Lise Anne advertising BlackBerry

Ooo see, after OMA's Ole dating Maggie Cheung, we have Asymptote's Lise Anne Couture advertising BlackBerry smartphone Pearl~
Yeah I am so excited we lot are getting closer than ever to celebrityhood, great..
(to find out more..)

image from: http://www.blackberry.com/select/ask/featured/lise_anne.shtml

posted by afterrabbit

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa stands in the center of Kanazawa, on a site linking together diverse but equally important city functions. Circular in form, with a diameter of 112.5 meters, the building has no front or back, leaving it free to be explored from all directions. While being a reaction to the accessibility of the site from multiple points of entry, as well as to its breadth, the circularity of the plan also works in concert with keeping the overall building volume low, to effectively mitigate the scale of the project and an overly grand presence common to large institutions. In order to further encourage the multiplicity of approaches, the architects have intentionally resisted establishing a primary façade or entrance. (to find out more..)





Well this has always been my favourite building, designed by my favourite architecture office SANAA.
The most special thing here is the plan, each rooms are in fact individual blocks, and the cluster is braced by the outer circle elegantly. Without hierarchy in the overall form, the blocks' varied scales resonate with each other, generating polar yet harmonic dual-senses - individual and collective - within the cluster of blocks. Unlike conventional museums, this museum has no obvious frontal but a few entrances are placed around the circle, so it is a building where any people from any direction, can approach - truly a museum for all.
arhh there's actually so much more i want to say~!

passage from: http://www.kanazawa21.jp/en/06about/architect.html

posted by afterrabbit

Anti Smog Architecture: A Catalyst for Cleaner Air in Paris

Architect Vincent Callebaut’s latest project balances public galleries, meeting rooms and gathering spaces over canals and abandoned railroad tracks in the 19th Parisian district. The prototype uses green technologies and techniques but is more than just an example of sustainable design. Callebaut’s ‘Anti Smog: An Innovation Centre in Sustainable Development’ is a catalyst for cleaner air.(to find out more..)

image & passage from:
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/28/anti-smog-architecture-a-catalyst-for-cleaner-air-in-paris/

posted by midori mizu

Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai

image 1

image 2

Sendai Mediatheque is a center for activities in the fields of art and film, serving as a public facility to help people freely exchange Information with each other through various media and learn how to use that information. The smt consists of public facilities such as Information center (2F), Public City Library (2,3,4F), Gallery (5,6F), Multimedia Library and Studio (7F). The building is composed of 13 independent steel-ribbed shafts (tubular columns: mainly steel-tube truss construction) and 7 steel-ribbed slabs ("honeycomb"slabs: sandwiched steel-plate construction), giving each floor a different floorplan. basement (b1) structures feature seismic energy-absorbing mechanisms.They inspire the sense of the smt users in daily sight, and also make the atmosphere and design more friendly and familiar for visitors. The lighting and the meeting rooms are also constructed for the user and the environment. (to find out more...)
Toyo Ito, 2007

text and image 2 from: http://www.shift.jp.org/en/archives/2007/10/sendai_mediatheque.html

image 1 from: www.egodesign.ca/en/article.php?article_id=66

posted by s-uper-chii

Turner City 2006

An interesting project map of Turner Construction Company's. It reminds me of the game Sim City so much, miss it! 'though I'm not a good gamer anyway..

Turner Construction Company is one of the largest construction management companies in the United States with a construction volume of $8.5 billion in 2006. According to Engineering News-Record, October 2006, Turner ranks first or second in major segments of the building construction field.
(to find out more..)

passage from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Construction
image from: http://www.turnerconstruction.com/tc2006/

posted by afterrabbit

10th Arquine International Architecture Competition

Thirty years on from the publication of Delirious New York, Rem Koolhaas's manifesto celebrating congestion culture, at the peak of the high building craze in most of the world, and moving on from post 9-11 panic, Arquine announces its 10th International Competition, proposing the design of two skyscrapers, with 100 floors each, to celebrate the bicentenary of Mexico's independence in 2010.
The project consists in setting each tower in two strategic areas of Mexico City: the Azcapotzalco Technology Park and the Xochimilco Ecology Park, establishing a dialectic between content and void; between built object and urban landscape. (to find out more..)

passage & image from: http://www.dexigner.com/design_competitions/10th-arquine-international-architecture-competition.html

posted by afterrabbit

International Bauhaus Award 2008: The minimum subsistence level housing of today

With the 5th Bauhaus Award, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation continues its research into “Updating Modernism”. In doing so, a central topic of the historical Bauhaus is taken up and put into the context of a contemporary discourse: solutions are sought for the subsistencelevel housing of today. The same title was chosen for the second conference held by CIAM (or International Congress of Modern Architecture) in Frankfurt am Main in 1929. Here, new models and prototypes for small apartments were presented and discussed by, among others, the Bauhaus directors Walter Gropius and Hannes Meyer. Almost eight decades later, this historical Bauhaus theme is more pertinent than ever. Societies worldwide are confronted, in the social, ecological and cultural respect, with the problem of housing shortage. The 5th International Bauhaus Award will look at modern standards in the field of housing and examine these in the light of the current parameters of housing shortage. Creative designs or concepts and models or scenarios for housing policy are sought for the social strata, which live on the subsistence minimum and are therefore unable to establish themselves on the housing market. The urban ways of life associated with poverty lead to existential housing shortages, which, given the ecological conditions of climate change, will only become more extreme. How is the ever-critical relationship between poverty and the housing shortage resolved? Individuals or groups may tender entries of work developed in the last five years – design outlines, plans, research projects, films, concepts, etc. Participants may include designers, artists and academics who are under 40 years of age by the project completion date. The first prize is 6,000 Euro, the second 4,000 Euro and the third 2,000 Euro.
Call for entries: 1st January 2008
Closing date for entries: 31st March 2008

passage from: http://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/en/projects.asp?p=award2008

posted by afterrabbit

One matter architects can't design

architecture website??

Architects like to picture themselves at the top of the design pyramid - the all-rounders who can design anything from a city to an earring. So why can't they design their own websites?why are architect's websites so badly designed?
(to find out more..)

image & passage from:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/art/2008/01/architects_like_to_picture_the.html

posted by midori mizu

Hula Hoops, by Fuksas

At daytime the membrane is just very orange, but at night the building lightens up like a big lantern showing the ant-like supporting structure of the façade and will eventually display projected images, video or text of what’s going on inside. Like a huge billboard, the architect writes, or a giant light sculpture. In the end it is big architecture that enhances its bigness by adding cheap volume. The thin membrane just adds cheap foyer-space: no weight or monumentality, just air.(to find out more..)

images & passage from:
http://www.eikongraphia.com/?p=2241

posted by midori mizu

A-CERO wins the “Nebula” International Ideas Competition in Dubai

The spanish architecture studio A-CERO, headed by J. Torres and R. Llamazares, has won the restricted international competition of ideas for the design of a new exclusive residential zone in the Madinat Al Arab district, in Dubai’s coast. The new development, called Nebula, includes a hotel, luxury apartments, commercial spaces, offices, a marina and leisure zones, comprising 450.000 sq. meters of built surface, near the third (and the bigger) of the Palms, on this ever changing coastline. The work will be undertaken in three fused locations corresponding to three plots situated in zone C for a low-rise 10-storey development, three apartment towers of 20-30 storeys and two 50-storey towers.(to find out more..)

image & passage from:
http://www.e-architect.co.uk/dubai/nebula_competition_dubai.htm

posted by midori mizu

Petaling Jaya Trade Centre@Kuala Lumpur

PJ Trade Centre is one of the largest office developments in the country, with a net area of 810,000 square feet spread out over its four towers.The development concept is based on a Malaysian paradigm - it is of its time, culture, climate and context. It begins with the understanding that many office buildings in the country are unsuited for our environment, being based on a western model to fit temperate climates and western contexts.
It is inspired by the knit between Malaysian natural history and its ethnology - as seen in weavings of batik, kain songket, pelekat and tenun - and this is expressed by a gentle wrapping of the building in a breathing skin that is like a pattern cloth, at a scale of 20 storeys.
(to find out more..)

image from:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=17691601
passage from:
http://www.pjtradecentre.com/concept-01.html

posted by midori mizu

Holcim awards for sustainable construction

A Next Generation category is open for project visions at a conceptual level, early stage of design or with a low probability of execution. To be eligible for entry, the project author(s) must be less than 35 years of age at February 29, 2008. Please note there is no global phase of the competition for entrants in the “Next Generation” category.
The Holcim Awards (main) competition is open to participants of every age for projects at an advanced stage of design with a high probability of execution. To be eligible for entry, the project must not have commenced execution prior to June 1, 2007. Hence, projects authors of less than 35 years of age may opt to submit in the "Next Generation" category and/or the main Awards competition depending on the eligibility of their project(s).
All entries must be completed in English.

Closing date: 29th February 2008

passage & image from: http://www.holcimfoundation.org/T581/nextgeneration.htm

posted by afterrabbit

3rd International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing

In January 2008, we're lighting the torch for a 3rd International Competition for Sustainable Housing in our five-year quest to address the world's housing shortage with sustainable steel solutions. This competition will be unlike the others in its format with a Charette-style challenge at a location somewhere in the world. Ten firms will be selected to create innovative housing for a location that will be disclosed in the competition brief, and for which they will be given two days to design a sustainable, steel solution. Winners will be selected right at the competition site by a prestigious jury. But what will remain the same is the fact that the winning design will be built at the disclosed location--the dream will become reality. Land is already purchased and waiting to show the world how we can address the growing and critical demand for housing with efficient, comfortable homes. The competition is free to enter, and there is a prize fund for the winners. If you have not already registered for our email updates and newsletters, please do so now, and we will personally notify you when the Call for Expressions of Interest is launched in January 2008. Get ready to throw your hat in the ring for a new chance to inspire the world with effective, efficient housing solutions.
Register on our website to get the announcement of the Call for Expressions of Interest.

passage & image from: http://www.livingsteel.org/competitions

posted by afterrabbit

DLD Conference

DLD (Digital, Life, Design) is Europe's conference for the 21st century, covering digital innovation, science and culture and bringing together thought leaders from Europe, the Middle-East, America and Asia. The three-day event is chaired by publisher Hubert Burda and investor Joseph Vardi and hosted by Stephanie Czerny and Marcel Reichart.DLD08 took place from January 20-22, 2008 at HVB Forum in Munich, Germany.(to find out more..)

passage from:http://www.dld-conference.com/

posted by midori mizu

DLD panel on Future City (Part 1)

what they call "Agri-Tecture", a merger of agriculture and architecture. Impermeable plank system that allows for a new nature to grow with the cracks. The strategy of agri-tecture combines organic and building materials into a blend of changing proportions that accommodate the wild, the cultivated, the intimate, and the hyper-social.
(to find out more..)

image & passage from:
http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2008/01/back-from-the-dld-conference.php

posted by midori mizu

Sheikh Zayed Bridge

A collection, or strands of structures, gathered on the shore, are lifted and ‘propelled’ over the length of the channel. A sinusoidal waveform provides the structural silhouette shape across the channel. The mainland is the “launch pad” for the bridge structure emerging from the ground . The road decks are cantilevered on each side of the rising and falling spine structure. Steel arches rise and spring from concrete piers laid asymmetrically, in length, between the road decks. The main bridge arch structure rises to a height of 60m above water level with the road crowning at 20m above mean water level.(to find out more…)

Zaha Hadid

Text and images from: http://198.106.254.194/idf/2007/04/20/sheikh-zayed-bridge-by-zaha-hadid/

posted by s-uper-chii

DLD Panel On Future City(part 2)

The Superharbour project was an attempt to re-invent the role of an architect regarding the constant evolution of seas. It started with a proposal to "re-design Denmark, to re-brand the country".


The principle of Yin Yang and the 5 elements of Feng Shui are embedded in the architecture of the Hotel & Conference Center Shanghai (REN).

(to read more..)
text from:
http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2008/01/dld-panel-on-future-city-part.php

posted by midori mizu

NTU School of Art, Design & Media, Singapore

Located at the junction of Nanyang Ave and Nanyang Drive, the new iconic School of Art, Design and Media is situated in a wooded valley right in the heart of the campus.

The design was conceived as 3 intertwining blocks that are apparent natural extensions of the ground. These blocks interweave to enclose a picturesque plaza and landscape. Major spaces such as the Auditorium, Media Studios, library and art galleries surround this outdoor activity node.

Tucked indoors are complementary facilities such as Stop Motion Studio, 3-D Hi-End Computer Graphics Studio, Soundstage, Sound Recording Studios, Audio Visual Editing Suites, Hi-End Digital Post Studio etc.

The highlight of the building is the verdant turfed roof which blends with the ground contour. Apart from its visual impact, the turfed roofscape is a functional space which is easily accessible via sidesteps along the roof edge, thereby allowing the rooftop to be a scenic outdoor communal space. Environmentally, it helps to lower the roof temperature and surrounding areas.

(to find out more..)





passage from: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/OFPM/About+Us/Development+Division/adm.htm
image from: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/23/amazing-green-roof-art-school-in-singapore/#more-7967

posted by afterrabbit

Agora Theater@Lelystad, The Netherlands

The theatre responds to the ongoing mission of reviving and recovering the post-war Dutch new towns by focusing on the archetypal function of a theatre: that of creating a world of artifice and enchantment. Both inside and outside walls are faceted to reconstruct the kaleidoscopic experience of the world of the stage, where you can never be sure of what is real and what is not. In the Agora theatre drama and performance are not restricted to the stage and to the evening, but are extended to the urban experience and to daytime.
(to find out more..)
by UNStudio

images and passage from:
http://arcspace.com/architects/un/lelystad2/lelystad2.html

posted by midori mizu

NZX - Niuzexui

The development's cozy ambience will be enhanced by the centre's unique 80ft covered boulevard, which boasts an air cooling system that maintains a comfortable environment within, making shopping & dining a breeze - literally! The boulevard boasts a large variety of unique kiosk that will complement the surrounding shop houses. (to find out more..)
Just another newly-opened development in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya that is so much similar to Clark Quay at Singapore... The problem is it's causing traffic congestion every night at the area I stay!! Well, basically there's no sufficient public transportation nearby, so everyone has to drive, and sadly the road capacity is also not sufficient!! The cars are lining long 'queue' in the originally silent & peaceful residential area to get through a poorly built small tunnel, only then can they reach to Niuzexui!! Why the... It's better named 车水马龙， rather than 牛车水... shit..

passage from: http://niuzexui.com/
image from: http://www.iproperty.com.my/reviews/NZX2/coverpage.asp
complaint from: the poor resident - afterrabbit

posted by afterrabbit

Maritime Museum by Ando

About the concept of architect Tadao Ando: The concept is inspired by Abu Dhabi’s natural surrounding, landscape and maritime traditions. Its ship-like interior with floating decks will guide visitors through the exhibition space.
"The elegant architecture begins with a unique space carved out of a simple volume that is shaped by the force and fluidity of Abu Dhabi’s wind. (to find out more..)
The site is at Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi which will also feature works by 3 other starchitects - Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel & Frank Ghery.

passage & image(1) from: http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/islamic_world/articles/2007/saadiyat_cultural_district/projects/maritime_museum
image(2) from: http://phayung.blogspot.com/

posted by afterrabbit

Photosets of Grin Grin

Grin Grin Central Park in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan by Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects.

Photosets:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9160678@N06/sets/72157602029968635/detail/ &
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyberia/sets/72157603659936168/detail/

image from: http://www.c-channel.com/c00088/index_en.html

posted by afterrabbit

De Beers - Ginza Headquarter

The completed De Beers' headquarter building in Ginza district, Tokyo, by Jun Mitsui & Associates Inc. Architects, is to open soon on 20th March 08. The distorted, dancing facade gives surrealism to the highrise, well suited to De Beers the jewellery company.
Just to mention, the building is located only few steps away from Ito's MIKIMOTO Ginza 2 (can be seen in the upper pic).

Images from: http://www.excite.co.jp/ism/concierge/rid_1173/ & http://kstyle.s57.xrea.com/2007/09/post_458.php

posted by afterrabbit

Oppenheim

(Element by Oppenheim)

Oppenheim Architecture+Design is a full service architecture, interior design and urban planning firm located in Miami, Florida. The firm founded by Chad Oppenheim specializes in creating powerful and pragmatic solutions to complex project challenges and has extensive experience in world class hospitality, residential and mixed-use design.
The Oppenheim design strategy is inherently simple - to uncover the obvious and best solution. Creating an experience that is dramatic and powerful yet simultaneously sensual and comfortable. The firm's approach begins by a deep understanding and analysis of the developer's program in relation to the projects typology, context, zoning parameters, and financial realities. (to find out more..)

passage & image from: http://www.oppenoffice.com/#

posted by afterrabbit

VIDEO: Chad Oppenheim on Sustainable Architecture

Check out our latest video interview of Miami architect Chad Oppenheim, designer of the stunning green COR Tower for Miami. In this video he discusses Miami as a booming real estate and construction economy, and his take on sustainability as a factor in that growth. And of course, details on his futuristic-looking Cor Tower, which we can’t wait to see completed.
Video by Scribemedia

text from: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/16/video-chad-oppenheim-on-sustainable-architecture/

posted by afterrabbit

Seattle Public Library

"The stacks, arranged along a continuous spiral ramp contained within a four-story slab, reinforce a sense of a world organized with machine-like precision."Nicolai Ouroussoff Los Angeles Times. The building is divided into eight layers, each varying in size to fit its function. A structural steel and glass skin unifies the multifaceted form and defines the public spaces in-between. (to find out more...)
Another fascinating architecture by Rem Koolhaas; OMA has came up with a great solution for the circulation of the users and the books located in it, which is known as the 'Continuous Collection'. The space organization that has been divided into eight layers look marvellous from the front facade, as it takes shape of a stack of books, and it is being pulled apart; which is categorized as another deconstructivism icon.

text and images from: http://www.arcspace.com/architects/koolhaas/Seattle/index.htm

posted by s-uper-chii

More Pics on Polish Pavilion for Shanghai Expo 2010

Clearer pictures of the Polish Pavilion for Shanghai Expo 2010 from designboom, which I didn't get to include into another post last time. (More pictures from designboom..)
Also note that there're some intense yet interesting arguments & critics at the comment section, for your reading (& thinking) pleasure.

images from: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/read.php?CATEGORY_PK=&TOPIC_PK=2223

posted by afterrabbit

A Diamond In The Rough

The House kn by Kochi Architect's Studio manages to both isolate itself from and integrate itself into the surrounding neighborhood. The angled walls that at once create and expose the void enable the inhabitants to be protected from the neighbors when desired, and yet embraces the neighborhood (especially at night).This is quite a simple, yet elegant and successful solution for the dense areas of Japan. (to find out more..)

image & passage from:
http://atelier-ad.blogspot.com/2008/01/diamond-in-rough.html

posted by midori mizu

Perkins + Will Debunks Antilia Myths

Perkins + Will designed Antilia, a 24-story corporate meeting facility and private residence, now under construction in Mumbai (top). The tower features several garden levels and a trellis, which supports panels of hydroponically grown plans, that act like a green band weaving in and out of the building to demarcate different program elements (down).
(to find out more..)
(Perkins + Will won the commission for Antilia in 2004, besting Foster + Partners, SITE, Wilkinson & Eye, and Ken Yang.)

images & passage from:
http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/071018perkinswill.asp

posted by midori mizu

Dancing trees, Singing birds

Dancing trees,Singing birds.

Principal use : housing

Structure : R.C.structure, partially steel structure

Site area : 770.22sqm

Total floor area : 684.86sqm

Building site : Tokyo

This project by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Co.,Ltd. was one of the subjects during our studio forum discussion today. It's quite interesting that how it dodges the trees & at the same time using them (ie. small branches to hang cloths, sceneries for our own).
Now I get a clearer & more valid reason for designing houses like this one. We build our buildings where the trees are, not to dodge them showing how conservative the projects are, but to USE them. Leaving the trees unharm doesn't mean we have nothing to do with them, of course we are to USE the best that the trees have to offer. So sometimes we don't avoid the trees, we purposely find them.


See how they hang their cloths~

text & images from: http://www.nakam.info/works/birdpark/index.html

posted by afterrabbit

New Ideas for the missing Gropius Masterhouses in Dessau

The Bauhaus Building and the Masters' Houses in Dessau, Architect Walter Gropius, have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage since 1996. The Renovation of the Bauhaus Building and the Masters' Houses in line with monument conservation practice underpins this status. The object of the competition is an urban design scheme to repair the Masters' Houses complex. Registration Deadline: Thursday, February 14, 2008
Submission Deadline: Thursday, February 14, 2008
(to find out more..)

passage from: http://bustler.net/index.php/description/new_ideas_for_the_missing_gropius_masterhouses_in_dessau/
image from: http://www.jostconsult.de/

posted by afterrabbit

2008 Melbourne International Design Festival

Melbourne International Design Festival will take place from 17-27 July, 2008.
"Next year's Melbourne International Design Festival will encompass exhibitions and events for designers, local design talent and much more." said Melbourne International Design Festival Director, Kathy Demos.
"The Festival continues to be an event created by designers for designers and the greater community."
Major international exhibition INDEX will make its Australian debut on its inaugural worldwide tour at the Melbourne International Design Festival in July 2008. (to find out more..)

passage & image from: http://www.dexigner.com/product/news-g13134.html

posted by afterrabbit

Ondine

Before being perceived as an element of furniture, this design tends to fascinate by its underlying complexity translated in a simple strong form.
"Ondine" strikes the viewer as being somewhat organic: alive, supple and inherently mysterious
The modular exterior furniture design "Ondine", laureate of the Parckdesign competition 2007 "Embrassons les arbres" organized by "Bruxelles Environnement" and "Pro-Materia", is the fruit of a close collaboration between designer Michael Bihain and Belgian architect Cédric Callewaert. (to find out more..)

passage from: http://www.dexigner.com/product/news-g13189.html
image from: http://www.yankodesign.com/index.php/2007/07/09/ondine-bench-a-flowy-one/

posted by afterrabbit

2008 AIA Honor Awards Recognize Excellence in Architecture, Interior, and Urban Design

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced the 2008 recipients of the AIA Institute Honor Awards, the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. Selected from over 800 total submissions, 28 recipients will be honored in May at the AIA 2008 National Convention and Design Exposition in Boston.(to find out more..)

passage from:
http://www.aia.org/release_010408_honoraward

posted by midori mizu

Useful+Agreeable

"the u+a pre-designed mini hi-rise is not only a tightly designed house that uses every square inch of space wisely, it also attempts to express this economy in its smooth exterior surface shape, a form of industrial design at an architectural scale." - neil denari
(to find out more..)

images & passage from:
http://archinect.com/news/article.php?id=69695_0_24_0_C

posted by midori mizu