QUINTA BOTANICA

Pequea casa de Portugal fue diseado en el ao 1999 finalmente est terminado. Junto a la pequea aldea de Algarve Marumaru del sur de Portugal, est en el sitio de cuatro hectreas en un acantilado frente al mar, el propietario es un recolector de plantas es un coleccionista de arte es, de arte tanto como 400 puntos fueron recogidos de todas partes del mundo Libros relacionados con de cerca de 10.000 libros y plantas, de alrededor de 5.000 especies y el trabajo es de coleccin. Aqu, Artis He diseado un apeadero para los artistas y los botnicos como tic-instalacin, visite de vez en cuando. Estructuralmente, el mismo fue construido por la adquisicin de la certificacin del artculo 38, en 1995, la "Casa de la ponencia" estructura central papel permanente, por primera vez, retardo fijo atornille el tubo de papel y las articulaciones de madera que es base fija Se trata de un sistema que, para soportar la fuerza lateral y la carga vertical. Plan de dibujar un personaje de S se determin sin cortar los rboles importantes, para deslizarse a travs de la brecha de ellos. Le tom cerca de 10 aos en la construccin y el diseo, es porque el arquitecto constructor de locales, la estructura, y la familia, no va a ser capaz de confiar en la seguridad de la estructura de papel, suscripcin mano no se encuentra en condiciones. Se completaron sobre el propietario largos aos mientras que un orden parcial por su propia cuenta.

Headquarters for Swatch and Omega by Shigeru Ban

Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has revealed his competition-winning design for a campus of timber buildings to house the headquarters of watch brands Swatch and Omega in Biel, Switzerland. The architect will add three new buildings to accompany Omega's existing offices, creating a consolidated campus and visitor centre that incorporates exhibition galleries, public plazas and a riverside hiking trail. Using the engineering technologies of a nearby timber institution, each of the new structures will be built with a solid timber frame. Pillar and beam constructions will be used for a museum building and Omega production hall, while the Swatch headquarters building will feature an undulating timber gridshell. "I wanted to design something very special and particularly appropriate for this city," said Shiguru Ban at the project launch. "I know that Biel is very famous for its timber technologies they have the most advanced timber institution." Describing how the structure of his Centre Pompidou-Metz was tested in Biel, he added: "Timber is the only renewable material for construction in the world. This building is going to be very important, not only for the company, but also for creating a new environment, creating the icon for the city of Biel." The museum building will form the centre of the campus and will be raised off the ground to open up a new entrance plaza.

The curving body of the Swatch headquarters will branch out from the museum, extending the plaza out across the street. The project is set for completion in the summer of 2015. It will be the second building Ban has worked on for Swatch, after he completed the brand's Japanese headquarters in Ginza, Tokyo, in 2007. Ban's other recent projects include a pavilion with cardboard columns in Moscow and a New York store for footwear brand Camper. See more architecture by Shigeru Ban. Here's a statement from Shigeru Ban:

I was very happy to win this competition to design the Headquarters for Swatch and Omega. This project is very important not only for Swatch and Omega but also for the city of the Biel. I wanted to design something very special and particularly appropriate for this city. And I know that Biel is very famous for its timber technologies they have the most advanced timber institution. Even the Pompidou Center in Metz we designed the timber roof and this was tested at the timber institution in Biel. So this city is well known for the timber technology the most advanced timber technology, that's why most of the building is designed with timber. Actually timber is the only renewable material for construction in the world. So this is also very important for the environment of the future. And this building this project is going to be very important not only for the company, but also for creating a new environment, creating the icon for the city of Biel. So this is the aim for this project not only for functional reasons. Also I have to explain that the Swatch Group has been working very closely with us. I also won the competition for the Swatch building which is called the Nicolas G. Hayek Center in Tokyo in 2005. We built the 14 storey building in Ginza Tokyo which is the most important commercial area in Japan. This building is also very innovative. We opened them all the buildings to the street to take natural ventilation. So the innovation of the building was the most important point which pleased Mr Hayek when we proposed the competition. And the important point of this building is not only the shape of the building but also the innovative idea for the Swatch and Omega companies as you know, the Swatch is the innovation of Mr Hayek. That was totally revolutionary for the history of watchmaking. So we tried for the project to propose something very innovative as a building, as the Swatch is very innovative for the watch technologies. So that's the kind of common idea between watchmaking and my proposal design for the building for Swatch and Omega. Because this is the second collaboration with Swatch Group, we have already established a very, very good relationship between our company and Swatch and Omega. So although this is a very challenging project, I really believe that the whole process will go very smoothly. And we have very good client, they totally understand the spirit of the design. We also have very good local team. Local architects, local engineers. Everybody was especially chosen for this particularly challenging project. So I have a great confidence that this project will move very smoothly, with a very successful proposal for this 21st century not only for the city of Biel but also for Switzerland and for the world. Thank you.

shigeru ban: headquarters for swatch + production buildings for omega

shigeru bans winning competition entry for the new headquarters of swatch AG and omega SA, sister companies of the swiss watch giant swatch group AG, is particularly attentive to the relationship between the existing landscape and brand identity. the two famous brands will organize their expanded premises in the biel area as part of a greater effort to revitalize the site; however the japanese architects proposal will keep omegas early buildings, themselves relics of a once-nascent terrain of industrialization.

omegas brand new production edifice will be timber frame construction while the central building will consolidate the overlapping functional areas of the two companies. integrated expanses of glazing and systematic louvers would bolster the sectionally split timber columns along with solar panels. the central building will also serve as the swatch and omega museums, with a spacious, oval auditorum connected to the swatch shell. this grand architectural gesture is a semi-circular, curved, timber-framed swatch building headquarters. the curved wooden construction expresses structure as as skin while allowing elongations of circulation to connect with airy plazas. employing brilliant joinery, the outer shell serves multiple functions with minimalist tectonics. wide-grained wooden crosses alternate with a translucent envelope, thereby allowing the building to be both a pleasant spatial axis and assertion of brand identity. the curved timber framing of swatch shell provides a gentle shade over hayek plaza between the central building and the swatch headquarters the omega central building sports a solar cell-topped sloped roof, hearkening to the existing protected industrial buildings model view of the central building shows a light structure, elevated on pillars and acting as a connective area between both corporate areas curved timber framing holds up a membrane of translucent material and pattern of wooden swatch crosses apertures will allow showrooms to fill with light the omega prodction building is characterized by ample glazing and a referential sloped roof model view of the full campus the model shows the semi circular swatch headquarters as it connects with the omega central building and the existing industrial campus a sumptuously curved timber shell roof creates the pedestrian friendly hayek plaza while connecting the campus view of the layered circulation in the plaza renderings show the green public spaces and plazas

elevation rendering of the sinuous timber frame of the swatch headquarters the lattice-like semicircle overlaps the omega central building and museum at the rooftop oval auditorium exploded axon of the omega central building the lattice asserts the swatch brand identity while providing an aesthetically pleasing way of ventilating the structure diagram of the timber frame construction of the omega building

The design of the new headquarters of the Swatch Group in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland calls to mind a very decorative piece of skin shed by a gigantic snake. The Japanese architect Shigeru Ban won the competition held to find a new design concept for the corporate grounds. The project includes a head office for Swatch, a new production building for Omega, as well as integration of Omegas listed buildings from the early days of industrialization. Shigeru Ban already designed the Nicolas G. Hayek Center in Tokyo for the Swatch Group in 2007. A new central building will combine functional areas for the two brands Swatch and Omega under one roof. This building, slightly elevated on pillars, will also serve as a meeting area for visitors and pedestrians. The elongated building, with its modern, semi-circular timber frame structure, will be the new headquarters of the brand. Completion of the building complex is scheduled for summer 2015. Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has won an international competition to expand Swatch and Omegas headquarters in Switzerland. The design involves adding three new buildings to the watch companies existing campus in Biel, a leading center of timber technology. Bans winning proposal includes three wooden structures that house exhibition galleries, a visitor center, and public plazas, and there will even be a riverside hiking trail. Ban said in a recent statement that he is very honored to win the Omega/Swatch design competition, adding that he chose timber not only out of deference to Biels longstanding history as a hub of timber engineering, but also because he says that wood is the worlds only renewable construction material. Adding to Omegas existing offices, the museum forming the nucleus of the expanded campus will be raised off the ground to make space for an entrance plaza. The curvilinear headquarters will then emerge from here, linked by a grid shell timber canopy and extending the plaza across the street. The building is slated for completion in the summer of 2015, and it will be the second time that Ban and Swatch have worked together.

Shigeru Ban reveals designs for Swatch HQ

Japanese superstar Shigeru Ban has revealed images of his competition-winning project for the Swatch and Omega headquarters in Switzerland

Three new buildings will sit next to Omegas existing offices on the campus site, including a visitor centre housing exhibition galleries. There are also plans for new public plazas and a riverside walk. According to the archuitect, the design takes its influence from watchmaking and will be constructed from timber, which Ban described as the only renewable material for construction in the world. The Swatch headquarters will feature a timber gridshell. Ban will work with the local timber institution on developing the buildings. He previously worked with the institution in Biel to test the timber structure of his Pompidou Centre in Metz. Shigeru Ban commented on the win: I wanted to design something very special and particularly appropriate for this city. And I know that Biel is very famous for its timber technologies they have the most advanced timber institution. So this city is well known for the timber technology the most advanced timber technology, thats why most of the building is designed with timber. And this building this project is going to be very important not only for the company, but also for creating a new environment, creating the icon for the city of Biel. So this is the aim for this project not only for functional reasons. A local team of architects and engineers to complete the project. Ban previously designed a building for Swatch in Tokyo back in 2005. The project is due to complete in 2015.

Japan Pavilion EXPO 2000 Hannover

Despite construction problems, the abrupt replacement of the engineer, months long construction delays, and the necessary addition of a PVC membrane over the paper membrane for fire safety issues, the Pavilions has been a great leap forward in the field of paper architecture. The main theme of the Hanover Expo was the environment and the basic concept behind the Japan Pavilion was to create a structure that would produce as little industrial waste as possible when it was dismantled. The goal was either to recycle or reuse almost all of the materials that went into the building. The first structural idea was for a tunnel arch of paper tubes, similar to the Paper Dome. However, the Paper Dome was limited by the high cost of wooden joints. I proposed a grid shell using lengthy paper tubing and without joints to my collaborator, Frei Otto. The tunnel arch would be about 73.8m long, 25m wide, and 15.9m high. The most critical factor was lateral strain along the long side, so instead of a simple arch I chose a grid shell of threedimensional curved lines with indentations in the height and width directions, which are stronger when it comes to lateral strain.

Another goal was to construct the pavilion using methods that were as low-tech as possible, so they argued for simple joints of fabric or metal tape. As the intersection between two paper tubes was pushed up to form the three-dimensional grid, an angle would open and a suitable amount of tension would be applied. Further, since the paper tubes themselves would rotate to draw a gentle S curve, the joint would allow for threedimensional movement. Tape was an appropriate solution. Otto also proposed a fixed timber frame of ladder arches and intersecting rafters which would lend strength to the paper-tube grid shell and allow a roof membrane to be attached, and which could also be used during construction and for maintenance. The Buro Happold, who supervised construction, proposed metal joints into which bracing cables would be inserted at a diagonal to tension the paper-tube grid while allowing the paper tubes to move in three dimensions. However, the PVC used in conventional membranes cannot be recycled and gives off dioxins when burned. Then we discovered by chance a waterproof bag used by a delivery service. We talked to the manufacturer of the bag, who told us it might be possible to develop something like what we needed. The two semicircular end walls needed planar strength as diaphragms. For these we used timber arches that clamped the ends of the paper-tube grid shell, and then achieved the required planar strength by pulling cables in a 60-degree from the foundation, as in a tennis racquet. On this surface we attached a grid of paper honey-combs in the shape of equilateral triangles, to which were attached louvers for ventilation and the membrane. Instead of relying on concrete the foundation consists of boxes made of a steel framework and footing boards, which were filled with sand for easy reuse after dismantling.

Centre Pompidou-Metz
This annex for the Pompidou Center in Paris, is to be built in Metz as a complex including an art museum and theater. By locating a large roof in the park, and by opening the glass shutter faade around the perimeter, a continuous transition of the interior and exterior space is created. The roof is made from laminated wood in a hexagonal woven pattern composed in the form of a Chinese bamboo-woven hat. This large wooden roof is covered in a Tefloncoated fiberglass membrane and allows soft natural light to filter into the interior. The main galleries are a series of 90mx15m cantilevering rectilinear tubes that float above the ground, and their glass window ends point in the direction of the cathedral and other monuments of the city.