The two main aims in UNStudio’s design for the Urban Library of the Future and Centre for New Media in Gent are to create a dynamic, flexible and open knowledge environment, whilst simultaneously strengthening the character of the location with the introduction of a building with a distinct architectural identity. Sustainability is the guiding factor in the design, based on the conviction that not only must the environmental and user-friendly design of the Urban Library of the Future be able to evolve along with new media, but it must also offer the possibility for future change of use. Withan open landscape, spaciousness, extensive views, alternative circulation routes, several meeting areas and a public plaza, the design for the library affords a renewal of its urban context.

The building is both fluid in form and accommodating to its surroundings. This is evidenced by its appearance – which varies according to the orientation – as well as from the decision to lift the building volume above ground level, thereby creating light, transparency and expansive sightlines. However the layered structure and low construction volume ensure that the impact of the design on the urban profile is minimal and that views to the characteristic towers of Gent are preserved. The structure also makes it possible to introduce (green) roof terraces whilst also ensuring low levels of direct sunlight penetration. Read the rest of this entry »

Carpal Skin is a prototype designed by Neri Oxman for a protective glove to protect against Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a medical condition in which the median nerve is compressed at the wrist, leading to numbness, muscle atrophy, and weakness in the hand. Night-time wrist splinting is the recommended treatment for most patients before going into carpal tunnel release surgery. Carpal Skin is a process by which to map the pain-profile of a particular patient—its intensity and duration—and to distribute hard and soft materials to fit the patient’s anatomical and physiological requirements, limiting movement in a customized fashion. The form-generation process is inspired by animal coating patterns in the control of stiffness variation. Read the rest of this entry »

MAD unveiled their new museum for Chinese wood sculptures in Harbin. As the main city of Northern China, Harbin is in the process of defining itself as a regional hub for the arts at a time when the historic city is rapidly expanding. Inspired by the unique local winter landscapes, the museum is a contrast between the elegance of nature and the speed of daily life. Its 200 meter long body is shaped as a frozen fluid that reflects and explores the relation between the building and the environment. The interior of the museum combines two different exhibitions connected by a centralized entrance which both separates the two museums while simultaneously joining them, achieving a symbiotic relationship. Skylights flood daylight into the voids adjacent to the galleries, creating optimum viewing conditions and scenic moments in and around the building.

MAD was commissioned to design three cultural building in 2009; the structure of the museum was recently completed while the design for an opera house and cultural centre is to be finished in February. Read the rest of this entry »

This project was designed by Greta Lillienau at the Architectural Association in London. Imagine bubbles flying by and attaching to a wall, this is a pattern that shall give you the feeling of flying lightness. Three different tiles have been designed to reinterpretation this. Three different tiles with different intensity in size and the amount of bubbles. These tiles are designed and made with a feminine and poetic touch. They are drawn digital but manufactured by hand and all three variations tile to each other like a puzzle. This gives a great deal of variations of different patterns to the owner. The tiles can be used as a facade ornament or as a interior detail. What is left to you is your imagination when tiling them. Read the rest of this entry »

The Helix Bridge designed by Cox Rayner Architects is one of the few, if any, bridges in the world to be named after its structure. In addition to its uniqueness of structure and form, it was designed to respond to its particular setting at the opening of the Singapore River to Marina Bay, a large inner harbour on which much of the city is now focussed.

The concept derived initially from the desire to curve the plan of the bridge so that it sweeps down onto promenades either side. This ‘arc’ was also means of curving the pedestrian bridge away from an adjoining new vehicular bridge, also designed by the same team, while enabling the two to connect at a mid-point.

The brief required the Helix Bridge to be canopied for shade and shelter in the tropical climate. The notion of a tubular cross-section, which allowed the canopy and deck to be integrated, evolved from this requirement. The team found that a double spiral structure would utilise up to five times less steel than a conventional box girder bridge, and equally became excited about the prospect of such a structure making an iconic statement about Singapore as a ‘green’, walking city. Read the rest of this entry »

Motion Matters presents six of UNStudio’s pavilions, each one illustrating architectural and urban issues being tested in real matter. UNStudio has been experimenting with the typology of the temporary installation for some time, which has resulted in a series. The exhibition shows that this serialization itself is an important aspect of this typology and further explores different readings, interpretations, and perceptions of the featured temporary installations. By moving through the exhibition, shifting perspectives appear, demonstrating the visual and spatial effects of new, more dynamic, materializations.

Each pavilion featured in the exhibition highlights one particular topic; the six topics – interrelated yet specific – are: Transitional Typology, Urban Lobbies, Crossing Points, Kinetic Platforms, After Image and Switching On/Off.

Motion Matters presents the development from the diagram to the design model, and then to a new form of architectural expression. Larger-scale UNStudio projects are related to the topics explored by the six pavilions, as the exhibition investigates the potential of the pavilion to move beyond a typology and become a prototype situated somewhere between technological research and artistic production.

Perched amid the rooftops of London, between the Thames River and the sky above, a sphere of clear polycarbonate designed by Julian King Architect, 7 m in diameter, encases a room of 42 s.m. The shell is joined along aluminum rings that divide the world into its four meridians. Guests ascend a gentle ramp to the raised floor. Inside, a central sky-lit shower is encircled by a 180° riverside seat. To the south, a queen size bed looks onto a roof garden. The unique envelope is coated with photo-voltaics, solidified drops of silicone on transparent film, in the shape of the continents of the Earth; providing all the energy the small room requires. LEDs on the interior surface give the room an ethereal glow at night. From a distance, the global room appears to be a moon, or the Earth itself-and for a moment we see our own planet for the finite, singularly miraculous home that it is. Read the rest of this entry »

The Aquilialberg project of the Brixen Public Library in Italy has the aim to become a new gathering location for the city’s population. Following this line, the project is designed to assure wide spaces for socialization, both interior and exterior, to accommodate public manifestations and cultural encounters. It is a place to spread knowledge, in which citizen could feel at ease and spend  time constructively. A deep design study is conducted for the new volume; the starting point was the relationship with the existing volumes and geometries. Special attention is given to the orientation of the roofs’ slopes of the closest buildings, with the purpose to match it in the most elegant way with the new construction. The composition language, developed in the design of the new volume, came from the push of the existing roofs’ slopes towards the competition site – a void is generated and it worked as a hinge that matches the existing volumes with the new Library. The Hinge-Volume chosen material is glass to respect the relation between the historical past of the  context and the new presence of the Library. Read the rest of this entry »

In hopes of securing the UEFA (European Union of Football Associations) EURO 2016 bid for Bursa, Turkey, the Turkey Football Federation commissioned German stadium design firm stadiumconcept to design a sparkling new stadium with a capacity of 33,000.

Unfortunately for everyone involved in the project, France was chosen to host the UEFA EURO 2016. But the stadium still stands as a possible new icon for this ancient, Islamic city.

Stadiumconcept, in cooperation with the structural engineer firm schlaich bergermann and partners, designed for Bursa the Hexagon Park Stadium, which, in addition to seating tens of thousands of crazed fans, would feature cafes, eateries, concerts and social events. Located minutes from Bursa’s downtown and situated in a cultural center of the city, the stadium sought to serve as a new icon for the city. Read the rest of this entry »

In an attempt to climb the ranks from technical college to the Ivys, Lüneburg University (outside of Hamburg, Germany) has hired its part-time professor, famed American architect Daniel Libeskind, to design a new main building for its campus.

Despite grumblings from state officials about the $76 million price tag, and claims from student representatives that the design is impractical, school officials are sure that building something spectacular on campus will catapult the college’s reputation. As such, university administration announced in early January that it had secured funding for the project and was moving forward with its construction.

For its exterior, Libeskind, who has designed such major buildings as Berlin’s Jewish Museum, and has been involved in the new design for New York’s World Trade Center, has envisioned a silver grouping of stark, jagged geometry, with the roofline jutting sharply in unexpected areas. The structure will, at its tallest, be 124 feet, and will be able to accommodate 1,200 people. Officials hope construction will be complete by Easter 2014.

Initial design plans show a partial green roof and an atrium at the building’s top level. The sharp angles of the exterior carry inside, with oddly angular walls serving as a decorative element. Read the rest of this entry »