Considered one of the noblest building materials - and also a favorite of many global architects - wood delivers aesthetic, structural, and practical value in the most versatile of ways. Through different techniques, such as crafted or prefabricated wood, wooden construction remains relevant not only in the history but also in the forefront of architecture and design (thanks to new technologies that have expanded its possibilities).
From temporary pavilions to single-family homes and multi-story, large-scale institutions, wood has shown its value at the same level as many other structural materials such as steel, brick, or even concrete. This is especially prominent in the United States, where renowned architects are using new techniques to advance the solutions that this material can provide. Also, new regulations are allowing architects to further explore the diversity and possibilities of building with wood.
With the help of ThinkWood, we’ve gathered 100 examples of the best wood structures in the United States.
Going beyond human scale is not a novelty. For centuries, builders, engineers, and architects have been creating monumental edifices to mark spirituality or political power. Larger than life palaces, governmental buildings, or temples have always attracted people’s admiration and reverence, nourishing the still not fully comprehensible obsession with large scale builds.
Nowadays, some of the largest and most impressive structures relate less to religious or governmental functions and seem to be turning towards more cultural programs. Most importantly though, today’s grandiose works are generally and openly imitative of Nature.
Over the past week, I’ve seen at least two largemainstream press articles on climate migration, and as more people seem to be tossing around their next move locale—something between North Dakota and anywhere else with the word “north” it. Often, in a simplified, single-issue flattening of the full-range of shifts happening around us.
The Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor, has just announced the appointment of Alejandro Aravena as Chair of the Pritzker Architecture Prize Jury as of March 2021, in time for the award’s 43rd year. Moreover, the announcement also designated Manuela Lucá-Dazio, the Executive Director of the Department of Visual Arts and Architecture of La Biennale di Venezia, as an advisor to the Prize and the next Executive Director.
Hygiene is one of the most important aspects of any bathroom – and Duravit has led the way with innovations such as touch-free controls and rimless toilets. Its new HygieneGlaze coating is just the latest game-changer.
Halloween is a holiday that centers on space and ritual. Most likely originating from Celtic harvest festivals, Halloween is tied to processions like trick-or-treating, as well as history and spatial stories. The holiday celebrates imagined settings, characters, and events. In similar celebrations like Mexico's Día de Muertos, people gather in unlikely places; cemeteries and graveyards become the backdrops to picnics and celebrations. There, families offer flowers and food to deceased relatives as they celebrate history and the lives of loved ones.
Hufton+Crow has unveiled its latest series of images, capturing Denmark's recent and inventive projects, completed between 2018 and 2019. The photographs showcase CopenHill Energy Plant and Urban Recreation Center by BIG, along with Tingbjerg Library and Culture House and Køge Nord Station, both designed by COBE.
Herzog & de Meuron have created a new proposal for a third tower in the Roche development along the Rhine River in Basel, Switzerland. Designed for the biotech company, the updated plan combines green open space along the riverbank with a reception building and the third office tower. HdM developed a proposal for two buildings on the southern plot; a low-rise to sit within the park and the high-rise to reach a maximum height of 221 meters.
The Avions Voisin C7 was manufactured between 1924 and 1928 and featured a groundbreaking design for the time. The extensive use of glass, aluminum bodywork, and sharp angles hinted at the shapes of an aircraft. This was the car that Le Corbusier liked to park in front of his buildings - the architect considered this car to be the ultimate translation of modern age and technology combined into a single object. He was convinced that architecture had much to learn from this machine.
With 3 gears and a 30-horsepower engine, it is hard to imagine anyone using this car today since the automobile industry has experienced countless innovations since that time. Corbusier's architecture, however, doesn't seem so outdated, but the cars pictured alongside the brand new buildings are actually what reveals how old the photograph is. Locating elements that can point out the time period of a photograph is very effective, especially in architecture. Some elements can make this task much easier, for example, household appliances, computer monitors, or other particular details.
Wooden floors are know for their warm appearance, rich texture, and natural tones that vary according to the origin of the planks, changing with the weather and the passage of time. Outdoors, wooden surfaces are widely used for terraces and living areas, taking advantage of these inviting qualities to bring people together on warm and welcoming floors. Built with modular pieces, wooden decks can easily form artificial topographies, shaping creative and effective public spaces for rest, sports, games, and collective gathering.
Remember nightclubs? That mask-less, gloveless world where you’d melt into a gyrating, strobe-tinged crowd of hundreds while losing yourself to the ecstatic soul-shuddering beat of electronic dance music (EDM)? Nightclubs and their requisite soundscapes may feel like a distant and potentially panic-inducing memory today, but they have long served as vital spaces of innovation and countercultural resistance. In their fusion of creative cultures, technological innovation, and political protest, clubs are spaces where utopian dreams are born and come to life—at least for the night.
Liangzhu Museum 2008 /David Chipperfield Architects. Image Courtesy of Vanke
Urban development in China has been a contentious issue, represented by megacities and endless gated communities, remnants of the country’s large communal working and living units, the ‘danwei’. However, in recent years, the paradigm has been shifted largely by developers for more innovative living concepts, the practice of designing inclusive communities anchored by public and cultural buildings serving the wider community. One of the earliest experiments, Liangzhu New Town by Vanke is now a benchmark for creating diverse community.
Zovik Chapel and Cemetery. Image Courtesy of Nenad Fabijanić
10 projects, 10 functions. Featuring a multitude of different programs, this week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights diverse and innovative conceptual approaches. Submitted by our readers, this variety of proposals includes sports, religious, cultural, educational, and social purposes.
Compiling projects from all over the world, this article puts together a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand, a ring-shaped experience center and eco-tourism catalyst for Latvia, a cemetery in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the biggest extreme sports park in Russia. Moreover, unconventional office spaces are underlined with an innovation start-up center in Vietnam, headquarters in Shenzhen, and Tirana’s new municipality building.
Jean Nouvel has just unveiled his design for Sharaan, a resort hidden within the rock dwellings of AlUla, a cultural oasis in north-west Arabia. Showcasing a modern take on millennia-old ways of living, the project puts in place monumental designs carved into the rocks, respecting and preserving the landscape. Inspired by the nearby Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the concept takes a curatorial approach bringing together landscape and history.
Mask Architects has been named one of ten winning teams in the Cool Abu Dhabi a global design competition. Their proposal, The Oasys, is a system where residents of Abu Dhabi can relax and enjoy outdoor spaces without feeling the heat. Selected from more than 1,570 participants across 67 countries, the project aims to tackle the effects of climate change through a localized solution for the urban heat island effect.
Clayton Miller is an Assistant Professor at NUS, part of BUDS Lab, a scientific research group that leverages data sources from built and urban environments to improve energy efficiency and conservation, comfort, safety, and satisfaction of humans. He holds a Doctor of Sciences from the ETH Zürich, an MSc. (Building) from the National University of Singapore (NUS), and a BSc. Masters of Architectural Engineering (MAE) from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL).
ArchDaily had the chance to interview Miller and find out his point of view on how programming and data science can help in improving architecture and construction.
Who said three’s a crowd? With the new Livre armchair, Manto dining table and Bonfire table lamp, Italian furniture specialists Gallotti&Radice have added a trio of designs to their range that are all big on personality.
MVRDV has revealed the first images of Chengdu Sky Valley, the firm’s competition entry for the Future Science and Technology City in Southwest China. Fusing technology with nature, urban with rural, and modernity with tradition, the proposal introduces “a liveable city into the Linpan Landscape”. Located in one of China’s emerging cities, the project balances the competing needs of the area, through a computational workflow developed by in-house tech taskforce MVRDV NEXT.
Real estate development firm ELAD Canada has unveiled Galleria III, Toronto’s tallest flatiron building designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects and DesignAgency. Made to be a gateway to Galleria on the Park, the development will include 426 residences ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. The tower will part of the next phase in the master-planned community and the transformation of Toronto’s West End.
The judges for the Oscar Niemeyer Award, one of the most prestigious of its kind in the realm of Latin American architecture, have announced the 20 finalists for the competition's third edition.
You probably see brick on a daily basis, whether it’s structuring a building, paving the road, or perhaps serving as a fireplace or chimney. But do all these applications use the same type of brick? How are the bricks supporting or being supported? What are these bricks actually made of? Brick’s versatility and ubiquitous nature mean there’s more than one answer to these questions. Even among brick’s most common applications as a building facade and/or structural wall material, there are a variety of types and construction methods employed.
Idaho's nickname is "The Gem State" for its abundance of natural resources and scenic areas, from steep canyons and valleys to snow-capped mountains. It's no surprise that the state's architecture draws from this context, especially for remote housing projects. Reinterpreting building methods, materials, and spatial relationships, architects have designed a series of incredible homes across Idaho that are redefining how to live in nature.
Ranging from yellow, to gray, to traditional red and orange, bricks are ubiquitous in many of our cities and widely used in construction. Briefly, the manufacturing process of traditional bricks involves molding clay and firing it in ovens, facilitating the creation of solid blocks, perforated blocks, cobogós, tiles, and other shapes. Ceramic bricks are inexpensive; easy to find; boast strong resistance, thermal inertia, and finish; and do not require such specialized labor for construction. But if the installation is done near sources of high heat, the common brick will end up cracking and breaking, making refractory bricks more suitable. But what does that mean?
For decades, companies have relied on disposable plastic packaging to bag and contain products worldwide. Today, the staggering detrimental effects of this plastic dependence are well-known: since the 1950’s, over 9 billion tons of plastic have been produced, only 9% of which was recycled; around the world, one million plastic bottles are bought every minute and two million plastic bags are used every minute; and per the Plastic Pollution Coalition, by 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight. Moreover, plastic is a petroleum product, and its production only further contributes to the devastating climate effects of mass fossil fuel use.
https://www.archdaily.com/950213/is-it-possible-to-turn-plastic-waste-into-affordable-housingLilly Cao
