Yes, it’s an odd headline but it’s actually the name of a very interesting and well-received documentary about the architectural works of Sir Norman Foster.

Referred to by one reviewer as the ‘Mozart of Modernism’ the documentary ‘How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?’, by First Run Features, has been winning rave reviews from the press in Europe and the US.

Check out the trailer above.

The makers describe the film as “a portrait of one….

….of the world’s premier architects, How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? follows Norman Foster’s unending quest to improve the quality of life through design. By investigating his origins to how his dreams and influences inspired the design of emblematic projects such as the world’s largest building to its tallest bridge, Foster offers some striking solutions to humanity’s increasing demand on urban centers”.

For anyone with an interest in architecture, this is the perfect place to start checking out the stunning works of one of finest architects of the modern age. As one reviewer puts it:

“Elegant and stylish. This rich, revealing documentary about world-renowned, prolific British architect Norman Foster — as productive and creative as he is inspirational — could attract legions of young people to the profession just as it enlightens older “civilians” to the beauty and function of architecture in a new, more demanding century. The true poetic beauty of the film comes across most strikingly by way of screen time given to many of his hundreds of projects—huge and small structures spread across the globe.”

-Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal

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And here are the Top 5 Green Home trends for 2012 by Buildipedia.

Renovation Nation

With the construction industry on the decline and money tighter than ever, it’s no surprise that renovating it top of the list. However, it’s also a chance to get more energy efficient and greener.

Smaller Footprints

Expect new dwellings to get smaller in 2012 – not just because they are cheaper to build but also because they are cheaper to run. According to a survey of builders….

conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), new homes will average 2,152 sq. ft. in size by 2015, compared with a peak of 2,521 sq. ft. in 2007.

Net Zero

Net Zero is the goal for all those out there who believe in going all the way when it comes to being more efficient. It will continue to be big in 2012. Many goals will be achieved by combining a mix of passive and active design strategies. From better insulation to smarter windows and rain water collection systems, there is a massive amount that can be done make your home more efficient.

Energy Monitoring Systems

Measuring just what energy you use is a growing segment. New gadgets will let you keep tabs on all aspects of home energy use from heating and electricity to fuel. If you know what you’re spending, then you know where to make improvements or cuts.

LEDs

Yep, the old incandescent and CFL bulbs are on the back foot. LEDs are on the march. Sure they cost a bit more but they are getting cheaper and have improved a lot in performance – from colors to brightness. A sure-fire money saver.

Find the full list here.

Happy money saving in 2012 from us here at Funktion!

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When your city is bombed to pieces in World War II, what do you do afterwards?

In the case of London, a key part of the process was the creation of the Design Research Unit (DRU) in 1942 by the poet and art critic Herbert Read, alongside architect Misha Black and graphic designer, Milner Gray.

It was the first consultancy to create a group practice by bringing together graphic designers, industrial designers and architects. The results were astounding and shaped post-war London and many of the UK’s leading brands.

From corporate logos and brand identities to buildings and industrial, DRU had a hand many pies.

Take all of the street signs in London, the British Rail logo, the livery designs for the iconic red London buses, around a hundred of the bombed Watney Mann pubs including  a new style of new signage.

To this day, the impact of DRU can be seen all over London. Co-founder Milner Gray is even accredited with inventing the term ‘corporate identity’. These were the original Mad Men of their day.

With a new exhibition in Dundee, England, underway, you can find out more about DRU here.

More photos below.

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Cutting edge design in all well and good but without the great architecture of the past, it would mean very little. Even today, everyone – not just designers and architects – marvel at the historical sites and buildings that have been left to us. It’s a legacy we should care about and protect more. Which is why we are heartened to follow the work of

Ben Kacyra, co-founder and CEO of Cyra Technologies, whose pioneering 3D laser scanning kit is being put very noble work indeed.

Ben has founded the non-profit CyArk program, dedicated to using the incredibly fast and accurate scanning equipment to preserve a true record of some of the world’s most treasured historical sites and buildings.

Ben explained: “In 2001, Cyra Technologies was acquired by Leica Geosystems. Right around that time, a terrible tragedy happened: the magnificent 160-foot-tall Buddhas…… in the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan were blown up by the Taliban. They were gone in an instant. Unfortunately, there was no detailed record of the site. This devastated me, and I couldn’t help but wonder about the fate of my old friends, the winged bulls, and the fate of heritage sites all over the world.

My wife and I decided to start a project to digitally preserve world heritage sites. We called the project CyArk, which stands for Cyber Archive. CyArk is now an international nonprofit organization. With the help of a global network of partners, we’ve completed more than 50 projects to date, including Chichen Itza, Rapa Nui, Babylon, Rosslyn Chapel, Pompeii and Mount Rushmore.”

Just watch his talk above at the TED 2011 event in Edinburgh, Scotland, to see just how vital an architectural project like this is.

[TED]

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What do you with ugly and dirty public spaces? Especially when knocking them down is not an option? Well, you do the above of course.

After all, why bother with a new lick of paint when you can just plant the side of the building instead. This very impressive combination of green design with ugly facade at London’s Edgeware Road tube station is not only hugely impressive to look at but it will largely take care of itself and get better looking as the years march on.

The 200sq meter green wall took a month to complete and is part of the London Clean Air Fund, financed by the Department for Transport. It is hoped that the 15 types of plants used…

…will improve air quality by trapping and reducing particulate matter by up to 20%, which is caused by the heavy daily flow of traffic on Marylebone Rd.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, explained: “Delivering cleaner air for London is a top priority for me and this ingenious green wall traps harmful pollution on one of our busiest roads, helping to cleanse the air at this popular spot as well as helping to soften and beautify the local environment.”

The plants used for the wall were grown in ‘Grodan’ – a peat-free substrate – and the structure supporting them includes ‘Ecosheet’ – a waterproof backing material – made from recycled material. We recently covered another great green wall here - Madrid’s ‘Green Wall’ Thriving.

Would you like one in your town? One more shot below.

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The Developmental Association for Renewable Energies (DARE) has begun a scheme to tackle the litter problem in the region around the village of Sabon Yelwa by using discarded plastic bottles – which take around 450 years to biodegrade – as the building blocks for new homes.

The project also gives work to unemployed teenagers in the construction process, which involves filling the bottles with sand, putting the cap back on and them lying them side by side in layers cemented by mud.

The sand-filled bottles create a very strong wall and keep the interior cool in Nigeria’s scorching hot climate.

Yahaya Ahmed, who is leading the DARE project, told Architeure News: “Compacted sand inside a bottle is nearly 20 times stronger than bricks. We are even intending to build a three-storey building.”

We can only applaud this green and novel approach to tackling waste and providing homes and jobs – all at the same time. More shots below.

[Source]

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Steampunk. For those adhering to the Victorian-influenced view of how the future might look, all brass and pipes and strange steam-driven machinery, Steampunk is less a design statement and more a way of life.

The owner of this Chelsea loft in Manhattan, NY, takes the whole love of steampunk to an altogether new level.

It took two years to convert a plain old 1,800 loft apartment into this Steampunk wonderland, complete with suspended, light-changing Zeppelin, massive wooden cogs weighing in at a cool 500lbs, brass and copper submarine portholes and doors and – wait for it – a bed that rises and falls using a deactivated bomb as a counterweight. Wild. And it’s yours for just $1.75 million.

This is just about as ‘out there’ a living pad as they come and we love it

Check out the video above you’ll see what we mean.

[WSJ]

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There are homes that are designed to allow the passing public a little glimpse of how cool it is inside and there are homes that throw the doors wide open.

And then there’s House NA, a Japanese glass box that does for privacy what Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct did for underwear. Not a lot, then.

Designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects, the thin steel pole framework supports a number of different sized glass boxes. Think treehouse crossed with minimalism. Everything is white and crisp and there’s no doubt that it’s a cool, if somewhat exposed, house.

The architects say: “In one way the house is like a single space, but each room is also a tiny space of its own. The clients said they wanted to live like nomads within the house – they didn’t have specific plans for each room. The house looks radical but for the clients it seemed quite natural.”

Thankfully, at the end of the video, you can see the clever use of hidden blinds and window drapes. So, only on show in the daytime then. Phew!

[Link]

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When it came to Virgin launching the world’s first commercial space line, it made sense to have someone design some cutting edge architecture for the venture’s base.

The Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space building in New Mexico is certainly that and was designed by Foster + Partners with URS Corporation and local architects SMPC. Opened this week in the presence of 800 guests, the 120,000 sq ft dome-like structure has been designed to meet LEED Gold requirements.

It houses a sunken….

….New Mexico Spaceport Authority Visitor Experience, with the walls displaying a permanent show of  the history of space exploration, alongside a mission control center, astronaut prep rooms, visitor space and a massive hangar capable of stowing two WhiteKnightTwo and five SpaceShipTwo (SS2) vehicles. Internal fit out the building will now get underway with a completion date of 2013.

You can see the maiden test of the SS2’s unique feather system in the desert earlier this year below.

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