Danish Building Bridge

Michael Rytz

I’m so digging the work of Copenhagen illustrator Michael Rytz, with his spontaneous, sketchbook-like work. Characters, like vintage cartoons, parade around, fleshed out through glorious textures and scribbles punctuated with the occasional clean, bold, illustrator-like element for contrast that hits the spot.

Copenhagen’s The Black Diamond

Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen’s design for the Copenhagen national library is a celebrated structure in the already glittering design portfolio of northern Europe. The marble and glass façade of The Black Diamond (yes, that is what their national library is called) is an example of architectural brilliance, with even the angled walls designed to best mirror the city’s beautiful canals.

Sofie Hannibal and Nan Na Hvass

My little heart just about stopped when I stumbled across the intensely colorful work of Copenhagen illustration duo, Sofie Hannibal and Nan Na Hvass. I’m already a predisposed sucker for busy, vibrant work but Hannibal and Hvass’ illustrations just send me into an overexcited tizzy. There are just so many fantastic shapes and layers to soak up! I’ve yet to come across a piece on their website (and there’s a whole lot there) that doesn’t make me want to get up and dance around the room in circles. Read more

Floating House

This house has many facets that make it an intriguing example. First of all, it is a very aesthetically pleasing project with the use of light horizontal timbers and a clean pitched roof. Designed by MOS, an interesting design collective based in America, the secret to the Floating House is that it floats on a structure of steel pontoons. The house rises and falls with the changing waters and is frozen in place depending on the season. The steel pontoons were constructed first and towed to the lake outside the contractor’s factory and then the house was built atop of it. When finished it was towed to its position, anchored and enjoyed in its unique position. Finally, it forms a bridge between the land and an island. Wonderful!

Torre Bicentenario

Dutch uber-firm OMA, headed by Rem Koolhaas, has created this concept in Mexico City to symbolize the coming two hundred years of Mexico’s independence. There are many layers of symbolism in this building, from Mayan pyramids to which part of the building controls the park and which part controls the city, to the fact that the bulge of the building is below the centre height, and that it all happens on a relatively small footprint. Most of all, in this building there is a barely contained energy that seems near to release and it may be that this is what Torre Bicentenario represents.

Hamburg’s music and glass ice sculpture

Since the beginning, architects have been faced by the challenge of housing the ever unpinnable idea of music. The challenge here is the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, Germany. Basel-based architects, Herzog and de Meuron have created an ephemeral glass tent-like structure perched on top of an existing heavy modernist abandoned warehouse. The warehouse will be composed mainly of parking and back of house, while the glass structure incorporates concert halls, restaurants, bars, apartments and a luxury hotel. Clearly, this is a tremendously exciting alteration and addition to an existing site and building, with this new ice sculpture reflecting the surrounding changing environment and the soaring notes within. Completion is scheduled for 2010.