The design for Peoples Meeting Dome in Bornholm, Denmark was practical response of young Danish architects, Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen, to a debate about future of housing. Their ambition was to create outstanding and highly optimized architecture, yet site-specific and contextual as possible. The proposal was deconstructed geodesic dome – still rational and mathematically generated, but with the improved aesthetic qualities and towards attractive, humanized and inviting architecture.

Structural frame of their intriguing edifice, a meeting place and the exhibition tent for the Danish National Association for Social Housing, is triangular and adaptive – sacred geometry is flexible so the dome could be shaped by the local surrounding and the particular uses of the project. The envelope consists of translucent greenhouse membranes on the sphere surfaces and transparent PVC film, used for windows.

Primary structure of the pavilion is system of steel nodes, which can build demanding “lettuce” arrangement in combination with wood. Skeleton is alterable – it is designed to be adaptable to given parameters, dissembled and reassembled and placed in new design. It is column-free, with no load bearing interior walls, great clear space with multiple possibilities of interior design and windows placement. Read the rest of this entry »

Urban Roots is a project designed by Francisco Nunez and Kyle Duvernay to facilitate water access and management by means of biomimetic solutions congruent with architectural design and technology. By carefully analyzing a region in which water is not a local resource, we took on the challenge of designing a new water management headquarters for Downtown San Diego which will implement bio-inspired technologies such as dew harvesting facades, water transfer by capillary action methods and clean water filtration and storage innovations. Read the rest of this entry »

The project by Nash Waters was initiated by looking at the geometry and climatic response of natural systems to build formal and operative logics. The natural ladscape was studied in terms of topography, climate, and material conditions, both analytically through their microclimates and expressively in a response to their horizons.

By studying the biological conditions of foliose lichen, the project was able to utilize various characteristics in order to become a performative structure that is integrated into the landscape. The openings vary in size and thickness on each directional side, optimizing conditions for natural lighting, ventilation, and solar heat gain. Read the rest of this entry »

In their competition entry for Helsinki Central Library, Portuguese practice OODA aimed to transform the space for reading into a social hub with multiple responsibilities. The focus of the concept was to reexamine common library experience and incorporate a combination of personal and social cultivation, culture enhancement and entertainment. OODA is proposing attractive yet bold design – impressive building which acts as a gathering place and important cultural cluster.

This progressive library design was aiming to overcome issues of traditional concepts – individual organization and lack of complementing contents by redefining the image, proposing the dynamic space of cultural activation, information and place where all media forms are equally presented. Flexibility of vertically connected programs creates the impression of continuity of space while encourages socializing and knowledge sharing atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »

“Urban Canyon” is recently awarded entry for colossal, 180,000 square meters mixed-use complex in Shanghai, China. Expressive and dynamic design for Shanghai Wuzhou International Plaza is a result of successful collaboration between Synthesis Design + Architecture and Shenzhen General Architectural Design Institute. The very form of the complex was inspired by traditional Chinese concept of Yin and Yang – massive development is broken in two pieces, allowing circulation flow between. Both volumes are organized as a collection of two 30 story towers and series of detached retail units. Northern block houses 4 story luxury retail shopping center and a 5 star hotel tower, while southern part facilitates two office towers and lifestyle and entertainment complex. This urban sculpture is new landmark for the city and iconic celebration of luxury, wealth and good life. Read the rest of this entry »

SDA | Synthesis Design + Architecture’s design concept for Xiamen Dream City in China challenges the conventional notion of the city waterfront. This monumental artificial landscape facilitates 300,000 square meters of programs. Almost continuous contour line of natural topography of the complex is activated by careful placement of the main programmatic elements. The result of this strategic arrangement is pleasantly chaotic – endless play of surfaces generates undulating dunes, canyons and valleys. Dynamic effect of cascading openings creates articulated network of continuously connected spaces. Final line of the waterfront is a joined venture of view vectors, programmatic forces and pedestrian circulation.

Due to the selection of materials of the envelope and its seamless transition between the ground, the facade and the roof of the complex, the enormous structure is perfectly embedded within the context as it seems to be emerging from the beach itself.

Contents of the low-rise buildings are revealed beneath the surface, therefore conserving precious ground level for a gradient network of public plazas, linear gardens and pathways. Below rests a vast, underground, multi-level concourse, facilitating numerous entertainment venues, luxury retail and dining, lit by sculptural north-facing glass surfaces on the roof, providing diffuse, north skylight. Read the rest of this entry »

OODA‘s unconventional design for Disaster Prevention and Education Center in Istanbul is a proposal  for ThyssenKrupp international competition. In an era of increased environmental concerns, developing public awareness about natural disasters, in this case earthquakes, is of crucial importance. The project augments the experience of these situations and acts as a cautionary tale by simulating actual scenarios, predicting spaces and creating eventual ambiances. The Center, fully equipped by adequate technology is allowing its visitors to actually experience hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, fire fighting and smoke.

The interior of this enormous cross-shaped building is a multi-level roller coaster of overlapping programs, connected through a central point, which receives and guides the public in its interaction with the building. Six separate programmatic areas – the entrance, planetarium, training, simulation, library, conference area and administration need specific connectivity along both axes; therefore the form of the building actually follows the requirements of its main program components. Read the rest of this entry »

This design for the Fresh Kills landscape by Barker Freeman Design Office engages visitors and the environment into generating energy using piezoelectricity, which is the conversion of mechanical movement into electricity. Energy from wind, sound vibration, and human movement can collectively be harvested from the movement of natural piezoelectric materials embedded in walkable surfaces and bendable wind-capturing stalks and streamers. Systems of piezoelectric components are combined to create a series of spaces, including walking trails, a “playscape,” and an amphitheater that support a range of activity for the Park as a destination for large-scale events as well as for more individual recreational activities. Read the rest of this entry »

The project designed by Olga Kovrikova, Asa Darmatriaji, and Timothee Raison continues to explore the notion of housing as a cellular component of an urban organism. Our project is a masterplan that is being informed with the landscape previously scanned and analyzed by swarming robots in order to be able to classify certain geological conditions that would lead to produce the network structures on site.

The project is being developed through a layered multi-agent system that is inspired by nature—in our case, desert-dune field pattern formation, desert erosion processes, which are proliferating continuous spaces that have striated, contoured, cavernous surface aesthetics. The scanning robots are developed to avoid obstacles—which can be elements such as high rock formations—and trace geological formations. By applying this scanning technique we are able to generate the height map and geological consistency of the scanned area. Elements such as sand, clay and rock are maps on site and are informing the robots for the next stages of the process—settling the buildings on the site, excavating and printing. Read the rest of this entry »

Brooks + Scarpa and KZF Design have released their proposal for the new Interfaith Chapel at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. The proposed 7000 square foot Interfaith Chapel is designed to be a special place where students and others can slow down their lives, re-focus on their spiritual needs and reflect. At the same time, the Chapel will support a variety of diverse religious services, student ceremonies, weddings, other intimate events, lectures, meditative practices and musical performances.

The informal shape of the building footprint symbolizes an allegorical figure, such as Justice, Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence and Fortitude. The buildings form draws upon references of flowing formal gowns used in weddings and other ceremonial rituals. The top of the building culminates with a large skylight that is shaded by a wooden lattice spire whose form is derived from the symbol of infinity. This combination of flowing natural and cosmic elements results in a unique, formal building while providing a warm interior with soft filtered and reflected light. It inspires an indelible wonder; a dreamlike state of mind that engages the user, heightens their sense of awareness, and brings a deeper understanding to their experience.

The building is organized with a variety of features that reinforce a sense of spirituality and self-reflection, and embrace the local natural environment as well as the macro, cosmological world. Viewed from the center of the sanctuary, a window has been placed high above the ground, facing directly north at 30 degrees above the horizontal. This window is aligned with and provides a direct nighttime view of the Polaris.

The Polaris, or North Star, is a historically important navigational and otherworldly star. Because of its position in the sky, no matter where you are in the Northern Hemisphere, if you face north you are facing toward Polaris. This direct connection from the sanctuary’s interior to an important cosmic symbol encourages the viewer to reflect and forge a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the fundamental, yet delicate relationships that exist between themselves, our collective cultures, the natural world and its vital resources.

The proposed design has other windows and openings strategically placed around the building to allow for views and visual connections to adjacent lake, nearby woods, and other important natural and cosmic features. Some windows are aligned with the winter and summer solstices to allow for the penetration of unique qualities of natural light that occur only during sunrise and sunset of this special moment. Other openings view the lake, garden and provide a welcoming arrival to the chapel. All of these features allow the opportunity for users to co-mingle with special moments of natural phenomena that connect to and honor the role of faith and spirituality. Read the rest of this entry »