Month: March 2023

Ramadan Tent Project and V&A present the Ramadan Pavilion 2023, an architectural installation inspired by the holy month of Ramadan, which starts today. The Ramadan Pavilion 2023 is designed by architect Shahed Saleem and will be open to the public at the Exhibition Road Courtyard of the V&A South Kensington until May 1, 2023. As part of the annual festival, the pavilion is accompanied by a series of events, performances, and workshops curated by the Ramadan Tent Project.

While colors can accentuate architectural designs, there is no single color that is “best”. The choice depends on the style and purpose of the architecture, as well as the effect you want to create. However, colors that contrast with predominant tones can help highlight important details – and yes: red tones here can create an intense visual contrast.

Beyond their features in the world of fashion, fabrics can also be an essential part of an interior design’s creative possibilities. While enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a space, these versatile materials –made from fibers or yarn that have been interlaced, knitted, or bonded together– also provide functionality to space. As part of a holistic architectural strategy, these natural and synthetic elements are essential for designing upholstery for furniture, curtains and drapes, space divisions and wall coverings. Changing the traditional notion of fabrics –known as stain collectors, bug homes and easily catching fire– the latest design innovations are exploring properties which take the use of fabrics one step further. Diving into Architonic’s fabric catalog, we take a look at different products with distinctive acoustic, fireproof and repellent properties.

It all started with a two-year planning process, we had to win every single argument no matter how small or large to justify the proposal. Then a further 2 years in construction just as the global Pandemic started. So over the last 4 / 5 years, this project was such a big part of our lives. Our place to go while the whole world fell apart through Brexit, Covid and the many wars going on in the world. Many different people from all walks of life came together and built something. We all dragged the metaphorical cart up the hill together while wearing blinkers to world affairs. The Proposal. The Arches is a set of 6 new terraced town houses set in the Dartmouth Park conservation area in North-West London. The site is just down the road from the famous Grove Terrace, one of the most beautiful Georgian terraces in London in our opinion. Our initial design idea was inspired by the historic green lung of open green spaces along the Highgate Road, our earliest discussion with Camden was to relink the 2 open public green spaces either side of the site. This meant reinstating the green lung as close to how it was back in 1873. A futuristic Victorian throw back! This new green space acts as buffer for the proposed architecture behind, 6 mews houses that appear to be single storey from the Highgate Road, to preserve the clear unbroken green line, when viewed from the street. The entrances to the houses are on the College Lane, to enhance the Victorian architectural grain. And to match the other old historic cottages further south along the road.

Besides providing external protection, natural ventilation, insulation and energy efficiency, the presence of façades enhances the building’s personality and character. Among the different types of façade systems, cladding strategies stand out for their variety of materials and textures –such as metal, glass, stone, wood and composite– all of which build durable, low-maintenance and visually appealing structures. Innovating with textures, forms and technologies, BŌK Modern has developed different metal panels for creating functional and aesthetic façade cladding systems. Showcasing six architectural projects, we delve into the practical and visual attributes of rainscreens and wallscreens.

A spectacular site is both a gift and a problem for new architecture. The positives are self-evident, the negatives less so, but apparent in single-orientation, glassy boxes which proliferate on such sites. Aware of this, we were conscious of balancing the canonical attributes of aspect, prospect, and refuge without allowing the prospect part to distort the equilibrium of an ideal domestic setting. Our Client came to us with this site accommodating a radically altered Chancellor and Patrick house on the highly unstable cliff edge. Our attempts to preserve and restore the house were thwarted by the structural necessity to place it on 15-meter-deep piles, without which the house was in real danger of sliding onto the beach. Our approach then was to “remember” the house by largely reconstructing its form and arrangement, augmented by a perpendicular element that provided additional accommodation and solved the problems of vehicular and pedestrian access. A single-bedroom and bathroom guesthouse higher up the site completes our work here.