Architecture
You can erect a prefab shed in a remote field, but that doesn't make it a house. Mercifully, Nathan Buhler of BLDG Workshop and Evan Bare of 608 Design are more circumspect when it comes to their collaborative effort, the Bunkie. Talking to Gizmag, Buhler said that he thinks of the design more as a large product than as small-scale architecture. Effectively a spare room you can put in your yard, we think that's bordering on understatement. Read More
They say that walls can talk and if the cold, windowless metal exterior of the Rooftecture OT2 house in downtown Osaka, Japan says anything, surely it's "Leave me alone." Those lucky enough to make it through the front door (complete with forbidding chainlink door handle), however, are in for a bit of a shock. In stark contrast to its outer shell, the family home offers a warm and welcoming diffused light and mixed wood interior comfortably spread over three levels. Read More
Experimental cold climate house built in Japan
Japanese architectural firm Kengo Kuma & Associates recently demonstrated its ethos of design inspired by light and nature with an experimental house in Hokkaido called "Même." The structure is designed for cold climates and whilst based upon the local Ainu people's “Chise” (House of the Earth), it uses modern materials for an insulated double skin membrane that promotes convection and maintains a comfortable internal environment due to heat circulation from its continually lit fire. Read More
Yoav Messer Architects' competition-winning "Econtainer Bridge" will become what could well be the first bridge to be made from disused shipping containers. The bridge will cross the Ayalon River granting entry to the planned Ariel Sharon Park which will transform 2,000 acres of the Hiriya waste dump into a nature reserve to the southeast of Tel Aviv. Read More
An exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York is showcasing the recently-announced winning entry from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s adAPT micro-apartment design competition launched last July. "Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers" – organized by the Citizens Housing & Planning Council and the Museum of the City of New York – opened on January 23rd and gives New Yorkers the opportunity to test drive some of the features destined for the winning "My Micro NY" development on East 27th Street scheduled for completion in September 2015. Read More
Whisper the words "prefabricated home" to yourself, and the image you'll conjure (if you're of like mind to me) is a distinctly modern arrangement of single-story cuboids made of cutting edge lightweight materials (or if not then of reclaimed or sustainably-grown natural matter instead), probably with scant decoration or adornment. Method Homes' Cottage Series comes as a welcome twist on the prefabricated house, adopting as it does a more traditional late 19th century American style. Read More
"Party Wall" wins MOMA Young Architects award
The New York based design team at CODA has won this year’s Young Architects Program (YAP) prize awarded by the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1. Principle of the company, Caroline O’Donnell, submitted the “Party Wall” pavilion proposal which will be featured this year as part of the temporary urban landscape for the 2013 “Warm Up” music series in MoMA PS1’s outdoor courtyard. Read More
The 60-story Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza, the tallest building in Zhengzhou, the capital city of central China's Henan province, officially opened its doors for the first time earlier this month. Read More
BEEBOX office pod's secure take on shared work spaces
Buro Beehive transforms disused buildings into flexible workplaces for creative entrepreneurial types. These sorts of "co-working" spaces are becoming ever-more familiar features of modern cities. Beehive's new BEEBOX offers something new, however. These secure, mobile self-contained one or two-person offices may just give its work hubs an edge. Read More
"Endless" house to be built using giant 3D printer
An Amsterdam-based architecture firm has ambitions to take 3D printing to the next level, by building the world's first 3D-printed house as early as 2014. The team at Universe Architecture, led by Janjaap Ruijssenaars, hope to use a D-Shape 3D printer to form a Möbius strip-shaped structure and create a home that is "endless" in its design, where occupants can walk continuously through the building. Read More
