Betting a Farm Would Work in Queens

One can only imagine how the judges reacted when the architects walked in lugging the kind of hulking concrete-pouring cardboard tubes used at construction sites filled with flowering heads of cabbage.
The proposal by Dan Wood and Amale Andraos, the husband-and-wife duo behind Work Architecture, was clearly a departure from previous design proposals to transform the courtyard of the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, Queens for a summer. But the urban farm concept — including an abundance of fresh produce and a genuine harvesting plan — was apparently just too darn offbeat to pass up. (to find out more..)

passage & image from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/arts/design/07cour.htm

posted by afterrabbit

UN Studio's VilLA NM Destroyed in Fire

The Time Herald Record Online reports, "A hilltop home that was featured in The New York Times was destroyed last night [February 5] by a roaring, smoky fire with blue and orange flames." The house, located in Bethel in upstate New York is the VilLA NM by Dutch architects UN Studio. The house was completed just last year. (to find out more..)


more images of VilLA NM's former elegance Here.

passage & images from: http://archidose.blogspot.com/2008/02/un-studios-villa-nm-destroyed-in-fire.html

posted by afterrabbit

Aegis Hyposurface by Mark Goulthrope

posted by s-uper-chii

Water Cube Opens

posted by midori mizu

Happy Chinese New Year! 春节快乐！

Happy Chinese New Year to all people out there~

祝春节快乐，鼠年新希望！

也为饱受雪灾煎熬的同胞们和京奥2008祈福。

Pet Architecture Guide Book

Mentioning houses in comfined sites, I'd definitely recommend this book by Atelier Bow-Wow, Pet Architecture Guide Book.
The book investigates and studies the leftover (really small & narrow) spaces within the urban fabric of Tokyo, and the possibilities and ways of building architecture in those spaces. It features projects by Atelier Bow-Wow itself with lots of illustrations.

I don't have the book, though.. I really want a copy..

image from: http://www.amazon.com/Architecture-Guide-Book-Atelier-Bow-Wow/dp/4846523276

posted by afterrabbit

Atelier Tekuto

architecture studio, atelier tekuto began working on small, local projects in japan. after the success of their first international project in korea, the firm is setting their sites on future collaborations around the world, beginning in the unlikely setting of gondar, ethiopia.
over the past few years, atelier tekuto has become well known for their innovative residential projects in tokyo. the studio's design of the 'cell brick' residence won them first place in the british ar+d awards for emerging architecture in 2004. this building showcased the architectural vision of the studio and its lead architect yasuhiro yamashita. after their early success, the studio continues to develop residences which push the boundaries of design and engineering.


Parabola (放物線の家), Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Completed in 2007.


白華 Hakka, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Completed in 2003.

Plenty of their interesting house designs are available here (though they aren't confined only in residential projects). It is always delightful and exciting to see how those people build houses in the very small urban voids, particularly in highly dense urban fabrics such as Tokyo. At many times these houses are specially tailored for the single/small-family clients, hence always reflecting characteristics of the occupant(s).

passage from: http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/tekuto.html
images from: http://www.tekuto.com/works/private/index1.html

posted by afterrabbit

FuturArc Forum 2008

Organised by the BCI Group and hosted by FuturArc journal, this event comprises a series of nine conferences that will be held in Southeast Asia, Australia and China in the first half of 2008 to promote learning about green building and sustainable design.

Featuring experts (Malaysia station) in green building: Dr. Ken Yeang, Dr Deo Prasad, Dr Nirmal Kishnani, Ulf Meyer, John Bulcock, Poul Kristensen, Dr Matthias Krups.

Date (Malaysia): Tuesday, 26th February 2008

for more information on the forum (all hosting countries): http://www.futurarc.com/forum/forum.cfm

text & images from: http://www.futurarc.com/forum/forum.cfm

posted by afterrabbit

The Capers at Sentul East, Kuala Lumpur

Your home at The Capers is anything but the usual. Its body, a unique wavy design inspired by nature, stirs your imagination. While its soul, an elegant yet warm haven, makes you forget your worries. Here, you can mingle with birds in the sky gardens. Watch fish play in the water bodies from your balcony. Count the passing planes from your windows with uninterrupted panoramic views. And when you step out, take in the buzz of Sentul East with its stylish cafes, spice shops, rustic tailors, charming old bookstores, and the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre. You see, it's natural to live more interestingly here.
In my opinion,this is a really nice piece of architecture. First was The Maple, then The Saffron and now The Capers, YTL developers have really outdone it, transforming the face of Sentul district into such a livable environment. This living quarter looks dynamic and fluid. I think Kuala Lumpur will have better architectures in the future, with upcoming projects such as The Troika and OneKL.

text and image from: www.capers.com.my

posted by s-uper-chii

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT is a place where people can view the world through design. It will be not so much a museum as a research center for design, a place for thinking about design, and a place where things are actually made. The aim is to share views and ideas with the many parties involved in design, starting with designers and including companies, craftsmen and engineers, as well as consumers, and to launch a movement to foster interest in, and greater understanding of design.

The building is a low-rise structure consisting of one ground floor and one underground floor. Most of the volume of the building, which has a unique form featuring a roof made from giant steel plates that slope gently down to the ground, is buried underground. Once inside, the space opens out on a scale unimaginable given the building's unobtrusive exterior. The ground floor houses the entrance and reception area, while the underground floor houses two galleries and a triangular sunken court. A feature of the building is that it is encased in the longest section of double-glazing in Japan. The building was designed by architect Tadao Ando, whose brief was to design a structure that would represent Japan.

passages & images from: http://www.2121designsight.jp/designsight/index-e.html & http://www.2121designsight.jp/designsight/building-e.html

posted by afterrabbit

Bulls Eye Special 2008

The Bulls Eye Special 2008 exhibition is the brainchild of the 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT staff. As the title suggests, in a play-on-words, the theme revolves around the idea of perfect vision and the eye. A selection of work by a variety of different contributors will be on display. The goal of this exhibition was to achieve the sum of Eyes + companies + designers and artists, all working in unison; it also resulted in the creation of several "Bulls Eye Specials"


DATE : 2008.1.26 (Sat)~3.16 (Sun)
TIME : 11:00~20:00 (Entrance until 19:30)
CLOSED : Tuesdays
Venue : 21_21 Design Sight, Roppongi, Tokyo
(to find out more..)

passage & image(above) from: http://www.2121designsight.jp/schedule/bulls-eye2008/outline-e.html
image(bottom) from: http://www.excite.co.jp/ism/concierge/rid_1234/

posted by afterrabbit

Mod Living

The house pictured here, for instance, "a detached single-family home, pre-manufactured and assembled on site," can also be stacked further upon itself in a kind of vertical stutter to form towers.On its own, it also vaguely resembles a prosthetic knuckle, or some other sort of avant-garde medical device manufactured from high grade plastic.(to find out more..)

image & passage from:
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/mod-living.html

posted by midori mizu

Bird's Nest Herzog & de Meuron film

Schaub and Schindelm’s documentary follows two Swiss star architects on two very different projects: the national stadium for the Olympic summer games in Peking 2008 and a city area in the provincial town of Jinhua, China. Architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are literally building bridges between two cultures, two architectural traditions, and two political systems. Their work doesn’t simply enhance China’s great international debut, but serves the everyday needs of the Chinese population. “Bird’s Nest” presents the Basle architects as they find solutions not in the comfort of an ivory tower but in encounters and friction on the ground.(to find out more..)

passage from:
http://www.herzogdemeuron-film.com/en/home/

posted by midori mizu

OMA in Singapore

OMA's first project in Singapore is a 36-storey residential tower for the Far East Organization, Singapore’s largest private development company. The tower was designed by OMA Partner Ole Scheeren.

This year OMA has announced it's second project, a large residential complex containing over 1,000 apartments, in Singapore. It is commissioned by CapitaLand Residential, a leading developer in Asia.

passage & images from: http://archirecord.blogspot.com/2008/02/oma-in-singapore.html

posted by afterrabbit

Seksan Design

Intercontinental Hotel Hanoi, Vietnam


Riana Green East Showhouse, Kuala Lumpur

Ng Sek San pursued landscape architecture and obtained the postgraduate diploma in the subject at Lincoln University, New Zealand in 1985. One of the leading landscape architects in Malaysia today, Sek San's palette of work demonstrates a breadth of approach that spans from minimal interventions onto the natural landscape to that which is rich in elements yet contemporary in spirit. The practice often explores place-making, generating installations both within natural and man-made surroundings. Collaborative work with other designers and craftsmen have given birth to structures that always attempts to challenge typical manners of touching nature and constructing on it, lending some reverence to the land. Much of his installations as well as his landscape works are inspired by visual arts, as opposed to
succumbing to a horticultural approach to landscape design. The 'subversive' nature of his practice allows Sek San to balance commercial reality with some artistic play.
(to find out more @ Seksan Design..)

passage from: http://www.artfacts.net/pdf-files/inst/processing%20the%20city%20press.pdf
images from: http://www.seksan.com/index.html

posted by afterrabbit

114 Koi's

Foundation Kinetisch Noord invited the Motorschiff Stubnitz from Rostock (Germany) to moor at the quays of the former NDSM yard in Amsterdam North. The Stubnitz is a former fishing boat which has been transformed into a cultural boat. It docks on to different locations in Europe to show outdoor events, video installations, expirimental music, performances and cross overs. This NDSM wharf has a giant dry dock which provided the inspiration to make a sort of murals on it. (to find out more..)

passage & image from: http://www.florentijnhofman.nl/index.php?page=projects&id=7

posted by afterrabbit

Software Race

Autodesk has been pushing Revit pretty agressively and the hope is that this 3D intelligent modelling will eventually become the design package of choice rather than the simple and "dumb" line-drawing tool that is Autocad.

from:
BD World Architecture January 2008

posted by midori mizu

Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

Peace Memorial Halls for the Atomic Bomb Victims are located in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the two cities which suffered atomic bombings. They were built in order to impress upon people the preciousness of the sacrifices made by those who died after exposure to the bombings, and to commemorate everlasting peace. They were established according to the provisions of Law 41 for the medical care of atomic bomb survivors.

The main functions of the Memorial Halls are to provide places to pray for those who died after exposure to the atomic bombings, and to encourage people to contemplate peace. They also maintain archives of materials on the atomic bombings and radiation illnesses, and serve as centers of international cooperation and exchange. The two halls work in cooperation, with Nagasaki placing emphasis on international cooperation and Hiroshima on the collecting of archive materials. (to find out more..)

This ARCASIA award 2005/06 winning design is by Akira Kuryu. The entrance level has a fairly similar expression to that of Ando's Water Temple, but turns out very different at night when under the pool emerges a basin-full of light-dots.

passage from: http://www.peace-nagasaki.go.jp/eng/ftop.html

images from: http://www.peace-nagasaki.go.jp/eng/ftop.html & http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/category/world-war-ii/

posted by afterrabbit

Kun Lim Architect

Our primary concerns are understanding the needs of our clients and helping them articulate their requirements. In our work, undivided attention is given to detail and major considerations that are project specific. This ranges from optimisation of land use to climatic response, relationship with the environment and context, integration with nature and landscape, and co-ordination with structural systems and other building services.The firm's works have been featured in various magazines and exhibited internationally. One of the major exhibitions was the "Megacities Now! Asian Visions......" which is an international travelling exhibition in the year 2000 featuring in Hong Kong, Berlin, Paris and Madrid.The practice is headed by brother K S Lim and Kun Lim, fully supported by a team of professionals trained in Architecture, Urban Design and Interior Design. At present, Kun Lim Architect is affiliated with projects in Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Maldives, India, China and California. (to find out more..)
A very good firm established & based in Kuala Lumpur.

passage & image from: http://kunlimarchitect.com/index.html

posted by afterrabbit

Penang Global City Center

The design is centered on the idea of creating a new and powerful image for the city of Penang and the new initiatives associated with the development of the Northern Corridor of Malaysia.The design of the iconic towers in particular draws inspiration from not only the lushness and drama of the surrounding mountains and seascapes, but also from the rich and diverse cultural heritage that makes up the Malaysian nation and Penang in particular.

Construction start for Phase 1 is scheduled for late 2008.

Total Area: 1.000.000 square meters
Retail Complex: 400,000 square meters
Convention Center: 100,000 square meters
Performing Arts Center (PenPAC): 75,000 square meters
Condominiums: 70,000 square meters
Hotel and Service Apartments: 50,000 square meters
Offices: 25,000 square meters
Observatory: 1,500 square meters
Parking: 190,000 square meters

(to find out more..) by Asymptote Architecture

image & passage from:
http://arcspace.com/architects/asymptote/penang/penang.html

posted by midori mizu