Thursday, 28 March 2013

What an incredibly creative space in which to inspire young minds

Ecological Children Activity and Education Center Design by 24H > architecture
Location: Koh Kood Island, Thailand
Client: Six Senses Bangkok
Architects in Charge: Boris Zeisser, Maartje Lammers
Program: Auditorium/Cinema, Libary, Art room, Music room, Fashion room, Chill balcony and slide
Local Architect: Habita architects
Constructed area: 165 sqm
Photographs: Kiattipong Panchee & Boris Zeisser
24H > architecture designed this education center for for films, lectures and plays, a library with books on permaculture and local traditions, an Art room, a Music room and Fashion room, thus giving children both creative and ecological education while playing.

With its Manta-ray inspired bamboo dome, the den is located at a rocky slope close to the sea, perched in an elevated position so as to offer magnificent views, it seems to launch itself into the bay.
The structure and roof are made from local Thai bamboo, thus contributing further to the ecological approach of the resort. The interior is made from local plantation River Red Gum wood and rattan structural elements for the inner domes. Via ArchDaily

Thursday, 14 March 2013

US architects Bercy Chen Studio LP have based their contemporary home on one of the oldest housing typologies in North America, the Native American Pit House. The site is rehabilitated and the house stands out for its energy efficiency and aesthetic.

 



The project by Bercy Chen Studio LP combines an archaic housing model, the Pit House – excavated in the earth and with a green roof – adopted by some of the Native North American tribes, with modern shapes and materials like glass and steel, to create a light-filled, highly energy efficient home.


Despite the fact that most of the perimeter is sunken, the spaces are well lit thanks to an inner courtyard positioned between the two separate pavilions for the living and sleeping quarters. They open up onto the inner void, which physically separates them, requiring you to go outside to pass from one to the other. This blade of light flows into the pool that completes the composition.




Check out these and other awesome local products, @ Cape Towns official Product Design Resource


http://dbriefed.co.za/2011/10/the-jute-range/

Monday, 11 March 2013


A Graphic Interior design progect in Tallin, Estonia. The project is a Vocational Training Centre.http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/design/vocational-training-parnu-vocational-training-centre-design-16594655/

A sustainable centre for cinnamon growers and workers in Sumatra. An earthquake-proof training facility built from local materials, which for the most part looks towards the social impact of the architectural complex.


The key idea used for this building was the classic light wooden construction on a solid brick and concrete foundation. The solid bricks are locally made and cinnamon tree trunks were used for the wood – 85% of the world’s cinnamon is produced in Sumatra. The locals consider this wood to be substandard, but it played a fundamental part in the project, enriching the workers’ culture who as a result reassessed its value.


One of the major challenges was to make the building as safe as possible, given the high seismic activity in the area, so the architects opted to build five separate brick buildings, with different oscillating frequency.


The buildings house the various facilities offered by the cooperative and are all united under a single, 600-square metre detached roof.
The natural ventilation below this large roof comes from bamboo matting, inserted under the sheet metal to create a natural cooling effect.


Project:TYIN tegnestue architects, http://www.tyinarchitects.com
Location: Sungai Penuh, Kerinchi, Sumatra, Indonesia
Client: Cassia Co-op - Training facility for cinnamon production

Saturday, 9 March 2013


WEACT Environmental Justice Center is located at 459 West 140th Street, between Amsterdam and Convent Avenue, in New York City, adjacent to City College and within the Hamilton Heights historic landmark district.
The Environmental Justice Center will serve as the new office for the client organization whose primary mission is to focus on environmental justice and sustainability, but also as an interactive community facility devoted to educational and social programs.
The design parti works across the longitudinal section of the building, dividing it into three distinctive vertical bars. The first bar located along the front façade, emphasizes historical preservation of the front façade, reestablishment of the original townhouse floor to ceiling heights and reuse of salvaged interior wood ornamentation.

The second bar introduces a vertical light shaft, which serves as a ventilation system, educational display for rainwater runoff and collection, as well as providing a space for interior landscaping. This mid-building component links the front and rear sections of the building.

The rear (third) bar is completely new, and while mirroring floor to ceiling heights of the front bar up through the fourth floor, adds three additional stories to the rear of the building. The additional stories will have minimal code compliant floor to ceiling heights, which camouflages the new addition from being visible from the street. The cellar floor will be excavated +/- one and half feet to allow for maximum usable square footage.