MAD Building by mad arkitekter

Zig-zaging exterior walls within the outer aluminium leaf are tailored to balance the individual apartments’ needs. Variations of deeper balcony areas that emerge into slender French balconies in their stretch towards the circulation cores offer effective balance in the interior/exterior space utilization. Circulation cores are situated behind the outer corners in this zigzag wall; consequently, lateral stability is secured in the full width of the construction. Last but not least, the angular variations ensure a wider spectre of view, addressing more than the tall rise neighbours.

The outer skin of anodized, perforated aluminium, defines the rectangular Barcode body. Custom designed movable façade elements allow the occupants to control to which extent their apartment is exposed to sunlight and public surroundings. Along with being a valuable feature for residents in a densely populated district, this living façade that keep changing is architecturally exciting. 

Perforations are designed in a careful manner to allow views from inside the apartments, while still giving the expression of being uniform surfaces to exterior surroundings. Light filtered in interesting patterns on the organic inner skin of warm timber cladding assure a lively atmosphere within this sober envelop.

At night, lights at the balconies leak through the perforation, making the envelope glow. The dialogue between these two skins, and their contrasts, are among the project’s most characteristic features.

Beach + Howe Tower by big architects

A slender base forms the nine storey podium which vertically clears the road and traffic, ultimately widening into the 600 unit residential tower which hovers above the zone of pollution and noise. 

Shopping, retail and working spaces are accessible by the public plaza which pedetriansmay circulate freely under the large concrete supports. 

As the profile widens, the internal floor area is reclaimed and views to the ocean and surrounding mountains are revealed.

Villiot Rapee Apartments by hamonic + masson

The project embraces new concepts of living together primarily based on generous outdoor spaces, both private (balconies) and communal (floor area), as well as on an extrapolation of the advantages of detached houses, which have now disappeared forever from Paris – having one’s own floor space and thus being rooted in the soil.

Each level and each flat has a different floor lending itself to different practices and uses. Rather than being like a balcony, a loggia (or a terrace), which can be seen and used on a daily basis, winds its way around the outside of the flats and gives residents the feeling that they live outdoors. This “poured garden” creates close ties to the building’s external environment.

Climate planning and sound-proofing have also left their mark… and permitted a system of “truly outdoor spaces” that are therefore independent of the internal floor-plan, creating a stack of more or less closed terraces and more or less open loggias wrapped around the four sides of each tower like a “serpentine”. One can stroll around a flat, walk out of the bedroom and into the living room; there are many paths to choose from and many surprises in store. But the main thing is that no one can see their downstairs neighbor, and the flats opposite are occluded by screen walls and balustrades.

Milanofiori Housing Complex by obr

The interface between the building and the garden becomes the field where interaction between man and environment takes place. This interface is defined by the “C” form of the complex which encompasses the public park, and by the porosity from interior to exterior that characterizes all 107 apartments. The two facades are designed differently with one more urban, facing the street outside, and the other one more organic, facing the inner park.

The design of the urban facade stimulates a sense of belonging thanks to the composition of white frames which identify separately the units. These frames include vertical wooden panels of different widths which can slide across the frames and control the inner light as necessary. The organic facade overlooking the garden features double glazed bioclimatic greenhouses. The co-planarity between the glass of the greenhouse and the glass guardrail covering the string-course creates an effect where the shape of the construction and the background merge and reverse their roles constantly, producing kaleidoscopic effects overlapping the reflection of the public garden outside with the transparency of the private garden inside. 

The geometry of the building is shaped by translation of the upper levels in line with positions of optimum solar exposure and by tapering of the external terraces in order to increase introspection among residents. The winter garden has a double value: an environmental value in providing a buffer zone which allows thermal regulation, and an architectural value in allowing extension of the interior living space towards the exterior landscape (and vice versa) permitting different uses from summer to winter.

Tartu Rebase Street Residential

The concept behind the River Towers is clear and simple: organizing spaces according to their main functions and distributing between two big rings: the service ring and the living area ring.

The exterior ring is made up of the living areas found in houses, offering enough sunlight exposure and vast landscape views. Since the structural elements are concentrated in the inner ring, the area is more open, offering flexibility with the organization of its spaces.  The thin movable walls are simplified to meet the needs of its changeable inhabitants over the years.

The exterior ring is surrounded by a continuous balcony and through its irregular shape creates an authentic space that offers each house a completely different private outdoor area.  This type of balcony was designed in order to lighten the visual volume of the building and integrate it into the landscape.

Social Housing by arquitecnica

The Project consists in creating 120 public housing under lease for young people and it’s located in a new urban expansion area in the town of Parla (Madrid).

It was decided to adopt a typology of open blocks in the plot, the final result was a large spatial unit with two linear blocks that are adapted to the topography of the plot.

With this volumetric distribution is achieved an optimum performance of the plot in terms of number of houses and their quality, and at the same time reflects the urban’s application.

Reflections by daniel libeskind

A series of undulating towers is the focal point of this project.

The sleek curving forms of alternating heights create graceful openings and gaps between the structures. the spaces between the buildings allow for views to the horizon beyond. the resulting composition is an interplay of changing planes and reflections.

Every detail and aspect of design optimizes interaction with the sea and the commanding panoramic views of its scenic surrounds including mount faber, keppel club golf course, labrador park, sentosa and its upcoming integrated resort and the city skyline.

Absolute Towers by mad architect

The buildings will become both a gateway to the city and an iconic international landmark.

Link to Mad Architect website here. Continuous balconies wrap around the sinuous volumes, graciously marking each floor, and establishing a distinct exterior appearance. free of typical vertical barriers the towers represent a new type of residential architecture in the otherwise conservative city. 

The buildings consciously shift and rotate in response to the surrounding environment, establishing a dialogue between each other and the encircling community. hovering above the skyline, the design seeks to provide every private dwelling with uninterrupted views over the city, lake and preserved greenbelt patches.

Social Housing by koz architectes

KOZ creates non-typical, friendly and sensitive buildings that redefine public spaces and emphasize the diversity of their uses. KOZ champions architecture that is aware of context and creates surprise and “added value” in terms of function, by making use of residual areas that are easily adapted to stimulate the imagination of local residents, users and visitors.

It looks different from the others; you can recognize it when you look down the street; you can point it out. It is individual, and it also has an individualizing effect that strengthens one’s sense of belonging.

The key feature is that flats with at least 4 rooms have a white cantilevered cube affixed apparently at random to the façade. This contains a room “plugged into” the living room whose use can change according to the desires and changing size of the family unit. Its partition wall is not load-bearing and can be removed with the agreement of the owner (and who knows, maybe in 50 years the tenants will have become the owners). This extra room gives the living space flexibility and elasticity.

The Ascent by daniel libeskind

Located at 1 Roebling Way – a street renamed by city officials to better fit the building – echoes the colors of the Suspension Bridge. Built in earth tones, its windows reflect the sky and river images.

 

The ascending height of the building mimics the suspension cables of the nearby Roebling’s Bridge, a central feature of Covington’s waterfront. It also links the low horizon of residential structures to the east with the more modern commercial buildings to the west.

 

Through the vertical, non-repeating articulation of the facade, the building breaks from the conventional, horizontal orientation of typical high-rise buildings. Its multiple layers blur the distinction between interior and exterior, both visually and experientially. The resulting texture also provides shade to all units from the eastern sun.

Penang Global City Center by asymptote architecture

The PGCC  is comprised of two iconic, sixty-story towers housing luxury residential units and five-star hotels, the penang performing arts center (penpac), a high-end retail and entertainment complex, an observatory, a world-class convention center and a vast public arena in the form of a plinth that serves as an entrance to the pgcc and connects it to the city beyond.

Set against the backdrop of the nature reserve of penang hill, the twisting, glass facades of the towers ‘perform’ various surface effects - reflecting, refracting and distorting views of penang, the surrounding landscape and the seascape beyond.

The vast, cascading plinth, which functions as a public plaza with multiple gathering spaces, are venues for the performing arts center, convention center and various facilities for residential, office and urban life.

Newton Suites by woha

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The newton suite project of this high-rise apartment in an established area was designed in 2003 and scheduled for completion in 2007. the 36 storey tower incorporates 118 apartments with views towards the verdant bukit timah nature reserve and the city skyline. singaporean architects WOHA created these living spaces with attention to detail, proportions and scale, ensuring that the building is a comfortable and efficient living space. a studied randomness adds a dimension of spontaneity and playfulness to the building’s design and common areas that make them at once friendly and aesthetic.

The architecture and landscape merge seamlessly, integrating living spaces into the flowing foliage of the sky gardens. the elegant profile of the building is a mature and stylish addition to the skyline.

The newton suites project by WOHA founders mun summ wong and richard hassell with its skygardens and full-height green wall (the tallest continual green wall in the world?) was recognized as a finalist in the 2008 CTBUH - council on tall building and urban habitat - awards for the asia and australasia category and continues the bravery of urban and architectural experimentation that is evident everywhere in singapore.

The Wave in vejle by henning larsen architects

'The wave in vejle' is a new sculptural housing landmark of vejle, denmark. with an ideal location overlooking the promenade and the bay the characteristic building both respects and challenges the potential of the area. 

During the day the white waves are reflected in the sea and at night the characteristic profile looks like illuminated multi-coloured mountains. The building has 140 attractive apartments many with two storey house plans, all with views.

The wave is inspired by the characteristics of the area: the fjord, the bridge, the town and the hills. The clear and easily recognisable signature of the building connects the residential area with the sea, the landscape and the town.