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DELVA

Based in Amsterdam and Antwerp, DELVA designs landscape-dominant environments characterized by outward-expanding geometries, canopy-level boardwalks, and floating concrete structures that blur the threshold between built mass and natural ecology. The portfolio offers clear precedents when detailing elevated walkways through forested reserves, specifying sloped mass-timber roofs with integrated vegetation, or designing public seating directly into water-management channels.

Exterior view of a round building with a diagrid exo-skeleton structure sitting atop a landscaped hill by DELVA.

Exterior view of a round building with a diagrid exo-skeleton structure

An exterior precedent featuring a distinctive cylindrical building with an open diagrid structural exoskeleton, integrated into an artificial dune and coastal landscape.

What we like about this project
The outward batter of the circular walls makes the building appear to float or expand as it rises from the hill.

Materials

  • steel
  • glass
  • concrete

Visual identifiers

  • diagrid-facade
  • cylindrical-volume
  • coastal-setting
  • elevated-dune-landscape

Style tags

  • contemporary
  • parametric
  • structural-expressionist

Visual tags

  • diagrid
  • coastal
  • monumental
  • landscape-integration
  • structural-skin
Geometry
Cylindrical mass with outward-sloping walls creating an inverted-cone silhouette, wrapped in a structural diagrid lattice.
Facade system
Exo-skeletal diagrid structural frame enclosing a continuous glazed cylinder with recessed floor slabs.
Structural guess
External steel diagrid frame working in tandem with a central core and floor slabs.
Spatial scale
Large multi-story civic or commercial building scaled against walking figures on the foreground path.
Lighting
Warm low-angle coastal sunset light casting long shadows and glowing through the open lattice facade.
Atmosphere
Serene and monumental at dusk, balancing heavy structural geometry with soft coastal nature.
Environmental context
Coastal dunes and walking paths adjacent to an open sea horizon under a hazy sky.
Spatial experience
Approached via elevated winding coastal paths through dune grasses, the monolithic circular volume dominates the elevated horizon.
Composition rhythm
Repeating diagonal diamond lattice creating a rhythmic mesh over the recessed circular glazing planes.
Style reading
Contemporary parametric structuralism
Program
Civic or multi-use coastal pavilion and observation structure
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture
Materials
steel, glass, concrete
Visual identifiers
diagrid-facade, cylindrical-volume, coastal-setting, elevated-dune-landscape
Style tags
contemporary, parametric, structural-expressionist
Visual tags
diagrid, coastal, monumental, landscape-integration, structural-skin
Geometry
Cylindrical mass with outward-sloping walls creating an inverted-cone silhouette, wrapped in a structural diagrid lattice.
Facade system
Exo-skeletal diagrid structural frame enclosing a continuous glazed cylinder with recessed floor slabs.
Structural guess
External steel diagrid frame working in tandem with a central core and floor slabs.
Spatial scale
Large multi-story civic or commercial building scaled against walking figures on the foreground path.
Lighting
Warm low-angle coastal sunset light casting long shadows and glowing through the open lattice facade.
Atmosphere
Serene and monumental at dusk, balancing heavy structural geometry with soft coastal nature.
Environmental context
Coastal dunes and walking paths adjacent to an open sea horizon under a hazy sky.
Spatial experience
Approached via elevated winding coastal paths through dune grasses, the monolithic circular volume dominates the elevated horizon.
Composition rhythm
Repeating diagonal diamond lattice creating a rhythmic mesh over the recessed circular glazing planes.
Style reading
Contemporary parametric structuralism
Program
Civic or multi-use coastal pavilion and observation structure
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture

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  • © 2026 HappyCluster

Directories

  • Firms
  • Patterns

AI Native Apps

  • AI Mode Search
  • SoftMarket
  • 2nd Brain

About HappyCluster

  • About
  • How it works
  • Contact

Connect

  • Waitlist
  • X
  • GitHub

Legal

  • Privacy
  • Terms

HappyCluster

© 2026

Exterior view of a round building with a diagrid exo-skeleton structure sitting atop a landscaped hill by DELVA.

Exterior view of a round building with a diagrid exo-skeleton structure

An exterior precedent featuring a distinctive cylindrical building with an open diagrid structural exoskeleton, integrated into an artificial dune and coastal landscape.

What we like about this project
The outward batter of the circular walls makes the building appear to float or expand as it rises from the hill.

Materials

  • steel
  • glass
  • concrete

Visual identifiers

  • diagrid-facade
  • cylindrical-volume
  • coastal-setting
  • elevated-dune-landscape

Style tags

  • contemporary
  • parametric
  • structural-expressionist

Visual tags

  • diagrid
  • coastal
  • monumental
  • landscape-integration
  • structural-skin
Geometry
Cylindrical mass with outward-sloping walls creating an inverted-cone silhouette, wrapped in a structural diagrid lattice.
Facade system
Exo-skeletal diagrid structural frame enclosing a continuous glazed cylinder with recessed floor slabs.
Structural guess
External steel diagrid frame working in tandem with a central core and floor slabs.
Spatial scale
Large multi-story civic or commercial building scaled against walking figures on the foreground path.
Lighting
Warm low-angle coastal sunset light casting long shadows and glowing through the open lattice facade.
Atmosphere
Serene and monumental at dusk, balancing heavy structural geometry with soft coastal nature.
Environmental context
Coastal dunes and walking paths adjacent to an open sea horizon under a hazy sky.
Spatial experience
Approached via elevated winding coastal paths through dune grasses, the monolithic circular volume dominates the elevated horizon.
Composition rhythm
Repeating diagonal diamond lattice creating a rhythmic mesh over the recessed circular glazing planes.
Style reading
Contemporary parametric structuralism
Program
Civic or multi-use coastal pavilion and observation structure
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture
Materials
steel, glass, concrete
Visual identifiers
diagrid-facade, cylindrical-volume, coastal-setting, elevated-dune-landscape
Style tags
contemporary, parametric, structural-expressionist
Visual tags
diagrid, coastal, monumental, landscape-integration, structural-skin
Geometry
Cylindrical mass with outward-sloping walls creating an inverted-cone silhouette, wrapped in a structural diagrid lattice.
Facade system
Exo-skeletal diagrid structural frame enclosing a continuous glazed cylinder with recessed floor slabs.
Structural guess
External steel diagrid frame working in tandem with a central core and floor slabs.
Spatial scale
Large multi-story civic or commercial building scaled against walking figures on the foreground path.
Lighting
Warm low-angle coastal sunset light casting long shadows and glowing through the open lattice facade.
Atmosphere
Serene and monumental at dusk, balancing heavy structural geometry with soft coastal nature.
Environmental context
Coastal dunes and walking paths adjacent to an open sea horizon under a hazy sky.
Spatial experience
Approached via elevated winding coastal paths through dune grasses, the monolithic circular volume dominates the elevated horizon.
Composition rhythm
Repeating diagonal diamond lattice creating a rhythmic mesh over the recessed circular glazing planes.
Style reading
Contemporary parametric structuralism
Program
Civic or multi-use coastal pavilion and observation structure
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture

Related in this portfolio