The “Playground for the Rich” better known as Dubai may have seen the last of their overly excessive building boom because of fallen oil prices and the global credit crisis. Check-out CBS’s video above for a glimpse of what may be on the horizon. (more…)
Heaven, by Capella Garcia Arquitectura, is an ephemeral space created to show off the virtues of a constructional system using a plastic material which was developed by the Resyrok Company. This impressive display can be found in Barcelona’s Casa Decor Fair as part of the “Pathway to a sustainable environment” exhibit.
“Heaven” invites the visitor to travel along a tunnel revealing the material’s varied possibilities. There are two openings in the facade: one of them, which comes forward to receive you, is the entrance, and the other, which seems to retreat from you, is the exit. The interior lighting keeps changing colour and shade, making the plastic membrane into something living. As you enter you go through a large dome where an oscillating lamp hangs like a tonsil. In one place, the glossy-finish plastic material looks like a painted wall and reflects the light; in another, the same material, but this time with a translucent finish and illuminated from behind, turns the walls into a great lamp that keeps taking on different colours, through a system of electronically-programmed LEDs [RGB]. When you reach the end, the black walls make the space disappear, and in the darkness the moving image of a fire emerges and vanishes behind the microperforated surface of the material, deceiving the eye and producing a hyper-realistic effect. Opposite the image, in the central zone, one whole wall is filled with a projected video of the sea-bed in constant motion, giving the sensation of being submerged under water. Continuing towards the exit you come to an oval window where the material becomes semitransparent, and through it can be seen a curtain of autumn leaves in silhouette, in constant movement thanks to a fan.
Architect Joshua Prince-Ramus of Ramus-Ella Architects has designed “The Dolhouse” for The Calvin Klein Collection store on Madison Avenue. This collaborative installation functions as the focal-point of the store’s annual holiday window display. The dynamic structure floats high above the New York City street by four steel suspension hangers. Impressive indeed.
Designed by the MVRDV architects, the Gwanggyo Power Center is a sustainable township just outside of Seoul Korea. This green development is projected to accommodate about 77,000 occupants by 2011.
Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid have been lined up to take on one of the most high-profile projects on earth—the redevelopment of Mecca.
The top-secret plans are being backed by King Abdullah ben Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia who has asked a hand-picked collection of starchitects to ‘establish a new architectural vision’ for the 356,800m2 mosque complex.
Architecture firm, Gensler, broke ground on a soaring sustainable skyscraper that’s set to become the tallest tower in China - spiraling upwards an astounding 632 meters.
The Shanghai Tower will feature a high-performance façade that shelters no fewer than nine sky gardens, a rainwater recycling system, and a series of wind turbines perched beneath its parapet.
The soon to be Jenga in the sky, better known as 56 Leonard, has created an intriguing promo video showcasing the ambitious design by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron’s.
A new edition to the Copenhagen skyline has been revealed. Steven Holl’s Architects’LM project is the creative force behind this daring and environmentally harmonious gateway. The two photovoltaic-sheathed towers are connected by a sky bridge decorated with wind turbines. Inhabitat provides more detail:
The LM Project’s sustainable solutions are just as exceptional as its aesthetic merits. Both skyscrapers incorporate glass curtain walls shaded by a photovoltaic-laden solar screens. The buildings also feature seawater heating and cooling systems, radiant floor heating, and excellent natural light thanks to the reflective light performance of the solar screens. A true blessing in tall office buildings, each of the towers’ floors also contain operable windows that allow for natural ventilation. Finally, the pedestrian bridge is lined with enough wind turbines to light all of the the buildings’ public spaces.
Without question, Barack Obama’s identity raised the bar of political campaign branding. It is by far the best-designed identity of a U.S. presidential candidate - courtesies of two leading Chicago-based firms: Sender & MODE.
