Construction is currently in progress on “The Grid,” a new office complex by Foster + Partners. Located in Marousi, an established business hub that boasts connectivity to central Athens, the project spans an entire city block. The project features modern, adaptable workspaces, along with landscaped green areas that integrate with a public park. The scheme hopes to revitalize Marousi and attract new business to the existing area.
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium / Populous. Image Courtesy of Populous
Designed by the sports and entertainment-focused architecture office Populous, the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium will be located in Eisenhower Park, 30 miles east of Manhattan, and is planned to host eight matches during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The stadium, having a capacity of 34,000 seats with additional VIP and hospitality units, is scheduled to be completed within 3 months. The accelerated process is made possible by the modular system, typically employed in other sports such as Formula 1, Golf, and the Olympic Games.
Advancements in 3D printing technology are progressing at an unprecedented pace, accompanied by a parallel surge in computational power for manipulating and creating intricate geometries. This synergy has the potential to offer architects an unprecedented level of artistic freedom in regards to the complex textures they can generate, thanks to the technology's remarkable high resolution and rapid manufacturing capabilities. If the question of production was out of the way, and architects could now sculpt virtually anything into a facade effectively and efficiently, what would they sculpt?
A few years ago, the architects at Studio Bark, in collaboration with Structure Workshop and Cut and Construct, began to develop the idea of a circular kit of parts designed so that anyone with reasonable DIY skills could build their own structure. This is U-Build, a modular system made of wood panels crafted with the precision of a computer-controlled cutting machine (CNC). The panels are delivered to the construction site in a compact box, ready to be assembled, stacked, and screwed to shape the walls, floors, and ceilings. Only a few tools are needed, such as a rubber mallet, a drill, a tape measure, and a level.
While this system allows the construction of various types of buildings, its high level of customization finds particular utility and effectiveness in housing projects of all scales. From a tiny house for a couple opting for simplicity to an off-grid cabin in the woods, a Georgian cottage extension, and a 3-bedroom efficiency home, U-Build has brought extraordinary prefabricated wooden homes to life.
OmniRoom is a new room-in-room system developed by Mute. The product uses patented technological innovations and the benefits of modular architecture to offer a quick and easy solution for building comfortable and reshapable workspaces suitable for new, hybrid work environments. The product has already been recognized with the Mixology'23 Product of the Year award nomination.
Climatic conditions are changing around the world, and with more extreme temperatures and limited resources, architectural and urban solutions must also change. How could our homes look and function effectively in a post-climate change scenario? Analyzing in detail the forecasts of these climatic variations, the architects of W-LAB have developed a Low-Tech habitat proposal for humid, hot, and arid climates, incorporating bio-materials, transportable solutions, and configurations that promote life in small and resilient communities.
As part of the Circlewood consortium, OMA’s David Gianotten and Michel den Otter have developed a modular system to build schools that can adapt and transform throughout their lifecycle. The system was selected by the City of Amsterdam to be employed to build multiple schools in the coming ten years, as part of the Innovation Partnership School Buildings program. The citywide initiative aims to build nine to thirty “high-quality, flexible, and sustainable” schools as a way to contribute to the city’s goal of becoming fully circular by 2050.
As every professional in the building industry knows, construction can be a costly and endlessly time-consuming endeavor. Delays are almost more frequent than on-time construction, and can be induced by extensive bureaucratic requirements, weather and other unexpected circumstances, inadequate planning, too few personnel, or a whole host of other causes. Lengthy construction projects can also negatively impact public perception of a project even before it has been built, especially if the projects experience delays or inconvenience those who live or work close to the building site. Moreover, some projects simply need to be built along a faster timeline than is typically feasible for a traditional construction project. Thankfully, there exists a solution for those seeking to drastically reduce construction times: modular construction.
https://www.archdaily.com/949219/why-choose-modular-constructionLilly Cao
IBA Timber Prototype House / ICD University of Stuttgart. Image Courtesy of ICD University of Stuttgart
While the traditional image of the cabin is one of a rustic wooden home located far away from any trace of society, architects have been experimenting with these conventions alongside newer material and technological considerations to push the boundaries of the ‘cabin’ today. Whether it is by reimagining the aesthetics of the cabin, utilizing advanced fabrication techniques to modernize the rustic, or even reconfiguring the log cabin for the city setting, architects and designers have utterly transformed traditional cabin architecture for a more contemporary existence. Below, we consider 10 innovative cabins that achieve this transformation through experiments with different materials and construction technologies. While each explore different strategies and functions, many share similarities in their use of prefabrication systems, their dedication to sustainability, and their close attention to and optimization of specific material properties.
Zaha Hadid Architects has joined Ukrainian authorities to present the OdesaExpo 2030 bid proposal, an event planned to become the first Expo to be hosted in Eastern Europe. The masterplan is designed with legacy and sustainability in mind. The central pavilions are configured to be transformed into Ukraine’s first fair exhibition hub after the closing of the Expo, while the national pavilions are designed to be dismantled and redeployed as new civic buildings throughout Ukraine.
Shelves have a clear function: to organize, store and display. This simple, yet vital role has made them a must in every household, keeping the place neat and tidy by holding books, clothes, toys or any other items that would otherwise be scattered on the floor. Although usually found in closets, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens, shelves are useful wherever the extra storage is necessary. They are especially ideal for making the most out of small rooms, which will always benefit from having cleaner, clutter-free floor space. Responding to this crucial storage need and following a strict 'form follows function' approach, traditional shelves are often comprised of minimal, flat horizontal planes attached to a wall –a simple layout that is not particularly meant to draw attention. Hence, people don’t tend to think about shelving ideas beyond storage, and in that sense, the countless design possibilities they offer are often overlooked.
Under the motto "Get Set," the 2022 DDW exhibited more than 50 art and architectural installations to call out designers and communities for a shift from preparation to action facing the challenges of our time. Led by Miriam van der Lubbe, Creative Head of DDW, with Marjan van Aube and Formafantasma as ambassadors, the 21st edition of the Dutch Design Week took place the last week of October in Eindhoven, the Netherlands closing with a Graduation Show of over 200 students of the Design Academy Eindhoven.
Inspiring designers to incorporate innovation and sustainability and familiarize the public with all the technology has to offer, ArchDaily has selected 9 relevant works focused on bio-materials and modular systems. Highlighting ongoing design research, the list underlines projects that reinvent how we deal with nature and the space we live in.
Danish Maritime Architecture Studio MAST has developed the “Land on Water” project, a system that provides an adaptable solution to building almost anything on the water: floating homes, campsites, even small parks, and community centers. The project represents a response to the acknowledgment of raising sea levels and increased risks of urban flooding, which has led to a growing interest in adapting architecture to be built on water. The “Land on Water” proposes a flexible and sustainable solution, a departure point from previous solutions, which are proven to be difficult to adapt, transport and are often using unsustainable materials such as polystyrene-filled concrete foundations or plastic pontoons. The project is developed with the support of Hubert Rhomberg & venture studio FRAGILE.
Now that the effects of climate change are visible and indisputable, consumers are more environmentally conscious than ever. In fact, as a United Nations 2021 study suggests, 85% of them reveal that sustainability plays a key role when making their purchase decisions, motivating businesses and manufacturers to respond accordingly. This explains the rising demand for electric vehicles and products made of renewable or recyclable materials. However, architecture – and especially traditional housing – seems to be several steps behind compared to other industries. Although there are numerous efforts to move towards a greener built environment, the way most buildings are made today continues to be outdated, creating tremendous amounts of waste and significantly contributing to the global carbon footprint.
Contemporary challenges and developments in technology inevitably trigger changes in the way we design and build our cities. SUMMARY, one of ArchDaily's Best New Practices of 2021, is a Portuguese architecture studio focused on the development of prefabricated and modular building systems. Striking a balance between pragmatism and experimentalism, the firm develops prefabricated solutions in order to respond to a driving challenge of contemporary architecture—to speed up and simplify the construction process. Founded in 2015 by the architect Samuel Gonçalves, a graduate of the School of Architecture of the University of Porto, the studio has presented at prominent events such as the 2016 Venice Biennale. We talked with Samuel about the firm's practical experience in prefabrication and modulation, as well as their experiments and forays into research.
One of the most famous series of numbers in history, the Fibonacci sequence was published by Leonardo of Pisa in 1202 in the "Liber Abaci", the "Book of Calculus". The famous sequence of numbers became known as the "secret code of nature" and can be seen in the natural world in several cases. But, after all, how does this sequence relate to architecture?
https://www.archdaily.com/975380/what-is-the-fibonacci-sequence-and-how-does-it-relate-to-architectureEquipe ArchDaily Brasil
The first wooden housing modules of Juf Nienke, a new circular prefabricated timber housing project by SeARCH, RAU, and DS landscape architects, has been installed in Amsterdam. The project will feature 61 rental homes made entirely of wood, and will sit at the entrance of Centrumeiland, a newly raised piece of land on Lake IJmeer that features 1500 housing units. It is set to be one of the most sustainable apartment buildings in the Netherlands, incorporating an innovative cross-laminated timber construction and utilizing recycled materials.
It is difficult to find someone who never played LEGO as a child. What if, like LEGO's, we thought of buildings as great assembling games? U-Build is a modular wooden construction system developed by Studio Bark to be easy to build, pleasant to inhabit, and simple to deconstruct at the end of its useful life. The system removes many of the difficulties associated with traditional construction, enabling individuals and communities to build their own homes and buildings. The system uses precision CNC machining to create a kit of parts, allowing the structure of the building to be assembled by people with limited skills and experience, using only simple hand tools.