https://www.architecturalrecord.com/rss/2696 en-us A community center in a Chinese village brings dynamism to the vernacular.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13221 Thu, 01 Feb 2018 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13221-in-bamboo-by-archi-union Photo © Bian Lin The figure eight plan is most legible from the air. Photo © Li Han The building is sited among fields of wheat, rapeseed, and winter vegetables, on grounds that are, in addition, dotted with architectural follies, also designed by Archi-Union. Photo © Bian Lin The building is sited among fields of wheat, rapeseed, and winter vegetables, on grounds that are, in addition, dotted with architectural follies, like this guard pavilion, also designed by Archi-Union. Photo © Bian Lin A flagstone path traces around the building’s edges. Photo © Bian Lin The swooping central space is often used as a restaurant. Photo © Bian Lin The roof’s gray tiles are local to the region. Photo © Bian Lin Image courtesy Archi-Union Architects Image courtesy Archi-Union Architects Image courtesy Archi-Union Architects Architects and engineers enlist one of the oldest building technologies to create innovative 21st-century structures.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12202 Wed, 01 Feb 2017 08:15:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12202-continuing-education-masonry-construction This past summer, a team of architects and engineers built an unusual brick vault at the Venice Biennale. Photo © Nigel Young and The Norman Foster Foundation The structure was the first step in the creation of a network of cargo droneports for developing countries. The first facilities, planned for Rwanda, would be made of multiple vaults in a variety of configurations, depending on local needs. Image courtesy Foster + Partners The structure was the first step in the creation of a network of cargo droneports for developing countries. The first facilities, planned for Rwanda, would be made of multiple vaults in a variety of configurations, depending on local needs. Image courtesy Foster + Partners To convert an old industrial building in Shanghai into artists’ studios and a gallery, architects from Archi-Union salvaged the bricks from the original structure. They created the new undulating facade with the help of a bricklaying robot. Photo © Brian Lin To convert an old industrial building in Shanghai into artists’ studios and a gallery, architects from Archi-Union salvaged the bricks from the original structure. They created the new undulating facade with the help of a bricklaying robot. Photo © Brian Lin To convert an old industrial building in Shanghai into artists’ studios and a gallery, architects from Archi-Union salvaged the bricks from the original structure. They created the new undulating facade with the help of a bricklaying robot. Image courtesy Archi-Union Tropical Studio organized the four walls enclosing a studio for a ceramist near Hoi An, Vietnam, so that they resemble a quilt, each with a grid of 36 squares. Within these squares, some bricks are omitted to create different patterns with various levels of transparency. Photo © Oki Hiroyuki The cubic building’s layout recalls that of the region’s ancient Hindu temples. Image courtesy Tropical Studio Inside the two-story ceramist’s studio, a stout 16-inch-thick slab is supported on four concrete columns. Photo © Oki Hiroyuki Between this slab and the exterior brick screen, a timber frame extends to a second level and to the building’s glass roof, housing stairs and shelves for display. Photo © Oki Hiroyuki