Glass Butterfly

Holbaek, Denmark
Architetti
Form4 Architecture
Sede
Holbaek, Denmark
Anno
2013

The competition was to take a bus shelter, an atypical, ubiquitous object within the public realm, and create a design for a rural area of Denmark under the sponsorship of a glazing manufacturing company. The point of departure for the architecture of this entry is the formal negotiation between the delicacy of the glass and its structural integrity to meet the project’s programmatic purpose.

The design needed to be self-referential and authoritative in the landscape. Trees, weaving grass, and big canopies were key inspirational organic forms. The gentle nature of the Danish environment became the source for the proposed biomorphic volume. Like a graceful butterfly, this structure radiates its immaterial presence to its surroundings during the day as well as night. This scalable transparent container, almost a frozen membrane, is a place of protection, sheltering users from rain, wind, and sun.

Despite its seemingly imminent flight from the ground, this artifact is securely anchored to the soil through unobtrusive steel connections. Maximum structural integrity is provided by the graceful, U-shaped glass bays. The bays are scalable to afford a variety of seating arrangements for those who are alone, couples, or groups of friends with deep protection from wind and rain.

The elliptical photo voltaic panels laid on the roof and directly above the bays have the dual function of harnessing solar energy to power the structure and serving as sun shading devices to shield those sitting below.

Progetti collegati

  • Centro Studi Canavée
    Soliman Zurkirchen Architekten
  • Dreifachturnhalle Gipf Oberfrick
    Walter Bieler AG
  • Shanghai Suhe MixC World
    KOKAISTUDIOS
  • Welcome to the Stage!
    Kjellander Sjöberg
  • Hovering Kan-Too – Great Bay Area Center Showroom
    Wutopia Lab

Rivista

Altri progetti di Form4 Architecture

Workday
Pleasonton, CA, USA
Falling Lotus Blossoms: EON IT Park
Pune, India
The Ark, Condominiums
Walnut Creek, CA, USA
House of Borrowed Light, Private Residence
San Francisco, CA, USA
Innovation Curve: Technology Park at Stanford Research Park
Palo Alto, USA