Iceland’s Vigdis Foundation is devoted to the preservation of Icelandic culture and values, and for the foundation’s new headquarters OOIIO Architecture has proposed a dynamic building that will host exhibitions, a theater, a cafe and a library. The architects describe their design as a “rational building,” that will be energy-efficient and eye-catching enough to draw the attention of passing pedestrians.

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Post tags: Belén Gómez Mendiguchía, Iceland, Icelandic architecture, Joaquín Millán Villamuelas, museums, OOIIO Architecture, recycled ropes, Reykjavik, sustainable wood, theaters, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Vigdis Foundation

Designed by OOIIO Architecture, the Patchwork City Masterplan focuses on organizing the future growth of Linkoping, a city in southern Sweden with 100,000 inhabitants. The architects were challenged to experiment and explore new ways of designing cities – with all the complexities, sustainable construction systems and social cohesion aspects that a XXI st century city needs. The result is a contemporary city where the inhabitants colonize and personalize their own structure as they wish, crocheting pieces of their own city to generate a large patchwork together.

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Via ArchDaily

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", futuristic city, green city planning, green design, masterplan, ooiio, OOIIO Architecture, patchwork city, sustainable design, sustainable urban design, Sweden, Urban design

Madrid-based OOIIO Architecture has developed a proposal for a female prison in Iceland. After interviewing people who live and work in the design team determined that the worst thing about living in a correctional facility is the feeling that you are actually in one. The resulting design doesn’t look like a typical penitentiary; instead, it resembles the cogs of a large watch, trading the dark spaces and small cells found in most prisons for a light, open structure with lots of greenery. Using prefabricated concrete panels, the construction will be economical, and efficient. The system will allow everything to be built on a short time line, with low carbon emissions. Covering the building with a thick peat layer, a vernacular design typical of Iceland, will let grass to grow over the structure to capture a natural facade.

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Post tags: green architecture, green design, green prisons, green roof, Iceland, natural lighting, ooiio, OOIIO Architecture, prison, prison design

A few years ago, the ancient wooden church of Valer, Norway caught fire and burnt to the ground. With the disappearance of the church, the town was left without a public meeting space or a monument to their community. To begin to filling the void, at the end of 2011 Valer decided to invite architects from all the world to design a new temple that could revive their religious community. One submission for the design came from OOIIO Architects. Designed to flip traditional church architecture on it’s side (literally!) OOIIO turned the swooping façade into the roof of the church. Used as both a space for contemplation, gathering, or as a vantage point in which to experience the church’s surroundings and its history, thanks to the expansive roof, guests can discover new views that look towards the forest, the city center and historic markers, such as the cemetery, the chapel, and the old church ruins. Inside, the temple interior is lit naturally and is open to its surroundings. The church is built from wood following local construction tradition.

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Post tags: Norway Architecture, norway churches, Norwegian architecture, ooiio, ooiio architects, valer church

Water, rurality, urbanity, cultural habits and traditions were all key considerations in the design of OODA and OOIOO Architecture’s Leeuwarden Housing Plan. Inspired by the water lilly, the team of architects set out to mimic the living organism and its ability to naturally make a “bridge” between the water and the land world. With a need to combine and establish environmental relationships within the study area, and between the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, the architects chose to create a masterplan based on an abstraction of a set of water lilies. The plan of the project fuses water, green spaces and agricultural areas to create a sustainable residential system that is harmony with both the urban and natural environments.

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Post tags: biomimicry, Eco Architecture, flower inspired architecture, Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden Housing Plan, ooda architecture, OOIOO Architecture, water lilly architecture