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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.

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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.

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.

Here are some other container projects we have covered:

Thinking Outside the Container

‘Cargotecture’ At Its Best: The View Tube Café

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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,…….

…….where I expected to be more creative than I turned out, so I had to go into politics instead.

“And as the Pritzkers and so many others here can attest, if you love architecture there are few better places to live than in my hometown of Chicago. It is the birthplace of the skyscraper — a city filled with buildings and public spaces designed by architects like Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry, who is here tonight.

Like Jefferson, tonight’s honoree has spent his career not only pushing the boundaries of his art, but doing so in a way that serves the public good. Eduardo Souto de Moura has designed homes, shopping centers, art galleries, schools and subway stations — all in a style that seems as effortless as it is beautiful. He’s an expert at the use of different materials and colors, and his simple shapes and clean lines always fit seamlessly into their surroundings.

Perhaps Eduardo’s most famous work is the stadium he designed in Braga, Portugal. Never one to settle for the easy answer, Eduardo wanted to build this particular stadium on the side of a mountain. So he blasted out nearly a million and a half cubic yards of granite from the mountainside, then crushed it to make the concrete necessary to build the stadium.

He also took great care to position the stadium in such a way that anyone who couldn’t afford a ticket could watch the match from the surrounding hillsides. Kind of like Portugal’s version of Wrigley Field.

And that combination of form and function, of artistry and accessibility, is why today we honor Eduardo with what is known as the “Nobel Prize of architecture.” As Frank Gehry, a former winner of this prize, said, “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” I want to thank all the men and women who create these timeless works of art — not only to bring us joy, but to help make this world a better place.”

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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]

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Clever design is often facilitated by the development of other technologies, and becoming greener is now part of the modern design process. For many, the inclusion of green technologies is becoming less of a choice and more of a ‘must-have’.

Nowhere is that more obvious than in Japan, where the country is still reeling from the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit on March 11, causing explosions and radiation leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. As a result, Japan is completely rethinking its energy future and the government has scrapped plans to build 14 new nuclear plants, pushing renewable energy to the top of the list.

More specifically, new buildings will play a pivotal role as the government is looking to make solar panels a requirement on all new buildings – including houses – from 2030.

It’s a huge commitment and could play a role in driving down the cost of solar power globally, as well as highlighting the advantages of having solar panels on every house.

While many architect designed buildings and homes come with solar panels as standard, it would be a revolution to see solar panels become a compulsory part of every structure.

What’s your view?

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The Japanese are very good at working with confined spaces. With property at a premium, architects have become adept at cramming as much space as possible into the smallest footprint – sometimes with an incredible eye for style.

Take this, the curved little salon, designed by Studio Velocity. At 20 meters long and 9 meters wide at its widest, the curved shape makes the most of a site that also has to be able to accommodate two cars and small dry laundry.

The narrow entrance leads into the long curved space that gets higher and wider the further in you go: think Dr. Who’s Tardis.

Designed as a beauty salon,…..

Kentaro Kurihara commented on the project:

“I was afraid that the shop would disappear in the area because the small area of 41㎡ is too small when compared with the neighboring houses. That is why I started thinking of how to make it an eye catching building for passersby and drivers. I placed the main space at the most remote part of the site, while the entrance was on the opposite, street-facing side. The building transverses the site in a gentle manner and so residual exterior spaces are created.”

Certainly the prettiest beauty salon we’ve come across. Thoughts?

More shots below

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Lighting in a building can make or break a design. But when it comes to lighting the outside of building, the W Hotel in London’s Leicester Square stands out from the crowd because it uses lighting to transform the whole exterior into a constantly changing light show.

Designer, Jason Bruges, crafted this veil of light to surround the hotel.

On the roof, eight cameras take snapshots of the surrounding London buildings and cityscape every 60 seconds – day and night.

These are then compiled with some clever software into a lightshow thrown across the hotel’s new veil of 300 lights. Check the video below to see it in action.

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This is the Closet House and considering it is just 44m2, it is very well named. But, like all great architecture, it takes limitations and transforms them into something truly clever. So clever, that it scooped the ArchDaily award in the Best Interiors Category 2010.

Smart design and home automation have transformed a small apartment into a much larger living space.

The apartment, designed by Consexto in Portugal, has five living spaces but to really make it work, everything had to have more than one use.

Take, for instance, the use of one of the walls, which doubles as a cabinet. The movable wood wall on one side serves as a bedroom wardrobe while on the other it hosts an extendable table, the TV, home cinema set-up and even a mini bar.

The design remains clean throughout, with almost everything in the kitchen stored behind automatic shelving and storage compartments.

A worthy winner indeed. Thoughts?

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Above is the winning design for a giant, glass – yes glass – viewing platform that will arch out into the middle of nowhere, over a glacial valley in the Columbian Ice fields of Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.

Designed by Sturgess Architecture, RJC and PCL, the structure is destined to become one of the area’s biggest tourist attractions in coming years.

More pics and info after the jump.

The sweeping platform juts out 30 meters from the mountainside, while the see-through floor and railings will no doubt create a thrilling viewing experience.

Unless of course you suffer from vertigo, are scared of heights or just can’t stop imagining you can hear the faint sound of glass cracking.

There will also be a 400-metre walkway built along the mountainside to reach the viewing platform.

[Dezeen]

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