to Deal Life in an Urban Scale

It is understood that cities and buildings are largely shaped by a dynamic flow of interrelated cultural, social, political and economic forces – the nature of possible interfaces between architecture and its various settings within the contemporary city. Rather, Vernon’s Vectors is a re-interpretation conceived by Daniel Cheng Lee and Jae Hwan Lee of how a building may deal with architecture on an urban scale. Rather than relying on the surrounding context of the city to begin addressing the project’s behavior, a singular yet versatile design system is implemented to influence the surrounding context to create an iconic image for the city – an inside out approach to urban systems.

From an initial urban analysis of Vernon, California, the notion of the curve is extracted, abstracted, and injected back onto the city as a generative component. The spline is then exploited to create a tower and museum with intelligence gained from the high-rise and medium building studies. Specifically, The programmatic spaces found within the tower and museum are parametrically generated by means of controlled rotational repulsion that are extruded in the Z axis to create three dimensional space. The tower vertically tackles issues of the blend between interior space vs. exterior envelope, structural feasibility, figure-ground relationship and scale through coalescence and dispersion. The museum, on the other hand, uses the curve to address atmospheric effect and scale via a fiber optic lighting system in which the shapes of the extruded profile faces are determined by gallery spaces and circulation. These processes are threaded together in hopes of creating an iconic figure for the city of Vernon.

Wings Of a Building

The project by the young architectural studio Urbanplunger has been recently awarded the third prize in the Night Club Hotel in Hong Kong international competition. The main idea is to create a suspended building structure to comply with the extremely compact planning in Hong Kong. The whole structure is elevated above the ground by leaning on the nearby buildings.

The nature of the design allows for a green square underneath the building and increases the area of the existing recreation zone. The visual and functional aspects of the building consist of three main parts: 1. Nightclubs. The lowest part of the building. 2. Public mid levels with lobby and security access to the hotel. A Spa centre with a semi-Olympic sized swimming pool along with a business centre, store, restaurant etc. makes up the central part of the building. 3. Hotel. The upper part of the building. All the floor slabs have the same depth and size but the structure tapers inwards towards the top. This allows for balconies in single and double rooms and terraces in suites, aerial villas and the presidential suite.
Circulation strategy.

The building is linked to the ground by lifts that go up to the lobby through the nightclub zone which is open to the public. From the lobby customers are able to gain access to the hotel, spa centre etc. The structure is an architectural parasite that leans on its neighboring buildings and uses their internal infrastructure.

Construction.

The entire load of the construction is transferred onto the buildings it leans on via the load-bearing frames that form the “wings” of the building. This allows for the vertical and horizontal structures to be made from light and strong composite materials.

Architecture as an Instrument

This project designed by Surasuk Pattanapanitchakul at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco intends to illustrate the synthesis between nature, urban and architecture, which supports and collaborate to each other, showing the soul of interconnection which increasingly synthesize with the space, in order to show how architecture can act as an instrument.Traditionally, music defined as aural element expressed through time. architecture as instrument explores the idea of music as defined by visual expressed through time, specificially shadows cast as the sun traverse the sky visual representation of temporal experience-thecycle of the day.Structure as instrument explores the idea that the structure itself is an orchestra and the ever-changing and continual shadows that fall across it and beside it are music experience by users.

In the context, the sun is the conductor, light are the musician roadside element are the instrument, and the shadow they cast are the music.The hybridization of jazz music which interacts with architecture is the main goal of this project, all each brilliant note which performs from the nature will amazingly increase performance through the space which morphs based on sound quality.The geometry design specially to maximize openess, flow of activityfrom the urban context to the interior space, creating the interconnection to each function start from the main plaza to the sky lounge on the top floor.Jazz, always changing, yet retains part of its original formation at it roots. Jazz is a musical style that change with the times and the various outlooks of it listeners. One reason that Jazz remains popular and alive is its ability to adapt to the world it lives in.The project intends to show the idea of cultural combination through art between Asian culture and American culture. This would introduce a new perspective to the Fillmore neighborhood, which is the center of blues and jazz in San Francisco. This factor combined with the high density of Asians residents in the area would convert Fillmore in the new Asian art destination in San Francisco.

maggiex Center

Maggie’s Aberdeen Center by Snøhetta will continue Maggie’s legacy of bringing contemplative architectural to hospital sites; providing the all important right environment for Maggie’s to facilitate their programme of emotional and practical support to anyone affected by cancer.

A string of talented architects have now designed Maggie’s Centres, including the likes of Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas. Snohetta will follow in such footsteps to design the latest Maggie’s Centre, and will draw on local expertise to realise the vision of the Centre.

Laura Lee, Maggie’s CEO, said: “We are so pleased that the application is now under consideration by the council. The design for Maggie’s Aberdeen is really striking and encapsulates the Maggie’s brief in providing a space that is homely and full of warmth, whilst sparking curiosity and imagination from its visitors. This is a building that will first and foremost provide the ideal environment for people facing cancer in the region to gain support, whilst also greatly contributing to architecture within the region. Monty’s Maggie’s Appeal has inspired a fantastic response from the community and I look forward to entering 2012 with such a tenacious and supportive team.”

Colin Welsh, Chairman of Monty’s Maggie’s Appeal Committee said: ““This is a real milestone for us and a time to thank all of the donors who have supported the Appeal over the last year when all we had to talk about was the concept of the Centre. I also want to commend all the local companies who are giving services free of charge. We are hoping that being able to see what the building will look like and where it will sit, will give our Appeal further momentum.”

Richard Carey, NHS Grampian Chief Executive, said: “What great progress for Monty’s Maggie’s Appeal to have reached this important stage in development. The initial design manages to be both stunning and modern whilst appearing welcoming at the same time. It will certainly be an exciting and most worthwhile building to have on our Foresterhill site and for the people of Grampian. This is a centre that will be greatly utilised by all in the region affected by cancer and it’s great to take a step closer to that reality.”

Charles Jencks said: “Snohetta, coming from the Norwegian culture, has great insight into the life and landscape of the Scots – particularly Aberdeen, a short hop from Oslo. Their mixture of a warm interior of furnishing embraced by a protective shell strikes just the right balance for Maggie’s.”

Gaudi's Parabolic Structures

The design follows methods used by Gaudi for his church projects. This specific approach involved hanging the chains upside-down, showing the most opportune rib disposition and letting the gravity determine the strongest shape for the future building. Used in the chair design, the chain-models are combined with a software script to generate the structure of the ribs, informing of the complexity of the forces in a chair’s backrest. The chair is created by Studio Bram Geenen,  for their online Open Design Platform. The project was developed as part of the Furnistructures initiative, which involves extensive researches into structural systems, as found in nature and architecture, and the possibilities of designing lightweight furniture using such systems.

The script used to determine the structure of the ribs is based on three steps: the distribution of forces across the surface of the chair, the direction of the forces defines the direction of the ribs, and finally, the amount of force specifies the height of the rib. A thin shell made of carbon fiber deals with compression forces. The white beam-grid substructure resists bending of the shell. The substructure was made using rapid-prototyping techniques to achieve the required complexity. Carbon fiber was chosen for its lightness and strength.
 

a Phenomenal Living

Under rapid housing developments in the past years, Hong Kong has benefited much in terms of economy. However, important values such as value in sense of community and individual identity were lost. This thesis hereby critically reviews current and past housing projects in Hong Kong and stating the notion of verticality as the only solution. The ambition is a new alternative high-rise residential typology, in which its inhabitants are given unique units and allocations in accordance to specific zoning strategy within a tower structure, thus creating a phenomenal living experience through bonding and acquiring needs by each and every single individual. It is a re-interpretation of the balance between genericity and specificity aiming at formulating an extraordinary democratic living concept.

A catalog of 1,960 unique residential units that reflects the importance of individual identity is provided- at the same time, it enables the owners as individuals to choose their own unit types from XS to XL, custom-fit to their own features, namely kitchen, bathroom/powder, closet, balcony, entry/fa?ade in accordance to their specific needs. All unit types are formulated based on the primitive cubic size of 2.6m x 2.6m x 2.6m, ranging from 4 to 20 cubes that would define their unit types: XS, S, M, L, XL. Also each unit feature is highly modularized such that it enables open configuration and arrangement in the interior, accommodating each individual’s needs. Life cycle of each unit is approximately 30 years, and maintenance will be on a 5-year-basis to ensure high quality living condition

majestic Topography

The new architecture for The Bogota International Convention Center, proposed by Saucier+Perrotte Architectes, is meant to act as a reflection of the majestic topography surrounding the site. The signature building for Bogota and for Colombia-CICB, takes root in the physical and cultural landscape of the city. Cradled between the mountains and the river, this stunning landscape gives the urban environment and architecture its unique identity. This conceptual, broad horizon defining the space of the new project contains the geology of the site, its artifacts, both large and small, and the “veins” of precious metals, such as gold, that run beneath the city.

The space between is reminiscent of Bogota’s powerful topographic markers (los ceros), reflected in space to contain the diverse activities and functions of the convention center. Positioned as the fulcrum of activity of the integrated business, art, cultural and entertainment district of Bogota- and the heart of the Innobo Ring, the new convention center design bespeaks the stature of international events it will house and simultaneously speaks to the city and culture of Bogota.

The competition jury shortlisted five architectural firms as finalists, and after the two-stage international competition, the consortium Bermudez and Herreros Architects was chosen to build.

Living as to Fly Away

Editor’s Letter
by Carlo Aiello

It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to the premier issue of eVolo. This architecture and design journal was initially conceived in 2004 by a group of graduate students at Columbia University in New York City. Following graduate school, inspired and idealistic, many of us felt the need to reach further and look more closely at ourselves and our specific strengths to figure out what we could uniquely contribute to the field of architecture. Unfortunately entering the work force revealed a scary truth; the world of architecture is a tough place, making little room to accommodate all the unique contributions that so many brilliant young architects were so eager to make. This, specifically, is the inspiration for eVolo; to provide a forum for showcasing the most innovative, the most avant-garde designs that will define architecture in the twenty-first century.
So I introduce to you, eVolo, a work in progress with a clear mission, but no other rules. We have in mind a desire to examine the relationship between architecture and the natural world, architecture and the community, architecture and urban living; but this is an open investigation, welcoming all questions with a willingness to entertain any and all possible answers.

As a part of our mission, in 2006 we created the annual Skyscraper Competition, whereby architects, students, and designers shared their ideas about the future of the skyscraper. The outcome was extraordinary, and in 2008 we published a book with the most innovative projects of the last three years. In September of 2009, there will be an exhibition in New York City to display the brilliance that was uncovered by this competition, brilliance and creativity beyond what we had imagined. Such investment in the work, such innovation, such freedom of thought and expression – we feel confident that there is endless creativity just waiting chance to shine.

So we hope you enjoy the first issue – Housing for the twenty-first century is what we have chosen, and have made it a collaboration between thinkers from diverse fields attempting to understand our current habitation necessities; an exploration of where we are and where are we heading. We start off with the analysis of the economic, social, and architectural causes and consequences of the largest and fastest migration event of human history; the exodus from rural to urban China.

‘Opinion’ is a collection of essays on the broad topic of housing, reaching broadly, from discussions about the use of new technologies, ecology, and global warming, to the transformation of a house into another ‘member’ of a family. This section also includes a reflection on the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright and his architectural sensibility to make house and context one single entity. In this section you will also find critiques on some of the most forward-looking housing projects designed by world-class firms such as Steven Holl Architects, Asymptote Architecture, Herzog & de Meuron, Bjarke Ingels Group, and Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

Central to this issue are the winning projects of the 2007 Housing Competition organized by eVolo, which consists of twenty proposals that, through the use of new materials, technology, novel spatial organizations, and combinations of programs, present a glimpse of the possible world to come. You will find examples of underground housing, the regeneration of existing neighborhoods, the exploration of new aesthetics from mathematical algorithms, and the studies of biogenetic materials used for environmentally responsive claddings.

The final section spotlights a young firm of designers known as Nervous System, who are producing an ingenious jewelry line based on patterns of organization in the natural world. Some of their pieces mimic the growth of coral and other branching structures, while other collections are created with the simulation of particle aggregation and diffusion systems.

The first issue of eVolo is the beginning of a long journey, along which we intend to search and discover, unveil and promote, in a collaborative format that welcomes anyone that wishes to take this journey with us.

eVolo- to study, to develop, to evolve, to fly away…

urban Skyscrapers

The construction of skyscrapers has been an architectural solution for high-density urban areas for almost a century for its ability to combine height with a small footprint. Today there is a constant race between large metropolises and nations to build the tallest structure, but it has been proven that this typology is sometimes not desirable for medium-size cities where skyscrapers destroy the skyline and disrupt the infrastructure of a specific location.

The Flat Tower is a new high-density typology that deviates from the traditional skyscraper. It is based on a medium-height dome structure that covers a large area while preserving its beauty and previous function. The dome is perforated with cell-like skylights that provide direct sunlight to the agricultural fields and to the interior spaces. The dome’s large surface area is perfect to harvest solar energy and rainwater collection.

Community recreational facilities are located at ground level while the residential and office units are in the upper cells. An automated transportation system connects all the units, which are different shapes according to their program. It is also possible to combine clusters of cells to create larger areas for different activities.

Although this proposal could be adapted to any medium-size city around the world, it has been designed for the city of Rennes, France, in an old industrial area.

a Group of Modules in a School

This proposal designed by Brandon Martella is for a mixed use dormitory facility at the New School of Architecture and Design in San Diego, California.

The primary purpose of 3 block is to hold a group of modules within a fluid ribbon of vertical community for 360 students at New School of Architecture and Design.  The vertical sprawl of greenscape is a continuation of the balboa to bay park that runs along park blvd. dividing the New School campus.  Through a division of city, home, and community a new realm of San Diego is created.

Whether its tight rope walking the twin towers or using Renzo Piano’s louvered New York Times Building as a ladder, people around the world see buildings as urban terrain, wanting to feel like a kid once more with imaginative ambitions afloat on the playground. With 3 block these treasured experiences are made real again, a vertical hiking path integrated into the buildings southern exposure, enables the adventurous to finally use the cityscape as their playground.  With various green spaces and local shrubbery the walkways become a shading device to reduce the high-rises overall solar gain, plus the exploration of the building can be turned into an entire day adventure.

Starting with an early cup of joe at the corner coffee shop, an open day can get on its way with shopping for supplies at the brick based marketplace, offering various retail, then onto the fourth floor to pick up a delicious lunch to go from the exquisite café, moving on to a scenic picnic landing to enjoy your lunch, halfway up the building, your journey is not yet complete.  With a brief session of your newest novel in one of the midrise lounges, your 3 block hike can commence and get strenuously steep with the last intense stretch of walkways, but then finally, you’ve made it to the top, one of the highest points in San Diego with panoramic views of the city, you can end your day relaxing at the sky top bar and restaurant, sipping on your favorite brew.  This is your block,  3 block.

Nexus Platform

Designed by Huston-based MA2 Studio, the project is a proposal for a multifunctional urban structure located on Saadiyat Island, UAE. The main purpose of the design is to create a center for gathering and storing knowledge. It attempts to avoid the typical appearance of contemporary libraries and establish a strong relationship between distinct programmatic contents. In line with this, the resulting structure emerges as a mix-use facility, comprising a media center, exhibition spaces, offices and housing capacities. Various platforms that surround the zones are articulated as public and semi-public spaces, markets and green roofs.

The tectonic form of the bridge is gradually developed into a vertical structure. Its vertebral robustness is combined with the aesthetics of curvatures and alternating intensities. Architecture is generated through the principles of genomic formation, comprised of “cybernetic components assembled by genetic relationships”. Those are aimed to develop complex formations that perform with intelligence. The body of the hyper-structure is thus transformed into a dynamic space, magnifying intensities and engaging influx of networks and systems. In its formal language, the structure accommodates existing activities and content, but also anticipates new ones. The complex topography offers a wide variety of use possibilities outside, as well as inside, or both at the same time.

a Pedestrian Connection

Designed by L&A Design Group as part of their Jiangsu Wuxi Central Park project, the bridge establishes an important north-south pedestrian connection between the two shores of the lake. It completes the diagonal axis and activates the entire body of the Wuxi Xidong Park. The structure itself is S-shaped, a curved pathway designed to offer a more engaging pedestrian experience of the natural surroundings.

The central area of the structure is enlarged, creating a stopping platform. The platform creates a focus for the bridge, maximizing views out across the lake under a shaded canopy.  It integrates ramp access to the island while forming an intimate space for the cafe underneath. As the bridge reaches its island destination the shape stimulates a dramatic interaction between architecture, landscape and water. Construction will utilize lightweight steel structures, light colored outer panel skins for a sleek look that can be elegantly lit up at night and polished timber detailing to tactile surfaces such as seating and railing. The design team has envisioned a signature iconic structure that is attractive, has a flowing modern form expressing the importance of Wuxi’s relationship with water and is functional in its connections to the island, foreshores and allowing boats to pass underneath its elevation.

 

Natural Properties

Through the implementation of year round programming strategies, including hop plant farming, beer making and providing flexible vending market spaces, this 3rd Prize Winner proposal for the Farmer’s Market Competition aims to strengthen West Highland’s local identity. The project combines agricultural spaces with venues for art and music performances, acting as an entrance to the Denver cultural scene. Designed by Lorene Faure and Kenny Kinugasa-Tsui, the Brewerymarket design is based on the natural properties of the hop plant.

“Hop plant (Humulus Lupulus) is vigorous climbing vegetation and hops are used primarily as an important flavoring and stability agent in the beer making process. The proposal creates the sensual experience of a vibrant ‘garden’ where the hops are farmed on hop poles to create the building’s main green facade. The adjustable assembly systems of the modular vending bins are inspired from the natural material properties of hop pods.

The transparent foldable PVC roof canopy acts as a condenser for reclaiming water; for storage that is then used in the brewery and watering for the beer hops farm facade. The technique for this lightweight system is simple and its cost of maintenance is low. The folding geometry of the roof canopy takes inspiration from a plant and maximizes its surface area for heat exchange. It dissipates its heat at night and allows for the condensation of water vapor from the air, as well as directing rain water to the white funnels that channels water down to the brewery at low level.”

Merry Christmas!

Wishes and Love.

suburbia Density

The strategies of urbanization, especially the impacts of suburbia colonization, are a controversy. The hypothesis for this research is the influence of a higher population density in the Greater Toronto Area and how this will affect its inherent resources.

The prosperity of cities depends on the smooth movement of people and goods and it is getting more difficult with the increasing sprawling developments where large portions of land are not utilized and houses, shops, and workplaces are very far from each other.

The idea for this project is the revitalization of Toronto’s existing infrastructure and to make large developments above them. The main concept is to create a mega structure as an organism that mutates depending on the attached infrastructure. This is a city within the city where habitants will work, live, and play in the same area.

 

to be Floated above the Ground in Belgrade

The Centre for Promotion of Science in Belgrade, Serbia designed by Austrian architect Wolfgang Tschapeller will be an institution of service and a national bank of knowledge in the field of science. It will organise innovative and educative exhibitions, and bring science closer to the people. The main goal of the Centre for Promotion of Science will be to facilitate scientific education, a continuous training as well as social and economic growth, both with direct action, and in partnership with other actors – primarily the Ministry of Science and Technological Development and the Ministry of Education.

The Centre  will be floating high above the ground. It will operate in 3 main levels. On the level of the City it will be an optimistic sign positioned on one of the main routes of the capital. For the Blok 39 it will be a sign, a canopy and a portico. The  building being programmed to promote sciences, it plays on visions of technology and construction. The architectural language of the centre will  be one of state-of-the-art technology and the display of structural principles. A special role is given to the underside of the centre; it will have mirroring qualities, able to reflect all the movement on the ground as well as the visitors that by entering the centre are penetrating the reflections of the earth’s surface.
 

Fuksas Pearl River

Shenzhen is one of the most important industrial locations as well as a very popular tourist destination in China. The fast developing city is located in the south of the Guangdong Province, neighbouring the Pearl River delta and Hong Kong. Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport is the fourth largest following Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in China. In 2008 Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas Architects won the international competition for the extension of the airport with the design of Terminal 3.

The concept of the project provokes the image of a sculpture with its organic shape. The structure of the building is in steel with a concrete substructure. The skin that envelops the structure, both on the inside and on the outside, shows the honeycomb motive.
The 300,000 mq facade is made of metal panels and glass panels of different size that can be partially opened. They follow the honeycomb motive. The building has a roof construction with spans up to 80 m. Through its double layer, the skin allows the natural light to filter and create light plays. The terminal and concourse constitute the major portion of the passengers perception of an airport.

Concourse area is one of the key areas at the airport and it is composed of three levels. Each level is dedicated to independent functions: departure, arrival, and services. On the ground floor, the plaza provides access to the departures and arrivals as well as to the cafand restaurants, offices and facilities for business meetings. Travellers reach the Terminal at level 14.40 m.

The spatial concept of interior is one of fluidity. It combines two different ideas: the idea of movement and the idea of pause. The honeycomb, developed in the suspended structure, is translated into the interior and quoted in different scales throughout the building. Retail boxes introduce the honeycomb idea in a bigger scale and will be repeated, in slightly different articulation, in the concourse. In the most public and open spaces, the honeycomb can be found as a 3D imprint in the wall cover as well as in the suspended ceiling.

Swarm Intelligence

This project is Zhaochen Wang’s  Master of Architecture thesis developed at the University of Southern California. The project is an investigation of swarm intelligence and slime mould and its translation into urban and architectural design.

The site is located in Kiruna in the northern part of Sweden. The project creates an architecture which aims to create a half urban and half nature prototype space which could be covered by temperature sensitive glass that adjusts to light and wind. The project explores the relationship between people and urban design with an adaptive project that responds to external and internal stimuli. The building appears as a dynamic surface that changes color in real time according to specific requirements.

to Ski is to Transform

The future Ski Village will transform the existing Levi ski resort into a world class destination, offering top quality accommodation and leisure services for skiers of all levels and demands. The proximity to the Kittilä airport ensures easy access to the resort attracting international visitors to Levi village and the whole Lapland region. The Finland-based developer Kassiopeia Finland Oy is investing in its local region as it currently owns and operates Hotel Levi Panorama, Levi Summit Congress Center and Hotel K5 Levi and above and beyond has interests in developing the exquisite Koutalaki area.

“BIG’s visionary approach of combining unique types of accommodation and amenities along with the leisure activities offered at the resort, left the jury in awe. BIG’s ambitious plan challenges traditional thinking and we believe that the collaboration between Kassiopeia Finland and BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group will rise to the occasion.” Jury, Kassiopeia Finland Oy.

Located on a gentle slope, the existing Levi ski center provides the framework for the future Koutalaki Ski Village which is conceived as an extension of the summit and the existing cluster of buildings in Koutalaki. BIG proposes to create a series of buildings that radiate out from a central square and whose ends touch the ground to create four freestanding buildings that each provide access to the roof and allow the skiers to descend from the resort’s rooftop downhill in any direction. The soft curves of the undulating roofs of the four buildings create a visual continuity of the natural land–scape while lending the whole village the unique character of a skislope skyline that creates an inhabited mountain top.

“The Koutalaki Ski Village is conceived as an extension of both the summit and the resort. Grown from the natural topography rather than dropped from the sky – the architecture extends the organic forms of natural landscape creating an inhabitable as well as skiable manmade mountain. As a result, our design for the Koutalaki Ski Village creates a new hybrid integrating distinct identities such as village and resort, shelter and openness, cozy intimacy and natural maj–esty, unique character and careful continuity – or simply – architecture and landscape.” Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Partner, BIG.
The four buildings arc around a central square to create a new bustling village plaza at the heart of the resort, which is sheltered from the wind yet open and inviting to the surrounding landscape. The plaza allows ice skating and music events and is connected to a bowl like yard with cafés and bars created by the lower interior heights of the new buildings. The intimate atmosphere of the spaces created here contrasts the open views from the summit.

The whole resort area is connected through a network of paths that prioritizes skiers and pedestrians. Access to the roofs happens through central elevator cores allowing skiing down either towards the courtyard or the piste. An elevator located centrally in the hotel provides access to the roof top restaurant with a 360 degree panorama views of the landscape and plaza.

”When first visiting the future Koutalaki village site you realize the proximity to the ski slopes but at the same time the importance of creating a connection for skiers as well. The gentle slope away from the main ski system seems to offer the solution for a unified proposal that creates maximum connectivity for skiers and pedestrians.” Jakob Lange, Partner-in-Charge, BIG.

All accommodation units offered at the new resort enjoy beautiful views of the surrounding nature, including the eight private villas which are situated at different elevations to provide an undisturbed panorama, while the elevated private gardens serve as an extension of the landscape. The villas embrace the snowy landscape and allow the snow in all its forms become a part of the architecture itself.

“Instead of creating design solutions that aim at dealing with snow by shoveling or moving it, we want to create a village that utilizes the full potential of snow. When it is caught on the façade the window frames become a living part of the landscape, adapting to changes in the weather. The light granite façade enhances the intimate relation with the nature. “ Hanna Johansson, Project Leader, BIG.

While the four buildings simulate real ski slopes during winter time, combining the essence of a ski resort – skiing, relaxation, rec–reation and dwelling, the roofscape of the buildings during summer will be just as attractive serving as a green continuum of the surrounding natural landscape for hiking and picnics.
 

Strategic Planning to Live

Housing + Infrastructure: An active planning strategy subsidizing low income public housing’

Housing inequity is a common phenomenon throughout the world, in both developed and developing countries. The reasons for this phenomenon are many, but the main factor is the rapid development of the city and the privatization of lands and infrastructure without an adequate urban study. Conventional solutions are generally political and few considerations have been taken from the strategic planning of the urban space.

A public housing project in the 21st century must help low-income families obtain better living quality without the associated high costs. This project addresses the opportunity to create a hybrid typology between housing and the city infrastructure. It is not only an architectural hybrid, but a mix of two ideas: the desire to provide low-income families a better life and a high-profit business for the city itself. The use of political power will give ownership of the city’s infrastructure to the poor people. The city’s infrastructure and housing for low-income families become one, and in sharing the space allow cheaper construction costs, the creation of job opportunities, and the profit from infrastructure administration.

The project is located in Jamaica Center in New York City. The idea is to create large water tanks with treatment facilities for grey and black waters through the use of treatment plants in a large scale greenhouse that will also serve as a recreational space for the community. Housing will be attached to the infrastructure and residents will work in the treatment facilities.

cloud Seoul

Two residential towers in Seoul, Korea, designed by MVRDV, are connected in the centre by a pixilated cloud of additional program offering amenities and outside spaces with wide views. Positioned at the entrance of Libeskind’s Yongsan Dreamhub master plan project, the adjoined structures represent pixilated volumes with their rigid compactness disrupted at the connecting point. With a total surface of 128,000m2, the towers are expected to be completed in 2015.

Two structures are linked at the 27th floor with a volume spanning ten floors, evoking the image of a geometric cloud. The cloud comprises residential and commercial functions, along with the sky lounge, a wellness center, conference hall, fitness studio, pools, restaurants and cafes.  The square floor plans contain four corner apartments per floor. All spaces are rich with daylight and are well ventilated. Except for the grand lobby, used for accessing both towers, the rest of the ground level floor is divided into town houses.

Programs and facilities are revealed through the structural façade. They seem to flow beyond the building’s primary volume and transform into gardens, pools and plazas. Usually segregated, public and private functions are here distributed in order to encourage social interaction between residential architecture and the city.
 

a New Dimension of Space

UNStudio’s design for The Scotts Tower in Singapore has been designed to conserve space whilst maximizing live/work/play areas, The Scotts Tower presents a new dimension of functional and flexible vertical space. The Scotts Tower high end residential building is situated on a prime location in Singapore, close to the Orchard Road luxury shopping district and with views encompassing both nearby parkland and the panoramic cityscape of Singapore City.

Ben van Berkel: “An interesting facet of The Scotts Tower is the way that it reacts to the urban context of Singapore. Instead of the more usual means of planning a city horizontally, we have created neighbourhoods in the sky; a vertical city where each zone has its own distinct identity.” The 18,500m2, 31-storey, 231-unit tower consists of 1 to 3-bedroom apartments and 4-bedroom penthouses; expansive landscaped gardens, sky terraces, penthouse roof gardens and diverse recreational facilities.

Neighborhoods in the sky
The concept of The Scotts Tower is that of a vertical city incorporating a variety of residence types and scales. In addition, outdoor green areas in the form of sky terraces, penthouse roof gardens and individual terraces form an important element of the design. The vertical city concept is interpreted on the tower in three scales; the “city”, the “neighbourhood” and the “home”. The three elements of the vertical city concept along with the green areas are bound together by two gestures: the “vertical frame” and the “sky frames”.

The vertical frame organises the tower architecturally in an urban manner. The frame affords the tower the vertical city effect by dividing the four residential clusters into different neighbourhoods.

The sky frames – at the lobby (Level 1 & Level 2) and sky terrace (Level 25) – organise the amenity spaces and green areas of the tower.
Customized living
The four residential clusters are each designed for versatile and customised living. Individual identity is given to each unit by means of type, scale, distribution and articulation of outdoor space, along with the possibility for personalisation of the interior layout; by means of a semi-white plan, residents will be given the freedom to configure their personal living spaces according to their lifestyles and aspirations.

The individual articulation of each cluster within the main framework of the tower is directly related to the organisation and materialisation of the terrace spaces. These varied outdoor spaces afford a choice of views, with corner terraces providing both cityscape panoramas and vistas over the natural landscape adjacent to the building.

Ben van Berkel: “The balconies combined with the zoning of the individually framed neighbourhoods in The Scotts Tower create different scales of detail in the structure; both intricate, smaller details and larger gestural details.”

City Loft, City View, Park View and Penthouses
Situated above the lower sky frame, the hundred and twenty-eight City Loft residences in the first cluster occupy the lower sixteen floors of the tower.

The second cluster offers a total of eighty City View units distributed in two clusters. The first cluster shares the first sixteen floor plates with the City Loft residencies. While the second cluster of forty eight units runs above the previous package.

Park View units form the next cluster above the second sky frame, covering five floors and containing twenty units. Crowning the tower is the final cluster containing one floor of three exclusive Penthouse residences.

Gardens, recreation and Sky Frames
The nearby green area to the West of the tower is extended into The Scotts Tower site initially by means of a ground level landscape concept designed by Sitetectonix. This ground level concept incorporates a multi-layered environment which links together the different zones and recreational facilities available to the residents. Recreational facilities within the gardens include a 50 meter lap pool with sunning deck, a children’s pool, a wellness pool, dining & BBQ pavilions, a meeting pavilion and massage and gym pavilions.

green Rooms

Green Rooms Gardens & Landscapes is a quality provider of landscape  design, landscape construction and garden maintenance services. Our passion is to create stunning outdoor living spaces that are sustainable with the living environment it is surrounded by.

Landscape design, construction and maintenance are the passions of each of our employees and we treat each garden with the same care as if it was one of our own. It is simple things that make us rise above the rest - on time, professional and trustworthy service so that you can enjoy a hassle free process from start to finish.

Green Rooms is a member of Landscape Association Australia (LCA). Green Rooms is also sustainably accredited by Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA).
 

raw Materials

Umicor, a materials manufacturer for clean technologies, built their new offices in the middle of their manufacturing campus which is part of a much larger industrial park in Hoboken, Belgium. The design by Conix Architects is intended to integrate the plant better with its surroundings, adding a fresh scale and materiality to the site and create a sense of place amongst the brick industrial buildings. The project is also a retrofit of a mid-century 8 story brick office, with a fresh wing unrolling from one end, an interesting design narrative connecting with the plant’s mission to recycle and reclaim raw materials.
The narrow floor plate and floor-to-glass windows on either side give the tower an unprecedented transparency. The design serves to emphasize the ribbon like form that separates the levels and makes up portions of the front façade. Each level is offset to create a more spontaneous visual interaction with visitors. The ribbon extends out as an arch into the campus to provide a more human scaled approach to the offices and makes an organized egress through the industrial park. The adjacent hardscape has been softened with a large living wall.

Much of the addition’s program is for visitor and employee assembly. The architecture is designed with the intent of distinguishing the brand of the company.

 

Camlica Hill

This TV-Radio tower designed by architects Ahmet Unveren and Seckin Maden will be located on the great Camlica Hill – Istanbul, which has an altitude of 240 meters above  sea level. The site consists of 120.000m²  in a natural reserve protected  by the government. The project aims to be an innovative 350 meter high tower that would clean the overall mess of the current TV and radio antennas on the site.

The project is based on the duality of the natural protected site and the tower. This duality comes up with: functional trauma, formal trauma, and spatial trauma. Instead of accepting the disconnection and fixing it; the intention is to utilize the tower as the functional and formal continuation of the natural protected site.

The specified urban space and the view terrace should not be separated as two alternative units by vertical circulation, within each other. The urban use of the tower is specified as a panoramic elevator, based only on ground level. The main urban movement is figured on ground level with the surrounding flora. The intersection space of the horizontal circulation on the park zone and the vertical continuation of the tower is the most critical zone of project. The horizontal-vertical balance, transition of open-close spaces and even the nature-tech interface is based on this critical zone. The polygonal shell, generates different qualities of space inside and outside. The aim in visual continuity is based on the hierarchical articulation in the tower. Because of this reason; the formal significance is mostly emphasized on the ground level related with the park, instead of the terrace and technical zones on upper levels.

to Transform a Car

Winning the Hong Kong Alternative Car Park Tower Competition, the proposal attempts to integrate the Hong Kong City hall, the second-floor pedestrian system and the streets on the second floor. It provides a network of public spaces with atriums and multifunctional areas placed at the top floor, along with great views of the Victoria Harbor and Kowloon. Designed by Mozhao Studio, the Car Park Tower is a public building, transforming the typical parking facility into an urban landmark.

The automated parking is located above the multi-functional area, forming an 80 meter high outdoor atrium. Cars are transported from the ground floor to parking spots by the spiral car-lifts and the horizontal rails. The atrium which varies with movement of mechanism of the fully automated parking provides the multi-functional area with a distinctive atmosphere.  In Hong Kong, an example of highly dense city, many public spaces are temporarily occupied for recreation and commercial uses to varying degrees. By adding the time dimension, the approach of transforming programs of the same place is a significant factor for solving the problem of scarce land. On non-work days the ground floor is transformed into a temporary market. The transformation occurs as a consequence of changing car routes. It gives urban significance to the site, connecting it to the adjacent public areas and creating a dynamic urban environment in Hong Kong.

 

for Mumbai School

The building is located in a densely populated residential part of Mumbai, with hight desity ranging from 7 to 15 stories. This height regulation governs the development of the entire neighborhood, including the school site. In order to create privacy in the school spaces and make the building more efficient, designers at Sanjay Puri Architects introduced a second skin of hexagonal modules encompassing the entire building. The modules have small openings on the southern side to reduce heat gain into the building while providing cross ventilation since the sun during most of the year is on the southern side in this location while southwest breeze blows throughout the year. Towards the northern side, with indirect sunlight, the hexagons are like truncated pipes moving in and out and creating additional usable spaces for sitting, playing or reading as extensions to the open spaces on each floor.

Due to several design constrains, the project had to use up the entire available height of 45 m, leaving only marginal open spaces on all sides. Lack of free ground level space influenced the programmatic distribution; the school is planned with a sheltered open space below the footprint of the building, a large auditorium space in the basement and sporting facilities planned in the topmost level and the terrace. At each floor, classrooms occupy the periphery with a central circulation spine that is punctuated connecting a few levels vertically while opening out on the northern side.

The modular façade design transforms the school in a self-contained environment, sheltered from the densely populated neighborhood.

Design in Cologne

The project was created for the recent SPOGA furniture design exhibition in Cologne, Germany and is part of an ongoing research into Expandable Surface Systems, which began in collaboration with the Emergent Technologies and Design Programme at the Architectural Association. The project was designed, fabricated and mounted by the designers.

The design manifested into an exhibition and meeting room pavilion that explores complex geometries generated by simple cut patterning in sheets.

To realize the built structure, the team underwent extensive structural and geometric digital analysis to understand and anticipate the reaction between the material and pattern. A system of mathematical relationships were derived to control found material properties digitally. This iterative process was then scrutinized and revised by findings resulted from structural analysis. The ability to understand material properties from the standpoint of geometry lead to the success of the project.  It was a great lesson for the designers to learn from the material – this feedback was the guiding factor in the design process.
The success of the design was contingent on questions of fabrication, minimal waste, and deployabilit. The fabrication process is down to less than 2 percent waste. The system logic and geometric design is embedded in the material directly, rendering no need for excessive explanation to a contractor.

Location: Cologne, Germany
Client: RESOL
Project Year: 2011
Size: 16M2
Design Team: Pablo Zamorano, Nacho Martí, Jacob Bek.
 

Liesma, Latvia

Proposal is designed for music-themed upscale Hotel Competition in Jurmala, Latvia. It is the meeting point of waves and coast, wind and pine-trees, ideas and people, various music rhythms and audition. Music has the power to stop time. An oasis of peace hides behind the shape of the dynamic hotel like calmness subsists in the deep below the waves of the sea. The hotel is a place where to offload the daily stress, to gain the peace of the soul, the feeling of freedom and harmony with the environment. It is the uniformity with lights and shadows, color tones and textures, forms and sounds.

Architecture of the building is characterized by calisthenics of facades. The basic construction has remained untouched but facade has been changed completely. The facade has a wavy shape with vertical wooden constructions. Hence the classical traditions of architecture of Jurmala have been honored. Wooden materials in various tones and factures are used as the predominant materials in the design. The rhythm of vertical lines of glued pine wood gives the building an appeal as it associates with boles of the wood and embraces the building in the landscape of Jurmala.

Transparent and frosted glass is used in the external design behind the wooden constructions. Hence the external pattern is independent and is characterized by form of free plastics. The musical form of the building has been achieved by using the parametric principles of architecture: both internal and external design is dominated by wavy lines, parametric plastics and rhythmical modeling of bearing constructions. It is of particular importance that wavy design has been achieved by rather simple elements – straight frames which form wavy effects by changing parametrically. Such solution does not increase the costs of building. Frames that change the blocks of rooms of the Soviet building form rectangle to musical, rhythmical form are not there only for decoration – these frames are basic structure for wavy balconies. In this way the spacious balconies do not only allow enjoying the rustling sea, observing the changing colors of the sky during sun sets or simply watching the sun but also serves as natural shading for rooms of lower floors. As well, the frames of the facade form shading hence protecting from overheating in hot summer days. It is worth mentioning that facades that are more open for the sun feature larger balcony extensions than those which are less impacted by the sun.

In the complex of the buildings the block of rooms and most of the lobby block have been retained which is an advantage for this proposal. The complex buildings feature three different but organized zones. First, the public zone with conference halls and a restaurant (a kitchen and supplies have been organized in a basement under the zone), Second, recreational zone with swimming pool. Third, the zone of hotel rooms. Functionally they have been separated but the planning is done to eliminate the feeling of seclusion for visitors. Therefore, the planning allows visitors to glance over every detail and fluently move from one zone to other. It has been achieved with galleries and wide lobbies with small lounges and large outdoor terraces.

The objective of the proposal in not only to attribute a musical form to the architecture of the hotel but, most importantly, creating a building which brings into different environment where musical spirit resides. Proper elements in interior and exterior help to achieve the aim and bring in comfort, silence and beauty. Grand piano and chosen interior materials such as glass, crystal, silk, linen and wood, portraits of musicians and silenced sounds of music characterizes the hotel. Small stages are planned inside and outside of the hotel. It is done so to loosen up visitors and make them feel free.

The composition of the hotel includes seaside nature elements – decorative ponds and fountains, inside waterfalls built into glass structures, electrical fireplaces in rooms that correspond modern tendencies and traditions of antique homes. The main element of the organization of the construction and territory is the musical emphasis – a pavilion in large area of water. It is association with a shell and vinyl record that is a source of fluent sounds. The great design of the hotel sparkles in evening sun beams. The visitors will be granted with white sand, rustles of pine-trees and great emotions when walking along the shore of the sea. The hotel will serve as a continuation of beach accents like accords in music. It will be a place to return to…

Architects: Jevgenijs Busins, Liva Banka
Collaborator: Sandra Laganovska, SIA  - Arhitekta Modra Ģelža birojs
Client: Hotel Liesma
Location: Jurmala, Latvia
Site Area: 15,000 m2
Project Floor Area: 10,300 m2

an Architecture of Air

As a shining pearl in the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong connects four places between two sides in China. Its characteristics of identity, interchanging and flexibility are more and more emphasized not only in the future metropolitan context, but also in the role in the historical and political sense that it plays.

We propose to rethink HKBCF as the architecture of air, a geyser of fire, flaming on the moving surfaces of the sea by holistic way.

Initially, as a transportation junction adjacent to HK International Airport, its identities are affected mainly by both the general view approaching the boundary and the vision relationship between the plane and boundary. In terms of this we create voids with landscape inside to emphasize the contrast between the building forms and the figure-ground petal patterns. Second, we explore the formal principles of Chinese traditional decorative knots and paste its inner sense into the architecture. The boundary is not only a space for connecting but a place for emotional intersection but also as a container of flexible functions and complicated circulations. Lastly, flowing transportation route is another key point we seek for. Linear circulation substituted by centrality form smartly separated the two fields of vehicle and pedestrian. Within the nodes, Hong Kong incessantly connects to its motherland and the world.
Design team:
Cheng Gong, Southern California Institute of Architecture [SCI-Arc], Los Angeles, California, USA
Etienne Mares, DCF(Dynamic City Foundation)/MARS-1 Space Design
Franck Constans, AUBE Conception d’Architecture France

Innovative Technologies

Conceived as a forerunner of Ukraine’s development of sustainable means of communication, the project uses principles of biomechanics in linking form with function. Designed by KO+KO Architects, the Center for Development of Innovative Transportation Technologies comprises an entire network of factories, technologies and spaces. It uses principles of biomimicry in a strategic way, as well as aesthetically. The building is a living organism, with its mechanics, structural configuration and visual appearance. A particularly important issue for the architects was establishing a state between chaos and order, whole and fragments, organic and industrial imagery.

In order to facilitate the entrance to the building an additional street was introduced from the Moskovskyi Bridge in the direction of Podil. The street itself is divided into three parts, establishing maximum accessibility of the structure and leading towards parking lot, driveway and exhibition areas. The left wing of the building has a courtyard with the economic turn pocket for easy movement of freight cars. Through the first branch the one can contemplate a provision of urban amenities, which also serve as a resting-place (in addition, it is close to the projected subway station). The first branch will actually serve as a transit point for visitors, yet the central axis of the building will serve as the main access to the facility. It separates the general layout on mentioned car park and provision of urban amenities. Car park is designed for 140 vehicles with a possible extension and provision of separate facilities for disabled people at the top. The new building will become a prominent symbol of the quay.

parallel to Kuta Beach

Solus4 recently unveiled  a 2,500 sm Marine Research Center Located 100 meters away, parallel to the shore of Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia. The program is composed of three main components: public, semipublic and private. The spaces vary from underwater labs, scientist bedrooms and aquatic garden to sea water pool, swimming pool terrace, bar and an auditorium. The spaces are located above and under water and allow the visitors and scientist to take full advantage of the amazing landscape that surrounds the project.

This project represents a new typology for stationary in-water based projects reached by boat, which in the past have been mostly relegated as merely work, non-destination platforms which do not take into account the design possibilities that the in-water sites present.

Three major events generate tsunamis; meteors, landslides, and large earthquakes. Underwater earthquakes—the most common type in Indonesia—with epicenters close to coast lines, form the conceptual basis of the architectural proposal. It uses the initial elliptical pattern and cross section diagram of the tsunami wave, one of the main focus of the centre’s research and prevention efforts, as the morphology generators and guides of programmatic organization. The design is both aesthetically imposing and seamlessly integrated into its aquatic natural environment. The result is a very fluid structure with an immediate and direct visual connection to the exterior. The center will serve not only as an architectural icon for Bali but also as an international model for modern sustainable design with its use of on-site renewable energy resources through its integration of such technologies as tidal wave energy generation, natural ventilation, rain water collection, passive solar energy, low E glass, and high reflectance fiber glass materials.

via Inhabitat

Performance of Nature

The intelligent dynamic wall is an installation designed by E/B Office for Leonardo Museum of Art, Science and Technology in Salt Lake City, Utah. It aims to communicate the global environmental information through an interactive interface embedded in the material of the wall. It tries to convey the idea of applying green techniques to built space as a live, conscious system, fully integrated with the environment.

Environmental sensors capture data from sources throughout the planet and feed the data to solar-powered LED’s embedded in the sine-wave form made of recycled plastic. As the sensors register changes in temperature, wind, seismicity, and other factors, the LEDs reflect these fluctuations with continuous spectral waves that represent minute shifts in the data feed from moment to moment.  At 92 feet long and over 14 feet high, the structure covers 1300 sqft of vertical exhibition space traversing the museum’s ground floor lobby and acting as a programmatic threshold between exhibit spaces. It’s composed of 176 unique recycled HDPE fins embedded with 1,888 full-color RGB LED’s and held together by approximately 8000 individual set screws.  The estimated amount of plastic this project diverted from a landfill is around three tons.

The different colors flowing through the wall indicate temperatures around the globe, while also showing actual wind speed. In a situation of earthquake, the world map displays the location and strength. Visitors are able to interact with the installation, using Twitter to alter the global weather feed, consequently changing the visualization displayed on the wall.

Innovative Design

Intended to contribute to Seoul’s initiative of becoming one of world’s top five cities in innovative urban design, this project for a stadium would be located near No-Eul Park is Seoul, serving the local colleges, high schools and adjacent communities. It’s dynamic form and tectonic qualities communicate both to the natural surroundings and the need for attractive and versatile public spaces.

The entrance is situated at the center of the structure, bringing visitors to the tessellated secondary structure. Shell-like structures help distributing the tension through the varied curved type and contain a gradient cavity that screens sunlight for the stadium audience. Triangulated panelization follows the building’s curvature, structuring its body and enhancing the dynamic effects of the structural shells. Stressing the conceptual importance of “poly-valiant qualities of the building”, the architect Michael Arellanes states:

”Poly-Valiant structures are tectonics with multi-performance properties that address engineering, aesthetics, technology, surfaces, space, and component based typologies. The urban stadium attempts to contain sleek elements and lines like that of high performance sports cars. This gives the stadium valiancy in aerodynamic formal bodies and operational function. The aesthetic formalizes an exploding force that compounds into a structural shell, and then stretches across in a simple-elegant curve. It expresses the varied stages of force.”
 

an Underground Cemetery

Over the next four decades the number of people over 65 years old will increase by more than three-fold in developing countries, reaching 1.6 billion by 2050. On the other hand, Mexico City’s buildable area is extremely scarce and limited growth is only possible towards the outskirts of the city, with the consequent loss of agricultural land and environmental consequences.

This project proposes an underground vertical cemetery for Mexico City – a vision that takes into consideration the overpopulation, the scarcity of land, and the psychological and sensory experience of grieving. The ‘Tower for the Dead’ allows the family members of the deceased to be reborn, after a trip to the underworld, where they just buried their loved one.

The proposal was conceived as a large-scale screw with curved retaining walls and ramps with an enormous light-well that provides light and ventilation.

an Obsolete Factory

During the modernization of Beijing, except for some historical houses, independent housing typology was almost eliminated. Afterwards, the new model became huge, stacking commercial residential buildings.

Thus, with the support of the client, project Beijing House II is trying to seek new methods of bringing the independent housing typology back to Beijing’s contemporary city life. This design scheme adds a new house onto the exterior of an obsolete factory building. Inside the house there are bedrooms, a studio and a green room. By doing this, the design uses the empty city space in the air and rediscovers the typology of independent housing in Beijing city.

Meanwhile, this scheme also brings about new challenges because Beijing has frequent earthquakes and this design scheme suggests a big cantilever house, which is attached onto the exiting building. Therefore, to keep this in mind, a mechanical system is introduced to counteract a potential earthquake.
The design attitude of this scheme is very honest when dealing with the fluid geometry and the mechanical system. This scheme tries to mix and merge these two different styles together instead of hiding any one of the two different systems. This becomes one of the main features of the design.

Architect: Yaohua Wang Architecture
Location: Beijing, China
Structural Engineer: Organization Group
Client: Confidential
Site: An historical factory area in Beijing, which no longer working as a factory anymore
Program: Single-family residence and creative studio
Size: 500 m²
Cost: $2 million
Completion: 2015

oily Skins, organic Volumes

Yuliyan Mikov, the Bulgarian artist, designed this dramatic proposal for the Museum of Architecture. A set of organic volumes interlock to create a versatile structure that shelters the public space below. It is a lofty building, supported by a network of pillars and a core of vertical communication.

The design is accompanied by a piece of reflexive writing, elaborating on the project’s  inspirational origins:

“During walk along Lipscani, ( a fable about the old merchants of the past centuries) my eyes are taken by huge piles of garbage where as if on a throne, stood empty plastic bottles. And then I saw the ghosts of the past, creeping out of their deformed mouths, rising slowly just like the ghost of the magic lamp. But they were many, the same number as the empty bottles, wearing clouds with their semitransparent bodies, as if embracing each other and rising towards the heavens. When the night attracts affection with her darkness, the ghosts shaking in the cold atmosphere gather closer to each other, lying in cluster and folding themselves, beginning to exchange ideas, furtively communicating in order to escape the fear of the normality, the habits, and the fear of becoming animals, casted in form, driven by reflexes…

The next night I followed the pouchy ghosts and noticed on that special place of the world’s creation ” trees, growing from the ruins, between the metal and the piles of garbage, dancing with their leaves like sirous creeping between the ghosts, entering their small navels.

The ghost’s domain does never dry out. Depending on the spot you are looking you can see them, sweet and huge, playing hide and seek, squeezing between each other’s white and oily skins.”

a Road passing

This project was designed for Cheraga, Algeria by Barcelona-based DNA Architects. Le Far du Grand Vent adapts itself to the surroundings. It follows the forms of the urban surface given by the road passing by and the built areas around. The building itself reminds of a ship due to the angular basis which is considerably bigger than the upper part of the construction. It could also remind of melting ice, backed by the presence of the sea nearby. The floors are separated on the exterior, with angular edges, giving the impression of fragility and that the huge integrating parts could fall apart.

Due to the used materials, such as the glass, Le far has a sophisticated and light air, contrasting the huge dimensions making it eye-catching, becoming a landmark at the city-skyline even more at night.
The situation of Le far is appropriate to make it the centre of attention and attraction. It offers a quality semi-public space for residents and visitors: service, commercial and office area, hotel, and apartments. Terraces create private promenades towards the city. Each part of the building is different according to its program and the views, all coming together with transition or buffer zones like the vertical cores connections.

DNA Barcelona Architects is a studio of Architecture, Planning, Landscape, Interiors and Design, that develops projects with a high index of innovation inside a global strategy of internationalization. The projects are located principally within Spain, North and Central Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Central America for residential, hospitality and tourist developments.

virtual Urban Green

Off Architecture, in partnership with Duncan Lewis Scape Architecture, has proposed a series of low rise apartment complexes that becomes virtual urban green belts in Anglet, France. The design is for two developments with differing egress and layouts. The buildings themselves are somewhat conventional, sitting two to four stories tall with standard floor plans and patios. They are set on a tiered landscape and follow the ground, stepping down a story at a time.

Site One stands at it tallest four stories with a passage at the ground floor in the middle of the complex, allowing access to the inner courtyards. Tucked under parking along the length of the project eliminates adjacent hardscapes. Site Two is a low set series of apartments placed on a slope with individual walkouts above the next unit.

What sets the design apart of is the extreme green space surrounding and on top of the buildings. The greenery is encouraged to climb trellises on the balconies, along the side of the apartments and over the roofs. The flora is so intense that the projects have the quality of an abandoned space in which nature has reclaimed. Renderings show deer and sheep on the wooded grounds, as though the city has dissolved into a nature/bourg hybrid, fed by dirt paths and copious living elements. An urban back to the earth movement enshrined in the built environment.
 

Flowall Mobile Elements

Awarded the Red Dot Best of Best Concept Award 2011, Flowall is a wall lamp designed by the Korean designer Jeil Park. It provides light through a curtain of mobile elements, reacting differently, depending on the interaction with the user.

Jeil Park’s work explores the relationship established between objects and users in a physical and phenomenological manner. ”Objects designed with materials, colors and specific shapes will quite possibly get different meanings, depending on context and situation around them, despite being the same design,” says Park. Flowall drafts present a series of slats that hang vertically from the wall and bend at different heights. When one of the blades is pressed, a motion sensor receives the signal and the structure is bent up to form an obtuse angle. The module pulls neighboring slats, creating an undulating surface and progressive rhythmic repetitions. LED lighting installed in the interior of each board affects differently depending on the angle of the bend of each piece of the screen.

Currently, Jeil Park is working on a version of Flowall work with a system of ropes in tension and a shooter instead of a kinetic sensor. Made of fabric and linked together by a thread, the blades will be lighter and cheaper for a possible future commercialization of the design.

to Build in Chicago

488 pages | 12 color plates, 250 halftones, 22 line art | 8-1/2 x 10 | © 2005
Chicago Architecture and Urbanism
Cloth $45.00 ISBN: 9780226870380 Published July 2005
Paper $25.00 ISBN: 9780226870397 Published March 2007

When you think of modern architecture, you think of Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper, the cradle of twentieth-century American design, and the home of enduring works by such iconic figures as Louis Sullivan, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Idealized through tourism and celebrated in the groves of academe, the city's majestic skyline and landmark buildings remain a living testament to the modern movement.

“It is hard to believe that there is anything new to say about the development of modern architecture in Chicago in the 19th and 20th centuries. Skyscraper history has been recorded in detail, as have major architects and their buildings, particularly Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mies van der Rohe. However, this fascinating and important book demonstrates how wrong that belief is. . . . The book’s 28 essays, by a wide variety of authorities, include alternatives to the archetypical story of modern architecture in Chicago, the importance of the Columbian Exhibition, William Le Baron Jenney and parks, and such less-regarded works as Marina City and O’Hare Airport. There are fascinating essays on women architects, as well as ones on seemingly less-important subjects such as postcards of Chicago architecture and the photographs of Hedrick Blessing, the importance of real estate developers and public housing.”—Choice

to House a Casa.! in Corsica

Corsica Traditional Houses and Architecture

The traditional Corsican house, referred to as a casa ('the house'), is made of stones; Corsica basically being a mountain in the Mediterranean with plenty of granite and schist available.

In the traditional Corsican village houses are built close to one another, this because of the original ancient family links between the inhabitants of a same village. The first time that you visit such a village you may think it is a real mess but there is actually a family logic behind this.
The traditional Corsica houses are made of granite (centre and south of the island) and of schist (north).

These French properties generally have between 3 and 6 storeys, with the stairs often being outside the house to save space inside it. Windows are of small dimensions as it allows to be protected from the rigours of the Corsican weather. Corsica is a gorgeous French region, many houses boasting outstanding views.
  
On the roofs there are wide thin schist tiles called teghje in the local dialect. These can be of grey-blue colour (in the town of Corte), green (Bastia) or silver grey (Castagniccia). In some areas, classic tiles can be seen. The walls are generally whitewashed.

Top Tip!
If you are planning to restore a house in Corsica, financial aid can be obtained from the regional council (Conseil Général de Corse) when you plan to use traditional material like lauze on your roof for instance.

The classic house in the Corsica region of France is austere and massive. The front façade has generally no shutters, no curtains and the decoration is very simple. It is not rare to see a cellar and an oven attached to the house on the ground floor.
Corsican houses are pretty rare since the locals generally refuse to sell them or even to rent them. Corsica properties are indeed one of the most important sign of the traditional culture in this region of France.
 

a Contemporary Record

Architecture Australia is the premier magazine recording architectural activity in Australia, and by Australians working around the world.

Architecture Australia presents:

•the latest projects
•award winning works,
•issues, events and industry politics.

Architecture Australia is the most read architecture magazine in Australia, according to independent market research.

Architecture Australia is an authoritative and contemporary record - essential reading.

Architecture Australia is published six times a year for architects, interior designers, building designers and other building industry professionals.

Architecture Australia is the official national magazine of the Australian Institute of Architects. 

Architecture Australia is audited by the Circulations Audit Board (CAB).

Editor: Timothy Moore
Editorial Director: Cameron Bruhn
Publisher: Sue Harris
Email: aa@archmedia.com.au
Published by: Architecture Media Pty Ltd
More Contact Information 

a Sebastien Light

These constructions made of polyethylene plastic tubes, usually used for water, gas and electrical distribution, are strong and flexible pieces of public furniture. The designer, Sebastian Wierinck considers them to be experiments in contemporary design, aiming to “bring some new creative freedom, and some opportunities to follow the researches in the design and production of objects and spaces.”
These installations continually transform from bench seating to lighting elements, ultimately conveying the artist’s main conceptual goal:

“…there is the metaphorical aspect of the tube. A tube is not just an object or a surface, it’s a shape related to a content, drift or flux (something like a vain in our body). This flux can be energy, electricity or light, just like the one used into the OnSite installation projects, but it could be also information or data. This is probably one of the interesting parts of the project. Could we actually give shape to information? When we talk about furniture we talk sometimes about a manufactured prosthesis for the human body, like an extension of our bodies . Perhaps the aim behind the OnSite project is to mix this concept of human prosthesis/furniture object with the concept of digital interface between people and information into a particular space? Who knows?”

 

to House Systems in Art

The Berimbau Tower was designed as a sustainable structure that would house telecommunications systems and other activities during the two major events planned for Rio de Janeiro: the World Cup 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games. After a thorough investigation the team has decided upon the final design of the high-rise which was largely inspired by Brazilian culture: Capoeira dance and especially its ancient musical instrument-the berimbau. The spherical building, suspended in the air, comprises 5 levels. The lower level is home to recreational activities. The immediate level houses offices while the middle level houses a gazebo and souvenir shops. The penultimate level houses offices. A conference room is located on the upper level.

All building components are recoverable, so that the skyscraper can be removed in its entirety, and its components repaired, recycled and reused. Due to its bioclimatic characteristics, the building has a very low energy consumption. The skyscraper has a heated greenhouse, and an efficient geothermal heat pump. On the other hand, it is cooled through an efficient sunscreen, a geothermal system and architectural generation of fresh air (underground), and a geothermal heat pumps. The double glass skin has an intermediate air chamber (width variable). The outer skin consists of a tempered laminated glass curve, which enables the spherical shape of the building. This curved glass outer skin has a special screen so that sunlight passes very perpendicular to the glass in the winter and does not let the sun flush in the summer. The inner skin is in turn a double glass, which has an exterior system of tarps and a triple inside rail of blinds. The set provides a very high insulation and prevents energy loss in the winter.

The double skin of glass screen printing is equipped with thousands of small multicolored LEDs, individually controlled, allowing the user to compose scenes and images. In addition, this double glass skin images are projected through a set of synchronized video projectors. Thus, images are able to manipulate the shapes and spaces, giving the whole an ethereal, weightless and intangible appearance. Physical spaces are mixed with virtual spaces, and one can’t tell where architectural elements end, and visual information begin. It is therefore a true multimedia building that changes shape and color according to circumstances.

a Globalization, an Architecture

Established in 2006, the eVolo Skyscraper Competition has become the world’s most prestigious award for high-rise architecture. The contest recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of new technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations. Studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution are some of the multi-layered elements of the competition. It is an investigation on the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of dynamic and adaptive vertical communities.

Over the last six years, an international panel of renowned architects, engineers, and city planners have reviewed more than 4,000 projects submitted from 168 countries around the world. Participants include professional architects and designers, as well as students and artists. This book is the compilation of 300 outstanding projects selected for their innovative concepts that challenge the way we understand architecture and their relationship with the natural and built environments.

The projects have been organized in six chapters that describe the current position and the future of vertical architecture and urbanism. The first chapter, Technological Advances, is an investigation on the use of digital tools and computing fabrication. Ecological Urbanism explores sustainable systems, including new materials and clean energy generation processes to achieve zero-net-energy buildings. Projects that analyze the reconfiguration of existing cities and the colonization of new environments, such as underwater cities and floating habitats, are part of New Frontiers.  The improvement of our way of living is the topic of the fourth chapter, Social Solutions, which is a collection of ideas that respond to social, cultural, and economic problems. A more experimental approach to architectural design is exposed in Morphotectonic Aesthetics, with proposals that use fields of data and self-regulating systems to respond to internal and external stimuli -the results are fascinating explorations of function and form. Finally, Urban Theories and Strategies is a group of projects that establish new methods to alleviate the major problems of the contemporary city, including the scarcity of natural resources and infrastructure, and the exponential increase of inhabitants.

The eVolo Skyscraper Competition is a forum for the discussion, debate, and development of avant-garde architectural design in the 21st century. eVolo is committed to stimulating the imagination of designers around the world – thinkers that envision the future of our cities and a new way of life.
 

a SkyWater Tower

Designed as a proposal for the Taichung Gateway City Project, the Skywater Tower deals with issues of water production. While many countries already face the water crisis, Taiwan is ironically the second nation in terms of annual rainfall. However, the country’s steep topography leaves its tropical and subtropical zones surprisingly dry and with the soil unable to retain water. The shortage has become more severe in the last years, impacting individuals, agriculture and industries.

Drawing from a long tradition of researching water harvesting techniques, Atelier CMJN has designed an architectural object which also acts as an atmospheric water generator. The principle is the following: water vapor is condensed by cooling the air below its dew point or pressurizing it. Sun and/or wind are used to provide power for refrigeration. Refrigerated panels capture moisture. The verticality of the building enhances the ability to harvest more powerful winds in order to provide more water.

The new tower design is based on water production principles, but is also in line with Taiwanese cultural values. With its hydrodynamic shape, the structure is a landmark that contributes to its environment. The proposal envisions clusters of such water harvesting objects, optimally positioned within cities. They act as both urban attractors and plants, contributing to raising awareness about the water shortage issues.

energy inSide

Μία νέα σειρά Απογευματινών Συναντήσεων προγραμματίζει το ΙΕΝΕ για την περίοδο 2011-2012. Σε συνέχεια της πολύ επιτυχημένης σειράς συναντήσεων που είχε πραγματοποιήσει την περίοδο 2009-2010, το Ινστιτούτο διοργανώνει τώρα μία νέα σειρά πέντε εκδηλώσεων πάνω σε εξειδικευμένες και επίκαιρες πτυχές της ελληνικής ενεργειακής ατζέντας. Οι εφετινές Απογευματινές Συναντήσεις θα πραγματοποιηθούν με την ευγενική χορηγία του Ομίλου Κοπελούζου, ενώ η πρώτη συνάντηση, με θέμα: «Ερωτήματα και προβληματισμοί για την ανάπτυξη των ΑΠΕ στην Ελλάδα», θα λάβει χώρα την Δευτέρα, 12 Δεκεμβρίου.


Οι εκδηλώσεις θα πραγματοποιηθούν στο Αμφιθέατρο του Ομίλου Κοπελούζου (Λεωφόρος Κηφισίας 209, Μαρούσι). Θα ξεκινούν στις 18:00 και θα ολοκληρώνονται στις 20:30 βάσει του προκαταρκτικού προγραμματισμού. Το πλήρες πρόγραμμα των Απογευματινών Συναντήσεων του ΙΕΝΕ έχει ως εξής:


- 1η Συνάντηση :Δευτέρα, 12 Δεκεμβρίου 2011


Ερωτήματα και προβληματισμοί για την ανάπτυξη των ΑΠΕ στην Ελλάδα.


- 2η Συνάντηση: Δευτέρα, 23 Ιανουαρίου 2012


Η αγορά Ηλεκτρισμού στην Ελλάδα μετά την ψήφιση του Νόμου 4001/22.8.2011


- 3η Συνάντηση: Δευτέρα, 20 Φεβρουαρίου 2012


Το Νέο Τοπίο στην Έρευνα και Ανάπτυξη Υδρογονανθράκων στην Ελλάδα


- 4η Συνάντηση: Δευτέρα, 5 Μαρτίου 2012


Προβλήματα και προοπτικές για την περαιτέρω διείσδυση του Φυσικού Αερίου στην Ελλάδα και στις γειτονικές χώρες.


- 5η Συνάντηση: Δευτέρα 19, Μαρτίου 2012


Οι νέες προκλήσεις για την Εξοικονόμηση Ενέργειας και την Συμπαραγωγή.


Σε κάθε συνάντηση θα υπάρχουν μία ή δύο βασικές εισηγήσεις και αμέσως μετά θα ακολουθεί συζήτηση. Με την ολοκλήρωση κάθε Απογευματινής Συνάντησης θα προσφέρεται ένα ποτήρι κρασί.


Η συμμετοχή στις απογευματινές συζητήσεις είναι εντελώς δωρεάν, ενώ δικαίωμα συμμετοχής έχουν μόνο τα τακτικά μέλη, τα ανταπεσταλμένα μέλη και οι συνεργάτες του ΙΕΝΕ, οι εκπρόσωποι των ΜΜΕ και προσκεκλημένοι του Ομίλου Κοπελούζου και της Προμηθέας Gaz.


Πριν τα τέλη Νοεμβρίου, θα υπάρξει λεπτομερής ανακοίνωση για την σειρά Απογευματινών Συναντήσεων καθώς και Δελτίο Συμμετοχής.

a Singing Phenomenon

Singing dunes is a phenomenon found exclusively in desert environments. “The sounds are produced when grains drum against one another; exciting elastic waves on the dune surface of the sand bed acts like the membrane of a loudspeaker.”The sounds resemble the beating of a drum or the noise of a low-flying jet. They can be heard up to 10 km away.

The skyscraper was designed by Barbara Leonardi and Oliver Dibrova as part of Hani Rashid Studio. The main inspiration was found in a phenomenon of singing dunes. Hypothetically located in Dubai, the project is a hybrid space, with diverse surfaces representing different programmatic conditions. A spiraled structure continues the public space and contains four plugged in hotel-units, which can act independent from each other and are specialized on diverse topics (business hotel, recreation hotel, sports hotel and city hotel).

The final configuration of the building is set upon through an experiment: a plate or drum is forced to vibrate historically with a violin bow or with a speaker. A fine sand or powder is sprinkled on the surface and allowed to settle. It sets at those non-vibrating parts of the surface, namely the nodes of vibration. Using an equation for the zeros of standing wave on square plate, different sound-files are extracted and used as input. They’re translated into frequency and amplitude, eventually generating a 3d structure.
 

a Dragon View

Led by Enrico Taranta, a team of architects, urbanists and interior designers constitute the core of an internationally oriented practice. With finished projects as the Shanghai Expo Tea Pavilions and recent designs commissions like a hotel design in the Beijing Bird’s Nest Stadium, the office is establishing itself more and more in China. Their head-office is located within the Red Town Sculpture Park in Shanghai, China.

The Eco-Bridge Project was designed for the Chongqing municipality. This suspension bridge is a piece of engaging sculptural infrastructure, displaying different aesthetical and functional features depending of the view. Observed from the top, the structure reveals a dragon-like shape- a composition of graceful curvatures supporting the gridded roof that diffuses the sun’s glare from above. Seen from the side, the complexity of the bridge is translated into a simple sinuous curvature that gently traverses the river. The platform of the bridge is interconnecting with the green mountain sides, blurring the line between natural surroundings and man-made design. The project is currently under construction, with the deadline for completion of works planned for the year 2012.

a Wood Mystery

A self-taught furniture designer and studio owner Joseph Walsh is considered one of the world’s most promising and forward looking young artists. The extraordinary quality of his craftsmanship is widely recognized, receiving critical attention of curators, academics and the media. The design approach is derived from a body of knowledge accumulated over the years, working almost exclusively with wood. This intimate understanding of the material resulted in a fluency with design and production techniques, altogether enabling him to take a more conceptual approach.

The title Enignum is derived from the Latin words Enigma (‘mystery’) and Lignum (‘wood’), explaining the conceptual intent of the whole series: the mystery of the composition lies in the material. In the Enignum series of work the artist manipulated wood by stripping it into thin layers. The amount of freedom achieved with this process resulted in a wide array of practical objects and installations. All work is done by hand, expanding the definition of what a piece of wood furniture can be. The inspiration is found in notions of layering, erosions, rock formations, etc. Sweeping, flowing forms of wood are in line with the organic nature of the material; it spontaneously adapts to physical barriers and influences when in its natural surroundings. That idea of formal versatility is skillfully articulated by the artist.

to Explore Technologies

Designed by Amsterdam-based NL Architects as one of their two proposals for the Taiwan Tower Competition, the design tries to explore the means of integrating sustainable technologies into high-rise architecture. By combining the two typologies, windmill and observation tower, the project aspires to affect the content of the new generation of tourist towers and at the same time alter the appearance of future wind energy generators. It is a attempt to give technology an aesthetic dimension and turn it into objects of beauty, while taking renewable energy production to new heights.

The building is an exo-skeleton, a structural net wrapped around the segmented and ever-changing floor plans, assuming the role of support as well as generator of sustainable energy. The functionality of the required program -lobby, parking, museum, offices, conference center and observatory- results in a specific shape for each unit. The program is stacked and positioned on specific heights. The weaving of the structure creates an intricate pattern. A new category of wind turbines occupies the empty spaces in between, a variation of the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. Their flower-like shapes create an effect of sculptural treatment. Strong, affordable and most importantly-silent, they can produce energy with wind coming from any direction.

 

a Numen Use

The Austro-Croatian design collective Numen/For Use was established in 1998, as a collaborative effort of industrial designers Sven Jonke, Christoph Katzler and Nikola Radeljković. Since then they have worked on numerous projects, some of which investigating ideas beyond the field of industrial design. From the scenographic project for the production of “Inferno” in the National Centre for Drama in Madrid, to the series of temporary installations under the common title “Tape Project”, their work seems to be continually engaging with issues of spatial experimentation.

The main idea for the installations was to attempt to capture visual residues of choreographed movement. The form evolved from retroactive visual mapping of the dancer’s movement, as if representing a frozen 3d recording of the choreography. The subtlety of the movement is translated into a surprisingly strong object, capable of sustaining  human weight. It is an organic, web-like structure made from transparent adhesive tape. Wrapping of the existing building elements results in a surface that can be entered by visitors. The sculpture is thus transformed into architecture, inhabitable and public, communicating concepts of “social turn” and “community-based art”.

The Tape Projects were so far executed in Vienna, Frankfurt, Berlin, Belgrade, and most recently, Melbourne, all part of local design exhibitions and festivals. They are travelling examples of informal art, discreetly inhabiting empty auditoriums, lobbies and public squares.

a Roll House

The curved surface of the California Roll House is extended across the ground, creating a paved surface that can be used for various outdoor activities. Made of prefabricated elements, easily assembled on site, the building is mobile and versatile. The materials provide energy efficiency, including reflecting heat from the sun. The glass panels are electronically controlled and react to changes of weather conditions by adjusting the level of transparency.

Underneath the entire structure is a carbon fiber truss frame, elevating it above the ground plane.  Adopting ideas from automotive design industry, hydraulic powered automatic door controlled by number lock panel is installed on the sloped wall as main entrance to minimize the space required for operation and avoid contact with user while in operation. When the door is fully open, the clearance height is up to 2 meters. The door opens into two pieces, the upper piece lifts up over head, and the lower piece unfolds onto the floor for visitors to step on. When the door is completely closed, the material on the outside of door continues with the material of the exterior surface to achieve conformity and hide the entrance.
The modularity of the house offers a customized positioning of openings. The residents can choose the placement of their windows. The bedroom area is completed with curtain divider and bookshelf with translucent middle part to provide privacy. In this way, the residents can have sense of privacy by delicate visual hints over as well as providing lights through.
 

a Vascular System

Designed by Michela Tonelli, Wei Ye and Thomas Bagnoli, the project is a vascular system of hypothetical paths and pockets of activity that plugs into the old city. It is distributed to reach all parts of Venice. The project for the Venice CityVision Competition was designed under the name of Venice 2, referring to the fact that by introducing a new habitable system; a new urban fabric is created. The “high water” issue and the strong presence of flow, whether of people, goods or water, are principles that inspired the design. It is, above all, a system of communication. The pockets contain housing, schools, work and leisure. Spaces are supplied with natural light and fresh air through openings in the form of suction cups that characterize the skin.
The system is energetically self-sufficient through the arteries draws in seawater, as a result of the passage in turbines, ensuring the production of energy from sunlight and become a source of energy due to the presence of green in the bubbles, it generates a balanced cycle of oxygen production.