The spanish architecture firm A-cero recently has completed the Concrete house in Madrid, Spain.

+ Project description courtesy of A-cero

With the combination of design, quality and functionality arises this new A-cero´s work: a house of 1.500m2 defined by a set of clean lines and perfect volumes.

The grey colour of the concrete that make up the whole building and an architectural wide black pergola, there are the elements that, at first sight, stand out in the house exterior. Furthermore, huge windows have been included in the façade in order to enjoy of the pleasant surrounding views of the house.

The construction has two floors that have been built according to the slope of the house´s plot. The first level, where the pedestrian access is, has a area of 653m2. This floor has been distributed in three areas: a familiar area (lounge, dining room, kitchen, office, a living room for the children …); a private part where are four bedrooms, with its proper baths and dressing-rooms, and a free time and relaxation area that is opened to the exterior and the swimming pool throw a wide porch.

In the ground floor there are a gymnasium, a wine vault, cleaning rooms and the area for service and house´s facilities.

In the interior spaces, everything is thought until the millimeter. Every wall, detail and corner shows the elegant and studied work that A-cero has made. The exterior is incorporated to the construction interior throw several patios that create luminous and cheerful spaces for living every day. Furthermore, the white walls and clear and comfortable decoration contrasts with the dark wood the house´s ground.

In the exterior the overflowing swimming pool of 45m2 stands out. This and porch´s ground are made of granite abujardado, a grey stone. In this exterior area you can find also a summer dining room and a relaxing area covered by a movable pergola. It is a pleasure for satisfying the comfort of the most demanding people.

As a result, we find a new residential A-cero´s work without aesthetic shrillness that invites to lived it so much, overall because its elegance, sophistication and functionality.

+ Project credits / data

Architect: A-cero
Project: Concrete House
Location: Madrid, Spain

+ All images courtesy of A-cero

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The Btek – Interpretation centre of Technology by ACXT Architects consists of two apparently uninterrupted pyramid-shaped volumes that connect below ground level. The building is located on one of the highest points of the Vizcaya Technology Park and close to the Bilbao airport’s flight path for takeoffs and landings. It aims to create a landmark in its landscape.

+ Project description courtesy of ACXT arquitectura

BTEK is an interpretation centre for new technologies, aimed at student visitors.

The Centre’s promoter, Parque Tecnológico, S.A., (Technology Park) set out the following as the most important guidelines:

• Create a very flexible and varied exhibition space, able to accommodate all types of exhibitions.
• Installations should be highly energy efficient (geothermal systems for climate control) and that use renewable energy sources (a building-integrated photovoltaic system connected to a 60kw network).
• The geometry of the covering where the solar panels are integrated should be triangular—similar to the shape of Technology Park’s logo.

The site’s location, on one of the highest points of the Vizcaya Technology Park and close to the Bilbao airport’s flight path for takeoffs and landings, helps with the aim of making the building a landmark in its landscape.

The building consists of two apparently uninterrupted pyramid-shaped volumes that connect below ground level.

• The first is a heavy, black volume that emerges from the earth; it is enclosed by three metallic facades and completely covered with solar panels that form a patterned network.
• The second volume, contrasting with the first, is formed by two facades of curtain walling with an artificial grass-covered roof that starts off as an extension of the terrain and continues on to cover the entire site.
• Artificial grass also covers the below-ground-level connection, allowing it to merge with the site and its surroundings.

The five galleries are designed to be visited sequentially. In order to serve for a wide variety of possible exhibitions and contents, the galleries have been designed with very different characteristics: from those with ceilings at a conventional height to galleries with variable-height ceilings, reaching up to 16 metres of clear height, and with or without natural lighting.

A wide ramp for vehicular traffic has been designed near the pedestrian entrance, allowing access to the car park and installations rooms, as well as allowing for direct access to the exhibition galleries if large pieces need to be placed.

The pedestrian entrance is formed from the first volume, the fold on a corner marking the building entrance and access ramp. As the visitor descends, a metallic projection covers the arrival path and gathers the visitor in.

Called “The Ravine” for its narrow dimensions and 18-metres of clear height, the reception space marks the initial passage into the building. The sense of squeezing through is emphasized by the narrowing of the path and the ceiling heights that become lower as the visitor moves along.

The building’s exhibition set-up is arranged on three floors terraced in arrangements parallel to the site’s steep slope, so that the ground floor and the second floor have direct street-level access to the exterior. The three floors are connected by large stairways and ramps that follow the geometry and the volume of the whole so that the building is experienced as a single, undivided space.

+ Project credits / data

Project: Btek – Interpretation centre of Technology
Location: Derio, Bizkaia, Spain
Client: Parque Tecnológico S.A.
Building contractor: OHL

Architecture: ACXT Architects
Project Architect: Gonzalo Carro
Collaborators Architects: Javier Pérez, Carlos Miguel Guimaraes
Project Management: Gonzalo Carro

Costs: ATHOS (Pedro Berroya + Aitziber Goikoetxea)
Structure: Javier Eskubi, Amaia Oyón, Ángel Gómez
Environmental Engineering: Francisco José Sánchez, Jon Landaburu, Luis Alberto Ribacoba, Begoña Sánchez
Public Health Services: Luis Alberto Ribacoba, Begoña Sánchez
Lighting: Susaeta iluminación

Photographers: Aitor Ortíz, Gonzalo Carro (construction process)

+ About Gonzalo Carro López, ACXT Architects

Getxo 1974. Architect project manager in the team from Bilbao. Member of the Society of Architects ACXT (IDOM Group).

Winner of the architectural competition for the construction of the Basque Historical Archive Building and Hospital de Cruces General Services Building, finalist in the competition of urban planning and housing typological proposals, Europan 6.

Btek Project Architect Project Manager, interpretation centre of technology, a project that is scheduled for the 8th BIA Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale 2009 and obtained an honourable mention in the AR awards 2009. He was also responsible for projects such as District Heating buildings in Zorrozaurre and Bolueta neighbourhoods in Bilbao and Antondegui neighbourhoods in San Sebastian or Zierbena rowing club. He currently works in the KAM museum, Kultur Atea Museum in Bilbao.

+ All images and drawings courtesy of ACXT arquitectura

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Neostudio Architects has completed a refurbishment project which was converted from a home of seed drying installation to a private house near Poznan. The form seems interesting and has a perfect match with the existing structure, it has divided into 2 volumes which is defined by 2 contrast materials and colors.

The entire building is clearly divided into two volumes – the old one with its historical charm that shows its primary usage and the addition that is a clean contemporary form.

Neostudio Architects

+ Project description courtesy of Neostudio Architects

This project is located on a picturesque plot that originally was a home for seed drying installation of Agricultural University – and with its magnificent Acacia trees plantation and natural splendor was a design challenge for us.

The main task was to create a new structure that would accommodate a spacious single storey living space with a kitchen and a dining area. Existing building was to be refurbished to house a garage and storage functions in the ground floor and bedrooms in the upper level. New structure is attached to the existing one with the staircase.

The entire building is clearly divided into two volumes – the old one with its historical charm that shows its primary usage and the addition that is a clean contemporary form.

Used materials and large windows in the living space connect with the surrounding scenery – the form seems to be dissolved in the nature.

+ Project credits / data

Architects: Neostudio Architects
Project: House near Poznan
Location: suburbs of Poznan, Poland
Project team: Bartosz Jarosz, Pawel Swierkowski
Structural Engineer: Marcin Bielecki
Project area: 224 sqm
Design year: 2008
Construction year: 2008-2009
Photographs: Pawel Swierkowski

+ All images and drawings courtesy of Neostudio Architects

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Poland-based Neostudio Architects recently has completed a contemporary and minimal house for a single family in Garby, Poland. The house is composed of two distinct volumes, one of volume contains habitat spaces, it features a traditional gable roof with the asymmetrical openings on two ends, they are well organized and proportioned with high and large windows, giving a sense of connecting the interior spaces with the surrounding landscape. The garage is placed in another regular form with a roof top large terrace. The firewood are stored externally on the walls and created an interesting feature to this project.

+ Project credits / data

Architects: Neostudio Architects
Location: Garby, Poznan, Poland
Design Team: Bartosz Jarosz, Pawel Swierkowski
Design: 2009-2010
Construction: 2010

+ All images and drawings courtesy of Neostudio Architects

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Australian architectural practice Architects Eat recently has completed the restoration of the existing Edwardian house and named it as ELM & Willow House. The U-shaped plan was organized to enclose a courtyard, which to provide a series of visual layering between the spaces, while also creating a better relationship between inside and outside.

Our intention was to create an “Inside is outside is inside” environment, where inside and outside spaces were interchangeable elements.

Architects Eat

+ Project description courtesy of Architects Eat

This project involves restoration and alteration to the existing Edwardian house, and the demolition and construction at the rear for a new addition. The transparency and openness of the new part is a deliberate counterpoint to the introverted Edwardian house with its dark central corridor. Our intention was to create an “Inside is outside is inside” environment, where inside and outside spaces were interchangeable elements. The project evokes a certain reference to the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe, and many courtyard houses in Melbourne by McGlashan and Everist.

The two mature Elm and Willow became the constraints to the project. They informed the arrangement of our new addition, and together with passive solar orientation the result is a U-shaped plan enclosing a north-facing courtyard.

The structure is suspended over the ground to avoid damaging the critical root zones of the two trees. The concrete floor and roof slabs are meticulously detailed, with significant input from our structural engineer, to appear and feel light, floaty and airy, a dialectic relationship between weight and material. This quality is enhanced by a skeletal structure of “skin and bones”, in which the non load-bearing glass sliding windows become a mere breathing skin between occupants and the outside world.

Internal planning strategies were devoted to the spatial hierarchy, in an interplay of inner and outer, and sequence of spaces. The link between the old and new is merged into the layering of spaces where inside and outside becomes one – the transparency of the borders separating interior and exterior allows the eye to perceive other elements that create the spatial order: fences, trees, stones, woods, clouds and borrowed landscape.

The addition has a passive ventilation system, whereby louver windows promote cross ventilation. The building materials specified are non-toxic and from renewable resources. The concrete structure provides thermal masses to the house with the slabs further insulated to minimise heat loss. All glazing are double-glazed to provide comfort to the interior, and the deciduous trees provide essential shading to the house during summer. Energy and water-saving fittings have been used throughout, and rain water is harvested for use in the gardens. A new carport with grid-connect solar power panels is in the design process.

It was a total of 3 years from the first meeting with the clients to the day they moved back into the house, during which the construction took 18 months, the client found passions in designing his gardens and their first child was born. It is a house for enjoyment, living in landscape with the family, and appreciation of tranquillity, intimacy and sanctuary – which were our original brief.

+ Project credits / data

Project: ELM & Willow House
Architects: Architects EAT
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Project Team: Albert Mo, James Coombe, Eid Goh
Structural Engineer: R. Bliem & Associates
Building Surveyor: Building Strategies
Builder: Sargant Construction
Landscaper: Heath Landscape
Project Area: 278 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2009
Construction Year: 2008-2009
Photographs: Earl Carter & James Coombe (j.a.coombe@gmail.com)

+ All images and drawings courtesy of Architects Eat

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Stunningly Modern Bainbridge Island Home

The clean modern lines of this newly constructed waterfront home are a rare and perfect match for the person looking for simplicity and a zen-like quality in a home. Striking and progressive materials are utilized throughout in this smart and edgy design. Featured in a recent Seattle AIA exhibition, the architect/builder has been recognized as one of the top twelve firms that will shape the future of Seattle architecture with their forward thinking.

The home’s exterior is comprised of clear tongue-and-groove cedar that is vertically mounted to the roofline and a rainscreen siding system made of Cembonit panels. The Cembonit panels shield a waterproof membrane that allows an exchange of inside and outside air. The purpose is to create a healthier interior air quality by allowing the home to breath while still providing insulation.

As you turn the corner to the great room, you are greeted with an overwhelming view through a dramatic wall of windows reaching clear to the ceiling and seemingly bringing nature directly into the living space. The architect designed the ceiling and outdoor soffit as one continuous line so as not to distract the eye from the immensity of the clouds, water & greenery. Between windows, a sleek, tall column houses a two-sided, see-through propane fireplace that provides definition of living spaces, but does not distract from the view. Sliding doors open to one of three ironwood decks.

The home is sited on approximately ½ acre and offers nearly 90 feet of sandy waterfront that is an accessible setting for swimming, kayaking and long walks on the beach. Yet, the home is located only minutes from the Bainbridge Island-Seattle ferry in a quiet, cul-de-sac neighborhood.

For more information about the green architecture visit: www.bainbridgeislandmodernhome.com

+ All images and drawings courtesy of www.bainbridgeislandmodernhome.com

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Dutch architectural firm Studio Noach and architect Anne Holtrop developed a floating spa wellness center based on recycled waste, in combination with a high tech sustainable climate system and an ecological and botanical coating of plants and flowers, which was invented by Frenchman Patrick Blanc.

‘Floating Gardens/SpaWellness Amsterdam‘ is a world first, and from February 20th to May 16th, 2010 on display during the exhibition “Architecture of Consequence’ at the NAi (Netherlands Architecture Institute) Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

+ Press release courtesy of Studio Noach

Floating spa from hamburger clamshells with green walls

Studio Noach founders Kizito Musampa and Michel Kreuger along with architect Anne Holtrop developed a floating spa wellness center based on recycled polystyrene – used styrofoam including hamburger clamshells and coffee cups. The walls and roofs contain a coating of flowers and plants by the inventor of the ‘living wall’, Frenchman Patrick Blanc.

‘Floating Gardens/SpaWellness Amsterdam’ is a world first, and from February 20th to May 16th, 2010 on display during the exhibition “Architecture of Consequence” at the NAi (Netherlands Architecture Institute) Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Patrick Blanc who designs his Living Walls all over the world explains:

Do plants really need soil? No, … Earth is no more than a tool. Just water containing minerals and nutrients, along with common daylight and carbon dioxide are necessary for plants to make photosynthesis possible.

Blanc has proven his expertise on many locations including museums around the world. From the perspective of nature it is possible for plants to grow on a surface where there is no soil. As long as there’s no shortage of water.

‘Floating Gardens / SpaWellness Amsterdam’ has been developed for the lake near the city where plenty of fresh water is available. A similar island has never been developed anywhere else. A floating sustainable biotope, using recycled materials with a vegetation coating that from its pores literally breaths oxygen and wellness is unique for our planet.

Architecture

A surface is – apart from the waterside – probably the most neutral environment for architecture. It is difficult to imagine the architecture of the country to continue on the water. But what architectural form can be found for a building on the water? The approach for floating gardens is to create a construction of a landscape. Like a stone of Alberto Giacometti is a construction of a stone.

The architecture makes the walls and ceilings the outer for hills and valleys. Inside the interior follows the counter form of the landscape. Amorphous areas with faceted ceilings, all of different sizes and heights, blend as one.

A visitor will experience a sequence of baths, panoramic saunas, chill and relax areas. From the interior, the windows frame the constructed landscape and give access to outdoor terraces and pools.

Sustainability

The composite GreenRexwall ™ was developed in collaboration with the German constructor Aquahouse GmbH and is that strong and constructive that building cement, steel or bricks are no longer needed. The ultimate isolates, is constructive, and light – not important – it is particularly buoyant. Not just the recycling of polystyrene is environmentally friendly Floating Gardens, the vegetation on the walls and roof, CO2 is converted to oxygen, and particulate matter demolished.

The vegetation is a breeding ground for birds, butterflies and insects but most will feel at home. The innovative technical installations provide big energy savings. The surrounding water acts as a heat exchanger, like a refrigerator works conversely. It can serve as heat – and cooling source and is up 70% more efficient than conventional energy systems.

In the Netherlands, one quarter of the land is below sea level and 50% is only one meter above sea level.

Amsterdam seems well on the way with this project as the first world stage to rise to the opportunities it offers in such areas as exposure, sustainable development and quality of life.

Patrick Blanc’s ‘Living Wall’ is according to TIME Magazine in 2009 amaong the World’s 50 best inventions.

In 2008 architect Anne Holtrop received on behalf of the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund the Charlotte Köhler prize for architecture.

Studio Noach was awarded for the concept of ‘floating gardens’ during the ‘Les Respiration’ conference with an ‘Oxygen Award’. Les Respiration is supported by the French Ministry of the Environment and the Committee Sustainable Energy of the European community.

+ Project credits / data

Architect: Studio Noach
Project: Floating Gardens / SpaWellness Amsterdam
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Green: Living Wall – Frenchman Patrick Blanc

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Polish studio mode:lina architektura & consulting, in collaboration with architect Zbigniew Pyda and graphic designers Zbigniew Flakus and Krzysztof Pyda have created a brochure for potential investors interested in locating their capital in Sunset Paradise resort on Zanzibar island.

+ Project description courtesy of mode:lina

Resort “Sunset Paradise” is situated on the west coast of Zanzibar ½ hr drive from Stone Town Airport. The size and shape of the plot make it the perfect location for an exclusive holiday resort.

There are several sandy paths that lead down to the sea – whether the tide is high or low, giving perfect conditions for bathing. The entire bay is free of rocks and sea urchins and the water is clear.

On the north side of the plot there is a river, providing an additional attraction.

Resort facilities:

• AREA PROPERTY 12,1 ha
• MAIN ENTRANCE 10,0 m2
• RECEPTION, LOBBY, SHOPS ca. 90,0 m2 + hall 100m2
• LODGES 15-16 all (multi- roomed Villas) 100,0-145,0 m2 each

Designed as a traditional African house, luxuriously appointed.
Each 15 lodges are discretely scattered along the beach and cliff line, each with panoramic views of the clear turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, ensuring maximum privacy and seclusion.

Designed and positioned to make them feel like a part of the surrounding landscape, the lodges are bulit from local traditional materials and topped with thatched (makuti) roofs, allowing the invigorating sea breeze to circulate and affording a cool atmosphere day and night.

Large private wooden verandas give an impression of living outdoors.

Related posts:

1. 7 famous architects gather in Dellis Cay’s Paradise
2. Alila Villas Uluwatu | WOHA architects
3. Juvet Landscape Hotel | Jensen & Skodvin Architects

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Spanish architecture firm A-cero have designed a house in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain.

+ Project description courtesy of A-cero

The house is hided behind a harmonious sculptural set of curved walls made of stone dark granite and marble travertino that seem to emerge from a big water plate arranged in the house entry.

In addition to the beauty of this structure, it offers a high grade of privacy and tact between the exterior (street) and the house. Other more, this structure goes to the back part, as a front, where is a natural, clear and kind scenery.

This block disposition and the house plot (a descending slope towards a lake) are used to distribute the house in two plants: a high floor, with exterior access, and a low floor. Both of them are looking to a wide terrace with a pergola and to the garden house.

In the high plant, we find a very wide and luminous hall provided with natural light for top skylights, and with two plates of waters dominated by two bronze lions. In addition it is used to lead to the kitchen, wine vault, dining room, lounge, office – library, and to the most private area: the principal bedroom, dressing-room, bath, interior swimming pool and small gymnasium. Also we find the stairs that descend to the low floor where there are a games lounge and a movies room, kids and guests bedrooms and the service area with two bedrooms in suite and with a wide area for the housework. All the house rooms are provided with wide large windows in a dark safety glass. These windows (that also works as doors) and a lot of house elements are completely computerized and motorized: lighting, safety, blinds, air conditioning … everything is centralized.

The high floor communicates with a terrace. In the lounge the access to outside is made by a long large window that provides a continuity sensation from the interior space to outside.

This terrace is covered by a pergola made of an aluminium structure that supports the sculptural premeditation of the building.

In one of the side parts of the garden, there is a relaxation area with a pond of Buddhist inspiration.

+ Project credits / data

AUTHOR of the project: A-cero, Joaquin Torres architects – Joaquín Torres (director), Rafael Llamazares (architect partner, collaborator)
Project: House in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid “Vivienda 42”
Location: Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid “Vivienda 42”, Spain
Date of project: October 2006
Date of termination: April 2009
Photographer: Ferran Silva (A-cero)
Gardening/ landscaping: Luis Vallejo

+ All images courtesy of A-cero

Related posts:

1. House Pozuelo Madrid | A-cero
2. House in Dominican Republic | A-cero
3. House in Somosaguas | A-cero

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London-based architectural firm Foster + Partners recently unveiled the CircleBath located in Bath, UK. The three-storey building is set into the hills facing to the protected green belt, internally the function rooms are planned around a central light filled atrium, promoting a sense of orientation and intimacy. The building provides operating theatres, bedrooms, consultation, treatment and recovery spaces, and offers both in-patient and out-patient accommodation. It is Foster + Partners’ first hospital project and expected to open to patients in February.

The compact design encourages a sense of community and well-being with facilities more comparable to a luxury hotel rather than a traditional hospital.

Foster + Partners

+ Press release courtesy of Foster + Partners

CircleBath, opening of the first hospital designed by Foster + Partners

CircleBath is Foster + Partners’ first hospital and the first in a programme of new independent hospitals which offer a radical departure from orthodox approaches to hospital planning. After a period of commissioning, CircleBath is expected to open to patients in February.

The compact design encourages a sense of community and well-being with facilities more comparable to a luxury hotel rather than a traditional hospital. The three-storey hospital is set into the hills on the edge of protected green belt nine kilometres south east of Bath. It is planned around a central light filled atrium, promoting a sense of orientation and intimacy that is commonly lacking in larger hospitals.

Public entry is from the road on the north directly into the atrium on the ground level floor. The northern façade comprises dark panelling at the lower levels, while on the south, extensive glazing opens out to views over the surrounding rolling countryside. Appearing to float above this recessive skirting, the rectangular upper volume and roof, enclosing all twenty-eight bedrooms, is clad in a reflective lattice of aluminium shingles.

The double-height atrium forms the focus for patients, staff and visitors, with private consultation rooms leading from it at ground level and in-patient bedrooms arranged around it above. The main reception point, café and nurses’ station occupy the atrium where daylight, drawn through the circular sky lights, is softened by a translucent fabric ribbon tracing the shapes. The colour palette is a warm and friendly mix of ochre and rust, with natural wood acoustic panels above, interspersed with glass panels providing a visual connection to the atrium from the bedroom floor.

Throughout the building, there is an emphasis on natural light and views: operating theatres and recovery spaces on the lower level are fully glazed to the south, looking out on to a private garden. The bedrooms on the upper floor look out onto balconies, planted with herbs and shrubs, lining the building’s perimeter and oriented to maximise views across the countryside. Sympathetic landscaping emphasises the therapeutic natural environment to create the opposite of an institutional atmosphere.

Divisions between departments are minimal, easing the stress involved in consultation, treatment and recovery for patients and reducing walking distances for staff.

+ Project credits

Architect: Foster + Partners
Project: CircleBath
Location: Bath, UK
Photographs: Nigel Young

+ All images and drawings courtesy of Foster + Partners | Photo by Nigel Young

Related posts:

1. Riva Hotel | Foster + Partners
2. New Amsterdam Pavilion unveiled in Battery Park | Ben van Berkel/ UNStudio
3. Building Better Healthcare Award + Akershus University Hospital by C. F. Møller Architects

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