The Great Pyramid of Tokyo

Japanese designers are now planning an offshore magacity that could house close to a million people. The design is a giant pyramid in which up to 24 80-story buildings could be suspended from the roof. People could zoom between the buildings in a network of tubes.

Don’t get too excited about this project, it is just a proposal and I doubt they’re going to build it anytime soon, one of the reason being that with Japanese aging population and falling birth rates, pretty soon there would be more space that ever before for each Japanese.

Evodia - Future Drafting Technique

Evodia, a french company presents its first TabletPC software, a pen-based sketching program for electrical sketches.Imagine the TabletPC’s touchscreen size is as big as an A1, this could possibly be the future of drafting.

Wish you have one of this?

Bike dispenser in Amsterdam

A vending machine of bikes? Yes and they have it in Amsterdam.

An Amsterdam based company has successfully implemented a bike dispenser. A vending machine for bicycles! After paying for the rental of a bike, users can use it for the day and return it to the vending machine.

Its a pretty nifty idea don't you think?

Car-Parkitecture

Now this makes me founder about cutting-edge design teeth car parks rather the wonderous world of 2.4 x 4.8m delineations and disability ratios.

Enabled the Disabled

Accessibility for the Disabled - A Design Manual for a Barrier Free Environment.

Penang Global City Centre

Penang Global City Centre or PGCC, a RM25 billion worth of properties were planned over 15 years to redevelop the Penang Turf Club site in George Town.

PGCC, envisioned to be one of the world’s first zero-carbon city, but one would doubt that?

PGCC will be designed by Asymptote Architecture in New York and Atelier Seraji in Paris.

The eco-city development is expected to include a 10.4ha public park, two five-star hotels, a performing arts centre, retail outlets, two iconic office towers, residential properties and a world-class convention centre.

Once the eco-city is completed, an estimated 20,000 people will be working there.

Would it materialise? Lets hope so for it will set yet another benchmark in Malaysia architecture.

Claudio Nardi - Minimal

Meet Claudio Nardi. Now eat your heart out SCDA.

Microsoft Nomore Keyboard

Wish I have one of this.

Hard Hat Show: Big Buildings of Beijing

Kowloon Walled City

This a is the most densely populated area on earth. It had 50,000 inhabitants on 0.026 km² and was demolish in 1993,a park was built in its place.

Now that's architecture to you...

Moving Heritage

How we wish to witness such an event......

The 56 year old farmer said several village elders got about 150 villagers to help with the ‘big move”. Besides helping to carry the house half a kilometer to the new site, the villagers also took part in a “gotong-royong” (communal working together) to clear the land at the new location. It took an hour to move the house.

WTC 911

Everybody loves conspiracy, who doesn’t? Well, according to CNN poll, half of New Yorkers believe the US government complicity in 9/11.

Philip Johnson Glass House

Isn’t it funny, when you’re famous, everything you design, be it a small hut would automatically turn into some sort of heritage building. Some buildings are really great, Philip Johnson’s Glass House is an example of great architecture

Single Hauz by Front Architects

Single Hauz is the brain child of Poland’s Front Architects, the idea derive from the lack of housing proposal for single man and women, it actually reflects the demand in our today’s society.

It may look fantastic but I wonder how the residents access the electricity, water, and sewerage. Another question is, how ready it is for strong wind?

Le Building

Le Building is an awesome short film animation directed by five directors: Marco Nguyen, Pierre Perifel, Xavier Ramonede, Olivier Staphylas and Remi Zaarour. The animation integrates traditional and CG animation.

Observe carefully and you are able to notice all the little details in each of the people’s rooms, as well as the construction worker’s by playing it frame-by-frame it when the bus has to swerve — the people inside are pretty funny, too. Amazing work.

Architects Signature

Here is a list of famous architect’s signature.

Dilbert the Architect

Familiar?

Frank Lloyd Wright Quotes

An idea is salvation by imagination.

All fine architectural values are human values, else not valuable.

Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.

A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.

An architect's most useful tools are an eraser at the drafting board, and a wrecking bar at the site.

Organic architecture seeks superior sense of use and a finer sense of comfort, expressed in organic simplicity.

Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.

Every great architect is - necessarily - a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age.

The architect must be a prophet... a prophet in the true sense of the term... if he can't see at least ten years ahead don't call him an architect.

Craps?

They Did It!

Does anyone out there want to claim this?

Frank Gehry in the Simpsons

Someone uploaded Frank Gehry and the Simpsons episode on YouTube, the guy that uploaded the movie crop off the beginning and ending portion of the movie, just in case you’re wondering, the movie ends with Frank Gehry’s concert hall converted into a prison.

The skateboarding part is amusing, and the best line ever by marge, “I am so excited, it is like giving birth to a child of steel and iron.”

P.S. That is the actual voice of Frank Gehry, he is the guest star for that episode.

Related articles

Sketches of Frank Gehry

Gargoyles and Architecture

In architecture, Gargoyles are the carved terminations to spouts which convey water away from the sides of buildings, gargoyles also double up as an evil angel protecting us against evil spirits. That was the olden days beliefs.

And why Gargoyles? You have to live in another era to know.

Architecture of the Arctic

These are buildings from the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where high winds, freezing temperatures, and the difficulty of transporting raw materials pose some interesting architectural constraints. All of the buildings above are in the city of Iqaluit, except for the flying saucer, which is in Igloolik.

A school

A firehouse

A cathedral

A research center

Another school

Sir Norman Foster - Space and Time

Alive Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid exhibition blog

Zaha Hadid's blog.

Architect, Artist and Engineer

An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress.

The Engineer said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship.

The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress, because of the passion and mystery he found there.

The Architect said, "I like both."

"Both?"

Architect: "Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done!

Interactive Architecture

Dialog Table

Dialog Table is a shared interface where you use hand gestures to discover more about any dynamic information. Several people can gather around and together explore the table’s movies, narratives and 3D journeys

The table provides an opportunity for people to discuss with each other their thoughts on what they have seen, whether it be an artwork. a game or a service.

The first Dialog Table was commissioned by the Walker Art Center as a permanent installation in their museum. The table won an international design competition to promote social interactions among visitors, to provide access to the Walker’s multidisciplinary collections, and to facilitate learning about art.

More info here www.interactivearchitecture.org

Thom Mayne: Architecture is a new way to connect to the world

Avant-Garde Architects

Tips and Tricks for Aspiring Avant-Garde Architects

Crazy curves are miles from the cutting edge these days. To continue to push the limits of architectural design, you must free your mind beyond function, beyond form, even beyond space.

TRICK #1: Plants in places they don't belong.
Trees upside down, grass growing on walls, if it ain't unnatural, it ain't cool. Aren't you glad there aren't many plants rights activists?

TRICK #2: Messing around with text.
Hardly a new thing, the Arabs have done this for centuries. Of course, this is the Information Age, so the graceful curves of calligraphy have been replaced by computer-generated, laser-cut words. It's not a sign if it's a wall!

TRICK #3: Sound Effects.
That new building too young to be haunted? No problem, throw in some speakers, put in flowing water, and presto, creep out those pesky pedestrians!

TRICK #4: Good design takes place in the desert.
Since it's avant-garde, it's not going to fit into any sort of urban context. Or natural one, either (see #1). Out in the desert though, there's nothing to clutter the purity of the design...not like that matters though, as there's no one around to experience it. Oh well, people would spoil the design anyway.

TRICK #5: Good design happens at night.
Why, may you ask? Well, it's been said since the dawn of time, architecture is all about light. The sun is such an unreliable source of it though, only being at the perfect angle once every 365 days. With some electric lighting, or better yet, image projection, though, you can design the light and not let the light design you!

CONCLUSION:
The ultimate avant-garde architectural statement is a glowing, talking tree in the middle of the desert. Whoever said God is in the details was right.

We are all whores

Dear Mr. Architect,

Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.

My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.

Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).

As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)

Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.

To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of thses options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.

Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.

Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.

While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has.

I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor's house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularily the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.

Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.

You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.

PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.

PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.