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

| Mar 4, 2013

Legendary structural engineer Gene Corley passes away at 77

CTLGroup, an expert engineering and materials science firm located in Skokie, Illinois, is saddened by the news that W. Gene Corley, Ph.D., S.E., P.E., Senior Vice President, died on March 1, 2013 after a brief battle with cancer.

| Feb 28, 2013

Novel multifamily solutions to be presented at New York Modular Construction Summit

The New York Modular Construction Summit will be co-hosted by the Modular Building Institute and Pratt Institute School of Architecture on May 16, 2013, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

| Feb 25, 2013

Turner employs rare 'collapsible' steel truss system at Seattle light rail station

To speed construction of the $110 million Capitol Hill Station light-rail station in Seattle, general contractor Turner Construction will use an unusual temporary framing method for the project's underground spaces.

| Feb 21, 2013

BD+C's 2011 White Paper: Zero and Net-Zero Energy Buildings + Homes

We submit our eighth White Paper on Sustainability in the hope that it will inspire architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, developers, building product manufacturers, environmentalists, policymakers, government officials, corporate executives, officeholders, and the public to foster the development of net-zero energy buildings and homes.

| Feb 18, 2013

Syracuse hospital using robots to reduce infections by 50%

Fast Company's Nina Mandell writes about how an early adopter of UV infection-control robotics—St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse—is seeing positive results.

| Feb 8, 2013

5 factors to consider when designing a shade system

Designing a shade system is more complex than picking out basic white venetian blinds. Here are five elements to consider when designing an interior shade system.

| Feb 3, 2013

Electronic surveying improves accuracy on BIM-driven hospital project

A mechanical contractor combines an electronic surveying tool with a BIM model to make significant productivity gains in a large-scale hospital project.

| Feb 3, 2013

Clever engineering helps create design excellence

A mechanical engineering team overcomes numerous hurdles to help make a new federal courthouse in Iowa a showpiece of ‘government work’ at its best.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




Contractors

Contractors expect to spend more time on prefabrication, according to FMI study

Get ready for a surge in prefabrication activity by contractors. FMI, the consulting and investment banking firm, recently polled contractors about how much time they were spending, in craft labor hours, on prefabrication for construction projects. More than 250 contractors participated in the survey, and the average response to that question was 18%. More revealing, however, was the participants’ anticipation that craft hours dedicated to prefab would essentially double, to 34%, within the next five years.

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