BaseHabitat Public Architecture The Office for Robotic Architectural Media & Bureau for Responsive Architecture In 1889, in the midst of industrial and social change, the Eiffel Tower was opened as a structure that completely revolutionized the building technologies of the day. It demonstrated in a very tangible way that very tall, lightweight, construction was feasible - this success was felt across across the globe. Filamentosa (Chicago Illinois) is a new type of ultra-lightweight skyscraper that integrates responsive technologies into its structural frame and living skins to reduce the amount of material and energy required to live within, construct and maintain large scale structures. Lightweight Actuated Structures Design Research More than being a series of smart systems attached to a dumb building frame, responsive architectures actually consist of intelligent frames, skins and systems. Press & Exhibitions
Lake|Flato Architects - Modern Sustainable Architecture with Regional Focus House in a church | Ruud Visser. Architect. Along the river De Rotte in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) stands a wooden church from 1930. The 1930's church had ended its career as a religious sanctuary and was being used as a garage for fixing and selling cars. The church was totally covered with metal plates and looked like a hangar. With a volume of 3000 cube, the church is as big as six average family houses. Their starting point was to design a ‘luxurious house, of normal measurements’ for a family with two children. The last part of the church is the transept or cross-ship. Situated on the back of the church, directly behind the transept, a smaller volume was placed. Ruud Visser Architects replaced the church-choir with a new modern volume, with exactly the same form as the original choir, but shorter. By this, the new house in the church is opened to the beautiful landscape. Where possible, the architects brought back the front-façade and the side-facades in their original 1930’s state. Design team: Ruud Visser.
UKUMBI NGO Using architecture to mitigate poverty Ukumbi ry is a Finnish non-governmental organisation established in 2007 by three Finnish architects. Saija Hollmén, Jenni Reuter and Helena Sandman have all extensive experience of development cooperation projects in several African countries. In the course of their work they realised that culturally knowledgeable and skilfully designed architecture is a tool that can be used to improve the living conditions of communities and to mitigate poverty. The mission of Ukumbi is to offer architectural planning and design for underprivileged groups. In addition to cultural sustainability, Ukumbi also seeks to create ecologically sustainable architecture. * ) Ukumbi is a Swahili word that denotes a public meeting place or forum.
The $300 House: Empowering the Poor Eskew+Dumez+Ripple Green Prefab Shed Homes: Small Space Living by Design Sheds do not sound like something you would want to live in, but as modern modular, mobile and miniature houses become increasingly popular sustainable living space options, well, even products dubbed with titles like the Big Shed and Little Shed is not such a bad idea. There is an art to designing smalls-space structures so they are convenient and compact but also comfortable and livable – and a certain lifestyle of simplicity sought by many that makes them a good match for some people.Plus, these designs by Dwelle are relatively affordable as home prices go: you can buy ones of these all-in-one buildings (and not worry about the hassles of construction) for between fifty and eighty thousand dollars. This surprisingly cheap and simple-yet-modern shed home is has its own living area complete with fireplace, elevated bedroom loft space and separated restroom and cooking areas.
green architecture notes » Favela-Bairro project: Jorge Mario Jauregui Rio de Janiero Sustainable cities require sustainable communities as well as care for the environment. Brazilian architect, Jorge Mario Jauregui has been working in Rio de Janiero for the last fifteen years to use his skills as an architect to bring infrastructure and community facilities to the informal communities throughout the city known as favelas. Favelas, which house about 20% of the city’s population, have been growing in pockets of unclaimed land throughout the city for the past 100 years. However, since unplanned and originally unsanctioned by the government, these communities lack infrastructure and public social spaces. Jorge has coined the phrase “favela-barrio” to describe his approach to urban design in the favelas. Literally translated as ‘slum-neighborhood’, it expresses the idea that these informal developments, or shanty towns, are here to stay and are thriving communities; and with some infrastructure and public space can be transformed into neighborhoods.
Oppenheim the cube projectThe Cube Project – University of Hertfordshire Architecture for Humanity House SNR The house is situated on a typical suburban plot and is framed between two edge gables. The house is based on a contemporary study of the archetype the "gable house" which is widely spread in SA, Australia and other countries. This type is usually a single story house connected to the ground with two side gables and a central entrance with a thatched pitch roof. The house's plan is a clean, crisp rectangular, raised above the street level and built in mixed technology. The house's plan is made of two rectangular forms that are connected to each other through a central spine system. Each rectangle houses different elements. This central space has green stone floor finish which flows into all the rooms and functions as a frame for a natural wood floor in the center of each room.