Architecture Archives - Page 4 of 13

Stunning Pine Chapel Inspired by the Curving Ribs of Ships

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

Pine provides the ideal contemplative interior for a striking copper-clad chapel in Finland by Helsinki-based Sanaksenaho Architects. St. Henry’s Ecumenical Art Chapel is a prayer and meditation space for patients and visitors of an adjacent cancer care center with an incredible triple-height ceiling that takes its inspiration from the curving ribs of boats.

These pine beams stretch up toward the pinnacle of the space, the horizontal pine cladding between them emphasizing their majestic scale. On either end, skylights enable the sun to pierce into the structure, causing the triangular walls to glow. The use of just one material throughout the entire interior puts the focus on the geometry of the architecture.

“The chapel grows from its site, which is a hillock surrounded by pines. It rises from the landscape as a traditional sacral building. It has the appearance of an upturned ship – or a form of the fish. The design speaks with contrasts of shadow and light, copper and wood. The copper cladding will be weathered green with time, so it will blend with the surrounding trees and nature.”

“The most important material besides wood and copper is natural light. The idea is to walk through shadowy spaces toward altar and the light, the source of which is hidden.”

Wooden Version of the Empire State Building Proves the Possibilities of Wood

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

wooden empire state building

Dubbing it “the symbol of a new age,” Metsä Wood has teamed up with architect Michael Green to design a sustainable wood version of the Empire State Building, showing off the virtually limitless heights to which wood construction may reach. The Finnish wood products producer presents ‘Plan B’, a series reimagining architectural wonders of the world to show how they could be built from wood instead of their original materials.

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“While many things have changed in 85 years, architects still strive to give form to new ideas about structure, energy consumption, climate change and the list goes on,” says architect Michael Green. “For these reasons the most iconic building of the modern age – the Empire State Building – was chosen for Plan B case. We designed a skyscraper using Metsä Wood’s Kerto LVL engineered wood as the main material from floors to column spacing.”

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The first Plan B project reimagined the Colosseum in Rome, and the third will give the German parliament building known as the Reichstag a timber makeover.

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“Wood construction is the ideal way to both battle climate change and house a growing urban population,” says Metsä Wood’s Andreas Rutschmann. “As a large part of the German Parliament’s work is about environmental legislation, it really makes sense that its home is as sustainable as possible. It was great to hear that Plan B will be presented to the parliament’s department of Energy policy.”

Vertical Pine Planks Create Stunning Spiral Staircase in Dome Home

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

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An unusual arrangement of pine boards forms a spiraling core for a sculptural staircase that stands as the centerpiece of a dome home in China. Designed by British furniture manufacturers Timothy Oulton, the cylindrical home and the charming handmade village that surrounds it are made primarily of reclaimed materials. Taking its inspiration from spiderwebs, the structure itself is a stunning model of wooden craftsmanship, but the staircase takes the cake.

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pine spiral stairs dome home

Graduating in height all the way up to the railing of the loft, the vertically-installed pine supports a set of floating treads that spiral from the living area up to a quiet workspace. The result is visually stunning from every angle, but especially when gazing down from the upper level.

pine spiral stairs dome home

The design team used custom steel plates and fittings to support the staircase as well as the loft, which takes up half the footprint of the house. Perpendicular planks punctuated by curving vertical ribs create a series of concentric circles on the ceiling, drawing the eye upwards.

Sustainable Pine Rooftop Addition Turns Ordinary Residence into a Tree House

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Jeff Easterling

A squat brick house built as a getaway in the 1950s felt too dark and small for its modern-day owners, who envisioned something bright and open that preserves the existing structure. In making these renovation dreams come true, part of the challenge for Dutch firm Bloot Architecture was hewing to local laws restricting residential building heights and requiring a certain slope in the roof.

The result is essentially a modular pod placed right on top of the original home’s roof, with a huge window angled toward the sky and the canopies of the trees in the surrounding forest. The addition sits low enough to follow the law, but the clever angles make it seem higher than it really is. Climb the stairs to the lofted bed that sits on a platform just beneath that window, and you’ll feel like you’re in a tree house.

This sustainable addition makes extensive use of pine throughout the interior, with flax insulation and an untreated larch cladding exterior. It adds two bedrooms to the home, as well as a storage landing, a new laundry room and access to the roof. All storage and bed bases are built-in.

Renovations also made this forest home entirely self-sufficient, with a new solar power system, wood stove for heat, and wastewater filtering system. Check out another cool modern wood addition.

This Week in Wood: World’s Tallest Wood Building Proposed for Paris

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Jeff Easterling

Is this sky-high structure the wooden equivalent to the Eiffel Tower? Proposed for Paris, the 35-story tower at the center of the Baobab complex will be the world’s tallest building made of wood if it ends up being built. In collaboration with French architectural partners DVVD and real estate group REI France, Canadian architecture firm MGA submitted the concept for a design competition called Reinventer Paris looking to revitalize architecture in one of the world’s poshest cities.

Known for his pioneering work in tall wooden structures, lead architect Michael Green envisions the sustainable structure as an environmentally friendly and creative way to approach the city’s housing challenges. The Baobab complex includes residences, a student hotel, a bus station, an e-car hub and park-like green spaces.

“We love the idea that a wood tower in Paris, however modest in some respects… will help champion a new global wave of building with more sustainable, renewable and beautiful materials,” Green told CNN.

The architects estimate that the wooden high-rise could sequester 3,700 metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 2,207 cars off the roads for a year. MGA previously published a study called The Case for Tall Wood Buildings as a guide for other designers to look at the renewable material in a new way. Watch a video of Michael Green discussing the cultural perceptions of building with wood.

Classic Cottages Made Modern: Stylish Wood in Vermont

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Jeff Easterling

This group of beautiful cottages on the Marlboro College campus in Vermont take visual cues from the college’s traditional architecture, echoing centuries of Vermont traditions, while updating them for the modern era. Designed by HGA Architects, the cottages provide cozy and comfortable housing for classical musicians who come to collaborate with students during a seven-week summer festival.

Located on a 15-acre site adjacent to the campus, the five cottages feature an archetypal chimney-topped gable shape that has been seen in the New England countryside since it was first settled by the British. Outside, thin horizontal strips of wood in varying shades give the cottages visual interest and dimension.

Inside, they’re constructed almost entirely of local Eastern White Pine and Vermont slate. Long pine beams stretch up to the apex of the high ceiling, the simplicity of the naturally finished wood paying tribute to the tradition of rustic cabins yet feeling very fresh, open and modern.

Large operable windows open up the cabins to the outdoors, providing the perfect place to soak up a little inspiration before creating a musical masterpiece.