Perforated aluminum pavilion resembling of a huge piece of coral is designed by Marc Fornes, French based architect of THEVERYMANY. Part of the permanent collection of the FRAC Centre, Orleans, the pavilion is a prototype which engages in numerous architectural experiments, known as text based morphologies. This 10 meters long, 4.5m high experimental space is assembled from 27 components, and the surface of the pattern is created of more than 155.000 asterisk-shaped perforations. Such prototypical structure requires massive number of elements, not only all unique but usually morphologically extremely different.

The form of the pavilion is developed through complex computational protocols. It is derived from methods such as form finding, form description, information modeling, generational hierarchy and digital fabrication. The pavilion is addressing some important issues like the paradigm shift from linear spaces, not necessarily on a formal level, but more in order to engage a multiplicity of social situations. Being the test space for series of experiments, the assembly is also an investigation into transformations from network to surface condition. Read the rest of this entry »

McDonald’s and the fuel station are gathered under the same roof in one of the newly urbanized parts of the seaside city of Batumi, Georgia. Designed by Giorgi Khmaladze, ambitious piece of art includes also recreational spaces and reflective pool. Due to the importance of the given location, the imperative was to maximize the recreational area therefore the footprint of the building is very limited as well as the vehicular circulation. As a result, all the contents are compressed in one volume.

Two major programs – dining and vehicle service are physically and visually isolated from one another, so that the operations at the fuel station are not visible from the restaurant. Restaurant starts from the lobby and is having a separate entrance on the ground floor. The interior is designed in a manner that offers smooth and seamless transition between levels, the floor steps upwards creating inhabitable decks on intermediate levels which are actually occupied as dining spaces. Views from the restaurant spaces are partly directed towards outside water features while the rest look into open air patio on the second level. The patio acts as a buffer zone, ensuring soundproof interior space and open air lounge. Giant cantilever canopy is covered in vegetation, acting as an ecological shield for the shaded terrace while also helps avoiding energy loss. Read the rest of this entry »

The 196 meter long curvy and twisting China Wood Sculpture Museum in Harbin, China, by MAD Architects is complete. Unveiled building, sheathed in metal, sits nestled in a densely populated Chinese-style residential area, adding a cultural and surreal essence to the surrounding urban context. Harbin gets regular snowfall and is known as the Ice City, so MAD Architects designed the Museum with a horizontal, twisted body modeled on the shapes made by frozen liquids. Beijing-based MAD first revealed images of the China Wood Sculpture Museum in 2011, when construction began. Now is the moment when we can finally compare for ourselves how these seductive and shiny, curved structures actually look when built.

Museum is clad in plates of polished steel, mirroring the surrounding and changing light, interrupted by curving strips of glazing forming central entrance, windows and skylights. In the words of the architects, the museum actually embodies some of the foremost conceptual and formal ideas that define the work of MAD, bringing out an expression and abstraction of nature to an otherwise quotidian surrounding. The aim was to reference the local natural scenery and landscape; therefore the boundaries between solid and liquid are blurred throughout the building. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed by UAP Principal, Daniel Tobin, Matthew Tobin and Jamie Perrow, KAUST Breakwater Beacon has been recently revealed – as a part of $7 billion research institution, the honeycomb tower becomes a symbol for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The magnificent 60-meter high-rise is comprised of amorphous hexagonal sections in the form of an elliptical spire, reaching into the air.

The Tower is located on a new University Campus, as a part of a larger master plan – a new town of 10,000 people, living over 6.5 million sqf along the Red Sea, 80km north of Jeddah. The design process was accelerated with a “Racing the Sun” approach, in which planners from 10 offices across multiple time zones contributed to the plan over one 24-hour period.

Due to its fantastic presence, one could be deceived that the tower is all about the look, but the skyscraper is actually designed as natural cooling tower for communal events and celebrations. The hot air from the foyer is pulled up through the building and cooler breezes are brought in instead, while the skin of the atrium is creating a dappled shaded effect. Read the rest of this entry »

In words of the architects at Saraiva + Associados, the ambition was to design landmark building for Awaza Congress Center in Turkmenistan, not only as a national monument, but an icon that would be recognized internationally. Its monumental form is derived from a strong symbolic concept which reflects patriotic and cultural values of the country. Transmitting internal organization of Turkmenistan, the volume of the building is broken into five larger groups of spaces, materializing five provinces and forming a Congress Hall as a whole. Five elements are Circulation element, Auditorium element, Events, Business and Square element. National motifs in interiors and dominant green color tone – color of Turkmenistan flag reflect patriotic aims. Read the rest of this entry »

Set in world’s densest metropolis of Hong Kong, Hydropolis, a student project by Yoonsun Hwang and Lois Soo Kyung Suh of PennDesign challenges common understanding of skyscrapers by provoking the existing typology. Vertical mega-structure is proposed for a reclaimed site at the harbor of Hong Kong, therefore the uniqueness of the location demanded high aesthetic qualities and representative design. Emerging organic form yet floating and light presence characterize this monumental high-rise that creates new waterfront line for the harbor.

The concept behind this architectural piece is to accumulate and reflect diverse attributes of megalopolis, in order to reinterpret and express them at multiple economic and social scales and translations. As a result, the façade of the tower is transformative while the structure and the circulation system are re-investigated and reinvented, ranging from intricate and entangled to ludicrous. The proposal challenges the aggressive attitude of land reclamation – the harbor front is embraced and became the part of crucial importance for the project while operating closely with water. Read the rest of this entry »

New Atlantis is utopia; a vertical city designed by Adam Dayem, as a shelter for I-Kiribati people who refused to become refugees of climate change and decided to remain in their city in shallow water of South Pacific, above what used to be South Tarawa. The new vertical habitat proposal is situated in the open ocean, with the foundations anchored into the earth, 20 feet under. It is year 2100 and the emerging structure is funded by donations of Chinese government who chose to give away billions of Yuan to island nations disappearing under rising oceans rather than enforcing carbon reduction measures.

Physically cut-off and isolated, this vertical city is highly networked as any metropolitan high-rise and as such it is a significant base of information and operations. Read the rest of this entry »

Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, by Foster + Partners, is designed to serve as a main gateway to Amman, one of the oldest cities in the world as well as to continue exploration airport terminals as the new building typology. Its visionary yet cellular architecture supports local building expertise and Amman’s climate, therefore integrating strategies which successfully provide efficient passive design. Modular and flexible concept of the terminal allows for future expansion, ensuring annual growth of 6 percent and increasing capacity from 3 million to 12.8 million passengers per year by 2030 – the Airport is predestined to be the most important hub for Levant region.

Located in Amman where summer temperatures vary markedly between daytime and nighttime, architects at Foster + Partners used concrete as a main material – high thermal mass provides high passive environmental control.

Plants and trees in open-air courtyards filter pollution and precondition air before it is drawn into the system. The large forecourt is designed as a landscaped plaza with seating in shade and allows people to gather while saying goodbye or welcoming returning travelers. Read the rest of this entry »

This camouflaged, unique gateway into the Cairns Botanic Gardens Visitors Center as awarded building of the year and public architecture award at the 2012 Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Awards in Queensland, Australia. Designed by Charles Wright Architects | CWA, the Center is the successful outcome of the limited competition. The architects aimed to design a “green” building, which would represent a paradigm shift for Cairns – a progressive solution that could be applied anywhere on a tropical latitude. The design had to stand out from the expected – there was a collective desire to attract both national and international attention, which would further result with creating new opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

Resembling of a super buildings in science fiction movies, the Technosphere, designed by James Law Cybertecture, is to be located in the Economic Zones World in Jabel Ali, Dubai, UAE. The concept behind the design is environmentally engaged – it celebrates Earth’s ecosystem and interprets it as a Cybertecture building that mimics the forces of nature to produce a structure, symbolizing the power of synergy between Nature and Technology.

Directed by sustainable principles, Thechnosphere is designed to use technologies which will enable the building to generate self breathing environment and to generate electricity form solar power, as a supplement resource. Sky gardens for offices and hotel not only give a outdoor terrace advantage to the occupants but also provide passive solar shielding from the sun as well as natural green plantations to contribute oxygen to the environment. Sphere-like building is equipped with water recycling system which minimizes the use and waste. This progressive development actually explores sustainable technologies and the planning principals to create a desert community that will be carbon neutral and zone waste. Read the rest of this entry »