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Fachadas: The Latest Architecture and News

Translucent, Breathable Facades: 8 Tips for Incorporating Metal Meshes into Your Building

In buildings where openness, brightness, and outward views are highly valued by the users of our projects, glass predominates as an exterior cladding in cities all around the world. This forces us to look for options that can manage the excess of solar radiation and maintain thermal comfort in all seasons, without obstructing the views or darkening the interior spaces.

Prefabricated metal meshes provide certain qualities and flexibility that can work well in conjunction with glass; here we present 8 tips to work with this material and take advantage of its potential.

This E-Paper Tile Facade Is Inspired by the WW1 Military Optical Illusion "Razzle Dazzle"

San Diego Airport has unveiled their permanent interactive artwork DAZZLE on the Airport’s Rental Car Centre commissioned by San Diegos County Regional Airport Authority, that features the debut of E Ink's revolutionary prism technology on a large architectural scale. The installation has been designed to manipulate the form of the façade using inspiration from the World War I military technique “razzle dazzle” that camouflaged the outlines of ships. This phenomenon of visually scrambling the shapes to hide from being spotted can be witnessed in nature too, as the stripes on a zebra equally become an optical illusion to disrupt the predator’s perception.

This E-Paper Tile Facade Is Inspired by the WW1 Military Optical Illusion "Razzle Dazzle" - Image 1 of 4This E-Paper Tile Facade Is Inspired by the WW1 Military Optical Illusion "Razzle Dazzle" - Image 2 of 4This E-Paper Tile Facade Is Inspired by the WW1 Military Optical Illusion "Razzle Dazzle" - Image 3 of 4This E-Paper Tile Facade Is Inspired by the WW1 Military Optical Illusion "Razzle Dazzle" - Image 4 of 4This E-Paper Tile Facade Is Inspired by the WW1 Military Optical Illusion Razzle Dazzle - More Images+ 30

Istanbul’s Futuristic KCTV Telecom Tower Nears Completion

Construction continues on the undulating, futuristic 365 meter-tall Küçük Çamlıca TV (KCTV) Tower which is designed by MELIKE ALTINISIK ARCHITECTS in Istanbul, Turkey. The new telecommunications tower will replace several drab structures currently in use and support an estimated 125 broadcasting transmitters—becoming the tallest edifice in the city.

How to Install Ventilated Facades Using Wooden Panels

This vertical cladding for facades is a high-density laminated panel, composed of a core of paper fibers -compressed at high temperature and pressure- and an outer coating highly resistant to weathering and UV radiation. The wood used in the panels has been treated with Everlook®, a component that - without the need for maintenance - extends the useful life of the panel and the stability of its color regardless of weather conditions.

To generate a ventilated facade with these panels, each unit must be installed on vertical profiles, producing an uninterrupted airflow behind the panel. Here's how to do it.

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KAAN Architecten Designs New Facades For Munich's iCampus

Netherlands based KAAN Architecten won R&S Realty II’s competition to design three office building facades for Munich’s new iCampus. Located in the Werksviertel district, the project adds a contemporary layer to this creative, industrial neighborhood.

RKW Architektur + strove to represent today’s creative industry through transparent loft spaces in the design of office buildings named Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. KAAN’s facades for the buildings maintain the architectural identity while being their own distinctive elements.

15 LEGO Ideas to Build and Inspire

Thinking about resting for a few days during the holidays? We have selected a number of LEGO® sets that are sure to relax you and inspire you so that you too can enjoy these amazing, colorful, minimalist blocks by exploring the wonderful world of architecture, engineering, and construction.

With great inspirations from Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe in the Architecture Series, and some of the world's most iconic works such as the Eiffel Tower, the White House, the Empire State Building, the Big Ben or the Lincoln Memorial in Monumental Series, we invite you to test your skills and be inspired by the following LEGO® Architecture guide.

Check out below!

15 Facades That Push Conventional Limits: The Best Photos of the Week

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New technological developments in construction have given architects great freedom when designing. Innovations in construction materials and their properties allow for the creation of increasingly original and surprising facades. The buildings constructed as a result can even inspire people to travel thousands of kilometers just to see these masterpieces. This week, we present 15 of most ground-breaking facades through photos by prominent photographers such as Paul Ott, Peter Bennetts and Laurian Ghinitoiu.

1,500 Semi-Transparent Plastic Baskets Form a Lightweight Facade

Hyunje Joo's design for a façade in South Korea is a proposal that addresses the separation between the interior and exterior with the construction of a flexible, light, and recyclable architectural element.

The project, a surface made up of 1,500 semi-transparent plastic baskets, diffuses the light and the silhouettes, while offering the ability to be reused with different configurations in different places.

Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum Transformed With Ethereal Metal Design System

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The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum had done its duty. Opened in 1972 in Uniondale, N.Y., the Coliseum not only had honored the military sacrifice of local veterans in Long Island’s Nassau County but had served as home to the one-time American Basketball Association’s New York Nets and the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders as well as hosted major events and concerts, including performances by Elvis Presley, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen.

This Quirky Architecture Couple’s Instagrams are #instagoals

A post shared by Anna Devís (@anniset) on

Whether they're pretending facade details are raindrops or peeking out of Ricardo Bofill’s La Muralla Roja, Daniel Rueda and Anna Devis introduce a unique perspective on the city. The Valencia-based duo are #couplegoals, and their Instagram accounts reveal their fun, quirky personalities and love for the built environment.

Scrolling through their feeds, viewers get a glimpse of the couple’s travels through whimsical portraits which celebrate the beauty of architecture. The adorable duo playfully interacts with their surroundings, using the city as their stage and architecture—and each—other as characters.

a+u 2017:08 Feature: Glass Façade

a+u 2017:08 – Feature: Glass Façade

LAVA Breaks Ground on Sculptural Energy Tower in Germany

Construction has started on the redesign of an energy storage tower by LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architects) for Stadtwerke Heidelberg (SWH) in Heidelberg, Germany. The updated facade of the 56-meter cylindrical tower and design of an adjacent park are part of an initiative to create a sculptural landmark and symbol of sustainable energy for the city.

LAVA introduces a multi-layered facade that features 11,000 diamond shaped stainless-steel plates attached to a steel cable network that can rotate 45 degrees in the wind. According to the architects, a number of plates correlate to the number of households that will be beneficiaries of the energy. The geometries of the facade are inspired by forms found in nature.

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Call for Entries: A|N Best of Design Awards 2017

Be seen by 1,000,000 A|N readers and Members of the A/E/C Design Community! Our Fifth Annual Best Of Design Awards is a unique project-based awards program that showcases great buildings and building elements.

Facades+AM Philadelphia

The Facades+ conference series sponsored by The Architect's Newspaper is a robust dialogue encompassing all things building skin—bridging the profession, industry, academia, operations, and ownership. We’ve distilled the best of the Facades+ 2-day event into a quick-take morning forum with a strong local flair. Facades+AM is coming to Philadelphia for the first time this September. See the full program below.

Facades+AM Austin Conference

Facades+AM Austin includes three sessions covering issues unique to the region, including innovative collaborations between architects and engineers, high performance envelopes, and the changing face of Austin's skyline. These well-rounded, expert dialogues will inform and inspire.

The Facades+ conference series sponsored by The Architect's Newspaper is a robust dialogue encompassing all things building skin—bridging the profession, industry, academia, operations, and ownership. We’ve distilled the best of the Facades+ 2-day event into a quick-take morning forum with a strong local flair. Facades+AM is coming to Austin for the first time this July.

Granite - The Great Contemporary Unknown

Rediscover a natural, unique and original material, with multiple applications for current architecture and design immovable over time, granite is a jewel of nature capable of providing exclusivity to any contemporary construction or finish. Its wide range of varieties and the incorporation of new cutting technologies and those giving a surface finish, provide us with infinite design possibilities.

This Building Saves Energy with a Pioneering Triple-Layer Glass Facade

Italian firm Giovanni Vaccarini Architetti has designed the new Headquarters of the Swiss Société Privée de Gérance (SPG), built on Route de Chêne, at the gates of the historical center of Geneva. The work involved the conversion and extension of the existing building, starting with a glass façade that meets the need for solar shading in the interiors while achieving maximum visual permeability.

This façade also improves the acoustic and thermal insulation performance of the building: the double skin allows the envelope to be naturally ventilated and the perimeter ventilation system, combined with the internal forced ventilation system, reduces overall energy consumption. The steel structural elements on the façade, produced by Stahlbau Pichler (a specialist in the sector) produce a modular rhythm and the reflections on the glass shading panels give the project a particular "material weight."

Layers and Lighting: How Top Architects Design Fashion Stores to Turn Heads by Day and Night

Flagship stores excite both fashion shoppers and designers alike due to their role as visionary laboratories for the latest trends and stimulating retail experiences. Architects have developed various ways to dress haute couture stores, from distinctive icons in the day to seductive night-time images. The images accompanying this article, created by the Portuguese architect and illustrator André Chiote, help to explore the graphic potential of famous brands like Dior, Prada and Tod's. The illustrations clearly reveal the various techniques of playing with diaphanous layers, intimate views inside or the contrast of light and shadow.