Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) is a resin known for its strength, flexibility, and optical clarity. When inserted and bonded between two panes of glass, the combination —known as laminated glass— provides a tough, acoustic, glare-, UV- and solar-protective barrier with no loss of transparency. So much so, that its main use is in car windscreens.
By inserting and layering various sheets of colored PVB, glass can be transformed with a kaleidoscope of color and a range of opacity. The whole effect gives interiors specifiers a palette of light and color tools when adding personalities to interior environments. Here are six examples of projects that use PVB-laminated glass to great effect:
Lendager Group was founded with the explicit goal of becoming the leading sustainable architectural office in Denmark. Exploring the concept of Design for Disassembly (DfD for short), their recent project in Milan is grounded in the growing concern around resource consumption and low recycling rates within the construction industry. Expanding on themes of the circular economy, their work was designed utilizing chairs made of ocean plastic and the pavilion was designed for disassembly.
Belmont (Monty) Freeman (b. 1951) founded his New York-based, currently eight-person practice, Belmont Freeman Architects in 1986. Its active projects are half institutional and half residential, with a special focus on adaptive reuse, predominantly in New York and nearby states. Among the firm’s most exemplary projects are the LGBT Carriage House on the University of Pennsylvania campus, a series of restorations at the Four Seasons restaurant in the Seagram Building, renovations at the Yale Club in Manhattan, and the renovation of the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, designed by Kevin Roche. Current projects include an expansive but minimalist residential compound on Martha’s Vineyard, branch library renovations in New York City, and redevelopment of a former meatpacking building into a new Innovation Hub for Columbia University’s Business School.
With Agrob Buchtal's striking new Canyon facade tile, facades can be structured either vertically or horizontally. Through light and shadow, its parallel lines are emphasised in ever new ways. Image Courtesy of Agrob Buchtal
The new Kaijo and Canyon surfaces by designer Markus Bischof for Agrob Buchtal may differ significantly in form, but both create striking, geometric facades.
Snøhetta revealed its design for Duett Düsseldorf, a new opera house set to become the German city’s new cultural destination. Stemming from the horizontal volume containing the new music venue are two sloping towers containing a hotel, restaurants, office spaces and residential units, creating a multi-layered development serving the arts and culture scene of Düsseldorf. Neighbouring the historic Hofgarten park and the Rhein river, the project’s ground-level blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor, with a glass façade revealing a cultural wood wall within the foyer, welcoming users to the opera house.
Andreas Ruby, Director of the Swiss Architecture Museum shares his thoughts on the wrapped Arc de Triomphe installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, in a 3 part essay, converting a monument glorifying war into a monument of decolonization. The temporary installation opened to the public on September 18, 2021, and will be dismantled starting October 3, 2021.
This year both organizations have defined themes related to improving the quality of life and reducing the effects of the climate crisis by taking action in the built environment. While the International Union of Architects' 2021 World Architecture Day theme is "Clean Environment for a Healthy World", UN-Habitat's World Habitat Day has announced "Accelerating Urban Action for a Carbon-Free World" as their topic.
Working smarter, not harder is the goal of every business; but in architecture, where margins can be thin, it’s an imperative. So how do firms work smarter without spending tons of time wising up? By leveraging artificial intelligence—or AI.
Put simply, AI analyzes huge datasets to solve the historically unsolvable. AI unburdens people from time-consuming activities, like planning projects and work. Our brains aren’t wired to manage dozens of conflicting schedule dates, projects, and staff. But Mosaic—AI-powered resource management software—is here to help architects effectively plan.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates has released images of its latest project, the Burrard Exchange, a hybrid mass timber office building at the Bentall Centre in Vancouver, Canada. The structure will be the first timber project designed by the architecture firm and is set to be one of the tallest of its type in North America.
The Finnish Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai showcases the country's deep connection with nature and sustainability, contributing to its high quality of life. Titled "Snow Cape", the pavilion designed by JKMM Architects subtly evokes Finnish natural settings through materiality and atmosphere while embodying the principles of circular economy championed by the Nordic country. The structure with its tent-like entrance creates a point of commonality, reminding of Finland's nomadic heritage, as well as the Arabic text.
There are several reasons why the Estado de Mexico (a state, not the country) is important not only at the national level but also because of its intrinsic relationship with Mexico City since 59 of its municipalities are considered part of the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico. In this area, there are a large number of industrial plants. In addition, it houses some of the most visited archaeological sites such as Teotihuacán, Tetzuco, Azcapotzalco, Chalco, and Amaquemecan.
Under the motto of 'Intelligence for life', the Spanish Pavilion at the 2020 Expo in Dubai seeks to synthesize "our ingenuity, our creativity and our innovative capacity as essential tools to preserve life and biological diversity as well as to build a sustainable future". The architectural project entrusted to the studio Amann-Cánovas-Maruri is located in the "Sustainability" thematic area, close to what will undoubtedly be one of the largest meeting points: Al Wasl Square and the UAE Pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava.
The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina are joined by Jacob van Rijs, Founding Partner of MVRDV, Architect and Urban Planner to discuss the beginnings of MVRDV, working internationally, the office's structure and growing from 3 people to 300, creating a positive office environment (the MVRDV house), design process, having fun in design, MVRDV's diagrams, why clients hire MVRDV.
Planning cities and the way that we comfortably live in them is often a pull between many things. From creating affordable housing for all, enhancing community facilities and amenities, and designing walkable neighborhoods, all aspects of urban design have trade-offs, or do they? While there are many reasons why cities are becoming increasingly more expensive, dense, and less pedestrian-friendly, one of the key drivers behind the increase in unaffordability has to do with the way that outdated zoning codes drive the lack of available housing that they regulate.
Kigali, Rwanda - September 21, 2018: a wide view looking down on the city centre with Pension Plaza in the foreground and Kigali City Tower in the background against a backdrop of distant blue hills. Image via Shutterstock/ By Jennifer Sophie
The urban metropolises of our planet are home to an abundance of stories. They are home to stories of wealth, of innovation, and of architectural marvels. They are home, too, to stories of inequality, inequity and of urban divides – places where one’s income determines the quality of the spatial environment around them. Within these stories has developed an increasing advocation for making cities “smarter”, the goal being to use data and digital technology to build more efficient and convenient urban environments.
Architecture and photography are deeply dependent on one another. The first photograph ever taken frames buildings as its subject. Even more, it took an entire room to produce the image through a camera obscura. In the early days, buildings were one of the few subjects that could sit still for the 8 hours it took to burn an image onto a photosensitive medium. However, architecture is dependent on photography too. Buildings are large, slow, and immobile. Without photographs, it would be difficult to visit the important structures around the world. In this way, photographs are an easily shareable surrogate for buildings. But, photographs are not truthful 1:1 depictions so photographers have a lot of agency when it comes to how we experience architecture. This video offers some insight into this relationship and presents a few photographers as examples for how they interpret an architect's intentions and add their own voice. These include Julius Shulman, Ezra Stoller, Stephen Shore, Iwan Baan, among others.
Architectural events like biennales, urban festivals or the World Expo provide a framework for research and experimentation, allowing architects to showcase their visions on an international stage, with the aim of advancing the practice and driving innovation. World Expos, in particular, allow for these lines of inquiry to unfold at an architectural scale rather than that of an installation. Within these platforms for discourse and knowledge exchange, temporary architecture becomes a medium for communicating ideas about architecture and the city, its challenges and possible lines of development.
Monograph—a leading practice operations platform designed to help architects and engineers oversee projects, timesheets, and forecasts in one integrated and simple interface—has launched its latest add-on feature, Planned Profit Report and Profit Drivers. During the company’s first-ever virtual conference, Section Cut, in August 2021, Monograph announced the introduction of Planned Profit Report and Profit Drivers, designed to provide architecture and design firms with a better understanding of their profitability.
Perkins&Will has revealed the designs of the second phase of Duke KunshanUniversity which reflect the natural context and local culture of Kunshan, China. The architecture blends nature and architecture, and highlights the university's ethos and education values through spaces dedicated for living and learning. The 189,334 sqm master plan includes 22 buildings of administration, educational, and recreational facilities.
Designed by Toronto-based practice Moriyama & Teshima Architects and construction company ElisDon, the Canadian Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai aims to bridge the two cultures by echoing Canada’s landscapes and incorporating Arabic architectural elements with its wooden lattice facade a reference to the traditional Mashrabiya. Accompanying the pavilion is the art installation Traces created by Montréal-based firm KANVA, which brings a poetic reflection on the uncertainty of the future of ecosystems to the exhibition grounds.
Following the Second World War, United States veterans and citizens were seeking a fresh start, a rightful place to live out their modern American dream. With a significant housing shortage looming around and fast-growing families, solutions had to be found to provide equitable living means for all. The development of new construction techniques and propagation of easy building materials promised an age of prosperity.
https://www.archdaily.com/969231/the-evolution-of-the-house-plan-in-the-united-states-post-war-eraAgustina Coulleri, Hana Abdel & Clara Ott
Designed by AGi Architects, Mission Possible, Expo 2020 Dubai's Opportunity Pavilion offers social and cross-cultural engagement through a universal and urban platform. Opportunity is one of the three main themes of this year's expo, alongside Sustainability and Mobility, which explore how we can "unlock the potential of individuals and communities, highlighting that each of us has a role to play in creating positive change". The structure resembles a large public plaza with a universal architectural identity since the feature has transcended generations, cultures, and eras.
At different periods in history, the human scale and the approach of the building to the sensitive dimension correlated to the body were values pursued by the architects and an object of reflection for the theoretical production of the area. Although it is a virtue that a space can be perceived in a direct relation between the person and the building, there are cases, and more than that, some project scales, that can only be realized from the furthest perspective.
OMA/Jason Long’s 11th Street Bridge Park has reached new major milestones in its design and capital campaign after a series of design refinements. The design team has further improved the program areas across the bridge park, and has shifted the locations of the amphitheater and main gathering space, extending its capacity up to 250 people. Finishes and landscape designs have also been refined, whereas the pedestrian pathways, terraces, centers and public plazas have remained unchanged.
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