flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Embassy's dual façades add security and beauty

Embassy's dual façades add security and beauty


August 11, 2010
This article first appeared in the 200912 issue of BD+C.

The British government's new 46,285-sf embassy building in Warsaw, Poland's diplomatic quarter houses the ambassador's offices, the consulate, and visa services on three floors. The $20 million Modernist design by London-based Tony Fretton Architects features a double façade—an inner concrete super structure and an outer curtain wall. The building-within-a-building addresses safety and security concerns, but also serves as a thermal buffer during harsh Polish winters and as a thermal chimney to draw out warm air during the summer. The glazing has a silver coating and aluminum cladding has a bronze finish to soften the building's massing.

Related Stories

| May 24, 2012

Construction backlog declines 5.4% in the first quarter of 2012?

The nation’s nonresidential construction activity will remain soft during the summer months, with flat to declining nonresidential construction spending.

| May 23, 2012

MBI Modular Construction Campus Launched on BDCUniversity.com

White Papers, Case Studies, Industry Annual Reports, published articles and more are offered.

| May 17, 2012

EMerge Alliance forms new Campus Microgrid Technical Standards Committee

Intel leading the charge to connect multiple DC microgrids throughout commercial buildings; others invited to join effort.

| May 16, 2012

AEG releases 3D video of L.A.'s Farmers Field

The Los Angeles Convention Center footage depicts the new convention center hall spaces, including a new lobby above Pico Boulevard, pre-function space, and what will be the largest multi-purpose ballroom in Los Angeles.

| May 16, 2012

Balfour Beatty Construction taps Kiger as VP of operations

Kiger will manage current relationships and pursue other strategic clients, including select healthcare clients and strategic project pursuits in the Central Tennessee region.

| May 14, 2012

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture design Seoul’s Dancing Dragons

Supertall two-tower complex located in Seoul’s Yongsan International Business District.

| May 9, 2012

International green building speaker to keynote Australia’s largest building systems trade show

Green building, sustainability consultant, green building book author Jerry Yudelson will be the keynote speaker at the Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Building Systems (ARBS) conference in Melbourne, Australia.

| May 9, 2012

Shepley Bulfinch given IIDA Design award for Woodruff Library?

The design challenges included creating an entry sequence to orient patrons and highlight services; establishing a sense of identity visible from the exterior; and providing a flexible extended-hours access for part of the learning commons.

| May 7, 2012

BIM in the academy

Lessons for the AEC industry.

| May 7, 2012

Best AEC Firms: MHTN Architects nine decades of dedication to Utah

This 65-person design firm has served Salt Lake City and the state of Utah for the better part of 90 years.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Engineers

Navigating battery energy storage augmentation

By implementing an augmentation plan upfront, owners can minimize potential delays and unforeseen costs when augmentation needs to occur, according to Burns & McDonnell energy storage technology manager Joshua Crawford.


3D Printing

3D-printed construction milestones take shape in Tennessee and Texas

Two notable 3D-printed projects mark milestones in the new construction technique of “printing” structures with specialized concrete. In Athens, Tennessee, Walmart hired Alquist 3D to build a 20-foot-high store expansion, one of the largest freestanding 3D-printed commercial concrete structures in the U.S. In Marfa, Texas, the world’s first 3D-printed hotel is under construction at an existing hotel and campground site.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021