Architecture, Landscape, and Structural Design
 

Couldn't find a thread, let me know if there is one already!
:)

A place to post or discuss architecture, green design, structural art, design history, etc., or just things you like. (Or dislike :))

This was really interesting:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=128953596

This is fricken' amazing...

http://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_arms...rs_itself.html

I love the lines of the teeny homes and how they use space. I do enjoy having more space for myself personally and an lucky to be able to that, but as art I really enjoyed looking at these, especially the concrete ones.

Though one could not possibly tell from my house now, I love Utilitarianism and the Bauhaus.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2...Picture+40.png

I love this dog house!

http://growabrain.typepad.com/photos...aus_prefab.jpg

Overlooks seaside in England

http://picocool.com/images/uploads/img_524.jpg

Staircase in a store in Buenos Aires

http://www.treehugger.com/orchid-hou...os-aires-1.jpg

Also in Buenos Aires.

Today I love this, tomorrow, it may be Gothic. :glasses:

Big fan of cathedrals and visited a few great ones over in Germany. I prefer high Gothic cathedrals next to Romanesque. What I love is wandering around the cathedrals trying to find builder's marks carved into the pillers, looking at built in guild symbols etc. I remember the first time I saw the cathedral in Köln, though. One of the most awe inspiring moments of my life. I was coming out of the u-bahn with a group of other Canadians. Suddenly we look up...and up...and up. It really was reaching for the heavens. Probably the most spectacular building I've ever set eyes on.

Köln
http://www.yucolo.com/images/heritag...lo_koeln_a.jpg

Freiburg interior
http://www.pangur-ban.net/albums/ger...dral.sized.jpg

Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle interior
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2360/...527f0f5004.jpg

And castles:

Neuschwanstein - Was living in Schwangau and Füssen for a little bit and so only a short distance away from the castle. Really beautiful in spring/winter. Though, honestly, I think the mountains are far more spectacular.
http://www.fsa-youth.co.za/Images/De...chwanstein.jpg

http://travellingboard.net/wp-conten...ein-castle.jpg

Heidelberg
http://www.maestrobilly.com/podcast/...rg_Castle1.jpg

!! cathedrals !! i get blown away thinking about over a century of work building and generations - several. this thread is visually going to be stunning!


http://www.modernity.se/20th-Century...hl-for-HF.aspx

http://www.modernity.se/20th-Century...es-Hansen.aspx

http://www.modernity.se/20th-Century...Hadelands.aspx

" . . .Rietveld’s career proceeded uninterrupted until 1943. He then was subsequently barred from practising as an architect, due to his refusal to join the Nazi-controlled Kulturkammer. After the war, the country and Rietveld gradually returned to normality, and Rietveld continued his work until he died at an age of 76.

Among his numerous furniture models, The Zig Zag chair, The Red and Blue Chair, the Schelling and Military series remain as eternal design icons. Gerrit Rietveld’s designs are to be found in the most important museum collections over the world.. . "

http://www.modernity.se/Designer/Ger...-Rietveld.aspx

Man, I love architectural stuff!


I came across this recently and found it very interesting.
I have a deep interest in preservation of cultural artifacts, architecture, anything of historical value ...

This link is to one of my favorite threads on the internet: People from all over the world post pictures of "Public Housing / Tenements / Commie Blocks / Projects / Housing Estates". I can't say I "like" most of the architecture in the thread, in fact much of it is horrifying. But grouping these architectural images by function reveals much -viscerally and aestetically- about the humanity behind that function. These aren't "pleasing" revelations, but they are stunning.
I've done an atrocious job of explaining my attraction to this thread but here it is if you wanna check it out:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=247127

(Long story short: we don't have to "like" design for it to be revealing and compelling). (Blah Blah Blah).

Gaudi architecture in Spain!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/...c3695b96dc.jpg

http://www.moorewallpaper.com/holida...-casa-mila.jpg
Creepy but cool!

Cyclopea, I love the idea of tenements and commie block housing, will see what I can find later.

http://ostel.eu/

Check this hotel out. It is in Berlin and is designed in the style of the DDR, Communist East Germany.

Stark, utilitarian and funky!

http://www.eveandersson.com/photos/g...sing-large.jpg

Berlin apartments

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/...60_468x676.jpg

Bauhaus apartments in Tel Aviv

I had a plan, a couple of years ago, to attend Alice Salomon University on a Fulbright - and do a pre-stay run to check out a place to live in Berlin by staying a weekend at this place ~> Louisa's Place <~
before commiting to the whole process of being in Berlin for two years - but that plan fell to the side... I read up a bit on some of the history of the building and what they have done to preserve the historical value of the property.


http://www.louisas-place.de/


Here's a link to Lisa Komisar's info page on where she stayed during her travels (Louisa's Place) and some info about that experience and history of local historical sites near the hotel, etc.

http://www.travellady.com/Issues/Sep...sculptures.htm

Very cool! I would love to visit one day. We are thinking of going to Amsterdam next year and taking side trips to Germany.

I was just reminded of an article I read a while back about this family that decided to dedicate themselves to sustainable living, and built their house into a hill side. I'd seen people do this for sheds or mine entrances in eastern Canada and Germany, but never saw anyone build their house this way (other than in LotR :p).

http://www.simondale.net/house/images2/front.jpg

http://www.simondale.net/house/images2/wide.jpg

http://www.simondale.net/house/images2/kitchen.jpg

Their website: http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

On that note, my cousin is actually building house with his wife and two young sons way out in the north. A log house with only straw as insolation. We'll see how it goes and may post some pics once they're done. I've always wanted to try building something more in the style of viking longhouses, like up at L'anse aux Meadows (viking ruins in Newfoundland) here in Canada.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...W2i5mSe8JoXuI=

Edit: just wanted to say that I'm really loving this thread! Great pics from everyone!

This is amazing ED!!!! Thanks for posting this and the vast wealth of knowledge that you and Apoc and Cyclo-, and Belle offer to this forum thread!!!

You all rock!!!!

~D.

This is my new fav thread!

Dancing Building. Prague.
http://www.czech.tv/images/Cities-Pr...20Building.jpg


Honeycomb Home. Slovenia.
http://www.trendir.com/house-design/...omb-home-1.jpg


I'm lovin' this thread too Apoc, and all the wonderful posts!
In terms of what I'll be posting- I'll be posting things I find interesting, not necessarily things I "like" or "approve of". Unless I say so explicitly in the post of course. :) Might seem an unnecessary caveat in a thread such as this- but one never knows, does one? So I thought it best to make that clear... ;)

Some pics of the crazy architecture in Dubai. A co-worker of mine goes there fairly often, and says its something that you should see at least once in life.

http://www.tabiye.com/images/dubai.jpg

http://www.dubaitravelguide365.com/f..._924636451.jpg

http://www.thedubailife.com/home/wp-..._big_wheel.jpg

Too big to post, click -> http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=44617

I love that sailboat-ish structure.

Architecture in Dubai is worthy of it's own thread, lol. I love the Sailboat building too. The interesting thing about all the massive new construction in Dubai is that so much of it was designed in toto. So, the Sailboat building was designed so that when the Rotating Towers are completed the Sailboat building will actually appear to sail. See the effect in the video below:


The World and the other artificial island complexes under development are unbelievably ambitious:
http://www.eikongraphia.com/wordpres...WorldDubai.jpg
http://www.e-architect.co.uk/dubai/dubai_palmisland.htm

randomness
 

Hong Kong
http://www.magicalurbanism.com/wp-im...-hongkong1.jpg

more randomness
 

Rock Cut Architecture.

Turkey
http://www.stylishandtrendy.com/wp-c...eme-Turkey.jpg

Jordan
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb...4-98762B89.jpg

India
http://tripsguru.com/Monuments/image...%20temple).jpg

living small
 

cambodian architecture -
 

http://www.johncaserta.com/khmerarch...pp_library.jpg


http://www.johncaserta.com/khmerarch...enceblocks.jpg

http://www.johncaserta.com/khmerarch...incheckout.jpg




http://www.johncaserta.com/khmerarch/


http://www.gluckman.com/Phnom%20Penh%20Architecture.htm

Wow, that woodland home is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing that!

I have been interested in sustainable architecture/homes for many years (along with sacred geometry principles in buildings). My dream is to design a custom built strawbale/cob home. I've seen some very beautiful designs.

http://glassford.com.au/main/wp-cont...ado-snow-1.jpg

http://blog.silive.com/homegarden_im...01/dulley1.jpg

http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thed...traw-home2.jpg

Strawbale is strong, energy efficient and can be very low cost (see below). I'd also like to help others who are interested do this as well. Check this out:

I think some of the coolest photos are of things I don't like, becasue they make me think about what the need was for the structure.

Like this, all the teeny apartmentsd crowded in, makes me think of our abundance of space here in the US and how our living spaces differ.

I love the teeny houses, but wonder where my books would go!
I love all the metal


Love the mix of Asian with a bit of French thrown in.
the interesting shapes of the buildings, even the school, are cool.

I wonder what it looks like inside the dancing building!

Capela dos Ossos - Evera, Portugal
 

The Chapel of Bones in the Royal Church of St. Francis in Evera, Portugal is a pretty amazing structure, too. The story behind its construction is actually very interesting. A friends of mine who lives in Lisbon was telling me that although the idea may be kind of morbid, it's a fascinating and breathtaking structure to visit and really does make one think. Definitely would love to visit one day.

http://cm-campo-maior.pt/imagens/gal...a_Ossos_01.jpg

http://www.feriasemportugal.pt/fotos...e5b770949e.jpg

http://api.ning.com/files/VZx5Uzfo7U...QR/1866828.jpg

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/p...hapel-of-bones

I should like to see it. I think part of it is a hotel.
http://www.hotels-in-prague-czech.co...ng%20House.jpg

hauntingly, disturbingly fascinating.

Reversible Destiny- Architecture Against Death
 

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/ph...japartment.jpg

The Discomforts of Home

An innovative new housing project outside Tokyo aims to keep residents sharp by throwing them off balance. Duck!

By Kay Itoi

Most people, in choosing a new home, look for comfort: a serene atmosphere, smooth walls and floors, a logical layout. Nonsense, says Shusaku Arakawa, a Japanese artist based in New York. He and his creative partner, poet Madeline Gins, recently unveiled a small apartment complex in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka that is anything but comfortable and calming. "People, particularly old people, shouldn't relax and sit back to help them decline," he insists. "They should be in an environment that stimulates their senses and invigorates their lives."

With that in mind, Arakawa and Gins designed a building of nine apartments known as Reversible Destiny Lofts. Painted in eye-catching blue, pink, red, yellow and other bright colors, the building resembles the indoor playgrounds that attract toddlers at fast-food restaurants. Inside, each apartment features a dining room with a grainy, surfaced floor that slopes erratically, a sunken kitchen and a study with a concave floor. Electric switches are located in unexpected places on the walls so you have to feel around for the right one. A glass door to the veranda is so small you have to bend to crawl out. You constantly lose balance and gather yourself up, grab onto a column and occasionally trip and fall. Even worse, there's no closet space; residents will have to find a way to live there, since the apartment offers only a few solutions. "You'll learn to figure it out," says Arakawa. Ten minutes of stumbling around is enough to send even the healthiest young person over the edge. Arakawa says that's precisely the point. "[The apartment] makes you alert and awakens instincts, so you'll live better, longer and even forever," says the artist.

Completed in October, the apartments are now selling for $763,000 each—about twice as much as a normal apartment in that neighborhood. Arakawa and Gins have received dozens of inquiries and are now in the process of showing and interviewing potential buyers. They have a certain celebrity cachet: Jakucho Setouchi, an 83-year-old popular author and respected Buddhist nun, bought one on the top floor.

Built by Takenaka Corp., a leading Japanese contractor, the apartments actually meet every building-code requirement. The artists are not worried about possible injuries or lawsuits, but make sure each buyer understands "the concept" of the building before he or she signs the contract. This isn't the first time Arakawa and Gins have created seemingly hazardous structures; 10 years ago the pair opened the Site of Reversible Destiny—Yoro Park, a theme park in Gifu, central Japan. The popular tourist spot consists of attractions designed to throw people off balance, made up of warped surfaces and confusing directions. Visitors often fall—but so far nobody has sued.

Arakawa and Gins hope the Reversible Destiny Lofts will catch on outside Japan as well. Each unit is made up of large concrete blocks that can be preassembled, making the Mitaka complex a prototype for mass production. In fact, Arakawa says, they are in talks with interested parties in Paris and New Jersey about building similar complexes. Their ultimate goal: to turn an entire community into a Reversible Destiny town, where people of all ages live, work, study and play in their unsettling buildings. "It will be a revolution," says Arakawa. "This will change the way people live." That is, assuming people don't mind living with sloping floors and no closets.
© 2010 Newsweek, Inc.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1018/...e99d7aa2_o.jpg

http://www.reversibledestiny.org/REV...E_DESTINY.html

Awesome post, ED!
 

Wow, ED!!!! Thanks for posting this! This is flippin awesome! I had no idea it even existed - would totally be down for seeing this place, if at all possible, in the future! Just wow!!!! ~D.

Morbid is cool!
I think it is so interesting how people have taken what is handy, in this case bones, and made it into something beautiful. I love the creepyness of it!

sosososososo cool!

Ummmm, no closet space? That would definitely throw me off....like I need any help. :)

I love the look, but I am in no way cool enough to live in these. I am too old and. must. have. storage.

I might snap an ankle too on the sloped floors.

However, in a crowded teeny place like Tokyo, it
is interesting to see the lenths people will go to be different.

I love some of the modular prefab designs and energy wise they make sense too. I just think the price tags on them are way out of line.

you can take the oddest things, oldest structures, etc and turn them into art with the right attention to detail and landscaping.

the straw bale house that lady built is amazing. I think I might try building a small structure out here close to the house and practice.