Archinect - News

PAO and Liu Kecheng revitalize old porcelain factory in China with new ‘plugin’ architecture

2024-09-19T12:29:00-04:00

A team led by Liu Kecheng Design Studio and the People’s Architecture Office (PAO) has completed a regeneration and redesign of an old porcelain factory in the Imperial Kiln Historic District of Jingdezhen, China. Using what PAO calls a ‘Plugin Architecture’ approach, the project saw the placing of architectural insertions within and adjacent to existing building, giving new use to the site while respecting historic elements.

Image credit: PAO

Image credit: Zhuyumeng

The porcelain factory speaks to the wider history of Jingdezhen, whose porcelain production stretches back over 1000 years and earned it the title of China’s ‘Porcelain Capital.’ To reactivate the factory, PAO and Liu Kecheng designed a modern structure to form a focal point of the site. Topped by a double-pitched roof, the three-story glass building houses exhibition spaces and a cafe.

Image credit: Zhuyumeng

Image credit: PAO

“The transparency of the glass enclosure introduces a sense of openness, contrasting with the sol...

Rivian puts construction of major Georgia EV plant on hold

2024-05-01T11:36:00-04:00

Electric vehicle maker Rivian has pressed pause on the construction of a major manufacturing plant in Stanton Springs, Georgia. As we reported late last year, the company selected Clayco and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to deliver the 1,800-acre complex.

Previously on Archinect: Clayco and SOM to design major EV manufacturing plant for Rivian in Georgia. Image credit: Clayco

In March, however, the company announced a pause in construction of the $5 billion facility, saying that while the plant “remains an extremely important part of its strategy to scale production of R2 and R3 [car models],” the “timing for resuming construction is expected to be later to focus its teams on the capital-efficient launch of R2 in Normal, Illinois.”

In new developments, an email sent from the company in April underscored a commitment to the project. “During the pause period, Rivian anticipates performing some limited site development activities, but the depth and breadth of this work has not yet been det...

Clayco and SOM to design major EV manufacturing plant for Rivian in Georgia

2023-12-27T11:17:00-05:00

Clayco and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have been selected by electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian to construct a “state-of-the-art EV manufacturing plant” in Stanton Springs, Georgia. The 1,800-acre complex is expected to “contribute significantly to the continued growth and adoption of electric vehicles,” according to Clayco.

Image credit: Clayco

“We have an ambitious goal to develop an eco-conscious facility that illustrates our mission of keeping the world adventurous forever,” said Tony Sanger, Vice President of Facilities at Rivian, in a statement. “With Clayco’s dedication to developing innovative ideas and solutions, we are confident they are the right partner to ensure the Rivian plant is a shining example of sustainable manufacturing.”

The plant is expected to begin vehicle production in 2026.

Image credit: Clayco

The electric car manufacturer had previously been planning a $5 billion factory in Fort Worth, Texas, as we reported in 2021. However, later that year, it was announ...

R&D facilities for electric vehicle production are now the manufacturing sector's hottest commodity

2023-05-01T13:16:00-04:00

Last year, skyrocketing demand sent a record $128 billion into investments for E.V. manufacturing and battery plants, which require a large footprint. A battery plant can cover 4.5 million square feet, roughly the size of 25 Walmart Supercenters. Projections suggest the country may need 120 or more additional such plants. Before those batteries and the cars that use them can be made, they must be conceptualized. So automakers are pouring money into research and development facilities.

The Times speculates that the money being dumped into facilities that support E.V. development could lead to a golden era of highly technical corporate design for car manufacturers. Projects such as El Dorado’s 300 Kansas in San Francisco and the Snøhetta-led Research & Engineering Campus for Ford in Dearborn, Michigan are the leading examples. The city of Detroit is also working on a transportation innovation zone in conjunction with Ford’s new 30-acre Michigan Central mobility tech district from PAU to go along with another $130 million center for the University of Michigan that was announced recently for Ann Arbor.

New 3D printing housing factory aims to cut construction time by 50 percent

2023-03-28T12:51:00-04:00

3D printing construction technology startup Mighty Buildings has offered a first look inside their new factory in Monterrey, Mexico. As part of the company’s mission to develop and construct “climate-resilient, carbon-neutral homes near points of need,” the factory is reportedly capable of producing the components for an entire home during each day of operation.

Image credit: Mighty Buildings

The factory will produce homes using a blend of material science, robotics, and automation. Components for the homes will be 3D printed using Mighty Buildings’ concrete-free composite stone material, which is 30% lighter and 15% less expensive, and five times stronger than concrete. The company also claims their homes will be climate-resilient, carbon-neutral, and resistant to severe weather conditions, including hurricanes and earthquakes.

Image credit: Mighty Buildings

The components printed in the factory will form part of the company’s existing Mighty Kit System for prefabricated housing and ...

Ghent's new Bijgaardehof complex completes a collaborative vision of social housing and city life

2022-06-27T13:26:00-04:00

A transformed brownfield site in Ghent’s historic central core has been revealed, showcasing BOGDAN & VAN BROECK’s vision for a “world in itself” set amongst industrial ruins and characterized by what it calls “lockdown-compatible” living.

The factory building had sat unoccupied since 1997 before being acquired by developer sogent, who organized an international competition for the redesign project in 2009. The new cohousing project that resulted includes some 59 residential units, a network of landscaped communal gathering areas, and a health center in what is said to match a number of criteria central to the practice’s core mission to “offer a higher quality of life at an affordable cost.”

Image © Laurina Ghinitoiu

Per the architects: “The starting point for the design of Bijgaardehof was the triangular footprint of the industrial site. The perimeter walls form a simple and strong figure that defines the boundary between 'the wor...

Inside the ‘world’s most sustainable furniture factory’ designed by BIG

2022-06-02T11:53:00-04:00

Norwegian outdoor furniture manufacturer Vestre has moved into The Plus, its new factory in Magnor, Norway, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The 75,000-square-foot (7,000-square-meter) factory was built in 18 months and claims to be the world’s most environmentally-friendly furniture factory.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

BIG’s scheme is divided into four production areas (the Color Factory, the Wood Factory, Assembly, and Warehouse), placed in four orthogonal wings. A circular courtyard sits at the heart of the scheme, surrounded by a visitor center.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

The factory seeks to become the first project of its kind in the world to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating. The building’s energy consumption is 60% lower than comparable factories, with 55% lower greenhouse gas emissions. A green rooftop accommodates 900 solar panels, while between 90% and 95% of the water used within the facility will be reused.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

P...

Foster + Partners reveals master plan La Fabrica, its first-ever project in Chile

2021-09-15T14:53:00-04:00

A refurbished old factory building in the heart of Santiago will become the site of Foster + Partners' first Chilean project, according to renderings released by the firm yesterday.

The newly unveiled La Fabrica master plan takes the former textile factory as its centerpiece and expands to an adjacent site featuring a 550-unit, primarily timber residential complex that will be, in terms of material, the first-of-its-kind in the region, according to the architect.

Foster + Partners first extended the shopping mall that currently occupies the factory building and then added various diverse programmatic elements like low-rise offices, medical and entertainment facilities, and restaurants which are connected via a series of pedestrian walkways originating from the centerpiece.

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

The mixed-used site then flows seamlessly into the high-density residential development, which is anchored by an orthogonal square and also features street-level retail and dining ...

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian in talks to build $5 billion factory in Fort Worth, Texas

2021-08-18T19:33:00-04:00

Rivian Automotive Inc., the electric-vehicle startup backed by Amazon.com Inc., is in talks to invest at least $5 billion to build a factory near Fort Worth, Texas, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg News.

The factory, labeled “Project Tera” according to the Bloomberg-obtained document, would be able to produce 200,000 vehicles a year and create at least 7,500 jobs by 2027. A number of incentives, including grants and a city tax abatement of up to $440 million, have also been proposed in the presentation made by the City of Fort Worth’s Economic Development Department to the City Council.

Fort Worth officials also offered to nominate Rivian’s plans for the Texas Enterprise Zone Project, which would make it eligible for further state tax incentives, in addition to other incentives from Tarrant County.

A number of states and cities are being considered, however, the Texas location has reportedly become the front-runner for the California-based manufacturer. Given the rapidly growing electric vehicle market, many locales are very eager to host companies such as Rivian.

Rivian is building 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon. Video: Amazon News on YouTube

The proposed location of ...

Brooks + Scarpa and Plant Prefab debut adaptable prefab apartment model

2019-10-05T09:00:00-04:00

Los Angeles-based architects Brooks + Scarpa and factory home builder Plant Prefab have partnered on a new line of adaptable apartment modules that aim to provide streamlined responses for creating much-needed high-density in Los Angeles.

View of unit types for the Blue Jay model. Image courtesy of Plant Prefab.

The kit-of-parts-style Nest LivingHome toolkit is a research-led design paradigm crafted to fit into Los Angeles's average residential parcels. Dimensions for the prototypes correspond to the buildable areas of L.A.'s standard-sized 50-foot-by-150-foot residential lots, for example. Meanwhile, the architects have designed a series of potential unit plans that vary between rapid-rehousing, single-room occupancy (SRO), and conventional multi-family configurations.

The team's Blue Jay configuration, for example, presents a spare 11-foot, 4-inch-wide room that's 28-feet-deep and can be laid out as a one-bedroom unit or in various multi-bed shelter designs. The Dove line groups ...

Vitsœ applies Dieter Rams' design philosophy to its stunning new HQ and production building

2017-10-19T20:00:00-04:00

Who said that factory buildings had to be drab, dingy halls devoid of beauty? Vitsœ, the UK-based maker of Dieter Rams-designed furniture systems, opened its new HQ and production building this week, and it's a real stunner.

Located in the small town of Royal Leamington Spa in central England, the new company building has been realized by an in-house Vitsœ team in close collaboration with Yacht designer Martin Francis, architects and fabricators specialized in engineered timber, landscape architects, engineers in their respective fields as well as industrial-sustainability academics.

Sustainability, adaptability, and workplace health were key motives in the design process for the 135-meter-long building that is naturally ventilated and naturally lit during daylight hours, offering employees big windows to connect with nature and the surrounding landscape.

Read on for more images and a project description we've received.

"Like the company’s renowned 606 Un...

The Amish men that are building America's RVs

2017-07-25T13:38:00-04:00

When most Amish men were farmers, it was common for them to work seasonally with non-Amish in town, on more traditional things like cabinet making or carpentry, or even making cigar boxes, boats and band instruments. Nolt, who conducted interviews in the late ‘90s with Amish workers in the boat-making industry, said interviewees pointed to the fact that making the wooden boats was similar to wood working.

According to Steve Nolt, Senior Scholar at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, most of the Amish men under 65 work in factories. The majority of these manufacturing plants either assemble RVS or supply parts such as cabinets or windows.

Such increased involvement of the Amish in the non-Amish workplaces has had significant and transformative consequences on their community. Northern Indiana Amish, in particular, have always had some relationship to the outside world. According to Nolt's date, 56.3 percent of men in the Nappanee settlement and 53 percent in the Elkhart-LaGrange settlement are now employed by the RV industry. How did their working patterns shift so dramatically?

The big reason, says Nolt, is what he called an “economic squeeze and demographic crisis,” a shift in the 1980s that pushed the Amish (and other farmers across the country) from the farms into the factory. By the time the 1980s Farm Crisis hit, Amish families had alre...

Factory and Office Headquarter Annex by SUBdV Architecture

2017-06-30T14:53:00-04:00

Designed by a Brazilian architecture firm SUBdV Architecture, this Factory and Office Annex in São Paulo, fuses high-tech architectural design strategies with local low-tech construction methodologies.

The façade system references the traditional Brazilian ‘cobogo’ shading screen, which controls the filtration of indirect sunlight through the operable windows on the south and west facades, while also creating a thermal mass which prevents the penetration of hot air in the interior spaces.

Photos by Rodrigo Chust

Generated through parametric scripts, the various geometric configurations of blocks produce different sized openings and differently-angled light reflection planes, allowing for the optimal combination of both shading and illumination.

The building's double-height ground floor contains a material storage facility, first and second floors are dedicated to administrative office space for the factory and a showroom of the factory's products.

De...

A factory-making factory: Assemble revives manufacturing (sort of)

2017-04-13T17:39:00-04:00

By creating a machine that extrudes shaped clay, Assemble have created a factory that places an emphasis on the physical creation of one's environment (as well as the spontaneous ideas that can develop from working with materials and processes).

It's a throwback to the late 19th/early 20th century days when factories weren't necessarily about dehumanizing automation but rather more about the complexity of manufacturing using all sorts of tools and last-minute problem-solving techniques. This video by Vice gives a thorough tour of the concept, process, and blue-and-white-clad result of Assemble's "A Factory As It Might Be"...

BIG's winning design for the new San Pellegrino flagship factory

2017-02-17T20:18:00-05:00

In hopes to bring tourism into the area, San Pellegrino will soon have a brand new flagship factory in San Pellegrino Terme, where the sparkling-water brand has resided since 1899. Bjarke Ingels Group had the winning proposal to design the new bottling factory in a competition against MVRDV, Snøhetta, and Architetto Michele De Lucchi.

At 17,500 m2, the €90 million building pays tribute to its mountainous environment and San Pellegrino's heritage. “Rather than imposing a new identity on the existing complex, we propose to grow it out of the complex,” Bjarke Ingels said in a statement. “We propose to wash away the traditional segregation between front and back of house, and to create a seamless continuity between the environment of production and consumption, and preparation and enjoyment.“

In addition to the production facility, the new building will include offices for San Pellegrino staff and public spaces open to visitors. BIG's design reinvents elements of classic Italian architect...

AECOM halts work on Faraday Future's $1-Billion Nevada factory

2016-11-22T15:05:00-05:00

Faraday Future’s future is looking bleaker. After the electric car start-up failed to pay millions of dollars in bills, its contractor Monday halted work on Faraday’s $1-billion North Las Vegas, Nev., car factory. [...] The contractor is Aecom, the Los Angeles-based engineering giant. [...] Faraday failed to pay $21 million due to Aecom in September and owed $25 million in October and $12 million in November, according to Aecom.

Faraday Future previously in the Archinect news:

Tesla's 5.8 million square foot "Gigafactory" to open in 2017

2016-07-27T13:38:00-04:00

Sixty-five hundred people and a sizable compliment of robots will work in the enormous, solar-panel topped, rail-adjacent Gigafactory when it opens in 2017, a structure which is described as a "joint venture" between Tesla, Panasonic and other supply partners. In this case, the drive to inexpensively produce lithium-ion batteries has created the need for the colossal structure.

As Wired notes:

The assembly lines will do everything from make the individual cells—cylinders a bit bigger than an AA battery—to assembling the immense packs that power a Model S or store energy in someone’s garage. Tesla doesn’t disclose its costs, but says doing it all in-house will drive down the cost of a battery by 30 percent.

Tesla in the news:

How this new gigafactory may popularize residential solar power technology

2016-03-04T21:24:00-05:00

When production begins, SolarCity, already the leading installer of residential solar panels in the [U.S.] will become a vertically integrated manufacturer and provider...At a time when conventional silicon-based solar panels from China have never been cheaper, investing in a new type of solar technology is a risky undertaking. However, the potential benefits are huge. The new factory...could transform both SolarCity’s business...and the economics of residential solar power.

The MIT Technology Review profiles the upcoming Buffalo-based SolarCity factory and their ambitious plans that could potentially make solar power technology more widely available to consumers.

More news about alternative energy:

Cloud-harvesting skyscraper: renderings of proposed new sustainable Tokyo development

Michigan State University researchers develop completely transparent solar panels

Could 'quantum dots' be the key to turning windows into photovoltaics?

Turning Japan's golfing greens into solar farms

Wired takes a look inside Tesla's car factory of the future

2016-01-12T18:45:00-05:00

"Robots hate litter," reads a health and safety sign. "Please don't give them any more reasons to overthrow mankind." It's also fair to say that naming your robots makes the whole process of constructing cars vaguely ridiculous. "Wolverine and Iceman lift the cars to tramline two," our tour guide informs us with the zeal of a true believer, adding, as he did after virtually every sentence, that this is 'kind of amazing'.

Rem Koolhaas to design Manchester arts center, "The Factory"

2015-11-30T14:46:00-05:00

Rem Koolhaas/OMA will design The Factory, the proposed £110 million (approx. US$166.3 million) Manchester Arts Centre in England. Koolhaas won the commission ... over fellow starchitects including Zaha Hadid, Mecanoo, Grimshaw Architects, Rafael Viñoly, DS+R, and Haworth Tompkins. [...] Named after the Manchester-based record label, The Factory is described as a cutting-edge, flexible cultural institution that ... will also be a major component in the cultural redevelopment of the city.

A look inside Tesla's growing Gigafactory: "It will blow your mind."

2015-11-19T13:24:00-05:00

Musk had warned me that the scale of the place would be overwhelming. "It will blow your mind. You see it in person and then realize, Fuck, this is big." He was right. It was impossible not to feel awestruck by the sprawling, 71-foot-tall structure stretched out, miragelike, before me as I drove into a shallow canyon. [...] When the Gigafactory is finished, it will be only slightly smaller than Boeing’s Everett, Washington, plant, which is the world’s largest building by volume.

Neutelings Riedijk Architects propose these flamboyant golden glass and steel towers for defunct Moscow auto plant

2015-10-15T13:31:00-04:00

Developers have released design plans for the housing element of the Moscow ZiL industrial zone redevelopment. According to RBK Realty magazine, nine architecture firms from Russia, the USA and the Netherlands will be working on housing in the redevelopment of the former automobile factory, located in the south of Moscow. [...] The building presented by Dutch agency Neutelings Riedijk Architecten consists of 10 towers, each with a golden glass and steel facade.

While the grand ZiL redevelopment scheme includes various buildings assigned to architectural firms including Asymptote Architecture, bureau Speech and Sergey Skuratov Architects, it's Dutch studio Neutelings Riedijk Architecten's exuberant, soviet-chic, and certified blingy towers that caught our attention.

"The new high-rise building consists of five connected premium residential towers on top of a three stories high public plinth building with shopping, health spa and restaurant facilities," the architects told us. "The facade has a striking tectonic surface composed of diamond shaped, steel/glass elements. The plinth building is organized around a central court, covered with a spectacular glass dome. The building is located alongside the park, at the new main boulevard, adjacent to the future Hermitage Moscow museum."

Previously on Archinect: Asymptote to design Hermitage satellite museum in abandoned Moscow factory

...

41 people charged for murder in 2013 Bangladeshi factory collapse

2015-06-02T09:19:00-04:00

The police in Bangladesh filed formal murder charges on Monday against 41 people accused of involvement in the 2013 collapse of a building that housed several clothing factories, leaving more than 1,100 people dead in the worst disaster in garment industry history.

How concrete floors can prevent child deaths in Bangladesh

"The trauma of rebuilding": After Kathmandu's earthquake, what can architects do? We talk with a Nepalese architect on the ground for Archinect Sessions #27

L.A. Mayor Calls for Mandatory Earthquake Retrofitting

China Quake Renews Worries Over Construction Practices

Ricardo Bofill’s “Time Space Existence” exhibition on La Fabrica for the 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-06-06T18:54:00-04:00

"Time Space Existence" tells the story behind La Fabrica, the well-known headquarters of Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura that is located in a repurposed cement factory in Barcelona...By reimagining La Fabrica in new locations -- particularly in Venice -- the exhibition serves as a case study that goes beyond the structure's physical presence and explores its timelessness throughout the last century.

As one of the many Collateral Events at the 2014 Venice Biennale, the exhibition opens to the public at The Palazzo Bembo starting June 7 through Nov. 23, 2014.

Check out more details on Bustler.

MVRDV-led consortium to refurbish historic Serp & Molot factory site in Moscow

2014-04-30T16:29:00-04:00

Preserving the rich history of an iconic site while modernizing any aspect of its design is always a tricky feat. For MVRDV, one of their latest competition wins is redeveloping the urban plan of the historic Serp & Molot (Hammer & Sickle) Factory...In the two-stage competition, the winning team was chosen out of a shortlist with LDA Design (UK), Ateliers lion Associés (France), Mega Project (Russia), and De Architecten Cie. (Netherlands).

Here's a glimpse of the winning proposal:

The project, which has a total investment estimated at 180 billion Rouble, is expected to be complete in 2021.

Find out more on Bustler.

Tesla Announces Plans to Build $5 Billion Battery 'Gigafactory'

2014-02-27T15:05:00-05:00

The Palo Alto, Calif., company outlined plans for a factory that would employ up to 6,500 people and cover as many as 1,000 acres, including solar and wind farms to supply its power needs. It is evaluating sites in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, Tesla said in a regulatory filing. The proposed 10 million-square-foot facility would make the powerful and pricey lithium-ion batteries that power its Model S and future vehicles.

On its Tesla Blog, the company claims that "by the end of the first year of volume production of our mass market vehicle, we expect the Gigafactory will have driven down the per kWh cost of our battery pack by more than 30 percent."

Is the electric car not so dead after all?

See some slides from the 'Gigafactory' presentation below or click here for the full document.