ROTHERHAM CENTRAL STATION BY AEDAS

The architectural designs are for South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) and Yorkshire Forward, and will see the station significantly upgraded to rival other improved stations in Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield.

 

The station provides a key gateway to Rotherham for local rail users and provides a vital link via Doncaster and Sheffield to mainline services for Scotland, London, Birmingham, Manchester and other regions across the country.

In addition to transport facilities, the station will also incorporate a new passenger lounge, retail space and a travel and information centre and the high-quality standard of the proposed designs for the facilities at the new Rotherham Railway Station will represent a step change in service provision and station design, for visiting travellers and the regional community.

The station redesign uses a striking roof structure to create a landmark gateway to the town centre and ensures the plans reflect its position as a key component towards the town’s regeneration and Urban Renaissance programme.

The design of the transport hub will seek to unify the stations elements within a coherent architectural and landscaping strategy, enhancing the resident, visitor and user experience that will embrace the principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Architectural firm, Aedas, have devised the building which is designed to create a modern, lightweight entrance structure which uses natural light to create an impression of openness and space.

The building also includes a new passenger waiting lounge, ticket office, retail area and lifts to the platforms. The platforms themselves have been updated, with new canopies giving improved weather protection to passengers, and with

Improved CCTV across the whole site.

Coun Gerald Smith, who represents Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council at the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, said: “These improved facilities and the new look of the station certainly provide a better first impression of Rotherham for train travellers.

 

 

Location: Rotherham, South Yorkshire, UK 
Architects: Aedas 
Structural Engineer: Arup, Leeds 
Funding Contributors: Yorkshire forward, Network Rail (Access for all Scheme) 
Area: 1,150 sqm 
Year: 2012 
Client: South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) 
Photographs: Daniel Hopkinson

DROP ECO-HOTEL BY IN-TENTA

DROP microarchitecture is a removable hotel room that draws inspiration from organic shapes found in nature. This hotel is a portable living space that treads lightly on the environment and allows tenants to experience nature while surrounded by comfort.

Some of the many green features that are planned for these "removable" hotel rooms include photovoltaic films that can be combined with wood siding for power generation and a rainwater collection system for bathing. The use of lightweight materials allows the modules to be transported to virtually any legally permitted solid ground, including remote forests, beaches, mountains and jungles.

The units generally consist of a terrace, living room, kitchen and bedroom in the same shared space, as well as a separate bathroom. The living room can also be opened to the outside environment and used as a porch, while the bathroom can be converted into an outdoor spa.

One of the key design features of the design is the use of hemispherical transparent windows at each end that can be completely opened to provide a 180-degree view of the surrounding environment. In addition, a skylight running the entire length of the pod allows daylight to flood the entire space even when both ends are closed.

Drop units can also be maneuvered and joined to form larger housing units for more than two guests. Larger models, In-Tenta says, may be obtained by adding circular wooden extensions on either end. In-Tenta is hoping the Drop Eco-Hotel design will meet the growing demand for eco-tourism around the world with customers who demand sustainable architecture and a high degree of luxury. The Drop concept will now be produced by Urban Square, In-Tenta says.

 






Design: In-Tenta

BUTTERFLY HOUSE BY DONNER SORCINELLI ARCHITECTURE

Nelle verdi colline della contea di Gapyeong, nel nord della Corea del Sud a circa 50 Km da Seoul, questa casa bifamiliare rende omaggio con la sua forma alla nabi, che in lingua coreana vuol dire farfalla.

Simbolo di natura, armonia ed eleganza tanto da dedicargli addirittura un Festival nella piccola città di Hampyeong, leader nelle tecniche agricole ecocompatibili dove gli insetti svolgono un ruolo fondamentale.

Elementi che sono i principi del Feng-Shui, un’antica arte geomantica taoista cinese, che organizza lo spazio e gli ambienti domestici nel modo più conforme alla natura e alle caratteristiche delle persone che li abitano.

A questi concetti si ispira l’architettura di questo edificio non solo nel senso formale, con ampie terrazze laterali a forma di farfalla, ma sviluppando una progettazione che coniuga sostenibilità, accessibilità economica e rapporto con il paesaggio attraverso soluzioni tecnologiche a basso costo.

Il progetto fa proprie tutte le soluzioni tecnologiche in materia di sostenibilità per ottimizzare la ventilazione naturale, irraggiamento solare ed orientamento nell’arco dell’anno con un cospicuo abbattimento dei costi energetici e dell’immissione nell’atmosfera di CO2.

Le terrazze in particolare durante l’estate catturano le brezze ed in inverno funzionano da barriere contro i venti freddi e proteggono la casa dalle intemperie e da rigido clima invernale.

L’orientamento segue precise regole climatiche e funzionali, così come la ventilazione, e l‘edificio è dotato di pannelli fotovoltaici e di un impianto per la raccolta delle acque piovane.

Il progetto reinterpreta la tradizione edilizia locale, profondamente connessa alla natura, con l’adozione elementi innovativi in grado determinare risultati apprezzabili sul versante dell’impatto ambientale e quindi della sostenibilità dell’ambiente costruito.

 

 

Location: Gapyeong, South Korea

Architects: Donner Sorcinelli Architecture

Design team: Luca Donner (team leader), Francesca Sorcinelli, Seong Bong Yun

Local Architect Studio NakHyunJae, Nak-yong Choi

Construction Management: NR2, Sang-chun Lee

Built Surface: 217 sq.m.

Footprint: 180 sq.m.

Year: 2010

BIO CAMPUS BY ALLESWIRDGUT

The concept for the BIO Campus—a huge site just outside Istanbul that is becoming one of the world’s leading scientific research centers—had a holistic approach from the very start.

The Austrian architects, AllesWirdGut, who recently received the “European Green Building Award 2012″, worked together with the German climate engineering experts Transsolar and the Dutch-born urban planning avant-gardist Ton Matton to develop an outstanding architectural and environmental project. 

The main idea is to create a self-sufficient and self-supporting accumulation of living spaces for work, scientific research, everyday life and recreational activities.

The Perfect Shape

The hill-like undulating buildings are ideally shaped to use natural energiessuch as sunlight and wind for cooling and lighting. Additionally, various other methods are employed to reduce the need for artificial air conditioning, such as vegetation, light-reflecting surface colors and a larger-than-usual number of water elements.

Climatic Comfort

Enjoying nature as a workspace despite the heat of Istanbul summers is possible only if the human body is allowed to adjust to the extreme climate conditions. Employees will be able to wander smoothly from zone to zone and to adapt to slowly changing temperatures.

The versatile range of working environments, from private to informal to public, also reflects the shift in working habits that we see today. Exceptional climatic comfort all over the premises promotes social interaction as well as indoor and outdoor activities.

Walkable Urbanism

Humans are social creatures and thrive in urban spaces that facilitate social relations. Because of this, a shift to more densified urban living advances social interaction and conditions under which humans can prosper.

On the BIO Campus, distances will be short and, wherever possible, walkable. Sustainable public transportation will be easily available for everyone. Walkable urbanism is a developmental counter-strategy to suburban sprawl.

It advocates housing for a diverse population, a full mix of uses, walkable streets, positive public space, integrated civic and commercial centers, transit orientation and accessible open space.

 

Location: Istanbul, Turkey

Architects: AllesWirdGut

Project Team: Christian Zotz, Ondrej Stehlik, Jakub Klima, David Kovarik

GBA: 44.000 m2

Competition: 2012

Client: BIO City Development Company

WASHINGTON CANAL PARK BY OLIN

OLIN, a landscape architecture, urban design and planning studio with locations in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, has led the design and construction of Canal Park in Washington, D.C. The park opens to the public on November 16, 2012.

 

One of the first parks built as part of the District's Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, Canal Park has been designed as a vibrant social gathering place and an economic catalyst for the surrounding neighborhood. The park is also a model of sustainable design, serving as a pilot project for the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES™) and a candidate for LEED® Gold certification.

 

 

The three-block site was once a part of the historic Washington City Canal that connected the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. The canal was paved over in the 1870s and most recently served as a parking lot for school buses. Inspired by the canal’s heritage, Canal Park’s design evokes the history of the area with a linear rain garden reminiscent of the Washington Canal and three pavilions, designed by STUDIOS Architecture, which recall floating barges that were once common in the canal.

 

 

The park will feature diverse amenities, including a café with outdoor seating, an interactive fountain, an ice skating path, play and performance areas, and sculptures by artist David Hess. Each block is given its own unique identity within a cohesive urban experience. The Canal Park Development Association, in partnership with the Capital Riverfront Business Improvement District, will host numerous events throughout the year, such as movies and concerts, holiday and seasonal festivals, farmers markets, art expositions, educational and environmental programming, storytelling events, and more.

 

 

In addition to being a vibrant social destination, Canal Park is a model for green infrastructure strategies. The former brownfield has been transformed into a landscape that restores vital ecosystem services that were lost when the site served as a parking lot. Contaminated soils were replaced with a healthy growing medium and the native plant habitat was re-introduced. Canal Park’s stormwater system includes a linear rain garden that spans the length of the park, Low Impact Design tree pits, and two underground cisterns which can collectively hold 80,000 gallons of water.

 

 

The stormwater system captures, treats and stores almost all of the stormwater runoff generated by the park and neighboring city blocks, which averages to 1.5 million gallons of reused water each year. The treated water is used to satisfy up to 95 percent of the park’s water needs for fountains, irrigation, toilets and the ice skating path. Underneath the park, 28 geothermal wells provide a highly efficient energy supply for park utilities. The wells are forecasted to reduce Canal Park’s overall energy consumption by 37 percent.

Other sustainable features include the use of sustainably harvested wood for benches and architectural elements, electric car parking stations, ample bicycle racks and cross-streets designed to calm traffic speeds around the park and provide a safe pedestrian environment. “Canal Park is a unique place that delivers an artful assembly of social, economic and environmental performance,” stated Steve Benz, OLIN Partner and Director of Green Infrastructure. “As a successful social space, people can enjoy the re-established natural systems previously lost to development while providing an economic stimulus for the surrounding area.”

Through a close collaboration with OLIN, STUDIOS Architecture designed three permanent pavilions. The largest pavilion, at 9,000-square-feet, will host a café and dining area, as well as utilities that support the park and ice skating path. The structure is made of reclaimed and sustainably harvested wood from black locust trees and is expected to earn LEED Gold certification. The roof also serves as a public plaza and features a large lantern with translucent acrylic panels which will become a medium for projection art and light displays.

The pavilion’s sustainable features include geothermal heating and cooling, vegetated roof surfaces, natural ventilation, low-flush toilets and fixtures, energy/water monitoring dashboard systems, and utilization of the park’s stormwater treatment system for non-potable water. Made of similar materials and approximately 150-200-square feet each, a second pavilion appears to float above a linear fountain, while a third pavilion bookends the park at the north and provides storage for park amenities.

The OLIN team, led by Partner and Director of Green Infrastructure Steve Benz and managed by Associate Sophie Robitaille, directed a team of fourteen consultants on the project, including architects STUDIOS Architecture; stormwater engineers Nitsch Engineering; civil engineers Vika Capitol, Inc.; lighting designer and sustainability energy consultants Atelier Ten; MEP engineers Joseph R. Loring & Associates; structural engineers SK&A Structural Engineers; irrigation designers Lynch & Associates; ice path designers & fountain engineers Stantec Bonestroo; geotechnical consultants Soil Consultants; sculptor David Hess; signage designers The Design Theorem; audio visual consultants Shen Milson & Wilke; dry utility consultants Richter & Associates; and cost estimator Davis Langdon, an AECOM Company.

 

Location: Washington Dc, USA

Architect: OLIN

Area: 131,000 Sq Ft

Budget: $20m

Year: 2012