1. ArchDaily
  2. Aluminium

Aluminium: The Latest Architecture and News

Handrails and Accessibility 101: Ensuring Safe Usage in Architectural Projects

 | Sponsored Content

Architectural design is a discipline that spans a wide range of scales, from macro scales involving the design of master plans or large urban complexes to micro scales, where it focuses on specific elements such as fixtures and fittings. Regardless of scale, careful attention to the design of each component of the built environment plays a critical role in how people experience architecture.

At the architectural micro-scale, railings and handrails play specific roles but are often confusing. While railings are designed to enclose spaces and prevent falls, handrails function as support elements, offering orientation and stability to avoid accidents and injuries. It is in the latter aspect that a stronger connection to accessibility becomes evident. For this reason, it is essential to have handrails, wall railings, and assist railings that meet ADA standards, such as those developed by Hollaender Manufacturing Co. These elements adapt to various design conditions, facilitating the movement of individuals who may encounter barriers in the physical environment.

Optimized Performance and Cost Savings for Metal Panels

 | Sponsored Content

Architects and builders often opt for metal panels due to their exceptional qualities: durability, affordability, and versatility. These attributes hold immense value for construction professionals, who constantly seek cost-effective solutions. Moreover, when a product seamlessly merges desired aesthetics with optimal performance, it becomes a highly sought-after choice for a diverse range of projects.

The Beauty of Natural Aluminum: A Case Study of Château des Pères Hotel

 | Sponsored Content

Designed by architect Anthony Rio and his firm Agence Unité, the Château des Pères hotel project showcases the integration of innovative design and materials in the realm of hotel architecture. Taking inspiration from nature, it reimagines the traditional hotel room as a protective nest. This expansion of a historic hotel, nestled in a 12th-century mansion, features reception, restaurant, and event spaces. The new structure, reminiscent of a tree, gracefully extends with branches radiating from a central trunk. Within each bubble-like structure, guests can experience a sanctuary-like ambiance, offering both privacy and panoramic views of the surroundings, made possible by the generous ovoid windows that adorn each facade.

Metallic Layers in Dialogue with Light: An Abstract Intervention at Casa Batlló

 | Sponsored Content

Some architects have left their mark on history; one such case is Antonio Gaudí. Through his nature-inspired conceptions, he became the foremost representative of Catalan modernism. The impact of Gaudí's work can be seen on various architectural scales, including the Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell, Colònia Güell, Casa Milà, and Casa Battló, the latter being an iconic landmark of Barcelona’s architecture.

Casa Battló emerged from the renovation of an 1877 building, which was acquired in 1903 and subsequently commissioned to Gaudí for its transformation. Inspired by animal forms, particularly those of the ocean, the facade and interior were renovated using curves and a combination of vibrant colors. This intervention marked a turning point for the house, as it significantly changed the facade, redistributed the interior, and provided a sublime interaction with natural light. Following the nature of the renovation that began with Gaudí, a new interior project for the stairs and atrium of Casa Batlló was developed in 2021. This renovation is the result of a dialogue between the anodized aluminum chains developed by Kriskadecor and the abstraction of the ingenious use of light in Casa Batlló through Kengo Kuma's design.

Aluminum Chains for Façade Cladding: Protection and Lightness

 | Sponsored Content
Aluminum Chains for Façade Cladding: Protection and Lightness - Featured Image
© WD Production

Façades don't always have to be opaque. Whereas in the past the only options were heavy and raw–such as stone and brick–in recent years façades have adopted an increasingly lighter appearance, with innovative materials becoming the protagonists. These give the building a different look, delicate and transparent, while still maintaining privacy and thermal comfort. Examples of these include polycarbonate, translucent sheets, perforated tiles, glass and even metal chain links, which was the chosen material for a building in Montpellier, France.

Colored Aluminium Struts for Paris’s Newest Skyscraper

 | Sponsored Content

Overtaking the Tour First skyscraper, the 48-story, 220-meter HEKLA Tower will be the tallest building in Paris’s La Défense business district, as well as the second tallest building in all of France. Currently under construction and designed by Pritzker prize-winning Jean Nouvel, it is set to become a powerful architectural statement. Due to complete this 2022 in the midst of the sector’s redevelopment program, the futuristic skyscraper spreads over 76,000 sqm of floor area distributed in offices, services, lobbies, an amphitheater, projection rooms, performance halls, restaurants, bars, gyms and loggias. All of this with the aim of providing a unique user experience with vast, flexible workspaces that promote interaction and well-being.

Interior Panels: Flexible and Customizable Aluminum Profiles

There are a variety of wall coverings, façades and ceilings on the market, with multiple aesthetic options, fulfilling different functions and supplied by many companies. One thing they all have in common is that they are structured on frames which usually don't get much attention, yet directly influence the installation and the final result. These frames can vary in materials and complexity, as well as in how the panels are connected. The fixing of the panels cannot always be hidden, with visible screws or other parts, which end up requiring the use of other methods to hide them.

New Zealand brand Fastmount specializes in the development of hidden panel systems and has just launched a new system for interiors: Stratlock. The particularity of this product is that it offers designers and builders a complete and integrated system that is especially developed for the construction of ceiling and wall structures on irregular substrates. It can be used to affix internal panels with precision, and can be cut to any desired size in order to build the frame to attach the panels.

Single-Skin Metal Panels: Construction Tips and Details for Building Envelopes

The façade is one of the most important elements in an architectural project. In addition to being the building's first barrier against heat, rain, snow, or wind, it also largely determines the appearance of a building. It can make the project stand out, blend into urban context, or even manifest, at first glance, values of transparency, lightness, or simplicity that the architect seeks to convey. Accordingly, the façade also constitutes a significant portion of the total cost of the work and, therefore, must be specified very carefully, taking into account aesthetics, functionality, maintenance, and long-term behavior.

Aluminum Foam Facades: Architecture Rich in Texture, Porosity and Brightness

Aluminum Foam Facades: Architecture Rich in Texture, Porosity and Brightness - Image 5 of 4
CaixaForum Sevilla / Vázquez Consuegra. Image © Jesús Granada

Modular coatings for facades and enclosures typically deliver fast and efficient solutions. However, many times they lack richness and character since they are repeated infinitely, without relating to the architectural design and its different functions and requirements.

These aluminum foam panels are manufactured through an air injection process in molten aluminum, which contains a fine dispersion of ceramic particulate. These ceramic particles stabilize the air bubbles, and create aluminum foam panels which provide an interesting level of detail and variability, generating unique facades with different levels of texture, transparency, brightness, and opacity. These ultralight panels can be used as flat architectural sheets, are 100% recyclable and available in standard sized formats up to 3.66 meters long (custom longer panels also available). 

Aluminum Foam Facades: Architecture Rich in Texture, Porosity and Brightness - Image 1 of 4Aluminum Foam Facades: Architecture Rich in Texture, Porosity and Brightness - Image 2 of 4Aluminum Foam Facades: Architecture Rich in Texture, Porosity and Brightness - Image 3 of 4Aluminum Foam Facades: Architecture Rich in Texture, Porosity and Brightness - Image 4 of 4Aluminum Foam Facades: Architecture Rich in Texture, Porosity and Brightness - More Images+ 15

Frank Gehry's Jagged Aluminum Luma Arles Takes Shape in France

New photography by Hervé Hôte has been released, showcasing the Frank Gehry-designed Luma Arles complex as construction continues in the French town of Arles. The arts center, situated on a former SNCF rail yard, will offer exhibition, research, education, and archive space within a 46-meter-tall, aluminum tile-clad tower.

Constructed from a concrete core and steel frame, the scheme emerges from a circular glass atrium echoing the town’s Roman amphitheater. The distinctive jagged form above the atrium echoes the region’s rugged mountain ranges, with glass boxes extruding from reflective aluminum panels.

See How This Lightweight, Collapsible Aluminum Structure is Built

The geometric design of the 'Protostar Pavilion' for the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a morphological response associated with the iconic brand logo: a three-pointed star.

The project is a removable metal pavilion, made up of a series of folded aluminum plates that besides generating a light structure, allow for a quick and easy construction. 

See How This Lightweight, Collapsible Aluminum Structure is Built - Image 1 of 4See How This Lightweight, Collapsible Aluminum Structure is Built - Image 2 of 4See How This Lightweight, Collapsible Aluminum Structure is Built - Image 3 of 4See How This Lightweight, Collapsible Aluminum Structure is Built - Image 4 of 4See How This Lightweight, Collapsible Aluminum Structure is Built - More Images+ 13

These Statuettes of Architectural Landmarks Offer a Stylish Alternative to Typical Souvenirs

Russian designer Konstantin Kolesov has created a collection of finely-crafted souvenirs celebrating iconic architectural landmarks from around the globe. The Jsouv Collection consists of 15 pieces, depicting landmarks from New York, London, Tokyo, Dubai and more. Crafted from solid aluminum, the souvenirs are accompanied by a natural walnut base engraved with a 2D emblem of the city in question. With the souvenirs currently being crowdfunded on Indiegogo, Jsouv is also offering a t-shirt collection with unique prints of each city and landmark.

These Statuettes of Architectural Landmarks Offer a Stylish Alternative to Typical Souvenirs - Image 1 of 4These Statuettes of Architectural Landmarks Offer a Stylish Alternative to Typical Souvenirs - Image 2 of 4These Statuettes of Architectural Landmarks Offer a Stylish Alternative to Typical Souvenirs - Image 3 of 4These Statuettes of Architectural Landmarks Offer a Stylish Alternative to Typical Souvenirs - Image 4 of 4These Statuettes of Architectural Landmarks Offer a Stylish Alternative to Typical Souvenirs - More Images+ 9

Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Uses Intensive Curvature to Create Suspended Self-Supporting Structure

A giant, smooth coral? A cloud-like barnacle? A woman's floral swimming cap?”

Such phrases are how art and architecture studio Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY attempts to describe it’s latest curvilinear project, Under Magnitude.

Suspended within Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, the installation is a two-storey structure, formed from a network of branches that are synthesized by a single, smooth white surface. The form expresses the studio’s aim to “unite surface, structure, and space in order to create a new kind of experience.”

Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Uses Intensive Curvature to Create Suspended Self-Supporting Structure - Image 1 of 4Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Uses Intensive Curvature to Create Suspended Self-Supporting Structure - Image 2 of 4Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Uses Intensive Curvature to Create Suspended Self-Supporting Structure - Image 3 of 4Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Uses Intensive Curvature to Create Suspended Self-Supporting Structure - Image 4 of 4Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Uses Intensive Curvature to Create Suspended Self-Supporting Structure - More Images+ 17

Video: The Wings / Studio Daniel Libeskind

Daniel Libeskind teamed up with the professionals at Immersive and Innovision to realize the four 10-meter-high, "shimmering" sculptures that are outlining the Milan Expo 2015's central square. The LED-lit aluminium structures, dubbed "the Wings," were designed to "animate the public space with a constant flow of pulsating patterns and imagery related to the theme of the Expo: health, energy, sustainability and technology." They will remain on view through the duration of the Expo, which concludes October 31.

House in Beauvallon / Raphaëlle Segond Architecte

House in Beauvallon / Raphaëlle Segond Architecte - Image 20 of 4
© Philippe Ruault

Architect : Raphaëlle Segond Architecte Location: Domaine de Beauvallon, Township of Grimaud, France Project Team: Jonhattan Inzerillo, Project Manager Concrete & masonry : Paul Ciotta & Fils, maçons Windows crafters : Maria Aluminium Electrician : Nicolas Espitalier électricité Project Area: 250 sqm Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Philippe Ruault

House in Beauvallon / Raphaëlle Segond Architecte - Image 23 of 4House in Beauvallon / Raphaëlle Segond Architecte - Image 12 of 4House in Beauvallon / Raphaëlle Segond Architecte - Image 22 of 4House in Beauvallon / Raphaëlle Segond Architecte - Image 13 of 4House in Beauvallon / Raphaëlle Segond Architecte - More Images+ 24

Eco Energy Plant / Urban Design

Eco Energy Plant / Urban Design - Image 8 of 4
© Courtesy of Urban Design

Architects: Urban Design Location: Donetsk, Ukraine Client: Eco Energy Project Manager: Erik Jarlöv, Helena Glanz Project Year: 2011 Images: Courtesy of Urban Design