A sun-tracking instrument indexing time and temperature, “Bloom”, designed by Los Angeles-based DOSU studio architecture, stitches together material experimentation, structural innovation, and computational form/pattern-making into an environmentally responsive installation. Architecture has long been valued for its static nature and sense of permanence but lately that has changed and the focus is on making buildings more responsive to their uses and the climate. Although this has often accomplished through mechanical means, Doris Kim Sung, the principal of DOSU architectural practice, is researching how the building materials themselves can be responsive and integrate changeability into the structure itself.

The dramatic shell form of the Bloom pavilion can suggest that its simply one cutting-edge piece of digitally computed design, but the real and slow innovation is happening in the layer of metal panels, which are bending according to heat levels generated by the sun. The form’s responsive surface is made primarily out of 14,000 smart thermo bi-metal tiles, where no two pieces are alike. Each individual piece automatically curls a specified amount when the outdoor ambient temperature rises above 70F or when the sun penetrates the surface. Bloom is, according to Sung, the first architectural application of the laminated metal material, which includes nickel and manganese with a bit of iron –the material is typically used in industrial applications. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed by J.Majer H. Architects of Berlin, the “Schaustelle” meaning “Show Site” is temporary pavilion and platform for the four collections housed at the Pinakothek der Moderne, in Munich. As the Pinakothek der Moderne is closed for few months due to renovation works, the temporary closure has been seen as an opportunity that would give rise to a makeshift exhibition building – the Schaustelle. The Schaustelle is a place of interaction, a provisional art gallery and a space for large format works and new concepts, all at the same time.

The Schaustelle is to be seen as a platform for transdisciplinary exchange, reflection, experiments and open-ended processes. The scaffolding structure, set up for the duration of renovations, will provide the four collections with a lively platform that will host exhibitions, workshops, talks, performances, film screenings and video installations. The organizational scheme was requested by the Pinakothek.

The large exhibition space at the ground floor is flexible and therefore could be easily adapted to suit requirements of the various exhibition settings of the four collections. The building is a tall and partly cantilevered framework structure made of reusable scaffolding elements. The outdoor space will serve as a projection area and also as an additional exhibition space. The scaffold structure invites visitors to walk through it, while they catch new glimpses of the city beyond. Read the rest of this entry »

The vivid construction of Orchideorama by Plan B Architects + JPRCR Architects, bridges the gap between the architecture and living organisms, the artificial and man-made and the nature. Wood and steel honeycomb structure, derived from the drawing of 14 orchids which are centered on the columns, aims to erase any distinction between those two worlds, accepting them as a unity that allows architecture to be conceived as a spatial and environmental organization highly related to the processes of life.

The project of this botanical garden in Medellin, Colombia, explores the term “organic form” from various aspects and in different scales – the micro scale, which holds the principles of material organization and defines the subtle geometrical patterns which are rooted in configuration of living structures, and eternal – visual scale, which allows the visitors to relate phenomenologically and environmentally to the ambient and to the world as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »

Dror’s proposal for Havvada in Istanbul, Turkey, revisits old concepts for urban environment, such as urban design theories – the Garden City by Ebenezer Howard and the Anarchist Urban Ecosystem by Nathan Revercomb, as well as Buckminster Fuller’s work and innovations in structural engineering. The design proposes a landscape that will constantly adapt to the dynamics of the site. Turkish developer Serdar Inan has commissioned New York architect Dror Benshetrit to design a proposal for net-positive community for 300,000 residents off the shore of Istanbul.

As we witnessed tremendous change over the past century – urban migration, growth of the urban fabric, increased density, and economical globalization, human’s mobility and environmental concerns, we are aware of the necessity to rethink urban planning and to offer a possibility of historical turning point. This proposal from Dror offers the opportunity utilize one billion cubic meter of soil, carved out in order to create the canal, to build a new land and a new model for progressive and innovative environment. Read the rest of this entry »

A design experience to engage, entertain and inspire with exhibits from leading names in the industry, plus educational programs & workshops, networking events and more.

WestEdge Design Fair makes its debut October 3-6, 2013 in Santa Monica, California at the Barker Hangar. This newest destination for modern design showcases a curated selection of over 150 leading national and international brands, many new to the West Coast. Attendees will find design inspiration, and be able to shop from leading manufacturers of furniture, lighting, kitchen, bath, outdoor furnishings and other products for the home. The show caters to trade, press and consumers alike, and offers a complete experience for attendees, including panel discussions and workshops, custom installations, a series of special events, and an opening night party to benefit Heal the Bay. Read the rest of this entry »

The SOHO Hailun Plaza is designed by UNStudio for Shanghai, China. The development is located at the intersection of two metro lines, therefore providing great connections to public transport and a desirable location for office and retail. It consists of 130m, 33 storey high office tower and 5 mixed-use and retail-office pavilions. Due to their placement as objects in the flow of commuters, the pavilions together with the tower direct the crowd and organize the outdoor spaces in different scales, providing the platform for a variety of urban activities.

The façade is the key element of this multi-object structure – it is constantly changing and it is multifaceted so it resembles the dragon skin. In the words of the architects, it’s the façade design that emphases the buildings as singular objects. The geometry is curved, yet with strong vertical lines and it permanently connects the buildings with the city of Shanghai. Together with colored texture of faceted facades, the development provides changing and dynamic appearance when approached from different directions. Read the rest of this entry »

A gigantic installation work by Tomás Saraceno, “In orbit,” was assembled this June in the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany. It is a suspended construction of steel sheet nets, in three levels under the glass dome and it consists of more the 2,500 square meters of mesh structure and half dozen spheres –air-filled balls of up to 8.5 meters in diameter. Visitors can enter the transparent installation and move freely in all three levels between the balls.

The whole installation looks like a surreal landscape, resembling a sea of clouds. The space is organized as a swinging network of relationships, resonances and synchronous communication. If it is entered by more than one person, the installation is set in motion and the tension of the steel cables changes. If the activities of the users are coordinated, the installation provides unique perception of the space, like from a spider web, due to vibration. Read the rest of this entry »

Few days ago, MAD Architects finally revealed their latest design for Beijing. The green building project, designed by Ma Yansong, was launched at Times Square, in New York. The project is a contemporary interpretation of China’s ancient natural philosophy in contemporary city and represents the continuation of “Shan-Shui City” – a design concept the architect has been pursuing. The location that surrounds the Chaoyang Park is reserved for extreme-modernism buildings and Yansong’s aim was to infuse the vigorous Shan-Shui culture into the new urbanization with this particular project.

The project is actually an addition to the world’s second largest city part and its author hopes that the high-rise won’t become the boundary which would separate the park from the city. Actually, the aim was opposite – by introducing Shan-Shui elements into the design, the building and the park are merged with the landscape and they became the natural extension of the city. Read the rest of this entry »

Austrian firm Coop Himmelb(l)au has designed the winning entry for the Dawang Mountain Resort Changsha, in China – winter sports resort and water park across an abandoned cement-mining quarry and lake. The winning proposal combines an Entertainment ice world with an Indoor Ski Slope, a Water Park and supporting leisure facilities.

The aim was to integrate the building’s volume into a unique landscape and the resort is positioned directly on top of a historical cement mining quarry pit and the lake. In the design solution towards the South and East, the existing quarry pit is revealed and the sculpted shell of the Snow and Ice World spans 170 meters from cliff to cliff over a sunken and hanging garden creating a new functional leisure space of islands, water, cliffside pathways and ramps connecting the building to this natural heritage. Read the rest of this entry »

RTA Office’s design for Telecommunication Tower for Istanbul is left to the citizens and to their free interpretation – the form suggests it could be a minaret sculpted by the wind or a twenty-first century lighthouse or none of the above. However, architects at RTA office strongly believe that the success of the idea depends on the way the designers understand the site. Therefore their proposal comes as a response to this very specific and strategically important point which bridges the gap between Europe and Asia, merging cultures and continents.

Through the history, Istanbul was characterized by the respect for its geography – for this reason the aim was to offer a proposal which would not jeopardize this relationship, but on contrary that would provide an end to the conquest of the buildings and artifacts at this specific site. That was the reason why the design proposal is not an actual building but more an object that undoubtedly reveals the natural and environmental attributes of the place and doesn’t belong to the city but to the landscape.

The shape to the tower is given by the sum of flexible threads that adapt to the body. As the shape varies so does the floor plan which allows different functions within the same tower.  Regarding the energy sources, the tower works on wind power but as such it also clearly resembles an element that had been shaped by the wind. The texture of the tower changes in perception as the visitor is approaching the object –from solid it transforms into a mesh.