Turbine bridge designed by Adam Wiercinski is a connection between the traditional bridge and a hydroelectric power station. The rotating turbine is powered by river current and generates electricity. The bridge is self-sufficient and accumulates energy for additional needs. Moving facade creates dynamic, living architecture between the historic area. Curved shape of the blades makes that water flows back to the river after emersion. Read the rest of this entry »
Fluid Architecture – Fluid Horizons
The research proposal by Shellar Garcia from the California College of Arts focuses on the horizon line, which is created by the convergence of the Earth’s surface and the sky. In architecture, the site or ground acts as part of the horizon, where buildings impose their presence, therefore fragmenting the horizon. This creates what is called a visible horizon, consisting of the current existent horizon containing transformation. The question then is: Can architectural structures be seamlessly spliced into the horizon line to form new fluid horizons? Fluid horizons refer to characteristics such as continuity and seamlessness, where panoramic views are achieved and not obstructed by existent architecture.
The proposal is located at Russian Hill, which is extremely varied in its topography, specifically at the currently abandoned, Francisco Reservoir. Its drastic slope provides views to strategic places such as Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, Ghirardelli, and Sausalito. Read the rest of this entry »
Bordeaux Cultural Wine Centre / X-TU Architects
The building which will house the future Bordeaux Centre of Wine Culture and Tourism is a giant whirlpool, a decanter shaped by the undulating movement of wine being poured into a glass. Designed in the cooperation between the French architectural firm X-TU Architects and the British Casson Mann, the Cultural Center aims to be a major institution dedicated to the culture and diversity of wine.
Located on the banks of the Garonne river, in the wake of the historic wine trade, the 47 meters high building occupies 10.000 square meters plot. Nearly 4.000 square feet of permanent and temporary exhibition spaces also contain tasting „poly-sensory“ rooms facing the river and overlooking the town and the vineyard. With its wooden structure, the building seeks to honor the sensory experience and flexibility of wine. Read the rest of this entry »
385-Meter Iconic Tower in Yongsan Designed by KPF
International architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is pleased to present its design for Block H of the Yongsan International Business District (YIBD) in Seoul. The goal of YIBD is to create a new symbol for the 21st Century city; a new urban center in Seoul for international business, living, entertainment, and shopping. YIBD will lead the world in innovative design, maximizing the site potential and taking advantage of connections made to its urban and natural assets. The master plan, created by Studio Daniel Libeskind, is a dynamic urban environment containing contributions from 19 different architects practicing in diverse locations around the globe.
Scheduled for completion in 2016, Block H consists of a luxury 5-Star hotel and high-end serviced residential building containing 167,225 square meters of space. The 385-meter-tall tower sits on a 14,600-square-meter parcel of land on the northeastern border of the YIBD, achieving an FAR of 11.4%. KPF’s building is situated in a way that seeks to mediate the extreme height (665m) of the landmark office tower to the northwest, and transition this height to the lower scale of the residential blocks beyond. KPF sought to intensify the social aspect of the street through a distinct urban landscape and diverse program at the lower levels of the building.
According to KPF Design Principal, Trent Tesch, “Our goal for this project is to establish and make connections to street life, the new city of Yongsan, and to the larger context of Seoul. We do this through a thoughtful approach to the building’s program, position, and character.”
Fundamental to the logic of the unique shape of the design is the idea that the building is comprised of apartments and hotel rooms that demand ample natural light, dramatic views, and maximum privacy. These three internal parameters have shaped the DNA of the Architecture. Like an organic system that seeks equilibrium with nature, the design grows outward from the center, towards views and light, into three distinct “wings.” The three wings guarantee that the residential apartments will have a major corner view from the living space, while maximizing its privacy from the adjacent unit. Unlike most “Y” type high-rise towers, the design “steps” each wing asymmetrically so there is a low-wing, a mid-wing and a high-wing. The building is carefully oriented to increase views to the Han River to the south (low-wing), the Yongsan Park to the east (mid-wing), and the Nam-San historic district and adjacent landmark tower to the north (high-wing). Read the rest of this entry »
University of Semnan Auditorium and Library / New Wave Architecture
The project is located in the Iranian city of Semnan, and acts as an extension of the existing university campus. Taking a pivotal role in the complex and acting as a vibrant social hub, the added structures are two separate buildings – an auditorium and a library. The buildings pertain to the same architectural articulation, while creating different spacial characteristics. The dynamic and welcoming spaces of the auditorium are juxtaposed with the calm environment of the library. The achitectural dialogue creates a academic context that encourages interaction and learning. Read the rest of this entry »
Succulent Hispid – Responsive Lighting Structure Inspired by Plants
The project explores principles of responsive structures, installations that interact with users through a combination of motion sensors and various other electronic components. The Succulent Hispid marries biological and technological mechanisms, evolving into a hybrid lighting system mimicing the movements of petals. It is inspired by succulent plants and their ability to retain water, thus adapting to arid climates or soil conditions. Designed by UCLA students Harlen Miller, Francesco Valente-Gorjup and Jordon Gearhart, the installation is an emotionally charged, interactive, electro-material object.
The petals are made of plastic, with acrylic substructure and silicone membrane lining. The surfaces are covered with metal pin hairs. Combined with silicone inflatable bladders, they hide the LED lights that emanate a central glow. When approached, the Succulent Hispid senses one’s proximity and closes up, exposing its outer skin in defence. Read the rest of this entry »
Pinup 2012 Student Competition Winners
The AIAS, ADC and AIGA, the Morpholio Project, along with Death By Architecture, congratulates the Pinup 2012: Student Competition Winners and Honorable Mentions. Pinup 2012 was assembled as a means to publically promote the research, exploration and investigation currently happening in academia. All of the submissions exemplified outstanding work and the competition organizers are grateful for the enormous amount of students who were bold enough to confront the world with their voice.
The proliferation of device culture, social networking, and cloud technology are changing the way we work, and connect on a daily basis. For designers, this means that technology is not only transforming the process of production, but also the processes through which we share, critique, and organize ourselves around the work we do. The competition is first, and foremost an experiment in distributed intelligence. By leveraging the “wisdom of crowds” every designer can see and understand how his or her work is experienced by others. It has been predicted that in 2020, there will be 50 billion mobile internet connections worldwide, the equivalent of seven devices per person. Thus, this competition is not simply about the existence of technology, but rather why and how we harness it as designers. Read the rest of this entry »
Catalyst Hexshell / MATSYS
Most people believe cardboard is the mundane material that is used to make boxes, after which, carelessly thrown away. Yet, this thin shell structure, made by the professor and students at University of Minnesota, along with help of MATSYS, uses that exact material to produce a walkway installation for the school. The students completed the project within a 4-day workshop focusing on parametric/thin shell structures, student team design competition, fabrication, and assembly.
The hex shell deals with the design aspect of parametric process. Using tools provided by MATSYS, the students generated the form in response to the circulation of the area. To guide and reinforce circulation, dimensions of the structure coincide with traffic flow and usage density.
The structure itself challenges the conventional thinking of materials and their properties. The team uses cardboard, which is very deformable and often lack aesthetics appeal. However, knowing the limits of the material being utilized, the design exploits the properties and compensates for the weakness. Throughout the installation process, the team used the cardboard’s ease of manipulate as an advantage in terms of assembly and reshaping. In the final product, the design utilizes a method of folded plate to compensate for lack of structural integrity. In doing so, the structure is not only reinforce but also provided the units with attaching point for construction. Read the rest of this entry »
A Barn’s New Lease on Life: Transformed into a Work Studio
Sitting in the countryside of Bedfordshire, UK is an old barn. Or at least that is what it used to be. The innovative minds at Nicolas Tye Architects reinvented the old farm landscape by converting the barn to an elegant studio. Home to Nicolas design team, the Long Barn Studio is representational of their design philosophy. This 2,200 square foot studio space, erected on the ruins of an old barn, lies harmoniously with the landscape and adjacent to an existing barn.
The studio boasts a modern yet subtle appeal, utilizing materials that enhance the surrounding context and vice versa. The studio is composed of a glazed elevation with ends enclosed in larch timber cladding that resembles “book ends”. The overall aesthetics is elevated through the use of Cor-ten detailing that furthers the sense of place, reflect the old machinery and steelwork of the barn. Read the rest of this entry »
Soundtheque Concert Hall in San Francisco, CA
The following is a design proposal for the iSymphony Comprehensive Building Design Studio by Garrett Ryan Miller and Mike Atherton, Master of Architecture students attending California College of the Arts in San Francisco, California
The design proposal is a redefinition of the conert hall typology through past, present, and future parameters. The reason for this approach is that there is a movement towards open sources, highly accessible music rather than a music industry of exclusivity and ownership. Geographical, Climatic, and Experiential parameters were chosen to inform the project at each phase of design. The form of the building was derived by both speculative and current conditions. Susceptible to flooding in the near future due to elevation, poor soil quality, and rising sea levels, the site will have to deal very intimately with a fluctuating water table. By raising up the building, the flooded terrain can exist underneath the building, requiring less of an architectural resistance. Wind patterns have helped derive the shape of the building’s swooped stance, while a twisting of the form allows for the building to orient itself with views of the new master plan and the East Bay. Read the rest of this entry »