The aim of the “Solar Loop” designed by Paolo Venturella & MenoMenoPiu Architects is to expose more surface to the southern solar rays. The shape comes directly from the solar diagrams, the structure follows the sun at its best angle; almost like an  artificial sunflower.

The aesthetic of the sculpture is the result of this dialogue that becomes synthesis between the solar power and Freshkills park.

This landmark will organize the park life inside and outside. Potentially it could be thought as a no-dimension element that could be multiplied in different sizes on the park’s needs, to yield energy and living spaces. Read the rest of this entry »

TENACITY is an architectural research proposal by PinkCloud (Leon Lai, Kate Lisi, Eric Tan) seeking to revitalize long neglected and socially disadvantaged Public Housing communities in New York City. Of New York City’s 8 million residents, there are over 400,000 residents currently living in poverty and deteriorating conditions within New York City’s public housing system. Of the over 2,500 buildings in the city’s public housing stock, most were built during the late 1940s until the mid 1960s; all remain today in various states of disrepair and neglect. Their designs reflected the popular motif of city planning of the day, that of the “Towers in the Park”. Envisioned by architects such as Le Corbusier as the answer to urban poverty, it ultimately resulted in its exacerbation. Read the rest of this entry »

Somewhere between a mechanized organism and an architectural space, the project entitled “Dance Center: Cybernetic Assemblages” explores modes of articulating space using the vocabulary of cybernetics. The organic skin of the Dance Center rests on and conceals the mechanical “plug-ins” which anchor building to its surroundings. The ceremonial staircase connects the four dance spaces in the same manner as a prosthetic element, holding together parts of a human body. The project was designed by Nikita Troufanov, as part of the IIT’s spring architecture studio. Read the rest of this entry »

Modern buildings with floor-to-ceiling windows give spectacular views, but they require a lot of energy to cool. Doris Kim Sung works with thermo-bimetals, smart materials that act more like human skin, dynamically and responsively, and can shade a room from sun and self-ventilate.

Designed by USC architect professor Doris Kim Sung, the “Bloom” installation is made with 14,000 pieces of thermobimetal — two thin sheets of metals, each with different expansion rates, laminated together. When the temperature rises, the metal sheets curl up. When it gets cooler, the sheets flatten out. Read the rest of this entry »

The forming of the urban context is based on the existing territory, something that changes slowly, and human activities, which are changing all the time. Due to the non-stop pace of human activities, the urban context remains in a cycle of perpetual negotiation. Like organic tissue, the city is always in a state of growth, decay, and rebirth.

In the initial forming of a city, people gather according to their habitual behaviors, which are collective ideas. The multiple and collective ideas often made singular. However, in the development of urbanism, master plans are always rigid and lack tolerance and changeability, like a machine. However, when a mechanical system is broken, it forms another context, in which the city can release and breath. Therefore, I would argue that an ideal urban design should be like a coordinating machine that retains flexibility for its users to adapt the city for themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

The proposal for the “House Of The Future / Haus der Zukunft” by Dietmar Köring, Simon Takasaki and EyeTry in Berlin responds to Berlin’s strict urban context: the concept of the “urban block” is touched upon and developed further. The building is partially lifted off the ground, and takes up the general building height of common Berlin housing. The ground floor level is characterized by large open spaces allowing for direct and dynamic circulation. The ground floor area of the building acts as an buffer zone between the neighboring hospital, the harbor and the river Spree. The landscaping and shaped pathways offer a manifold experience of the green zone, which is an integral part of the building’s appearance. The outdoor areas invite people to stay – a small open-air stage offers additional possibilities for spatial programming.

The fluid ground floor concept takes users into the open and dynamic spaces of the building’s inside. The urban block features three-dimensional cuts on the side facing the park, which creates a contemporary, clear structure, blurring the boundaries between exterior and interior. Read the rest of this entry »

Morphosis have designed a new office for themselves – the largest net-zero building in Los Angeles and the most eco-friendly in the country. The fairly rectangular structure is located just a few feet from the new light rail Expo Line’s elevated tracks in Culver City. It significantly reduces loads through several low-tech, high-tech, and even revolutionary techniques, most of which were developed with engineers at Buro Happold, whose LA offices are just down the street. Read the rest of this entry »

The initial concept for the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Centre for Drug Research and Development in Vancouver, British Columbia, is based on the idea of a canopy, floating above the ground level. Architects at Saucier + Perrotte have transformed the idea of a tree into an abstract system of tectonic elements that float above a public area containing fluid exhibition spaces. These act as a meeting point for faculty, researchers, students and outside visitors. Read the rest of this entry »

In order to integrate the operational and social mechanics of hotel culture into the everyday life of contemporary cities, ZA Architects have designed a hotel that occupies the space above a city street and hangs between existing buildings. The proposal itself is half street/ half building. Its volume encloses a number of public activities, creating a vibrant atmosphere that encourages interaction between locals and hotel visitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed and built in collaboration between Chalmers University of Technology and Röhsska Museum of Design in Copenhagen, the Archipelago Pavilion is a network of seating structures that inhabits the cortyard in front of the Museum. The structure provides shaded seating inside and creates shaded spaces around it to place existing chairs and tables. The structure was built on site by 33 architecture students.

The pavilion was parametrically designed in Grasshopper and Rhino and built from 2 mm thick laser-cut steel sheets. Exactly 133 pieces of steel were joint together with 1535 joints with a total of 3640 bolts holding it together. Inside the pavilion visitors can lie comfortably on the surface, thanks to the steel’s possibility to stay cool when shaded. The intricate web of spaces resembles clusters of small islands in an archipelago. The perforation on the roof spreads out an organic pattern resembling the one you would see from a tree in the forest. Read the rest of this entry »