CCTV – accommodating TV studios, offices, broadcasting and production facilities – is OMA’s largest ever project and its first major building in China. Philippe Ruault CCTV defies the skyscraper’s typical quest for ultimate height. Rising from a common platform, two towers lean towards each other and eventually merge in a perpendicular, 75-metre cantilever. The design combines the entire process of T... More

The ArcelorMittal Orbit is a collaboration between renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond. The Orbit engages with a new language of ‘tower’. Instead of going up, in a straight line, their creation is an ‘orbit’ - a continuous loop that goes around and comes back on itself. Balmond has described the ArcelorMittal Orbit as a “narrative in space” that “stretches the language of the icon.” Height: 114.5m Material: 1,500 tonnes of steel (57% recycled), 35,000 bolts and 19,000 litres of red RAL 3003 paint. Client: ArcelorMittal & Greater London Authority Location: London, U.K. Completion: May 2012 Program: Public Art Sculpture The ArcelorMittal Orbit is the tallest sculpture in the UK. It can receive up to 770 visitors per hou... More

Blurring the boundaries of art and structure, H_Edge is assembled using thousands of ‘x’-shaped aluminium plates which are held, one above the other, in tension with stainless steel chains that act as columns. What appears to hang from overhead, on closer inspection, rises from the floor in a seemingly impossible balance of forces. The plates, aligned in perplexing suspension, form an ephemeral, metallic maze that visitors are free to walk around, within and through. Creating an endless reverberation of light and colour, H_Edge echoes its surroundings in glinting plates, sparkling chains and, for this specific appearance, a shimmering pool. More than a traditional public art installation, H_Edge functions as a spatial ‘sieve’, providing... More

The UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo expresses British creativity and environmental engagement at the biggest event of its kind since the Expo phenomenon began in 1851 with the Great Exhibition at London's Crystal Palace. Since then, there have been more than 50 Expos – which have also been known as World’s Fairs or World Expositions – and the most spectacular have included those at Chicago in 1893 and Paris in 1900. The latter attracted 50m visitors, a record at the time, setting an early benchmark for a country’s portrayal of innovation and progress. Held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions, the Shanghai Expo will be the largest the world has ever seen. Staged on a 5.28km2 city centre site beside the Hu... More

Music as a way of bringing hope to those suffering in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake that struck Japan on 11 March 2011. This is the aim of the project entitled Ark Nova – A Tribute to Higashi Nihon. In collaboration with Arata Isozaki. The mobile concert hall being built, can be transported to various locations in the devastated region. The multi-component design includes a hall with seating for between 500 to 700 spectators. The inflatable shell is made of an elastic material that allows quick erection and dismantling. A project by Lucerne Festival and Kajimoto, acoustics by Yasuhisa Toyota, theatre planning David Staples. More

The Cloud project is based on a new form of observation deck, connecting visitors to both the whole of London and the whole of the world, immersing them in euphoric gusts of weather and digital data. Each individual footstep on the ascent to the Cloud participates in a vast collective energy-harvesting effort. Everyone around the world can contribute to the Cloud – whether by visiting or by sponsoring a Led helping to keep the London lamp aflame. Olympic & Expo structures – with their mute mass, their ponderous monumentality, and their conspicuous expenditure on immovable objects – are outmoded. Our proposal is as light as air itself – a tribute to a digital age of bits and atoms beyond the antiquity of steel and glass – a structure whic... More