Latest Technical Studies
SBEC sustainability centre finds ways to push the envelope
The Sustainable Building Envelope Centre has been established to harness the building fabric to generate energy. Here is a look at its ambitions and some of the key technologies under development
Care centre’s fearless symmetry
The unconventional geometry of CZWG’s Maggie’s Nottingham is made up of simple steel elements
The Shard: pointers on reaching the top
The team working on Renzo Piano’s Shard at London Bridge used modular techniques to rise to the challenges of building Europe’s tallest tower
Vauxhall Spring Gardens light poles by DSDHA
Dramatic LED lighting changes colour to mark the entrance to a historic London site
KfW-Westarkade banking HQ, Frankfurt, by Sauerbruch Hutton
Sauerbruch Hutton’s glazed offices feature a technically innovative approach to passive ventilation
Primary school library by Kéré Architects
This building in rural Burkina Faso makes innovative use of clay pots in its ceiling to aid lighting and ventilation
Metropol Parasol in Seville by Jürgen Mayer H
One of the world’s largest wooden structures has been built in Spain to house Roman ruins, a farmers’ market, cultural events and a café
Worth Abbey Church by Heatherwick Studio
New furniture and cleaned-up concrete enhances Francis Pollen’s original design
B35 apartments by AGPS Architecture
Hansjürg Leibundgut’s Zurich home is also a ground-breaking research project into energy use
Neo Bankside by Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners
The diagonal steel bracing is a core part of this residential development’s identity — and because of its prominence, it had to look exactly right
A guide to fire protection for architects
Even where specialist advice is available, a working knowledge of regulations and performance is crucial when you want to make the right design decisions
BIG unveils 'driverless city' plan
BIG Architects’ futuristic proposal uses a carpet of LEDs to create a public space shared by people and cars
McLaren Production Centre by Foster & Partners
Foster’s latest building for McLaren echoes the practices earliest projects in its showcasing of technology
Constructing a precast load-bearing facade
The cladding concept of Sergison Bates’ and Jean-Paul Jaccaud’s Geneva housing and creche building
Living With Lakes Centre, Sudbury, Canada
A new sustainable lakeside research lab in a landscape damaged by nickel mining is 77% more efficient than conventional building
Snøhetta’s Wild Reindeer Centre pavilion
A striking timber pavilion provides shelter to observe wildlife in Norway’s harsh mountain landscape
National Gallery Lower Galleries by Wright & Wright
The architect went beyond the minimal brief when refurbishing the National Gallery’s often overlooked lower galleries
The structural challenge behind Tacita Dean's Film installation
Tacita Dean’s latest visual artwork on show at the Tate Modern uses a vast screen engineered by Ramboll that uses polystyrene in an innovative way.
Philip Richards Building by Mitchell Taylor Workshop
A mix of projecting and flush windows pierce the brickwork of a sensitive school building project in Somerset
Bramall Music Building by Glenn Howells Architects
When designing a new music department for Birmingham University, Glenn Howells Architects faced the double challenge of creating a new brick-clad building that would live in harmony with its Edwardian neighbours, and introducing a complex steel-framed dome to the design.
Regulations
TECTONICS
House of straw brings a sustainable harvest
White Design’s BaleHaus explores the use of prefabricated straw panels for mass housing
Span house comes out of woodwork
Using a modular typology of timber and glass, Friend & Company has reinvented an Eric Lyons Span house in south-east London
Bennetts Associates’ Edinburgh rock
Edinburgh University’s Potterrow development draws on the city’s traditional stone building form to provide an airy home for its philosophy, psychology and language science departments
Supporting character
Brickwork plays a starring role in articulating the exterior and interior spaces of Lundgaard & Tranberg’s Royal Danish Playhouse in Copenhagen
Hadid’s Chanel pavilion proving to be a classic in plastic
Inspired by the iconic Chanel 2.55 handbag, Zaha Hadid’s Mobile Art structure reshapes the way polymers can be used by architects
Nottingham students put this South African community on a learning curve
Nottingham University students designed a timber-framed building for a South African nursery school and then built it in seven weeks
Surface tension at Hongluo Clubhouse near Beijing
The Hongluo Clubhouse, by Beijing-based MAD Office, uses curved steel sections to create a roof structure that blurs boundaries with the surrounding landscape
The Eon house and the architecture of climate change
The half a semi-detached house built to 1930s Building Regs and monitored for energy efficiency at the University of Nottingham is an architectural experiment that could benefit millions of British homes
Morphosis Architects’ cooling runnings at the Federal Building in San Francisco
Morphosis Architects’ US Federal Building in San Francisco uses concrete’s thermal mass and natural ventilation
Benson & Forsyth’s Nottingham Pod finds its place in past and present
Aluminium proved the versatile solution when it came to integrating this a mixed-use hotel and retail scheme with the city’s medieval layout
Eldridge Smerin’s stunning glass house at Highgate Cemetery
Eldridge Smerin’s new house in Highgate is the subject of the first in a new BD series on materials in application. Here, Michael Stacey explores the way glass is used inside and out at the house
