Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe

To build its pavilion in the 1929 World Expo in Barcelona, Spain, Germany chose the architect Mies van der Rohe. The pavilion should be a face of Germany after the First World War, which embraced progressively modern culture and yet still rooted in its classical history. Unlike other Expo pavilions which housed numerous artworks and sculptures, the German pavilion was intended to be a building that radiated tranquility, an escape from the hustle of the Expo. At the time, every aspect of the building exemplified architectural modernism of the 20th century.

Located on a narrow site and raised on a plinth of travertine, the pavilion had a low horizontal orientation that is accentuated by the low flat roof that appears to float over both the interior as well as the exterior. The low roof framed the visitors'  view more effectively, and in conjunction with strategically placed walls encouraged movement and circulation. Each movement would offer new perspective and details previously unseen.

The building used glass, steel, and different kinds of marble (Roman travertine, green Alpine marble, ancient green marble from Greece, and golden onyx from the Atlas Mountains). When exposed to the sun, the travertine (most used in the building) would illuminate almost as a secondary source of light. This adds to the dissolution of spatial demarcation between indoor and outdoor, transforming the pavilion into one continuous volume.

There was only a sculpture and only a type of furniture in the building. Van der Rohe designed a chair specifically for the pavilion, a leather-upholstered metallic profile which became a design icon. The "Barcelona chair" is still used until now. Strategically placed at one end of the small pond is a sculpture titled Dawn by Georg Kolbe, Van der Rohe's contemporary. The curves of the sculpture offers a contrast to the straight lines of the building, and its reflection in water, glass, and marble multiply its effect.

Photo from Fundacio Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona (miesbcn.com), archdaily.com, and socialdesignmagazine.com.

"Clouds" Revolutionizes Textile in Design

In 2006, Kvadrat, a Danish textile manufacturer, commissioned Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec to design their Stockholm showroom. The goal is to exhibit Kvadrat's textiles in a way that the textiles were part of the room. The Bouroullec brothers came up with "North Tiles", a modular room-dividing system consisting of textile pieces held together with elastic bands to make free-standing or hanging structures. "Clouds" is a continuation of "North Tiles".

Anders Byriel, CEO of Kvadrat, observed that less and less textiles were being used in interior design. Instead the focus had been on glass, concrete, stone, and wood -- attractive, yet hard materials. However, people started to realize that soft materials (like textiles) are not only soft to touch, but also provide better acoustics. This is because soft materials absorb sound, while hard materials reverb it instead which could be undesirable.

The Clouds system is available in 2 fabrics and 11 color combinations. It is very easy to assemble, thanks to an ingenious click system that connects the pieces together. This ease of use provides an opportunity for personalized design, a decorative element that could easily change the appearance of a wall, a ceiling, floor, or stairs. Byriel thus proclaimed that Clouds is "a new typology, a new interpretation of the use of textiles".

Photos from Paul Tahon and Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, as used in www.dezeen.com.

Commerzbank Tower, World's First Green Skyscraper

The Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, was the tallest office building in Europe at the time and more significantly, the first green skyscraper in the world. This 850ft tall building is designed by Sir Norman Foster and partners between 1991 and 1997. Its centerpiece is the triangular atrium which houses "sky gardens" at 9 different levels, each featuring different types of vegetation (Mediterranean, Asian, etc.). Ahead of its time, the building design was unique and it incorporated novel environmentally-friendly technologies.

The building is triangular, comprising three 'petals' -- the office floors -- and a 'stem' -- the full-height central atrium. The sky gardens become the visual and social focus of the complex, providing places to meet others or to relax. The transparent central atrium also brings natural lighting to the inward-facing offices. Moreover, the building design also takes into account the prevailing winds and solar orientation, so that the building is naturally ventilated for 60% of the year. In this respect, the sky gardens also helps by being a natural ventilation. This approach would reduce the energy consumption of the building by close to 50% compared to an equivalent normal air-conditioned office.

The building kept on improving; most significantly, from 2008, the building has been supplied exclusively with green energy from naturally renewable sources. Currently it is still a very popular tourist destination in the city.

Let's Go Toward Sustainability..!

KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)

In June 2010, KAUST campus earned platinum rating for Leadership in Energy and environmental Design (LEED) because of the innovative and sustainable design development at KAUST. This building located at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 5.340.000 sqft area. Saudi Arabia has an extremely hot and humid weather. This campus has succeeded to create a highly 

sustainable and low-energy building.

There are six main area of sustainable development that KAUST emphasize, which are Sustainable site planning, Building material and resources, Water conservation, Energy efficiency and renewable energy, Ventilation and lighting, Coral Reef and mangrove protection.

1. Sustainable site planning

The sustainable site planning that KAUST develop was responding with the site and the climate. “Buildings are specifically located and grouped to maximize the benefits of the unique site microclimate and ecosystem, and mitigate the detriments of the sun’s movement and the harsh Saudi Arabian climate.”( http://www.kaust.edu.sa)

2. Building Material and Resources.

Most of the choices of materials for KAUST are come from local and recycled content. All the concrete and steel was came from local with high level of recycled content. All the wood was came from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and more than 75% of all construction waste was recycled for the KAUST campus.

3. Water Conservation.

“KAUST will implement water conservation strategies and study new methods of generating potable water resources through water management and next-generation desalination technologies.” (http://www.kaust.edu.sa). KAUST campus harvests the rainwater and stored it for use. 

4.  Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

5. Ventilation and Lighting

Creating a good quality of indoor environmental quality can improve the productivity of people. This element is really important for university design. KAUST campus was created the good air indoor quality by providing abundant natural daylight into the buildings

  

6. Coral Reef and Mangrove Protection

“The preliminary environmental survey for the KAUST site identified two sensitive marine habitats on the development site – the Coral Reefs and Mangroves.” Coral reefs or people called it “rainforests of the sea” represent one of the most magnificent, diverse and productive marine habitats on the planet. Also mangroves play an important ecological role as habitat for various species of marine vertebrates and invertebrates as well as other wildlife. KAUST campus preserved these habitats by protected them from the pollution and sewage that come from construction and operation of KAUST.

References :

1.    http://www.kaust.edu.sa/about/sustainable/sustainable.html

2.    http://leedcasestudies.usgbc.org/overview.cfm?ProjectID=1721

3.    http://www.buildinggreen.com.library.academyart.edu/hpb/overview.cfm?projectid=1721