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….
It’s that time of the year. Just what was the best House of the Year in 2011?
The experts at World Architecture News (WAN) have their work cut out for them this year, receiving 99 entries for the popular competition before the December 31, 2011, deadline.
The photo above is just one of those entries, the stunning Spa House designed by Metropolis Architects, and located on the edge of Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. As you can see the standard for this category is pretty damn high.
Last year’s winner was the Pierre, a unique home cut into the massive rocks surrounding the sight – see thumbnail.
Designed by Tom Kundig, of successful Seattle firm, Olson Kundig Architects, they said: “Conceived as a bunker nestled into the rock, the Pierre, the French word for stone, celebrates the materiality of the site. From certain angles, the house – with its rough materials, encompassing stone, green roof and surrounding foliage – almost disappears into nature.”
To see who’s up against who, grab yourself a coffee and head over here to drool over some of the finest and oddest homes in the world.
A new year heralds many a new year resolution: to be healthier, skinnier, nicer, richer etc. but it’s also the time of year when those in the industries of building, design and architecture start trolling out their predictions for 2012.
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….
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.
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… Read the rest of this entry »
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…
With 3-D [love it or hate it] taking over your local movie theaters, it’s not surprising to it getting a boost in other art forms.
We’ve all seen some 3-D artist doodling on the sidewalk at one time or another but probably not on this scale.
Sportswear company Reebok and CrossFit decided to combine advertising with art for this world record breaking attempt in London. With artists, 3D Joe and Max, they set out to create the world’s longest and largest 3D painting. Check the video above to see how it went.
To put it in perspective [sorry], this thing measures up to 1,000 square meters and took a week to do. Not sure what’s it’s advertising but who cares, it looks cool. Freezing actually.
Just don’t look down.
We’ve covered quite a bit of green building on our Funktion blog [Containers of Hope: A Designer Home for Less Than $40,000] but, this home made almost entirely from discarded plastic bottles in Nigeria, is a stunning example of how waste can be recycled in projects of true worth.
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.
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]
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!
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