Check out the Shoukai Vanke Centre Beijing by CLOU architects
Beijing’s Daxing area has been envisioned as a new gateway to the city. Located in the heart of Daxing district, the project operates as a key piece and the largest building complex within the regional development so far. The triangular tips of the floor plates become sky-garden balconies whose terraces provide a comfortable outdoor seating area. CLOU sees the outdoor workspace as a logical next step in the evolution of office culture.
Shoukai Vanke Centre is a 132,000 sqm mixed-use development which is composed of a 26,000 sqm shopping mall, a 124-meter-tall office tower as well as a hotel.
The office tower has a triangular shape which creates a strong presence at the main intersection yet appears elegant and slim from other points. The triangular shape is the result of a series of pragmatic decisions which include maximising views towards the newly built park and integrating double-height sky-garden balconies into the tips of the floorplates. The terraces provide comfortable outdoor seating areas with spectacular views over the adjacent park.
The sky gardens balconies in the office towers across two floors provide a comfortable outdoor seating area with spectacular views over the adjacent park. While the design of the rooftop garden employs bright colours, lively forms, and landscape by BAM to engage visitors and promote opportunities for physical activities and playfulness.
The commercial complex will offer primarily F&B retail which provides the opportunity to create unconventional dining experiences. Utilising this program, CLOU created a network of large terraces that are strategically placed and act as an extension of the shopfront. Elevated escalators and walkways connect to the adjacent terraces and weave the development into the 3D urban pedestrian network. This creates a central space that offers a view of overlapping planes and interlacing lines. The terraces have the flexibility for varying functions ranging from temporary booths, open bars, seating for dining, or even casual relaxation zones.
Photo credit: Amey Kandalgaonkar BAM
Check out this resin kitchen island by Wood Culture
Wood Culture has announced its latest bespoke project for one of its customers. Created in collaboration with local artist Chandni, Wood Culture have constructed a unique resin kitchen island that resembles a beach setting. Taking inspiration from Bora Bora, the brief was to bring a piece of nature into the interiors of the client’s home and transport all who come into its presence straight to the beach.
Taking five weeks from brief to inception, artist Chandni captured the design in three weeks following a two-week creation process from the team at Wood Culture. The procedure included underpainting by the artist followed by layers and layers of resin placed in synchronising colours over the coming days. The tabletop was then transferred to the Wood Culture workshop for final resin moulding followed by sanding before the finished masterpiece was ready to be sent to its new home in Dubai.
Chandni commented: “The client had a clear vision and after consulting with them, I created a sketch and a mini example to move forward with the actual kitchen island which was 200cmX135cm in size.”
Jacob George, founder at Wood Culture, said: “This is the first resin kitchen island Wood Culture has fashioned at this scale; however, we aim to produce more commissions for this collection for other clients with resin artists in the future. We love to work with local talent in the region and can’t wait to continue these sort of collaborations as our business grows.”
Check out the sculpture by Mask Architects for an ambitious project in Mexico City
Mask Architects developed a proposal for a public artwork to be located in Nuevo Polanco, Mexico City—”Hole Zero + Timeless Kinetic Art Sculpture” that has been selected as one of five finalists among 340 international projects and Artist for MassivArt and MIRA investment and real estate development company in Mexico.
Designed by Öznur Pınar ÇER, Danilo PETTA “Hole Zero + Timeless Kinetic Art Sculpture” is the first spiral interactive movement and rotated lattice loop structure in the world which has filled easily controlled rotatable kinetic art panels by human movements where human are interactive and environmental data according to the location of the structure on the site.
Inspired by spacetime curving/bending which is uninterrupted curvature loop structure will be representing sustainability, environmentally innovation, technology, urban wellness, and sense of belonging powered by sun direction and also human movements in a day and night while the panels are controlled digitally with own programs which are Arduino electronic card and system. Called Alive Structure in a day and night by art installations and human interactions is also reflects the powerful stance on the plaza and represent bravery as a Mask Architects mission.
The story behind the sculpture is representing the real black hole, ” Spacetime Curve Bending as an uninterrupted on circle way and 4d dimension in space’. The curvature created in ‘SPACE and TIME’ has such an extreme spiral loop around a structure that beyond a certain point symbolises an infinite loop on space and existing timeless. The curvature of the form is inspired from ‘Spacetime Curving’ which represents the ‘Time-Space-Existing’ in a timeless Architectural spatial curvature form, uninterrupted-curve revolved around the form that takes a shape with the lattice steel main structure.
Each of the visitors represents ‘time changing in timeless’ while walking on through the path around ‘black hole.’ Time depends on the visitors’ speed such as ‘the speed of lights in space’ and Einstein’s theory of gravity. The spiral lattice structure which is in the form of a continuous loop ensures the formation of the main form with an uninterrupted flow. This uninterrupted and successive, endless form is a representative state of a black hole found in architecture.
People will see our immersive structure from any point in the square and also from the buildings according to the placement of the structure. Through the day and night, users will be able to interact with our structure with kinetic lighting installation and modular movements. The kinetic lighting will be a representation and sense of being in space.
Lighting installation and design will have fluent uninterrupted loop effects on the edge of the main structure such as black hole animation effects. The edge of the rotated lattice loop structure has the aluminium led profile to provide lighting with led strip elements.
Check out this award-winning office space in Netherlands by Studio Piet Boon
Studio Piet Boon was commissioned to create a timeless and functional total concept for a Dutch office space. The design intent for this barn-like structure was inspired by farms in the surrounding area.
The studio designed a modern interpretation of a barn space to create a one-story office with a comfortable, residential atmosphere. The building consists of two different typologies – the main spaces, with pitched roofs, welcome you with brick walls lined with coal-black wooden slats that open up the building to the inner garden and its surroundings.
The three different elements of this typology are connected by brick ‘boxes’ with flat roofs – the second typology. The fitness centre and spa are located in a separate building creating a fourth entity that encloses a perfectly symmetrical patio with a tranquil water feature that provides significant privacy. Extending from the water feature, a protruding window provides a glimpse into the gym and showcases the wonderful views at the front of the building. The shape of the building and its large windows provide panoramic views over the surrounding golf course. In contrast to these large windows, the windows looking out towards the patio are intended to create more intimacy.
The materials for the interior have been implemented with great attention to consistency, using an abundance of natural stone. This is displayed in all washbasins, the pantries, the fireplace, and in flooring which alternates with a light wooden floor in the kitchen and the main office space of the building. Throughout the building, the design team selected soft, unsaturated colours. The plastered walls in light stucco highlight the natural color of the wooden beams. The interior creates a harmonious blend of indoor and outdoor, and the timeless outdoor furniture collection enables a level of comfort and convenience that rivals the indoor living experience.
Studio Piet Boon is honoured to been chosen as the 2020 Architizer A+Awards Jury Winner in the Office – Low Rise (1-4 Floors) category.
Photo credit: Thomas de Bruyne
Check out The Portland Residence on the Island of Montreal by Atelier Barda Architecture
The Portland Residence is a historical stone house located in the Town of Mount-Royal, a “model city” built in the early 20th century. The architectural firm Atelier Barda entirely renovated the property and created a custom furniture collection through its new Foraine par Atelier Barda division.
The architects’ mandate was to renovate all the spaces in the three-storey house, totalling 3,000sqft, and to add an extension at the back. Important considerations in the redesign were the house’s location in the heart of the garden city and a desire to respect the heritage value of the surrounding built environment.
The main living area on the ground floor has an open layout that sets it apart from the upper floors. The partitioned layout of the original residence was entirely reconfigured to allow for fluid, intuitive circulation. A central service block, around which family life revolves, was designed in the form of a black rectangular box connecting the different levels. It includes a closet and powder room, along with kitchen appliances and equipment, and provides access to the stairs and a bookcase.
The materials selected for the project help to create a soft atmosphere. The chevron parquet in natural light oiled oak and clean-lined mouldings strike an elegant balance between the house’s original features and new architectural elements.
The thicknesses of the materials are concealed to obtain sharp edges where surfaces meet, playing with perceptions of volume and juxtaposition. The curved surfaces are not only a reference to the house’s original architectural features; they also promote fluid transition between spaces.
At the back of the house, a series of glass curtain walls were added, providing an unobstructed view of the garden and filtering diffuse, natural light over the entire floor. Fine black steel mullions conceal a high-performance thermal insulation system adapted to Quebec’s challenging climate.
Notable interior architectural details include carefully selected materials, curved walls and custom elements such as the stone mantlepiece, kitchen hood and stair railing.
In the living room, an iconic de Sede sofa faces the fireplace, helping to hierarchise the space and orient movement.
Photo credit: Alex Lesage, Threefold
Check out Blanchette Architectes’ latest F&B project Minéral in Canada
Blanchette Architectes recently designed Minéral, the latest bar project from entrepreneurs and restaurateurs Mathieu Ménard and Steve Grenier. A wine bar by day and a nightclub after dark, the festive space has a particularly discreet atmosphere. It opened on June 27, 20202, in the heart of Montreal’s Gay Village in Canada.
The starting point was simple: a musical title for each of the three distinct ambiances that succeed each other as the night goes on. Based on that idea, the design team imagined a space whose atmosphere could change radically from its late-afternoon opening to its late-night peak.
Light as raw material
“As they emanate from the architecture, light and colours become raw materials that fill the space,” says Patrick Blanchette, the founder of Blanchette Architectes. Working in close collaboration with the client, the architect imagined an evolving scenic design where “sound vibrations translate to waves of colour, staying with the guest from their first after-work cocktail until late at night.”
Architecture, light, and the soundscape were all handled as raw materials to frame the bar’s atmosphere at different times of day. The “warmly glacial” space plays on the warm-cool duality of colours, materials and light. Soothing light is projected onto wall-mounted canvases, reminiscent of art installations like those of James Turrell.
Fine cabinetry
Simple materials were used as the backdrop for the dramatic lighting: wood, metal, leather and polycarbonate. The space is organised around impressive woodwork: the bar in black-lacquered wood and the imposing, Japanese-inspired wooden ceiling structure – a pleasing nod to wine cellars. These captivating elements are infused with light, showcasing the top-quality woodwork.
Photos: Atelier Welldone
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