The Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum | Wuhan HUST architecture and urban planning design institute

The Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum

Yunxian situates in the mountain area in central China, at 32°40′N, 110°37′E. It is in the “Hot-summer and Cold-winter climate zone”. The museum design adopts all local material, local teams and local construction techniques. It strives to create the least disruption with most locally-sourced design input. Cast-in-place concrete, reinforced concrete system, local construction team and local materials are used as much as possible.

The Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum – Courtesy of Wuhan HUST

The design used locally fast-grown bamboo as concrete molds, it also used old tiles from deserted local earth houses as the 2nd layer of roof. It also helps keep the interior temperature in good condition for hot summer climate region. Without any decoration for the inside and outside facade, only using some chimney-shaped light well in order to draw in natural daylight as spotlights for the dinosaur eggs.

The Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum – Courtesy of Wuhan HUST

Following the passive design principle, the Museum does not need to use any air condition and other artificial ventilation facilities. Aside from design philosophy, another benefit of the local material and construction team/technique is the economic budget. The site condition including its topography and accessibility is rather complicated, which also results in a building form complicated to construct. Using local material and local construction technique also helps to ensure a modest construction budget while keeping a high-quality contextual design. The Design team also made very frequent trips to the construction site to deliver a quality-controlled project within a friendly budget.

The Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum – Courtesy of Wuhan HUST

The morphology of the design roots in the spatial distribution of the dinosaur eggs and vertical variation of the on-site topography. The site remained least disturbed, with the minimally- designed walking bridge gently floating above to hug around the site of the eggs, which further determines the direction and form of the architecture that serves as a silent backdrop for the site. It is a building that is modest to the site, honest to the history and respectful to the archaeological excavation.

Old material + New construction technique:
– The fast-growing local bamboo was chosen as a low-budget sustainable material. However the conventional material is used with innovation: the bamboo was used mostly to make molds that provide concrete a unique, rough and textual finishing.
– The old tiles from deserted earth houses nearby were also recycled in an innovative way: They are used to constructed the second layer of the roof. Two layers of roof enable the circulation of air in between, therefore minimizing heat from entering the building during the summer.
– “The Chimneys of Light” are used to provide simple and pure “natural spotlight” for the dinosaur eggs, the only item on exhibition in the entire museum. “The Chimneys of Light” also construct a mysterious atmosphere for the exhibition.

Axonometric – Courtesy of Wuhan HUST

Innovative “wind-transparent but light-blocking” window system, solving conflicts between dark visual indoor environment and well-natural-ventilated exhibition sensual environment. The project collects and piles big rocks from rivers and creeks nearby to protect the foundation of architecture. The unaltered natural grass-field and 800-year-old ancient trees are the main landscape feature, which echoes the natural and minimalistic design principles from the architecture.

The Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum – Courtesy of Wuhan HUST

Project Info
Architects : Wuhan HUST architecture and urban planning design institute
Location : Qinglong Mountain National Geological Park, China
Year : 2016
Type : Cultural
Photographs : Wuhan HUST

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House of the Tree | Kokaistudios

House of the Tree

House of the Tree, located at the 48th and 49th floor of a high-end residential tower in Shenzhen, China, is a penthouse designed by Kokaistudios with the concept of “living between the city and the nature” offers a modern lifestyle with luxury and relaxation.

Courtesy of Kokaistudios – Photography: Charlie Xia

The elegant and exceptional entrance, punctuated by a tree incredibly planted at the 48th floor of a residential tower, allows a panorama view that enhances the relationship between the interior and exterior, and provides an opportunity to bring in a large quantity of daylight indoor. It is the result of a large-scale of architectural modification applied to the original layout of the penthouse, a join unit of two regular apartments and a typical situation in high-rise residential towers in current China market, does not allow any perception of two floor apartments.

Courtesy of Kokaistudios – Photography: Charlie Xia

By enclosing a small portion of outdoor terrace into a glass pavilion in the center of the penthouse, Kokaistudios create the new core of the apartment in an impressive double height atrium with the opportunity to bath by the natural light.

Courtesy of Kokaistudios – Photography: Charlie Xia

This new core space, with walls removed from original layout, increasing the kitchen and the dining area conceived as dynamic spaces. Surrounded by the amazing outdoor swimming pool, it is able to be divided by semi transparent glass partition to satisfy various scenarios. A transitional space distributes the functions between first and second floor and at the same time to prelude the entrance to the living room and to the guest bedroom located on the first floor to guarantee privacy from the family area located on the second level.

The staircase has been designed with a great sculptural attitude with a deep study of details making it a prominent symbol of the space. The multi-function living room originally divided by a partition that does not allow for a connection between the north and the south view has been reconfigured by locating a fireplace in the middle of the space to create a dynamic layout for social flexibility.

Courtesy of Kokaistudios – Photography: Charlie Xia

The concept of fluid and dynamic spaces the mainstream of the entire project and has been applied in the second level in both master bedroom and study room separating a mood of tranquility and activities yet allowing continues journey between the spaces.

Courtesy of Kokaistudios – Photography: Charlie Xia

Particular attention is given to the selection of materials, Kokaistudios choice being driven both by the desire to choose environmentally friendly materials and finishing techniques, as well as by the desire for a strong architectural aesthetic and feeling for the project. Kokaistudios have a deep study of the lighting possibilities that maximize the use of natural sunlight and create a flexible lighting system that transforms the space and the mood according the social or private functions.

Plan 01 – Courtesy of Kokaistudios

Project Info
Architects: Kokaistudios
Location: Shenzhen, China
Interior Design: Filippo Gabbiani, Andrea Destefanis, Sherry G, Zoe Lee
Client: China Resource Land (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd.
Area: 616.0 sqm
Year: 2011
Type: Residential
Photographs: Charlie Xia

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Citta Della Scienza | Vincent Callebaut Architectures

Citta Della Scienza

Inspired by the Land Art, the eco-district makes itself metabolic, fertile and creative! Facades are covered of free edible plants and become like epidermises, intelligent, self-regeneration and organic. Roofs and balconies become new grounds of a green city. The orchards and food gardens are not placed side by side with the new buildings anymore, they are the buildings of this eco-masterplan! To adapt the form to function, to bet on biodiversity, to program the multi-functionality, to encourage multi-culture and self-management, these are the keys to an urban and social success to initiate the symbiosis within the couple « Human-Nature » in Roma !

Courtesy of Vincent Callebaut Architectures

The area is crucial in the process of regeneration of the urban area centered on the axis of via Guido Reni linking the MAXXI and the Auditorium in the North of Roma. It seems appropriated to build the project proposal combining the memory of the original urban fabric of the neighborhood with innovative eco-responsible lifestyles. It results in a new organization of the site with a strong green footprint that regenerates his military past and articulates the green architecture features. The master plan offers contemporary large public spaces and a dynamic social mix presenting high values in terms of urban centrality and connectivity between the different identities and cultural spots of the district.

Courtesy of Vincent Callebaut Architectures

The Six Fundamental Principle Of The Design Are As Following:

1. Correlation with the context and the industrial history: Crossing the area, a grid of permeable public spaces grafts all the paths from Piazza Melozzo da Forlì, from piazza Mancini, from the Via Flaminia, and from the MAXXI square. Inside, the tree-lined avenues are kept, like fingerprints, the pre-existing industrial buildings envelopes transformed into magnificent lofts. Most of the residences and commercial spaces are aligned along the edge of the site to give form and consistency to the great original block.

2. Articulation of various public spaces, building types and architectural languages: The system of public spaces, despite its variety, forms a unitary structure characterizing strongly the project from the point of view of beauty and quality of life. The variation of building types, scales and architectural languages presents an obvious additional aesthetic quality. The entire site is a pedestrian! Regarding the mobility, the private accesses to the underground car parks (on maximum two levels under residential buildings) are systematically located on the edges of the area. Public car parks are located on the square facing to viale del Vignola and under the building of the Città della Scienza.

3. Flexible and multifunctional urban spaces: The functions, as reflected in the master plan, bind the transformations induced by the diagonal pathway: retail stores, ateliers for artists and craftsmen, small art galleries, bars and restaurants, neighborhood services, all the needs of the city’s events and exhibitions of science are thought in order to not disturb the privacy and the intimacy that must characterize the residential spaces.

4. Cityscape full of trees (“trees of shadow and harmony” – l. Sciascia): The intensive planting of mature trees is designed not only for their intrinsic beauty but also for the positive environmental effects (reduction in CO2, particulate removal, microclimates in public spaces). All the roofs and balconies of each new buildings become communitarian orchards and/or food and aromatic gardens to design a flourishing and fertile master plan.

5. Bio-sustainability of urban plants and buildings : The landscape architecture (Land Arch) aims at reaching the following green features : the recovery of rainwater for irrigation of public and private green areas, photovoltaic electricity production, the domestic hot water production by solar tubes, the control of microclimates in public spaces (daylight and shadow), the municipal solid waste recycling on site by biomass, the energy-efficient buildings (treatment of facades with respect to guidance), and finally the lighting appliances with integrated micro-wind turbines.

6. Social mix of dwelling units: The master plan proposes a large choice of apartments scales in different building types taking into account the expected diversification of housing demand.

Courtesy of Vincent Callebaut Architectures

Project Info
Architects: Vincent Callebaut Architectures
Location: Roma, Italy
Local Architects: COFFICE – studio di architettura e urbanistica + Studio d’Architettura Briguglio Morales Sambo, Roma
Project Manager: Prof. Ing. Paolo Colarossi, La Sapienza
Developer: Roma Capitale, Cdp Investimenti Sg
Programe: 35 000 m² of residences and accommodations, 10 000 m² commercial, 14 000 m² public spaces and facilities, Città della Scienza 27 000 m²
Total Surface Area: 86 000 m²
Year: 2015
Type: Masterplan

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