Archinect - News

Denmark is moving forward with a controversial man-made storm barrier in Copenhagen

2023-01-13T14:54:00-05:00

In January 2022, a team of developers, architects and environmental consultants began work on a 50-year project that — if completed — will become one of Denmark's most ambitious and controversial infrastructure schemes to date: A 271-acre man-made peninsula devised to shield its capital, Copenhagen, from rising sea levels. But the multi-million dollar environmental project has drawn vocal criticism — primarily, and somewhat ironically, from those concerned about the climate.

Despite its intent, Copenhageners have lodged multiple unsuccessful attempts at halting Lynetteholm’s construction in the European Parliament and national assembly. The design calls for a linear wall shielding 35,000 new homes that can be bolstered as necessary in what is called a “process landscape.” Environmentalist opponents have answered back with claims of “maladaptation.” It will eventually join a currently under-development modular floating habitation from the Danish studio MAST that will take shape in segments over the coming decade.

There's more to architecture than having vision. How one man's loss is transforming perspectives

2019-01-14T16:58:00-05:00

For many architects, much of one's work depends upon the visual possibilities where space can transform. Often overlooked, many designers forget what it is like to design buildings and structures for the blind or hearing impaired. Universal accessibility and inclusive design methods are being discussed more and more within the architecture community. Educators, advocates and architects like Chris Downey use their experience and skillsets to transform the perspectives of architecture for the visually impaired.

Chris Downey speaking to architecture students at the University of Arkansas Image © uark.edu

he main lobby at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Polytrauma and Blind Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto, Calif., one of Downey’s first major projects after he lost his sight. Photograph courtesy of John Boerger Image © ncsu.edu

In a recent 60 Minutes interview with Leslie Stahl, Downey shares with the public how the loss of his sight helped him become more aware of what it mea...

Cube Haus commissions top architects to design modular, affordable homes

2018-05-08T15:57:00-04:00

What if buying a house were more like buying a car? Could the process of choosing between a Ford, Volkswagen or Nissan ever translate into picking between an Adjaye, Rogers or Assemble? Beyond the dream of ever being able to buy a house, the prospect of commissioning an architect-designed home is an impossibly remote prospect for most of us, a luxury confined to the glossy pages of Sunday supplements and Grand Designs.

The founders of Cube Haus have commissioned well known architects such as Adjaye Associates, Skene Catling de la Peña, and Carl Turner Architects to design modular homes at affordable prices. Targeting infill and backland sites in the London area, Cube Haus is looking to fill a small housing niche with well-crafted, off-plan new properties.

Off-site production and lower margins allow the company to produce houses 10%-15% cheaper than equivalent properties in a given area. The trick is to come up with modular designs that can properly adapt to different, awkward sites. Cube Haus aims to create a portfolio of building types that can be scaled up for larger number unit sites—creating affordable housing designed by some of the top names in architecture.

Can work stress be reduced with adaptive rooms? UNStudio is looking into it

2017-02-14T14:08:00-05:00

Part inhabitable mood ring, part psychological experiment, the exhibition "Work 3.0 – A Joyful Sense at Work" from UNStudio and SCAPE is an attempt to create spaces that make work stress more bearable by testing out adaptable environments in the form of a "fully immersive, modular structure."

This immersive structure, known as a RESET pod, will be on display at the iSalone deal Mobile in Milan from April 4th through 9th, and incorporates input from a neuroscientist, an ambient intelligence technology integrator, and a technologist/interaction designer. The feedback from visitors to the exhibition will help the designers determine what spaces do and don't work for office worker stress mitigation.

Here's the text of the full press release from UNStudio:

Can a space adapt to your stress levels? UNStudio and SCAPE join forces with a multidisciplinary team of experts to tackle stress in the workplace.

UNStudio and SCAPE have joined forces with a multidisciplinary team of experts for the ex...

New Renderings of SuperPier: Google’s New NYC Digs + Bourdain Food Market To Arrive in 2018

2015-11-16T11:12:00-05:00

Last month, Seth Pinsky, Executive Vice President at RXR Realty, shared a presentation regarding the development of the long-planned rehabilitation and conversion of Pier 57 aka “SuperPier.” According to him, the 450,000-square-foot development will invest $350 million of private capital to redevelop the structure, and in return create hundreds of jobs, generate millions of dollars of revenue for the Hudson River Park Trust, and create a new destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike.

Late registration for Laka Competition 2015: "Architecture that Reacts" ends on October 20!

2015-10-12T16:10:00-04:00

Public arts initiative Laka wants to know how today's architects, engineers, scientists, and students interpret the theme "Architecture that Reacts" for the Laka Competition 2015. To get those ideas churning, architecture that reacts is responsive and highly adaptable to both current needs and unpredictable circumstances. It can be thought of like a living organism.

Entrants — who can participate individually or as teams — can still sign up during the late registration period, which ends on October 20, 2015 for a fee of $100. Also keep in mind that all submissions are due October 31, 2015 (23:59 UTC).

Three cash-prize winners and special mentions are scheduled to be announced on December 1.

The 2015 jury features:

Maria Aiolova (Architect, Educator, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA): Co-Founder of Terreform ONE
Chris Bosse (Architect, Educator): Co-Founder of LAVA
Giacomo Costa (Artist, Photographer): Author of The Chronicles of Time
Marc Fornes (Architect DPLG, Educator): Founder of THEVERYMANY™
Guy Ho...

The Edmonton Freezeway may soon become a reality

2015-02-26T19:37:00-05:00

If all goes accordingly, Canada might get another ice-skating trail known as The Freezeway to turn Edmonton -- a city that can get average below-freezing winter temperatures up to five months in a year -- into a hot destination. Or more like a winter wonderland. Proposed by Edmonton-born graduate student Matthew Gibbs, the 11 km Freezeway is a climate adaptive trail that would enable users to skate to different parts of the city.

Gibbs got inspiration for the skating trail when former city councilor Tooker Gomberg suggested, perhaps lightheartedly, back in the 1990s that the city "crack the fire hydrants open in the winter and flood the streets so people can skate to work."

In the summer months, the Freezeway would become a greenway for bikes and walking. According to Gibbs, the trail would promote a more active winter lifestyle, winter programming and social activities, and an alternative method of sustainable transportation.

Since the Freezeway was one of three winners in the annual ...

The all-glass Photon Space could help us get our daily dose of sunlight, and then some

2014-12-08T17:58:00-05:00

The Photon Space is becoming known as the first all-glass modular structure of its kind that addresses the health benefits of exposure to natural light and the importance of those benefits in our contemporary lifestyle — where many of us spend it indoors — and its everyday stresses.

Recently launched on Crowdcube by The Photon Project, the Photon Space is a luxury daytime suite that has a 45 m2 footprint and includes a furnished living room, a double bedroom, and a modular integrated kitchen and bathroom. But what distinguishes the Photon Space is its intelligent glass architecture.

The design of the Photon Space glass is supported by recent long-term research led by Russell Foster, a professor of Circadian Neuroscience and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford. Professor Foster's research states that a healthy dose of natural light can help regulate circadian rhythms, reduce stress, and improve mood, among other benefits. The multi-layered, high-performa...

Chinese School puts running track on its roof

2014-09-02T00:49:00-04:00

In use since September 1, 2014, an elementary school in Tiantai, Zhejiang province, built a 200-meter running track on the roof of its school building. In "School puts running track on its roof" Chinese architect Ruan Hao [LYCS Architecture], chief architect of the teaching building, said "that breaking the tradition of a running track on the ground might provide a solution for other schools with limited land."

The "No 2 Elementary School of Tiantai Chicheng district" - located near Hangzhou - is one of the 11 case-studies that is part of the "ADAPTATION - architecture and change in China"-exhibition - one of the 21 Collateral Events of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia - curated by prof. Marino Folin & MovingCites, and hosted by the EMGdotART Foundation at Palazzo Zen in Venice.

As part of the exhibition, and in co-production with China Daily Video, EMGdotART Foundation created a short documentary on the construction of this project called "Ruan...

MIT develops self-assembling modular robots

2013-10-04T18:49:00-04:00

Known as M-Blocks, the robots are cubes with no external moving parts. Nonetheless, they’re able to climb over and around one another, leap through the air, roll across the ground, and even move while suspended upside down from metallic surfaces [...] As with any modular-robot system, the hope is that the modules can be miniaturized: the ultimate aim of most such research is hordes of swarming microbots that can self-assemble, like the “liquid steel” androids in the movie “Terminator II.”

MIT, you've done it again. And again. A team at CSAIL, MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, has developed M-Blocks -- robotic cubes that can self-assemble into practically any configuration, through a system of carefully aligned magnets and flywheels. Even at their current scale (about the size of an apricot), the M-Blocks could be used to "fill-in" damaged bridges or buildings in an emergency, or serve as adaptive support systems in construction.

But the smaller the blocks can be built, the more versatile their application -- and the more subtle their shapes. Think of a semi-liquid material that can be poured onto the floor and then spring into the shape of a chair, in whatever design you prefer. The modules could also be outfitted with individual components, like cameras or thermometers, to perform a specific function in the horde.

Check out the videos below to see the M-blocks in action.