Haus S. in Dietlikon / Switzerland by nimmrichter cda

The Swiss architects nimmrichter cda realised this single family house in Dietlikon close to Zurich in Switzerland.

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via dailyTONIC

My Life in 80m² by Poliform

Italian furniture manufacturer Poliform has created an inspirational residential interior project called “My Life in 80m²” to show that the quality of a living space does not depend on the size.

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via Comtemporist

3XN Collaboration Wins Frederiksberg Courthouse Competition

A collaborative effort of Danish architects 3XN, engineers Lemming & Eriksson, and landscape architects Schønherr Landskab has won the competition for the expansion of the Courthouse in Frederiksberg, Denmark.

According to 3XN, the new building will be a sculptural and classic structure, which at once expresses a welcoming transparency while maintaining the justice system’s sobriety and seriousness.

3XN has designed such that the new courthouse will be a natural extension of the existing neo-classical building, while still maintaining its own identity through a modern and contemporary expression.

“At the same time, it was crucial that the Courthouse has a functional interior complying with the law reform’s requirements on security and internal segregations,” says 3XN. “Therefore, the building provides its employees, the defendants, witnesses and guests an open and friendly environment in which it is easy for the different user groups to navigate.”

The Courthouse is expected for completion during the first half of 2012.

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via Bustler

Big Bambú / Tallix foundry, Beacon, NY by Starn’s Beacon Studio

In September 2008, the Starns took over the former Tallix Foundry in Beacon, New York (50 foot high ceilings by 320-foot long by 65 foot wide), and the construction of Big Bambú immediately started. As of November 15th, more than 2,000 bamboo poles have been assembled creating an extraordinary intricate mental and physical network system

This artwork, in the realm of architecture and performance, starts as a massive tower created from lashed together bamboo poles and brings into space representations of complexity and chaos. At its pinnacle, the continually evolving architecture being built from within (no outside scaffolding or support) will cantilever out as far as the bamboo poles network allows, and then will bridge down to the floor. At this point the first tower will be dismantled pole by pole and carried through the structure and down to create another monumental tower and then on again, walking down the 320 feet space, almost like a Slinky and then back again. Big Bambú will evolve through the continuous rebuilding and rethinking of the structure at all times.

The Starns are directing 8 to 15 rock climbers at a time, who are assembling the structure’s vernacular network in an ongoing action.Big Bambú is consistent with the idea of a self-healing organism; within this “fabric” of bamboo pole network, the artists expect that some poles will stress and fail, but that the structure (the bamboo poles are fibrous and flexible unlike wooden boards that crack and break apart) will maintain some integrity. The tower represents the concepts of self-organization, adaptation and the interconnectedness of all things.

Big Bambú is connotative of an autonomous, spontaneous, self-governing, disorganized network responding to itself to better navigate the environment. “It represents me- in that I am who I was, and, I am completely different than I was when I was a little boy.” Doug Starn writes.

The Starns are currently developing a tentative exhibition project focusing on Big Bambú, with the Detroit Institute of Arts for the fall of 2010, and potential venues in Naples (Italy).

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via Starn’s Studio

 

Fiscavaig Project by Rural Design

Scottish architecture firm Rural Design have completed a small timber house on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Called Fiscavaig Project, the two-storey residence is raised slightly above the ground on short wooden columns. The building narrows towards the north facade, which is entirely glazed to provide views over the surrounding landscape. The entrance is reached by a small wooden bridge.

from the architects:

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This small holiday house, located in the township of Fiscavaig on the western side of the Isle of Skye, deliberately eschews convention due to its unusual site. Indeed on first visiting the site it was difficult to see how any proposal could succeed if it disrupted a landscape that did not lend itself to intervention. The decision to lift the building off the ground on small piloti released the design from convention and allowed it to relate to the wider context – the views to the north and the sun from the south. The form of the house deliberately narrows to the north, reducing its surface area, and leans into the weather. The entrance bridge lifts one off the landscape and immediately upon entering one is connected with the view through the fully-glazed elevation to the north. The other windows are secondary and draw light into the two storey volume. Simple timber construction reinforces the character of the house as a visitor in the ancient landscape.

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via dezeen

Cai Guo Qiang: Hanging Out In The Museum

Currently on display at the Fine Arts Museum, Taipei is the retrospective exhibition of chinese born, new york based artist Cai Guo Qiang. The show features numerous works including day and night and toroko gorge, large drawings created from explosions
of gunpowder on sheets of paper covered with stencils. He initially began working with gunpowder to foster spontaneity and confront the suppression that he felt from the controlled artistic tradition and social climate in China at the time.

Also on display is his ‘Head On’ installation consisting of 99 life sized wolves running in a high arc against walls.

Be it creating elaborate installations, drawing his explosive art on paper, or illuminating the sky with colorful fountains, bridges or dragons, all of Cai Guo-Qiang’s works combine Chinese culture with western, post-conceptual thought.

‘People say you can hang out with a pretty girl or hang out at an internet café. in essence, the term ‘hang out’ means to enjoy something.’ – Cai Guo-Qiang explains the title of his new show.

Cai Guo Qiang ‘Hanging Out At The Museum’ will be on view until February 21, 2010

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via designboom

Concrete Cloth by Concrete Canvas

UK company Concrete Canvas have been awarded Material of the Year 2009 by materials consultancy Material ConneXion for their cement-impregnated fabric.

Called Concrete Cloth, the material consists of cement layered between fabric that can bond with water, backed with PVC. The product can be formed into the required shape then allowed to absorb water, causing it to set after two hours. The material can be used structurally and is fireproof and waterproof. The designers hope it will have applications in disaster relief, military and commercial environments.

Here’s some text from Material ConneXion:

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New York, NY, November 23, 2009 – Global materials consultancy Material ConneXion announced today the launch of its first annual MEDIUM Award for Material of the Year, naming UK-based company Concrete Canvas’s Concrete Cloth as the inaugural winner. The award recognizes materials juried into the company’s Materials Library within the past year that demonstrate outstanding technological innovation and the potential to make a significant contribution to the advancement of design, industry, society and economy. “The MEDIUM Award for Material of the Year is an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary breadth and scope of materials innovation today,” says George M. Beylerian, Founder & CEO of Material ConneXion. “The winner is distinguished not only for its technical ability, but for its capacity to make a lasting impact on our lives.” Concrete Cloth’s groundbreaking cement impregnated flexible fabric technology, which allows it to be quickly and easily molded and set into shapes, is a natural choice for 2009’s winner. “With the simple addition of water, Concrete Cloth makes it possible to create safe, durable, non-combustible structures for a wide range of commercial, military and humanitarian uses,” says Dr. Andrew H. Dent, Vice President, Library & Materials Research at Material ConneXion. “This innovation is especially remarkable for enabling the construction of rapidly deployable shelter and food storage structures in disaster relief situations,” Dent adds.

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via dezeen

Re:Vision Dallas Competition Selects Atelier Data / Moov as Final Winner

Yesterday, Urban Re:Vision and the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation announced that “Forwarding Dallas” has been selected as the winning design from Re:Vision Dallas, an international design competition. The challenge, to transform a vacant inner-city block behind City Hall into a carbon-neutral community, drew hundreds of entries from top architecture firms and city planners in 14 countries worldwide.

Forwarding Dallas is the product of a collaboration between Portuguese-based architectural firms Atelier Data and Moov, and will run “off the grid,” acting as a working model of sustainability for cities around the globe. Ground breaking is scheduled for early 2011.

Forwarding Dallas is modeled after one of the most diverse systems in nature, the hillside.  The site is a series of valleys and hilltops, the valleys containing trees and more luxurious plants which transition into more resistant plants as the altitude increases.  Atop the hills, solar thermal, photovoltaic and wind energy is harvested.

Other design components include open ‘green’ spaces, housing options from studio apartments to three bedroom flats, a rooftop water catchment system designed to recycle water collected from rooftops and store underground for later use, a 100% prefabricated construction system and public green houses, including a sensorial greenhouse, swimming pool green house and meeting point green house.

A spiritual space, gymnasium, café and exhibition space are also planned to accommodate various lifestyles.  There is a temporary accommodation center as well as a daycare center designed for both children and the elderly.

Last May, three winners and three honorable mentions were selected from hundreds of entries.  During the months since, Urban Re:vision and the Central Dallas CDC worked with a cadre of pro-bono executives provided by The Real Estate Council Foundation who have done extensive work on the proposed designs, including site analysis, creation of trial proformas, engineering and architectural reviews and estimates of construction costs for all three of the winning designs.  During the first two weeks of November, each of the three winners flew into Dallas for additional discussion.

“All three of the design teams impressed us, both with the quality of their designs and in the interviews,” said John Greenan, Executive Director for Central Dallas CDC.  “Dallas would be a richer city to have the work of any of these architects represented, but as we went further into our review, we began to see the deep logic of the MOOV-Atelier Data design, Forwarding Dallas. Forwarding Dallas seemed to us to do the best job of incorporating concepts of sustainability into the foundation of the design.”

Forwarding Dallas

“One of the things that is terrific is the location of the block being right across from city hall,” said Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert during his welcome at City Hall last December. ”I think it is something that is going to be special for Dallas and it fits in well with what we’re trying to do.”

Considerations for the selection included:

• Sustainability and reality of intent
• Affordability/Constructability: Could it be built in the next few years?
• Innovation and Originality
• Incorporation of Sustainable Materials and Practices

As the re-visioning of one Dallas city block gains momentum, Greenan is already looking toward future endeavors. “The greatest economic impact will come from rebuilding a long neglected part of downtown,” Greenan said. “There are probably an additional half dozen underutilized blocks in the area of the project, and once we prove up the viability of rebuilding the south central part of Downtown Dallas, I think all those blocks will also be revitalized.”

“What I would love to see is an entire section of downtown notable for innovative, sustainable design–an attraction in the southern part of downtown balancing the Arts District in the northern part of downtown. There are already some interesting, green projects in The Cedars immediately to the south of downtown. A sustainable district that extends from downtown all the way into The Cedars neighborhood is a very reasonable possibility.”

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via Bustler

Flat Project by Schemata Architecture Office

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Earlier, in june this year, Japanese architecture studio Schemata poured color epoxy on the top board of school desks which were used in elementary schools. The now ‘Flat’ desks were before uneven due to time deterioration or scribbling. Although the school desks all have the same shape, they gradually gain individual character through the personal items of the pupil, like a school bag or a hat. However, in this project, the individuality of the desks is regenerated through colors, thanks to the craftsmanship and expertise of Nakamura Shuhei. He reset the the unevenness to ‘flat’ with translucent color epoxy. Deep points are mirrored by dense colors and shallow points by more transparent shades. This project is part of the ‘Flat Project’ series.

Currently schemata is displaying their ‘Flat’ project series in an exhibition at happa gallery, Tokyo.
New additions include ‘flat’ tables.

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via designboom

KRob 09 Winners Announced

The 35th Annual Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious architectural drawing competitions, just announced the winners in the professional and student categories.

This year’s jury comprised Jeanne Gang, FAIA, Principal, Studio Gang Architects; Aaron Plewke, Editor, Archinect.com; and Michael O’Keefe, Artist, Educator.

Included here are some of the winning entries for you to enjoy.

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via Bustler (link there for more info on the winners)