Posts Tagged ‘architecture’

The Rainbow School Makes Kids Smile

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

rainbow school

As someone who went to school in a massive, grey former boarding school from the 1930s that came complete with massive Greek pillars, porticoes, sweeping staircases, ancient iron grille radiators and a palpable air of doom and gloom, this building in south Los Angeles is as far away from a school as one could get. But, a school it is.

It might look like the kids put it together but this striking, architecturally led building  - now nicknamed ‘The Rainbow School’ – is South Region Elementary School Number 2 (SRES 2). The colours of blue, red, green and orange on the outside reflect the multi-cultural neighbourhood it sits in, while still managing to be energy and resource efficient.

A tight budget didn’t stop the designers from producing a hugely fun looking building that serves to inspire the kids from a tough neighbourhood to be more creative. I wish my school had looked like this.

More photos after the jump.

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Norman Foster Pays Tribute to Steve Jobs

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

steve jobsFrom one giant of design to another, architecture’s Norman Foster paid tribute to Steve Jobs (1955-2011), the Apple co-founder who passed away recently after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Foster, who is famous around the world for some his iconic buildings – including London’s Gherkin, Wembley Stadium, Berlin’s Reichstag and the world’s tallest bridge, the Millau Viaduct, said that “like so many millions our lives have been profoundly and positively influenced by the innovations pioneered by Steve and Apple, names which are inseparable”.

Foster and his company are currently designing the new Apple Campus in Cupertino, California, which will be completed in 2015.

He went on to say:

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Louisiana Superdome Gets Shiny New Look

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

louisiana superdrome

The last time many of you would have seen the Louisiana Superdome was when it was filled with tens of thousands of refugees from the Hurricane Katrina storms that tore apart New Orleans in 2005.

It took quite a beating itself and although folk from New Orleans feel like the world forgot them when the media vans rolled back out of town, it’s good to see that they have been busy bringing their landmark back to life with a shiny new makeover.

The older panel system, which required neighboring panels to be removed in order to fix damaged ones, has been completely replaced with a custom-metal system that will allow individual panels to be replaced with no additional work. It also had to be built to resist another hurricane and, if possible, look good while doing so.

The result is a big giant UFO-like structure that mixes some very clever design with very high levels of practicality.

More photos after the jump.

[Source]

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Twin Towers Memorial Remembers

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

911 memorial

Ten years since the tragic events of 9/11, which saw the death of almost 3,000 people and the destruction of the iconic Twin Towers, the memorial for the victims will open in New York this weekend.

The National September 11 Memorial at Ground Zero is without doubt one of the most sensitive architectural projects undertaken in the United States and its restrained design has been generally praised. The well reported in-fighting, political squabbles and delays to the overall WTC rejuvenation project may have been embarrassing but the memorial manages to rise above all of that.

The memorial boasts giant, twin reflecting pools that measure almost an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. They sit within the footprints of where the Twin Towers once stood. Designed by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, the Memorial’s pools feature….

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First Look at 2016 Olympics In Rio

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

OK, we know that the London Olympics are still a year away but already, the architectural and design plans are underway for the 2016 Olympics in sunny Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Nothing like a little forward planning, eh?

Would you like to see how things are shaping up? Just watch the video above to get a flavour of what is being planned by recently revealed winning firm, AECOM, which designed the Olympic Master Plan for next year’s London Olympics too.

Be warned however that the video editing is choppy, fast and may make your nauseous as it flits about the screen but you get some idea when it slows down in the second minute about what it all might look like. And it does look impressive.

According to ArchDaily, …

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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 »


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.

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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.

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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