Tag: horenychi | ArchDaily

The Impact of Pigmented Concrete in Latin American Residential Architecture

Agustina Iñiguez — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 05:00:00 +0000

The use of pigmented concrete in Latin American architecture is growing - and influencing contemporary architectural expression. This can be seen in recent built works ranging from the INES Innovation Center designed by Pezo von Ellrichshausen in Chile to the Teotitlán del Valle Community Cultural Center by PRODUCTORA in Mexico.

Architecture That Hides Stories: A Look at the Brion Tomb by Carlo Scarpa

Mili Sánchez Azcona — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 05:30:00 +0000

As human beings we cannot live without stories, we need them to fill those gaps in our reality, to live in our imagination those thousands of lives that are different from ours and, in some cases, impossible.

Architecture Classics: The Benedictine Monastery Chapel / Gabriel Guarda, Martin Correa

Karina Duque — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 04:30:00 +0000

The Benedictine monastery chapel of Santa María de las Condes, visible from different points in the eastern part of Santiago, Chile, is a white volume, located halfway up the slopes of Los Piques hill.

Concrete Jungles: 6 Cement Alternatives that can Reduce its Impact in Cities

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 07:30:00 +0000

The expression "a perfect storm" refers to an event (typically an unfortunate one) which is exacerbated due to a confluence of negative or unpredictable factors. It is widely used when describing meteorological phenomena, but can also be applied to other contexts, such as the economy. The analogy can also be used to describe the relationship between the climate crisis and the world's dependence on concrete. As demonstrated in the Chatham House report, while cement (an essential element for concrete manufacturing) is extremely detrimental to the greenhouse effect and climate crisis –representing about 8% of global CO2 emissions–, its global production is nevertheless expected to increase over the next 30 years. It is said that this increase will stem from the demand for rapid urbanization in regions such as Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, the last IPCC report warned that we only have 11 years to reduce emissions and prevent irreversible damage due to climate change. In other words, the cement industry is facing a significant expansion at a time when emissions need to fall rapidly – a perfect storm.

Polished Concrete Floors: 25 Projects that Combine Aesthetics, Durability, and Ease of Execution

Eduardo Souza e Matheus Pereira — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 04:30:00 +0000

In addition to their aesthetic appeal, the use of raw materials can save resources by bypassing the use of additional coatings and processes. This type of solution was most commonly used in utility buildings, such as infrastructure, factories, and warehouses. Exposed concrete floors, for example, were primarily found in industrial spaces, parking lots, and gas stations. However, they are increasingly being used in structures of different programs due to their appearance, durability, resistance, and vast possibilities for finishes. But what are the main factors to be aware of when using a concrete floor for a project?

Materials to Build India's Identity

Ankitha Gattupalli — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 04:00:00 +0000

Upon becoming a sovereign country, free from British Rule, the people of India found themselves faced with questions they had never needed to answer before. Coming from different cultures and origins, the citizens began to wonder what post-independence India would stand for. The nation-builders now had the choice to carve out their own future, along with the responsibility to reclaim its identity - but what was India's identity? Was it the temples and huts of the indigenous folk, the lofty palaces of the Mughal era, or the debris of British rule? There began a search for a contemporary Indian sensibility that would carry the collective histories of citizens towards a future of hope.

Replacing Cement with Waste: Embracing the Circular Economy with Polymer Technology

Eduardo Souza — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 01:30:00 +0000

When approaching the process of recycling building materials, there are a number of obstacles to achieving a comprehensive and effective result. First, careless demolition can make the process very complex, as products with different recycling products are often mixed. In addition, not all materials can be efficiently recycled or processed, as many still need expensive or overly complex processes. But the construction industry, being a huge contributor to waste production and greenhouse gas emissions, has also developed multiple new technologies to improve its practices. This is the case of the WOOL2LOOP project, which seeks to solve one of the biggest challenges in applying a circular approach to construction and demolition waste.

"Form Freedom with Mass Customization": Technical Challenges in 3D Printing

Eduardo Souza — Thu, 05 May 2022 04:00:00 +0000

When browsing the 3D printing tag on ArchDaily, it is clear that this technology has developed at an incredibly fast pace. If in the early years we observed the concept as a distant possibility for the future or with small-scale examples, in recent years we have observed entire printed buildings and increasingly complex volumes being produced. Developed by reading a computer file, the fabrication is carried out through additive manufacturing with concrete - or other construction materials - and presents numerous difficulties in providing an efficient process that enables the constructive technique to become widespread. The pavilion printed by the Huizenprinters consortium, for example, illustrates this process well.

Mix and Step: Looking at Some Multi-Materials Staircases

Susanna Moreira — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:30:00 +0000

Whether to mark a change of direction, to highlight its first steps or its own presence in a room, stairs that combine two or more materials tend to draw attention by establishing dialogs between particular characteristics of each material. Concrete, steel and wood are some of the most common choices to compose the structure of stairs due to their high strength and versatility. But, when combined, these different materials expand their individual possibilities and reveal how the design can be tailored to their peculiarities and connections.

What is Carbon Concrete?

Camilla Ghisleni — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Seen as one of the great promises for the future of construction, carbon concrete mixes strength, lightness and flexibility. In addition, at a time marked by a serious environmental crisis that puts the construction methods of the industry in check, carbon concrete emerges as an alternative that approaches the guidelines of sustainability.

Concrete Barrel Vaults Applied in 10 Projects of Contemporary Architecture

Paula Pintos — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 07:30:00 +0000

The oldest record of barrel vaults is estimated to date back to 4000 BC. These provided the spans in the Sumerian ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, built from fired bricks amalgamated with clay mortar. This type of vault was built as a continuous round arch and became a characteristic architectural element of Roman architecture, later used also in Renaissance architecture.

3D Printing with Low-Carbon Concrete: Reducing CO2 Emissions and Material Waste

Rene Submissions — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 04:00:00 +0000

After water, concrete is the second most-consumed material on the planet and its production is substantially growing, expected to increase from 4.4 billion tons, reaching production up to 5.5 billion tons by 2050. Unfortunately, this comes at a huge environmental cost, accounting for almost eight percent of the global carbon emissions. With this estimated expected growth, stakeholders in the construction industry must work on integrating sustainable building materials and innovative processes.

Adulation and Demonisation: Materiality vs. Morality

Matthew Maganga — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 04:00:00 +0000

For centuries and centuries we’ve built – and the diversity in our global built environment is a testament to that. The many different cultures around the globe have had different ways of building throughout history, adapting locally found materials to construct their structures. Today, in our globalized present, building materials are transported across the globe far from their origins, a situation that means two buildings on completely opposites sides of the world can be more or less identical.

The Comeback of Curved Design: Materials That Can Bend and Curl

Valeria Montjoy — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 04:00:00 +0000

Take a second to imagine a building or a room. Chances are you are envisioning flat rectangular surfaces and straight lines. Whether it be walls, beams or windows, most architectural elements come in standard and extremely practical orthogonal shapes. However, the pandemic has shed light on designs that are not only functional, but also that improve our mood and well-being. In that sense, the power of curved, free-flowing surfaces is unmatched, which explains why they have been making a comeback as a modern design trend. Adopting beautiful nature-inspired shapes, organic curls and bends energize rooms and make users feel good. In fact, neuroscientists have shown that this affection is hard-wired into the brain; in a 2013 study, they found that participants were most likely to consider a space beautiful if it was curvilinear instead of rectilinear. In short, humans love curves.

La Fábrica by Ricardo Bofill Highlighted in New Video by Spirit of Space

Rebecca Ildikó Leete — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 07:30:00 +0000

In this powerful new visual from Spirit of Space, we are introduced to Ricardo Bofill’s headquarters ‘The Factory’ or La Fábrica, Taller de Arquitectura. Once a disused and decaying cement factory from the turn of the century, with 30 silos, machine room, and galleries, it is now a significant transformative project, satisfying the Architect's longing for space via adaptive reuse.

10 Iconic Buildings that Changed Our Perception of Raw Materials

Victor Delaqua — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 04:00:00 +0000

The history of architecture shows that the use of raw materials has always been somewhat common, whether in ancient vernacular techniques or within the Brutalist movement, to name a few. It is evident that the language of a project is often linked to its material, as various sensations and the perception of space are directed by the aesthetic and physical quality of the given element. For this reason, we have gathered ten buildings that highlight the quality of their materials, whether to make a statement, reinterpret a technique from the past, or to re-signify the potency of some of these elements.

ETH Zurich’s HiLo Unit Raises the Bar for Sustainable Concrete Design

Matthew Marani — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 03:30:00 +0000

Dübendorf, Switzerland is something of hallowed ground for architectural technologists. There, on the shared academic campus of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, public university ETH Zurich has conducted nearly a decade of engineering and construction experimentation at the ever-evolving NEST research building. In August, ETH Zürich unveiled its latest extension of the building, HiLo (short for high performance-low emissions)—a two-story modular addition to the chameleon structure that harnesses medieval building principles and contemporary digital methods to raise the bar for more sustainable applications of concrete.

Concrete Benches: Furniture for Inside and Outside the Home

Matheus Pereira — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 07:30:00 +0000

Concrete is not purely a structural element. As we demonstrated in an article about kitchen projects using concrete countertops, the material is gaining significant traction in the world of residential furnishings and fixtures. To further exemplify this, we have curated a list of several projects that use concrete benches to create beautiful moments inside and outside the home.