Architecture Commons^™

Finnish Larch Home, Djuric Tardio Architectes

Building Case Studies

Finnish Larch is a high quality wood, durable with waterproof qualities, as well as a smooth and knot-free surface. The panels come from sustainably managed cooperatives of small private forest owners

New Concrete House, Wespi De Meuron

Building Case Studies

The property adjoins on three sides to existing and new constructions, while to the downhill side it’s attached at the access road and above it provides free views to the Lake Maggiore and to the mountains. The cleareasy-cut volumetry and also the naturalistic materializing of the concrete in the same colour like the natural rocks, integrates the new building with caution in the heterogeneous area. Concrete gets the natural stone of the modern era.

Zamora Offices, Alberto Campo Baeza

Building Case Studies

The double facade works like a trombe wall. It holds in heat in the winter (GREENHOUSE effect) and at the same time expel the heat and protect the building in the summer (VENTILATED facade)

Harold Street Residence, Jackson Clements Burrows Pty. Architects

Building Case Studies

Brick screen allows cross flow ventilation and cooling, and diffuse light to the internal spaces.

The Glass House, Mike Ford, Andy Ramus, Stephen Osborn

Building Case Studies

provides a clean and light looki, delicate, brittle, transparent

Chapel Of Rest In Graz, Hofrichter-Ritter

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Reinforced Concrete

The chapel of rest for the Steinfeld cemetery is designed in the form of two curving formwork elements made of reinforced concrete and appearing as two carefully receptive hands.

Kukje Gallery, So-Il

Building Case Studies

The material is used as an extra layer that drapes over the façade. It gives off a fluid appearance, dissolving the appearance of the sharp edges of the actual building.

Alesia Museum, Bernard Tschumi

Building Case Studies

The slatted wooden second skin was created to pay tribute the wooden structures the Romans built during the battle’s era. The wooden skin also acts as a brise-soleil, filtering light as it enters the glass volume and casting patterned shadows throughout the visitor center.

Olympic Shooting Venue, Magma Architecture

Building Case Studies

The material allows for some light to permeate through, allowing for a solid skin. It is also an easy matieral to reassmble, with no composite or adhesive materials used in the project.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center, Weiss/Manfredi

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Green roof.

Material used: Architectural cast-in-place concrete; curtain wall of custom-fritted insulated glass and aluminum; canopy of custom-fritted laminated glass and stainless steel, architectural exposed structural steel, custom copper roof, green roof, wood paneling milled from ginkgo trees harvested on-site; specialty acoustic ceiling and wall panels

Properties of material: The green roof will change throughout the year, literally transforming the nature of the architecture each season.

Endesa Pavilion, Institute For Advanced Architecture Of Catalonia (Iaac)

Building Case Studies

Material of interest and material used: Timber, solar panels

Properties of material: Wood was chosen as the primary material for the project due its organic qualities as an exhaustible natural resource as well as its easy workability. Ultimately, the pavilion is shielded from solar radiation in the summer months and then consumes solar radiation throughout the winter. Indirect sunlight produces a subtle ambiance in the interior. Designed to be fabricated using CNC machines, mathematical equations determined the precise orientation of the panels for the most beneficial solar penetration.

Fachada Liverpool, Iñaki Echeverria

Building Case Studies

Material of interest and material used: Precast concrete

Properties of material: Given Tabasco’s tropical climate and its severe solar incidence and humidity levels, concrete was selected as the project’s design material; a material both resistant and with extraordinary aging qualities. The result was a façade that’s built by combining 5 different types of precast pieces shaped like a propeller. Each propeller rotates 180° on its axis; heights vary between 16 to 20 meters, depending on their position.

Parrish Art Museum, Herzog & De Meuron

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Concrete. Material used: Glass and Glazing: Westhampton Architectural Glass; Tile: Lido Stone Works; Wood Flooring: Bayshore Wood Flooring

Properties of material: The reserved design is respectful of the landscape and channels the natural beauty through crisp forms and simple materials, while preserving the artistic legacy of the museum.

Kamppi Chapel, K2s Architects Ltd

Building Case Studies

Thinlly cut wood pieces are wrapped horizontally around a cnc-cut gluelam frame, providing visual striations as well as the vertical changes in the oval form.

Para Eco House, Tongji University Team

Building Case Studies

Material of interest: Green walls. Material used: Wood plates, vegetation

Propertiesof material: Perforated walls, the concept of creating a multi-layer skin emerges from a combination of Dao theory in eastern philosophy and the theories of Michel Foucault in western thought, especially the ideas of autonomy in architecture.

Villa Dvt, Boetzker |Helder

Building Case Studies

Cut and folded metal sheets in horizontal lines offer patters on the façade

Glass House For Diver, Naf Architect & Design

Building Case Studies

Overall composition of the building consists of roof and transparent glass to enclose interior space with the aforementioned concrete block structure. There is no roof over the concrete blocks. Therefore rays of the sun pour over the blocks, and the reflection of the light shines inside the house. Furthermore, vines of various flowers will be planted along the block, changing breakwater-like structure to a hill of flower and greenery in the future.

Nasa Sustainability Base - Building N232, William Mcdonough + Partners, Aecom

Building Case Studies

The steel and aluminium used were chosen because they had high recycled content and were regionally available, thereby reducing transportation energy.

Zahner Factory Expansion, Crawford Architects

Building Case Studies

The final graphite concept sketch drew inspiration from multiple patterns to create a form that was specific to the proportions and context of the expansion. Once the sketch was complete, a computer based algorithm converted the sketch’s tonal values into a 3-dimensional digital surface model of the façade. The resulting form grows out of the rigid, solid geometry of the existing building’s east façade with a single sweeping motion, and increases in complexity as it moves around the corner to the west, paying tribute to both Zahner’s past and future.

Metal Shutter Houses, Shigeru Ban Architects, Dean Maltz Architects

Building Case Studies

Movable facade serve as light-modulating privacy screen.

Starbucks Coffee Shop In Dazaifu, Kengo Kuma

Building Case Studies

The building is made of 2,000 stick-like parts in the sizes of 1.3m – 4m length and 6cm section.. Create a sense of Fluidity.

Aia Pavilion, Gernot Riether (Design Build Studio At Git)

Building Case Studies

Each template was cut from PETG (glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate) sheets, before being thermoformed into shape using a neatly designed adaptable mould. This material can either be produced from recycled plastic, or more pertinent to this location, from sugar cane: a plant that has been an integral part of the culture of Louisiana for over 200 years.

Parasite Office, Za Bor Architects

Building Case Studies

The polygonal main facade solved in dynamical volumes, is made from light and durable cellular polycarbonate; the facade turned to the court yard is flat and completely glazed.

Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer, Christian De Portzamparc

Building Case Studies

Concrete has relatively high compression strength, but significantly lower tensile strength, and as such is usually reinforced with materials that are strong in tension (often steel). The elasticity of concrete is relatively constant at low stress levels but starts decreasing at higher stress levels as matrix cracking develops. Concrete has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion, and as it matures concrete shrinks. All concrete structures will crack to some extent, due to shrinkage and tension. Concrete which is subjected to long-duration forces is prone to creep.

Liyuan Library, Li Xiadong

Building Case Studies

The choice of material is crucial in blending with the regional characteristics. After analyzing the local material characteristics in the village we found large amounts of locally sourced wooden sticks piled around each house. The villagers gather these sticks all year round to fuel their cooking stoves. Thus we decided to use this ordinary material in an extraordinary way, cladding the building in familiar textures in a way that is strikingly sensitive.

Concrete House, Simon Twose

Building Case Studies

These concrete screens are arranged in various dynamic ways; leaning, elevated or floating and form the outer carapace to the house. Within this, courtyards are separated off by glass, which threads between the concrete screens. This brings the house in active and equivalent relationship with the landscape.

Church Of Seed, O Studio Architects

Building Case Studies

Church of Seed has a raw, natural and non-decorative material language. The main structure is constructed by in-situ concrete with bamboo formworks. In-situ concrete construction is economically sound and practical for local builders. The bamboo texture left on the concrete surface reduces the massiveness of concrete wall and harmonizes with the surrounding trees and green landscape. Plus the transparent windows and doors, and the handmade bamboo furniture by local farmers, the presence of the church is humble and close to village life.

Zahner Factory Expansion, Crawford Architects

Building Case Studies

Encapsulating these values means understanding that Zahner has built their reputation on knowing the intricacies of metal, its chemical properties, and how they can be manipulated. Following this notion through intensive design research, the form for the façade was derived from metal oxidation patterns inspired by those found on Zahner’s campus. The final graphite concept sketch drew inspiration from multiple patterns to create a form that was specific to the proportions and context of the expansion.Articulation of the abstractly based model was closely developed with Zahner’s engineers and utilizes a variation of the ZEPP (Zahner Engineered Proprietary Panel) system. The …

Cassia Coop Training Canter, Tyin Tegnestue Architects

Building Case Studies

Earthquake resistant with different oscillating frequency in each brick structure.

Media-Tic, Cloud 9

Building Case Studies

ETFE cushions are used as a sun screen, inflated in the winter to gain solar energy, deflated in the summer to provide shade.