The Bubble Skyscraper was designed by Iranian architects Farzad Mirshafiei, Amin Aghagholizade, Farzin Misami, and Peyman Aali. 

The exterior shell was designed based on the aerodynamic properties of bubbles against cross-wind deflection during strong ocean winds. Three legs at the base and a structural braced core provide additional resistance against lateral forces.

 According to the wind and solar orientations, there are gaps between bubbles at different levels. Green spaces and sky-gardens are accommodated in these gaps to provide the building and the community with social spaces – intelligent trapdoors in these areas allow natural ventilation produced by the chimney effect of the central atrium. The electrical and mechanical systems are embedded in pipes running along the facade that illuminate with different colors at night. Some of the green elements of the Bubble Skyscraper are: wave energy convertors, water recollection systems, solar panels, and wind turbines. Read the rest of this entry »

Alabama-based architectural firm Forrest Fulton designed a 900,000 sqf building that resembles a mountain in Yerevan, Armenia. The biomorphic building consists of a structural lattice that connects the city and landscape to the project. The hill is covered with regional plants and it is accessible to pedestrians as a leisure park. From the top there are excellent views to Mt. Ararat in Turkey. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent design competition called for entries for a backcountry ski patrol and emergency services operation center for a site at 9,000 ft in elevation somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The winner of the 2010 Cavin Family Traveling Fellowship was Garrett van Leeuwen, a recent graduate of Architecture at Cal Poly, who now has $10,000 to use towards travel in order to learn about sustainable building. Garrett’s winning design 11,300 square foot facility incorporating emergency medical facilities, a backcountry operations center, sustainable building strategies as well as passive solar design.

The location for the backcountry operations center is at the top of a hill in a large valley with commanding views of the nearby ridges and terrain. Four main program categories make up the operations center – avalanche control, emergency medical service, ski patrol office and vehicle storage. Each program category needed an increasing amount of space, with vehicle storage needing the most and avalanche control needing the least. So four separate rooms were designed for a each purpose in ascending size, and linked together with storage towers and a hallway. Read the rest of this entry »

IwamotoScott Architecture designed a very innovative set of towers in New York City as part of the Greenwich South design study – commissioned by the Alliance for Downtown New York, and led by Architecture Research Office, Beyer Blinder Belle and Open. 

The work was shown in an exhibition, Five Principals For Greenwich South last fall in Lower Manhattan’s Zucotti Park. Architects, artists and designers who contributed work include: Architecture Research Office, Beyer Blinder Belle Coen + Partners, DeWitt Godfrey, IwamotoScott Architecture, Jorge Colombo, Lewis.Tsuramaki.Lewis Architects, Morphosis, OPEN, Rafael Lozano- Hemmer, Transolar Climate Engineering, WORKac. Read the rest of this entry »

Mexico City will soon see a new landmark take its place on the landscape. Torre Reforma is a 244 meter tall, mixed-use tower with a projected LEED Platinum certification, a first for Latin America. Wedge faced on one side, flat on the other, its changing character will complement and counter balance its smaller neighboring tower Torre Mayor. The building is designed by LBR&A Arquitectos. Read the rest of this entry »

Two projects by Greg Lynn that explore architecture in space in a near future.

New City is an architecturally considered virtual world; it responds to the emergence of social media through the design of a parallel virtual reality in which all of the earth’s inhabitants reside in a single interconnected city.

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The 2010 Shanghai World Expo is about to open in a couple of days. The majority of the pavilions are ready and expecting around 70 million people during the next months. One of the most publicized structures is the Danish pavilion designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. Since its conceptual stage it received instant praise by architectural critics and the media because of its design simplicity and concept. The building is a bicycle loop with a reflecting pool in the center. The Danish national symbol, the statue of the Little Mermaid, will be on display during the exhinition. Read the rest of this entry »

A large commercial development is underway in downtown Oslo near the waterfront called Bjørvika Barcode and includes many financial office buildings. The entire project was designed by a collaborative team of architecture firms including, a-lab, MRDV, and Dark Architects. a-lab is now working on its next phase of the project- the B-Building for the headquarters of Norwegian financial institution DnB NOR, which will be cluster of narrow buildings along the Barcode. MRDV is designing the A-Building and Dark Architects is working on the C-Building. Read the rest of this entry »

This summer, a blow-up pavilion will be touring through various parks and green spaces all around London. The Portavilion, designed by Berlin-based art and architecture collective Raumlaborberlin, is a portable pavilion made out of a translucent membrane that stuffs into the back of a van. Upon arrival at their destination, the membrane is inflated and supported by air and acts as a temporary pavilion. The Portavilion will play host to a number of dynamic cultural programs, including dance programs, festivals and music events led by leading organizations like the English National Ballet, London Festival of Architecture, Tate Modern, the Roundhouse and the Royal Society of Arts. Read the rest of this entry »

Images: ©Adam Mørk

3XNs visionary and empathetic winning proposal unites the Middelfart savings Bank’s high ambitions for their new head office. The building must ensure a perfect environment for the employees, while also positively stress demands for high architectural quality in the future development along the harbour front.

One large roof covers all functions in the building. The roof is a large elegant wooden structure with numerous openings. The openings bring in abundant amounts of daylight and allow for direct view of the sea from all places in the building, up and down. In this way, the light and friendly atmosphere sought for by the bank is achieved. Read the rest of this entry »