New & Cool Architecture / Floating House

December 9, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

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!

New & Cool Architecture / Torre Bicentenario

November 20, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

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.

New Design / Danish Building Bridge

November 18, 2008 | New Design | by Snell |

The Danes are renowned for their considered and subtle design. However, in these times of change, they must feel they need something with this selection of a bridge building as the winner of a recent architectural competition in Denmark. The American architect Steven Holl designed this building with a pedestrian bridge that links two sides of the harbour in the distinctly low-rise Copenhagen. Read more

New & Cool Architecture / Hamburg’s music and glass ice sculpture

November 7, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

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.

New & Cool Architecture / Cybertecture Egg

November 5, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

An egg is the symbol of birth, life and imminent development, and it has been used here as the basis to create a revolutionary Indian office environment. Located in the burgeoning and rapidly changing Mumbai, this egg achieves much with an intelligent water filtration system, a renewable power system of photovoltaic’s and wind turbines, and a health system in the bathrooms to track user’s blood pressure and weight. Designed by James Law Cybertecture International, they claim that the shape is even sustainable as it reduces building surface area, therefore reducing temperature loss-gain. We will see a lot more of this in India.

New & Cool Architecture / Barcelona’s Santa Caterina Market

November 3, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

This organic form, revealing itself from the sprawling metropolis of Barcelona via the marauding eye of Google, is the Santa Caterina Market. Designed by the late architect Enric Miralles it has a floating ceramic roof that drapes the bustling market below in a parental way. The coloured ceramics, of course, represent the smorgasbord of fruit and vegetables on sale within and enable a majestic view, not only for Google, but also to its immediate neighbours overlooking the site.

November 3, 2008 | New Trends | by Snell |

This is a preview from the game The Unfinished Swan, created by Ian Dallas and due to be released next year. The game is set in an all white world and features a maze that you find your way through by shooting paint balls to reveal your 3D environment. We highly recommend you check out the tech demo above, as that’s what really gets you in. We can’t help but be excited by this premise of discovery in the white noise of our architectural environments. Thanks to fellow architect Marcus Trimble, from whom we found this lead.

New & Cool Architecture / Permanent Camp

September 30, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

Located on a mountain in country outside Mudgee, in New South Wales, Australia, a permanent camp designed by Casey Brown has been set. A timber structure clad in copper has been designed to have a closed state and an open state. From the closed position, the flanks of copper are hoisted and capture views across the valley. With an imagery of structures, materials and mechanics of old, there is something romantic about this foothold on the hill.

New & Cool Architecture / New Practical Heritage

September 9, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

Herzog and de Meuron, the Swiss architects, have led the way with this re-use of the existing building fabric of CaixaForum in Madrid. Rather than being slavish to the existing openings, the building has been cut away for a contemporary practicality. We think this is an example of heritage not getting in the way of progress. Check out a similar concept of a previous post re-using the city fabric, where we were dreaming of such thing.

New Eco / LUMI rainwater tank

September 7, 2008 | New Eco | by Snell |

Rainwater tanks are here to stay. Not only is the general populace turning to them as the realization sinks in that water is a scarce resource, but they are also being legislated by government at all levels. The unfortunate problem is that the vast majority are not the most attractive additions to the built environment, particularly the latest round of polypropylene models, which are mostly big beige blobs. Read more

New & Cool Architecture / Polymer architecture

September 3, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

Here’s another commercial building, and no doubt a nice one too. But just another commercial building. Yet there is something different here and it’s in the materials used. The cladding is a fibre-reinforced polymer, or a FRP, and has a finish similar to that of a car. Read more

New & Cool Architecture / Glorious Ski Jump

September 2, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

We have reported on Danish firm, JDS Architects, before. And here their memorable work continues. This glorious design for the Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo is the result of an international competition and is to be completed in time for the 2011 World Championships. Read more

New & Cool Architecture / A Bath called Bad

August 11, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

Formed in New York and now based in Rotterdam and Berlin, SMAQ is a collaborative studio for architecture and urbanism by architects Sabine Müller and Andreas Quednau. Here they have created an interesting installation called Bad (bath) in the Solitude Palace Gardens in Stuttgart with the premise of creating a usable sculpture which entwines a 1000 metre long garden hose throughout a timber structure. Read more

New & Cool Architecture / Slow Furl

July 22, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

Created by Danish based research team, CITA, Slow Furl is a cybernetic environment that fills a room. CITA conceived this project as an organism with its own patterns of action and reaction. A skin envelopes the space and moves itself through arms connected to micro-controllers, and in reaction through sensory patches that feel movement. The skin unifies these two energies, producing unexpected and mysterious movement. It has just finished exhibiting at Lighthouse in Brighton and we are sorry we missed it.

New & Cool Architecture / A road building

July 16, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |

We came across this building a while ago by French architects EDCM, but as information at the time was only in French, it was all a bit tough – just like this building. Read more