The 12-story boutique hotel is located in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York City. The building was designed by Handel Architects as a conversion of the main annex of the existing building into the Dream Downtown Hotel.

Along the 17th Street exposure, the sloped facade was clad in stainless steel tiles, which were placed in a running bond pattern, refering to the original mosaic tiles of the Union building that once occupied the site. New porthole windows were added, one of the same dimension as the original and one half the size, loosening the rigid grid of the previous design, while creating a new façade of controlled chaos and verve. The tiles reflect the sky, sun, and moon, and when the light hits the façade perfectly, the stainless steel disintegrates and the circular windows appear to float like bubbles. The orthogonal panels fold at the corners, continuing the slope and generating a contrasting effect to the window pattern of the north façade. Read the rest of this entry »

The project attempts to integrate rural landscape and the city. Located in the fast growing city of Shenzhen, in China’s Guangdong Province, the Galaxy Yabao Hi-Tech Enterprises Headquarter Park covers an area of about 65 ha. It is a complex comprised of 18 high-rise towers, a 5 star hotel, 3 service apartment towers, 3 residential towers, a shopping mall and a 32 ha park. In order to introduce nature as a strong element in space, the architects at 10 design decided to pull off the tower facades to allow for vegetation to grow up the sides of the buildings.  Mounted on the western facades are the algae tubes. The strips of vegetation, climbing up the towers are transformed into rooftop gardens, reducing the heat-island effect. Read the rest of this entry »

The project deals with the occularcentric nature of contemporary culture, by manipulating and unmasking its deceptive mechanisms. The design process starts with the fact that our ability to perceive the details is limited to the narrow fovea (the only part of the retina that permits 100% visual acuity) in the eye’s retina. Vision is then a matter of unconscious inferences: making assumptions and conclusions from incomplete data, based on previous experiences.

This inference and the inability to perceive the details trigger an attractive process, but the complexity of the component detail can be appreciated only at a scale where the perception of the whole is lost; rolling backwards, it becomes clear that the effect of the whole is more than just the sum of the constituent parts. It is an experiment (or proof of concept) on how morphology, organization, material systems and patterns have the ability to trigger dynamic behavioral effects and interaction in space and time. Read the rest of this entry »

The design philosophy behind the Vinaròs Sea Pavillion is based on the idea that members of any family of geometric elements originating from nature have, all at the same time, a similarity in their basic geometric characteristics and a certain formal diversity. Having an origin in nature means being of, both similar and diverse characteristics. By geometrizing a family of elements, it is possible to define their properties that permit a certain degree of formal variability.

The structure is made of 3 mm painted galvanized steel, thin enough to be easily cut and folded to create a continuous hollow structural element. The openings are filled with glazed and opaque surfaces, on which LED lights are mounted. The entire structure has a hexagonal pattern that is deformed on a regular basis on the side facing the coast. It is an arboreal system in which all of the units are self-similar: both the structures that rest on the ground and those that rise up to expel fumes or take in light. Read the rest of this entry »

Integrated into the wall, the lighting system consists of a variable number of identical modules. Linked to create a dynamic mosaic that interacts with the user, the modules can be manipulated to achieve a game of light, shapes and contrasts. As the user starts opening the modules, the light is unveiled through bright emitting, or reflecting surfaces. The light can be integrated into the existing construction material, and becomes a variation of it. The manipulation of the structure creates shades of different qualities. Read the rest of this entry »

UNStudio’s competition proposal for the ENI Foundation Headquarters takes cues from the company’s tradition. The ENI Foundation is a non-profit organization, operating in the field of sustainable development and global governance. With offices in several Italian cities, it is organized as a research center, providing analysis on a wide range of environmental issues. The design proposal draws inspiration from the traditional form of the renaissance “palazzo”, historically close to the organization, extending the concept of horizontal looped systems to the contemporary issues of communication and energy preservation. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed in cooperation between Giuseppe Farris and Stefan Schöning, the proposed structure aims to capture several aspects of Arab culture: its tribal society and the transregional entrepreneurship. The building’s appearance refers to the date palm which, along with fruits and fronds continue to be an important product in Dubai’s everyday life, both as a commodity and as a material used in local palm frond houses, fishing boats and the local palm-weaving craft. The twining maze of the building’s exterior simultaneously represents the network of trade and commerce routes that have, through history, arrived and departed from Dubai. The exterior also commemorates the tribal legacy and reminds of the dynamic maze of tribal affiliations that has given Dubai’s society its basic cohesion. Read the rest of this entry »

Located halfway between Montreal and Quebec, the city of Trois-Rivières was looking to build a venue for hosting summer festivals with internationally renowned bands, and housing its symphony orchestra during the summer. The competition site was situated along the St. Lawrence River, adjacent to the park, the city center and St. Quentin Island. For the first phase of the contest, Sid Lee Architecture and Régis Côté et Associés banked on the project’s historical roots and awed the jury with a vision that reflects the site’s industrial past. Their competition entry was awarded as a finalist. Read the rest of this entry »

The main strategy of the Bab Al Bahrain Urban Oasis is to introduce a strong pedestrian condition to Bahrain’s capital, the city of Manama. Strategically situated in an area that demarcates the traditional part of the city from its waterfront, the project hybridizes two distinct urban narratives.  It attempts to link and gather the historical urban fabric and the new modern city front, creating a large unifying pavement surface. By implementing a bioclimatic passive strategy, architects at Influx Studio have developed a proposal that acts as an urban ecological device.

The geometrical roof structure activates the use of outdoor spaces throughout the day. Current vehicular circulation is moved down to the underground level, relieving traffic congestion and enhancing connectivity with a more fluid express way. This leaves the ground level free for pedestrian circulation and enhances the position of the building as a gateway to the City.

The canopy provides shade and shelter, along with pleasant areas of garden patios and green slopes. Among the green areas proposed to reduce the ambient temperature while creating the new square microclimate, there are very special green features: seven circular sunken gardens which will be showcased as world vegetal biomes, and which will enhance local and foreign biodiversity. Those gardens of scents will be like glazed clusters, as special protected areas. Read the rest of this entry »

Israel-based product designer Hilla Shamia has created a collection of furniture made of damaged materials. Burnt wood is reused in combination with aluminium, while retaining its organic appearance. Whole trunks are incorporated into metal tables, chairs and stools. The design combines organic material with abstract forms, “intensifying the artificial feeling, and at the same time keeping the memory of the material”. Created by using industrial techniques, these pieces of contemporary furniture evoke the feeling of Brutalist aesthetics, revealing the texture of the wooden forms used for the in-situ casting. Read the rest of this entry »