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January 2025

New Glasshouse Conservatory at Longwood Gardens

LaufsED is proud to have contributed to the stunning new 2,900m² glasshouse conservatory at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. Designed by Weiss/Manfredi, the conservatory features a striking crystalline form with a pleated glass roof supported by curved, non-repetitive steel moment frames.

Fabricated in Germany, the tree-like steel structure was assembled on-site and tilted into place. Operable windows, automated shading, and winter louvers ensure optimal climate control year-round, safeguarding the unique plant collection, including a garden by celebrated Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx—the only one of its kind in North America.

LaufsED provided design-assist façade structural engineering services, including structural calculations, detailing, and thermal performance assessments, with a focus on corrosion protection and durability to meet the project's high standards.

January 2025

EarthNest Sculpture opens in Berlin

LaufsED are proud to have supported specialty metal fabricator Fittkau with structural engineering for EarthNest; Berlin’s first memorial to decolonialization. The design is by The Lockward Collective with advisors Rolando Vázquez & Max Bentler.

EarthNest is an open, bronze nest that invites visitors to engage with decolonial resistance. It honours the peoples and territories affected by the violence of colonialism and speaks out for healing the wounds that have resulted from our colonial past. It is intended to be a place of remembrance and encounter.

Earthnest is now open to the public in front of the Berlin Global Village in Neukölln.

November 2024

Three New Treehouses Installed at Chatwal Lodge

The Chatwal Lodge, set in the scenic Catskill Mountains of the Lower Hudson Valley, is a collection of luxury hotel structures offering an unparalleled retreat. LaufsED provided architectural and structural engineering services for the newly completed treehouse structures. Designed by the German firm Baumraum, the three treehouses were installed by a skilled local team, harmonizing innovative design with the natural landscape.

October 2024

Momentum sculpture opens in Emeryville, CA

LaufsED provided structural engineering expertise for five mirrored stainless steel spires, each seamlessly integrating video screens that project dynamic light displays. This striking installation serves as a welcome sculpture at the Emeryville, CA campus of a company pioneering immunological therapies for cancer treatment. Titled Momentum, the artwork symbolizes the global impact of cancer and stands as a powerful reminder of our collective fight against the disease.

July 2024

Kingspan Microhome – Live On Top

LaufsED have completed the design and engineering for a rooftop microhome with a unitized structure comprised of structural CLT and Kingspan insulated cladding panels.

Live On Top aims to provide affordable housing with amazing views by utilizing available rooftop space in crowded cities. Kingspan Quadcore panels are preassembled onto CLT structural boards in modules sized to fit into a typical residential elevator. The modules can be quickly assembled on the roof using lightweight equipment.

Live On Top has three core sustainable strategies:

1. Upfront carbon is significantly reduced by plugging into the existing building infrastructure.

2. Extra building occupants pay into ongoing building maintenance providing economic and social benefit to the community and extending the lifespan of the building.

3. Densifying urban areas by utilizing existing footprints reduces the need for greenfield development for housing.

May 2024

450 Warren named Archdaily Building of the Year!

450 Warren Street, designed by Brooklyn based architects SO-IL has been voted Archdaily Building of the Year in the Housing award category.

Text from the architects:

“A community means shared spaces for living and relaxing together, but also informal interaction. Neighbors see one another’s comings and goings across the way, and a shared entry courtyard encourages chat. Transparent materials allow light and changing seasons to permeate the building’s activity.”

As building envelope consultant LaufsED advised on façade options, material choices, constructability and the thermal and structural performance of the façade.

April 2024

ABETARE by Petrit Halilaj installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

ABETARE is the Berlin based artist Petrit Halilaj’s first major project in the United States, installed on the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

LaufsED supported with structural calculations for the sculptures. The work will be on display until October 27, 2024.

August 2023

Riviera Galleria

Located at the site of the former international Airport of Athens - Riviera Galleria will offer visitors a multifaceted, high-end shopping, gastronomy, and entertainment experience reflecting current international trends. Designed by the award-winning Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the landmark structure mirrors the ripples of each wave on the water, an effect that’s enhanced by the magnificent views of the Aegean Sea.    

Inspired by sailboats cruising the Greek sea, Riviera Galleria’s unique architecture is an icon of simplicity and elegance, created in absolute harmony with the natural surroundings.

LaufsED are the facade consultant collaborating with KKAA and local architect BETAPLAN to provide design assistance for the building envelope, including the undulating semi-transparent shade canopy design.

February 2022

Bent Pool in Miami Invites to Reflect on Climate Change

Scandinavian art duo Elmgreen & Dragset have been collaborating on architectural and sculptural installations for the last 25 years, transforming public spaces with smart and thought-provoking art interventions.

An empty oval swimming pool bent is an inverted u-shaped arch standing upright on a two-tier plinth located in Pride Park in Miami. The sculpture is a reminder of the city's endangered future due to global warming. “The whole city’s landscape is in flux. Bent Pool encourages us to think about how we normally interact with our surroundings: how accessible or inaccessible they appear.” explain Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset.

The monument is also a tribute to Miami Queer culture. The park itself is named in acknowledgement of the gay community's historical contribution.

At first sight it might recall ready-made artworks, but on closer inspection one will discover that this is a carefully crafted object. Identified by details such as its ladder, its diving board, and pool lamps.

Our team did the engineering for the initial installation at Rockefeller Plaza and continued with the flooring design when the sculpture was relocated to Miami.

Photos from Archipanic & NY Times

December 2021

Life, Wisdom, and Organic Growth – Speaking Willow

Designed to create an immediate interaction with visitors entering the Planet Word Museum in Washington DC, Speaking Willow is a 18-foot-tall electronic tree that is animated by lighting and audio recordings in different languages.

Designed by Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, the willow tree is a fitting metaphor to celebrate the word's rich linguistic diversity. Lozano-Hemmer is known for transforming intangible traces of human experience-voices, movement, touch, heartbeats into monumental displays of light, imagine, and sounds. The bell-shaped speakers installed directly beneath the tree's branches are activated by passers-by. Each speaker has been programmed with sample recordings of a different language. Our team at Laufs ED provided a structural engineering services.

Photos from Rebecca Murdock & Public Art Fund

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