J Stanbury Design Inc. excels in providing unique and innovative designs combining green technology with old world craftsmanship. With over 40 years experience we have designed award winning facilities as well as high profile celebrity homes.
Text description provided by the architects. In this project, a couple asked us to design a house but should it be simple, efficient and low-cost construction. The clients’ lifestyle was extremely important to set the best strategy. She is an agronomist, take care of her garden and condo’s garden. She has an organic garden with delicious foods and spices. She involved and teach the neighborhood with healthy recipes. He cooks an amazing barbecue for friends and clients, because of that he is known as Mr. BBQ. The idea was zoning the house in two blocs: The social area is composed of painted bricks and there is an exposed concrete marquee used as a garage and frontal terrace. In the other volume, with exposed bricks, there is the private and intimate area. Two suites and a sewing atelier. A linear corridor connects both volumes and allows a people flow from the main entrance to the garage and the back garden.
Due to the privileged view, we put back the social area at the corner and leveled the house from the highest part of the terrain. We created an outside wood deck which it relates to the living room that provides an observation area. Next, to the intimate area, we created a linear seedbed. The intention was developed a micro clime with plants and aromatized the rooms with spices and fresh herbs. In addition, in the background of the house, there are stairs to access the green roof above the social volume area. All the residence was built with exposed concrete and eco-bricks. Ecological because it isn’t baked as the traditional. Is made by mixing cement to a sandy soil, compacted and cured under the shadow. A special format and the fitting system provided a reduction of up to 30 % in the expenses.
The electric ducts and the hydraulic system pass inside the holes of the brick, avoiding the breaking of walls. Debris, material wasted and wall- breaking is minimized. We still have solar panels to heat the water used by the residents and capture rainwater for irrigation of the garden. The internal environments were set up by reforming a large part of the furniture existing in the resident’s previous house, always with the assistance and supervision of the OCA. In this way, using sustainable architecture elements and a lot of simplicity, we could connect the lifestyle of the couple with the design of the house. The satisfactory result is visible when we pass through the place and we realize the proper scale that the house has in relation to them and the joy with which they use the created spaces.
For so many families, the kitchen is a focal point of the home. Not only do parents spend hours each week cooking, children sidle up to the kitchen bar for after-school snacks or even to do homework. The importance of the kitchen in everyday activities means that it can feel uncomfortable to simplify the space so that it meets with minimalist aesthetics. After all, where is the warmth of a stark which countertop or a monochromatic kitchen island? Still, the kitchens featured in this post manage to not only incorporate the necessary appliances and seating that is required of a kitchen, they also ensure that each space is imbued with its own sense of style. Take a look and find some inspiration for your next simplification project.
The color white will be a theme throughout this post, starting with this first kitchen. White is an easy way to convey minimalism as it immediately feels clean and simple.
Designer: Piotr Matuszek & Gosia Czarny
In an open floor plan like this one, a white minimalist kitchen design overflows into the rest of the public space, which also uses white on white as a unifying style.
Of course, where minimalism is at play, the combination of white and wood cannot be far behind. Here, a white kitchen sets off a deep red wood dining table to great effect.
A minimalist kitchen does not have to be complete devoid of color. In this simple design, bits of color in the way of natural wood, yellow, and red manage to shine through.
This next example is even more colorful with deep sage green cabinetry and a mustard yellow refrigerator. Minimalist kitchen design, after all, is not about color but about clean lines and clutter-free organization.
In this lovely kitchen, minimalist shelving keeps kitchen necessities liked mugs and bowls tucked away neatly but also easy to reach when they are needed.
The furniture that’s used in a kitchen also plays a critical role in its overall style. Here, black minimalist kitchen stools match nicely with the simple pendant lighting for a modern, unified look.
The use of levels is another minimalist design technique. Here, the kitchen is elevated above the living area and shelving continues the stair step effect.
Visualizer: Ivanna Pavlus & Anna Neiman
A minimalist kitchen can also make unique accessories stand out, as with the unique kitchen stools in this space.
32 dwellings for elderly people, Primary Care Center & parking
The center is located on the border between the “Ensanche” and the “Gracia” neighborhood within an existing building that includes three different uses: 32 dwellings for elderly people, Primary Care Center and parking for 44 vehicles.
Section 04
The ground floor is strongly conditioned by the need for independent access to each of the different uses. Space distribution is very influenced by the strict dimensional requirements of the Primary Care Center and housing minimum surface requirements. All that is reflected in the design of structures, facilities and fire protection.
The building is conditioned by the intention to take full advantage of the possibility of natural lighting and ventilation. To do so, the mezzanine floor is pulled apart from the façade, generating an elevated ramp that acts as a hallway, and works as an extension of the street as a space of relationship.
In terms of energy efficiency, the building is one of the four High-Combi pilot projects of the VII European Union’s Framework Program, for high-performance solar thermal buildings, and has achieved an Energy Certification A label.
As the son of famed Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, and now the leader of the firm which he joined under his father in 1989, Victor Legorreta is one of Mexico‘s most visible architects. In this interview, the latest in Vladimir Belogolovsky’s “City of Ideas” series, Legorreta discusses the complexities of following in the footsteps of his father and how, in his view, good architecture is made.
Vladimir Belogolovsky:What kind of projects are you working on at this moment?
Victor Legorreta: We work on a variety of projects-about 60 percent are in Mexico and the rest are abroad. Mexico City is increasingly becoming a vertical city in its attempt to reverse its tendency of growing into an endless and dysfunctional sprawl. We are working on several mixed-use towers with retail, entertainment, restaurants, offices, and residential uses in a single building to enable people to find everything they need within easy reach, to lessen the pressure on traffic, which in the city is now among the worst in the world. We are also working with The Aga Khan Foundation on two projects-a university in Tanzania and a hospital and university in Uganda.
VB:Could you talk about growing up as the son of Ricardo Legorreta? Do you think you had no choice but becoming an architect?
VL: I am the youngest of six kids-three boys and three girls. I am the only architect. One of my sisters studied architecture but became a photographer. We lived in a house right next to the office here, so I was in the thick of architecture, and books on architecture, and design my entire childhood. Still, my father never tried to push me into architecture, and I was hesitating as well because I knew that people would always compare us. They could say-look, you are not as good as your father or something like that. [Laughs.] Then, I started liking it a lot, and when I decided that architecture was what I wanted to do, he supported me, of course.
In the beginning, I was a rebel. When I was at school, I resisted showing him my work. When I graduated he said “why don’t you start working with some of my friends?”
VB:Before you came to work for your father, you worked in other places internationally. I read that you apprenticed with Oriol Bohigas in Barcelona, Fumihiko Maki in Tokyo, and you also worked with Aldo Rossi. Is that right? How conscious were these choices?
VL: Well, I wanted to experience different cultures and because my father met so many architects around the world, I could choose places where I wanted to work. First, I went to Los Angeles to work for Leason Pomeroy Associates, then to Barcelona, and finally, to Japan. Unfortunately, I never worked for Rossi. I went to see him in New York where he had his office in the 90s, but at that time, my father received an invitation to take part in a competition for a Children’s Museum here in Mexico City, so he asked me to come back to work on that project together. He said that he didn’t have a team for that project, so he asked me to come and bring some of my friends to put together a team. I brought my friends and we won the competition. [Laughs.] The museum, Papalote Children’s Museum and Planetarium was built in 1993, and we were hired for its remodeling, in 2016.
VB:So it was a project that ultimately made you come back to work for your father. Was there a fear of being too much in his shadow? Because there was a resistance initially, as you mentioned.
VL: Yes. Well, my father was still quite young and he was open to new ideas. On the other hand, he had a very strong personality. He was dominating and he had his own ways of doing things. I was just 24 when I started working here. I was very excited and, sometimes, I would even do my own sketches on top of his, just to do some things differently. [Laughs.] Overall, we had a very good relationship. We worked together for about 24 years. Of course, in the beginning, he was making all major decisions because I was just a kid, but soon I began to be completely involved and became a full partner. At the end, our roles flipped. He became my mentor and advisor, while I started running the office. He worked here until the very end. I miss him being around and being able to discuss work and ask for his advice.
VB:How would you summarize his influence on your architecture and how did it affect your work?
VL: Of course, although it is not very popular to admit it now, he had a very strong and recognizable style of architecture. That, surely, influenced me, but what affected me a lot more is the passion he put into his work. Architecture was constantly on his mind, and he often worked on weekends. He devoted all his efforts and passion to work. He always tried to improve his work and he was open to new possibilities.
VB:Have you ever tried to invent your own distinctive style in opposition to your father’s?
VL: I never thought of inventing my own style, but I always tried to challenge what I thought of as my father’s architecture. I tried to use forms and materials that he typically avoided, such as curved walls, domes, or brick. He was receptive to my ideas. But I didn’t really want to do something completely different or my own signature style architecture; the idea was to open up possibilities.
VB:Your father was a disciple of Barragan but he never worked for him. What was the relationship like?
VL: They were very good friends. While my father was on the advisory board at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he suggested doing an exhibition on Barragan’s work. At the time, it was very unusual to focus on non-European or American masters. That was the show that was curated by Emilio Ambasz, after which Barragan became famous. But my father was more a disciple of José Villagrán García, a pioneer of the modern movement in Mexico who designed the Architecture School Building for the Autonomous National University of Mexico or UNAM. My father worked for him for ten years before starting his own practice in 1963. He met Barragan then.
Barragan was completely different. He didn’t study architecture; he studied engineering and he practiced architecture as an artist. He had great sensibilities and was a complete opposite from Villagrán who was very efficient and was advocating for rational architecture. Barragan was a true poet and romantic who would break at five o’clock every afternoon to drink tea and watch birds gathering at his garden fountain. And I think my father was really clever by taking something from both. He took discipline and organizational skills from Villagrán and great sensibilities from Barragan. And of course, he was also influenced by Mexican roots.
VB:Did your father and Barragan ever collaborate on projects?
VL: Yes, but nothing was ever realized. They once collaborated on a small fountain for a client who gave them carte blanche. It took many months for Barragan to come up with the design because he was constantly changing something. Finally, they went to see the client and during the presentation Barragan said that he was still not quite sure if he liked the result, so the client said-well, take your time and come back when you are ready. They never finished that project. [Laughs.]
VB:He was such a perfectionist.
VL: His intention was to create spaces to be absolutely perfect. He did mainly small projects but he succeeded in leaving the biggest legacy of any Mexican architect.
VB:In one of your interviews you said, “The most important thing for us is to create spaces that are able to trigger an emotion.” Could you talk about the intentions behind your work?
VL: Well, of course, architecture has a function. It needs to shelter us and protect us from the rain and wind. That is important, but what is even more important for architecture is to move you emotionally. Good architecture can be felt when you are inside the space-it makes you feel at home. Architecture is only good when it is able to transmit such feelings as comfort, serenity, calm. That comes with great effort. Architecture should evoke feelings and emotions. There are many architects who can do good efficient buildings, but that is not enough.
VB:You once remarked that “educating a client is nonsense.” Why is that? Wouldn’t you agree that an architect should always try to do more than what a client may ask for?
VL: [Laughs.] Well, you are right; it was not the right way to say it. What I meant is that educating a client is nonsense because it sounds very arrogant. It sounds like the architect knows more than the client does.
VB:About how to design a building-for sure. The issue here is that the architect may not know but by asking the right questions he will initiate the research, and the knowledge acquired in that process would be shared with the client.
VL: Sure, I agree with that approach. But to me, it’s important for every client to have a good relationship with an architect and even friendship. In my office, we learn from our clients. We want to know everything about our clients because that informs our projects. What I intended to say was that we, architects, need to design buildings that clients ask us to do and not tell them what we think they really want. There are architects who take advantage of their clients. For example, you may want to design a cylinder not because it would benefit the project but because you never used it before. Then the client would end up with that cylinder for the rest of his life. Architects need to understand that they design buildings for their clients, not to win a prize. The important thing is to make the client happy. Of course, any design process is mutually educating, and it should be mutually satisfying.
VB:It is also true that clients come and go but great architecture remains. If you had to pick one-word terms to describe your work what would they be?
VL: Emotional, happy, timeless, rooted in culture, site-specific.
VB:Do you have a secret about making architecture that would bring joy and happiness?
VL: [Laughs.] Well, what I would argue is that architects often try to over-intellectualize their theories about making architecture. I often wonder whether these theories come before or after the design is done. So I think, sometimes, architects take themselves too seriously. But at the end, buildings are for people. Buildings have to have solid thinking behind them and they have to age well. Having said that, I am also convinced that buildings have to have an element of surprise. They need to provide an emotional experience. Again, we should try not to be too serious about theory behind buildings.
VB:Wouldn’t you also agree that for people to be happy within buildings architecture needs to, well, step back, disappear. Is making people happy the right goal for architects?
VL: Well, what I know is that good architecture should not be imposing; it should not make people uncomfortable or restricted. Architecture should make us happy, comfortable, safe.
VB:I think architects and clients do have different goals and it is that tension and the architects’ determination to challenge their clients and conventions that lead to the kind of architecture that is both intellectually and emotionally adventurous. Happiness is a relative term. Does the fact that someone is happy inside a building make it good architecture? Do you equate comfort with good architecture?
VL: Yes, comfort is an important quality of good architecture. But for sure good architecture goes beyond comfort. Good architecture is about enjoyment. Good architecture is a kind of place where you want to keep coming back.
Belogolovsky’s column, City of Ideas, introduces ArchDaily’s readers to his latest and ongoing conversations with the most innovative architects from around the world. These intimate discussions are a part of the curator’s upcoming exhibition with the same title which premiered at the University of Sydney in June 2016. The City of Ideas exhibition will travel to venues around the world to explore ever-evolving content and design.
Text description provided by the architects. Zaferaniye garden complex is a private housing project, ordered by client at 2007 with 64 residential units and a total area of 38000 square meters, in 12 floors above, and 3 floors under the ground. The building site is situated in a 6500 square meters old garden in northern parts of Tehran.
Avoiding cutting the site trees was of utmost importance to arrange the building foot print according to local regulations; thus two individual masses were arranged on the ground, with some connections under the ground accordingly.
Diagram
The concept of plant boxes as a representation of the interacting city life and nature was envisioned to sculpt the mass volume.
Recycling of rain water trough made us able to use it for Irrigation and flush tanks –using a gray piping system. This way we developed a big number of trees on balconies with minimum height of 2floors and outdoor living surfaces.
After setting the trees, we got both privacy and a new micro-climate on the balconies and beyond. Providing privacy using ever-green leaves and an automated Irrigation system ,assures lasting mutual view from both the apartments and the city with a response to Tehran‘s polluted air.
During the time needed for the growth of façade plants, the project creates new views for itself and it is not depended on environment’s view.
Having a tree beside the façade, makes a new vertical neighborhood; as caring for plants in the lower floors provides vertical privacy and a green view for upper floor.
A roof garden with an area of 2000 square meters, including sky-bridge as gazebo,a vegetables garden, and a gathering place, is there for people to use as a landscape of the surroundings, with a great view and sufficient privacy(outdoor living).
There are over 25 types of houses, ranging inform 220 to750 square meters. Each of these are different from the others, in terms of size, balcony and layout, including large family apartments and twin-level penthouses. At least 65% of their perimeter is faced outside, which makes pleasant opportunities for view.
Text description provided by the architects. Indigenous Australians make up 3% of Australia’s population and have survived the trauma of Colonisation and are proudly keeping their languages and Culture alive in urban, regional and remote areas. These communities face major socio-economic challenges as a result of 200 years of European governance, including multi-generational unemployment, alcoholism, poor literacy, poor nutrition and poor health outcomes including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. A lack of coordination by Government agencies at both a State and Commonwealth level has failed to address the causes of this endemic poverty. In one way this kind of challenges could be thought of as 4th World Poverty- that of a stressed Nation struggling to exist within a dominant first world Nation.
Scagliola Brakkee
Site Plan
Scagliola Brakkee
The remote town of Fitzroy Crossing (population 1,144) was one of the last frontiers of Colonial development. The town is 2,675km by road from the State capital Perth, and 400km to the nearest regional town of Broome. The town experiences extreme climatic events; during the dry season strong desert winds bring dust storms and bushfires; in the wet season the sub-tropical monsoon brings high humidity and heat, with tropical cyclones and storms causing the Fitzroy River to swell- turning the town into an island for periods of up to 2 weeks. Like much of the north of Australia the town is also exposed to plagues of insects, including mosquitoes that carry Ross River Virus and Murray River Encephalitis.
Scagliola Brakkee
Located on Bunuba Country on a ford over the ancient Fitzroy River, Fitzroy Crossing is the meeting place of 4 Aboriginal Language Groups- the Traditional Owners- the river and hill people- the Bunuba, the planes people- the Nyigina, the eastern river people- the Goodiyandi, and the people of the Great Sandy Desert the Walmajari. These groups live in small cluster villages or camps that make up the town- and it is within the Community of Junjuwa that the Renal Hostel is located.
Scagliola Brakkee
Project Description
The purpose of this facility is to provide a place to live for Aboriginal people with end stage Renal Disease- allowing them to stay close to their family and community while receiving Hemodialysis for 2.5-4.5 hours, 3 times a week. It is expected that most people will only live for about 3 years making this facility a type of palliative care facility- without the medical components of such a facility. Prior to the establishment of this accommodation facility and the associated Renal Chairs in the nearby Hospital, people had the choice of moving to Perth and thus being separated from their family and community or simply staying at their community and dying. Sadly, the trauma of being separated from their kin led many to choose the stay and die option.
Scagliola Brakkee
The facility consists of 13 rooms for residents, distributed over 6 small houses accommodating 19 people. Each room is a 1 or 2 bedroom space, with a wheelchair accessible ensuite, tea preparation bench and insect screened sleepout. The resident’s meals and cleaning of linen are performed by the facility staff in the communal amenity building. The houses are provided with a front porch that allows for public engagement, and the rear sleepout verandah provides a more private area, that is secured from insects and intruders at night.
Scagliola Brakkee
The residents will be from outlying communities and will be able to look after themselves in all other ways- ie. they would not qualify as Aged Care Residents. The site has been planned to reflect the 4 major language groups in town; with the site planning, paths and landscape species selection referencing bush tucker, medicine and iconic plants from their homelands. The distribution of the houses maximises the space between the dwellings and responds to the idea of Cultural Surveillance- the need for Aboriginal people to observe the movement of people and animals through the landscape.
Scagliola Brakkee
Floor Plans
Scagliola Brakkee
Other Culturally Sustainable design features include multiple paths of travel to support avoidance relationships, view corridors into the landscape, language-specific landscape species selection, support for outdoor cooking and fire use, and addressing mortuary practices. The spaces between the houses allow people from differing language groups to find their own external spaces under trees responding to the request to provide separate spaces for people from different language groups. The amenity building partially screens the houses from the main street providing access control, kitchen, staff and community laundry facilities, communal dining and activity spaces, offices and meeting rooms, and 2 staff units. The amenity building is broken into 2 pavilions, separated by a breezeway space that functions as a welcome space and secondary activity area.
Aboriginal people have a strong desire for outdoor living- thus the core internal spaces support the outdoor, verandah based activity areas, which in turn support the external zones where the lighting of fires for gatherings or cooking bush meats can occur. Many of these residents are Elders in the community and our client group required a place of dignity that people could come and interact with their family members. Due to the nature of the Renal disease they have very low energy levels and their need to dialyze every 2 days, the residents capacity for trips back to their community and homelands is limited- hence the need for the center to welcome visitors.
Scagliola Brakkee
Materiality
Due to the remote location and limited access to skilled trades for construction and maintenance the regional construction type is concrete slab on ground, with steel frames, Colorbond Steel and painted fiber cement cladding. Technologies are kept as simple as possible. These humble materials are shaped to respond to the forms of a cottage or a civic building, with their simple forms being articulated by a soaring roof- with increased volume to reduce radiant heat loads and to capture cooling winds during favorable seasons. When the weather becomes harsh people can move inside to spaces cooled by DX Air Conditioner systems.
Scagliola Brakkee
A critical design feature is to provide mosquito protection for the residents and staff. All sleeping spaces and the external living sleeping spaces are protected with a woven stainless steel insect screen that doubles as a security screen to minimise risks of mosquito-borne illnesses. Water heating is via solar and heat pump hot water systems, water consumption is minimised via low flow fixtures. As the facility is on a local bore the water supply is treated on site via an ultraviolet water treatment plant to remove pathogens.
Located outside of Saint-Malo‘s train station, this soaring 55-meter beacon building will establish itself as an entrance to the city. The Semaphore is the product ofFrench architectsa/LTA + Ateliers Laporte and holds a strong identity and concept in creating a dynamic, engaging environment while blending harmoniously into its surrounding environment.
Courtesy of a/LTA Architects
Courtesy of a/LTA Architects
The building is broken into three distinct volumes: the pedestal, the attic, and the emergence. The pedestal engages the public in neighborhood activities, bringing programmatic diversity to the neighborhood. It houses shops, offices, a child care center, as well as other amenities. Additionally, it also features a series of gardensproviding both the city and neighborhood with a veritable eco-system.
Courtesy of a/LTA Architects
The attic lies above the pedestal and holds 27apartments across three stories, subtly echoing the attics of the surrounding buildings.
The final component is that of the emergence, which is comprised of three volumes of varying shapes and sizes, each housing 3 to 5 floors of apartments. The volumes are gracefully layered on top of one another, shifting on their horizontal axis to create an elegant silhouette, marking the skyline of Saint-Malo.
Courtesy of a/LTA Architects
Each apartment is spacious and bright with visual connections to the city. Large outdoor spaces, such as terraces or loggia, accompany every unit and allow the indoors to open up into the city, providing views of both Saint-Malo and the sea in the distance. Duplexes located at the uppermost stories of the building enjoy access to an exclusive winter garden, shielded from wind and foul weather by tree-filled gardens.
Courtesy of a/LTA Architects
Shared spaces within thebuilding are considerably located above the forecourt to ensure daily use while respecting the inhabitants’ privacy. These spaces are glassed in and visible from the residents’ roof garden. This sense of enclosure yet visual connection creates a luminous space with both a sense of security and harmony.
Courtesy of a/LTA Architects
The careful and considered design decisions will make The Semaphore a strong addition to the Saint-Malo train station neighborhood. Strong yet respective of its surroundings, it will stand as an elegant landmark of the city.
LEGO has announced the release of one of their largest-ever builds, a 5,923-piece Creator Export kit of the Taj Mahal.
The kit is an update of what was once the largest set ever produced by LEGO, launched in 2008 but discontinued in 2010. While preserving largely the same appearance, the re-release will contain one piece more than its predecessor.
Courtesy of LEGO
Completed in 1658 as a mausoleum for Shah Jahan’s late wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal is one of the world’s most recognizable buildings, adorned with intricate carvings and decorative motifs. The enormous size of the LEGO set allows these details to really stand out, including its four arched facades, central dome, subsidiary domed chambers and corner minarets.
Courtesy of LEGO
Courtesy of LEGO
Standing at over 16 (43cm) high, 20 (51cm) wide and 20 (51cm) deep, putting this thing together will be no easy task.
The Taj Mahal kit will be available on Cyber Monday (November 27) in LEGO stores and at the LEGO Shop Online for $369.99.
From the architect. When The LEGO Group set out to create its new hub in Shanghai (ShangHub), which is one of five major hubs for The LEGO Group worldwide, people were, as always, placed at the center.
WangYi
ShangHub endeavors to embody the LEGO values of Imagination, Joy, Fun, Creativity, Learning, Caring and Quality to the core. By raising the value of user experience through human centric design, the ambition was to create a world class workplace where only the best is good enough, says Sudhir Saseedharan, Design Manager, Global Design and Engagement, Corporate Facilities.
WangYi
The Global Design and Engagement team at The LEGO Group collaborated with Robarts Spaces, an interior design and architecture firm headquartered in China, to create the new workspace. The highly integrative design process reflected the LEGO team’s objective to create and nurture engagement through design, fostering collaboration, innovation, fun, respect with global & local connectedness to each other, to customers and to the LEGO brand and history. The ShangHub is the latest LEGO office designed with the New Ways Of Working strategy with employees empowered to choose their work setting, from a variety of workspace options, removing physical and organizational barriers to creativity.
WangYi
Multiple design workshops were conducted, each themed with a different objective, such as overall design principles, functional layouts, and wayfinding providing fun and fostering creativity, but also resulting in thoughtful, inventive consultations on interpreting the LEGO brand into the space. This collaboration was also highly productive, with the design team moving from blocking layout to approved design layout in just four days.
WangYi
With a range of workspace formats, such as an energizing work caf, a Zen Zone, Play Zone, along with team huddle and silent spaces, the team designed a zoning strategy for the three levelled, 7,000sqm space, from Active at the highest floor to Quiet at the lowest floor, with workspaces shifting from highly collaborative to silent. Transitional areas were designed to provide opportunities for spontaneous conversation and creativity, with kiosks located nearby, providing facility services such as printers, stationery, wayfinding, and coffee-tea points.
WangYi
At its most active, the ShangHub features an expansive Caf, itself with numerous typologies of seating, postures and settings for casual recreation and refreshment, a pantry stocked with healthy snacks, a coffee bar complete with professional barista, as well as typologies for individual working, group meetings and ideation sessions. The Caf’s bleacher podium, punctuated by numerous round soft pads, evocative of the dots on LEGO bricks, regularly hosts Town Hall meetings and other knowledge sharing events. Nature is present in real form through large planters which function as spatial dividers and provide bio-phylic benefits to the environment, and is graphically represented on glass installations.
WangYi
The LEGO Mini-figures as macro-graphics create a bold presence throughout the space. LEGO brick spheres and cuboids hang, in cloud-like clusters, emphasizing the products’ materiality and design, while appearing as contemporary reinterpretations of Chinese lanterns. A white Chinese pavilion, flanked by a bamboo canopied path leading to a hidden corner for playing Chinese chess, enjoying the Shanghai skyline or cultivating inspiration for a new project to inspire the next generation of builders, is located near the entrance to the LEGO ShangHub Board Room, all subtly referencing traditional Chinese design, inspiring creativity and engagement and reinforcing the LEGO visual identity.
WangYi
Around the office are design walls featuring LEGO creations created specifically for the space by staff and by local children who are invited to create LEGO murals, fostering local community engagement. Engagement through design and design through engagement remain the principles animating of the new LEGO ShangHub.
Have you ever spent hours calibrating the nozzle of a 3D printer or preparing a print-ready file only to find that the model has failed because of a missed zero-thickness wall? With this in mind, the Platonics Ark–a 3D printer currently being developed in Helsinki, Finland-has one simple goal: to remove all unnecessary set-up and technical processes by means of intelligent automation and, as a result, almost entirely eliminatethe wasted time that architects and designers spend calibrating printers, or workingup print-ready files.
Platonics
Platonics claim to reduce pre-processing time from hours to minutes; the printer itself is self-cleaning and self-calibrating with a modular design that “spares the user from messy cleaning and handling clogged parts.” According to the company, moving from CAD file to3D printable STL files takesno more thanfour steps with their software, which plugs directly intoArchicad, Revit, Rhino, Vectorworks, and Sketchup. Uniquely among other 3D printers currently available, the file isdeliveredto the printerby way of an intuitive, playful web application.
Platonics
By engaging with practices in Finland and beyond, the Platonicsteamclaim to have had 1,027 conversations with architects in developing the prototypes of the Ark. In addition to this, they have conducted an intensive piloting period with the likes ofJKMM Architects, Lunden, Serum Architects, Verstas Architects, and Studio Puisto. For Samuli Woolston ofALA Architects,a practice who are co-developing the prototype with Platonics, “there’s nothing like a physical model to explain a form.” Having used 3D printing as a tool for assessing design iterations of complex forms for over a decade, “the challenge for us is in the amount of hours our staff spends on maintenance and pre-processing files.”
Platonics
If this device is attempting to reclaim the ‘immediate’ sketch model in architectural practice, it has one distinct advantage: alongside conventional matte and transparent printing materials, it can also work with “Wood, Terracotta, Clay, Granite, Concrete, Copper, and Bronze.”
Platonics Ark is now available for pre-ordering through Indiegogo. According to the company, product deliveries for backers are targeted to start in April 2018, and full-scale production is set to launch in May 2018.Super early bird pricing starts from2,095 EUR.
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