The Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Asymptote's design for the Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi is so central to the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, that the track runs through it. The spectacular centrepiece to the Yas Marina development will provide a focal point for the brand new racetrack, which will hold it's debut race on 30 October. The $36billion development is set to be the most exquisite motorsport venue in the world. An expansive glass grid shell provides the most distinctive feature of the 500-room, 85,000m2 complex. Covering 217 metres the sweeping, curvilinear forms are constructed of steel and 5,800 pivoting diamond-shaped glass panels. Within this veil-like structure are two hotel towers and a link bridge passing above the Formula 1 track that makes its way through the building complex.
Optical lighting and reflective effects against the backdrop of the sky, sea and desert landscape of Yas Island turn the hotel into an entertainment spectacle.

Asymptote's founders and partners Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture based their design around speed, movement and Islamic art and craft traditions. Rashid described the design as, “a perfect union and harmonious interplay between elegance and spectacle. The search here was inspired by what one could call the 'art' and poetics of motor racing, specifically Formula 1, coupled with the making of a place that celebrates Abu Dhabi as a cultural and technological tour de force.”

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w02n 2cents:

This would be another fantastic art piece by Asymtope. F1 Hotel allowed the architect to have a more bold and thematic design. Furthermore, the planning of seperated hotel into 2 towers with a link bridge passing above the Formula 1 track that makes its way through the building complex. This idea solely give positive impact to this thematic hotel which became the best viewing platform in F1 racing. An expansive glass grid shell would just be the aesthetic feature for the hotel, no doubt it give the very artistic feeling on how the architct articulate the glass panel for the whole complex. But, for the context of Abu Dhabi with the dusty air and environment, it would be humongous cost for the maintenance.

Formosa 1140 / Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects

Located in the heart of West Hollywood, this new eleven unit housing project emphasizes the central importance of shared open space for the residents and the community. Formosa takes what would be the internalized open space of the courtyard and moves it to the exterior of the building to create a park which occupies approximately one third (4,600 sf) of the project site.

As a result of shifting the common open space to the exterior and pushing the building to one side, units are organized linearly allowing for ‘park frontage’ and cross-ventilation for every unit. External circulation is used as a buffer between public and private realms and articulated through layers of perforated metal and small openings.

The careful placement of outer skin panels and inner skin fenestration creates a choreographed effect, both revealing and concealing, while achieving a unique expression of form and materials. The exterior skin also keeps west facing units cooler by acting as a screen and shading device. The facade is clad in red, metal panels that provide shade for the windows and separate the circulation of residents from the public domain.

All above info and images from http://www.dezeen.com

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w02n 2cents:
Impressed how the architect use the red colours in this apartment. No doubts the entire development consept and approaches are remarkable. But still, the heavy use of red colour is very subjective to the public. Anyhow, personally i felt awesome with those composition of red tone facade, and how the architect articulate the panelling and the proportionated opening.