Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Kingdom Tower Will Be World’s Tallest

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

kingdom towerThe Burj Khalifa in Dubai might be the world’s tallest building today but it had better be looking over its shoulder as the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah is on its heels.

The planned 1-kilometer tall – yes, in fact, just over 1,000 meters – tower, designed by Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture is not just going to edge out the Burj Khalifa by a few feet, but blast it out of the record books by a stunning 173 meters (approx: 600-feet).

Ironically, Smith will be beating his own design as it was he, while at a different firm, that designed Dubai’s record breaker.

Kingdom Tower will be built over the next 5 years and form the focal point for Kingdom City, a massive $20 billion development planned for the 5.3 million-square-meter site in northern Jeddah. The tower itself will house a Four Seasons hotel and serviced apartments, luxury condos, office space and ,the now obligatory, ‘world’s highest observatory’.

You can catch Smith talking about the world-beating project in a video after the jump.

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Welcome to The Drain Pipe Hotel

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

dasparkhotel

If you find yourself sleeping in a drain pipe then you’ve either had one or two drinks too many or your life has gone somewhat astray. For others, sleeping in a drain pipe is the cool thing to do.

This is the Dasparkhotel located in a field on the edge of the wonderful Danube river in the city of  Ottensheim in Austria. Each drain pipe is one-self contained room and since we here at Funktion are big fans of alternative design using recycled components, we think it’s simply outstanding. And fun. Check a close up shot after the jump.

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Bill Gates to Reinvent The Toilet

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

toiletThe toilet may not be the most attractive topic for discussion but from a design standpoint its a classic – largely unchanged for centuries – and revolutionary in the way it improved sanitation and saved millions of lives.

But is it any good?

Not according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which are planning to invest $42 million into redesigning it.

Check out the Foundation’s cheeky video after the jump.

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Arizona Solar Tower Puts Empire State Building In The Shade

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

arizona solar towerEver been to the top of the Empire State Building? It’s pretty impressive.

Now imagine being on top of something twice as tall and you get some idea of just how big Arizona’s new solar tower is going to be. It also looks good – especially as power plants go – and is destined to become a tourist attraction.

Australian company EnviroMission, and partners, is planning to erect a solar tower that will reach a staggering 2.625 feet into the skies.

It is expected to cost $750 million to construct and will generate enough juice for around 150,000 homes. That’s 200-megawatts (MW) and it will last for 80 years.

What’s just as impressive is that this project has been cleared and is at the site engineering and land acquisition stage.

Check out the video for the project below.

Jump now to find out how it all works. Read the rest of this entry »


Catalyst Exhibits Strikes Design Gold – Again

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

carestream 1

It’s been an excellent run for Catalyst Exhibits in recent weeks, having scooped the design award for Best Trade Show Exhibit over 2,500sq feet at the 2011 B2 Awards, hosted and judged by the Business Marketing Association.

This week, Catalyst is proud to announce that it has won Gold for the Best Trade Show Environment (Over 50′x50′) in the 6th Annual Event Design Awards 2011, hosted by Event Design magazine.

The futuristic Carestream Health stand [see photo above] was created for the RSNA 2010 show in Chicago, the world’s premier scientific and educational forum in radiology.

The stand had to support and drive the company’s dramatic shift into digital imaging, while supporting…

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Catalyst Exhibits Wins Prestigious B2 Award

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

zimmer b2 awards winning stand

Leading design specialists, Catalyst Exhibits, has scooped a prestigious design award at the 2011 B2 Awards, hosted and judged by the Business Marketing Association. Catalyst’s stunning exhibit stand for Zimmer at the AAOS 2010 Show in San Diego won the Best Trade Show Exhibit over 2,500sq feet.

The B2 Awards are an international business-to-business marketing and communications contest that recognizes excellence among top agencies and corporate marketers.

“Zimmer had an important story to tell to an audience of orthopedic surgeons not known for being easily impressed,” Catalyst explains. “They turned to Catalyst Exhibits to develop the strategy. The sense of theater began before participants entered the viewing space. Massive, sweeping interconnecting paths converged above and below, bathed in white and blue light. Circular stations led participants from one interactive, touch screen technology station to the next.”

“The showpiece element was a two-storey theatre where Zimmer experts would present innovations including Zimmer’s Trabecular Metal Technology that uniquely simulates bone, and, a new highly cross-linked polyethylene, a significant advancement in wear reduction. The main blue path drew attendees through to the theater, a sound a light show in a multi-level, high-definition (HD) area backed by a two-storey high screen, viewable from hundreds of feet away.”

Catalyst would like to thank its top team of designers – led by Mark Lynch – who worked on this project, and all of our projects, for all of their hard work.

Visit Catalyst here.


Linear House scoops Canadian Design Award

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

linear house

Canada has been dishing out the design and architecture awards recently and the winning residential prize in the first AZ Awards went to the exceptional, Linear House, by Paktau Architects.

As its name suggests, the house – located on a farm on Salt Spring Island – runs in a straight line for 276 feet along a row of fir trees. The main building is divided using a breezeway from the main living area to the guest quarters.

As you can see from its design, making the most of the stunning views was a priority during the build with the extremely long windows acting as giant canvasses onto the scenery.

linear house 2

The longest piece of glazing is 78 feet wide [see photo above] and is fully retractable, allowing the house to be transformed into an open air pavilion during the good weather.

The view from the other side of the house can be seen below.

linear house 4

Rather than stand out in the environment, the long design of the house, combined with the charcoal-colored render outside makes the house virtually invisible through the fir trees [see below].

linear house 3


Containers of Hope: A Designer Home for Less Than $40,000

Monday, June 13th, 2011

containers of hope

Discarded shipping containers have been shown to be ideal candidates for re-use in creating innovative commercial and residential. At Funktion, we have always been big fans at the way in which these large, unused shipping containers can be bought cheaply and, with some clever design, turned into proper homes, among other things.

Above is the Containers of Hope, a home designed and built by London-based Benjamin Garcia Saxe in Costa Rica for just $40,000. That’s right, $40,000.

The couple he built it for wanted to live close to nature, their horses and most importantly, debt free – a goal far more people should aspire too in our uncertain financial times.

containers of hope 2

Saxe believes clever design can do just that, with the container house costing less than a Costa Rican social welfare home.

“I believe that the power of design comes from inspiring others with our work to look at alternate and creative solutions for dwellings in order to provide and gift them with a greater financial freedom.”

There are more shots of this clever and beautiful dwelling after the jump, from containers arriving on site to the finished project. Read the rest of this entry »


President Obama: “I thought I could be an architect.”

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

obama pritzgerPresident Obama once dreamed of being an architect, he admitted to those gathered at the high profile, Pritzker Architecture Prize event in Washington last week.

The prize – often dubbed the Nobel Prize of Architecture – was created by Chicago’s Pritzker family, and is awarded each year to a living architect “whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.”

Speaking at the event, President Obama said: “Now, as Tom (Pritzker)  mentioned, my interest in architecture goes way back. There was a time when I thought I could be an architect,……. Read the rest of this entry »


Madrid’s ‘Green Wall’ Thriving

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

madrid green wall 1

Green walls are somewhat more common these days but one of the most striking remains the 4-storey tall Caixa Forum green wall in Madrid, which inhabits one exterior wall of a former power station.

The power station – a Grade III listed building – was revamped into a cultural arts centre by famed architects Herzog & de Meuron (London’s Tate Modern revamp) and the green wall designed by Patrick Blanc, who has since gone on to become a leading expert in the field.

The wall boasts 15,000 plants from more than 250 different species.

Retaining the industrial past of the building exterior on one wall with rusting iron plates, the green wall on the opposite side is a riot of colour and nature erupting. Now, almost 3 years later, the wall has survived the elements and pollution to become a living piece of architecture. The video above shows the wall in all its glory while the one below covers the redesign of the Caixa Fourm inside and out.

[Treehugger]