Casas San Juan is a housing project located in Cuernavaca, Mexico, designed by Mexican architectural practice A.flo. The Project lies in a very dry area in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos in Mexico. The city was nicknamed the “City of Eternal Spring” by Alexander von Humboldt in the 19th century. One our away from México City, the most important summer states for the Aztecs and in present times as well for the inhabitant of Mexico City's. The name “Cuernavaca” is derived from the Nahuatl phrase Cuauhnahuac, and means “surrounded by or close to trees.” The name was eventually Hispanicized to Cuernavaca because the Spanish could not pronounce the Nahuatl name.

Casas San Juan, image courtesy A.flo

12 apartments and 20 house’s units surrounded by local trees and vegetation, which the most valuable asset of the whole project. The site has a slope towards the back which respond to a local Glen, which is part of the city’s water network coming from the volcano’s, and nearest mountains; Cuernavaca’s weather has a natural sprinklers systems coming from the glen’s network.

Casas San Juan, image courtesy A.flo

The houses are arrange symmetrical as the main path in the center becomes the entrance to all of them, like a big garden or a small "in between park" for the development. The apartment units (85 and 90 sqm) are located in 2 floors both with a full view to the private garden of the complex and the Glen trees, which are quite tall. Jacarandas and tabachine’s are some of the species of the trees. Moreover the vegetation is main guideline of the project: views, footprint of the houses, gym and pool are placed for the preservation of the original location of the trees.

Casas San Juan - House Ground floor plan, drawing courtesy A.flo

Casas San Juan - House 1st floor plan, drawing courtesy A.flo

The houses are two stories. Ground floor is a public services (kitchen, hall, living, garden, toilet, dinning and laundry) and the Upper floor is a private (3 bedrooms, and 2 full bathrooms with walking closets).

The houses are passive technology designed. The shape is based on the access (and staircases location), creating a porch marked by the "Big box" over it with a double height for the Master Bedroom, that also brings heaviness to the main car accesses, (the park in between) this sensation of light heaviness is the great combination to the slim height of the trees and the boxes, bring to our mind the "house in the tree".

Casas San Juan, image courtesy A.flo

The pool is solar heated. The design becomes a brake pergola lines that smooths the sunlight and let the pool be a cool – warm place that let you stay for hours. The gym a sutil white box at the end of the site that let you workout without interruptions.

Casas San Juan - Site plan, drawing courtesy A.flo

Casas San Juan - Apartment floor plan, drawing courtesy A.flo

Casas San Juan - Elevation, drawing courtesy A.flo

Casas San Juan - Section, drawing courtesy A.flo

Casas San Juan, image courtesy A.flo

Casas San Juan, image courtesy A.flo

+ Project credits / data

Project: Casas San Juan Cuernavaca
Location: Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Date: August 2009
Budget: 25,000 K mxn pesos

Architecture project: Aflo Arquitectos | http://www.aflo.mx/ | Mexico MArch Andres Flores Architect
Associate with: Serrano Monjaraz Architects | Mexico. Juan Pablo Serrano Architect
Design team: Lluvia Martinez, Cesar Reyes and Erik Kobayashi.
Client : AzurCity S.A. de C.V.
Structural Consultant: IESSA
Main contractor: CONVEPO SA de CV
Chef contractor: Hugo de Vega

+ About A.flo

A.flo is a multidisciplinary Practice devoted to design in all of dimensions and scales. The primary ideal of the practice is based on the analysis of urban (or global) elements, a process that consists of different approaches to the dynamic behavior of contemporary society, the flow of the economy and the cultural development. Founded by Andres Flores (March [AA], London) in 2004, who worked at internationally recognized offices like TEN arquitectos, Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster. Throughout the process we have developed a standard of quality and aesthetic-cultural versatility, which creates interpretation of our work, creativity and experience as well as comfort. The technology broadens the picture to us with new solutions and aesthetic quality, taking advantage of new techniques and processes to develop a critical-futuristic vision for the changing needs of contemporary society.

The design is involved during all conscious and unconscious processes of the people, a goal that is based on different theoretical and pragmatic principles which have been analyzed with different projects, at large or small scales. The identity of Year unfolds with converging parts of society as the events in the city or bodily movements, analysis, which is linked by digital media and decisions supported by advisers of sustainable design, structural, aesthetic, functional and constructive criteria.

The jury is composed of renowned professionals including Javier Mariscal, Hiroshi Tsunoda, Martín Azúa, Rouzbeh Banisadr and Enric Pastor.

Following the success of the first bartcelona competition, Glòries Shopping Centre presents bartcelona.org design edition. This latest version of the contest awards young designers for their outstanding creativity and originality.

bartcelona.org design edition is an international competition that was conceived with the objective to promote art, foster creation and open new channels for young designers to express themselves as they present their projects to the public. Bartcelona art edition 2010 was successful both in regards to participation, as well as turnout. More than 400,000 people visited the centre to view the work of these young artists and creators.

bartcelona.org design edition is intended for students and professionals under 40 years of age. Participants will have the opportunity to apply their creative ideas to a shopping centre in three categories: Design, Show and Dream.

Design: objects and spaces that contribute to improve the shopping centre experience (benches, waste baskets, or elements of the restroom areas
Show: installations generating a differential visual experience
Dream: open to designers with all kinds of innovative ideas.

The winners of first, second and third prize will receive 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000 euros respectively, in addition to a gift of limited edition products.

Within the framework of the contest, initiatives related to design and creativity will also be presented. Such activities will include a t-shirt printing workshop, and an exhibition of the works created by the contest finalists. Winners of the competition will be announced at a VIP party next October.

+ About Glòries Shopping Centre

Glòries is a semi-open air shopping centre located in Barcelona, that serves as the city’s standard for leisure and shopping. Located in one of the most dynamic areas of the city, near the 22@ technology district and the Agbar Tower, the centre offers over 250,000 square metres of space where you can find fashion, restaurants, personal care, and home services.

+ For more information, please visit http://bartcelona.org/

A Polish architectural student Stanislaw Mlynski has received the Bronze Prize for the Ecological Wall competition organized by National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) School of Architecture.

He proposed to create structural wall using organic waste containers. The arrangement  of elements, as well as the shape have potential to create shelters for animals, gather water, reduce CO2. The solar system has the aim to ensure energetic independence.

Render courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

Render courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

+ Project description by Stanislaw Mlynski

The subject of my interest was every-existing or built in the future- useless, dirty, not-adapted city wall.  As in nature every organism consist of huge amount of repetitious cells, which ensure reliability, I decided also to make up a universal modular system, which will allow to transform industrial building, grey skyscrapers, office blocks or even typical fences in  green ecosystems. Such system would also provide with possibility to create buildings. On every step of the project I was seeking inspirations in nature, because to my mind it is the master of OPTIMIZATION and usage of resources from surrounding (to which it is trying to adjust).

Organic waste are nearly 40% of our dust bins and composting is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of recycling. I propose system of gathering waste such us grass cuttings, tea bags, ripped cardboards, paper, fruit cuttings and much more, based on delivering new and collecting full containers – cells, which after changing sewages to soil are going to be ecological structure.

Shape of every cell is the result of combining 2 functions: container for waste and the construction element of the building. Such wall can be a ground for plants which will reduce the amount of CO2 as well as have positive influence on microclimate. Thanks the tectonic of walls we can collect water and what is more birds would find the shelter there.

Solar system is the combination of users’ (sun light) needs and system of getting solar energy. I had an idea to let everyone get involved in very simple but relevant way in creating our eco- cities.

Drawing courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

Drawing courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

Drawing courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

Drawing courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

Drawing courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

Drawing courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

Drawing courtesy Stanislaw Mlynski

+ Recommended Ecological design featured on +MOOD

Rain Collector Skyscraper / eVolo Skyscraper Competition 2010 | Ryszard Rychlicki + Agnieszka Nowak of H3AR

Tornado tower | Visiondivision collaboration with Markus Wagner

Ed Roberts Campus, image courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

Commemorating the life of an international leader and educator in the disability rights movement, the Ed Roberts Campus recently opened in Berkeley. When Ed Roberts founded Berkeley's Center for Independent Living (CIL) in 1972, it was the world's first organization to be run by and for people with disabilities. After Roberts's death in 1995, the CIL and six other independent living/civil rights organizations joined forces to create a highly accessible, centralized place where the disabled can access services such as vocational training, education, housing and benefits assistance, and fitness and health support.

Ed Roberts Campus, image courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Photo by Tim Griffith

Ed Roberts Campus, image courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Photo by Tim Griffith

Designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy and located at the Ashby BART Station, the 85,000-square foot facility embodies the principles of Universal Design—the creation of environments that are equally easy and intuitive to use for individuals of all abilities. The design far exceeds the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. At the heart of the building is a monumental helical ramp to the second floor, prominently placed behind the glazed facade facing the main entry plaza.

Ed Roberts Campus, image courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Photo by Tim Griffith

Ed Roberts Campus, image courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Photo by Tim Griffith

Other Universal Design features include seven-foot-wide corridors to facilitate wheelchair use, automatic doors and hands-free building system controls, restrooms that meet a range of abilities, oversized elevators with special controls for wheelchair riders, and an easy-to-navigate wayfinding system aided by acoustical landmarks, high-contrast interior finishes, and colored and textured flooring.

Ed Roberts Campus - Diagrams, drawing courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

The facility also has numerous sustainable design elements, including exterior shading, operable windows for natural ventilation, energy-efficient mechanical and lighting systems, and the use of recycled, sustainably harvested, and rapidly renewable materials. Nontoxic finishes and filtered outside air enhance indoor air quality, addressing the needs of those with chemical sensitivities.

Ed Roberts Campus, image courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Photo by Tim Griffith

Ed Roberts Campus, image courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Photo by Tim Griffith

The two-story building includes offices, exhibition space, community meeting rooms, a childcare center for children with disabilities, a fitness center, job training facilities, and a café. The campus is designed to present a distinct civic presence celebrating the values of its partner organizations, with an exterior materials palette of sandblasted concrete, stucco, and sustainably harvested Ipê wood shade screens. To the east and south, the building's mass responds to the residential scale of the surrounding neighborhood. A semicircular main entry plaza serves as a drop-off and gathering place as well as a transit plaza for bus, tax, bicycle, and BART riders. A subgrade structure provides parking for staff and visitors and connects directly to the BART station concourse via a new public elevator.

The design process involved numerous public Universal Design workshops as well as intensive engagement with South Berkeley's neighbors, merchants, and historic preservation community.

Ed Roberts Campus - Site plan, drawing courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

Ed Roberts Campus - 1st floor plan, drawing courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

Ed Roberts Campus - 2nd floor plan, drawing courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

+ Project credits / data

Architect: Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
Project: Ed Roberts Campus
Location: Berkeley, CA, USA
Typology: Education
Photographer: Tim Griffith

+ All images and drawings courtesy Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects | Photo by Tim Griffith

+ Recommended timber screen projects featured on +MOOD

Behavioral Health Pavilion & Crisis Response Center | Cannon Design

Restructuration and Extension of the High School Paul Valéry | N+B architects

Shared by Pelime. London based Groves Natcheva Architects – Adriana Natcheva & Murray Groves talk about their work, inspirations, hopes and passion for Architecture.

+ Groves Natcheva Architects | http://www.grovesnatcheva.com/