Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid Architects
The project stands at the edge of a vast, featureless park that is the centerpiece of the district’s master plan, about a 15-minute drive from the old city center.
The two structures shape a series of paths through and around the site. Visitors can slip between the halls, for instance, and down a staircase to a narrow roadway in back, or they can follow a wide concrete ramp that splinters off from this path and spirals down to a smaller outdoor plaza framed by a reflecting pool and a few shops. Other paths return you to the park or out to the main street.
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‘Fritzy,’ Candy Shop in Toronto by Prototype Design Lab
The design for this 800-square-foot frozen yogurt and candy shop fuses a highly efficient plan with an expressive surface that cloaks the walls and the ceiling. The attention of the patrons is immediately drawn to the glowing, white volume composed of a white high-gloss surface wrapping the walls, ceiling and floor. Its striking linear pattern of coloured, acrylic strips induces a horizontal vertigo, which, seen through the glass storefront, serves as a visual invitation to pedestrians on the street.
The vitality of this architectural surface becomes the brand’s identity. The surface performs as both a fantastical and functional main element: it integrates a bulk candy bar of endless variety, LCD monitors, and an eat-in counter, as well as embedded lights
that tease out a richness and depth from the architectural surface and provide visual seduction. The sensation is further accentuated by the mirrored back wall that continues the pattern and doubles the experience of the visitor.
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Hillarys Residence’s Backyard by Ritz Exterior Design
Guy Mouritz, and Jodi Mouritz from Ritz Exterior Design has been commissioned by the owner of Hillarys Residence to redesign their garden.
The project were challenging for designers who say;
This beautiful exterior was our most challenging project ever, the home is a stones throw from the beach this meant our design and specification had to cater for conditions that strip paint from the front of the home!
Previously a large lawn area dominated the backyard and elevated neighbours looked straight into the pool area while strong SW winds made the lawn area uninviting. A large games room at the rear of the home was also unused and formed part of our design brief the owners wanted to revitalise the outdoor and indoor areas and connect the two spaces so they could become the new heart of the home.
‘Bunkie,’ Prefabricated by 608 Design & BLDG Workshop
If you dream to buy a land outside the city brouhah and that you have neither means nor the time to build a big house, this small prefabricated nests designed 608 Design in collaboration with BLDG Workshop will do. Thanks to two transparent façades, the Bunkie is integrated into the landscape.
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Restaurant ‘Hispano Nueva Tradición’ by Clavel Arquitectos
Clavel Arquitectos were commissioned to design a banqueting hall in a rather complicated unit that formed part of the ground floor of two different buildings with a stairwell between them. The unit had to be flexible as it should be able to convert into a restaurant at a later stage.
The line of the wall that separated the two buildings contained numerous pillars, plumbing, electrical and other installations. This situation was solved by grouping together all of these installations and standard pipes of varying diameters.
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Sliding House by dRMM Architects
We could use a lot of superlatives to describe this extraordinary house architecturec reated by London based architects drmm. The residence is divided in two part, one with traditional farm wooden facade and window, while the other part is totally glassed a and be covered with a sliding facade to become a traditional farm house like the rest of the house.
dRMM Architects says; “The brief was a self-build house to retire to in order to grow food, entertain and enjoy the landscape. The site offered a combination of rolling England and agricultural Holland, restrained by stringent local Planning parameters for rural development.
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Shallstar Pavillon at Detourart Design Festival, Hong Kong by Matsys
Shellstar, commissioned for Detourart design festival in Hong Kong was designed to be an iconic gathering place for the festival attendees.
Located on an empty lot within the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong, the temporary pavilion maximizes its spatial performance while minimizing structure and material.
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GreenDot Animo High School, South Los Angeles by Brooks + Scarpa Architects
This new public school for 500 studentsby Brooks + Scarpa Architects is located in a tough South Los Angeles neighborhood almost directly under the flight path into LAX and adjacent to the very busy 105 Century freeway. The design was influenced by the New Orleans architects Curtis and Davis who designed and built many schools in the early 1950s in Louisiana. Their designs adapted to the local climate without using air conditioning, creating sustainable light filled and poetic spaces for kids to learn.
Similarly, this project is designed to enhance passive sustainable strategies. It allows for abundant natural light, ventilation and view, while shading itself and inducing airflow. The south facade is clad with 650 solar panels that shade the building and provides 75% of the energy needs for the school. Implementing these strategies will reduce carbon emissions by over 3 million pounds.
Taking full advantage of the region’s temperate climate, the designers eschewed the fully contained “big box” idiom of conventional schools on the primary use site. Instead, a landscaped courtyard with multifunctional “bleacher” terracing flows into the open-air covered lobby and the multilayered paseo, lending the school the appeal of a collegiate campus and offering significant environmental benefits—improving daylighting and access to fresh air both inside and out—while providing substantial cost savings by limiting artificial lighting and thermal conditioning to the smaller enclosed spaces.
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New Johnnie Walker House in Beijing by Asylum & Love
creative firms Asylum and LOVE once again teamed up to design the world’s largest ultra premium whisky embassy. Launched by Diageo as the largest, most luxurious Johnnie Walker House, the House is located in Beijing and imbued with whisky knowledge and historical elements throughout the sophisticated spatial design. Conceived with the intent to immerse consumers in the world of Johnnie Walker whisky through bespoke experiences, the
latest House provides an experiential and interactive journey for consumers in the world’s most powerful market for luxury goods.
The LocationThe Johnnie Walker House Beijing is located at Ch’ien Men 23 – a historical meeting point of East and West in China. Spanning a total floor area of almost 16,000sq ft, the building provided the perfect industrial platform to bring to life the beauty of the architectural vision – the Whisky Distillery.
The Concept:
Creating a highly contemporary space, rich in authentic whisky story telling for the discerning Chinese consumer, the heart of the architectural vision was the Whisky Distillery. Continuing to create premium whisky conversations, essential ingredients to whisky making and historical archives provide the foundation for the introduction and education of whisky. Further enhancing the Johnnie Walker whisky experience, the physical space includes elements of Scottish history and culture, while remaining attuned to the discerning Beijing consumer. The House blends a bar, museum, retail outlet and an exclusive members club.
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Globo Meeting Gallery Opens in Milan
Timed to coincide with the Milan Furniture Exhibition, the Globo Meeting Gallery – the events venue annexed to the Globo showroom – will make its debut with the new Claesson Koivisto Rune prefabricated house project, the first of a series of exhibitions to be coordinated by Giulio.
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Peary Place, London by Threefold Architects
Completed in 2004, The Studio in Bethnal Green is an inventive conversion of an existing Victorian workshop into a contemporary living space. The tall, thin, dark sliver of a space was formerly an industrial shed wedged between existing buildings at ground floor level with windows on all sides at high level. The whole structure was separated from the street by a narrow courtyard passageway.
Threefold Architects’ challenge was to inventively reconfigure the internal layout to maximise natural light and space and stretch a limited budget to create a modern and innovative domestic space.
‘Void Box House,’ in Japan by Architect Cafe
‘Void Box,’in Japan by Architect Cafe is a two and a half story house that features an elevated garden as the living and dining room, thus enlarging the space. The facade is fully glazed and passing on a view of the interior.
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Bubble Staircase by Gestion Rene Des Jardins
This Staircase created by Gestion Rene Des Jardins a spectacular staircase is a jewel in the middle of this house. The anthracite iron bubble lace Staircase create reflections on the walls with light passing through.
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Hypernuit Office, Paris by H2O Architects
The project designed by H2O Architects is based on ground floor of a building behind a large window overlooking the street of Clignancourt in Paris. The request was to realize an with five workstations sharing the same meeting room and service spaces. ‘Hypernuit’ is an agency involving different people acting as art directors, designers and agents in communication. Read More…
Bubble: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden by Siller Scofidio + Renfro
The ‘Bubble’ is an inflatable conceivd Siller Scofidio + Renfro architects is an event space planned for the cylindrical courtyard of the Hirshhorn Museum. In respectful dialogue with the Modernist icon originally designed by Gordon Bunshaft in 1974, the Bubble is an architecture of air; a pneumatic stucture enclosed only by a transluscent membrane that sueezes into the void of the building and oozes out of the top and beneath its mass.
In contrast to the familiar strategy of roofing over courtyards of institutionals buildings.The Bubble produces a soft building inside of a hard one in which existing and new spaces, both interior and exterior are playfully interwined. The ephemeral srtucture is erected once a year for two months. The additional 11 000 sf of sheltered space accomodates audiences of 500-800 for array of public events including performinf arts, fil, lectures and debates. Its form is shaped by a series of cable rings that constrict the membrane, pulling it away from the inner wall of the courtyard while other cables tether it into place. The resulting contours act acoustically and produce changing shafts and pockets of outdoor space experienced from the ground and the galleries on the second and third level.
Zhanna House by Igor Sirotov
Igor Sirov has redesigned this 50m2 flat mountains lovers. The flat is intended to be a love nest, a refuge where people come to comfort and rejuvenate, enjoy nature while feeling protected. The apartment is cosy and warm thanks to the wooden floor and slats on the wall and the fireplace in the middle of the room. A perfect place to retire for a while.
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‘House T,’ in Turin, City Centre by Point Studio
The new additions to the family since the house’s initial renovation made this project’s challenges the optimal use of available space. The idea behind the project is one of educating the family to the non-conventional and multifunctional use of space.
It is for this reason that it was decided to give the large existing living room space multiple functionality; the owner’s bedroom, the living and dining space and a relaxation area are all found here while the remaining spaces are dedicated to the newborn children. We decided to raise half of the main room to create a larch wood platform, which hosts the relaxation space with a sofa and television, and exploit the height difference to hide a rollaway bed and a storage space.
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‘Trattoria Urbana,’ Restaurant by POINT Studio
TRATTORIA URBANA project were realized by Marco Verrando & Francesca Rossotti Architect from POINT studio. The idea behind this project was to convey the feel of a traditional, old fashioned eatery using contemporary design. The central focus of the space is a large cupboard placed opposite the entrance. Made of white lacquered and natural matte medium density wood, this object is both a functional element (it accommodates a wardrobe, shelves, seating and counter space) and the only decorative piece in the room.
It was designed around the idea of open and closed drawers and as such contextualizes the rest of the space including the large crossbeam that extends right up to the exterior. The purposefully oversize and plump sofa adds that cosy and welcoming touch for the guests.
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