*️⃣Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Centre

Architect #MAD architects
City #Harbin
Country #China #AP

🔤Cited along the axis of a mountain, MAD’s design of the “Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Conference Centre” is a tent-like structure that is defined by soft, sloping lines. Casually mirroring its mountainous backdrop, it reaches a maximum height of 24 meters, allowing it to settle quietly into the landscape. While humble in its presence, it does not lose the dynamic atmosphere of northern China – integrated with the sky, the ground, the snow, the forest, and the mountains. #context

The focal point is a skylight positioned at the centre of the roof that allows natural light to flood into the interior. It acts as a symbolic metaphor for the bright ideas and brilliant discussions generated during the events held within.

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Colour #white
Material #wood
Function #entertainment #venue
Feature #interior
Address: 8QPCQCHX+P7, Shangzhi, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150628

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pics by #CreatAR, #ArchExist and Agovision
text by architects

*️⃣Harbin Opera House

Architect #MAD
City #Harbin
Country #China #AP

🔤Embedded within Harbin’s wetlands, the Harbin Opera House was designed in response to the force and spirit of the northern city’s untamed wilderness and frigid climate. Appearing as if sculpted by wind and water, the building seamlessly blends in with nature and the topography—a transfusion of local identity, art, and culture. #context

On the exterior, the architecture references the sinuous landscape of the surrounding area. The resulting curvilinear façade composed of smooth white aluminum panels becomes the poetry of edge and surface, softness and sharpness. The journey begins upon crossing the bridge onto Harbin Cultural Island, where the undulating architectural mass wraps a large public plaza, and during winter months, melts into the snowy winter environment.

Project was selected by #Archdaily as the best building of the year 2016. #award

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Colour #white
Material #aluminium #wood
Function #entertainment #concerthall
Feature #interior
Address: China, Heilongjiang, Harbin, Songbei District, 滨水大道 邮政编码: 150010
Google street

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pics by #AdamMork, #HuftonCrow and #IwanBaan
text by architects

*️⃣UAE pavilion at EXPO 2020

Architect #Calatrava #SantiagoCalatrava
City #Dubai
Country #UAE #ME

🔤Located in the Opportunity District of Expo 2020 Dubai, every aspect of the pavilion is representative of the host country, from the building's architecture, which resembles a falcon, the UAE’s national bird, to the surrounding landscape.

The four-storey pavilion was informed "by a falcon in flight" and is topped by a series of locally produced carbon fiber "wings" that can be closed to shelter the roof solar panels.

Each of the wings pivots around a single point and the entire roof can be opened in three minutes. #kinetic

“I am deeply honored that our firm will have the opportunity to design the national pavilion for Dubai Expo 2020, a project with national and global significance,” said Mr. Calatrava. “The final design will be a symbol of the UAE’s bold and daring spirit, reflected in what is poised to be the most inclusive and global Expo in history.”

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Colour #white
Material #carbonfiber
Function #entertainment #venue
Address: X562+GR Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Closed wings google street
Open wings google street

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pics by #Palladium
text by Dezeen

Digital platform for engineers and developers from Middle East

*️⃣China Wood Sculpture Museum

Architect #MAD architects
City #Harbin
Country #China #AP

🔤The China Wood Sculpture Museum sits as a locational anomaly, seemingly out of place, surrounded by a densely populated Chinese-style neighborhood and residential complexes.

The museum embodies some of the foremost conceptual and formal ideals that define the work of MAD, bringing out an expression and abstraction of nature to an otherwise quotidian surrounding. The boundaries between solid and liquid are blurred throughout this 13,000 sqm building, referencing the local natural scenery and landscape.

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Colour #metallic
Material #steel
Function #public #museum
Address: PHM6+FG9, Jingjiang W Rd, Daoli District, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150076

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pics by #XiaZhi
text by architects

*️⃣Maison Hermes Ginza

Architect #Piano #RenzoPiano #RPBW
City #Tokyo
Country #Japan #AP

🔤By day, the facade is silvered and sparkling; by night it glows warm like a lantern, a distinctive presence in the crowded shopping district.

Its location at the heart of Tokyo’s densely built, neon-lit Ginza shopping district, and the stringent building regulations regarding earthquakes and fire, have influenced a compact and unique building with a distinctive glass façade.

It has a unique glass façade made of 13,000 bespoke, 450mm-square glass blocks (with special smaller, curved glass bricks at the building’s corners). Much larger than standard glass blocks, these were especially made by Vetroarredo in Florence, Italy and had to meet stringent fire and earthquake regulations. Their stamped textured glass finish means they are translucent rather than transparent, the overall effect of the facade being somewhat like a contemporary version of the traditional Japanese screen.

Hung from the structure on steel arms, the glass block facade is designed to act like a curtain in the event of an earthquake, allowing it to move via the flexible seals between the blocks by as much as 4mm, absorbing rather than resisting seismic shock.

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Material #glassbrick
Function #retail #shop
Feature #nightlight #adminvisited
Address: 5 Chome-4-1 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
Google street
Night google street #BestGS@simoderna🔥

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pics by #Denance
text by architecture-tokyo.com and architecture-history.org