Electrolux Design Lab 2010 Finalists

Here is a sleek presentation of the finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab.

Herzog & de Meuron’s Parrish Art Museum Breaks Ground Today!

Today is the day! The Parrish Museum will next open its doors the summer of 2012 in Southampton, NY with a brand-new 34,500-square-foot modern structure designed by Herzog & de Meuron's. The museum will consist of two parallel single-story wings settled on a 14-acre site.





Official site of The Parrish Art Museum

My sentiments exactly.

Maybe its just me, but i actually love this little creature. This structure is the L41 home designed by Michael Katz. The aim of the 220 sq-ft structure is to give the essentials for living to allow people to become homeowners in a struggling economy. This would be a nightmare for families, but as a college bachelor, I think this is awesome!





The aim of the designers is to eventually have this residence listed for 50 thousand a piece. Although i love the concept and i really enjoy the structure, I still think 50 thousand is way too much. I havent found if the price is just for the structure or for the structure and a patch of land, but I would love to see this available for half that.


The L41 is designed to allow for the construction in many configurations, from the basic single-unit to high-rises.


L41

How food can shape our cities?!

Another TED post! i know, i know... We all know i love these TED videos...

Every day, in a city the size of London, 30 million meals are served. But where does all the food come from? Architect Carolyn Steel discusses the daily miracle of feeding a city, and shows how ancient food routes shaped the modern world.

Carolyn is pretty monotone throughout her presentation, but if you can watch the video in its entirety there is some pretty interesting bits in there.

Weekend Links!

*Photo sketch by Norman Foster

• The West Loop in Chicago is due for a Green Update.
• Achitonic presents a collection of 65 approved Bauhaus designs.
• A lovely pavilion that represents a Termite Mound
• A lightweight, attractive, and sleek e-bike dubbed Mosquito.
• Rainbow Stairs that give Color to the town of Wuppertal in Germany.
• Photos from Habitare 2009 in Helsinki, Finland.
  

Bjarke Ingels: 3 warp-speed architecture tales

Danish architect Bjarke Ingels rockets through photo/video-mingled stories of his eco-flashy designs. His buildings not only look like nature -- they act like nature: blocking the wind, collecting solar energy -- and creating stunning views.

Houston's Dome

The science of mega engineering says we can save Houston with a Dome. Imagine building a huge Dome that covers the entire city, that is higher than Houston's skyscrapers.
One solution to counter the almost overwhelming environmental challenges facing Houston is to cover it with a giant geodesic dome.

The country's fourth most populous city faces heat, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Houston has always been vulnerable to hurricanes and severe weather.
Houston city center shut down for nearly a week from last year's hurricane. It caused the city a 10 billion dollar damage. It's not only the hurricanes, but also heat and humidity that keep oppressing this great city. On nearly 100 days each year the temperature climbs above 90 degrees. Air conditioning helps, but it comes at a very high cost. Houston is using more electricity than Los Angeles. This is why some scientists think the only way to save the city is to move it indoors, in other words to build a huge dome for Houston. Houston dome area will stretch over 21 Million square feet, making it the biggest structure with the largest roof in the world.
Houston Dome's broadest panels will be 15 feet across. It will take 147,000 panels to cover the city of Houston. Glass will not work for Houston Dome. It will be so heavy that it can't hold. Houston Dome will require a much lighter material. It may come from the German city of Bremen, from a factory of Vector Foil Company.


Vector Foiltec invented the use of Texlon® ETFE, the climatic envelope, over twenty five years ago and has successfully developed and promoted the use of this innovative technology worldwide. This is light polymer and is the future of glass.
This material, called ETFE is the only material that will make a fuller city-size dome possible, even for a city like Houston. At just one percent of glass, ETFE is described as 99 percent nothing. Without ETF the Houston dome can never become reality. It is so light that 99 percent lighter than glass is tremendous change.


Since it's not possible to stop the life in Houston to build the Dome and army of dirigibles will be used to complete the construction.
Houston Dome will take years of construction and billions of dollars. The Dome is designed to protect a city from a category-5 hurricane. The ETFE panels and the space-frame steel structure that supports them are the key. ETFE can withstand winds of 180 miles per hour. This is higher velocity than the strongest category 5 hurricane.
Houston Dome idea is very intriguing. But I am just left with one idea. Will Houston ever see rain? If no, is it possible to sustain an ecosystem of such a size without rain?

(The nodes reading from left to right: Construction, Dome Geometry, Dome Entrance, Apexvents, Panel Saftey, Space Frame, Dirigible)

Does anyone remember that episode on The Simpsons, where there was a dome around Springfield? How much of an impact would daily life for Houstonians change. The downtown area would never have to worry about poor weather because the dome would have a proposed "perfect" environment. That does seem quite lovely considering i hate how my clothes stick to my skin 2 minutes after being outside. However, would we take for granted being able to enjoy nature in nature around downtown Houston? Would living in a bubble, especially those living AND working downtown, become too repetative? How would this change the future design of structures? Would It be possible to loose a facade and have "open" buildings?

For more info visit the Discovery Channel.