Month: August 2023

iwan baan: moments in architecture at vitra design museum    From October 21, 2023 to March 3, 2024, the VITRA Design Museum in Germany is launching the first major retrospective of Iwan Baan’s globally renowned oeuvre. The ex…

explore tokyo’s kabukicho tower: home to the norm architects-designed bellustar and the chic hotel groove in the heart of shinjuku.
The post discover tokyo’s latest hotels in shinjuku’s landmark kabukicho tower appeared first on designboom …

Tourist facilities are a significant architectural program as they not only provide essential amenities for travelers but also encapsulate the cultural essence of a destination. Resorts and hotels experiment with ideas of comfort and leisure, restaurants bring visitors into the local culinary culture, while wineries merge craftsmanship, tradition, and modernity. Visitor centers are another facility often provided for travelers, serving as gateways to exploring the city. Besides their flexible program, these architectural interventions most often strive to relate and harmonize with the local context to enrich the narrative of the space and create a memorable experience for every visitor.

The building is designed as a simple assemblage of low-carbon concrete slabs, beams, and columns. Its superimposed outdoor spaces blend in with the urban logic of the district, like streets, and large and small city squares surrounded by agricultural windbreaking nets that protect users from drafts. The whole complex “breathes”, naturally, and the built elements, i.e., the heating, air-conditioning, ventilation, and artificial lighting are reduced to a minimum for maximum gain in lightness and economy. In total, 900 000 kWh/year are saved, or a 56% reduction in consumption compared with the same project if it were a covered enclosure, and savings of 2270 t CO2 or 63% of CO2 linked to its construction.

Colors evoke specific feelings; therefore, they are used to elicit particular effects on the surface they appear on or in the minds of observers contemplating them. In architecture, color plays a fundamental role in defining shape. Materials in their natural state already possess inherent coloration, which is perceived in a specific manner. However, when dyed, the observer’s perception is altered, giving rise to associations between different sensations related to the same object. This transformation brought about by color occurs in various visual mediums, spanning from three-dimensional contexts like architecture to static and mobile two-dimensional forms such as engravings, photographs, paintings, and films.

The intervention project includes the design of the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Cultural Center and Public Library, as well as the 6-hectare San José de Bavaria recreational park. With its completion, a new recreational and cultural hub was established for the Suba area and the city.