BEEHIVE HOUSES

Designed for the desert climate, the beehive homes keep the heat out in a few ways. Their thick mud brick walls trap in the cool and keep the sun out as well (beehive homes have very few, if any, windows). The high domes of the beehive houses also collect the hot air, moving it away from the residents sleeping at the bottom of the house.
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Beehive House

 

Wind and Water Cafe

We know that Vietnam has many interesting cafes. But Wind n Water Cafe (cafe Giף vא Nuớc) in Binh Duong province, an hour drive from downtown Saigon, is not just one of them. It's an artwork of architect/owner Vo trong Nghia. He is a professional architect, trained in Japan.
This cafe uses bamboo as main building material, from the structure frame to the roof and the furniture. The main feature is a large elevated concrete pond so you feel very close to the water when you sit on the cafe's floor. If your table is on a glass islet inside the pond, you feel that you are floating on the water. I wish there were koi or gold fish in the pond, in addition to lotus, but there could be some problem that prevents Nghia from doing that. People told me that at night, the cafe has a different look under the lighting. .
This little architectural masterpiece has won many awards.

Wilkinson Residence

Robert Harvey Oshatz, Architect.

It took 7 years for this project to come to reality and it’s easy to understand why. This is probably the most unusual house that we reviewed so far. There are only few straight lines in it’s design. Dominating curves harmonize the house with the surrounding nature and some elements of steampunk make it look exotic and mysterious. The round hallway to the cylindrical lounge is in the focal point of the interior.

The Truffle

The Truffle is a piece of nature built with earth, full of air. A space within a stone that sits on the ground and blends with the territory. It camouflages, by emulating the processes of mineral formation in its structure, and integrates with the natural environment, complying with its laws

realisation EMSABLE STUDIO SPAIN

A link to picasa for the construction
http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/ensamblestudio2010/sets/72157625119880393/with/5116714779/

shell house

This beautiful house, designed by Japanese architecture firm Artechnic, is simply breathtaking. You will find the Shell House located deep in the woods of Karuizawa, Japan, where its double-elliptical, shell-like shapes blend with its magnificent surroundings.

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steel arch building

Steel is the most recycled material in the world and more steel is recycled annually than all other materials such as aluminum, glass, and paper COMBINED. The use of steel, a renewable construction material, will reduce the current deforestation of our natural environment and ensure a healthy oxygen rich atmosphere for all of us to enjoy. Steel meets the necessities of today without jeopardizing the needs for tomorrow.

indian tipi tents

דורדון צרפת 1 160

People tend to call a tipi an Indian tent, but don't believe it. Forget about a tiny and cold place, what in fact a tent is. It is always warm in a tipi and you can start a fire there! It is spacious enough to be occupied by 30 people at the same time.
Do you still think you can call the tipi a tent? In Indian language "A tipi" means "Home"
INSTRUCTION TO BUILT A TIPI PDF

eco dome

built from local earth-filled Superadobe coils (soil-cement or lime-stabilized earth).
1 Tree free.
2 Maximum use of space through alternative options.
The main dome and four niches, depending on local code approval, can function as:
a) main living room, entrance hall, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom (called "bed-womb" because of it's small, organic form!)
b) living room, entrance hall, and three bed-rooms.
c) living room, entrance hall, two bedrooms, and a bathroom.
3 Self-contained single unit (potential for a guest house or studio apartment) or double unit (larger family residence).
4 Can be repeated and joined together to form larger homes and courtyard houses.
5 Can be built by a team of 3-5 persons.
6 Designed with the sun, shade and wind in mind for passive cooling and heating.
7 Wind-scoop can be combined with a rated furnace unit, depending on local code approval. Solar energy and radiant heating may be incorporated.
8 Interior furniture can be built-in with same material.

http://www.calearth.org/

container building

Puma City by Lot-EK is an 11,000 sq ft traveling pavillion for Puma's entry into the world's toughest sailing race, the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. Puma City contains a full Puma retail store, offices a bar/lounge and an outdoor terrace area. Puma City was built from 24 storage containers a fabulous modular build out, so all other marketing companies better step up.





These container homes are actually three en-suite accommodation units, created by Container City, providing flexible and comfortable homes for the artists on residency and for other visitors to Cove Park.


Container Architecture

BAMBOO HOUSE

Bamboo is one of the most amazingly versatile and sustainable building materials available. It grows remarkably fast and in a wide range of climates. It is exceedingly strong for its weight and can be used both structurally and as a finish material. The canes are beautiful when exposed and they can be cut in such a way as to be re-combined into useful products such as flooring. There is a long vernacular tradition to the use of bamboo in structures in many parts of the world, especially in more tropical climates, where it grows into larger diameter canes. One tricky aspect to the use of bamboo is in the joinery; since its strength comes from its integral structure, it cannot be joined with many of the traditional techniques used with wood. This where the old ways of building with bamboo can be especially informative. I expect that the value of bamboo as a building material will only become more apparent as we move toward a time of wood scarcity and high costs of energy.

TODAY,PEOPLE ARE REDISCOVERING THE ADVANTAGES OF BAMBOO,ONE OF THE WORD KEY CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL.NOT ONLY CHEAP AND ENDURING BUT ALSO AESTHETIC

Bamboo living international prize

dome house

So many ideas from Japan. Here is a segmented prefabricated dome system where each slice is made from cement covered polystyrene weighing 80 Kg, about 170 lb. Given that it looks about 8" thick, we can see this house reduces heating bills by 90%. "The houses are 7 meters in diameter, fire proof, earthquake and typhoon resistant, and using the modular building system can be constructed in less than a day."

The Dome House is simple, since it is a prefabricated building with a small number of parts. Each Dome Piece is light and easy to carry, making the assembly quite easy. Because the construction of the Dome House requires only minimal manpower and a very short period of time, it is possible to reduce the substantial amount of labor costs.

sweet caravan

caravans

Caravans aren’t just for gypsies. They can be retreats, guest quarters, studios, sheds, playhouses, and more, provided you have somewhere to store them when they’re not rolling on the open road.

Shell House by Artechnic

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Shell by ARTechnic architects

Japanese architects ARTechnic have completed Shell, a holiday villa in Karuizawa, Japan.

The two-storey, concrete house comprises two tubes with oval sections, arranged around a fir tree.

The floor is raised 1.4 metres from the ground; the architects intended to minimise time spent on maintaining the property by separating the house from its natural surroundings.

“Being in sync with nature isn’t about yielding to nature – it’s about coexistence,” explains Kotaro Ide of ARTechnic. “The existence of the structure depends on its power to endure nature.”

Photographs by Nacasa & Partners Inc.

Here’s some more information from ARTechnic architects:

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SHELL

A large shell shaped structure finds itself in the middle of the woods. It is hard to determine what exactly the structure is, and unlike the surrounding caves and rocks, it clearly is not a part of nature – nor is it a ruin. A frame, a shape, made at a completely different place for a completely different purpose. Within this shell shaped structure will one find floors constructed, wall separating spaces, and rooms furnished. The scenery conjures a SF film-like image, in which locals inhabit over an abandoned spacecraft. With time, trees start to grow encircling the spacecraft, harmonizing it into the landscape.

Desiring a place that will be occupied frequently over many years and yet at the same time be in sync with nature, we came up with the aforementioned scenery of a large shell structure floating above ground.

Being in sync with nature isn’t about yielding to nature – it’s about coexistence. The existence of the structure depends on its power to endure nature. By isolating living space from the wilderness, and upgrading its quality as a shelter, the house will be protected from nature and will provide a comfortable environment. With this, the house will be taken care of and used frequently and continuously. Specifically in cases of villas, frequent use is what leads it to blend in with its surroundings.

The regions’ low temperatures and high humidity level makes for a harsh climate. As a result, many houses that take on traditional structures are decaying. Is it in sync with nature? Perhaps. But the whole idea of comfort seems to be put into question. Consequently, large numbers of villas have not been in use for many years bringing them down to further dilapidation. Despite the general avoidance of concrete material in the region, its usage and the lifting structure have helped the villa protect itself from the humidity.

Leaving the boundary between human life and nature ambiguous is a Japanese virtue. Yet, this ideal can only be achieved through meticulous attention and care of the wilderness on a daily basis. This might be attainable at our homes, but isn’t a practical theory when applied to villas. If a visit to the villa inevitably leads to hours and days of maintenance, why bother going? It clearly goes against the purpose of a villa. Having a type of living space that merges with nature could be appealing, but it seems natural to consider this option only when one is ready to devote a large time solely on maintenance.

It goes without saying that villas should not only be functional spaces for the weekend. Their greatest goal is to provide us with good rest, leisure, and picturesque views that never become dull – all in the vicinity of nature. In the style of many modern sculptures, we aimed to enhance the surrounding nature by incorporating it within the spatial structure.

Description of mechanical system

For the house to be actually used, we paid the ultimate attention to its comfort and performance level.

With its classic status as a summer resort, many old villas in Karuizawa take on traditional styles, from the time when visitors arrived with the intention of staying for at least a month. Little did it matter that a day or two had to be spent on maintaining the house, given the long sojourn. With the advent of the Shinkansen, the high-speed railways, Karuizawa is merely an hour and 10 minutes away from Tokyo – visiting Karuizawa just for the weekend has become a norm today. A shorter visit calls for a shorter duration of maintenance.

The central control system enables all mechanical and electrical equipments to be managed by three buttons. In addition, the biometrics lockage and security system will reduce anxiety and stress over house safety management. The installment of the custom made floor-heating system minimizes the use of heat energy for avoiding the trouble of emptying drainage in cold regions.

Furthermore, it is highly effective in mold prevention. In addition, it works as a cold-draft blocking system which enables the luxury of enjoying a hefty amount of space with large openings. The system integrates itself within the architectural form.

Assuming future interior and equipment maintenances (including the window sash) for continual use, the frame is completely separate. The building frame is assumed to assimilate with its surroundings with the passage of time. To provide efficiency during maintenance, the concrete was exposed, finished with a penetrative sealer for concretes.

Description of building composition

The plan was to build the villa around the big fir tree as the center of the site, with a row of pine trees as the main view. Initially, we had planned to build a shell structure with three dimensionally curved surfaces, and the C shaped section was to surround the fir tree and the plan of the building resembled the letter J.

In addition, certain parts were planned to hold double volume space. Yet, going over the budget, construction method and finish, the plan was revised down to a shell structure of two dimensionally curved surfaces. The J shaped structure is constructed by two different size oval cylindrical masses cut with curves.

The straight part of J, a smaller mass connects to a curved part to J, a larger mass. The top of the oval shaped building wall thickens by 350mm and its width continuously increases up to 750mm at both sides to meet the structural requirements.

The free-curved lines appear on the edge, and the three dimensionally curved surface with a twist partly appears on the cut surfaces. However the entire structure was composed by two dimensionally curved surfaces.

The floor is built 1400mm above the ground, with the lower half of the shell structure protruding greatly towards the outside, supporting the terrace of the same height.

All air and exhaust outlets are installed beneath the sash, letting air run outside through the terrace louver. In addition, by devising unfixed windows, we tried to maximize natural ventilation (we haven’t arranged air conditioning in general parts). While at a glance, the oval shaped cylinder space might appear as wasteful use of space, the functional use of space is maximized by the installation of furniture in the lower half of the oval cylinder.

Above: initial sketch of SHELL.

Above: final proposal of SHELL with three dimensionally curved surfaces.

Above: proposal of SHELL with two dimensionally curved surfaces in different variations.

Above: initial proposal of SHELL with oval cylinder shape.

Above: final proposal of SHELL with the reduced volume from previous proposal.

Above: the completion images.

Project title: SHELL
Architects: Kotaro Ide / ARTechnic architects
Assistants : Moriyuki Fujihara・Ruri Mitsuyasu・Takashi Mototani (former member) Kenyu Fujii
Collaborator: ManamiIde (designer of customized metal work)
Structural engineer: Naomi Kitayama / NAO
Mechanical engineer: Hiroshi Nakayama / TNA
Electrical engineer: Jyunetsu Satou / EPS
Constructor: Kenji Kusunoki / GIKAKU
Client: Mr.Kunimoto
Location: Karuizawa, Kitasaku, Nagano
Principal use: Private villa
Structure: Reinforced concrete
Foundation: Spread foundation

Building scale:

• 2stories / Maximum height 6.45m
• Site area: 1711.03㎡
• Building area: 274.38㎡ (building coverage ratio 16.04％ legal max.20％)
• Total floor area: 329.65㎡ (floor area ratio 19.27％ legal max.20％)
• 1st floor: 267.80㎡
• 2nd floor: 61.85㎡

Exterior finishes:

• Roof and exterior walls: Exposed concrete with penetrative sealer finish
• Roof and exterior walls (entrance): Exposed concrete with penetrative sealer and heat insulating paint finish
• Openings: Steel and aluminum sash
• Terrace flooring: Ulin flooring ｔ=20mm with penetrative paint finish

Interior finishes:

• Ceiling and interior walls: Expanded hard urethane form t=60ｍｍ with synthetic resin with vermiculite material spray finish
• Ceiling and interior walls (entrance): Heat insulating paint finish
• Ceiling and interior walls (double volume space): Plastered finish
• Interior walls (a part): Teak plywood with oil finish
• Flooring: Ulin flooring t=15mm
• Flooring (entrance concrete floor): Concrete exposed-aggregate finish by washing with color paint finish