1; UNstudio’s : New Amsterdam Plein & Pavillion, New York City

‘new amsterdam plein & pavillion’ by ben van berkel from UNstudio

from a small to large and extruded:

2: bird island project by graft architects:bird island green home competition entry

This scheme is a very ambitions proposal with a really well thought environmental and energy/natural resources usage studies. Like the form or not, the scheme lays a thought provoking study of maximizing site environmental potentials.

bird island project by graft architects
all images courtesy graft architects

…and check out the services and environmental diagrams. the scheme takes a keen interest on many aspects of energy saving and natural resources usage.

bird island project interior detail

talking of energy efficiency and supply, the following scheme claims a 100% self energy supply with not input from the grid!

3: ‘the seven peaks of azerbaijan’ by BIG

http://www.big.dk

all images via:designboom

Students urged to avoid design

Article courteous of Design Week by Emily Pacey

“Industry heavyweight Ian Cochrane is recommending design students to ‘get out’ of the sector, which ‘does not need you’, as the recession bites.

Cochrane is managing director of management consultancy Ticegroup and former managing director of both Fitch and Landor Europe.

Cochrane tells Design Week, ‘There are still too many people coming out of design courses, and there simply aren’t the jobs for them.’

He recommends that students enter alternative occupations and gain experience outside the design sector.

‘Look for jobs in industries that have vacancies – I mean, if you want to design restaurants, it is good to have worked in one or two,’ he says.

Branding guru Michael Peters concurs, saying, ‘There is too big a supply of young designers and far too many people doing mediocre work.’

According to recent figures published by the Office for National Statistics, every sector of the economy recorded a fall in vacancies last quarter.

Chartered Institute of Personnel chief economist Dr John Philpott says, ‘This looks to be a jobs recession that is favouring the over-50s ahead of younger people. This may be because employers are implementing recruitment freezes more widely than in previous recessions, which disproportionately hits people entering the labour market.”

Álvaro Siza announced the RIBA’s 2009 Royal Gold Medalist

Press release from the RIBA:

Álvaro Siza has been announced as the RIBA’s 2009 Royal Gold Medallist. The medal will be presented at the Royal Gold Medal and Fellowships Dinner on 26 February 2009 at a black-tie ceremony in the RIBA’s Florence Hall.

The official citation:

“Álvaro Siza is simply a profoundly complete architect who defies categorisation. The forging of a masterful and seemingly inevitable architecture out of the possibilities of a site is one of the supreme characteristics of Álvaro Siza’s architecture. He manipulates his readings of place into sculptural forms that are never predictable or ordinary, yet are never allowed to dominate over use or typological intelligibility. more”

Who is your greatest architect?

The AJ is seeking nominations from readers for the individual who has made the greatest contribution to architecture

A panel will choose a winner from the shortlist, who will be presented with a special award at the AJ100 dinner on 27 May at East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London. Nominations to AJ100@emap.com

miniature-modular house design concepts

modular concepts: Far from being just another box dressed up in cool looking renders, this miniature looking units puts some creativity into the somewhat usually dull functional aspects of modular construction.  It feels almost like a mini-house.

The human scale to is very personal and would be a bit tricky for those a little taller than the average.

Designers concept descriptions :

“The Versadome building system is uniquely designed for easy and affordable transportation, assembly and expansion. It is energy efficient and low-maintenance. The adaptability and flexibility create limitless possibilities for a wide range of multi-purpose usages, meeting the needs of many in search of a light and open space solution.”

Designer : Deger Cengiz via IGreenSpot

design competion for new animal habitats fit for city-living

“Prove your green intentions for 2009: Last chance to enter competition to design homes for urban wildlife.

Creative thinkers – designers, architects, artists and others are invited to begin 2009 with a clearer conscience by entering a competition to design new wildlife habitats. The Wildlife Design Competition aims to encourage wildlife back into urban areas with irresistible new homes for birds, bees, butterflies, bugs, bats or otters, that are both practical and stylish. Organisers in Leeds hope that the experience will also benefit young professionals, looking to gain more experience, showcase their talents and attract potential employers to their greener CV. Free to enter to anyone working in the design, creative or artistic sector, the competition is open for entries until 2 February 2009. Prize-winners will see their work brought to life in Leeds in May 2009.”

Deadline: 2 February 2009

See full details here.

via: AJ

A gallery floating along the Thames

Brazilian architect Paula Sertorio conceptual images of a mobile gallery,  designed to travel along the river Thames. As part of London 2008 competition entry organized by Arquitectum. The designing team comprised architects: Victor Paixao, Miguel Felipe Muralha, Paula Sertorio, Thiago Florez, Andre Mack and Bruno Castro.The brief was to design a mobile architecture gallery which could travel along the river and pick up visitors at several locations.

The response is something quite intricately weaved together bulging out space enclosures and a pretty distinct charater which would be a joy to watch.

The project was awarded an honorable mention by a panel of judges chosen by the Architectural Association. See the other winning concepts on the Arquitectum website.

Text by the  designers:

Two distinct elements result in an area that symbolizes the dynamics of the city and expresses the unpredictability of human occupation.

The constant lightness, transparency and visual permeability enable a relationship with the city throughout the course of the river, offering different visions and perspectives of the London landscape. Looks get lost trying to distinguish internal and external space.

The first element is composed by a form generated by three ellipses that suggests the occupation of the spaces and allows, through the permeability of the structure, the interaction and visibility of the user from any location.

A winding and fluid space allows individual events, creates different environments, or integrates the entire space of the gallery by projections, holograms, multimedia presentations and virtual experiments, proposing not just a single focal point, but a new perceptive universe.

The second element determines the limits of the gallery and allows the maximum use of internal space. The rigid form ensures environmental comfort.

A “switchable glass” system controls the opacity of the glass, which can be changed it to suit the needs of internal activities.

The facade may serve externally as a support for advertising and as a vehicle for digital media, reversing the perspective and bringing the attention to Thames river.

Posibilities of the spaces created here could be endless. The river Thames could use this kind of inovative gallery if only its green credentials can involve no use of renewables.

all images via: Dezeen

The tower that will ‘filter and clean up’ a polluted river…

Image: Studio Shift

The Los Angeles outfit Studio Shift has designed a tower in Miyi County, Sichuan Province, China which will be part of a masterplan. The proposed tower will also do something quite amazing which is to filter and clean the polluted waters of the river. Details of how the process would work have not been released but the designers have been quoted as saying; “intent on utilizing natural and mechanical means of filtration to produce clean water, converting a highly polluted river into a usable amenity for residents and visitors. This new amenity takes the form of a series of lakes, wetlands and waterways which lend form to the new districts in the master plan. more” Think Thames river. It could use such imaginative design solutions.
The idea of such a building structure sounds quite absurd but if achieved the idea could be genius. Only if this cleaning system could do for the air what it does the water, then the genius will be complete.

Images: Studio Shift

The Miyi Tower will act as a bridge between the northern section of the New South Town master plan, slated for a new high-density residential and cultural core – to the southern section, which will transform the contaminated river into a rehabilitated wetland ecosystem.

Though the designers don’t give much details into how the river water will be actually purified, they are

Because the area is a popular tourist destination, the tower will serve as a multipurpose collection of educational, entertainment and community spaces, all enveloped in a ephemeral and permeable latticework skin, offering unique views to the landscape beyond. Thanks to the mild climate of this region, only half of the program spaces will be enclosed. via Treehugger

Image: Studio Shift

Dezeen via Inhabitat

Three inspirational vehicle designs

In the week that we saw entries and winners for Bori’s Routemaster, I went out looking for the forefront nw thinking and new ideals in the world of vehicle design and here are three very different designs:

iMo is The Next Generation Urban Vehicle

“Apple iMo is a city car, using advanced form-changing material, exploring the possibility of robotics to bring a new and simplified approach to personal mobility. The design ofiMo is based on the Apple philosophy which consists in applying a process of elimination to come up with simple and elegant solutions, by means of cutting edge technology. The result is a two-wheel robot designed to assist you throughout your daily life.” more

GREEN APPLE: An Eco Vehicle That Cleans the Air

Te recently unveiled at the  Local Motors competition check out the all clean NYC-centric Green Apple vehicle.more

+ Local Motors Design Competition

Awesome Bergmonch Bike Folds into a Backpack

serban savu; oil on canvas

‘mountain of nostalgia’ by serban savu, 2008 (oil on canvas)
serban savu

david nolan gallery, new york
february 5 – march 28, 2009

http://www.davidnolangallery.com


‘the edge of the empire’ by serban savu, 2008 (oil on canvas)

‘genre scene’ by serban savu, 2008 (oil on canvas)

‘the guardian of the valley’ by serban savu, 2008 (oil on canvas)

‘the great landowner’ by serban savu, 2008 (oil on canvas)

‘early days of summer’ by serban savu, 2008 (oil on canvas)

‘in the shadow of the dam’ by serban savu, 2008 (oil on canvas)

via: designboom