Floating Barn by NRJA
This is a quite cool concept, which combines the ideas of house boats and cozy wood cabins. Latvian architects of NRJA (No Rules, Just Architecture) created a concept for a so-called Floating Barn. The houseboat features two storeys, a living room, bathroom and a sleeping area. On see-level there is also a small deck for sun-bathing. The architects tried to create a consistent look by using same materials for walls and roof, which spreads a modern and warm atmosphere. In the storage room the boat features tanks for clean water, wintered greywater and fuel. Unfortunately there are no more information about this interesting project on their website.
Selgascano Head Office
In the adjacent woods near to Madrid, Spanish architects Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano of Selgascano created a very unique office experience.
Falling leaves, animals, and wildlife pass by, creating a shifting forest landscape that changes throughout the day. Employees can also look up into the trees and sky through the curved part of the glass casing. The office is formed like an aerodynamic tube with huge windows acting as both a window and a skylight. Half of the building is embedded in the ground, which provides an excellent degree of insulation. During Madrid’s hot summers, the building stays cool naturally, with less need for air conditioning.
The extraordinary office creates an unique and intimate atmosphere to nature to be both cozy and inspiring! The innovative architecture was beautifully photographed by Iwan Baan.
3D printed Facilities on the Moon
The future is here. Imagine huge 3D printers that are able to print buildings out of the materials of the moon. This is no joke and London-based architects Foster + Partners have revealed plans about such a science-fiction project in partnership with the European Space Agency.
“The technology will allow the team to use local materials on the moon as a building material, meaning they can print entire buildings from scratch.”
The 3D printer itself will spray binding solution onto the sand-like material, building up structures one layer by one.
“First, we needed to mix the simulated lunar material with magnesium oxide. This turns it into ‘paper’ we can print with,’ explains monolite founder Enrico Dini. “Then for our structural ‘ink’ we apply a binding salt which converts material to a stone-like solid. Our current printer builds at a rate of around 2 m per hour, while our next-generation design should attain 3.5 meters per hour, completing an entire building in a week.”
If this whole 3D printing movement is evolving - nothing will stay the same anymore. Find out more!
CC on Tour - This is Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of the World’s most expensive cities to live according to Forbes and the city itself proves it from the start. Paying for an apartment of 100m² around $100,000 USD per month without any furniture is a statement! It is getting even more unbelievable when you want to buy real estate.
In May 2012 the most highest price for real estate was payed ever: $55,000 USD for just one square meter!
The GDP of Hong Kong is $35,000 USD per year and there are 16,000 people living on just one square kilometer. This is not only explaining the high real estate rates, but is also making Hong Kong to one of the most populous areas worldwide - next to Monaco. Inhabitants, who are earning less money share apartments with 10 others, dividing the space with boxes out of cardboard or wood, which are not bigger than two square meters. One cage or box costs around $100 to $150 USD per month.
When it comes to architecture Hong Kong features probably the most stunning skyline along cities like New York or Dubai. The architectural approach to set up the city in a vertical way is very unique in the world and this is a standalone reason to visit this place. Hong Kong is so diverse in every way! You can jump right into the trouble of street markets filled with thousands of people and then just switch from the stress and take a ferry to the small islands like Peng Chau and enjoy life at the beaches. The city is impressing and the business opportunities are great with direct connections to the many factories of China and the superb harbor. This makes Hong Kong to one of the most important cities for economical reasons. It is a great mixture of trouble, science fiction and tradition.
Photography and text by Felix Dorner. Released under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0!
Sky City is an awesome project by Broad Sustainable Construction in China! This skyscraper is a superlative in every sense: It is going to be the biggest in the world and will be built in less than 90 days!
“At this very moment (January 5th 2013) Broad Sustainable Construction is building world’s tallest building – Sky City –1, which is almost a kilometer high (838 m/2749 ft to be precise) with 220 floors. They are set to complete the construction of this building within 90 days. This is remarkable and revolutionary. They claim to prefabricate 95% of building off site. Guess what, whole world is trying to bring lessons learned from manufacturing to construction (in the form of lean principles from more than 20 years now) and this project’s team is writing history by doing just opposite. They are using best of both worlds. They are building one of a kind product (this building) and they are using assembly lines to build 95% of it.”
Vishal Porwal is explaining the connection to a proper BIM integration and how we can learn from that new approach. This will change everything!
Further Reading:
BIM + LEAN + GREEN - World’s Tallest Building Sky City-1 Changsha China and BIM, Lean and Green - What might be coming?
These awesome shots from various rooftops are made by Aurelie Curie. Her series ‘Above’ shows cities from the birds eye view and spreads an atmosphere of neo colonial societies of future cities like shown in Blade Runner or Minority Report, but this is reality.
“Aurelie Curie is a photographer who explores the world, high and low, to shoot rare, urban vantage points filled with mystery and wonder. In her series, Above, Curie climbed to to the top of buildings and bridges to capture the many quiet moments that occur in a city. In each photograph, she combines a broad urban composition with the close details of buildings and bridge architecture to form her collection of fascinating cityscapes. Curie says, “I wander the hidden places and find beauty in infrastructure.”
More of these awesome photos can be found here.
4 Modular Hotels you might like!
A new trend is spotted, which consist of modular-structured hotels with beautiful designs. People like to experience adventures and with that concept it gets possible to sleep in the trees, on mountains and relax just in between nature and awake with the birds. Hotels are not longer looking contrary to the landscape but getting one unit with it. These modular concepts provide small cabin-like space for residents arranged piece by piece and located at special places on Earth. Here we go with a list of hotels you need to visit:
Juvet Landscape Hotel - Jenson & Skodvin realized a nice concept in the woods of Norway.
Igloo Hotel - This hotel in Kakslauttanen, Finland is worth a visit because it is offering its guests a great view on the Northern sky. Spotting Norther Lights is possible there and probably a once in a lifetime moment!
Whitepod - This modular hotel in the Swiss Alps is located beautifully in between the snow-covered mountain slopes near Les Giettes. It consist of 15 luxurious igloos. Residing there must be awesome!
Baumgeflüster - This is a treehouse hotel in Germany near to Bad Zwischenahn. People like treehouses because they offer typical excitement we know from childhood. Treehouses are hidden, dangerous to get in and lift you up from the ground providing shelter. Maybe this is your next stop, when escaping from the stress in cities to the balance of nature.
Vertical designed cities might be a trend, which I documented already here! The architects of MVRDV proposed a kind of skyscraper that combines multiple aspects of a city in one object. Peruri 88 is a project based in Jakarta, where densification and ecological improvements are needed!
“The 400 meter tall tower, part of a developer’s bid competition for the Jl. Palatehan 4 site in Jakarta, mixes retail, offices, housing, luxury hotels, parking and cultural content.”
The structure of the building is less complex than one might think, and consists of four regular towers, which rise up between bridging floors. The construction can be matched to satisfy regulations and budget of the investor. If this team is going to win the construction a number of international hotels, retailers and real-estate operators have shown interest.
Peruri 88 is a cooperative venture between MVRDV, ARUP, the Jerde Partnership and developer Wijaya Karya.
