jueves, 20 de diciembre de 2012

Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

19 November 2012

American firm Morphosis has completed a museum of nature and science in Dallas where visitors begin their tour by taking an escalator journey to the uppermost floor.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Surrounded by glazing, the escalator streaks diagonally across the striated concrete facade then angles back inside the building. At the top, each visitor is faced with a view of the city before spiralling their way back down through five exhibition floors into the atrium where they first arrived.

 
 Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is sited in Victory Park, downtown Dallas, and when it opens to the public next weekend it will replace some of the facilities of the existing Museum of Science and Nature, located further east in Fair Park.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Morphosis' founder Thom Mayne conceived the building as a large cube emerging from a series of landscaped lower tiers. These levels, designed in collaboration with landscape architects Talley Associates, are covered in stones and drought-resistant grasses that are typical of the landscape in Texas.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

A 3D cinema, auditorium, cafe and shop accompany the eleven exhibition galleries inside the building.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Above: site plan - click above for larger image

"The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a gift to the city of Dallas," said Mayne. "It is a fundamentally public building – a building that opens up, belongs to and activates the city. It is a place of exchange. It contains knowledge, preserves information and transmits ideas; ultimately, the public is as integral to the museum as the museum is to the city."
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Above: exploded axonometric diagram - click above for larger image

See more projects by Morphosis on Dezeen, including a floating house for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans.

Photography is by Iwan Baan.

Here's a project description from Morphosis:

Museums, armatures for collective societal experience and cultural expression, present new ways of interpreting the world. They contain knowledge, preserve information and transmit ideas; they stimulate curiosity, raise awareness and create opportunities for exchange. As instruments of education and social change, museums have the potential to shape our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Above: east-facing section - click above for larger image

As our global environment faces ever more critical challenges, a broader understanding of the interdependence of natural systems is becoming more essential to our survival and evolution. Museums dedicated to nature and science play a key role in expanding our understanding of these complex systems.

The new Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Victory Park creates a distinct identity for the Museum, enhances the institution’s prominence in Dallas and enriches the city’s evolving cultural fabric. Designed to engage a broad audience, invigorate young minds, and inspire wonder and curiosity in the daily lives of its visitors, the Museum cultivates a memorable experience that persists in the minds of its visitors and that ultimately broadens individuals’ and society’s understanding of nature and science.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Above: north-facing section one - click above for larger image

The museum strives to achieve the highest standards of sustainability possible for a building of its type. High performance design and incorporation of state of the art technologies yields a new building that minimizes its impact on the environment.

This world class facility inspires awareness of science through an immersive and interactive environment that actively engages visitors. Rejecting the notion of museum architecture as neutral background for exhibits, the new building itself is an active tool for science education. By integrating architecture, nature, and technology, the building demonstrates scientific principles and stimulates curiosity in our natural surroundings.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Above: north-facing section two - click above for larger image

The immersive experience of nature within the city begins with the visitor’s approach to the museum, which leads through two native Texas ecologies: a forest of large native canopy trees and a terrace of native desert xeriscaping. The xeriscaped terrace gently slopes up to connect with the museum’s iconic stone roof. The overall building mass is conceived as a large cube floating over the site's landscaped plinth. An acre of undulating roofscape comprised of rock and native drought-resistant grasses reflects Dallas’s indigenous geology and demonstrates a living system that will evolve naturally over time.

The intersection of these two ecologies defines the main entry plaza, a gathering and event area for visitors and an outdoor public space for the city of Dallas. From the plaza, the landscaped roof lifts up to draw visitors through a compressed space into the more expansive entry lobby. The topography of the lobby’s undulating ceiling reflects the dynamism of the exterior landscape surface, blurring the distinction between inside and outside, and connecting the natural with the manmade.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Above: west-facing section one - click above for larger image

Moving from the compressed space of the entry, a visitor’s gaze is drawn upward through the soaring open volume of the sky-lit atrium, the building’s primary light-filled circulation space, which houses the building’s stairs, escalators and elevators. From the ground floor, a series of escalators bring patrons though the atrium to the uppermost level of the museum. Patrons arrive at a fully glazed balcony high above the city, with a bird’s eye view of downtown Dallas. From this sky balcony, visitors proceed downward in a clockwise spiral path through the galleries. This dynamic spatial procession creates a visceral experience that engages visitors and establishes an immediate connection to the immersive architectural and natural environment of the museum.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis

Above: west facing section two - click above for larger image

The path descending from the top floor through the museum’s galleries weaves in and out of the building’s main circulation atrium, alternately connecting the visitor with the internal world of the museum and with the external life of the city beyond. The visitor becomes part of the architecture, as the eastern facing corner of the building opens up towards downtown Dallas to reveal the activity within. The museum, is thus, a fundamentally public building – a building that opens up, belongs to and activates the city; ultimately, the public is as integral to the museum as the museum is to the city.

http://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/19/perot-museum-of-nature-and-science-by-morphosis/

miércoles, 19 de diciembre de 2012

Indimmo Roeselare Office / BURO II & Archi+I

7 September 2012


Context

Two asset management partners were looking for strategically located office premises to obviate the need to work from home. They soon found what they wanted: the central and readily reachable AccentBusinessPark. The choice was made easy by the combination of the architectural attributes of the new B7 office building and its impressive energy performance.

Interior Design

The two partners add value for their clients by making real estate investments. Trust is a must in their line of work. For the interior architects this was a key consideration when designing the office. The basic idea was to let the rectangular space convey a sense of openness rather than enclosure. A logical choice was to create a homely, inviting atmosphere.
   © DSP Fotostudio

Glass partitions and walnut beams divide up distinct areas. The entrance with washrooms leads to the central area.  System components and indirect lighting have been tucked away in the central area’s ceiling. To the right, behind closed white panels, there are filing cabinets and the copier/coffee corner with kitchenette. Behind another panel is an unobtrusive emergency exit. Although two offices have been segregated, they retain lines of sight thanks to the use of glazing. A large pivoting door provides access to the conference room that adjoins a patio. There are also a number of workstations.
© DSP Fotostudio

The lighting comes from Kreon, the Eames chairs from Vitra. The luxurious look was completed by incorporating chrome in the detailing.
   © DSP Fotostudio

This design adds a professional touch to a homelike interior. A natural extension to this smart design philosophy was to use materials like wool carpeting, to let cabinets run beneath windows in walnut veneer and to blend in some art elements.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

http://www.archdaily.com/270153/indimmo-roeselare-office-buro-ii-ar

viernes, 23 de noviembre de 2012

Social Health Centre / Estudio Lavín

6th september 2012

The project is based on the distribution of different areas, for different requirements, in their daily use, causing no interference between them.

Courtesy of Estudio Lavín S.L.

The project is clearly divided into distinct areas, and service spaces. Firstly, recreational and residential spaces, are mainly facing towards the warmer South-West facade, where the outer triangular area provides a platform to enhance the frontal views of the Atlantic Ocean and the island of La Gomera, these distant views aid to relate these areas away from the urban condition of the town; Likewise, the meeting rooms in the upper levels also open onto the cooler façade, which permits distant views towards Mount Teide and allows contact to be made with the main Avenue of the Town. Secondly, the medical Wards, the kitchen area, together with internal services, accesses and facilities, are all located in the cooler sides, made up of a compact facade linking to the main roots of the town, with a more urban character.

Courtesy of Estudio Lavín S.L.

The versatility, balance, and multifunctional nature of all spaces are enhanced by establishing a certain ambiguity between what is considered inside or outside, private or communal, inclusive or exclusive; this facilitates the interaction and social dynamism between the residents themselves, and with external users who are accessing areas during the day.

Courtesy of Estudio Lavín S.L.

The views, together with perspectives are enhanced, be it through access of the corners, or by varying the communication of spaces via mobile partitions, with multi-purpose halls, which unify the spaces according to the requirements of the various activities sought.

The main reception acts as a nexus to control activities shared between residents, those who only use the facilities for purposes of daily meals, and by others benefiting from activities offered throughout the day. This is contemplated by the Multipurpose Dining room, working as a Day Centre area, together with multifunctional rooms and medical wards. Whilst the rooms on the upper floors are geared for longer stays and have more restricted access.

Courtesy of Estudio Lavín S.L.

Colour

Colour plays a main role both for emotional and functional reasons; On the one hand, vibrant colours and shades tend to subtracted weight to the institutional part of the programme, whilst also serving as simple signals leading, and aiding people who in many cases have lost sensory or cognitive capabilities, and are bathed in sunlight as the chromatic element that stimulates and revitalizes the variable spaces.

Courtesy of Estudio Lavín S.L.

Outdoor Spaces

The outdoor spaces are essential to this type of project, enhancing and creating an environment for the human and social contact of residents between themselves, and the necessary visitors that make them lose the sense of enclosure; Moreover, it aids fitness through exercise, the development of cultural activities, or educational tasks in the open air. Plant life is used by way of visual barriers towards the nearby buildings, absorbing the negative image, and consequently opening views towards the island of La Gomera.

Courtesy of Estudio Lavín S.L.

The pyramid skylights of the multi-purpose Dining Room play a dual role. Whilst inwardly they magnify the importance of the space they serve, they are however also converted in static parts of the garden, which in itself makes up the area that is observed from the upper terraces of the rooms.


martes, 20 de noviembre de 2012

Crystal Hall en Bakú

21 octubre 2012

El edificio para la celebración del Festival de Eurovisión 2012 en la capital de Azerbayán, Bakú, se construyó en un tiempo récord de tan sólo 8 meses. Diseñado por gmp architects, este pabellón fue concebido como una construcción modular. ArcelorMittal Construction International ha contribuido con las soluciones innovadoras de Arval, en cubiertas, fachadas y forjados.

El Crystal Hall es el nuevo gran punto de referencia de Bakú que se levanta en la plaza de la Bandera Nacional. Con vistas al puerto de la ciudad, su espectacular fachada se asemeja a la forma de un cristal mineral. Con una longitud de 230 metros y una anchura de 160, el pabellón puede acoger hasta 25.000 espectadores, protegidos del sol y las inclemencias del tiempo por una cubierta transparente.


El tiempo de construcción de tan sólo 8 meses (desde septiembre de 2011 a abril de 2012) fue el mayor desafío en el desarrollo de este complejo edificio, utilizado para conciertos y actividades deportivas. Aparte de una gestión de la obra eficiente y coordinada, la construcción modular (el edificio consta de 3 partes independientes) y la selección del acero como el material principal de construcción, hizo posible terminar este ambicioso proyecto a tiempo para el Festival de Eurovisión celebrado en mayo de 2012.


Acero para el Crystal Hall
La mayor parte de la estructura de 7.000 toneladas de acero fue suministrada por ArcelorMittal Rozak-Estambul, y en octubre de 2011, ArcelorMittal Construction International (AMC-Intl.) fue consultado por una conocida empresa siderúrgica turca para proporcionar una solución económica para el revestimiento de la cubierta y los cerramientos de esta sala de conciertos en Bakú.


Los requisitos más exigentes procedían de su posición expuesta en una pequeña península del Mar Caspio, con una velocidad del viento de hasta 45 metros por segundo, y la coordinación de los trabajos de diseño, compra del material y fabricación con tiempo suficiente para el transporte por carretera en 90 camiones desde Polonia.


El pedido total alcanzó a más de 60.000 m2 de sistemas GlobalRoof, GlobalWall y GlobalFloor de ARVAL, parcialmente diseñados y supervisados por el equipo técnico de ARVAL - ArcelorMittal Construction Poland (con la cooperación de gmp architects) y fabricado por ArcelorMittal Construction en Polonia, en las plantas de Rawa y Swietochlowice.

La estructura de la membrana plegada de cerramiento realizada con el sistema GlobalWall, se compone de un total de 180 paneles con más de 80000 lámparas LED integradas, dando a la fachada su aspecto único, dramático cuando se ilumina por la noche.


GlobalRoof
El producto utilizado en la cubierta es del tipo Hacierco 160/250 x 1,50 mm HAIRPLUS-RAL 7016 (color gris antracita) con vanos de 6,0 metros con el 15 % de la superficie perforada para un mejor funcionamiento acústico. Sobre esta chapa perfilada está montado el aislamiento y la impermeabilización de la cubierta.



GlobalWall
La fachada está compuesta por un sistema de doble piel a base una chapa perfilada HACIERBA 150/600 x 1.25 mm. sobre la que se coloca lana mineral aislante. En algunas zonas expuestas, se refuerza linealmente con un perfil ligero de acero. El revestimiento exterior es del tipo HAIRPLAN de 200, 300 y 400 mm. de ancho y 1,0 mm. de espesor, lacado en HAIRFLON - RAL 3003 (color rojo rubí), fijado con un sistema especial llamado “Hairplan System Rack”, que permite una instalación rápida y segura con un solo clic.

 
GlobalFloor
Los diferentes forjados están diseñados con chapas como encofrados perdidos utilizando los productos HACIERCO 135/310 x 1,0mm y HACIERCO 160/250 x 1,25mm sobre los que se vierte el hormigón fresco durante la fase de construcción, no teniendo ninguna función estructural después del fraguado de la losa armada.


http://www.constructalia.com/espanol/galeria_de_proyectos/azerbaiyan/crystal_hall_en_baku

martes, 13 de noviembre de 2012

AVIASUR Opens New AgustaWestland Service Centre in Santiago, Chile


8th August 2012

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that a new AgustaWestland Service Centre has been opened by AVIASUR to provide maintenance and other support services for AgustaWestland commercial helicopter customers. The service centre is located at AVIASUR’s modern facility at Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Chile, where an official opening ceremony was held on 8th August.

The opening of a new service centre in Chile continues AgustaWestland’s strategy to provide customers with greater levels of service close to their operating locations. The opening of AVIASUR’s Service Centre brings the number of AgustaWestland Service Centres worldwide to over eighty, with a programme underway to further expand this network around the world. AgustaWestland is continuing to increase its market share in South America and now has 17 of its helicopters operating in Chile comprising eight AW119 Koalas, seven AW109s, one Grand and one W-3A Sokol. The first GrandNew light twin helicopter is scheduled to be delivered to Chile later this year.


In 2011 AVIASUR were appointed Independent Sales Representatives for Chile and Peru for AgustaWestland commercial helicopters. AVIASUR also provides a wide range of aviation services from its Santiago headquarters including a full FBO service, aircraft sales, charter flights and aircraft management for private and corporate clients.