About Architecture

The inhabitable bridge in Tokyo

2011-09-14T19:06:00.000-05:00

The aim of this "Living Bridge", is to present a new type of nonlinear algorithmic architecture by, paradoxically, a fully functional bridge, located in Tokyo, Japan.

The project derives from an investigation of nonlinear design, developed by Dave Eaton, Geoffrey Klein and Michael Wetmore from the workshop of Complex Phenomena taught by Cecil Balmond and Roland Snooks, at the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania.

The place that the creators of the project chose for this structure is integrated with the residential districts of Ginza and Tsukishima. Taking advantage of the flows of the two districts, and through the algorithmical generation of spatial turbulence structures, it was possible to create this design.

The design process for the bridge involved three stages. The first identified the movement patterns of people and vehicles in the city, considered as systems of interlaced flows, to be later modeled as a vector field.

In the second stage the design was configured based of the vector field, creating pedestrian and bicycle walkways, and vehicle access routes.

Finally, the third stage, introduced elements of self-organization that change the shape and connectivity depending on the turbulence field.

Thus, the project components at the same time create, channel and include the interaction of circulation and programs to inhabit the bridge, resulting in a dynamic space that connects and activates the riverban.

New stadium of Bordeaux

2011-09-04T22:17:00.000-05:00

Its volume is a big pavilion, that while it refers to modern architecture, shows two of the resources that characterize the architecture of the new millennium: the transparency and lightness. In contrast to its lightweight and open structure, the stadium is an architectural work at once monumental and elegant to fit the landscape of Bordeaux.

The architecture that gives form to the stadium, combines three elements: the envelope containing the game and its audience, the element of transition between the field and the external environment and, finally, the overall appearance. The focus of Herzog & de Meuron to solve this project was to reinterpret these three elements reflecting site-specific characteristics.

The goal of the creators of the project was to present an architectural object which combined the highest functional quality with an unique identity. Along with the aforementioned elements, the functionality and the strong identity, give the project an emotional dimension that the audience can feel, and is inextricably linked to the traditional role of sports stadiums.

With a capacity of 43,000 people, the geometry of the building offers optimal visibility for all viewers and maximum capacity and flexibility of use. The stadium was resolved into two superimposed levels divided into four sectors and protected from weather by an homogeneous roof, consisting of a series of concentric bands that allow filtered sunlight thanks to its inclination.

The open roof structure is not visible from inside the stadium, thus avoid distracting the attention of viewers.

A basement which rises from the access level, holds the VIP boxes, as well as areas for the media along with spaces for the players.

Lilium Tower in Warsaw

2011-07-23T18:50:00.000-05:00

Zaha Hadid was recently chosen in a contest held by Lilium, an Israeli company, wich owns the Marriott LIM-Centre complex in the capital of Poland, to build a tower of 250 meters in the city of Warsaw.

The tower design is light and transparent but with a strong sense of identity and character. The tower will complement the Palace of Culture and other towers nearby, creating their own profile within the new group of tall buildings that are made in the city.

The tower has an area of 130,000 m2 and will consist of a residential complex and a luxury hotel. Among the services that will include are: a spa area, restaurant and a small store located in the basement, an area where parking is also placed.

The construction of the tower is planned for completion in 2012

The City of Culture in Galicia

2011-07-20T17:12:00.000-05:00

The City of Culture is a new cultural center for the province of Galicia in northwestern Spain, designed by Eisenman Architects. Its design was developed from the superposition of three sets of information.

First, the street layout of the medieval center of Santiago is superimposed on a topographic map of the site overlooking the city. Second, a modern Cartesian grid is placed over these medieval routes.

Third, through modeling software, the topography of the slope allows distorting the two flat geometries, thus generating a topological surface that repositions the old and new in a simultaneous matrix never seen before.

The original center of Santiago is set to a urban planning figure / ground where the buildings are figurative or solid and the streets are residual or voids.

Through this mapping operation, the project appears as a curved surface that is neither figure nor ground but both in a form of land and a figurative substitute for urban shape of figure and ground of the old city.

The 6 project buildings are conceived as pairs t3: the Museum of Galicia and International Art Center, the Center for Music and Performing Arts and the Head Office building and the Library and Archives of Galicia Galicia.

The experiences of visitors to any building will be affected by their relationship with their immediate partner. Roads or pedestrian streets between the buildings, also open to a public square, surrounded by 6 buildings, landscape features and elements of water.

The largest building is the Performing Arts Theater, which will keep 42.5m high.

National Concert Hall in Dublin

2011-06-28T18:14:00.001-05:00

3XN's proposal for the National Concert Hall in Dublin is a sample of sculpture that creates a magnificent new home for music, while also providing a framework for the historical context in which the new concert hall sits.

The new building has an area where the urban environment and the park gather to express their own symphony, in addition to the music that comes from within.

The National Concert Hall in Dublin consists of three sculptural volumes, each of which contains its own unique concert hall. The three rooms are listed in the Grand Entry through the historic Butler building and through a main square, the organic lobby promotes flux and social interaction between the three Chambers.

As among buildings in a city, the lobby of flows between the chambers are like small lively streets that contract and expand to meet the demands of the new structure.

From the large main entrance on Earlsfort Terrace through the floating hallways down the historic Iveagh Gardens, the urban environment of the city clearly assembles with the transitions in the park.

From the garden side, with a transparent façade and falls below the three volumes of the Concert Hall, it draws the gardens later in the lobby, extending to a new public square to the street Hatch.

Acoustically, the Dublin concert hall was planned to be among the best concert halls in the world.

Working with leaders in the acoustics (as Larry Kierkegaard Chicago), scenery (Blue London coal) and lighting (Steven Scott of Denmark), 3XN has tried to exceed expectations.

The programming is such that the three chambers are complementary in size, function and acoustic targets.