Glass-Encased Building - The 'Quartier Des Spectacles'

Eco-Friendly  'Quartier Des Spectacles'

The Quartier Des Spectacles is the latest building to emerge on the streets of the arts and entertainment district in Montreal, Canada. A glass-encased wonder, it embraces its neighborhood by way of a statement-making design that is bold during the day and even bolder at night. The Quartier Des Spectacles puts on an eye-catching multi-hued light show that will make it one of the biggest attractions on the strip.

In addition to its transparent second skin, the Quartier Des Spectacles also has a stunning recessed triangular entrance. It will be home to several arts and culture organizations as well as the St. Cyr restaurant. Designed by local architecture firm Aedifica, the Quartier Des Spectacles not only meets the partying standards of residents and tourists, it also fulfills LEED environmental sustainability standards.

 

Side View

 Street View

Visually Stunning glass – encased wonder, the  'Quartier Des Spectacles'

Courtesy : www.trendhunter.com

Wellington’s Meridian Building is a Flagship Green Commercial Project

The Meridian Building, which is situated in the Kumutoto precinct on Wellington’s waterfront, was New Zealand's first 5 Green Star rated building. The flagship green commercial project was designed by Studio Pacific Architecture in association with Peddle Thorp Architects, and it incorporates a wide range of cutting-edge sustainability initiatives, making it one of the country’s most advanced green buildings. The design cleverly integrates elements from the heritage waterfront Sheds nearby into a contemporary piece.

The Meridian Building‘s design seeks to integrate it into its maritime environment, as well as in the historical context of its neighbors. Expressed as two separate forms, the side facing the Sheds features richly-colored and textured external louvers, while the other side is a cantilevered white volume that floats above the water. This cantilevered action creates a larger and shaded public plaza, which is an extension of the waterfront area. Each facade was expressly designed to respond to its particular orientation with respect to solar heat gain, heat loss, natural light, wind and view. Louvers on the north wall moderate solar gain, while a heavily insulated south wall with small windows minimizes loss.

Daylighting, passive ventilation, an efficient chilled beam mechanical heating and cooling system, solar hot water heating, lighting and occupancy sensors, and thermal mass all help the building achieve a 60% lower annual energy consumption than a typical New Zealand office building. Rainwater harvesting collects water for use in toilets and low-flow fixtures are used throughout to reduce potable water use by 70% compared to average buildings. Sustainable materials with low VOC finishes, recycled content and sustainable sources. The Meridian Building was also constructed out of partially-recycled cement. New Zealand’s first 5 GreenStar rated building has also be the recipient of a number of other architecture awards since its completion.

Courtesy: inhabitat

Rotterdam’s Bubble Building is the World’s Most Temporary Structure

We've long advocated temporary design with a tiny footprint, but no structure is more temporary, nor more beautiful, than this awesome Bubble Building by DUS Architects. Created this Spring as part of the ZigZagCity festival in Rotterdam, the iridescent pavilion consists of 16 hexagonal-shaped ponds full of soapy water that together make up 35 square meters of reflective space. Visitors create their own buildings by stepping into the ponds wearing rubber boots and then pulling up steel handlebars to construct fleeting soap walls around them.

At first glance, the Bubble Building is just a fun way to spend an afternoon, but for DUS Architects, it also addresses more serious design, environmental, fiscal and social issues. The visitor’s inclination to build and rebuild the bubble building once it pops makes tangible the never-ending cycle of building and rebuilding in real-life architecture, which has serious environmental consequences.

The bubble’s inevitable pop makes reference to the global economic crises, while the community aspect of the temporary pavilion points to the necessity of cooperation in architecture. More than one person is required to build the “walls” of one cell, while a greater number of people together can create something much larger. This is true in society as well. But mostly DUS Architects wanted people to experience their soapy experience (however brief) into a lifelong mental monument that is far more powerful than any physical building could ever be. If you like this project, you’ll enjoy “Solace” – an art installation that explores the properties of soap bubbles.

Courtesy: inhabitat

Sou Fujimoto’s Glassy House NA Blurs the Distinction Between Indoor and Outdoor Space

Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto is known for designing unique homes that are filled with natural light, but his latest design, House NA in Tokyo, trumps all. The small, unconventional home is made almost entirely of glass with a white steel frame, making it virtually transparent, and blurring the line between indoor and outdoor space. The house challenges our typical understanding of what a house should be, and it gives its inhabitants the freedom to move around the house, using different spaces as they see fit.

What makes House NA so unique is that it doesn’t contain rooms in the same way that most typical homes do; instead, it has 21 different “floor plates” of varying sizes that flow into each other. Fujimoto likens the house to a tree, with the 21 different spaces acting like high and low branches on which people can perch. ”The intriguing point of a tree is that these places are not hermetically isolated but are connected to one another in its unique relativity,” he writes.

In contrast to the concrete block or wood walls found in a typical home, House NA, which is made almost entirely of glass, appears light and airy. With all of that glass, the house doesn’t naturally afford much in the way of privacy, but curtains can be installed, both as a partition between rooms, and to provide privacy. Some of the spaces in the 914 square-foot home are heated, while others are not. The three-story house also features several balconies without safety rails, enhancing the minimalist aesthetic.

Courtesy: inhabitat

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Unveil Dancing Dragons Towers With Scaly, Breathable Skin

When architects Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill design a new building, people tend to pay attention. With projects like the Burj Khalifa and Kingdom Tower under their belt, the firm is one of the world's leading skyscraper designers. So naturally, we perked up today when AS + GG unveiled Dancing Dragons, a pair of striking supertall skyscrapers that will reshape the skyline of Seoul, South Korea. Inspired by mythical Korean dragons, the 88- and 77-story towers feature a breathable scale-like skin through which air can circulate.

We get the dragon part, but what about the dancing? “There’s a sympathetic and complementary relationship between the two masses at the level of the cuts, almost as though they were dancing,” explains Adrian Smith in a press release.

With operable 600-mm vents through which air can circulate, the towers’ scale-like skin is actually a performative element that will be used for ventilation. The design team also includes Chicago-based energy and engineering firm PositivEnergy Practice, which is providing consulting on the two towers’ energy-efficient systems. Some of the green features will include photovoltaic arrays on the roof surfaces, radiant heating, fuel-cell cogeneration units at the basement level,  and triple-glazed windows to minimize heat loss.

The angular, mixed-use skyscrapers will be located in Seoul’s Yongsan International Business District, and they will be part of the larger Yongsan master plan by Studio Daniel Libeskind. The 450- and 390-meter-tall towers will include residential, “officetel” and retail elements. V-shaped massing cuts at the top and bottom of the mini-towers help reinforce the buildings’ angular geometry, and the cuts are arranged in a radial pattern that can be seen as viewers at ground level move around the towers. According to Smith + Gill, those massing cuts are meant to echo the eaves of traditional Korean temples.

Courtesy: inhabitat

Prefab Mirror Mongayt Has a Pixelated Facade that Reflects Nature in Moscow

We've seen building facades that "reflect the surrounding environment" but Berlaskoni Architecture Bureau's prefabricated Mirror Mongayt home in Moscow takes the phrase to literal levels. The south-facing pixelated mirror facade that reflects the nearby landscape was designed as a temporary art program that is changed every eight years. All of the wood used to frame the house, which is disguised by the mirrors, was sourced locally and insulation is made of recycled eco-wool.

Mirror Mongayt was built in stages in order to save costs, starting with the lower 180 square meter floor and followed by two 90 square meter additions. The home’s universal screw-pile foundation shortened construction time and allowed the homeowner to bypass an otherwise necessary geological survey, and the simple prefab wooden frame was assembled on site and insulated using sustainable materials.

The mirror facade transforms an otherwise regular home with a monopitch roof into a striking work of art that can be manipulated over time to reflect the changing seasons. The interior features an expansive space connected by a simple wooden staircase framed with diagonal wooden poles, along with great views and plenty of natural light. This is the next installation in a series of Russian villas designed by Berlaskoni, but it’s definitely not the last.

Courtesy: inhabitat