FACADE
In the project of Port Apartment Suzhou Shilu Community, the metal grilling on the façade of the original building makes the whole building look old and gray. The architect decided to partially cut the grilling to form a window, where green plants can be planted. Thus three three-dimensional “hanging garden” was born.
Balance, symmetry, and stability are the desired effects for Carmela Dutra’s facade. The choice for materials such as concrete and litoceramics generates a sense of sobriety to the building, essential to create a remarkable facade, without excessive colors or forms. Carefully detailed design for all facades, not just the front one, enhances consistent and coherent aesthetic without promoting hierarchical differences between front and back.
The proposal contemplates the refurbishment of the basement spaces of the Palacio del Rey don Pedro with the aim of welcoming in the near future a selection of pieces of different types belonging to the archaeological collection of the Alcázar, the result of the research carried out in the last years. The construction of the Mudéjar Palace supposes the destruction of previous Almohad buildings, including the southern wall of the complex that, partially dismantled, serves as a containment to the ground levels. On this front, the building exceeds the limits of the Islamic precinct and saves through a basal body the variable unevenness existing with the old orchards and corrals -current gardens- located outside the walls, constructing the sequence of vaulted spaces that are the object of the present action.
The new building marks the end of the built structure. Together with the carpenter’s shop across the street and the neighbouring residential buildings, it defines a common courtyard: a meeting place for the whole neighbourhood. On the other side of the building emerges a private outdoor area at the creek with a view into the nature.
In 2006, Kokkolan Teollisuuskylä Oy, an enterprise owning and governing premises within the town of Kokkola, commissioned a draft phase design for a new building along the new Satamatie, acting as a gateway to the large-scale industry and harbour area. The working title for the project was “Port Tower”. The building would host business premises for local enterprises as well as occupational health care, training, and catering services. Additionally, information, security, and monitoring services of the whole area and services for cargo transport operation would be centralized in the building. As the name “Port Tower” suggests, the building was intended as a landmark and a gateway for the area.
The project is presented as a self-management proposal of our studio aiming at commercializing profitable units in a city area with great investment potential. The search parameter was a land lot which allowed us to construct a building of approximately 700 square meters. Located a block to the south of Pellegrini Avenue and six blocks to the west of Oroño Boulevard, the building “Montevideo 2759” is placed on a rectangular lot 8.50 m front and 10.25 m deep. The 19 m-maximum height limit permitted by the Urban Code of Rosario (Código Urbano de Rosario) for that area was used, and two studio apartments per floor were developed.
“The space reveals the mindset of the resident.”
An inspiration, a small idea, like a drop on the ocean, spreads andaccumulates and finally forms a perfect picture. The concept of Blue Eye originates from the ocean, where all things are nurtured; and this small concept leads to such a space.
Designed by plan loci, Apartment 143 block is born out of rational considerations. While maximizing floor space, the facade breaks its own apparent monotony with strict geometries that do not reveal their underlying discipline. The sinuous grey metal on the outside celebrates the industrial, while not betraying the inner layer of timber-framed fenestrations which make its occupants feel the intimacy and warmth of a home. Three distinct layers of alternating planes in its balconies partly shade and partly illuminate its interiors for the west-facing plot. The windows and openings are full length, allowing uninterrupted access to the front of every unit. The extreme verticality is broken by the basic ordering element as horizontal lines.
Wohnen ohne Auto (literally “Living without a car”) is a co-housing project, developed in a process of participatory design with a community of future residents. The project features a series of strategies which aim is to minimize the superfluous, to estabilish a collective attitude towards sharing and to facilitate in general a more sustainable behaviour.
Buildings constructed until mid of XX century in Spain, and still in certain well standing areas incorporated an apartment for the doorman. Since it was considered that the penthouse was the worse and smallest place of the building, this was the place where to accommodate people in charge of the door control and cleaning.
Copyright © 2026 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes
