One large architecture trend of 2017 was increasing sustainability by combining buildings with trees creating beautiful structures to bring to light a new kind of naturistic art. The eco-friendliness of the buildings makes them extremely attractive hence why many architects are loving the ideas. Trees and plants have been appearing globally inside and out of a range of large and innovative buildings.
Another trend that is proving to be pretty popular to architects is the use of exposed bricks on buildings, inside and outside of them. Exteriors can be coated with paint to make them stand out more; or to give the building a more modern or rustic look. The interior design on the building will depend on whether the walls inside are left bare or are painted onto to give a different effect to the design of the room.
Wood has taken over! New types of engineered timber have been replacing steel and concrete as architects believe it is sustainable, of good quality and increases the speed of construction. It is allowing architects open their minds to building taller and bigger just by changing their base material. Usually referred to as CLT, the material is produced by layering three, five or seven timber sections of wood at right angles, then gluing them together. It can be prefabricated in a factory to any shape or dimension and is much lighter than its steel and concrete counterparts.
Giving shipping containers a new purpose isn’t fully a new trend however has recently become a very popular design method and the results are extremely intriguing. Things such as houses and swimming pools, even football stadiums have been developed with these containers. They are a huge success in a way that a widely used material can be recycled after use in an enormously creative way. Unfortunately, the life span on the containers is just over 25 years and 15 for a pre-used container so this may be a disadvantage to people who are looking to build a lifelong home.
Another trend that is used today is making architecture unseen, one popular way of making the building transparent is through the use of mirrors. To enable this mirrors are placed on every edge of the structure which therefore reflects its surrounding resulting in the building being unnoticeable. The other method, enduring development in South Korea is an LED lighting system. They built a light curtain behind the glass walls, which darkens during the day to reflect the city that surrounds it, and at night changes colour to create different patterns and effects on the facade.
These types of houses are embedded into the ground, fitting seamlessly into the curves of the hills and terrain of the countryside or wherever the house has been built. Building the homes into the ground protects them from any elements that the house could be exposed to. In the long run this makes the houses longer lasting due to less problems coming from weather damage. It is a developed interpretation from how the Vikings used to live; recreated into modern, fascinating buildings.