Author: barros (Page 57 of 61)

Isabel’s Picks for March 2012

March 6, 2012 / barros / 0 Comments

IT NATURALLY MAKES SENSE

A journey back to the roots

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1. VACUUM GLAZING

Manufacturer: Pilkington

Product Name: Pilkington Spacia™

Price Range: n/a

Material: Two panes of glass where the air in between is extracted, creating a vacuum.

Key Features: It offers the thermal performance of conventional double glazing in the same thickness as single glass (6 mm). Heat flow through radiation is limited through one of the glass panes having a low-emissivity coating, similar to that used in modern conventional double glazing. Minimum disruption, can be retro-fitted into existing frames designed for single glazing. Significantly improved acoustic performance over single glazing.

Applications: Ideal for use in historic buildings, offering replacement windows more in keeping with the original design. It may even allow the use of the original frames if these are in a reasonable or repairable condition. Also suitable for other applications where the use of thinner, low-weight glazing is desirable, for example in sliding box sashes, secondary glazing, or as one pane of a triple glazed “super-window”.

Available in Ireland from: Wexford Viking Glass

2. CURVED TIMBER FLOORING

Product Name: Bolefloor

Price Range: from €105/m2

Material: Solid and engineered oak, ash, maple, cherry and walnut.

Key Facts: First industrial-scale hardwood flooring with naturally curved lengths that follow the tree’s natural growth. Each floorboard is as individual as the tree it came from. All Bolefloor products are ordinary tongue and groove (unless ordered otherwise), ready to install preferably by gluing down. A Bolefloor is as simple to install as a traditional floor.

Available in Ireland from: Elements of Wood

3. FLOWER VASE

Trademark: Black + Blum

Product Name: Flower Loop

Price Range: €30

Material: Chrome steel

Key Features: Removable water tube for easy refilling.

Available in Ireland from: Gorgeous Gifts and Interiors

4. WASHBASIN + WATERCLOSET

Manufacturer: Roca

Designer: Gabriele and Oscar Buratti

Product Name: W+W

Price Range: n/a

Key Features: Designed to maximise space and conserve water. Combines a bathroom sink with a toilet. Its refill system filters the sink’s water for reuse in the flush cistern. Incorporates Roca’s new ‘water-reuse’ technology, uses waste water from the basin to fill the WC cistern, thereby reducing water usage by up to 25% compared to a standard 6/3 litre dual-flush WC.

Available in Ireland from: Blu Bathrooms

5. INTERNAL INSULATION

Trademark: Calsitherm Climate Board

Price Range: n/a

Material: Made of calcium silicate, a micro porous mineral building material with good insulating properties: its high capillary action ensures humidity regulation and the nature of the material means that mould cannot form on its surface.

Key Features: Reduced heating costs. Increase in comfort and mould damage prevention. Allows to balance energy efficiency with breathability and damp protection whilst maintaining the characteristics of the building and preserving the facade.

Applications: Building restoration, historical monuments, public buildings (schools, churches, museums), new construction. Interior only.

Available in Ireland from: Ecological Building Systems

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And the Pritzker Prize 2012 Goes to…………Wang Shu

March 2, 2012 / barros / 0 Comments

Wang Shu of The People’s Republic of China is the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate.

Wang Shu, the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate

The international prize, which is awarded each year to a living architect for significant achievement, was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979. Often referred to as “architecture’s Nobel” and “the profession’s highest honor,” it is granted annually.

Five Scattered Houses, Ningbo, China. Photo by Lang Shuilong.

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Wang Shu has often explained in lectures and interviews that “to me architecture is spontaneous for the simple reason that architecture is a matter of everyday life. When I say that I build a ‘house’ instead of a ‘building’, I am thinking of something that is closer to life, everyday life. When I named my studio ‘Amateur Architecture’, it was to emphasize the spontaneous and experimental aspects of my work, as opposed to being ‘official and monumental’.”

Xiangshan Campus, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China. Photo by Lv Hengzhong

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As a child Wang Shu moved around a lot with his parents living in houses as small as 15 sq.m.

When living in Xi’an, 1,000km west of Beijing, his family didn’t have a television. They use to sat on one bed chatting in the evening, which gave him a happy and interesting experience, he says.

Ceramic House, 2003-2006, Jinhua, China. Photo by Lv Hengzhong

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Wang Shu felt the Tangshan earthquake in Xi’an in 1976. His family had to move to a bamboo shed where hundreds of families lived together. Each family was given an area the size of a double bed and they lived there for three months until they built a house with only 15 sq metre and one room!

Ningbo History Museum, Ningbo, China. Photo by Lv Hengzhong

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His philosophy of paying scrupulous attention to the environment suggests that buildings located between water and mountains should not be prominent.

Ningbo History Museum, Ningbo, China. Photo by Lv Hengzhong.

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True to his methods of economy of materials, he salvaged over two million tiles from demolished traditional houses to cover the roofs of the campus buildings.

Vertical Courtyard Apartments, Hangzhou, China. Photo by Lu Wenyu.

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Wang Shu is attracted by the variety of buildings just like the different lifestyles people have.He is certainly a gifted dreamer with an amazing life experience.

If you want to learn more about the Pritzker Architecture Prize check out the beautiful infographic created by Innovus. Click in the image below to see full infographic.