Bamboo Skin! House in Paranaque

Location

The house is located in the residential subdivision of Better Living in Paranaque City, Metro Manila. The area features a low density neighbourhood of houses and low rise buildings.

Program

The program is a 465sqm family house on a 360sqm lot. The entrance foyer, garage and service area face the access road while dining, living room and kitchen overlook the private courtyard. The first floor hosts a family room and a private quarter with two bedrooms along with a guest-office room with access to a roof garden. The master bedroom occupies the second floor with its own salon, changing room and bathroom.

Planning

The house has 250sqm of landscaped courtyard, accessible roof garden and terrace.The courtyard solution has been chosen for its qualities of efficiency and privacy. This typology has been widely used during Spanish colonial era here in the Philippines.

Materials

Bamboo is the chosen material for this project. It is a low cost and sustainable material that grows intensively locally. This material has been historically used in the country for the fabrication of handicrafts, native architecture and utilitarian objects.The bamboo poles are treated against moulds and pests then stained and varnished. They are protected by ledges that also prevent the direct sunlight from penetrating into the house, while on the top floor the layers of bamboos are doubled.

The courtyard is bordered by a pond running all its length with a vertical water feature facing the living and dining room. Small shells and crushed Adobe stone are incrusted into the render. At night, the wall lighted up from the pond.

Energy

Electricity is partially provided by solar panels placed on the top roof.

Completion date: June 2011
Land area: 360sqm
Project area: 465sqm
Client: Private
Address: 95 Luxembourg St., Better Living subd. Paranaque City, Philippines
Styling and furnishing: Milo Naval

Follow the link below for more info!
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/03/21/bamboo-cladding-surrounds-house-in-the-philippines-by-atelier-sacha-cotture/

Connectable Web - Keeping Cities and Nature Intertwined

Once again we're sending you from the YEOW blog to another website.  Today we're featuring a blog that comes from one of our very own.  Sally Parker, a member of the Baker Alexandria landscape architecture studio who is working towards her Master of Natural Resources, focusing on leadership in sustainability is writing a blog for her independent study.

Connectable Web focuses on the urban forest on as a major provider of Ecosystem Services.  Ecosystem Services are the benefits we receive from the surrounding environment, including clean water, clean air, and pollinators for crops among others. The web address is www.connectableweb.com.

A view of Los Angeles from the post:

 Real Change Begins in Cities 

 The Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability leads an 18-month executive masters program through the Virginia Tech National Capital Region. The program places a heavy emphasis on forming partnerships between public, private, federal and non-profit stakeholders to address the growing 2050 pressures of population growth, resource scarcity, economic inequality, and social equity.

Dutch Students Design Revolutionary Solar Power 'Skins' for Historic Homes in the Netherlands

Dutch Students Design Revolutionary Solar Power 'Skins' for Historic Homes in the Netherlands  

According to Delft University, approximately 60 percent of Dutch citizens live in row houses and 25 percent of those homes are from the post war period. Although beloved by the city’s population, these homes have incredibly outdated climate and spatial conditions. Many residents would like to incorporate energy saving and sustainable features to their homes, but without the inconvenience of a large renovation project that would certainly sacrifice the historic feel of the neighborhood. The Delft students’ innovative idea for solar panel skins came from the desire to protect these local historic buildings while moving their energy generation and consumption into the 21st century.

Since the post war homes obviously were not built with solar aspects like orientation and adaptation in mind, the skins’ main design approach covers the homes with a glass and photovoltaic “drape” on the predominate solar orientated side for harvesting heat and energy. Alternatively, the cold side of the skin is extra insulated to prevent heat and energy loss from within. For optimal temperature control year-round, the skins are adaptable to the seasonal temperature variations. They are meant to be closed during the winter months and in the spring and summer months, the skins open to provide indirect and direct natural ventilation.

From the outset of the design process, the students focused on creating an aesthetically pleasing structure that would provide the optimal climate performance for the houses while, at the same time, maintaining the comfort of the residents. The skin design allows the approximately two million occupied homes to be fitted with the new structures without forcing the occupants to leave their home.

In addition to providing a new source of energy for the older homes, the design is meant to focus on the quality of life for the Dutch residents. The solar skins form an extension of the home over the private gardens, which are generally an integral part of local life. The solar skins extend over the private garden area, giving residents the ability to enjoy the exterior and adding a personalized sense of well-being to the home. This also helps the residents in a number of sustainable activities for the family such as vegetable and fruit gardening and rainwater reutilization.

Read more: Dutch Students Design Revolutionary Solar Power ‘Skins’ for Historic Homes in the Netherlands Pret-a-Loger Solar Panel Skins - Gallery Page 2 – Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building 

From: http://inhabitat.com/dutch-students-design-revolutionary-solar-paneled-skins-for-historic-homes-in-the-netherlands/

Detroit - Dilapidated Skyline Put to Use.

Detroit



The film starts off with a fresh look at Poor Boyz’s athletes and how they spend their summer months. big skylines of Detroit. The third and fourth segment focus’s exclusively on extremely fresh and original urban skiing in the heart of abandoned Detroit. Fostvedt explodes onto the scene, with Detroit local Guilty Simpson’s rap beats leading the charge in what presents itself as a reclamation of Detroit’s prestige and potential. Fostvedt and co. shred in abandon churches, warehouses , apartment buildings, schools etc, even running into a potentially fatal situation when a blacked out Escalade with ski-masked gang members arrives to chase the camera crew off their turf. The segment shifts to more suburban Detroit and includes some mid-winter water skiing that doesn’t fall short on the entertainment spectrum. But the “Boyz” being as bad ass as they are do eventually head back to the gang-infested abandoned area of Detroit for one last hurrah, and needless to say it makes this film. Massive step-up gaps on warehouse roofs, building kickers out of cinder-blocks in a junkyard, and even using half-demolitioned houses for wall-rides. Such innovation is barely precedented by JP Auclair’s famous urban segment shot in Trail, BC in “All.I.Can“. “Tracing Skylines” Detroit segment will forever be known as one of, if not thee best Poor Boyz segment of all-time.

For more information see Links below:
http://unofficialnetworks.com/ski-movie-review-poor-boyz-productions-tracing-skylines-spoiler-alert-125197/
http://www.poorboyz.com/

Modern Architeture

Modern Lakeside Living In Switzerland

Lake Lugano House, Switzerland by JM Architecture

This stunning house, perched on the hillside above Lake Lugano in Switzerland, certainly takes advantage of the views of the lake and the idyllic, historic village of Brusino Arsizio with a population just under 500.

The residence and office, designed by Milan-based architect Jacopo Mascheroni of JM Architecture for a financial consultant and her family, consists of two sections: a rounded glass pavilion and a reinforced concrete structure that is partially inserted into the mountain.

The glass pavilion overlooks two very defined areas: the first, toward the mountain, is a very private zone resulted in the area between the property line and the building setback line according to the local building code. The second is a garden overlooking the lake. In the same way, the bedrooms face a garden enclosed by the building and the perimeter wall.

A 3,700 square-foot glass house forms the most visible part of the residence and resembles a viewing pavilion of a major sightseeing attraction. It is an open-concept living space, with a white-walled central section that contains the kitchen, bathroom, stairway, storage and mechanical room.

The underground level houses the entry hall, three bedrooms, two baths, an office, laundry, staircase, and playroom. The bedrooms open to an inner courtyard garden.

Radiant heating, use of natural light, geothermal heat pumps and a rainwater collection system are the main environmentally friendly features of the structure.











For more information see link below:
http://spfaust.wordpress.com/2011/11/page/2/

Your Auditory Environment of the Week

99% Invisible

A Tiny Radio Show About Design

Today's Y.E.O.W. is more about your ears than your eyes. 99% Invisible is one of my favorite podcasts and I'd like to share it with you this morning. There are just over one hundred episodes on a multitude of design ideas, not just buildings but anything that is designed... aka everything is fair game.  I've compiled some of my favorite episodes which are not strictly architectural for your listening pleasure: the No Armed Bandit, Future Screens (and the effect science fiction has on them) and Razzle Dazzle (saved my favorite for last on this list).

There are also amazing episodes about buildings and cities, from the mundane to the amazing.  I'll throw out just a few of my favorites:

At the City Scale: Reversal of Fortune 

The story of the city of Chicago and everything its people have accomplished in order to thrive.

No big deal, that's a city block they're casually raising into the air.

At the Building Scale: Higher and Higher

A chronicle of the Chrysler Building's epic battle against the Manhattan Company Building for dominance over the New York skyline.

Do you have any idea how that spire was built?

And finally at ground level: Revolving Doors

A short history of the revolving door and a few attempts at getting them into use today.

Maybe we can start printing these as a public service.

The best part about the show is that it's 100% free!  You can download episodes to your smartphone, via the podcast app (for Apple at least, I have no idea how Androids work) or listen online at the links I've posted.

Enjoy!

Know your Olympic Stadiums of Sochi

The Stadiums of Sochi

Fisht Olympic Stadium / Populous. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games

The 2014 Winter Olympics has commenced in Sochi within the shell of Populous’ Fabergé egg-inspired stadium. Built solely to host the opening and closing ceremonies, the Fisht Olympic Stadium’s translucent polycarbonate roof bears a slight resemblance to the nearby, snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. Once the Games are complete, the stadium’s 40,000-seat capacity will be expanded to accommodate the 2018 FIFA World Cup, before retiring as a scaled-down, 25,000-seat home venue for the local football team. 

Populous’ stadium is just one of eleven purpose-built venues within the “Coastal Cluster” Olympic park. Check out a few others that caught our eye, after the break…

Bolshoy Ice Dome / SIC mostovik

Bolshoy Ice Dome / SIC mostovik. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games

The Bolshoy Dome, a 12,000-seat venue also inspired by the Russian’s iconic Fabergé egg, was built to host the ice hockey events. After the Games, the dome will serve as an “ultra-modern, world-class multi-purpose sports and entertainment center.”

Iceberg Skating Palace / GUP MNIIP mosproject-4

Iceberg Skating Palace / GUP MNIIP mosproject-4. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games

The Iceberg Skating Palace is a movable, multi-purpose arena built for the 12,000 spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the Game’s figure skating and short track speed skating events. Once it has fulfilled its purpose at Olympic Park, the “palace” will be dismantled and moved to serve as a skating center in another Russian city.

Shayba Arena / Stahlbau Pichle

Shayba Arena / Stahlbau Pichle. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games

This 7,000-seat, mobile arena named “Shayba,” the Russian term for “puck,” will be used by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to host, alongside the neighboring Bolshoy Ice Dome, the ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey competitions. Once the games conclude, the arena will also be transported to a separate Russian city for use. 

Adler Arena Skating Center / StoryInternational

Adler Arena Skating Center / Cannon Design. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games

The oval-shaped Adler Arena is designed for a capacity of 8,000 speed skating spectators. After its use in the 2014 Winter Olympics, it will be transformed into an exhibition center. 

This information was used from this site:http://www.archdaily.com/474804/the-stadiums-of-sochi/