New emerging architecture design of Student Housing Complex by Ofis in Paris

The objective of this building is the green aspect of 'energy efficient building', which will be built at the end of 2010. This Student Housing Complex is somehow a de ja vu with metabolism architecture from Japanese modern architects with its tilted box units. Ofis Architekti, a Slovenia based architect win Student Housing Competition in Paris.

The complex will be build before the tram line pass the nearby neighbourhood in 2012. One thing obvious in this design is that it uses horizontal lines as shading device. It also uses simple, well insulation and ventilation plan, but it is still questioned whether the insulation will be in contrary with ventilation.

+ via ecofriend
+ via contemporist
+ via ofis

Watercube in Beijing, China wins Australia's most prestigious architecture award

One of the building used for recent olympic games in China, won the most prestigious architecture award from Australian Institute of Architecture. This incredible architecture facility won the Jorn Utzon Award for International Architecture. It is said by the jury that this building is an 'engaging and ethereal Chinese and Western architecture'.

The building has attracted the eyes of the world to see the new structure and innovative architecture stand for the most prestigious sport events in the world. Becoming an energy efficient and eco-friendly building, this inspired-by-nature building also becomes an inspiration for us architects.

+ inhabitat
+ worldarchitecturenews

Moving view of Frank Gehry's building design in Paris. Google streetview architecture collection

See bigger map


This view is Frank Gehry's design of American Center in Paris, with building that contains curves and tilted angles like Guggenheim Bilbao. From this Google streetview the facade shown here is the 'almost normal' view from Rue de Bercy, the street of the view. While the curves and tilted angles are on the opposite side of this view.

Gehry state that the curves and tilting volumes are to express 'a dancer lifting her tutu'. When it was still American Center, is said to have financial problems and being closed. Then the French Government acquired the building and relocate the Cinematheque from Palais de Chaillot to the site. The building was then renovated with respect to Gehry's design on the exterior.


Lihat Peta Lebih Besar

Modern house in Somosaguas, Spain, by A-cero Architects.

This modern house is very well designed with (i believe) strong image of sketches and imagination. The house stands with a beautiful pool beside it with beautiful lines of concrete facade.

designed by A-cero Architect, Spain

I have tried to seek for this house in Google streetview, but have not find it yet. So if anyone of you have found it, I will aprreciate if you'd like to share.

This house has a very breathtaking view with woods and water features around it.

 

  

 

Santiago Calatrava's Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, built in 1996, but still one of the most photogenic building in the world

See bigger map

You can navigate the picture above

If there are few buildings in this world that will look good in Google streetview, this is one of them, and luckily google car was able to be close enough thanks to the Poente de Monteolivete, a street that is in the middle of the two very interesting building complex. A very monumental building by Santiago Calatrava; Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. This is a museum of arts in Valencia, Spain. Despite its structural genius, Calatrava design a building that is photogenic from every side of the building complex.



The "city" is made up of the following, usually known by their Valencian names:
El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía — Opera house and performing arts centre
L'Hemisfèric — Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium
L'Umbracle — Walkway / Garden
El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe — Science museum
L'Oceanogràfic — Open-air oceanographic park
Surrounded by attractive streams and pools of water, it and the surrounding areas of the "city" are typically used as a relaxing place to walk day or night, with an open air bar outside El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe during the evening (especially during events).

Newest building by Frank Gehry, Brighton waterfront development

Frank Gehry's newest building proposal of Brighton waterfront development, is waiting for decision to be build after fierce debate in Brittain about whether this building is good enough to be there. It is said from the contras that the building is 'out of context', while the pros said that this is the great dream of a genius.

This building is a $650-million residential and recreation complex, with the form inspired by 'flowing dresses' of victorian women 'promenading along the seafront', and is inteded to strengthen Brighton's heritage.

"I've got this picture of the maidens in their floating dresses in Brighton on the wall of my office," he said in a 2005 interview. "It's a kind of inspiration and the towers now do look as if they relate to that." Said Gehry.

+ via canada.com
+ via nolandgrab

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; street view google map architecture collection

See bigger map


You can navigate the picture above

This San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was designed by Mario Botta, where he uses simmetry as method of organization, for the plan and for the exterior building. The main facade is symmetrical and presents a volumetric hierarchy. There is an atrium inside this building for natural light.

When seeing the streetview image above, it seems like the facade can not be enjoyed from near the building, but we have to go to certain distance to see the whole image of the building. There is a gap between two buildings in front of it used as public space where we can see this museum in best view. But not from this streetview by Google  ;)

Zaha Hadid's Contemporary arts museum, Ohio; street view google map architecture collection

Lihat Peta Lebih Besar

You can navigate the picture above

Start today, I will make collections of now-architecture buildings and famous architects made with Google streetview. This is the first, Zaha Hadid's Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. This work made her the first woman receive Pritzker Price

Zaha Hadid at the time she was choosen for pritzker Prize in 2004, caught the attention of the jury's, with her great acclaim, ideas and energy that showed greater promise for the future.

There are various of exhibitions held in the art center, including photography, video, film and live performances, and also many performers and artists from all continents.

"The public lobby, where everyone enters, is downtown and central to the city so people who are just walking around can go in and have a coffee downstairs or hang around the lobby or go upstairs to quickly see a show. It is a very accessible building.
It's not a compact building and there is a degree of transparency on the ground and above. So it's not only how we use it, but also how we pass through it.
Every time you confront the space you have a different experience".
Zaha Hadid

Small things to do for green living at home

What if our everyday life can be more 'green' with simple ways like turning off the faucet while brushing teeth in the morning and night that it will save 8 gallons of water a day? Also there are other tips from the Living Green tour  At Grand Central Station in New York City.

There is also towels that tells us more about living green and the difference between organic cotton or bamboo fiber compared to towels made of cotton with synthetic pesticides. That seems to be great ideas to think again the way we live in our everyday life, to be more green.

+ via Dannyseo

Dynamic Tower in Dubai, ever changing form- architecture

UK based architect, David Fisher with his firm Dynamic Architecture, has been honored as the worldwide Architect of the year 2008 by The Developer & Builders Alliance (DBA). Other finalists were Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, Foster & partners, Santiago Calatrava, and Pelli Clarke.







David Fisher design this tower in a very dinamic shape, with changes in every floor according to the need of every floor, meteorogical factors, that makes it has rotating and ever changing form in every direction. The construction is started with the top floor (80th), which is prefabricated units assembled around the core. It is a 'moving' building that has prefab floor each made in Italy to rotate freely creating a always changing, dynamic shape tower.

Fisher was graduated from the University of Florence, Italy, and he developed methods of 'dynamic architecture' that he believes will be a new concept and dimension of architecture and way of living. Even though there are many skepticism about this tower, because he has never build a skyscraper before. But he said he was working with experienced and reputable firm in UK and India.

Stated as the first 'Dynamic Tower' as Building in Motion, this building is believed to be a new symbol and era for architecture and Dubai.

Created by revolutionary architect Dr. David Fisher, the mixed use Dynamic Tower offers infinite design possibilities, as each floor rotates independently at different speeds, resulting in a unique and ever evolving structure that introduces a fourth dimension to architecture, Time.

The Dynamic Tower in Dubai will have 80 floors, and will be 420 meters (1,380 feet) tall, Apartments will range in size from 124 square meters (1,330 square feet), to Villas of 1,200 square meters (12,900 square feet) complete with a parking space inside the apartment. the first 20 floors will be an offices, floors 21 to 35 will be a luxury hotel, floor 36 through 70 will be residential apartments, and the top 10 floors will be luxury villas located in a prime location in Dubai, it is destined to become the most prestigious building in the city.

The Dynamic Tower in Dubai will be the first skyscraper to be entirely constructed in a factory from prefabricated parts, it will require only 600 people in the assembly facility and 80 technicians on the construction site instead of 2,000 workers on a similar size traditional construction site, Construction is scheduled to be completed by 2010.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, is considered by many to be a true visionary of the future, Dr. Fisher's dreams for the Dynamic Tower in Dubai were inspired by His Highness who said “Do not wait for the future to come to you…face the future.” (in dynamicarchitecture.net) 

via
+ todaysfacilitymanager
+ cnn.com
+ dynamicarchitecture
+ gizmodo

Hanging bubble chair by Eero Aarnio

Regency shop , after reading our post about bubble chair , told us they have collection of hanging bubble chair by Eero Aarnio. This bubble chair was inspired by dome shaped skilights and the designer ask the manufacturer whether they could blow a bigger bubble. And here we go, a hanging bubble chair to laze the day away in swinging, swirling comfort.

This chair is strengthened with metal ring and installed with comfortable set of cushion, and new manufacturers make these chair with its original architectural specifications.

If you own websites that sell this chair you can also give comments here.

Eamon O'Kane's painting and sculpture; The Architect's House

Eamon O'Kane, with his installation in RARE Gallery, New York, during 15 November to 20 December 2008; The Architect's House, presents a large-scale oil paintings with his fascination of architecture and landscape. This painting recombine elements of modern design and set them in idyllic landscapes to bring the sense of contemporary utopian ideal. Yet he also refer to a subversive aspects of literature, cinema and design to show that it is impossible to achieve this ideal.

O'Kane realizes this dichotomy that he seems to offer the possibilities of hope, optimism, and redemption while on the other hand snatching them with his foreboding, surreal, and threatening allusions.

via artcal.net  

Showroom office by Akihisa Hirata, a new definition of open and close

This showroom office is designed by Akihisa Hirata, a Japan-based architect, that is used for small agricultural equipments exhibition, located in . With its tree-like collumns that serve also as walls, this work creates a sense of natural structure, like trees in the forests. The interior and exterior views are strongly influenced by the diagonal lines of the structures, creating infinite degree in between open and close.

via archdaily

Zaha Hadid 'aura' concept of harmonic proportion; exhibition Biennale 2008

Zaha Hadid's magical concept is again being shown in Venice, Italy. Working with Patrik Schumacher, this installataion are two sculptures 'aura-S and 'aura-L' shown inside two rooms, as a part of Biennale 2008 exhibition. The two sculpture seems to contain the kind of irregular geometry often used by Zaha Hadid in her works. From different perspectives, this installation give different impression. This geometry is somehow organic forms.

 Aura L

Aura S

When explaining about Zaha Hadid, we can not explain it with our own words, instead, let's read what is written in text by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Text by Zaha Hadid Architects (copied from designboom):

'aura' is an experiment in translating villa foscari’s palladian design, which relies on a defi nite set of harmonic
proportions, into a contemporary space whose elegance and dynamism is generated through a process defined
by a non-linear set of rules elicited from palladio’s theories. since the renaissance architects tried to embed in
their compositions the musical concept of harmony and the mathematical relations that un-derlie notes, intervals
and chords while producing a sound.

palladio used this concept of harmonic proportion to link his villa’s rooms, aiming for a global system of harmony.
the process of generating aura’s form brings these linear proportions into their musical meaning. each of them
corresponds to a musical harmonic that in turn can be described as a frequency wave: a half is an octave interval,
four thirds is a fourth and so on. by overlapping all the frequency curves generated from villa malcontenta’s
proportional system and progressively changing them with mathematical algorithms it is possible to define a
genotypic elementary space whose form contains in its DNA the whole Palladian set of rules.

at the same time the parametric nature of the process makes the form able to adapt itself to multiple environments
within the villa, keeping track of every single variation or 'phenotype'. the result is a new and more complex order
that retains at the same time classical proportions but is not enclosed in a rigid and unique solution. in fact, like in
lorentz attractor’s equation, every small change in the value of parameters will result in a different morphological
configuration that will keep the same order but with altered proportions. this dynamic of differentiation helps in
giving to the whole installation a spatial relationship whilst keeping every single space independent. this gives
enough flexibility to create different scenarios within the villa and to configure a set of multiple relationships
between two, three or four rooms. aura‘s design gives form to an ethereal space that doesn’t collide with the beauty
and harmony of palladian interiors nor does it hide the perception of its frescoes. its proportions in plan are part of
villa malcontenta’s harmonic system and allows to experience its spaces both walking through and circulating around.

this puts in context the humanistic anthropocentric vision of architecture with contemporary spacial values tending
to emphasize the skin, the interface, the environment rather than the interior. aura doesn’t claim to reinvent palladian
space nor to perform as a tool for reading hidden meanings through its gaps. its stream of thin elongated curves
painted in a glossy reflecting finish catches the atmosphere and the colours of villa malcontenta bridging the past
with the future.






project info
design: zaha hadid and patrik schumacher
design team: fulvio wirz and mariagrazia lanza

Picture and reference: designboom

We also suggest you watch this youtube graphic video by 85studio, an interesting graphic animation.

Mini house by Jonas Wagell.

Should it be great to have a house for yourself, even if it's small? Mini house made by the architect Jonas Wagell, is a response to the increase size allowed for extra house on a single property in Sweden. This cute little house appears bigger thanks to the pergola attached to the enclosed space.

There is a sliding door that makes it looks even wider connecting the inside and outside, with a cannopy outside for sitting and chatting with your friends or work outside. This house gets Wagell receive awards for his innovative design. He also design more industrial furnitures and products such as Tilt collection of glassware, Symbiosis Lamp, and others.

via mocoloco 

'Cool' public space in hot Abu Dhabi by Emergent Architecture

A public space that is hi-tech, like Zaha Hadid's deconstruction museum is in Abu Dhabi made by Emergent, an architecture firm in Los Angeles. This open space is inteded to be used as public space in a very hot environment that can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit, with water pool to cooler the air, in term of evaporative and psychological. With atmospheric and spatial solution, this environment will attract people to come and enjoy the daytime hours.

The surface of the plaza plane has rooms below it, that become media center and converence rooms that serves the other three buildings around it.

This surface-to-volume transformation is an extension of an investigation into surface-to-strand geometries in recent projects. Hybrid, transformative geometries offer a wider range of flexibility than surface, strand, or volume systems alone. 

via Emergent Architecture 

Frank Gehry deconstructivism, from small house to world projects

Frank Gehry, a Pritzker Prize receiver, from the first home to now a wellknown postmodernist architect with the very contemporary architecture wonder in Bilbao, Seattle, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, started his first deconstructivism in his traditional Santa Monica house in the late 1970s. His carreer took it very long for him to be recognized having architectural projects that will make him one of the most distictive architect of the world.

Always starting with images in his mind, and with sketches that has strong influence in his projects, "his drawings reflect the architect's knowledge of visual arts, and their enourmous impact on his work", notes daCosta Meyer.

One of the new building that is designed by Frank Gehry is Lewis library in Princeton University. If one is standing and watching its bold, curved stainless steel roofline, he or she will know that this is designed by Gehry, which is having a distinctive look. Having glass walls that are tilted, and having walls that is painted bright blue, orange and chartreuse. The building is named for Peter Lewis, a 1955 alumnus, who is making a gift of $60 million to build this library construction.

The library is composed of stainless steel, with brick that is colored with light colors, and added with bright colors, having glass and stucco walls. It has an embossed surface that dulls the finish and diffuses the light. It also has a roofline that is 103 feet high. The second floor has a glass enclosed area that overlooks the atrium with bright colors surrounds it.

Reference and images from

http://weburbanist.com/2008/02/03/the-house-that-shaped-an-architectural-generation-frank-gehrys-first-deconstructivist-building/
http://www.interiordesign.net/article/CA6604561.html
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S20/84/49I22/index.xml?section=featured

The new TWA building by Eero Saarinen re-open, wrapped by JetBlue terminal

Terminal designed by Eero Saarinen is projected to open this year under a plan by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.



There is a new building with $19 million budget named the JetBlue Airways terminal will be wrapping around the old TWA building built in 1962 by Saarinen in crescent shape. Known as Terminal 5, these two buildings may bring back the spirit of the modern architecture icon created by Eero Saarinen. See the video from youtube below

The terminal that has been closed in 2001 will be opened with the support of jetBlue new Terminal 5. Visitors and customers will still be able to check in at the JetBlue kiosk in Saarinen building and take the advantage of enjoying the landmarked architectural wonders exquiisite modernist design on their way to the terminal.

The good news of this is that TWA by Saarinen will be available again, even though there is not much to see in the new building, because it is not that-so-iconic building. The oval TV ring as the new attraction in the new building is not very strong, and is a functional building.



One element of Saarinen building that is still maintained is the trumpet-shaped lounge that used to sit at the end of one of the tubular corridors. This cost more than the budget planned because it was planned without consulting the redevelopment committee.

This we hope will bring back the iconic building in our new modern time.

via youtube