The Floating  Observatories proposal by Dorin Stefan’s DSBA, Mihai Carciun, and upgrade.studio wins the Taiwan Tower Conceptual International Competition

“Starting from the ‘geographical’ visual of Taiwan ‐ which is an island resembling a leaf ‐ we have developed the concept of the technological tree: we have designed 8 spatial leaves (with eight being a propitious number in the local culture) in the form of zeppelin‐like elevators which glide up and down the ‘tree trunk” and which serve the purpose of observation decks / belvedere. I have called these elevators floating observatories because each has a nacelle which can take 50 to 80 people; they are self‐sustained by helium balloons and are built from lightweight materials (borrowed from the spacecraft industry) and are wrapped in a last‐generation type of membrane (PTFE) and they glide vertically on a track positioned vertically in a strong electro‐magnetic field” ‐ Dorin STEFAN, Principal, DSBA

The tower layers underground and ground level spaces as well as in its vertical reach, the functions required by the conceptual theme: information center, museum, office and conference space, restaurants, fixed observation desks. Apart from the fact that we aim to design a tower whose silhouetted out of line echoes the local symbolism and has great impact in terms of visual identity, our solution is at the same time a model of green architecture: minimum footprint at land level; maximum green area surface; all circulations are vertically integrated (main and secondary functions for both services and tourists). The “chimney” effect is used for the natural ventilation of various functional areas. The office and services areas in the tower have a 360° orientation, which offers the possibility to minimize the green‐house effect through the use of cross‐ventilation. The electrical energy is produced by: a system of axial turbines located along the vertical central core, an adjustable photovoltaic panels on the whole height of the tower. The lighting of the basement areas and of the museum spaces under the sandwich slab (structure‐plants earth‐pedestrian traffic) is done through a fiber optics dome system. Heating of the floating observatories are done through an electromagnetic field using the electrical power created by the new generation membrane which wraps the helium tanks and captures through photovoltaic transmission. The rain water is collected from all platforms into a tank situated in the basement. Read the rest of this entry »

Life Will Kill You is an installation designed by Molly Hunker and Greg Corso for the Revolve Clothing showroom in West Hollywood. To stand in contrast to the high-fashion clothing of the boutique, an everyday industrial material – the zip tie – is aggregated to create a floating volume that nestles below an existing soffit. The design is intended to explore the edge between aggression and elegance through material sensibility, overall form, and visual effect. The cloud-like volume is created by a double-sided surface composed of over 100,000 zip ties. The exterior surface of the volume is an aggregation of longer, wider white zip ties while the interior is comprised of shorter and finer colored zip ties. The resulting bulging form offers ever-changing glimpses of blurred yet vivid color combinations as the zip ties layer on top of one another in the predominantly black and white store interior. Read the rest of this entry »

Armenian architect Karen Berberyan unveiled the Sphereplex, a skyscraper formed by a cluster of spheres imagined in different sizes and materials depending on program, views, and orientation. The building’s structure is imagined as a series of vertical steel tubes that create an exoskeleton where different pods could be attached depending on occupancy and current needs.

Construction of a tall building maximizes the use of its footprint to best address the demand for space in certain areas of a modern city. Tall buildings also have major symbolic, aesthetic, and often political significance. Few companies can afford the luxury of being the sole tenant of a “skyscraper”; most have to share the building with other companies and organizations. A construction project with an uncommon design is hereby suggested, which abandons the traditional contiguity of the habitable space by distributing isolated modules of different size and functionality along the vertical dimension. Multiple tenants are sharing the complex while still occupying their essentially separate multi-level units. While enjoying the benefits of being a sole tenant, such as improved security and public visibility, the companies are part of a high-visibility landmark, which can be easily identified as a cluster of planets or a giant fruit-bearing tree. No specific location for the construction is mentioned in the project since it has the potential to be built in any business center of the world. Read the rest of this entry »

The Taiwan Tower is a proposal by Vienna-based architect Steven Ma in Collaboration with San Liu, Xinyu Wan, and Emre Icdem. This highly innovative project consists of a set of super slim twin towers that reach a height of 350 meters where an observatory and sky-park is located. The plinth of the towers is formed by an intricate set of museums that will exhibit Taiwan’s past, present, and future. Each of the three museums configures itself around recreational areas that include a water plaza, an outdoor theatre, a green house, and an event plaza. Another interesting feature is the location of four different types of hanging gardens along the towers’ structure with high-end residences and an aviary for endangered bird species. Among the sustainable features, the Taiwan Tower is equipped with water recycling plants, wind turbines, and a beautiful set of photovoltaic cells placed along the sky-garden and on top of the museums’ undulating surfaces. Read the rest of this entry »

[Artspace] at Untitled, a contemporary arts center located at 1 NE 3rd Street in downtown Oklahoma City is organizing the 2010 Creativity World Biennale to be presented November 17, 2010 – January 8, 2011 in Untitled’s galleries and extending into venues throughout the historic Automobile Alley district along Broadway. The international invitational exhibit is being planned to coincide with Creative Oklahoma’s hosting of the 2010 Creativity World Forum November 15 – 17, 2010 in Oklahoma City.

Modeled after the long-running Venice Biennale, held every two years in Italy, the exhibition will focus on the visual arts and has as its theme, New Processes, New Approaches, New Art. It will include the work of artists selected to represent each of seven different Districts of Creativity worldwide: Catalonia (Spain), Denmark, Germany, Flanders (Belgium), Oklahoma (US), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Scotland (UK). The artists representing each District are pioneers in new media. In defining the theme for the Biennale, Jon Burris, director of [Artspace] at Untitled and the Biennale stated, “The theme is based on the idea that as new technologies are developing around the world, so too are new processes of creating art involving new media and new materials. Artists world-wide are embracing new methods of producing art as a result of these new technologies and it is the goal of this Biennale to introduce new aesthetic approaches that have developed as a result.” Read the rest of this entry »

Marc Fornes from THEEVERYMANY unveiled an installation in Lyon, France based on the tectonic analysis and assembly of different geometric units. While the contemporary production of the so called digital architecture often manifests itself as physical object of pure envelope, n|Edg proposes for a more dynamic habitation of space through a constant variation of section and scale. What was a room is then transformed into playful “parcours” terrain, constantly engaging its users, forcing them to adapt into different positions and body postures. Its complex overall geometry, stretching in multiple directions, allows for the defi nition of voids, vaults and circuitous circulation, aiming to challenge the idea of social interaction by the introduction of a new topological order. Both its skins – the top one hanging from the ceiling and the bottom one spanning between structural supports – are composed of hundreds of planar facets which are assembled to entail a continuous and highly refl ective surface; allowing a porous piece to emerge that both reveals and conceals; while the multifaceted refl ections of its golden mirror fi nish transform the intricate defi nition of its pattern into a global and immersive environment: depthless. n|Edg essence is characterized by its playful nature along with embedded complexity of the design and assembly. Read the rest of this entry »

Eco-city 2020 is a proposal for the rehabilitation of the Mirniy industrial zone in Eastern Siberia, Russia designed by the innovative architectural studio AB Elis Ltd.

The project would be located inside a giant man-made crater of more than one kilometer in diameter and 550 meters deep that used to be one of the world’s largest quarries. The idea is to create a new garden city that will be shielded from the harsh Siberian environmental conditions characterized by long and severe winters and short hot summers. The new city would attract tourists and residents to Eastern Siberia and would be able to accommodate more than 100,000 people. The new city is planned to be divided in 3 main levels with a vertical farm, forests, residences, and recreational areas. On of the most interesting aspects of the proposal is the glass dome that will protect the city and would be covered by photovoltaic cells that will harvest enough solar energy for the new development. A central core houses the majority of the vertical circulations and infrastructure along with a multi-level research center. The housing area is located in the first level with outdoor terraces overlooking a forest in the center of the city. The idea is to create a new type of highly dense urbanism in harmony with nature. Read the rest of this entry »

Ground will be broken today for Maggie’s Centre Gartnavel, a facility in Glasgow providing emotional and practical support for people living with cancer, their families and friends. Designed by OMA, the building, which is located on the grounds of Gartnavel hospital and close to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, is one of several Maggie’s Centres in the UK and part of a pioneering project using thoughtful architecture and innovative spaces as tools for solace and healing.

OMA’s single-level, 534m2 building is a ring of interlocking, carefully composed spaces that provide moments of comfort and relief. With a flat roof and floor levels that respond to the natural topography, the rooms vary in height, with the more intimate areas programmed for personal uses such as counseling, and more open and spacious zones providing areas to gather and creating a sense of community. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Graves & Associates, architects of more than 350 major buildings around the world, have just finished work on The Louwman Collection, the National Automobile Museum of the Netherlands. The project was designed by MGA Principal and Studio Head Gary Lapera, AIA.

Speaking of the firm’s interest in museum design, Founding Principal Michael Graves remarks, “For an architect, museums are certainly among the most gratifying commissions one can receive—they give you a chance to contribute to cultural history and to the public’s shared experience of that history. We’ve been fortunate to have designed a variety of museums over the years.” Says Gary Lapera, “In designing this particular museum, we were greatly influenced by the character of the historical and physical context, and endeavored to give this institution a presence with a unique sense of place.”

The 185,000-square-foot building contains temporary and permanent exhibition galleries, a reception hall, conference facilities, an auditorium, food service facilities, and workshops for conservation and repair of cars. A gift to the people of the Netherlands, the Louwman Collection is a public showcase of selections from collector Evert Louwman’s extraordinary vintage automobile collection. In addition, the National Automobile Museum of the Netherlands is home to the world’s largest collection of automotive art. Read the rest of this entry »

Zaha Hadid Architects designed a new museum of contemporary art for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The new complex will house exhibition spaces for permanent and temporary collections, multi-event auditorium, education facilities, studios for artists at residence, and retail areas. The project is estimated to be completed by 2012 and was funded by the Cultural and National Heritage Sector of Bahrain.

The enigmatic volume emerges from a narrow coastal land stripe at the Gulf of Bahrain. Describing a gentle curve while gradually rising from the ground a volume is formed that bends slightly and reaches over the water towards Manama. The building appears mystically floating above a coastal landscape. Public fields flow around the sculptural mass of the museum, underlining its presence with curvy-linear lines echoing the contours of the volume. The overall dynamism and fluidity of the elongated form support the emphasis on movement through and around the museum. Read the rest of this entry »