Building on SOM’s tradition of pioneering structural engineering solutions, the 158-metre-tall Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank Headquarters showcases innovative applications of existing concepts of natural ventilation and diagrids. SOM inserted a floating diagrid—similar to an exoskeleton—that serves as both the building’s structure and an important solar shading system against the region’s hot tropical sun onto the […]
Completed in 2021, the complex in Allston, Massachusetts, features the world’s first hydroformed tensile exterior façade system sheathing research areas on the upper floors, which plays a vital role in both energy performance and occupant comfort. The fixed sunshade is geometrically calibrated to lower peak cooling loads by up to 65 per cent. It mixes […]
Read More… from Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex: World’s first hydroformed façade
We by ourselves cannot know everything and that is why cross pollination or the exchange of ideas is vital in developing innovation. This article investigates how architectural concepts brewing in other parts of the world could be applied to buildings elsewhere so that collectively, the built environment can become a solution to the current state […]
Do you know that it is possible to produce ice cubes in the tropics (not in the fridge)? Most people are surprised to learn that it is possible by designing with the climate. Last year, our consultancy firm came very close, measuring a temperature below 5 degrees Celsius inside our innovative sky cooling box, which […]
Read More… from The Sky as a Source of Cooling & Other Tropical Innovations
As modern cities sequester people off into skyscrapers and dense living quarters on land, it might be easy to forget that two-thirds of the Earth’s surface consists of water—a necessity for life, but also an increasing existential threat based on recent heavy floods that disrupted major cities. While water is running dry in some cities, […]
In Asia, most office tower designs have highly glazed façades. Yet, the building occupants hardly get to enjoy the views outside, because the over-sized windows are exposed to excessive tropical daylight and glare, so that the occupants have no choice but to engage manual blinds on a near-permanent basis. However, once the blinds are down, […]
While the process of repurposing means making use of what is already built or designed—although oftentimes cosmetic or structural—to give a new lease of life to a project, it is not common to leverage a flaw and turn it into an ecological benefit. TAPPING FREE HEAT The crux of this transformation lies in the ingenuity […]
Read More… from Cocoa Craftsman Factory: The building as a chocolate melting machine
What if bees and leeches could help manage diabetes? This was an unusual proposition that certainly grabs one’s attention. The bigger question is how does this relate to architecture, or more directly, healthcare-related architecture? The students behind this ambitious project researched on several aspects of alternative therapies—some of which involved insects—and posited a future hub […]
Read More… from Diabetic Care Hub: A futuristic idea of using nature to heal & manage diabetes
Talking to Wendy W. Fok feels easy even though the myriad topics discussed are not. She has a way of meeting you where you are when giving her extensive insight and knowledge, breaking down complex issues into ‘byte-sized’ information. Aside from removing the marketing veil of trendy terms such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and seeing […]
RAW focuses their practice on the process of building as much as on the products of architecture Practising architecture in a developing economy like Sri Lanka compels one to confront a number of interconnecting challenges with respect to the technological environment, labour skills and industrial organisation. Technologically, the building industry is fragmented into isolated socio-technical […]
Read More… from Imagining a Building Culture Revived on Architectural Robustness
Dear FuturArc readers, Why do humans innovate? Is it to address problems out of necessity or to address questions out of curiosity? In architecture, innovation enabled by technology has brought about different forms and systems of design. On the building side, it has led to novel construction methods and ways of using existing materials more […]
Located in the heart of Tokyo, the Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome district is seen as a significant area of the city, one that provides key infrastructural services and is home to a hotel seen as the nation’s state guesthouse. Plans for its development have been underway since 2011 when the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Chiyoda City and the […]
Read More… from A ‘citizen co-creation’ model for Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome District Development
