Archinect - News

America's first 3D printed fire-resistant ADU concept is under construction in Southern California

2024-02-29T11:57:00-05:00

A new 3D printed ADU prototype made of concrete and other fire-resistant materials is under construction as part of a demonstration taking place this month in Walnut, California.

The first-of-its-kind project was born of a collaboration between the fire departments of both Walnut and Los Angeles. A local couple volunteered to give the host the design for general contractor Builtech Construction Group in the interests of applying lessons valuable for disaster prevention at a time when an influx of peri-urbanization has left the state more susceptible to fire-damaged structures than ever before.

Image courtesy RIC Technology

The unit is both non-combustible and fire-resistant and is being constructed using contractor RIC Technology’s robotic 3D printer.

Construction takes only 20 days from the start of the printing process to finish after the foundation has been laid. It yields a total of 1,200 square feet of space with 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The design works by eliminating any...

Toronto Metropolitan University unveils plan for SCITHub, the 'world’s first fully digitally-enabled building'

2023-12-28T15:49:00-05:00

A new prototype demonstration of different burgeoning smart building technologies is coming to the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University as part of a cross-institutional effort that will result in the construction of a new 3,229-square-foot Smart Campus Integration and Testing Hub (SCITHub) designed by WZMH Architects.

The initiative has been in development since 2019, with a finalized design for the structure submitted two years later, and its construction is now fully funded through a mixture of public grants and private donations that covered the total project cost of about $6 million.

The TMU SCITHub is part of the Network of Living Campuses (NLC), which involves seven other universities across Canada. Researchers are hopeful it will serve as a kind of nexus for the various data-driven investigations into smart building tech that are happening at their respective campuses.

Image courtesy Toronto Metropolitan University

A mass timber building envelope and exterior Intellige...

andblack design studio creates a modular, prefabricated black box theater with multifunctional use

2023-06-22T17:37:00-04:00

Kanika and Jwalant Mahadevwala, architects and founding partners of andblack design studio, have created a multifunctional black box theater design that uses parametric models to "allow customization of several variables to achieve the specified volume." Their design prototype, Darwin Bucky, is a prefabricated kit of parts made of wood, aluminum, steel, and glass.

Designed for Abhay Mangaldas, founder of India-based startup Darwin, the lightweight modular panel design is a flat-pack system that emphasizes versatile on-site assembly.

Darwin Bucky assembly. Image © Vinay Panjwani.

According to the architects, Darwin Bucky is a "black box that can be used as an exhibition gallery, a town hall, an expo center, a performance arena, or even serve as a bar or a nightclub. It is designed to be placed in public gardens, exhibition grounds, or even in a city center."

Aerial view of Darwin Bucky site. Image © Vinay Panjwani.

Without the need for a ...

Norman Foster Foundation and Holcim to exhibit essential housing prototype at 2023 Venice Biennale

2023-05-02T11:52:00-04:00

Construction and materials group Holcim has announced a collaboration with the Norman Foster Foundation at the 2023 Venice Biennale to develop a model for essential housing. Titled the Essential Homes Research Project, the model is intended to “provide safety, comfort, and well-being for displaced communities.”

The project is to be unveiled at the Time Space Existence exhibition organized by the European Cultural Center during the biennale, which will include the display of a real-size prototype in the Marinaressa Gardens. The prototype will be supported by an exhibition hosted in the Palazzo Mora, reflecting on the Biennale’s overall theme “The Laboratory of the Future.”

“Natural and manmade disasters create a continuous exodus of people seeking instant shelter,” said Norman Foster in a statement. “Traditionally tents or variations on them are the primary r...

Resilient housing prototypes designed by Marvel Architects utilized a range of self-sustaining strategies to survive Hurricane Fiona

2022-09-23T12:00:00-04:00

After Hurricane Fiona tore through Puerto Rico on Sunday [Sept. 18], roads in the small mountain city of Caguas—hit with more than 20 inches of rain—were underwater. Landslides washed away some streets. As on the rest of the island, the electric grid went down, and it wasn’t clear how many homes had been damaged or destroyed. But in two new prototype homes, the electricity stayed on.

The prototypes are single-family homes completely off-grid with electricity and potable water. They were designed by New York City and Puerto Rico-based Marvel Architects and paid for by nonprofit Acacia Network. The homes utilize hurricane and seismic-resistant components, which include an insulated concrete panel system that has shown to be just as if not more effective against earthquakes than traditional concrete block construction. They also employ passive design strategies, allowing natural cross ventilation, heat extraction, and shade. In addition, the structures are modular so that they can adapt to a variety of locations and square footage.

Jonathan Marvel, the firm's founder, addressed the cost of these resilient homes with Fast Company's Adele Peters stating, "I don't want to say 'affordable,' because the average Puerto Rican income is below the level of poverty in the United States. So this is a housing system that's going to require assistance to build." Marvel added th...

OMA and Buro Happold reveal new video of modular hospital prototype

2022-04-12T09:00:00-04:00

One of the most promising recent healthcare infrastructure concepts has engendered an offshoot project that looks to expand on its original framework design.

As a product of the research done for their collaboration on the Al Daayan Health District Master Plan in Doha, OMA and Buro Happold have created a prototype for a low-rise hospital structure commissioned by the Hamad Medical Corporation.

Previously on Archinect: OMA and Buro Happold reveal designs for the Al Daayan Health District in Doha

Image © HMC

The prototype appears to consist of similar two-story-high modular units that can be adapted and reconfigured to allow for maximal variation and minimal costs. Scalable, self-sufficient, and built using a considerable amount of 3D printing technology, the design is a sustainable refresh to the important typology and hopes to see further use in other climates once the Qatari concept catches on.

Image © HMC

“Medical technology is advancing exponentially, leaving hospitals to...

IAAC students build advanced prototype greenhouse for food and energy production

2022-03-04T12:00:00-05:00

The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has unveiled a prototype greenhouse which responds to urban food and energy needs. The Solar Greenhouse was designed and built by a team of students, professionals, and experts from the school’s Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities program, and was constructed in a natural park on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Photo © Adria Goula

The greenhouse has been designed to be replicated in rural and urban areas, and potentially to populate the rooftops of urban buildings. Responding to the European Union’s zero-emission goals for 2050, the project seeks to return food and energy production to cities with a compact structure that uses solar energy, sustainable materials, and advanced urban farming technology.

Photo © Adria Goula

“The aim was to design and build a system that could be replicated in both rural and urban areas,” the team says. “Solar Greenhouse is the result of the investigation and search of new ways...

UCLA electrical engineer builds thermoelectric device that can harvest energy after dark

2019-09-18T15:00:00-04:00

[Dr. Raman's] prototype device employs radiative cooling, the phenomenon that makes buildings and parks feel cooler than the surrounding air after sunset. As Dr. Raman’s device releases heat, it does so unevenly, the top side cooling more than the bottom. It then converts the difference in heat into electricity.

After driving through a dark village in Sierra Leone, UCLA electrical engineer Aaswath Raman got the idea of building a device that didn't have to rely on solar power or wind to generate electricity after dark.

Dr. Raman and his research team did just that, and built a prototype thermoelectric device that uses radiative cooling techniques. It doesn't generate much power yet and still has a long way to go in research and development, but other academics like MIT materials scientist Jeffrey C. Grossman tell The New York Times that Dr. Raman's work is one promising step forward in the development of low-power applications at night.

32 architects and firms design social housing prototypes for an experimental community in Mexico

2019-09-04T07:00:00-04:00

INFONAVIT, the federal institute for workers housing of Mexico, is the largest mortgage lender in Latin America. Founded in 1972, the Mexico City-based institute has played a critical role for families across Mexico attempting access decent housing. The institution, along with MOS architects, has launched an experimental housing research project with the help of 32 prominent architects and firms. The project, masterplanned by MOS, aims to create housing prototypes that reflect up-to-date thinking in the realm of social housing design as well as examples of promoting a better quality of life for its inhabitants.

Aerial shot of prototype housing in the City of Apán. Image © Jamie Navarro

Image © Jamie Navarro

The low-cost housing prototypes are built within the City of Apán, in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. After being constructed, the houses are now undergoing testing and evaluation to help validate the research project's goals of equitable social housing. Participants include Mauricio...

Trump border wall prototypes demolished

2019-03-01T19:47:00-05:00

And the prototypes came tumbling down. [...] They have been used most dramatically as a backdrop for a presidential visit last March and for protest art. [...] On Wednesday, slabs from seven out of the eight prototypes fell in clouds of dust in under two hours, no match for a jackhammer. At the point of destruction, an owl fled from a steel tube atop one section.

And just as quickly as they came, they're gone again: seven of the eight prototypes for a lofty 1,954-mile border wall project to Mexico were bulldozed and turned into piles of expensive rubble on Wednesday morning.

The Guardian writes that "according to a report by the Government Accountability Office, the eight model sections were riddled with design and construction flaws. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) tested the slabs and found they could be breached."

In light of such grave design flaws, Mexico will likely not want to pay for the wall anymore.

Airbnb announces they don't want to just share homes, they want to build them too

2018-11-30T12:38:00-05:00

What's next for Airbnb? The estimated $38 billion dollar company has transformed the home-sharing network forever. Having successfully turned homes, mud huts, even castles into spaces for rent, the global enterprise is searching for new ways to to think about housing. In 2016, Joe Gebbia the CPO and co-founder of Airbnb started Samara. An experimental product development team at Airbnb, the goal was to find ways where new products and services could push the company.

Image © Katie Wheeler

It's been announced thru Samara's website that a new initiative called, "Backyard" will make its debut in 2019. The project is based on investigating how homes can be built to satisfy and respond to the changing needs of owners and occupants. The goal is to find ways to design and prototype new ways of building a home and how these units can it can be shared. According to Gebbia in a recent press statement, Backyard isn’t a house but a way for the digital company to rethink housing. Gebbia and his...

BIG designs first prototype for affordable vacation home company Klein

2018-08-15T15:12:00-04:00

Behold the first prototype of the Brooklyn-based Klein, a new company that wants to make the process of building small houses more affordable all over the world. A45 is a 13-foot-long wood and glass cabin for one, two, or three people (if one of them is tiny) designed by the Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group [...] meant to be the first of many designs [that will fulfill the fantasy] of having a home outside the city...

Founder Soren Rose started Klein after leading the firm Søren Rose Studio based in New York and Copenhagen. By providing small, cheap, prefab houses the company aims to make vacation home ownership more affordable to a wider audience.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

While there are currently no set prices, homes are projected to range from $50,000 to $300,000.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

The first prototype, designed by BIG, is the start of several options which will be fully customizable and ready within 6 months of placing an order.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

Klein is currently taking preorders on a case by case basis.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

This Swiss firm is experimenting with prefab movable housing

2018-03-20T15:29:00-04:00

Swiss architectural practice Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten is developing an experimental residence to be realized anywhere. Called movable house, every aspect of this project is determined by motion from floor plans to structural elements to energy storage.

Movable house rendering © Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten

The movable house is not designed with a specific site in mind, but rather can be constructed almost anywhere. The main goals of movable house are that it can be put up quickly with easy and efficient transportation of all structural elements.

Movable house rendering © Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten

This prefab architecture can stand alone or be attached to an existing building. The four main areas of the structure are arranged around a central library which doubles as a transitional space to connect it all together. This creates a flexible and transparent living space for a family of four on the smallest possible footprint.

Movable house rendering © Rahbaran Hürzeler Archite...

Bordering on Art.

2018-01-08T12:45:00-05:00

The notion that the prototypes could qualify as conceptual art might seem somewhat far-fetched. They were designed to United States Customs and Border Protection specifications, built to withstand a 30-minute assault from sledgehammers to acetylene torches, and to be difficult to scale or tunnel beneath. Aesthetic considerations are largely secondary to brute strength, but, when viewed up close, the walls collectively have the undeniable majesty of minimalist sculpture.

Cadillac Ranch, Prada Marfa, The Gates from the Met and The Border Wall. As excessive, fantastical, dismal and maddening as that list may sound, it may be closer to reality than we would think. For artist, Christoph Büchel, the possibility that the expected role of the Border Wall proto-types and their contentious implications should be classified as art is a interesting turn of events. The artist’s hope is to have the prototypes declared a national monument under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which protects naturally, culturally, or scientifically significant sites and for better or worse, we could agree that their cultural signification of the current state of America is undeniable. What do you think? Are they worth saving and what should their story be?

Architects for Society creates Hex House, a more “dignified emergency shelter”

2017-12-27T15:45:00-05:00

Sallam noted that the average stay in a refugee camp is 17 years, and many displaced people live in makeshift dwellings such as airplane hangars. They may have shelter, but it’s not “shelter with dignity,” Design elements [of the Hex House] include 12-foot ceilings, which give the impression of roominess within the cozy space. Designed to function “off the grid,” [it] also has solar panels, and it’s raised slightly to protect against flooding and to provide some passive cooling, Sallam said.

The Minneapolis-based Architects for Society, a small non-profit group of mid-career architects from around the world, designed the Hex House to find better solutions for providing deployable emergency shelter for people displaced by natural or manmade disasters. The 500-square-foot Hex House is a hexagon-shaped dwelling that includes two bedrooms, a bathroom, a porch, a kitchen, and common areas. So far, Architects for Society has built two prototypes. Although they're still fine-tuning the design, they hope to eventually work with organizations like FEMA to implement their concept.

Facing backlash, companies building Trump's wall prototype seek protections

2017-11-06T20:02:00-05:00

The prototypes for Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico have been completed, and the six participating companies, whose names have been publicly released, are beginning to face some serious pushback.

Since the bidding process began, companies vying for the construction contract have received nonstop calls and criticism, been the site of protests, have received countless death threats, and according to one company, have even had their tractors stolen. Accused of betraying their own community, Hispanic-owned construction firms participating in the bidding process have faced the most backlash.

Security work along the border has always been contentious and companies that have worked on the border fence as well as related roads and lighting have always experienced various levels of harassment. However, things are more charged nowadays.

Beyond public criticism, companies competing to bid Trump's wall are facing legislative opposition on both the local and state level. Berkeley...

Trump border wall prototypes completed, prepare for sledgehammer testing

2017-10-30T14:23:00-04:00

[...] prototypes for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico have been completed and will be subjected to punishment to test their mettle — by workers wielding sledgehammers, torches, pickaxes and battery-operated tools. The testing lasting up to two months could lead to officials concluding that elements of several designs should be merged to create effective walls [...]. That raises the possibility of no winner or winners.

The six companies that were awarded contracts to build prototypes of Trump's border wall with Mexico earlier this year have completed their full-scale models on a site near San Diego and will see their creations undergo rigorous testing for nonclimbability, nonunderdiggability, and resistance to tools like sledgehammers and pickaxes (no word on battering rams or poisoned arrows).

While funding for the lofty idea of equipping all 1,954 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border with 30-foot-tall fortifications is still up in the air, the contractors erecting the selected prototypes were awarded between $300,000 and $500,000 for each model.

Here are a few of the prototype designs — some cast in concrete and some built of other materials to allow border patrol agents to peek through the wall into Mexico and prevent passersby on the northern side from being hit on the head by large sacks of drugs that reportedly keep flying over the wall.

All images via U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

...

Glasgow School of Art unveils prototype of Mackintosh Library bay based on the original 1910 design

2017-09-08T18:09:00-04:00

Today, the Glasgow School of Art unveiled a full-size prototype of a section of the Mackintosh Library bay that is based on the original 1910 design, marking another step forward for the building's restoration after the devastating 2014 fire. Following two years of meticulous research and six months in the making, the prototype was presented in the workshops of specialist carpenters Laurence McIntosh and has been used for multiple design tests.

Mackintosh Library in 2014 (pre-fire). Photo © McAteer Photo.

“For those of you who remember the library as it was in 2014 the biggest change you will notice is the color. This is how we believe is how the library would have looked in 1910,” said Professor Tom Inns, Director of The Glasgow School of Art, in a statement. Columns and shelves that survived the fire revealed that much of the library was constructed with American Tulip wood, he added. The Tulipwood for the Library is currently being sourced in the U.S. and will then be manufacture...

Transparent border wall: Trump selects firms to build 'other materials' prototypes

2017-09-08T14:16:00-04:00

The Trump administration has awarded contracts to build four border wall prototypes using non-concrete "other materials," U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Thursday. The contracts came a week after the administration announced four companies that will build prototypes of concrete border walls. In all, the eight prototype walls will cost about $3.6 million.

Adding to the four firms already selected to build border wall prototypes last week, Trump now also contracted another round of companies that will specifically build non-concrete prototypes of his favorite campaign promise.

By encouraging 'other materials' border wall designs, Trump hopes to eliminate concrete's main drawback — its opaqueness — and thus save countless lives of clueless border flâneurs potentially being hit by large sacks of drugs hurled over the wall from the Southern side. As he explained to reporters: "As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don't see them — they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of stuff? It's over. As crazy as that sounds, you need transparency through that wall."

The four companies chosen to tackle this challenge and erect the non-concrete 'other materials' prototypes are:

Caddell Construction in Montgomery, Alabama (also included in last week's select...

See how Joseph Choma built the “Chakrasana” arch using his fiberglass folding technique

2017-09-05T14:23:00-04:00

Design Topology Lab founder Joseph Choma continues to put his fiberglass hand-folding technique to the test in a new larger scale structure called “Chakrasana”, which is currently on display at Clemson University, where Choma is an architecture professor.

Weighing in at only 400 pounds, the accordion arch pavilion was designed, fabricated by hand, and installed by Choma and a team of four people within 30 days. Design Topology Lab further explains their fabrication process below:

Photo: Joseph Choma.

“Similar to paper folding, the process begins with a crease pattern composed of mountain and valley folds. Two 54 yard long rolls of 33.3" fiberglass cloth were stitched together using a full flat felled seam to create one continuous 32' 10" x 21' 9" sheet, with zero material waste. All the edges were precisely sewn to prevent sharp, rough or frayed edges. Using a painter's masking tape, a crease pattern was drawn on the fabric surface. The intricate pattern was composed of a total of 87...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has awarded contracts for Border Wall prototypes

2017-09-01T14:14:00-04:00

First, given their robust physical characteristics, like, reinforced concrete, between 18-30 feet high, the concrete border wall prototypes are designed to deter illegal crossings in the area in which they are constructed. Second, the concrete border wall prototypes will allow CBP to evaluate the potential for new wall and barrier designs that could complement the wall and barrier designs we have used along the border over the last several years.

On Thursday, CBP announced that it had awarded contracts to build several 30-foot-high concrete wall prototypes, which are supposed to inform future design standards and will likely continue to evolve to meet the U.S. Border Patrol’s requirements.

The four companies that will build the prototypes — Caddell Construction Company of Montgomery, Ala.; Fisher Sand and Gravel Company of Tempe, Ariz.; Texas Sterling Construction Company of Houston, Tex.; and W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company of Philadelphia, Miss. — received contracts between $400,000 and $500,000 each.

“The border wall prototypes and designs will complement other tools we employ to secure our borders,” said Ronald D. Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner at Customs and Border Protection.

The NYT reports that "Homeland Security officials have also asked that a wall be at least somewhat aesthetically pleasing, at least from the American side, according to contracting documents."

...

Students explore structural concrete strategies in “Weave.X”, from AA Summer DLAB: ORANGE

2016-11-29T13:52:00-05:00

Twenty-one participants from 11 countries got to hone their skills in computational design and research during the AA Summer DLAB: ORANGE workshop at AA's London campus this past July. Building upon the last two Summer DLAB cycles, students worked side by side in researching and developing innovative architectural strategies to construct 3-D interwoven concrete structures. With guidance from AA Summer DLAB tutors and collaborators, students also applied techniques related to geometry rationalization, material behavior, and robotic fabrication.

The three-week program culminated with the creation of a full-scale, working prototype installation called “Weave.X”, which now stands on display in the midst of Hooke Park.

Keep reading for more about the fabrication process behind Weave.X.

“Initial computational form-finding techniques explore the generation of a network of interwoven elements via a bundling algorithm developed in Grasshopper. The algorithm enables the user to locally different...

Students go above the double-curve in “InFlux”, from AA Summer DLAB::RED

2016-07-27T18:49:00-04:00

Contrasting against the greenery of Hooke Park is “InFlux”, a brick-red wall prototype that 18 students and their tutors assembled for the AA School of Architecture's Summer DLAB::RED 2015 program. Taking place from July 27 to August 8, the RED-themed agenda explored the phenomenal process of decay in nature.

InFlux builds upon the material behavior research that began in 2014, with further investigations that connect geometry, material, and structure. During the first two weeks, students investigated the fabrication and construction of double-curved complex geometries in applying generative design techniques and robotic milling strategies. Students then applied their skills in constructing the 1:1 working prototype during the last seven days of the program. Since then, InFlux has become a permanent installation at Hooke Park.

Also be on the lookout for more from 2016 Summer DLAB::ORANGE, which just started earlier this week.

Keep reading for more about InFlux's fabrication process:

Ph...

CA seeks to allocate $10 million in state funds to new earthquake early warning system

2016-05-16T18:34:00-04:00

In a major reversal, Gov. Jerry Brown is seeking state funds for a fledgling earthquake early warning system for California, which would allow for a limited rollout of alerts by 2018...Though the governor’s proposed funding is a big step for the system, it does not come with ongoing funds to operate it. An earthquake early warning system for California alone will cost about $23 million to build and $12 million annually to operate[.]

Harvard GSD to host talk on "Habitation in Extreme Environments: Alpine Shelter" exhibition this Friday

2015-02-11T18:58:00-05:00

Curated by Spela Videcnik, Rok Oman, and John T. Dunlop (Design Critic in Housing and Urban Development), the "Habitation in Extreme Environments: Alpine Shelter" exhibition currently at the Harvard GSD presents a prototypical alpine shelter that students designed in an option studio this past fall. A public lecture and discussion by Spela Videcnik will formally introduce the topic this Friday, February 13 at Gund Hall. The exhibition and lecture are free and open to the public.

Guided by instructors Spela Videcnik and Rok Oman of Ljubljana-based OFIS arhitekti, the studio focused on investigating architectural solutions and responses to extreme climatic conditions, specifically referring to the ongoing heavy wintry conditions that ravage the North region of the U.S. The students researched traditional European alpine settlements in an effort to find new architectural solutions fit for a North American context.

The prototype shelter that will be presented at this Friday's lecture prov...

AA Athens Visiting School 2014 challenges the static built environment with “Kinetic Haze”

2014-09-12T21:03:00-04:00

Students and professionals had another opportunity to take part in the third cycle of the AA Athens Visiting School program, "Cipher City: Revolutions". Taking place at the National Technical University of Athens this past spring, participants focused on addressing the roles of change, adaptation and interaction through scripting and digital fabricating techniques at large scale models.

The program set out to challenge the motionless built environment in the collaborative creation of a kinetic pathway prototype called Kinetic Haze. Participants applied the basic design elements from their own proposals in creating the project in less than five days.

Here's a glimpse of the project

Find more project photos and details on Bustler.

First photos of enormous facade element for Apple's UFO

2014-07-08T19:53:00-04:00

Photos have emerged of what looks like the first facade piece for Apple's new mega HQ.

While civil engineering is now well underway at the site in Cupertino, California, the facade element was spotted thousands of miles away in the tiny Bavarian town of Gundelfingen. Josef Gartner GmbH, a Germany company specialized in steel-and-glass construction, had won the contract to deliver the facade elements for Apple's UFO, and it appears that the first prototype has now been put on display for presentation and testing.

Images show how the minimal curvature of the facade element foreshadows the colossal scale of the final, completed building with two of these elements eventually stacked on top of each other.

Completion of the Foster + Partners-designed headquarters is expected for 2016.

H/T and photos: ifun

Previously: "Confidential" architectural drawings of new Apple HQ leaked

Garrison Architects develops post-disaster housing prototype for NYC residents

2014-06-25T21:15:00-04:00

Garrison Architects adds to the pressing topic of 21st-century disaster resilience for dense urban cities with their modular post-disaster housing prototype. Developed for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the project aims to provide New Yorkers not only with reliable and adaptable emergency shelter, but also to keep residents close to their communities and reduce the necessity of long-term displacement.

More details on the prototype's design below:

"The aim is to create a blueprint for post-disaster housing by utilizing the latest construction technology in conjunction with stringent requirements for safety, sustainability, durability, and universal design.
The five multi-story modules [that Garrison Architects designed] are infinitely flexible: they can be deployed in vacant lots, private yards, or public spaces. When needed, the modules are trucked to a site, craned into place, and plugged into utilities.
With 1- and 3-bedroom configurations, every unit features a liv...

Barkow Leibinger’s “Kinetic Wall” prototype exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2014

2014-06-11T20:37:00-04:00

American/German architectural practice Barkow Leibinger is back at the Venice Biennale with "Kinetic Wall". Specifically designed for this year's Biennale, the prototype highlights the evolution of wall-making while also standing as an ode to the 20th century fantasy of kinetic architecture -- or architecture that can move. Kinetic Wall is currently on display in the Wall Room at the "Elements of Architecture“ exhibition in the Venice Biennale.

Get more details on Bustler.

See it in action in the video below.

Instantly see your designs in the world with Context

2013-10-29T19:00:00-04:00

At its core, Context encourages hyper-efficient iteration by allowing designers to see their work three-dimensionally as they’re in the creation process. The goal is to radically reduce the time and effort it takes to realize a fully-developed design, which in turn will let designers spend more time on brainstorming great ideas and less time on the mechanics of bringing them to life.

Context, an app for Mac from former Apple and IDEO designer Joshua Distler, allows anyone to apply their designs to a real-world setting in a simple, reactive way. The app works in sync with Adobe Illustrator to essentially map a design (for a book cover, bottle label, cake decoration, etc.) onto its complementary surface, realizing the design instantly, virtually. Without resorting to cumbersome (and expensive) physical prototypes, or adapting designs into Photoshop environments, anyone can easily visualize their project in each stage of the iterative tweaking process.