Wood

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24 4 2023

IWI is a flexible living space that adapts to your needs

Blanka de Far 2023, Architecture Architecture, Wood

In this day and age, people are moving into smaller, more affordable housing, and with a general lack of affordable opportunities, thinking outside the box is imperative. Options like tiny houses and accessory housing units are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to alternative housing options and hopefully. IWI is a design project that offers users a modular living space that can be adapted to their own needs. It facilitated mass production and universal use for the manufacture of wooden structures.

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The IWI consists of two wooden modules connected by a collapsible structure that resembles an accordion. The wooden ends can be clamped together when the space is not needed to act as a piece of furniture or storage. When expanded, the space can be used for almost anything, including an office, studio, yoga room, relaxation zone, workshop, guest room, etc.

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The front frame slides when compressed by the built-in wheels while the canvas folds.

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Ruiz and Tapia designed and patented the IWI in Ecuador, where the original resides on a rooftop terrace for use as a studio or workspace. The interior is equipped with everything necessary for the work of two people, including two tables, two chairs, storage and a mini kitchen. The structure is also ready for electricity and water.

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The terrace still has plenty of space when the structure is extended, but opens up more when closed and not in use.

The front module consists of two glass doors that pivot outwards to fully open the unit to the surroundings. In addition to functionality, the last module contains all accessories, such as electrical sockets, lighting and a sink. Two tables and chairs hide between the shelves when you need more space.

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Photos by JAG studio.
Drone photos by Joel Heim.

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Gallery

19 4 2023

The Hilltop house with a hidden garage

Blanka de Far 2023, Architecture Architecture, Living comfort, Wood

Polish design company mode:lina is back with another project equipped with their unique details. Located in a residential community in Poznań, Poland, the Hilltop House combines everything homeowners love – mountains, winter activities, cars and creative architecture. The result is a modern barn with a hidden garage in the hill, all surrounded by trees.

A garage for family cars is attached to the side of the sloping roof structure. A concrete garage can be seen peeking out from under a hillside covered in greenery and flowers. The architects built a hill to hide the garage, the technical components of the house and the office.

At the top of the hill, a small pitched roof structure houses the master bedroom with direct access to the grassy slopes.

On the exterior, the team contrasted natural materials such as wood and concrete with dark metal panels and large glass panels. They come together perfectly for a visually intriguing exterior.

Inside, the main living area has a double height ceiling and a wall of windows for an open feel. A similar color palette is continued from the outside with concrete floors, black furniture and wooden details.

The minimalist black kitchen overlooks the open space while living under the loft.

An open wooden staircase rises against a wall lined with vertical wooden planks. The individual black bars make a statement while also preventing them from falling off the side.

A large number of windows ensure a sunny interior during the day.

Upstairs, a seating area with a black mesh railing overlooks the open plan living area and has the same view of the green as below.

The garage is designed with a lift so that owners can work on their cars.

Photography by Patryk Lewiński.

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31 12 2022

XXL-size courtyard home

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture Concrete, Interior design, Interior eqpipment, Living, Wood

Private Residence in China by More Than Arch Studio

Architecture: More Than Arch Studio
Client: private
Location: Zhangzhou, Fujian (CN)

The More Than Arch Studio has built a residential complex on the southern Chinese coast that interlinks indoor and outdoor spaces, open and private areas into a fascinating whole.

© Zhang Chao

Courtyard homes are part and parcel of regional building traditions in the southern Chinese province of Fujian, as in many other subtropical areas. In principle they can be of any size, all the way up to residential complexes for large extended families, organised in a way that was and is a subtle reflection of inner social structures and hierarchie.

The decision to fall back on the age-old typology for the project in Zhangzhou suggested itself for various reasons: the neighbouring area on the inland side to the north are relatively densely-built and anything but attractive, while views to the sea in the south are blocked by an approx. 30-m-wide strip of municipal woodland planted as protection from typhoons. In addition, regulations restricted building height to 10 m, making anything higher impossible.

© Zhang Chao

Two rectangular two-storey blocks delineate the residential complex to the north and south. The former contains guest rooms, reception rooms and a large underground wellness and leisure area with a swimming pool; the southern-facing block accommodates the private rooms of the two brothers and their families. In effect the main buildings are like the two halves of a semi-detached house.

© Zhang Chao

A labyrinth-like system of single-storey volumes opening onto inner courtyards fills the space between the two. Skylights and sunken patios let natural light into the underground rooms, which house additional bedrooms and living rooms for occasional visits by family members. A tea room, a shared dining area and two multi-purpose rooms – one per half of the house – surround a large water basin in the biggest courtyard.

© Zhang Chao

The warm-cold contrast of exposed concrete, timber and bronze characterises the facades, window frames and brises soleils. Most of the concrete shows the marks of coarse-textured board formwork; other walls have the characteristic, deep-fluted structure of bamboo shuttering. In the interiors, the architects differentiated between the more public areas in the north and the private quarters. Expanses of exposed concrete characterise the former, as in the subterranean spa area; cold grey concrete is less in evidence in the southern wing, being mostly concealed behind beige-coloured plaster. Floors mainly come in bamboo wood or rust-red terrazzo.

Virtual Tour through the residence

Photography is by © Zhang Chao.

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Gallery

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: Floor plan, Graphic © More Than Arch Studio

: Section, Graphic © More Than Arch Studio

: Axonometry, Graphic © More Than Arch Studio

: Animation, Graphic © More Than Arch Studio

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13 11 2022

Tops San Giacomo Apostolo church with undulating copper roof

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture, Sacred architecture Architecture, bricks, Plaster, Sacred architecture, Wood

Client: CEI Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, Parrocchia di San Giacomo Apostolo, Ferrara
Architect: Benedetta Tagliabue – Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

Spanish studio EMBT has designed a brick-and-plaster-clad church in Ferrara, Italy, which has a copper roof informed by hot air balloons and an interior that aims to be a modern take on primitive churches.

The church was developed over 10 years and completed in 2021. It sits in the parish of San Giacomo Apostolo in the Arginone neighbourhood of Ferrara and has an uneven, organic shape.

The shape of the church roof nods to hot air balloons

The sculptural design and wavy copper-clad roof reference the hot air balloons that fill the sky above Ferrara each year.

The inspiration came one day when they were analysing the territory and the environment, when they saw the sky of Ferrara full of hot air balloons for the international festival that is held every year in September.

The church is located in Ferrara, Italy

They imagine a light and friendly church, which comes from heaven and is located in the place where the Christian community needs it most, a contemporary church, rich in strength and symbolism, surprising and familiar at the same time, inspired by the early days of the church.

The exterior of the 710-square-meter church has a facade made of alternating brick and plaster that creates a striped effect.

In some sections, the bricks have been placed in a three-pointed protruding design in reference to the Renaissance-era Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara.

Brick and plaster create a striped facade

The church was designed on a “visual and spiritual axis” to a new bridge and the city of Ferrara across the river. It has a spacious plaza in front that functions as a meeting place as well as an extension of the church courtyard.

A large wooden gate leads inside, where the altar sits at the centre underneath a large skylight. A classroom, side chapel, baptistery and annexes are organised radially around it.

The exterior features angled bricks that reference a local Renaissance building

The central space, which is dedicated to the apostle St James, has raw concrete walls and a stone floor. Its altar was made from a block of white Travi stone that was left almost totally untreated, adding to the rough-hewn feel of the interior.

It has four small crosses, one in each corner, and also features a secret drawer that holds a relic.

Concrete walls clad the interior of the church

The raw, unadorned design of the altar was chosen to “recall the most primitive moments of the church when a mass was celebrated with found objects and where the symbol acquired an even greater importance”, the studio said.

Above the nave sits a large cross made from wooden beams that were salvaged from Ferrara’s old town hall.

A wood baldachin is suspended under the skylight and was designed to evoke the shape of the shell of St James, a traditional symbol connected to the apostle.

Artist Enzo Cucchi created the artworks for the interior, including large grey stone crosses that protrude from the church walls and colourful ceramic pieces.

Two wooden beams form a cross above the altar

The organic feel of the interior is underlined by furniture made from different types of laminated wood, resulting in a striped look that resembles the exterior.

Tagliabue also designed the suspension lamps for the church, which are made from thin wooden slats that create small domes.

The undulating shape of the roof can be seen inside the church

A weekday chapel is attached to the main church but has a separate entrance and leads on to a sacristry, penitentiary, parish house and more classrooms. The parish hall, classrooms and rectory measure 873 square metres in total.

EMBT has worked on the church since 2011, when the studio won a competition to design the project for the Arcidiocesi di Ferrara-Comacchi.

Ancillary spaces are connected to the main church

EMBT was founded in Barcelona in 1994 by Benedetta Tagliabue and late architect Enric Miralles. Other recent designs by the studio include a mass-timber metro station in Naples and a music conservatory in Shenzhen covered in wooden and ceramic louvres.

The photography is by Marcela Grassi.

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Gallery

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16 10 2022

“Super furniture” Snøhetta organises Pangaea co-working space in Tokyo

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture, Interior design Interior eqpipment, Wood

Architecture: Snøhetta
Client: Tech company Digital Garage
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Huge ribbons of wood provide desk surfaces in this co-working space in Tokyo, created by architecture firm Snøhetta for Japanese tech company Digital Garage.

Snøhetta developed both the interior design and the visual identity for Digital Garage’s new co-working brand, Pangaea.

The wooden furniture is made from Japanese cedar

The company plans to open workspaces and offices in its various locations around the world.

However, this one, located on the 10th floor of a new building complex in Shibuya, will serve as a test track for ideas.

It incorporates desks, seating area and a reception desk

The name, Pangaea, was the starting point for the design – Pangaea was a supercontinent during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic era that broke up to create today’s continents.

Digital Garage wanted to create a space that encourages people of different cultures and backgrounds to come together and collaborate.

As a boutique office space for digital nomads, the space commemorates a time and place where geographical, political, and national constructs were not an obstacle.

Overhead, 534 hanging lights create undulating patterns

This concept led the designers to fill the space with “super furniture”, rather than adding individual tables or desks.

Two large wooden objects curve through the entire space, serving various different functions. They incorporate both seating areas and surfaces, so they can be used by numerous people simultaneously.

The wooden furniture gives the room a natural scent

Constructed as a metaphor for both tactility and fluidity, the super furniture encompasses all core functions of a co-working space: a reception, an amphitheater, phone booths, meeting spaces and individual workspaces.

The furniture also prompts its users towards a greater vision through daily interactions with the co-working space and one another.

The co-working space in located on the 10th floor of a building in Shibuya

Seating is provided by chairs and stools that match the dark tone of the flooring, while 534 suspended light bulbs give a topography to the ceiling.

The space is framed by linoleum-fronted cabinets and acoustic textile wall panels, which together create an abstract image of Mount Fuji as a backdrop.

It is the first of several Pangaea spaces planned

Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.

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Galerija

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13 10 2022

Rooftop Addition in Paris

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture, Interior design Plaster, Renovation, Single-family house, Wood

Five storeys in the backyard

Architecture: JAVA Architecture
Subscriber: private
Location: Paris (FR)

On the foundation walls of a decaying previous building, Java Architecture erected a five-story high-rise using wood techniques in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. An investor bought a house in ruins and wanted to turn it into his family home.

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In the office, together with the investor, they embarked on an adventure that would last several years with the aim of helping a middle-class family stay in Paris.

The architects’ prediction came true: the road to completion was long and rocky, full of opposition from neighbours, interim refusal of construction consent and, of course, the client’s family’s limited budget. The area of the previous two-story building was only 4 x 6 m.

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In order to be able to accommodate the family of four there, the architects built five storeys upwards. The lower three levels are home to bedrooms; the third upper level and the greenhouse-like attic storey serve the family as living space. The basement can be used as a hobby room and a space for guests. Apart from the basement and the dry-stone walls that surround the house on three sides of the ground floor, very little remains of the old structure. However, this “very little” was not able to bear heavy loads. Therefore, the architects decided in favour of a wooden construction.

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The exterior walls include a thermal insulation system with grey plaster. Some feature windows of clear glass and folding shutters of wood, while in places there is a pellucid covering of multi-skin polycarbonate panels which allow a hazy view of life inside the home to shine through. Above all, it is in the stairway – which also functions as the backbone of the structure – that the wooden skeleton appears in all its glory as a design element.

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Galerija

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25 8 2022

SoLo Demonstration House near Vancouver by Perkins&Will

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture, Interior design, Living comfort Architecture, Interior eqpipment, Living comfort, sustainability, Sustainable projects, Wood

© Andrew Latreille

Architecture: Perkins&Will
Client: Delta Land Development
Location: Soo Valley (CA)

Structural engineering: Glotman Simpson
Building services engineering: Integral Group
Facade planning, building physics: RDH, Perkins&Will

The name says it all: amid the forests near the ski resort of Whistler, Perkins&Will have erected a holiday home on behalf of a property developer. The structure will set new standards for energy efficiency and sustainability. The client, Delta Land Development, states that it would like to test technologies and construction methods that may be used in larger future projects set in the urban environment.

© Andrew Latreille

In terms of scale, SoLo is in a completely different, significantly smaller league. However, for a weekend house the new building is quite impressive: it is nearly 30 m long and measures 380 m². To keep the house from being snowed in, the structure stands conspicuously above ground on a steel framework.

© Andrew Latreille

The (ground-floor) basement accommodates only a technical room for the ventilation system, the geothermal pump that heats the house and the water treatment unit. Because its location is remote, SoLo is self-sufficient with respect to energy and water supply. A well beneath the house provides potable water, while grey water is recycled and waste water passes through a small treatment unit before it seeps into the earth.

© Andrew Latreille

The main source of energy is a 32-kW photovoltaic array mounted on the southeast longitudinal facade; a wind-power system is slated for future installation. An ancillary building a bit away from the house contains battery storage and, should there be periods of no sunshine, a fuel cell.

© Andrew Latreille

For the self-sufficiency concept to work, the house’s energy requirements first had to be lowered. The building was planned according to passive-energy principles, which in this particular location meant around 60 cm of insulation inside the building shell. From the inside out, the shell consists of dowelled solid-wood panels, a vapour barrier, the insulation layer between the timber cross-pieces and a second, independent wooden framework that bears the exterior covering of the house. The latter consists of the above-mentioned PV modules on the southeast facade, wooden boarding on the northeast side as well as a standing seam cover on the shed roof. On the east-facing end, the house opens onto the terrace with floor-to-ceiling glazing. Behind this, visitors enter a two-storey living room and continue into the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms. A sauna and storage space are located in a small annexe on the north side of the structure.

Gallery

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23 8 2022

A Glass House Inspired Pavilion Houses an Indoor Swimming Pool

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture, Interior design, Living comfort Architecture, Interior eqpipment, Living comfort, Wood

Maurice Martel architecte gives nod to iconic modern architecture in a project in Montréal where they designed an indoor swimming pool that can be enjoyed all year long, even during the long Quebec winters. Pavilion A references Philip Johnson’s Glass House and the Ben Rose House, featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with its minimalist structure made of metal and glass. Massive windows float floor-to-ceiling with a flat roof that appears to float on top.

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The exterior part of the structure might be black, but the interior is bright with the help of skylights and a white ceiling.

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Inside, much of the perimeter is lined with plants to give a tropical feel that evokes relaxation, while offering added privacy.

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A circular structure clad in warm red cedar cleats hides the bathroom, which opens up to reveal a bright white interior flooded with natural light from above.

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Photos by Adrien Williams

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Galerija

21 8 2022

Scandinavian house

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture, Interior design, Living comfort Architecture, Living comfort, Single-family house, Wood

SMALL SPACES: A CHARMING SWEDISH SUMMER COTTAGE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

Location: Malmöju (Švedska)

As with all Swedish summer cottages, simplicity is the order of the day.

The emphasis is on relaxation and warmth – and that starts with the glowing string lights and a an inviting ochre front door.

Inside, the walls and ceilings have been clad in wood panelling.

Vintage touches help to create a relaxed feel.

Ideal extra space for additional storage.

Mix and match furniture is key to creating a relaxed, lived-in feel.

Photography: Krister Engström

Source

Galerija

14 8 2022

Lycée Simone Veil near Montpellier by Hellin Sebbag

Blanka de Far 2022, Architecture School, Sustainable projects, Wood

Energy-plus building with a terracotta shell

Architecture: Hellin-Sebbag Architectes Associés
Client: Région Occitanie Pyrénées-Méditerranée
Location: Avenue Arnaud Beltrame, Gignac (FR)

Structural engineering: Terrell
Landscape architecture: Guillemet
Building services engineering: Adret
Budgeting: Egis Bâtiments

A wooden construction, power generated by a photovoltaic system and heating and cooling with geothermal pumps make the Lycée Simone Veil, a high school in the southwestern French town of Gignac, an ecological showcase. For the community of 6500 inhabitants located around 40 km northwest of Montpellier, the new building is akin to a rejuvenation treatment: 1000 pupils can be taught in the complex, which measures 145 000 m², while 80 can be accommodated in the adjacent boarding school. Moreover, there are 8 living units for teaching staff.

If one does not consider the residential buildings, the overall plan of the complex is shaped like a parallelogram. The two long tracts, which face east to west, are home to the classrooms, special-subject rooms and administrative offices. The two transverse wings, which feature vaulted green roofs, contain the teachers’ rooms, a documentation centre as well as the cafeteria and locker rooms for the sports field directly to the west.

The entrance façade to the north is divided into three storey-high, undulant bands that mediate between the course of the access road and the north-south orientation of the main facades, which are optimal in terms of energy efficiency.

For the facade covering, the architects chose in favour of a small-scale, pixel-like structure of glazed terracotta elements in various shades of grey and blue. Bilious-green facade panels mingle intermittently among the grey and blue; on the front of the classroom wing, they form the background for the portrait of the school’s namesake.

Two-thirds wood, one-third concrete: this was the architects’ recipe for the supporting structure of the new building. For instance, the prefabricated Y-shaped supports that bear the canopy and protruding upper level of the building’s wings are of high-performance concrete. The ceilings, which are of cross-laminated timber, have been treated with a coating of grout topping to improve soundproofing. In contrast, the inner walls and façades consist primarily of wood panelling.

Electricity for the school is supplied by around 1650 m² of conventional photovoltaic modules and 200 m² of modules that have been integrated into the glass roof of the entrance tract. Among other things, the power is used by a heat-pump system with 32 geothermal probes, each of which is 120 m deep, that heats and cools the building. Thanks to its low energy consumption and generation of solar power, the Lycée Simone Veil has achieved the French energy-plus standard known as BEPOS (Bâtiment à Énergie Positive).