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 »

Perpetuum Mobile conceived by O + R is a system of mobile smoking point units that proposes an alternative relationship between smokers and non-smokers in open public spaces in the city of Tokyo. The project generates a new platform of social interaction capable of adapting to different urban situations that creates unpredicted distributions on the site according to sites’ needs and seasonal changes.

Each unit is composed of 3 main elements:

A. Inner Garden Core of 2,70 x 2,70 meters of 1 meter height, that integrates: 9 seats, 9 cigarette disposal units, 4 planters, and a main bamboo central planter with a water outlet system. Each seat and back has a smoking add printed finishing. The garden is composed of Bamboo Trees, Aromatic Plants (Japanese local Variety of Mentha arvensis) and Chrysanthemum. The use of local varieties facilitates the maintenance and survival of this small landscape system. Cigarette Disposal Units are integrated on the unit with a top aluminium center chute and a metal lined Container. Cigarettes are contained and extinguished inside the metal lined container. The disposal units can be removed for cleaning, maintenance, and recycling.

B. Shelter System. Composed of a triangulated aluminium mesh structure with a variable thickness of 10 to 50 mm approx., and a recycled glass finishing on both sides with colours in gradient from black – yellow – green, and a total height of 5,00 m. The structure is connected to the core by a system of tubular columns in which a system of rings provides stability to the system. This design is inspired by the traditional Amigasa hats and developed after different operations of manipulation according to the project.

C. Motion and Support System. The complete unit is supported by wheels of 6’’diameter, tire rubber and swivel bracket with one brake per wheel and a brake control for all the wheels of the unit; each wheel is estimated to support up to 300 kg load. Read the rest of this entry »

Design Rhizome conceive by Farooq Khayyat is located in the heart of San Francisco. Rhizome operates as the city’s fulcrum; leveraging the ideas of design leaders, students, creators, and change makers with the needs of educators, entrepreneurs, and local food merchants.

Innovation is the result of combined ideas. Design Rhizome is a place where design professionals and novices alike join in spontaneous interaction and collaboration to give life to the ideas of tomorrow. Proximity, exchange of ideas, and shared resources are the key ingredients for practical creativity and innovation. The creatives can unite in a supportive space with the tech, finance, and government leaders of the day to awaken and strengthen the community. Read the rest of this entry »

Elegant Embellishments have installed a depolluting facade on the Torre de Especialidades at the Hospital Manuel Gea Gonzalez, Mexico City. The 2500m2 quasicrystal facade is composed of prosolve370e modules- three dimensional architectural modules with photocatalytic pollution-fighting technology.

prosolve370e is a decorative architectural module that reduces air pollution in urban environments. The modules are a functional, yet highly decorative modular ornament that achieve a synergy between design form and molecular technology. Inspired by fractals in nature, the undulating shapes maximize the surface area of active coating to diffuse light, air turbulence and pollution.

The modules contain superfine titanium dioxide (TiO2), a pollution-fighting technology that is activated by ambient daylight. When positioned near pollution sources, the modules break down and neutralize NOx (nitrogen oxides), VOCs (volatile organic compounds), SO2, and FPM directly where they are generated.

Derived from a quasicrystal grid, the underlying mathematical grid generates patterns that appear irregular, yet are made of only two constituent types. This modularity creates aperiodic, biomimetic tesselations that bear strong semblance to sponges or corals. The tiling method ultimately enables visual randomness, typically associated with the bespoke, to occur in a modular system.

As a modification to traditional built structures, prosolve370e essentially “tunes buildings” to perform better to the invisible criteria of air pollution.

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 »