Architecture
The space-age Aerohotel concept
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We've seen some incredible examples of terraforming in recent years - most notably "The World" in Dubai - and if the fact that the government of the low-lying Maldives is looking to buy land elsewhere to escape global warming is any indication, the practice of resurrecting land from the waters may be about to become a whole lot more commonplace. But why shift all that dirt around if you can just use stilts? Alexander Asadov's futuristic Aerohotel concept is an alternative to man-made islands that would provide a 650 foot wide circular playground perched over 200 feet above the waterline using only three supports designed to cause minimum disturbance to the ocean floor. Read More
Treehouse escapes: re-live your childhood in style
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Treehouses have the ability to fire the imagination and transport you back to the long care-free afternoons of your childhood like almost nothing else. These days, the professionally crafted designs available far outstrip the rudimentary structures we would slap together during summer holidays and they are being used not just as magical playrooms for the kids but as spare guest bedrooms, entertainment areas, hotel escapes and even conference suites. The latest examples to cross our desk are these striking arboreal dwellings from Andreas Wenning of German architecture firm baumraum. Read More
French skyscaper puts focus on renewable energy
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Extensive use of solar and wind power plus a healthy dose of CO2 munching foliage will mark the slim, 318 meter tall Generali Tower when it becomes a fixture of the Parisian skyline from 2012. The design from Valode & Pistre was selected in an international competition and will form a key plank in the nine year plan to revamp the La Défense business district first announced by the Public Body for the development of La Défense (EPAD) in 2005. Read More
World's largest LED screen to be built in (where else) Dubai
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Dubai is set to be home to the world’s largest LED screen - a curved, 300ft+ tall monster that will be visible from a distance of just under 1 mile. The screen will make up the facade of the “Podium” skyscraper which will offer commercial and retail space across 35 floors of around 10,000 square feet each with over 50,000 square feet of parking space. Read More
Self Powered Rotating Skyscraper launched
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Floor plans have been released and the reservations list opened for the "world's first building in motion" - the Dynamic Tower in Dubai. Italian architect Dr. David Fisher made the announcement on June 24 at the official launch of the revolutionary 1,380 foot skyscraper which will have 80 floors and apartments ranging in size from 124 square meters (1,334 SF), to Villas of 1,200 SM (12,916 SF) complete with a parking space inside the apartment. Read More
Plans for 193,000 square foot indoor golf center
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When you think indoor golf you usually think mini-golf: leaving the bag at home and tackling odd shaped obstacles with your putter. All good fun, but hardly a serious training session for your all-round game. This impression is set to change if the Indoor Golf Arena® concept takes off. Aiming for a 2010 opening, the planned "world’s largest Indoor Golf Center" in The Netherlands will incorporate 20 ProTee golf simulators, a roof top driving range with 34 bays and 150,00 square feet (14,000m2) of golf practice facilities with chipping greens, bunkers and water hazards catering for every aspect of your short game along with a huge golf shop, kid’s training facilities, a wellness center with sauna and spa and a 4-star hotel. Read More
Palm Jumeirah to feature Dubai's most expensive penthouse
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Breaking property records is one thing, but when the property happens to be in Dubai, it's another ball game entirely. The AED 2.9 billion (around USD$790 million) contract for the construction of the spectacular 62 storey tall Trump International Hotel & Tower on Palm Jumeirah was announced earlier this month and with pre-sales of some properties fetching as much as $3000USD, real estate developer Nakheel and the Trump Organization expect that the tower's exclusive penthouse will break property records. The 270 meter tall design which features two towers that merge at the 40th floor will include 378 hotel rooms and suites, 385 condominiums, 12 townhouses, 45,000 square feet of retail and 60,000 square feet of office space along with a private beach and super-marina. Public sales of the residences began on June 23 and Donald J. Trump himself has already reserved an apartment in the Tower which is expected to be completed in May 2011. Read More
London's famous coal power station about to get new, green lease on life
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June 25, 2008 A controversial development proposal now under consideration aims to turn London's iconic but defunct Battersea Power Station into a carbon-neutral biofuel power plant. The proposal also includes a 300 meter-tall residential tower featuring solar powered climate control and a glass 'eco-dome' that would allow residents to grow tropical roof gardens even in London's distinctly non-tropical weather. But is it a revolutionary plan to revitalize an old collapsing fossil fuel plant with a new green lease of life, or simply a grandstanding attempt by a property developer to build an ultramodern skyscaper in old London town? Read More
Burj Al-Taqa: self-sufficient skyscraper design
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This concept eco-skyscraper from German-based architects Gerber Architekten combines traditional building ventilation techniques with the ability to generate 100% of its energy needs using wind and solar power. And the likely location for the "Burj Al-Taqa" or "Energy Tower” - you guessed it - Dubai.
Two-mile high termite nest proposed to counter the population challenge
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May 5, 2008 Forward-thinking architects are looking upwards in an effort to control a global population that is growing by around 2.2 per cent every year and becoming ever more concentrated in crowded cities. Eugene Tsui is taking nature as the inspiration for his 2-mile high, one-mile wide Ultima Tower, capable of housing up to a million people. Designed to be virtually impervious to wind, water and earthquakes, the massive tower is conceived less as an architecture project but as a series of mini-ecosystems within which other architectural projects can be developed. And it offers some ingenious ideas on energy production, water use and intra-colony transport. At US$150 billion a pop, you wouldn't expect to see the Ultima being built any time soon, but as population pressure increases, it's pioneering ideas like these that will form the inspiration for real-world solutions. Read More
Energy-positive wind powered rotating skyscraper set to begin construction in Dubai
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Dubai has well earned its reputation for architectural extravagance and excess. Not a cent has been spared as various developers vie to produce the biggest, the most stunning, the most luxurious and the most outrageous projects ever undertaken. And while this next project is right up there in terms of luxury, exclusivity and head-spinning architectural genius, it adds a fascinating extra dimension - the ability to generate ten times as much power as it will use. Each floor of Dynamic Architecture's wind-powered rotating skyscraper is a single apartment with the ability to rotate independently, giving residents the ability to choose a new view at the touch of a button - quite a party trick. Wind turbines between each floor will generate a vast surplus of electricity capable of powering the whole surrounding neighborhood. Construction is set to begin soon in Dubai, with a second tower to follow in Moscow and numerous other sites around the world being considered. Read More
AeroVironment awarded patents for wind-power system
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April 14, 2008 A name familiar to Gizmag readers through its achievements in the field of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, AeroVironment is also a developer of efficient electric energy systems, an area in which it has been awarded a series of patents relating to its "Architectural Wind® Building-Integrated Energy Generation System" - a system which takes a new approach to harnessing wind power using low-profile turbines designed to maximize electricity generation by taking advantage of the way wind flows over certain types of buildings. Read More
London's mile-high vertical village
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March 18, 2008 One of the key challenges in urban architecture over the next 50 years will be figuring out how to squeeze vast numbers of additional people into urban areas that are already extremely crowded. London, for example, will somehow have to deal with a projected 100,000 extra inhabitants every year until 2016. The current plan of building new "commuter towns" on the city's outskirts causes a raft of problems - but architecture think tanks are working on ambitious solutions that go vertical instead of horizontal in search of space. Could 100,000 people be comfortably housed in a single structure? Could one building realistically be a whole new town, with schools, parks, public squares and hospitals? Read More
New Toronto waterfront development will have a “future proof” energy centre
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March 18, 2008 Waterfront Toronto, a 2,000 acre area of largely publicly owned land, is one of the largest urban developments currently underway in North America. As part of the project, a 3500 square meter District Energy Centre is under development which will consist of an interconnected network of underground pipes which that be extended to every area in each of the waterfront precincts. The plant will initially be powered by natural gas but the design will incorporate the necessary features for easy conversion to more sustainable, alternative fuel sources when they are approved for urban use. This "future-proof" system will make the new waterfront neighborhood a more efficient and sustainable user of energy in years to come. Read More
Architecture students think outside the box to design low-cost, less-waste housing
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A non-profit organization has given architecture students a chance to learn about the practical, hands-on elements of their future profession whilst exposing them to the benefits of building low-cost, sustainable housing using materials sourced from the local area. Since 2000, DesignBuildBluff and graduate students from the University of Utah’s College of Architecture & Planning have designed and built energy-efficient, inexpensive houses using natural building methods and materials made of recycled products and locally salvaged waste or by-products. Read More
TAG Heuer opens 360 Degree Watchmaking Museum
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February 6, 2008 TAG Heuer has inaugurated its “TAG Heuer 360” Private Museum in a ceremony hosted by Formula One star Lewis Hamilton at the company's headquarters in La Chaux-De-Fonds, Switzerland. Celebrating the 150 year history of the Swiss watchmaker, the facility combines striking circular architecture with a world first 360-degree conical movie screen that uses a battery of 12 computers processing over 1 million images to bring visitors a unique presentation celebrating the 150 year history of the Swiss watchmaker. Read More
IKEA housing development steams ahead in UK
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August 15, 2007 Work has now begun on the first BoKlok "flat-pack housing" development at St James Village in Gateshead, UK. Previewed in Gizmag in May this year, the project aimed at delivering fast, affordable, energy efficient and stylish housing has just moved into its construction phase. Read More
Domestic rainwater tanks with style: LUMI, the functional water feature
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June 3, 2007 Long-term droughts in places like Australia have put water-saving solutions at the forefront of designers' minds - and while some manufacturers are keen to hide their domestic rainwater catchment tanks out of view, others are taking a very different approach. Melbourne's Full Tank has designed a household water tank that not only serves to cut domestic mains water usage by 20%, but also acts as an attractive and modern architectural design and lighting feature. The LUMI rainwater tank is a glowing sculpture in celebration of responsible water use. Read More
Lunabrite, the completely unpowered night light
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June 21, 2007 Here's a simple, brilliant and very useful new product - glowing strip lights that recharge fully in the sunlight and glow for between 3 and 12 hours after dark without ever needing batteries or electricity. Expect to see Lunabrite strips appearing in architecture, marine, sporting, safety and even fashion applications in the very near future. Read More
The relocatable KITAHAUS Pod
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October 10, 2006 As technology evolves, our ability to create remarkable temporary living and working environments has grown considerably, as can be evidenced by our recent stories on relocatable structures such as the off-the-grid home, the Sphere House, the Nackros Villa, the Free Spirit Sphere, the LoftCube and the first mobile hotel room. Now we can add to that the KitaHaus Pod which is designed as a stand-alone accommodation or temporary office and can also be interlink to create unique temporary or permanent living and working environments. The KitaHaus legs are adjustable so it can be situated in almost any site including normally unusable sloped and wooded areas. The construction is of sustainable materials using glulam frame, over boarded in 12mm ply and insulated using Actis super 9 fabric. The entire surface is then tiled using larch timber shingles which will eventually turn a silver grey colour. The pod’s main usage is envisaged as a holiday retreat but clearly it has many possibilities with an anticipated cost of GBP 50,000 to GBP 75,000 depending on volumes.
