LOOP City is an urban plan for future growth in and around Copenhagen, Denmark created by the Danish capital’s own BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group). The focus of the plan is largely on reimagining the residential and industrial areas to the west of central Copenhagen that were developed in accordance with the Finger Plan, a post-WWII urban plan headed by Steen Eiler Rasmussen. The Finger Plan laid out “fingers” of urbanization that reach west out from central Copenhagen as well as green spaces to occupy the spaces between the fingers, all in line with answering what they saw as the 10 essential issues facing the city in the future. However well conceived, under the pressures of post war industrialization, the Finger Plan has led to extensive urban sprawl and transportation issues.

LOOP City seeks to reimagine Greater Copenhagen by centralizing urbanization around a light rail system that would ultimately be a part of a larger transportation/development loop that would extend around the entirety of the Oresund Region.

The plan is for an area equal in size to central Copenhagen with a similar urban profile, turning areas of 25% urban density to areas more like the central city, where density is as high as 200%. According to BIG’s plans, if the new areas were urbanized similarly to central Copenhagen it could provide housing for over 325,000 new residents and create more than 280,000 working places. Read the rest of this entry »

The Putrajaya Waterfront development, south of Kuala Lumpur, is home to a large planned residential tower complex in Precinct 4. As part of large centrally planned commercial and government district the towers Studio Nicoletti Associati conceived the design to stand as counterpoint to the tall traditional towers nearby. The overall form is both reminiscent of a sailboat’s profile and a nod to Islamic design sensibilities by terminating with a contemporary ogive arch. Starting with an rounded exoskeleton the towers vary in height and orientation to create an open, pedestrian friendly landscape. Each tower ranging from 18 to 20 stories is topped out with a large terrace spa and green space partially shaded by the support structure that terminates a few stories above. The project totals 278,000 square feet of floor area.

The brise soleil skin provides the distinct identity to the buildings as well as high energy performance which is estimated to reduce energy consumption by 50% of typical mid-rise residential towers in Singapore. The supporting frame will act as a shading device over the glazing but not affect views. The buildings are to support natural cooling techniques which will enter the operable windows and be flushed out through the same apartment or across multiple floors. The buildings are placed to avoid blocking prevailing breezes. Read the rest of this entry »

The Spanish architecture firm MADE IN unveiled their winning design for the Maritime Cultural and Popular Music Center in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The project will start construction in a few months and will be one of the most important developments ever built by a Spanish firm outside of Spain with a surface of more than 100,000 square meters and a budget of 100 million Euros.

The project will accommodate two auditoriums, one exterior for 12,000 people that will enjoy the bay views and an interior for 3,500 seats. In addition, the complex will have a maritime museum, a music museum, markets and other cultural facilities. The project proposes a series of buildings and public spaces that will articulate and animate the Love River Bay which is one of the most important parts of the city.

MADE IN is lead by Manuel Alvarez Monteserin and Beatriz Pachón with the collaboration of the Javier Simó, Andrés Infantes, Antonio Alejandro and the support of the firm Corona and P.Amaral Architects and Studio Leon 11. Read the rest of this entry »

The two main aims in UNStudio’s design for the Urban Library of the Future and Centre for New Media in Gent are to create a dynamic, flexible and open knowledge environment, whilst simultaneously strengthening the character of the location with the introduction of a building with a distinct architectural identity. Sustainability is the guiding factor in the design, based on the conviction that not only must the environmental and user-friendly design of the Urban Library of the Future be able to evolve along with new media, but it must also offer the possibility for future change of use. Withan open landscape, spaciousness, extensive views, alternative circulation routes, several meeting areas and a public plaza, the design for the library affords a renewal of its urban context.

The building is both fluid in form and accommodating to its surroundings. This is evidenced by its appearance – which varies according to the orientation – as well as from the decision to lift the building volume above ground level, thereby creating light, transparency and expansive sightlines. However the layered structure and low construction volume ensure that the impact of the design on the urban profile is minimal and that views to the characteristic towers of Gent are preserved. The structure also makes it possible to introduce (green) roof terraces whilst also ensuring low levels of direct sunlight penetration. Read the rest of this entry »

Carpal Skin is a prototype designed by Neri Oxman for a protective glove to protect against Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a medical condition in which the median nerve is compressed at the wrist, leading to numbness, muscle atrophy, and weakness in the hand. Night-time wrist splinting is the recommended treatment for most patients before going into carpal tunnel release surgery. Carpal Skin is a process by which to map the pain-profile of a particular patient—its intensity and duration—and to distribute hard and soft materials to fit the patient’s anatomical and physiological requirements, limiting movement in a customized fashion. The form-generation process is inspired by animal coating patterns in the control of stiffness variation. Read the rest of this entry »

MAD unveiled their new museum for Chinese wood sculptures in Harbin. As the main city of Northern China, Harbin is in the process of defining itself as a regional hub for the arts at a time when the historic city is rapidly expanding. Inspired by the unique local winter landscapes, the museum is a contrast between the elegance of nature and the speed of daily life. Its 200 meter long body is shaped as a frozen fluid that reflects and explores the relation between the building and the environment. The interior of the museum combines two different exhibitions connected by a centralized entrance which both separates the two museums while simultaneously joining them, achieving a symbiotic relationship. Skylights flood daylight into the voids adjacent to the galleries, creating optimum viewing conditions and scenic moments in and around the building.

MAD was commissioned to design three cultural building in 2009; the structure of the museum was recently completed while the design for an opera house and cultural centre is to be finished in February. Read the rest of this entry »

This project was designed by Greta Lillienau at the Architectural Association in London. Imagine bubbles flying by and attaching to a wall, this is a pattern that shall give you the feeling of flying lightness. Three different tiles have been designed to reinterpretation this. Three different tiles with different intensity in size and the amount of bubbles. These tiles are designed and made with a feminine and poetic touch. They are drawn digital but manufactured by hand and all three variations tile to each other like a puzzle. This gives a great deal of variations of different patterns to the owner. The tiles can be used as a facade ornament or as a interior detail. What is left to you is your imagination when tiling them. Read the rest of this entry »

The Helix Bridge designed by Cox Rayner Architects is one of the few, if any, bridges in the world to be named after its structure. In addition to its uniqueness of structure and form, it was designed to respond to its particular setting at the opening of the Singapore River to Marina Bay, a large inner harbour on which much of the city is now focussed.

The concept derived initially from the desire to curve the plan of the bridge so that it sweeps down onto promenades either side. This ‘arc’ was also means of curving the pedestrian bridge away from an adjoining new vehicular bridge, also designed by the same team, while enabling the two to connect at a mid-point.

The brief required the Helix Bridge to be canopied for shade and shelter in the tropical climate. The notion of a tubular cross-section, which allowed the canopy and deck to be integrated, evolved from this requirement. The team found that a double spiral structure would utilise up to five times less steel than a conventional box girder bridge, and equally became excited about the prospect of such a structure making an iconic statement about Singapore as a ‘green’, walking city. Read the rest of this entry »

Motion Matters presents six of UNStudio’s pavilions, each one illustrating architectural and urban issues being tested in real matter. UNStudio has been experimenting with the typology of the temporary installation for some time, which has resulted in a series. The exhibition shows that this serialization itself is an important aspect of this typology and further explores different readings, interpretations, and perceptions of the featured temporary installations. By moving through the exhibition, shifting perspectives appear, demonstrating the visual and spatial effects of new, more dynamic, materializations.

Each pavilion featured in the exhibition highlights one particular topic; the six topics – interrelated yet specific – are: Transitional Typology, Urban Lobbies, Crossing Points, Kinetic Platforms, After Image and Switching On/Off.

Motion Matters presents the development from the diagram to the design model, and then to a new form of architectural expression. Larger-scale UNStudio projects are related to the topics explored by the six pavilions, as the exhibition investigates the potential of the pavilion to move beyond a typology and become a prototype situated somewhere between technological research and artistic production.

Perched amid the rooftops of London, between the Thames River and the sky above, a sphere of clear polycarbonate designed by Julian King Architect, 7 m in diameter, encases a room of 42 s.m. The shell is joined along aluminum rings that divide the world into its four meridians. Guests ascend a gentle ramp to the raised floor. Inside, a central sky-lit shower is encircled by a 180° riverside seat. To the south, a queen size bed looks onto a roof garden. The unique envelope is coated with photo-voltaics, solidified drops of silicone on transparent film, in the shape of the continents of the Earth; providing all the energy the small room requires. LEDs on the interior surface give the room an ethereal glow at night. From a distance, the global room appears to be a moon, or the Earth itself-and for a moment we see our own planet for the finite, singularly miraculous home that it is. Read the rest of this entry »