Friday, April 30, 2010

6:51 AM
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All Terrain Cabin
Canada's Bark Design Collective built the All Terrain Cabin (ATC) as a showcase for sustainable (and Canadian!) ingenuity. The small home is based on a standard shipping container, and is said to be suitable for a family of four, plus a pet, to live off the grid in comfort and style.
The cabin folds up to look like any old shipping container, and can be sent via rail, truck, ship, airplane, or even helicopter. When you're ready to rest your bones, the cabin quickly unfolds to 480 square feet of living space, with a range of creature comforts.


The Ecopod
Another container home designed for on- or off-grid living is the Ecopod. Made from a shipping container, an electric winch is used to raise and lower the heavy deck door (power is supplied by a solar panel). The floor is made from recycled car tires, and the walls have birch paneling (over closed-cell soya foam insulation). The glass is double paned to slow heat transfer.
The Ecopod can be used as a stand alone unit or with other structures. It is designed to minimize environmental impact.


  • Author: kelvin

Thursday, April 29, 2010

7:46 AM
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Student Housing Project Keetwonen, Amsterdam
Billed as the largest container city in the world, Amsterdam's massive Keetwonen complex houses 1,000 students, many of whom are happy to secure housing in the city's tight real estate market. Designed by Tempo Housing in 2006, Keetwonen is said to be a roaring success, with units that are well insulated, surprisingly quiet and comfortable.
Each resident enjoys a balcony, bathroom, kitchen, separate sleeping and studying rooms, and large windows. The complex has central heating and high speed Internet, as well as dedicated bike parking.
Keetwonen has proved so popular that its lease has been extended until at least 2016.




LiNX Temporary Structures
Dublin-based designer Richard Barnwall envisioned this design, dubbed the LiNX, as a temporary structure for construction workers. The two-storey model pictured is to be comprised of four 20-foot containers. Such designs offer flexibility and rapid deployment, and may even work for more permanent homes.


  • Author: kelvin

Monday, April 19, 2010

8:06 AM
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Invented more than five decades ago, the modern shipping container is the linchpin in our global distribution network of products. In the containers go toys from China, textiles from India, grain from America, and cars from Germany. In go electronics, chocolate, and cheese.
While a number of resourceful people have converted shipping containers into make-shift shelters at the margin of society for years, architects and green designers are also increasingly turning to the strong, cheap boxes as source building blocks.
Shipping containers can be readily modified with a range of creature comforts and can be connected and stacked to create modular, efficient spaces for a fraction of the cost, labor, and resources of more conventional materials.
Discover some of the exciting possibilities of shipping container architecture, from disaster relief shelters to luxury condos, vacation homes, and off-the-grid adventurers. See what makes them green as well as cutting edge.


  • Author: kelvin

Thursday, April 15, 2010

5:29 PM
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Retail Wonders of the World
Today's boutiques, malls, and flagship stores seem intent on recreating old-fashioned shopping magic, but with a distinctly high-tech flair

The Newest Wonders in a Growing London
Britain's capital is bursting with new architecture, from Europe's tallest residential tower to the world's largest covered soccer stadium

Italy's Architectural Wonders
Richard Meier's new museum in Rome is leading the trend of the modern in a country steeped in history

Dubai's Architectural Wonders
As oil reserves dwindle, Dubai's attention-grabbing construction projects, including an underwater hotel, are aimed at drawing tourist dollars

Engineering's Modern Wonders
New technologies and materials are allowing civil engineers to build infrastructure projects of unprecedented scale and complexity

Architectural Wonders: Building Innovation
Architects face such challenges as terrorism and costly energy, while designing ever-higher, technologically advanced buildings

China's New Architectural Wonders
In our ongoing series on the world's most amazing buildings we look at the unprecedented building boom in Beijing and beyond

World-Class Sports Stadiums
Modern arenas are true architectural works, using the latest materials and technology. Take a look at 10 of the most impressive structures


  • Author: kelvin

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

5:42 PM
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Wonders of the World: Ships
These days, one might look skyward to find amazing ships, but there are plenty of modern-day miracles on the oceans

India's Modern Architectural Wonders
The country's forthcoming wave of slick contemporary architecture is a potent symbol of its rocketing economy

Wonders of Space
You can go via Soyuz for $20 million, or you can go Virgin Galactic for $200,000. Whatever your budget, there's a space trip just for you

Wonder of Wonders
A selection of the 10 most amazing projects from our 10 packages covering present-day architectural and engineering wonders

Bridges for a New Millennium
New materials and techniques allow bridges to be built better, lighter, and in places never before imagined

Green Wonders of the World
Green building technology has reached a tipping point that makes it more feasible—and elegant—choice for new construction


  • Author: kelvin

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

5:43 PM
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free counters


  • Author: kelvin
5:32 PM
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Libraries for the Internet Age

These centers of wisdom are not just about books anymore. They're diversifying—and designers are focusing on their social role

Wonders of the World:

The Buildings of 2006The major trend of the year, seen in everything from houses to skyscrapers: Environmentally benign design

Am I in Heaven, or Am I in My Hotel?

High-end business and leisure travelers are demanding superluxury, and hotels around the world are responding

Where Spirit Meets Stone

Whether centuries old or just-built, houses of worship tend to embody the spiritual side of architecture


On Campus: Sharing Space, Sharing Ideas
The return of the roundtable to college campuses is accompanied by architect-designed buildings with an emphasis on collaboration


  • Author: kelvin

Monday, April 12, 2010

12:15 AM
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Abu Dhabi Builds Its Architectural Cred
The building boom in the capital of the United Arab Emirates rivals that of Dubai. But Abu Dhabi hopes to distinguish itself with ambitious green architecture








Renzo Piano's Light Touch
The architect may be 70 years old, but he's having a good year. His firm is currently working on 20 high profile, global projects








Concert Halls Hit High Notes
Once merely built to house an orchestra and host events, halls are becoming social centers and tourist attractions. Still, architects keep acoustics in mind








Peter Marino's Wonders
The New York architect discusses his own store designs for such luxury names as Dior and Vuitton—and the work of those that have influenced him









  • Author: kelvin

Friday, April 9, 2010

8:19 AM
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Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
The original idea of these cubic houses came about in the 1970s. Piet Blom has developed a couple of these cubic houses that were built in Helmond.
The city of Rotterdam asked him to design housing on top of a pedestrian bridge and he decided to use the cubic houses idea. The concept behind these houses is that he tries to create a forest by each cube representing an abstract tree; therefore the whole village becomes a forest.




Hang Nga Guesthouse a.k.a Crazy House (Vietnam)
The house is owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam, who studied architecture in Moscow.
It does not comply with any convention about house building, has unexpected twists and turns, roofs and rooms. It looks like a fairy tale castle, it has enormous “animals” like a giraffe and a spider, no window is rectangular or round, and it can be visited like a museum.


  • Author: kelvin

Thursday, April 8, 2010

4:15 AM
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Forest Spiral – Hundertwasser Building (Darmstadt, Germany)
The Hundertwasser house “Waldspirale” (”Forest Spiral”) was built in Darmstadt between 1998 and 2000. Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the famous Austrian architect and painter, is widely renowned for his revolutionary, colourful architectural designs which incorporate irregular, organic forms, e.g. onion-shaped domes.
The structure with 105 apartments wraps around a landscaped courtyard with a running stream. Up in the turret at the southeast corner, there is a restaurant, including a cocktail bar.




Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)
Expo 67, one of the world’s largest universal expositions was held in Montreal. Housing was one of the main themes of Expo 67.
The cube is the base, the mean and the finality of Habitat 67. In its material sense, the cube is a symbol of stability. As for its mystic meaning, the cube is symbol of wisdom, truth, moral perfection, at the origin itself of our civilization.




354 cubes of a magnificent grey-beige build up one on the other to form 146 residences nestled between sky and earth, between city and river, between greenery and light.





  • Author: kelvin

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

5:44 PM
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Polish architect of the Crooked House, Szotynscy Zaleski, was inspired by the fairytale illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer and the drawings of the Swedish artist and Sopot resident Per Dahlberg. The most photographed building in Poland, the 4,000 square meter house is located in Rezydent shopping center in Sopot , Poland .

The Sam Kee building is situated at 8 West Pender Street. It runs from the corner of Pender and Carral to the lane at the halfway point of the block. It is two storeys tall and 1.5 meters (six feet) deep. The story behind the building is as exotic as the structure with several intriguing twists and turns included in its telling. The City of Vancouver provided the original owner, Chang Toy, with a challenge when it expropriated all but two meters of his property as part of an expansion of Pender Street. No compensation was provided to its owner who was left with what most believed to be a useless property. In a creative turn of events fuelled by spite and some say a bet an architect was hired to design a building to fit the remaining property. The rest is history in more ways than one.

This building was home to 13 businesses at one time. It was the only place in Chinatown for residents to enjoy hot baths. There is a tunnel beneath the building that was used as an escape route from raids on Opium dens situated on neighboring Shanghai Alley. The building is also fronted by the only remaining glass sidewalk in Chinatown. As part of the ongoing history of this structure, issues still arise between the owners and the city with respect to encroachment and overhangs. In spite of each side having an element of right it seems to boil down to the proverbial 'tit for tat'. It makes for an interesting study in civics.


  • Author: kelvin

Sunday, April 4, 2010

9:29 AM
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The Robot Building (Thailand) The Robot Building, located in the Sathorn business district of Bangkok , Thailand , houses United Overseas Bank's Bangkok headquarters. It was designed for the Bank of Asia by Sumet Jumsai to reflect the computerization of banking; its architecture is a reaction against neoclassical and high-tech postmodern architecture.


Kansas City Library (United States) Kansas City Library has one seriously cool façade. Local residents were asked to nominate influential books that represent Kansas City, humungous versions of the winning nominations were then used as the exterior of the library car-park. The

Piano House ( China ) This unique piano house was built recently in An Hui Province, China. Inside of the violin is the escalator to the building. The building displays various city plans and development prospects in an effort to draw interest into the recently developed area.


  • Author: kelvin

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Basket building

10:18 AM
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Founder of the Longaberger company, Dave Longaberger has been built home office into a giant basket to house the entire corporate offices of the company. Dave believed the idea was one of his best and would draw attention to the company, while simultaneously helping to build their brand. However, when he started spreading the idea of building a home office that was notorious practical joker. Not only did the bankers, architects and construction companies not take Dave seriously, neither did many of the employees who worked for the Longaberger company, but Dave persevered. The dream was achieved on December 17, 1997 when the home office that is designed to resemble a basket finally opened for business.
Here's a building that should really get your attention when walking pass it. The Dancing House is considered as one of the more real controversial buildings in Prague. The DH was actually designed by a great architect from California, which only proves that he had done some type of hallucinogen while designing it. Source from http://www.wonderfulinfo.com/amazing/build/


  • Author: kelvin

Saturday, March 20, 2010

2:53 AM
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The borough of Delfshaven, Rotterdam, asked Schildersbedrijf N&F Hijnen to come up with a plan for a block of derelict buildings, which will eventually be demolished. The agreement with the neighbourhood is that the block will remain blue as long as there isn't a new plan for the area.



This was once one of the most unseen blocks of houses in Rotterdam, and by applying a layer of only 2 micron of blue paint onto it, it became Rotterdam 's most photographed one.





The strange building is actually a brewery in Hamburg, Germany. The floors can move up or down on it's skinny column core. As of now, the unique building has been destroyed. One of its more famous beer brands was recently bought by a big refreshment corporation. And that beer brand was called Astra.


  • Author: kelvin

Hello

1:59 AM
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This is a new blog....


  • Author: kelvin
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