As discussions around expanding local food production gain momentum, rooftop spaces are becoming increasingly relevant. In large cities where space for growing vegetables is limited, expansive roof surfaces can help supply people with locally grown food. This design proposes the construction of a 3,500 m² greenhouse on the roof of an old industrial hall.
The intervention is intended to be both ecological and cost-effective. For this reason, the existing structure is barely altered, and the additional load is transferred to the building’s columns using a system of tension cables and compression members, bringing them to 85% of their load-bearing capacity. In addition to the greenhouse, space is also allocated for a restaurant, storage, and administration, making the entire intervention publicly accessible and visible.
My first official project takes me to the beautiful landscape of Mallorca, close to the tramontana mountains. The finca consists of 10 hectares of land, several agricultural buildings and this 233m2 mansion. The stone house, which was built around 250 years ago, had been empty for more than 50 years and was in an uninhabitable state without water, sewage, electricity etc… with only the old stone walls as a relic of its former beauty.
In order to make the house usable again as the main residence of a family, the decision was made to carry out a complete gutting with the aim of revealing the historical core of the building and ultimately creating the aesthetic and cosy feel the client desired with a modern interior fit-out. The refurbishment work includes a new room layout, foundations, ceilings, roofs, heating systems and a plumbing and piping plan. In order to preserve the façade, a historical record of the time, as far as possible and still have a modern and light-flooded interior, a small number of large-format windows were added and only matching bricks were used. Together with the finca’s internal solar system, the entire house forms a self-sufficient island system and is climate-neutral.
This project was created for an international competition and was honored as a finalist. The concept shows the development of a general construction principle that implements the idea of a modern and simplistic space while having low impact on the surrounding environment. It begins with the idea of creating a light-flooded and minimalistic space around, and within the old copper mine using a lightweight wood structure with translucent facades of polycarbonate and glass. Specifically, the structure consists of a 1m tall half-timbred roof that forms into a 2.2m x 2.2m grid and rests on slim wooden columns with screw foundations. By creating this “balloon” structure the museum will create more space for exhibitions, and the entire old structure of the mine becomes part of the exhibit and stays preserved. The roofs are constructed with 50% translucent solar panels that will provide sustainable energy.
The restaurant, spa , apartments and utility/office space utilize this concept with the same qualities, materials and construction methods and adapting them to the specific needs. All buildings are connected via. wooden walkways (barrier-free) guiding visitors form building to building, passing beautiful viewpoints and further reducing the impact on the environment of the site.
Over the last centur y, the world has experienced an increase in urbanisation, resulting in significant growth of cities. E x tensive research has shown that the increase in sealed (built) sur faces leads to higher levels of pollution and ex treme temperatures, ef fectively turning some of our cities into giant boilers. In addition, the ef fects of global climate change make it inevitable that more and more cities will have to implement large-scale changes to ensure decent conditions for their inhabitants. Burj aldawaran is inspired by the historic wind towers of the Middle East and uses the concept of thermal air movement not only to cool its own residents and visitors, but also to help ventilate the neighbourhood without using energy. The tower combines housing, commercial and social uses, providing 23 flats, four levels of commercial space, including a large road-marked area on the ground floor, and a public terrace containing cafés and restaurant on the fif th floor. The building consists of a core concrete/timber structure and a secondar y translucent tex tile façade that wraps around it to provide shade and create a space between the ex terior and interior. Burj aldawaranis can be built in the hear t of any medium to large cit y district that suf fers from ex treme temperature rises.
Multifunctional tower with apartments (pink), community space (green), commercial space (yellow), street market (dark brown)
100m high concrete core with wooden floor slabs and external steel cables. Second textile façade constructed on a triangular grid of steel cables connected to the main core at the top, to a circle of columns at the bottom and to each floor slab via central tension cables.
1 airflow between façades 2 air intake via floor slab 3 air outlet valve 4 ventilation shaft 5 smoke safety valve 6 glass façade 7 steel tension cable 8 timber beam 20×15 9 soil for soundproofing 10 steel cable triangle structure 11 steel tension cable
Using the physics of thermal air displacement, air rises between the textile facade and the core, creating a lowpressure area under the building, resulting in a centric airflow from the neighbourhood towards the building. (Creation of a miniature Hadley cell)
This award winning competition project shows an community home that will provide plenty of space for residents and visitors to connect, share and explore. The building is constructed with a simple and sustainable combination of rammed clay and wood. The building consists of a central room and a further meeting room, kitchen, lavatory, storage room. All rooms are well lit through radially oriented glass facades and skylights. Furthermore, the layout of our building creates seamlessly transition between exterior, inter and interior spaces enabling an optimized usage throughout the year.
During the development of the building the main focus was to keep the environmental footprint as low as possible. To achieve this goal, not just the building materials have been carefully chosen but also the overall design has been adapted to the topography. All load-bearing walls as well as the floor and the shingles are built from clay found at or near the construction side. The roof and facade are constructed with locally cleared wood. The whole building lies on strip foundations made of clay bricks.
As a meeting place for the entire village and welcoming area for guests and travelers, the community home was designed to be a multifunctional structure. With its two separate event rooms it creates spaces for many different usages such as gatherings, theatre, dining, indoor sports and many more. The interspaces allow for even more space and possibilities during the warmer summer months. Since the building is constructed right in the middle of the village these interspaces do not just act as meeting points, but also as a communal passage connecting all parts of the village.
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