Grown out of self-modifying patterns of vectors, based on electro-magnetic fields, Seoussi Pavillion by Biothing is the final act of computational design. The trajectories were computed in plan, via logics of attraction, further lifted through a series of structural micro-arching sections. Additional feature built into script allows for local adaptation to the site in regards to the section – pavilion is implanted into a steep hill.

Six different geometrical systems were used for the design of this pavilion and they are all steaming out of primary trajectories. The plan of the pavilion doesn’t have much in common with the traditional notion of architectural plan drawing – the dynamic blueprint of this piece of art is closer to musical notations – deep ecology of imbedded algorithmic and parametric relationships are the seed for possible materialization procedures and adaptation to the site conditions.

Programming of the views and distribution of lighting and shading in the pavilion is achieved through parametric differentiation of the angle, orientation and the size of the aperture, together with the relationship of metal and glass components within each cell. Read the rest of this entry »

SP+A’s design for Indigo Deli at Palladium in Mumbai was conceptualized to subvert the trappings of its mall context and the danger of repetitive manifestation of the brand architecture. The primary aim Mumbai-based architects within the design process was to combine the intimacy and warmth of traditional wine cellars with the program of retail shelving and the juxtaposition of program was derived from this aim and spatial intent.

The outcome of this desire is an insert into the raw space completely obliterating its rigid geometries. The project is quasi-dome, or quasi-surface and rejects the formal structure of both models as a hybrid that actually networks the structural prowess of both.

However, the main idea was to monologue the design intervention as a performative background for the variance of the multitude of products and events it contains. Read the rest of this entry »

Herzog & de Meuron’s design for Hong Kong Museum won the competition – they will design new museum for visual culture in Victoria Harbor. The M+, as it is called, will not be just another museum, in the words of its architects – it will aim to be a cultural center for 20^th and 21^st century art, design, architecture and the moving image. The various museum spaces range from conventional white cube, reconfigurable spaces and rooms for screenings, multipurpose facilities and industrial space. The industrial space was particularly requested and it has the purpose to investigate and show how the post-industrial space can be created from vacant land.

The site for the museum is specific – the building will be anchored to the land that was once reclaimed from the sea and founded on the underground tunnel of the Airport Express. Seen as an obstacle at first, the situation later became the “raison d’être” for the project and demanded raw, rough, large-scale exhibition universe.

Quite spectacular space for art and design exhibitions as well as the large scale installation and performance was created by uncovering the tunnel – the “found space” is actually a challenge to artist and curators and it represents the space of un-investigated potential. Read the rest of this entry »

This interdisciplinary project of the new research pavilion is conducted by researchers of Institute for Computational Design (ICD) together with the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart. The pavilion is entirely robotically fabricated, from glass and carbon fiber composites and it investigates the eventual co-relation between bio-mimetic design strategies and new processes of robotic production. The new composite construction paradigm in architecture is rooted in morphological principles of arthropods’ exoskeletons.

A key point researched through the project of this pavilion was the possibility of transferring the fibrous morphology of the biological model to fiber-reinforced composite materials, which would lead to new tectonic possibilities in architecture. The high performance structure was therefore manufactured – pavilion’s shell is four millimeters thick and is spanning eight meters.

The researchers followed a “bottom-up” approach, therefore wide range of different sub-types of invertebrates were investigated in regards to the material anisotropy and functional morphology of arthropods. The observed principles were further analyzed and abstracted in order to be subsequently transferred into viable design principles for architectural applications. Read the rest of this entry »

The new Crystal World, designed by studio Asymptote Architecture, is rooted in the spectacular geological conditions of the site of the Changsha EcoTech Resort City in China. The powerful assemblage of the crystalline forms is taking advantage of the unique natural setting, by leaving it as it is. The resort is floating above a new Crystal Mirror lake surrounded by cafes and restaurant along a waterside promenade.

The Waterworld Park houses various programs –swimming pools together with whirl and tiodal pools hang suspended in the vast interior of the park. The environment is highly dynamic due to structures such as water slides and recreational amenities that move through the space.

The contents are facilitated within the geometric volumes; therefore the ones requiring bigger space are housed in joined, contiguous space, as it is the case with Water World. The layering of different program elements creates a microcosm of unique interior environments, ranging from leisure and recreational to​athletic and educational.​ The main attraction of the structure is the multi-story lobby, celebrating snow, ice and water. Each hotel room is a state off the art technological space with custom control of all aspects of the guest’s environment. One of the most spectacular structures of the Crystal World is the indoor ski hill, which intersects the Snow and Ice World and spans the breadth of the quarry. As one looks through the entire building it becomes evident that the interplay of volumes and functions is very dynamic and amusing. The entire structure is carefully placed to minimally impact the surrounding natural condition of the site. Read the rest of this entry »

Set to become of Asia’s tallest buildings, new 550m skyscraper is designed by Asymptote Architecture, for Millennium Tower Business Center (WBCB), through the Busan International Architectural Cultural Festival (BIACF), and sponsored by the municipality of Busan City and the Solomon Group. It clearly shows how the once monoform typology of skyscrapers deviated into pluralism and branching structures.

Designed as three independent towers, breaking apart from its unified base, the structure provides strong identity, forming one of the most striking lobbies, looking up at three towering columns to the sky. The independent volumes grow from the tapering form of the base, yet in rigid and defined manner. This landmark piece of architecture however sets new standards regarding aesthetics and high-rise typology.

The towers could also be read as three distinct forms, set against Busan’s dramatic natural surroundings of sea and mountains. The very base of these very tall towers negotiates the site at the ground level while from the top of the midsection the slender towers rise above the sky-lobby level, tapering upwards around a spectacular central void. Read the rest of this entry »

Avoiding Figuration is a final thesis project of Jacques Lesec and Sean Markle, developed at SCI-Arc. In words of the authors, it investigates the perception of figuration and void within a complex field condition. Employed strategies oscillate between 2D and 3D, as a means of augmenting the legibility of volume and other times subverting this perceptual reading.

The aim of the project is to challenge conventional understanding of mass and void within the urban context. The design tries to disrupt current condition within which we tend to perceive the city as a collection of individual instances and iconographic volumes, without further integration. This thesis investigates the possibility to generate visual synthesis across adjacent facades, therefore bringing perceptual integration back into Manhattan’s commercial skyline. It introduces new layers of mass-void relationship.

Starting from the interest in developing a complex field of information, two architects developed a catalogue of perceptual devices, derived from a series of analytic drawings and models. Different techniques proved useful along the process, such as masking, expanding and highlighting, both subverting and confounding diverse perceptual readings, ranging from clear volumetric legibility to the complete erasure of volume. Read the rest of this entry »

The Air Garden for Bradley West Terminal of the Los Angeles International Airport, by design and fabrication studio Ball Nogues, aims to embody the qualities of light and space, unique to Los Angeles. It is without the beginning or the end, like the city itself, it doesn’t even have an inside or an outside, or a back or front. The Air Garden is designed as a serene moment which should be in contrast with the hectic action and movement within the airport space and it is both an object and the atmosphere. Its presence is highly dynamic – it is in constant change as the quality of north and south light changes during the day.

It is impossible to capture this garden from a single point – it is designed to be comprehended by participation of the passengers. In the words of its architects, the components of the assemblage are made of gestural volumes of color hovering within an immense array of catenaries.

The garden is a suspended cloud, inside the north and south light wells, due to its solid particles almost evenly dispersed within in it. The structure is, however, transparent; therefore it doesn’t block viewer’s perspective. While the environment is interspersed with the metallic bead chain catenaries, it is also constructed from the negative space between the catenaries – sight extends into and throughout the building. Read the rest of this entry »

The central and direct goal of the Kaohsiung Marine Culture and Pop Music Center competition, hosted by the municipal government of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, was to highlight the unique character of Kaohsiung City while satisfying the needs of the local people, the industries and future trends. This was to be achieved by focusing the design and planning on the cultural assets of the city, the specific conditions of the project site and the characteristics of the pop music and marine culture industries – the design program required two live music venues, coupled with a maritime museum.

Studio Gang’s design proposal employed the concept of the “knot” on various levels. Tubular structure of the building houses maritime museum and the rest of the program is organized in a series of strands. They are wrapped around the two main performance venues – the indoor and outdoor, while articulating them as nicely shaped voids. Due to building’s organization, it is possible to explore each program both independently or in sequence, or to experience the overlapping events all at once. Read the rest of this entry »

The competition entry for the Hercules monument visitor center in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, Germany, designed by Achim Menges and Scheffler + Partner Architects, is located at the 515 meters high peak of a major baroque sight axis, between Kassel Wilhelmshöhe Palace, a 250m long water cascade and the 71m tall Hercules monument designed by Francesco Guerniero.

As the historical background of the site is very complex, it suggested an in-folding of the park, in order to articulate the interior landscape, an artificial underground substitute for nature which enables smooth transition from the natural surroundings of Habichtswald to the baroque park and monument. However, architects in charge for the design, instead or directly relating the competition brief to specific spatial entities that would more easily answer the programmatic and volumetric requirements, decided to provide an interior environment that consists of various micro-ambients. Read the rest of this entry »