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Posts Tagged ‘Facades’

Unboxing Buildings: Dull Modern Facades Removed to Reveal Historic Decor

24 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Modernist architects rejected brick, stone and iron ornament in favor of clean metal and brutalist concrete, and in some extreme cases went so far as to cover up old facades with more contemporary cladding. But what was originally an act of erasure can also turn into an unintentional act of preservation, as in the case of this structure built in the 1920s but clad over in the 1960s.

This drab building in San Antonio, Texas was at best unremarkable and at worst a bit of an eyesore. White stripes and vertical strips of red worked with rows of glass to create something simple, Modern and a bit dull. It was also somewhat misleading: many of those apparent windows were covering up walls, not openings. All of this became clear as the surface started to be stripped away and old structure restored.

Echoing a similar trend in recent decades of stripping back paint to reveal wooden details in homes, developers and cities have started to realize the potential value in hidden landmark architecture. The Schoenfield Building in Cleveland, for instance (depicted above), was a beautiful structure built of brick but for a time covered in a less glamorous coat. Its underlying facade has since been uncovered.

In the case of the Odean theater, it is hard to imagine what ever possessed someone to cover the elaborate facade of the original (upper left) with its decorative details and beautiful windows with an array of vertical metal strips (upper right). Fortunately, though the name has changed, the architecture has since been restored (bottom).

The decision is not always so clear-cut, however. Architectural Observer followed the restoration of a structure in Hays, Kansas where “there was a push to ‘restore’ and ‘revitalize’ the immediate downtown area. The master plan called for the removal of this particular facade.”

“Much history was lost in the redevelopment process; should this facade be counted among the losses? Or do you feel that the two early 20th-century facades (both needing restoration) which were revealed are the stronger asset?” It is a question that often faces preservationists, especially in places like Europe where long histories can result in many iterative additions and changes over time. In this case, the facade was removed but saved. To see more examples like these and discussion about historic preservation, check out this thread on reddit.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

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Fashionable Facades: 15 Buildings That Put On An Artistic Face

17 Nov

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

artistic-facade

Instead of wearing the architectural equivalent of jeans and a t-shirt, these buildings treat their facades like high fashion to stand out from the crowd and make a visual statement. Artistic exterior treatments can give structures a bold makeover, offer multiple functions like built-in courtyards and benches, and engage with the city in ways that ordinary buildings simply don’t.

Mercado de Getafe by A-cero, Madrid, Spain

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An ordinary brick building suddenly becomes extraordinary with the addition of a wrap-around facade by A-cero. The architects created a black envelope for the structure and added aluminum ribs and oversized lighting that protrudes to stick out over the sidewalk.

Hotel Cumbres Lastarria by Rodrigo Errazuriz, Santiago, Chile

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The white facade of this hotel by Rodrigo Errazuriz wraps around the glazed front of the building, turning rectilinear windows into a pattern of abstract shapes.

Izumono Sakaba by Area Connection, Izumo City, Japan

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Architecture firm Area Connection took inspiration from the traditional details on the Izumo Taisha Shrine for this wooden latticework affixed to the facade of a nearby restaurant.

Frankfurter Kunstverein by Joko Avian, Germany

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It’s too bad this cloud-shaped woven bamboo facade installation by artist Joko Avianto was only temporary, as it adds a beautiful new dimension to the exterior of the Frankfurter Kunstverein art museum.

Hotel WZ Jardins by Estudio Guto Requena, Sao Paulo, Brazil

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Exploring the concept of a ‘hacked city,’ the new facade of the Hotel WZ Jardins by Studio Guto Requena is covered in an ‘urban camouflage’ metal skin that lights up at night in interactive patterns, reacting in real time from sensors on the building that collect data on air quality. Passersby can also influence its patterns by logging onto a mobile app and using finger taps or voice commands.

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Fashionable Facades 15 Buildings That Put On An Artistic Face

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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That’s a Wrap! 15 Building Facades Veiled in Plastic & Cloth

06 Jul

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Stretched or hung around the skeletons of buildings, these membranes made of plastic, fabric and metal mesh act like architectural clothing, diffusing light and obscuring the original forms. From Christo and Jeanne Claude’s iconic Wrapped Reichstag to homes enveloped in translucent ETFE, these veiled structures have an air of mystery, their second skin often made of unexpected materials like plastic bottles or camouflage-printed textiles.

Lucas Cultural Arts Museum by OMA

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Once it’s finally built, after a long delay that saw its planned building site changing from Chicago to California, the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum (LCAM) could be veiled in a dome-like transparent membrane made of ETFE plastic. Designed by OMA, this second layer creates a sheltered, freely accessible sky park, and can also function as a giant movie screen.

Wrapped Reichstag by Christo + Jeanne Claude

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Virtually any structure with a membrane of some sort wrapped around it evokes the iconic work of artistic duo Christo and Jeanne Claude, particularly ‘Wrapped Reichstag.’ In 1995, the artists completely covered the entire Kunstmuseum Bonn with more than a million square feet of aluminum-colored fabric as a symbol for the new Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The project cost $ 15 million USD and remained in place for two weeks.

Shrink-Wrapped Storefront by SO-IL

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Brooklyn-based studio SO-IL literally shrink-wrapped the famous Storefront for Art and Architecture’s facade in white plastic, creating a mysterious series of bulges and a single entryway. Taking inspiration from the seasonal storage of boats, SO-IL plays with the concept of artistic preservation. It’s actually not unusual for entire buildings to be shrink-wrapped for various purposes, like sensitive renovations, but the company that helped carry out the project noted that artistic usage of the wrapping method is rare. The new facade gave the storefront a snow-white and pristine look that lasted just days as it proved a tempting surface for vandals.

Glowing Home in Japan by Suppose Design Office

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Plastic sheets wrapped around the exterior of a three-story steel home in Hiroshima filter light and create a lantern-like effect at night when illuminated from within. This translucent envelope enables a light-filled home on the inside, which was no small task for architecture firm Suppose Design Office as the narrow property is boxed in on three sides. Reed shades are hung in the upper stories during the summer to keep them from overheating.

Exterior Curtains on an Australian Home

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In a reversal of the usual curtained windows, Herzl Arkitekten of Austria covered an entire two-story building in oversized outdoor draperies, veiling the outside of the duplex from view. Pegs hold the curtains open around windows and doors.

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Thats A Wrap 15 Building Facades Veiled In Plastic Cloth

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Forested Facades: 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery to the City

07 Aug

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Vertical Greenery Main

Why stop at parks when we could make cities lusher and greener by integrating thousands of plants right into the facades of urban buildings? Vertical greenery improves air quality, shades the buildings, adds privacy and creates habitats for native birds and insects. These 13 examples include a parking garage, private residences, retail spaces and the world’s tallest vertical garden.

Vo Trong Nghia House Renovation

Green Facades Vo Trong 2
Created as an example of how greenery can be incorporated back into urban Vietnam, this house renovation incorporates a galvanized steel screen that acts as a trellis for climbing plants, enhancing privacy and security while also filtering air and sunlight.

Stacking Green by Vo Trong Nghia

Another approach by the same architecture firm, Vo Trong Nghia, uses 12 layers of concrete planters to create a vertical garden around a tall and narrow home that’s 65 feet deep but only 13 feet wide. Staggered spaces between the layers offer room for different heights of plants.

Bosco Verticale: Twin Green Towers

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Nearly 1,000 trees, 5,000 shrubs and over 10,000 other small plants have been added to the city of Milan in these two urban towers alone. The twin towers of the Bosco Verticale by Stefano Boeri were designed to meet all of the needs of a heavy load of plants, including irrigation, root systems and weight. The greenery brightens up the city, provides shade and cleaner air for residents, and offers habitats for regional birds and insects.

Biological Concrete Absorbs Water & Grows Moss

Green Facade Moss Concrete 2

Building materials could be made with the growth of greenery in mind, making a layer of moss or ivy on the exterior a natural part of the structure rather than a potential problem. Scientists at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya in Barcelona are developing a ‘biological concrete‘ that captures rainwater to create living walls of moss and fungi.

Green Cast by Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma and Associates created a patchwork aluminum facade with spaces for plants to grow for a pharmacy and clinic in Japan. Ventilation shafts and rainwater downpipes are concealed within the panels to keep the plants healthy.

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Forested Facades 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery To The City

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Animating Architecture: Real Facades Remixed, Spun & Stacked

06 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

architecture animaiton herzog de meuron

Taking building concepts to their illogical conclusions, this series of surreal animations provides a tour of impossible architectural structures and facades, each taken to a fresh visual extreme.

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Created by French architect Axel de Stampa, Architecture Animée inverts our expectation of solid structures (with people moving past and through them), instead creating a static backdrop and fixed surroundings against which iconic buildings come to life.

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Each work ends up looking (abstractly) like an extension of the original architectural intent or some sort of motion implied within it, such as the above game of god-scaled Tetris that seems to play out in realtime.

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This initial set shown here was created as part of 1Week1Project, organized by Ecole d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville graduate Sylvain Macaux to generate 52 spontaneous architecture projects over the space of a year (with over 25 completed to date).

architecture animated absolute towers mad

Structures subject to these whimsical deconstructions include the following: Vitrahaus by Herzog & de Meuron, Memory Museum by Estudio America, Theatre Agora by UNStudio, Emerson College Los Angeles by Morphosis, Mirador Building by MVRDV and Blanca Lleo, Americas Cup Building by David Chipperfield, New Museum by SANAA, Absolute Towers by MAD.

architecture animation building deconstruction

Spinning, twisting and deforming, the pieces play on something intrinsic to each subject – almost as much a natural extension as an artistic interpretation. Participating photographers include: Nicolas Saieh, Christian Richters, Iwan Baan, Luis Garcia, James Ewing and Tom Arban with more yet to come.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Fake Facades: Transformative Murals Make Cities Vibrant

27 May

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Fake Facade Murals 1

You might think you see a stone turret, a bunch of celebrities hanging out on a balcony, construction in progress or a man precariously dangling from a clock, but what you’re actually looking at is a clever trompe l’oeil work of trickery in paint. Artist Patrick Commecy heads up a team of muralists that transform facades throughout France from blank walls to wacky scenes full of life.

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The most dramatic example is a Montpelier building, the back of which is within view of a nearby park (pictured top). Worn and neglected, the structure was a bit of an eyesore as-is. Commecy’s team A-Fresco transformed it with a full faux facade including a tiled roof, windows with balconies and a small tower. The figures seen in the outdoor spaces are famous and influential Montpelier residents throughout history.

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Another project involved painting 20 pioneers of mountaineering on the side of the first Guides Office within view of Mont Blanc. The painted-on windows and balconies so closely resemble the real ones on the front of the building, it takes a minute to realize they’re not three-dimensional.

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See more of these murals, each tailored to its unique location, at the A-Fresco website (in French.)

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Dissected Buildings: Sliced Facades are All Appearances

01 Apr

[ By Steph in Art & Photography & Video. ]

Ghostly Building Facades 1

Ghostly building facades seem to have been sliced right off the buildings that should be attached to them, their skinny silhouettes rising from street level against the laws of physics. These structures are an architectural interpretation of the term ‘all style, no substance,’ presenting buildings as they look at first glance without the parts that you would see if you were to walk around the sides and back.

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The ‘Façades’ series by French photographer Zacharie Gaudrillot-Roy wondered what a city would look like if architecture was only scenery, with no actual places for people to carry out their daily lives. The building facades were isolated in Photoshop, the backgrounds filled in with other shots taken nearby.

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The resulting images are all the more eerie for the hints of life they still contain, like satellite dishes, bicycles and laundry draped on balcony railings.

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“This series offers a vision of an unknown world that would only be a picture, without intimate space, with looks as the only refuge,” says Gaurdillot-Roy.

[ By Steph in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Buildings That Don’t Exist: Fake Facades Hide Infrastructure

30 Apr

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Fake Building Facades 1

From the sidewalk, this Paris building looks just like those around it, complete with doors, windows and balconies. but take a look at Google Maps, as Paul of the blog Paris by Cellphone did, and you’ll notice something strange: there’s nothing behind that facade. Like many others all over the world, this ordinary-looking building is just a shell to disguise unsightly infrastructure.

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The building, at 154 Rue La Layette, is hiding a giant ventilation chimney for the metro. The chimney is about as large as one of the real buildings that surround it. In another location in Marais, artist Julien Berthier constructed a false door to go on the side of one of these buildings that wasn’t quite as well-disguised.

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The facade meets local architectural codes and bears an address plate reading ‘J.B. & S.B. Specalistes.’ Wonder how many people have knocked on it over the years, waiting for someone to answer?

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BLDGBLOG discovered another such facade, in Brooklyn. The windows of this particular house are blacked out, making it a bit curious. What are those people trying to hide? Upon closer examination, answer is revealed: it’s a ventilator for the subway. Once, it was a real brownstone, built in 1847, but it was gutted in 1908 when subway service was started in Brooklyn. See more photos of the facade at BLDGBLOG.

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The Brooklyn Daily Eagle explains, “the exit disguised as a brownstone leads to a grimy-lit set of metal stairs that ascend past utility boxes and ventilation shafts into a windowless room with a door. If you opened the door, you would find yourself on a stoop, which is just part of the façade.”

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Faux Facades: Fake Buildings Hide Trains, Power & More

19 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

fake urban architecture

When is a building not a building? When it is only a facade, (aka) dummy! You might have passed right by train tunnels, communications towers or even entirely empty buildings and never realized you were being duped – until now.

Underground Train Passage & Ventilation in Rowhouse

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Consider units 23 & 24, Leinster Gardens in Paddington, London. When underground rail was routed through the neighborhood in the 1860s, the residences at those addresses were razed … and replaced with a very convincing facade. Behind it: an empty void for the old engines to vent along their route, and metal bracing to help hold up adjacent structures. Hoaxes played on this place include everything from the pizza-delivery redirect to a prankster selling tickets to a charity ball at the address.

Subway Emergency Exit & Energy Converter in Townhouse

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One more urban ventilator before we move on: 58 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn, New York follows a similar pattern to its British brethren – blacked-out windows are the only up-close giveaway to an otherwise-complete illusion of occupation, while the railway runs below. This faux building has had multiple subway-related purposes beyond ventilation, though, including electrical conversion and emergency egress.

Power Substations in Houses, Offices, Factories & Castles

fake building power substations

Toronto has a century-long history of hiding its urban energy substations as all kinds of architecture, from small single-family homes to huge block-sized factory buildings, at addresses including 29 Nelson Street, 2833 Yonge Street & 640 Millwood Road. Some have caught fire in freak accidents – not something the neighbors like to worry about. Others have been decommissioned and converted to residential or commercial use, in a strange instance of life imitating the art of imitation.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Faux Facades: Fake Buildings Hide Trains, Power & More

12 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

fake urban architecture

Underground Train Passage & Ventilation in Rowhouse

fake architecture underground venting

Subway Emergency Exit & Energy Converter in Townhouse

fake building over subway

Power Substations in Houses, Offices, Factories & Castles

fake building power substations

360Photography

Posts Tagged ‘Facades’

Unboxing Buildings: Dull Modern Facades Removed to Reveal Historic Decor

Fashionable Facades: 15 Buildings That Put On An Artistic Face

Mercado de Getafe by A-cero, Madrid, Spain

Hotel Cumbres Lastarria by Rodrigo Errazuriz, Santiago, Chile

Izumono Sakaba by Area Connection, Izumo City, Japan

Frankfurter Kunstverein by Joko Avian, Germany

Hotel WZ Jardins by Estudio Guto Requena, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Fashionable Facades 15 Buildings That Put On An Artistic Face

That’s a Wrap! 15 Building Facades Veiled in Plastic & Cloth

Lucas Cultural Arts Museum by OMA

Wrapped Reichstag by Christo + Jeanne Claude

Shrink-Wrapped Storefront by SO-IL

Glowing Home in Japan by Suppose Design Office

Exterior Curtains on an Australian Home

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Thats A Wrap 15 Building Facades Veiled In Plastic Cloth

Forested Facades: 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery to the City

Vo Trong Nghia House Renovation

Stacking Green by Vo Trong Nghia

Bosco Verticale: Twin Green Towers

Biological Concrete Absorbs Water & Grows Moss

Green Cast by Kengo Kuma

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Forested Facades 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery To The City

Animating Architecture: Real Facades Remixed, Spun & Stacked

Fake Facades: Transformative Murals Make Cities Vibrant

Dissected Buildings: Sliced Facades are All Appearances

Buildings That Don’t Exist: Fake Facades Hide Infrastructure

Faux Facades: Fake Buildings Hide Trains, Power & More

Underground Train Passage & Ventilation in Rowhouse

Subway Emergency Exit & Energy Converter in Townhouse

Power Substations in Houses, Offices, Factories & Castles

Faux Facades: Fake Buildings Hide Trains, Power & More

Underground Train Passage & Ventilation in Rowhouse

Subway Emergency Exit & Energy Converter in Townhouse

Power Substations in Houses, Offices, Factories & Castles

Next Page:
Faux Facades Fake Buildings Hide Trains Power More

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Posts Tagged ‘Facades’

Mercado de Getafe by A-cero, Madrid, Spain

Hotel Cumbres Lastarria by Rodrigo Errazuriz, Santiago, Chile

Izumono Sakaba by Area Connection, Izumo City, Japan

Frankfurter Kunstverein by Joko Avian, Germany

Hotel WZ Jardins by Estudio Guto Requena, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Fashionable Facades 15 Buildings That Put On An Artistic Face

Lucas Cultural Arts Museum by OMA

Wrapped Reichstag by Christo + Jeanne Claude

Shrink-Wrapped Storefront by SO-IL

Glowing Home in Japan by Suppose Design Office

Exterior Curtains on an Australian Home

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Thats A Wrap 15 Building Facades Veiled In Plastic Cloth

Vo Trong Nghia House Renovation

Stacking Green by Vo Trong Nghia

Bosco Verticale: Twin Green Towers

Biological Concrete Absorbs Water & Grows Moss

Green Cast by Kengo Kuma

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Forested Facades 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery To The City

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Buildings That Don’t Exist: Fake Facades Hide Infrastructure

Faux Facades: Fake Buildings Hide Trains, Power & More

Vertical Forests: 2 Lush Urban Towers Support 16,000 Plants

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Architectural Kaleidoscopes: Buildings Spun into Fractal Art

Dissected Buildings: Sliced Facades are All Appearances

Is it Real or is it Roman? Fascinating CGI Architecture

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Buildings That Don’t Exist: Fake Facades Hide Infrastructure

Faux Facades: Fake Buildings Hide Trains, Power & More

Urban Landscapes Transformed: 23 Stunning Urban Murals

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Buildings That Don’t Exist: Fake Facades Hide Infrastructure

Faux Facades: Fake Buildings Hide Trains, Power & More

Architectural Kaleidoscopes: Buildings Spun into Fractal Art

Underground Train Passage & Ventilation in Rowhouse

Subway Emergency Exit & Energy Converter in Townhouse

Power Substations in Houses, Offices, Factories & Castles

Underground Train Passage & Ventilation in Rowhouse

Subway Emergency Exit & Energy Converter in Townhouse

Power Substations in Houses, Offices, Factories & Castles

Next Page: Faux Facades Fake Buildings Hide Trains Power More

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Faux-ny Phone Towers: Cleverly Concealed Cellular Sites

City Camouflage: Ugly Public Buildings in Disguise

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Fashionable Facades 15 Buildings That Put On An Artistic Face

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Thats A Wrap 15 Building Facades Veiled In Plastic Cloth

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Forested Facades 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery To The City

Next Page:
Faux Facades Fake Buildings Hide Trains Power More