Architecture
Zen Homes
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A “ZEN HOME” is, when a harmonious and healthy living environment is achieved.
CORE architects are committed to design excellence, adding value for our clients by creating a healthy and nontoxic environment . Through the innovative application of ecological and sustainable construction materials and low energy technologies, we create your ideal space. Your health and the energy performance of our buildings over their lifetime is of paramount importance to us.
Our expertise lies in designing extremely energy efficient and unique buildings with low heating and cooling demands and non harming building materials. Modern buildings are often build with very toxic and gazing materials which can lead to diseases and allergies. Very often the cause of this allergies remain undetected. CORE Architects helps you understanding the importance of the use of ecological building materials and its impact on your wellbeing.
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Our mission is to create unique architectural masterpieces by combining the best of modern Western technologies with natural building materials and ancient Eastern philosophies.
Spacial Design
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“Spatial Design” is a design discipline that combines product design, interior design, architecture, and urban design. Gadgets, furniture, interior architecture, buildings, cities, and landscapes are considered to create the optimal use of space. Central to spatial design is the notion that space is not understood as a container but as relational.
ZEN Arquitectura creates the 4th dimension by cleverly utilising space spacing design concepts to achieve multi-functional areas, such as beds that disappear below floor surfaces or within double ceilings, kitchens or offices that are hidden behind wall surfaces and split levels that offer multi-purpose living.
Ecological Homes
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An ecological house is modelled on the energy and material flows of natural ecosystems, and this enhances rather than degrades the environment. Like an ecosystem, an ecological house conserves resources (energy, water, food and materials). It also produces resources, or at least gathers and stores more of them than it uses. The “extra” resources are distributed back into the larger environment to support life elsewhere.
A standard house, by contrast, is a resource sink. Life's essentials flow into it, are dissipated or degraded until useless, and are dumped off into the environment, sometimes as toxic waste. The flow is unidirectional, from source to sink to waste.
In an ecosystem, and in an ideal ecological house, there is no waste because the resource flow is circular. Like houses, ecosystems import energy — mostly solar, in their case. It's stored first as plant biomass, which is eventually distributed as food to the ecosystems' myriad inhabitants. Further, and this is the real key to the sustainability of ecosystems, the stored energy continues to circulate, as exchanged nutrients, until it makes its way back to the plants. In the scenario known to every sixth grader, plants make animal food and animals make plant food.
We describe this behavior of ecosystems as the closing of nutrient loops. Human habitation systems — from cities to houses — create one-way energy and material flows, leaving loops open. Ecosystems unconsciously practice the “reduce, reuse, recycle” dictum and have sustained themselves for billions of years.
Timber frame homes are an ecological and healthy alternative to expensive masonry homes and are an ideal construction from for ecological homes.
Innovation
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As architects we feel responsible of observing the change of personal , social and environmental needs. Nature has always had a profound influence on architecture in both aesthetic and functional terms. For centuries people have looked to nature for an understanding of process or indeed for inspiration. We observe, identify, relate to possible improvements and investigate new solutions in order to improve wich ever issue was identified. By re-evaluating, thinking out of the box, we find new forms of application of materials and new technologies in more sophisticated means. It is never a simple process but always a very exciting process of a bespoke design-work for a new form of building project and produce innovative structural solutions.
We dare to be innovative - and we invite you as our client to go on this journey finding new ways of dealing with materials and building techniques and to create outstanding never seen spaces.
Feng Shui
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Feng Shui is based on the premise that human beings contain and are surrounded by a subtle field of electro magnetic energy known as Qi (Chi) in China. Qi is the live energy that surrounds us – it is the Universal energy. It flows throughout our planet, through the entire solar system and galaxy, and surrounds us constantly. It is within us and all around us.
The influence of Feng Shui in the build space is achieved by specifically developing a concept around:
- Colours (warm, bright, soft etc)
- Materials (fabrics, furniture, decorative objects etc)
- Forms (patterns, shapes etc)
- Lighting (indirect, shadows, daylight etc)
- Smells (refreshing, relaxing etc)
- Temperature (according to use)
- Sounds (relaxing, motivating etc)
Everything that is alive is filled with Qi. Some of us have a huge amount of Qi, others less. Qi can be uploaded - If you consider your body as a deposit for Qi (Universal energy), you may understand that there are several ways to increase your Qi level through:
- Balanced nutrition
- Exercise
- Time in pleasing environments
- Positive thinking
- Supportive social networks (friends & family)
By using Kirilian photography, it is possible to picture Qi energy. It looks like a multi coloured gas flame around any living creature. In humans the colour and shape changes depending on emotional responses and human well being. When we are born, we have the biggest amount of Qi. After puberty our Qi Level starts reducing according to negative impacts in our lives. To increase our personal Qi we need to become in balance with ourselves and our surroundings. For this purpose, we use the Asian philosophy of Feng shui.
PassivHaus & NZEB
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“Passivhaus” is a German standard for extremely energy efficient building construction. It is built to always provide a comfortable interior climate always maintained between 16-24ºC without a traditional heating system or active cooling.
The heat storage capacity of the building construction ensures, even during longer phases of absence and lower heat gains, that interior temperatures don’t decline drastically or rise extremely high when solar gains are high. A combination of the sun, its occupants, household appliances and passive heat sources are used to cover much of the heat demand. Any remaining required heat is provided by supplied air, and is sufficient as a heat source because the house has such reduced heat losses.
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A Zero Energy Building (ZEB) is a building with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually. Buildings that produce a surplus of energy are called Energy-Plus Buildings and buildings that consume slightly more energy than they produce are called Near-Zero Energy Buildings or Ultra Low Energy Houses.
Although ZEBs still remain fairly uncommon, they are gaining importance and popularity. Most use the electrical grid for energy storage but some are independent of the grid.
The zero-energy goal is becoming more practical as the costs of alternative energy technologies decrease and the costs of traditional fossil fuels increase.