[Ay]Architecture is an international design studio committed to cutting edge research and experimentation, across scales. It engages with multidisciplinary fields from fashion design, architecture to landscape urbanism, in both theoretical and professional praxis.

The Capital HIM project is inspired by Nicola Formichetti’s stylistic work through Lady Gaga’s and Rick Genest’s fashion personas. The emerging esthetics in fashion is translated into a spatial condition, retaining the main qualities; it is alienated, urban, volumetric and at times vulgarly carnal (no pun intended). The network of theoretical connections meshed with the space of the given site (Walker Street, NY) generating the three-dimensional spatial condition per se. This allowed a series of control points and lines that would parameter the starting point to the physical substance. An actual morphology is created by narrowing down the possibilities of physical connections. The organic appearance of the project and its arbitrariness reflect the whimsical nature of the fashion at hand, robust and sensual at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed by architect Aleksander Krasinski, the project is a floating habitable structure which would be able to endure future changes of global climate. The idea for the building could be interpreted as an answer to the problems closely related to globalization and the human impact on the environment, as well as continuity in the perdition of human rights in connection with the growing process to create a global bank and corporate influence on the shaping of international law.

It is an artificial island with adequate infrastructure, establishing itself as an independent state with its own government and economic policy. 1000 meters in height, as well as in diameter, the building has 48 floors with the maximum number of inhabitants of 52,096 persons.  It facilitates an internal sea port with ocean-going vessels dock, an airport passenger handling helicopters, a public garden, office spaces, administrative, governmental and academic centers, etc. The inner atrium of the building is surrounded by recreational and commercial services. Read the rest of this entry »

The competition challenge consisted in designing a 100 meters high tower-museum, containing exhibition areas of 20th century fashion history and becoming a landmark for Tokyo. For this purpose, the site was located at Omotesando Street, since this avenue gathers the world’s most important fashion houses, at their maximum magnificence. Cre8 Architecture’s proposal reacts to both the specific nature of the site, as well as the visual impact of the building.

Le Mannequin stands as a new landmark on this iconic promenade. The alabaster facade draped in a black concrete robe unveils itself to its audience – invites the visitor to cross a bottom lit cat-walk within a large entrance atrium space that respects the scale of the existing Omotesando Street buildings. The 20’s – 60’s exhibition spaces tumble over each other allowing glimpses into and from adjoining genres. The runway space articulates the building form between the 60’s and 70’s spaces and provides an exhilarating skyline to the street. The crimson spine – zipping the fabric of the building together allows visitors to meander between spaces whilst high speed 3D dynamic lifts whisk you up to the rooftop Japanese garden and sky bar. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed by James Law Cybertecture, the Tower is to be located in the heart of Mumbai, facilitating a wide range of businesses, including the India movie industry. To accentuate the inspirational references, the building facades are installed with LED screens for film and graphic projections.

The concept of the building is derived from the movie industry, assuming a futuristic appearance and dominating the city skyline. The metallic folding wall design of the lobby is inspired by imaginative sci-fi movie setting. The red LED light fills the lobby with energy. This vigorous form floating above the office floors on the top is an auditorium and restaurant space dedicated to the celebrities. The flexibility of the space can cater for activities such as premieres and private party. The west facing facade of auditorium is installed with large glazing which offers the guests a chance to look at the breathtaking view of Mumbai. Read the rest of this entry »

Placing 3^rd at the London 2012 Olympic Games Information Pavilion Competition, the proposal introduces a recognizable and engaging form to London’s Trafalgar Square. A folded athletic track starts at the higher level of the square in front of the National Gallery, traversing a stairway and leading visitors to a lookout point. At the middle of its length a folded segment creates a separating track which descends towards a live event display screen.  The fold itself shelters the pavilion’s main entrance and facilities such as the cafe, souvenir shop and information stand, along with necessary technical facilities.

The material, placement and form of the structure are derived from the environmental analysis of the site and support a sustainable design approach. The track is made from Nike “Grind” recycled running shoes. It orientation maximizes the utilization of daylight and cross-ventilation for passive cooling, with the adjacency of fountains contributing to the cooling effect. Read the rest of this entry »

The aim of the CCP Architectural Design Competition for the Artist’s Center and Performing Arts Theater in Philippines was to create a new theater building next to the existing one, within the Arts Sanctuary Cluster of the 62 hectare property. Buensalido Architects, an architectural practice based in Manila’s Makati City, proposed a design which tries to represent the cultural diversity and interweaving of different artistic attitudes . By comparing the cultural blend to the interlaced threads of tapestries, the design concept evolves, establishing two structures as architectural threads originating from various locations within the cultural complex. The structures are then connected with imaginary splines that wrap around the given sites. The curvilinear threads blend, creating strong volumes that culminate in an upward sweep towards the sea at the New Performing Arts Theater site.

Unlike the old performing arts building, dominated by vehicular access routes, the new structure emphasizes the pedestrian qualities of the site. With ramps, bridges and steps, the open public space surrounding the building is transformed into several smaller plazas, suitable for outdoor activities, art installations and performances. Read the rest of this entry »

Harvest Green Project explores the notion of the “foregrounding” a new agri-food system in and around the strategic urban location of an arterial transit hub. By 2050, there will be globally an additional 3 billion people to feed, and traditional farming simply can’t sustain this increase in population. Therefore, incorporating urban farming prominently into the fabric of the city, and in a synergistic mixed-use development integrated with transit, is a way to re-assert the cultural and environmental importance of locally produced food to the health and sustainability of the city and its residents.

If successfully implemented, projects like the The Harvest Tower, designed by Canada-based firm Romses Architects, can offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply, year round crop production, and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for large-scale traditional horizontal farming. Read the rest of this entry »

The soon to be opened Media-ICT building is a project by Cloud 9, the studio founded by Enric Ruiz-Geli. In 2005, the studio won the public competition organized by the Barcelona Zona Franca Consortium and the 22@ District to design a home for the TIC (Information and Communication Technologies) community. This new facility is intended to act as a point of contact between media companies and institutions.

Each façade of the Media-ICT is different, maximizing their efficiency by taking into account their orientation with respect to the sun. The decision was taken to cover the south glass wall with a double skin, or membrane, of EFTE (ethylene tetrafluoro ethylene), a material that is light and elastic but so strong that a small surface can support the weight of a Land Rover. In total, there are 106 membranes or pillows of EFTE, silvery-blue in color, which will slowly inflate, or deflate depending on the climatic conditions. Each ‘pillow’ is controlled separately, with individual sensors measuring heat, temperature and the angle of the sun. On the side of the building that faces the headquarters of the CAC (the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia), currently under construction, there will be just one large pillow of EFTE, but in this case it will be filled with a vertical cloud of nitrogen particles: the resulting density of the air will be used to create a solar filter to protect the interior of the building. Read the rest of this entry »

“Splash” was designed by Joel Cullum and it was the runner-up in judges’ voting in last month’s DesignByMany Building to Building Bridge Challenge. The aim was to explore the creative ways of connecting two neighboring buildings, while trying to implement the principles of modularity, adaptability to various conditions, quick assemblage, etc.

Structurally, it is “a bridge caught within a single frame of explosive velocity. The tensional lattice work is integral to the structure of the suspended deck, whilst providing the chaotic, yet ordered network of cables and compression rods working to freeze the fragments in mid air.” Read the rest of this entry »

The design is a result of collaboration between an international practice Asensio_Mah and students from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. It welcomes the visitors of Reford Garden Metis International Garden Festival, framing the view of the Festival’s entry sequence. It revisits the garden wall, giving it a modern expression.

It assumes the form of angled panel structure, designed more as a dynamic sculpture than as a conventional wall, intended to separate two distinct spaces. With that in mind, the authors decided to change the wall’s basic function and give it a new purpose. The wall is gradually transformed from a seating structure to ground plane, acting as an interactive site. Its framework holds together a volume of moss as it meanders at the entry of the gardens. The honeycomb structure is embedded with experimental moss surfaces, creating a vertically positioned vegetation strip, with different orientation and establishing various microclimates. Read the rest of this entry »