Pages

Sunday, January 01, 2023

Thinnest Building

Sam Kee Building , Vancouver , BC , Canada Six feet deep, world's thinnest 


 The Sam Kee building is situated at 8 West Pender Street . It runs from the corner of Pender and Carral to the lane at the halfway point of the block. It is two storeys tall and 1..5 meters (six feet) deep. The story behind the building is as exotic as the structure with several intriguing twists and turns included in its telling. The City of Vancouver provided the original owner, Chang Toy, with a challenge when it expropriated all but two meters of his property as part of an expansion of Pender Street . No compensation was provided to its owner who was left with what most believed to be a useless property. 



In a creative turn of events fuelled by spite and some say a bet an architect was hired to design a building to fit the remaining property. The rest is history in more ways than one.  
This building was home to 13 businesses at one time. It was the only place in Chinatown for residents to enjoy hot baths. There is a tunnel beneath the building that was used as an escape route from raids on Opium dens situated on neighbouring Shanghai Alley.. 





The building is also fronted by the only remaining glass sidewalk in Chinatown . As part of the ongoing history of this structure, issues still arise between the owners and the city with respect to encroachment and overhangs. In spite of each side having an element of right it seems to boil down to the proverbial 'tit for tat'. It makes for an interesting study in civics..

Share/Bookmark

أحدث المباني الخضراء في العالم

 

أحدث المباني الخضراء في العالم 

Meta (Facebook) Headquarters, Menlo Park, CA

المقر الإقليمي فيسبوك في كاليفورنيا 

Solar panels on the roof of the Meta headquarters in Menlo Park have met all of the building's energy requirements. It was awarded a LEED Platinum rating because it made use of renewable energy sources and numerous other sustainable building techniques.

To further promote sustainability in real estate, Meta has independently established a goal to cut its own carbon footprint by 50% by 2030.










Share/Bookmark

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Amazing Ecology viallage in Siwa Egypt

These nice village photos were sent to me from A friend i would like to share it with you , lets watch together 


Ecolodge by Laetitia Delubac and Christian Félix



Paris architects Laetitia Delubac and Christian Félix have completed a holiday home and guest house in Siwa, Egypt.

Called Ecolodge and situated overlooking the desert, the building is constructed from locally-available materials including mud, sun-fired bricks, palm wood, reeds and stone.
The walls are made of a traditional local building material called kershef that consists of mud, sand and salt from the nearby salt lakes.
Intended as a retreat, the building incorporates guest rooms with patios, courtyards and gardens arranged around a central tower for the owners' rooms.
The tower draws air upwards from a water basin to cool the rooms.
Photographs are by Laetitia Delubac.
Here's some more information from the architects:
A retreat in the Egyptian desert.
A retreat which also is a guest house.
A retreat fully dedicated to contemplation and rest.
The piece of land, 35 x 35 m, is located in the peninsula of Siwa oasis at the bottom of Adrere Amellal ("white mountain" in tasiwit, the Berber dialect of this area).
We have chosen to dilate the project in order to cover the plot completely. This allows to provide as many patios as guest rooms, closed courtyard and garden; so many quiet places facing the desert.
Facing the four viewpoints that this site offers and the four cardinal points, four distinct façades reply to.
The main living room in the north is protected from direct sun. It opens onto a long pergola looking over the salt lake.
In the west, the guest rooms look over the Adrere Amellal. Varied views whether you are standing, sitting or lying down.
In the south, the façade evenly bored with minimal openings to the palm grove, rampart against sandy winds, borders staff quarters.
Finally in the west, towards the gates to desert, the garden and the swimming pool are isolated from the sole neighbour by a high wall in earth fissured on an ad hoc basis.
Here, quite isolated, the house was built with materials made available by desert, oasis and salt lake: mud, sun fired bricks, palm wood, reeds, red stone and salt stone.

Walls are built by local craftsmen with kershef, a traditional building material made out of mud, sand, and sun-dried salt harvested from the Siwa's salt lakes. In addition to blending in with the surrounding natural environment, kershef acts as a natural insulator, keeping indoor air temperatures mild in both hot and cold seasons.
No electricity in the house. Niches have been installed within the thick walls in kershef to place candles.
A spring spurting out in the bottom of the mountain, not very far in the south, irrigates the palm grove and continuously feeds the kitchen and bathrooms with fresh and healthy water, as well as a small pool and the basin at the centre of the peristyle intended for cooling the courtyard and adjacent rooms.
Waste water treatment is ensured with reed grove.
The tower, master room of the property has a natural air conditioning system using draughts: warm air in the rooms is vented within its two walls for fresh air coming from evaporation of water of the basin in the centre of the courtyard.
It welcomes the owner's suite and dominates the whole house. The terrace roof offers panoramic views of the exceptional landscape.
Architects: Laetitia Delubac and Christian Félix architects, Paris, France
Location: Siwa, Egypt
Client: Private
Project Area: 390 sqm
Project year: 2004-2007
Photographs: Laetitia Delubac

Share/Bookmark

Friday, May 01, 2009

AMAZING FRUITS ARCHITECTURE

one of the best architecture i ever seen
Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival  in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful  Orange Festival in Netherlands

Beautiful Orange Festival in Netherlands


 


Share/Bookmark

Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Amazing House of Bones

Restored and remodeled by the Spanish modernist architect Antoni Gaudi in the years 1905–1907, Casa Batllo is now one the most overlooked buildings by the tourists who visit Barcelona. Although Casa Batllo is a museum now, Gaudi designed it for for a wealthy Barcelona Aristocrat.

The local name for the building is Casa dels ossos (House of Bones), and indeed it does have a visceral, skeletal organic quality.

The Amazing House of Bones
Close up of Casa Batllo chimney :: Photo Credit: WikiMedia


Casa Batllo's roof has been compared to a reptilian creature, the backbone of a gigantic dinosaur, the dragon killed by St. George (Sant Jordi being the patron saint of Catalan).

The Amazing House of Bones
Casa Batllo roof :: Photo Credit: Klaus Dolle


It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the facade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues.

The Amazing House of Bones
Casa Batllo arched roof :: Photo Credit: WikiMedia

 
The Amazing House of Bones
Casa Batllo building, Barcelona :: Photo Credit: Fran Barrero


The Amazing House of Bones
Casa Batllo arched roof and complex chimney detailing :: Photo Credit: WikiMedia


From the balconies resembling the bones of animals to the scale like surface of the front facade, the building is a tour de force of an artist reaching the peak of his powers. At night the floodlit facade has an iridescence like the scales of a fish. This polychromic finish is known as trencadís.


The Amazing House of Bones
Casa Batllo, Barcelona in HDR:: Photo Credit: MorBCN


The enlarged windows on the first floor gave it another nickname, 'House of Yawns'.


The Amazing House of Bones
Casa Batllo window, Barcelona :: Photo Credit: WikiMedia


The Amazing House of Bones
Window detail of Caso Batllo building :: Photo Credit: shapeshift


Casa Batllo Interior Design


The Amazing House of Bones
Inside Caso Batllo :: Photo Credit: (Erik)

The Amazing House of Bones
Inside Caso Batllo :: Photo Credit: acastellano


The Amazing House of Bones
Inside Caso Batllo :: Photo Credit: 3dom

The Amazing House of Bones
Caso Batllo: Spiral Design :: Photo Credit: 3dom
 

The Amazing House of Bones
Caso Batllo: Spiral Design :: Photo Credit: Mini Anna


The Amazing House of Bones
Caso Batllo lobby :: Photo Credit: Kipourax

Share/Bookmark