Kenya Hara, the design director of Muji, got 12 big name architects to design structures for dogs that would improve both canine and human well-being. The blueprints of the designed dog habitats are available for a free download. People can also share their own designs. Find out more at the brilliant Architecture for dogs webpage.
Norwegian architect Kjetil T. Thorsen of Snøhetta explains the landscape-inspired ideas behind some of their major projects. Projects featured in the video are: Eggum Tourist Route, Norway, 2007. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei, 2011. Annecy Conference Center, France, in progress. Norweigan Wild Reindeer Cene pavillion, Norway 2011 King Abdulazis Center for World Culture, Saudi Arabia, in progress New Norweigan National Opera and Ballet, Norway 2008 Lascaux Caves, France 2012 Alexandria Library, Egypt, 2001 National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavillion, USA 2011 Sultanate of Oman, Mutrah Fish Market, in progress Ras al-Khaimah-Gateway Project, United Aab Emirates, in progress Watch and learn!
Brickstarter the book by Bryan Boyer and Dan Hill is out now. Brickstarter was the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra’s project that collected and analyzed information about 21st century social services. Brickstarter also wanted to provide a platform for citizens to suggest and build possibilities into proposals and further into projects. The book gathers the project data, analysis and reflection into a coherent and well written package. Our project Mieluisa Tampere is also mentioned as an example project. “Brickstarter the book contains 80 dense pages filled with the research presented here, refined and reformatted, as well as entirely new essays and illustrations. This book is a primer for people working on problems at the intersection of crowdfunding/sourcing, social media, urban planning and decision-making. So in other words, it’s about contemporary cities and how we might create new platforms to enable more effective debate about the future of our shared spaces.” – Brickstarter.org The […]
The brilliant + POOL project has launched a Kickstarter Campaign take the NYC’s coolest future swimming spot one step closer to reality. The team is asking for your help to be able to build a 35′ x 35′ (11 x 11 m) Float Lab on the East River this August. They want to test the water filtration technologies that they would use in the floating pool. The kickstarter campaign is called Tile by Tile: To make the donations more interesting, you can buy yourself a tile, with a personal engraving, that will actually end up being a part of the final + POOL slated to open in 2016. So essentially you are buying yourself a piece of a giant swimming pool in a premium location while also helping to clean up our environment. Check out more information on the campaign page and pledge to make this ingenious project become reality.
The results of the Helsinki Central Library Competition were announced today: The winner is entry “Käännös” by ALA Architects. This elegantly beautiful entry was also our favorite, we’re very glad it won! The construction is set to start in 2015 and the library should be ready in 2017, just in time to celebrate 100 years of independent Finland. The library has been selected to be a 100th anniversary jubilee project so the Finnish state will provide significant funding for it. All images courtesy of Helsinki Central Library
Lately our office has been a joy to work in as I got a Holmris XTable for my computer desk. When choosing a height adjustable table I did not want another plug-in gadget with an electric motor so I went with the manual crank adjustable XTable. The desk has been designed by a young Danish design firm KiBiSi. The designers have done a good job designing an elegantly minimalistic table that is also a joy to use. The height of the 160 x 80 cm (63″ x 31 ½”) desk can be adjusted between 63 and 120 cm (24 ¾” and 47 ¼”) by turning the crank. The crank is pleasantly light to turn even when the table is loaded with gadgets, laptops and whatnot. Some people have wondered if one would hit feet against the table legs when sitting, but due to the table legs being on the back side, this never […]
Helsinki Central Library hits the streets with six library bikes. The bikes will ride the streets of Helsinki on 13–14 of June from 10 am to 6 pm. Brilliant! “The library belongs where all people are, on the streets and in the alleys, wherever people get together, run their errands and live their lives. The Central Library is taking the skills, information and stories of a library to the people with the help of six bikes, and is inviting them to discover the new and exciting possibilities of doing things together.” –Keskustakirjasto.fi On the 14th of June the winner of the Helsinki Central Library architectural competition will be announced. Stay tuned! All images courtesy of Jonas Tana/ Helsinki City Library
Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto’s take on Serpentine pavilion looks like a white cloud in Hyde Park, London. Architecture critic Oliver Wainwright reviews the pavilion and interviews the architect for The Guardian. In today’s overload of wow-architecture it is increasingly difficult to impress with a pavilion, yet Serpentine Gallery manages to provide positive surprises year after year. I think Sou Fujimoto’s pavilion stands proud with the most interesting pavilions of recent years, SANAA’s pavilion in 2009, Peter Zumthor + Pier Oudolf’s in 2011 and Herzog & de Meuron + Ai Weiwei’s pavilion in 2012.
