Westraven Office Complex receives second award

The cepezed-designed Westraven Office Complex in Utrecht, the Netherlands, has been enthusiastically acclaimed at the festive Dutch Construction Gala. The project's architect cepezed's Ronald Schleurholts and the commissioning Government Buildings Agency were awarded the Dutch Construction Award 2009 for the project's excellence in different aspects.

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Building Programme:
The programme covers more than 53,000 sq m and consists of office space, conference facilities, a national meeting centre, a communications centre, and the Future Center for the Department of Public Works.

Concept:
- Vides, atriums, conservatories, and inner gardens furnish the transparent new construction with an unprecedented spatial quality, and are also important for the orientation of the staff and visitors.

- Much attention has been devoted to realizing perfect equilibrium between low energy consumption and an optimum working climate. For this purpose, an ingenious climate concept has been developed which makes use of thermically active floors, among other methods.

- The conservatories also work as climate buffers and the artificial lighting adjusts itself automatically to the colour and intensity of the incidence of daylight.

- A revolutionary feature is the innovative second-skin façade of open-weave, teflon-coated glass fibre that offers all-round protection against the wind and makes it possible to work with open windows, even on the top floors.

The project also received the Daylight Award 2008 for its optimal equilibrium between the use of daylight, artificial lighting and other architectural aspects.

Herzog & de Meuron unveil design for Madrid bank headquarters of BBVA

Herzog & de Meuron has completed the design of a new headquarters for Spanish banking group BBVA. The design concept proposes creating a small city and artificial oasis on the site.. The city is comprised of a series of long thin three-storey buildings separated by alleyways and gardens intended to recreate the effect of an Arabian garden across the site. Into this mix, is situated the main bank building, a disc-like tower, that rises from a green carpet that is the project’s plaza.

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The plaza and tower anchor the complex and provide orientation. The main entrance and various communal facilities form an interconnected ring around the plaza. The tower, containing offices with views across the city and the Sierra of Madrid, contributes to the diversity of workspaces.

Light and sun are regulated with overhanging floorplates and a brise-soliel structure, which also minimizes the need for artificial lighting and air conditioning. Retractable elements in the roof help to control the temperature of the gardens. Photovoltaic cells on the roof and rain and grey water processing complete the sustainability features.

Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by Pacific Environments Architects

The tree-house concept is reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination.

Seen at Yatzer. Click here for more details.

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT

The concept is driven by the ‘enchanted’ site which is raised above an open meadow and meandering stream on the edge of the woods.



The tree-house concept is reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination . It’s inspired through many forms found in nature -the chrysalis/cocoon protecting the emerging butterfly/moth, perhaps an onion/garlic clove form hung out to dry.



It is also seen as a lantern, a beacon at night that simply glows yet during the day it might be a semi camouflaged growth, or a tree fort that provides an outlook and that offers refuge.



The plan form also has loose similarities to a sea shell with the open ends spiralling to the centre . It’s the treehouse we all dreamed of as children but could only do as an adult fantasy.



Access is via a 60m tree-top ‘accessible’ walkway –an adventure in itself.
The selected site and tree had to meet a myriad of functional requirements -18 seated people and waiting staff in relative comfort complete with a bar; gaining correct camera angles with associated light qualities for filming the adverts, web cam and stills, have unobstructed views into the valley and entrance to the site and structural soundness .



The final selected tree is one of the larger trees on the site and sits above a steep part of the site which accentuates the tree's height. Kitchen/catering facilities and toilets are at ground level.



The Architectural component embodies a simple oval form wrapped ‘organically’ around the trunk and structurally tied at top and bottom, with a circular plan that is split apart on the axis with the rear floor portion raised.



This allows the approach from the rear via a playful tree-top walkway experience, slipping inside the exposed face of the pod and being enchanted by the juxtaposition of being in an enclosed space that is also quite 'open' and permeable to the treetop views. There is also a ‘Juliet’ deck opposite the entrance that looks down the valley.



The scale and form of the tree-house creates a memorable statement without dominating it’s setting. While it’s natural ‘organic’ form sits comfortably, the rhythm of the various materials retains it’s strong architectural statement.



The verticality of the fins mimics the verticality of the redwoods and enable the building to naturally ‘blend’ into it’s setting, as though it were a natural growth.

Architects: Pacific Environments Architects

CONSTRUCTION

It sits almost 10m wide and over 12m high, with the split-level floor sitting 10m off the ground. Timber trusses form the main structure. The curved fins are glue-laminated pine, plantation poplar has been used for the slats and redwood milled from the site used in the walkway balustrading.



Openings are formed for windows by leaving spaces between the slats/fins that keeps the overall form yet affords a variety of openness for the views and light and closes down toward the rear. To loosen the regularity of the elements, steel is wrapped arbitrarily around the pod. Tying this up at the top and base has a sense of greater connection with the tree.





t is designed to be weather resistant using acrylic sheeting fixed to the roof under the fins with vertical roll-down café-style blinds within. Lighting is an important architectural component enhancing and changing the mood, with discreet lighting within the walkway and up-lighting within the tree house.