The project is a proposal by Italian architect Tommaso Casucci for the new library of the school of architecture, located at the limit of the old town of Florence. It is part of a renovation plan of a large area used until recent times as convent and later penitentiary. Pre-existing spaces are converted in archive, the new addition provide study areas, meeting spaces, auditorium, exhibition spaces in a continuous varying experience.

The project explore the emergent qualities derived from surfaces modulation in an intensive fields, aiming to equilibrium states of program, structure and function trough morphodynamical processes. Form, structure, function and decoration are emergent qualities of the same coherent system strictly related to his environment.

At a global scale the system explore how the modulation of isosurfaces, based on intensive field from site analysis data, can achieve highly differentiated spaces and performative structures. The research uses a generative methodology to test multiple solutions based on the same process from which was selected the one that represent the best compromise between structural performance, program and connections. Read the rest of this entry »

Isaie Bloch experimented with form production at the Excessive studio II, Urban strategies, Die Angewandte Wien in Austria to produce a music pavilion that embraces monstrosity as a design tool.

How boring has perfection become?

Evidence of this lies in the fact that our contemporary design obsessions are based on an appreciation for the perversity of mutant form, a taste learned from the movies and set to work on architecture.

By subverting the logic of perfection and beauty, non-perfect images coming from controlled methodologies are generated. What used to be about mastering the result of a non-perfect process is now about the production of monstrosity and the grotesque throughout accurate mechanisms.

Key elements coming from Romanticism such as: ruinification, untamed wilderness, the unfinished and the validation of obscure perceptions are used as modus operandi. Intruding botanical gardens functioning as structure, dens calcified structures organizing circulation, decaying metal formations forming apertures and growing organic tissue transforming the internal morpholgy are all contributing to the architectural qualities of the design. Read the rest of this entry »

The House of the Future designed by  Kuangyi Tao from Texas A&M University,  College of Architecture is a project reacting to the problems emerging during modern times: overpopulation, resource shortage and virtual world development.

Inspired by images of “body cells” depicted in the Matrix, the house is based on a similar system of energy and information exchange. The major difference is that people will be in control.  Memory alloy tubes of infrastructure system can be stretched apart to create the basic skeleton of the house. The overlaying skin acts like a heart. The material, which is electro-responsive, is able to expand or contract under different electrical stimulation, just like cardiac muscles. It is responsive to changes in program and daylight. For example, higher occupancy in a room will result in higher voltage, causing the skin to expand and allow more space. STEM algae, embedded in the skin, react to different amounts of sunlight, allowing the skin to become either more opaque or translucent. In addition, they also generate oxygen to purify the atmosphere. Overgrown algae can be composted as bio-fuel, and extra fuel is feed back to the city. Other tubes buried in the skin distribute water and energy throughout the house. Space pattern of the house is much like a klein bottle, twisting the traditional space sequence. Read the rest of this entry »

Nigeria is already Africa’s most populous country, but the city of Calabar has been increasing the masses by attracting visitors from around the world with recent conferences and events. A conference center designed to impress is just what Calabar needs to keep this momentum going, city officials decided; thus, they hosted a design competition for the Calabar International Convention Center.

The winner is Henning Larsen Architects, a firm based in Copenhagen, who designed a four-part, modernist mass that will be sited on top of a hill and feature stunning views of a nearby river delta.

In addition to providing space for conferences, the geometrical building will serve as a cultural hub for the city’s residents, hosting events such as concerts and film festivals.

This added benefit is one that comes as a responsibility to the designers, according to Louis Becker, the firm’s international design director and partner. “Nigeria is developing rapidly at the moment and, as an architect invited to contribute to this development, you have a special obligation to consider architecture as more than a question of geometry,” he is quoted as saying on Henning Larsen’s website. “Architecture also contributes to the development of society.” Read the rest of this entry »

The design for a new central library in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia was recently revealed by architects Fowler Bauld & Mitchell and schmidt hammer lassen architects after many months of working with the community.

The firms’ modern design was based largely on the needs expressed by community members in charettes and workshops. These ideas included recommendations for how light enters the building, allotments for green gathering spaces, and how seating and working spaces should be arranged.

The Halifax Central Library will be prominently located downtown, surrounded by historic neighborhoods, the Dalhousie School of Architecture and Spring Garden Road, the busiest commercial street east of Montreal. Its design speaks to its surroundings, with the modern, geometric massing standing in conversation with the Dalhousie campus’ classic forms.

The building will serve as the flagship library for the city’s 14 branches, and will, say the architects, be “an iconic reflection of the diversity of the community and modern life within the municipality as a whole.” Read the rest of this entry »

Prechteck’s design for the extension of the National Library of Austria located at the Hofburg in Vienna contains a number of cultural facilities including a 1200sqm underground core exhibition hall, a smaller 600sqm multifunctional hall, creative studios, a restaurant, and shops.

The design is to be seen as an extension of the bordering park and takes off at its north-west end to cross over the fire / drop-off lane with a twist that after crossing arches back to the ground level to melt into the landscape. All the  facilities are housed in one seamless structure, creating at each point a different spatial experience towards the Hofburg and directing its visitors intuitively to the foyer and to the different programs. Read the rest of this entry »

BIG is selected to design the new Waste-to-Energy Plant that doubles as a ski slope for Copenhagen’s citizens and its many visitors by 2016.

Located in an industrial area near the city center the new Waste-to-Energy plant will be an exemplary model in the field of waste management and energy production, as well as an architectural landmark in the cityscape of Copenhagen. The project is the single largest environmental initiative in Denmark with a budget of 3,5 Billion DKK, and replaces the adjacent 40 year old Amagerforbraending plant, integrating the latest technologies in waste treatment and environmental performance. The shortlisted offices included Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Dominique Perrault Architecture, 3xN, Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects & Gottlieb Paludan Architects who were selected to compete out of 36 international proposals in Fall 2010. The winning team is announced by an unanimous judge panel.

”BIG’s proposal contributes to the city with something useful and beautiful. We see this creating a lot of opportunities and with this unique building, we can brand the Danish knowledge and technology to show the world our abilities within environmental and energy issues”, – Ulla Röttger, Director of Amagerforbraending. Read the rest of this entry »

LOOP City is an urban plan for future growth in and around Copenhagen, Denmark created by the Danish capital’s own BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group). The focus of the plan is largely on reimagining the residential and industrial areas to the west of central Copenhagen that were developed in accordance with the Finger Plan, a post-WWII urban plan headed by Steen Eiler Rasmussen. The Finger Plan laid out “fingers” of urbanization that reach west out from central Copenhagen as well as green spaces to occupy the spaces between the fingers, all in line with answering what they saw as the 10 essential issues facing the city in the future. However well conceived, under the pressures of post war industrialization, the Finger Plan has led to extensive urban sprawl and transportation issues.

LOOP City seeks to reimagine Greater Copenhagen by centralizing urbanization around a light rail system that would ultimately be a part of a larger transportation/development loop that would extend around the entirety of the Oresund Region.

The plan is for an area equal in size to central Copenhagen with a similar urban profile, turning areas of 25% urban density to areas more like the central city, where density is as high as 200%. According to BIG’s plans, if the new areas were urbanized similarly to central Copenhagen it could provide housing for over 325,000 new residents and create more than 280,000 working places. Read the rest of this entry »

The Putrajaya Waterfront development, south of Kuala Lumpur, is home to a large planned residential tower complex in Precinct 4. As part of large centrally planned commercial and government district the towers Studio Nicoletti Associati conceived the design to stand as counterpoint to the tall traditional towers nearby. The overall form is both reminiscent of a sailboat’s profile and a nod to Islamic design sensibilities by terminating with a contemporary ogive arch. Starting with an rounded exoskeleton the towers vary in height and orientation to create an open, pedestrian friendly landscape. Each tower ranging from 18 to 20 stories is topped out with a large terrace spa and green space partially shaded by the support structure that terminates a few stories above. The project totals 278,000 square feet of floor area.

The brise soleil skin provides the distinct identity to the buildings as well as high energy performance which is estimated to reduce energy consumption by 50% of typical mid-rise residential towers in Singapore. The supporting frame will act as a shading device over the glazing but not affect views. The buildings are to support natural cooling techniques which will enter the operable windows and be flushed out through the same apartment or across multiple floors. The buildings are placed to avoid blocking prevailing breezes. Read the rest of this entry »

The Spanish architecture firm MADE IN unveiled their winning design for the Maritime Cultural and Popular Music Center in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The project will start construction in a few months and will be one of the most important developments ever built by a Spanish firm outside of Spain with a surface of more than 100,000 square meters and a budget of 100 million Euros.

The project will accommodate two auditoriums, one exterior for 12,000 people that will enjoy the bay views and an interior for 3,500 seats. In addition, the complex will have a maritime museum, a music museum, markets and other cultural facilities. The project proposes a series of buildings and public spaces that will articulate and animate the Love River Bay which is one of the most important parts of the city.

MADE IN is lead by Manuel Alvarez Monteserin and Beatriz Pachón with the collaboration of the Javier Simó, Andrés Infantes, Antonio Alejandro and the support of the firm Corona and P.Amaral Architects and Studio Leon 11. Read the rest of this entry »