The Vortex Chandelier is in line with the series of furniture pieces, which is also a collaboration of designers Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher and Sawaya & Moroni. The Chandelier’s Opaque surface etches two transparent acrylic light spirals and a recessed LED light strip provides animated and programmable light sensations. Its complex curvilinearity follows a double helix connecting its beginning to its end and therefore forming an endless ribbon of light. In plan the object resembles a star with its protrusions pointing outwards from the center, emphasizing an imaginary centrifugal force. Read the rest of this entry »

The Constructive Geometry Pavilion is an investigation of dome structures through use of computational design processes. Designed and constructed by the students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto, the structure is made of corrugated cardboard. It is a demonstration of using computational design tools to conceive and materialize geometrically adaptive design solutions, by exploring mass-customization logics and intensive collective collaboration.

The honeycomb structure with the inside covered by perforated panels has a total of 185 hexagon cells and 185 panels, organized in 21 parts for prefabrication. Each part was assigned to a group of 2 students, who became responsible for the digital flattening fabrication of the individual pieces, and their assembly. Given that it was not possible to use digital fabrication equipment, an alternative method was deployed – the contours were plotted and then cut by hand in the corrugated cardboard panels. This process took two days and a half to be completed.

The pavilion was a preview for a definitive installation which will be constructed in September, during the official opening of the 2012/13 academic year. Aligned with similar initiatives taking place in some other international schools, the Constructive Geometry Pavilion reinforces the position FAUP at the forefront of the teaching and research on digital technologies in architecture in Portugal.

Holmenkollen Ski-jump in Oslo, Norway is a speculative design project based on a collaboration between Argentine architects Estudio BaBo and Norwegian designers R21 Arkitekter. This project, submitted for consideration as part of an international competition, is programmatically rather simple. The structure includes an observation deck and skybox and finally, the ski ramp itself, surrounded by stadium seating for spectators. The project makes effective use of the mountainside location chosen for the site, utilizing the massive change in altitude to not only fulfill the physical and technical requirements of the ski jump, but to render these accommodations in a fluid and dynamic manner. The section of the project is curvaceous and energetic, swooping over the mountainside along the length of the course and digging into the ground at the finish line. The plan, however, is angular in nature, not quite orthogonal, but decidedly orchestrated to utilize linear geometries. Read the rest of this entry »

Italian designer Marco Stefanelli infuses natural objects with a delicately abstracted presence of the human hand. These chairs, made for the 2012 Fuorisalone Milano exhibition contemporary intervention through rustic materials.  His small incisions of light, cut, filled and sculpted from and into these existing blocks of tree stumps represent the designer’s meticulous sensibility. Each log undergoes a linear and straightforward transformation involving the formal evolution of a predetermined incision that is graphed on the stump’s exterior surface. Those lines are carefully traced with the blade of a saw and the resultant carving is removed. This piece is cast in acrylic and inserted to the log, holding in place lights. These internalized lights illuminate the interior flesh of the stump,reflecting the color of this heartwood through the acrylic cap. The light emitted through each acrylic scar varies depending on the type and age of the wood in question, glowing anywhere from pristine white to warm yellow to dingy orange. Read the rest of this entry »

Connecting Rooftop by

Evgeni Leonov Architects is the winning proposal for the Tablet ‘Rethinking Hotels Ideas Competition,’ which asks entrants to challenge the notion of what it means to be an ‘exclusive’ hotel and to do so with an eye towards human psychology and physical experience. Connecting Rooftop focuses on creating ‘Mix-Zones,’ where visitors and locals can engage in a variety of experiences and activities along a variety of programmatically-unique zones.

Connecting Rooftop takes the shape of  a deformed donut, with portions of the structure touching the ground at two points. Inhabitable areas are created by the interstitial spaces, a product of the digital morphogenesis inherent in Connecting Rooftop’s design. When the structure soars into the air, access is provided to a central courtyard on the ground while elevating the occupied interior space above it. Glass walls along the perimeter of this interior dining room -as well as an occupiable roof terrace and ‘skyline bar’- provide 360 degree views to the city. Again, programmatic spaces result from the shifting geometries of the structure on the roof, where stepped terraces provide dining platforms while the hyperbolic shapes above the ground help to frame an open air amphitheatre. A swimming pool takes shape along the ground level, where the structure is raised. Read the rest of this entry »

Upon completion, the 490 meter tall Solomon Tower, part of South Korea’s World Business Center in Busan (WBCB) designed by New York-based Asymptote Architecture, is poised to become one of the tallest buildings in Asia. The tower was commissioned as part of an international design competition organized by the Busan International Architectural Culture Festival (BIACF) and the Busan City municipality in 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

Undulus is a modular lighting system designed by London-based artist Scott Jarvie. It’s inspired by the beauty of cloud formations. It can be installed individually, in groups or in rows depending on the lighting requirements of the space. It provides a vertical directional light with a diffuse horizontal glow, utilising fluorescent tube bulbs, which have a number of benefits, including energy efficiency, low cost, long life in service and wide availability. Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs you are not required to dispose of the electronic starter every time you change a bulb. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed by Grimshaw Architects, the Nunawading Station is part of the Springvale Road Grade Separation Project. The project incorporates pedestian connections, bus interchange facilities and an elevated concourse.  The concourse canopies with asociated ETFE pillows provide weather protection and allow ona open and spacious environment with a single line of column supports. The amenity pods are clad in a robust vitreous enamel panel. Together with a central spine of perforated metal panels and associated lighting to the soffit of the underpass, the project aims to increase the light and visual amenity in the area. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed for the [AMSTERDAM] Iconic Pedestrian Bridge Competition, the project offers more than just a possibility of crossing the Amstel river. Branching into several pedestrian trajectories, the bridge prioritizes on being an extension of the public space in front of the Hermitage Museum.  In order to prolong the experience of being on water, the bridge comprises several routes that create a public promenade with small docking areas for the local houseboats. The iconic nature of the project is seen by the design team (Mariana Popescu, Mihaela Radescu, Ovidiu Stanciu, Dimitrie Stefanescu) as an emergent feature resulting from both the geometry of the bridge as well as the socially enabled functional potential. Read the rest of this entry »

The ‘Peace Pentagon’ by New York-based architects Axis Mundi is part of a small scale competition to rebuild the famed ‘Peace Pentagon’ of 339 Lafayette Street in New York City. The proposal by Axis Mundi, one of the 339 invited architecture firms asked to submit proposals, acts as a modified brise-soleil. This multi-story building takes the notion of public, performance space and stacks it vertically, throughout five floors, culminating in a rooftop, open air ‘community space.’ Each floor is connected to a large, sky-lit stairwell that provides both access between floors, ventilation, and natural light. The structure is wrapped in a prismatic, triangulated, tinted glass facade that is intended to add a compelling and dramatic architectural geometry to the streetscape. Read the rest of this entry »