Bowerbirds /ˈbaʊərbɜrd/ make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behavior, where males build an elaborate structure in an attempt to attract a mate.
Design Challenge:
The challenge was to design a new home with a view of Lake Erie for a client who did not want to pay the cost of a lakeside property. Hence, the site he acquired was a very long and narrow lot across the road from other homes and 2,000 feet away from the shore of the lake. Despite the client’s selection of a less desirable lot, the project was required to serve as a lure for a mate (a love nest as it were, perched in the treetop) complete with two bedrooms for two yet non-existent/future hatchlings. As such, this love nest aimed to both woo and wow a mate while also demonstrating proper family planning and money-management skills. The remaining challenge involved the limits set by municipal zoning bylaws that restricted the home’s height to a maximum of “two storeys”.
Design Solution:
These challenges were resolved by designing an elongated first storey that accommodated all of the public spaces as well as the two children’s bedrooms and an indoor pool and garage. Meanwhile, a second storey master bedroom tower is perched forty feet above in the treetops, well above surrounding rooftops. This configuration provided the desired privacy while harnessing the view of the lake beyond. Hence, while the local zoning bylaw restricted new homes to a height limit of two storeys, the code did not actually state that a second floor must be contiguous to a lower floor… The municipal bylaws in that region have since been re-written.
Bowerbird Mission Accomplished: the attached photographs were taken two weeks prior to the client’s wedding, however, no hatchlings in sight just yet.
Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has presented a concept kitchen where surfaces are precariously balanced over assorted types of kitchenware (+ slideshow). (more…)
British preservation group Twentieth Century Society has publicly denounced plans by David Chipperfield Architects to convert the Eero Saarinen-designed, soon-to-be former US Embassy near London’s Grosvenor Square into a “world-class” 137-room hotel. Central to Chipperfield’s plan is an enlargement of the sixth floor to make room for a double-height event space, a move Twenieth Century Society believes will “cause significant and substantial harm to the character of the building.”
Set to be vacated upon the completion of a new embassy building designed by Kieran Timberlake next year, the Grade-II listed design by Eero Saarinen was purchased in 2009 by developer Qatari Diar, who announced plans to transform the building into a luxury hotel containing five restaurants, six shops, a spa and a ballroom with space for 1,000 people and other event space.
This past April, the developer staged a competition for the building renovation, inviting top architects including Foster + Partners and KPF to submit proposal for transforming the historic structure. Ultimately, David Chipperfield Architects were selected for their design, which paid special attention to respecting the original architecture.
But for the Twentieth Century Society, the proposed changes still go too far. In a letter to the Westminster council, the nonprofit group outlines areas of the plan which they believe will cause irreversible harm to the Modernist embassy, including the removal of the original staircases, the demolition of the majority of the internal spaces, and the sixth-floor expansion.
“The proposed double-height sixth floor will damage the present proportions of the listed building: the rhythm of the front façade will be fundamentally changed,” stated the letter.
“We are disappointed that the applicant has persisted with this damaging scheme notwithstanding the society’s suggestions at pre-application stage as to how the effect may be ameliorated.”
The UK’s iconic red phone boxes are being repurposed for a more contemporary telecommunications need: mobile handset repairs. (more…)
The Dancing Pavilion is Interactive Architecture created for the Olympic Park 2016.
Scattered sensors inside of the dance floor capture the beat of the music and the movement of people dancing, which activates the motors of the mirrors on the façade of the building. The result is a kinetic architecture that hypnotizes people, and transforms the space into the most exciting dance club of the 2016 Olympics.
The pavilion was designed for a Brazilian beer brand to host music, parties, DJ’s and shows. Located in the Barra Olympic Park, the primary location for the stadiums in the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the building has an interactive architectural skin. The outer face of the metallic skin is composed of various colors that suggest diversity. Inside is a gigantic surface of mirrors: What would it be like to dance inside of a disco ball?
Scattered sensors inside of the dance floor allow the skin to react to stimulations, such as the beat of the mu- sic or the excited commotion of people. This Interactive Architecture is made with around 500 round mirrors that spin, opening and closing, creating optic effects.
Under the sun, this kinetic pavilion creates graphics with light and shadow on the floor and its surroundings. At night, light cannons dramatically cast an explosive light outside, calling attention as far as the entrance of the Olympic Park. As emotional architecture, it shivers like an excited body.
To create this experience of design and technology, we wanted to provoke the visitors of the largest sporting event on the planet. We wanted to take them from a common place, to stimulate the athlete that exists in everyone, and bring them to a dream state of joy and escapism.
This project is an outcome of a research process that Estudio Guto Requena has been developing for the past 10 years, investigating hybrid architecture, weaving together our concrete and virtual worlds, using sensors and interactive technology to transform our perception of space and sharpen our sensoriality.
The hardware and software necessary to give life to the skin were developed by D3, a producer of interactive installations that work in the intersection of technology, design, and poetry.
Spiralling skyscrapers are more popular than ever according to a new industry study charting twisted buildings around the world. (more…)
Sig Nordal 