SolarCity, the Silicon Valley solar installer, has quietly begun to offer some homeowners a lithium-ion battery pack made by electric carmaker Tesla to store electricity generated by their rooftop photovoltaic arrays. Stem, another Silicon Valley company, will sell or lease a $100,000, 54-kilowatt-hour battery pack to businesses so they can arbitrage the grid by storing electricity when rates are cheap and then using that energy when they’re high. — qz.com
Brazil's World Cup preparations suffered a deadly setback on Wednesday when a roof collapsed killing at least two building workers at the São Paulo stadium that is due to host the opening match.
Coming a week before the draw for next year's tournament, the fatalities revive concerns about unsafe infrastructure and the slow pace of construction, which have dogged the hosts for more than a year.
— theguardian.com
In the 13th Arrondisement in Paris, the brightly painted "Tour Paris 13" building -- is easy to spot from a distance. Described as the largest group exhibition of street art, Gallery Itinerance gathered over 100 urban artists representing 16 nationalities to use their artistic skills to repaint... View full entry
In the wake of the controversial demolition of Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital, Northwestern University has moved forward with the process for selecting an architecture firm to design the building's replacement. Firms that protested the demolition, however, have been excluded from consideration for designing the building's replacement—and may be blacklisted from other projects at Northwestern. — architectmagazine.com
The Great Indoors 2013 recently announced the winners for this year's competition. The 2013 theme focused on The Nature of Things — in regards to the increasing global trend of incorporating repurpose, sustainability, and reconnecting with natural elements in interior design.
Out of 271 entries from 39 countries, the jury selected 20 nominees, four in each of the following categories: Serve & Facilitate, Relax & Consume, Show & Sell, and Concentrate & Collaborate.
— bustler.net
Finally, one winner was chosen in each category: Serve & Facilitate winner: Cineteca Matadero by Churtichaga+Quadra-Salcedo Arquitectos (ES) — see top image Relax & Consume winner: Pakta Restaurant by El Equipo Creativo (ES) Show & Sell winner: Relojeria Alemana Boutique by... View full entry
Google today launched an interactive map featuring Street Views of over 65 mass-transit hubs. The map features some locations you may have already explored, like Emirates' A380 or London's Gatwick Airport, alongside some new sites across Europe, South America, and Asia. — theverge.com
Click here to view the interactive map. View full entry
Oshin Vartanian and his colleagues slipped a group of people inside a brain-scanning machine and flashed hundreds of interior designs -- some curvy, some angular -- in front of them. They then had the choice of describing each room as either "beautiful" or "not beautiful."
The study found that participants overwhelmingly preferred interior spaces with curving coffee tables, meandering sofas and winding floor patterns to rooms filled with angular furniture and rectilinear design.
— cnn.com
Archinect inaugurated a new interview series The Deans List. For the first installment, Archinect talked with David Gissen, the Director of Architecture at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Reflecting on current trends and his own interests for the future of architectural education... View full entry
We're delighted to feature the L.A-Frame House by Tim Durfee & Iris Anna Regn. The collaborative team won a NextLA Merit Award for the project in the recent conclusion of the 2013 AIA|LA Design Awards, which honors the best works by Los Angeles-based architects. — bustler.net
Images courtesy of Tim Durfee. View full entry
Grimshaw Architects recently announced the completion of the Ecorium at the National Ecology Center in Seocheon, South Korea -- making this the firm's first project in Asia. The newly built ecological educational and research center gives visitors a first-hand experience to learn about the... View full entry
UNStudio was recently chosen to design the Baumkirchen Mitte, an office and residential complex in Munich, Germany. In collaboration with OR else Landscapes, UNStudio won out of six shortlisted finalist teams that included BIG, J Mayer H Architects, and Schneider + Schumacher Architects. — bustler.net
All images courtesy of UNStudio. View full entry
In the latest development of this ongoing story, Related Companies submitted the new conceptual plan designed by Gehry Partners to the Los Angeles Grand Avenue Authority earlier today, Nov. 25. The $650 million development addresses the three-acre block across the Gehry-designed Walt Disney... View full entry
Holm Architecture Office was recently commissioned for an idea proposal to revive the existing buildings of the Domino Sugar Factory in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The factory opened in 1856 and was once the sugar processing center of the U.S. before it shut down in 2004. The factory has been empty since then. — bustler.net
All images courtesy of Holm Architecture Office. View full entry
Zaha Hadid, the world’s best-known female architect, is none too pleased with critics like Jon Stewart, who have mocked her Al Wakrah Stadium—designed with AECOM for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—and likened her to the “Georgia O’Keeffe of things you can walk inside.”
“It’s really embarrassing that they come up with nonsense like this,” Hadid tells TIME exclusively. “What are they saying? Everything with a hole in it is a vagina? That’s ridiculous.”
— newsfeed.time.com
Previously: Unnecessary Muffness; Jon Stewart discusses Zaha's "f**kable buildings" View full entry
"Sometimes,” wrote Charles Lindbergh in his 1953 flight memoir, The Spirit of St. Louis, “the world from above seems too beautiful, too wonderful, too distant for human eyes to see.”
And sometimes, it looks like a bunch of genitals.
— slate.com
Recently: Unnecessary Muffness; Jon Stewart discusses Zaha's "f**kable buildings" View full entry