In January, Angelov’sprovocative idea for a second circulation lane, which allowed bicycles to travel across steel wires, sparked quite a debate. Angelov has branched off this initial idea to form a new concept for urban transportation. Kolelinio takes the wire system found in the Kolelinia experiment to a new level by creating a seemingly part ski-lift part roller coaster line that will zip people around the city. The proposal offers a fresh outlook on weightless transportation that can be implemented now, instead of waiting for the depletion of petroleum before finding a greener way.
A great video and more about the project after the break.
Located in Greenwich Village, The New School is an artistic academic institution where thousands of students continue their education in varying facets of design, whether it be music, drama, jazz, liberal arts etc. Within the past few days, the school has unveiled their newest proposal for a University Center designed by New York based SOM. Adding over 365,00 sqf for academic and public programs, a new library and a 600+ student dormitory, the project will create a major campus hub at 65th Fifth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets when it opens for the Fall 2013 semester.
Close to a year ago, we reported on Callebaut’s radical idea for a vertical farm situated on the south edge of Roosevelt Island, New York. It is nice to see that Callebaut’s latest project, Hydrogenase still offers the same dynamic result, but this time, instead of addressing the food shortage issue, it aims to create a self-sufficient organic airship. This conceptual transport system would be comprised of airships that produce biofuel from seaweed. The project draws its inspiration from nature, as well as from the qualities of its materials and its self-manufacturing processes.
A few days ago, we shared Forrest Fulton‘s Lace Hill proposal for Armenia, and tonight we share the firm’s idea for a retreat that creates two distinct meditative spaces through its relationships to the landscape. A floating wooden deck and a small, dimly lit enclosure,which is sunken into the ground, intend to respond to one another as a way to “intensify a spiritual experience of the place.”
OFF Architecture‘s proposal recently received first prize for their Cultural Center in Cugnaux, France. The building’s central element is the exterior treatment which is a woven wooden mesh that filters different densities of light based on thermal, visual and ambient qualities defined by each program.
Yorgos Rimenidis and Michalis Softas, students of the University of Thessaly, in Volos, Greece shared their Craneloft proposal with us. The idea is a radical experiment to transform port cranes into lofts; and since the cranes can be found at basically any commercial port worldwide, the craneloft is a possible alternative with a global character. This revitalization stems from the students’ view that reusing objects, structures and engines left behind from the port will allow the free area to be incorporated in the urban tissue. This new form of habitation would be constantly changing and form a “condensed European city”.
More images and more about the craneloft idea after the break.
For Forrest Fulton Architecture‘s competition proposal, the Alabama-based firm designed a 900,000 sqf biomorphic spatial surface that connects the adjacent city and the landscape. The architecture focuses on creating an urbanistic landscape that morphs the common urban element of Yerevan, the superblock, to the site, a truncated hill along the natural amphitheater of the Yerevan. This new model of development supports a “holistic, ultra-green lifestyle” with overlapping natural and urban phenomenon.
More images and more about the project after the break.
Suppose Design Officedesigned a renovation proposal for the Hill of Water and Sculpture in Japan. The project is situated in an industrial area along the Tokyo Bay. In the proposal, existing structures are converted into individual tower like sculptures. The sculptures meet the ground in an interesting manner, as each rests upon a curved base. The structures are connected to the existing beams located in the industrial area and the building’s varying heights create a balanced composition. The interior spaces are formed around the existing infrastructure and create a new type of space for people to experience the existing components of the site, in addition to the new sculptures.
Anne Holtrop’s Trail House follows a series of trails in the ground that were created by the daily circulation of pedestrians. The house becomes the path and transforms the inside into a “walking home.” As the house branches along the series of paths, it becomes narrower and then wider to provide ever-changing views of the site. In this way, Holtrop makes a specific link with the environment by showing the house as a product of the site.
More images and more about the project after the break.
What began in a rented townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has grown to become an internationally recognized preeminent source for exhibitions and publications related to historical and contemporary African art. The Museum for African Art will finally find a permanent home along Manhattan’s “Museum Mile” and will be open to the public next April. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP, the museum will bring the prestigious row of museums of Manhattan to Harlem, one of the country’s most important centers of historic and contemporary African-American culture.
More about the museum and more images after the break.
International firm Aedas designed a new hotel and mixed-use development for Guangzhou, China. The complex, which will be completed in 2012, is centrally located within an existing exhibition zone. While the project fronts directly onto one side of the water, the location affords views to the water from both directions. “The design strives to be unique and iconic to give the project a strong and comfortable identity within its surroundings, aiding in its success among competing neighbors.”
More about the project and more images after the break.
We have been featuring different proposals for the Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec competition including Saucier + Perrotte‘s proposal and the winning proposal by OMA. BIG, who teamed with Fugere Architectes, just shared their proposal for the expansion with us. The design includes a grand green roof that, although it seems to slope at quite a precarious angle, is accessible for people to walk on. The sweeping form surrounds two large facades that reveal the changing exhibitions inside the museum. These massive windows also flood the interior with daylight. As the two facades rise opposite each other, the roof lines connect to the ground and continue the existing park onto the actual building.
NL Architects‘ Blok K is part of a master plan for 500 dwellings in Amsterdam. The site’s triangular shape sits between the historic center and the recently redeveloped harbor area. The block measures 31 x 28 meters and is about 2.5 stories tall. According to the guidelines established in the master plan, it was obligatory to build the first two stories in alignment and the third story had to contain 50% roof terrace. The volume’s form is “redistributed” in an effort to push it as far away as possible from the adjacent volumes. The roof’s strong diagonal stands as a bold contrast to the orthogonal grid.
More about the block and more images after the break.
Altro Studio ‘s Lawn House is a small bio-compatible mobile house made of natural grass strips. The strips bend upward to leave a habitable space beneath the structure’s metal pipes and polycarbonate translucent paneling. A “tray” system on the envelope allows a thin layer of earth (3 cm) to sustain a rolled lawn system. The inclined planes of the side walls and roof provide water drainage and hold the lawn over the structure. The rolled lawn represents a good insulating material system and a way to integrate the project with the landscape. A door and window at the end of the house allowing natural ventilation to cool the space. PV panels in amorphous mono and or polycrystalline silicon panels are anchored to the structure. The small prototype is economical, bio degradable and can be easily assembled in any surrounding to provide some additional greenery.
A cool pavilion by Kawamura Ganjavian Studio houses information about a public arts program in Madrid. Built in record time and within record budget, the pavilion is made with polyester reinforced fiberglass. Two large openings allow users inside the pavilion. 100 circular perforations provide outlets for natural light to reach the interior space during the day, and in the night time, the interior is lit by the street lights. The pavilion is also fit to hold small events along the Paseo de Recoletos. The project was conceived as an experiment on the possibilities of recycling architectural precast fiberglass (polyester reinforced with fiberglass).
GLR Arquitectos‘ residence in Nuevo Leon, Mexico sits on higher topography than its neighboring houses. This “privileged situation” provides the home with greater height, and as a result, better vistas toward the National Park of Chipinque. The home is comprised of simple, pure geometric volumes that intend to evoke an image of lightness within a language of heavy and massive volumes.
StudiOZ designed a mosque in Kayseri Municipality in memory of Sinan, the architect because historically, the Turkish mosque reached its highest potential under his design. Using a single dome placed upon a square form, Sinan created a metaphor of the mosque being the most stable form to symbolize infinity. Hundreds of years after Sinan, the mosque typology is still viewed as an indispensable component of Turkish life. For the StudiOZ’s proposal, “The Mosque” criticizes this holy and public place by reforming benefits to urban space, symbolically and functionality of the building.
Yury Permyakov designed a simple house that adheres to the client’s main concern: to maximize the seperation from the neighboring houses. The 300 sqm house is seen as some “kind of pearl” that wrapped by a protective layer, and only a slight sliver of the inner surface of the facade is left open. The exterior protective surface is a coarse dark-colored metal sheets with small holes.
