Suzusan is a Düsseldorf design label with roots in the traditional Japanese textile finishing technique called Shibori. Developed by the Murase family, this traditional manufacturing practice has evolved into a product line of luminaires. The products are manufactured entirely by hand, offering unique design solutions to customers.

Translated into English, the verb “shibori” means “wring, press and twist”.  Processing starts by folding certain parts of the textile surface, leaving other untreated. Color transitions created by dyeing raw fabrics reveal intricate three-dimensional patterns, structures and color contrasts.  Originally, the Shibori technique was applied to silk and wool fabrics as well as plant fibers such as cotton and flax. Over the course of the past decades, Japanese craftsmen have started to also treat chemically produced fibers, for example polyester and nylon, as well as leather and metals. Read the rest of this entry »

Created in a collaborative effort by students of the ETH and the AA, this temporary timber construction was designed to provide shelter from the sun. It was installed at the grand stairs in front of the architecture department of the ETH in Zurich. The initial idea was found in a winning entry of an internal competition within EmTech (Emergent Technologies and Design program) of the AA. Its dynamic form is derived from a series of studies of tension diagrams and load distribution, conducted at the ETH. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed to connect the two shores of the Limfjord seaway in Denmark, the project explores the structural, experiential and functional variability of bridges through use of parametric tools. It was part of a research project aimed at discovering possibilities in associative geometry and the building of structures, functions and materials into one model where it could analyzed and change according to selected criteria. It develops and tests methods of parametric design and digital/analogue form-finding. Read the rest of this entry »

A new performing arts center, designed by the Paris-based architecture firm Manuelle Gautrand Architecture, aims to become the new architectural icon for the city of Ashkelon. According to Gautrand, the aim was to create a festive and lively place. A large open space was positioned at the top of the building. It will facilitate exhibitions and temporary installations. This informal space will also offer dazzling views of the sea and the surrounding area, revealing the overall design concept- integration with the city. Read the rest of this entry »

The Vth Ark is a project designed by Moatasem Esmat of the Helwan University to decrease the number of casualties during catastrophic events such as tsunamis. Despite the fact that tsunamis and other natural disasters will always remain a greater force to stand against, saving lives will always remain the first priority during these events.

The main problem about tsunamis is not just the waves, but the debris that the waves carry, and the fact that the more they travel the more they gain power and speed. Therefore, the materials used to construct the ark has to be durable enough to stand against the debris. Read the rest of this entry »

This 3d printed lamp designed by Margot  Krasojevic acts as a vertical axis wind turbine. The form of the lamp uses the properties of aerodynamics to behave like a wind propeller, in principal the design is inspired by the Ropatec wind rotor. The ceramic body of the light is attached to a vertical axis which turns a diode rotor that transforms the movement into light. This 3d printed shell traps wind which rotates the axis in turn generating and transforming energy into light. Read the rest of this entry »

The intention of this project designed by disguincio&Co is to occupy anthropized contexts, where the green is extremely controlled or even absent, to make ready an infrastructure able to sew up again different economies (in a classical way) in a single system: a connection between flora, fauna and the urban landscape, in its different characters, physical and psychological. This project collect many aspects: it is a system, an ecology, a roof, a place. Read the rest of this entry »

Woods Bagot has won the international competition to design China Southern Airport City, a 988-acre (400-hectare), mixed-use development set on the Liuxi River in Guangzhou, China. The design, which totals 41 million square feet (3.8 million square meters), expands the traditional corporate headquarters to an urban scale, blending business and manufacturing uses with lifestyle and residential components. This new active district will support China Southern Airlines’ brand and continued leadership as Asia’s largest airline.

The design establishes a sweeping physical form that unifies the Airport City site—comprising two wing-shaped parcels bisected by a major highway—and presents a legible identity that is visible from arriving and departing planes. Within this landscape, landmark buildings, parks, lakes and other features define a series of programmatic “neighborhoods” that provide a sense of order and wayfinding at the human scale. Read the rest of this entry »

Once known for its mills, the UK town of Burnley has developed into a regional center for engineering and advanced manufacturing. As a way of acknowledging the town’s pioneering role in the practice of measuring rainfall, architects at Tonkin Liu have designed an installation that embodies two of its major climatic forces. Entering into a dialogue with the elements is often expressed in the Studio’s work through the creation of a sensory output. Their Singing Ringing Tree sculpture, also designed for Burnley, uses wind to articulate sound.

The Rainbow Gate is located in front of the Burnley College, where three main traffic routes converge. Its shape is inspired by the town’s numerous viaducts, and it aims to frame the views of the surrounding landscape in a similar manner. Rain is channeled into the ground along the structure’s dynamic natural geometry, while 133 prisms capture sunlight and array it in a full color spectrum on the ground. At night, the prisms are lit from bellow, casting rainbows into the mist. Read the rest of this entry »

Architects at BIG designed a high-rises that will reshape the city of Guiyang in China. Among several other international architects, BIG will help redefine Guiyang’s Huaxi district, the city’s educational and cultural center. By proposing a generic hotel slab on one of Huaxi’s mountain slopes, architects envisioned a new and unique landmark, attracting visitors to an area already known for its touristic appeal. Read the rest of this entry »