Energy-Efficient Statoil Headquarters boasts an energy class B rating in Norway

Global energy (read oil and gas) company Statoilis housed within an energy-efficient headquarters in Fornebu, Norway. Designed by A-Lab, the Statoil Headquarters is composed of a series of 5 rectangular prefabricated volumes stacked on top of one another. The cantilevered design works to minimize the overall building footprint, while the high-performance facade minimizes energy use. The center of the volume features an arching glazed roof that creates a massive central atrium that functions as the heart of the building.

Back in 2009, A-Lab won a competition against 40 other entries to design Statoil’s new offices. Located in a park-like setting in Fornebu, Bærum, Norway, the office is composed of five rectangular volumes stacked on top of each other. Parts of the volumes cantilever out over the grounds, but the building has a small overall footprint that maximizes the surrounding park space. Each volume is 3 stories high, approximately 140 meters long and 23 meters wide and the building was largely prefabricated off-site to reduce overall construction time. At the center of the stacked volumes is a large airy, light-filled room topped with a glass atrium that serves as the circulation center and meeting space.

The envelope is key to the building’s overall energy efficiency – it carefully balances energy loss against solar heat gain and daylighting. The long ends are clad in powder coated aluminum that acts as a rain screen, while the gable ends feature grey solar shading glass from the bottom to the top of the volume. Heat is provided via a remote centralized heat source, and 85% of that heat is then recycled. Overall the building achieves an energy class B rating and it has a calculated energy use of 103 kWh/m2. A-Lab’s Statoil office won the WAN 2012 Award for Best Office Building.

+ A-Lab

Via Dezeen

Images ©Luis Fonseca, Trond Jõlson and A-Lab

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MIT researchers 3D print superior bulletproof armor inspired by fish scales

We can learn a lot from the nature, if only we know where to look. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology used biomimicry of fish scales to develop Flexible Scale Armor, a superior bulletproof material that can be used in military armor and even space suits. The fish-scale inspired material is 3D-printed and can be customized to fit different body types.

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SKODA Man Pram makes strolling your baby manly

High beam headlights and 20-inch alloy rims with all terrain wheels. Oversized brake calipers with high spec brakes. It isn’t the latest car, it’s the SKODA pram for men. In one study 76% of embarrassed dads said they would be more likely to push a stroller if it wasn’t so darn dainty. The solution? An extra manly pram…

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Sourced by "Home Hacks". Scouring and supporting the art of DIY home projects by sharing links and information provided by numerous active reputable DIY veterans and company's. Any projects you start please be of proper age, follow all required safety measures, and use the required protective equipment when handling any chemicals, power tools, or during any construction project. If you need advice regarding your next project we suggest visiting Contractor Talk.

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Davide Rampello’s Milan Expo Pavilion Zero wins 2015 Wallpaper Design Award

The upcoming 2015 World Expo in Milan received yet another major mark of distinction—the international design magazine Wallpaper crowned the Expo’s Pavilion Zero with the Wallpaper Design Award in the category “Best Building Site.” Designed by Michele de Lucchi and curated by Davide Rampello, Pavilion Zero will introduce visitors to the Expo grounds as well as the 2015 theme of “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” The ambitious project will also use multimedia to tell the extraordinary story of man’s evolving relationship with food since the earliest period of human history.

Every year, the Wallpaper Design Award recognizes a person, place, product, or project that has proven itself as a global trendsetter. Pavilion Zero received this year’s award for its creative approach to serving as narrator for man’s evolution from hunter gatherer to producer, his changing relationship with nature, and the culture and rituals that have evolved around food. “We wanted to tell a story which begins from the earliest period of human history, through symbols and myths, the different stages of evolution and man’s relationship with Nature,” says curator Davide Rampello. “The story ends with the current paradox regarding nutrition. [It’s] a fascinating journey that turns a universal story into an individual one.”

Related: Giant Air-Purifying “Urban Forest” Unveiled for the Milan Expo 2015

Built mostly from wood, Pavilion Zero’s sculptural facade was designed to evoke the image of the earth’s crust thrust upwards to form mountains and valleys. Designer de Lucchi was directly influenced by the Euganean Hills located between the cities of Padua and Vicenza. The interior is a continuation of the earth crust image through the creation of dark, undulating tunnels and caves that lead to the center, where the “valley of civilization” is located.

+ Davide Rampello

Via Veronique Enderlin

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Cellular Morphology Facade uses design to allow buildings to adapt to different climatic conditions

London- and Delhi-based design firm and research platform rat[LAB] unveiled their concept for a algorithmically-designed facade system that can adapt to different climatic conditions. As a demonstration, the team has digitally applied the Cellular Morphology Façade, consisting of 917 unique cells made of 5,392 non-identical surfaces, to an existing building in New Delhi. A large-scale prototype of the design has been exhibited at at Alliance Francaise de Delhi as a part of ’20 under 35’ Exhibition in February 2015.

The building’s facade retrofitted with a new skin consists of multiple hexagonal components controlled through an algorithm that alters its density and attraction. Six functional zones were used as attractor points and the first parameter that affects the configuration of the facade. Different local angular variations help redistribute sunlight across the envelope and change visibility into and from the interior space.

Related: Gridshell’s Parametrically-Designed Canopy Shades Masseria Ospitale Restaurant in Lecce, Italy

The team, led by architect and rat[LAB] co-founder Sushant Verma, conducted a solar radiation analysis and concluded that, compared to the old facade, the new one redistributes solar insulation across the building in a much more controllable and optimized way. Using digital prototyping techniques, the team has produced an envelope consisting of 917 unique cells.

+ rat[LAB]-Research in Architecture & Technology

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