The city of Almere has a sheep population of about 80 sheep. The sheep are mobilized to keep the powerful weed “acanthus” or “bears-breech” that grows in the “vroege vogel” – forest and “kromsloot” – park in Almere under control. To centralize and house this population, a sheep stable was needed. The stable is designed with an a-symmetrical homogeneous cross-section. The part of the building where the sheep reside is relatively low; the high part is situated above the (public) pathway and the hay storage section, making it possible to store a maximum amount of hay. This shape also creates a natural flow for the air inside the building, which is refreshed by two slits at the foot of each long side of the building.
The commission (March 2008) consisted of a detached house with outbuildings on a plot in villa park ‘de Noordzoom’ in Lelystad, at the foot of the Enkhuizen – Lelystad dike. The family wanted, like many others, light, air and space.
The house is a one-story bungalow, while the site asked for a response to “living at the water.” The latter is accomplished by making a veranda along the entire length of the building (south), at the most important rooms of the house; from bedroom, to wardrobe, to the master bathroom, to hobby room to the kitchen and finally to the dining- and around the corner the living room. Along this line, there is a transition from water to veranda, to completely glass facade, with doors behind which all mentioned areas are.
This residence is for a family of four with a private Studio/Office attached for the husband. Located on the bluff of Yamate district in the seaport city of Yokohama, it commands a magnificent view of the townscape below on the South. Flanked by a garage on the right and the Studio/Office on the left, the entry is from the North.
This house is planned for a family, husband, wife and their son. This small house has 8 levels of floor between entrance in the basement to the roof terrace in order to constitute every space not in concentrated way by big void but reciprocal relation of each space. This arrangement makes the notion of floor ambiguous and the continuity of space compatible with the hierarchy of space.
View of the north facade (Image Courtesy Nagaishi Hidehiko)
Tuinstede is the last of three new blocks that have been built in the Noordstrook, north of Delflandplein in the Amsterdam district New West. The urban design for the Noordstrook is made by Snitker/Borst Architects. In order to increase the density of the neighbourhood the existing modernist open strip building plan will be replaced by three urban closed blocks with large communal courtyards. One of the streets will remain without cars and will be arranged as a playground for children. The urban design will be executed in two phases. Recently the first phase was finished. In a second phase the U-shaped blocks will be completed to closed blocks. The three blocks are designed by Dick van Gameren, ANA and Snitker/Borst Architects, respectively.
The project was the renovation of an 3,200 square foot 2 bedroom loft to a one Bedroom and Dressing Room configuration. This included a new white epoxy terrazzo floor throughout and new steel framed windows.
The Atrium, a high-density mid-rise office building set in a transitional area of downtown Victoria, challenged its architects: how can a speculatively-built office building revitalize a moribund area and enrich the community at large? How can the economics of high-density, downtown office buildings work in a mid-rise, green-building form?
Software used: Vectorworks CAD predominantly, as well as Sketch-up professional and photoshop. The architects built many physical models of wood and paper board.The wood trusses and the concrete superstructure of the building were both computer modeled (dynamic models to test behavior during seismic events) by the fabricators ‘Structurecraft’ and ‘Stantec’ respectively.
Occupying the length of a city block, the Atrium actively engages its civic context. To complement Victoria’s historical downtown, and reintegrate the block into its urban fabric, the building takes a mid-rise form, built to the street walls to give definition to the public realm. The building’s palette of natural, durable materials invests the district with a welcome sense of commitment.
A transparent ground floor houses cafes and restaurants, inviting people to approach, look in, and stay a while. Rain gardens edge the site, a first for a private development in Victoria, catching and cleaning polluted street run-off, and softening the cityscape.
A seven-storey atrium introduces daylight into the heart of the structure, and maximizes the use of wood in non-combustible construction. The wood, visible from the street through a seven-storey glass wall, distinguishes the atrium from the surrounding offices, and invites the public to animate this urban room. Community groups have taken up the invitation, using the atrium to host such events as an opera performance and a film festival reception.
To create a more animated urban space, the project team commissioned an artist to design an installation for the atrium. This installation treats the atrium floor as a canvas for an abstract mosaic. The work is derived from the building’s lines and uses local marble tiles. Wood sculptures complement the mosaic’s lines, and provide places to sit.
Overhead, innovative wood trusses support a 7,200 square-foot skylight. Panelized hemlock slats follow the sweep of the atrium’s curving walls, and tongue and groove cedar soffits bring warmth and definition to the building’s street level. The family-owned company that commissioned the building ran one of the first lumber companies on Vancouver Island, a history that enriches the meaning of using wood in the atrium.
The atrium not only serves as a public room, but it acts as a return air plenum in the building’s highly efficient displacement ventilation system. Conditioned air is delivered near the floor, so the air requires less cooling. Convection draws the air to heat-generating occupants and equipment, where it’s needed. As the air warms, it rises naturally to exhaust through the ceiling. Displacement ventilation uses less energy to deliver higher quality air more quietly, and is a key component in the building’s LEED Gold-targeted environmental strategies.
A primary ambition for the Atrium was to create a building that will endure, and that will earn the regard of people who will help it to endure. In doing so, the Atrium gives weight to urban fit, sustainability, and occupant well-being as well as to profitability. While an institutional or owner-occupied office building might achieve a similar balance of priorities, as a speculative office building the Atrium raises the standard for its type.
This house is located on a narrow urban site in the heart of Herne Bay. Tight site controls and a sloping site resulted in a long narrow building form that steps down the slope of the site.
An extension to a Victorian terraced house to form a light filled kitchen and family room integrated into a redesigned garden area.
The intention was to replace and enlarge and improve a dark kitchen area to form a new informal living space with direct access to the garden and to open up views through the ground floor of the house to the garden.
This extension to the NZ Maritime Museum is designed to house an exhibition of New Zealand yachting, from early small boats through to NZL32, which first won the America’s Cup for this country. NZL32 was gifted to Te Papa, and is now exhibited as a collaboration between Voyager and Te Papa.
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