Contemporary Architecture in Zurich, Switzerland

Architects EM2N made an odd pairing of community and contemporary industrial architecture at the Aussersihl Community Center in Zurich, Switzerland.





The architects based their design on the notion that “Not the building alone is the Community Center, but the entire park.” With this in mind, EM2N started on a contemporary structure that would make a statement on its own, while also speaking to its surroundings.




According to the architects, “It was clear to us, that there was only one possible way to build in the park: preserving all the trees, minimal footprint, [and] stacking the program.” The original idea for the design included mirror facades. But in order to stick to the prescribed budget, the architects clad a majority of the building in dark green wood panels, and the remainder in mirrors, creating a loosely camouflage effect among the trees.

The modern community center strays from traditional horizontal construction with its strongly vertical silhouette. This “stacking” method also allowed for unobstructed, open-concept interiors free from columns and interior walls.

Green Design and Earth-Friendly Architecture

Green Design is a term used to describe economical, energy-saving, environmental friendly, sustainable development. These resources explore the relationship between architecture and ecology, and show how you can use concepts of green design in your own home.

Green building-
Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better sitting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.

A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other commonly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.

Green building materials-
Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable (e.g. Trass, Linoleum, sheep wool, panels made from paper flakes, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, seagrass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fiber plates, calcium sand stone. Building materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site to minimize the energy embedded in their transportation.

Living Rooms

From Classic to contemporary, a few of the most inviting and stylish living rooms :


A tranquil palette characterizes a Los Angeles living room designed by Mariette Himes Gomez.

Richard Meier & Partners’ recent expansion of the Friesen House in Los Angeles involved adding a story perched on a platform straddling the original 1953 structure. Besides acting as a backdrop for the fireplace in the master bedroom, the concrete shear wall adds lateral stability to the house and supports the second story construction.