Grand Designs Live, London

Yesterday, taking advantage of the bank holiday, we went to Grand Designs Live in London. The Exhibition will be on until the 11th of May so if you'd like to visit it, there is still time to go.

I am sure that most of you will be familiar with the Grand Designs Show from Channel 4 presented by Kevin McCloud. For those who don't know what I am talking about, Grand Designs is a TV series, first aired in 1999, that features unusual and often elaborate contemporary architectural homebuilding projects.

The Exhibition is held at ExCel London  and is organized in 7 themes (each one of them represented by a different colour carpet): Interiors, Build, Bathrooms and Kitchens, Gardens, Technology and Village.

Map of Grand Designs Live London 2014

This show is mainly addressed to people that is looking to build or to renovate a house but it is always useful for an architect to have a look at what is shown at these places.

Our favourite parts of the exhibition where the areas were some small projects were showcased. 

In the Village area you could visit different small houses: one made of straw, one made of hexagonal rooms that could be added up, a compact house in 12 sqm, a dynamic house, etc,... Some of them were for sale at the end of the exhibition but I have to say that I was very disappointed by the finishes of most of these prototypes. 

Kitchen at the Hivehaus

Shigeru Ban (or the Architect that builds with paper) wins Pritzker Prize 20014

Shigeru Ban
picture extracted from Dezeen

This morning I've had a very nice surprise when I saw that the the Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban has been awarded the Pritzker Prize, the most important Architecture Award.

Shigeru Ban is an architect that I've admired since I discovered his work back in 2002 when I was studying my second year at the architecture school.

What it surprised me the most was the use of paper and cardboard as a construction material and his interest in volunteering by designing shelters to help people that had been hit by natural catastrophes and therefore, lost their homes.

His first designs for paper-tube structures were used to provide temporary homes for the refugees after the Kobe earthquake in 1995.

Paper Log Houses. Kobe, Japó. 1995

Architecture, Design and Feng Shui

Today, in alambiLAB Architects, we have started a Feng Shui course.

Some of you may already know what the Feng Shui is and in fact there are many definitions out there. Some define it as the ancient art that uses the available elements in our surroundings to make the energies of the planet more favourable to us. Some others define it as the philosophy that analyses our dialogue with the surrounding environment, considering this a reflection of our soul.

I will use the occidental definition of Feng Shui which I think it is easier to understand for us:
"The Feng Shui is the Chinese art of designing interior and exterior spaces harmonizing the human existence with the surrounding environment"

We could say that the Feng Shui's objective is to identify and interact with the surrounding environment in order to live harmoniously with it.

Image from salikatdesign

The architects work with spaces and spaces are surrounded by different sort of environments, sometimes more natural, sometimes more urban. Is that why we think that learning about this Asian art that relates spaces with landscape in order to create habitable spaces that are in harmony with our surroundings it is something that interests us.

I Bioconstruction Week in Xaló

Today is starting in Xaló (La Marina Alta) the First Bioconstruction Week that has been organised by "el Mercat de la Terra".

Thursday 30: Lectures (19-21h), at the City Hall.

Friday 31: Lecture and debate (19-21h), Toni Marín (Ecohabitat's director) he will be talking about the bioconstruction history and principles. at the City Hall.

Dissabte 1: Exhibition about techniques, systems and bioconstruction materials in 5 different places: straw, canes, insulation systems, recycling,...

If you are interested in biocontruction and sustainable architecture, you can't miss it?

I Bioconstruction Week in Xaló (Programme)

Riurau: rural architecture in la Marina Alta

A Riurau is an important part of rural architecture in la Marina Alta, a region in the north of Alicante. They provide rural houses with the necessary space to store reed mats which are used to dry grapes and produce raisins.

Riurau "Tia Maria"
picture by #alambiLAB

Riurau Architecture

Riuraus are usually built facing to the south, the sunniest part of the house. Occasionally they may be found facing to the east but never north or west. A riurau can be attached to a house (like the one seen in the picture above) or it can be detached (like the one seen in the image below) but it will always be facing a large, flat area of land called the "sequer".