+MOOD | recent articles + 4 more |  |
- The Open Parliament of Albania | Coop Himmelb(l)au
- Artaic – Innovative Mosaics for Integrative Cancer Research
- NIK Office | Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger
- Think Brick Awards 2011 – Call For Entries
- Do Green with The Natural Curtain Company
| The Open Parliament of Albania | Coop Himmelb(l)au Posted: 29 Mar 2011 03:55 AM PDT
The world-renowned architect Wolf D. Prix/ COOP HIMMELB(L)AU presented The New Parliamentary Complex of the Republic of Albania in Tirana which incorporates fundamental democratic values such as openness, transparency and public co-determination. The building, located on a site area with approximately 28,000 m², is going to be the first project in Albania for the Viennese headquartered studio.
 The Open Parliament of Albania, render © COOP HIMMELB(L)AU Architectural and urban design strategies As the future political center of the Albanian Republic, the Open Parliament of Albania creates an outstanding architectural landmark in one of the main parts of Tirana's urban fabric. Situated along the compositional axis of the city, it is located in vicinity to the major governmental institutions. The design for the Open Parliament of Albania relies on three main ideas:
The design incorporates fundamental democratic values such as openness, transparency and public co-determination. The simultaneity of competing political concepts within a democratic society is translated into the design concept: Different building elements are not opposed, but coexist in one building ensemble with a contemporary aesthetic that allows visualizing new functions and meanings.  The Open Parliament of Albania, render © COOP HIMMELB(L)AU Energy Concept The new parliamentary building for the Republic of Albania is designed to capture the natural resources and energy flows of its surroundings and employ them to provide optimal environmental conditions for its occupants. The spatial configuration of the building form and the optimization of the building envelope together with the use of renewable energy sources ensure an energy efficient design and reduce dependence on fossil fuel energy sources.  The Open Parliament of Albania, render © ISOCHROM.com Structural Concept The Parliament of Albania is envisaged as a reinforced concrete building that consists of two distinct structural units: Firstly, a base area which above ground comprises two floor levels plus a parking sector with three levels, and one basement level; secondly a separate office block with five floors elevated on four cores above the base. The main part of the base stretches from ground level to + 9.0 m above ground. Its floor area amounts to roughly 12,500 m² per floor. The second structural volume of 60 x 70 m winds around a courtyard. Each of its five storeys has a height of 3.7 m. Between the base and the upper building unit is a horizontal gap of 7 m, which is bridged by the four building cores. In addition to the concrete structures described above, the project contains two sculptural cones. Both are structurally independent and carry their loads to the foundation at ground level. One is situated near an outer corner of the base structure and reaches a height of 35 m, the other one lies inside the courtyard of the elevated part with a height of approximately 50 m.  The Open Parliament of Albania, render © ISOCHROM.com The Parliamentary Hall Spatially, the new Parliament's Chamber reflects a basic democratic principle, the power of the electorate, by situating the public above the elected assembly members while placing the chamber hall at the physical and metaphorical center of the building ensemble. Building elements A common plinth building assembles the differentiated building elements and occupies mainly the northern part of the site thus underlining the prominent urban situation at the crossing of the two compositional axes of the city. This strategy creates a vast public forum and park between the parliament and the facilities of the Prime Minister. The core of the building complex is the parliamentary hall that is situated in a glazed cone and stands for the transparency of the legislation. A public stair leads from the public forum to the landscaped roof of the plinth building that unites all the different building elements of our design: Office block, entrance structure and parliamentary hall. From the plinth the public is able to look into the parliamentary hall even from the outside. The main entrance is designed as a massive cone, which creates an impressive space and acts as the counterpart to the glazed parliamentary hall. The office building is covered with a second skin made of perforated steel that is specially configured to improve building performance related to optimum daylight use, views, solar control, glare protection, thermal insulation, natural ventilation and noise protection. The exact configuration of the envelope form and the degree of skin perforation varies according to the orientation of the building elevations towards the sun. Functionality The plinth building hosts the following functions on its two levels: The main entrance from the north-western part of the site through the entrance cone provides access to the parliamentary hall for the public, journalists and VIPs. Separate entrances from the north access the associated reception rooms; direct access to this area is provided from the parking block on the east side on the same level. The entrance level also provides space for all the functional entities that are in direct relation to the functioning of the parliamentary hall itself – multiple entrances to the hall, the bureau of the parliament, two meeting rooms for MPs, the big meeting room for parliamentary groups and the generous reception areas. The public elements of the entrance level as well as the public vertical connection to the gallery level, which will allow visitors and journalists to follow the parliamentary sessions, are all grouped around the entrance cone (main entrance with security checks, museum and information areas). The second level of the plinth structure hosts all the functions with a public or collective character of use – restaurant areas for MPs and staff, library and archive, two venues for international conferences and the areas designed to accommodate the press conferences including dedicated working areas for journalists. The office block is organized on five levels around the central glazed cone of the parliamentary hall. Level 3 accommodates 13 meeting rooms for the Parliamentary committees as well as offices for the associated chairmen of these committees. Office areas for MPs, deputies and different administrative departments are distributed throughout levels 4 to 6. The upper level of the office block is reserved for the areas related to the Speaker of the Parliament and its deputies: The Cabinet, the representative apartment of the Speaker and the cabinets of the Deputy Speakers. The parking is designed very economically as a structure that is mainly placed above ground with direct internal access to the parliament facilities on the entrance level. For security reasons, the parking block is a completely separate building structure from the parliament thus reducing security screening requirements upon entrance to the parking areas. Traffic Access The design displays a stringent access concept, making the best use of the multi-orientated site and urban situation. Main public and VIP entrances and drop-off zones are oriented towards the exposed road crossing between Deshmoret e Kombit and Bajram Curri boulevards, less exposed special entrances and drop-off zones are provided from the north, whereas staff access for parking and delivery take place from the eastern part of the site from Pappa Gjon II street. + Project credits / dataProject: The Open Parliament of Albania Planning: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU | Wolf D. Prix / W. Dreibholz & Partner ZT GmbH Client: The Republic of Albania, The Parliament + About COOP HIMMELB(L)AUCOOP HIMMELB(L)AU is headquartered in Vienna and has a second office in Los Angeles as well as several project offices in Frankfurt/Germany, Paris/France and Hongkong/China. Currently under construction are the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, France (2013), Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea (2011), European Central Bank in Frankfurt/ Main, Germany (2014), Dalian International Conference Center, China (2011), Apartment Building 'Liesing Brewery' in Vienna, Austria (2011) and Martin Luther Church in Hainburg, Austria (2011). Additional projects in planning are the Extension of the Trade Fair Premises and new Sports Hall in Riva del Garda, Italy (2013), House of Music in Aalborg, Denmark (2012), Cultural Center Zarautz, Spain, Museum of Contemporary Art & Exhibition Planning in Shenzhen, China (2013) and Art Museum Strongoli, Italy. Among latest book publications are “HS#9 – COOP HIMMELB(L)AU Central Los Angeles Area High School #9         |
| Artaic – Innovative Mosaics for Integrative Cancer Research Posted: 29 Mar 2011 02:49 AM PDT
Artaic creates 330 square foot custom mosaic for the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research Two years and $220M later, the grand opening ceremony of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research was set for March 4. Yet the building was still without an important finishing touch. Supplier issues had left lead architect James Biber of Biber Architects without a solution for a signature mosaic on the floor of the main entryway.  Image courtesy Artaic Several days prior, a Biber associate received an email from a friend about "this cool company in Boston that uses robots to make mosaics super fast." The friend, from architecture firm Payette, had recently toured the studio of Artaic – Innovative Mosaic. Impressed by the company's capabilities, he had to let his associates know about this new find. When Jim Biber presented the mosaic supply issue to his staff looking for a creative solution, the Biber associate was armed with his friend's new information. The scenario was too good to be true: Artaic was able to meet ridiculously short timelines, was based about one mile away from MIT, and was also an MIT spinout company with connections to the Institute.
 Image courtesy Artaic Biber had a month until the building's grand opening – at which MIT president Susan Hockfield, Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown, and the building's namesake & $100M donor David Koch would be in attendance – and needed a solution FAST. A day later, Ted met with James Biber and James May, Senior Project Manager of MIT Department of Facilities. 36 hours later Artaic had a purchase order. After several design iterations with varying materials, the artwork was finalized using an American, made-to-order porcelain tile from American Restoration Tile. Artaic then fabricated the entire 330 sqft mosaic within a week, allowing plenty of time for Port Morris Tile & Marble to carry out the installation prior to the grand opening.  Image courtesy Artaic  Image courtesy Artaic James May said one reason for the choice of the building's location is its "proximity to similar institutions." The Broad Institute, Whitehead Institute, and Brain & Cognitive Science buildings are all next to the proposed site. May said that there is a "strong synergy" between researchers in these buildings. The mosaic design depicts this synergy by displaying all MIT buildings in a sandy color tile while similar biotech buildings are in white. The Koch building is centrally featured in a vibrant red tile.  Image courtesy Artaic
+ About ArtaicArtaic is a full-service provider of high-end, custom mosaic projects. Through the use of computeraided design software and precision robotic manufacturing, Artaic drives the production of large scale and high volume mosaics with unparalleled speed, ease, flexibility and value. Artaic designs and manufactures their customized mosaics from a studio/factory in Boston's Innovation District. + About The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MITThe Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research is the new home of the Koch Institute – featuring roughly 180,000 square feet of state-of-the-art lab and workspace. The floor plans are specially designed to foster interaction and collaboration among biologists and engineers – both in terms of dedicated lab space and in the common areas, where informal talks will lead to new collaborations and spontaneous information-sharing. Together, our diverse faculty members will create a new culture of interdisciplinary cancer science. In addition to lab and meeting space, the building features a ground-floor exhibit gallery that is home to a changing display of art and information on MIT’s leadership role in life sciences – the centerpiece being the Artaic mosaic feature. + All images courtesy Artaic            + Recommended innovative mosaic project featured on +MOOD Hotel V – Wanchai | studio OFF      |
| NIK Office | Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger Posted: 29 Mar 2011 12:23 AM PDT
In Graz, Austria, NIK is the recently completed office building project by Austrian architectural firm Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger. Nikolaiplatz as it stands today was a process of conversional development which took its shape over a period of time. While the architectural style (as well as the desired building density) changed, the site layout remained stably constant. Due to the growing density in the immediate surroundings of the area, the requirements of a building on that site had to be adjusted over time.  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger Today the heterogeneous urbanistic situation requires a boundary of space on one side – towards Nikolaiplatz–, and a significant free standing form on the other side – towards Entenplatz. Due to the very complex urban planning, technical and economical requirements we designed a building, that is calm and reduced, but at the same time a dominating aesthetic solitaire. This building becomes a sculpture through its simplicity. Based on the clear steel framed structure with light weight wall panels, a multifaceted playful facade with clear vertical alignments appears. The closed elements on the façade have a gold glimmering appearance and can accommodate shelves or archives on the interior. The height of the building adapts with the surrounding buildings and mediates between a high -density area and an open space.  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger + Project credits / dataProject: NIK  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger  NIK, image courtesy Atelier Thomas Pucher & Bramberger | Photo by Andreas Buchberger      |
| Think Brick Awards 2011 – Call For Entries Posted: 29 Mar 2011 02:40 AM PDT
Think Brick is the leading representer of Australia's clay brick and paver manufacturers. They aim to ensure, and are committed to promoting clay brick as a contemporary, versatile and inspiring building material. Think Brick invites architects and students to enter the About Face Student competition and the Horbury Hunt Award celebrating conceptual design for architectural students and brick craftsmanship across the country. + Press releaseFollow the Yellow Brick Road to riches with The Think Brick Awards in 2011 Think Brick has just launched its Think Brick Awards for 2011 one of the richest design awards in Australia, created to encourage architects to consider the artistic, environmental, and versatile features of clay brick use. This year it is even bigger and better with the addition of a new award category with winners being announced at a high profile event in August 2011. The Think Brick Awards feature a number of different categories including the About Face Award, the Student Open Face Award, the Horbury Hunt Award and the new Open Face Award. The About Face award is an invitation-only design competition for innovative Australian architects to push the boundaries of traditional brick design by presenting original ways of using brick in a contemporary environment. Think Brick has invited six architectural practices renowned for their commitment to research and innovation to re-think brick. The inaugural Open Face Award for conceptual design is open to anyone and the brief for the new award works in tandem with the invited About Face competition. The theme is sustainable suburbia and the focus of the Open brief is the private realm – a sustainable suburban house. Think Brick invites architects and students to envisage a transformed suburban setting of smarter, more compact dwellings, set within an active, socially engaging street. The medium density low-rise development of existing large suburban lots in well serviced areas is an important way of providing greater suburban density, making suburban lifestyle sustainable. The Open brief calls for the design of a model two bedroom house. Entries are also now open for the About Face Student conceptual design competition for Australian architectural students and the Horbury Hunt Award, which celebrates brick craftsmanship for built projects across the country. Think Brick Australia represents the Australian brick industry and is committed to bringing together architects, builders, and bricklayers to ensure clay brick construction remains at the forefront of modern design for many years to come. In 2005 Think Brick engaged seven architects to deliver their visions of what a brick home of the future might look like. The Think Brick Awards are now the centrepiece of its campaign to support the Australian architects to 're-think brick' in their projects. + For further information on how to enter the Think Brick Awards, please visit http://www.thinkbrick.com.au/      |
| Do Green with The Natural Curtain Company Posted: 28 Mar 2011 06:10 PM PDT
Nowadays, we are all talking about environmental design, green products and so on. What is your contribution to green? Can we think ‘green’ before going step further? Let’s start from choosing a right material when it comes to decorating your homes. Made in UK, The Natural Curtain Company offers a fantastic range of modern and traditional top quality curtains which are made of 100% natural fabric, available from solid color to textured pattern that to suit your theme and taste. A right theme for your home is not only to express your personality, but also to make the home environment seem all the more friendly and inviting. The good news is that you can request for the free piece of actual samples before placing any order. The Natural Curtain Company does also have a blog with some great ideas which is very informative. For more information, please visit The Natural Curtain Company.  White Voile: Shower your room in sunshine with a simple, yet sophisticated white voile | "Luce", 100% Linen  Contemporary Floral Living Room Curtains: Lined and interlined inverted pleat curtains with matching cushion: update your room with bold, contemporary fabrics. Matching cushions can finish off the look nicely | Fabric: "Ash" 100% Cotton      |
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