Developing countries have the highest demand for steel-reinforced concrete, but often do not have the means to produce the steel to meet that demand. Rather than put themselves at the mercy of a global market dominated by developed countries, Singapore’s Future Cities Laboratory suggests an alternative to this manufactured rarity: bamboo. Abundant, sustainable, and extremely resilient, bamboo has potential in the future to become an ideal replacement in places where steel cannot easily be produced.
A team lead by Arup has developed a method of designing and 3D Printing steel joints which will significantly reduce the time and cost needed to make complex nodes in tensile structures. Their research is being touted as “a whole new direction for the use of additive manufacturing” which provides a way of taking 3D printing “firmly into the realm of real-world, hard hat construction.”
Aside from creating more elegant components which express the forces within each individual joint - as you can see in the above photo – the innovation could potentially reduce costs, cut waste and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
Read on for more on this breakthrough
Andrew Carnegie once said, “Aim for the highest.” He followed his own advice. The powerful 19th century steel magnate had the foresight to build a bridge spanning the Mississippi river, a total of 6442 feet. In 1874, the primary structural material was iron — steel was the new kid on the block. People were wary of steel, scared of it even. It was an unproven alloy.
Nevertheless, after the completion of Eads Bridge in St. Louis, Andrew Carnegie generated a publicity stunt to prove steel was in fact a viable building material. A popular superstition of the day stated that an elephant would not cross an unstable bridge. On opening day, a confident Carnegie, the people of St. Louis and a four-ton elephant proceeded to cross the bridge. The elephant was met on the other side with pompous fanfare. What ensued was the greatest vertical building boom in American history, with Chicago and New York pioneering the cause. That’s right people; you can thank an adrenaline-junkie elephant for changing American opinion on the safety of steel construction.
So if steel replaced iron – as iron replaced bronze and bronze, copper – what will replace steel? Carbon Fiber.
Following our readers poll last year, here’s an updated list of what we think are the best ten apps for architects. From condensed versions of large scale programmes architects and designers use every day, to blank canvases to scratch ideas down onto, you might just find an app that could improve the way you work.
Architect: Sami Rintala
Landscape Architects: Eedo Space Architectural Design, Seúl, Republic of Korea
Location: Anyang Park, Anyang, Seúl, Republic of Korea
Materials: Steel, Wood, Concrete, Gravel, Glass
Construction: October-December 2005
Finish: January 2006
Constructed Area: 72sqm
Client: Anyang City / Public Art Project
Collaborators: John Roger Holte, Artist, Norway; Finnforest, Wood
Photography: Park Wan Soon, Emil Goh
Architects: Studio Fuksas - Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas
Interior Design: Fuksas Design
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Address: Grosse Eschenheimer Strasse 10-14
Client: PalaisQuartier GmBH & CO., KG
Surface: Built Surface – 77,000 sq.m., Facade – 8,500 sq.m., Cover – 13,000 sq.m.
Engineering: Structures – Knippers-Helbig Beratende Ingenieure, Stuttgart; Krebs und Kiefer Beratende Ingenieure für das Bauwesen GmbH, Darmstadt | Realization of the façade and covering – Waagner Biro Stahlbau AG, Wien
In reference to Living Steel‘s 3rd International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing, Glen Murcutt discusses his ideas surrounding the issue of sustainability. He emphasizes the strategies employed by the top contenders such as the planning of orientation, thermal performance, and human effort in addition to other variables involved in sustainable architecture. One particular method that Murcutt stresses is using materials that can dissolve back into the earth, citing earth walls as an excellent medium to build with and their inherent thermal mass qualities. Each team was invited to present their ideas in person, a variation from previous years which Murcutt believes led to the highest quality of work and diversity of the competition series.
Architects: Ensamble Studio
Location: Mexico D.F, Mexico
Architect in Charge: Antón García- Abril
Associate Architect: Elena Pérez
Construction manager architect: Alba Cortés
Project Team: Débora Mesa, Joaquín Gallegos, Alba Beroiz, Jaime Alcayde, Cristina Moya, Juan Ruiz Antón, Tomaso Boano, Federico Letizia
Developer: SGAE – GRUPO CARSO
Project Management: INPROS
Construction Company: GRUPO PC
Structural Engineering: COLINAS DE BUEN
Project Area: 11,500 sqm
Photographs: Roland Halbe, Ensamble Studio
OMA recently completed their first building in London. The new 21,000sqm building is located in the narrow medieval alley of St Swithin’s Lane, in the heart of the City, a dense context where OMA’s precise intervention is able to blend and become an active urban piece.
The building, thanks to its structural steel design, is lifted from the ground exposing new situations, connections and views, detonator of a new streetscape where the public realm is as important as the office space above.
You can see Rem Koolhaas and Ellen van Loon discussing this project on a video posted earlier at ArchDaily.
More information courtesy of OMA after the break:
Project: Rothschild Bank Headquarters
Client: NM Rothschild & Sons
Location: St Swithin’s Lane, City of London
Site: New Court, enclosed in cluster of buildings, adjacent to the 17th century St. Stephen Walbrook church; with main entrance on the narrow St. Swithin’s Lane
Program: Office headquarters: 13,000m2
Partners in charge: Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon
The BioVentures Center is a new office and laboratory facility on the campus of the University of Iowa that functions as a collaborative environment and business incubator for biotech start-ups and the academic field. The 80,000sf facility was designed by OPN Architects of Cedar Rapids, Iowa in conjunction with KJWW Engineering and Consultants. In addition to traditional academic functions, half of the buildings usable area was designed as speculative lab space and is available for commercial lease.
Architect: Legat Architects, Inc.
Location: Matteson, Illinois
Construction Manager: Louis Jones Enterprises, Inc.
Technology/Audio-visual/Security/Geothermal Feasibility Consultant: KJWW Engineering Consultants
MEP/Structural/Civil Engineer: Globetrotters
Photographs: James Steinkamp
Designed by Legat Architects, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, the 122,000sf Colin Powell Middle School is an academic facility that serves grades 6-8 for Illinois School District 159. According to the architect, “The design of Colin Powell Middle School responds to the client’s desire to provide a progressive symbol of education to its students and community. Energy efficiency, environmental conscientiousness, and openness were all driving factors in the design.” More images and description after the break.