Worlds Mega Structures

Amazing Pavilion by Architecture Students from McGill University

William Daniel — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:42:43 +0000

Here is an amazing pavilion. Architecture students from McGill University have finally completed “ContemPLAY” – an extremely complex piece of twisted street furniture. The pavilion is located on McGill University’s campus in Montreal and offers students with a peaceful space to take a break from their studies. Master architecture students from McGill University has worked on this project for 15 months, obtaining all of the essential materials and technology from within the local community. It is twisted and cantilevering into a defensive shell installed on campus, the ContemPLAY pavilion showcases a range of possibilities for the future of parametric design. The Möbius strip and moiré lattice are both complex geometries and combining them in one 3D structure would have been very hard to achieve without digital tools. The amazing street furniture also has a plain edge that improves the project’s contemplative dimension.

Via: WAN.

Busan’s fishing union structure – Huge Mural by Hendrik Beikirch

William Daniel — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:35:31 +0000

Here is a huge mural which is created by the German artist Hendrik Beikirch. The artist has painted a 70-meter-high mural of a fisherman nearby Daniel Libeskind’s Haeundae I’Park towers in Busan. The Beikirch’s aging fisherman showed the large number of South Koreans still working in traditional industries who have not felt the benefits of the country’s rapid economic development, signified by the glass and steel towers in the background. Beikirch has painted an amazing mural on the side of Busan’s fishing union structure located between Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches. Beneath is a statement in Korean which translates as: “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” This fascinating project was managed by Public Delivery, a Seoul-based organization that promotes modern art across Asia and Europe, who explain that Beikirch ”deliberately distances himself from the polished and artificial aesthetic of advertising” usually found in public spaces.

Via: Dezeen.

The Latest Rail Station in Hague

William Daniel — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 21:24:47 +0000

The latest rail station in Hague. It is named “Beatrixkwartier”, the rail station is for the RandstadRail that features an inspiring design with a tube-shaped space-frame. The 400 meter long Beatrixkwartier is made from steel and concrete, and was designed by Amsterdam-based Zwarts & Jansma Architects. It connects passengers between The Hague and Rotterdam. The new station offers services for those working in the Beatrixkwartier office district and acts as a link between the tram viaduct at the Ternoot stop and the NS (Dutch Railways) railway embankment.

The tube was prefabricated with a skeleton structure of rings of mild-steel strips with a diameter of about 10 meters, which were then connected by diagonally set tubes. This tube was then connected to the concrete rail platforms held aloft by V-shaped columns. The elevated station allows for two passing trains, and a space in the center accommodates platforms. At the passenger platform, the glass panes are combined with the tubular frame to serve as wind and weather breaks while still allowing for a gentle breeze and natural daylight. Check it out!

Via: Inhabitat.

Amazing Floating Airport – London Britannia Airport by Gensler

William Daniel — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 00:16:14 +0000

The amazing floating airport for London is a conceptual proposal which is released by Architecture firm Gensler. It is located in the Thames Estuary with terminals connected by underwater tunnels. The proposal comes as the UK government looks at ways to increase airport capacity in Southeast England. It is called “London Britannia Airport”, it would include 4 floating runways tied to the seabed and leaving concourses leading to underwater rail tunnels, which would connect passengers to central London as well as European rail networks. Passengers coming by car would travel to three land-based terminals – two located north and south of the estuary and a third proposed between Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park. Check it out!

Via: Dezeen.

Enormous Sparkling Crystal Ball for The 2022 FIFA World Cup

William Daniel — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:26:59 +0000

The enormous sparkling crystal ball for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar just announced plans to construct it. The Crystal Ball-Light of the Future was planned by architects Vedran Pedišić (SANGRAD) and Erick Velasco Farerra (AVP-arhitekti). This beautiful structure will include a sports museum and a shopping center, and though the structure is in its early planning stages, it will include cutting-edge technology to ensure energy efficiency.

The globe converts into a glowing installation as soon as the sun goes down. During the day the exterior takes on a shimmering effect, glittering with the rise of the sun and filtering ample daylight into the interior. The orb body rests on the vertical axis, but spins in a spiral path throughout the day, making slow revolutions around the central point. Like other revolving buildings, the movement will improve the tourist fascination as a truly inventive structure. The sparkling ball will host a FIFA World Cup sports museum and a shopping center for tourists and locals to enjoy. Check it out!

Via: Inhabitat.

Copenhagen’s Natural History Museum of Denmark

William Daniel — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 22:46:57 +0000

Copenhagen’s Natural History Museum is to be transformed into an educational urban park, the design giants Kengo Kuma & Associates, Erik Møller Arkitekter, and JAJA Architects have come together to transform it. Combined into the lovely landscape of the city’s botanical garden, the museum is moderately sunken into the ground and topped with a walkable green roof that welcomes visitors to rest and enjoy the surrounding gardens. The Natural History Museum of Denmark has one of the world’s largest collections documenting the planet’s natural history. The architects decided to integrate the museum space within the landscape, rendering the collection partially visible from the exterior, in order to make it more available to the public. It is filled with soft natural light, the project combines the museum experience and the garden by creating several spaces where cityscape, vegetation and exhibition spaces meet. The collection is consequently brought outside the museum space and into the garden, where the natural historical journey begins.

Via: WorldArchitectureNews.

Wonderful Museum of Modern Art in Berlin

William Daniel — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:37:46 +0000

The Hamburger Bahnhof is a wonderful Museum of Modern Art in Berlin kept in a modernized train station. Rebuilt by architect Josef Paul Kleihues and re-opened in 1996, the art museum — “Museum für Gegenwart” — is set within an inspiring Neoclassical frontage bordered by 2 towers. A grand industrial hall serves as the main exhibition space. The original building features big windows and skylights set among curvy steel beams. On the inside and the outside, Dan Flavin‘s neon lights brighten up the neo-classical structure. 2 new wings are set along the building’s sides. They showcase multidisciplinary works like the Architektonika 2 exhibition. One main stunning exhibition is NYC-based artist Anthony McCall‘s “Five Minutes of Pure Sculpture”, which allows visitors to step into beams of light and change their appearance. The exhibition is on until the 12th of August.

Via: Inhabitat.

Amazing Planning Museum in Dalian

William Daniel — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:13:58 +0000

This is an amazing new Planning Museum by 10 Design, located in Dalian, China is intended to become a new public sculpture at the heart of the city’s main governmental district. This structure is part of the first steps made by the Planning Bureau to promote landmark architecture in Dalian with an extra seven municipal civil projects, containing a library, scientific center, urban planning exhibition, museum, and teenage activity center. The Planning Building will serve as a contemporary, first-class venue for offices and exhibitions, and more essentially, an addition of cultural engagement for the public within the city. The museum is also designed to be an example of technological innovation and sustainable practices. Have a look at it!

Via: Archdaily.

The Beautiful Russian Pavilion

William Daniel — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:05:51 +0000

This is the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Inside its top floor, every surface of the Russian Pavilion is covered in QR codes, which visitors interpret using tablet computers to explore ideas for a new Russian city devoted to science. Downstairs, visitors can peer through the lenses to catch a sight of the gated and private science towns recognized under the Soviet Union, planned to provide a contrast with the open and cooperative vision presented upstairs.

The Skolkovo science and technology center will be situated close to Moscow by 2017 and will bring together 500 companies working in IT, biomedical research, nuclear research, energy and space technology plus a university and homes. The amazing exhibition is curated by Sergei Tchoban and Sergey Kuznetsov of SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov. The 13th Venice Architecture Biennale opens to the public today and continues until 25 November. Check it out!

Via: Dezeen.

Stylish Daskalakis Athletic Center Sasaki Associates

William Daniel — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 23:26:57 +0000

The Students at Drexel University have a stylish new athletic center. New facilities were designed by Sasaki Associates. It includes New rooms, a cafe and updated facilities are emphasized by a landscaping plan to create a strong existence on Market Street. Rainwater collection is joint with energy-efficient design and it have a high performance façade. One of the main goals for the Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) was to improve the visual presence of the building, and improve the interconnectivity of the athletic facilities and the rest of the school.

It is prepared of a large multi-use gymnasium connected to a 2 story volume for fitness, weights and classes. Access from all sides through green spaces was a need as well as a visual connection from the inside and outside. It also includes an outdoor courtyard which has a soft floor perfect for fitness classes, yoga, dance lessons and more. The frontage of the building is the result of wide energy studies in order to maximize daylight without absorbing heat. The plaza and the building both harvest rainwater which is used to reduce potable water for flushing of toilets. Check it out!

Via: Archdaily.