Police Station by voluar architectura

The facade gives to the building a clear and massive appearance. From proximity, the facade’s skin is only a light film whose transparency allows magnificent views of the city from privacy. The anodized aluminum mesh screens that are periodically perforated to control depth of field and light penetration. These panels create visual impedance towards the interior during the day while allowing undisturbed views to the surrounding city, at night, the building glows with light to expose the inner functions to the outside world.

Anodized aluminum gives to the building image a constantly changing, responding to the lights and chromatics variations along day and seasons. In the same way, the degrees of drilling makes the facade seems different according to the observer’s position.

Inside, all the work areas are organized around an empty space, a large full-height interior patio and sets up the dialogue between the private area and public spaces. The unifying element of the project is the light that comes through skylights in this atrium. This space, combined with the use of glass in the work units gives all the space inside a panopticon character both horizontally and vertically. The private spaces by contrast are easily distinguishable as cantilevered solid cubes protruding out of the glass box, and a series of terraces and patios that appear on the facade.

The Ronda Building by estudio lamela

The project has sought to transform the roofline into useful and pleasant spaces for the user, from which you can see the river and part of the city that surrounds it. The starting point was a structural skeleton and the project reuses some of the previous installations.

The different volumes, jutting out with sinuous forms, remain consistent with its function and harmony with its essence, projecting color and dynamic outwards.

We can distinguish between 3 sub-groups with pre-existing forms which have to be maintained: the Ronda buildings – more linear in shape, but with undulating facades-, the Ebro buildings – shape like a wateter droplet – and the Actur building. In all cases there are plans for intermediate floors to allow passage from two levels at a height of eight meters to four at four metres. There is also a “surgical” type of operation to open spaces and relocated cores necessary for future office use.

The Crystal by schmidt hammer lassen architects

Freestanding on the site, the building reads as a transparent, geometrical, glazed form which, resting only on a single point and a single line, floats as a visually light, crystalline structure above the plaza. The building and the plaza are designed to interact with each other and with the surrounding city

In terms of both form and scale, the building is intermediate between the city and the harbour, and harmonises with neighbouring buildings. On the southern side, it rises with reference to the gable apex of the “Elephant House” and creates space for the main entrance. 

The double-glazed façade has integrated solar screens and is decorated by a subtle silk screen frit design that mitigates solar ingress, reflects daylight, and gives the building a homogenous expression which enhances its sculptural form.

Nestle Social Block by guillermo hevia

The building is crowned by a suspended roof, facades with a double-skin, the additional multiuse water pond serves as fire-water standby and cooling system through evaporation for the sun exposed facades in the hot period.

The double-skin, made out of corten steel, which wraps around the building, create an avant-garde image. Constructed as a continuous surface, it protects against the solar radiation and due to its separation to the building, it creates a vertical Venturi ventilation, supplying temperated air on account of the evaporation of the surrounding pond. This metallic double skin consists out of different perforation treatments, plain sheets and black glass.

The corten steel is a meterial which oxidates in a short term period, in order to create its own protection, neutralizing its deterioration. Engender the image of a living organizm, which changes its tonality (orange ocher, brown) in time and furthermore by the different angle of the sunbeams and changing daylight. It contrasts with the in sight concrete walls and the black metal of the roof. The rhythm of the designed standart-sheets breaks the monotony of the plane suspended surface and has been systematically illuminated to strengthen the night image of the building.

The Orange Cube by macfarlane architects

The project is designed as a simple orthogonal « cube » into which a giant hole is carved, responding to necessities of light, air movement and views. This hole creates a void, piercing the building horizontally from the river side inwards and upwards through the roof terrace.

It is designed on a regular framework (29 x 33m) made of concrete pillars on 5 levels. A light facade, with seemingly random openings is completed by another facade, pierced with pixilated patterns that accompany the movement of the river. The orange color refers to lead paint, an industrial color often used for harbor zones.

In order to create the void, designers worked with a series of volumetric perturbations, linked to the subtraction of three “conic” volumes disposed on three levels: the angle of the facade, the roof and the level of the entry. These perturbations generate spaces and relations between the building, its users, the site and the light supply, inside a common office program.

Saxo Bank by 3xn

The architectural design is based on Saxo’s cutting-edge profile and branding. The lines of the building design define a sharp balance between reliability and dynamic expressivity in dialogue with the local plan.

The building is shaped like two blocks with the end walls pointing towards the canal, joined together by facades that are withdrawn from the end walls. The facades are shaped like double curved glass that wave like a piece of textile.

The interior of the building is open and transparent with a large sense of community. The open plans centre round a softly shaped atrium with a glass roof. In the atrium, the main stair case winds up to the top. However, the main room and largest attraction of the building is the so-called Trading Floor where share prices are monitored intensely and resemble scenes from American movies about stock exchanges. Furthermore, the building encompasses a large number of rooms for technical support, kitchenettes and recreational areas.

TT Project by bcho architects

The specific architectural shape was made in response to the distinctive geographical features. The site consists of several acute angles, and within its figure, inducing interactions between horizontal and vertical dynamics, such as water flowing in various directions. This recalls a birch tree trunk that weathered severe hardships over time.

Directly south of the building an area with historical commercial alleyways, one famous called Pimatgol. Although the area has largely disappeared with the urban renewal project, it is still possible to connect with some of the remaining traces.

The connection made through the site is directed toward Dongsipjagak, an ancient watch tower at the southeast corner of Gyeongbok Palace. This area connects to Samcheongdong, an area which remains vibrant, evoking both the historical tradition and urban context.

Alibaba Headquarters by hassell

The Alibaba Headquarters in Hangzhou establishes new international workplace standards in China, providing 150,000 square meters of flexible open plan office space within a campus style layout. Alibaba is China’s leading e-commerce company and operates the world’s largest online marketplaces for both international and domestic China trade. The dynamic campus accommodates approximately 9,000 Alibaba employees and has been designed to reflect the interconnection, diversity and vitality of the company.

The master plan principles for the Headquarters are based on the concepts of connectivity, clarity and community – concepts that are also vital to Alibaba’s e-commerce business. These principles guided all design decisions from the single workstation to the greater workplace community.

The built form and the designed ‘spaces between places’ are integrated so that each defines the other. The grand central space is complemented by a series of more intimate gardens that nurture the individual within the larger corporate community. The humanised scale of the built form and the long, narrow floorplates help to create a strong sense of place at a legible scale, and establish physical connection throughout the campus. Visual permeability – or the ability to see into and across the major courtyards into other parts of the complex – is also key to achieving the sense of community and connectivity.

Capital Gate at abu dhabi

A 160-metre tall, 35-storey known as Super Elite skyscraper.

The Guinness Book of World Records certified Capital Gate as the “World’s furthest leaning man-made tower.” Link to Capital Gate 3D Animation here 

The new record shows that the Capital Gate tower has been built to lean 18 degrees westwards; more than four times that of the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

The gravitational pressure caused by the 18-degree incline is countered by the world’s first “pre-cambered core”; a technique that utilizes 15,000 cubic meters of concrete reinforced with 10,000 tons of steel with the core deliberately built slightly off-center.
Link to Capital Gate on Wikipedia here

Capital Gate is also anchored to the Earth by 490 piles which are drilled over 30m deep. 

Designing a high rise building? 
Calculate your Escape Staircase Occupancy Load here

NYbillboard by architect chris precht

A proposal for a new urban structure in manhattan, new york. recognizing the necessity for architects to address the issues of density and sustainability in the city, the design seeks to reorganize the conventional solution of a high-rise by creating a horizontal layer that provide elevated links between towers.

The preliminary research done on the project saw a list of social problems around continuously building vertically: a sense of isolation due to its distance from the public and urban conditions as well as inefficiency in cases of emergency. by limiting its structural height, the design aims to refocus the attention back to the users' experience. the ground level hosts a number of public functions, providing direct access to a grid of linking walkways, elevated gardens and facilities.

Distinguished by a crystal-like skin, the project serves as a gateway to brooklyn, liberty and staten island. 20% of the facade area allow algae bio cultivation to take place within the building's double skin facade. this will help with internal air quality as well as produce bio-diesel which could be used by the integrated nycarshare system. solar and photovoltaic panels cover a total area of 14,000 m2 on the top and side of the structure, producing 7,200,000 kWh per year. 110 wind turbines attached to the west side of the tower have the potential to generate an additional 1,400,000kWh per year, which accounts for roughly 13% of the building's energy use.