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No. 570 - 2012.1024 Trees are fundamental to urban landscapes and natural ecosystems. Wood from trees is a fundamental material for architecture. The tension between wood in living trees, and wood in buildings and other products, is arguably at an all-time-high on planet Earth. This is especially true in North America, where primary harvest of irreplaceable primeval forest, having swept across the continent during the last 300 years, is still underway. In the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada, even as fierce political battles rage over the logging or conservation of the last few percent of older forests on public lands, vast acreages of once-vibrant forest in private industrial ownership is being stripped and scoured rapidly. Wood is beautiful, used well in our homes, shops, and offices.

2009.0603 Next to the defunct blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania — a poignant symbol of changing times — stands a growing arts complex with industrial heritage at center stage. Those massive furnaces (and their smaller predecessors) once helped produce steel for such iconic structures as the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, and Hoover Dam, along with armaments for World Wars I and II. Located on the Lehigh River, in the middle of Bethlehem, the plant employed generations of workers and forged the town's industrial identity. "We all grew up here and it was within eyeshot of our homes," says Joseph Biondo, a principal at ArtQuest Center designers Spillman Farmer Architects. "We remember the furnaces with their flames and smoke and sounds.

15 Examples of Creative Packaging This post showcases the most unusual and creative packaging designs. Peelable Bottles Creative bottles with fruit inspired textures were made for the launch of new flavors of Smirnoff Caipiroska. [link] Nobilin Pills Packaging Clever packaging shows how the product works: every pill targets heavy food in your stomach. Sky Garden House I think one of the reasons that many are skeptical about environmental design is because they think its terribly complex and costly. It does take a bit more effort on the front end, but it's definitely not rocket science. This architecture by Guz Architects is a wonderfully developed minimalistic design with a curvilinear flare that really brings out the organic coverings. The Best Architectural Websites The Top Architectural Websites in the World That sounds pretty important doesn’t it? At the very least it sounds comprehensive … it suggests an extensive and exhaustive collection of the best architecturally themed websites in the world.

Photovoltaics: Technology Architecture Installation We just received one of Detail´s latest: Photovoltaics: Technology, Architecture, Installation Bernhard Weller Claudia Hemmerle Sven Jakubetz Stefan Unnewehr Edition Detail ISBN: 978-3-0346-0369-0 See full index after the break: Introduction Life without energy is impossible. Lofted Forest Home: Organic Curves & Natural Materials Good things come to those who wait – particularly in a work of uniquely detailed and highly curved architecture. Nearly a decade in the making, this structure by Robert Harvey Oshatz is much like a tree house – lofted toward the top of the canopy around it – only bigger, grander, more complex and curved than most any tree house in the world. The perimeter of the structure is pushed out into the forest around it, curving in and out to create views as well as a sense of intimacy with the coniferous and deciduous tree cover.

Modern Concrete House (15 photos) When you first think about the words concrete house, you might imagine a cold, sterile environment, perhaps something similar to a prison. If that's the case, this one story house designed by architecture studio A-cero will likely change your mind. Located on the outskirts of Madrid, Concrete House II features a façade that boasts a spectacular view of the whole house. The first impression that visitors usually get is that the building seems to be hidden between concrete walls and ramps that extend up to the roof. Upon further inspection, they find a vegetation area that climbs towards the sky!

Autodesk 123D Design: 3D Modeling for the Masses Autodesk123D Design is a new free 3D modeling tool that allows users to create a digital model and then 3D print or fabricate their idea whether on the iPad, Mac, PC or via their web browser. Autodesk 123D Design helps users get their projects started by providing base shapes and example models that help move past a blank screen and into the design quickly. Using natural interactions to add objects to the canvas and assemble parts together, users can enjoy the design process and create amazing 3D-printable designs. "For the first time ever, users can create sophisticated, precise 3D models of real objects on their iPad, Mac, PC or via their web browser. People said this couldn't be done on iPad, and we're happy to prove them wrong," commented Samir Hanna, vice president of Consumer Products, Autodesk.

Photovoltaics - DETAIL Practice - Books Build on the sun The guide for designing building-integrated photovoltaics Photovoltaics, as an important part of the renewable energies mix, is helping to slow down already occurring climate change while providing the earth with affordable energy over the long term. Photovoltaics captivates with its principle, silent operation, emissions and nearly maintenance free production of power from “nothing”. When integrated into buildings, the systems are at their ideal location, exactly where the power is required and can utilise existing surfaces and wiring.

Brusselssprout Magazine: “Renovating Dreamlands” Brusselssprout is a free curatorial magazine on contemporary thinking and emergent art. It aims to become an open, independent and alternative platform offering content related to the artistic and cultural world. It strives, with the help of the curatorial endeavours of artists and projects that can contribute a different layer to the ever more monopolized artistic scene. DETAIL Magazine: Architecture and Recycling “Environmental issues such as sustainability, the protection of resources or reducing emissions have long been the focus of politics, industry and the economy. High time, then, to examine their role in the world of architecture more closely. The recycling, and with it the re-introduction of materials into the cycle of matter takes place in different forms in the construction industry.