Wednesday, February 3, 2010
"This project is a single store within 3.1 Phillip Lim's global roll-out campaign, which will include many international locations. Aware of the inevitable repetition that is necessary for such a commercial expansion, we thought of the typology of a flagship store as being characterized by the simultaneous need for sameness and difference. Typically, the consistent repetition of brand traits is necessary to reinforce an identity, while novelty can refresh the aura and desire for the brand. In this particular case the client, a relatively new fashion house launched in 2004, emphasized the need to establish a legible consistency in order to unify the different existing stores in New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. As a result, we questioned the inherent contradiction in the flagship typology. Can the need for sameness and difference become a generative friction rather than a trap?" to find out more...Sunday, January 31, 2010
"The ‘Shuffle’ proposal by young Norwegian Eriksen Skajaa Architects for the revitalization of Oslo’s Haugerud suburb has recently won the EUROPAN 10 contest for Oslo, Norway.The project is exploring low rise/high density urban planning as a way to reinforce local identity and making use of passive-house concepts to shape the buildings.
Weave, Shuffle, Flip, Intensify….Study area strategy
The main challenges in the study area are the homogenous zones that undermine cross connections and permeability. In the perspective of sustainability and ecology, large areas in the study area are under-utilised. We have developed three main strategies to facilitate a new development in the study area..."
Friday, January 29, 2010
WORK Architecture Company Wins Competition to Redesign Shenzhen’s Hua Qiang Bei Road
0 comments Posted by swl at 9:57 PM
"WORK Architecture Company, in collaboration with Zhubo Architecture Studio, ARUP and Balmori Associates has won the international invited competition to redesign a 1-kilometer section of Hua Qiang Bei Road. This project offers Shenzhen a solution to Hua Qiang Bei Road’s traffic congestion while creating a series of new contemporary public spaces for the city. The proposal consists of five above-ground mixed-use public facilities, a new streetscape and traffic design and an underground boulevard connecting four new metro lines to the street and neighboring buildings.Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Results of 3rd Advanced Architecture Contest “The Self-Sufficient City”
0 comments Posted by swl at 11:41 PM
"Barcelona-based Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) just announced the winning entries of the 3rd Advanced Architecture Contest “THE SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY: Envisioning the habitat of the future”. The international competition, organized by the IAAC in collaboration with HP, invited architects to submit ideas which transform cities into more stimulating environments for the human life...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
"Created by architect Giselbrecht + Partner ZT GmbH this amazing project is called “Dynamic Facade” better known as the Kiefer Technic Showroom in Bad Gleichenberg, Austria." to find out more...
image and passage from kinetic architecture
Saturday, January 9, 2010
"The highly anticipated ground breaking for the Louvre LENS recently took place on December 4, 2009 atop an abandoned mine field near the city of Lille in Northern France. Co-designed by New York-based Imrey Culbert, Tokyo-based Sanaa, and Paris-based Mosbach Paysagistes, the new branch of the Louvre will span 300,000 square feet of new construction, devoting over 75,000 square feet of galleries and visitable storage areas for hundreds of treasures from the Louvre’s collection...Tuesday, January 5, 2010
"This year The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art opened a stunning new academic building in downtown Manhattan that boasts a bevy of green building strategies. Designed by Morphosis, the project replaces the existing Hewitt Academic Building and incorporates many of the demolished building materials...
Sunday, January 3, 2010
"As the world’s population continues to skyrocket and cities strain under the increased demand for resources, skyscraper farms offer an inspired approach towards creating sustainable vertical density. One of three finalists in this year’s Evolo Skyscraper Competition Eric Vergne’s Dystopian Farm project envisions a future New York City interspersed with elegantly spiraling biomorphic structures that will harness cutting-edge technology to provide the city with its own self-sustaining food source..." to find out more... Tuesday, December 29, 2009
"The project for a concept store for Centauro at Shopping Cidade Jardim in São Paulo, Brazil, exploit some strong elements that the brand already has. The idea started from a design that shows, somehow, similarity to the existing brand and not a complete rupture.
The fundamental concept that guided the work was the creation of continuous areas that could be deformed and turned into structural elements of the store or even product supports, breaking the regularity of the space..." to find out more...
Sunday, December 27, 2009
"'BUMPS in Beijing’ is an integrated project with four residential buildings, as well as a commercial building. Traditionally, residntial buildings in China are oriented south and north. With the increase in the density of the buildings, the traditional method causes buildings to be too close to each other and the rooms facing to the north can hardly get sunshine. ‘BUMPS in Beijing’ is rotated by 45 degrees from the north-south axis. This design provides optimum sunshine for each building..." to find out more...Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Chrismas 2009!!!Wednesday, December 23, 2009
"Designed for an 80 year old woman, EASTERN Design Office’s Slit House, a reinforced concrete residential project, “presents her both a life space with a soft light and an interesting experience of scale unlikely in a house.” Situated in an old Japanese city on a site 50 meters by 7.5 meters, the home has long slits that run along a 22 centimeter thick wall, making the interior space open, while providing enough privacy.The slits allow natural light to activate strategic areas of the house during the course of the day. Glass is placed right into the concrete, without frames, and the light streams that shine through make reference to Fusuma or the Shoji (sliding doors used to separate rooms), in Japanese traditional architecture..." to find out more...
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
"MAD Architects’ latest contribution to Shenzhen came in the form of two huge monster footprints. The design, made for the Urbanism\Architecture Shenzhen & Hongkong Bi-city Biennale, is a sunken space that functions as a playground. Paved in pink EPDM material, the Monster’s Footprint attempts to enter a very “surreal reality”, and offer a possibility for city dwellers to find their own freedom and joy in the Citizen Square. The playful space illustrates MAD ’s ability to bring their design attitude to smaller scale projects..."Thursday, December 17, 2009
"Yesterday, Bustler published the winning design of the World Sustainability Centre competition. This international contest asked designer to envision a home for the World Sustainability Centre that highlights innovative techniques in the field of water, sustainable energy and nature and is housed in an innovative and high-profile building. The concept had to incorporate the Afsluitdijk, the great historic dike that has been preventing floods in the North of the Netherlands for 75 years now.
“Soms Atoll”, the entry by Los Angeles-based Radical Craft / Joshua G. Stein, was awarded 3rd place."
"The World Sustainability Centre is planned for a location along the Afsluidijk, a major infrastructural barrier in the north of Holland which protects a large region from flooding. One of the fundamental challenges of the context is the scale of the natural and man-made environment in which it is situated and how it could significantly impact development in this region. The Afsluitdijk connects two major land masses across a stretch over 30km wide with only vast expanses of sky and water to either side. Any discrete object building located on the dike risks serving as a simple rest stop on the way to some other final destination – too easily an opportunity for a quick tourist photo before heading on. Soms Atoll (the ‘Sometimes’ Atoll) operates at the scale of its context, becoming a destination landscape unto itself. The Soms Atoll raises the potential for the Centre’s impact on both tourists and its local context by allowing it to operate as a terrain of discovery rather than a point of explanation..."
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
This year’s competition sought creative architectural ideas for a new station for the Metromover, Downtown Miami’s elevated public transportation system. The site for this station is located at the north edge of Museum Park, next to Biscayne Bay and between the future home of Miami Art Museum and Miami Science Museum..." to find out more...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Winners of the “What Can a New School of Architecture Be?” Competition Announced
0 comments Posted by swl at 12:31 AM
"A project that works more closely with the surrounding landscape, readdressing it, bringing it into the core – it is an exciting prospect. This proposal could enhance the industrial landscape that exists today. Highlights the history of the place, enhancing it by using the existing forms to its advantage. It may be the least ‘urban’ of the projects in that it could work almost anywhere. It does however, address urbanism but not in the traditional sense. It’s success is in its intimate spaces and the network of views that are created. There are still questions that remain in terms of elevations, the relationship between the interior and exterior..." to find out more and other winners...
image & passage from Bustler
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Piran Days of Architecture - Winners of the 2009 Piranesi Award
0 comments Posted by swl at 11:06 PM
"In conjunction with the 27th International Architectural Conference “Piran Days of Architecture” that took place in Piran, Slovenia last weekend, the international jury for the Piranesi Award announced the winning project: Aloni House in Antiparos, Greece by Athens-based decaARCHITECTURE. The judges praised how the traditional agricultural technique of stone retaining terrace walls becomes the spring board for transforming this domestic structure into a landscape intervention..." to find out more...Sunday, November 22, 2009
"Tokyo Reflections is an experiment that aspires to transform Tokyo station underground platforms to become a dynamic public place rather than a thoroughfare. It explores tangible interactive opportunities – with others or ourselves. It understands the mindless minds while waiting for the next train. Just waiting for time to pass. It dreams of small changes to fill the emptiness of thoughts with reflections.Friday, November 20, 2009
"The beautiful greenbelt surrounding the area’s buildings will be situated right on the banks of the expansive Beijing River. Meant to attract tourists seeking both nature and a place to peruse shops, the Creative Zone will spur on more sustainable development along the banks of the river. The greenbelt will also become a showcase for experimental projects and emerging design practices. Meanwhile the shops and craftsmen will operate on the basis of the four clusters of a product’s life cycle – ‘think, develop, produce and sell’, and will create their wares on site, rather than ship them from some remote factory.The competition was held by the People’s Government of Yanqing County, Beijing Municipality and Beijing Institute of Architectural Design. UNstudio, beat out Foster + Partners with their Creative Zone master plan, with help from sustainable building consulting firm, ARUP, which assisted with the eco-minded design features. While the details surrounding the sustainable elements have not been released, ARUP has been responsible for implementing sustainability..."
Thursday, November 19, 2009
OMA wins competition for Stadskantoor building at Rotterdam’s City Hall
0 comments Posted by swl at 12:02 AM
"The strategy of the project is very simple: a modular flexible structure spans between existing buildings, supporting the mixed use program, while freeing the space below for public use. The axonometric shown below shows this rich public realm that the offers back to the city.Sunday, November 15, 2009
BIO(da)TA - a Thematic Pavilion for the Yeosu Expo 2012 ‘The Living Ocean and Coast’
0 comments Posted by swl at 8:43 PM
"...One of the award winners that received the Citation Award in the ‘Envisioned’ category was a team comprised of Seattle-based firms zero plus and STAVE for their proposal for a thematic pavilion for the Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Korea.BIO(da)TA is an emergent, immersive and environmentally-integrated Thematic Pavilion for Yeosu Expo 2012. Our proposal amplifies the experience of the Thematic Pavilion by creating an architectural system of dispersal which allows visitors and researchers direct interaction with the ocean and coastal environment. This project is a living and adaptive building set into and on the water, adjusting daily with the tidal ebb and flow...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"While masonry is often perceived as impenetrable, a suitable material for keeping out wind and rain, it is actually by nature porous, to a greater or lesser degree depending on the specific material and its treatment. Cavity walls, for example, are designed to shed any water that may weep its way through the outer brick and mortar facade. Brick is seen as a veneer that keeps out most air and water, but it is not the sole means of doing such.Some architects exploit this inherent porosity of masonry -- be it brick, stone or concrete -- by designing walls that allow light, air and water to penetrate. The most famous examples are surely Frank Lloyd Wright's four Textile Block Houses in sunny California. Wright used horizontal and vertical steel reinforcing bars and concrete grout (instead of standard mortar) to create three-dimensional compositions of flat and textured custom blocks, the latter either open or with glass inserts. The 1923 Freeman House shows the wonderful effects of Wright's experimentation, namely making the "gutter-rat" (the architect's term for standard concrete blocks) appear lighter than it really was, ironically aided by the invisible strength and weight of steel..." to find out more...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The facade looks very interesting, and on the diagrams you can see how the exterior envelope varies along the elevation to achieve the folded paper like look. A detail of the section reveals further information about this..." to find out more...
Friday, November 6, 2009
"Biofuel is a sexy topic right now, and we’ve seen everything from crop waste to algae to even tuberculosis as possible energy sources. But how about whole buildings that can generate biofuel? While the idea is still largely hypothetical, architects like UPI 2M in Croatia are jumping on the bandwagon and coming up with fascinating designs for biofuel production stations. Their project, dubbed ‘Biooctanic‘, is a series of cactus-shaped biofuel crop production towers located in an urban setting at the site of petrol (gas) stations. The idea is that by placing these sci-fi-esque fuel producing centers at the refill locations, the towers can act as filters to help improve urban air quality as well as lower transportation costs..." to find out more...Monday, November 2, 2009
BIG Wins Competition for the World Village of Women Sports in Malmø
0 comments Posted by swl at 11:44 PM
"Danish architects BIG, in collaboration with British structural and civil engineering firm AKT, Swedish consultant Tyréns and German climate engineers Transsolar have just been awarded first place in a design competition in Malmø, Sweden for a 100,000 m2 first of its kind sports facility...Monday, October 26, 2009
3LHD Finish Construction on Zamet Sports and Cultural Center in Croatia
0 comments Posted by swl at 11:23 PM
"Croatian architecture firm 3LHD recently finished the Zamet Center in Rijeka, an industrial port city in Croatia.The center is a brand new building that will have a great impact on the local community. The project is a hybrid, with mixed use facilities: multipurpose sports hall, new library, civic center, local administration offices, bars, shops and a parking garage.
One third of the sports hall’s volume is cut in the ground, and the rest of the Centre is fully fitted into the surrounding landscape. The building’s main architectural element are ribbon-like linear stripes stretching over the site in a north-south direction, functioning at the same time as an architectural design element of the object and as a zoning element which forms a public square and a link between the park on the north and school and B. Vidas street on the south..."
Saturday, October 24, 2009
"A new super skyscraper has just been announced for South Korea and will tower over all other buildings in Asia when it is complete in 2014. From a global perspective, Lotte Super Tower 123, designed by Kohn Pederson Fox, falls just short of taking the title, and will be not the tallest but the second tallest skyscraper in the world. The structure will be the tallest building in Asia and serve as the new corporate headquarters for the Lotte Group, whose subsidairy, Lotte Construction, will build it. Zoning has been approved and excavation is nearly complete. With aims towards LEED silver certification, the tower will have a strong environmental component and will be a mixed-use structure with retail, residential, offices and a hotel..." to find out more...
passage & image from inhabitat
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that ‘Team Germany’ from the Technische Universität Darmstadt has won the 2009 Solar Decathlon with their project surPLUShome. This is the second time in a row that a team from TU Darmstadt wins this international contest after already snatching the title in Solar Decathlon’s last edition in 2007...The interior concept consisting of a single room provides maximum space and flexibility. For different atmospheres and grades of privacy the east side floor (bedroom) has been lowered while an open gallery above offers additional space for cocooning and leisure...
We defined different zones and atmospheres within our single room concept. Varying elevation changes on ground level and the gallery enables a distinction of spacious public and cozy personal room qualities. The integrative design of furnishings such as the bed which can be stored away beneath the flooring are essential to preserve the room qualities.
The construction of the façade is based on the traditional principle of shingles, which is commonly practiced with slate or wooden plates. We picked up this technique and transferred the principle onto a new appearance and modern materials such as glass PV-modules and acrylic glass..." to find out more...
images & passage from Bustler
Monday, October 19, 2009
NORD Architects to Design New Healthcare Center for Cancer Patients in Copenhagen
0 comments Posted by swl at 7:10 PM
"The young Danish firm NORD Architects has won the competition for a new ground breaking project in in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen.
The Healthcare Center for Cancer Patients is a new typology between the tranquility of a home and the sophisticated treatment at a hospital. The center’s design was inspired by the concept of ‘Maggie’s Center’ in the UK. The building is run in collaboration with the Danish Cancer Society.
Collaborators in the design are also Hellerup Byg, Bravida Danmark, Wessberg Ingeniører and Metopos Landscape." to find out more...
images & passage from Bustler
