Special Mention – 2007 Housing Competition
Project by: Zui Lig Ng

Shotgun Chameleon

Inspired by the Shotgun Houses in the Gulf Coast and the Creole Cottages in New Orleans this project is a prefabricated prototype designed to adapt to different types of climates and accommodate a wide range of programs.

The chameleon-like front screen provides a myriad of facade possibilities for different urban contexts and solar/wind orientations. The sides are made out of wood that can be painted in different colors to blend with the existing context. Billboards for commercial use are feasible in the ground floor and louvers allow breezes, provide privacy, and block direct sunlight. Vine trees could cover the screen and act as thermal regulator like the balconies in the French Quarter. The ground floor is delineated by two parallel load-bearing C.M.U. walls on post-tensioned concrete foundation. The rest of the house (floor, walls, and roof) is constructed with structural insulated panels that are economical, quick to install; an advantage of pre-fabrication. Read the rest of this entry »

Special Mention – 2007 Housing Competition
Project by: YeaHwa Kim,  Ji Young Kim

Gradients of Transition:  A Resilient Stretch System

Our concept for the 21^st century housing emerges from the complex demands of humans, and their interaction with the environment through technology.  The location of the project is the Bland House in Flushing Queens, New York, where there is a mixture of different cultures, businesses, and social classes that are interconnected through a complex system of transportation hubs. Read the rest of this entry »

Special Mention – 2007 Housing Competition
Project by: Anna Rita Emili, Barbara Pellegrino, Massimo Ilardi

Imagine a landscape where the predominant colors shift from yellow to brown, where the only materials are sand and dry clay, and where variations are determined by slight differences in shades. Imagine yourself in a place characterized by contrasting elements; bright light, strong shadows, total darkness, torrid heat, and intense cold.  You will inhabit a place without references or variations.  

We propose a new kind of residence named ‘Well House’, a universally applicable dwelling or refuge with all the characteristics of hipogeos architecture. Our project is based on the Italian St. Patrizio’s sink, characterized by a series of spaces around a central space that contains water. Read the rest of this entry »

The Progressive Architecture Awards have honored Steven Holl Architects’ LM Harbor Gateway as one of nine 2010 recipients. The Awards are administered by Architect Magazine and this year’s winners were selected from a group of more than 300 projects by a jury including Stan Allen, Adele Chatfield-Taylor, Sarah Dunn, Diane Hoskins, John Peterson, and James Richärd. Read the rest of this entry »

Special Mention – 2007 Housing Competition
Project by: Francesco Gatti, Francesco Lipari, Aurgho Jyoti, Summer Nie

With the convergence of computation and biogenetics in the latter part of the 20th century and subsequent completion of the Human Genome Project, we are now witnessing the emergence of a post-human era, which will transform the way we think and interact with the world at large. Genetic architecture is based on the philosophical notion of genesis.

The design ideates from an existing technological research to generate skin systems as cladding material for a building. Researchers at the Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, have developed the next generation of self-healing material, which mimics human skin by healing itself time after time. Fidia Advanced Biopolymers in Italy has produced innovative technologies that enable human tissues such as cartilage and skin to be regenerated in a laboratory. With the DNA of a particular type of skin, the same skin is produced by the company in required amounts. Read the rest of this entry »

Third place of the 2007 Housing Competition
Project by: Marcin Pilsniak

New Housing for Shanghai

The aim of this project is to explore possible solutions to housing problems in rapidly developing cities worldwide. 

Shanghai was chosen as the location for this study because it is affected by extreme poverty, social segregation, and lack of housing developments.  The city has two radically different faces; the rich and polished, and the poor and crammed, who live with a population density of less than 15 square meters per person.  These problems are the result of a massive influx of people with very low income, who constitute over 60 per cent of its population.  Two age groups are especially affected throughout the city; young adults, with little capital to invest, and elderly residents, that cannot continue working in the physically demanding labor market. Read the rest of this entry »

Second place of the 2007 Housing Competition
Project by: Tat Lam

‘Housing + Infrastructure: An active planning strategy subsidizing low income public housing’

Housing inequity is a common phenomenon throughout the world, in both developed and developing countries. The reasons for this phenomenon are many, but the main factor is the rapid development of the city and the privatization of lands and infrastructure without an adequate urban study. Conventional solutions are generally political and few considerations have been taken from the strategic planning of the urban space. Read the rest of this entry »

Underwater Architecture
During the next few days we will showcase 5  proposals for sustainable underwater architecture. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 5 of 5

The year is 2046 and the North and South Pole icebergs have melted, more than 40 percent of the Earth’s surface is underwater. The challenge is to build a skyscraper undersea with movable spheres and conducting tissue structures. Read the rest of this entry »

First place of the 2007 Housing Competition
Project by: Eduardo McIntosh

Housing, like the majority of architectural genres, has always been a permanent construction attached to the ground for long-term residence. This project explores the possibility of creating a nomadic type of dwelling that should be seen as an industrial product rather than architecture.

In the 1960’s, Archigram designed a ‘Walking City’ in which an entire community could move from one place to another. Although a very innovative concept, it has been proven to be economically and technologically unfeasible over the last 50 years. ‘Capitalist Symbiosis’ is a small scale version of Archigram’s utopian vision, a small inhabitable transportation unit for the global resident. It is consumer product, just like ipods, laptops, and mobile phones. Read the rest of this entry »

Underwater Architecture
During the next few days we will showcase 5  proposals for sustainable underwater architecture. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 4 of 5

Higinio Llames, Ifigeneia Arvaniti
Spain

This proposal understands the need of living in harmony with nature in a sustainable way. There is a close relationship between the building and its surrounding. It could be described as a surface that holds an inverted skyscraper under the sea. The “living spaces” below the sea are independent units with living and working areas while the gathering spaces, farmlands, and recreational areas are located at sea level. Read the rest of this entry »