BMW’s Stunning Energy-Efficient Production Plant
In a perfect world we’d all be getting back to our zero energy, prefabricated homes by foot, bike or public transport, but on a planet where cars won’t be disappearing anytime soon, it’s nice to know that some car companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprint when producing new vehicles. In 2003 BMW set out a design competition for a new building and distribution center located in Munich, Germany. The results were more than grand; not only is the new BMW Welt aesthetically pleasing with its sinuous curves and gleaming façade, but it was also consciously designed to save energy in its production of cars through efficient solar heating and natural ventilation systems.
Urban Fade / Visiondivision
Visiondivison shared their entry for the Koivusaari Idea Competition to create a new city district on an island just outside Helsinki, Finland. The competition asked participants to organize a master plan for the island that would provide the framework for further planning. Visiondivison’s proposal, Urban Fade, is comprised of a highly efficient city grid that allows users the option of moving around the district to interact with the different areas.
Architects: Willy Müller Architects
Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Principal in Charge: Willy Müller
Associate Architect: Frédéric Guillaud
Project Team: Francisco Villeda, Isabella Pintani, Simona Assiero Brá, Mariano Arias-Diez
Collaborators: Iris Cantante, Bruno Louzada, Edgardo Arroyo, Claudia Barata, Bart Hooijen, Katrine Kunstz
Rendering: Lucas Capelli, Julia Morgado, Daniel Corsi
Model: ARRK,s.l., Fabio Castelblanco, Fabian Asunción
Structure Consultant: SBP, Schlaich Bergermann und partner
Engineering Consultant: GEPRO engineering
KSP Engel und Zimmermann recently designed a 77,000 square meter library extension to accommodate the existing National Library of Beijing. The new addition will hold approximately 12 million books and be used by an estimated 12,000 people per day.
Raffles City / UNStudio
UNStudio’s new mixed-use Raffles City is situated near the Qiangtan River in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, China. This Raffles City marks CapitaLand’s sixth large-scale shopping center, including those in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Bahrain. For UNStudio’s design, a sleek twisting tower will provide residential and hotel accommodates in its 300,000 square meter total floor area.
AD Round Up: Awarded Competitions Part I
China’s Huaxi Urban Center (of the Future)
Dubbed the Huaxi Urban Center, the exterior of the building was ingeniously designed to hide its massive network of support beams, duct work, wiring, and HIVAC systems. It uses flexible cellular based materials, exoskeletal lattices, and carbon fiber composites which are all highly advanced and needed to put up something like that.
Regnum Tower for Istanbul Features BioClimatic Architecture
Foregoing an over-imposing block construction, Italian based firm Park Associati formed Regnum Tower into three distinct components around a single transparent volume, creating a winding figure and a continuously changing façade. The internal plan has divided the building into five five-floor sections, each with an open-level common area containing bioclimatic glasshouses.
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