Capela Árvore da Vida
by: Cerejeira Fontes Architects - Imago Atelier de Arquitectura e Engenharia
in: Braga, Portugal
This hefty timber chapel located inside the existing Conciliar Seminary of Braga serves as a small space for mediation and worship for residents. Called the “Tree of Life Chapel”, we love the way the 20 tons of wood appears weightless, while still feeling like it would offer a warm, intimate embrace. The elevated platform and slatted enclosure pulls people up and inside to the central gathering space. It’s constructed without fasteners and stacked in a way for both natural light to enter and for a soft glow to radiate outwards. We sure hope its visitors have counted their blessings for such a stunning space, but given the user group, we’re guessing that’s probably not an issue.
Metropol Parasol
by: J. Mayer H. Architects
in: Seville, Spain
What’s being touted as the worlds largest wooden structure, and the world’s largest building held together by glue, has just been added to our architecture bucket list. The waffle grid structure of CNC milled wooden panels and steel connections floats over an open space for a farmers market, bars/restaurants, archeological sites, and a public plaza. It’s a modern catalyst for urban activity in a dense medieval city.
melbourne street
by: tridente architects
in: north adelaide, australia
It seems to be an unfortunate norm that when a designer/developer/owner builds a new multi-story commercial building in 100+ year old one-story residential neighborhood, someone is bound to get pissed. We wonder if Tridente Architects saw that coming, as their response to the problem seems both thoughtful and elegant. The three story building (1st floor parking, 2nd/3rd floor commercial) has a glazed public facade wrapped by a large wood screen. The light colors and translucency create a porous structure that otherwise might have read as a bulky mass. Remarkably, to us, the yellow door sticks out more than the screen. We just hope the neighbors welcomed the project with the same admiration.
sleeper cells
by: suzanne husky
in: san francisco, california
a series of sculptural pods that embody primitive enclosure. they are intended to blend into the environment, while serving as an inhabitable space.
From the artist: “Sleeper Cell: A group of, people (sleepers) who remain dormant in a community until activated, by a prearranged signal, to perform acts of espionage, sabotage, or terrorism.”
Sounds stealthy.
hat tea house
by: A1Architects
in: Ostrava, Czech Republic
So this is what happens when you take a traditional Japanese tea house and place it in an entirely different environment, in this case Middle Europe. The elements are all present, and constructed of local materials that will age as the structure does. We’d very much like to drink a cup of tea here, but for some reason, wouldn’t say no to a nice czech beer on a warm summer day either.
(Source: dezeen.com)
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