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This post is brought to you by Figueras International Seating. The building of the Philharmonie de Paris, designed by Jean Nouvel, is a unique architectural work in the Parc de La Villette in the French capital. The seating installed inside was specifically created for the hall by Jean Nouvel in... View full entry
In bone, the proportions of protein and mineral are roughly equal – the mineral gives bone stiffness and hardness, while the protein gives it toughness or resistance to fracture. While bones can break, it is relatively rare, and they have the benefit of being self-healing [...]
“All of our existing building standards have been designed with concrete and steel in mind. Constructing buildings out of entirely new materials would mean completely rethinking the whole industry."
— cam.ac.uk
Bioengineer Dr. Michelle Oyen of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering and her lab are working on ways to build artificial compounds that mimic bone and eggshell. Eventually, once scaled up, the compounds could be used as building materials.When the mineral compounds are "templated" onto the... View full entry
“He was so much more than an engineer,” says the V&A’s Zofia Trafas White, who co-curated the show with Maria Nicanor. We are walking through a corridor of the Dane’s dreamy doodles, which forms a slightly surreal start to the show [...]
“Designing,” Arup said, “is defining a sensible way of building.” Noticeably, all the projects on show trumpet their engineering credentials at full volume, as the (seemingly) logical expression of how they were made.
— Oliver Wainwright | the Guardian
For more on Ove Arup and his firm, check out these links:Ove Arup celebrated with new show at the V&AOur cities must adapt to climate change and growing populations within a single generation, according to the head of ArupArup Germany/SolarLeaf, Studio Tamassociati, and Elemental win in... View full entry
The show, curated by the V&A’s Maria Nicanor and Zofia Trafas White, is a fascinating exploration of the 20th century engineer’s life and work, and how it has influenced today’s practices in his field. Arup, fittingly argue the curators, was a true pioneer, championing real collaboration with architects, using a computer for the first time during the Sydney Opera House project in the 1960s – a hefty but fascinating machine called 'Pegasus', on display at the show. — wallpaper.com
Read more UK news here:This week's picks for London architecture and design eventsMuseum of London design shortlist revealedAuthor of 'Interactive Architecture' on the built environment in the age of ubiquitous computing View full entry
To mark the beginning of it's first ever Engineering Season, the V&A has revealed a new large-scale installation in the John Madjeski Garden; Elytra Filament Pavilion. The pavilion's components have been fabricated by a robot at the University of Stuttgart and then assembled on site... View full entry
The daring concept proposes one cantilever on the Cornish mainland and another on the island fortress, where, legend has it, King Arthur was conceived. The two structures stretch out to each other across the void but do not quite meet. — theguardian.com
The victorious design was conceived by the Belgian company Ney & Partners Civil Engineers in partnership with British architects William Matthews Associates. View full entry
[...] one year after announcing the concept of its game-changing MULTI elevator technology, ThyssenKrupp unveils a fully-functional 1:3 scale model at its Innovation Center in Gijn, Spain. The MULTI system uses linear motors instead of ropes, enabling horizontal movement and transforming conventional elevator transportation into vertical metro systems. — bloomberg.com
Previously on Archinect: ThyssenKrupp's cable-free elevator test tower tops out in less than 10 monthsUp and Down, Side to Side; ThyssenKrupp's cable-free MULTI elevator to begin testing in 2016 View full entry
The sun beat down onto the asphalt grounds of the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California, where a village of 14 solar-powered houses popped up for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Multi-disciplinary teams of college students worldwide dedicate two years to designing and... View full entry
Wednesday night’s 8.3-magnitude earthquake had left 11 dead and a 175 houses damaged. While the toll wasn’t negligible, the quake — the world’s strongest this year — might have leveled less-prepared countries.
“Our structural engineering is world class,” Santos, a 62-year-old engineer at the firm Ingenería Estructuras Consultoría, said by phone. “And it’s made in Chile.”
— miamiherald.com
Related on Archinect:Deadly 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Nepal destroys architectural landmarksAre India's cities prepared to withstand an earthquake like in Nepal?First Japanese skyscraper gets retrofitted with rooftop vibration control system View full entry
ThyssenKrupp's MULTI elevator test tower is happening, indeed — and at a seemingly impressive rate. Less than 10 months after starting construction, the currently 232-meter structure in the German city of Rottweil recently celebrated its topping out. ThyssenKrupp is aiming to have the tower... View full entry
Completed in March of 2014, Kusukusu [...] is a marvelous feat of architecture, engineering and technology. Working with Hiroshi Nakamura of NAP Architects, the team came in and 3D-scanned hundreds of points on the tree. Based on that 3D data they then created a steel trellis that threaded through the tree, interlocking perfectly [...]. What’s amazing is that the treehouse in its entirety, never touches the tree. It’s completely self-standing so as to not harm the tree. — spoon-tamago.com
Here are a few more images of the stunner of a treehouse in Atami, Japan designed by master treehouse builder Takashi Kobayashi in collaboration with NAP Architects.To learn more and see the complete set of photos, head over to Spoon & Tamago.Photos by Koji Fujii/Nacasa & Partners... View full entry
The City of London Corporation has promised a more "rigorous" assessment of developers' predictions of ground winds, following complaints about strong gusts outside the 20 Fenchurch Street Building, better known as the Walkie Talkie.
"I almost got blown over the other day walking up past the building," a sales assistant working nearby said earlier this year. "When I got around the corner it was fine. I was scared to go back."
— bbc.com
It's not the tower's first run-in with the laws of physics:Rafael Viñoly-designed "Walkie Talkie" skyscraper melts car with light reflections'Walkie Scorchie’ building given permanent sunshade View full entry
University students and engineers now have a chance to contribute to the ongoing development of Elon Musk's and SpaceX's high-speed ground transit system, the Hyperloop. As SpaceX works toward constructing a one-mile test track near their headquarters in Hawthorne, California, they launched a... View full entry
This relatively low-tech method is among a battery of tests that materials scientists are using to determine why several anchor rods securing the newest portion of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the region’s busiest, failed their earthquake inspections. The first alarms sounded in 2013, when seismic tests found 32 faulty rods. They’d been sitting in a large pool of water, corroding. — wired.com
Previously:Bolts along Bay Bridge bike path failAfter $6.4 Billion, San Francisco Bridge Remains a MessTime-Lapse of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Construction View full entry
A vibration control device to dramatically reduce shaking caused by long-period earthquake ground motion — a phenomenon in which major earthquakes shake skyscrapers slowly but severely — was shown to the media on Monday after being installed in a 55-story building in central Tokyo. [...]
The companies said it is the nation’s first rooftop vibration control device against earthquakes.
— the-japan-news.com