Architects: a21 studio – Nguyen Hoa Hiep, Nguyen Qui Nhon
Location: NhaTrang, Vietnam
Year: 2011
Photographs: Hiroyukioki

Located in the city center of NhaTrang, LAM Café is the place where the local people and the tourists from every where can come to enjoy not only coffee but also the architectural space. The name of LAM, which means ‘louvers’ in English, expresses the structure and the architectural concept by itself.

The roof that has the shape of coconut leaves covers 350m2 of the 800m2 total area. The concept comes from the image of coconut trees, which is common in this coastal city. Wooden louveris considered as a main design language because the land wasrent in limited time so that the construction should be the fastest, cheapest and easy to remove.

The building is located in there sidential area that isnot stylish and tidy so that the roof is designed carefully to control and support the nice view. The roof contains three layers: coconut leaves – the lowest layer, tiling layer – the middle one and the last layer of fishing nets. In the future, this roof will be covered by plant to become a green roof.

Wooden louver system isnot only the aestheti celement butal so the solution for construction. Louvers are considered as a partition and a load-bearing component as well. The space created by louvers isnot too close as ‘box café’ or too open as ‘country side cafe’. The natural lighting and ventilation come through the system of wooden louvers bring the interesting feeling to each seat.

Sited on a prominent island in the center of the OCT Bay, the 11,000sm Shenzhen Clubhouse facility provides special guests and members with a luxury restaurant, private dining suites, a multi-purpose area, as well as recreational facilities, fitness center and a small exhibit gallery.

The building design is unique in form and massing while retaining a timelessness of architectural identity.  The firm’s signature guiding principles of white metal panel and mastery of natural light highlight the building. The overlay of solid planes and clear voids create depth through a play of shades and shadow from skylights and vertical screens. The geometry of the Shenzhen Clubhouse follows a precise focal point from which “layers” of distinct spaces radiate and terminate in a sweeping curve that is seen from the Urban Cultural, Retail and Entertainment District across the water.

Themes of circulation and a heightened spatial experience mark the approach to the building across a private bridge, welcoming guests from OCT Bay.  The promenade to the Shenzhen Clubhouse is a path flanked by an allee of trees, leading to a generous arrival court with a central fountain.  The grand exterior staircase leads to the entrance of the Clubhouse. Solid kaleidoscopic planes on the front façade shield the space beyond, lending an exclusive stage for private gatherings.

At the south end of the island, linked to the Clubhouse by an outdoor pathway through a lush garden, is a pristine structure that houses the Indoor Pool and Fitness Center. The simple geometry of the Fitness Center building contrasts with the adjacent Clubhouse in scale and form, finding a balance with the extroverted outline of the Clubhouse and energizing the dialogue between the two structures. It contains spa facilities, a generous gym and a tranquil lounge within an understated layout, is accompanied by a 25 meter lap pool covered by a skylight roof. From within the indoor swimming pool area surrounded by glass enclosures on three sides are views to the water surrounding the island.

The outdoor spaces are conceived as a series of indigenous flower gardens, orchards, a pond, and a reflecting pool that cascades down from the main entrance lobby and flows to the perimeter.

The meandering paths through the gardens evoke a strong sense of the Chinese landscape philosophy. Various vistas, textures and settings offer the private experience and intimacy of the garden and an opportunity for solitude as well as platforms to admire the surrounding views of the water and the OCT Bay entertainment and retail complexes beyond. “www.richardmeier.com“

Autores: AD11 – Margarita Peredo Arenas, Salvador Macias Corona, Francisco Gutiérrez Peregrina, Lorena Rojas
Ubicación: Zapopan Jalisco, México
Año: 2011
M2 construidos: 2200
Fotografía: Cortesía de AD11

Este proyecto replantea como ideas fundamentales tanto la forma de acceder al inmueble y la presencia que debe tener en su contexto como el itinerario en los recorridos interiores.

Estos argumentos conducen a ciertas intenciones como la operación de excavar el suelo buscando el desprendimiento del edificio de su superficie, el ejercicio de contracción en su fachada a fin de conseguir liberarse de los muros medianeros y la calle, como si se tratara de independizar la construcción de sus colindantes para apreciar mejor su figura, buscando mostrar de esta manera su identidad comercial y carácter público.

La fachada entonces se retrasa  generando un vacío tanto en sección como en relación al paramento de los vecinos, el usuario ingresa a través de un puente suspendido, cruza un foso cubierto parcialmente por un volumen que limita la vertical y genera un pórtico sin columnas que anuncia la entrada.

Al interior sus geometrías se rompen para generar mayor dinamismo en recorridos, buscando que los pasillos sean espacios habitables , creando vacíos,  patios y perspectivas que junto con la aplicación de  materiales en bruto exhiben una apuesta por un lenguaje tectónico y ponen a la vista el sistema constructivo.

Son las albercas el elemento central del edificio que se organiza en relación a ellas y estas a su vez plantean su posición respetando la zona de un árbol preexistente.

Como complemento de las áreas húmedas, se proponen todas las demás actividades al centro deportivo, contando con baños-vestidores, vapor, gimnasio, spinning, salón multiclases, snack, guardería, centro de nutrición y estacionamiento.

Waterpoint se inserta en “Ciudad granja”, una colonia caracterizada por su heterogeneidad en usos de suelo y actualmente por un desarrollo habitacional importante. Waterpoint, nace paralelamente como marca, concepto, y proyecto arquitectónico.

Solus4 proposed a design solution for the Busan Opera House competition that symbolises the elements of culture and history of Korea. The team chose to incorporate into the basic building form the elegance of the brush and ink paintings of the Fourth Era of the Joseon Period. In these paintings the Korean artists chose natural elements according to an aesthetic sensibility.

The concept of sohwa is the overlay of several elements of art and culture as when painting and calligraphy are joined. Emerging from these concepts Solus4 developed a simple expression of nature and peaceful elegance. The architects were attracted to the free flowing lines that characterise the paintings of this type take on a very lyrical almost musical quality in the abstraction of the images above. They took the two dimensional basis and expanded this into the third dimension of building volume without any loss of the original element.

This to us was the emerging of the sohwa principle that Solus4 wanted to try to express in this building. The early concepts were then developed to integrate these shapes and elements into volumes that would not detract from the original intent and yet allow the incorporation of a state of the art voice performance facility coupled with the various ancillary uses.

Staying within the traditional artistic parameters, the designers first placed the conceptual diagram on the site, then diagrammed the building shapes and the essential volumes. The original ink brush strokes were used to freely become building elements. By varying the connections to the earth and varying the edges and heights of roof shapes it was possible to provide strong volumetric edges that reinforce the freedom of the original art.

Architect: aspa
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Project Team: Cumbre Maria Jose, Sousa Nuno Caetano, Carolina Castro Freire
Project Area: 308.80 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: FG + SG

Benefiting from a vantage point with panoramic views over the Tagus River and framed by a set of buildings whose architectural heritage is of great interest, the garden on April 9 also known as Alberta (Some of the Convent of the Carmelite nuns of Albertas) or rock garden of Count Obidos, a promontory appears as a green space surrounded by tradition, open to the river and ships, with the south bank to hide massive Almada.

Deployed on the northern edge of a terrace (roof) of a pre-existing building where it makes the docking with the garden, the bar / terrace unfolds in a single floor. The ephemeral nature of its construction, its image of lightness, transparency, permeability and reflection promotes and preserves the existing relations of views, not allowing the new structure emerges as a barrier to the garden.

Foundations and Structures: PrPc engineers, Eng Joao Paulo Cardoso
Electrical and Telecommunications: Technical Energy, Eng João Mira
Security Installations: Energy Technical, Engineer João Mira
HVAC systems: Energy Technical, Engineer Luis Loureiro
Facilities Water and Sewerage: Technical Energy, Eng John Paul White / Eng Pereira Monteiro
Facilities Gas: Energy Technical, Engineer John Paul White / Eng Pereira Monteiro
Measurements and Budget: Deolinda Cancel

Concept description

In condition of more and more scarce energy, environmental pollution and global warming, it is inevitable to using endless natural energy resources such as solar energy, wind energy in designing urban and architecture of 21th century. Especially in Vietnam and South East Asia, they have serious problem for energy consumptions with developing the country.

To avoid energy consumption by air conditioner and maximize the natural resources, natural ventilation technique and principles of aerodynamics is adopted for this design to create an organized natural ventilation system for a building with using water for cooling the air.

This building contains 3 main components to realize natural ventilation:

1.2 Roofs – wind collection and evacuate

2.Room -  wind focus

3.Pool – cooling the air

The design of 3 components has studied carefully by the computer air simulation. The output of simulation had feed bucked many times for the design development.

As the result of the design, this café has got apace with comfortable environment for the customers. This design way can be adopted for the new designs of building in South East Asia.

Design Credit of 113cafe

Location: Binh Duong province, Vietnam.

Archiectural design :

Vo Trong Nghia + Takashi NIWA + Yuki HABA

Structural design:

Mikio KOSHIHARA

Wind Caluculation:

Vo Trong Nghia + Minoru SAKATA

Photographer:

Naoto Ohike (Completion photo)

[Project information of 113cafe]

Classfication     Cafe

Project Address

39/3 Hung Vuong Street, Thu Dau Mot Town, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam.

Construction    July to Dec., 2004

Structure           RC, Wood

Main finish       Brick, bamboo

Building area(Roof area)    586.5sqm

Floor area         455.0sqm

The Conga Room, in its new location at LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles across from the Staples Center, is the city’s premier Latin nightclub. The space will feature today’s hottest Latin performers in its 14,000 square foot live venue space, which includes a restaurant, three distinct bars, patio seating, and a VIP lounge and private room. In addition, the club will host LA TV and world-renowned DJs adjacent to the stage and above the crowd, adding even more excitement to the ambiance. Perhaps the club design’s greatest intent is to be true to the energy of the Latin community, to pay homage to its roots and deep history while infusing it with Los Angeles’ fervent modern lifestyle.

Architect: Belzberg Architects
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Project Team: Hagy Belzberg, Principal; Cory Taylor, Project Manager; Andrew Atwood, Ceiling Project Manager; Chris Arntzen, Kelly Bair, Bill Bowen, Carina Bien-Willner, David Cheung, Brock Desmit, Barry Gartin, Aaron Leppanen, Dan Rentsch, Lauren Zuzack
Project Area: 14,000 sqf
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Belzberg Architects, Fotoworks-Benny Chan

For over a decade, the Conga room has been a Los Angeles cultural landmark. The Latin live music and dance venue was LA’s center for Salsa and Rumba. The original location closed in 2006 with the goal of opening a new venue in the new “LA Live” complex in Downtown, Los Angeles. The new home would contain a 16,000 sq ft live music and dance space made up of a multitude of programs—a large dance floor, a stage, multiple VIP areas, a full-service restaurant and three bars, each with their own unique environment. Collaboration with Cuban artist Jorge Pardo and Mexican muralist Sergio Arau, designers of the Papaya Bar and Surface Tattoos, respectively, was essential.

As if coordinating and blending the variegated programs and styles together wasn’t challenging enough, the space, originally planned for office use, had a very low and equipment-filled ceiling to negotiate and needed to operate within a mixed-use building. As a consequence, three major factors began to drive the design process: First, the space had to be acoustically isolated from the rest of the building while simultaneously performing acoustically for its performers and patrons. Second, it was anticipated that the club would continuously be filled to capacity, thus most conventional architectural devices—walls and floors, would be obfuscated by patrons. Finally, the club was located on the second floor of the building off of the main plaza—a classic foible for restaurant and club operators who commonly have difficulty in beguiling patrons up a flight of stairs or elevators. The solution was to use the ceiling to perform as the spatial organizer, the primary acoustical isolater/amplifer and event attractor.

In an effort to meet the client’s desires for an aesthetic that reflected the vibrancy and dynamism of Latin culture, the ceiling surface, fashioned from a series of Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC)-milled, painted plywood panels, was created from an assemblage of diamond patterns, which were initially derived from the classic Cuban Rumba dance step. Each panel represented a Petal while groupings of six Petals constituted a Flower. Parametric 3D modeling and building performance software aided in the proliferation of the Flowers in a unified, undulating surface that waned and blossomed, delineating each of the unique environments within the club. As the event attractor, the ceiling panels converged into a 20-foot tall glowing Tornado that penetrated the dance floor, inviting and guiding patrons up to the activities in the club. To further intensify the experience, the room boasted an integral, state-of-the-art LED lighting system which gave the ceiling the ability to change color and atmosphere at the push of the button or even react to, in real time, the rhythms and sounds of the music, becoming an active participant in the scene.

In addition to aesthetic concerns, the ceiling had to mitigate complex building infrastructure goals specific to that of a live music venue. Multiple lighting systems, audio visual systems, mechanical systems and fire/life safety systems, among many others, had to be considered. As previously mentioned, various acoustical considerations had to be explored and controlled. The parametric design model allowed the porosity of the ceiling to be manipulated based on feedback from performance, based on data collected from various acoustic analysis software packages. In effect, the ceiling was not an infinitely thin surface extended to all corners but rather a Deep Surface, layering and mitigating multiple constituencies to create a complex piece of building infrastructure providing both a dynamic visual environment as well as a great place to listen to music.

Structural Consultant: John Martin & Associates
Mechanical Consultant: John Dorius & Associates
Electrical Consultant: A & F Consulting Engineers
Plumbing Consultant: Tom Nasrollahi
General Contractor: Winters-Schram Associates
Special Fabrication: Spectrum Oak

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Architects: Vo Trong Nghia Co.,Ltd

Location: Bình Dương, Việt Nam

Type: bar

Photographer: Phan Quang

The wNw bar is located in an artificial lake next to the wNw café. To create a contrasting space to the cafe, the bar is designed as an enclosed space which can be used for different purposes such as music concerts, shows, ceremonies etc.

A structural bamboo arch system was designed for this dome; 10m high and spanning 15m across. The main frame is made by 48 prefabricated units, each of them is made of several bamboo elements bound together. The building uses natural wind energy and the cool water from the lake to create natural air-ventilation. On the top of the roof there is a hole with a diameter of 1.5m for the evacuation of hot air from the inside.

As a new architectural element, the style of the two buildings of wNw becomes the focus of the landscape and work in harmony with the surrounding residential area. Although the function of the buildings is a bar, it has its own uniqueness and has become a landmark of urban landscape. It represents not only modernism but also traditions. The building gives a luxurious feeling but at the same time remains gentle in its atmosphere. The bar is now also used for town meetings and other social activities.

The two buildings originated from nature. They now merge in harmony with nature. With time they will return to nature.