Architect: tec Design Studio Location: Duisburg, Germany Client: Erste Primus Projekt Gmbh Project Partners: GTL, Landscape Architects, Kassel Constructed Area: 10,700 sqm Project Year: 2004 Photographs: Stefan Schilling & Lennart Schmiedel This building is a specialized studio building for designers of micro technology components. We call it the monastery of the nanometer. The microcosm of people who think in nanometers is being expressed by a Zen-like water garden surrounded by an organically shaped courtyard building. The highly specialized product is elusive and small. The art of arranging grids of conducting material in multiple layers, possibly even storing an entire encyclopedia on the area of a thumbnail, represents the key technology of the information age.
Posted in architecture | Tagged 39-topics, chile, denmark, development, houses, news, ordos-100, patio, read-more-raquo, selected, spain, tec design, usa |
Aquamass are well-known for their exceptionally cool bathtubs designs. Here is a handful from the fantastically imaginative selection available. The Dip series features the Dip D-lighting Chromo bathtub. This is a stunning translucent bathtub that glows with relaxing chromotherapy light. The Hi-Bath is perfect for fans of modern decor who also enjoy a long soak in the tub. The tub has attractive, comfortable clear plastic head-rests and also a magazine holder! The Stone One series stars wonderful mosaic bathtub decoration, such as the precious Stone One Buddha Bar Hotel Limited Edition bathtub. The dragon mosaic is stylish and memorable. Bianco Multicolour is from the colourful Bianco series – a great way to dress your bath up in ‘haute couture’! Multi-faceted like a precious gem… the Diamond series baths are accented with Diamond Strass Swarovski Crystals. Unforgettably cool bathtubs… from Aquamass . If these fashionable bathtubs tickle your fancy, also check out previous Trendir reviews of Aquamass bathtubs: the sensational Strip series and the wild Stone One Just Animals series!
Posted in architecture, global | Tagged accessories, animals, bathtubs, delpha-bathroom, designer, green, hotel, house-designs, ideas, pictures |
French architect Dominique Perrault has been selected to design the new city center of Bulgaria’s capital Sofia. The city center will be built in the next ten years and will house various state institutions. The center will be located along Sofia’s main boulevard “Tsarigradsko Shosse”. The vision of Bulgarian prime minister Sergei Stanishev and his brother – architect Georgii Stanishev – is to gather ministries and state agencies in the new “Sofia city”, relocated from the current center of Sofia. Perrault was selected among six practices, all of them world architectural design leaders including Zaha Hadid , Norman Foster , and Massimiliano Fuksas . Two Bulgarian firms also participated in the final stages of the contest. Seen at Bustler . More images of Perrault, Foster and Hadid’s proposals after the break.
Posted in architecture | Tagged architecture, awarded-competitions, bulgaria, chile, dominique perrault, events, fuksas, netherlands, news, norman-foster, sofia, sustainability, usa, zaha hadid |
Once again, Iwan Baan amaze us with this great project between the woods be by Spanish practice Selgas Cano : Their own architecture office. You can see the complete photoset after the break.
Architect: Sancho-Madridejos Architecture Office Location: Almadén, Ciudad Real, Spain Principals: Sol Madridejos & Juan Carlos Sancho Assistant – Technical Architect: Martin Pozuelo Project Leader: Luis Renedo Collaborators: Luis Renedo, Juan A. Garrido, Emilio Gómez Ramos, Patricia Planell, Marta Toral, Andrey García, Javier Moreno Project year: 1996-2001 Photographs: Hisao Suzuki The idea of situating and relating a series of objects in the landscape- Dwelling, Chapel, Hunting pavilion and Guard´s residence- gave the project a dual significance: in addition to the close relationship between landscape, objects and itinerary -between space and objects-, each item had to provide a different response with different emphasis, from the most symbolic to the most silent or private. The unifying thread was to be the concept of the fold: the fold as a hidden generator of different spaces. The Chapel is developed around the study and manipulation of a focally tensed “box-fold”. It is set at the top of a slight rights, making it the reference point in the landscape seen from the property entrance 2 Km away at a low point, as well as in different visions from the entire itinerary. The Chapel has a naked design and lacks artificial lighting. The exterior-interior spatial relationship determines its focus, its meaning. Only a cross and an image at the focal point underscore the symbolic aspects of the project. The proposed fold in the box, the corbusian “boîte”, gives rise to a single material: golden concrete that captures all the nuances demanded of the volume, from the trapped direct light that bursts in like an additional plane in the spatial composition, to the transmission of the unstable, coloured smell of dawn. Light thus takes on the role of a second material in the Chapel – a material that contrasts with the concrete – fragile, changing, mobile, unstable; dominating or vanishing.
The fractional ownership super-yacht company, YachtPlus , launches its first yacht – The Ocean Emerald – in La Spezia, Italy on April 25 in the presence of Norman Foster . This contemporary 41 metre yacht has been designed with a strong emphasis on space and light and has five suites for up to 12 guests, who will be looked after by a permanent, highly trained crew of seven. The internal planning of the yacht offers total flexibility to respond to the diverse requirements of the owners and their guests and keen attention has been paid to design and detail ranging from the internal (2,790sqft) and external (2,495sqft) areas to cutlery, crockery, fabrics and crew uniforms. All furnishings and fittings are provided by the Italian manufacturer Cassina and kitchen and galley equipment by Schiffini. Ocean Emerald will be the first of four identical Foster + Partners designed super-yachts to be launched by the company over the next two years. The second yacht, Ocean Pearl will enter service in the autumn 2009 and the third, Ocean Sapphire in the early part of 2010. The fourth yacht, as yet unnamed, is scheduled to launch in the latter part of 2010. More information here . More images, after the break.
Posted in architecture | Tagged architecture, chile, china, infrastructure, netherlands, news, norman-foster, ordos-100, read-more-raquo, spain, sustainability, yachtplus |
These gorgeous Solé Power Tiles are designed to capture and convert sunlight into cost-saving electricity without compromising aesthetics. They incorporate UNI-SOLAR thinfilm flexible solar cells shaped into exaggerated traditional clay tile shapes. The flexible “triple-junction” solar cells absorb a comparatively broader range of the sun’s rays than conventional modules, allowing them to generate electricity for a longer period of time each day. They “wake up earlier and stay up later”, than other solar cell devices. They are actually pretty effective, too:– The tiles are rated at 1 KW per 200 sq. feet, which is about 1/3 the typical American home’s kwh requirement using about a living-room-size space on a roof. Most houses would have the space to fully power themselves using these solar tiles. 1 KW per 200 sq ft is fairly comparable to Uni Solar’s regular thinfilm, which is designed to just peel and stick on flat metal roofing, — utilizing the benefits of selecting optimal South facing slopes. But that leads to the question – Does this take into consideration that tile roofs are generally a wildly mismatched assortment of angles on all the gables; every solar estimator’s worst nightmare. These PV tiles will inevitably face both sun friendly and un friendly directions: Look at the pictures: what percent of these arrays are actually South facing? The North facing arrays will only generate about 70% — and the East/West arrays will only supply about 85% of what perfectly aligned Southern exposures can do. On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for having a uniform color to the entire roof, regardless of how little electricity some of these tiles will generate. And on the typical home there is enough roofspace that they can easily generate the 400 to 800 kwh per month that the average home needs. SRS Energy will be launching Solé Power Tile at the American Institute of Architects 2009 National Convention and Design Exposition to be held in San Francisco April 30. So next time you have to replace a roof — you can just install your own personal electric power station up there, disguised as your scrumptious new tile roof. Via: SRS This is a post from Home Design Find Ancient Tiles Can Solar Power Your Entire Home Related posts: Spanish All Solar House Churns Out Electricity Villeroy and Boch Tiles Refin Ceramic’s Fabulous Tiles
By Matt | Published:
April 30, 2009
Architects: Vaillo + Irigaray / Antonio Vaillo + Juan Luis Irigaray Location: Navarra, Spain Project manager: Daniel Galar Irurre, architect Rigger: Pacho Jiménez Structure: Tadeo Errea- LANDABE Engineer: Luis Miguel Navarro Lighting: Anton Aman – ALS LIGHTING Facades: VITROCSA Client: Restaurante Marisol Project year: 2007 Photographs: Vaillo + Irigaray The organizational scheme is due to similar patterns of micro-structures, more in line with geometric patterns of liquid and / or aerosols that Cartesian structures. In establishing a working geometry using “soft” and a unified treatment space “airy”. The new space is conceived as a continuation of the existing fence, wrapping it all, but hidden: expressing their new identity, not as constructed element, but as a re-forested. A new plant species grown in the surrounding area … the new scalar similarity between elements of “plant” makes the proposal a new understanding of the link with the existing connection. This species builds a base of recycled plastic tubes of different colors similar to reeds, organizing a braided flexible and deformable organic capability to adapt to any situation and geometry.
Posted in architecture | Tagged april-30th, architecture, china, denmark, hotels-and-restaurants, houses, housing, infrastructure, netherlands, ordos-100, read-more-raquo, selected |
Clandestine meeting points are a thing of the past. As we get progressive our mindsets have changed and the secret romantic rendezvous points are being replaced with public installations like this Meeting Point! Quite a spectacular sight actually! You can arrange to meet your beloved on a particular hour of the dial and then maybe walk around to the 12 o’clock spot where a solar powered touchscreen kiosk awaits you. The system dispenses relevant city details like maps, addresses and other touristy stuff. Wanna catch a movie? No probs, pull the info straight from here. The solar panel of the Meeting Point powers the central clock as well as the glorious night lights. Extra juice is stashed in a power pack below the panel. Mesmerizing! Designer: Serdar Sişman No Tags
Posted in Gadgets, outdoor | Tagged accessories, exhibitions, fashion, installations, interview, kitchen, lifestyle, music, shoes, travel |
Respiratory disorders are on a rise and air pollution just doesn’t seem to be getting contained. Be it a metropolitan city or a comfy suburb, the quality of air is on the downslide. If you’re a worried parent like me and can’t seem to get over that persistent cough that is hounding your child, it’s best to be sure and eliminate poor air quality in the house from the list of allergens. Something like the Breathing Bud is a surefire way of analyzing how good the air quality at home is. Designed like a pleasant bud, the device features vents at the base that take in the air for analyzing. A beaming blue bud indicates that the air in the room is of good quality, however a pink light indicates that some pronto action is required. Breathing Bud sources power from your comp via USB and transfers all data to it as well. You can utilize the relevant data to compare it with the standards that are easily available off the net. Another use that I can think of for this device is a nightlight! Now that sounds pretty. Designers: Xinxin Wang & Zhi Chai No Tags
Posted in Gadgets, Interiors, green, product-design | Tagged accessories, advertising, dining, exhibitions, fashion, Gadgets, games, interior, Interiors, lifestyle, shoes, technology |
Everyone who knows me knows that I’m on the lookout for a new mobile phone. Now before you try convincing me about the Apple Pie , I’ve decided to humor one of my designer pals (perks of being at YD) to come up with something special for me. He’s kitsch-ed up this awesome looking piece which he calls the MID. It’s a mobile internet device specially designed for internet browsing from anywhere. Ah the blogger in me is impressed! Besides this special quality, he’s also thrown is a couple of cool features. For instance the 47 buttons QWERTY keyboard looks divine and its configuration is quite customizable. The compact size of 180×80×20mm is neat and allows it to host an ultra wide LCD touchscreen. The phone even boasts of OLED technology. The trackball makes navigation even simpler however the 7 completely configurable action buttons (accessible when phone is closed and opened) adds awesome goodness to the package. Two USB slots, microphone and audio input, SD card reader, stereo speakers, docking connector and sexy sliding good looks are the other proposed features. I know some of you must be thinking it’s easy to conjure up specks on a concept design, but tell me honestly, if something like this were to come alive wouldn’t you pick it up? I know I would! Designer: Jan Rytir No Tags
By aion | Published:
April 30, 2009
Famous for its amazing warm, sandy beaches, the mighty Pacific and the spectacular residences of countless movie and entertainment stars, Malibu is the place to be if you want to check out the vacation homes of the celebrities for some inspiration. Designed by Griffin Enright Architects and known as Point Dume Residence, this 6,000-sq.-ft. house uses concrete at its best to bring undulating flows to a contemporary interior that promotes large open spaces, expansive windows and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. With terraces offering spectacular views of the ocean, with perfect furniture for every room and an exquisite lap pool to dip in whenever you need to cool off, the Point Dume Residence charms with its minimalist simplicity. This is a post from Home Design Find Spectacular Views of the Pacific: Luxurious Point Dume Residence in Malibu Related posts: Huf Haus Residence in Sandbanks: Luxurious Modern Home With a German Touch Lac Superieur Residence: Stunning vacation residence with minimalist charm Eaglemont 66 Residence: Resort-styled Luxury in the Heart of Melbourne
This is a stove and a seat. Sit on it, or flip it on its side and cook something nice. This “Relax” duo-purpose leisure machine is designed by a Youngsuk and a Yoonsang – Yoonsang Kim is the designer behind the extremely popular Holeder Earphones . J-shaped earbuds and stove-seats, both designed for tiny-stepping the human race further and further down the joy road. Not much simpler than this: stove in the middle, folding chair around it. The stove doesn’t get hot enough to burn your bum, and the folding element allows for easy carrying. And isn’t it cute? Designer: Youngsuk Kim and Yoonsang Kim No Tags
Wait a second… isn’t that already 3D? Behold the devastating addition of 4 legs to an already-4-legged-table. Brutality! Redundancy! So many extra legs! And what’s the deal with this red and blue here? It’s a “Stereovision Table,” and it’s made for those with a sense of irony in technology. But is it the same sort of deal as using a rotary phone? Or is it just silly? My mother and father had a rotary phone my whole life. My mother got it for cheap through a deal with a person at her workplace (she worked at the telephone company, imagine that.) It was always a little bit of extra work waiting for the wheel to turn for each number, but there it was, an enjoyable trip back to a more vintage time. Here we have some wild optics tricks that span back centuries. The red and blue is a reference to the 3D glasses technology that’s lasted for years and years. Now it’s done! (Did you go see the movie BOLT in 3D? They used some other crazy glasses for it.) So where’s that leave us? With this dastardly 3D table, just chortling at us. Designer: John Nouanesing No Tags
Architects: SchappacherWhite Ltd. & Gregory Cranford – Brennan Beer Gorman Architects Location: New London, Connecticut, USA Principal: Steve Schappacher Design/Restoration Architect: Gregory Cranford Interiors: SchappacherWhite Ltd. Construction: Mixed Structure Project Year: 2005 Photographs: SchappacherWhite Ltd. Hugging the shores of the Long Island Sound, Ulrich Franzen’s ‘Castle House’ typifies the school of East Coast modernism established by the generation of post-Bauhaus architects at work in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s when personal expression and dramatic effects were no longer illicit. This house was built on a historic rock outcropping adjacent to an eighteenth century landmark lighthouse facing the sea. This modern classic, almost a fallen victim to total demolition, has undergone a complete renovation and expansion by SchappacherWhite Ltd. and Brennan Beer Gorman/Architects (BBG), that honors Franzen’s original design intent while satisfying the needs of a 21st century family. Ulrich Franzen’s vision for the house, which was completed in 1964, represents the forefront of early 1960’s residential design. The home’s signature element is its dramatic free floating glass living room pavilion with cantilevered paraboloid vaults and flanking service wings. The pavilion’s cypress butterfly ceiling has been restored and all new furnishings selected for the home, including a 14′ custom designed Nakashima dining table. To remedy a flaw in the original design that sought to direct views away from the water, the architects introduced two new sets of 9′ tall sliding glass panels into the central building, replacing solid walls. The new windows now provide stunning vistas across the landscaped pool area and onto the Sound beyond from both the master bedroom and kitchen/family room. The bedroom wing was extended to accommodate the size of the client’s family and a staircase added to a lower level playroom. The existing kitchen has been expanded and includes a family dining area, creating a fluid and open plan that matches the new owner’s lifestyle. Original details were carefully studied and retained in the Modern spirit of the new kitchen, which features the reuse of the original material palette of birdseye maple casework, white lacquer cabinets and luminous white marble countertops. Originally the waterside site was treated as a rough rocky outcropping. New landscape design has softened the house’s setting, offering a reconceived approach to the water, as well as the public and private sides of the home. Since the lot is semi-surround by water and limited in size, it was determined that a variety of places to occupy and sit should be provided for. For example, the reconstructed circular dining platform hung above the waters is just a short distance from the renovated kitchen, but offers a unique and removed experience. It was not an easy exercise matching the rigor of the existing scheme. The more it was studied, the more the architects became enthralled with the intricate and complex geometries of the details. Every line in the house was considered, every detail obsessed over, so that the spirit of the house, even in the areas completely redesigned, remain true to the original. Franzen’s houses have an important place in our country’s architectural history. Your readers are attuned to the significance of homes such as this and would surely be interested to see how contemporary residents are preserving a piece of history while living very much in the present.
