The post Canning Factory | Matosinhos, Portugal was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The post Nice Dream Tower | Mixed-Use Building in Nicosia was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The post The Haute | Bangkok, Thailand was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The idea confronts the conflicts between man and nature, between rebirth and memories, innovation and environment. Open green spaces and harmony between the buildings are the aim of the general plan. The park and the green areas will be the elements in common, the link that holds together the various parts of the new intervention, starting from 26 October Ave. which becomes an important boulevard, an element of gentle mobility that reconnects the city to the project area.

This intervention proposal is a “project within a project” which implies a harmonious integration with the rest of the urban space of the city. The past and industrial commemoration must not be lost but must make use of a strong enhancement of all the historic buildings that will finally be given a new life, becoming areas for both public and private activities and services. This intervention is a new part of the Big City, an opportunity for its rebirth. The project area reconnects an important strip of the city, it is a new center of gravity which proposes new relationships between the consolidated fabric on one side and the industrial port on the other.

The new project intervention is proposed to become an infrastructural HUB. The location is strategic and becomes easily accessible by any means of transport thanks to the inclusion of public service stations, bicycle and car sharing stations. Current and future residents will benefit from the use of self-driving electric rental cars that will be made available to reach the places of interest in Thessaloniki. Less cars for a more efficient and sustainable service.

MAU Architecture

The post T-Wave was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

In contrast to many urban homes that remain hidden behind high walls and green fences, the “house-garden” is an extension of its adjacent green public space, and part of the urban fabric. The connection between house, public space, and neighborhood allows all three elements to be perceived as a compact whole, in perpetual interaction. The principal design concept was the development of gardens, both on the ground level as well as on the floor, as an accessible green roof. The two-storey home is articulated in two monolithic volumes, containing a green patio. The ground level accommodates the shared spaces, and the floor houses two bedrooms. On the top level, facades are formed in sliding aluminum panels for sound insulation, controlled light, and protection from solar radiation during the summer months. Sustainable design relies on discreet solar paneling, on the chimney effect through the green internal patio, and natural ventilation through the north-south axis. The project has been awarded with the Cyprus State Prize for Architecture, 2019.

Christos Pavlou

The post Best of 2020: The House-garden in the City was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The site is located 5km east of Beijing’s CBD, in the middle of an isolated diamond-shaped land parcel, intersected by serval railroads and divided into fragments. While the rest of the city undergoes rapid development, this urban enclave, hidden between defunct industrial building,s has remained undeveloped in the past 3 decades.
The client’s long-term goal is to regenerate these spaces by attracting cultural and creative industries, connecting the surrounding neighborhoods currently separated by the railroads, and gradually building a mixed-use community of 140,000m².
The architectural design revitalizes this urban enclave by weaving together retail, recreational, F&B, and creative spaces. The Art Center was proposed in the core of the creative industry zone.

The approach confronts the question of “How to transform an industrial space for productivity, to an art space targeting public engagement”, with a rational design strategy involving a “spatial prototype shift”: This is an appropriation of the prototype of the saw-tooth shaped plant buildings, adapted to the multiple program of the art center, and then translated into a new composite spatial prototype designed to maximize the creative vitality of the urban block.

The façade features a perforated-folded metal cladding with a saw-toothed volume, growing out of the shape of the plant building, and gradually extending forward, twisting at the end as it almost touches the elevated railway, forming a sense of ephemeral levitation. It also enriches the surrounding neighborhood’s dull skyline, not only with its decisive shape but also with its ever-changing light effects.The industrial past is re-conceptualized in a contemporary context, translated into 3 threads of materiality: the metal cladding that shifts between reflectivity and translucency, interpreting the contemporary cultural sensibility; the shadowing surface of red brick wall responding the historic character of the site; the large transparent glass openings and oversize pivot doors revealing the inside of the vessel to the public.

HeyTown Art Center features an aluminum façade wrapping around the entire suspended saw-tooth volume. Instead of perusing a smooth and sleek image of a definite “newness” that the usage of metal usually bring to such a context, it was taken as an experiment on potential “natures” of aluminum: minimum angle of folding, jumping rhythm of corrugations, different ratio of perforation, extreme strength of the metal for vertical span, enhanced reflectivity. This is meant to achieve a tangible and frictional experience of the architecture that is in constant dialogue with its surroundings, and to create a tension from the site’s past towards its future.
In the daytime, the folded cladding brilliantly captures the changing light conditions with its varying angles, like a series of prismatic mirrors echoing the sky. At the evening begins, the semi-reflective volume starts to illuminate itself and the cold reflection gradually turning into warm translucency from the top to the bottom. The constant overlapping of such ambiguous light experience throughout the day, adds an elusive narrative to the spatial context. 

meta-project

The post Heytown Art Center was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

TAKA + PARTNERS refurbished a two-story office building, located in Thermi, Thessaloniki. Τhe building has a total surface of approximately 300 m².

The architectural design combines the functional and aesthetic upgrade of the shell with the substantial improvement of the workplace environment. New technologies and energy management devices are integrated in the building.

The ground floor includes the reception and waiting area, the accounting unit, private offices, product sampling space, conference room, archive room and auxiliary rooms. The upper level accommodates private offices and auxiliary spaces.

Metal-detailed wood and concrete paneling indicates a functional workspace. The offices are separated with glass partitions, providing the room with clarity and unity. Interior corridors maintain visibility and allow the free flow of light. Green areas are integrated as creative and collective units for employees. The furniture is custom-made, while alternative lighting sources and skylights provide suitable lighting solutions for working.

KNX intelligent control and monitoring system manages lighting, air-conditioning, shading and safety systems. To that end, energy efficiency and lower energy consumption are achieved.

The building’s external shell is dressed in coated aluminum panels and large wall tiles. The outdoor fence is constructed with fair face concrete complemented with specially designed aluminum panels.

TAKA + PARTNERS

The post Office building in Thessaloniki was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.