Rethinking The Future Awards 2017 (2/3)

‘Rethinking The Future Awards 2017′ competition hosted by ‘Rethinking the Future (RTF)’ has been concluded. The competition received a total of 512 registrations from over 30 countries.

1st Award – Interior- Commercial (Built) -AXL–Jewelry Boutique by Labscape Design & Architecture

The collaboration between the architects and jeweler AXL started with a precise brief matching the brand universe: feminine, elegant and precious whilst avoiding the trivial codes of luxury. What was created is a kind of contemporary boudoir combining a certain nostalgia of the past with modern elegance and sophistication.

The pale pink showcase at the very end of the boutique reflects the prestigious a “grissino”-finishing of the same years, but the completely asymmetric niche that cuts the vertical surface makes the entire wall very dynamic. The presentation table is conceived as a jewel in itself: entirely crafted by hand, the curved brass is combined with grey travertine and precious green velvet. The same color ‘Forest’ can be found on the back wall.

The cash register counter is composed of travertine, brass and painted wood, creating an ensemble of refined details and curves into an asymmetrical shape. To give it a warm feel, the space is illuminated by ‘white and gold’ spots and three decorative lights: a brass chandelier and two suspended lamps which are propriety creations of the architects re-using brass rings of existing old abat-jours. A combination of craftsmanship, noble but untreated materials and various metals complete the interior as if they were jewelry pieces themselves. Source by Labscape Design & Architecture.

1st Award – Landscape Design (Built) – Projet Bonaventure by City of Montreal

The vision for the project is built around three elements:
1 – Create an entry to the city centre that is, at the same time, prestigious, functional and, convenient. With a view of reinforcing the image of Montréal to a regional, national and international level, the urban boulevard should distinguishes itself by the quality of its design and aesthetic.

Considering the importance to provide an efficient access downtown, it is essential to take into account the variety of the users’ needs in the new design of the Bonaventure site. Pedestrians, passengers, bus, car and truck drivers as well as cyclists should be considered in the process.

2 – Promote the unity of neighbouring districts, in a North-South axis as well as East—West. The elevated section of the Bonaventure Expressway located to the north of the Lachine Canal is a physical and mental barrier between neighbouring districts. The current infrastructure prevents further interaction between neighbourhoods. The project should eliminate this barrier and recreate transportation connectivity in the area.

3 – Support urban development with strategic public interventions. Both Faubourg des Récollets and Griffintown neighbourhoods are significantly growing. More and more families settle in these neighbourhoods because of the proximity to the city center. To support this momentum, the redevelopment and the unification of the area at the border of both neighbourhoods are needed.

From that vision, four planning orientations that are consistent with Montréal’s Master Plan and the City Transportation plan support the interventions planned for the project:
• Efficient transportation networks that are integrated into the urban fabric;
• High-quality urban landscape and surface facilities;
• Valued built and archaeological heritage;
• Pleasant environment. Source by City of Montreal.

1st Award – Landscape Design (Concept) – Eco- courtyard of City- a Green Corridor in Taipei City by Chi Lin

Context
Along the development and urbanization of Taipei city, some of the downtown areas form a linear open space between certain MRT stations. However when urbanization enhances the height and density of the city, more and more “urban pochés” were created. This linear space became narrow and fragmentary. It results in a low efficiency of spatial usage and uncoordinated environment because of the complicated skyline and chaotic circulation. The open space lost its original public and urban value.

Site description
Taipei city is located in the center of the basin of Taipei. The chosen site is a linear open space situated from MRT Zhongshan station to MRT Shuanglian station. The area of site is about 1.96 hectares, total length is 530 meters and 34.5 meters wide. The mainly site is for traffic use, which is surrounded by an old high-density residential district and a business district.

The characteristics of Taiwanese traditional open space
The courtyard of street house is enclosure by the frame of different walls, providing air and sunlight. It keeps residents’ contact with the natural environment and forms a cosmos inside the building. The arcade is typical semi-open space in street. This intermediary linear space between street houses and road accommodates residents’ ordinary activities. The temple-courtyard is a public place for religious and cultural purposes. People can gather together easily in front of a beautiful temple.

Our concepts
1 – Integrating with local surroundings, a linear semi-open space is formed on the site with rich green quality.
2 – Being inspired by the shape of the arcade, an intermediary and active place is created.
3 – The open space is arranged like a layout of the room, which considers the sight and scale of the room and host numerous activities. Source by Chi Lin.

1st Award – Mixed Use (Concept) – Imagining The Vertical City by Vijul Shah

The future of the Indian cities can be envisioned as a collection of utopian settlements with tall skylines and self-efficient ecological living systems comprised majorly of skyscrapers. Imagining the Vertical City, is a concept aiming to develop a system which is not just a high end housing infrastructure but is a vessel that houses a justified complex network of functions present in a horizontal city hoisted vertically so as to create a similar ambience with a balance of comfort and elegance in the user’s lifestyle.

The Vertical City aims in becoming an ideal integrated city contained within a massive vertical structure, allowing maximum conservation of the surrounding environment. It doesn’t necessarily target a particular group of people but is designed to address the different sections of Indian demographics. Mumbai, being the most congested city of India, has to inevitably face the boom of skyscraper construction. The city’s capacity to hold this event can be questioned and rise emerges for a sustainable solution of skyscraper complex development.

Build on a site located in Mumbai required an intensive project response to its urban environment and innovative solutions to resolve the existing urban issues before moving towards a healthy lifestyle of users. The resulting structure depicts the chaos and commotion of a busy city inside a controlled and simple environment. The design holds certain features like high density modular housing, transit hub, public spaces which are not seen in typical skyscrapers of Mumbai but are the core essence of a city.

The design aims at being a modulated prototype solution for the future of Indian cities which can be multiplied to face the upcoming future urban challenges more efficiently. The design is dominated by the care taken to improve the lifestyles of the users in terms of efficiency and sustainability. The daily life of a commutator in a horizontal city can be easily traced into this vertical dimension which doesn’t hamper the daily routine but improves the standard of living with a sense of responsibility towards the environment. Source by Vijul Shah.

1st Award – Office Building (Built) – Bamboo Symphony by Manasaram Architects

For creating a Space for human Existence transcending Time, it is desirable that the architect designs projects to cater to all the three faculties of Man-Physical, Psychological and Spiritual; possible by using the PanchTattvas, the five elements-Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space as elements of design. As architects we challenge ourselves to achieve a balance between Responsible Creativity and Creative Responsibility in all our projects to come up with holistic solutions.

Our exhibit Symphony of the Bamboos expresses the above on three levels
Bamboo a Metaphor – Bamboo is a natural, humble, elastic, adaptable, versatile, efficient and holistic material. At Manasaram the traditional buildings with bamboo are symbiotic and part of our culture. Bamboo in that way symbolizes the need of the hour for architecture profession to become Symbiotic and Social, rather than individualistic and elite. Bamboo is a metaphor for the way human existence itself should be on this earth-Humble!

Bamboo a sustainable Material – Bamboo to be extremely resource efficient and versatile material for the building sector, capable of solving major issues of sustainable development especially in developing and under developed countries. This can also resolve the problem of resource equity of natural resources. Bamboo serves the triple bottom line of Sustainable Development- Environmental security, Economic prudence and Social justice all at the same time. It can provide cost effective, safe and aesthetical housing; livelihood security, eliminate poverty and crime; low carbon emissions, fast sequestering of carbon and liquid fuel and energy! That’s bamboo for us!

Bamboo the Engineering material- Bamboo can replace many highly processed engineering materials with high energy balance in the construction sector owing to its inherent properties. The physical structure and chemical composition of Bamboo has the properties of highly efficient materials. Its high fiber strength makes it the only replacement for steel especially in small buildings and housing sector that form the largest chunk of construction. It can replace wood in almost all its applications. It forms excellent composites with a variety of materials suitable for many applications.

Bamboo with mud and stone can create a new vocabulary of architecture
Our office Bamboo Symphony is the major project presented depicting our principles, the symbiotic character and culture of Bamboo and the physical, chemical, ecological and environmental properties of materials expressed in the architecture as form, function and aesthetics of the building. The building connects the past to the future. Source by Manasaram Architects.

1st Award – Office Building (Concept) – XO Skeleton by EYP Architecture & Engineering

Research Objectives: Our proposal investigates methods to reduce embodied energy in high rise design by:
– Combining skin and structure in a single integrated system
– Exploring alternative materials and systems to the traditional aluminum and glass curtain wall systems.
XO Skeleton proposes a new way of thinking about high rise façade construction. Drawing from natural formations like coral reefs, we propose to combine structure and skin in a single X/O skeleton system.

Structural Optimization: The “X” is our nomenclature for a diagrid system, an optimized structural form, which efficiently combines lateral and gravity loads at the perimeter of a building. In our system, the diagrid is sized to balance the needs of: a column free environment, maximized view, and at a frequency to serve a dual function as the primary backup for building cladding.

Material Innovation: The “O” represents our proposal to replace glass curtain wall with pillow-like infill panels of ETFE, (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) a fluorine-based plastic. While plastics are high in embodied energy, the relative weightlessness compared to glass makes it an order of magnitude better on a square foot basis and has added benefits of reduced weight and cost of shipping, construction, and the eventuality of future modifications.

We recognize that ETFE by itself does present technical challenges and have therefore proposed a composite wall system in which ETFE serves as the primary weather, thermal, and solar control layer. Results: Reduction in Embodied Energy X/O Skeleton was able to realize a 75% reduction in embodied energy and embodied carbon for the façade and a 9% reduction in overall embodied energy for the building. Source by EYP Architecture & Engineering.

Images Courtesy of Rethinking The Future.