Architecture Commons^™

Container City, Toshiko Mori Architect

Building Case Studies

Material of interest and material used: Forty foot equivalent unit shipping containers.

Properties of material: Low cost; Reusing materials; High strength, prefabricated steel modules; Cuts construction time in half; Minimizes site disruption; storage container buildings can easily be removed from a site and used elsewhere.

Metropol Parasol In Seville, Spain, J. Mayer H. Architects

Building Case Studies

Material of interest and material used: Wood.

Properties of material: Wood panels with a polyurethane coating are intersected together to form parasols and canopies on the site.

American Folk Art Museum, Tod Williams, Billie Tsien

Building Case Studies

tombasil metal panels consisting of white bronze with 57% copper. The texture came from casting the panels from sand molds taken from the texture of concrete.

486 Mina El Hosn, Lan Architects

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Perforated Sheet Metal Panels with Mirror Finish

Properties of material: The exterior skin consists of sliding perforated sheet metal panels with a mirror finish, acting as reflectors and protection against heat but also allowing light to enter. Depending on the play of natural light and viewpoints, the tower can physically reinvent itself in the changing light and points of view.

Prada New York Epicenter, Office Of Metropolitan Architecture

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Plastic glazing.

Properties of material: The translucent wall panels allow light and silhouettes of surrounding buildings to filter into the store.

Eden Project For The Eden Project Ltd. In Cornwall, United Kingdom, Nicholas Grimshaw

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Plastic.

Material used: Thermoplastic.

Properties of material: These panels are high performing ETFE, which is an energy efficient system. the use of this material allows the shape of the building to be curved, allowing this highly fabricated material to sit naturally in the landscape.

American Folk Art Museum, Tod Williams, Billie Tsien

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Tombasil.

Material used: Commercially produced white bronze alloy (57% copper content) used for boat propellers, fire hose nozzles, and grave markers Manufactured and fabricated at the Tallix foundry in Beacon, NY with Peter Sylvester, Vinnie Nardone, and Peter Holmstead Initially tried pouring directly onto concrete and steel plates, however, heat caused water entrapped in the concrete to explode and the steel plates to warp and buckle Developed sand molds taken from concrete and steel.

Properties of material: Warm and silvery

Unilever Head Offices, Solano Benitez

Building Case Studies

The brick is produced locally out of native clay.