The Attractor is an Interactive Youth Center designed by Belgrade-based Exe Studio. Its conceptual origins are related to the need for diversification of activities within the city core. By using computational design techniques and achieving various degrees of structural and visual porosity, the project explores ways of contextualizing the contemporary design in an environment dominated by historical buildings. Read the rest of this entry »
Attractor – Changing the face of Belgrade’s historical core / EXE Studio
Artist’s Center and Performing Arts Theater in Philippines / Buensalido Architects
The aim of the CCP Architectural Design Competition for the Artist’s Center and Performing Arts Theater in Philippines was to create a new theater building next to the existing one, within the Arts Sanctuary Cluster of the 62 hectare property. Buensalido Architects, an architectural practice based in Manila’s Makati City, proposed a design which tries to represent the cultural diversity and interweaving of different artistic attitudes . By comparing the cultural blend to the interlaced threads of tapestries, the design concept evolves, establishing two structures as architectural threads originating from various locations within the cultural complex. The structures are then connected with imaginary splines that wrap around the given sites. The curvilinear threads blend, creating strong volumes that culminate in an upward sweep towards the sea at the New Performing Arts Theater site.
Unlike the old performing arts building, dominated by vehicular access routes, the new structure emphasizes the pedestrian qualities of the site. With ramps, bridges and steps, the open public space surrounding the building is transformed into several smaller plazas, suitable for outdoor activities, art installations and performances. Read the rest of this entry »
Fine Arts Center in Egypt – Contemporary Sustainable Architecture
The proposal by Moatasem Esmat of the Mataria Engineering School for a new Fine Arts Center in Helwan, Egypt represents a mix of architectural principles that stand for a new age of architectural design and sustainability. The project is designed as series of surfaces that emerge from the ground to create inhabitable spaces. The geometry has been carefully designed according to solar exposure, wind currents, and maximum rainwater collection. The roof is a continuos green park perforated at different areas to create courtyards that provide natural light and ventilation to all interior spaces. Among the different areas there is an exhibition hall, convention center, and academic buildings. Read the rest of this entry »
Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre / Zaha Hadid Architects
Baku Azerbaijan a land uncharacterized by any singular architectural style is the setting for Zaha Hadid’s latest opus, The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre. A government commissioned work, the project was heralded as a building of national importance given Baku’s attempt to host the 2016 Olympics. With the bid coming and going to Rio de Janeiro, the Cultural Centre continues on as a landmark for Azerbaijan’s capital city as well as a symbol of the country’s emergence amongst the world’s wealthiest.
The curvilinear form is engendered from the manipulation of the landscape’s natural topography. The skin undulates across the site, wrapping the various spaces before folding into the interior to become ground. With the floors cascading from one to another, and then connecting to the ramps, the circulation embodies the generative qualities of the skin, creating a continuous path across the interior. The landscape of the interior seamlessly continues beyond the building obscuring the figure-ground relationship. Read the rest of this entry »
Shopping and cultural center at the Varyap Meridian in Atasehir, Turkey
The Varyap Merkez is Emre Arolat Architects‘ (EAA) contribution to the RMJM designed Varyap Meridian luxury development currently nearing completion in Atasehir, Turkey. The sleek design earned EAA a commendation in the “Retail and Leisure” category at the 2011 MIPIM AR Future Project Awards, and was the only Turkish firm to win a MIPIM award.
EAA designed the Varyap Merkez with the goal of dissolving both the physical and figurative barriers that divide many modern buildings. And because environmental sustainability is a key goal of the larger Varyap Meridian development, green space and natural lighting were fundamental parts of the design theory. Like in many of their past designs, EAA created green space by incorporating green roofing. The roof slopes upward along the outside of the footprint and around a central open courtyard. The open design connects the interior space, green “hill” space, and the surrounding Varyap Meridian cityscape. Read the rest of this entry »
Cultural Center in Denmark / BIG Architects
A new cultural development in Frederiksberg, Denmark is on the works by BIG architects. The main idea is to create a new city monument for culture and movement that systematically blends programmatic elements with a spontaneous interaction.
The site is located in a crossroads of city bike paths, train routes and pedestrian pathways. While addressing this contextual issue, the project provides a framework for programmatic mixing which first stacks vertically and then fans out horizontally to provide a visual and physical overlap of elements.
This 180 degree array creates a variety of spaces ranging from the intimate to the monumental and provides accessible roofscapes that carry and blend function to the outdoors while engaging the surrounding context. Read the rest of this entry »