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 »

Emerging from the sandy ground of Dubai, UAE, pair of fluid vertical structures form the mixed-use Marina + Beach Towers, designed by Oppenheim Architecture + Design. Not visible at the first sight, the units are based on a standard module, whose skillful placement within the towers develops a woven tapestry on the façade and provides striking views and natural light, while simultaneously providing necessary protection from the intense Arabic sun.

Contrary to the master plan of the area, the aim was to maintain continuity across the site, which would be encouraged and controlled by topography. Therefore, the surface acts as a fluid consequence of the distinct characteristics, private and public. Following the emerging trend, the building is wrapped in botanical bliss, blooming in ambient light. The building is united with the landscape, represents its vertical continuation and eruptive statement. The symbiosis of those two diverse elements resulted with the opening of the promenade into a bazaar of lifestyle experiences, from fine dining to exclusive yachting and clubbing.

However, the main focus is on sustainability and embracing the natural resources. Building itself is a device for luring cool breezes to spaces protected from the sun, using the well-known local principles of wind catchers. Most of building’s required energy is produced by solar and wind arrays, incorporated in the design, while other highly-efficient methods complete self-sustenance, such as apparatus for the reuse of the vast amounts of water. The design is introducing up-cycling, as opposed to re-cycling, innovative opportunity for energy and resource conservation, therefore allowing residents to freely enjoy the luxurious lifestyle, without ever feeling guilty. Read the rest of this entry »

ThyssenKrupp Headquarters in Essen, Germany, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a landmark architecture, awarded third prize in an open international two-phase competition. The winning designs were chosen during the deciding two-day panel meeting at the Zollverein School of Management and Design. Its unique, technical-innovative and organic form promotes the values of ThyssenKrupp. Centrifugal field acts as an outline of the buildings and the surrounding landscape. This polished development creates the atmosphere of dune landscapes or glacier fields. The aim was to create iconic architectural piece that would be acknowledged beyond the borders of Essen.

The urban master plan included the design of office buildings, multi-functional building, an academy and a hotel, along with the development of the new headquarters and was dealing with the integration of new features within the existing structure on the site. Read the rest of this entry »

Created by students from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), led by Benjamin Ball,Gaston Nouges and Andrew Lyon of Ball-Nouges Studio, Elastic Plastic Sponge is large scale installation, designed and built for the famous Coachella Festival. Unique in form, this installation is highly flexible and can be twisted, curled and arched in order to form different spaces, ranging from lounge, theater, sun-shade to large sculptural Mobius strip.

Precisely described in architectural terminology as form active, meaning that its form is derived from the material properties, the installation was difficult to be studied only using digital tools and it required testing full-scale mock-ups in the field. Temporary structures are usually constructed using modular system that enables transportation and fast reassembling on site. This assembly is made of 250 unit cells; each fabricated using custom jigs, designed by SCI-Arc students. Due to its adaptability, the structure allows changing crowd, climate and site conditions. Read the rest of this entry »