Tasked with enlivening Royal de Versailles’s Rolex Boutique along Toronto’s Bloor Street shopping promenade, local practice PARTISANS delivered a unique, parametrically sculpted limestone facade, distinguishing the storefront from its competitors. The new enclosure decorates an expansion of the Royal de Versailles store, which previously occupied only a portion of the street frontage beneath a large modernist office tower. Limestone was chosen to match the exterior expression of the store’s original facade and was also selected for its low carbon impact and durability.
The storefront’s flashy design is meant to capture the eye of potential customers. (Doublespace Photography)
Stylistically, the organic curvature and pleated ripples of the expansion contrasts with both the office tower as well as the original storefront, which is classically detailed. To meld the three architectural aesthetics together, the architects designed the expansion with continuity in mind, such as the aforementioned use of limestone, as well as the continuation of the office building’s vertical mullions in the new design. Conceptually, the new facade’s form is a visual metaphor for Rolex’s iconic watch band, or oyster bracelet, which is composed of polished metal links.
The facade’s textured panels are meant to evoke rippled fabric. (Doublespace Photography)
PARTISANS collaborated with Arturo Tedeschi, an Italian architect and expert in computational design, on the project. Limestone blocks were cut using a CNC Machine that was programmed using a parametric script to achieve the facade’s complex geometry. In addition, a pattern of diagonal lines was etched across the surface of the windowless facade panels, creating a unique texture.
“The three dimensional texture was achieved through a custom script created in Grasshopper,” Tedeschi told AN. Combined with the precision of CNC milling techniques, we were able to generate a digital model that could be faithfully transformed into a three-dimensional texture on the stone surface. The resulting texture is characterized by its extraordinary density and complexity, which lends the stone a unique ‘textile’ appearance, blurring the boundaries between the rigidity of stone and the softness typically associated with fabric.”
Prior to construction, a 3D survey of the office building was conducted to ensure flush connection between the tower’s vertical mullions and the new facade. (Doublespace Photography)
Throughout, the project was complicated by very small tolerances between the components of the facade assembly. To ensure flush connection with the existing building, a 3D scan of the structure was conducted before construction began on the new store, and again prior to window installation to ensure proper placement.
The limestone’s weight was another complicating factor.
“The [stone] blocks were enormous,” said Alex Josephson, founder of PARTISANS. “It can’t be underestimated how hard these kinds of complex masonry projects are to build, regardless of how prepared we were for construction.”
Despite the difficulty of such projects, PARTISANS has demonstrated a knack for pulling them off. The firm also recently completed Canvas House, a ground-up residence in Toronto that features a complex undulating brick pattern.
Architect: Morphosis Location: San Donato, Italy Completion Date: 2023
Morphosis has delivered a new headquarters for ENI, the Italian energy giant. The campus is located in Milan’s San Donato municipality where the company has operated from since 1952 when Enrico Mattei, the company’s founder, hired architect Mario Bacciocchi to masterplan a company town. They called the planned community Metanopoli, and emulated the design of Ivrea, a company town near Turin which was constructed for Olgiatti—the Italian typewriter manufacturer.
The new campus—officially known as the Exploration and Production Business Center—is sited on a plot of land previously occupied by a series of factory buildings designed under the original masterplan. Many of these structures were demolished to construct the new headquarters. However, Morphosis chose to preserve one of the buildings, reusing it as an entrance to the re-designed campus. It was coupled with three new building faced with glazing and a shade systems that harkens to the color and the stratification of the Earth’s crust and tectonic plates.
One of the original factory buildings was preserved and reused as the ground-level entrance to the campus. (Roland Halbe)
In total, the site is nearly 700,000 square feet. Per the project brief, Morphosis devised a series of structures intended for 4,600 employees. To respect the principles established by the original master plan, which prioritized landscape and open space, Morphosis designed the office complex around a large central courtyard.
The circular campus was divided into three distinct structures: Icon Tower, Landmark Tower, and Sky-Garden Tower. The buildings are interconnected by pedestrian skybridges, the most dramatic of which spans nearly 300 feet.
The new campus is divided into three primary buildings. (Courtesy Morphosis)
The massing of the structures, already somewhat defined by the prioritization of the central courtyard, was further delineated by the specifications of the Italian energy code. Per the code, office buildings must be proportioned in a manner which relegates that 85 percent of the floor plate have sunlight and views out of the structure. Given this prescription, Morphosis settled on a width of roughly 65 feet for the buildings.
Arne Emerson, principal at Morphosis, told AN, “the height and the proportions really come from the Italian Energy Code, which is incredibly strict. And it’s actually not complex at all. They give you a very simple kind of diagram of the ceiling height, versus the depth of the space.”
The office buildings encircle a central courtyard. (Roland Halbe)The building is shaded by two primary facade systems. (Jasmine Park)
The energy code also eliminated the possibility of a curtain wall system, and Morphosis was required to balance the requirement for views and sunlight with a mandate to reduce solar heat gain through shading. A series of ribbon windows were implemented and two distinct shade systems were developed. The glazing is 60 percent transparent vision glass while the remaining 40 percent was required to be opaque spandrel glass concealing insulation.
The suspended shade systems add dimension and depth to the massing of the buildings. (Jasmine Park)
Morphosis devised two different perforated shading concepts for the campus. The first system was constructed from PVD coated stainless steel with a bronze finish. These panels are iridescent and shimmer under sunlight. A louver system was specified for the second system, colored a light blue.
Facade System A was manufactured from bronze colored panels of perforated stainless steel. (Courtesy Morphosis)Facade System B consists of a series of blue louvers. (Courtesy Morphosis)
The shade systems were colored using a palette which evokes geology, tectonics, and the company’s primary extracts.
Emerson added, “One of ENI’s existing buildings had this beautiful gallery that had a lot of these rich color drawings where you see the Earth’s crust and the layers of tectonic plates. So we started to use that as a loose inspiration.”
Geological stratification informed the design of the facade, particularly System A. (Courtesy Morphosis)
The campus has achieved Italy’s Classe A energy designation and LEED Gold Italia. To achieve these sustainability goals, Morphosis implemented storm water capture systems and photovoltaic panels on the roofs of each building, in addition to the aforementioned shade systems.
The roofs have been populated with garden space and photovoltaics. (Jasmine Park)
Morphosis designed the headquarters with the intention of providing office workers with ample outdoor space, and a pleasant interior working environment. Given the rise of work-from-home culture following the COVID-19 pandemic, the architects hope that the amenities provided by the new buildings will encourage workers to return to the office.
Heatherwick Studio has just been selected to design a new educational facility for a university in Bogotá, Colombia. Marking Heatherwick’s Studio’s debut in South America, the construction is set to begin in 2025. Located on the existing campus in central Bogotá, the new design school and makers’ space for Universidad EAN will become a home for the university’s school of sustainable design. The seven-story structure features a striking façade adorned with colorful artistic columns and open terraces.
Drawing inspiration from local craft traditions, specifically Werregue basketry, the design seeks to showcase a respect for regional culture. Native to indigenous Colombia’s Wounaan community, the weaving technique is used playfully all over the columns of the façade, defining a welcoming public space.
Courtesy of NOD | Heatherwick Studio
Creativity is intrinsic to the city of Bogotá. You see it everywhere. We want students to feel proud of their campus before they even enter the building, arriving through a public square that offers passers-by a welcoming communal oasis amidst the hard urban surroundings. –Eliot Postma, partner at Heatherwick Studio
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Serving as the university’s focal point, the new building aims to blend in with the historic structures already in place while adding a unique public area to the cityscape. To guarantee the structure’s longevity, the design team is developing innovative façade materials to tackle the difficulties caused by Bogotá’s strong sunshine at high elevations.
With Bogotá known as a center for sustainable development and Colombia as the second most biodiverse nation in the world, Universidad EAN hopes to embody these ideals through the building’s architecture, which incorporates aspects of the nearby cloud forest. In fact, the project will integrate native plant species on its open terraces using biophilic design concepts, bridging the gap between urban and natural environments. Additionally, the scheme seeks to align with Bogotá’s commitments as a signatory to the C40 Urban Nature Declaration.
Courtesy of NOD | Heatherwick Studio
In similar news, Heatherwick Studio recently showcased its “Building Soulfulness” exhibition at the Bund Finance Center in Shanghai. The display celebrates the studio’s design and its long-lasting relationship with China. In London, the iconic BT Tower, initially used as the British Telecommunications Tower, will be repurposed by Heatherwick Studio. Finally, the studio recently unveiled its revitalized district in the heart of Tokyo named Azabudai Hills. Interestingly, Pelli Clarke & Partners also worked on this project and has just completed the Mori JP Tower, now officially standing as Japan’s tallest building.
Architect: _naturehumaine Location: Montreal Completion Date: 2023
A duplex in Montreal by local studio _naturehumaine, manages to blend in with the historic brick architecture of the city’s Côte-des-Neiges borough. The semi-detached duplex Le Paquebot, french for steamboat, pulls from features of streamline moderne, a style that borrows from the industrial design of steamships, trains, and automobiles to adapt the sleek aerodynamics of vehicles to stationary buildings.
Required by municipal by-laws to replicate the exterior cladding of neighboring brick buildings, the architects at _naturehumaine used a rounded corner detail, a common motif in streamline moderne, to distinguish the building from the more modestly appointed masonry homes in the area.
The two homes within the duplex each have a ground floor area of 24 by 25 feet and rise three stories. A small mezzanine addition above each unit, pushing the total square footage to 4,200 for the entire structure. On the interior, both dwellings house four bedrooms, an office, and a family room.
Careful coordination was required to align the curve of the vertical brick work, window lintel, and concrete foundation to achieve the rounded corner detail. (Ronan Mézière)
Large terrace spaces adjoin to each unit. The terraces were conceived as platforms perched above the driveway, so as their bases double as a car port.
Each unit features an expansive terrace and a car port. (Ronan Mézière)
The building’s ochre-colored masonry was complemented by a wine-red paint finish applied to the aluminum clad mezzanine. A terra-cotta color was used for the aluminum railings and perforated steel window screens. On the upper floors of the homes, the windows are recessed into bays and partially screened to reduce solar heat gain and glare.
The finishes of the aluminum-sided mezzanine and window frames were specified to complement the red-colored brick required by the borough. (Ronan Mézière)
The exterior cladding of the building, even the precise brick specifications, were determined by Montreal by-laws, which require that architects use borough-authorized materials which maintain the architectural harmony of the place. In the case of Côte-des-Neiges the use of imperial modular brick was mandatory.
A standard horizontal running bond covers much of the facade, however, at the rounded corner, the brick bond was laid vertically, adopting a soldier course orientation. Segments of brick near the ground level were also laid in soldier course to add visual variety to the structure’s exterior.
Curved glazing was specified for the corner window, which takes inspiration from streamline moderne architecture. (Ronan Mézière)The curved glazing was fabricated in Texas and shipped to Montreal for installation. (Manolo Langis)
Curved glazing was specified for the corner windows. Stephane Rasselet, principal partner at _naturehumaine, told AN that one of the project’s greatest challenges was the fabrication of a curved steel lintel which would structurally support the bricks above the corner window.
Rasselet elaborated, “The challenge consisted in having all the curved elements aligned vertically, from the concrete foundation to the brick wall and window steel lintel. The builder was used to more standard housing projects. This project brought him slightly out of his comfort zone but he did a great job.”
Prague-based architectural firm Jan Tyrpekl recently revealed its latest tiny house project, a 30-sq-m (323-sq-ft) retreat perched above concrete pillars named Zen House that’s nestled in the tranquil landscape of Hainburg an der Donau, Austria.
Conceived as a haven for its occupants, Zen House provides a beautiful and functional space to disconnect from the the bustle of urban life and re-connect with nature.
The tiny house is raised approximately four meters (13 ft) above the ground via a series of concrete pillars, allowing the landscape to flow beneath the dwelling, emphasizing a seamless connection with the land.
The sustainable materials used in the build provide both durability and a natural aesthetic. The main section features a timber frame made from glued laminated spruce timbers. Solid wooden CLT panels are used to complete the roof structure, while the lower structure and terrace are built with glued laminated larch timbers.
The living area boasts 360 degrees of unobstructed views of the surrounding orchard and trees
Antonín Matějovský
The living area offers a secure and intimate retreat, reminiscent of a bird’s nest. Glass walls encase the home for 360 degrees of unobstructed views of the surrounding orchard and trees. A large open-plan interior space features polished timber floors, an open fire place, and a master bed with a hidden compact bar/kitchenette. The large outdoor terrace is reached via a timber staircase, which acts as the main access point to the home.
As is, the dwelling does not include cooking or bathroom facilities, however Jan Tyrpekl has created additional design plans that include provisions for extra amenities such as a sauna, shower and toilet, which can be built beneath the central hub of the home, between the existing pillars.
Conceived as a haven for its occupants, Zen House provides a beautiful and functional space to disconnect from the the bustle of urban life
Antonín Matějovský
Beyond its architectural attributes, Zen House contributes to the well-being of its occupants through intentional design. Serving as a nature retreat, Zen House becomes a sanctuary for relaxation, contemplation, and rejuvenation from the fast-paced world.
Text description provided by the architects. Xiuwu County, situated in the western part of Henan Province within Jiaozuo City, was historically known as Huaiqing Prefecture. Blessed with unique soil and climate conditions, Xiuwu has been renowned as a production base of “Four traditional Chinese medicine herbs,” with Rehmannia (also called “Di Huang” in Chinese) being one of them. The Chinese term “Shu Di Huang” specifically denotes the prepared or cooked Rehmannia root. Due to its significant medicinal and economic value, Shu Di Huang and its related industries in the county have garnered widespread attention.
1. Conceptual Shift from “Factory” to “Exhibition Hall”. The Ice Chrysanthemum Plantation in Houyanmen Village exemplifies the thriving medicinal herb planting industry supported by the government of Xiueu County. Specially approved funds from the provincial government target various aspects of the medicinal herb industry in Houyanmen Village, such as a processing workshop, a dry field, and a crafts exhibition hall of Rehmannia root products (i.e. Shu Di Huang). The processing workshop, which employed a portal frame structure, completed construction along with the drying field in 2020. The crafts exhibition hall, also adopting a portal frame structure system, started foundation pit excavation in 2020 and finished construction a year later. LUO studio was commissioned to work on its design in early 2021. Houyanmen Village has strategically prioritized rural industrial revitalization, with plantation construction playing a pivotal role in the village’s overall development.
A prevailing notion across the town, the village, and industrial parks is that buildings, even exhibition halls within industrial parks, are essentially workshops. Recognizing that traditional craftsmen and their techniques may not be well-suited for constructing large-span, open spaces, the buildings in the rural industrial parks often adopt a plant-like form due to their maturity in construction systems. This is a common practice in rural industrial park construction. The rural industry, centered around planting, has transcended its conventional role limited to production spurred by informatization and all-around rural development. It now encompasses industrial tourism, nature education, e-commerce livestreaming, health and wellness, and more. The integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries is imperative for the industrial revitalization of rural areas. Therefore, employing a factory-style building with a traditional portal frame structure is not appropriate for a versatile exhibition hall in a rural industrial park. LUO studio actively communicated with and persuaded all stakeholders to discard conventional notions and embrace a new paradigm in the design and construction of the Prepared Rehmannia Root Crafts Exhibition Hall. While meeting the requirements of a large-span and open space, the new approach also embodies the attributes of the exhibition hall, local characteristics, and ecological considerations.
2. “Sunlight” as the Shared Core of Craftsmanship and Space. Through conducting on-site research on the processing techniques of Rehmannia roots, the design team discovered that the tradition of cooking Rehmannia roots can be traced back to ancient Chinese physician Sun Simiao’s “nine steaming and nine sun-drying” methodology, which involved continuous cooking and drying processes linked to “sunlight.” This unique traditional pharmaceutical process is a pivotal concept in shaping the Exhibition Hall’s space, which emphasizes an enriched light environment. Light becomes the central theme of the building, generating dynamic changes both inside and outside. This is the fundamental starting point for the design. Viewed from the exterior, the play of light and shadow on a circular building body proves more nuanced, uniform, and continuous compared to a square structure. The circular form better showcases the changing light and shadow over time. Therefore, the design team decided to adopt a nearly round architectural form that features a regular polygon on the plane, to avoid arcs for precision and efficiency in construction while creating a curvy effect through straight lines. Deviating from the common approach of carving out window holes in the building walls for daylighting, the design emphasized unconventional means for introducing natural light, such as through ceilings, eaves, and gaps in between walls.
3. Circular Plane. The centrally symmetrical circular plane is well-suited for the exhibition space. The visiting circulation is a key consideration for the internal space organization of the exhibition hall. It is essential to ensure a logically arranged circulation route, to avoid overlaps or detours. The project adopts a nearly circular plane, forming an inscribed circle with a diameter of 37 meters. The periphery of the inscribed circle becomes the circulation route for visitors. Such a layout strategy can effectively streamline subsequent work in exhibition arrangement and thus reduce cost, which is essential in rural construction. Opting for a 37m-diameter central column frame within the structural framework is an economical solution. This design introduces dynamic variations in both space and scale, creating distinct “ring” spaces. The outer ring integrates the enclosure walls with wooden structures, creating a backdrop for placing display boards. The middle ring serves as a shelf area for displaying various Rehmannia root products. It incorporates densely organized structural units of the column frame, ensuring a stable structure and maximizing storage capacity. The inner ring, more expansive than the middle ring, is designed with a circular and stepped sunken seating area, offering a venue for health & wellness sessions and activities. The central skylight on the top brings in daylight while accentuating a sense of centrality.
4. Furniture – Structure- Space. The sustainable concept inherent in traditional wooden construction is noteworthy, which aligns with “Reduce” in the 3R principle and is specifically embodied by the “furniture as structure” methodology. An illustrative example is the clay-shaping rooms of ancient kilns in Jingdezhen, still in use today. These constructions utilize Chuandou timber frames as the structural system, where the columns are carved out with mortises for inserting small wooden beams, above which divider panels are then placed. These panels serve as platforms for shaped clay in the drying process. This practice reflects local construction wisdom, resonating with the ethos of cherishing resources. It not only saves materials and space, but also integrates structure, furniture, and space into a whole. Inspired by such traditional construction wisdom, the project transforms traditional large-section columns into small-section column arrays, which are then stacked vertically and horizontally to secure secondary small wooden beams. Panels are subsequently laid on the small beams for holding items.
These component groups, which are both structures and functional shelves, define a unique space. Small column array groups were assembled side by side in the form of standardized modular units, offering two advantages in rural construction: 1) Large sections and heavier material rods typically demand large machinery for hoisting during construction. However, rural roads, characterized by narrow pathways, slopes, and depressions, pose challenges for the navigation of large equipment. Breaking down the structural system into small components facilitated manual movement, allowing villagers to participate in and organize the construction themselves. 2) The construction method involving standardized modular units enhanced processing and assembly efficiency, leading to significant savings in manpower and material resources. This approach is particularly well-suited for construction in rural settings.
5. Roof Truss in a Spirally and Circularly Overlapped Formation. Following the logical framework of the regular 18-sided polygon on the plane, the exhibition hall repositions one endpoint of each side towards the center of the inscribed circle, aligning it perpendicularly to the extension line of the structural columns. When viewed from the exterior, the adjoining side walls are staggered. The varied gaps between the 18 walls allow natural light to filter in and create a visually captivating interplay of light and shadow within the space. Viewed from the interior, a distinctive 2.5m-diameter hole emerges at the center of the dome, which is formed by the deliberate organization of columns and beams. In the case of a circular dome, straightening rods from the arc points to the center of the circle could result in a densely structured central node. This could complicate the connection between the rods, requiring complicated central connecting components and high costs in processing and hoisting. Moreover, the 37m-diameter span of the entire building necessitates daylighting in the middle. To address these challenges, the design team conceived a structure in which the rods are mutually supportive and are connected in a spirally circular formation. This approach eliminates situations where two members share an endpoint, thereby avoiding the creation of hinged nodes. The wooden beams support each other in a spiral, distributing pressure, overlapping, and ultimately forming a continuous and complete stress system.
6. Brick, Timber, and Genius Loci. Most of the houses in Houyanmen Village were constructed during the 1970s and the 1990s, characterized by red-brick masonry walls and triangular wooden frame roofs. Other houses include idle, abandoned buildings with gray brick walls and Tailiang-style timber frame structures, as well as brick-concrete houses built before 2000. Huanfeng Town, to which Houyanmen Village belongs, has had brick kilns since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some of those kilns are still producing red bricks, situated merely 2 to 3 kilometers away from Houyanmen Village. Red bricks produced in the town, due to their cost-effectiveness, remain the primary materials for the villagers building their homes. In this project, local red bricks are applied to the enclosure walls and internal partition walls, constructed by local craftsmen using traditional masonry techniques.
Traditional houses in the village typically feature brick walls on the lower section and wooden frames on the upper part. The project adopts a similar material scheme. To accommodate the need for a spacious exhibition area, the wooden frame not only forms the upper roof but also functions as the frame-column support for the lower part. To ensure durability and prevent issues such as cracking and deformation of logs, glulam, and wooden poles were chosen, and the timber rods were securely fastened with bolts through metal connecting components. The combination of the local red-brick masonry wall techniques with the engineered wood frame structure enhances both the structural integrity and durability while aligning with the traditional built environment in the village. This approach ensures that the rural industry display building not only meets spatial quantity requirements but also delivers high-quality spatial aesthetics that echo the genius loci.
