Wednesday 17 September 2014

kwame nkrumah presidential library


Image by Mario Cucinella

all information from: http://www.mcarchitects.it/project/kwame-nkrumah-presidential-library-1
                    http://aasarchitecture.com/2014/05/kwame-nkrumah-presidential-library-mario-cucinella-architects.html


Description

The Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library was born from the dream of Samia Nkrumah, the daughter of a political leader Kwame Nkrumah who led Ghana to independence in 1957, and is now leading the political movement of the father Convention people’s party.

Image by Mario Cucinella

The design of the library, developed in collaboration with the same Samia Nkrumah, is a cultural project that promotes a model of sustainable development capable of dealing with the environmental issues and able to engage the local population through the accessibility of the educational service, the cultural offer and the comparison with the new technologies. The library is designed as a large square of knowledge: a tool for catalyst engine privileged society and social innovation.


Image by Mario Cucinella



The building is in fact organized as a mixed functional program that addresses the issue of education as a whole: they provide spaces for reading and consultation but also spaces of encounter and confrontation. There are spaces for events and conferences, workshops and activities of co-working. Workshops for the music, the visual arts and crafts. The library will become part of the network of the Ghanaian education system ranks as one key tool for the training of new generations.
Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella

In Ghana, 83% of the population does not have Internet in schools and not all students are able to have access to books. For this reason, the involvement of young people must become a fundamental element of any cultural project as a guarantee of social inclusion. It will be possible to accept graduates for internships and educational activities for children. In addition, the library will offer the opportunity to train new professionals in the field of culture and education.

Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella



The project site

You choose to locate the project at Akosombo, near Lake Volta, the largest artificial lake in the world, with approximately 8502 km ² of surface area and 148 cubic kilometers of water stored : one of the most important water reserves of the globe. In particular, the dam of Lake Volta, sponsored by the Kwame Nkrumah, produces electricity for most of Ghana and plays a vital role for the local industry. More than 2 million people live near the lake, the source of drinking water and fishing site.

Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella

Functional description of components

The library is a building of 4600m2 arranged on six levels. It consists of circular -plan floors arranged around a large central void, designed according to a flexible scheme that allows the organization mobile and diverse interior spaces. A system of ramps and walkways is the vertical distribution within the building. Through the curtain system maintains the perception continues in all directions of the surrounding landscape.
Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella

At the entrance level is the reception and children’s area. This is immediately connected to the first floor which houses space for laboratories and workshops, as well as areas for exhibitions of art and architecture and space dedicated to art of how to do, where there will be a 3D lab. The upper floors of the library are allocated for consultation and reading rooms; Here is a space dedicated to Kwame Nkruma hosting thematic texts and his personal archive.
Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella

The last level is a large panoramic floor that houses the restaurant business and leisure. In the basement is added to a 300-seat auditorium for conferences and events and has a second separate entrance so you can operate independently of the library.

Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella


Environmental benefits and sustainable technologies

The Kwame Nkrumah’s Presidential Library is a bioclimatic building able to maintain high levels of thermal comfort, visual and audible throughout the year thanks to the balance of a few elements: shape, materials and simple technologies. We use sustainable materials, promoting the use of local and renewable materials, such as wood.
Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella

In particular, will be used for building fine wood recovered from Lake Volta. Are expected photovoltaic panels in coverage for the production of electricity in order to enhance the weather conditions of the site. Installations for the recovery of rainwater guarantee saving environmental resources. The protection against solar radiation occurs encouraging natural ventilation and shading generated by the large cantilevered floors and reflecting glasses that heat build-up. The green will represent an important source of cooling.
Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella

Facts

Location: Akosombo, Volta Lake, Ghana
Project Team: Mario Cucinella, Luca Sandri, Emanuele Dionigi, Monica Luppi, Michele Olivieri, Pietro Marziali, Gabriele Motta, Giulia Pentella, Yuri Costantini (model), Ambra Cicognani (model)
Rendering: Cristian Chierici CC 79; Engram Studio
Surface: 4600m2
Year: 2013 – ongoing



Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella

Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Library
Image by Mario Cucinella


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Thursday 4 September 2014

great glass house

Image by Foster + Partners

all information from http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/great-glass-house/


Description


Set in rolling hills overlooking the Tywi Valley in Carmarthenshire, the Great Glasshouse forms the centrepiece of the 230-hectare National Botanic Garden of Wales. The largest single-span glasshouse in the world, containing more than a thousand Mediterranean plant species, it reinvents the glasshouse for the twenty-first century, offering a model for sustainable development.

Image by Foster + Parners

Elliptical in plan the building swells from the ground like a glassy hillock, echoing the undulations of the surrounding landscape. The aluminium glazing system and its tubular-steel supporting structure are designed to minimise materials and maximise light transmission. The toroidal roof measures 99 by 55 metres, and rests on twenty-four arches, which spring from a concrete ring beam and rise to 15 metres at the apex of the dome.

Image by Foster + Partners

Because the roof curves in two directions, only the central arches rise perpendicular to the base, the outer arches leaning inwards at progressively steep angles. The building's concrete substructure is banked to the north to provide protection from cold northerly winds and is concealed by a covering of turf so that the three entrances appear to be cut discreetly into the hillside. Within this base are a public concourse, a café, educational spaces and service installations.

Image by Foster + Partners

To optimise energy usage, conditions inside and outside are monitored by a computer-controlled system. This adjusts the supply of heat and opens glazing panels in the roof to achieve desired levels of temperature, humidity and air movement.

Image by Foster + Partners

The principal heat source is a biomass boiler, located in the park's Energy Centre, which burns timber trimmings. This method is remarkably clean when compared with fossil fuels, and because the plants absorb as much carbon dioxide during their lifetime as they release during combustion, the carbon cycle is broadly neutral. Rainwater collected from the roof supplies 'grey water' for irrigation and flushing lavatories while waste from the lavatories is treated in reed beds before release into a watercourse.

Image by Foster + Partners


Facts

Appointment: 1995 
Completion: 2000 
Area: 5 800m²
Height: 14 m
Capacity: 40

Image by Foster + Partners


Client: National Botanic Garden of Wales 

Structural Engineer: Anthony Hunt Associates 
Quantity Surveyor: Symonds Ltd 
M+E Engineer: Max Fordham & Partners 

Additional Consultants: Gustafson Porter, Colvin and Moggridge 

Image by Foster + Partners


Awards

The Dewy-Prys Thomas Prize - Great Glass House,
D&AD Silver Award for Environmental Design & Architecture
H & V News Awards – Environmental Initiative of the Year Awarded to the
Civic Trust Award
The 2000 Leisure Property Awards
The Concrete Society Building Award (for outstanding merit in the use of concrete)
RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) Building Efficiency Award for
Architecture in Wales Eisteddfod - Winner of Gold Medal in Architecture ( Alwyn Lloyd Memorial Medal)
RIBA Architecture Award
Structural Steel Awards
BIAT Open Award for Technical Excellence

Image by Foster + Partners


Features

The building's internal environment and the weather outside are monitored by a computer-controlled system, which adjusts the supply of heat and opens 4 x1.5 m glazing panels in the roof to achieve desired levels of temperature, humidity and air movement.

Image by Foster + Partners