Hearst Building, New York City
Norman Foster & Partners
Come summer 2006, Manhattan will have a new "green" wonder: Hearst Corporation's new 46-story headquarters. The structure's grid-like frame requires 20% less steel than would be used for a similar conventional perimeter frame. Sensors will control lighting, dimming or turning off interior electric lights when natural light is available.
For most of the year, a state-of-the art HVAC system will use outdoor air for cooling and ventilation. As a result, the energy used and carbon dioxide emissions will be slashed to 22% less than an average office building of a comparable size in New York. The tower is so environmentally friendly, it is expected to receive a Gold Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Norman Foster & Partners designed the expansion so that it appears to be "floating" above its historical base -- the six-story landmark building that was
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Architectural Wonders OF 2008(Taipei 101, Taipei)
Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan
CY Lee & Partners
The title of "world's tallest building" seems to change hands as frequently as the Miss Universe crown. The 1,644-foot-tall Taipei 101, inaugurated this past New Year's Eve and home to the Taiwan stock market, currently holds this distinction. Taipei 101 also boasts the world's fastest elevator, which whisks passengers from zero to the 89th-floor observation deck in only 37 seconds, moving at a speed that exceeds 36 miles per hour.
Super-tall buildings must be engineered for the static vertical loads caused by gravity and the dynamic lateral loads caused by wind. CY Lee solved the latter by installing a gigantic metal ball, weighing 606 metric tons, on the 92nd floor. In the high winds of a typhoon, the ball acts as a damper, swaying back and forth and reducing the tower's overall movement up to 40%. Rather than hiding this engineering element, the architects celebrated it, painting it gold and leaving it open for visitors to see.
CY Lee & Partners
The title of "world's tallest building" seems to change hands as frequently as the Miss Universe crown. The 1,644-foot-tall Taipei 101, inaugurated this past New Year's Eve and home to the Taiwan stock market, currently holds this distinction. Taipei 101 also boasts the world's fastest elevator, which whisks passengers from zero to the 89th-floor observation deck in only 37 seconds, moving at a speed that exceeds 36 miles per hour.
Super-tall buildings must be engineered for the static vertical loads caused by gravity and the dynamic lateral loads caused by wind. CY Lee solved the latter by installing a gigantic metal ball, weighing 606 metric tons, on the 92nd floor. In the high winds of a typhoon, the ball acts as a damper, swaying back and forth and reducing the tower's overall movement up to 40%. Rather than hiding this engineering element, the architects celebrated it, painting it gold and leaving it open for visitors to see.
Architectural Wonders OF 2008(Ben Gurion International Airport)
Ben Gurion International Airport, Terminal 3, Tel Aviv, Israel
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Moshe Safdie & Associates, Karmi Architects
Airports are the most complicated of buildings, having as much in common with massive machines as with works of architecture. Yet we experience them as architecture, which leaves architects with the challenge of designing a space that is pleasant, secure, efficient, and distinctly of its place. Ben Gurion's Terminal 3 evokes the character of the Israeli landscape with elements such as walls of Jerusalem stone and a round open-air skylight through which sun and rain pour down into a central rotunda.
Arriving passengers exit the terminal into a garden, rather than the typical taxiway. And security is achieved not through heavy blast-walls and cordons, but with an openness that allows for surveillance -- and, in the process, brings natural light into the building.
The architects credit the project's success to their unusual, if sometimes strained, collaboration. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is an international firm with experience in megaprojects. The critical local knowledge came from Israeli-born American architect Moshe Safdie and Israeli architects Ram and Ada Karmi. "The building is a result of an international firm having the benefit of local knowledge, of people who really know the land," says Roger Duffy, principal designer of the airport for SOM.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Moshe Safdie & Associates, Karmi Architects
Airports are the most complicated of buildings, having as much in common with massive machines as with works of architecture. Yet we experience them as architecture, which leaves architects with the challenge of designing a space that is pleasant, secure, efficient, and distinctly of its place. Ben Gurion's Terminal 3 evokes the character of the Israeli landscape with elements such as walls of Jerusalem stone and a round open-air skylight through which sun and rain pour down into a central rotunda.
Arriving passengers exit the terminal into a garden, rather than the typical taxiway. And security is achieved not through heavy blast-walls and cordons, but with an openness that allows for surveillance -- and, in the process, brings natural light into the building.
The architects credit the project's success to their unusual, if sometimes strained, collaboration. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is an international firm with experience in megaprojects. The critical local knowledge came from Israeli-born American architect Moshe Safdie and Israeli architects Ram and Ada Karmi. "The building is a result of an international firm having the benefit of local knowledge, of people who really know the land," says Roger Duffy, principal designer of the airport for SOM.
Architectural Wonders OF 2008(Government Communications Headquarters, Cheltenham)
Government Communications Headquarters, Cheltenham, Britain
Gensler
Although the building was completed last year, the Government Communications Headquarters -- the British equivalent of the CIA -- entered full operation last spring, when the last of the spies moved in. The GCHQ marks the first time that Britain's 4,000-employee intelligence establishment, formerly distributed among 50 discrete buildings, will be housed together in a central, modern facility. The new hub is a single, one-million-square-foot building, shaped like an enormous circular spaceship and affectionately nicknamed "the Doughnut."
Like a medieval fortress, the new GCHQ is designed for maximum security in an age when protection from terrorist acts is a timely concern. Innovative elements include a centralized screening area where all incoming letters and packages are inspected and then whisked to recipients via a subterranean circular road that reaches all parts of the facility. This ring-like path is also a convenient and efficient channel for distributing emergency supplies in the event of an attack or natural disaster. In addition, the building is encased by a reinforced glass wall constructed to allow those inside to see out but preventing outsiders from looking in.
Gensler
Although the building was completed last year, the Government Communications Headquarters -- the British equivalent of the CIA -- entered full operation last spring, when the last of the spies moved in. The GCHQ marks the first time that Britain's 4,000-employee intelligence establishment, formerly distributed among 50 discrete buildings, will be housed together in a central, modern facility. The new hub is a single, one-million-square-foot building, shaped like an enormous circular spaceship and affectionately nicknamed "the Doughnut."
Like a medieval fortress, the new GCHQ is designed for maximum security in an age when protection from terrorist acts is a timely concern. Innovative elements include a centralized screening area where all incoming letters and packages are inspected and then whisked to recipients via a subterranean circular road that reaches all parts of the facility. This ring-like path is also a convenient and efficient channel for distributing emergency supplies in the event of an attack or natural disaster. In addition, the building is encased by a reinforced glass wall constructed to allow those inside to see out but preventing outsiders from looking in.
Architectural Wonders OF 2008(Millau Viaduct, Millau)
Millau Viaduct, Millau, France
Norman Foster & Partners
The Millau Viaduct is a work of both engineering prowess and architectural grace. Spanning the River Tam, in the south of France, Millau is a massive piece of infrastructure that appears as light as the fog that puffs across the valley, despite the superlatives that might weigh it down: It is the tallest (1,122 feet) and longest (1.6 miles) multispan cable-stayed bridge in the world.
Its construction took only three years, thanks to a pre-fabrication process in which 2,000 sections of the steel roadway were manufactured off-site, lifted into place, and aligned with the help of a GPS. The technique also allowed for the minimum disruption of the surrounding environment -- echoing the bridge's overall goal of relieving the river valley of traffic while connecting the highway systems of France and Spain. Its remarkably slender profile and the way its graceful span emphasizes the drama of the landscape prove that cutting-edge building technology need not be at odds with the natural landscape.
Norman Foster & Partners
The Millau Viaduct is a work of both engineering prowess and architectural grace. Spanning the River Tam, in the south of France, Millau is a massive piece of infrastructure that appears as light as the fog that puffs across the valley, despite the superlatives that might weigh it down: It is the tallest (1,122 feet) and longest (1.6 miles) multispan cable-stayed bridge in the world.
Its construction took only three years, thanks to a pre-fabrication process in which 2,000 sections of the steel roadway were manufactured off-site, lifted into place, and aligned with the help of a GPS. The technique also allowed for the minimum disruption of the surrounding environment -- echoing the bridge's overall goal of relieving the river valley of traffic while connecting the highway systems of France and Spain. Its remarkably slender profile and the way its graceful span emphasizes the drama of the landscape prove that cutting-edge building technology need not be at odds with the natural landscape.
Architectural Wonders OF 2008(Chanel, Tokyo, Japan)
Chanel, Tokyo, Japan
Peter Marino
Part retail store, part television screen, the glass façade of the Chanel store in Tokyo's swanky Ginza district lights up the night sky with 700,000 embedded LEDs. This massive display can be programmed to show either the brand's signature black-and-white tweed pattern (think Chanel suit), or to project video of fashion-show footage and other images. The electronic mille-feuille can also transform from see-through to opaque, thanks to a combination of 3,675 square feet of canvas scrim and electronically controlled privacy glass.
In transparent mode, the structure offers clear views inside or outside. But what's neatly hidden is a complex system of 65,000 microcomputers that can process more than 32 trillion commands per second when the building transforms into a larger-than-life video billboard. The final effect is stunning showmanship in the name of a classic, yet hip and inventive fashion brand.
Peter Marino
Part retail store, part television screen, the glass façade of the Chanel store in Tokyo's swanky Ginza district lights up the night sky with 700,000 embedded LEDs. This massive display can be programmed to show either the brand's signature black-and-white tweed pattern (think Chanel suit), or to project video of fashion-show footage and other images. The electronic mille-feuille can also transform from see-through to opaque, thanks to a combination of 3,675 square feet of canvas scrim and electronically controlled privacy glass.
In transparent mode, the structure offers clear views inside or outside. But what's neatly hidden is a complex system of 65,000 microcomputers that can process more than 32 trillion commands per second when the building transforms into a larger-than-life video billboard. The final effect is stunning showmanship in the name of a classic, yet hip and inventive fashion brand.
Architectural Wonders OF 2008(Letterman Digital Arts Center)
Letterman Digital Arts Center, San Francisco
Gensler, HKS Inc., and The Office of Lawrence Halprin
As any Star Wars fan knows, George Lucas has a knack for building worlds, though they are usually on screen. Yet when he decided to consolidate his companies Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and Industrial Light & Magic on a 23-acre site in San Francisco's picturesque Presidio, a former U.S. military base, Lucas signed up as the "primary conceptual designer" for the project. The result is not only a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-certified building that fits seamlessly into its setting, but one that establishes the world's preeminent center for digital media.
By bringing together the ILMers developing special effects for movies and LucasArts employees developing video games, the building -- really a campus of four buildings linked by a 10-gigabit network -- reflects (and accelerates) the convergence of those industries. The digital entertainment engine is powered by more than 3,000 processors running 24/7 that can send hundreds of terabytes of data over the network, a factor-of-10 upgrade over the company's former system.
To preserve the verdant environment of its Presidio surroundings, the facility's 1,500 parking spaces are placed underground, and all
Gensler, HKS Inc., and The Office of Lawrence Halprin
As any Star Wars fan knows, George Lucas has a knack for building worlds, though they are usually on screen. Yet when he decided to consolidate his companies Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and Industrial Light & Magic on a 23-acre site in San Francisco's picturesque Presidio, a former U.S. military base, Lucas signed up as the "primary conceptual designer" for the project. The result is not only a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-certified building that fits seamlessly into its setting, but one that establishes the world's preeminent center for digital media.
By bringing together the ILMers developing special effects for movies and LucasArts employees developing video games, the building -- really a campus of four buildings linked by a 10-gigabit network -- reflects (and accelerates) the convergence of those industries. The digital entertainment engine is powered by more than 3,000 processors running 24/7 that can send hundreds of terabytes of data over the network, a factor-of-10 upgrade over the company's former system.
To preserve the verdant environment of its Presidio surroundings, the facility's 1,500 parking spaces are placed underground, and all
ARCHIETECTURAL WONDERS OF 2008(BMW Plant, Leipzig)
BMW Plant, Leipzig, Germany
Zaha Hadid
As if on constant parade, cars in various stages of completion pass through the striking Central Building of BMW's Leipzig plant, gliding along tracks as they move between production areas, in full view of BMW employees and public visitors. Sections of the plant, from executive offices to production areas, radiate out from the Central Building in a star-like structure -- an architectural attempt to defy conventional notions of a hierarchical workplace by placing both administrative and factory sections in equal proximity to the central core.
Zaha Hadid designed the building, which opened this year, to allow for an overall sense of openness. The translucent walls of the Central Building seem to glow from within when lit at night, offering silhouettes of cars and the human activity inside.
Zaha Hadid
As if on constant parade, cars in various stages of completion pass through the striking Central Building of BMW's Leipzig plant, gliding along tracks as they move between production areas, in full view of BMW employees and public visitors. Sections of the plant, from executive offices to production areas, radiate out from the Central Building in a star-like structure -- an architectural attempt to defy conventional notions of a hierarchical workplace by placing both administrative and factory sections in equal proximity to the central core.
Zaha Hadid designed the building, which opened this year, to allow for an overall sense of openness. The translucent walls of the Central Building seem to glow from within when lit at night, offering silhouettes of cars and the human activity inside.
ARCHIETECTURAL WONDERS OF 2008(NOAA Satellite Operations Facility)
NOAA Satellite Operations Facility, Suitland, Md.
Morphosis/Einhorn Yaffee Prescott
Government buildings were once characterized by white porticos and neo-classical columns, but Pritzker-prize winner Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis are creating a new vocabulary for government architecture. At the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's Satellite Operations Facility, to be completed next month, what could have been an operations bunker attached to a plain office building instead will become a symbol of the agency's mandate to observe and protect the environment.
The building's design minimizes its impact on the landscape, with as much of the site as possible kept as a grassy field, and the bulk of the building sunken into the ground -- even as it remains naturally illuminated (and energy efficient) through a series of skylights and courtyards. Only the "brain" of the building, the satellite control rooms, is raised above the ground, topped by an array of antennae. Its dramatic, aircraft-carrier-like form may seem like an architectural statement, but Mayne demurs, arguing that this is the building's purest form. "Our notion was just to stay out of the way," he says. Just as columns symbolize democracy, NOAA's satellite dishes stand for technology's role in protecting the planet.
Morphosis/Einhorn Yaffee Prescott
Government buildings were once characterized by white porticos and neo-classical columns, but Pritzker-prize winner Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis are creating a new vocabulary for government architecture. At the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's Satellite Operations Facility, to be completed next month, what could have been an operations bunker attached to a plain office building instead will become a symbol of the agency's mandate to observe and protect the environment.
The building's design minimizes its impact on the landscape, with as much of the site as possible kept as a grassy field, and the bulk of the building sunken into the ground -- even as it remains naturally illuminated (and energy efficient) through a series of skylights and courtyards. Only the "brain" of the building, the satellite control rooms, is raised above the ground, topped by an array of antennae. Its dramatic, aircraft-carrier-like form may seem like an architectural statement, but Mayne demurs, arguing that this is the building's purest form. "Our notion was just to stay out of the way," he says. Just as columns symbolize democracy, NOAA's satellite dishes stand for technology's role in protecting the planet.
Architecture Wonders Of 2008(Bloomberg Headquarters)
Bloomberg Headquarters, New York
STUDIOS Architecture, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Pentagram Design
Bloomberg's new global headquarters almost looks more like a boutique hotel than a financial information office, with funky lighting and site-specific artwork. Beneath the glitz, however, is an ambitious idea about the relationships between design, information, and the Bloomberg brand. "We don't spend on advertising," explains Judith Czelusniak, head of public relations for Bloomberg. "We spend on our buildings and our environments, where we invite customers in to experience our product and our space."
Customers in New York will see 3,600 employees working in open offices arranged around a bustling atrium called the "Link," which reflects the breadth of the company's activities. One wall is dominated by a large media screen programmed by Pentagram Design to display numbers from Bloomberg's constant news feeds -- the information at the heart of the company's brand. Stairways, escalators, and lots of "breakout spaces" encourage interaction among employees and allow everything to happen in full view of visitors, who are almost always customers.
STUDIOS Architecture, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Pentagram Design
Bloomberg's new global headquarters almost looks more like a boutique hotel than a financial information office, with funky lighting and site-specific artwork. Beneath the glitz, however, is an ambitious idea about the relationships between design, information, and the Bloomberg brand. "We don't spend on advertising," explains Judith Czelusniak, head of public relations for Bloomberg. "We spend on our buildings and our environments, where we invite customers in to experience our product and our space."
Customers in New York will see 3,600 employees working in open offices arranged around a bustling atrium called the "Link," which reflects the breadth of the company's activities. One wall is dominated by a large media screen programmed by Pentagram Design to display numbers from Bloomberg's constant news feeds -- the information at the heart of the company's brand. Stairways, escalators, and lots of "breakout spaces" encourage interaction among employees and allow everything to happen in full view of visitors, who are almost always customers.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Roman Archietecture
The architecture of Ancient Rome at first adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. However, by the late Republic, the architectural style developed its own highly distinctive style by introducing the previously little-used arches, vaults and domes. A crucial factor in this development, coined the Roman Architectural Revolution, was the invention of concrete. The Romans, similarly, were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics and in the construction of arches.
Tile covered concrete quickly supplanted marble as the primary building material and more daring buildings soon followed, with great pillars supporting broad arches and domes rather than dense lines of columns suspending flat architraves. The freedom of concrete also inspired the colonnade screen, a row of purely decorative columns in front of a load-bearing wall. In smaller-scale architecture, concrete's strength freed the floor plan from rectangular cells to a more free-flowing environment. Most of these developments are ably described by Vitruvius writing in the first century AD in his work De Architectura.
Common materials of Greek architecture were wood, used for supports and roof beams; plaster, used for sinks and bathtubs; unbaked brick, used for walls, especially for private homes; limestone and marble, used for columns, walls, and upper portions of temples and public buildings; terracotta, used for roof tiles and ornaments; and metals, especially bronze, used for decorative details. Architects of the Archaic and Classical periods used these building materials to construct five simple types of buildings: religious, civic, domestic, funerary, or recreational.
Tile covered concrete quickly supplanted marble as the primary building material and more daring buildings soon followed, with great pillars supporting broad arches and domes rather than dense lines of columns suspending flat architraves. The freedom of concrete also inspired the colonnade screen, a row of purely decorative columns in front of a load-bearing wall. In smaller-scale architecture, concrete's strength freed the floor plan from rectangular cells to a more free-flowing environment. Most of these developments are ably described by Vitruvius writing in the first century AD in his work De Architectura.
Common materials of Greek architecture were wood, used for supports and roof beams; plaster, used for sinks and bathtubs; unbaked brick, used for walls, especially for private homes; limestone and marble, used for columns, walls, and upper portions of temples and public buildings; terracotta, used for roof tiles and ornaments; and metals, especially bronze, used for decorative details. Architects of the Archaic and Classical periods used these building materials to construct five simple types of buildings: religious, civic, domestic, funerary, or recreational.
Friday, October 9, 2009
ARCHIETECTURAL DESIGN STANDARDS
download the design standards from the below link
http://www.ziddu.com/download/6845917/ArchitecturalDesignStandards.pdf.html
THis chapter presents in detail those standards for new or renovated residential or commercial structures in the Mission District. As a way to maintain and preserve the aesthetic quality of existing neighborhoods and the history and culture of the area, new buildings or rehabilitated non-historic buildings shall be designed in the Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival style. Architecture of buildings shall also adhere to the basic design principles outlined in the Commercial and Residential Design Guidelines for the City. These principles include shelter, balance, integrity, detail, substance, transition, and character. Projects should also incorporate environmental design principles with respect to building layout, lighting, windows, and others details, which when applied, will provide a more secure property and enhance neighborhood safety.
http://www.ziddu.com/download/6845917/ArchitecturalDesignStandards.pdf.html
THis chapter presents in detail those standards for new or renovated residential or commercial structures in the Mission District. As a way to maintain and preserve the aesthetic quality of existing neighborhoods and the history and culture of the area, new buildings or rehabilitated non-historic buildings shall be designed in the Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival style. Architecture of buildings shall also adhere to the basic design principles outlined in the Commercial and Residential Design Guidelines for the City. These principles include shelter, balance, integrity, detail, substance, transition, and character. Projects should also incorporate environmental design principles with respect to building layout, lighting, windows, and others details, which when applied, will provide a more secure property and enhance neighborhood safety.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Google SketchUp 7.1 Released for 3D Creatio
The latest version adds tools and functionality, as well as new or improved integration with several Google services.
While there are many 3D creation applications available, SketchUp has always remained a bit apart in that it's geared to the conceptual stages of design, providing a relatively simple approach to 3D creation that maintains some of the speed and flexibility of pencil sketching. It can be thought of as a tool for designers and planners to explore, communicate and present complex design concepts, rather than painstakingly creating traditional CAD drawings. The illustration below, The Destroyed City, is by digital matte painter, concept artist and illustrator Max Gabl.
Version 7.1 adds significant functionality, notably with the ability to add Google Street View photo textures to geo-located SketchUp models. It's also possible for users to employ the Component Browser to search the 3D Warehouse for buildings located near the one that is being worked on, then download desired ones directly into the current model. Also new is support for larger models; direct upload of individual components to the 3D Warehouse; import and export of COLLADA and KMZ files; the ability to apply dimensions to models; and an improved Freehand tool.
While there are many 3D creation applications available, SketchUp has always remained a bit apart in that it's geared to the conceptual stages of design, providing a relatively simple approach to 3D creation that maintains some of the speed and flexibility of pencil sketching. It can be thought of as a tool for designers and planners to explore, communicate and present complex design concepts, rather than painstakingly creating traditional CAD drawings. The illustration below, The Destroyed City, is by digital matte painter, concept artist and illustrator Max Gabl.
Version 7.1 adds significant functionality, notably with the ability to add Google Street View photo textures to geo-located SketchUp models. It's also possible for users to employ the Component Browser to search the 3D Warehouse for buildings located near the one that is being worked on, then download desired ones directly into the current model. Also new is support for larger models; direct upload of individual components to the 3D Warehouse; import and export of COLLADA and KMZ files; the ability to apply dimensions to models; and an improved Freehand tool.
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