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10 marzo 2009.
Architects RMJM have launched a concept for apartment blocks that do not require heating.
The MiLoft concept, launched at the MIPIM property fair in Cannes today, features a super-insulated shell that retains heat generated by occupants and electrical appliances, as well as a heat recovery system.
Other green features include rooftop gardens and toilets flushed with rainwater.
Here’s some info from RMJM:
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As recession bites, architect launches house that needs no heating
Affordable housing has been taken to the next level with the unveiling of a new stylish housing model which requires no heating – with body heat sufficient to keep occupants warm - and offers rooftop vegetable gardens.
UK-based international architects RMJM launched the ‘MiLoft’ design, with its rooftop ‘aloftments’, at the international property market MIPIM today, 10 March 2009, in Cannes, France. The concept is targeted at homeowners who wish to experience loft style living, without the need to buy a penthouse, and true affordability both in terms of purchase cost and energy usage.
RMJM – which is experienced in the design of residential accommodation throughout the world – came up with the design in response to ambitious government targets for providing affordable new homes in cities where stock is in short supply and where falling property values are forcing developers to look at new ways of maximising the return on their development.
In addition to protecting the environment by using zero carbon technology and sustainable materials, the MiLoft design will mean significant savings for homeowners and occupants with minimal energy usage and running costs.
By using innovative ‘Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery’ (MVHR) technology designed by award-winning Max Fordham Consulting Engineers, combined with an exceptionally high level of air tightness, heat generated within the home – such as body heat and heat from household appliances - is reused to maintain indoor air temperature at a constant level. MVHR negates the need for a traditional heating system.
In the summer, the dual aspect, double height loft-style and open plan living space will provide natural ventilation in high temperatures, reducing the requirement for air conditioning for hot climates. Rain water is collected from the roof and redistributed for toilet flushing.
The low cost, low energy residential units will be available in a variety of layouts with one, two, three or four bedroom apartments and can be combined in a variety of configurations to create six storey apartment blocks which will suit most urban locations.
In addition to meeting government targets for sustainability, the new housing model has a low construction cost, starting at £55,000 per unit, and the modular design, with shallow foundations requiring little groundwork, means that the blocks can take only five months to build. Made from responsibly sourced timber with steel stiffeners, the units are designed to fit on the back of a truck for easy transportation from the factory direct to the site.
The apartments encourage social interaction, with communal staircases which are more like garden terraces, featuring plants and trees, and rooftop gardens which give the opportunity for home-grown vegetables. The rooftop ‘aloftments’ also reduce urban surface water run-off, help reduce CO2 emissions and encourage younger residents, more used to urban landscapes, to respect the environment.
The MiLoft concept is already attracting interest from politicians and housing executives in the UK and RMJM is now preparing to make the model available in other urban centres which face affordable housing supply issues including Russia, India and the US.
MiLoft is the brainchild of RMJM’s Group Design Director Tony Kettle, who is also responsible for the design of Gazprom’s Ohkta Tower in St Petersburg, which will become the tallest tower in Europe and one of the most low energy high rise buildings in the world as a result of unique technology which minimises the need for heating despite temperatures dipping to minus 30 degrees.
On his MiLoft concept, Tony Kettle commented: “MiLoft is a new model for urban living providing a far better quality of life with the minimum impact on the environment. In a world hit by recession caused by overconsumption and greed, it illustrates that good things need not cost the earth. We aim to revolutionise affordable housing supply across the world.”
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/10/miloft-by-rmjm/#more-26070
09 marzo 2009.
Here’s another bridge by Paris practice Explorations Architecture with UK engineers Buro Happold, who collaborated to design the Metro West bridge in our previous story.
This design was the winning project in a competition, organised by the RIBA, to design a foot and cycle bridge over the river Soar at Abbey Meadows in Leicester, UK.
As with the Metro West design, the supports of the suspension bridge sink beneath the deck towards its centre, affording clear lines of sight up and down the river.
Laminated glass parapets interrupt these views as little as possible.
The bridge is due for construction in 2010.
Here’s some more information from Explorations Architecture:
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FOOT AND CYCLE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER SOAR
LEICESTER, ENGLAND
An iconic yet subtle bridge
The proposed design is an innovative self-anchored suspension bridge. With its gently curved deck, filigree structure and shallow cable profile, the bridge is an iconic yet subtle structure flying delicately over the River Soar. The bridge carries memories of late Victorian engineering with its sharp and sober structural expressivity. It is also a very contemporary structure, through its environmental understanding and the use of cutting edge bridge technology. The new bridge will form a strong symbol for the Abbey Meadows development and create a link between history and urban regeneration.
A gentle inclusion in the landscape
The structure is designed to minimise any visual obstruction across the river perspective. The river corridor is a protected area with mature trees and dense river bushes creating a natural environment right in the middle of the city. A simple beam bridge or an egotistical statement that rises far above the river would detract from this beautiful and simple landscape. In addition to this, the Abbey Meadows townscape is defined by several landmark structures such as the National Space Centre and the Victorian Water tower. The new bridge should not compete with these but enhance the natural setting with a filigree horizontal profile. The low rise design approach allows the deck to smoothly emerge from the existing vegetation and integrate gently into the landscape.
A cinematic structure
The bridge shape is defined by two geometries: an arch shaped deck and a catenary cable profile. The steel “exoskeleton” links the two curves to create a dynamic virtual volume. This approach calls to mind the photographs of Edward Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey. These famous 19th century “motion pictures” redefined our perception of the natural world. Pedestrians observing the bridge from the new Wolsey square will enjoy a cinematic yet fixed structure. Its sharp attraction will contrast harmoniously with the solid masonry of the Water tower and the bubble shape of the Space Centre. Views from bridge are unobstructed so that the deck itself becomes a belvedere onto nature.
A belvedere onto nature
Pedestrians and cyclists emerge from the woodland, pass through the abutment gateway and reach the centre of the river corridor. They are greeted with clear lines of sight, both upstream and downstream as the main structural elements dive below to provide support to the deck. Children and grown ups alike are able to admire the outstanding natural surrounding thanks to the transparent parapets formed of laminated glass. Materials have to be carefully selected to establish a contemporary, sober and elegant palette that will blend naturally in the landscape.
A delicate approach to colours and finishes
The bridge will be in a gentle colour between off white and a very light grey. Each material will be specified to very high expectations both aesthetically and structurally. Precast white concrete will be used for its high quality finish and its visual continuity from abutments to deck. Painted steel sections will be used for their strength and slenderness to support the deck off the main cables. Low iron Laminated Glass will be used for its high transparency and neutral colour.
Client
Leicester Regeneration Company and Leicester City Council
Competition organizer
Royal Institute of British Architects
Explorations architecture, Paris
Design team: Benoît le Thierry d’Ennequin, Yves Pagès, Sylvia Bauer
Buro Happold, London
Design team: Adam Allegri, David Knight, Winfried Meijer, Davood Liaghat, Simon Fryer, Matthew Crouchman, Anthony Holder
Timeframe
Competition Jan-Feb 2009
Construction is anticipated in 2010
Budget
£ 1.5 m
Location
Abbey Meadows, Leicester
Dimensions
Length: 60 m
Clear span: 52 m
Width: 4 m
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/09/river-soar-bridge-by-explorations-architecture-and-buro-happold/#more-26013
08 marzo 2009.
Explorations Architecture of Paris with UK engineers Buro Happold have won a competition to design a new rail bridge over the Liffey Valley near Dublin, Ireland.
The winning design is a 350 metres long, 17 metres wide suspension bridge that will span the Liffey Valley 9 kilometres west of Dublin.
It will form part of the Metro West light rail system that will run from Thallagght, south-west of Dublin, to the airport in the north.
“The structure is designed to minimise any visual obstruction across the valley perspective,” say Explorations Architecture.
Supports drop below the deck towards the middle of the bridge, affording passengers uninterrupted views of the valley.
The competition was organised by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.
Here’s some more information from the architects:
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METRO WEST LIGHT RAIL BRIDGE OVER THE LIFFEY VALLEY
DUBLIN, IRELAND
The proposed design is a cutting edge suspension bridge having a total length of approximately 350m. With its low rise towers and shallow cable profile, the bridge is an iconic yet subtle structure flying delicately over the Liffey Valley.
The Metro West Liffey Bridge will be the first significant suspension bridge in Ireland and a pioneering development in medium span railroad suspension systems. Its innovative outline will form a symbol for the Dublin light rail system contributing to its already outstanding European reputation, without compromising the natural setting.
The structure is designed to minimise any visual obstruction across the valley perspective. The site is an extremely delicate arena for some of nature’s finest achievements. A structure with multiple or heavy supports destroying the valley floor, or an egotistical statement that rises far above the mature tree height, would more than detract from this beautiful landscape. This lightweight minimalist approach allows the deck to smoothly emerge from the existing woodlands and integrate into the Liffey Valley.
The bridge is designed as a safe, efficient and durable structure, perfectly suited to a light rail crossing of this magnitude. Materials and construction technology have been carefully selected to provide low maintenance. Suspension bridges, as opposed to many other forms of long span structures, offer a balanced set of components. The masts, cables and deck integrate together to deliver a lightweight yet confident feel.
The bridge structure is designed to avoid all disruption to the valley floor from inception through to in-service operation. Not only are the sensitive ecological boundaries around the immediate river vicinity undisturbed throughout, but a construction free zone of more than 300m is possible. This will include the river, lower woodlands, Lower Lucan road and all existing structures.
This approach has been extended to the proposed pathways and landscaping that will pass below the bridge and develop a part of the concept of the “Liffey Valley park”. Several pathways with terraced steps, ramps and natural belvederes will run from each of the bridge abutments.
These links will be constructed in a particularly subtle way in order to keep the bucolic ambiance of the site. Local materials such as stone, timber and rammed earth will all be integrated to form a pedestrian trail in the meadows along the Liffey. Several seasonal river crossings will also allow users to pass from one side of the valley to the other at low level. These are intended to be simple but safe crossings that further benefit the valley experience.
Views from the Metro West rail fleet will be unobstructed. The trains emerge from the woodland, pass through the tower gateway and reach the centre of the valley. They are greeted with clear lines of site, both upstream and downstream as the structural elements dive below to provide under deck support. Passengers and pedestrians alike will be able to admire the outstanding natural surrounds thanks to the almost transparent guardrails formed of horizontal wire infill. The guardrails not only offer a strong feeling of security, but allow unobstructed views for all users of the bridge.
Several natural routes overlooking the valley and bridge will be on the North and South slopes including one at the edge of the Hermitage hospital grounds and a viewing platform at the top of the North “Z” ramp. The views will look onto the fast flowing river with the bridge powering across, framed by the existing woodland. Benches will be installed to enjoy the unique setting.
Client
Railway Procurement Agency (RPA)
Competition organizer
Royal Institute of Irish Architects
Buro Happold, London
Design team: Adam Allegri, James Worth, Ella Barkham, Winfried Meijer, Davood Liaghat, Simon Fryer, Matthew Crouchman, Anthony Holder
Explorations architecture, Paris
Design team: Benoît le Thierry d’Ennequin, Yves Pagès, Sylvia Bauer
general information
Timeframe
Two stage competition from June to November 2008
Construction is anticipated in 2011-2012
Budget
50 M €
Location
Metro West Railway Bridge is crossing the Liffey Valley 9 km west of Dublin City Centre and 3 km east of Lucan village;
Function
The Metro West light rail system will run from Thallaght, south-west of Dublin city, to the Airport in the north.
Dimensions
Span: 350 m
Width: 17m
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/08/metro-west-bridge-by-explorations-architecture-and-buro-happold/
06 marzo 2009.
http://www.lot-ek.com
Dentro del presente panorama de crisis económica se hace preciso reafirmar la sensatez de la arquitectura. No ya sólo por la evidente imposibilidad inmediata de invertir presupuestos ilimitados en edificios estrella, sino por el modo en que este contexto plantea la necesidad de demostrar la fuerza de la arquitectura como un actor que puede actuar como un regenerador dentro de esta situación para redefinir nuevos patrones de funcionamiento social y cultural, que sirvan asimismo para construir una definición de arquitectura verdaderamente coherente para este momento y el futuro más próximo.
El uso de contenedores en arquitectura está comenzando a experimentar un interesante desarrollo y consolidación, que está haciendo patente su potencial para generar interesantes soluciones constructivas polivalentes de bajo costo. 'Se adecuan a los principios de firmeza y durabilidad, utilidad y abren un infinito potencial de soluciones e interpretaciones estéticas para el arquitecto', explica Jure Kotnik, autor del volumen Container Architecture, donde mediante una selección de cuarenta y cinco proyectos pone de manifiesto cómo la transformación de contenedores de formato estándar ISO en viviendas, oficinas, locales comerciales, galerías de arte, escuelas, pabellones comerciales … se está constituyendo como la más sólida referencia modelo para la arquitectura construida de materia convencional para plantear una arquitectura útil y realista.
La rigurosa y didáctica selección elaborada por Kotnik no es sólo una síntesis de interesantes proyectos arquitectónicos sino un modo de acabar con la mirada fascinada y superficial que en los tiempos recientes se ha estado lanzando sobre la arquitectura de contenedores que, como Kotnik apunta, se había ido convirtiendo en los tiempos recientes en uno de los objetos de deseo favoritos de la avidez de novedades de los medios de tendencias, evidenciando que el uso de contenedores como bloques de construcción se trata de algo mucho más sólido que una simple moda atractiva nacida a la estela de los manifiestos arquitectónicos y artísticos de mediados de los años 90 para los que fueron empleados por primera vez.
En el contexto actual, en el que muchos casos los arquitectos han asumido y afrontado la responsabilidad ecológica como una cuestión de moda, que tiende a culminar en un mero eco-chic y en donde el gasto de energía y materiales no logra ni el ahorro ni la sostenibilidad que son su teórico objetivo, los contenedores no deben entenderse como una herramienta que se pone al servicio de esta moda sino como la evidencia de la factibilidad de la reutilización de materiales descartados para un uso concreto, la posibilidad de un reciclaje absolutamente integral de uno de los productos eminentemente paradigmáticos de la era industrial. Patentados en la década de los años 50 del siglo XX por Malcolm McLean, los contenedores ISO son elementos prefabricados, compactos, robustos, de paredes de acero y suelo de madera, resistentes a los cambios de temperatura y a las agresiones meteorológicas. Se producen masivamente, ya que son compatibles con todos los sistemas actuales de transporte. Hoy en día hay una ingente cantidad de contenedores abandonados en los puertos de todo el mundo, cuyo excedente supone un uso inútil de espacio así como un desperdicio de acero, y que los operadores portuarios venden a bajo precio.
Su estructura permite una construcción rápida y sencilla mediante ensamblaje, a la manera de gigantes piezas de lego. Precisan de una adecuación mínima para ser habitables: aislamiento, climatización; apertura de ventanas; instalación de ventanas; instalación de una fachada… De su posterior uso y de los gustos del futuro habitante dependerá si los contenedores son totalmente ocultados para dotar a la estructura de la apariencia de un clásico chalet familiar con una delicada fachada de madera, se prefiere preservar e intensificar su carácter de producto industrial o auténtica función original. Su flexibilidad le permite acoger espacios donde concretar todos los principios de la vivienda moderna o bien llevar al extremo investigaciones radicales a nivel espacial y estético.
Ese énfasis en el carácter material y estructural del contenedor -incluso contextual, ya que se trata de obras sitas en zonas portuarias- da lugar a obras como las galería de arte GAD de MMW Architects o el Kunstlab Orbiono de Luc Deleu y T.O.P Office, que culminan más espectacularmente en el Nomadic Museum de Shigeru Ban o el Container Mall de LOT-EK, que plantea una construcción que en su materialidad quiere yuxtaponerse a la arquitectura de vidrio y mármol de la zona urbana donde se situaría. A menor escala y en un uso provisional, Uniqlo, otro proyecto también diseñado por LOT-EK, evidencian a través de su expresividad estética su capacidad para constituir un foco a partir del cual generar eventos dentro del tejido urbano. Frente a este carácter, de entre los proyectos seleccionados por Kotnik, aparece Cubes de USM Ltd., un proyecto de vivienda y espacio laboral para artistas que sabe situarse con una presencia que busca la fusión material con el entorno rural donde se encuentra. Entre los proyectos producidos en España destaca el Centro Tecnolóxio Rural en Marrrozos (Galicia) de Arquitectos Asociados de Santiago, un sistema de contenedores operando como unidades de trabajo y vivienda; y el prototipo ‘Container Housing’ de Gustau Gili, que propone un sistema de células habitables de 30 a 90m2 basado en la dualidad entre los distintos espacios domésticos.
Se trate de construcciones estables o de construcciones efímeras, la arquitectura del contenedor expone la posibilidad de emergencia de nuevos parámetros de relación entre individuo- edificio- entorno de un modo que posiblemente no sugiere todavía con idéntica claridad e intensidad la arquitectura construida con materiales convencionales.
Asimismo, se hace hasta cierto punto verosímil y deseable la hipótesis propuesta por Kotnik: la de que el contenedor abra el camino hacia un nuevo funcionamiento del consumo de la arquitectura para la era de la información, comparable al modo en que funciona la industria del automóvil, y que permitiría a cada cliente elaborar una casa a la propia medida, localizando y adquiriendo por internet el tipo de unidad precisada, dirigiendo el proceso de construcción de una vivienda creada de acuerdo a sus necesidades específicas disponiendo de un asesoramiento profesional en línea.
El contenedor como material y base de trabajo y el sentido común como eje. Si en Occidente hay una sobresaturación de contenedores por la asimetría en el sentido de las importaciones procedentes del Lejano Oriente, la lógica empuja a decidir qué debe hacerse con esas estructuras descartadas para su función original. Su reutilización es una lección de ecología básica, que no es preciso adornar con discursos proselitistas. Estructuralmente sólidos, firmes y durables, son útiles gracias a un simple acondicionamiento. De eso se trata. El contenedor se presenta como una respuesta racional a un problema concreto, superando cuestiones estilísticas y haciendo secundaria la cuestión formal. Un ejemplo simple de reutilización y readaptación que nos lleva a pensar y retomar cuestiones esenciales, a no despilfarrar generando por la dictadura de la industria nuevos elementos que serán futuros desechos inutilizables. Hoy el contenedor ISO se alza como una respuesta que va a poder instigar el descubrimiento de otras muchas respuestas.
http://www.noticiasarquitectura.info/notas/btbw/2009-02-08.htm
05 marzo 2009.
Cheap, transportable and recyclable, Adam Kalkin's container homes may be the next wave of prefab.
Adam Kalkin isn't the only architect to make homes out of shipping containers. A handful of architects, including Jennifer Siegal and Lot-Ek, began using them ten years ago as a gritty reaction against the tidy white surfaces of modernism. But nobody has employed shipping containers more inventively than Kalkin, a New Jersey architect and artist who has used them to design luxurious homes, museum additions and refugee housing.
In architectural circles, Kalkin is regarded as something of an oddball. He began his talk at the Urban Center in New York Tuesday night by playing the first five minutes of a Jerry Lewis movie, followed by the actor's acceptance speech at the Academy Awards last month. His website includes lessons on hitting a tennis forehand and a selection of songs to sing after taking antidepressants. Years ago Kalkin shaved while delivering a lecture at the Whitney Museum.
His talk this week was tied to the publication of Quik Build: Adam Kalkin's ABC of Container Architecture ($49.95), which shows 32 of his projects in all their odd ingenuity, including Bunny Lane, a home he built for himself with a 19th century clapboard cottage inside an industrial hanger, and the Push Button House, a furnished room that unfolds from a container with hydraulic walls.
"Adam continues to be subversive, and subvert what architecture is supposed to be," design historian Alastair Gordon said by way of introduction in the panel discussion that followed Kalkin's presentation.
For all his artsy provocations, Kalkin's strategy makes some practical sense. After all, shipping containers are cheap, mobile and highly recyclable. The Kalkin project that puts these qualities to best use is the Quik House, a prefab home ($150 a square foot) made from six shipping containers that can be completed in three months. A smaller version, called the A Pod ($50,000), will be available later this year.
"Quik Build" arrives as modernist prefab has begun to lose its bargain appeal after years of hype. The most popular cost from $250 to $400 a square foot including installation, which is more than a thrifty consumer would pay for a home built by an architect and contractor. Last summer the Museum of Modern Art in New York opened Home Delivery, a show that celebrated prefab's design innovations but cast doubt on its current economics. Barry Bergdoll, curator of the show, suggested on Tuesday that Kalkin's containers could be used to provide low-cost housing in places like the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
Can Kalkin provide a viable alternative to conventional housing? On Tuesday he said that he had never even considered himself a prefab architect until Bunny Lane showed up on the cover of a book about prefab. He's one of architecture's more unorthodox practitioners, but original thinking may be what's called for as architecture works its way through what Kalkin calls "a crisis of relevance."
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/michael-cannell/cannell/would-you-live-shipping-container
04 marzo 2009
Se puede buscar en google “Unemployed architect” para saber en que están los arquitectos que perdieron su trabajo durante la crisis, y me encontré con 2 buenos ejemplos.
El primero fue Unemployed Architect (”What to do when you have nothing to do”), un blog bastante simple de una chica de Boston que al parecer trabajó en una firma grande y fue despedida. En su blog escribe el pasar de sus días, que hace con su nuevo tiempo libre, despertarse a las 11AM, redescubrir su ciudad, mañanas perdidas en un Starbucks, etc. Pero entre medio de todo esto tomó la decisión de postular a un magister, como manera de ”capear” la crisis. Esto también se lo escuche a unos jóvenes arquitectos de acá, que tienen una oficina bastante activa… pero como va la cosa, ya empiezan a ver el continuar sus estudios de posgrado mientras seguimos así. Me recordó el hecho que durante la crisis pasada, habían muy buenos arquitectos haciendo clases, de cierta manera refugiados de la crisis.
Pero lejos la que más me llamó la atención fue la noticia sobre John Morefield, un arquitecto de 27 años de Seattle, que luego de haber sido despedido 2 veces en el año no encontró nada mejor que instalarse con un puesto en la feria local y cobrar 5 centavos ($30 pesos chilenos) por pregunta. Por este precio podías preguntarle a este arquitecto cosas sobre tu cocina, tu jardín o sobre tu casa ideal.
El primer día ganó 35 centavos (cerca de $200 pesos). ¿Atroz? No tanto. Más que ganar 35 centavos, ganó el empezar 7 conversaciones con 7 potenciales clientes. Incluso se dió cuenta de que podía recomendar a otros especialistas, y así empezó a armar una red de contactos y clientes que ya quisieran varios arquitectos.
Tan bien le fue, que no encontró nada mejor que dar el paso siguiente y armar la oficina Architecture 5¢, como una oficina que parte de la premisa de que “ningun proyecto es pequeño para grandes ideas”. Y con toda la exposición que ha tenido y su nueva cartera de clientes, creo que capeará la crisis de todas maneras.
De cierta manera me recuerda al artículo que publiqué hace un tiempo sobre el “trabajar gratis” como manera de networking, que generó una potente discusión hace un tiempo en Plataforma Arquitectura.
¿Y el resto? ¿En que andan?
http://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/2009/03/09/%c2%bfen-que-andan-los-arquitectos-desempleados/
03 marzo 2009.
Formosa 1140 by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) is a new eleven-unit housing project in West Hollywood, California.
The facade is clad in red, metal panels that provide shade for the windows and separate the circulation of residents from the public domain.
The building is located on one side of the site in order to accommodate a park, open to the public, on the remainder.
Each apartment has a view over the park and makes use of cross-ventilation.
“This project presents a challenging but influential opportunity in regards to the creation and inclusion of an urban park in a private development,” say the architects.
“The park is accessible to the public at large, not solely residents with granted permission, they continue. “Formosa 1140 contains within its own genetic code the imprint of a larger urban design that will offer some kind of public space back to the city and in so doing, distribute a patchwork of parks across Los Angeles’s formidable grid.”
More information from the designers follows:
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Located in the heart of West Hollywood, this new eleven unit housing project emphasizes the central importance of shared open space for the residents and the community. Formosa takes what would be the internalized open space of the courtyard and moves it to the exterior of the building to create a park which occupies approximately one third (4,600 sf) of the project site.
As a result of shifting the common open space to the exterior and pushing the building to one side, units are organized linearly allowing for ‘park frontage’ and cross-ventilation for every unit. External circulation is used as a buffer between public and private realms and articulated through layers of perforated metal and small openings.
The careful placement of outer skin panels and inner skin fenestration creates a choreographed effect, both revealing and concealing, while achieving a unique expression of form and materials. The exterior skin also keeps west facing units cooler by acting as a screen and shading device.
The provision of this park space resulted in a series of negotiations between Habitat Group Los Angeles, LLC (Developer), LOHA (Architect) and the City from which a unique, more fluid, model of community planning and development emerged to the benefit of all parties involved. The outcome of these negotiations is the leasing of the park to the City of West Hollywood, to develop as part of a network of pocket parks throughout the City. This effort also helped Habitat Group Los Angeles take advantage of certain incentives and zoning concessions for the proposed building.
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/03/formosa-1140-by-lorcan-o%e2%80%99herlihy-architects/#more-25670
