INTERVIEW: Genslers Chris Chan on the Sustainable Shanghai Tower, Asias Tallest Skyscraper In 2008 Gensler broke ground on the sustainable Shanghai Tower in the Pudong district of Shanghai, China. The tower is currently in construction and it’s one of three supertall buildings in Pudong, including the Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center. The elegant structure spirals up to the sky, and once it is completed in 2014 it will become the second tallest tower in the world — only second to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The 632 meter tall structure is a testament to both modern architecture and the potential of engineering, and it also sets a precedent for sustainable super structures. The tower will take the form of nine cylindrical buildings stacked atop each other, enclosed by layers of glass, and hosting public space for visitors including atriums, gardens, cafes, restaurants, retail space, a hotel, and 360-degree views of the city. This interview is brought to you by Autodesk – Removing the barriers to better business. These tools are constantly evolving.
Laurence Kemball-Cook's innovation: the Pavegen | Environment | The Observer Lawrence Kemball-Cook. Photograph: Antonio Olmos "I just knew this idea had legs," says Laurence Kemball-Cook, ignoring the puns that come with the invention of an "energy-harvesting paving system" and explaining his confident leap, at just 24, from Loughborough University graduate and industrial design engineer to one of the most feted young innovators in the UK. Kemball-Cook's Pavegen system is about to shift our perceptions of renewable energy. When you or I step on one of these paving stones, 5% of the energy we create is used to light up its central LED light, and the rest is stored in a battery (for up to three days) and can be used for any low-power application. So as the public walk, their footsteps are harvested, and they don't necessarily even realise it's happening. Currently, the invention is in the final rounds of testing, not least because these paving stones will need to withstand up to eight million footsteps in their lifetime.
Thingiverse - Digital Designs for Physical Objects Green Building Councils from around the globe celebrate World Green Building Week | 2012-09-20 | Floor Covering The green building community is celebrating World Green Building Week with events around the globe that shine a spotlight on the key role of buildings in conserving resources, saving money and creating jobs while providing healthier places to live, learn, work and play. Organized by the World Green Building Council, the week has united 90 nations representing more than 20,000 organizations as they hold conferences, tours, educational events and gatherings that celebrate this year's theme, "Green Buildings for Great Communities." World Green Building Week highlights the role of green buildings in creating greener and healthier neighborhoods, communities and cities, and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is leading efforts nationally through events promoting green, resilient buildings and highlighting those who benefit most, our children. USGBC's World Green Building Week activities include: For more information on World Green Building Week, visit worldgbc.org.
We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Systems Theorists Say What’s the number one reason we riot? The plausible, justifiable motivations of trampled-upon humanfolk to fight back are many—poverty, oppression, disenfranchisement, etc—but the big one is more primal than any of the above. It’s hunger, plain and simple. If there’s a single factor that reliably sparks social unrest, it’s food becoming too scarce or too expensive. In a 2011 paper, researchers at the Complex Systems Institute unveiled a model that accurately explained why the waves of unrest that swept the world in 2008 and 2011 crashed when they did. The MIT Technology Review explains how CSI’s model works: “The evidence comes from two sources. Pretty simple. But how accurate is the model? Today, the food price index is hovering around 213, where it has stayed for months—just beyond the tip of the identified threshold. “Recent droughts in the mid-western United States threaten to cause global catastrophe,” Yaneer Bar-Yam, one of the authors of the report, recently told Al Jazeera.
Modern Architecture « iamkoream The best architectural designs don’t need to look overcomplicated, they just need to be effective. This sleek pair of 17-story office buildings in Seoul by South Korean firm BCHO architects is a perfect example. The architects took inspiration from an old Korean birch tree trunk, organic and sculpted as if molded by flowing water. The design allows the structures to efficiently utilize the irregular site conditions, which are composed of vaguely acute angles. With a heavy amount of pedestrian activity in the area, a space was intentionally placed between the buildings to minimize above-ground disruptions. A Roly Poly-Looking Hotel That Will Protect You From A Noah-Sized Flood All images courtesy of Remistudio via Daily Mail With all the 2012 doomsday predictions continually swirling around, it’s safe to say that if the world were to end in a natural disaster of Noah proportions, we may not all be quite as doomed as we originally thought, thanks in part to the Ark Hotel. Designed by Russian firm Remistudio, the floating shell-shaped hotel was conceived as a “self-contained haven” to withstand rising flood levels and even tidal waves. Add To Collection Save this image to a collection The floating biosphere offers guests security, with a mixture of structural supports that evenly distribute weight and which proves invulnerable to earthquakes. Designed with the assistance of the International Union of Architects’ program Architecture For Disaster Relief, Remistudio’s Alexander Remizov has expanded upon the project, saying: “For architecture, there are two major concerns. [via Daily Mail]
47 Amazing CSS3 Animation Demos Here is a compilation of 47 jaw-dropping CSS3 animation demos. They demonstrate the possibilities of the CSS3 transform and transition property. Some are very useful and can be used as Javascript alternatives. CSS3 Clock With jQuery Analogue Clock 3D Cube That Rotates Using Arrow Keys Multiple 3D Cubes (Slide In/Out) CSS3 Accordion Auto-Scrolling Parallax Isocube Image Gallery Matrix 7 Javascript-effect Alternatives Using CSS3 Image Hover Effects Turning Coke Can (Control With Scrollbar) 3D Meninas Polaroid Gallery Space Note: this one is graphic intense and takes a while to load, but the result is crazy! Mac Dock Drop-In Modals Sliding Vinyl Zooming Polaroids Animated Rocket Poster Circle Morphing Cubes Falling Leaves Animated Polaroid Gallery Spotlight Cast Shadow Colorful Clock Lightbox Gallery (Draggable) Elastic Thumbnail Menu Coverflow Snowflakes jQuery DJ Hero Dynamic Stacking Cards Another Image Gallery Snow Stack (Control With Arrow Keys) Animated Pricing Column Slick jQuery Menu CSS Tabs Without Javascript