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Wednesday 19 January 2022

Tres Birds uses timber and metal to create ADU alongside Boulder home

Smart systems and salvaged materials feature in an accessory dwelling unit by architecture firm Tres Birds that city officials have designated as low-cost housing.

The project is located in Boulder, which sits in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and is home to a major university and growing tech industry.

Boulder ADU — The ADU is in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains

Built on a 2,100-square-foot (195-square-metre) property with a single-family home, the detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is meant to serve as a guest house or an in-law suite. Currently, it is occupied by a family member of the owner.

Designed by Tres Birds, a studio based in the nearby city of Denver, the ADU totals 800 square feet (74 square metres) and has two levels.

The ground level contains a kitchen and living room, along with a bedroom and bathroom.

A spiral staircase leads to a loft space above, which can be used as a second bedroom, an office or a den. Lined with a metal railing, the loft is open to below.

Gabled roof ADU by Tres Birds — Tres Birds fitted the home with a gabled roof

The wood-framed, rectangular home is topped with a gabled roof designed to quickly shed snow. Windows and roof overhangs were strategically positioned to maximise natural light while also providing adequate shade in the summer.

Facades are clad in bonderised steel – a durable material that helps the home be low-maintenance. Inside the dwelling, walls were made of exposed plywood.

"We insulated from the outside so that the plywood sheathing structure of the building could be exposed to the inside," the team said.

Tres Birds used salvaged materials for several parts of the building. For instance, wood from bowling alley lanes was used for flooring and framing.

Salvaged wood — Wood from bowling alley lanes was used for flooring and framing

"The warm-toned, 50-year-old bowling alley wood is used as a structurally independent, mezzanine floor system and laminated together to create the east-side, timber-frame window system," the team said.

Other salvaged elements include "reject tile" from a local artisan, which was used in the bathroom and kitchen.

For the home's operable skylight, the team used dichroic glass – multi-coloured glass with reflective properties – that was left over from a past Tres Bird project.

"As the angle of the sun changes throughout the day and season, so do the visual effects within the living space, creating a vibrant show of coloured light throughout," the team said of the skylight.

Dichroic glass skylight — A dichroic glass skylight reflects multi-coloured light into the home

The building has a number of features that promote energy efficiency, including an air-tight envelope and a radiant floor system for heating and cooling.

Several elements can be controlled by smartphone, including lighting, security, heating and cooling, and the operable skylight.

The home has scored high on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, which is one of the leading energy-efficiency assessment tools in the US.

A score of 100 represent the energy use of a standard building in America. The lower the score, the higher the energy efficiency.

"The home received a HERS score of 33, not far off from Europe's stringent Passive House requirement of HERS 20," said the studio.

Tres birds bedroom — Wood also lines ceilings in the bedroom

The small building has been designated an "Affordable Accessory Unit" rental property by the city of Boulder as part of its affordable housing programme. The Colorado city is facing a housing shortage, particularly in regards to middle- and low-cost housing.

A maximum rental price was not disclosed, but the architect's publicist said if the ADU were listed, the cost would be limited to about 75 per cent of the area's median price for a comparable unit.

ADU in Colorado — The ADU is meant to serve as a guest house

Founded in 2000, Tres Birds has placed a focus on economical and sustainable design.

Other projects by the studio include S*PARK, a mixed-use project in Denver with facades made of reclaimed brick, and a Wisconsin art museum that has concrete exterior with screens made of angled, timber slats.

The photography is by James Florio.

Project credits:

Architecture, interior design, landscape: Tres Birds
Facade cladding and roofing: Signature Services Roofing
Doors: Tres Birds
Windows: Anderson
Stairs: Paragon Stairs
Base cabinets: IKEA
Countertops: Porcelanosa
Appliances: KitchenAid
Plumbing fixtures: Kohler
Furniture: Isamu Noguchi, Sori Yanagi, Charles and Ray Eames, Tres Birds
Artwork: Berger&Fohr, Gregg Deal, Michael M Moore

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Atelier Data converts Portuguese mill into bright white holiday home

White forms with geometric cut-outs have been inserted into the walls of a former granary mill to create this coastal holiday home in Portugal's Algarve region, designed by architecture studio Atelier Data.

Named Casa Cabrita Moleiro, the home occupies the former site of the Cabrita Mill. Once operated by the owner's grandfather, the mill had since fallen into disuse during the region's transformation into a popular holiday destination.

Aerial image of Casa Cabrita Moleiro — Casa Cabrita Moleiro is a holiday home in Portugal that was designed by Atelier Data

Instead of replacing the existing buildings, Lisbon-based Atelier Data integrated the walls into the new five-bedroom holiday home, creating a cluster of forms alongside an old windmill.

Both the shell of the old structures and the newly-built forms are unified by an external finish of bright white render, giving them a "contemporary, minimal rural character" which was informed by the region's vernacular architecture.

Image of Casa Cabrita Moleiro from the garden — The home occupies a former granary mill

"Driven by the desire to repurpose the existing structures, [we] integrated them into the new design, creating a series of interior and exterior spaces that celebrate the surrounding landscape while providing a series of private areas," said the studio.

"The design has been inspired by the local vernacular," it continued. "'Açoteia Algarvia', a flat rooftop feature for observing the sea and drying produce in the sun, has been reinterpreted and introduced on the new structures."

The home's living spaces occupy two main volumes, separated by a central pebble courtyard that is surrounded by windowless white walls.

To the east, an open plan living, kitchen and dining block opens onto a pool and terrace through sliding glass doors, forming the "core social area of the house".

"[The patio] acts as a 'home divider', enabling it to act as a five-bedroom holiday house or a two-bedroom one with a separate three-bedroom annex," said the studio.

Interior image of the bedroom at the holiday home — Living spaces occupy two white-painted volumes

A taller volume containing two bedrooms abuts the living room at a slight angle, with a strip of windows looking out towards the sea and a rooftop terrace with a jacuzzi.

To the west, a taller block extends out of the existing walls of the former miller's house, containing an additional three en-suite bedrooms, which open onto covered terraces with geometric cut-outs.

"A series of geometric volumes and carved-out voids provide private patios to the bedrooms, while windows, balconies and terraces strategically frame views to the surrounding arid landscape and the Atlantic Ocean," explained the studio.

A pebble courtyard separates the living areas — A walled pebble courtyard at the centre of the home divides living areas

The minimal exterior finishes continue to the interiors, which feature polished concrete walls and in-situ cast concrete ceilings that have been painted white.

The Algarve is a popular location for many retreats and resorts. Other recently completed schemes in the region include a red concrete clubhouse by RCR Architectes, and an off-grid retreat by Álvaro Siza.

Photography is by Richard John Seymour.

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MVRDV designs photovoltaic-covered office for Taipower in Taiwan

Architecture studio MVRDV has released visuals of Sun Rock, a self-sufficient office and operations facility it has designed in Taiwan for the government-owned power company Taipower.

Located at the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park near Taichung, the building will be covered in angled photovoltaics and used to store and maintain sustainable energy equipment.

Solar panel-covered office in Taiwan — MVRDV has designed a solar panel-covered operations facility for Taipower

Sun Rock will be distinguished by its rounded form, which MVRDV has developed to maximise the amount of sunlight its photovoltaic-covered facade can harness to create energy.

The southern side of the building, which faces the sun during the middle of the day, will have a large surface area that slopes gently downwards. Meanwhile, the northern edge of the building will be domed to maximise its exposure to the sun in the mornings and evenings.

MVRDV and Taipower's goal is for the building to generate enough electricity for it to be self-sustaining. Any excess that it generates will be sent to the energy grid.

The exterior of Sun Rock in Taiwan — The operations facility will be covered in solar panels

"We cladded the entire facade with photovoltaics, maximising the energy gains to make it not only self-sustainable, for its own usage, but also allowing the building to become a tool of energy production, exporting electricity to the rest of the grid," explained MVRDV's co-founder Winy Maas.

"This is achieved through a maximally efficient positioning of the panels," he continued. "As a result, our design is completely data-driven. It's always fun to see the results when you let analysis be the determining part of the design."

Alongside the storage and maintenance facilities, Sun Rock will contain offices, workshops and a public gallery.

According to MVRDV, it is being built in anticipation of "Taiwan's planned transition to green energy" and is hoped to reflect the goals of energy company Taipower.

Proposed public gallery inside Taipower offices — The building will contain a public gallery

"Of course, we aim to make all of our projects as sustainable as possible," added Maas. "Yet we see that projects can go beyond just being sustainable in themselves."

"This project has unique and fascinating potential", he continued. "The user is an energy company, which has allowed us to do more than usual."

Sun Rock's facade will be designed as a series of pleats used to support the photovoltaic panels and windows. The current iteration can support at least 4,000 square metres of solar panels.

This is expected to generate almost 1 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy per year, which MVRDV said is equivalent to the energy generated by burning 85 tonnes of crude oil and is enough to make the building is self-sufficient.

However, the studio is continuing to develop the design to add more photovoltaics so the building can generate up to 1.7 million kilowatt-hours annually, allowing it to contribute to the energy grid.

Inside, Sun Rock will feature a large atrium called the Data Room. This will be filled with real-time data displays about the amount of renewable energy that Taipower is generating.

The first floor of the building will contain the public gallery, which will look into Sun Rock's workshop spaces adjacent to it. These workshops will be used for the maintenance of green energy equipment, such as solar panels and wind turbine blades.

Sun Rock will be complete with exhibition space on the top floor of the building, alongside a tree-lined roof terrace for visitors and Taipower employees.

Atrium of Sun Rock operations facility — Sun Rock will be complete with an atrium called the Data Room

By incorporating gallery spaces into the building, MVRDV hopes Sun Rock will become "more than simply an operations and maintenance facility".

"The building is thus also an important communication tool for Taipower to publicly show their ambitions for a greener future," the studio concluded.

Rotterdam-based MVRDV was founded by Maas alongside Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries 1991. Elsewhere, the studio is currently developing the terraced LAD headquarters in Shanghai that will also be clad in photovoltaics.

Other buildings that feature large quantities of photovoltaics include Snøhetta's carbon-negative Powerhouse Telemark office in Norway and the Kendeda Building designed by Miller Hull Partnership and Lord Aeck Sargent for Georgia Tech university the USA.

The imagery is courtesy of MVRDV.

Project credits:

Architect: MVRDV
Founding partner in charge: Winy Maas
Partner: Wenchian Shi
Design team: Hui-Hsin Liao, Daniel Diez, Mirco Facchinelli, Carolina Martin Peñuela, Chi-Yi Liao, Tseng-Hsuan Wei
MVRDV next: Yayun Liu
Visualisations: Antonio Coco, Pavlos Ventouris, Jaroslaw Jeda, Emanuele Fortunati
Co-architect: Y.C. Hsu Architect & Associates
Contractor: Reiju Construction Co., Ltd.
Structural engineer: Chih-Hung Kao Structural Engineer & Associates
MEP: Chia Feng Mechanical & Electrical Corp

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Gab Bois uses bread rolls to recreate the classic Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini

Camaleonda sofa made from bread rolls in front of circular brown rug

A brioche-bun version of Mario Bellini's 1970s Camaleonda sofa designed by Canadian artist Gab Bois has gone viral online after being shared by rapper Tommy Cash, who claimed he was in talks with IKEA about putting the high-carb couch into production.

In a post on Cash's Instagram, the seminal piece of Italian Radical design is rendered from more than 40 glistening loaves of bread, complete with a bootleg IKEA tag reading: "Do not iron. Do not dry clean. Do not eat."

"IKEA told me if we get 10,000 comments under this post they will release the Loafa," Cash wrote in a caption that has since been removed and replaced with the promise "coming to your nearest IKEA söön".

Close-up of mock IKEA tag reading Loafa between two bread loaves — The bread-roll sofa was originally posted by Gab Bois (top image) and later added to by Tommy Cash (above)

Although the project was widely reported on as a real collaboration, the Swedish furniture brand has since denied any involvement.

"No one from IKEA was in touch with Tommy Cash," the company's global press officer Diana Lavrenova told Dezeen. "We don't see the project as feasible."

Lavrenova compared the concept to a.i.r. – the experimental blow-up sofa IKEA released in the 80s, which is known as "one of the biggest mistakes" in the company's history.

"We tried air sofas once, which turned out to be a great mistake," she said. "Bun sofas seem to fit in that same airy category."

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A post shared by TOMM¥ €A$H (@tommycashworld)

Cash photoshopped himself onto the sofa

Gab Bois originally posted the "Camaleon-dough" sofa earlier this month, after rising to fame on Instagram for her gastronomical reimaginings of everyday items, from banana flip flops to weed pipes made from squash.

Her post makes no mention of IKEA and instead nods to Esther Choi's surrealist cookbook Le Corbuffet, which features a different bread-roll sofa modelled on a seating design by Knoll heiress Florence Knoll.

Cash, who has a track record of creating controversial designs such as his metre-long Adidas trainers, later shared a photoshopped image of himself sitting on Bois' bready Camaleonda sofa, creating the impression of it being a full-scale furniture piece.

He also added a close-up image of a mock IKEA tag wedged between two loaves of bread.

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A post shared by Gab Bois (@gabbois)

Bois modelled the concept couch on Mario Bellini's 1970s Camaleonda sofa

Since Cash shared the post on Sunday, it has amassed more than 12,000 comments in the hopes that IKEA will put the piece into production.

Although the brand has denied involvement in the Loafa sofa concept, IKEA has previously released a flat-pack Gingerbread Höme furniture kit with instructions for how to assemble the Billy bookcase and some of its other seminal furniture designs using gingerbread.

The photographs are courtesy of Tommy Cash and Gab Bois via Instagram.

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Plauto table by Paolo Cappello for Miniforms

Dezeen Showroom: designer Paolo Cappello combines flat, curved and pointed features to highlight the tactile beauty of wood in the Plauto table, created for Miniforms.

The Plauto table is named after the Roman playwright Plautus. It is an all-wood table that sits on two leaf-shaped legs, each ending in a clean edge, with a top showcasing its rounded and flat qualities.

A photograph of the wooden Plauto table by Paolo Cappello for Miniforms — Curved, flat and pointed shapes combine in the all-wood Plauto table

"The idea behind Plauto table is a sculptural but light guise, designed by a game of balance between straight and curved lines," said Cappello.

"The result of it can only be a piece of furniture that transcends its role and becomes a measured protagonist of the space."

A photograph of the Plauto table by Paolo Cappello for Miniforms — The table comes in various woods and finishes, including black ash

The Plauto table is available in three sizes ranging from 200 to 300 centimetres. It also comes in the choice of flamed oak, heat-treated oak, Canaletto walnut, or black ash wood.

Alternatively, the wooden legs can be paired with a ceramic or marble tabletop.

Product: Plauto
Designer: Paolo Cappello
Brand: Miniforms
Contact: carolina@miniforms.com

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